Alex and Kyle were brought to a giant cavern that was made to be a huge dining room. The tables were lined up in a swirling pattern like a giant wooden snake. The tables were covered in all kinds of food that Alex and Kyle could and could not recognize. The trolls sat at the tables, not even glancing at the intruder, too busy eating to care. The difference was that instead of the revealing loincloths that the trolls had worn in the throne room, they were all now dressed in leather tunics.

The pair were then ushered by Blemmyes to sit in a cramped space between several trolls, who all scooted away to make room for the giant men. The trolls grunted, seemingly indicating a greeting before digging back into their meal.

“You may eat. I know you are not used to the food, but all is good,” Blemmyes said before digging into his own meal. Another troll came over and sat next to him before the two pecked each other on the lips. Blemmyes then turned to the pair, “this is my husband, Dingonek.”

The troll that was just introduced as Dingonek then pointed to himself excitedly, and repeated, “me Dingonek, call Nek.”

“He’s not very good at English. You can call him Nek.”

“Oh, I am Kyle and this is Alex.”

Nek just nodded, seemingly confused before Blemmyes repeated what Kyle had said in troll speak. Nek nodded again and then gave a slight bow while still sitting down.

“Cousin, idiot” Nek questioned and Blemmyes just nodded.

“Why am I…” Alex started to ask before being interrupted by Kyle.

“So how do you know Kai?”

“Small wolf once saved me from an ogre a long time ago. He was wounded in the fight so I brought him back here to heal and the King got attached to him. He was here with us for several months. I am the one who taught him troll speak. He is the one who taught me human speech.” 

“What do you mean…” Alex started again before being interrupted again by Kyle.

“I see, so you're not as dangerous as Kai implied you were. I am guessing the Troll King likes to put on a spectacle for guests?”

Blemmyes laughed hard before saying, “yes the King likes to make a spectacle, loincloths and all. It’s all fun and games. As for being dangerous, you’re lucky we didn’t slit your throats on sight.”

Blemmyes then turned to Nek and they started talking amongst each other, getting closer and closer to each other as time passed until Blemmyes was nearly in Nek’s lap. Neither Alex or Kyle could understand what they were saying, but they could infer that it was probably something a little explicit. The two men just sat there in silence, picking at their food and  wondering what the hell they just got themselves into.

***

After dinner, Blemmyes lead the pair through the tunnels of the mine on foot. Although the troll was only about three feet tall, he moved swiftly in the poorly lit tunnel, leaving Kyle and Alex struggling to keep up. Eventually, the three could make out light at the end of the tunnel and before long they escaped into the brightly lit forest.

“We shall wait here for the small wolf’s return,” Blemmyes said before sitting on a moss covered rock and started reading the book that he had been carrying around.

Alex looked to Kyle, who just shrugged his shoulders before sitting on an adjacent rock to the troll. Alex was furious inside but couldn’t show it. He had been dragged along, kidnapped, and insulted by pretty much everyone he came into contact with today. Quietly cooling down, he went and sat on a rock that was as far away as possible while still being able to see the tunnel. 

Hours passed and the sun started setting before they heard someone coming out of the mines. Blemmyes stopped reading his book, placing a pressed dead leaf as a bookmark to mark his page and got up from where he was sitting. Alex got up and walked over, kicking Kyle who had fallen asleep and was snoring loudly.

“What’s happening?” Kyle said in a dazed panic.

“I think Kai is done. Wake up.”

“Just five more minutes mom,” the Beta said before rolling over on the rock that he had been sleeping on and falling back into a slumber. Alex just kicked him harder.

“Wake up! How the hell do you have kids when you're this hard to wake up? I feel bad for Mandy!”

“Fine, I’m up!” 

During their little exchange, Kai had already exited the tunnel and was now watching them with an amused expression. 

“Some things never change. He’s always been like that,” Kai said before turning to Blemmyes, “it was good seeing! I hope you and Nek are doing all right.”

“Yes, small wolf! You must come and properly visit soon. Nek misses you and we just had our second child last year.”

Kai smiled at the troll. Even though the Omega was a trained assassin, he always had a soft spot for kids. He had always wanted children, but life did not give him the chance to have any, so he adopted everyone else's kids as his own any chance he got. His smile faded swifty, remembering what was to come after this mission was complete. He wouldn’t be visiting the troll and his family anytime soon. In fact, he would never see Blemmyes again. 

“As soon as I can, I will come to visit,” Kai said softly before turning to Kyle and Alex, “let’s go! We have a lot to discuss.”

After saying their goodbyes to the troll, the three made their way back to the inn that they had stayed in the previous night. The whole way there, all three of them were completely silent for different reasons. Kyle was exhausted and just wanted to go to bed, Alex was fuming from being disrespected the entire day, and Kai was sad at the thought that he would never return to this place.

Now sitting at a small table in their room, none of them knew where to start.

“I-” Kai started to say before being interrupted by Alex.

“What the hell is going on Kai? Trolls? You were involved with trolls? No, from what it looked like you're still involved with trolls.” The Alpha said, every word getting angrier.

“Alex don’t,” Kyle warned.

“What do you mean ‘Alex don’t’? I have been dragged along for an entire day while this omega has been doing who knows what with some troll…” Alex stopped talking in shock as he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. During his tirade, Kai had leaned over the table and smacked the Alpha square in the face.

“You have no right to say anything to me, do you understand? You are the one who rejected me. You are the one that left me for dead without a care in the world. What I do and with whom I do it with is none of your damn business! Do you understand?”

“I-” Alex started to say before being cut off.

“DO YOU UNDERSTAND?” Kai firmly said, his voice getting louder.

“Fine.”

“ANd for the love of the moon goddess stop being such a freaking racist. That troll is probably ten times the man you will ever be.” 

“I- fine.” 

“Good now, even though it isn’t any of your business, no I wasn’t screwing the troll while making you wait. The items that we need take time to prepare and we are lucky that Hodag was able to do it in such a short amount of time.”

“What objects?” Kyle asked, trying to lead this uncomfortable conversation back to something remotely normal.

Kai put a small coin pouch on the table and opened it, reaching in and grabbing a few items. The bag was obviously enchanted, as the Omega pulled out three lengthy daggers, two black boxes, and three bracelets. The daggers were completely made out of a deep mahogany wood with a fine black line that ran parallel to the blade from handle to tip.

“These daggers are known as slayers. They are the only known weapons that can take down a King Vampire. This black line right here is obsidian. Together, the wood and the obsidian act as a poison that can paralyze a King Vampire just long enough to be able to separate the head from the body. Once we separate the head, we can then rip out the heart. There is one for each of us.”

Kai explained before giving Kyle and Alex their daggers. Both of them examined the dagger in their hands. Kyle tried testing the blade with his finger, earning a slap to the back of the head from Kai.

“Be careful not to cut yourselves with them either. They can paralyze shifters too.”

After that, both men put the daggers aside carefully, not wanting to cut themselves or be slapped by the Omega again.

“What about the black boxes?” Alex said softly, still embarrassed by his outburst. Kai gave him a pointed look before picking one of them up. They were two different sizes, one was a little bigger than the size of a human fist and the only was about the size of a human head. They were simple, with no markings or discernible features.

“These are keeper chests. Once we cut of Nickolai’s head, it will go into the bigger one. His heart will go into this one. Vampire’s have energy throughout their body. King Vampires have so much energy that they can put themselves back together. These boxes are used to trap the energy.”

“So we stab the vampire, cut off his head, rip out his heart, and then put the pieces in these boxes? What about the body?”

“Luckily, the body just needs to be burned. Once the ashes are gathered, we will have to spread them throughout the country. Remember how I said we have to bury the head and freeze the heart? It’s all about nature. Fire, water, air, and earth.”

“The four elements.”

“Exactly, that’s how you kill a King Vampire. I got the boxes mostly for transporting the body, but Nickolai is also attuned to nature in ways that other vampires aren’t. The boxes will help us neutralize that connection long enough for us to finish the ritual.”

“What about these bracelets?”

“These are actually something that Hodag suggested. They are detachment bracelets and will temporarily sever familial and mate connections. Hodag said we stink of connections and suggested these so that Nikolai wouldn’t be able to pinpoint our weak spots.”

“Trolls can smell connections?” Alex asked with a slightly disgusted look on his face.

“Watch your tone Alpha.”

“Okay… okay, I’m sorry.”

Kai gave a bracelet to each person before slipping on his own. Instantly, Kai could no longer feel the connection between his cousin or Alex. It was if the connections were never there to begin with. It felt good for a second, especially considering the tattered connection he had between the Alpha and himself had been a constant source of physical and emotional pain, but after a minute the lost connections made the Omega feel lonelier than he had ever felt. He quickly slipped the bracelet off and set it aside.

“Anyways, these are the items we are going to need to take down Nikolai.”