The first day Kaz hadn’t come home, he had only been slightly worried. The vampire had gone out to go look for him, checking the most obvious places he could be hanging out. His now empty house, a couple of bars, even the shady establishment where vampires gathered to feed. No sign of his brother though. Yet, he had decided to go back to the castle and await his return there. There was no need to worry, right? He just needed a break and that’s why he couldn’t find him. He simply didn’t want to be found. Fair, he could have left a note, a little warning. Perhaps he had been too busy, or the urge to be alone for a while had come out of nowhere and he hadn’t had the energy to write one.

The second day, however.. He had received a note. Not from the person he had expected it to come from. No. Isabella. The vampire that had asked him for Edmund’s location. Immediately, he had ran to Allison, as he was panicking way too much to think clear. His brother had been kidnapped and now he was in danger. All thanks to him. Because he had refused to answer her question. From there on, he had spent every minute in the city, looking for him. Though he had been unable to locate him. Out of desperation, he had decided to call on his sire for help. He just didn’t know what to do anymore.

Two months. That’s how long it had taken him to fuck it all up. Restlessness had made him look tired, for as far as a vampire could look like that. The burning sun made him feel weaker than he already felt. His heart would be pounding in his throat, if it was still beating. Mort stood outside the castle’s gates, looking out over the path that was leading up to it. He was worried sick, couldn’t control his nerves and if he hadn’t been a vampire he would have been trembling all over his body. Right now, he looked like a statue, frozen in place as he waited for his brother’s return.

From the moment he saw to people in the distance, he took a deep breath in, even though he didn’t even need to. It was more a way to calm his nerves slightly, which failed miserably. His blue eyes had this panicking shimmer in them and he realised Isabella would be very capable of figuring out how scared he was. Not even for his own safety, but for what she had done to Kaz. The young vampire didn’t even know what had happened, but somehow he could feel it. Deep down he knew something really bad had overcome his brother. As he had always known when they were just kids, a dark cloud of doom hanging in the air, making it harder to breathe when something was going on.

When they were closer, Mort could see his gut feeling had been right. His fledgling was looking terrible. Blood was all over his clothing, which were ripped in several places as well. Overall he had this defeated vibe radiating off of him. Pain, despair, hopelessness, weakness. Shattered and broken. He wasn’t even paying attention to Isabella as he watched him in horror. Only when she spoke and basically blocked his view, he redirected his gaze towards her. He wanted to say something, anything, but he was too in shock. What she delivered, was definitely not his brother.

How could someone be so cruel to another human being? Was this what the monster did when they let them take control? The young boy suddenly felt nauseous, seeing Kaz like that. Again. Much, much worse now though. The mountainlion had shredded his neck to pieces, when he had still been human. This was nothing like it. It looked like he would drop down any second. If he hadn’t been dead, he would sure be now. Tears were welling up in his eyes as his now hazy gaze focused on Isabella. “I’m glad you decided to come alone, She let him know with a smile. Still, he could not speak. He only nodded lightly. It was true. He was alone. No guards, nobody. Just the three vampires.

“I don’t have all day, you know.” She urged him to finally give the address. He hadn’t agreed on this though. He had thought, hoped, that she would bring his brother back in one piece. Finally, the boy found the courage to reply. ”You tortured him”, He said, his voice barely a whisper. ”You did not only kidnap him, you tortured him”, He continued. ”The deal has changed”, He concluded. Which was great, honestly. Because it had on his side, too. ”There is no need for me to point you towards him. He is on his way here as we speak.”

Never had he been exposed to such horrors. The image of Kaz, barely standing and clearly suffering, would be forever etched into his memory. This was his fault. He should have given her the location that night in the garden. If he had known, he would have. Even after the harrowing description she had given him.. If he had to choose between those two awful situations, he would have led her to Edmund. Knowing his sire would be more capable of defending himself against her than his brother. Not because he thought Kaz was weak, but because he had promised to always protect him. And he had failed. He had failed him, once again.

In the end, she would get what she wanted anyway. Edmund was on his way. If she would succeed in doing all those horrendous things to him, was another question. But she would see him again, as she had wanted. Mort wasn’t paying much attention, his brain way too occupied with processing what he was witnessing. Suddenly her hand was around his throat, while she pushed his back against the gate. It wasn’t painful but.. He was easily scared. ”N-no, I’m sorry, I.. I panicked”, He stammered, eyes wide open in fear for her. ”I just d-didn’t know w-what to do”, He went on, cursing himself for not being able to control the stutter in his voice.

From the corner of his eye, he could see the familiar posture of Allison walking out. Straight to Kaz, who had dropped to the ground because he simply couldn’t keep standing anymore. Meanwhile he was not even resisting the firm grip of the elder vampire on his throat. She was distracted by the Grand Duchess, but it didn’t even cross his mind to make a move. When she spoke to him, firm and cold, he nodded slowly. Anyone speaking in such manner would be able to make him bow. It was who he was. A very high contrast between him and his brother, who would always fight. Because Kaz was proud and strong. Right?

So fast that Allison wouldn’t see her coming, the vampire stood next to her. Mort didn’t move, even though he wanted to. He wanted the other to stay away from the people he loved, yet he had no idea how to communicate or act on that feeling. Only when Isabella left, he stepped away from the gate and walked over to the couple. With his sleeve, he dried his tears. Kaz needed his help. ”He n-needs to get out of the sun”, He murmured, looking at Allison. Waiting for her to agree on his plans, as he knew he didn’t come up with any good ideas ever. ”C-can I pick him up?” He asked for her permission. He would be more capable of carrying the unconscious vampire inside.

Out of habit, Mort turned towards others to guide him. It didn’t even matter who it was, as long as they gave him instructions, he would follow them. He just needed that to function though. Whenever he took initiative, he fucked up. Two months ago, he had thought he was ready to go explore the world on his own. How wrong he had been. Luckily Edmund was on his way and he would fix it. He wasn’t ashamed of admitting that he still needed help. His sire wasn’t here yet though, so he turned to the next person he could find. Allison.

The woman looked as broken as the man on the ground. He felt the same insecurities, but together they could figure this out, right? She told him to take his fledgling to their room. Mort nodded a couple of times before kneeling down and carefully picking up his brother. ”We can do this”, He said softly, to her but also to himself. ”We can help him”, He continued. He kept repeating it in his head, as some sort of mantra to focus on. With Kaz in his arms, he started walking towards their destination.