THE PURE BLOOD'S
Chapter 2's

Spain, Three Months Earlier

        The last meeting with Nick a month ago still left a bit of an upset feeling in his heart. It was not usual for him to be annoyed with men until this whole time, let alone this person was his own brother. Come to think of it, it was because of Nick's words. Grunting, Nick has always liked to talk. No doubt he often triggers quarrels in his own family.

        Before feeling even more upset, Josette quickly took a shower to go for a walk. In two hours he will go with a tour group to see historical places in Spain.

        Josette was excited during the activity and once back, she felt gloomy again. The places he visited reminded him of Caleb's story and how much he wanted to go to the place. Considering Caleb just makes him sad and Josette doesn't want that. He wanted to remember the man as a joy he once had and it was worth it.

        So, before the night turned into a sad melodrama, Josette walked into the bar. A man greeted her politely and invited her to a conversation. As a fellow tourist, the conversation was pleasant enough that Josette forgot her sadness.

        “Little Josette,” says Nick. With an innocent look one hand pushed away the foreign man who was drinking with the woman.

        The man does not accept Nick's treatment, berating him with French that Nick does not understand. He had gone to break the man's neck, but Josette caught his arm immediately, with a look begging the woman to shake her head so Nick wouldn't kill him.

        “Well, well.. I usually never forgive. Judging from your gaze, I relented,” Nick said as he raised both hands. “Go. Now,” Nick said while showing the horrible aura of a vampire until the man ran away.

        “Alright, where were we?” Nick's mood has returned, his psychopathic soul is no longer visible.

        “What the fuck was that, Nick?”

        From Josette's still angry gaze, Nick's look changed, flat and cold. “I just got rid of a bully,” he said indifferently.

        “You think everyone is like that. Including your other brothers,”, Josette said sharply.

        Nick's gaze turned cold and sharp, signaling he was angry. “I don't want to talk about them.”

        “Oh, yes already. Then I go first.”

        “No, wait.” Nick caught Josette's wrist. His face still looked flat. For a moment he wanted to let the woman go. Until he unknowingly held Josette's hand for too long. “Drink a minute with me, Josette,” he said slowly.

        Nick's tone of voice made him melt. Roughly he sat back down, finding a small smile on Nick's face. “Listen, I'm not in a good mood. If you—”

        “So you'll go.” Nick finished Josette's words while nodding. “Understanding.”

        “Where is my drink?”

        A smirk returned to his face, then he ordered a bottle of beer for the two of them.

        “I don't see a single woman you've conquered tonight.”

        “Tonight I was alone, Love.” Nick quickly corrected it. “There's you.”

        Josette knew it was Nick's way of teasing her. He was not disturbed, for some reason he liked it. “From all my brothers, you're the only one that's hard to understand. You know it.”

        “Maybe because you never tried it in earnest, Little Josette.”

        “Josie. Call me Josie,” sue Josette.

        Nick suddenly laughed, thinking it was funny to him. “Think it's a dear call from me.”

        “Ugh! You gave me goosebumps.” Josette immediately downed the beer in her glass and poured it again. “But I said seriously. Our brothers also consider it that way.”

        Nick's mouth was still forming a thin line. He looked at Josette very sharply.

        “Or because you don't want anyone else to understand you, huh?”

        Nick responded with a cold laugh. “Maybe you're right.”

        “You want to talk about this, Nick?” Spontaneously put his hand on Nick's.

        Nick was silent for a long time looking at the hands of the two of them, then he looked back at Josette. “Only this may be a little closer to the truth you want to hear, that my soul is already too broken. Destroyed by Dominic and by whatever makes me.”

        “What are you talking about?”

        “I'm a tribrid,” said Nick looks grim

        “Tribrid? So is that what it's called?”

        Nick nodded. “You certainly know our family history. My mother was the strongest witch until indirectly her descendants also have magic talent. Including me.” Nick continued when Josette gave no response. “The first time I could use magic, I was only six years old. For reasons of secrecy, we practice magic secretly. Then Mom used black magic to turn us into vampires.”

        “In theory, the magic ability we had vanished. It happened to Jonathan, Alex, and Freya. Surprisingly I can still do magic. Though vampires can't be witches at once, it should make me die. That's why I told you I was special. But there is another privilege that he did not say.”

        “What is it?” Josette was getting curious. For almost a thousand years he was curious about the secrets of this family and he will know about them in a moment.

        “It all started when Mom was holding me. At first no one knew until a woman suddenly came to the house to run him over. The woman knew the big secret behind her husband and his mistress. The proof is in my mother's womb.”

        Nick's eyes are getting darker. There was clearly anger and a clear wound there. Josette was afraid that the anger would explode all of a sudden. Given Nick's easy-to-kill tendencies, Josette hurriedly takes him away to the hotel where he lives. There Nick continues his story.

        “Based on Jonathan's story, Dad almost killed Mom right then and there. But somehow he could prevent it.” An affectionate smile appeared on his face as he recalled Jonathan's figure. “Tak got there. The woman turned out to be a witch as well so she cursed the baby. Condemn me.”

        “No way,” Josette said as she cupped her hands to her mouth.

        “Oh, your reaction is excessive, Love. Just chill. My mother killed the woman with dark magic after leaving the house,” tell Nick with a sneer. “He hoped that with the death of the woman, the curse could be broken. But not like that. You must remember when we killed the first time.”

        Josette nodded. “Yes, I was there.”

        “With the active curse, I became a tribrid. I'd like to ask you, did you feel like there was half of you missing when you became a vampire?”

        Tensely, Josette said, “Ya. At first I didn't know what it was. Fortunately there was Jonathan guiding me back then.”

        “Imagine, when you were a vampire half your humanity disappeared. Then I, the rest of humanity that I have completely disappeared when I became a tribrid and then followed by the death of Mother. I guess that's all I can say.”

        “Oh, Nick.” Spontaneous Josette moved to sit next to Nick and hugged him. Unknowingly her tears fell, feeling sad for Nick. “That's what makes you go?”

        Making distance, no emotion whatsoever flashed on Nick's face. “Yes. I did not recognize who I was and at that time something was missing and I had to find it back.”

        “Have you found it?”

        A smile was re-engraved on his face. “Slightly. And after all this time, I finally decided not to care about it anymore.”

        “Nick—”

        “Don't look at me like that, Love. I'm not a creature you should be sorry for.”

        Long they looked. Then suddenly Nick kissed Josette, fast and deep. Seeing the spark in Josette's eyes, Nick immediately took advantage of it. He kissed even more fiercely and then pushed Josette onto the bed. He smiled on the sidelines of the kiss, happy to know that Josette did not turn him down.

        Unbeknownst to Josette, Nick uses a little magic. He made them both naked. Without any anticipation at all, Nick humbled and pushed his hips slowly to blend in with Josette.

        The woman was shocked when she realized what Nick was doing. But instead of feeling guilty, Nick's gaze and expression at that time could not be rejected by Josette. It's hard to explain it when you're in that situation. As Nick moved, Josette caught a few flashes in his eyes. Adoration, anger, pride, pride, and tenderness. Then they're both drowned by the spark Nick made.

...***...

        “So, should we find a place to stay here, Love?” ask Nick one morning.

        Josette who was still lazing on the bed without clothes was suddenly confused. “For what?” He asked back.

        “I do have a lot of money, but staying in a hotel feels uncomfortable. We need a place more privacy.”

        Understanding the direction of this conversation, Josette said, “Hotel is not comfortable, especially when ‘eat’. I-i understand. But, Nick, I have other plans.”

        “And what is it?” ask with enthusiasm.

        “Go home.”

        Nick's face changed. He who had looked happy, was now angry. “I thought you'd stay here with me,” he said coldly.

        “I thought so too.” With a quick movement Josette got out of bed and got dressed. “Four months I'm away from home. It's been too long for me. You want to come home with me?”

        “No,” replied Nick quickly and turned away.

        “Nick—”

        “I said no!” Nick Hardik. His attitude was as if he could stab Josette at any moment. Unfortunately he doesn't have any sharp objects here.

        “You're still mad at Freya? It was a long time ago.” Josette seemed unwilling to budge. “You still have a home. Remember that? Even two days ago Jonathan called me and asked about you, wanting you to come home. He wants me back to London.”

        “And that means you left me.”

        “What? No.”

        “So why you should obey Jonathan's wishes!” Nick's tone is up. His gaze became more and more terrifying. “I only asked once with a polite attitude. Stay with me.”

        Take heart, even if you're afraid Josette won't show it. “No.”

        Nick darted towards Josette, strangling her and pushing her against the wall. “So you prefer them.”

        Shaken, Josette knew she was not going to die, but being strangled like that by a much stronger tribrid was still painful.

        “Soide you, Fuck.” Josette smacked Nick's bare chest until his hand entered the man's body.

        Blood came out of Nick's mouth and the hole in his chest, causing him pain and releasing Josette. He retreated, wiped the blood from his mouth and held onto his wounded chest.

        “It seems clear, like this is the end of our relationship,”, Josette said with hunting breath.

        “What connection are you talking about, Little Josette.”

        Accompanied by a vile smile, Nick looked at Josette as if their last three months together were nothing. At that time Nick made a decision if there was no point in being tied to a relationship that had been fleeting in his mind. How stupid is such an illusion.

        “Then goodbye, Nick Sherwood,” said Josette coldly.

...***...

London, The Present

        “There is a development?”

        Jonathan distracts from the beers due to Freya's appearance. His vision was empty like a daydreamer until Freya had to snap a finger in front of Jonathan's face to make him focus again.

        “I'm composing it, Freya.”

        That answer left Freya dissatisfied. “Lay-days is just that the answer I heard. I'm getting sick of hearing it.”

        Jonathan's voice changed to hear the brother's complaint. “I don't want to act rashly.”

        Freya glances. “Then you find something, right?”

        “Include.”

        “What is it?”

        “Come on, Brother, don't make me more curious!” Indict Freya.

        Jonathan got up from his seat to fill his beer glass again. “Seeing from the pattern, it looks like it's the work of a witch.”

        “Dan?”

        “I think the witch is performing a ritual.”

        “That's a witch your acquaintance?” said

        Jonathan shook his head. “That's my own conclusion. Unfortunately Serafina has not been able to track it.”

        “That means we are dealing with a powerful witch.”

        “I think so.” In silence, Jonathan linked his fingers together. “If Nick had been here, we would have been able to track down that witch. As a tribrid, Nick is much stronger than Serafina and I am confident in his abilities, not just tracking, he definitely knows where the witch hides.”

        “Then what are you waiting for? Quickly call him. Or if necessary, follow him to Spain.” Freya gave me advice.

        A smile finally fell on Jonathan's lips after a few minutes. “I don't need to go all the way to Spain. Yesterday I called Josie and guess what she said? He's been meeting and staying for the last three months with Nick. I asked her to come home, and she asked Nick to take her along. Tomorrow he will arrive in London.”

        Hearing that Nick is about to go home Freya's attitude changes like a person who is uncomfortable with something. That was realized by Jonathan.

        “You're not happy with his return, Sister?”

        Freya was silent, not knowing what to say. Then he said, “Our brother, you must have memorized his bad habits. I may not have a problem with what happened in the past but what about him? Nick is not a forgiving figure.”

        “Nick's anger he's unlikely to kill you. Believe me, he loves you.”

        “Yes, in its own way and it's too extreme. Remember the last time he stabbed Alex with a magic peg! He put Alex to sleep for three hundred years and deliberately put a spell on him so that no one could pull the peg. Only God knows how psychopathic he is,” grumbled Freya.

        “After that he never did it again. I think Nick has changed.”

        “Hahaha... changed? He would have done it again five years ago. Remember?” freya Syndicate.

        “Don't reveal that problem again.” Jonathan stepped closer to Freya and sat down beside her. “Please promise me tomorrow you didn't mention anything about the past. I want this family to unite again.”

        “Good.” Freya relented and placed her hand on Jonathan's.

...***...

        The night had fallen in the sky of London, but Jonathan looked restless that night. For hours he waited for Josette's arrival at home, who should have arrived before nightfall. The woman's phone could not be reached either. There was no danger whatsoever that could threaten a Pureblood, but knowing that one of his family members had not told him, it was impossible to calm him down.

        The antique clock in the house ticks at eight o'clock exactly and soon the night will be getting late. Not wanting to wait any longer, Jonathan darted outside with the car keys in hand. Just about to get in the car, his phone rang.

        “Josie! Where are you now?” His tone sounded relieved as soon as he heard Josette's voice.

        “Sorry, Jonathan. Looks like I'm a little late.”

        “What? Why?”

        “Hm... put it this way.. I had to stop somewhere to meet a friend.”.

        “May I know where your friend is? I'll pick you up there.”

        There was a laugh of Josette across the street. “London. I won't be far from home. You don't have to pick me up.”

        “Well, alright.”

        “I'll be home in two days.”

        “Always activate your phone so I can call at any time.”

        “Good. See you.”

        It's not usual for Josette to behave like that Jonathan mused. It was as if there was something she was hiding, heard from the woman's tone. So far Jonathan can only guess that Josette and Nick may be fighting. It could have happened because Nick always made other people angry. Where is Nick now? They might have split up on the street, but Nick should have been here.

        Jonathan picks up his phone again, trying to call Nick. As expected, Nick did not answer. Because of that Jonathan became a bit carried away by emotions. Since he was already outside, all of them went to improve the mood as well as foraging for food. The engine of the car is turned on, Jonathan immediately tancap gas left the house.

...***...

        As he said on the phone, Josette's stopover was not far from the Sherwood family's residence. Josette appears to be visiting a small apartment with the intention of meeting someone. Pure Blood has one or two witch friends is certainly not a big thing. In this city supernatural creatures live in harmony thanks to the rules made by the Sherwood family, and certainly also the result of the cooperation of everyone.

        Knocking on the door, Josette tensely waited behind the door until the apartment dwellers opened the door. A minute later came Emma, a petite witch with dimples on her left cheek. Her pink hair was left untouched. Every time she saw Emma, Josette was jealous of her hair color.

        “At last you arrived. Come in.” Emma opened the door wide, letting her guests in. “I heard you went on vacation.”

        Forcing laughter, Josette straightforwardly said. “That's.”

        “Definitely very pleasant. How was your holiday?”

        Asked like that Josette looked confused. “Actually not very fun. I need your help, Em.” Grasping Emma's hands together, Josette frantically said again, “There was a strange thing and I just realized it before returning to London. Something happened to me, Em!”

        To calm Josette's panic, Emma poured chamomile tea for her friend. “Minum first.”

        Josetteh took the cup and downed it, not caring if the tea was still hot.

        “Something are you talking about?” Emma was more likely to be calm so Josette wouldn't panic. For years knowing the figure of Josette, this was the first time he saw the woman so panicked.

        “This must have something to do with the grace Rose gave me.”

        Emma's forehead is wrinkled. “What award?”

        “After turning us into vampires, Rose came to me. He said that I was given a gift once in a lifetime. To get it I could choose one among his sons. Then the award will also be passed on to the successor of the Sherwood family.”

        “Do Rose's three sons know?”

        Josette shook her head quickly. “Nobody knows, Freya included. I never talked about this to them.”

        “Then, about the gift...”.

        Josette's gaze trembled. She placed Emma's hand on one of her limbs. “That's why I asked for your help.”

        Emma nodded. In a hurry he picked up some items before performing the magic ritual. Once all was ready, Emma put all sorts of things away from the table, then asked Josette to lie on it. Around Josette's body, Emma put the objects down. His palm was raised above Josette.

        Closing her eyes, Emma began to cast a spell. “Libour i' siror. Libour i' siror. Libour i' siror.”

The table that Josette was sleeping on shook. That means Emma's magic is at work. He felt something strange in the air. Magic always makes him nauseous. The next second when Emma stopped chanting, the woman looked surprised and long enough to look at Josette.

“You know what's going on with you?” ask Emma timidly.

Josette nodded stiffly.

“Has this happened before?”

“Never thought,” his voice sounded choked. “What do you see, Em?”

“That this is a gift, as Rose said. I didn't expect him to be that strong.”

“Emma, that's not what I want to hear.”

“You're pregnant, Josie,” Emma says.

Hearing that coming out of someone else's mouth somehow made Josette shocked. Cupping her hands to her mouth, Josette tried to digest it for a moment. “Please get this creature out of my body,” said Josette who was still in shock.

“What? Nah! What are you thinking?!”

“This thing scares me, Em! I've heard terrible legends about creatures like that. He could be the cause of the destruction of this city. ” Josette screaming hysterically.

“Creature? Your kid. He's just a baby.” Emma immediately hugged Josette who was being shaken. He rubbed his friend's back to calm down.

“But where could this possibly happen?”

“Rather than thinking of that, why don't you think of it as a gift? Rose must love you so much and want you to be happy. If I were in your position, I would be very grateful.”

Wiping away tears, Josette tried to persevere and gather up her courage again. “The problem is you don't know who the father of this child is,” Josette said slowly.

“Then tell me.”

“Nick Sherwood,” tell Josette with a pushy look. “What's bad if it's Nick's son?”

Josette got up and shot into the corner of the room.

“He's a tribrid. Most likely this child will also be like his father.”

“There is no bad being a tribrid. Isn't nice? The Sherwoods will be stronger. That way the vampire clan in this city will be feared. And not necessarily the kid is the same as the legend you said earlier.”

“You don't understand. Having just one Nick is already terrible enough.”

Emma laughing. “Reputation seems to have preceded Nick's name, yes.”

Josette agreed to that one. “Cold-blooded killer, psychopath, I don't know what else his nickname is. Too bad my son has a father like him.”

“Well, that's it!” Emma was happy to surprise Josette across the room. “You acknowledge him as your son. Later, teach him not to be like Nick. I'm sure his Uncle and Aunt would help.”

Hearing the family's call to her siblings suddenly made Josette miss them so much. Without feeling her tears fall from longing. “Thank you for the help.”

“That's what friends are for.”

Josette smiled sweetly, running over to hug Emma. “I don't usually take this for granted. But, Em, I don't think I'm staying over. I have to go home right now.”

Emma nodded in agreement and drove Josette outside the apartment building.

It was very late at night when Josette arrived. Their house looked so quiet that she thought there was no one in the house. Who would have thought Freya was seen in the upper hallway and was unaware of her presence. Josette raised a voice calling to Freya, making it the woman running down the stairs. The two women hugged while jumping up and down in excitement. It was like going back to childhood, Josette recalls.

The five of them used to hug like this. For now, Josette has to be satisfied because there is only Freya here. However, it did not diminish his happiness.

“Well, what a pleasant surprise to see you.” It was Jonathan's voice. Standing in the doorway in his neat suit. The sky blue shirt behind the suit was already open, the shape of the tie was also not neat anymore. The man looks very sexy if any other woman sees him.

“Jonathan,” call Josette with a big smile.

The man darted towards his two sisters, hugging along.

“Oh... I didn't expect to be this happy when I met you.” Josette's tears fell again.

“Since when did you cry when you met us, Sister,” Jonathan said. She laughed and hugged Josette, shaking her body left and right as she became anxious about her behavior.