CHAPTER 374: FRUSTRATIONS

Vincent/Vaelthor~

I stood there in the bathroom, the cool marble floor seeping through my bare feet like a reminder of my own chilling uncertainty. The door was closed—firmly, defiantly shut—and yet, no agony tore through my chest. No invisible thorns twisted in my heart, no echo of Katrina’s distress pierced the silence from the other room. My breath came steady, my pulse a rhythmic drum in my ears, but my mind raced like shadows fleeing the light. What did this mean? Had the mate bond frayed, snapped like a brittle chain under the weight of our impossible circumstances? Or was it something worse—a deceptive lull before a storm that would drag me deeper into this forbidden love?

I couldn’t risk it. Not with Winter out there, tangled in her own bond with Nicholas. If this was a sign for me, it might be for her too, but assumptions were dangerous in our world. We were demons, children of darkness, not fools who danced blindly with fate. Nancy—the witch who’d cloaked us in glamours and hurled us into this mortal chaos—had given us a lifeline before we parted yesterday. "If you need me," she’d said with that sly, knowing smile, "get a mirror and just call my name three times. I’ll appear, no matter where you are." It sounded like a children’s tale, but her magic had proven real enough. I had to know. For safety’s sake, for our mission’s sake.

Glancing at the mirror above the sink—its silver frame etched with faint, swirling patterns that now seemed almost mocking—I leaned in close. My reflection stared back: sharp jawline, eyes like polished obsidian, the human disguise holding but barely masking the demonic fire beneath. I kept my voice to a whisper, barely audible even to my enhanced senses, so as not to wake the others beyond the door.

"Nancy," I murmured, the word slipping out like a secret. "Nancy... Nancy."

For a heartbeat, nothing happened. The mirror remained still, reflecting only my tense face. Then, a ripple distorted the glass, like water disturbed by an unseen stone. The surface shimmered, fogged, and cleared to reveal not my image, but hers—Nancy, with her wild fall of raven hair streaked in unnatural silver, her eyes glowing like embers in a dying fire. She wore that same tattered cloak, adorned with charms that clinked softly as she tilted her head, her lips curling into a bemused smile. She wasn’t physically there, but her presence filled the space, the air growing thick with the scent of herbs and ozone.

"Well, well, Vincent the broody demon," she drawled, her voice echoing slightly as if coming from a great distance, yet intimately close. "Contacting me so soon? I thought you’d at least give it three days before you came crawling back for more spells. What is it this time? Your business with the Lycans not going well? Or did you finally bite off more than your demonic fangs can chew?"

I recoiled slightly, my hand gripping the edge of the sink. The surprise of her appearing in the mirror hit me like a jolt, but I masked it with a glare. "Nancy, you witch—literally. What kind of game are you playing? You almost got Winter and me killed with that stunt you pulled yesterday!"

Her eyebrows arched, feigning innocence, but there was a glint of amusement in her eyes. "Stunt? Darling, I saved your hides. Teleporting you out of my lair before those nosy trackers sniffed you out and also towards your destined destination. Ungrateful much? Tell me what happened. Don’t leave out the juicy bits."

I paced the small space, my bare feet slapping softly against the marble, frustration bubbling up like venom. My voice rose, but I kept it hushed, animated with gestures as if I could wring the truth from the air itself. "After you made us disappear—poof, like smoke in the wind—Winter and I landed in some gods-forsaken alley. Dark, reeking of garbage and blood, shadows crawling with threats. Rouge wolves snarling, vampires hissing like feral cats. We were cornered, Nancy! Blades out, powers flaring, ready to fight our way out or die trying. And you dumped us there? What if we’d been torn apart before we even started?"

She chuckled, a low, throaty sound that grated on my nerves. "Oh, come now. I calculated the risks. That alley was a hotspot for... interesting encounters. Keep going. I sense a twist."

"Luckily," I continued, my hands clenching into fists as I leaned closer to the mirror, my breath fogging the glass momentarily, "we ran into this girl. Katrina. Beautiful—gods, stunning with her reddish-blonde hair catching the dim streetlight like fire, blue eyes fierce and unyielding. She was in the thick of it, fighting those rogues like a whirlwind. Light magic blasting from her hands, Lycan claws slashing. She saved us, or maybe we saved each other. Then, in a flash, she teleported us away—straight to Nicholas’s house. Some sprawling mansion that screamed wealth and power."

Nancy’s eyes narrowed, intrigued. "Katrina, you say? And Nicholas? Sounds cozy. What happened next, lover boy?"

I slammed my palm against the sink, the sound echoing too loudly, making me wince and glance at the door. No stirrings from outside. Good. "Cozy? It was a nightmare! We get there, and bam—the air shifts, hearts pounding, this pull like invisible threads yanking us together. Turns out, Katrina and I... we’re mates. And Winter? She’s bonded to Nicholas. Mates, Nancy! Of all the cruel jokes fate could play. We couldn’t deny it—the scent, the spark, the way our souls seemed to recognize each other instantly."

She leaned forward in the mirror, her image flickering slightly. "Mates? With those two? Oh, Vincent, you’ve landed in a delicious mess. But why the frustration? Most would kill for a bond like that."

"Frustration?" I hissed, my voice cracking with barely contained rage. I gestured wildly, my shadows instinctively flickering at the edges of the room, responding to my turmoil. "You knew, didn’t you? You had to! Katrina and Nicholas—they’re the children of the very people Winter and I came here to..." I trailed off, biting my tongue. No, I couldn’t reveal it all. Not the full vengeance plot, not the burning need to avenge our mother Kalmia, slain by Zane and Natalie, or to topple Sebastian and Cassandra for their part in it. Not the dream of plunging their world into eternal darkness, freeing our father Shadow from his eternal prison. Nancy was an ally of convenience, not trust. "The people we don’t like. The ones who’ve wronged us. And now I’m stuck here, in this damned palace, tied by this mate bond to the daughter of my enemies!"

Nancy’s gaze softened, but there was a calculating edge to it. "Stuck? Palace? My, my, you’ve upgraded quickly. Tell me about this bond. How strong is it, really?"

I ran a hand through my hair, tugging at the strands in exasperation. "Strong? It’s a curse! From the moment we met yesterday, through all of today—it’s been unbreakable. We can’t be apart for even a second. Not behind closed doors, not across a room. The pain... gods, the pain when we tried. It’s like your heart’s being crushed in a vise, emotional torment twisting with physical agony. Screams, tears, the works. Last night, I closed this very door for privacy, and it hit like lightning—me gasping, Katrina calling out in distress. We had to fling it open just to breathe again."

She glanced past me—or through the mirror’s magic—at the closed bathroom door behind me. Her lips quirked into a sly smile. "Then explain this, shadow prince. Why is that door closed right now? No cries from your beloved? No dramatic collapse?"

I turned, staring at the door as if it were a traitor. My heart hammered, but still, no pain. "I... I don’t know. That’s why I called you! I slipped in here, mind racing, pushed it shut without thinking. Braced for the torment, but... nothing. Silence. No ache, no pull. Has it weakened? Broken somehow? Is this a glitch in the magic, or...?"

Nancy threw her head back and laughed, a rich, echoing cackle that bounced off the bathroom walls. I shushed her frantically, waving my hands. "Quiet! They’ll hear!"

"Oh, Vincent," she wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye. "You are so naive for a demon, son. Mate bonds don’t just ’go away’ like a bad dream. They don’t fade on a whim or break from a closed door. No, darling. They’re woven into your very essence—fate’s iron threads. If it’s not hurting now, maybe it’s settled, deepened. Or perhaps you’ve adapted. But vanish? Ha! One has to break it deliberately, and that’s no small feat."

My eyes widened, a spark of desperate hope igniting in my chest. I pressed closer to the mirror, my voice dropping to a pleading whisper. "Then tell me how. Please, Nancy. How do I break it? I can’t be tied to Katrina forever. This love—it’s consuming me, but it’s wrong. It has to end."

Her laughter died abruptly, her eyes widening in genuine surprise. She studied me, her expression shifting from amusement to something almost pitying. "Break it? Vincent, are you sure about what you’re saying? Mate bonds are sacred, even in your dark world. Severing one... it could shatter you both. Pain beyond imagination, souls scarred forever. And for what? Your little revenge scheme?"

My eyes widened momentarily from her figuring out my plans so easily but I nodded fiercely, my jaw set like stone, shadows coiling around my feet unbidden. "I’m sure. I know what I’m talking about. This bond—it’s a chain, not a gift. I want it broken. Tell me how, Nancy. Now."

She hesitated, her image flickering as if the connection wavered. The air grew heavier, charged with unspoken warnings. But I held her gaze, unyielding, my heart a storm of ambition, love, and dread. The game had indeed changed—but I would be the one to rewrite the rules.