"NOOOOOOO!" the anguished cry comes from Rosalie. "No." She breaks down.

Nikolai looks at her without any compassion. Then he looks at Mathews guards. "He won't survive any further games at this time. Take him to the cells. Get him another slave. I want him ready for his skinning tomorrow."

"Yes, Prince." The guards reply before releasing Mathew from his bonds. They easily pick him up and carry him out of the room.

"Take her to her mates cell and lock her in with him. In the same state as him."

"You want us to use the flail on her?"

"No, just take away her clothes. Her pain won't take place directly."

Rosalie doesn't even look up. This is her fault. She could have had her father's approbation and instead she betrayed him.

Nikolai watches passively as they take Rosalie out.

Then he turns to Sebastian. "Will you hate me now?"

There are tears in his eyes, but Sebastian shakes his head. "No, Rosalie made her own choices. You could have had her killed without the court. Had you done so, then perhaps I would have hated you, not knowing the truth."

"Good." Ivan says standing up and gesturing. All the blood and punishment tools no longer there. "Today was to be a day of celebration not tragedy. It has had far too much tragedy in it. For the record, Sebastian, I couldn't be prouder of you."

"Thank you. I understand." Sebastian says understanding that Ivan can still not acknowledge him.

"You have a lovely and valiant lady for a mate. I am pleased that you have found each other."

Now Samantha is smiling, "Thank you, Ivan."

"Take good care of him, Samantha." Ivan turns to Sebastian, "Take care of her."

"I will, Nikolai will kill me if I don't." There is no little fear in his voice now. He'd loved, but never feared his father before.

Ivan smiles, "Yes, he will. Believe me, what was shown was nothing to what he was like. By the time he met Zarin his anger had started to cool."

Sebastian swallows, "He was worse?"

"Oh, yes, much, much worse. For some time he despised humans even more than I. What he did to them can't even be shown. That's why Zarin chose the Asian battlefield and not earlier."

"Nikolai?" Samantha turns to Nikolai.

"Yes, love?"

"You hated humans?" She had never felt that about him when he was with her.

"I have for a very long time. I only started tolerating them once more in the last couple of decades. It wasn't until I met you that I made a real effort to control my feelings about them and then of course there was even more effort once I saw Natalia."

"So you hated me when you met me?"

Nikolai smiles. Samantha is almost childlike in her emotions right then. "No, from the first something in me felt more than hate when I saw you. Something I hadn't felt in centuries. The darker emotions started to part and the lighter emotions made themselves known once more."

"So, you didn't feel love for your children?" Now Samantha is confused really bad.

"My children weren't human, love. It was only humans that I hated. Everything else I didn't care one way or the other except for my children."

"Nikolai?" Natalia questions.

"Yes, my heart?"

"You didn't feel anything but hate towards the humans you took as your pets and got with child?"

"They were toys and playthings, amusements only. I was able to keep from hating them in that manner, but I never loved them. My children were well aware of that fact."

"Sebastian?"

"Yes, princess. We all knew that father didn't love our mothers." There are various nods and words of affirmation throughout the court. "Father always made us feel loved though." Again the other vampires backed him up on this.

Natalia had forgotten that many of the vampires are either his children or their grandchildren.

Nikolai goes to Natalia, "Once I found you all thoughts of just playing with you fled. The day you left your parents, dying but fighting hard to remain upright you won my respect. For the first time in centuries I did more than tolerate I began to love again."

"All this emotion is lovely, I'm sure." Ivan's sarcasm is heavy and impossible to miss. "How about we finish out this the way it was supposed to end earlier?"

"Apologies, father."

"Ivan, I think you wouldn't have cared if I hadn't made the turn." Natalia says she meant her words in jest and had no idea just how hard Ivan would take them.

"Don't even think that, Natalia. I have waited a thousand years for Nikolai to find you. If he had lost you today then disaster such has never hit this world would have happened. You have been told what would have happened if you died before. After Zarin's illusion of Nikolai's past, do you still doubt it?"

Natalia shrugs, "I'm sorry, I don't doubt him losing it and I don't doubt that he'll be angry at humans again but..."

"Zarin?" Nikolai thinks that perhaps Natalia should see a possible future if Rosalie's little plot had gone through as planned.

"Of course, prince, princess." Zarin nods to them both and soon the room darkens once more.

"She's dead. It wasn't enough to overcome the wounds." Nikolai says fires burning in his eyes as he comes out of the room Natalia woke up in. But it's a different Nikolai, he's darker, angrier and making no effort to hide his power.

"Do as you will, you are in charge now." Ivan says and steps out of his sons way.

"Thank you." Nikolai says pushing past his father and making calls.

"When the hunters are dead, then the humans will be dealt with." There is an emptiness in his eyes that scares those watching. "Zarin, go get your witches organized. If they won't accept your authority let my vampires know and they'll take care of the problem."

"By accepting me do they have the choice you gave the vampires that didn't wish to be under your rule?"

"Not any longer. Now they either accept you as their ruler or they die. That is their only choice they get."

"Yes, sire." Zarin bows deeply and starts making his calls even as he leaves the Rose Estate.

"Alexandria," Nikolai states.

"Yes, master?"

"Prepare Natalia's body."

"Yes, master."

"Then find me."

Alexandria knows what he wants and nods not speaking.

"Samantha," Sebastian comes into the same room as Nikolai, "she didn't make the transition." He's just as hollow eyed and dead as Nikolai.

"Have the hunter family leader brought here."

Shortly the terrified leader of the hunter clan is dumped on the floor before Nikolai.

"You wanted her and my mistress dead, now you will tell me why." There is no resisting the order in Nikolai voice and the hunter leader starts telling Nikolai everything he knows.

Alexandria comes back in as the clan leader tells his part of the tale.

"Shit! That clan is already dead." Nikolai is angry and starts throwing things against the wall.

"Master, I can talk to the spirits of my coven sisters."

"Can you make it so that I can talk to them as well?" Nikolai demands to know stopping his pacing and facing his Egyptian pet.

"Yes, Master." Alexandria doesn't hesitate to tell him.

"Do it."

Alexandria removes the clothes that she's wearing and Alexandria's body distracts Nikolai from his worst agitation. He doesn't say anything though, some incantations need to be done without clothing. He hadn't expected Alexandria to start the spell without preparation though. He hadn't realized that she was that powerful.

It turns out that Nikolai's power command works even on the dead. They are able to get even further information that angers Nikolai beyond belief.

It takes Alexandria using her body to distract Nikolai enough that he doesn't start killing the vampires there at the estate.