#Jooheon vampire

[moonhoures]

warning: every post will include smut! minors do not interact! (18+)

these will be posted at midnight (CST) from Oct. 1st to Oct. 31st. the links will be added accordingly after each one is posted!

* titles are subject to change up until posting date!

go to the bottom of this post to join the taglist! ↓

1. Video Games | Enhypen Jay

— angry sex + makeup sex

2. One Night Stand | Seventeen Hoshi

— anonymous sex + roleplay

3. Relax | Ateez Yeosang

— bath sex

4. Insatiable | Enhypen Sunghoon

— biting kink + blood play [vampire!au]

5. Merciless | Stray Kids Hyunjin

— bondage

6. Countdown | TXT Taehyun

— brat taming

7. All Of Me | Monsta X Jooheon

— breeding kink / creampie

8. Stargazing | Monsta X Changkyun

— choking

9. Sunday Morning | P1Harmony Jiung

— cockwarming

10. Cowgirl | Ateez Wooyoung

— costumes

11. Pretty When You Cry | NCT Jeno

— dacryphilia

12. “It Just . . . Slipped” | Stray Kids Chan

— daddy kink

13. Play Thing | Twice Mina

— degradation

14. Open Wide | BTS Taehyung

— dom!idol

15. Score | Stray Kids Minho

— dry humping / thigh riding

16. Wicked Games | NCT Haechan

— edging / orgasm denial

17. Watch Yourself | Seventeen Jeonghan

— mirror sex

18. That’s My Girl | Twice Jihyo

— mommy kink

19. Thin Walls | ZB1 Matthew

— masturbation

20. I Can See You | The Boyz Sangyeon

— office sex [coworkers!au]

21. Sit | Blackpink Rosé

— oral

22. Good To Me | Seventeen Wonwoo

— overstimulation

23. Kiss Me Thru The Phone | Stray Kids Felix

— phone sex

24. Beautiful | NCT Jaehyun

— praise kink

25. Focus | Ateez San

— sex tape / filming

26. Knew Better | Seventeen S.Coups

— spanking

27. First Time For Everything | (G)-Idle Soyeon

— squirting

28. Bad Day | Wonho

— stripping

29. Hotel Room Service | TXT Huening Kai

— sub!idol

30. Three’s Company | P1Harmony Keeho & Theo

— threesome

31. Weapon | ITZY Chaeryoung

— toys

🕸️ Taglist 🕷️

to join the taglist for this event only, please comment on this post! asks or comments on any other posts will not be valid.

edit: if your age isn’t visible on your blog you will not be added! you must be 18+ to be eligible for this taglist. thank you!

if you’d like to join my other taglists, you can do so here.

if you have any questions, i suggest sending those through my inbox!

[winter-dayz]

Fictober 2023

winter-dayz

A collection of oneshots for Fictober 2023.

Not every story is a romantic pairing. In some oneshots, the reader/main character is a villain; in some, the idol character is a villain. Please be aware that many are heavily horror or angst-themed.

READ ALL WARNINGS AND TAGS IN EACH ONESHOT.

Taglist:  @soobin-chois

Kim Jisoo: It's only a dream... College AU; Nightmare on Elm Street AU Genre: Horror

Lee Hoseok: Freedom or the Kindness of Death Hybrid AU; Shapeshifter AU Genre: Horror

Lalisa Manobal: Eternal Love Vampire AU Genre: Angst, Fluff, Horror, Smut

Mark Tuan: A Polite Haunting Ghost AU Genre: Horror

Jeon Jungkook: His Treasure Dragon AU Genre: Horror; Smut

Lee Jooheon: Anything Goes The Purge AU Genre: Smut

Felix Lee: So naive... Fairy AU Genre: Angst; Horror (if you squint)

Kim Seungmin: Lonely St. Grim Reaper AU; Soulmate AU Genre: Angst; Fluff

Min Yoongi: Betrayed Gumiho AU; Korean Mythology AU Genre: Angst; Fluff; Horror

Choi Yeonjun: Old Wives' Tales Werewolf AU Genre: Fluff

Shin Yuna: Bringer of Death Mummy AU; Inspired by The Mummy (1999) Genre: Angst; Fluff

Kim Namjoon: Reclamation Dryad AU; Greek Mythology AU Genre: Fluff; Horror

Park Jimin: Movie Marathon Scary Movie Night Genre: Fluff

Kang Taehyun: Only silence remains Shadow People AU Genre: Horror

Lim Jaebeom: I Can't Lose You Deadly Games AU; Inspired by Squid Game & Alice in Borderland Genre: Angst; Horror

Choi Beomgyu: Field of Daisies Dokkaebi AU; Korean Mythology AU Genre: Fluff

Jung Hoseok: Avra K'davra Golem AU Genre: Angst; Fluff

Kim Yugyeom: Guardian Demon AU Genre: Fluff

Lee Chaeryeong: First Serial Killer AU Genre: Horror

Yang Jeongin: The Walls The Boy AU; Inspired by The Boy (2016) Genre: Fluff

Shin Ryujin: For the Best Alien AU; Yandere Genre: Fluff; Horror

Kim Taehyung: Capable Android AU Genre: Smut

Han Jisung: The Ring Ghost AU; Possession AU Genre: Fluff

Lee Minhyuk: Promise Haunted House Genre: Fluff

Lee Minho: Left Behind Friday the 13th AU Genre: Angst (with a happy ending); Horror (if you squint); Smut

Kim Jennie: Catch 'em, kill 'em Amityville Horror AU Genre: Horror; Smut

Yoo Kihyun: Luring Siren AU Genre: Fluff; Horror (if you squint)

Choi Youngjae: Consequences of a Spellbook Magic AU; Witchcraft AU Genre: Angst

Hwang Hyunjin: Bound to You Cerberus AU; Goddess AU; Greek Mythology AU Genre: Fluff; Smut

Choi Soobin: Every side of the story Greek Mythology AU; Gorgon AU Genre: Fluff

BamBam: Best Halloween Ever Halloween Party; Non-Idol AU Genre: Fluff

[monsterhigh-cb]

This is the night after the monsters new year party. They are all whiny and tired. There are a few suggestive pictures

Hongjoong: *groaning* I'm never going to a party again-

Yeonjun: *flops on his bed*

Taehyung: *huffing at everyone*

Hyunjin: *scoffs* while everyone is off laying around all day. I got myself a date. I had to look presentable

Chan: *whines* Leoooo. Carry meeee

Jaemin: I'm not sure who's sweater this is, but it's mine now

Jooheon: *yawns* I'm playing games for the rest of the day

Taeyong: no one ask me to function

Jaehyun: *whines and pulls the blanket over him*

Byeongkwan: I definitely didn't fall asleep in the bath

Wonkyuk: I.. *yawns* I didn't expect to be this tired

Rocky: I forgot vampires get tired too-

Jackson: I don't even have enough energy to float home-

Possible students: @livealittleoc-cb [💙🤍] @badbf-cb [🩷🩷] @k-pop-shelter [💚💚] @halloween-idols @darkmoonsiblings @theinvitation-bot @mechat-kpopcb @multiaugirls @payu-cb @your-renlix @welcome-to-maniac @hybrididol-cb @temptationcb @hellborn-ateez-cb @gashaponlixie-cb @jayswritingcafe @thepack-cb @multi-esme @yanderemuses @yandereyeri @blackpink-cb @clubwnderland @urbtsboys @angelxdevil-bot @hybrid-center @mystical-ocs @nana-n-nono @domxbot @dr-hwa-cb @yourhorrorbots @richboy-atz @the-hellhounds @the-family-business-cb @redlight-cb

[jooheonspinky]

Monsta X Masterlist

Welcome: Thank you for stopping by. 

*all works are complete unless otherwise stated*

Shownu x Female Reader

So Beautiful[09.10.2021] {Angst, Smut} After having your first child, you no longer feel sexy with your new mom bod.

Wonho x Female Reader, ft Jooheon x Reader’s Female BFF

Stuck[04.08.2018] (a collaboration with @millie-ionaire05) {Smut}: Your best friend and you work for the most amazing company ever, hiring Kpop artists for events. When fraudsters come into play, the two of you will be stuck scrambling to appease the client and either losing your jobs, or striking on luck.: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 |

Wonho x Female Reader, ft Kihyun

The Mummy Prince [10.30.2018] {Halloween Thriller, Smut, one shot}: Y/N starts working at a museum of ancient artifacts. She is excited to put her studies of old languages to use as a new object is brought in.

Losing You [12.21.2020] {angst, magic!au}: Wonho must choose between you or saving the world

Minhyuk x Female Reader

The Black Ribbon[06.12.2018] {Horror/Thriller!au, one shot}: Minhyuk returns after an accident wearing a black choker that he insists must never be taken off.

Enchanted Night [03.30.2020] {Fantasy; one shot}: Accepting an invitation to a Halloween beach party, Y/N tags along with her best friend. There, she meets a young man with whom she hits it off with right away. But he is not all that he seems.

Kihyun x Female Reader

Ghost Tour Surprise [10.31.2021] {Halloween, Spooky}: Y/N takes a haunted tour of historical downtown, meeting a strange, yet handsome passenger along the way.

Hyungwon x Female Reader

Rumors[06.19.2018] {Smut, one shot}: You never thought you’d find yourself pinned between the sinks in the women’s bathroom by your crush offering you what you’d always wanted, but here you were, staring up into his face scrambling to keep your cool.

A Midnight Ball on Hallows' Eve [10.16.2019] {Spooky!au, one shot}: You share a dance with a mysterious stranger.

Jooheon x Female Reader

Tamed Hearts: [09.28.2018] {Angst, Fluff}: Do past lives really exist? It’s difficult for Y/N to cling to her beliefs when so much has her leaning towards a yes.: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 

Regrets: [10.31.2020] {Fantasy, angst, one shot}: This was a ‘finish the story’ challenge using this prompt: Part of me was hoping the ground would just open up and swallow me whole as I watched him approach me. I hadn’t seen him since that night we parted ways, and I was hoping I never would. Seeing him brought back all of those memories that I fought so hard to repress, to forget. ”Hello dear, I thought I might find you here.”

No Regrets: [04.24.2022] {Fantasy, vampire!au, angst, fluff, smut, one shot}:  When I can’t let our last goodbye be for forever.

Got my Number: [08.23.2022] {idol!au, fluff, smut, one shot}:  A trip to see Monsta X in concert turns out to be so much more than expected.

Jooheon x Gender Neutral Reader

Disturbance:[08.13.2021] {Angst}:A waking nightmare shakes you to your core and Jooheon is there to help calm you afterwards despite the fact you two had not been talking to each other all day.

Changkyun x Female Reader

The Spirit Board[10.29.2018] {Halloween Thriller, one shot}: When Y/N finds an old spirit board while cleaning out her attic, will she still believe that spirits aren’t real?

OT7 

Wonho X Female Reader, ft BFF Changkyun, BTS

Lure of the Lore [01.30.2019] {Werewolf, angst, fluff, smut}: Y/N‘s never been a believer in lore, unlike her best friend Changkyun. That is until he drags her to yet ANOTHER exhibit where there is a supposed werewolf locked in a cage made of silver and steel. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |

Monsta X Cabin in Lure of the Lore [11.25.2019]1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

Jooheon X Female Reader

The Draco Prince [09.12.2020]{Fantasy; Inspired by The Witcher series}: Y/N sets on a quest to find the dragon prince. Her goal is to break the curse and return him to his family. This journey finds her befriending several creatures and humans which turn out to be essential to her quest. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

[sotteoks]

˚ ༘♡ ·˚ ₊˚ˑ༄ؘ

note: even though i try not to use too much gendered language, my reader usually has female genitalia because i often write to fill my own silly daydreams

Key: [M] - Mature [TW] - Trigger Warning [A] - Angst [F] - Fluff [AU] - Alternate Universe

(let's keep it real...anything marked with [M] is probably gonna have smut in it.)

──★ ˙ ̟ More Than A Helping Hand [M] [AU] summary: your university roommate Hyunwoo is everything you wanted and then some.

──★ ˙ ̟ Fresh Meat [M] [AU] summary: adjusting to the modern world as a centuries old vampire has been mostly easy for you. however, you can't recall the last time you've had a meal that makes you want to go back for seconds.

──★ ˙ ̟ untitled [M] [AU] coming soon! summary: your best friend Minhyuk has been crushing on you for a while but there has never been a good time for him to try confessing to you. all it takes is one conversation for Minhyuk to say fuck it and let you know how he feels about you.

──★ ˙ ̟ Just Touch [M] summary: the boundaries of your relationship with Kihyun always seem to get a little blurry in the heat of the moment.

──★ ˙ ̟ Right Here [M] summary: Hyungwon doesn't expect you to be able celebrate his special day with him but you end up surprising him.

──★ ˙ ̟ No Time [M] coming soon! summary: you've been such a good sport about how busy your boyfriend Jooheon has been with work but he starts to feel guilty about not giving you enough attention.

──★ ˙ ̟ Playing with the Prince [M] [AU] summary: you're a mischievous maid who's a fiend for the prince's attention.

──★ ˙ ̟ Nevermind [M] [AU] coming soon! summary: your playboy roommate Changkyun mistakes you for his hookup and starts seeing you in a different light.

credit to ciaracoloring for the banner template !!! a true life saver for my lazy ass

© sotteoks do not steal / claim as your own !!!

[heoneyology]

lee jooheon is a vampire confirmed

[welcome-to-maniac]

Jooheon popped his head into their shared bedroom smiling when he saw his fiancé getting ready to leave. He was happy that he caught him before he did leave, walking over and back hugging him the journal in his hand evident. He pressed a kiss to his shoulder and hummed. “It’s late but…Merry Christmas, Happy 1 Year Together and Happy New Year.” He handed the journal over. “A gift, a piece of me, a piece that shows how much I truly love and care for you.” He holds up a pair of keys handing them too. “A piece for the future too.~ You have to get to the last entry to know what they go to.~” He grinned a little, kissing his forehead knowing that Minho might have some kind of assumption to what they were for. “I love you.”

[AHHH ITS DONE FINALLY HEHE there’s like 2 mistakes but it’ll still make sense hehe 🥰]

@livealittleoc-cb

"All the same to you too, sunshine," Minho grinned, stealing a kiss of his own and setting the jumper he was going to put on aside. Getting ready could wait. "A set of keys, a mystery, and your journal? I don't know about you but I think Maniac can wait."

He sat back down on their bed, shooing Sooni off and laying the keys in his lap as he opened the same journal he'd seen Jooheon pour hours into night after night.

Though silent, Minho's thoughts were written onto his face plain as day - his walls long gone in front of the man he was going to marry. He chuckled reading through the early days, occasionally looking towards Jooheon as he pictured the older man writing away, pressing flowers and glueing down memories into each page.

"The Recon..." He mutters, more to himself than anything. He'd taken to blocking that from his memory, choosing to forget just how close he was to losing his life. To losing his family. His heart ached as he finally understood the other was coping while he was all but dead to the world: not at all.

The longer he read, the more Minho's ears burned red, until he frowned, reading over the next few entries just that little bit quicker. He could address those pages later, not when either of them were in a good mood. But relief washed over him regardless; his name, circled in hearts over and over again. Even in the midst of everything that happened that day, they were okay.

His baby picture. A version of himself so innocent and young. He sniffled, rubbed over the picture with his thumb and laughed as he read further down. He'd made Jooheon miss almost a month of writing entries - perhaps his pride was inflating just little bit. And he had wondered where that date polaroid had gotten to.

"Puppy, huh?"

He kept reading, now far too curious to see the inner workings of the man he was going to call his husband. The longevity potion had remained in his wardrobe, sealed away in a box underneath his belongings. It wasn't as though Minho didn't want it, he was still coming to terms with leaving the others at the bar behind. But he knew it wouldn't come to that.

July 10th was a date he wished he could forget, in fact he'd have preferred it if that week had never happened at all. Hospital visits sucked and nothing would erase the memory of Jooheon confined to a hospital bed. August as a whole could go in the shit Lee Minho wants to forget category too. Too many scares, too many visits to the hospital, it was exhausting.

"I'd like to see this other journal sometime~" He laughed, looking over to Joo with a crafty smile and just the faintest hint of his canines, still relatively sharp after his vampire stint. October itself was a good month, even with the chaos that came with it. Jooheon's magazine shoot was still displayed in his dresser, the magazine itself open to the page. His birthday was perfect, and little Carrots was adorable, from the distance he kept himself from her for both their sakes.

He brushed over LeeKnow as fast as he could, grateful Joo had gone to the trouble of reminding himself to never mentioning it again. He'll get therapy for it someday. He should get therapy in general regarding his youth. But Thanksgiving with his future in-laws was his own personal favourite of last year; cooking alongside Joo's mother, spending time with everyone, he couldn't have asked for more.

"You should ask the kids about how I look at you, they won't shut up."

Minho's expression morphed to something unreadable as he reached the end, blinking as he read over the same entry over and over. He wasn't seeing things, was he? He closed the journal, set it aside and turned the key in his hand, before tugging Jooheon into a hug, wordless as ever. He nodded though, a smile etched onto his face.

"I can't wait to move in together. I'll have to change the name on the lease of this apartment, but let's do it. Let's live together, properly."

[livealittleoc-cb]

💼. Hmm...[OFFER] + MinJoo + vamp!Joo?

@welcome-to-maniac

⭐: Coming right up~

[ OFFER. ]  after noticing the receiver hasn’t fed in a few days / weeks, the sender offers to let the receiver feed from them.

Jooheon had been getting used to the whole new vampire powers but he hasn't gotten used to the need of feeding. He had hidden himself in his room curled up, holding his stomach letting out pained groans. He wouldn't even let carrots around him in fear that he would try and feed off of her. He had been dizzy and weak meaning he also hadn't noticed the weeks worth of messages from people, including his boyfriend Minho.

Minho looked down at the chat between him and Jooheon with a frown as he bit his bottom lip in worry. "What's wrong hyung?" Felix asked as he saw Minho sat at the dining table of his apartment, scrolling through his phone with a worried look.

"Just Joo hasn't texted back in a couple of weeks..." He muttered as he stared at the screen almost as if he stared long enough it would make a message from him pop up.

"Well first I don't think staring at your phone will make a message appear." He teased the older playfully as said older just rolled his eyes and put it away. "Second isn't he going through a whole new species change or something?" He asked with a raised brow.

"Yes but...I feel like something is off." He muttered as he stood up and went to grab a jacket. "I'm going to go check on him." Before Felix could say anything else Minho was already gone.

Once at Jooheon's place he took out his copy of the front door's key, yes he had a copy of Jooheon's keys. He opened the door and was instantly greated with little paws thumping on the ground. Carrots lightly tugged at Minho's pant leg, chittering softly. He raised a brow as he picked up Jooheon's beloved familar and tried to calm her down. "What's wrong girl? Where's Jooheon?" He asked softly as to not scare her more. He looked around the house seeming almost untouched and Minho felt his nerves spike as he started looking for his boyfriend in a rush. "Jooheon! Joo! Baby, where are you?" He called out as he got more and more nervous.

He got to where his room was and reached for the doorknob. He heard Jooheon's groaning and he frowned as he carefully opened the door. "Joo..." He asked softly as he saw his lover curled up, holding his stomach, sweating and dazed look. The minute that Minho stepped into the room Jooheon groaned covering his nose as he whimpered.

"What...What are you doing here? Go away...please..." He said weakly as Minho let Carrots back into the hallway.

"Baby...have you not eaten anything?" He asked as he looked at the cans of tomato juice and strawberry cartons around his room. "You know red things aren't going to help at all." He sighed as he sat down and slipped off his jacket. "Come on, you need to eat." He sat down and pat his leg motioning to his own neck.

"No...what if...what if I take too much...what if I hurt you." He said as he shyed away from his hand. Minho frowned and shook his head.

"I trust you. Now come and eat." He said softly. Jooheon thought it over before slowly sitting up. He moved to where Min was, eyes blurred and unfocused as his boyfriend helped him. "That's it big boy." Min encouraged as he let Jooheon's hand rest on his thigh as his nose ran along his neck. Minho tilted his head more to give him better access to his neck.

He let a shuddered breath as he inhaled Minho's scent, his blood smelt so so sweet. He slowly sunk his teeth into his boyfriend's neck. Minho winced lightly, grabbing onto Joo's hand but quickly relaxing. He took a couple gulps of his blood as he pulled away. "So sweet..." He mumbled under his breath as he went lower to his shoulder and bit down again. Minho's tried to stay still as he let him take as much as he needed feeling a bit faint as he lightly tapped on Joo's hand. With that as his queue he pulled away. He licked his lips from any stray blood his eyes glowing red. He licked at the open wounds on his boyfriend's neck and shoulder before nuzzling his nose against his cheek. "Thank you my love." He said softly as Minho smiled trying to get his bearings.

"I trust you." Is all he says as he presses a soft and short kiss to his lips.

"I'm sorry I took too much." He said as he laid Minho down. "I'll be right back, I'll get you something to feel better." He said softly pressing a kiss to Minho's forehead and walking off. He came back and handing him over a cookie and juice box before cuddling into his side. "I missed you." He said softly while Minho smiled softly.

"I missed you too Sunshine."

[thewickedxrp]

hi, i'm having a hard time deciding which species to apply for. do you have any faceclaim suggestions for witch, gumiho, vampire or imugi?

of course! i’m always happy to help and as someone who struggles to pick an fc i know your pain. i am gonna preface this with saying, these fcs can fit any of the species for the rp and the ones listed below are just suggestions!

for witch – wonho, exo’s kai, bibi the soloist, rv’s seulgi, svt’s woozi and vernon. 

for gumiho – nct’s taeyong, hyuna, shinee’s key, wooyoung and san from ateez, aespa’s winter, svt’s hoshi and itzy’s yeji. 

for vampire – taemin, g-idle’s soyeon, ateez’s hongjoon, yugyeom from got7, and mingyu from svt. 

for imugi – siyeon from dreamcatcher, ten and yangyang from nct/wayv, twice’s sana and daehyun, and jooheon from monsta x. 

outside of korean entertainment - as suggested by our lovely members

dilireba as a witch, vampire, or gumiho

liu shishi as a witch, vampire or gumiho

yang yang as a witch or vampire

karry wang as vampire or witch

jackson yee as werewolf witch or hunter

zhao lusi as human or witch

members, do you have any other suggestions?

[boasource]

BoA’s look: straight hair + white earrings + mostly white crop tee that showed her belly button + white tweed jacket + jeans. (x)

At one point, all members of KARD and Dreamcatcher hugged BoA one-by-one, so it looked like a Jumping BoA fanmeeting. BoA was getting called “our teacher,” “our mom,” “during K-Pop Star,” etc (x, x, x)

Dreamcatcher Yoohyeon danced ‘My Name’ with BoA! (x)

Dreamcatcher members were talking about how there was a difficult leg move in their choreography. BoA wondered why they had a dance move like that, as it didn’t seem very girl group-esque, to which the guests + the audience pointed out that BoA was probably the one who started it, with her kick move in ‘Girls on Top’ 😂 (x)

KARD Jiwoo confessed that she was a fan of BoA and asked for a hug (x)

BoA was very funny. The venue was pretty warm, so she yelled, “JTBC, what are you doing?! Turn on the air-con!” When some fans in the audience asked for a hug too [this was presumably when DC and KARD all lined up to get a hug from her], she told them that she’ll give them a hug when they become singers, so they should go and make their debut first 😂 (x)

DC Sua was sat beside BoA during their interview and apparently caught a fly that was buzzing near BoA (x)

DC Sua and BoA were dancing a bit at the back while KARD was performing (x)

OP (an ENGENE) noticed a lot of ENGENEs being stunned by BoA when she first entered the stage (x)

BoA told ENHYPEN Sunghoon that he and Lee Jongsuk look alike, especially since they're both fair-skinned, which suits their vampire concept (x)

Monsta X Jooheon sang BoA’s ‘My Prayer’ (x)

BoA complimented Monsta X Jooheon, and he apparently his face and hands turned really red 😂 (x)

BoA said that she isn’t good at rapping, so Jooheon said that if she ever does a song that needs a rap, they should collaborate together (x)

Monsta X Jooheon and BoA also bonded over the fact that they’ve both released self-produced albums (x)

A LA POEM member said that he used to watch BoA's 'Sara' MV every morning on KMTV (x)

LA POEM Chaehoon said that photography was one of his hobbies, so he took pictures of BoA as his model (x)

LA POEM sang a short acapella version of BoA’s ‘Valenti’ (x)

[hwascripts]

We meet again, dearest traveller. Have I piqued your interest? You flatter me so. Look no further; hopefully this will satiate your curiosities about me. Take your time, get comfortable, learn about Hwascripts.

I’ll be waiting for you back at Hwascript’s Directory when you’re ready, dearest traveller.

If you are ever so curious to know, I go by the name Venus, or V for short. I occasionally write for various artists, games, and shows I enjoy.

Some brief facts about me are that I use they/them. My ult group is ATEEZ. I am 18+. My biases in each group are:

ATEEZ: Mingi + Seonghwa w/ Hongjoong as a bias wrecker

Monsta X: Changkyun w/ Jooheon + Minhyuk as bias wreckers

TWICE: Sana w/ Momo as a bias wrecker

I am quite a fan of games such as Ikémen Sengoku, Ikémen Vampire, and Obey Me.

I promise I do not bite, so please, dearest traveller, feel free to stop by my Ask Box for a friendly chat.

You may remember Hwascripts as Lilkyun or Agustavenue. You would shock me if you remembered Sunnie-Hoseok, dearest traveller.

At the moment, you'll only find short works for Obey Me, MHA, and AOT. But fear not, dearest traveller, that's not all. I plan to expand my list further to include things like Ikémen Sengoku, Ikémen Vampire, ATEEZ, and Monsta X. Please bear with me as I slowly grow my list of works.

Please note that I will unfortunately no longer be writing for MHA and AOT. All older works will remain up and easily accessible on Hwascripts; I have no plans to remove any old works.

Oh, dearest me! How could I forget the most important part? My deepest apologies, dearest traveller. I simply have no idea how I could have forgotten about our very important guidelines.

Now do not fret, dearest traveller; I promise the guidelines are not strict. There are just a few rules to ensure Hwascripts runs as smoothly as possible.

The first rule is quite simple. If you are under the age of 18, I must request you not interact with Hwascripts. This includes, but is not limited to, liking and or reblogging posts, commenting on posts, sending asks, messaging me.

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[baekhvuns]

Ofc I waited until Arsenal took over again 🤭 yeah can't deny their shit statistics tho, but somehow they're at the top so 🤷🏼‍♀️ Anyways, Madrid defeated Liverpool AND I SMILE, yes I know I've just said I liked Liverpool but oh wellqwjhswhwhjwjw. They're still higher than Chelsea... I came back from the club around 6am and decided to watch the Madrid vs Liverpool match 😅😭 anyways we're really gonna be screwed once Benzema retires... hopefully some new faces will be motivated to shine then. RM likes CL more and tbh same (why doesn't it sound like I'm talking about kpop here 😭 )

Serial concert goers and fansites don't care, they've seen the same thing 100 times so posting videos is their priority 🔫 they said "fuck Pitbull I'm mister worldwide now" there's this one Shitstar who has LA and Seoul in their bio, so why are you at every European stop as well? 🤡

I just feel bad for the employees at SM, also artists potentially. Free Shinee, SNSD and EXO <3 I find it really funny that the video SM released insists that resisting against the takeover is also for the good of fans and employees, as if they aren't just greedy businessmen trying to appeal to shareholders at the end of the day. Ofc I'd rather Hybe not take over, but the video just makes me laugh with its oversimplifications and misinformation (the ticketing part). However the ratio on this tweet people aren't having it!

The letter is laughable though, at least SM's artists come to European festivals, Hybe only sent Enhypen once. And not them acting like they're doing this for charity and kpop's sake, fuck them seriously.

This drama reminds me of beauty youtubers making exposing videos. This looks more real and probable than the SM and Hybe beef. Stop the memes lmaooo

Ha I see you with that Tamino song in your carrd 🥰 hey at least Kang Daniel is coming to Vancouver

Justice for Pon de Replay! Yes, I'm your friendly neighbourhood boomer, just like Seonghwa ❤ Crazy in Love definitely tops, I like some old Bey. I do have to say I haaaate Single Ladies, every time it plays at the club I 🔫 I do like Hello! I got into it after hearing a cover on The Young Pope.

Okay Brussels isn't that big and like I said, I kept bumping into so many people in London and same here in Seoul, but..... at least don't brag about it??? My friends saw Jooheon in London VERY RANDOM and others saw Huta and Pentagon at the airport. They were coming back from Paris. Also apparently Frenchies can't stop being stalking weirdos 🔫

My blood is just tteokbokki sauce at this point <3

I think Seongwoo and Woojin were there too, but definitely Jihoon, Daehwi and Jinyoung.

I think a lot of Brits disliked YOU as well, cause it only showed posh awful people. I watched Love Wedding Repeat for the cast, but the movie was surprisingly not that bad!

Mbappe just needs to be not like the other girls lol. I like suits on women and I enjoy wearing suits myself, on men... it depends, boring suits don't interest me. Unless it's Park Seonghwa

I wish I was rich lol, maybe back in the day, but shit happened, not to mention I've barely saved for this trip 💔 if I had enough time and money I'd go see Ateez, but alas

Ahhhh I forgot about that lift scene in model, I really should read it again, shouldn't I....

Seonghwa........ (flashbacks to my fan calls)

Atunas lying and being weird per usual

Okay but I really couldn't believe it was Hwa. Why is he in shorts 😭 I know London isn't that cold, but wtf. Anyways, he's lucky I'm not there otherwise I'd chomp on his legs 😋 one of my friends commented "he has really nice calves" and now I can't stop looking at them

This is so cute, but I'm sorry I laughed. My turn to hug and kiss Hwa when

Vampire instincts kicking in

Hey who's cutting onions 🤧 I'm thinking of going to see DJ Minho actually

DID YOU SEE THE PHOTO OF SHINEE KEY SENT ON BUBBLE 😭❤❤❤❤❤

And EXO RISE! - DV 💖

hello!!

Ofc I waited until Arsenal took over again 🤭 yeah can't deny their shit statistics tho, but somehow they're at the top so 🤷🏼‍♀️ Anyways, Madrid defeated Liverpool AND I SMILE, yes I know I've just said I liked Liverpool but oh wellqwjhswhwhjwjw. They're still higher than Chelsea... I came back from the club around 6am and decided to watch the Madrid vs Liverpool match 😅😭 anyways we're really gonna be screwed once Benzema retires... hopefully some new faces will be motivated to shine then. RM likes CL more and tbh same (why doesn't it sound like I'm talking about kpop here 😭 )

waiting for them to boot down on a surprising twist, man city and man utd are rIGHT behind,, LMFAOOOO I SAW IT SND THE WAY THEY SCORED 2 FIRST AND THEN IT JUST WENT DOWN HILL vini’s liverpool’s new owner,, HOW WAS THE CLUB !! yeah when benz leaves maybe something would 📉📉 but rm’s brazillian’s will always make it! YEAAAHHH they def like CL more and when they come back to la liga, they get a 55 yo man named busquets greets them <3 busi cOOKS,, NO LITERALLY FHJWHDJS RM LIKES CL IN FOOTBALL AND KPOP TERMS

and ramos national retirement? bro didn’t retire he WAS DROPPED THE DISRESPECT IS CRAZY HERE and 😭😭😭 what magic does he have 😭😭

Serial concert goers and fansites don't care, they've seen the same thing 100 times so posting videos is their priority 🔫 they said "fuck Pitbull I'm mister worldwide now" there's this one Shitstar who has LA and Seoul in their bio, so why are you at every European stop as well? 🤡

the way idk what goes inside their brain to see people so many times without getting bored, to sTAND in concerts repeatedly for 2-3 hours a day and them go home to edit photos and post them and by the time ur about to sleep it’s already the next day 😭😭 exhausting tbh but the work ethic is top tier,, MR WORLDWIDE FBWNDHSKBFNF UR RIGHT,, americans should stay at american concerts bc why are u in a whole other continent when u just saw a concert ayo 😭😭 money 📉📉

I just feel bad for the employees at SM, also artists potentially. Free Shinee, SNSD and EXO <3 I find it really funny that the video SM released insists that resisting against the takeover is also for the good of fans and employees, as if they aren't just greedy businessmen trying to appeal to shareholders at the end of the day. Ofc I'd rather Hybe not take over, but the video just makes me laugh with its oversimplifications and misinformation (the ticketing part). However the ratio on this tweet people aren't having it!

yeahhh the constant videos they’re putting out and the open letters saying everyone is against them just concludes lee soo man is a lefty fuck and asked hybe to save his ass,, LMFAOOOO RIGHT THEYRE DOING IT THE BEAUTY COMMUNITY ON YOUTUBE KIND OF WAY, THE MEMES IN THIS TIME PPL ARE SO FUNNY FBMWBFKWHDKS PPL’s CAREERS ARE IN A JEOPARDY AND THERES FANS MAKIMG MEMES OF THEM 😭😭 thw ratio is full well deserved, not hybe acting like their the pioneers of kpop when they follow every trend or concept years later from the very company they acquired shares in 🤨 tbh i think hybe needs sm more then sm needs them,, if u think about it, sm focuses heavily on asia and even euro and latam at times which hybe doesn’t have a strong suit in AND THW WAY PPL ARE SAYING THIS IS GREAT BRITAIN INVASION ALL OVER AGAIN FBWNDHWKDJWK

The letter is laughable though, at least SM's artists come to European festivals, Hybe only sent Enhypen once. And not them acting like they're doing this for charity and kpop's sake, fuck them seriously.

yeah! at least sm holds their family concerts there at times! sends their groups to festivals and even have their soloists go there + have their artists do fashion weeks there so hybe 🤨 the saviour complex in hybe is showing and their company stan’s are riding w it <3 bc i remember that “retro” trend they started when sm did it two years back 🤨

This drama reminds me of beauty youtubers making exposing videos. This looks more real and probable than the SM and Hybe beef. Stop the memes lmaooo /// Ha I see you with that Tamino song in your carrd 🥰 hey at least Kang Daniel is coming to Vancouver

NO SERIOUSLY FBWKDHWKJCCJ THE ONLY THING MISSING IS THE RECEIPTS AND THE EMAILS!!! DROP THEN WHILE UR AT IT!!! the memes are the best part 😭😭😭 tamino has actually taken over me <3 epik high is too! was planning to go unfortunately my finals are on the day of their concert <//3 i am patiently waiting for baekhyun’s wc atp

Justice for Pon de Replay! Yes, I'm your friendly neighbourhood boomer, just like Seonghwa ❤ Crazy in Love definitely tops, I like some old Bey. I do have to say I haaaate Single Ladies, every time it plays at the club I 🔫 I do like Hello! I got into it after hearing a cover on The Young Pope.

why. we’re never getting anything! LMFAOOOO u guys should start a boomer squad right away, next fan call it’s ur time to pitch the idea,,, CRAZY IN LOVE IS >>>>> older beyonce def! single ladies anon im about to perform the entire choreography to it aNYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE her recent album the song alien superstar was very model hwa vibes actually!

Okay Brussels isn't that big and like I said, I kept bumping into so many people in London and same here in Seoul, but..... at least don't brag about it??? My friends saw Jooheon in London VERY RANDOM and others saw Huta and Pentagon at the airport. They were coming back from Paris. Also apparently Frenchies can't stop being stalking weirdos 🔫 /// My blood is just tteokbokki sauce at this point <;3

i think it’s nice when ppl meet celebrities but it’s the constant brag and reminder that they did meet them repeatedly is a pet peeve,, JOOHEON?? HUTA??? WHAT IS HE DOING THERE AYO 😭😭😭 the more i learn about the french the more i don’t wanna go thwre fbenjckchc tteokbokki sauce and the rice wine in ur blood, WATER! HYDRATE 😭😭😭

I think Seongwoo and Woojin were there too, but definitely Jihoon, Daehwi and Jinyoung. /// I think a lot of Brits disliked YOU as well, cause it only showed posh awful people. I watched Love Wedding Repeat for the cast, but the movie was surprisingly not that bad!

OOOOOOO wanna one reunion in a cafe??? no more evil editing 🤲🏻 what is this dislike for posh ppl in brits, all the interviews w brit celebrities they’re all hating on the posh accent 😭😭 IT WAS GOOD WASNT IT! was laughing and giggling every two mins, a cute romcom! romcom’s like these should return 😭😭

Mbappe just needs to be not like the other girls lol. I like suits on women and I enjoy wearing suits myself, on men... it depends, boring suits don't interest me. Unless it's Park Seonghwa

need him to go thru a lil humbling session <3 maybe the mourinho being their manager would help that, watch him praise mbappe at first and then later call him out 😭😭 wouldn’t hurt to be humble,, i saw the whole vlog of the magic guy and it’s just straight funsies w ramos losing his mind messi’s impressed and speaks a letter of english language and mbappe is just 😭😭

see men in suits in which the style actually looks good on them? absolutely, unfortunately it’s always the models who look good in them 😭😭 YES SEONGHWA IS AN EXCEPTION TO EVERYTHING

I wish I was rich lol, maybe back in the day, but shit happened, not to mention I've barely saved for this trip 💔 if I had enough time and money I'd go see Ateez, but alas /// Ahhhh I forgot about that lift scene in model, I really should read it again, shouldn't I....

inflation happened 🥰🥰 manifesting u winning a lottery <3 recently been having dreams about it and would rec u to dream about a lottery ticket after 4am in the morning bc it somehow comes true? the lift scene lifts me up tbh,, YOU SHOULD!! YOU HAVE TO GIVE HIM A CHANCE!

Seonghwa........ (flashbacks to my fan calls) /// Atunas lying and being weird per usual // Okay but I really couldn't believe it was Hwa. Why is he in shorts 😭 I know London isn't that cold, but wtf. Anyways, he's lucky I'm not there otherwise I'd chomp on his legs 😋 one of my friends commented "he has really nice calves" and now I can't stop looking at them

that all black outfit…👁👁👄👁👁 atiny’s on their way to becoming the new armies atp bc what the hell 😭😭 these “mistranslations” ppl make just to sexualize his words could literally damage his career 😭😭 WHY ARE THEY BAREFOOT AND IN SHORTS IN LONDON??? WASNT IT LIKE RAINING AND POURING AND COLD 😭😭😭 anon vampire era is really coming to life,,, tvd but starring u as damon <3

This is so cute, but I'm sorry I laughed. My turn to hug and kiss Hwa when /// Vampire instincts kicking in /// Hey who's cutting onions 🤧 I'm thinking of going to see DJ Minho actually /// DID YOU SEE THE PHOTO OF SHINEE KEY SENT ON BUBBLE 😭❤❤❤❤❤ /// And EXO RISE! - DV 💖

THAT AND YUNHO HICCUPING IN HIS SLEEP??? HOW THE HELL 😭😭😭 why would u expose me to that video. AAAAAA ARE YOU??? LESSGOOOOOO

I DID FORTUNATELY BEFORE IT GOT TAKEN DOWN 😭😭😭 JUST A FEW MORE DAYS TILL HE COMES BACK 😭😭 baekhyun world tour… anon do u want to buy my kidney….i am speechless, the amount of activity given is so…unreal SMTOWN EMPLOYEES ARE BOOKED! AND BUSY! THIS YEAR! FINALLY!

and kai? he is allergic to not serving iracus core <3 with the belly dancing belt, jongin my habibi shake it

… he just keeps getting better

this fencing guy? he seems like the perfect guy to be in a sports rivals au don’t think 🤨

[checkers-dance]

JOOHEON HAVING THE LEAST AMOUNT OF VOTES IS FUCKING SENDING ME. deserved.

HELP I THOUGHT THIS SAID WHICH MEMBER WOULD U PUT IN A DRESS AT A WEDDING AND I WAS LIKE WHY DOES JOOHEON HAVE THE LEAST VOTES.......but honestly yeah, kihyun deserves the first spot. He would buy an expensive dress. Minhyuk would buy a cute dress. I think changkyun would buy a dress for a darkstyle wedding. If the bride was a goth vampire he would nail the dress. As for jooheon...6.9% votes. Nice

[jooheonspinky]

No Regrets

Hello, everyone. I'm here to bring you Part 2 to my 'Regrets' fic I wrote a few years back. This was requested by @bethyjoohoney. If you haven't read 'Regrets' yet, you can read it here to better understand this new part.

Another fabulous mood board created by my lovely cousin millie-ionaire05. Thank you so much for this beauty!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　🩸　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

┏━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┓

Characters: Jooheon x Female Reader

Genre: Fantasy, vampire!au, angst, smut

Word Count: 8.2K

┗━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━┛

⚠️Warnings⚠️: mentions of blood/bleeding, mentions of a wound (not very descriptive), mention of a knife used as a weapon, orange-haired Jooheon (whew), biting, cursing (very mild), smut

Synopsis: When I can’t let our last goodbye be for forever. 

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　🩸　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

I tried. I honestly did try. 

For six years, I did my best to move on. I did my best to go about my life as if Jooheon didn’t exist. And for the most part, it had gone well. I finished my schooling and became a nurse. I even began working at a hospital not too far from my home. 

But all that time, I felt empty. Like something was missing. It wasn’t too difficult to figure out what it was, though.

Once I had enough money saved up, I had a house built on an acre of land with the forest I used to hang out in when I was younger lining my backyard. Once the construction was complete, I found myself where I had last seen Jooheon six years before. I wasn’t even sure what my intentions were, honestly. I only knew that I had to see him again. I missed him so much.

We had been best friends for so long. He had been the one person I went to when I needed advice. When I needed to vent or needed comfort, it was Jooheon that I had turned to back then. Of course, I had other friends since then, but no one I was close to the way I had been with him.

So on a particularly tough day, despite what I had said so many years ago, I returned to our favorite wooded spot, laying out a blanket. A basket of snacks and wine sat beside me, ready to be consumed. I needed to hear his voice, to bask in the comfort of his presence. 

It had not been too long after that he had appeared. The relief that had flooded me had been indescribable. The only way I can word it is by comparing it to feeling as if my soul was now complete. It had brought tears to my eyes, the emotions just too much to contain any longer, and Jooheon had held me for a while as I wept quietly into his chest. 

It had felt like a cleansing, a purging of all the feelings, sentiments, burdens, and worries I had bottled up inside me for far too long. In the end, all I could say was that I was sorry. Sorry for leaving him again. Sorry for not being there for him. In true Jooheon fashion, he had told me I had no reason to apologize and that he was there for me whenever I needed him.

Since then, I come to our favorite place in the woods every two weeks, and we sit and talk, eat and drink together. And to me, it’s like recharging my life force, and I can’t help but wonder how I ever lived without him in my life. We have grown closer these last few months, and I was looking forward to seeing him again tonight.

A twig snaps not too far from where I sit, and I look up to see Jooheon shuffling slowly towards me. The sun had since gone down, and I had already lit several tiki torches to keep mosquitos at bay. The orange glow of the crackling fire from the fire pit Jooheon had dug long ago when we were much younger provides warmth and extra illumination to the area. 

“Hey!” I call out brightly, thrilled to see him.

I rise from my spot on the blanket and meet him halfway.

“Y/N,” he murmurs through gritted teeth.

Now that he is right in front of me, I can see the sweat dotting his forehead, the pallor of his skin. His hands are clutching his side, and his shoulders are hunched over in what can only be interpreted as pain.

“Jesus, Jooheon,” I gasp as I look him over. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Bar fight,” he tries to smirk but grimaces instead.

“Bar fight?” I return incredulously.

He inhales deeply, his eyes boring into mine. “I-...shit. I need your help.”

“Well, damn, I would say you do!” I tsk sarcastically, cocking a brow at him. “I don’t have anything here that could help you, though, so we’ll have to go to my place.”

“Thanks,” he offers a small appreciative smile. “But, actua-“

“Nope,” I cut off his protest. “I will not take no for an answer. Let me just get this fire out….” I trail off as I head straight for the pit and scoop dirt onto the flames with a miniature shovel. I load everything I had laid out back into the wagon I haul with me every time I come. Grabbing my flashlight, I extinguish the tiki torches, and then I’m ready to go. “Come on.”

It’s slow going, but we make our way up the path I had created with my comings and goings since I moved in. It was usually no more than a ten-minute walk for me, but it took us double the time with his injury. We finally reach my front door, and after unlocking it, I bring in the wagon and hold the door open for Jooheon. He remains outside a sheepish look on his face. My face crinkles in confusion.

“I can’t come in,” he clarifies with a wince, “without you verbally inviting me in.”

“Oh.” My mouth hangs slightly open in surprise.”I-“

“Just make sure it’s what you really want. You can’t take it back,” he warns.

All this time that we had been rekindling our friendship, we had stayed out in the woods. The idea of him coming over or me going to his place had never come up. So was it on purpose, both of us fearing diving deeper into each other’s lives, fearing getting “too” close?

These past months had reminded me of the time when we were younger, before the kiss, before his change. For a few hours, I could pretend we were still those naive kids we had been once upon a time. Never had Jooheon made me feel afraid. If anything, I trusted him more now than I ever had. His having the ability to enter my home did not worry me. 

“I have no doubts,” I state firmly. “Lee Jooheon, I invite you into my home. Please come in before you bleed out on my front stoop.”

He nods, and there is a tenderness in his gaze as he smiles weakly, my heart lurching at the emotion. He steps in, and I lock up behind him. I turn on the hall light, and Jooheon’s eyes roam around the foyer as he follows me through to the living room.

“You have a beautiful home.”

“Thanks,” I smile. “Let’s get you down into my basement.”

Jooheon pouts, staring at me with wariness, even as a playful glint twinkles in his eyes. 

“You’re not trying to finish the job, are you? I can barely defend myself right now, ya know?”

I scoff, “How can you joke at a time like this?! But, no, I’m not taking you down there to kill you. There’s a spare room, bathroom, and kitchen down there. It’s where my parents stay when they come to visit.”

“I see,” he chuckles, then groans before allowing me to guide him to a door. 

“Let me get some supplies….” I wander off to my supply closet, one section dedicated to miscellaneous medical supplies. Grabbing a reusable tote, I drop in two leakproof 18x24 bed pads, a sponge, stainless steel bowl, a safety kit, two white towels, a few water bottles, and pain killers. Once I’m sure I have all I need, I rush back to a swaying Jooheon. “Ok. Come on. We need to get you in a bed.”

I help him take the stairs down. Once at the bottom, the room opens up into a small apartment-like area. To the right were a small living room and kitchen. In the middle, there was a dining table for four, and to the left, a door that led into a primary bedroom with a full bathroom. 

I steer him to the bedroom and quickly place one of the pads on the bed to protect it from the mess coming from Jooheon’s wound.

“Let’s get this blazer off of you.”

I help him remove the garment as gingerly as possible before allowing him to sit. I drop the blazer in the shower to tend to later. By now, Jooheon’s skin is so pale that I feel pretty alarmed.

“Do-don’t look so worried,” he chatters.

“If you could see yourself,” I whisper. Then, shaking my head to clear away the emotions, I place a firm expression on my face and point to his lower torso. “Let me take a look.”

Jooheon lifts the shirt to reveal the gash on his side. I don’t react physically, having seen my fair share of open wounds, but internally I’m astonished he could still walk around with an injury like this. The fact that he is a supernatural being must be the only reason he has not passed out or even died yet.

“Not so bad, right?” he tries to smile even as sweat trickles down the side of his face.

“Well…”

I analyze the area. It would definitely need stitches, and he had undoubtedly lost so much blood.

Blood!

My eyes jolt up to his, and I watch his own widen, trying to gauge what I’m thinking.

“Drink from me,” I hear myself say before fully processing my thoughts.

Jooheon shakes his head.

“I couldn’t,” he declines vehemently. “I don’t want to use you like that. You’re my friend, my best friend, not some human blood bag.”

“It’s not using if I’m offering,” I point out. “Won’t you heal faster? I probably won’t even have to stitch this up. You’d be saving me the time and supplies.” Jooheon bites down on his lower lip, his mind racing with ways to argue with my logic. “I won’t take no for an answer.”

His shoulders sag in defeat. “I promise I’ll be as gentle as possible,” he vows.

“I know. I trust you.”

His eyes sheen over, and he blinks several times to push away the moisture there.

“Ok,” he croaks.

Though I made the offer, I’m suddenly nervous, primarily because of the unknown. What would it feel like? Will it be painful? Awkward? Would it change things between us?

“So, does it have to be the neck or…” I trail off, unsure of how to go about it.

“Uh, no. No,” Jooheon shudders. “Not the neck. Let’s just go for the wrist for your first time.”

My first time.

The wording makes me feel like a virgin all over again. The uncertainty of the moment. The hushed voices. The trying to make the experience as comfortable and pain-free as possible.

Then there was that underlying insinuation that this may not be a one-time thing, either.

“Yeah, ok,” I finally answer, offering up my left arm, wrist up.

I watch his Adam's apple bob in his throat before his hand cups the back of my forearm, and he draws me up a hair's breadth from his lips.

“Are you ready?” he asks, his eyes insisting I think this question through profoundly. I nod, not trusting my voice to remain steady. “You tell me to stop if it’s too much.”

I nod again, and then it’s happening. I gasp as his teeth sink gently into my skin, his eyes closing at the contact. The pain is sharp, expected, yet unexpected. I feel my heart quicken, the blood rushing through my body at such a high speed that the sound is audibly loud in my ears. I hold my breath, wanting to push past the pain because I know he needs this. He needs my blood to recuperate. The discomfort slowly dissipates as his mouth latches onto the sensitive skin of my wrist, and I can feel the anxious nervousness slowly transforming into another sensation altogether, and I’m able to breathe again.

As I watch, transfixed by the way the plump flesh of his lips moves so expertly over the sensitive area, I’m caught off guard by the realization that what I’m feeling now is arousal. Though I knew he was feeding to help mend himself, there was something just so intimate about the act. I was giving myself to him freely, trusting him fully to have the self-control to stop before taking too much. And seeing him vulnerable, yet feeling safe enough with me to want to even show this side of him, only enhances my feelings towards him. 

It’s such a beautiful knowledge to have between two people: complete and total trust. I find myself falling even more in love with him as this sinks in. And I am in love with him. I have been for some time now. I’m not even sure I had ever stopped loving him, and my head buzzes with the need to touch him, to show him physically just how much I love him, no matter that so much time had passed. I wanted to have his lips move to my neck instead so I could hold him to me and feel his body flush against mine. Two becoming one in the complete sense.

Jooheon inhales sharply through his nose, and his eyes flash open, honing in on my dazed expression. He could sense it, my desire for him. It is obvious he knows. There is no way to hide from him that I am not just excited by what he is doing. But it’s him that is turning me on. I can see it in how his own eyes grow dark, his pupils dilating.

But he makes no attempt to escalate the drinking to anything more, and I don’t push either. Instead, Jooheon places his palm on my free hand, a thumb rubbing soothingly over my knuckles. My eyes remain on his, and soon I feel myself completely relax. All wanton thoughts slip from my mind. I watch as the whites of his eyes become stained with pink the more he drinks, thin maroon-colored capillary-like lines veining out beneath the skin around his eyes.

Jooheon’s lids fall shut, breaking the stare-down we were having. I let out a slow, shaky breath, trying to catch my bearings. The tranquil sensation that had washed over me overrode anything I had been feeling before, and almost instantly, the need to be with him carnally was pushed away. I find this quite strange but begin to feel a little woozy. Not quite dizzy, but a bit lightheaded. Whatever I had been thinking before completely slips my mind. As if sensing the discomfort, Jooheon rasps his tongue over the puncture wounds he’d made, and then he slowly falls back into the pillows. I glance down briefly to where we had been connected, and, aside from a slight pink tint over my wrist, there is no evidence of what had just happened.

“Jooheon?” I call quietly. “Are you ok?”

His cheeks are slightly rosy, the pallor his face had previously held now replaced by a healthier tone. Even the tiny veins that had extended from the skin around his eyes were fading. The rhythmic breathing has me wondering if perhaps he fell asleep. I can only imagine a wound like that would drain the energy from anyone. He would certainly need to rest while his body healed.

 “I’m good,” he finally answers. “Just…tired.”

“Get some sleep then,” I encourage. “You’re safe down here. There are no windows, so feel free to stay as long as you need.”

Jooheon nods, his eyes still closed. 

“Thanks,” he murmurs, his eyes fluttering open as he offers an appreciative smile.

“What are friends for?” I smile back, feeling my cheeks warm when his look of thankfulness turns tender. It tugs at my heart and makes me pine for what could have been. What should have been had I not gotten in my own way. “Well,” I clear my throat. “Let’s get a look at your wound now, yes?”

He allows me to roll up his shirt. My brows pinch in concentration as I look this way and that and see that it’s already starting to close.

“Don’t worry,” he chuckles softly, wincing when his abs contract and tug at his wound. “Your blood will continue to heal me. In a few hours, it will be like nothing happened.”

I can only nod, still amazed at the capabilities of this being he has become.

“I should at least clean it up and wash your clothes. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything here for you to change into, so….”

“Yeah. Ok.”

I help Jooheon sit up and feel myself slip deeper into nurse mode as I help him pull his bright yellow shirt over his head, most of the bottom left side completely saturated with a deep orange-red. I’d have to soak this right away if there was any hope of preventing the clothing from staining.

“Off with the pants and underwear, too,” I instruct.

Jooheon’s eyes widen in mock horror as he clutches at his chest, “Shouldn’t you wine and dine me first before skipping to this part?”

“You really are quite the joker when you’re hurt, aren’t you?” I swat at his bare arm. “Let’s get to it before the blood sets into your fancy clothes, and they are no longer salvageable.”

“Alright. OK,” he sighs.

Lying back down, I wait for him to unbutton and unzip his pants. I place one of the towels I had put in the tote over his pelvis, offering him some privacy.

“I’m going to do most of the work,” I inform him. “Just hang onto the towel to keep it over your area there.”

“Got it.”

My hands slip under the towel, blindly searching for the hem of his slacks. My fingers brush against the skin of his lower abdomen, and I feel the muscle there ripple as he inhales sharply. Though just a hushed intake, the sound is amplified in the quiet of the room. I run the pads of my fingers along the edge of the material until I reach his hip bone. By then I notice he has not breathed out.

I look up and catch a pained expression on his face. His brows are drawn sharply down, his lips pressed so harshly together they have almost disappeared.

“I’m so sorry. Am I hurting you?” I fret.

“No, no,” he grits out, beads of sweat trickling down the side of his face to disappear into his hairline. “Just…just hurry…please.”

Nodding, I dip my fingers into the space between his hip bones and underwear. I shimmy the clothing down as he barely lifts his bottom from the padding on the bed. His body begins to tremble as I do my best to quickly take both his underwear and pants down at the same time. As soon as I make it to his thighs, he collapses, still shaking, back onto the bed. I quickly take off his brown loafers and socks, finally removing his pants and underwear.

“I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be right here,” he offers a strained grin.

I scoff as I take everything to the bathroom and run the cold water in the shower. I wet the clothes and try and wash out as much blood as I can. There is a small basket for dirty clothes my mom had left behind, and I grab that and fill it with water. While that fills up, I dash upstairs to grab my stain removing detergent and bring it down. After applying it to all the areas that had been affected, I drop them into the cold water and plop the bottle of detergent on top to keep them submerged. Then I fill the steel bowl I’d brought with the supplies with warm water and set it on the bedside table. Dipping the sponge into it, I squeeze out the excess water before kneeling on the floor beside Jooheon’s still form. 

“I’m going to clean you up now,” I announce quietly, in case he’s asleep now for real. He simply nods, his eyes remaining closed. I focus on cleaning the area around the gash and then move on to his hands. Three bowls later, he’s all cleaned up, and the wound has closed even more. “Jooheon?”

“Hmmm,” he murmurs, eyes fluttering open.

“Do you think you have enough energy to move one last time? I want to replace the soiled bed pad with a clean one.”

“Any excuse to see my ass,” he murmurs playfully as he allows me to help him up. “If you wanted to see it so bad, you just had to ask.”

I roll my eyes even as I let out an amused chortle. Not that I’m trying to focus too much on it, but the man does have quite an attractive-looking ass. Concentrating back on my task, I remove the old pad and layout the clean one. I cover his wound with gauze to keep my comforter safe from staining. 

“I don’t know if these will do anything for you, but here are some painkillers and a water bottle.”

Jooheon accepts them both, downing the medicine and half the water within a few seconds. I help him lie down one more time and then tuck the comforter under his chin.

“Thank you,” his susurrous voice is filled with genuine appreciation.

“You’re welcome,” I smile down at him as I brush back his blood-orange locks. The color suited him so well. Then, using a clean damp cloth, I dab at his forehead, temples, and cheeks, wiping off the sweat that clung there as I tell him, “I’m going to head upstairs and wash your clothes. I put your cell phone on the bedside table. Call me if you need anything.”

“If you don’t mind,” he asks a bit shyly as he meets my gaze. “When you’re done, will you come back down and sleep with me…like we used to?”

A lump forms in my throat as memories of us innocently napping in the same bed, feeling safe in each other's company, flood my mind. How I missed those times.

“But you’re naked,” I point out, swallowing past the lump in my throat. 

He smiles, the hint of a fang gleaming in the bedroom light. A shiver tickles down my spine.

“I’ll be good. I promise,” he winks.

“Yeah, ok. Sure,” I nod, trying to keep my voice steady. “Well, get some sleep. I’m going to leave my small salt lamp on.”

“Ok.”

Unable to help myself, I bend over and drop a kiss on the top of his head.

“Good night.”

“Night,” Jooheon sighs blissfully as he shuts his eyes. 

I waste no time grabbing everything, turning off the room light on my way out, and then head upstairs.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　🩸　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

It was almost two in the morning when I finally was able to return downstairs. It had taken two attempts to get all of the stains out, but I had finally been successful, and the clothes were now gently drying. I had long since changed out of my own clothes, having had to also add them to the wash. I hadn’t realized I had stained my shirt as well. I’d slipped into my most comfortable pajamas; a short-sleeved black top with the word DREAM in glittering white letters across my chest and a pair of shorts covered in stars and planets. Pure comfort.

I am so ready for some sleep now. It’s not until I crawl under the covers and scooch in closer to Jooheon that I remember he is completely naked. He stirs before I can retreat to the opposite side of the bed, his arms extending towards me and tugging me up against his side. He hugs me gently, my head cradled on his chest. I tentatively settle my hand on the spot just over his heart, and I let my leg drape over one of his thighs, just as we used to do. Once I realize I am nowhere near accidentally touching his exposed phallus, I’m able to relax, letting the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm lull me to sleep.

.✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　🩸　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

By the time I hear the door open from across the room, I’ve already pressed his suit and shirt, left them hanging in the room, and am almost done with breakfast. 

“Good morning,” Jooheon beams, looking refreshed after his long sleep.

With the royal blue dress pants and the blazer hanging open over the electric yellow shirt beneath, I find my throat going dry. He was absolutely gorgeous.

Laughing shyly as I place the bacon at the center of the table, I clarify, “It’s actually afternoon. Hungry?” A playful grin dances on his lips, his fangs peeking through, and he quirks one eyebrow up as his gaze drifts down to the spread on the table. The sight of his fangs reminds me of what I had allowed him to do to me last night, and I grow nervous. Even though he’s staring at the breakfast I laid out, I find myself stumbling over my thoughts. “F-for food,” I stutter. “I mean, are you hungry for food? Unless…unless you need more…uhm..bl-blood?”

“No, no,” Jooheon assures. A puff of air wafts my hair back and I gasp. In a blink of an eye Jooheon is now right in front of me. My eyes widen in surprise as I had not been expecting him to appear so suddenly. “Hey, are you ok?”

“Me?” I shrug. “Of course,” I say, even as I laugh nervously.

His playful demeanor instantly changes, his eyes wandering over my face in concern. “It’s ok if you’re not. I know having a vampire for a friend can be a bit…weird.” I bite down on my lower lip, my thumb rubbing subconsciously at my wrist. Jooheon’s eyes flick down, catching the gesture, his brows crinkling with guilt. “Hey. You’re ok.” He rubs my arms soothingly. “You want to talk about it? You know you can be honest with me. ”

I nod, swallowing hard. “I was a little scared yesterday, but I would do anything to help you, so that’s why I offered my blood to you. Then I got a little…confused? Maybe? My feelings were all jumbled and like,” my hands flutter around, “I don’t know. They were just a lot, and then…there was a moment when my nervousness and all those “sensations” kinda just left me. I suddenly felt…at ease, and I was ok.” Jooheon glances away, ashamed. “Did you do some vampire magic spell on me or something?”

His eyes close briefly, “I did. I mean, it wasn’t magic. I just…” He pauses as he lets out a sigh, his gaze returning to me. “Your heart rate was so erratic, and I could feel.. you were so…” Jooheon takes a breath as he gathers his thoughts. Then, starting again, he clarifies, “I could tell you were struggling a little with what we were doing. I just wanted to take away some of the stress, so I persuaded your mind to think you were comfortable with everything. Minhyuk calls it compulsion.”

I nod. “Yeah. Yeah. I get it. And thank you really, but,” I take his hand in mine when he presses his lips together, clearly remorseful. “Don’t ever do that again without asking permission first, ok?”

“Definitely,” he doesn’t hesitate to affirm. “I’m sorry. Really. I only wanted to protect you.”

The earnestness on his face is endearing, and I draw him in for a hug. 

Clearing my throat, I pull back to look him over. “Now that that’s settled, are you good? Are you sure you don’t need any more blood to help you finish healing?”

His eyes lock with mine as if trying to make sure I was really ok with all this.

“Yeah,” he nods, offering a dimpled smile. “I’m good here. I promise.”

“Let me see. You know the nurse in me needs to see for myself,” I purse my lips, and he laughs even as he untucks his shirt and lifts it. Removing the tape and gauze, I examine the area. The laceration was gone. If it weren’t for a slight rosiness to the site, one would never know anything had been there at all. “Good as new,” I smile as I step back to throw away the medical supplies. 

Washing my hands, I return to the table, gesturing for Jooheon to sit. He does so, and we both fill our plates with food.

“Yummy,” he grins as he digs in without hesitation.

I can’t help but smile, pleased to see him eating what I made for him.

“So, wanna tell me what happened yesterday? Like how exactly you got hurt.”

Jooheon’s chewing slows, and he wipes his mouth as he swallows, then takes a sip of coffee.

“It’s not what you think,” he starts, and I cock a brow at him. “Minhyuk and I went to a bar looking for someone to…feed on. I wanted to do it before I came to see you.” He clears his throat and continues when I don’t seem affected negatively by his words. “Anyway, Minhyuk found someone and left. I wasn’t in a hurry and was just enjoying the music when I saw this guy getting too handsy with this woman. It was obvious she wasn’t into him. When he got a little too forceful, I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”

“So you were protecting her?” I probe.

“Of course,” he shrugs. “I went up and pulled the guy from her and told him to leave. I should have known better when he left without a word. After a while, I left by myself, not really in the mood to feed anymore, and wham! Out of the blue, five guys show up once I pass an alley and catch me off guard. I was able to compel two of them to leave right away. I was fighting one when another pulled out a knife, cut me, and ran before I could stop him. While the others were in shock from what their friend did, I compelled them to forget what happened, and then I caught up to the one who hurt me-”

“You didn’t kill him, right?” I ask, cutting him off.

“You really think I could?” he returns, and it’s hard to pretend I don’t hear the hurt in his tone. “I’m still me, Y/N. I haven’t changed.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said that,” I say regretfully. “You’ve never done anything to make me feel unsafe around you.”

“And I never will,” he affirms earnestly. “And no. I didn’t kill him. I compelled him and made my way to you.”

I can only nod, continuing to finish the remainder of my breakfast. Jooheon’s phone vibrates in the quietness, and he takes it out, speedily sending a reply to whoever had texted him.

“Everything ok?”

Jooheon looks up with a dimpled smile. “Yes. It’s just Minhyuk checking on me since I didn’t come home.”

“Ah. It’s good you have someone to count on and make sure you’re ok.” 

I look down at my plate, hating the jealousy I feel in the pit of my stomach. I remember when I was that person for him. The one person who looked after him checked in on him and ensured he was ok. I had lost that right when I left him in the woods after he kissed me that fateful day. Of course, I couldn’t be upset over him finding someone to fill that spot, especially when he had died and come back as something else. 

I can’t help but feel those same feelings trying to resurface. Those feelings that had caused me to run away from him back then because I was too afraid of things changing between us. 

I can’t let this be the same story seven or so years later!

But that was my dilemma if last night had anything to say about it. I do want to take the next step with him. I don’t want to just be friends. But I’m also so afraid of what that really means.

Maybe I shouldn’t say anything and just keep things as is a while longer…

“What are you thinking about?”

I gasp as I look over and see that Jooheon is no longer in his seat but kneeling beside me now.

“Sheesh!” I laugh. “I will never get used to that.”

“Perks of being a vampire,” he shrugs with a laugh of his own. “But seriously, your mood changed. I don’t have to be a vampire to sense that. Did I say something wrong?”

“Uhm…”

I can feel myself panicking; the weight of my confession is a heavy one. I want to be with Jooheon, but I’m still afraid of turning. So instead of replying, I stand, my chair scraping the floor loudly. I grab some of our plates and head to the kitchen.

“Y/N,” Jooheon pleads, urging me to turn to him after I’ve placed the plates in the sink.

I look up into his face to see his brows drawn down in a mixture of confusion and pensiveness. His eyes roam over my face as if looking for any clue as to what I was thinking exactly.

“Shit,” I sigh, knowing I cannot and will not run away this time. “Ok. So last night, when when I took care of you…It made me realize something.”

“Ok.” he urges quietly.

I take in a deep breath, speaking as I let the air out. 

“I want to be with you.” 

I hold my breath again, waiting for him to say something,

“You sure?” he questions, his teeth clamping down on his bottom lip as if biting back hope.

 “I know. I know,” I ramble on. “It’s a lot to take in after all this time. I’ve not always been so clear with my feelings. And I know it sounds so sudden, but it’s not something I’m saying on a whim. I do want us to be together, and honestly, I’m also pretty scared.”

“Look,” he smiles reassuringly at me. “I have your whole lifetime to wait. You don’t have to make a decision today. I meant what I told you back then. You have my heart, and I will always be waiting for you.” Then, stepping in closer, he adds, “I leave it in your hands.”

“My whole lifetime, huh?” I ponder. “When you say it like that….” 

Jooheon’s lips turn up slightly into a delighted and optimistic smile. “Yes?”

“I want you to know, these years without you,” I breathe. “I felt so empty. It took me some time, but I realized it was because you weren’t in my life anymore. I missed you. Once we reconnected, it wasn’t too long after I decided. I want you in my life and not just as a friend. I was just afraid to say anything because I wasn’t too sure if you still felt the same, and I didn’t want to mess things up…again.”

Jooheon’s eyebrows shoot up as he takes in my words.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” he grins. “My feelings for you have definitely not changed. But, I just want to be one hundred percent certain here.” It’s as if he genuinely can’t believe what he’s hearing. “What are we agreeing to exactly?”

Cupping his cheek, I smile affectionately, “Let’s give me a little more time to decide if I want to be turned. For now, let’s just be together.”

His own hand snakes behind my neck, his thumb caressing the pulse point on the side of my neck. 

“I would love nothing more.”

He’s leaning down before I know what’s happening, capturing my lips with his. Inhaling sharply, I succumb to the kiss. It feels like so much more than I had expected it to. After years of life getting in our way, we were finally on the same page, and it felt incredible to be wrapped in the warmth of his arms. I would be lying if I said I hadn’t dreamt of this very exact moment many times before.  All I can focus on is the thrill his kisses are evoking. His lips trail down my neck, and I shiver, taking the moment to speak.

“Should we…go to the couch or maybe the room?” I manage.

As a reply, Jooheon scoops me up into his arms, bridal style, and in one swift motion, I find myself straddling his lap as he falls into the couch with me atop him. I can’t help but gasp as we actually bounce on the couch cushions with the momentum.

“Couch sounds good,” he agrees, his voice low. “Much closer.”

For a moment, all I can do is stare down at him, captivated by his darkened, half-lidded eyes. Jooheon remains still under my gaze, allowing me to make the next move, and my heart swells. He is so perfect like this, with his lips slightly turned up at the ends, the dimples just visible on his cheeks. I had found him to be so cute in life, but as a vampire, he is devastatingly hot. I could stay like this forever, just looking at his face. 

My hand reaches up, my fingertips skimming lightly across his forehead until my palm cradles his cheek. He remains unmoving aside from his tongue coming out to slide across his bottom lip, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

My thumb glides along his bottom lip, following the same path his tongue had just taken. 

His own thumbs rub comforting circles at my hips as he questions, “For what?”

“For taking so long to tell you how I really feel,” I lament, casting my eyes to the side, unable to look at him. “I wasted so much time over my foolish fears.”

“Hey,” Jooheon calls quietly, waiting until I meet his eyes before continuing. “We can’t change the past, so no more dwelling in it. We are here now, ok?”

I nod. How did I get so lucky? Anyone else would have just moved on. Leaning forward, I brush my lips against his.

“I love you so much, Joohoney,” I breathe against his mouth.

Jooheon sighs contentedly, his hands squeezing gently at my waist, a huge grin decorating his lips. Though we’ve said these words to each other in the past, it feels like I am saying them for the first time.

“I love you, too,” he purrs back, his eyes glittering with adoration.

With a happy upturn of my lips, I swoop down to capture his lips with mine. I lick my way into his mouth, the kiss deepening quickly as I scooch closer to him. Jooheon’s arms wrap around my lower back, drawing me tighter against him. He’s so warm, our bodies melting into each other as the kiss grows more steamy and passionate. Against my chest, I can feel his heart thrumming furiously, and it makes me smile that I am the cause of his elevated heart rate.

Pulling my lips away from his, I kiss my way down to his neck, and Jooheon’s breath becomes trapped in his throat. His skin is so soft, and he smells so good my mind feels muddled and intoxicated by his scent. 

Placing an open-mouthed kiss just over his pulse point, I murmur, “I can't believe I waited so long for this.”

Jooheon’s breath escapes in a slight noise of agreement, but then he inhales sharply, his cock twitching beneath me as I wrap my mouth over his jugular and suck roughly at the throbbing vein. The sound of his ragged breathing triggers my hips to roll into him. A moan tugs from my throat, and Jooheon’s head falls back.

“Shit, Y/N. What are you doing to me?” he whines.

Jooheon’s voice is gravelly with need. His hands return to my waist, encouraging my hips to continue their movements. I feel the stickiness of my want clinging to my panties as I press my clothed clit over his thickening dick. The friction feels so good, and goosebumps spring up across my skin as Jooheon’s eyes flit over my face. It’s as if just the mere sight of me getting worked up is all he needs.

His eyes drift down to watch my fingers lift up the hem of my shirt. I don’t waste time pulling it over my head and tossing it over my shoulder. Jooheon’s eyes widen briefly to find my breast bared before him. His hands are instantly cupping them, his thumbs stroking across my nipples, quickly bringing them to hardened peaks. My hips continue to rock above him, my hands resting on his shoulders as I work myself towards the edge I so fervently want to jump off of.

Jooheon is undeniably hard beneath me. I swallow thickly, trying to clear the haze in order to think coherently. I feel selfish, having only thought of my own needs thus far, and that dampens the pleasure that had been building. Stopping my movements, I scoot back on his thighs and quickly unbutton his pants. Bringing down the zipper, I pull out his thickened length. Jooheon and I look down at his pink cock, the tip already weeping pre-cum. I swipe my thumb over the tip, collecting the viscous liquid, and then pop my thumb in my mouth. Jooheon shutters and shifts us on the couch.

“Jooheon!” I half complain. 

I had wanted to feel him in my hand, but Jooheon was being a bit impatient.

“You’re killing me,” he murmurs as he hovers over me.

“You’re already dead,” I point out with a cock of an eyebrow.

“You little….”

Jooheon pouts and doesn’t finish his words. Instead, he chooses to stand to pull off his clothing. I watch him, admiring his physique. Beneath, he is lean but toned, the flesh appearing like marble in its pallidity. Once completely naked, he helps me out of my pajama bottoms and my underwear that is soaked with arousal. Now that we are entirely free of any barriers, Jooheon returns to the couch, his body draping over mine.

The weight of him feels so good as our bodies melt skin to skin into each other. Jooheon brings his lips to mine, the languid kisses he coaxes from me thrilling my body more than the passionate kisses had. His hand slides down my arm, skimming down my waist until he reaches my hips. His hand squeezes at the flesh there, and my mind buzzes with all the sensations. 

“I want you, Jooheon,” I whine, undulating my hips beneath him.

Jooheon’s fingers find my center and slip through the folds to find my throbbing clit. His middle finger swirls around the sensitive nub, and I’m clutching at the couch cushions as coils of pleasure tighten, threatening to spring free at any moment. The onslaught stops, only for him to dip a finger inside me. I gasp, my legs widening to allow him easier access.

“You’re so wet,” Jooheon coos against me ear, and I shiver.

He inserts another digit, and I find it challenging to keep my eyes open. My back arches as he nudges at my sweet spot, and I moan out his name. His fingers pump inside me, and my heartbeat sounds so loud in my ears. I feel as if I will pop at any moment. Then, as if knowing I am so close, Jooheon pulls his fingers out. I am about to protest, but when I look down and see him grab his own length, I swallow hard, unable to look away. He uses my juices that coat his fingers to slicken himself. 

“Damn, that’s hot,” I marvel hungrily.

“Yeah?” he smirks.

“Yeah,” I nod enthusiastically.

Jooheon can’t help but grin as he kisses me deeply. Then, pulling away, he kneels between my legs. I am spread so wide for him. He wastes no time in bringing the head of his cock to my opening. He slides in slowly, and we both groan as he bottoms out. From this position, he feels thick inside me, and it feels so good. I can feel him trembling, and I reach out to touch his abdomen to help him relax, but the gesture only draws him in further, and we are both cursing.

Jooheon, unable to stop himself any longer, draws back and drives himself forward deep inside me. My back arches at the titillating feelings erupting from my core. His hands find perches on the back of my knees, bringing my legs wider still. The fit seems even tighter now as his hips speed up. The sounds of our moans, heavy breathing, and the lewd noises of his cock going in and out of my wet center fills the space. Everything is too much, and I feel myself already drawing so close to my finish. 

“Bite me,” I plead as my hips thrust up, matching his rhythm.

His cock twitches inside me at the command. The knowledge that he is a powerful being and has the self-control to hold back from what he so clearly would enjoy doing makes me want to give it to him all the more. But I am so close and hate that I can't hold on a little bit longer. It had been too long for me since I had been intimate with anyone else. But even more, I was so head over heels with this man that my body was just over-aroused.

“What? Are you sure?” 

His thrusts become slow as he looks down at my flushed and glistening face. The uncertainty on his brow, combined with the want in his eyes, has my heart swelling with love. My walls flutter around him, and he groans.

“God, yes, please,” I beg, tilting my head to the side, exposing my neck to him.

In one quick movement, Jooheon has shifted us back to him sitting and me straddling his lap. His eyes level with mine; he cocks a brow as if confirming I really want it. As a response, I lift up and realign him to my entrance. Then, sinking down on him, my lashes flutter as I struggle to keep my eyes locked on him. 

He is gorgeous with his flushed cheeks and teeth trapping his bottom lip as he groans deep in his throat. With his hand pressing firmly to my lower back, I can only moan, my nipples tightening to hard pebbles as he grinds up into me. He feels so good, too good, and I can feel that impending orgasm drawing close again.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers before picking up the pace.

I lean back, taking him in deeper, and he snatches a nipple into his mouth, sucking harshly. My head falls back as my hips roll faster into him. I was so close I could no longer keep my eyes open. 

“Jooheon, I'm gonna cum,” I manage to get out between breaths.

He presses at my upper back, urging me toward him. I watch as Jooheon’s fangs descend, and I gasp with arousal. There is no other warning, his head lunges forward, and his mouth latches onto the side of my neck. For the briefest of moments, there is a burning pain, and I gasp. But once he begins to suck at the jugular, all there is is a blinding rush of pleasure.

“Oh, fuuu-”

It's too much; my hips are grinding desperately along his plump cock as stars burst behind my eyes, and I shatter into a million tiny pieces around him. Jooheon wraps me in the tightest of embraces as my pulsing core coaxes out his own ecstasy. Warm streaks of cum shoot inside me, coating my walls with the white ribbons as his hips stutter up into me.

Jooheon laps at my neck, closing up the wounds he has created there. His hand strokes my skin as he falls back against the couch, satiated. I tuck my face into his neck, and we are quiet as we try and catch our breaths, him still inside me and his arms still hugging me tightly.

“You ok?” he finally asks when our breaths settle down. “I wasn’t too rough?”

His arms slacken, and I lift up so I can see his face. He has a blissed-out expression that makes me smile. His lips are tinted rouge from my blood, and I swipe my tongue across them; a slight metallic taste hits my taste buds, and I kiss him slowly.

“That. Was. Amazing.” I punctuate each word with a kiss, and Jooheon chuckles.

“You are amazing,” he says as he pecks my mouth even as a dimpled smile graces his face. “And, hey, I want to make sure you understand. You don’t have to feel rushed about deciding when you want to go through the change,” he assures me. “When you’re ready, we’ll do it. But, for now, let’s just enjoy what we have as we are now.”

Gazing into his eyes, my heart swells with the love and adoration I see looking back at me. There was no one I would trust more than him.

“Ok. Sounds like a plan.”

“Until then,” his voice thickens as he kisses my shoulder. “We should make up for lost time.”

I let out a giggle as he wooshes us to the bedroom and traps me beneath him and the bed, his cock already hardening against my thigh.

“Yes, we definitely should.” .✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　🩸　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Thank you so much for reading. Please feel free to leave any feedback and show some love.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　🩸　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Mood Board image credits:

Jooheon Standing

Jooheon Squating

Forest

Vampire bite wrist

Vampire bite neck

[chosospersonalkitten]

Lee Jooheon Vampire AU

You took a deep breath in and held it. You knew you shouldn’t have separated yourself from the group, but being stuck underground was starting to get to you and you needed to explore. You missed the warmth of the sun kissing your skin. You missed the cool wind blowing through your hair. But the thing you missed the most were the stars, how they were able to make the darkest of nights bearable and beautiful.

But you were shocked by what you found. Plants were completely overgrown, taking back the land humans took from them. The wildlife was flourishing, but not in the natural way it should. There were deer with two heads, a wolf with four extra legs that made it move faster, and the insects. You shivered. The insects were three times bigger than they used to be.

The sky wasn’t the same, there wasn’t anything beautiful about the permanently pink sky.

And yet, there you were, hiding underneath a rusted pickup truck.

Let’s rewind and talk about why the Earth looked like this now, humans destroyed it. Buttons were pushed leading to a very accidental bomb being set off, or at least that was what people were told. That had been an accident. Everyone expected the bomb to continue into space, no one expected that its engine would fail. No was told that it wasn’t a normal bomb, it was as powerful as a nuclear one, but without lingering radiation problems. No one was told that it was means to get rid of the overwhelming growth in Earth’s population. An evaluation was issued, only the rich and people with their families who were chosen by random were saved. Most were sent far underground, people who weren’t chosen were left on the surface.

Your parents weren’t lucky, but your best friend’s family was chosen and her family took you and your sibling with them. A part of you hoped that maybe they were able to get into another underground bunker, or that by chance they found a good hiding place, but that was years ago.

But when you saw the animals, you just knew that any people that were on the surface would look the same if not worst.

The jeans and shoes were melted into the creature’s legs and feet. It was looking for you. You were prey to it, you kept your mouth shut. Your heart sank when you saw it stop moving and begin to crouch down.

You screamed when something landed on top of the truck. The creature was lifted, you could hear it struggle before it was ripped apart. Its legs landed behind you, it’s upper body landed in front of you. It’s eyes and mouth continued to move. You covered your mouth, you tried your hardest not to scream again.

There was silence, whatever was on top of the truck was still there. Hot tears streamed down your cheeks.

“You can come out now.” Were your ears betraying you? Did you actually hear what you thought you heard?

You slowly crawled out from under the truck. He sat on top of the cab of the truck. His hands were covered in gross brown blood from the creature.

He jumped down and wiped his hands on his pants before extending his hand towards you.

“Jooheon.” His hair was bleached blond, but it fit him. His skin was almost too perfect.

“Y/n-” You finally noticed his eyes, they were crimson red.

“Relax, I’m not going to eat you.” He looked you up and down. “Unless you want me to.” He winked as he bared his fangs.

You let out a fake gag, it made him laugh along with you.

“It’s nice to know that humans are still alive.” Jooheon said as he cracked his neck.

“Why so you can eat us?” You didn’t mean to say that, but what human wouldn’t say that to a vampire.

He laughed and shook his head.

“Animal blood works just fine. Any vampire who tells you that they can only survive on human blood is a liar, plus human blood is super fattening. Usually vampires in higher altitudes drink human blood at least twice a month.” He explained to you. “Come on, more of those creatures will show up soon and I have to get you back to your group.”

He looked around before heading off into the right direction.

“How did you know I was in a group?” You asked.

“This isn’t the first time people have come out to the surface. We had to expose ourselves to humans, in return with finding salvageable machines and crops that were lucky enough to be out of the blast radius, we get non-tainted animal blood. Occasionally we’re given human blood to give to vampires in colder environments.”

You listened to every word he said until you heard your name.

The head explorer in your group, Adrian, hugged you tightly before he glared at Jooheon.

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” He whispered to you, you shook your head.

“He saved me from a creature and led me back to you, don’t be rude.” You turned to Jooheon.

Jooheon expected you to just thank him, he gasped when he felt your arms wrap themselves around him.

“Jooheon.” He heard Hyungwoo behind him.

The tension between the humans and vampires was almost palpable, but you chose to ignore it.

“Until next time!” You smiled as you followed your group into the airtight cage to begin your descend back underground.

***************************

You were given the duty of taking blood to the vampires. You were so impatient to get to the surface again. Hopefully Jooheon was waiting for you.

You walked out, a guard stopped you.

“Why do you trust them so much? They’re demons.” You frowned at him.

“I trust them because one of them saved my life. Now if you don’t mind, I have people to feed.” You pushed him out of your way and began your walk. In truth, you had no idea where you were going, but you weren’t about to wait next to that guard.

It was too quiet, but you knew that there wasn’t any creatures nearby. Scientists back underground created devices that alert you when there were creatures nearby.

“He didn’t mean to!” You heard someone yell.

“Shut it, blood sucker!”

You walked around a building and sprinted towards them. Adrian was letting guards attack Jooheon and his six friends.

“Your job is to help humanity, not make relationships with one!” He turned away and signaled to the guard to whack Jooheon.

You pushed the guard out of your way and used your body as a shield. You held your ground in front of Jooheon and his friends against the guards.

“Y/n, get out the way.” Adrian growled.

“No.” You said through your teeth.

You knew Jooheon and his friends were extremely capable of defending themselves, if it weren’t for the fact that humans had their only clean food supply, these guards would be dead.

“Y/n, it’s okay.” You heard Hoseok whisper behind you.

You shook your head and urged them to stand up. You turned your attention to Jooheon, the cuts on his face were already healing.

“How dare you?” You breathed.

Adrian opened his mouth to yell at you, his face was red with anger.

“They help get supplies! They help us find good resources so humanity can return to the surface! And this? This is the thanks they get? You beat them?” You spat at him.

Adrian grabbed your arm and pulled you close to him.

Jooheon growled and lunged towards you. He pulled you away from your former leader.

“Don’t you fucking touch her.” Jooheon’s voice was so calm, it was terrifying.

*****************************

You sighed as you handed them the blood backpack.

“This is less than usual...” Minhyuk said.

“I know, but Adrian told the council that the vampires that were helping us was a smaller group. It’s dumb that they believed him, we have body cams.” You ran your hand through your hair.

Jooheon walked towards you and pulled you into a tight hug.

“Thank you for trying to defend us-” Hyungwoo interrupted him.

“I hope we didn’t get you into any trouble, but we do really thank you, y/n. Not a lot humans would do what you did.” Hyungwoo extended his hand towards you, you took his hand and shook it.

His friends walked ahead of you as Jooheon walked by you. His hand brushed against yours a couple times.

You quickly glanced over at him, his face was hard like he was trying to not let any emotions leak onto it.

You looked down before you grabbed his hand.

He looked at you suddenly, confusion was layered thickly on his face.

“Your hand kept bumping into mine. It was getting annoying so now I’m holding your hand.” You said from the corner of your eye you could see a huge smile make an appearance.

“You’re adorable,” he laughed.

You didn’t expect to feel Jooheon’s cold lips press themselves against your cheek. You could feel your face heat up.

You stopped, suddenly. Jooheon looked at you in fear that he may have overstepped a boundary.

“Commit, dude.” His head tilted until you pulled him close to you and pressed your lips against his for a quick kiss.

First, the world falls apart and now you felt yourself falling for a vampire, what else would life throw at you.

A creature appeared out of nowhere, it tackled Hyungwon. Hoseok and Changkyun lunged at it before a bigger hairy creature rammed itself into it, yanking it off of Hyungwon.

Jooheon stood in front of you.

“No way. I thought they all died.” Minhyuk breathed.

“What?” You whispered.

The huge creature stood up and turned to face you and the guys. It’s canines dripped with brown blood.

“Werewolves.” Jooheon answered. “Don’t worry, they’re good.”

Disclaimer: I got this prompt from Tumblr page, the name I can’t remember:((((((( but the prompt is “vampires protecting humanity in a post apocalyptic world”

[biffhofosho]

Succumbing to Sybaris | Chapter Twenty-Five

Word Count: 12.3k

A/N: This took a bit longer than I’d planned to edit, but maybe that’s in part because I don’t want to let go. Final chapter, everyone, with only an epilogue to follow. Proceed with caution. This one’s long and very heavy.

Cvr | Tr | Pr | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | Ep

“Let her go.”

Amber would know that curt, gruff voice anywhere.

Shownu.

Hope blossomed in her heart as she whirled around and looked up to the cliff ledge behind the building to find a strand of the most beautiful faces she’d ever seen. All seven brothers flanked the stone courtyard from above, Shownu and Wonho anchoring the ends with their massive size while the rest of the brothers watched Kai’s lackeys prowl the perimeter of the building—except Hyungwon, who kept his eyes solely on Amber.

Hyungwon took a step toward the ledge, and she charged toward him, but a taloned hand closed around her wrist and yanked her back so hard, she clattered on her knees against the stone.

“If it isn’t the self-proclaimed Lords of Portland. Choi’s illustrious sons show their faces after all,” declared Kai with a quiver at the edge of his mouth. “And, here, I’d wasted my last sliver of respect for you on the thought that you’d conceded your role in all this, but I shouldn’t be surprised at this point. All the same, you miscreants have some nerve showing up here after your repeated failures and blatant disobedience. If I didn’t hate you so much, I’d almost be impressed.”

“We just want the detective back,” Hyungwon continued. “Let her go, and you’ll never have to see us again.”

Kai laughed bitterly. “Now, I am impressed. After feeding me lies for a decade and then outright opposing me, you dictate terms? Let me propose a counter-offer: get out of my sight this second or face the end of your bloodline.”

Kai’s minions closed in on the terrace and hillside, baring their teeth like dogs, but the brothers paid them no attention. They were focused on the woman in the gold dress who was now tucked against Kai’s side.

Hyungwon took another step forward and plummeted from the cliff, landing in the cramped stone building with the softness of a cat. His brothers followed next, each one landing with the same grace and only the crunch of glass underfoot to herald their arrival.

All but Hyungwon sported their vampire masks, but instead of conjuring terror in Amber’s heart, they conjured joy. She thrashed in Kai’s grip as shock echoed in her voice. “You’re here!”

“Of course,” Wonho said with a slick smile.

“We’ll always come for you,” assured Shownu.

“You shouldn’t have,” Kai laughed. “It’s the last thing you’ll ever do.”

If the brothers were nervous, they didn’t show it. They stood tall, shoulders broad and fists clenched, with nothing to betray their cold determination. When they stepped forward, it was in perfect unison, and the moment they did, Kai dragged Amber back with him.

“That’s far enough,” he warned. “I just promised my sweet Ambrosia I would let her little lost lambs go home. Don’t force my hand and make me break my word. You know she’d never forgive you.”

Minhyuk hissed, and Amber’s eyes darted toward him. She barely recognized him. Gone was the friendly puppy with the bright gaze and open smile. Instead, a stranger with serpent eyes and fangs to match rubbed his hands together greedily as he sized up his enemies. There was a meanness to his movements, more beast than man, and it made her tremble. Jooheon laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder, but whatever battle lust had overtaken the charming photographer had turned him into a barely-contained weapon.

Kai, too, sized up his opponents. His grip on her arm bruised as every last muscle tensed along his frame. He coiled like a caged snake, and she knew his strike would be even more devastating. The vampire raised his hand, fingers ready to snap.

At the last second, Amber grabbed Kai’s wrist and squeezed. He froze, his eyes lingering on hers before sliding down to her fingers curled around him.

“Please don’t,” she begged.

“Shouldn’t you be saying that to them?” he growled.

“But you’re the one with the power here, so I’m asking you. Please don’t do this.”

Kai glanced from her hand, still clutching his wrist, to the seven interlopers storming his crumbling castle, and he sighed. “My love has begged me for mercy for you, and she shall have it for as long as I can contain my composure. That means you have five minutes to say your piece before I unleash hell.”

Hyungwon stalled his brothers as he took a step forward alone. Kai’s arm tightened around Amber’s waist while her hand tightened around his wrist. Everyone was holding back what tension they could before the powder keg blew and leveled them all.

“Your Grace,” Hyungwon began without so much as a hint of irony, but Kai cut him off with a snarl.

“We’re well past formalities, aren’t we, Hyungwon? Don’t patronize me one second longer.”

“You’re right. It’s simple: we’re here to take Amber home.”

The detective expected Kai to blow up or lunge forward, but he didn’t move a muscle, not in his arms, not in his jaw.

Hyungwon obviously expected the same, but after a moment, he realized he was expected to continue, so he added, “We love her. We only want to protect her.”

“Hm.”

Kai’s delicate hum startled everyone more than if he’d exploded. His hand moved from Amber’s hourglass to her neck as he turned her attention fully to him. The vampire smiled down at her, his thumb stroking her cheek.

“And you don’t think I want the same?” he said with his gaze bound firmly to his gilded vessel.

Hyungwon took another step forward, and if Amber believed for a second that she had Kai distracted, that belief was dashed instantly. The vampire swiveled, eyes narrow and glinting furiously, and talons long and pointed at his challenger. But Hyungwon didn’t even blink as he answered, “I think you want to protect her the way a child protects his toy from other kids on the playground.”

Kai sneered. “You and your ham-handed brothers have always been far too narrow-minded to see anything beyond your little kingdom on the hill. The world is our kingdom now, Ambrosia’s and mine, and together, we will rule over everything in it. She’s not a toy. She’s my wife.”

“She isn’t, and she never will be,” spat Jooheon, and this time it was Kihyun holding the young punk back.

“That’s neither your choice nor is it mine. It’s already written, you little whelp, here in a riddle older than you are. Ambrosia was always destined for me, and you were always destined to fail—the only difference is, you kept failing. Over and over again. You failed me. Even now, you fail to understand the simplest things.”

“Like you’re mad with revenge against our family?” said Changkyun.

“You don’t get it. I gave you every opportunity to make amends!” Kai boomed. “I put Ambrosia in your path so when you met her, you could tell me at last that you’d found the One. But what did you do? You touched her. You kissed her. You turned her heart against me. Things could have been so different—they could have gone back to the good old days instead of all this foolishness. We could have been allies again! That’s what I wanted. Every choice you made against me changed the course of our destinies. You’ve disappointed me yet again… for the last time. I have been merciful far longer than anyone has a right to be, but it’s clear there’s no redeeming you just like there was no redeeming that duplicitous sire of yours.”

“Where is Seunghyun?” demanded Kihyun.

“Where he should be: at the bottom of a crevasse with a silver stake in his chest.”

“You’re lying!” screamed Jooheon. “He was your only friend. You wouldn’t.”

“He was, and you’re right, I didn’t. Why would I dirty these hands when I knew my Ambrosia would soon have to feel them?” Kai jerked Amber in front of him like a shield, and she lost her grip on his wrist. She knew then, without a hold on him, she’d lost the battle. Now, all-out war was the only outcome. Kai’s arms wound around her, one at her neck and the other sheltering her belly. In a voice cold as steel, he added, “That’s what my subjects are for.”

Even without Kai’s usual beckoning snap, out of the shadows oozed a creature so revolting, Amber winced. His face was pocked and bubbled like the surface of a volcanic moon, cysts weeping dark rivers across clay-like pits and fissures, with only one human eye to look remorsefully through the nightmare. The rest of his skin was mottled like rain-stained leather all the way down to his hooked claws, more dinosaur than human.

“What the fuck…” whispered Changkyun.

Minhyuk slipped into a runner’s stance, those keen, bloodthirsty eyes trained on the monster before them. Still, Jooheon held him back, but even across the terrace, Amber could see how he strained against his brother’s grip.

“This is what a loyal subject looks like,” proclaimed Kai. “Isn’t he beautiful? My avenging angel. My harbinger. Junmyeon understands what must be done to protect Destiny in ways you greedy bastards never could.”

The reality of the horror show before the brothers seemed to sink in all at once. Their gazes shifted as much as their feet, and for a second, Amber thought they would retreat, but Hyungwon caught her gaze, and there was no surrender in his eyes this time. She wasn’t sure which she was more scared of.

“That’s enough,” she said, and all eyes shot to her. She wrestled out of Kai’s hold and glared at him with every ounce of resentment she could muster. “If you cared about me at all like you pretend to, you would let me go back to them. It’s where I want to be. It’s where I belong.”

If she thought she could reach the man inside the devil, she was sorely mistaken. Kai humored her with a crooked grin and shook his head.

“My little Chalice thinks just because she can’t be hypnotized that she can’t be brainwashed either, but I’ve watched first-hand as you groomed her. She’s so naïve, isn’t she?” He hummed as his hand glossed over her shoulders. “She hasn’t even lived three decades. She doesn’t know. She hasn’t seen. A little behavior modification, and you’ve got her salivating like a dog for you. Now, she thinks that is what real love is. It’s unacceptable. It’s unforgivable.”

“Listen to her, Kai,” Hyungwon stressed. “You can’t make her happy.”

“And you can’t fucking tell me what I have to give!” he boomed. “Ambrosia will have the world. She will have everything she could ever want. She will have a family of her own again, and she will have me. Time will help her see how you’ve twisted her against me.

“Speaking of time, Chae Hyungwon, yours is well since passed up, which is interesting because so has my patience. If you have something worthwhile to say, I suggest you say it now because this is your last chance.”

“We’re not leaving without Amber,” was all he replied.

This time Kai laughed, full and satisfied, as though it was the best joke he’d ever heard. “Wonderful, since I never planned on letting you leave at all.”

The vampire cinched his arm around Amber’s waist and tugged her with him as he eased out of the central room to the terrace space. This time, Kai did snap his fingers, and it wasn’t just the patchwork monster inching deeper into the building but a whole army of vampires, some beautiful, some twisted with various marks of devilry. Even the waiters and violinist were there now, this time without their professional indifference.

“Don’t do this,” she begged, but Kai just offered her a compassionate glance.

“Their spell will be broken soon enough, my sweet.”

“Stop this. Stop it now. This is fucking insane, and I will never forgive you. Never. I will never, ever give you what you want.”

“Ambrosia, try and see it from my point of view,” he said gently. “They’ve already proven they can’t walk away. Do you honestly think those fools will ever give you up? I wouldn’t. You understand that, don’t you? All those years searching for the truth of what happened to your sister. We’re so alike. We can’t let things go, even when we know it’s bad for us. They’re bad for you, my dove. They’re a cavity. We have to drill deeper, make it hurt more, before everything gets so much better.”

“You monster,” she spat.

Amber looked at her would-be saviors, braced for battle, and bitterness swelled in her heart. All this power Kai thought she had, and yet there was nothing she could do. People were going to die, and she would have to watch it all. She had to fight back—she always fought back—but everything felt so hopeless.

“Remember,” hissed Kihyun to his brothers as he raised a clawed hand, “incapacitate only. No kills.”

“They won’t spare you the same courtesy,” Kai reminded, but they ignored the bait. With a surprisingly sober face, the vampire added, “Before we cast our lots, I want you to know with all sincerity that before you broke my heart, I was very grateful for your service.”

“I think we have one more disappointment to hand you first,” Jooheon challenged.

“That’s always possible knowing your family. I'll place my bet on Hyunwoo as the last to die. Who's yours, Ambrosia?”

“You,” she said through gritted teeth.

“Good thing you didn't bet any money,” Kai teased.

The air was electric, and every hair on Amber's body stood up. Kai’s men held their line, daring the brothers to light the powder keg. Minhyuk was shifting heavily from foot to foot though Changkyun did his best to soothe his brother. Wonho and Shownu still anchored their front while Hyungwon kept center guard and stared down the unearthly horror that was the dragon man. Both were still as statues, neither betraying himself with so much as a blink.

Kai squeezed Amber playfully and whispered, “If I still had breath, I’d be holding it.”

Suddenly, the brothers charged forward with growls and snarls except for Minhyuk, who zipped into the fray with only the glint of his fangs and the ravenous whites of his eyes to signal his attack.

“Jooheon, watch your brother!” Hyunwoo shouted, and the flame-tipped punk darted after the wild man she barely recognized.

The two sides collided like wild animals, biting and snapping and slashing. Blood splattered the walls in morbid graffiti, but there was no way to tell where it came from.

Kai vibrated beside her. His eyes were wide, and his tongue roved at the corner of his mouth. His fangs dripped down like icicles between his bitter cold smile. Every ounce of his being was captivated by the clash unfolding before them.

And that was all Amber needed to spur her to action.

She hooked her hand around one of his fingers at her waist and jerked backward until she heard a sickening crack and a stunned yelp. Kai dropped his arm from her to clutch at his wrist, but she didn’t spare a look. She was already bounding down the mossy stairs onto the path and into the woods as fast as her legs could carry her.

Her window of time was tiny. Amber knew he would heal quickly the same way she also knew she would never make it out of the woods, but that wasn’t what this was about.

Shouts rang out from the building behind her, battle cries and cracks and smashes rounding out the symphony of combat with one booming tenor to overshadow it all.

“Bring her back!”

Faster and faster, Amber drove her dead legs up the hilly terrain. The path was still muddy in parts, and her sandals clotted and slid, but it didn’t matter. The more distance she covered, the better.

Somewhere behind her, she heard a mocking peal of laughter, not Kai’s but somehow familiar. It only spurred her feet faster. She couldn’t see anyone behind her, but she knew they weren't letting her go. If anything, they were amusing themselves with her head start.

Beneath her, the slope gave way, and Amber clawed onto any root or fern she could find. Her fingernails tore and splinters pierced the meat of her palms. At the top of the hill, she flopped onto the ground, but there was no time to catch her breath. She was up and racing again. Her lungs felt like fire and her throat closed like a fist, but she managed to make it all the way back to the mossy bridge before she felt the shift.

Something zipped to her left and then to her right. Bullets, she thought, but then Amber saw two shadows deeper than the night. Kai's cronies stepped forward as though they’d been waiting for her for hours. Both showcased wolfish grins and hands on hips, and she realized she recognized them from the vampire club.

“Hello again, beautiful,” simpered Taeyong, who was still sporting his leather jacket. He bowed mockingly, but it charged Amber with a sense of purpose.

“Don’t you remember the rules, boys? Out of my way,” she ordered. “By order of the Portland Police Bureau.”

Their smiles broadened.

“‘Fraid that’s out of the question, honeyblood,” said Doyoung.

Taeyong waggled a finger as he closed in, a hook in his smile. “This time we’re not allowed to let you go.”

“So unless you’re hiding a silver stake in that pussy of yours, seems you’re out of credible threats, baby.”

Amber narrowed her eyes at them, steel in her gaze instead. She turned her hand into a claw and poised it over her forearm, nails already biting into her skin. “Come any closer, and I’ll tell Kai you did it.”

The pair exchanged looks, and while they didn’t back away, they didn’t move any closer.

“Lot of hot, tasty blood under here,” she promised. “Think you’d be able to stop yourself from sucking the honey out of these veins?”

Taeyong licked his lips while Doyoung ground his thumb against his fang.

“But how do you think the boss you’ve been kissing up to will react when he finds out you marked up his woman and took from him? You’ve seen that monster he carts around with him. That thing would wear your murders like new tattoos.”

“Maybe, but if we let you leave, he’d kill us, too,” replied the cat-eyed vampire with a brow raised.

Amber nodded. “So where’s that leave us?”

Taeyong shrugged. “Right here until the boss joins us, I guess.”

“Not good enough.” Her nails dug deeper into her arm, and she winced ahead of the next round of pain.

“I know what you’re doing,” Doyoung said.

“I don’t think your feeble little minds could figure it out,” Amber retorted.

He propped himself on his elbows against the railing and sniffed a laugh. “You know you can’t escape, but that’s not what you’re worried about, is it? You think if you get far enough away and draw enough attention, it’ll lighten the load on those holier-than-thou fangfaces of yours.”

She blinked, honestly shocked. Amber hadn’t expected them to see through her diversion so quickly. She was going to argue, but there was no point when they could hear her heart stutter-step.

Doyoung smiled. “But there are two problems with your plan. Number one, His Grace hates those brothers almost as much as he cares about you, and number two? Wherever you go, those pathetic puppies will follow, and it sounds to me like they’re already on their way…”

Amber trained her ears into the tunnel of darkness, and sure enough, she heard the faint sounds of roars and crashes edging closer and closer.

“Well, girly,” Taeyong said with a matching grin, “what’s your next play?”

With eyes of ice and a heart black with fury, she answered, “I’ll see you both in hell.”

The next thing any of them knew, Amber had gouged long troughs down her skin that quickly welled with blood. Both vampires’ eyes flashed brilliant predatory golds, and she returned their smug grins with one of her own. She dragged her fingertips through the puddling blood and smeared it in a flash across their faces before she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Jongin!”

The pair of vampires barely had enough time to widen their eyes before Kai descended seemingly from the trees beside her. Amber grabbed his side, burying her face in his shoulder as she presented her weeping forearm to him.

Kai took one look from the gashes in her soft skin to his subjects’ blood-smeared lips, and with only a snap, he brought his avenging angel to his side. While she was grateful the monster wasn’t back there squaring off with her boys anymore, she knew what his presence meant, and it gave Amber more than enough reason to keep her face buried.

Shrieks and wails pierced the night and her heart. Ripping, tearing, begging. It was all too close, almost on top of her. Cold mist sprayed her skin, and she knew without looking that it wasn’t from the little rapids under the bridge. Kai held her fast, and for once, she was grateful for it.

Something inhuman, primal, and disgusting gurgled behind her. There was a groan and a retch and a long squelch like wet taffy being pulled, and when her curiosity got the better of her, Amber peeked over Kai’s shoulder. All it took was one glance at the dragon man’s new leathery, shredded wings for it to imprint on her nightmares forever.

In a low voice, Kai said to the creature, “Get rid of their bodies, and when it’s done, there was a third who joined with them. Remove him before he becomes a problem, too.”

Revulsion washed through Amber strong enough to bring bile to her throat. What had she done? What was she becoming? A sick part of her soul purred up from the abyss inside her...

You’re becoming like him.

“Sweetheart, you’re trembling,” said Kai into her hair. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you anywhere else?”

Amber was too numb to answer. She shook her head, but he pushed her back so he could study her. His eyes shined like lamps as they roved over her, settling finally on her wound. He tore a strip from the hem of her dress and rolled it tightly over her arm before tying it closed.

“You can’t run off again,” Kai said quietly. “They’ll smell you even stronger now, and it would be a shame to lose any more soldiers.”

If he knew about her ruse, he didn’t say anything about it. Using his jacket sleeve, he wiped the blood splatter from her cheeks, and, with his lips to her forehead, he said, “I’m happy you called for me.”

Amber told herself it was a necessary means to an end, but her gut wouldn’t let her forget—it had felt right. She didn’t know what that meant, and she didn’t want to know, but it didn’t matter either way. The battle she’d been dreading had made its way to her at last.

This wasn’t like any gang shooting or a hostage situation she’d ever been a part of. This was war and it was terrifying. Screams and yowls and rage and pain echoed in the cathedral of trees. Bodies flew through the air too fast for Amber to tell who was who. She had no idea if all of her lovers had survived, and part of her was too terrified to check.

“It’ll all be over soon,” Kai said as he rubbed her back. His fingertips generated waves of foreboding and something much darker with every pass they made over her naked shoulders. He ignored the battlefield entirely in favor of tracing the wave of her collarbone with his other hand, but Amber couldn’t turn off the clanging of combat between her ears.

There was another squeal, this one gurgling upward from the depths of hell, and she knew the creature had found the last of the trio from Empusa. All too quickly, her planned diversion was over, and now the monster had even more terrifying appendages as it lumbered back toward the fray.

“Hoseok, on your left!” screamed Jooheon.

Just in time, Wonho hefted up a fallen tree trunk and hurled it at the winged monstrosity. It fell back into the creek, struggling to right itself under the weight of its sopping wings and brand-new horns.

“Hyungwon, behind!” Wonho warned as he righted himself and charged toward the enemy closing in on the tallest brother, who was already locked in a power struggle with another tall, elven-looking vampire.

Wonho bulldozed the other guy to the floor while Shownu picked up another and launched him through the air.

The next thing Amber knew, Kai was flying backward behind the weight of the body Shownu had hurled, and she was in her partner’s arms, skyrocketing up the goat path to toward the top of the trail. Trees whizzed by so fast they melted into blobs, and fresh air raced into her lungs.

“I’m so fucking glad to see you,” she said, burying her face into his neck and inhaling his comforting scent. “I’m sorry! I thought I could give you more time, and I just fucked it up worse like always.”

“Spiros, it’s okay. If you hadn’t, Changkyun might not have made it. That thing had him dead-to-rights, maybe all of us.”

“God, I was so worried I lost you. Is everyone okay?”

“I’m not sure for how much longer. Kai has twenty soldiers, and they’re all willing to kill. Damnit,” he cursed as he noticed her arm. “There’s no way to hide with that wound leaving a scent trail. We’ll just have to wait for the others to catch up. This should be a good enough tactical position. I'll keep an eye up. You watch below. They should be here soon.”

“How can you tell?”

Shownu glowered at her. “You can't hear them?”

Sure enough, Amber trained her ears down in the canyon, and over the rush of the creek, even over the roar of combat, she heard the bickering.

“Damnit, Honey, I said west!” groaned Kihyun. “No, your other west!”

“You try navigating with a feral puppy on your leash and a bloodsucker on your back,” came the bitter retort.

Amber’s heart swelled even as the screams grew nearer. Since the terrain became rockier and steeper, the battle tapered down with Kai’s lackeys regrouping elsewhere. Shownu didn’t stop manning his post even as his six brothers ascended the path in a single-file line, which suited her just fine since it offered her a buffet line of hugs, each man overjoyed to see her until, finally, the last brother reached her.

“Hyungwon,” she cried, throwing herself into his arms.

He squeezed her to him and whispered, “Thank god.”

“I missed you so much. I dreamt about you.”

Hyungwon nuzzled his cheek on the top of her head. “We know. Another minute, and we would have been able to track you.”

“But you found me.”

“It’s hard to miss the stink of Kai’s unwashed masses.”

“I thought you let me go,” Amber sobbed against his chest. “I thought you didn’t care anymore.”

Hyungwon tilted her face up sharply and in a low voice, he scolded, “How could you think that? How could you ever think we’d let you go?”

“Back at the house—”

“I had no choice,” he explained. “I needed my brothers and a plan. Otherwise, I’d have lost in minutes. You think I’d leave you in that devil’s hands?”

“You might not have a choice.”

“There is always a choice, and we'll always choose you.”

Amber gave him a quick kiss on the lips before she turned her smile on the others. “So, what's this plan?”

“We just need to stall for a little more time—” Kihyun said.

“We don't have it!” Shownu shouted. “Incoming!”

Just then, two vampires drifted down from the ledge above onto the path and immediately charged the closest targets.

“Where the hell are they?” groused Changkyun as he leveled a punch in a vampire face.

“The police?” Amber asked, but it was drowned out by the crack of bone.

“They said they’d come. They’ll come,” Hyungwon replied as he tossed the challenger over the cliff edge.

“Shit, they sure are taking their time,” Jooheon whined as another challenger entered the fray. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep Min leashed. He’s so annoying when he goes full beserker.”

“He’s always annoying,” Kihyun corrected as he followed Hyungwon’s lead and tossed the latest offender over, too.

Jooheon groaned. “Shit, where'd he go?”

Even with their keen eyesight, the brothers barely had time to notice before Minhyuk, who had flattened himself along the cliff face, sprang like a lion, talons extended and face still as stone, at the first enemy to pass in front of him. He slashed at the other vampire’s arm with his right hand, then his left, before his right returned and tore the appendage clean off. It fell to the ground with a thud and twitched in the dirt as Minhyuk casually kicked it off the ledge along with the man to whom it belonged.

“Next?” Minhyuk said, his voice wild with manic laughter.

“What’s wrong with him?” Amber worried.

“His bloodlust has taken hold,” Kihyun answered, fear evident in his voice for the very first time she could remember. “When Minhyuk senses a fight, he can’t control it, and that blood of yours isn’t helping. If someone doesn’t hold him back, he’ll kill every person here.”

“We have to get out of here,” Wonho agreed.

The thought of her beautiful Minhyuk ending up like the twisted creature Kai wielded as a weapon nearly broke Amber in half.

“There’s a parking lot right above us,” she said. “Maybe there’s a car there?”

Shownu sniffed the air and sighed. “Kai’s already up there.”

“Fuck,” growled Wonho.

Minhyuk, however, didn’t seem to care. He was already scrambling up the rockface before Jooheon grabbed his brother around his neck and strangled him back, but it didn’t stop the white-haired photographer. Minhyuk wriggled free and pushed back toward the hill.

Amber dove forward and gripped his sharp cheeks between her hands and squeezed as she begged, “Minhyuk, stop! Look at me! Stop!”

His nose was twitching now, so near her fresh wound, and saliva dripped from his fangs. His mouth opened wide before he lunged toward her bandage, and she screamed.

A split second before he could bite her, their eyes met, and she saw brilliant golds dancing with the fiery reds of hate in their depths.

“Damnit, Spiros, get back!” Shownu warned as he raced to break them up, but Amber shook her head.

Minhyuk’s fangs grazed the blood-soaked fabric around her arm, but his gaze held hers as she said, “It’s okay. I trust him. I trust you, Min, remember? I trust you.”

As she caressed Minhyuk’s face, she watched the angry ridges that transformed him into rage incarnate soften back into his ever-sharp but elegant beauty once again. All too slowly, the fire in Minhyuk’s eyes tempered to simmering coals, but Amber knew she was reaching him.

“If he can’t control it, why would you bring him?” she snapped at the others.

“We didn’t,” Changkyun insisted. “Min’s a wild card. Kihyun even put extra wards on the doors and windows to keep him home. Nobody expected him to break through the walls.”

“Missed you,” the beserker managed as he nuzzled his cheek against her hand. “Save you.”

“We all have to get out of here in onc piece for you to do that,” she said with a quick kiss to his forehead. “I need you to stay with us, okay, Min baby?”

“Then we should get going,” Kihyun added. “We’ve divided their forces as long as we could, but the ones we tossed over will be regaining their strength soon, and if they regroup, I’m not sure we’ll have the energy to hold out.”

“Let’s move,” Hyungwon said. “Hyunwoo, take point. Everyone else, eyes up as well as down. Don’t forget the trees. They have the high ground, so they’ll see us coming. Watch out for a bottleneck.”

As their line crested the last leg of the trail toward the exit, Shownu shouted, and the next thing anyone knew, he’d been hurled through the sky and vanished somewhere in the meadow above, leaving only the imposing shape of Kai’s winged vanguard.

“Hyunwoo!” Amber screamed. She pushed past Changkyun, but he caught her arm and held her back. She glared at him, but he looked instead to Kihyun.

Amber had never seen the lawyer look so fierce. His eyes were narrowed to glowing slits, and his mouth was set in the same grim line. With just a flick of his head, all of the brothers shifted their attention to the top of the hill as though they all shared his same thought.

Changkyun scooped up Amber into a basket of his arms, and in perfect synchronization, the brothers bent their knees and sprang upward. The moment their feet touched the grass, a dozen fanged soldiers charged for them, but the brothers were ready. They pivoted like gates, swinging to the side to let their attackers fall over the ledge, and in the seconds they disappeared, the men used the opportunity to gain more traction on solid ground.

Changkyun dropped Amber between Wonho and himself as they slashed and bit at the trio of lumbering pale-faced vampires that threatened to overwhelm them. Meanwhile, the bloodlust had clouded Minhyuk’s eyes once again, and he was on all fours, charging at the elvish soldier who was back again along with the now one-armed guy Minhyuk had thrown into the canyon. At the edge of the battlefield, Hyungwon and Kihyun were battling Kai’s monster, but their knees were buckling under the weight of his fists, and Jooheon looked on terrified as his heart was pulled in multiple directions.

“Go to them!” Amber screamed. “I’ve got Min.”

Jooheon nodded and charged full-force at those gruesome wings, slashing hard enough to call its attention from his brothers.

There was still no sign of Shownu, and her heart hammered wildly as she searched every shadow. Instead, at the edge of the field, Amber found the lithe, graceful shape of the mastermind of all the carnage. Even in the dark, his smile glowed. All around him, chaos reigned. His army was unceasing and unprincipled. They were unstoppable. They were winning.

And Kai reveled in it.

Amber looked to her lovers, each one flagging under the weight of an enemy they could neither kill nor outrun. They were out of energy, they were out of room, and they were out of time.

She closed her eyes and volleyed every last ounce of hope into the sky as she begged for a miracle.

Please. Please save them.

All at once, the enemy stopped and straightened, noses to the air and eyes narrowed. Snarls of disgust creased their fang faces, and whatever they sensed drew their attention from the battle to the perimeter of the woods. Amber couldn’t see or hear anything over the seething of the vampire mob around her, but something lurked in the darkness that unnerved everyone.

From his cliff throne, Kai scoffed. “Really? So this is how far you boors are willing to debase yourselves? You bedded down with actual mutts in the futile hopes of stopping me?”

“An ally’s an ally, even if it has four legs,” Hyungwon replied coolly as he shoved back the dragon man’s now-still fist.

“Consider it an insurance policy,” echoed Kihyun. “You’re not known for playing fair.”

A long, low-pitched howl sliced through the thick air and sent all eyes skittering to the same corner of the woods.

“A pack of stray werewolves won’t stop destiny,” Kai snapped. “Nothing will.”

“So why do you sound so scared?” needled Changkyun, which garnered him a death glare from the all-powerful vampire.

“It’s not fear, you idiot. It’s frustration. You’re delaying the inevitable by a few more minutes, and I hate having my time wasted.”

“I call bullshit,” challenged Jooheon.

With a much more level tone, Hyungwon added, “We may not be able to kill you, but our allies don’t have the same limitations.”

Kai snorted. “But why would they break the truce?”

“You've already broken it,” Shownu trumpeted as he emerged from the tree line, chucking a vampire across the meadow to a sharp yelp. “You've brought too much attention to those of us who live here. They don't appreciate it either.”

A man’s scream tore across the glade followed by canine snarls and growls. Other horrific sounds—slashing, shredding, bubbling—spiraled into the sky followed by absolute silence.

Amber shivered.

With a snap of his fingers, Kai cut through the quiet, and the remaining vampires froze with their heads jerked back toward their leader.

“To me!” he bellowed, and nearly a dozen of his subjects ringed him as quickly as their maimed bodies allowed. With a fence of vampires around him, Kai looked as confident as ever, but Amber caught the slightest waver in his eyes.

“Face us, you coward,” challenged Wonho.

Kai rolled his eyes. “Please. I have nothing to prove to a bunch of vegan vampires with a legacy of disappointment, but I do have a bride I would like to impress later, and I’m not risking so much as a chipped nail on our wedding night.”

“If you don’t come out yourself,” Kihyun said, “then we’ll let our wolf friends have free playtime, and believe me, they’re already sore about you dumping bodies in their forest.”

As Kai mulled over the ultimatum, lights on the road above caught everyone’s attention. At first, Amber figured it was Aisha returning to her master, but from the slick smirk on Kai’s face, she knew something was terribly wrong.

With a sniff of a laugh, he mused, “Hm, do you know what separates a king from his feudal lords?”

One by one, each of the brothers looked with panicked eyes up the slope. Faintly, Amber heard her name resonating from the parking lot above—impossibly close, impossibly familiar.

“Expendable resources,” Kai answered. His smile only broadened at her name ringing out again.

“Spiros! Spiros, can you hear me?”

Lucas…

“No!” Amber screamed but then immediately covered her mouth. She raced toward the tallest brother, clinging to his tattered shirt. “What’s he doing here, Hyungwon?”

But Kai answered instead. “You don’t think I have contingency plans, my sweet? I gave Aisha instructions to make a call you were in trouble, and guess who came running…”

Fear, even more than adrenaline, coursed through Amber now.

“Stop!” the captain shouted as he crested the lot and jogged down into the meadow, gun raised. His eyes darted between the bloody, slipshod crew of brothers and Kai's smooth, beaming face before settling on the woman between them all. “Nobody move. Spiros, you okay?”

“Lucas, no!” she warned. “Get out of here. You have to go now. You don’t know—”

“No, stay,” said Kai with a pleasant grin. “Please join us.”

“This is Captain Lucas Wong of the Portland Police Bureau, and I am placing you all under arrest for assault on an officer and the murders of Han So Hee and Evelyn Hoover. You are to put down your weapons and put your hands in the air or I will shoot.”

“Luke, stop! Please!” Amber begged. “It’s not what you think—”

“Do it now,” the captain commanded, ignoring her, “or I will use force.”

“Oh, will you, Captain?” Kai said with a daring brow-raise.

True to his word, Lucas did not back down. Instead, he continued to push toward his detective, eyes and gun cycling across all his adversaries.

“My officers have the park surrounded,” he said, though no one could see the red and blue whirlybirds of police lights on any horizon.

“I’m sure they do,” Kai said, amused.

“This is your final warning. Put down your weapons and put your hands behind your backs.”

Nobody moved except for a shrug of Kai’s shoulder.

“Now, how am I supposed to put down my weapon when I am the weapon? Really, Ambrosia, what did you ever see in him?”

Lucas’s eyes narrowed, first at Kai but then at her before they landed on the hulking red beast behind them. The captain’s gun slipped in his sweaty grip as his brain worked to understand something it couldn’t. “What’s going on here?”

But Kai was more than delighted to fill the space with an answer of his own. “Should I tell him, dear?”

“Leave him out of this,” Amber hissed.

“Of course, my little Chalice. I’d be happy to. It’s all so easy. Leave this nonsense behind and be by my side, and everyone walks away safely. It’s a good deal, right?” Kai said as he smoothed his tuxedo jacket and parted the pair of bodyguards before him. “Just a whisper in that bloodbag’s ear, and he’ll forget everything, even you. Isn’t that what you wanted? For him to move on? You can give him that. I can give him that. Just give me your hand.”

“Step back, asshole!” Lucas interjected as he edged along the perimeter toward his loudest antagonist.

“This part doesn’t concern you, Captain. I would appreciate some silence.”

“This is your last warning…”

Kai sighed. “Honestly, Ambrosia how did you live with someone this dense?”

As Lucas’s finger stiffened on his trigger, the vampire zipped toward him with the speed of a hawk. The captain fired three rounds into Kai’s chest, but he didn't make so much as a grunt or a recoil. Lucas’s eyes went wide and his skin paled. No officers swarmed the park, no sirens sounded in the distance. The captain was alone with the impossible.

With a glower, Kai slipped a finger through one of the bullet holes in his lapel and wriggled it. “This was custom-tailored, I’ll have you know.”

The gun wavered in Lucas’s hands for just a moment before the vampire removed it and dropped it to the ground.

“Captain Wong, if you would, please step into my arms.”

Lucas hesitated but only for a moment before he eased into Kai’s welcoming embrace.

“Look at your pretty detective,” the vampire rasped. “Isn’t she gorgeous tonight?”

To her horror, Amber watched the fog roll into Lucas’s eyes the same as it had Eric’s. The captain’s voice was tinted like glass as he answered, “She is.”

“Stop this madness!” Shownu commanded, but it fell on deaf ears, both the captain’s and their adversary’s.

“Ambrosia was once yours, wasn’t she?” Kai asked of the man in his grip.

“She was.”

“She’s mine now.” The vampire squeezed the captain to a melody of grunts and whimpers. “Say it.”

“She’s yours now,” Lucas said.

Satisfied, Kai stroked the sweaty bangs back from his captive’s brow. “Captain Wong, do you want to live?”

“Yes.”

Kai grinned, his gaze leveled now on his golden prize. “Then tell her.”

The tension at the corners of Lucas’s eyes said one thing while his mouth said another. “I want to live.”

“See?” said Kai to the woman sagging under the weight of each new layer of horror.

“I want to live long enough to protect her…” Lucas managed, still faraway but fighting back with the last of his resistance. Amber charged forward a few steps before Kai sighed again, this time belabored.

“Patience, my dove. The curtain has almost fallen on the end of this act. Captain Wong, please tilt your head.”

Lucas did, though it was slow and halting. His eyes were huge, his grimace was deep, and even from a distance, Amber could see his pulse in his throat.

Jooheon and Minhyuk lurched forward now, but Shownu held them both back.

“Curb your strays, Hyungwon,” ordered Kai, “all of them. You’re interfering with the lady’s choice. This comes down to Ambrosia. It always will.”

Reluctantly, Hyungwon whistled, this one low but rising like a hill. His brothers slinked back, as did the wolves just beyond the thickets, though their eyes still flashed green and gold between the trees.

“Good. Very good,” mused Kai. “Finally, some respect.”

“Goddamn you, you bastard,” Amber muttered. “Just fucking stop this.”

“It stops when you stop denying the pull you feel toward me.”

“Lucas has nothing to do with this.”

“He has everything to do with this!” Kai boomed. “You were going to marry him. You were going to marry him instead of me—him—a common air-sucker. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

Amber shook her head, tears flinging out. “I gave him up.”

Kai squeezed the captain tighter as he shouted, “You gave him up for them!”

“I gave him up for you!”

The weight of her words settled like dew over the meadow. Everything seemed unnaturally quiet now, as though the whole world was waiting for her next words.

“I knew once you had me, there'd be no going back.”

“But you did,” the vampire growled. “The moment you saw them, the moment they came back, you ran to them. You left me.”

The sting of pain was hard to ignore in his voice, no matter how misplaced it was, and it stung Amber, too. She could hate Kai with everything she had, but somehow, she still resonated with him like a tuning fork. It was there in her chest, the uncomfortable truth, that he needed her.

“Jesus, Kai, I’m not with you. Don’t you get that? This isn't love. This is loneliness.”

For a moment, Amber forgot the rest of the world. For a moment, Kai’s grip on Lucas faltered. For a moment, she thought she’d broken through. But the next moment, Kai’s eyes were once again as firm as his conviction.

“I'm sorry you doubt me. After all I’ve done for you, after all I’ve shared with you—things I’ve never told anyone...” His voice was so clear, it was the only sound she heard. “I will make you see my heart, Ambrosia, all of it, but I understand now that you won't believe me at my best until you've seen me at my worst.”

Kai’s teeth sank into the captain's flesh before he withdrew to sprays of blood that showered the vampire’s skin and drenched Lucas’s clothes.

Horror slammed into Amber: He wasn't even drinking. He wasn't even drinking….

He was wasting Lucas's blood.

The crimson mess greased Kai’s hand until it loosened enough for the captain to slip out and puddle onto the grass. Lucas staunched the wound at his throat, but it was pointless. His mouth moved wordlessly like a dummy without its master, but his eyes were once again clear and focused solely on Amber.

“There's still time to make a choice that saves his life, Ambrosia,” said Kai. “Accept your fate or be consumed by it. Either way, you’re mine, but one comes with considerably less collateral damage.”

As if to underscore Kai’s point, Lucas sputtered and spit a little geyser of blood across the grass.

“I accept!” she screamed. “Call off your army, and I’ll go with you.”

“Amber, no!” called Changkyun. He lunged for her hand, but she jerked it away.

She whirled back to the seven steadfast men at her back and felt her decision galvanize in her chest. She stood as tall as she could and said, “I can’t let anything happen to any of you.”

“You don’t know what you’re agreeing to,” Kihyun stressed.

Shownu nodded. “This is worse.”

“Way worse,” finished Wonho.

But Amber shook her head, and her eyes fell to her captain, writhing less and less with every pump of his heart. In a near whisper, she said, “It can’t be worse.”

As she closed the gap between her future and her past, her body felt heavier and heavier, like she was descending into the ocean depths, and with every step, the pressure intensified. Just before she crossed that invisible threshold where she was crushed forever, she turned back for one last look at the men who had changed her life in every conceivable way.

Amber knew now that they would never give her up, the same way she knew which way was up. The same way she knew that if she didn’t put a stop to it, everyone would be dead within minutes.

She steadied her heartbeat before she said to them, “I need you to do two final things for me.”

Wonho was crying as was Jooheon while Changkyun supported a limp and finally sober Minhyuk on his shoulder, and Kihyun glared blackly at her. Though his shirt was in tatters and gashes ran the length of his face and arms, Shownu stood as motionless as she remembered him from that first day she’d met him. But it was Hyungwon’s face that made the most ragged cut.

Those soft, exquisite features were blank of every emotion, as though he were no longer a man but a statue, beautiful and hollow.

Love me, too. Please…

Amber swallowed the lump in her throat and closed her eyes, willing away the emptiness in his face.

This is how I’ll love you, she thought bitterly.

“Save Luke,” she said, grateful that her voice didn’t break the way she was breaking inside. “Please, I’m begging you. And find a way to let me go. If you’re alive, then a part of me will go on living, too, no matter what.”

“Amber—” Hyungwon started, but she waved him off. Even the rasp of his voice threatened to send her barreling back to him.

“You have to do this for me because if you don’t, I really won’t forgive you. This is my choice, and by choosing this, I’m really choosing you.”

Behind her, Kai huffed, and even though she couldn’t see him, she could feel how she’d siphoned some of his power. It wouldn’t be long before his delusions overtook him again, but it was enough for him to know where her heart lived right now.

“Swear it, Hyungwon!” Amber demanded.

With lips ever-flushed but now wooden, he said, “I swear.”

It felt as final as a mythical oath. There was no clap of thunder or earthquake beneath their feet, but the words reverberated just the same.

Amber turned to Kai, who grinned from ear to ear and offered his hand. She shook her head and said, “Let them get Lucas first.”

“As you wish,” he said and stepped to the side, as did his soldiers.

Kihyun and Shownu surged past her, brushing her arms along the way so their goodbyes ached in her bones. They gathered up Lucas, whose head was lolling now while his limbs jostled limply with every step.

Amber stopped them long enough to check his leaking wound and comfort him one last time. His eyes were open and full of a dark mix of confusion, horror, fear, and begging. Though he couldn’t speak, she could hear her captain clear as day in her mind.

Don’t do it, Spiros.

With her determination renewed, she turned her attention back to the tuxedoed man waiting smugly ahead of her. She matched his high chin and straight back though her hands balled in her skirt, betraying her confidence. “Now, you. You swear that you will let them be.”

“Yes, yes, that’s a given,” the vampire said with an eye roll.

“Don’t fuck with me, Kai. No tricks, no games. Do I need to name each of them specifically?”

He wrinkled his lip at the pseudonym as much as the threat. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Then, swear it!”

“I swear it, my lady,” he said with his hand on what was left of his heart before he bowed deeply to her. “And I thought I was theatrical. Now, since it’s all settled at long fucking last, I beg you join my side, goddess.”

The slot beside him seemed to glimmer, and she moved toward it as if pulled. As powerful and important as Kai claimed she was, Amber felt helpless, especially when his hands closed around her waist followed by the back of her neck. He was facing her now, differently than he had all night. His smugness made him taller, and his victory made him broader. It was as if he were going to consume her.

“There it is again,” he murmured. “Do you feel the energy between us?”

Beneath her shame and her rage, Amber did. God help her, she did.

It was like the ocean pulling back from the shore farther and farther and farther. She could feel the next wave marshalling on the horizon more ferociously than ever, shaking her bones with anticipation.

“Lean into that. Lean into me,” Kai whispered.

Even if she wanted to continue fighting, Amber couldn’t. She flattened her body against him to his little groan. The hand on her neck urged her forward still until her head rested on his chest. Kai was painfully hard against her hip—at his conquest, at his audience, at her submission—and she shivered. He stroked her hair and clasped her so fiercely to him that Amber thought she might become a part of him.

Kai purred above her. “Look at them one last time, my sweet Ambrosia. Show them what they will never have again.”

He guided her head toward an image that would never leave her.

Lucas was still choking on blood and convulsing on the ground while Jooheon clamped a hand over the captain’s wound, but she could see how wet his fingers were. Minhyuk shook in Shownu’s grip, but her partner held fast even if he begged to release his feral brother. So much heartbreak, so much outrage. But as dead as each brother’s eyes were, all of them stayed rooted until Amber was convinced they’d turned to stone.

Kai hummed in delight.

“Kiss me,” he ordered, wrenching Amber’s gaze from her lovers to the devil above her, “and mean it.”

His mouth dipped to meet hers, and their lips finally connected.

All she could taste was black cruelty, bitter and sad and as painful to the touch as dry ice. As Kai’s tongue slipped into her mouth, a tear slipped down her cheek. Dimly, Amber heard a cry beside her, but she knew it wasn’t from her. She had accepted her role, and she gave her full self unto it.

She shoved her lips harder against his, and Kai moaned when her tongue glided into his mouth. She teased him with it, curling it back like a beckoning finger until he answered her call with a thrust of his bottom lip between hers. When Amber had it, she bit hard enough to draw blood—her last show of defiance before she became the empty vessel waiting to be filled.

Kai snarled but didn’t withdraw. Instead, he took it as permission to kiss Amber more roughly, and when he finally let her come up for air, her lips were blotted with blood and his handsome face had twisted into his vampire mask. His fangs peeked over his wounded lip, and he licked up the speckles of his blood to a satisfied smile.

He let out an appreciative laugh. “Oh, you definitely meant that. You skipped a few steps in our ceremony, but we can seal our blood marriage here if you insist. And, look! How nice. We already have witnesses to our union.”

Amber’s stomach lurched, as much from the leaden taste of Kai’s wrong blood as the horrified looks on the brothers’ faces.

Kai drew her in front of him, face-out just as he had for Lucas, but his grip was different. One hand splayed over her stomach while the other cupped the underside of her breasts. He guided her head to the side so everyone could get a clear view of her neck. His nose ghosted along the skin there with a murmur of appreciation before it crinkled.

He scowled. “Makeup?”

With the butt of his palm, he scrubbed her skin and then howled. The dark stain of Kihyun’s brand still lingered, but even worse, now it was framed by fresh pinpoint scabs.

Kai’s voice was perilous as he said, “Which one of you swamp-blood bastards took what didn’t belong to you?”

The brothers looked between each other, but the questioning glances stopped the moment they noticed Hyungwon’s eyes locked with Amber’s.

The tallest brother took a step forward.

“She doesn’t belong to you. She belongs with us.”

“Oh really?” laughed Kai, fondling her breast for emphasis. “Yet here she is, walking right into my embrace.”

Lean into me…

That next wave was still gathering inside Amber. The further it withdrew, the more of her it laid bare, but now it was building with unprecedented speed, and she wouldn’t deny it anymore. It needed to break. She needed to break.

“Shut up,” she demanded. Fury permeated her every breath as she tossed stray hairs from her throat and pushed back into her captor. “Stop fucking talking and just do it.”

Kai grinned at the ring of defeated faces before him. With vicious irony, he laughed, “You heard the lady.”

The vampire kissed her throat reverentially—once, twice—and then savored a long lick of the sweat stippled there. A moment later, Amber felt the pain, familiar now, penetrating to her soul as her blood pumped into his ravenous jaws. Kai was inside her, not just his teeth but his very essence. She could feel him slinking through her veins and clawing toward her heart.

At last, the wave of their potential smashed against her with enough force to empty the breath from her lungs. It was like a rush of water over her head, spinning her and upending her and drowning her. It wasn’t a current Amber could swim against. It wasn’t something she could tame. Her only option was to lose herself in it.

Against her wishes, one of her hands covered Kai’s, kneading and squeezing as more of her strength and her will flowed into him. With every vigorous gush of blood against his tongue, he moaned and rutted against her while she slackened in his arms the way that Johnny had… the way that Lucas had. Kai was taking so much—so much of her blood, so much of her spirit. Her grip was loosening. Her knees were giving out. Her mettle was crumbling. Maybe this was how she died…

“You’re killing her!” screamed Jooheon.

It was nearly too late by the time Kai realized how limp Amber was in his embrace. Together, they fell to the ground where he sealed the wound at her neck. He held her face in his hands, his fingers digging into her yielding flesh.

“Ambrosia! Ambrosia!”

He was shaking her now, trying to focus the color behind her stained-glass eyes.

“Come back.”

Slowly, she blinked, and the world came back into focus.

“I’m sorry,” Kai said desperately, clutching her against him like a ragdoll. “I took too much. I took too much, I’m sorry. Come back to me. Come back, please…”

Maybe it was her blood-starved brain, but it sounded inexplicably sincere.

Head pounding and vision fuzzy, she pushed out of Kai’s lap and tumbled onto the grass.

“Ambrosia? Baby?”

His words were too soft. Her brain was too scrambled. Her heart felt like it was skipping every other beat. But through all of that, there was something inside her telling her to keep moving, keep surging with the wave.

Her hands groped blindly through the pine needles and damp grass until, at last, Amber found the steely conviction to get up. She pushed up, dizzy but never forgetting that singular something she still had to do.

Meanwhile, Kai shot up alongside her, offering his body as a crutch that she reluctantly used until she got her bearings. Now before each other again, he caressed her cheeks and hair and whispered strange gratitudes and other things that sounded foreign out of a creature with a corn husk for a soul.

“Never again… Never again…”

There was that thing in the back of Amber’s mind again, a nagging compulsion heavy in both her head and her hand, some kind of an invisible compass pointing her in a direction she couldn’t even see, only feel.

Whatever it was, Kai felt it, too. Slowly, his hands stilled on her face until they disappeared, moving instead to his own chest. He staggered back a step and then another. His vampire mask had faded, replaced now with a different kind of twist in his features, this one full of confusion and definitely pain. As sweat peppered his brow, he grasped fistfuls of his tuxedo jacket and wobbled on his feet.

“What is this? What have you done to me?”

His voice was thin with shock, but it was nothing to the surprise in the whites of his eyes when the shot rang out.

This time when he clutched at his chest, his hands came back soaked with blood. He held them in front of his face for a long moment before he turned them toward the woman with blood on her lips and Lucas’s gun in her hand.

“Ambrosia?” Kai whimpered before he fell to his knees.

Amber stood there, gun trembling in her grip before it fell back to the mess of leaves where she’d found it. She couldn’t move. She was frozen, staring at the empty woods ahead of her.

Kai pitched forward, landing face-first at her hips, his nose nuzzling languidly over her womb. He kissed her once there as tears fell from his face.

“All I wanted was you,” he whimpered, his voice as strained as it was sad.

He clawed aimlessly at her skirt as he struggled to hold on, but his grip failed him, and his face fell to her feet now, pine needles and grass clinging to his bloody lips as his chest heaved with breaths he hadn't taken in nearly 700 years. With the last of his strength, his fingers played with the hem of her dress, tragic little tugs as he begged for her attention.

His mouth opened, but no more words came out, just blood and one last breath.

“He's dead?” said Jooheon incredulously.

“He’s human,” replied Changkyun just as shocked.

Amber stared at the elegant fingers draped loosely now around her ankle. Those same fingers had stolen the life from countless victims, from her own sister, and yet something in Amber’s chest ached at the sight of them forever still.

“Goodbye, Jongin,” she whispered as she closed her eyes to blot out the last of the wave as it dwindled away to nothing.

“Amber!”

Shownu’s frantic voice beckoned her from the void, and she jerked free of Kai’s final embrace.

His minions were staring at her, fangs bared and tongues wagging as they sniffed at the honey blood in the air. Without Kai’s will to hold them back, they would be on her in a second.

Suddenly, Hyungwon’s whistle lilted on the wind, this one faster and angrier than the last. In a flash, streaks of gray shot from the tree line and tore into the field with roars and barks. Wolf claws and jaws sank into vampire flesh, wrenching chunks from limbs and gouging holes in chests.

When Amber couldn’t find the strength to run anymore, Wonho darted forward and scooped her up, jetting her back to the rest of the family. Jooheon looked up with saucer eyes and then back down to his makeshift seal at Lucas’s throat.

“I’m sorry. It’s not my wound. I can’t close it,” he said, voice trembling.

Amber knelt beside the captain and pressed the back of her hand to Lucas’s face. His skin was cool and ashen. His eyes were blank, his breath shallow, and his lips bone dry. She put her fingers to his wrist, but his pulse was too low to count.

“We have to get him to a hospital,” she urged, but Shownu shook his head.

“He’s too far gone. He’ll never make it.”

Amber tried to make out her partner’s words, but they were too surreal. All this magical bullshit in the world, and Lucas was still going to die? She wouldn’t accept it. She couldn’t. “Then change him, damnit! He can’t die! You promised me! You swore.”

Kihyun put a hand on her shoulder. “You know about our pact, Ambrosia. I wish we could, but it’s unbreakable. It’s out of our hands.”

“But I can fix it later,” she pleaded. “You saw that, right? It will be like it never happened, okay? Please just do it. Just fucking do it!”

The brothers started to argue, but they were all talking at once, and it was wasting precious time. Amber didn’t have the brain power anymore to weed any of it out especially over the nightmare symphony still going on behind them.

The last of Kai’s great creations, the monstrous Junmyeon, finally fell under the relentless attack of several voracious wolves. His wings looked like streamers and only the last human piece of his face remained unblinking at the sky. The remaining vampire stragglers took off into the woods, leading most of the wolves on their scent, but two lingered behind and trotted over to the brothers.

Maybe it was distortion from her tears, but Amber could barely make sense of the kaleidoscope shift of colors from gray to white and finally tan. Before her now stood one large wolf and a toned, naked man with mahogany hair and the shrewd eyes of a tycoon. The man crouched down beside Lucas and lifted the captain’s limp hand.

“They don’t break their pact for anyone,” the stranger said, “but I’ve been known to bend for a pretty lady.”

Minhyuk bared his fangs at the interloper, but Wonho reined him in with a sturdy chokehold. It didn’t seem to faze the stranger.

“I’ll shoot you straight,” he continued. “I could use another pack member. Been harder and harder to find these days. It’s got to be someone fearless and strong with just the right amount of stupid. I think your captain fits the bill. What do you say?”

Now, Amber was sure she was in some kind of a fever dream thanks to the wound on her arm. Even with all she knew about vampires, this seemed like a ludicrous reach.

“I don’t even know what you’re talking about! I can’t make that decision for him,” Amber exclaimed. “I don’t know anything about your kind or you, and I—I don’t think I can ever undo it.”

“You can’t, but the way I see it, your guy only has two options: death or the wolf. You have to decide.”

“Kun…” Hyungwon said softly as he rested a hand on the naked man’s shoulders, but Kun waved him off.

“Does—does it hurt?” she stuttered.

“A lot, yeah, but the pain’s a lot less permanent than death.”

“The window’s closing, Amber,” Jooheon said with his ear pressed to Lucas’s chest.

Out of options, Amber grabbed her captain’s face in her hands and swiped her thumbs along his cheekbones. She brushed his hair back from his face only to find it as pale and cold as the moon. “Lucas? Lucas, can you hear me?”

His head rolled toward her. His mouth moved, but no sounds came out except a faint gargle.

“Lucas, baby? Baby, I have to know. They can save you, but if they do, you’ll be like—. You’ll be—” Her words snagged in her throat as she tried to face wicked reality. “—you’ll be different. Do you want that? Baby, please tell me.”

He couldn’t answer. He couldn’t even move his head. His eyes glazed as they stared into hers, one a blue heaven, the other a divided hell.

“Now, Ambrosia,” Kihyun demanded. “Tell us.”

With her blood in her ears and her heart in her mouth, she whispered, “Save him.”

The naked man swiveled to face the wolf with him and patted it between its shoulder blades. In a low voice, Kun said, “Do it, Xiaojun.”

Instantly, the wolf lunged and bit Lucas on the arm. Several of the brothers jumped back while Shownu grabbed Amber and pinned her against him. It only lasted a split second before the wolf retreated and Kun advanced so he was looming over the captain.

“I need you all to back up,” he ordered. “He has to imprint me as his alpha once the change happens.”

The brothers did as asked though nothing seemed to change. Lucas still looked dead. He hadn’t even flinched at the bite, and hope was waning. But a moment later, every muscle in his body was struck unnaturally rigid, and he released the howl of a soul being ripped from its earthly home. When there wasn’t an ounce of torture left in his lungs to spill into the world, Lucas sagged against the earth, eyes wide and mouth agape.

He was looking at Amber—through her—but he wasn’t there. She sobbed, her nails gouging her thighs. She couldn’t look away. What had she done? What had she invited into his world and trapped in there with him?

“Lucas…” she whimpered.

“Get her back!” Kun warned.

Lucas’s body seized again, this time arching his back sharply as he convulsed. His fingers crooked and his feet twisted as his heels worked shallow graves into the ground.

“Jesus, when will this end? Make it stop!” Amber wailed, but, now back to himself again, Minhyuk held her tightly in his arms, and she was so relieved to have him back, she burrowed into his chest.

“This is the price of living,” said Kun. “It will be over soon.”

She flinched and let Minhyuk tuck her face deeper into him as his arm wrapped around her head.

“It’ll be over soon,” the vampire repeated.

She heard more scuffling mixed with unholy creaks and groans that couldn’t possibly come from a human. If nightmares had a soundtrack, she thought, this would be it. She would hear it forever.

Then, suddenly, all was quiet. Amber peeked over Minhyuk’s arm and saw Kun there, unabashedly naked but looking as confident as if he had his hands stuffed in expensive suit pockets.

“Lucas, is it?” the stranger said in perfect nonchalance. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kun. I’m here to welcome you into our pack.”

“Amber?” the captain croaked.

“Your lady-friend? Yeah, she saved your life. But, listen, things are about to get a lot hairier for you, so we have to hightail you back to the house. Can’t have you going through the rest of the transformation this close to dawn. You two can catch up later, yeah?”

Lucas ignored the stranger and rolled his head to the side until he found Amber clutching Minhyuk. The second his eyes landed on her, she scrambled to his side. “You’re alive!”

“Amber, what’s happening to me? What are they? Are—”

She placed a quick kiss to his lips and shook her head. “All that matters is that you’re safe. I wish I could explain everything like you deserve, but you have to go with them, okay? They’re friends. They’ll take care of you.”

Amber looked up at Hyungwon, who nodded, though it was a little late now to be making sure she could trust transforming wolves from the woods.

Kun smiled, his mouth full of perfect white, perfectly human teeth. “You can always trust your pack. Now, let’s hit the road. The clock’s a-ticking.”

After another quick kiss, Amber moved back so Jooheon and Changkyun could help the captain up before they dragged him back toward his car with Kun and the wolf following. Kun opened the back door, and the wolf hopped in as though it were a pet. Once Lucas was strapped in the passenger seat, Kun waved to everyone and, still buck naked, climbed in the driver’s seat and took off, leaving the rest of his wolves to find their way back.

Slowly, Amber turned around. There was no way to avoid the carnage before her—bodies everywhere, some whole and some in pieces, blood, fabric, huge chunks of turf. There, near the edge, somehow spotlighted by starlight, lay Kai. He was just as she’d left him, facedown, groveling at feet that were no longer there, still beautiful but forever broken.

“It’s getting late,” Kihyun said. “We have to clean up. Let’s get her home and into bed.”

“I should stay,” Amber protested, stumbling forward on autopilot toward the man in the tuxedo.

Strong arms curled around her waist as a chin rested on her shoulder. She was so numb, she barely felt it as Wonho hugged her and said, “It’s time to go, Amber.”

“Everything will be all right,” Shownu promised.

“All right?” she said, her breath hitching. “How could it ever be all right? I just turned Luke into some—thing. So many people are dead. Johnny is dead—an FBI agent is dead. The whole fucking precinct will be here any minute, and there are just… so many fucking bodies. There’s a fucking demon with wings in the same grass where kids play frisbee! And Jongin— Damnit, how is any of this sane or even remotely okay?”

Her words fired like an assault rifle, and Amber struggled for big, hiccupping breaths between every one before Hyungwon cradled her face in his hands and forced her gaze up to him, and suddenly, she could breathe again.

“We’ll get through it, Amber,” he whispered. “We’ll get through it together because we love you, too.”

Through all the impossibilities she’d just witnessed, somehow that felt like the most impossible thing of all, but it was the only answer she could truly believe in. She looked from perfect face to perfect face and felt that swell of peace that could only come from perfect love.

Together…

She’d never heard a more beautiful word.

Her heart once again beating in her chest, Amber nodded as she whispered, “I’m ready to go home.”

A/N: An open letter to EXO: 

Dear boys,

I’m so sorry, especially to the very sweet and pretty Suho and the extraordinarily perfect Kai. I wish I could have written it any other way, but this was the only one that worked. I’ll make it up to you someday! No hard feelings? Please! I love you!

Sincerely,

The horrible bitch author :(