Chapter Text
With every miserable muscle in his legs screaming from the strain, Wonbin kept running at full speed, stealing furtive glances over his shoulder as panic flooded his body, wreaking havoc on his system, tearing through his insides and his nerves.
And never, never in his goddamn disastrous life had he felt this much fear.
His heart slammed against his ribs so hard he thought that, a few more minutes like this, and his entire ribcage would be shattered by that damned blood-pumping muscle.
The very same blood that had gotten him into trouble.
Who would’ve thought a witch hunt would still be happening in the twenty-first century?
Who would’ve thought it would be carried out by vampires instead of humans?
Fuck. It was ridiculous.
Their own kind, the underworld itself, was driving them toward extinction.
If it hadn’t already happened.
Wonderful.
Why the fuck had he been born with witch blood in his veins?
Why the hell had he wandered into enemy territory?
He wanted to cry.
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to curl up beneath a tree and cry, clutching his cats.
But of course, the idiot had fallen right into a trap and, without even realizing it, wandered where he had no business being.
“The forest at the edge of town is much quieter for gathering mushrooms, boy.”
His balls. They had fed him a lie built on top of his own lie.
Gathering mushrooms. Sure. All he had wanted was to perform a damn initiation ritual, in a quiet forest, somewhere that brought him peace, but now it was more than likely he would not make it out alive.
Well, he had made it out of the forest, but he knew that part of town was still enemy territory. Damn it.
They were good, those seventeen years of life. They were good.
Fuck…
Taking painful gulps of air that felt like hundreds of oxygen needles stabbing into his lungs, he turned down the first street he found, bracing himself against the wall in a desperate attempt to catch his breath, to calm the cramps in his legs and the trembling wracking his body.
Oh. Shit.
Had he really lost him?
Shit. He hoped so, because it had been a good few minutes since he had felt him breathing down his neck and… he hoped, really hoped, he had lost him.
By Lucifer and all the demons, he hoped so.
Just like in every damn horror movie, he ended up trapped in a dirty, narrow dead-end alley. An alley that, at any other time of the year, would have been unlit but, for better or worse, since it was Halloween, most people had decorated their homes. Thanks to the orange lights and small candles placed in the elegant windows of the apartment buildings rising around him, he could see just enough through the dense darkness.
The perfect cover for beasts.
Bracing his hands on his knees, he squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head, letting out a long, pitiful whine amid the chaos of his own frantic, desperate breathing.
He needed to go back home.
He needed to finish the ritual.
He needed to close that fucking wound.
Seriously, how much of an idiot did he have to be to go alone and perform a ritual in a damn forest that, according to human rumors, was full of dangerous beasts? How stupid did he have to be to trust a stranger? It had been far too suspicious. But he had sinned by being naive and innocent, unfortunately.
A reminder for his future as a witch, assuming he even had a future: “Never trust strangers and… always believe human urban legends.”
Breathing shakily, he opened his eyes again, glaring with childish reproach at the blood still dripping from his left wrist, tempting not only the vampire hunting him, but several others as well. And if there was more than one, he doubted he would be able to escape.
He needed to find a crowded place. He needed to find a guardian for the coming years of his life.
“Rule number one,” he muttered hoarsely to himself, mocking his own stupidity, speaking with bitter cynicism. “Never perform a blood ritual without a guardian.”
Straightening his posture, he made sure to press hard against the cut on his left wrist, using his oversized black shirt to apply pressure. He glared furiously at the small drops of blood on the asphalt at his feet. “Why didn’t I listen to you more, Boa? Why?”
But there was no use in regretting it now. No, he had to take advantage of the last traces of adrenaline in his body to finish escaping and survive.
Too bad his house was on the other side of town.
Fuck.
“You can do this, Wonbin. You can.”
Yeah. Sure, genius. Sure you can.
But he was not so certain of that.
Gripping his wrist tightly, he moved, or rather, tried to move. He barely managed to take a single step forward when his entire world began to spin at a stupid speed, scrambling his senses and shattering his mind in an instant that lasted only a fraction of a second but felt like years. His insides churned, bile rising up his throat in a clear sign that his system wanted to expel everything he had eaten that day.
But…
What the fuck?
The dizziness hit him, clouding his vision with small black circles that, for a moment, plunged him into complete darkness.
Until he felt something cold, a couple of drops, fall onto his head, pulling him back from that hot, suffocating abyss.
A violent shiver tore through his body, forcing him to shake as he blinked rapidly and slammed himself against the wall behind him, emerging from the darkness in his eyes, his legs turning to jelly and his head swimming with confusion.
Was it the lack of adrenaline?
The exhaustion?
The blood loss?
Shit.
Shit.
He could not pass out now.
And he was truly grateful for that light autumn drizzle, helping to hide the trail of his blood and keep his head cool enough to avoid losing consciousness.
“Come on, Wonbin. Again.”
Obeying his own mind, he pushed off the wall with his whole body to take another step but, this time, he could not move. At all.
Shit.
And panic settled once more in the pit of his stomach, bitter, foul, and ice-cold.
Truly ice-cold.
Because the moment he lowered his gaze with trembling movements, like a small fawn already caught in its predator’s jaws, he realized that, fuck, the shadows stretching at his feet were not normal shadows.
They were shadows that moved like tentacles, slowly undulating and coiling around his ankles, making any kind of movement impossible.
Fuck.
No.
No. No. No.
Fuck.
Cold sweat soaked his skin. He felt frozen in place even as he struggled with all his strength to break free from that damn grip, one that seemed to burn straight through the material of his red patent leather boots.
No.
No. No. No.
How naive he had been to believe he was free.
A mere witch escaping a vampire?
A seventeen-year-old witch outrunning a vampire hundreds of years old?
Pfft. It was the best joke he had ever heard.
And, truly, he wanted to cry.
In fact, tears burned at the corners of his eyes as he shrank into himself, pressing closer to the wall and scanning his surroundings carefully.
He did not have to look far to find his predator.
He was fucked.
That damn smug smile, framed by long fangs, told him everything he needed to know: you’re fucked, idiot.
And he did not doubt it for a second.
“You’re slippery,” the vampire began, his voice almost guttural as he advanced slowly toward Wonbin. “A damn little book rat.”
Every single cell in his body tensed and trembled beneath the vampire’s chilling voice, beneath that scrutinizing gaze.
The creature’s eyes were a deep, blood-red color, standing out in the scarce lighting and making him look even more feral. He already stood well over two meters tall, broad-shouldered and powerfully built, and Wonbin was certain that with a single punch he could send him flying several blocks down without any trouble.
He bit down hard on his lower lip and inhaled deeply through his nose when the vampire stopped in front of him, forcing him to tilt his head back just to meet that bastard’s eyes.
He hated his damn one-meter-seventy-something height more than ever. Why did he have to be so small?
The vampire’s gaze narrowed into a pleased smile that made his skin crawl in a way that was unpleasant and downright disgusting.
What the fuck were you even supposed to do in a situation like this?
They should teach this kind of thing in school, for fuck’s sake.
“Who would’ve thought something so small and pretty like you could be a damn witch?” the man asked, cupping Wonbin’s chin with an almost gentle touch, even though the gesture was unmistakably possessive. He went on after licking his lips. “Shame you won’t get very far, apprentice.”
The bastard drove his finger straight into the wound without a shred of shame, without guilt, without remorse, even though it was painfully obvious he was no longer a witch’s apprentice.
He was no longer an apprentice because his mentor had been brutally murdered by vampires.
Hunted.
Hunted like a damn prey animal.
Hunted and killed in an inhumane way.
That a simple bite was enough for vampires?
That was a pretty fairy tale.
Vampires were damn murderous beasts, made by and for killing. Bloodthirsty machines that took pleasure in their prey’s pain, that grew excited by the screams of agony from their victims.
They tore apart.
They broke.
They dismembered.
And that was what they had done to beautiful Boa.
That was what they had done.
The image of his mentor still haunted his mind and his nightmares. Dead, lying in the middle of a thick pool of blood.
A bizarre scene worthy of a B-movie.
Blood.
Blood everywhere.
Broken bones.
Her torso split open.
Lifeless eyes.
A torn throat.
A massacre carried out purely for fun.
Just for the pleasure of killing a witch.
Because if it had been about hunger, they would not have wasted all that blood.
And even though witch blood was an elixir to vampires, they were selfish enough to take only a single sip before killing their source of food. Unlike other creatures, a witch could never be a servant or a pet to a bloodsucker. And that wounded their pride.
“If I can’t have you to myself, no one will.”
And that was how witches began to disappear.
Now, hunting them was almost a sport.
Damn his luck.
Damn the son of a bitch standing in front of him.
Damn the moment when fear, pain, and resignation crashed into him all at once.
“Witch,” he corrected, his voice low, rough, and velvety, with anger and pain burning through his veins, with reality tearing at his insides. He saw the vampire raise an eyebrow, confused, so he hurried to continue. “I’m a witch, you stupid sack of shit, not a fucking apprentice.”
Where was he even getting the balls to talk back like that?
Simple.
If he was going to die, at least he would do it while insulting the idiot sending his soul to the next plane.
What did it matter anymore?
He was doomed.
He was doomed, and the bastard was letting his knowledge of his mentor’s death show.
Could it be that he…?
But he could not think any further, not when the vampire, no longer holding his chin but his neck, let out a loud laugh that sounded more like the unpleasant creak of an old door than anything resembling laughter.
Chilling.
Desperate.
His entire body tensed beneath that hand tightening around his throat, beneath those fingers digging brutally into his skin.
A hand so damn large that, without exaggeration, it was nearly able to wrap completely around his slender, adolescent neck.
Damn it.
Every fiber of his body screamed in panic when the vampire, still laughing, leaned dangerously close to his face, staring into his eyes with enough intensity to make him feel small, weak, and insignificant.
He squirmed, brow furrowed, unable to tear his gaze away from those red irises that now studied him as if he were a damn, perfectly served dish.
Well, he probably was, for that bloodsucker.
And he practically froze when the son of a bitch lowered his head and buried his nose against his neck, without loosening his grip, right beneath his ear, just above his jugular.
A deep inhale followed, then a touch, if that filth could even be called a touch, traced with the tip of that straight, masculine nose before pulling away.
Fucking disgusting.
Repulsive.
A nightmare.
Bile rose up his throat again, threatening to spill over the bastard’s shoulder, but the pressure of those rough fingers against his neck increased, stealing his breath in a matter of seconds.
Gasping for air, he tilted his head back, his vision turning glassy as that son of a bitch’s face once again blocked his view.
He did not want that idiot to be the last thing he saw before dying. Damn it.
A mocking, animalistic smile was etched onto that masculine face, its features rough yet undeniably striking. It was well known that vampires were beautiful creatures, though, honestly, that bastard was no more attractive than other beings he had encountered before.
Beings who, it was worth noting, had not tried to kill him.
“The scent of a frightened witch, combined with your virginity…” the vampire said, pausing as if savoring the thought, his tongue briefly passing over his lips before he leaned closer, brushing his mouth near Wonbin’s cheek. “It’s exquisite,” the beast finally murmured in a low, heated tone, his teeth grazing his skin just enough to make the threat unmistakably clear. “I want to eat you.”
Frightened. Injured. Angry. And on top of it all, disgusted. That was how he felt.
The intent behind the bloodsucker’s words was so blatant and shameless that it made his skin crawl, the threat heavy enough to turn his stomach.
That would have been the final insult.
He flinched at the bite, his entire body shuddering, shaken both by what had come before it and by what followed after.
Satan, why?
He let go of his wrist. In the first place, why was he still trying to hide his trail of blood if the idiot had already found him? He placed both hands against the vampire’s shoulders, using all his strength to push him away.
Needless to say, he didn’t move him a single damn inch.
Damn it.
The man let out a low, mocking, almost seductive laugh, moving closer until his lips brushed their way up to Wonbin’s ear, where he bit into the upper part of the lobe.
An involuntary sound slipped from his lips at the intensity of the bite, followed by a warm, wet sensation against his skin.
Blood.
The blood slid down his earlobe, tracing the line of his jaw before dripping onto his collarbones; blood like tiny rubies.
A temptation for the beast in front of him.
A one-way passage to death, with no return ticket.
Shit.
Shit.
He tried to move his legs, but now the shadows held him from the thighs down, leaving him with no choice but to try pushing that bastard away again.
And he did, fuck, he really tried, but the man was like a damn war tank, packed with stupidly well-built muscle.
He didn’t want to die.
He didn’t want to die.
Not yet.
Afraid.
Disgusted.
Angry.
A witch.
He was a witch.
He could do something.
“Voco te, rex tenebris,” he began to murmur, low and broken, taking advantage of the two open wounds on his body to draw on his magic. He felt the sudden tension ripple through the vampire’s body, but even so, he didn’t stop. “I, fidelis servus—”
“Shut up, you fucking bitch!” the vampire cut in with a guttural shout, digging his fingers even harder into Wonbin’s neck.
Shit.
Oxygen stabbed painfully into his lungs, and he was sure he heard a faint, protesting crack from his cervical vertebrae. His throat burned like hell, and his entire body felt as if it were sinking into an uncomfortable, suffocating darkness.
But he didn’t stop.
“I, fidelis servus tuus…” he barely managed to say, almost voiceless, his eyes watering, his face flushed from the pressure, his life slowly slipping away from his body.
And though he heard the vampire growl, he was willing to keep going, but against all odds, a hand suddenly came between their faces.
A hand he knew immediately did not belong to that son of a bitch.
A hand pale as snow. Soft. Long, slender fingers, delicate despite all their masculinity.
A hand that came to rest against the bloodsucker’s face and, just like that, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, pushed him away with a motion as light as a butterfly’s wingbeat.
And even though it made no sense, he thought of the butterfly effect, because that simple flutter sent the bloodsucker flying, slamming him so hard against the wall of the building across from them that a thunderous crash echoed as the bastard seemed to sink into the concrete, just like in cartoons, only this time far less amusing.
Not amusing at all.
A butterfly’s flutter had caused a disaster on the other side of the world. In this case, it had moved a fucking war tank.
His throat burning with pain, he brought both hands to his neck as he turned his gaze toward the person who had just saved him.
There, at his side and a few steps ahead, stood a young man who was a few centimeters taller than him, no more than ten. He had soft features and a masculine build that, while clearly worked, didn’t make him rough or bulky. A young man who could easily be described as athletic, with not-too-broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and strong arms. Skin as pale as porcelain, lending a certain coldness to all that softness, made even more pronounced by the faint drizzle falling over their heads. His hair was jet black, maybe blue-black, he wasn’t entirely sure. Thick lashes. A small nose. Perfect lips and… fuck. He was a goddamn Adonis.
The bastard was well beyond handsome and masculine, attractive and hot, because even if there was a softness to his face, his entire presence was so painfully masculine that, under different circumstances, Wonbin might’ve screamed like a damn girl in the middle of puberty.
Satan.
He was inhuman.
Well.
He was a vampire.
Those intense wine-dark irises fixed on him, a red closer to blood than the other vampire’s eyes, confirmed it. Almond-shaped eyes. A powerful gaze. Cold. Calculating. Chilling. Beautiful.
And he felt afraid.
He felt afraid.
It was a cold, aggressive beauty.
Chaos.
A chaos he wanted to keep looking at, wanted to keep looking back at him.
It was a look that lasted only a fraction of a second, yet it managed to steal his breath away before the animalistic growl of the other vampire made the walls and the ground at his feet tremble.
Unlike the handsome vampire, who tilted his head with effortless elegance and calm, he snapped his own head toward his attacker in a nearly hysterical, clumsy motion. A new kind of panic flooded his veins at the sight of how the man seemed to have grown even larger.
Was that even possible?
Oh. Fuck.
They were done
The handsome vampire and him. They were done.
But he seemed to be the only one thinking that, because out of the corner of his eye, he refused to look away from the beast in case he needed to run, he saw the black haired vampire casually slide his hands into the pockets of his elegant slacks and let out a mocking huff of a smile.
Fuck. Was he insane?
He wanted to scream, but nothing came out of his wounded throat, so he only gnawed at his lower lip, pressing himself tighter against the wall behind him as the damn shadows continued to cling to his legs. Tighter and tighter. More painful by the second.
He had the faint impression they were burning his skin, but that was not his main concern.
Not right now, at least. If he made it out alive, he would make sure to cry like a child over even the smallest scratch.
“That witch is mine, you son of a bitch,” growled the first vampire, the one with brown hair, skin even paler than the other’s, and an almost monstrous build. He went on as he shook brick dust from his shoulders. “Lay a hand on him and you’re a dead man.”
By Satan. He could not believe they were fighting in front of him. Over their prey.
Over him.
He was this close to bursting into hysterical laughter.
The black haired vampire shrugged and did not move an inch, his beautiful blood red eyes gleaming with cold amusement.
“Technically, I already am,” he said casually, tilting his head just a few degrees. The gesture only added to the power radiating from his intimidating presence, barely concealed beneath that youthful, handsome face. “Although, more importantly,” he continued, faint amusement threading through his deep, velvety voice, “are you aware of where you’re standing, son of Tepes?”
Son of Tepes?
What?
Confused, he blinked rapidly, his gaze darting between the black haired vampire and the brown haired one. The latter looked just as confused as he did, though far more pissed. Unlike the black haired vampire, who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself behind that impassive mask.
What the fuck was all this?
Finally, the brown haired vampire growled again and advanced quickly toward the black haired one, completely ignoring him.
Thank hell for that.
“Do you think I give a damn about where I am, you son of Adam’s bitch?” the brown haired vampire spat mockingly, smiling with superiority once he stopped in front of the black haired one.
Wonbin was even more surprised by the cold calm with which the black haired vampire lifted his chin to face the massive beast before him.
They were like an iceberg and a mountain.
Or some shit like that.
He was starting to hallucinate.
Jaw clenched, he did not miss a single second of the expressions on those two creatures’ faces, especially the black haired one’s. Without hesitation, he curved his lips into a sly smile, so arrogant and self assured that it was impossible not to notice the sudden discomfort in the brown haired vampire. A muscle in his cheek twitched, tense with stress.
“I find it extremely interesting,” the black haired vampire began, his voice dropping a couple of octaves, unaware of the shiver it sent down Wonbin’s spine, “that a rat blood like you would dare put himself at my level.”
His head was about to explode.
He did not understand a damn thing they were talking about and, honestly, he just wanted to get out of there.
He wanted to go home.
Do the ritual alone in the backyard.
Sleep all day with his cats.
Fuck.
He was falling apart.
“I’m just as strong as you, little girl,” growled the son of Tepes, and the black haired vampire chuckled under his breath.
“You couldn’t be more wrong.”
That was the last rational thing Wonbin heard before he felt an arm wrap around his waist and yank him so fast that for a moment the sky was beneath his feet and the asphalt above his head.
He heard a distant growl and the world spun violently as, by pure instinct, he clutched tightly onto the fabric of that… Oh Satan, black shirt.
It was the black haired vampire.
The one holding him was the black haired vampire.
The one moving him who knows where was the black haired vampire.
The one he thought was his savior.
He could not even find comfort in the idea of being food for a handsome vampire, because there was nothing he cared less about.
And when he became aware of his surroundings again, he realized they had only moved to the end of the dead end street.
So fast it felt like they had broken the space time barrier. At least according to him, dizzy from blood loss, panic, and exhaustion. His judgment was not exactly reliable right now.
“Get out of my territory, son of Tepes,” the black haired vampire warned, gripping Wonbin’s body tightly against his own.
His head spun with the scent of blood and coffee clinging to the vampire who held him in an almost overprotective way, practically forcing him to hide his face against his neck.
What the fuck was all this?
Fuck.
Fuck.
Why was he so naive and stupid sometimes?
And against his will, his fingers tightened even more around that black shirt that looked absurdly expensive.
He is not going to save you, Wonbin. You will be his Halloween dinner too.
And he knew it.
“Halloween dinner.”
Fuck, it sounded like a damn restaurant menu.
The brown haired vampire did not take long to burst into laughter, once again sounding like the creak of an old door.
“Give me my witch, bastard,” the brown haired one warned in a low voice. “Give him to me and I’ll leave without tearing your throat open.”
The black haired vampire let out a low laugh that was oddly pleasant, unlike the other bastard’s. It sounded soft, deep, almost playful, and it was accompanied by a faint vibration in his chest that Wonbin felt perfectly.
And that sparked a kind of panic he did not understand.
He tried to pull free now that the annoying shadows were no longer wrapped around his legs. How or why, he had no idea, and it was not the time to question stupid things. But, like everything else that night, it did not work.
The black haired vampire held him tighter, leaning down until Wonbin could feel those soft lips brush against the uninjured earlobe.
“If you’re smart,” the black haired vampire whispered hoarsely into Wonbin’s ear, “you won’t move away from me.”
Smart?
He was. Yes. Sometimes a bit naive and distracted, but…
Fuck it.
His instinct told him to stay right there, so he did.
His instinct had never failed him.
There was a reason he was a witch, damn it.
Moistening his lips, he stared straight into those blood colored irises once the vampire pulled back a few centimeters.
Just enough for them to look at each other, even though their faces were still far too close.
Biting his lower lip in a nervous gesture, he nodded, brow furrowed.
He was not entirely sure if he saw the hint of a smile on the vampire’s lips, but whether he did or not did not matter in that moment.
“Leave my territory if you don’t want to end up as dust,” the black haired vampire murmured, almost solemn.
The air was thick with murderous tension, and Wonbin knew without a doubt that, under different circumstances, those two bloodsuckers would have already torn each other apart. Right now, his presence might have been what held them back, because fuck, they could not take their eyes off tonight’s meal, right? Or something like that.
His nerves snapped when the black haired vampire buried his nose in his pink dyed hair and inhaled, letting out an exaggerated sound of satisfaction.
“You wounded him, but you didn’t taste his blood,” the black haired vampire continued immediately, almost possessive in the way he held Wonbin while sniffing him, his gaze fixed on the brown haired vampire, who clenched his fists as he breathed heavily through his nose. “Big mistake, idiot.”
“Let h—”
“Now he’s mine,” the black haired vampire cut him off
Wonbin’s mind spun when, after those words, the vampire’s mouth landed on his neck, right over his jugular. Without warning. Without a breath beforehand. Without a single damn signal, his skin was torn open by sharp fangs that must have turned feral in that very instant, because only seconds ago he had looked completely normal, aside from the color of his irises.
Heat and pain spread through his body at terrifying speed, making his blood boil and his insides cramp violently.
A sharp, piercing pain and, damn it all, pleasurable too.
A strange, unrecognizable mix that dragged a sound out of him, half whimper, half moan, one he didn’t even manage to recognize as his own even though it was. His fingers clenched hard around the elegant black shirt in a desperate attempt to stay upright as his legs trembled beneath him.
Not that he would’ve fallen, not with the way the vampire was holding him, but still… fuck.
His head was spinning. The pain and the fear were there, real and present, yet wrapped in a strange haze of satisfaction that made him shut his eyes and knit his brows, losing track of time. Losing himself in the intense scent of blood and coffee, in the damp air around them. Had the drizzle stopped? In those cold lips against his skin. Losing himself completely under how obscene every pull felt, every sound the vampire made with even the smallest sip he took.
Seconds, maybe. Or hours.
It felt like years and like a blink all at once.
And when the vampire finally pulled away from his neck, he heard, somewhere through the fog in his head, a “You’ll pay for this, bastard,” followed by heavy footsteps retreating into the distance.
The…
Had the other vampire really left?
What the fuck…?
A violent shiver ran through his body the moment he stopped feeling those arms around his waist. He stumbled back a couple of unsteady steps, instinctively trying to regain his balance as he opened his eyes and looked at the dark-haired vampire in front of him, torn between panic and an anxious craving for more of whatever that had been.
The man looked wild and beautiful, blood smeared across his lips, a thin scarlet line trailing from one corner of his mouth down to his chin. His fangs had returned to their normal size, but there was something fierce still burning in his eyes, something that sent another shiver down Wonbin’s spine.
Breathing hard, he brought a hand to his neck, pressing it over the bite.
He should’ve stepped back.
What if the bastard decided to finish eating him now?
What if…
Oh. Shit.
Why did he want more even though he was scared?
“What the hell is wro—”
The vampire’s heavy snort cut him off, setting his nerves on edge.
What the fuck?
The vampire wiped his mouth roughly with the back of his hand, then covered his lips with it, wrinkling the bridge of his nose in something that looked dangerously close to disgust.
Was that… disgust?
“If one of those pieces of trash kills in my territory, the responsibility falls on me,” the dark-haired vampire muttered roughly, his expression still twisted in displeasure, though it didn’t take away a single bit of his attractiveness. “So I had to do something to make the idiot leave and get him off your back, kid. You’re welcome.”
Wonbin caught the irony in those almond-shaped eyes as they narrowed slightly, what he assumed was some version of a smile. Not a pleasant one. More arrogant, mocking, tired.
He frowned and pressed harder against the wound on his neck.
It hurt like hell. Bruises were definitely going to form.
“Was it really necessary to bite me?” he asked sharply, still confused, still shaken and disturbingly overwhelmed by something he didn’t fully understand.
The vampire let out a heavy snort before breaking into a laugh dripping with cynicism.
“Do you keep your manners up your ass?”
He growled as he pressed his hand harder against his mouth, bending slightly like he was about to throw up. Wonbin blinked rapidly, startled by the reaction, but the vampire didn’t take long to speak again.
“Witch and a virgin,” the dark-haired vampire muttered, looking him up and down with a deep frown, openly disgusted by the pink-haired boy. “What a fucking vile combination.”
“Excuse me?”
He couldn’t help feeling offended by that comment. Offended and confused, because the other vampire had practically been on the verge of orgasm over him, while this one looked seconds away from vomiting.
He didn’t understand anything.
He tensed, irritated, when the vampire shot him a sidelong glance full of mockery.
Was the bastard laughing at him?
“Your blood and your scent are garbage to me,” the dark-haired vampire finally said, straightening up and lowering his hand from his mouth. Slipping his hands into the pockets of his black trousers, he went on. “So get out of my sight and out of my territory. Having you here is like a damn plague.”
But…
What the fuck?
Anger crashed through him hard enough it felt like his bones might shatter, the urge to punch that bastard screaming inside his head. He stopped himself only when he realized something important.
He didn’t feel tired anymore. Or weak. Or in pain.
Almost as if…
He blinked fast just as the vampire’s expression turned cold, nearly terrifying.
Uh.
Shit.
Something burned deep in his gut for reasons he couldn’t explain.
“Get out of here, witch,” the dark-haired vampire muttered roughly, looking dangerous. “You’ll carry my scent for at least twenty-four hours.” He added it like an afterthought, licking his lips. “They won’t attack you during that time. After that, you’re on your own.”
And just as Wonbin was about to say something a shadow moved behind the vampire.
A shadow that quickly revealed a handsome boy with sharp features, a slender face, pale skin, and a slightly mischievous look in his eyes.
Wonbin tensed again when the guy openly scanned him from head to toe and casually rested a hand on the other vampire’s shoulder.
Both dark-haired.
“Why does the witch smell like you, Jung?” the newcomer asked with a malicious tone, never taking his eyes off Wonbin’s face. “He’s not exactly your type.”
“They were going to kill him here, Seok,” Jung replied with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Nothing special.”
“And is he coming with us?” Seok asked, clearly excited.
Both Wonbin and Jung stiffened.
Going with them?
What the hell was he talking about?
“Are you sick?” Jung snapped with dry irony, shooting Seok a murderous look. “I would never take a virgin witch into the territory.”
Virgin.
Virgin.
Fuck.
Since when was being a virgin a damn problem?
Running both hands through his hair in frustration, Wonbin let out a heavy sigh, an involuntary twitch pulling at his eyebrow.
Fully aware of the two pairs of eyes fixed on him, he spoke.
“Go fuck yourself, asshole,” he muttered with fake sweetness, flashing Jung a bright smile as he raised both middle fingers.
And his life changed forever.