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The club was crowded, hot and loud, packed with people who had no idea that several of the party-goers moving among them were blood-sucking creatures of the night.
Daniel had been standing at the bar with a glass hand, watching the crowd.
He'd noticed him before the vampire even approached.
There had been something almost lazy about his movements. Beautiful in the way vampires often were. Young-looking, but older than Daniel. Confident. Arrogant.
He leaned against the bar beside Daniel and smiled. "You're Daniel Molloy."
Daniel looked sideways at him. "Depends who's asking."
The vampire laughed. "I've heard about you."
"Good things?"
"Interesting things."
Daniel recognized his hunger. It wasn't subtle. The vampire's eyes kept dropping to Daniel's throat.
"You're young," the vampire said.
"Old enough." Daniel could feel his hackles rising at the jab. That was probably the guy's intention judging by his low chuckle.
"I thought you belonged to Lestat."
Daniel grinned at that.
"Nah. I'm more of a lone wolf type, really. And I don't belong to anyone."
The vampire's gaze sharpened. "No?"
"No."
He moved closer. "You smell different," the vampire murmured.
Daniel's smile vanished.
He knew exactly what the vampire meant. Older blood. Power. His maker's blood. Armand's blood.
The vampire's pupils widened. "Who made you?"
Daniel didn't answer.
The vampire reached toward him. His fingers brushed against Daniel's wrist.
And then Daniel felt him. He turned his head to look, distracted the way he always was by Armand, only to see him standing right behind him.
The other vampire looked surprised, caught off guard. He froze.
Armand's hand closed around Daniel's wrist and drew him backward, placing himself between them.
His face was perfectly calm. That was the terrifying part.
"Remove your hand."
The vampire stared at him. He tried to laugh. It came out thin and nervous.
"I didn't mean anything."
"You did." Armand's voice was quiet.
The vampire's eyes flicked toward Daniel. Then back to Armand. "I was only talking."
"If you fancy living, I would suggest you consider the conversation finished and find someone else to enjoy the evening with. Not him."
The vampire's expression changed.
Armand took a step closer.
The other vampire stepped back.
Daniel had never seen anything like it. He didn't need to bare his teeth for his words to cut through. His power filled the space between them, and that was enough.
Daniel felt it like pressure against his skin.
The vampire swallowed, dropping Daniel's wrist as if it had burned him.
Armand's eyes darkened.
"You looked at my fledgling as prey. How does it feel to be looked at that way, I wonder?"
Daniel's heart, if it had been beating, might have stopped.
My fledgling.
The vampire stared.
Then Armand said, with a terrifying softness that his eyes did not hold, "You will never look at him that way again, and if I see you in the same room as him, I will kill you."
The vampire fled. Not walked. Not retreated. Fled.
Daniel waited until he was gone before turning toward Armand.
He licked his lips and exhaled. "You jealous, pops?"
"No."
"No? Well, forgive me if I don't exactly buy that.” A pause. “Possessive asshole.”
Armand's eyes darkened.
"You had no idea the danger you were in. I was protec—"
“Protecting what's yours?” He wanted him to say it. Needed to hear him say it.
“Yes. Protecting what is mine, Daniel!”
Daniel let out a long, slow breath, more of a habit than a need. The heavy heat of the club pressed against them, but the space immediately surrounding Armand felt cold and sharp, making the pulsing bass of the music seem miles away.
Daniel tilted his head, forcing a casual shrug despite the tightness in his own chest. "He just wanted to get laid, Armand. It's a club. People flirt."
"Is that what you believe?" Armand's voice was dangerously smooth, his dark eyes locked onto Daniel's with an intensity that felt like a physical weight. "If you had gone just a little deeper into that vampire's mind, Daniel, you would see that is not all he wanted."
Daniel opened his mouth to argue, a comeback already on his tongue, but the words died before they could leave his throat. He looked at Armand, and the mocking smirk faded completely from his face.
It wasn't just the cold, possessive fury he usually expected from Armand. Underneath the terrifying stillness, Daniel caught the raw edge of something else. It was a tremor of genuine fear.
The realization hit Daniel like a physical blow. This wasn't a petty display of territorial jealousy or one ancient vampire flexing his dominance over a younger one. Armand had read the stranger's thoughts. He had seen a genuine threat, and for a moment, he had been afraid of what would have happened to Daniel if he hadn't intervened in time.
They cut through the suffocating heat of the dance floor, Armand moving through the packed crowd without a word. Daniel followed closely in his wake, the cold air hitting them the moment they stepped out of the heavy exit doors and into the quiet alley behind the club.
The muffled, thumping bass faded behind them as they started walking toward the car. Armand kept his gaze fixed ahead, his posture rigid and unyielding, wrapped in a silence that felt heavier than the city air.
Daniel shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, his boots clicking against the damp pavement. He glanced at Armand's profile, clearing his throat. "Alright, look. Maybe I was being an idiot. I should’ve been more cautious instead of playing chicken with a guy who looked like he belonged on a true-crime podcast."
Armand stopped walking, turning slowly to face him under the neon glow of a streetlamp.
Daniel offered a wry half-smile, though his eyes remained serious. "I know how to handle myself with people, but sometimes I forget that's not all I have to deal with. Next time, I'll be more cautious before I start handing out attitude. Satisfied?”
Armand didn't move. He stood perfectly still under the streetlamp, his dark eyes searching Daniel's face. The silence between them seemed to stretch out, thick and heavy, before the rigid line of Armand's shoulders finally relaxed a fraction.
Daniel watched him, the silence getting a bit too loud for his liking. He let out a soft huff, shifting his weight. "Besides," Daniel added, a familiar, teasing glint returning to his eyes, "if you wanted me all to yourself, you could've just said so."
It was half a joke, a well-worn defense mechanism to deflect the sudden, suffocating weight of Armand’s protectiveness and bring things back to a level Daniel felt he could control.
But Armand didn't laugh. He didn't blink. He took a single step closer, closing the distance between them until Daniel could see the faint, golden hue hidden deep within his amber pupils.
"I do," Armand said.
The words were quiet, devoid of his usual riddles and sharp edges. It was a flat, unyielding statement of absolute fact.
Daniel’s teasing smile faltered, as the sheer weight of Armand’s sincerity settled over him.
The clever comeback he always kept ready on his tongue evaporated completely. He stared at Armand, his eyes widening slightly as the casual atmosphere he had been trying to build seemed to shatter. He felt a sudden, sharp heat rise under his skin, a stark contrast to the chilly autumn air of the alley. For all of Daniel's bravado and quick wit, the sheer, naked honesty of Armand's admission left him completely exposed.
He swallowed hard, his voice dropping its sarcastic edge entirely. "Jesus, Armand. Don't say things like that."
Armand tilted his head, his expression remaining entirely serious, almost solemn. He didn't look angry anymore, just intensely focused on Daniel's reaction.
"Why should I not say it?" Armand asked, his voice a soft lilt that seemed to vibrate right through the pavement. "You asked a question, Daniel. You wanted me to admit it, did you not? I am simply giving you the truth."
He took another half-step forward, his gaze never wavering from Daniel's face. "I have spent centuries watching things I care for turn to ash. Do not expect me to apologize for wanting to keep you whole, and entirely to myself.”
Daniel looked away first, unable to hold that intense, unblinking stare any longer. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at his boots as he tried to process the raw weight of those words. "You're a piece of work, you know that?" he muttered, though the bite was entirely gone from his tone. "Most people just buy a guy a drink. They don't threaten to murder some guy and then turn the whole thing into an existential crisis."
Armand said nothing at first. He just watched the way Daniel’s shoulders dropped, recognizing the moment his defenses began to crumble. The terrifying countenance of the ancient vampire bled away, leaving only a quiet warmth in its place.
"A drink would not have sufficed tonight," Armand murmured.
Before Daniel could respond, Armand closed the remaining distance between them. His hands came up, cool fingers gently framing Daniel’s jaw, tilting his face upward. The kiss was intense and possessive, much like Armand himself. Daniel caught his breath, his hands instinctively gripping the fabric of Armand's coat as he melted into it, returning the pressure with a fierce desperation of his own.
When Armand finally pulled back, his thumbs lingered for a fraction of a second against Daniel’s cheekbones. His expression was softer now, though his eyes still held that unyielding focus. He lowered his hands, his fingers gently brushing against the lapel of Daniel's jacket, smoothing down the fabric in a slow, deliberate gesture that felt entirely like a claim.
"Come. Let us leave this place," Armand said softly.
He turned and began walking toward the waiting car, not checking to see if Daniel was following. He didn't need to. The invisible tether between them, pulled taut by the blood they shared and the feelings that Daniel refused to name, was more than enough to bring Daniel along.
Daniel stood under the streetlamp for a fraction of a second longer, a faint, breathless laugh escaping his lips. He touched his lower lip, a smile finally breaking through, before pulling his jacket tighter around himself and falling into step right beside Armand