Chapter 1 Athos Vasilios

"Sigh... i can do this .. all day" Athos said in a weak voice. His brown skin was covered in sweat. His short dreaded hair was messed up His black singlet was drenched, his black trousers were stained with dirt. His shoe was on a corner, he was barefoot. He held a short black sword, he rested on the hilt, while the tip was pointed down.

He was in a yard that had training dummies, it was fenced, and it was very spacious. Some other people seem to be watching the fight between Athos and the man in front of him.

"Get up boy, don't embarass the Vasilios household" a shirtless black man said pointing a long sword at Athos. His hair was cut short, he wore nothing except for a pair of black trousers, he was six feet and two inches tall and had a bulky physique. He was sweating, but not as much as Athos.

Athos took a deep breath and stood up straight. He ran at the man, moving faster than a normal human should be able to, especially a tired one. His red eyes seem to glow as he leaped up, he held his sword with both hands, then made a horizontal slash. A red line escaped Athos' sword at great speed, the man took one step forward, he raised his left hand and slapped the red aura away, it broke apart and dissipated. Athos landed then swung his sword a few more times, more red swipes moved at the man but he easily swatted them aside.

Athos stopped moving and started breathing even heavier.

"Prepare yourself" the man said in a deep voice. His grip on the long sword tightened, he lifted the sword then swung it vertically so fast that it was almost impossible for Athos to see, but wether he could see it or not did not matter, he simply couldn't dodge. The red aura from the man's sword was thicker and faster, it struck Athos in the chest and sent him flying back into a wall, the wall cracked from the impact. Athos fell on both knees, his sword was a few feet away from him, a red gash was on his body from the slash. It was a line from his shoulder to his abdomen. He seemed to have lost a lot of blood. He coughed.

The man walked towards him with a frown on his face. "Pathetic."

Athos lifted his head and looked at the man "at eight years old, my blood abilities had fully unlocked, at twelve I could already kill a level two advanced tier beast. Your blood abilities are weak, your martial arts weak, your swordsmanship weak, you can barely win against an intermediate tier beast. Some might question if you truly are a vampire from the Vasilios household. Are you even my son? A halfling. I should have known better" The man said disgusted.

Athos looked down his fists tightening, his injuries were already healing, anger evident on his expression. He wanted to retort but held back. This was Ales Vasilios, his father the head of the entire Vasilios family and one of the most powerful men in the country. Unless he wanted to suffer he should remain quiet.

The man walked away, leaving Athos on the ground. A beautiful brown skin woman with braided black hair ran from a corner with a first aid box in her hand and tears in her eyes. She is Athos' mother. She took Athos up by the arm and helped him stand he rested his hand on her shoulder and they walked out of the training grounds. They went through a door, and walked into the mansion. They passed some servants who bowed slightly as they passed. They got into a very beautiful and we'll decorated room.

They sat on a bed big enough to fit seven people on it. She used some wipes to clean up the blood on his face. His wounds already healed up. She picked up a bell on the desk beside the bed and rang it. A female servant came into the room.

"Amara, prepare a hot bath for young master Athos, and new clothes for him to wear." Martha, Athos' mother said.

Martha P.O.V

'It was just a fling. A one night thing. I knew it was wrong, he had a wife and children too. But when he approached me I couldn't..... i didn't resist. I told him about the pregnancy, he said to abort it. I didn't want to, it is my child so I refused to get rid of it. His brother found out, and told their father. I was welcomed into the Vasilios household so that I wouldn't bring more shame into the family. It turns out I was just a one time thing to him. Even though he wasn't pleased about it, you are his son so he decided to train you in the way of the vampires. But you were not full blooded, you didn't catch up as fast as his other children. It's all my fault. I was young and I was stupid. You were the only positive thing that came out of my relationship with him.'

.....

"You don't have to train so hard Athos. You can leave with me, you don't need to be part of them. You can go to a normal school and...."

"I'm not doing it to win their favour mother. At least not totally," Athos said looking at his mother. "I'm doing this for myself, and to show HIM I'm not useless."

Tears rolled down Martha's face, when Athos saw this he became sad, he took some moist wipes and wiped the tears from his mother's face.

"Don't cry mom, it's fine." Athos said reassuring his mother. The maid that was sent to prepare a bath for Athos walked into the room from the bathroom at the other end of the room. "The bath is ready, and your clothes are in the dressing section." Amara said, "thank you " Martha said. She escorted Athos to the bathroom. "Don't push yourself too hard okay Athos." Martha said.

"Okay mom"

"Next week you will start the academy so prepare yourself okay," Martha said again,

"I'm fine mom let me take a bath."