Chapter Text
“Are you all in position?” Doyoung’s voice sounded through Taeyong’s earpiece.
“TY in position,” he replied curtly, in a whisper, confirming that he was ready for Doyoung to give him a signal.
As the leader of their little group of four, Taeyong was always the first to answer. Doyoung was the one leading the mission, but he himself had taken on the hardest part. He was the one that had to actually steal the blood bags. It wasn't like he didn't trust his family members to do it, but considering Sicheng's age, Jaehyun's previous failure and Doyoung, who was more valuable behind the scenes than in partaking in the action, he thought that, maybe, yes, he didn't fully trust his family to do the dirty work.
Taeyong was slowly losing trust in himself as well as the thought of blood alone was enough to make his mind hazy and his stomach long for the red liquid.
They were vampires after all.
And hungry ones on top of that.
Taeyong was currently lying in the ventilation shaft of the local hospital. He was right above the hallway that was close to the door of the storage room, ready to take at least ten blood bags with him. He crawled a bit further until he was right in front of the ventilator and stopped to take a screwdriver from inside his jacket.
It was a simple plan: Take as much blood bags as you can without being seen. If someone sees you, compel them to forget.
“Tae,” Doyoung called in his ear, “the coast is clear. You can go.”
Doyoung was currently monitoring the surveillance cameras. He was Taeyong’s best friend and the second oldest of their group, he himself being the oldest with an impressive 218 years of life experience. Well… 23 years of life experience if he was being precise.
But that was the signal Taeyong had been waiting for and he quickly, but carefully, pried loose the ventilator panel with the screwdriver, cheering internally when it came off rather easily. It was awfully hot in the shaft and he had been there for way too long. He wasn’t claustrophobic, but that didn’t mean it was comfortable crawling through a narrow channel either.
He moved the panel forward and put the screwdriver on top of it. Since it was too narrow to turn around, Taeyong first put his upper body through the opening, his hands still holding onto the edge. Then he let the rest of his body slip out of the shaft, not losing his grip on the edge. It was quite the strain on his fingers since the edge was sharp and cut into the flesh of his digits, but being a vampire had its perks. Besides being stronger than a regular human, they also had healing abilities.
He let himself hang on the edge until his feet were right beneath him and then he let go, landing on the floor gracefully. He wiped his slightly sweaty hands on his ripped jeans and leaned them on his thighs after.
“I’m in.”
“Good,” Doyoung’s voice came through immediately as if he had been waiting for it. “You know where the door is. Be quick about it though. I can only hold off the cameras for so long.”
“Got it,” the pink haired vampire answered while allowing himself a moment to catch his breath and calm himself down. It didn’t matter how many times he had to do this. Stealing blood bags in a hospital always caused adrenaline to course through his body. Not only that, but he also felt kind of bad for stealing blood that patients actually needed.
Oh well… He too had a family to feed and to keep alive.
And to refrain them from becoming the monster he was once before, they needed this blood.
All of a sudden his ears perked up at the sound of a rolling cart and Taeyong stiffened as his eyes fell on a young man turning the corner to the exact hallway he was standing in.
Wait. What was that guy doing here? Jaehyun had checked the cleaner’s schedules thoroughly... He couldn’t have made a mistake.
Then why was this guy cleaning the hallway?
“Shit!” Doyoung cursed in his ear, “I swear I didn’t see him coming.” He heard him yell at Jaehyun in his ear about being irresponsible and then typing furiously.
The cleaner guy had now noticed Taeyong. He looked at him suspiciously, broom still in his hands. Their eyes met and to the vampire’s surprise, the guy didn’t waste any time and walked right at him.
“You’re one of them, aren’t you!” He almost yelled. There was an angry expression on his face. Taeyong could do nothing but stand in the same spot, thinking of a plan on what to do next.
“Fuck. What do I do? He’s coming right at me,” Taeyong hissed, holding a hand to his ear.
“Compel him, Taeyong. I know it’ll weaken you, but we need the blood," Doyoung said matter-of-factly. Well, that was easier said than done. Blood was scarce these days and Taeyong hadn’t fed for a long time, making him hungry and longing for fresh blood. It also made his vampire powers less effective. And compelling was normally very easy, especially as an older vampire and at full strength.
But Taeyong was anything but at full strength.
Taeyong took a step backward when he noticed the guy was finally standing in front of him, pointing at his chest.
“You’re one of them!” He said. “You’re one of those thieves, stealing all the fucking blood bags.”
Think, Taeyong, think.
But it was hard to think clearly when a handsome human was in front of you, smelling this delicious. He could practically hear the blood pumping through the guy’s veins. Unconsciously, Taeyong's fangs popped out and his irises turned red.
The guy was obviously caught off guard and he, too, took a step backward.
“Get away from here,” Taeyong tried to say threateningly, but his voice cracked with nervousness. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
And he really meant that. It wasn't his intention to hurt humans. It would make a mess and cause their whole mission to fail.
“I know you're a-“ The guy started,
“Taeyong! What are you doing? Get the blood and freaking compel him already. We are taking too long.”
“Yes! Geez I’m working on it,” he said louder than intended and the guy in front of him looked at him like he had lost his mind.
“You’re one of those filthy vampires, aren’t you?”
Taeyong’s eyes widened in shock.
“H-how do you know what I-“
But the guy didn’t let him finish as he lunged forward and punched him right in the face. Taeyong groaned and stumbled backward. He heard his nose crack and a shot of pain went through his head.
Okay, now he was getting annoyed. First this guy knew what he was and now he’s punching him without a reason? So, before the guy could hit him again, Taeyong stood up straight and pushed hard at the other’s chest, making him fly in the air after which his back hit the ground harshly. This time it was the cleaner who groaned and he stayed still on the floor, catching his breath.
Taeyong cracked his neck once and felt his vampire blood heal his nose. He didn’t need it for breathing anymore, but he liked the way his face looked, thank you very much.
“Taeyong!”
“Yes, yes, I know, Doyoung!” Taeyong said irritably while roughly opening the door of the storage room, ripping it straight out of its lock.
“I don’t know what you are doing but-“
Taeyong opened the cooling box in the back of the room forcefully. “Shut up for a moment. I’m not in the mood for your nagging. I’m working on it.”
“Fuck you, Lee Taeyong. I’m trying to look out for you, but if you’re-“
“That boy...” Taeyong interrupted him rudely while grabbing a few blood bags and stuffing them in a plastic bag, that he had taken out of the pocket of his jacket. “He knows what we are. How is that possible?”
Before he could hear Doyoung’s reply he heard the crack of wood and he whipped around with his vampire speed to see the same guy standing in the door opening. He was panting and looking straight at him with serious eyes. The room was dark, but the light in the hallway gave the male an almost intimidating silhouette.
But he was still a human.
Well... A human who just split his broom on his knee and was now holding the end of the broom as a stake in front of him.
“I’m going to kill you.”
Taeyong huffed. Yes, in theory, it could kill him if it went through his heart.
However, there was no way he was strong enough to even come near him. The pink haired vampire wasn’t stupid enough to let him that close again either. He sure had a strong right fist.
Taeyong gently put the plastic bag on the floor. The last thing he wanted was to waste any more blood. Then he flexed his fingers next to his body. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he knew they were a striking blood red.
The guy who had just acted so tough had now trembling hands. Still, he bravely held the wooden stake in front of him.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” Taeyong said. “I just want to take these bags and take them to my family.”
“There are more people who need that blood,” the guy said and he even walked closer to Taeyong. “People in this exact hospital, fighting for their lives. Lives you don’t have anymore.”
Interesting.
“Taeyong if you don’t come out of that hospital in two minutes, I’m calling for back-up. Sicheng’s been dying for some human blood.”
Taeyong sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. He had no time for this.
“How do you know about us?” He asked.
“I have my sources,” the guy said with a grin, but then his face changed to a furious glint, that looked rather ugly on his handsome features, and speeded forward, stake in front of him.
Taeyong took a deep breath and when the stranger was not further than a meter away from him, he kicked his leg high in the air, hitting the other’s hand hard and making the stake fly out of his hand. the guy cried out in pain as he gripped his bruised wrist with his other hand. Then, Taeyong used his right hand and wrapped it around the guy’s throat, pushing him against the wall with speedy movements.
The guy choked when his back hit the wall and Taeyong’s hand cut off his air. He struggled against the vampire’s hold, but Taeyong held him tightly as he stood right in front of him. The guy’s hands wrapped themselves around Taeyong’s arm trying to move it away, but the vampire was too strong.
Taeyong bowed his face closer to the guy’s. To his shock, there was a little blood on the other’s lip, due to biting it too hard and Taeyong gulped, an intense hunger filling his body and mind. His fangs popped out and he stared at the human's lips intensely.
He wanted it.
He wanted every fucking drop of blood this guy had to give.
“L-let me f-fucking go,” the guy said with a strained voice and it shook Taeyong out of his trance.
“What’s your name?”
“Like I’m going to-“
“What. Is. Your. Name,” Taeyong growled in his face, his eyes spitting fire. He didn’t want the backup to come. It would only get their already small group in more trouble. And Sicheng was young. Taeyong didn’t trust him with a bleeding human yet.
“Y-Yuta,” the guy almost spit out.
“Alright, Yuta, now look in my eyes.”
“Fuck you. You’re going to use that trick on me and tell me to forget everything. Like hell, I will.”
Taeyong sighed heavily while lifting Yuta higher against the wall by his throat so that only his toes were touching the floor. “I could also rip you apart right here, so it’s really your choice.” The other just tried to shake his head, holding Taeyong’s arm in a vice grip.
He saw the guy called Yuta struggle with the decision and Taeyong pitied him a little. He was somewhere in his low twenties, Taeyong guessed, and he still had a bright life in front of him. It was dangerous for a human to meddle with the supernatural. This guy was getting himself in jeopardy by doing so. Taeyong wasn’t planning on killing him, but he didn’t know how long he could hold himself back from feeding if he was honest.
In an instant, Yuta looked up and with his mouth in a thin line, he looked Taeyong straight in the eye, not blinking, not flinching at the sight of the deep red orbs. For a moment the vampire was caught off guard by the intense stare. It made him feel slightly uncomfortable. Yuta’s eyes were a dark brown color and he couldn’t help but admire the way they sparkled in the little light that was in the storage room.
He shook his head and let his vampire power lace into his voice as he said his next words.
“Okay Yuta, listen to me.” He immediately noticed Yuta’s eyes becoming glassy as he listened intently. “Good. First, you need to give me a few answers okay? Then I’ll let you go.”
Yuta nodded. Taeyong let Yuta down and took away his hand from the human’s throat. The other couldn’t attack him during a compulsion anyway. Taeyong took him by the shoulders and kept looking in his eyes. “First of all, how do you know about us?”
Without hesitation, Yuta answered.
“You always steal blood bags here. I regularly take a look at the surveillance cameras. You never leave a trace, but I’m pretty good with computers.”
“And how do you know we are vampires?”
“I’m part of a-“
“I’m done with waiting, Sicheng is coming your way.”
Fuck. Taeyong let out an annoyed groan. If he answered Doyoung now the compelling would stop working and he wasn’t powerful enough at the moment to do it again.
“Okay Yuta,” he started seriously. There was no time for more questions. He had to make him forget quickly. “Forget you’ve seen me here. Forget I was a vampire. If someone asks you what happened, you’ll tell them it was a thief who stole the blood to sell it at the black market. That last part is what you came up with. You tried to stop him, but he was too strong.” Then he bit his lip. “Vampires don’t exist. You’ve never seen one, nor suspected they existed. You will go home quietly in ten minutes.” There was no harm in protecting the human from further engagement in vampire business. He was lucky that it was him Yuta encountered and not another vampire, who liked to kill humans for fun.
When he was done with talking, he pushed himself away from Yuta and stumbled backward, holding his head. The interrogation had asked a lot of his power. He saw the human man collapse on the floor, letting out a pained whine when his hand, that Taeyong had previously kicked at, hit the ground.
Should he have said something about how he hurt his hand in his compulsion?
“Taeyong Hyung!”
And of course, that was the moment Sicheng decided to show up.
“Doyoung, I was in the middle of a fucking compulsion,” Taeyong said furiously. “There was no need to bring in the youngster.”
“He was turned twenty years ago. Don’t be like that.”
“you know what I mean,” Taeyong huffed.
Suddenly the delicious scent of blood hit the air. His head whipped around to see Yuta staring at him in confusion. Taeyong could only draw closer as the smell lured him in. When he was near the human, he saw that there was some blood in the palm of his hand, coming from a little crescent-shaped wound. Yuta had probably dug his fingernails into his palm a little too hard.
He heard Doyoung yelling in his ear, but the only thing Taeyong could hear, could see and smell was Yuta’s blood.
He wanted it.
He needed it.
Without a second thought, he grabbed Yuta’s shoulder and took him to the other side of the room behind a closet with his vampire speed. He held a hand over Yuta’s mouth.
“Stay silent. If he hears you, you’re dead,” he whispered against the human’s ear.
The sound of a happy humming filled the silent hallway. “Taeyong Hyung, where are you?” The last words were dragged out in a sing-song voice.
“Call him back, Doyoung,” Taeyong whispered. “I’ll be there in two minutes. Don’t worry about me. But I’m serious, Sicheng will ruin everything. I don’t want to cover any more deaths.” At the last part, Yuta obviously became distressed, but Taeyong held the guy in a vice grip.
“Fine. Two minutes. But after that, we need to have a talk.”
“Sure.” And with that, he ripped the earpiece out of his ear and put it in his pocket.
“Aww, I just wanted to play with Hyung,” came the disappointed voice from the hallway. Taeyong was really glad the other hadn’t seen him with a human. It was a hard thing, getting a young vampire under control.
And Sicheng definitely didn’t have that control.
While the originally Chinese vampire left the compound, Taeyong’s focus was solely on the human, that he was still holding tightly. Since the guy was around the same height as him, his mouth was already close to his neck.
That was definitely a bad thing.
Because Taeyong could hear the other’s fast heartbeat, felt him struggle against him. He had had self-control this whole time and he normally had self-control in any situation. But right now, not having fed directly from a human for so long, and having a human whose blood smelled this delicious right under his nose, was even for an older vampire as himself too much.
He took Yuta’s chin between his fingers and forced him to look at him. Yes, technically he was too weak to compel him again, but after feeding that problem would be solved. If he wasn’t so hungry, he would almost feel ashamed of his lack of class and control.
Yuta didn’t try to avoid eye contact. He had been compelled to forget that he ever knew vampires existed in the first place. Taeyong was panting as he lowly said his next words.
“Don’t move and don’t make a sound.”
Yuta nodded, his eyes widening in fear nonetheless. Taeyong couldn’t take away someone’s fears and to be honest, he liked it like this more, knowing the other feared him, loathed him. Call it a sick personality treat, but it reminded him of what he was and what he had done in the past.
With his own back against the side of the closet and Yuta against him, he pulled the human’s body as close as possible and buried his face in his neck. He took in the scent and it was easy to find the place of the artery with the way Yuta’s blood was pumping through it loudly. At that moment, no human had smelled so good as this Yuta did now. His fangs were out in no time and a surge of an animalistic instinct took over his body as his fangs pierced the skin of Yuta’s neck.
The other jumped at the feeling, his whole body tensing up and a pained gasp escaping his plump lips, not allowed to let out any louder noises.
Taeyong couldn’t care less. As he sucked on the skin roughly and the blood hit his tongue, it was the best thing he had had in years. No blood bag or animal body could beat the feeling of warm, fresh human blood. He placed his lips firmer against Yuta’s skin and pushed his fangs a little deeper into the artery. In return Yuta reached behind him to grab the fabric of his jacket tightly, his mouth opening in a silent cry.
Taeyong didn’t want to stop drinking, he just wanted to suck every last bit of blood out of him.
But when he felt the latter getting heavier in his hold, on the brink of unconsciousness, there was still a rational part of him that made him retreat from the human’s neck. Taeyong felt like reborn. Feeding directly from humans was something he missed. Doyoung wouldn’t be happy if he found out, or rather when he’d find out. However, right now he felt like the powerful vampire he was supposed to be.
He quickly turned Yuta around and let their eyes meet again, lacing his voice with his power yet again.
“You will forget that this happened and you will leave the hospital after five minutes to go home.”
Yuta nodded and Taeyong had to tear his eyes away from the human’s mouth, soft pants escaping his wet lips. His eyes were teary from fear and the strange, painful experience and Taeyong considered taking him with him to the others. He was pretty and his blood had been amazing. He was sure Doyoung would hate it, but love and appreciate it at the same time.
He shook his head.
That would only cause them more problems.
So he dropped Yuta and quickly walked to the plastic bag he set down earlier to fill it with some more blood bags.
“W-who are you?”
Taeyong looked over his shoulder to see Yuta sitting against the wall looking at him like he was figuring out what was happening. The pink haired vampire just grinned at the human.
“I’m the embodiment of your greatest nightmare.”
And with that, Taeyong threw the bag over his shoulder and used his vampire speed to disappear from the human’s sight, back to the place where his family was waiting.
“What the fuck were you thinking, Taeyong!” Doyoung fumed at him as soon as he reached their hiding spot, being a black car parked around the corner of the hospital. “You almost caused our mission to fail! We need that blood.”
Taeyong huffed as he buckled his seatbelt and offered his hand with the bag of blood bags to the backseat. It was immediately taken out of his grasp.
“Only one, Sicheng,” Taeyong warned the younger vampire quickly.
Sicheng whined in protest, but still only took one of the blood bags out of the bag, passing it to Jaehyun who was seated next to him right after.
“You reek of fucking human blood. Care to explain?” Doyoung said irritably as he drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. Taeyong turned to his friend.
“I knew what I was doing. I got the bags. I don’t see why you’re so mad.”
Doyoung looked at him incredulously. “Are you serious? You were there for at least fifteen minutes, in which you could’ve been discovered by more people. I can’t wipe all of the camera footage, I don’t have the equipment for that. You trusted me with leading the mission. But if you’re ignoring what I’m saying anyway, what’s the point?”
Taeyong felt slightly guilty at that. “I know,” he said softly. “It won’t happen again.”
Doyoung groaned. “And on top of that, you fed on that guy. I can’t believe it. Wasn’t it you, who said we needed to try to stop feeding on people?”
“How did you-“
“Hyung,” Jaehyun called from the backseat. “You still have his blood on your face.”
Taeyong’s eyes widened at that and he quickly wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. “Okay, yes, I fed on him,” he admitted with a hint of embarrassment. “But I can’t be a reliable leader like this. How can I protect you when I can’t even compel twice without getting a headache? Without our powers, we’re just humans without a heartbeat.”
It was silent in the car after that.
“Then maybe,” Jaehyun started, “maybe we should start feeding on humans again.”
It was a dangerous, but tempting thought. Taeyong could see Doyoung lick his lips unconsciously.
“I think it’s a good idea,” Sicheng said with a smile and Taeyong was again surprised at the younger’s cuteness. But it was a mistake to think he was a cute being because Sicheng was a ruthless vampire when hungry. They all were, but Sicheng had something wicked, a dangerous aura surrounding him.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Doyoung said with a sigh. “We’ll be found out in no time. Be it by humans, other vampires, werewolves, witches… They’ll kill us. And we will kill in return and I’ve done enough of that.” the last part was said slightly regretful. Taeyong agreed wholeheartedly. Whereas he loved the taste of blood, killing was something entirely different and the pain of making someone lose their life was something that never really went away, no matter how many years passed.
“We’re not going to go back to feeding on humans,” Taeyong said resolutely. “But on the day before the full moon, every month, we’ll make an exception.”
“Have you lost your mind Taeyong?!” Doyoung said, but he was biting his lip in a way that let the oldest know that he didn’t actually mind the idea that much.
“No. We need strength and the day before the full moon is the day every werewolf is busy preparing for their transformation on the next day. They will be too busy to be on the look for us.” Werewolves were the most dangerous to vampires. They were the only creatures that could kill them with just a bite.
“Doyoung… He has a point,” Jaehyun said while putting his hands on Doyoung’s seat and leaning forward so that his head was in the space between the two front seats. “We can’t live like this.”
“Shut up. First, learn to control yourself around humans, then we’ll talk.”
“You know I’m right, Doyoung,” Taeyong said to his friend. “We just split up the youngsters under the two of us, to guide them. We can’t keep them from feeding forever.”
Doyoung started the car and drove away from the parking spot. Without looking away from the road he said,
“Fine, but I hope you know what you’re doing.”
The three of them let out a sigh of relief and Taeyong smiled a soft smile as he let himself sink into his seat, pulling the hood of his jacket over his fluffy pink hair. He looked out of the window, watching the buildings and other cars whip past. Yuta’s blood had made him a lot more confident.
This mission was completed and he had even been able to convince Doyoung to let them feed on humans again.
Somewhere he had a feeling that he had forgotten something important, but he shrugged it off. The night had just started and there were a lot of things Taeyong still had to take care of.
When the door of his apartment fell closed behind him, Yuta’s head snapped up. He blinked a few times, looking around to figure out where he was. He was obviously home, but how did he get here? It was an uncomfortable feeling, not knowing what happened. One moment he was cleaning in the hospital, the next he was here… Wait why was he in the hospital? He didn't even work there.
On top of that, he was feeling terribly weak.
Yuta hung up his jacket and walked to the kitchen to get something sugary from the fridge. Once there, his eyes fell on a few sticky notes that were plastered on his fridge haphazardly. His heart started beating a little faster when he read the freaky messages;
‘VAMPIRES EXIST’
‘THEY COMPELLED YOU TO FORGET THEIR EXISTENCE’
‘CALL BAEKHYUN’
Yuta read the messages, that he had obviously written himself, with a frown on his face. Vampires? What ridiculousness was that? He quickly opened the fridge to take out a can of coke. While drinking from it he opened the drawer for his utensils. There was an old phone in it, a phone he only needed for emergencies.
And that mostly had to do with supernatural stuff.
Byun Baekhyun was a powerful witch that he somehow got affiliated with along the way. If it was true, that vampires did exist… Then Baekhyun could certainly tell him all about it.
He went through his contacts and pressed the call button when he reached Baekhyun’s name.
The witch picked up at the fourth ring.
“Ah, Yuta ya, what trouble have you gotten yourself into now?” Came the almost whiny voice of Baekhyun through his phone. Yuta felt his cheeks heathen up in embarrassment at the accusation. Well, he wasn’t wrong entirely.
“Hyung… I- I don’t really know what happened, but it feels like I’m missing some information on my way back from work. I don’t remember what happened. And when I came home there was a note…” He let a short break fall, not really knowing what to say. He settled for the direct question. “Hyung do vampires exist?”
Baekhyun laughed at that. A loud and almost cute laugh. But if you knew Baekhyun as Yuta did, you would know that the cute exterior was just a cover for his dangerous and almost sadistic personality.
“Yes, Yuta. Wow, you’re really funny.”
“I’m serious here.”
Baekhyun snorted. “Of course you are.” Then his tone turned more serious, “My darling, vampires do exist. Sadly. In fact, you encountered them today and were probably compelled to forget.”
“That’s what one of my notes said as well...” Yuta said, surprised at the other’s words.
With a sigh, Baekhyun said his next words, “This is really funny because you’re in fact gathering information about vampires for your little group of rebels… Well… You’ll remember soon enough. I don’t have time to come to you, but I’ll send Taeil to undo the compulsion.”
Yuta was only more confused at that. “Group? What?”
“Oh boy… The spell is deeper than I thought. I’m sorry, but undoing it is gonna hurt like a bitch. Well, I have to go now. Taeil will be there in about twenty minutes. Oh and don’t shower.”
What was he talking about? “And why can’t I?” He asked irritably.
“Undoing that vampire’s power is… Let me put it this way. You will suffer and sweat a lot. Don’t worry, Taeil knows what he’s doing. Bye, Yukkuri. I’ll see you soon.”
“Wait! Baekhyun Hyung?!” Yuta practically yelled in his phone, but the witch had already hung up on him.
Great. Just great. That explained a fucking lot. Not.
He removed some bangs from his face with his hand, but pain rippled through it when he moved it and he shot an angry glare at his wrist.
Suddenly the room spun around him and he felt a sting on his neck. He held his head with one hand, stumbling over to the bathroom. Somehow he needed to look in the mirror. When he reached the bathroom and looked at his reflection, his mouth opened in shock as he saw two puncture wounds on his neck. They were suspiciously close to each other and it looked just like…
The mark of fangs.