Chapter five

Three weeks went by and I was in a coma-like state from the attack from Lucifer. Bradley and I were starting to wake up when our bodies healed. I slowly opened my eyes to see where we were and noticed Zahara in the back of the room watching us closely. Then I sat up quickly scaring everyone around us, Zahara wasn't the only one in the room with us. She had her girls guarding us the whole time when she had to be at the office. I looked down and saw I was covered in bandages on my chest and back from where I was struck.

<gwofw>I took them off to see how bad it was when everyone lunged at me to stop, then they stopped for a moment. They were healed, I had no wounds to see or feel it was like I was a new person. I started to remember what happened to Brad so I rushed to him. He sat on his bed and took off his wraps too, and saw the same results. "Boys, we have something to tell you guys, and please don't freak out," Zahara said as the doctor walked into the room, she was a Frankenstein-like monster with stitches all over and greenish skin.

She walked over to us grabbing a chair while we, Bradley, and I sat back down on our beds. She grabbed my hand and stabbed me with a pin. She left it in as everyone freaked out, I calmly pulled it out of my arm. I watched as it healed as I was putting the pin down on the bed. I looked up and asked, "What does this mean? "

The woman spoke finally and told us everything. "You both during that fight landed in my lab, where I have a shit ton of blood samples from every monster in the city. I do research on cancers and diseases for monster kind. When my lab blew up from you and Lucifer all that blood went into your cuts and breaks. Normally you'd be dead from the different blood entering your bodies, but you both didn't. Instead, it mixed and merged with your DNA and changed everything inside, you still look human for the most part. "

Bradley and I looked at each other and saw we had small changes to our look. I felt stronger and I had tons of energy from the change. I looked into the mirror and saw the changes, I had gotten very muscular and I gained height. I looked closer and saw my eyes were red and shaped like Zahara's. Then I saw my hair had turned white and Bradley's was too. This made us curious, were we more like monsters now?

We then were told to keep a low profile while we learned what kind of abilities we had from the blood. The doctor then made everyone in the room keep our transformation secret from everyone outside the city. This included Vlad and the other Rulers till we got used to our powers. Zahara agreed to the Doctor's request and had us leave for home.

A while after we got home, I and Bradley decided to stay in the apartment for a few days. We did this to get used to our new bodies and find our powers. We talked to Aira about what had happened and she stayed quiet about our accident to the others. It was nice to talk to someone other than my brother. After two days of being stuck in the house, I decided to go out to the pool and chill with everyone.

I had a couple of drinks and my cigars with me as Bradley decided to come with me. We headed to the spot I loved to go to and watched everyone stare at us. I smiled and then said, "You can go back to what you were doing and stop glaring." The group near us saw my new eyes and jumped when I looked at them. After a minute of us sitting down, everyone went back to having fun as I lit a cigar and popped a drink openly.

Bradley and I were in the pool after the sun got hotter as Litta and Zahara came over to us. They were looking around and didn't see anyone staring. I floated to the edge of the pool and jumped out. I lit another cigar and sat in my chair, "Come on and sit girls." I said to them both offering Bradley's seat.

They watched my eyes as I was looking at the water flow, they saw I was sad but also very happy. That confounded them because I was generally a happy person on the outside. I was thinking about my past and all the miss adventures I've had since I made my way here. I was happy to find this city I am truly happy with everyone here too. Zahara understood my sadness and then she asked me, "Are you happy for what you've found or saddened by what you lost?" Litta was surprised by the question and by how I smiled at it. Then Zahara grabbed my shoulder and then she said to me. "Jacob, I can see the pain in your eyes, I just, you know you have friends here to talk to, your smile tricks me so."

She was looking right at me when I paused for a moment, "Yeah, I'm happy with what I've found here, I'm just sad about what I had to lose to find true peace for the both of us. " I was talking about Bradley and I and our adventure called life." I took a long drag on my cigar, then put it out, Then I stood up and walked over to Bradley who was swimming in the pool still. I jumped into the water and swam to the bottom of the pool. Zahara and Litta waited for me to come up, but then saw I was looking at them.

I was down there for ten minutes till I came up to show what had changed about me. I dried myself off and then I went for a long walk away from everything. The others stayed back and talked about me the time I was gone. "I've had him under my watch since we met and still I don't anything about him. Do you know if there, Is there anything about him I should know? " Zahara asked Bradley as he smiled not going to reveal to her. "If he wanted you to know what he was thinking he'd let you know. He's kind of a mysterious person like that Like a normal person would be freaked about a monster being real. Instead, look what he did, He became friends with a bunch and works for the Queen of succubi. So understanding him is work no person should be in charge of. " Bradley ranted about me for what seemed like forever.

They then talked about how I changed the city with us being here, but was it for the better or worse? These questions didn't have an answer for that right now, but I know nothing ever is calm for long.

Later that week, I started working with Zahara again as her personal guard. She or Zahara started to treat me more softly, like ordering my lunch from my favorite spots and getting my best cigars. I didn't know why she was taking care of my simple needs, but it got too much when she made me my own spot in her office near the window. I didn't have room to complain since my life for a bit was the most peaceful in years. I was happy with living with these monsters, and Bradley became very close to a werewolf girl from school.

Her name was Lilly and she was the one who came crying to us when Lucifer attacked. She came over with her parents and had dinner together a lot. Everyone loved when I cooked, so I did it a lot when I could. We grew very close to everyone in the city, everyone knew our names and respected us as people, and feared what we became.

One morning when I was walking to work with Litta I overheard some of our coworkers talking about Zahara. "She needs to get married this year to become a true queen. Yeah, she does, or Vlad will take over this region from her. " They said as my face got hot from hearing that, I didn't know why I didn't like that but I need to help her. Everything in my soul wanted to help her, Litta saw my face looked annoyed and so she motioned to the elevator.

When I came through the door of the office, I saw Vlad trying to propose to Zahara with a bunch of gifts. You could see she was annoyed by them and she wanted to run away. "Jacob, maybe you should ask her so no one else could ruin our peace," Litta whispered into my ear, I would do anything for her but marriage is something different.

Vlad turned and saw I changed from the last time we met and It scared him a bit. He watched as I seamlessly got in between him and Zahara. I almost pushed him away when I did that scaring Zahara behind me. "Zahara are you ok? " I asked her not taking my eye off of Vlad. She responded to me as she grabbed my left arm. "Yes, since you decided to show up." She said smiling at me, she looked broke with the fake smile she wore.

Vlad looked me up and down checking out my new look, my human smell was gone and the only thing human about me right now was my appearance. What everyone didn't know is I was considered a high-ranking monster with my power. I learned a bit of magic by mastering fire and wind magic.

"Looks like our Human, isn't very human anymore is he Zahara?" Vlad said, breaking the silence as he looked back to me and asked. " What does that make you now? " I smiled and it was fitting as I said. "All I am is stronger than I was in the castle." I started to flame up when Vlad tried to get closer to Zahara. Then out of nowhere, a vampire henchman punched me in the face with a cheap shot. My eyes went black and Zahara laughed like a villain, "You messed up Vlad, you know how strong he was and now that person he was is nothing to this.

My mind was black, but my movements were nothing but deadly. I lifted my arms and took out every vampire, but Vlad with a ball of fire. Then, like a badass super action hero, I walked right to Vlad with fire in the background. Vlad backed off and asked Zahara, "What am I seeing? What is this feeling? " "You did the most taboo thing to Jacob besides hurting us, you hit him in the face. He becomes this monster, but you can see that now. " Zahara said to Vlad and he asked if there was a way to stop me. "There was before he became this now we just run till he gets tired."

Right then I ran at him at full speed and then I grabbed his throat and held him to the sky. I looked into his eye and said. "No one deserves her hand, not even a king of his own people, now leave her alone!" I was normal now at this point and Vlad looked to be calm but he couldn't move my hand. I let him go and he dropped to the floor touching his throat. "Then who will take her hand, It's a law of the monster kind for a Ruler to take a spouse. If she doesn't do this I or another ruler must take over this region.

Vlad took me aside and told me the main rulers for all the Rulers of the monster kind they must follow. They were only three rules to the list, one must marry someone after their four hundredth year of ruling. Two, keep an eye on your own people, and three you must not kill the underling or people of another ruler.

We all stood in the office for a moment by the fire I cast started to fade, then Bradley came into the room. Vlad saw how Bradley had changed like me and had the same energy as well. "What's going on everyone?" Bradley asked and then Zahara responded to him looking around me. "They are trying to find me a person to marry because our rules state I must after a four-hundred-year period of ruling." Without a beat, Bradley looked at me and said what Litta said to me. "Why not marry someone that likes you as much as you like him? " He was still looking at me when he was talking to her.

"I mean you watch her every day and you like each other, plus I'm sure Jacob won't get in your way when it comes to this city," Bradley added as Vlad and Litta agreed with him and so did Zahara. Zahara looked around then she asked Vlad, "even If he's a human technically?" Vlad laughed a bit, then he said, "Wouldn't matter who you married there's no law against it."

I looked into her eyes and I saw she was smiling on the inside, I found myself on the ground and drove my deep feelings up into my hand. "Zahara I would be Honored to take your hand in marriage if that makes you happy and so that you're free." She picked me up and smiled for real this time as she spoke softly. "I'd love if you were my husband, you're kind, a very excellent fighter, and a god when it comes to cooking. Our friendship turned into love, you and I didn't know how each other felt." She was cute talking about how great I could be and I had enough with her words so I kissed her on the left cheek.

Everyone began to freak about how bold that was but Zahara was more shocked than anyone and she smiled at me. Vlad made out marriage legit quick and I was given the name Jacob (Zen) Cold, Zen was in Zahara's family name that I didn't know till now.

After everything was calm and everyone seemed to be in a good mood Zahara told Vlad, why we (Bradley and I) were stronger and monsters with our energy. It was a surprise to hear two humans bested a Demon king like Lucifer. "Ah, I see why he is so strong now, Beating a monster like Lucifer and gaining more power is very perplexing. Son how do you want to live now you're even more a part of our world.? " He asked me as I looked at Zahara and she blushed in front of me for the first time ever. "I want to spend my life with her and live a good life with all of my friends and family."

Vlad looked me in the eyes and saw I wanted nothing more than a happy life, but he knew my chaos was going to get crazier and crazier as time continues for me. "With your newfound powers, I hope you can protect those closest to you and her," Vlad said as he left the office, I stood there for a moment while Litta and Bradley left ten minutes later.

Was my life going to get better or is the hard times still to come, I wondered this as I turned to my new wife.

</gwofw>