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Despite the weariness of her bones, Kory kept on smiling and exchanging pleasantries with everyone in her proximity until her Jimmy Choo heels hit the pavement and the cold night air blew through her curls. The after party was in full swing, the fashion show was a success and everyone were celebrating the night away. But for her it was time to go.
The day was busy, the show demanding, the outfits were first-class. She spent more time in the hair & makeup chair today than she usually did, strutted the runaway with ease as always, but all of it faded when she noticed him watching her. After their little talk, she threw herself in the whirlwind of the party, dancing and laughing and all of it made her forget for one peaceful moment about Dick Grayson showing up in the audience and inviting her to a party in a fucking vampire den.
Well, until now.
Because just when she was about to get into her car, busy with fishing the keys out of her purse, she felt it. That way too familiar feeling of tingling under her skin, that buzz that shoots through her spine and goes down in between her legs whenever he is near.
Kory froze, her hunter instincts kicking in. Unfortunately it was hard to do her job when the feeling that overtook her, instead of sharpening her senses in preparation for a hunt, only flooded her mind with distracting images of his face and his body.
She didn't need to imagine him, though. Because she spotted him.
Right across the street from her, moving along the empty sidewalk. She knew it was him, she felt it in her bones, but if she were to base only on looks alone, she would have never guessed that the man walking down the street was the Dick Grayson, the princeling of Gotham vampires.
Because the prince she knew didn't wear such things like brandless jeans and faded old hoodies, didn't cross the street with a hurry rather than elegance in his stride, didn't hide underneath a hood or kept his fists jammed in his pockets.
But it was him, there was no doubt in her mind and body about it.
The question was: what was he up to?
Kory abandoned the search for her keys and instead hid behind her car so he wouldn't notice her. And he certainly would, their previous encounters and the strange connection they seemed to have would have taken him straight to her - if only his mind wasn't totally occupied by something else entirely. Kory knew it, because if she felt the tingling sensation when he appeared in her proximity, Dick must have felt it too. But the way he was walking, clearly in a hurry and yet not using his vamp speed, told her that his thoughts were elsewhere. Plus that outfit… she couldn't help but cringe. Dick Grayson ( her Dick Grayson, her mind corrected her against her will) would never wear something like this, not even in private.
Which means he was hiding.
Whatever he was doing, wherever he was going, he didn't want anyone to know.
Kory kept battling herself in her mind on whether or not to follow him and with every step he took farther away from her she was losing time. She looked down on herself and muttered a silent curse under her breath - the black stilettos, a deep purple leather dress, it wasn't something she would normally wear when stalking a target. Those things could easily give her away. But she didn't have time to change and Dick was about to turn the corner, seconds away from vanishing from her sight.
"Ah, fuck it." She huffed out and went after him.
The cars parked by the sidewalk on her side of the street gave her the cover she needed. Kory kept her distance, pulled every trick from her pocket to stay as invisible as she could be while keeping up with Dick as he kept on walking. Few times he nearly caught her while glancing around and looking over his shoulder - did he feel he was being followed? Was he afraid of it? She couldn't tell.
When he stepped under the beam of light of one of the streetlamps while turning another corner, an interesting little detail caught Kory's eye - Dick was clutching something under his arm, something that looked like a book. She only caught a silhouette of it, but it seemed to be a big, heavy tome.
Her mind got filled with questions of why is he carrying a book and what for? Why is he acting like a teenager who stole it and now is shitting his pants at the thought of getting caught?
Her confusion only deepened when after another minute of walking Dick abruptly stopped.
In front of a bookstore.
The Vampire Prince Dick Grayson and a small bookstore. These two things simply didn't match.
Also - what bookstore was still open at this hour?
"What the fuck are you doing, Grayson?" Kory muttered to herself, hiding behind another car, just across the street from him.
She watched the line of his broad shoulders tense under his hoodie when he stopped in front of the entrance and looked inside through wide display windows. All the lights were on, even from a distance Kory could see the even rows of shelves filled with books, separated by themes and genres. There was even an art supply section in the back.
Dick clutched the book to his chest and took a deep breath. Was he… nervous? Kory frowned, not understanding any of it. This was so not like the Dick Grayson she met at the Night Crawler. Where was the charisma? The dangerous and sexy aura that tempted everyone to come closer? Where was the commanding presence of a King?
Right now he was just some guy, seemingly afraid to enter a bookstore.
It took another minute or two before he finally pushed the door open. The old-school bell rang above his head, Kory could hear the sound across the street. It wasn't until he closed the door behind him and moved deeper between the shelves that she decided to abandon her cover and cross the street so she could watch him through the window from up close.
He put the book he brought on one of the tables, hid it in plain sight between other tomes that were marked on sale. Then he slowly brought his hand up to remove his hood - from her vantage point Kory could see the mess of long ruffled hair and a little bit of his face, she saw his lips moving but couldn't hear a sound.
A movement caught her eye and a second later someone came out from one of the alleys at the opposite end of the store.
A girl. Young, a teenager, couldn't be more than sixteen. Dressed in mostly black, an oversized sweater and a skirt. Her hair was a mix of several shades of blue, curls long enough to reach her chin but leaving her neck exposed. Kory immediately tensed; attraction or not, connection or not, she was ready to attack and kill Dick Grayson if he so much as lifted a finger at this child. Because this girl was just a child .
And a witch apparently, if the red gemstone in the center of her forehead was any indication.
Kory had met witches before, during that one job in New Orleans a few years back. The city's rich history reeked of them, they used to occupy every corner of every street and walk in the daylight, now the remains of the coven were doing everything to blend in with the crowd, hiding behind their little souvenir shops and downtown bars, luring tourists in with tours, lucky charms and fairy tales. They kept their magic to themselves, practicing only on their sacred grounds, meeting between tombstones at their graveyards.
This girl though, she was wearing her magic like armor. Unapologetic and fierce, she kept it in the open for everyone with a good eye to see. Even with the vampire prince before her, she stood tall (which was even more impressive with her being a head smaller than him) and kept her chin high, her gaze strong and intense.
They greeted each other; although she couldn't hear a thing through the glass windows and she wasn't as good at lip reading as her sister, Kory could tell from where she stood that the tension in the room was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Was there a conflict in the air? Were they at odds? It definitely looked like some kind of stalemate they were locked in, standing a good few feet away from each other, both at the opposite ends of the alley. They traded words carefully, as if stepping on thin ice. The girl's eyes glinted in the light of the ceiling lamps hanging above her head, Dick's jaw was clenched so tight it was easy to imagine his teeth cracking and breaking under the force of it.
Kory held her breath, muscles in her body coiled and ready to act. The seconds were ticking away and silence had overtaken everything around her, as if the whole world was waiting to see how this was going to play out.
And then the strangest thing happened.
The girl broke into a smile. Dick let out a chuckle, his shoulders immediately relaxed. He gave her a cheeky grin, she giggled at something he said and before Kory could comprehend what's happening, the young witch was sprinting across the bookstore and launching herself into the vampire's arms.
It was all happening in slow motion in Kory's eyes. The way this girl looped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. The way Dick's arms wrapped tightly around her waist in return and held her tightly to him. The force of her colliding with him had him stumble back but he regained his balance and picked her up, her feet dangling in the air as she laughed into his ear. When he put her back down, the girl stepped away but remained in the circle of his embrace, his large hands rubbing up and down her arms softly. When she looked up at him, her icy blue eyes were full of pure adoration and joy, like she couldn't see the world beyond him.
Kory felt a gasp leaving her chest. The image before her… it didn't fit anything she knew about Dick Grayson. She watched him lift his hand to brush his fingers across the girl's cheek and could not believe how tender the gesture was.
The most ruthless vampire in Gotham… tender?
She was able to see more of his face now and he was beaming. If his face was a sun, it would shine so bright it would be blinding to look at. He couldn't stop smiling, his eyes, now soft and loving, never left the girl's face while she was talking excitedly, bouncing on her feet. Dick shook his head with a laugh, wrapped one arm over her shoulders and pulled her to his side, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead.
There was something so… fatherly about the act that Kory felt her chest tighten.
She forgot about the mission, about why she was here, about how cold Gotham air was causing goosebumps to cover her exposed skin. She could only stand there and watch as the girl's thin arms snuck around Dick's waist while he retrieved the book he abandoned earlier before they both headed to the back of the store, hiding behind the shelves. The lights of the store soon started to dim, leaving only the outlines of what's inside visible and the strange pair disappeared from view completely.
Kory leaned her back against the brick wall next to the window and inhaled the chill air. Her heart was a wild thing in her chest. What did she just witness?
The way Dick was with that girl, so gentle, so caring. How his eyes softened when she smiled, how he couldn't stop grinning when she talked. The way he held her against him, so close and so tight, like she was the most precious thing he ever held in his arms and never wanted to let go.
It was contradictory to everything she had ever known, everything she had ever learned, not just about Dick but about vampires in general. Vampires fucked and killed their way through the world, they were violent and manipulative, only cared about their own pleasure and things they could gain something from. They rarely made contact with witches, only when they wanted something from them, and if so, these relations were never even remotely friendly. Witches and vampires were at war , for hundreds and hundreds of years now.
So how the hell did the vampire prince of Gotham City, the most ruthless, dangerous and vile creature to walk these streets become what appeared to be a loving father to a teenage witch?
At first he thought she'd grown a few inches taller since the last time he saw her but he didn't notice the thick heels of her boots until they thudded on the wooden floors of her apartment upstairs. It was jarring to see her graduate from flat combat boots to fashionable heels when her cheeks still had that child-like roundness to them. All he could focus on was her laughter, melodic and joyful, pulling at every string of his heart.
She basically dragged him upstairs, her hand sliding into his and yanking him forward, and Dick let her guide him to her little nest, The Attic as they were calling it. Small but cozy, with everything a fifteen years old witch could ever need, he personally took care of it. He followed her with a smile, watching her dance her way to the kitchen, her body swaying to the upbeat pop music filtering in through the Bluetooth speakers mounted on the walls.
Her hair was swaying as she was bobbing her head, the curly strands framing her face longer than the rest. Dick lifted his eyebrows as he trailed behind her, having noticed a little interesting detail.
He reached over the kitchen island and curled one strand around his finger, inspecting the way blue blended into white towards the end. "Rachel, I think I told you something about experimental spells."
"Oh that's not a spell," Rachel waved him off. 'That hair dye."
"Hair dye?"
"It was Tim's idea."
Dick dropped his arm and propped himself against the counter. "Tim? Tim Drake?"
"Mhm. Long story short - it was a dare. I lost. It happens."
He shook his head with a sigh. "I swear, these werewolf boys are gonna get you in trouble."
"You mean I get them out of trouble." She fired back before grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl to her right and biting into it. "Besides, Gar was supervising," she added, chewing.
"You're lucky!" Dick pointed a finger at her face. "Gar is the only one I trust in that pack, especially-"
" Especially when it comes to me ," she spoke over him, finishing a line he must've said a million times by now. "Yes, I know."
They started laughing, unable to hold it back any longer. Dick wasn't bothered by the white in her hair, not at all, it actually looked really pretty. Rachel knew he was just messing with her, like he always does.
"It suits you!" He told her between the laughs. "Really, your hair looks great. And I think they've grown quite a bit since the last time I saw you."
Just as what he said fully came to him, Rachel's laugh slowly faded, and with it, her bright smile. She put the half finished apple away and hung her head, the curtain of blue waves covered her face from view.
"It's been a while," she said quietly. Her voice sounded so small all of a sudden.
Dick felt a pang of guilt in his undead heart. He reached over to put his hand over hers. "Rachel, I'm- I'm sorry. It's been a little hectic lately, I've been… preoccupied."
"Right." She snatched her hand away before he could even touch her. "With your huntress."
"You know?"
She slowly raised her eyes back at him but he almost wished she didn't. He couldn't bear the pain he saw reflected there.
"Just because you don't check up on me, doesn't mean I don't check up on you."
The bitterness in her voice struck him like venom.
Dick dropped his head in shame. Ever since that fateful night at the Night Crawler there was only one person on his mind - Kory Anders. He knew he was obsessed and now he knew for a good reason. The huntress invaded all his senses, took over every cell in his body, and commanded the way he lived without speaking a word. He craved her, dreamed of her, wanted her. It was all he could focus on and now he had a theory why. Part of him didn't want to believe it, the other part was already embracing the thought as a fact.
But this obsession had its price. While chasing his desires he neglected his responsibilities. One above all else, the most important one.
One that was now staring right at him with hurt and something like betrayal in her ocean blue eyes.
"I am really sorry, Rach-"
"So how much of a problem is she?" Rachel cut him off, clearly not wanting to hear his pathetic attempt at an apology. Whatever she was feeling on the matter still lurked behind her eyes but she schooled her expression into one of indifference, the same one Dick saw in the mirror every now and then.
(It was scaring him sometimes how much she took after him)
But - if she wants to talk business, he's gonna give her business.
Dick dropped onto the stool and hunched his shoulders, folding his hands on the counter top.
"Well, I wouldn't exactly call her a problem ." He admitted hesitantly.
Somehow Rachel's gaze became even colder. "You serious? You have a hunter on your tail, the best one they have at that, and you're not one bit worried?"
"She's my mate, Rachel."
A beat of silence. Two. Three.
"What did you just say?"
"The huntress," he breathed out and lifted his eyes to meet hers. "She's my mate."
There. He said it. First time he admitted it aloud, not only to someone else but to himself. Kory was his mate, there was no other explanation for the connection they shared, for their insatiable desire for each other. He did his research, read the book he brought front to back, he was almost certain of the fact at this point.
Rachel shook her head, her frown deepening. She was clearly unable to believe it. "That's impossible. Are you certain?"
"I am."
Her eyes fell to the book l laying by his hand, The Sired, before they went round suddenly, big blue orbs drilling a hole in his head.
"That's why you're here, isn't it?" She deduced, rightfully so, but it still felt like a silver knife to his chest. She scoffed. "Of course. Because you only seem to remember I exist when you want something from me."
He wanted to protest, but she didn't give him a chance - she pushed herself away from the counter and ran out of the kitchen, a storm of fury and hurt and sadness.
"Rachel, wait!" Dick sprung from his chair and rushed after her.
"What is it this time, huh?" Her voice carried through the apartment. "A little locator spell? You want me to boil someone's blood because they offended her?!"
He stopped her from slamming her bedroom door in his face at the last second.
"Rach, that's not- I mean yes , I do need your help on this, but that's not the only reason I'm here. I swear,"
She stood with her back to him by the end of her bed. Her shoulders were shaking. When she finally turned, tears were glistening in her eyes.
"You haven't visited in two months ." Her voice trembled when she spoke. "No calls, not even a text. And now you drop by, unannounced. What am I supposed to think?"
He huffed out a breath, running a hand through his already messy hair. "I- I had my guys swing by the shop once in a while, Conner made sure-"
Rachel scoffed. "I don't need your guys patrolling the street, Dick. I need you . Here."
Because he promised to take care of her, to protect her. He took her under his wing like she was his own blood and he made her a vow to always be there for her. Almost two years have passed since the day he met her, a young kid almost slaughtered because of the power she possessed and didn't know how to use. He might be a vampire prince known for taking pleasure in killing but he had a rule: no hurting kids. He had to step in.
He will never forget the way it felt when he found her, strapped to a chair and gagged. He will never forget the strange feeling flooding his chest when their eyes met for the first time - it was like he knew her all his life, like he was a part of her and she was a part of him. Or the way she clung to him when he released her - despite knowing who he is, what he is, she held onto him for dear life, never wanting to let go.
But most of all, he will never forget the words she spoke to him.
It's you. You're the boy from the circus.
Someone he once was, a long time ago, long before she was even born. A boy he hadn't thought of for over 60 years now. Somehow Rachel knew about him, dreamt about him for months before their meeting and that dream led her to him.
It still remained a mystery and that's how they left it. They were just happy they found each other.
Dick watched helplessly as Rachel was trying to hold back her tears, rein in the emotions pulling her apart so she could appear strong. One of the things they had in common, they both struggled to admit they needed someone sometimes. They both wanted to appear strong even when they weren't. He saw it in her now, the need to show him her anger so he wouldn't see her pain but he did, he saw it, he saw right through her and it was killing him.
Because he did this to her. Stupidly, unknowingly, selfishly. But he did.
He couldn't undo it. But he could make it better.
To his relief, Rachel didn't move when he approached her. Slowly, Dick reached for her chin and turned her head his way so he could see her eyes. Her cheeks were already wet, marked with trails her tears have made.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, cupping her cheek in his palm. "I should've been here, I know. But I'm here now, okay? And we can put my problem away for later, right now I'm all yours."
She grabbed hold of his wrist and leaned into his touch.
"Will you stay?"
"As long as you want me to."
That's all she needed to dive back into his arms. A broken sob clawed its way out of her lips as she latched onto him, trying to bury herself in his embrace. Dick brought her close to his chest, nearly crushing her to him and sighed. Rachel fitted in his arms like a puzzle piece, perfectly placed under his chin and when he held her, it felt like coming home. Her small arms clawed at his back in desperation, she wanted to press herself closer, hide in his warmth and he wanted nothing more than to give her that, to wrap her up in a blanket made of his love and tuck her away somewhere where she could never be hurt again.
Dipping his head, he burrowed his face in the crook of her neck, feeling burning behind his eyes when he inhaled her scent. Her blood was pumping through her veins, he could almost see its flow, but he never reacted to it the way he normally would - he never felt the craving for Rachel's blood, even when she offered it to him herself. He couldn't bring himself to take it, not even a drop she once pricked her finger for. The idea of doing this to her terrified him, he would never forgive himself if he hurt her like this.
And yet he kept hurting her in all the other ways. He didn't even need his incisors out.
"You left me." Rachel cried into his sweatshirt and squeezed him tighter. Dick felt his heart jump to his throat.
He brushed a hand through her hair and dropped a kiss to the crown of her head. "I'm so sorry, baby girl. I'm sorry it took me so long to come back." He pulled away so he could take her face in his hands and brush away her tears. "Why don't we move to the living room, hm? Cuddles and ice cream. You got any ice cream?"
To his relief, Rachel let out a wet chuckle and sniffled, "I think I can find something."
"Great. And you can bring me up to speed on all you and the boys were up to. C'mon."
One giant bowl of strawberry ice cream and two blood bags later they were still curled up on the couch, their arms wrapped tightly around each other, simply enjoying the moment. Rachel was snuggling to Dick's chest, drowsily trailing the outlines of the feathers tattooed on his arm with her fingers while he kept playing with her hair. He was waiting for her to doze off, so he could carry her to bed and call it a night. He quickly found out he loved doing it, and though Rachel often scrunched up her nose and complained she was getting too old to be tucked in at night, he knew she secretly loved it just as much.
Watching her now curled up against him like this, her small fingers drawing shapes on his skin, Dick had to admit, he really missed moments like this, where he could just be with his little girl, hold her close and forget about the outside world. About his kingdom, about Barbara, about everything.
But not about Kory.
The huntress - his mate - still lurked somewhere at the edges of his mind, not in his direct vision but always somewhere in the corner of his eye. He could feel her faint presence under his skin, like little sparks of electricity jumping all over him. What was she doing right now? Where could she be? At another fashion show? Sharpening her weapons in her hotel room and plotting how to kill him? Or maybe she was taking a bath, spilling warm water over her gorgeous dark skin, her-
Dick shook his head, pushing the tempting images away. This was not the time for such thoughts. He needed to focus on here and now so he closed his eyes and buried his nose in Rachel's hair, breathing her in. She always smelled so sweet, like the ice cream she just devoured.
"Tell me about her," Rachel murmured into his t-shirt, somehow figuring out where his thoughts went. He shouldn't be surprised - she has always been able to read him like an open book, ever since day one.
"We can talk about it in the morning, sweetheart. Sleep now." He replied softly, smiling into her hair.
"Please."
"Ah, alright. Her name is Kory Anders," he breathed out, the name sounding holy on his lips. "But I guess you already know that."
He felt Rachel shift against him, "The best, most skilled hunter The Order has had in 20 years. Insane kill count. The only one who can somehow keep up with her is her sister."
Dick nodded slowly, confirming everything. Kory's reputation preceded her by miles; while he knew that as a vampire he should be wary of this fact, part of him couldn't help but feel proud of her accomplishments. She was a deadly player and she played to win - as a player himself, he admired that about her.
Rachel lifted herself off his chest to look at him, her brows were pinched in a frown. "How can she be your mate? How did it happen?"
A soft laugh rumbled through his chest.
"I've been asking myself this question for three days now, Rach," he admitted, rubbing her back slowly. "The truth is, I don't know. It just… happened. She showed up at the Crawler one night, we fought a little - though I admit I had something different in mind when I had my head between her- hey!" He jumped, surprised when Rachel smacked his arm.
"Spare me the gory details! To the point, please!"
"Okay! Okay," he shook his head with a laugh. She knew him too well. "Something just… clicked when I saw her. Suddenly nothing else mattered, just her. I didn't even feed for a couple of hours after, I was so consumed by her."
Rachel's eyes grew wider. "The need to feed lessens drastically when the mate bond is born."
"Exactly."
"What else?"
"Strange telepathic connection, insatiable lust for her and only her… everything the book says," he nodded towards the Sired left on the coffee table in front of them.
Rachel followed his eyes to the book and spent a moment staring at it, gnawing at the inside of her cheek.
"Does Barbara know?"
"No. And it will stay that way."
"And Kory?"
"I haven't told her yet." Dick sighed deeply and leaned his cheek against the top of Rachel's head. "You're the only one who knows."
Before coming here he was convinced he needed her help researching the topic, but the truth was, he already knew everything he needed to know. Kory was his mate, all signs were there, in plain sight.
Maybe he simply needed to talk to someone about it. To try to untangle his messy thoughts surrounding this strange thing with someone who would understand him, support him. He needed a shoulder to lean on, a person who he could trust with his most precious secret - his true self.
Rachel so far was the only person who knew the real him, the boy he once was. A human part of Dick Grayson that was still alive inside him but he kept it locked up and hidden somewhere so deep that the darkness of the world couldn't reach it. He wasn't scared to be vulnerable with her, to shed the layers of the vampire prince in front of her and just be Dick. Maybe with all this chaos of a hunter on his trail and a mate bond that seemed impossible, going back to his core was exactly what he needed.
Rachel lifted herself from his arms to instead sit cross-legged next to him and he immediately started to miss her warmth. His daughter noticed the pout that bloomed on his lips and squeezed his hand with a smile, but it quickly faded once her train of thoughts started to take over.
"How… how do you even imagine it?" She asked tentatively. "Her people will never allow it. They'd rather kill her than let her mate with a vampire, the very thing she is supposed to kill."
Dick gave her a humorless smile and squeezed her hand back. "That does complicate things a bit more, doesn't it?"
"That's one way to put it."
He thought about it on the way here - going through the city with human speed gave you a lot of time to think. Truth be told, bigger consequences would be waiting for Kory than for him at the end of this road. His world might have a hard time accepting a hunter-turned-vampire into their ranks but they would get over it eventually. But her world? The Order wouldn't just hunt her down, they would want her annihilated.
A selfish part of him craved for a war this would bring. He dreamed of spilling blood and ripping throats in honor of his true Queen. But the more he was affected by their growing bond, the more he cared about Kory's word in all of this.
"Will you turn her?"
The question should surprise him but it didn't. Dick realized he spaced out because when he lifted his eyes, Rachel was observing him with careful, worried gaze, holding his hand in both of hers. It was one of her many talents, knowing exactly what he's thinking about by looking at him once - though she always swore she's not able to read minds. She was just so good at reading him.
Again, as much as he would love to make that happen - one look at Kory and he was absolutely certain she would make an incredible vamp - he couldn't, an wouldn't do it for just himself.
"If that's what she wants. It's just…"
"What?"
"Turning a mate… it's a more complicated process. Because the mate bonds between vampires and humans are so rare."
Rachel scooted a little closer, "Complicated how?"
He reached for the book and opened it at the page he earlier dog-eared. There was a paragraph about it in chapter fifteen, almost an instruction of sorts, to which he now pointed with his finger.
"I can't just bite her and snap her neck. There's a whole ritual behind it."
Rachel carefully took the book from him and placed it in her lap, her eyes immediately scanning the text while Dick recited everything it said from memory.
"A bath, last human meal. I need to drain her dry until her heart stops while at the same time she's feeding on my blood. It's all very…"
"Intimate," Rachel finished for him, her eyes still glued to the yellowed pages.
"Yeah… One thing I don't understand, though." He turned the page for her and pointed again to a string of latin text written in cursive. "There's an incantation the sire needs to chant the moment the mate's heart stops beating. It's supposed to solidify the bond in their shared blood, bring the mate's soul back to the body and bind it with their sire's soul for eternity. The chant is supposed to call upon everything that is holy in the joined image of a merged soul , whatever that means. But there's one problem - I can't find that damn chant."
"What?"
With her face scrunched up in focus, Rachel dragged her finger from the top of the page to the bottom, reading the text again, then again.
Dick dropped back against the cushions, huffing. "I checked everywhere, even looked for ripped-out pages. The chant isn't here."
"Maybe because it's not supposed to be."
Rachel slowly lifted her eyes from the page at him - they were blown wide and shined like little stars with almost childlike excitement. Seeing his confused expression, she tapped the page with the pad of her finger and grinned. "It's not here because you're not just supposed to recite a chant, Dick. You're supposed to create it."
The passion filtering into her voice intrigued him but also confused him.
"What do you mean, create it?"
"Every bond is unique. That's why they are so rare, there was never a pair like you two, nor will ever be. And you're supposed to call your lover's soul back to life, you can't just learn a rhyme from a page and recite it without thinking. It's not universal. I'd say it's almost like a wedding vow, but more. It needs to come from your heart and it needs to paint a clear picture of what you both want your mate to be going forward."
Dick went over it all in his head. For him, the picture was clear as day already - he pictured his huntress on a throne next to his own, blood dripping from her chin and onto her cleavage, the whole city and her previous masters at her feet in front of her. She was the goddess of the darkness, his Queen, the ruler of the world of shadows. With him by her side, she was invincible. And with her at his side, he knew there was nothing in this world that could ever take away his freedom.
"But what if what I want isn't what she wants?"
Crossing her arms over her chest, Rachel tilted her head to the side and squinted her eyes at him. "And what do you want?"
Dick let out a chuckle and leaning back, he put his arms behind his head.
"I want her , plain and simple," he stated, shrugging. "Her heart and her body. Honestly, I want to slam her against the wall and make her scream my name."
A pillow landed on his face and yanked him right back from this beautiful, sexy dream, only to be met with Rachel's shocked, but grinning face.
"Oh my God, you're so gross!"
"Hey! That was PG-13, okay?"
Another pillow went flying at his face. He caught it mid-air, his own grin already growing wide and threw it back, but Rachel was too busy covering her ears.
"Enough! I don't want to hear it."
If only she'd be able to stop laughing, maybe he would take her seriously.
"You asked!"
"And I deeply regret it now!"
To be honest, if it keeps her laughing like she's laughing now, cheeks red and teardrops in the corners of her eyes while she's holding her stomach struggling for breath, he can dwell more on his fantasies including Kory Anders - a clean version of them of course. Because Rachel's laugh sounded like the most beautiful symphony to his ears and there weren't many occasions when he could hear it like this, unfiltered and genuine. At some point Dick stopped to just admire her, this image of pure joy, his heart swelling with love.
She was a ray of sunshine in his dark, bloody world.
When she finally calmed down, Rachel took a deep breath and sighed. Her cheeks must have been hurting from the way she was grinning the whole time, now the curve of her lips went back to a soft, lovely smile, one of almost dreamy quality.
Dick liked it more than the frown and the tears that painted her features earlier.
He reached for her hand and tangled his fingers with hers. "Are we good?" He asked softly.
She looked down at their hands for a moment before nodding eventually. "We're good. Just… don't disappear again for so long, okay? I know it might be a little difficult now with the future Queen of the Night in the picture but… if you can't stop by, call at least."
She wanted to look away but Dick was quick to put two fingers under her chin and keep her eyes on him. "Hey, I will always find time for my little girl."
"Good. Because I really, really missed you."
"I missed you, too," he whispered, cupping her cheek in his palm. "And I'm sorry."
She squeezed his hand. "I know you are."
"Does it mean you don't hate me anymore?"
"I could never hate you, you idiot."
"That's good because I love you too much for you to hate me."
Rachel chuckled and playfully smacked his knee. "You're stupid."
Dick bumped her nose in retaliation. "And you're adorable when you're angry."
"Shut up."
"You shut up and come here."
He pulled at her hand and made her fall back into his arms. Rachel smiled and happily burrowed herself in his embrace, slotting herself comfortably against his chest. Once there, Dick locked her in his strong hold and squeezed her tight, resting his chin on top of her head as he sunk deeper into the cushions of the couch.
They could bury him like this for all he cared. He was not moving from this spot.
In the quiet of the night, with his daughter so close, he often wondered if he'd be able to leave his lavish lifestyle for this - not just moments of the normalcy and domesticity stolen form time to time, but a life full of it. There must be a way to make the best of both worlds, right? But almost a century of living as a vampire made him a selfish bastard who loved the splendor and the never ending flow of blood and pleasure. He wouldn't be able to fully turn away from it even if he tried. And Rachel had to stay in hiding, there were forces out there that wanted to kill her, to harvest her power and use her for their own gain. She wasn't just any witch, she was special. And because of that she must remain hidden.
"Hey, Dick?" She whispered now, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. "I love you, too."
No, scratch that. There's nothing in this world he wouldn't give up for an eternity of moments like this.
"I know, sweetheart." He kissed her head.
"Stay the night."
"Don't worry, I am not going anywhere, okay?" One of his hands landed in her hair, stroking her blue curls gently while he leaned his cheek against her forehead. "Get some sleep now."
It didn't take long for her to doze off - she was out in a couple of minutes, her breath evening out and arms going slack around his middle. Dick hummed in content and pressed his lips to her temple again. The couch was comfortable and tempting him to sink even deeper into it. As a vampire he didn't necessarily need sleep but a little nap with his little girl cuddled close to him wouldn't be so bad.
However, it was almost 3am and Rachel had a real bed waiting for her.
"You're gonna thank me later," Dick murmured into her hair as he scooped her in his arms and headed towards her bedroom.
Kory almost walked a hole in the rooftop she found her new vantage point on by the time something worth her attention finally happened.
Two hours ago she watched Dick and the young witch disappear in the depths of the bookstore, only for them to re-emerge as silhouettes in a large window two floors above the shop. She didn't see much, too busy trying to figure out the best spot for a better view, but what she did manage to see looked like the two were arguing. By the time she got to the rooftop of the building across the street, the window was dark, no trace of Dick or the girl.
So she waited. She paced the length of the roof like an animal locked in a cage, her mind going a mile a minute. What was going on here? What kind of strange agreement did these two have? How the hell did Dick Grayson of all people get a witch to trust him was a whole nother story. But a bribe or a blackmail couldn't be an option here, the two simply seemed too close for something like this.
Her heart and her mind were in constant battle over that fact. Everything the Order had ever told her about Dick Grayson, the prince of Gotham vampires painted a picture of a sadistic killer, a creature of the night, a predator inside and out. He had no remorse for human life; humans were his toys, things he could fuck and feed on to later dump somewhere in a dark alley like some garbage.
But deep in her heart, she couldn't deny the display of affection she witnessed earlier was absolutely genuine. Every smile, every touch, all of it was true and came from his unbeating heart.
Kory was sure she didn't imagine it then and she sure as hell didn't imagine it now.
At first, when the door to what seemed like a bedroom opened, her heart jumped to her throat when she spotted the silhouette of a man with a limp body in his arms, appearing in a dim string of light filtering in through the growing crack. She had her binoculars at the ready, a small set she always carried in her purse, but when she took a closer look she breathed out a sigh of relief, not able to resist a smile tugging at her lips - the girl was simply asleep.
She had her arms wrapped loosely around Dick's neck, her head was propped on his shoulder. She stirred in his arms when he kicked the door open the rest of the way and came over to the bed to set her down. Once his hands were free, he turned on the bedside lamp, filling the room with a soft golden glow. Kory watched with her breath stuck in her throat and her heart racing in her chest as Dick sat down at the edge of the bed, a tender smile never leaving his face while the girl curled up on her side. He grabbed the blankets and pulled them right under her chin, whispering something Kory couldn't decipher from the distance. His hand reached out to the girl's face, gentle fingers brushed her hair away and stroked her cheek. She must have said something because he grinned, his shoulders shaking with a soft laugh before he leaned down and planted a sweet kiss on the girl's forehead.
Kory felt something cold leave a trail on her cheek. Only when she ran the back of her hand over it to brush it away did she realize she was tearing up. A single tear rolled down the side of her face, then another and another. She couldn't stop the flow. Was she really crying? Her heart felt heavy with emotions she couldn't understand.
Minutes passed and Dick just sat there, keeping his hand on the girl's cheek, stroking her hair, watching her with nothing but love in his eyes. The bloodthirsty killer from her files, the devil incarnate, smiling like an angel. The sight had her heart clutched in a vice grip, it was imprinted in her brain, she never wanted to lose it.
It turned her view on the world she knew upside down.
At some point Dick stood up from his spot. He must have ditched the hoodie earlier and now Kory was able to see the outline of his muscular arms and the solid frame of his chest, covered only by a thin, faded t-shirt. He moved to the window, so she hid quickly behind one of the large chimneys, but Dick didn't seem like he noticed her. He looked down at the street, then up at the night sky, only briefly scanning the buildings in the area. There was a deep frown on his face, brows knitted together, deep brown eyes filled with worry. Was it because of the girl? Or did something else troubled him? Kory found herself desperate to know, which caught her by surprise. She was supposed to hunt the bastard down, but she couldn't deny that all she wanted to do right now was to curl up on his lap, run her fingers through his hair and kiss his worries away. Her mind knew she shouldn't. Her heart and body didn't give a fuck.
When he grabbed the curtains and pulled them over the window, she felt disappointed. Her eyes stayed on the spot for a bit longer, but the light illuminating the fabric from the other side was turned off and the window once again filled with darkness. Sighing, Kory dropped the binoculars from her eyes. Show's over, guess it was time to go.
"What are you doing here, huntress?"
She froze, her heart skipped not one but a few beats in her chest. There was no way to mistake that voice for any other. How did he know she was here? Did he see her? Sensed her somehow? Every cell in her body wanted her to turn around, to check, but at the same time she felt like she couldn't move.
"I asked you a question."
Kory took one step, then another and slowly turned around. There he was, just a few feet away from her - barefoot, in nothing but jeans and a t-shirt, crossing his arms over his chest, showing off his impressive biceps.
Dick Grayson in all his glory. No longer a heavenly angel watching over innocents, but an angel of death, dark and dangerous, with fury and fire behind his eyes.
Fuck, he looked good.
"Saw you take a midnight stroll through the city, got a little curious." Kory replied once she found her voice, forcing a playful tone out, but her cheeky smile and fluttering eyelashes didn't do the trick this time. "Should I be bothered by the fact you have a witch on your payroll? One so young at that?"
She didn't think it was possible but his eyes got even darker. A low growl came from his throat, vibrating through her bones.
"She's not on my payroll . She's my-" he paused before he could finish the sentence and cursed under his breath, like he caught himself about to say something he shouldn't. But Kory still caught the flicker of emotion in his eyes, she already knew the truth.
She was hoping he would pick up the thought but Dick only shook his head and sighed. "You shouldn't be here. I suggest you leave."
"She's your what ?" Kory pressed on, not even trying to tame her curiosity. "You're good with her. I saw you two through the window. You carried her to bed and tucked her in, how sweet. Didn't take you for a tender type."
"This is none of your business. Leave before I make you."
There it was, another threat. Another growl boiling in his gut. His incisors were already peeking out, fists shook with the emotions he was trying to hold back, and while there was a hint of something like the Dick Grayson she met before in his eyes, a shadow of desire and want he wore so openly the last time they saw each other, it was all hidden behind this new side of him, raw and completely unexpected.
But even if new to him, Kory knew exactly what type of behavior she was facing. A parent trying to protect their young.
She chuckled, shook her head to get her curls out of her face and watched with silent satisfaction how despite the anger burning inside him his eyes still trailed over her body with lustful hunger.
Not tonight, darling. Tonight she was going to pick him apart, not undress him.
"You care for this kid, don't you? One might even say you… love her."
Dick quickly averted his gaze and she smirked in triumph. His silence was enough to give her the answer she wanted.
"Careful, Grayson. For someone like you, having such a weak spot could be really dangerous."
"Is that a threat?"
"Consider it a friendly warning. All with good intentions."
No matter what he thought of her in that moment, she meant what she said. She might have been a hunter, but she wished this kid no harm. Her personal codex forbade her from ever lifting a hand or a weapon at a child.
Even if said child was associated with vampires.
Dick licked his lips and stalked closer to her. Like a predator to its prey, slowly, silently. Kory felt all air leave her lungs watching him come closer. What was he going to do? A shadow of a smirk pulled at one corner of his lips as his eyes sized her up and down again, lingering a bit longer on her exposed legs, the curve of her waist, her full breasts peeking out of the skin tight dress. He wanted her so bad even his rage couldn't tame his desire. Just like her duties couldn't tame her own.
In a second he had her pinned against the brick wall of the chimney she was previously hiding behind. She felt every curve of him against her, from his broad chest pressing on hers so hard she was struggling to breathe to his hips aligning perfectly with hers. She tried to push back, to fight, she had three silver knives hidden under her dress but when she tried to reach for one, Dick slammed his hand on the wall right next to her head and grabbed her neck with the other, roughly pushing her chin up so their faces were just mere inches from each other.
What was he going to do to her? Kill her? Kiss her? Fuck her? Honestly, she didn't care. As long as he stayed this close, he could do whatever he wanted to her.
When his knee found its way between her legs and pressed against her sensitive spot, she let out a choked up, involuntary moan.
Dick's mouth widened with a devilish grin.
"Listen, huntress ." He snarled her title right into her face, low and guttural. "I really like this thing going on between us, okay? I do." To drive his point home, he moved his knee higher to press against her harder and force her to grind on him. "Don't get me wrong, seeing your pretty face is always a treat. And I'm still planning to get you naked at some point, don't forget that. But make no mistake." He moved even closer and brushed his cheek against hers deliberately slowly until she felt his lips against her earlobe. "If I ever catch you again in this neighborhood, if I learn you spoke one word about the girl to anyone - I will have. Your. Head. "
And just like that he was gone, with a whoosh of air, disappeared into the night like he was never even here.
Kory slid down against the brick wall, pressing her hand to her chest and trying to catch her breath. Her heart was a wild horse trapped inside her ribcage, her legs were shaking so bad she couldn't stand.
No one had ever made her feel so scared and turned on at the same time.
She took another minute to gather her composure and calm down her heart before she risked a glance behind her hiding spot at the window. Still dark, curtains closed. Not that she expected anything else.
Did he go back to the girl? Or did he disappear into the night and went back to his place? Or maybe he was still here somewhere, watching her from the shadows, wanting to know what she's going to do next?
Nothing. She's going to do nothing. For her own sake and the kid's, she's going to act like this night never happened. She's going to forget what she saw and pursue with her mission as planned.
A father's love knew no bounds. Kory knew better than to stand in a way of that.