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blizzardfluffykpop · 1 year ago

Text

Candy Cane

Summary: A holiday party where everyone dresses up as a different holiday. The party where you meet your friend group’s old best friend from high school.

Oneshot

Fluff, Non-idol au, Strangers to lovers au

Word Count: 3,795

Minhyuk X Female! Reader

[Features! The rest of OT7]

Requested: Hiiiiii <3 Can I request A Holiday Dress Up Party with Minhyuk from Monsta X for a female reader? Thank you! ☃️

Prompt: 10. A Holiday Dress Up Party

[A/n: It’s not mentioned but Hyungwon is wearing a flower costume.]

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You call Hoseok up and ask if everyone is dressed up for the party, not wanting to be the only one in a silly costume. And he told you everyone was, but to reassure you he sent a photo of himself dressed in a comically large four-leaf clover with a green undershirt. You laugh and happily walk the rest of the way in your pink and white candy cane costume. You stay on the phone with him and ask, “Is there anyone I don’t know?” He hums, “Only one, I think? You don’t know him cause he’s been out painting murals in France? I don’t know where; you’ll have to ask him. But we’ve been friends since high school. And we talk about him all the time.” You nod, “Oh, am I finally going to meet Minhyuk? What’s he dressed up like?” He hums, “Yeah! I think a Champagne Bottle? I haven’t seen him in a while. I’ve been by the hors d'oeuvres for a while now.” You laugh, “Any good ones?” He quickly answers, “You’re gonna love the spinach feta croissant! If I don’t eat them all first!” You shake your head, “Good thing I’m approaching the door now.” He giggles, “Good thing!”

You ring the doorbell, and a red and green ornament, known as Hyunwoo, greets you. “Ah (Y/n). It’s good to see you.” You laugh, “It’s nice to see you too, Woo.” He smiles and lets you in, “How’s it looking?” “Good. Everyone managed to dress as a different holiday.” “Really?” He nods, “Yeah, I was surprised too!” You see a guy in a mask and immediately recognize, “Changkyun? Are you Guy Fox Day?” He groans, “I’m supposed to be anonymous.” You exchange a look with Hyunwoo before saying, “You’re doing a good job at it.”

You shake your head and find Hoseok eating a croissant, “(Y/n)!” You cheer, “Hoseok!” And Hyunwoo leaves you after grabbing a plate of different hors d'oeuvres, mainly tomato bruschetta. And Hoseok hands you a croissant, “How many did you eat?” “Um… many.” You chuckle before eating it yourself, and your eyes widen as you bite into it before quickly finishing it and eating another. You both finish up that plate with ease. A vampire, Kihyun, comes around and goes, “I had a feeling those would be gone first. It’s why I prepared seconds for the ‘rest’ of the guests to eat.” He emphasizes the ‘rest’ to you guys, making you both pout as you move away. His sharp canines glinting as you move away. You both mutter, “Meanie,” loud enough for him to hear, which causes him to scoff.

You both walk from it, and he goes, “When he leaves, I am stealing the plate until the pizza delivery comes.” You cackle, “Save me one.” He nods, “One.” You shake your head at him, and that’s when you spot the champagne bottle. “Is that him?” You ask softly, and he nods, “You want me to introduce you two?” You shrug, acting indifferent, even though the guy seemed quite handsome. “Minhyuk!” He looks up from his phone and smiles, “Hoseok! And who’s this?” He gestures to you, and you smile, “I’m (Y/n).” He puts his hand out to shake yours, “Minhyuk, it’s a pleasure to meet someone sweet like you.” He winks, and you laugh, “Are you just as bubbly as your costume?” You can hear Hoseok gulp as he makes his getaway. “Wouldn’t you like to find out?” You laugh, “I think we’re going to get along well.”

“I heard you were a painter?” He grins, “I paint murals.” You nod, “Is that why I haven’t met you before?” He nods, “I’ve been busy painting buildings all over Europe. But I’ve heard a lot about you from the guys.” You smile, “I’ve heard a lot about you too.” “All good things?” You think back, “I wouldn’t say that.” He cackles, “Good.”

He asks, “So, how did you meet them?” You grin, “I worked at the dinner on the corner near where Hoseok worked, and he brought Jooheon the first time they came in. And I slowly became each of their friends.” He smiles, “They’re a good bunch.” You grin happily thinking about all the times you’ve had with them, “Yeah.” You ask, “How did you meet them?” He smiles, “In art class, funnily enough. We each shared a class other than that one. And we became fast friends, but what sealed it was our shared lunch period. Which just led to major chaos.” You laugh, “Oh, I’ve heard you were the conspirator behind it all.” He grins, “Always.” You smile, and as he goes to ask you another question, you hear someone exclaim, “(Y/n)! (Y/n)!” You whip around from your conversation, “Yeah?!”

You turn to see Jooheon in a cupid outfit. You hold back your giggle, and he goes, “Pair with me, please?!” “For what?” That’s when you feel someone grab your hand and glance to see Minhyuk holding it, “She’s already taken, Joo.” He pouts, “I have no chance of winning, do I?” And you smirk, “Probably not.” He huffs before he shouts, “Hoseok! Hoseok!” You look back at Minhyuk and ask, “I’m taken?” He winks, “By me.” You can’t help but blush, and he asks, “Are you as good at games as they claim?” Your blush fades as you tell him, “I’d say so.” He smirks, “We'll make the perfect pair then.” That’s when you notice you’re still holding hands. You turn red all over again but don’t say anything or let go as you try to get a grip on reality. You just met the guy, and he’s best friends with your friends. What if he doesn’t actually like you? What if he is being super friendly, and it just sounds like he’s flirting? But then him winking after saying, ‘By me’ wouldn’t add up then.

You shake your head of those thoughts and squeeze his hand, and he leads you to the coffee table, which Kihyun is now standing on. “Alright! This year will be different because we have enough for perfect pairs.” You see everyone standing beside someone. “There will be no rule keeper or host this year. It’s cutthroat. The losing team will have to clean the whole house!” You eye Minhyuk, and his eyes glint with mischief. And you can’t help but grin. You were so winning this. “There will be five games! And the only real rule is if someone catches you and your teammate cheating more than once. You are both cleaning the house, instant elimination.” Your eyes widen, “I’ve never heard that rule before.” Minhyuk shrugs, “They won’t catch us.” You smirk, “I forgot I’m working with a pro.” He smirks, mirroring your expression, “We’ll win.” Kihyun goes over the games, “There will be Holiday Charades.” A few grumbles at that, and he continues, “Valentine’s basket toss,” “Pumpkin Stuffing,” “A true guessing game.” Hoseok and you immediately make an ‘ew’ sound, and you both laugh. “And my favorite, running the package!” You look over at Minhyuk, and he smiles, “That’ll be my favorite this year.” You tilt your head and ask, “What, why?” He smiles, “You’ll see.” You let go of his hand as you both help to arrange the living room better for the first game.

Hoseok claps his hands and goes, “Alright, charades!” “I’ll hold the poster until my team's turn, and… Candy Cane, you’ll hold it for us.” You look around for candy cane until you remember your costume, “Sounds fine, Clover.” You didn’t expect how good Hyungwon was at guessing what Changkyun was doing as he flew through them. Changkyun struggles a bit with guessing but does his best and finishes their papers. As Hyungwon high-fives Changkyun. He cheers, “Flower power!” You can hear Kihyun mutter, “Earth day kids…” Kihyun gets up, and Hyunwoo does pretty well, getting all but one. Kihyun does his best to guess what Hyunwoo is describing, so it takes him some time, but in the end, he gets them all with seconds to spare. You hold the sign and flip as fast as possible for Hoseok and Jooheon. But they weren’t going fast enough even though they were trying hard. They got all but two down before the timer ran out.

As you get up and see Hoseok’s sign, and make a tree, Minhyuk shouts, “Christmas tree!” Hoseok flips the page, and you do your best to make a pumpkin with your hands by making two different motions, and he goes, “Apple! No! Pumpkin! Halloween!” Surprising you with how good he was at charades, but you continue and complete it in no time. When he gets up, you nearly blank out. Even with a champagne costume on, he looks pretty. But you focus on the task and do your best to guess the different holidays by the odd shapes he makes. He points at Hoseok, and you laugh as you shout, “St. Patrick’s Day!” He grins, “Yeah, that’s right, baby!” You blush as he calls you that but continue guessing the different shapes he makes. Kihyun scolds, “No talking!” You shrug yet smile up at Minhyuk as he makes the last motion of a candy cane, “Candy Cane! Me! Christmas!” He high-fives you. While you guys weren’t as fast as Earth Day and Guy Fox, you still did your best as fast as you could. They won by five seconds, and you took it in stride. There are four more games left, anyway.

The pizza comes, and you all stop to have some before heading outside to start the next game. You do your best at Valentine’s toss, which is throwing red balls into deep pink bowls. You do your best to throw it into the bowl, but you’re not that good. You quickly find out. “We can’t be good in every game.” He pats your shoulder, and you pout as you shoot it in again. And it makes it in, he gasps, “Hell yeah!” He high-fives you, and you grin, and he makes a perfect shot. As you miss again, you ask, “Can we blame it on the size of the bowls?” He laughs, “Yeah, I can for you.” You grin, do your best, and make four out of ten. And that was good enough for you. Minhyuk only misses two, but you end up in last place, while Hoseok and Jooheon end up in first. You bow your head and feel him ruffle your hair, “Don’t worry about it. We’ll get them in the next games.” You look up at him, “Promise?” And he holds out his pinky, “Promise.”

You head back into the house, and Changkyun carries the guessing game out, “My mom made these. I didn't look, and she didn’t label them. So, I don't know which is which until I open this envelope. But she did say they are all food.” He lays them out on the kitchen island, and everyone takes a piece of paper. “Who’s brave enough to do it first?” You shrug, it's just food, “Nothing living, right?” He shrugs, “I hope not.” You sigh, part with your nerves, and act bravely, writing them down as you think of them. With seven foods to try, the only one that stumped you was the pasta and what shape it was. You nearly screamed as you reached your hand into the last one. You quickly took it out, “Oh gross.” You gulp as you put it back in to ensure you were right.

And write, “soft-boiled eggs”, you return to Minhyuk, and Hyungwon asks, “One teammate, or can we both go and discuss?” You all agree to the latter, and Hyungwon easily tackles it even if he yells at everything he touches. You show him your answers, and he nods, and you point to the third, “I’m not positive about this one.” “Okay, I’ll figure it out.” After Hyunwoo goes, you spot Minhyuk looking squeamish about it and put your hand on his shoulder, “I promise it’ll be okay. It’s just food.” He nods and braves it, making faces the whole time, and you can’t help but giggle.

Jooheon goes, “Alright, everyone, put your names on the paper, and then Kyun can read the answers.” Changkyun goes, “Broccoli, Cucumber, Linguine, Asparagus, Soft-boiled eggs, Watermelon, and Strawberries.” He opens each bowl, “And the order should be…” He looks at everyone’s cards after writing the correct order down, “Hyunwoo and Kihyun won!” You pout, and Minhyuk goes, “We only missed it by one.” You nod, having guessed fettuccine instead of linguine. Hyungwon sighs, “I truly thought that was spaghetti.” Changkyun shrugs, “I didn’t even know my mom bought linguine.” And Hoseok goes, “That’s what those stalks are called?!” “We were at a loss for it.”

Back in the living room, there are four pumpkin buckets. Jooheon announces, “Pumpkin game!” Kihyun goes, “Oh, and a little reminder! No food unless it’s packaged.” Minhyuk smirks, “I knew we’d be playing this game.” As everyone is running around finding things, he calmly leads you to an end table drawer. He tells you, “Paper clips and mini buttons.” Your smirk grows wide, “They said nothing about ‘em.” He nods, “Precisely.” You look over at the bucket and go, “We’re going to need something to dampen the sound.” You rush to the kitchen, grabbing two paper towels, before meeting him at the table. You put the towels in, and he starts dumping them in, which sounds like nothing compared to the chaos ensuing around the two of you. You hear Changkyun shout, “I swear I saw pipe cleaners here last year!” And another shouted, “I already grabbed them!” He stays by the bucket, guarding it, “On the bottom shelf under the sink, he has sos pads.” You nod, squeezing between Hoseok and Hyunwoo to get to the sink. You slide and grab the unopened box.

You rush back and squeeze them around the sides. “They hurt a little.” He agrees as he puts the last one in, and you say, “I bought him a few packs of the jack games as a joke last year. And I know he didn’t use it cause I spotted them,” you whisper, “Middle cabinet, top shelf, hard to miss, very colorful.” He nods, and you giggle as you watch him put his hands up to avoid getting hit by pens thrown to Jooheon. You scrunch your nose, upset that you didn’t think of pens. But you let it slide when he pulls out not only the jacks and bouncy balls but also two boxes of packets of tea that Kihyun clearly didn’t like to drink. He comes over, and you open the boxes while he stuffs the bouncy balls and jacks into the bucket. He gasps, “I got another idea.” He runs off before he can say anything. You quickly dump the tea bags inside and finish fitting the other things in.

“One minute left!” That’s when Minhyuk returns with a packet of cards, and you smirk as you both rush to line the cards along the side. You place the fifty-second card on top of the bucket as Hyungwon counts down, “Five… Four, Three, Two, One!” You both look at your competitions, seeing that they all have a menagerie of stuff coming out. “Alright! Everyone dump your buckets and count!” Hoseok proudly exclaims first, “Two hundred and fifty!” And you both keep calming counting: fifty sos pads, fifty-two cards, forty jacks, twenty tea bags, and four bouncy balls. Hyungwon exclaims happily, “Three hundred and fifteen!” Changkyun and him high-five. That’s not where the numbers were going to come from anyway.

It took forever to count all the buttons and paper clips, even organizing them into groups of ten. There were so many. You’re nearly out of buttons when Kihyun goes, “Five hundred and fourteen.” You gasp as you count the last few, and the rest watch as you do. Minhyuk whispers, “six, seven, eight.” You grin as he smirks at you, three hundred buttons and a hundred and fifty paper clips later. And two paper towels, you total to “Six hundred and eighteen!” Minhyuk shouts happily. And Kihyun gasps, “You planted those two items in my house!” Minhyuk shakes his head, “No, it was in your house before the party.” Kihyun gasps, “No! I would have remembered buying that.” Minhyuk goes, “I gave them to you when you were in college, but like the jacks and bouncy balls, you hid ‘em away.” You cross your arms over your chest and nod, even though you know he is lying through his teeth. As he told you, he put them there the last time he visited Kihyun.

You see the gears turning in Kihyun’s head, but he lets it go, letting you guys have one round of winning. Minhyuk already had a plan before you got outside, “Do you trust me?” You nod, and he goes, “I’m going to sling you over my shoulder just before the race. Are you okay with that?” You look him in the eyes, asking, “Is it the easiest?” He holds your eye contact and says, “I run fast, but the safest decision, considering our costumes, is to do it this way. You’re going to have to hold on tight, okay?” You smile, “Okay. I trust you.” He nods, “Now all you’ll have to do is to reach over and grab a present from the bucket out there, okay?” You look back, “We’re running to that?” He nods, “I’ll have both my hands free then, huh?” He agrees, and you smirk, “Oh, we have this in the bag.”

Hyungwon comes over, “Okay, I chose a short one-minute song. When it finishes, it’s go-time.” You all nod, and Minhyuk and you start internally counting. You watch Kihyun hop onto Hyunwoo’s back first. Jooheon wraps his arms around Hoseok’s neck, and Hoseok catches him in his arms. At forty-five, Changkyun grabs Hyungwon around the middle, and Hyungwon wraps himself around him as you whisper out fifty. Minhyuk goes, “Ready?” You nod, and right after you’re situated, holding onto the bottle's label with Minhyuk’s arm wrapped around your legs.

The song ends, and he starts sprinting. You gasp, not expecting his speed. He wasn’t kidding, and you all reached the bucket simultaneously. You let go of the label, having faith in Minhyuk, and grab a present. You put it against his back and feel him hold you tighter as he runs to the tape line. Looking back, you catch Hyungwon swatting at Kihyun to grab the present first. However, you see the steam engine speed once Jooheon has the present in between his chest and Hoseok’s leaf costume. You gasp, “Don’t look back, but we got company.” You nearly scream as you feel him throw you up a bit to readjust your position to run faster. He rasps, “Almost there!” When you hear Jooheon exclaim, “Throw me!” You gasp, “Please don’t throw me!” Minhyuk whispers, out of breath, “I wouldn’t dream of it.” And just as Jooheon is thrown to the tape. You cross the finish line just a hair faster than him.

As Hoseok collapses onto the ground near Jooheon, Minhyuk sets you down, “You, okay?” You nod, “I’m good.” He grins, “We won.” You mirror him, “We did!” You throw your present down, and as you happily jump up and down together, Hyunwoo’s and Changkyun’s team cross the line. Hyungwon groans and points his finger at Kihyun, “You fucker, we were going to win!” Kihyun gasps as he hops down from Hyunwoo, pointing at him, “Me!? What about you!” You whisper, “You know when you point fingers, three points back at you.” He snickers, “Sore losers.”

They continue, and Hoseok and Jooheon get up and wipe their jeans off before coming over, and they say in unison, “Good game?” You both nod, “Good game.” As the two losing teams duke it out over a game of cards, the four of you move into the hallway. “So, who’s going to tell them that the vampire and the ornament are the real losers?” They all shake their heads, and you look back at them, “Nah, let’s not ruin their fun.” You four tell them to have fun and not to kill each other. “Only if Hyungwon doesn’t tempt me any further.” You raise your eyebrows and gulp, “Yikes. Have fun with that! Don’t end up on the news!” Jooheon goes, “Want to ride with me, Hoseok?” Hoseok agrees quickly, and Minhyuk asks, “Do you have enough time to go out with me tonight?” You look at the clock to see it’s well past 2 am. “Where to?” He smiles, “To the park?” You nod, “I’d love to.”

He walks you there, “So what’s your favorite color?” You shake your head, “(F/c), you?” He smiles, “Red.” You ask, “What do you think of pets?” “I’m more of a dog person, but cats are nice too.” You smile, “Good.” He goes, “What’s your favorite genre?” You smile and tell him, and he says, “I like a lot, but ballads are my favorite to sing to.” “You sing?” He nods, “It’s not as strong as my painting, but I love doing it.” And he goes, “What about you?” You shrug, “Sometimes.”

You sit on the bench and ask, “Why did you like that game the best this year?” He smiles, “I got to hold you.” You blush and look down, “It was fun. I enjoyed you carrying me and winning.” You hum, thinking of the perfect question to ask him. When he says, “What if I told you I wanted to kiss you?” You look at him and signal to your candy cane costume, “In this?” He gestures to his champagne costume, “It wouldn’t be perfect, but it’d be our own.” You whisper as you lean closer, “You like to be unique, huh?” He grins, “Always.” And you whisper, “Kiss me.” And he does.

He walks you to your apartment, and you tell him, “What do you say to Mary’s at seven tomorrow night?” He grins, “I’ll be there.” He leaves you with one last kiss, and you couldn’t have had a better night dressed as a candy cane.

--- Bonus ---

Hoseok calls you up, “A little birdie told me you were dating?” You blink, “Did Min say something?” He gasps, “You’re calling him Min, now? Oh, yeah, you’re in deep. I didn’t think when you met him, you’d fall for him.” You laugh, “What did you think I’d do?” He says, “Honestly, I don’t know. But that was different. But I like it.” “Thanks.” He asks, “When’s your next date with him?” “Tonight.” “Two dates in a row? Oh, he really likes you.” You smile, “I hope so, 'cause I really like him.”

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sotteoks · 2 years ago

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˚ ༘♡ ·˚ ₊˚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

#masterlist

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blue-logos · 1 year ago

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Written for the 2023 K-pop Olymfics AU Team 2 for the MV Good Boy Gone Bad by TXT AO3-M, Gen, MCD (written and posted prior to 2023.4.19), 21k words

In the two centuries after a pandemic almost wiped out life on earth, vampires reign with an iron-fisted grip on technology, resources - and humans. Dongmin should see his bloodslave Myungjun as nothing more than livestock, a food source to be used and discarded at will. Instead, he wants nothing more than to see the fire of truly living ignite in Myungjun's eyes. In order to escape the tyrannical technocracy of the elite vampires, Dongmin must seek out the rebels of the human underground, but he doesn't know who he can trust - his bodyguard Minhyuk, human bartenders Bin and Sanha, fellow vampire and cage fighter Jinwoo, or even himself?

#astro #kpop fanfic

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i-growl-growl-growl · 7 years ago

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The Beast within the Dark Forest

Genre [Rating] : vampire au, angst

Length: 3539 words

Pairing: Minhyuk x Reader

Summary: After you’ve grown up hearing tales that have been told for a century of a dreadful creature lurking in the dark forest just beyond the outskirts of your town your curiosity gets the better of you and you go in search of the beast despite all the warnings told in the tales.

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For a thousand years there have been tales of a creature that roams the dark woods alone, a creature so dangerous and terrifying that not even the bravest of our countrymen dare to go near the edge of the mystical forest that was sprouted and grown from the deepest sorcery of black magic. Everyone tells the tales of the evilest being known to mankind keeping a watchful eye on our small town that resides just a mile away, waiting for any unlucky soul to enter whether it be man, woman, child, or animal and those of whom have dared to enter the inhospitably cursed woodland in the past have vanished without a trace, never to return, be heard from, or seen again for they had entered the territory of the most dreadful being to ever walk this earth which only goes to prove that the tales are true and that everyone shall stay away if they value their life.

I grew up hearing these tales just as anyone who has lived since the beastly year of 2017 has. 2017 was when it all happened, the year that the forest was born and, along with it, the beast. “It was the year of utterly untamed chaos!” as the elders whom had lived to witness it would say “From start to finish, a year well rounded for the doom and destruction of life as anyone had known it before!” Those chants have since been passed down through generations upon generations as part of the tales, not a word of it forgotten or fiddled with. August 27th, 2017, that was the day that the world as we know it now was born.

If ever my family found out that those tales so commonly told had ignited a curiosity and desire within me to enter the woods and find the creature, even if only to see it with my own eyes moments before I’d perish like the rest under its merciless, malevolent whims, they’d surly call for the matrons to come and whisk me away until sense has been brought back to my mind. For that very reason I have kept my thoughts and desires to myself, never have I shared any of this information with anyone not even my closest friend Hyungwon not even before he had gone missing days ago. Maybe he had ventured into the dark woods, I nor anyone else would be surprised in the slightest if that revelation were to be true, maybe he had wanted to see the creature for himself like I had, there’s only so little time before people, even the most cautious ones like myself, get a bit curious about it, or very.

I know that my curiosity cannot hold out any longer, it can no longer be contained therefore I shall leave for the forest tonight. Without a word, without a sound, without a trace, I shall let my curiosity drive me into the abysmal depths of hell that lie beyond the sanctuary of my home within the small town that resides just within reach of the accursed realms of the creature’s domain. Tonight I shall go and I shall not return until I’ve seen the beast, if I am to ever even have the chance to return at all that is.

The sun is setting, my small hometown becoming smaller from behind me as I trek through the fields that lead to the forest. I have nothing but a backpack filled with water bottles and food and several flash lights, the clothes on my back, and the shoes on my feet as my possessions now. No one shall notice I’m gone until the sun has gone down, I was summoned to run an errand to inform old lady MonMon that my family is out of radishes and would pay handsomely for a batch of hers come tomorrow morning. By the time anyone has become suspicious of my disappearance I shall be far from sight or reach for I shall be beyond the rows of the dark forest that call to me evermore as I come nearer to them.

Upon my arrival at the entrance of the forest I stop in my tracks but only to spare a final glance of the town behind me. Even from this place afar I can still spot the roof of my house, its chimney releasing fading streams of black smoke into the air. This is the last I will see of my home, this is the last time I can say an unheard good-bye for I will not step down, I shall not back away and chain my curiosity any longer, this is the last time I will head the warnings of those who tell the tales, I will go into the dark forest and I won’t come out, dead or alive, until I’ve seen the beast!

I know not the reasons for everyone’s worry. The tales have been lies as of yet. Surly I would’ve been dead by now if the beast were real, I’ve trekked through the dark forest for hours and not a living soul or sound has been seen or heard. If this so called beast were so dreadful and was the cause for the vanishings of those who’ve entered before myself then why has it not come to rid me from this world like it supposedly had with the others? A fraud, a scam, a true tale of tales, nothing but dark humor preached in such a way to make that it seems believable, a true master of pranks is what it is. For a thousand years everyone has been told lies! This dark forest is nothing but an abnormal forest that just so happens to appear as if it was cursed well I tell you what! I shall return home with the truth, this is just another forest, with nothing to fear other than, possibly, the same predators that reside in this sort of habitat- bears, wolves, rabid squirrels and such!- There is no curse, those who have vanished have vanished not from being sighted by the beast, they have vanished in other natural ways- probably dying of thirst or from losing they’re way but not from being offed by a beast! HA! To think everyone has been so gullible enough to believe such nonsense! There is no creature! There is no Bea…….

A twig snapping off in the distance grabs my attention, bringing me out of my infuriated quarrel. The sound is not too close but not far. I stop in my tracks to listen, if an animal is close then I will hear another snap of a twig somewhere before it is upon me if I am its target. I dare not move, for if I do I could draw attention to myself and might not hear the animal approach closer. I must stay still, I must find the whereabouts of the following creature with only my ears as my aid. My senses fail me however for there is no following sound to be heard. All is Silent. All is sound. I let a few moments pass, speedily giving my scarcely lit watch a quick glance to check the passing time. Three minutes, I let three terribly long minutes pass before I straighten myself out, feeling vacuous for believing that anything would happen to me. Once I’ve shaken my limbs from their stiffened state I resume my travels, turning around to head home to bring awareness to the dim-witted fools before the light of my flashlight lands on something before me stopping me in my place.

The sight of my eyes lands on the torso of a male counterpart, particularly his clothed chest. He wears a burgundy button up shirt with a black jacket covering most of it. A studded belt wraps around his waist where the pants are tucked over the remainder of his shirt, it matches the rest of his clothes perfectly despite the offset of the grey studs against the otherwise red and black toned outfit. Remembering to be polite, I refrain from shining my light directly in the man’s face as my eyesight aims upwards but I do have the urge to look up and see who it is that has followed me therefore I shall.

A gasp escapes me as the profile of the male’s face comes within view. He is stunning! Gorgeous! an ethereal sight for eyes that have only ever seen men with dirt dusted beards and mud stained faces. Surly his clothing should’ve given me a hint that this man was like no other that I’ve ever seen before, he must be a partisan of a higher family to afford walking about in such an a’ la mode manner, especially this deep within the oh so cursed woods. I feel doltish for not thinking of it beforehand. My eyes want to avoid him for the poor act that my mind had played but his sharp gaze enchants me, captivating me to continue gazing at him. He has high set cheeks with a mildly sharp jawline, his nose is properly set- not the sort you grow accustom to seeing when you live in a place such as I had where men’s noses are often crooked, sporting a broken look,- his eyebrows are thick, his eyes are a cat-like narrow with just a slight touch of roundness to them, and his lips are nearly full with a deep pink tint. He doesn’t seem overly muscular or emaciated like the men back in town. There is a word for people with structures like his that I’ve heard from overhearing conversations when I’d run errands in town, what is it?, ah yes, lean, this man is perfectly lean- well, at least in the sense that I’ve come to know that it means. All in all I am impressed, charmed solely on his looks alone.

When I look back up to his face again, I see a smirk played across his lips, his eyes narrowing with a gleam of mischievous intent. That’s when I notice the color of his irises, they’re an unnatural candy apple red with a gold traced ring around them.

“Who are you?” He asks with the same smirk, his head tilting from side to side slowly as his eyes seem to devour me. His voice is like smooth silk that could churn any woman’s heart to butter when he speaks, “What’s a beauty like you doing in so deep in these woods?”

“I’m …….” I reply, remembering to be kind but becoming cautious as he continues to stare me down, my nerves sending an edgy shiver through my spine, “I came here in search for the beast from the fairy tales but I’ve been made a fool just as all the others. I shall make my return to town to inform every one of their silly, nonsensical beliefs. Good day to you sir, or, if you’d like, you can follow me back. I see you have no flash light with you, it’d be a shame for you to lose your way if I left you behind. I’m sure your family will be looking for you at this point in time. Join me if you’d like.”

“Ah but it’s you who shall be joining me. Not the other way around” he derides briskly with a chuckle. His eyes becoming daggers as they scrutinize me.

“Pardon me?”

“I said, it’s you who shall be joining me” he reinstates with a stern tone in his voice, the smirk fading as he lifts a foot to approach me slowly, menacingly, like a predator sneaking up to its prey except I am facing him and can see every move his body makes.

With every step that he takes towards me I take a step back. “I don’t know what your intentions are mister but I’m not here to cause any trouble and I don’t intend to be made a fool again by falling for someone’s cruel pranks so you can stop what you’re doing and go back to town with me or I can leave you here to fend for yourself, I won’t let myself be a victim to anything any longer and I won’t deal with anyone threatening me.”

The man halts but the gleam in his death staring eyes continue to stay locked on me. “I thought you were looking for the beast” he deadpans with a miniscule quirk of his head to the side, the smirk returning as he sees the surprise and unnerved nature that he has put me in, my body ready for a fight or flight show down.

“I am.”

“Well, you found him or rather I found you” he replies with a sinister smile creeping onto his face. Only then do I notice the anomalous stretch of his mouth where elongated canine teeth have stretched the skin as they nearly protrude from his mouth. His nails are long and pointed at the ends like claws and his skin had seemed to be inexplicably pale when I first noticed him but now everything was putting itself together and the more I thought about it the more this man presented the exact profile of a creature they define and talk about in those terrifying tales to the older children in the town, “Vampires.” No, No, No, this is all a prank, vampires aren’t real! Even if they were what would be the odds that this man is one of them? Surly this is a prank as I expect it to be.

“So you’re not going to run huh?” he asks in a quizzically amused fashion as he begins approaching me once more “from the look on your face you’ve already figured out what I am. Most people would’ve begun running for their lives at this point.”

“Ha!” I snicker “you’re only pretending to be a vampire!” I spit out “vampires aren’t real! You’re just using the surroundings and the fact that I’m alone as an advantage to pull of whatever prank it is that you’re trying to pull. I may run but it won’t be because I believe you’re going to suck my blood or any of that rubbish!”

He laughs whimsically at my outburst, it is a long throaty laugh that sends chills down to my core, a laugh with evilness laced within it that reeks of doom. “Ah, my sweet darling, you really are such a fool.” He shakes his head at me, his lips pursed in a fine line that clearly states his disapproval at my brazen temper and denial of the occult that he claims to be a part of, his feet still carrying him towards me while mine stagger backwards to ensure that a distance is kept between him and I. “I wonder if you will think the same as I do actually suck the blood out of you.”

When my feet have failed to keep a significant distance between me and the menacing stranger my flight mode triumphs and I find myself running in an unknown direction. All that’s known as my feet carry me away from the stranger is that I’m racing away from a threat of ultimate danger and death as I blindly jump over fallen logs that I see moments before being upon them and scratch myself with the thorns of wild bushes and low hanging tree branches as I run past them. The more I seem to run the more dense the forest becomes around me, it’s like it is growing and attempting to swallow me alive as I run through it, trying to get a sense of which way I should go to get home. Before long my clothing is caught by a branch of a tree but as I jerk away and tear at my clothes to be released the situation only becomes worse, my clothes become tangled in the branch and I’m left with the choice of risking being killed by the psychotic stranger or stripping out of my shirt and light jacket to escape.

As I begin to pull my trapped hand through the sleeve of my jacket, a branch from another tree strikes at me as if guided by magic to prevent my escape. The strike manages to catch the back of my free hand before the limb wraps itself around my wrist and pulls it until it is spread at an angle above my head that hinders it useless. I then attempt to tug my other hand out of the caught clothing on its own since there is no other way for me to release myself from the branches grasps before the man will be upon me since I assume he isn’t far behind. I can feel branches slithering up my legs like snakes wrapping themselves around their preys and I try to shake them off but they to, just as the branch binding my hand above my head, have a firm grasp on me then tug at my legs until they are spread as far open as they’ll go.

Once I’ve become completely trapped I have no other way to escape other than to risk someone, like the man, hearing me and coming to my rescue. I scream as loudly as I can for help and struggle against the holds of the branches keeping me in place but all is silent and the limbs won’t let me budge all that much.

Fear and defeat begin to settle in when the same silence that I was met with when I entered the forest welcomes me as I catch my breath. As I continue wheezing for air, I hear a noise from in front of me. When I look up hopefully I’m only met with dread as the man from before steadily makes his way towards me. I struggle in my binds as I meekly beg to be let go but he only sends me the same sinister smile as he had when he had threatened me.

“Now Now darling, there’s not much for you to fear. I promise to go easy on you if you do something for me in return” he offers in a cheery tone with a dash of slyness intermixed.

“Oh yeah, and what would that be? You want me to be your slave or something?!” I hiss, trying to seem unperturbed by my impending doom, once again struggling against the holds of the branches as he comes nearer and near to me.

“MM, something like that” he affirms “be good and stay still while I take my fill from you and if you do I will let you live but as my blood slave, I can smell you better than any of the others I’ve had in the past, your scent is so delicate and delectable, I can only imagine how you truly taste as my mouth waters for you. You shall live with me here in the forest within my mansion until it is time for me to track down others who have entered the forest then you shall help me capture them and bring them to their doom as they had so willing signed their lives away once they entered my domain. You shall live a lavish life with top of the line clothing and you shall dine like a queen but you must be with me as my slave. What say you to my offer?”

As he now stands before me, mere inches separating us from each other, I glare up at him. The vile words on my tongue, as sharp and harmful as the strongest poison of which I wish to spit out at him are stuck in my throat. With a deep gulp I only let out a daring “NO.” I would rather his suck me dry, fill me back up with my blood and bring me back to life only to suck me dry again before letting me really die than be his slave and let him touch me and help him murder others.

The man doesn’t look surprised at my turn down of his deal. “I expected as much” he shrugs nonchalantly before that irking smile appears again, the smile I so badly want to wipe off of his face “but in the end I’m the one who seals the deal. Sorry sweetheart, but you’re mine now.”

Before I can protest the man sinks his teeth into the flesh of the nape of my neck. The elongated teeth descending deeper into my flesh until they’ve nearly stabbed through my external jugular vein. The pain blinds me, my screams silent from shock. I can feel the rush of my blood being forcefully sucked into his fangs as he laps at the areas where extra blood spill into his mouth with his tongue. When I feel myself becoming weak, fading away from consciousness, I feel a tug from the holes where the vampire’s fangs had bitten into me before the lapping of his tongue intensifies over my neck. Before I complete succumb to the darkness washing over my body as I faint ever so slowly I hear a voice speaking to me.

“My name is Minhyuk.” The voice say with impassiveness “I am your master now.”

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bearseokie · 4 years ago

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crooked (M)

�� The case of sudden murders around the city is finally clarified when you witness the killer, himself.

DETAILS — [ 18+ | drabble | 1.1k ] PAIRING — vampire! minhyuk x detective! gender-neutral! reader GENRES — serial killer! au, thriller, smut WARNINGS — death/murder, blood, blood-sucking, dry humping, untouched orgasm

monsta x m.list | navi.

Unmerciful, the person attached to his teeth cried a silent plea for help. Their eyes shined like glass as the last few drops of their blood dispersed onto his tongue. His nightly victim had succumbed to their death, body dropping idle onto the rippled pavement.

His eyes had captured yours from across the road, clandestine inside the dark alleyway. Hadn’t the victim escaped a light cry, you may not have captured the sight of the deadly creature overtaking the innocent; the same innocent now dead on the ground. Dark, omniscient gaze boring into yours from underneath the orange streetlights, your heart leaped into your throat when you noticed the blood dripping down his chin. Fangs lightly plundered between his plump lips, he wore a callous gaze, feral.

Shoes clattering the sidewalk, you felt as though you were in a nightmare from having witnessed him. Your feet couldn’t carry you fast enough, the urgent feeling that he was tailing you floating in the front of your mind. Similar to a dream, it seemed like you were walking in place, every brick of the buildings around you and every bulb within the lamps above turning into the same. Flashing images of the one he killed seared into your mind, the blood turning black just like his eyes when you had twisted to bolt away.

The wind whisking past you held a scent, not death, but cologne. Ravaged by what allured you, your feet halted in search of someone to assist you. Spinning on your heels, the streets only lined with vacant stones. Breath scattered within you, each light overhead shattered in tandem, darkness falling over the avenue. Backing away, the cold feeling of a brick wall found your frame, your hand cupped over your nose and mouth to quiet yourself from screaming.

A hand of another breached your shoulder, the wide neck of the top you wore giving access for the long nails to graze across your skin and place directly over your main artery. Threatened by the being, your hand at your mouth slowly fell to your chin, allowing yourself to take in a sharp breath when he spoke.

“Investigating something, detective?” his voice croaked.

This was the fourth murder within the month. The bodies lining the same street, yet no one had caught the killer. That was, until you found him red-handed. His very same hand wrapped at your throat brought a dire circumstance to your wandering.

“I-I uhm-” you wavered. Feeling the pads of his gaunt fingers latch tighter at your neck, the airway you used to speak quickly shut off. His face moved into your peripheral, the luminescent, pale skin of the man perfectly captivating and idiosyncratic. “Renfield’s syndrome?” you whispered, the light breath of his chuckle vibrating against the shell of your ear.

“Think harder, darling.” he hissed. Maneuvering you deeper into the path where no one walked, another alley off to your right awaited your presence. “Think: undead.”

The mirrored word read like a comical ransom note. Having laced the same theory into your notes many nights prior, you blinked back tears from the acute pain he brought to your body, his fingernails digging into the first layer of your skin. Your tongue grazed the roof of your mouth as you released a laugh, eyes turning up at the star-filled sky as you hardly shook your head.

“I should have known.” You had second guessed yourself for too long, the note torn from your journal and scrapped into the can. Every fiber of your being in this very moment wished you had gripped at the balled-up page and placed it back between the other notes, maybe even rewritten it on a new page followed by some research on those that die and come back with a blood-filled thirst, but here you stood, life between the fingers of the killer himself.

“Would you care to experience the same cessation as those you’ve studied, or might a new proclamation of my existence be of your taste? Exploit me for who I truly am, perhaps, within your murder?”

“Do I really have a choice in this-” your words stopped, his breath still fanning at your neck taking in what caught your tongue.

“Minhyuk.” he grinned from behind you. Chest pressed flat against your back, his right hand still restrained your throat, opposite arm wrapping at your waist. Carrying you backwards swiftly, any substantial reasoning fluttered from your mind when you met the pure darkness of the alley, nothing but his soft hair against the side of your face to comfort you.

“Must you kill to survive-” you choked out, throat dry from the cooled air of the fall night. “-or is it just fun to feel the soul of someone leave their body?”

“Learning quickly in my arms, I see.” he grinned.

The thin man was merely a person to begin with, cloaked with darkness, traveling with a source for more to life, he had met his demise deep inside a cave. What left the rock-plattered space was no longer a human, now equipped with a life longer to live and a craving for the experience of metal-tasting liquid on his tongue.

“As you see, this is my place.” he spoke softly. Running the tips of his fingers over your chilled skin as he felt the bumps rise, a feeling he could no longer endure. You could sense that the fear shaking inside of you brought rapture to him. He was now only a predator. “And you, detective, are in yours. Occupations are a silly thing, but they keep the world running.”

The fingernail against your artery gently plucked at the skin, the sharp blade slicing into it momentarily. What he craved most slowly poured out of you, your eyes shutting tight as his cold tongue lapped at your neck.

Your gasp was too short, his arm wrapping around your frame tighter to lunge out any oxygen from your lungs. He had you against him, the muscle of his mouth running over the small cut. Silked lips surrounding the gash, harsh sucks pulled more of the maroon liquid from your body. You quivered in his hold, the feeling of his body rutting against you alluring, the blood-sucking creature getting aroused and fed at the same pace.

His own eyes closed, moans and grunts muffled by your skin. You were being drained, pint after pint, there was only so much you could lose before you lost consciousness, or worse, your life. Minhyuk’s hips snapped into your lower back, his moans turning into pants as the liquid from within you rushed down his throat. You were losing yourself, such as he.

Pleasure ripped through him, his abdomen stuttering against you as he came untouched. Moans faint, his fangs never sunk into your neck, mouth releasing you gently. Your form crashed against the hard pavement, little rocks of the cement breaking the skin of your legs. More cuts and bruises formed on your skin, his eyes pooling with black as his tongue slid from between his lips to collect the blood around his mouth. Running the back of his hand across his lips, his tongue tasted the last of your liquids, eyes blinking as his gaze found yours.

“There is no use in me killing you.” he huffed, chest rising and falling rapidly as if he were still human. “Not when you’ve played your part so well. Return to your notes with a fresh mind, detective.” he gleamed, his black shirt’s long sleeves cascading past his hands as he spun around you. Hardly conscious, you watched him with heavy lidded eyes as he backed out of the alley. “You’ll find me again, someday.”

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darksidedmonstax · 6 years ago

Text

"Beg for it"

[15:96]

You whimpered and whined as the teasing with his fangs dancing along your body but never biting felt like it was never going to end. You just wanted him to bite you and be inside of you more than anything but he was such a tease he wouldn't grant you the satisfaction you wanted unless he heard the words fall from your lips. "Minhyuk, please... I need you" he smirks biting his lip as he peppers kisses on your naked body. "Beg for it..." Was all he said and you knew just by those words that you were in for a long night.

-Admin Ghost 👻

#monsta x #monsta x minhyuk #monsta x reactions #monsta x senarios #monsta x au #vampire au #monsta x vampire #lee minhyuk

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biffhofosho · 3 years ago

Text

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 :(

#monsta x smut #novel #succumbing to sybaris #original character #shownu #wonho #minhyuk #kihyun #hyungwon #jooheon #changkyun #lucas #kai #Detective AU #vampire au #enemies to lovers #reverse harem #WE GO HARD YO

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fight4wonho · 6 years ago

Video

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Genre: Vampire AU/Supernatural/Romance/Action/Angst

Characters: Wonho x OC x Monsta X

Warnings: Flashing Lights/Images

A/N: So I made this FMV for a fic I began working on two years ago and then stopped when I no longer had the motivation. I am thinking of picking it up again and wanted some feed back. Please watch the video and let me know if you would be interested in reading the fic behind it. It is loosely based off of the X-Clan series. Enjoy and TIA!

Synopsis: Chaos broke out in a small town on the eastern coast of South Korea as a new order took over and the native townspeople were suffering because of it. Amongst the townspeople were seven orphan boys whose only family was each other, a bond more like brothers than friends. With the new order’s presence making itself more and more known, the boys begin to rebel. When one of the oldest brothers, Hoseok, falls in love with the leader of the new order’s daughter, the seven boys lives are thrust into danger. The brothers can see how much Hoseok loves her and so they vow to do whatever it takes to protect her like she was a member of the family they had created for themselves. When an attempt by her father to have her captured and brought back home goes awry and she is almost killed the brothers vow will be put to the test. In order to protect the lives of their brothers, those they love and the only home they’ve ever known, the boys evoke a mysterious force, that of which many a town legend has been derived. And with this the X-Clan as they would come to be known was born. Will the newly turned vampire brothers be able to lead their townspeople in a revolution against the new order while learning to control their new found hunger and powers? Will Hoseok be able to protect the love of his life?

#monsta x #Shownu #Wonho #Minhyuk #Kihyuhn #Hyungwon #Jooheon #Changkyun #I.M #vampire au #angst #romance #suspense #supernatural au #dystopian au

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mi-nyu-dreams · 6 years ago

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My Vampire Knight Ch. 8

My Vampire Knight

Chapter 8

It’s okay....

A/N:

Hi guys! New readers and old readers please read! So, for my older readers, I’m so sorry for leaving you all! TTOTT I intended to update a longggggg time ago. But, things happened and I ended up with writers-block. I couldn’t muster up the energy to write a new chapter for this. But I didn’t want to abandon it. So I took a break. A hiatus I guess. I wanted to rest and get my life together. And I tried to write new things and drabbles to re-energize my creative senses. That’s why I wrote new stuff. But now, I’m sorta back. I kinda injured myself and made a new long series that will take up more of my time and I have college, but I won’t abandon this fic. I’ll just not be updating as much and chapters may be shorter. But I’ll write the best of my ability and keep this up for all of you guys! Thank you for reading and being patient. And to my new readers, welcome and I hope you can be patient with my updates! Thank you so much!

“And so, Changkyunie really really likes music. He and Jooheonie are always rapping and recording stuff.” Minhyuk explains as the three of you sat in the back of the cafeteria.

Minhyuk had been dragging you and Changkyun around all day. After every class, he would bust down the hallways toward you with Changkyun in hand and drag you somewhere. He labeled this as “getting to know each other time”. It was weird, to be honest. You barely just met them, but already, within almost four hours of the day, you had already found out about so many things about Changkyun and Minhyuk. As though, you three had known each other for like ever.

“Hyung. Can’t you just shut up for like... five seconds?” Changkyun complained as he rubs his temple in annoyance. “Aish! That’s not how you speak to your elders!” Minhyuk snarked back. You smiled and giggle as you watch the two of them converse. They were so cute. “Oh?! Y/N is laughing!” Minhyuk beams. You immediately stop and place a serious face. “N-no!” You playfully object. Minhyuk smiles slyly and pinches your cheeks. “Yes you did!!” He laughs. “Ahhhh! That hurts!” You whine as you try to pull away from him. Suddenly, Changkyun pulls Minhyuk away and frowns.

“You’re hurting her, Hyung.” He nagged. Minhyuk pouts and crosses his arms. “At least I’m interacting with her!” He states with a pout. Changkyun frowned and sighed. “You’re so weird.” He comments. “Weird?!” Minhyuk gasps, offended by his friends comment. “You’re the weird one, not conversing and being nice.” Minhyuk frowns. “I’m weird?!” Changkyun retorts. “So being respectful and spacious is ‘weird’?” He looks away in disbelief. “Wow...”

Minhyuk puffs his cheeks and looks over to you. “Y/N! Who is weirder?!” He pouts. You stare at the two is shock and confusion. They were being children, fighting about such a minor thing. You didn’t understand, but just laughed and sighed. “You’re both weird.” You cross your arms and look at the two handsome men in amusement. “Two grown guys fighting over a minor subject. That’s weird.” You say as you smile. The two stared in shock. “Uh...”

“It’s cute though, both of you. Your friendship is cute.” You truthfully tell. And in that moment they both blushed and looked away. “Oh...” Minhyuk clears his throat and smiles. You look over at Changkyun who was bright red and trying very hard to avoid eye-contact. You giggle at his adorable attempt and smile. “Y/N, you’re cute too.” Minhyuk compliments. You smile and bowed to him. “Thanks.”

It was a nice time together. You got to know the two way better than you had thought and they both are so sweet. You smiled at the thought and look at the two as they bicker once more. What genuine and beautiful friendship. So.... human....

Suddenly, the bell rings and it was time to go back to class.

***

“Y/N-ah!” Ma-ri calls out to you as she runs up to you. You were standing at the front of the school waiting for Ma-ri to come. “Y/N-ah! Guess what?!” She asks as she flings herself onto you. You chuckle and try to keep balance as she throws herself onto you. “What?” You ask. She pulls away and smiles brightly. “I have a date today!” She blurts out proudly. You look at her in shock. “Date?” You ask. She nods vigorously and beams. “Yep! I forgot to tell you a few days ago cuz I was so excited about your kiss!” She chimed. You immediately hit her and hush her. “MA-RI?!” You scold. She laughs and squeezes your cheeks. “I’m sorry!!”

You pull her hands away in annoyance and sigh. “So we’re not hanging out today?” You ask with a slight pout. Ma-ri pouts sadly and nods. “Sowwy...” She cutely apologizes. You stare at her a little mad, but sigh and smile as you pat her head. “It’s okay. You go enjoy your date.” You tell her with a smile. She immediately brightens up and squeals. “Y/N-ah! I love you!” She hops up and down. You laugh and try to calm her down. “Okay okay! I’ll just take the bus home then.” You tell her as you take her hand and smile. “Enjoy your date!”

Ma-ri nods and clasps her hands with yours. “Mm!” She smiles. “Make sure to take the safe route and if anything happens, call me or Junsu-oppa! Okay?” She tells you with a stern voice. You nod and roll your eyes. “Yes yes.” You smile and she begin to walk away. “Text me later how it goes.” You tell her as she backs away. She nods and gives you an okay sign, to then immediately turn away and rush over to a guy in the parking lot. You sigh and chuckle. “I hope things go well.”

You then begin to turn away and find the bus stop, but you hear a voice behind you. “Y/N?”

You immediately turn around and find Changkyun. “Oh? Changkyun-ssi.” You bow and smile. “You’re not riding with your friend?” He asks. You shake your head and grin. “She has other plans, so I’m heading home alone.” You explain. Changkyun nods and looks around for a bit. He then huffs and walks up closer to you. “I can take you home.” He suggests. You looked at him curious and a little taken aback. “Oh?” You question. He nods and points back to the parking lot. “I don’t have anything to do. I can take you home.” He suggests once more. You think it over and ponder.

It would be better. He pretty much knew where you lived now, and he’s a good person. You nod and look at him. “Sure.” You agreed. A small smile appeared on Changkyun’s face and he nods. “Okay.” He motions you to follow him and the both of you head to his car.

As you two walk on, you watched him from behind. You didn’t notice until now, but he was pretty thin yet tall. He seemed like regular height for a male and his frame was pretty normal. His blonde-brown hair short and delicate, and his gait was sorta swagger yet formal. He was a peculiar guy, you thought. Peculiar, but handsome. And... a vampire.

The both of you reached the car and you let yourself in. It was the same black car he had last time, so you were familiar. As you sat in, the male quickly comforted himself inside and let you comfort yourself. “Same place, right?” He asks as he buckled himself. You nod. “Yeah.” You then buckle yourself, but as you did, you remembered back to when you two first met. When he buckled the seatbelt for you. You remember feeling flustered but also annoyed at his cheeky expression at that time.

You then take a glance at him and see him start the car. “Thank you for the ride, Changkyun-ssi.” You say. He nods and smiles. “You’re welcome. Also...” He pauses and glances over at you as he drives. “You can just call me Changkyun.” He tells you. You take a few seconds to process his words, and simply smile afterwards. “Okay, Changkyun.” Once you said those few words, you spied a small smile form at his lips. It was cute.

He continued on driving and the two of you had some small leisurely chats. You found out he had a younger brother and that him and the boys were all very close. They had known each other since birth technically. “So, you’re closest to Jooheon and Minhyuk?” You ask. He nods and hums in reply. “Mhm. Although, I am the youngest of our friend group, we mostly treat each other like family.” He explains. You smile and nod. “That’s nice. A strong bond between friends like you guys is a very good thing.” You say with a smile. “That’s inspiring.”

He raises a brow and glances at you. “Inspiring?” He questions. You nod. “I never had a lot of friends when I was young. Even now, I just have Ma-ri and her brother Junsu.” You explain. “I lost my parents when I was a kid... they disappeared and never returned. No body was found, so we couldn’t conclude they were dead. And because of that, as well as the fact my Aunt, a Vampire Hunter, was raising me.” You paused, looked out the window, and sigh. “People didn’t like approaching me. So I didn’t have a lot of friends. Not any long term ones anyways.”

“I’m sorry.” Changkyun apologizes with a sympathetic tone. You shake your head and sigh. “It’s fine. I’m glad to have Ma-ri and Junsu. They’re all I need.” You explain. This earns a smile for Changkyun. “That’s good.” He says. You look over to him and see a relieved but questioning expression. “Thanks...” You thank.

***

“Thank you again.” You thank once more as Changkyun parks the car in front of your apartment complex. He looks at you with a gentle smile and nods. “No problem.” He answers. You smile at his gentle expression and quickly open the door to go out. But, before you could exit, he takes your hand and stops you. You look at him curiously and questingly. “Is there something you need?” You ask. He doesn’t say anything for a few minutes, however eventually speaks.

“Please take care and be safe.” He says with a concerned and sincere expression. You stare at him in confusion. Take care? Why is he worried? You stare in confusion a bit, but eventually nod and smile. “Okay.” You bid goodbye as he slowly releases you. With another smile, you bid him farewell and exit his vehicle. You take a gasp of air and sigh as you stretched a little and continue to walk off toward your home.

But, before you could take another step into the building, a sound of a gun bangs and you feel your body get tugged and pulled out of your initial spot. Within seconds, you find yourself tightly wrapped in Changkyun’s arms, across the street and a loud echo blasts from nearby. You didn’t have any time to react, but your heart was beating faster than the speed of light. You quickly look around, but don’t see a single thing around. Where the hell did that bullet come from? You then look at Changkyun who was still holding onto you tightly. He was breathing heavily and eyeing the entire area. His eyes were also glowing a deep shade of red. The color of blood.

“C-Changkyun?” You call out to him. He doesn’t answer you and you felt his grip tighten. “W-what?—“ Before you could say anymore, another shot is fired and this time Changkyun was barely able to dodge it. The bullet scratches him on the cheek and nicks a bit of your hair. He flings the both of you back toward his car and he quickly hides the both of you behind it.

“Changkyun, what’s going on?!” You ask, full of fear. Changkyun looks at you and gulps. “I need you to call 911 right now.” He commands. You didn’t even question him and nodded as you fumble to pull out your phone and dial 911. Meanwhile, the vampire boy continues to scan the area to find this unknown shooter. “Where the hell?!” He groans as he scans the buildings. “It’s a sniper...”

“Hello? 911? Yes! Someone is shooting at me and a friend and I don’t know where it is!” You explain. “No. I can’t see the person. They shot twice and missed but—“

BANG!

Another shot is fired and it barely misses you as it penetrates the car and grazes your arm. “Damn! They’re on that side?!” Changkyun immediately takes you into his arms and carries you over and into the apartment complex. “C-Changkyun?!” You gasp as he pulls you in and hides you behind one of the counters in the lobby. “Stay low!” He commands as he clenches you tightly and examines the outside.

“Hello?!” A voice calls out of the phone. You suddenly remember you were still on the phone with the operator. “H-Hello?!” You quick answer again. “Hello? What is happening?” The lady on the other side asks. “They shot again! I’m inside a building now with a friend!” You explain, panic gradually rising within you. “I’m at Hwasa Apartment Complex in Seoul!” You tell. The lady responds quickly and assured you that authorities are on their way.

“Please stay calm. I’m right here. Tell me if anything is happening, okay?” The operator orders you. You nod and reply with a mumble. “I—“

“Y/N!”

BANG!

In seconds, Changkyun takes a tight grip of you and shields you with his body as the front door suddenly blows up and debris fly in all directions. “CHANGKYUN?!” You scream in fear as you see glass and other debris scatter about in the building. Luckily, no one was hurt since the both of you were behind a counter. But, you accidentally dropped your phone and it had flew somewhere. “Y/N?! Are you okay?!” Changkyun worriedly asks as he slowly raises his head. You nod but immediately duck and hide in his arms as you hear another gun shot.

“Fucking hell!” Changkyun curses as he quickly grabs his phone and dials a number. “What’s happening?” You ask. Changkyun looks down at you and huffs. “Someone’s trying to kill us.” He bluntly tells. “SOMEONE WHAT?!” You gasp. But at the moment, someone picks up Changkyun’s call. “Hyung!” He exclaims. “Hyung! I need help! They’re here! And I have Y/N with me!” He explains. “Who?—“ you were about ask, until bullets begin to fly into the building, causing you to scream and huddle tightly in Changkyun’s protection.

“HYUNG!” He tells out furiously. “Okay! We’re coming! Keep her safe!” The voice tells out through the phone. You were too scared to try to recognize the voice and just continue to hold onto Changkyun tightly. “C-Changkyun!” You yell in panic as the bullets fly around. A planted pot goes flying across the room and more explosions are heard. Changkyun hugs you in his arms tightly and begins to reassure you that you are safe with him. “It’s okay! It’s okay, Y/N! You’re going to be fine!” He hugs you and pats you for comfort. “It’s okay, I’m here.” He speaks warmly. “I’m here. Don’t worry.”

Another explosion goes off and the building shakes. You shudder and begin to whimper in fear. What the hell was happening?! Why is someone trying to kill you two?! Why?! What’s going on?! So many questions were running through your brain, but you were also incredibly afraid for the both of you. Every bang, every crash, and every flying bullet caused you to tense and shake. You hold onto Changkyun tightly, him being your only sense of security, and begin to cry. “C-Changkyun...” You whimper. He tried to hush you and calm you down with reassuring words and gestures. “It’s okay. I’m here. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.” He continuously says as he hugs you. You could feel his heart beating vigorously and his breathing sharpening.

“I’m scared!” You cry. He nods and pats your head. “I know.... but it’s going to be okay. I promise.” He assures with a gentle and soft tone. His protective grip, his calming voice, and his mere presence was assuring and comforting for you. You felt secured even though you were scared. But you trusted Changkyun. He was your only comfort now.

Suddenly, you hear sirens and a cars screeching outside. It was the police. You felt a bit of relief. However, before you could feel anymore senses of security, you hear a huge boom and your entire surroundings explode.

“CHANGKYUN!”

#kpop #monsta x #im changkyun #minhyuk #vampire #vampire au #au #fanfiction #kpop fanfiction #monsta x fanfiction #My Vampire Knight

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sotteoks · 2 years ago

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black swan inspired shownu fic or scream inspired kihyun fic? roommate au changkyun or roommate au minhyuk fic? vampire wonho fic or sequel to the kihyun fic i already posted? my wips are literally screaming at me to pick one and finish it lolol february was the month i started a bunch of pieces. march shall be the month i finish SOMETHING (ideally everything i already started but adhd is a bitch so we'll see)

#i HAD a raver!hyungwon fic in my drafts but i lost it and have been too devastated to try recreating it :(#personal.txt

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gaiyofanfiction · 7 years ago

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Rare Blood (10 Final)

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10

Vampire Prince!Yoo Kihyun x Siren!Reader

Much angst, maybe fluff

Vampire world!AU

A/N: THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR LOVING THIS FIC. I think this is one of the best ones we’ve done based on the notes! We are SO SO CLOSE to 1000 and hopefully it’ll happen soon! Once we do, we will be doing a giveaway that you guys will love! This is our final chapter. We made it MUCH longer than normal as a treat. Twice as long actually. So, please enjoy! (We always have this fear that you guys won’t like the ending but we really hope you do)

Disclaimer: This store is pure fiction. Yoo Kihyun and the rest of Monsta X are the sweetest creatures on this earth, we know they would never do anything to harm or manipulate anyone.

Trigger warning: Mentions of manipulation, abuse and blood for right now. Very slight mention of sexual assault. Character death.

Yoongi never ran so fast in his life. He feels his legs burn with each step, his muscles hating him for not keeping up with training. He looks down at your unconscious body. Your face could deceive anyone, you looked so peaceful. Yet he knew you were anything but.

'IM’s magic is coursing through her veins. If I don't get her to his Highness soon to overpower it, it'll be permanent.’

Yoongi quickened his pace. Within half an hour he makes it to the front door of the castle. He pounds on the door with his foot, praying to God someone can hear him.

His thoughts were answered as the door swings open to reveal a tired looking Wonho. The moment Wonho sees the face of the man at the door, his expression turns dark and furious.

“Min Yoongi. What in the HELL are you doing out of your cell!?” His nostrils flares as he tries to keep his composure.

Yoongi rolls his eyes. “The Prince let me out. I don't have time to explain myself. Please, move aside.”

Wonho grinds his teeth and lets out a low growl, “hell no. Kihyun would be the LAST person to let you out. You killed my cousin, you sick son of a-”

“Wonho!” Yoongi yells, interrupting the Royal. “I understand how you feel right now and your anger towards me is extremely warranted. But right now is NOT the time. I need to get Y/N to the Prince immediately!”

For the first time, Wonho looks at your limp body in the arms of Yoongi. His eyes widen and he becomes pale, forgetting his ill will towards the hunter for the moment. He nods his head and runs to go find the Prince.

No more than five minutes later, Yoongi sees both Wonho and Prince Kihyun running towards him. The look on the Prince's face is nothing but pure horror.

“Oh my God, Y/N.” He breathes out, seeing your unconscious state.

Yoongi hands you over to Prince Kihyun. “Your Highness, IM has injected her with enough of his magic that if it stays in her system any longer, she'll permanently be bound to him. You need to inject your magic immediately or it'll be too late.”

Prince Kihyun nods, not looking at his old friend. He turns and heads to his room. “What happened to Minhyuk and IM?”

“I was able to kill Minhyuk but IM got away.”

The Prince growls, “IM got away?”

Yoongi swallows the lump in his throat. “Y-Yeah. I would have gone after him but I needed to get Y/N to you immediately or else there could have been severe consequences.”

Prince Kihyun sighs and walks into his room. Just before he shuts the door he made one final request of Yoongi. “Min Yoongi. If you could, I would like you to stand outside my room. Guard the door and don't let anyone in. This process can be lengthy and if I'm interrupted… I might not be able to get her back.”

“Of course your Highness.” With that Yoongi kept a parameter around the room.

Prince Kihyun laid you down gently on the bed. Your skin was cold and pale, he knew he didn't have much longer till the magic would overpower his.

Quickly he exposes your neck by tucking your hair behind your ear. He notices something odd. There was something purple around the bite marks.

“Damnit. He somehow changed his chemical makeup to poison whoever were to try and reverse his magic.”

Kihyun loudly yells and drops to the floor hitting the ground with both his fists.

'No. I can't lose her. Not like this. She doesn't deserve this!’

He gets up and starts to pace the room thinking how he can execute this without killing himself in the process.

Suddenly Kihyun hears a low wimper coming from you. He rushes to your side.

“Oh, Y/N, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault.” He pets your head.

“Hmph, you can't get rid of me that easily,” you somehow gather up enough energy to smile to him, but you slip into a state of unconsciousness once again. He brushes the hair out of your face.

“Y/N, I-I lov-”

Kihyun suddenly hears a slight scuffle just outside the door followed by loud banging on the door.

He approaches the door slowly. Suddenly the door was kicked down. In the doorway stood Minhyuk grinning and IM holding Yoongi’s arms behind his back. IM kicks Yoongi down.

“Really? Did you think a hunter could stand in our way a second time? Fool us once, shame on us. Fool us twice, shame on you.” IM laughs.

Prince Kihyun's eyes widen, “Minhyuk? How the hell are you still alive?! I thought Yoongi killed you!”

Minhyuk chuckles, his look dangerous. “Well, thank God this Hunter isn't a doctor. He didn't actually check to see if I was dead or not. IM came back and was able to help me heal with a certain little potion he had gotten his hands on.”

Yoongi still on his knees then looks up to the Prince with concern while his hands were tied behind his back. “Be careful your Highness. I suspect her blood was tampered with.”

“I have figured that out already by looking at her neck,” Kihyun says while glaring at his evil cousins.

“N-no, it's more than just her neck. They've done something to her blood. And instead of drinking it to sustain themselves they harnessed more powers by-”

“Transfusion.” Minhyuk interrupts to finish Yoongi's sentence.

Slowly walking towards the Prince the whites of his eyes start to turn black and so does the veins on his arms. “You see, rumor has it that a vampire once whipped up a concoction with the blood of a siren. It gave him unimaginable power and stamina to last him for several days. The recipe was so sought out that eventually the authorities of the Kingdom intervened. However, they didn't destroy the evidence of the recipe. It was stored away inside the depths of the library of the castle. Which, of course is only accessible by Royals. Such as myself.”

“HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF A ROYAL! You have tainted the family name!” Prince Kihyun exclaims.

IM grins, a very creepy look on his face. “Just a few more minutes till the little siren will be mine, permanently. Then, we'll be able to harness her blood to make this potion for ourselves and sell it for unimaginable profit.”

“M-My Prince?”

He hears a quiet high pitched voice coming from his right. He turns to see Princess Soyou looking absolutely terrified.

“W-What’s going on?”

“Princess, you need to run! These guys are dangerous!”

But before Soyou could make her exit, Minhyuk suddenly flashes behind her as fast as lightning and grabs her by the throat. “Don't you dare move, dear Princess. I am in need of you right now.” Minhyuk locks his black eyes onto the Prince. “Now, you will give me your little human halfling and in exchange, I will let go of the Princess.”

“NO! Don't do it!” Yoongi yells. “Kihyun, it's her! SHE’S the one behind Y/N’s kidnapping! The three of them are working together! She wanted to sell her blood!”

Prince Kihyun's eyes widen into a mixture of shock and anger. He looks to Soyou, who's still being held by Minhyuk. “Is this true?!”

Soyou shakes her head, “of course not! I would never do that to you! Why would you believe a traitor over your fiance?!”

Yoongi growls, struggling against IM’s grip. “Don't listen to her, your Highness! Yes I may have gone against the clan and did something unforgivable, but I'm trying to redeem myself! I'm trying to show that I'm not like that anymore! Besides, even if I was still against vampire kind, why would I bring a human back to the lair of a vampire Prince? Don't you think I would have taken her somewhere else?!” IM slaps a hand over Yoongi’s mouth, shutting him up.

“I-it’s true, my Prince.”

Prince Kihyun stiffens at the sound of your weak voice and whirl around to see you leaning against the door frame. His eyes soften when he sees you, noticing how skinny you've become and how much paler you are.

“Y/N, you shouldn't be out of bed. You need to lay down.” The Prince speaks softly, concern laced his voice.

“Prince Kihyun, Yoongi is right. The Princess is behind all this. S-She's the one who-”

“My little siren, come here to your Master’s side.” IM’s eyes flash yellow, his voice turning into dark velvet.

Your body stiffens and unconsciously your feet move towards the sound of IM’s voice. Prince Kihyun immediately grabs you and hides you behind his back.

“Stop! Don't you dare do that to her!” The Prince growls low, eyes shifting to a blood red color.

IM rolls his eyes, “soon you won't be able to stop her. Once my magic is permanent, she will do anything to come to me when she is called. Even hurt the person in her path.”

“K-Kihyunie, please help me. Just give her to them, please save me.” Soyou’s eyes glisten with tears, her lip quivering.

Yoongi bites IM’s hand to get him to let go of his mouth. “Don't listen to her! Kihyun, you heard Y/N! She told you it was Soyou who kidnapped her!” He cries out as IM jerks him backwards to shut him up again.

Prince Kihyun turns his attention to Soyou, who is still in Minhyuk's grip. “Is this true, Soyou? Did you steal what's mine?” He speaks in a low voice.

“N-No! Of course not! I would never!”

You snap out of IM’s trance and step in front of the Prince. You feel your legs shake from weakness but you stand your ground.

“Yes! You did! You wanted to sell my blood for money. You were going to allow any pathetic vampire who gave you money to drink from me. You were going to give me to IM permanently!”

Soyou’s eyes burn blood red as she lunges for you. “YOU BITCH! I WILL KILL YOU!”

Prince Kihyun grabs you and holds you close to his body, his fangs elongated and his eyes still red. “If you touch her, I will KILL YOU MYSELF!”

Soyou takes a step back, horrified and shocked of the Prince's wrath. “You're going to pick this filthy half breed over ME? A PUREBRED PRINCESS?!”

“What good is a purebred who is willing to make a profit any way that she can for the price of a life?” Prince Kihyun staring her down.

Soyou scoffs. “What good? It’s called status, honey. More money means more control and more control means being unstoppable.”

“You utterly disgust me.” Prince Kihyun hisses.

“Hmph, no matter. I don’t need you to control the Kingdom anymore. We signed the marriage certificate. I already own the kingdom, as your queen!” She laughs maniacally. “Still, a shame that such a handsome Prince is making the wrong choice.”

Soyou quickly pulls out a dagger and lunges for him. Prince Kihyun pushes you aside and is stabbed in the side and doubles over.

“Prince Kihyun! You’re injured!” You tuck yourself under his arm trying to stabilize him.

“You come to my side still, though I have done so much wrong to you. I should have treated you better.”

You blush, but realize it’s not the best time to be having a moment. “You alright? You’re starting to sound nice. It’s unlike you.”

Kihyun smiles, but winces in pain. “Of course her dagger has poison on it. That’s why I’m unable to heal quickly.”

Frantic and worried all you could ask was, “how do we get out of this mess alive!?”

Suddenly the door flung open. It was Jooheon.

“I-I came to check on you my Prince. I didn’t expect so many unwanted guests to be in the same room.”

The look on Jooheon’s face changed from shock and concern to pure horror. His nose flares and veins start to pop out by his temples.

“Jooheon, listen to me. Get everyone in the castle out of here and protect the family.” He winces again and more blood starts to pour.

“K-Kihyun… You’re hurt.” His hands form into fists. “You’re bleeding…” his head lowers and his eyes fill with rage.

IM laughs. “And just what are you gonna do ‘bout it?”

A dark, ominous aura surrounds Jooheon. His face black, and eyes dark red like that of a monster.

“Watch and see.” His voice was demonic. It sent chills down your spine.

Your eyes widen. You've heard stories about certain types of vampires with unimaginable strength and a blood-lust like no other. A soulless vampire.

Your voice trembles, “i-is that-”

“A Strigoi. Yes, Jooheon is part strigoi. When he was little, his parents were killed by a group of them. He would have been too if the guards had not finally realize what happened. They were able to save him and kill the Strigoi. Unfortunately, that didn't come without consequence. One of the Strigoi had bit him so now he has it's venom running through his veins. Thankfully, that part of him only comes out when he gets angry.”

Jooheon was moving swiftly about the room. He was so quick your eyes couldn’t catch up with him. In just a few seconds IM and Minhyuk were thrown across the room, their bodies crashing into the hallway wall with a deafening crack. Yoongi collapses to the ground, freed from IM’s grasp.

Jooheon wasn’t Jooheon anymore. He was Strigoi.

Soyou steps in. “Hey, freak of nature. Why don’t we end this right here, right now.”

She throws the dagger laced with poison towards Jooheon, but he was able to swat it away and pin Soyou against the wall.

“NO ONE DARES HURT MY FAMILY AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!” Jooheon exclaims angrily. Soyou pretends to squirm while she reaches for another dagger strapped to her side.

Prince Kihyun notices this and immediately picks up the dagger from the floor. A quick shove into Soyou’s side and her body crumples to the floor, lifeless.

“Fallen by your own sword,” Prince Kihyun says to Soyou, glowering at her fallen form.

“Well, technically it’s just a dagger,” you remark as you shrug your shoulders, but wince from the pain of IM’s bite. Your head suddenly feels dizzy. You lean up against the wall to keep yourself from keeling over.

Prince Kihyun immediately rushes to your side. “Y/N! Are you alright?!”

You nod your head and try to breathe. “Y-Yeah. I think I’m alright. It’s just this bite-” You brush your fingers over where IM’s bite used to be and feel...nothing? “Wait, where did IM’s bite go?”

Yoongi groans and struggles off the floor. “I imagine it’s gone because Jooheon accidently killed him, along with Minhyuk.” He gestures over his shoulder to two crumpled, broken bodies on the floor.

“Damn, that’s some power,” you breathe out, a mixture of shocked and impressed.

Suddenly you remember something. “Wait, what about the dagger that Soyou impaled you with? Wasn’t it dipped in poison?” You look over the Prince to see no wound, just blood.

Prince Kihyun looks down at his side, “looks like my impeccable healing ability finally kicked in.”

“B-but, it was poisoned! Why did she die and not you?!”

“The Monsta Clan is one of the highest ranking vampire clans around. One of the reasons being is that our blood can heal poisons.” You look over to see Jooheon back to normal, leaning against the wall, his breathing heavy,

Prince Kihyun walks up to Jooheon and claps a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Cousin. If it weren’t for you, I don’t know what we would have done.”

Jooheon smiles and nods, showing his dimples. “You know I would do anything to protect you, Your Highness.”

“Your Highness, there’s something that needs to be discussed.” Yoongi clears his throat, getting the Prince’s attention.

Prince Kihyun sighs, “and what would that be, Min Yoongi?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Well, let’s start with the feelings you have for your human feeder, Sir. Your love for her.”

In that moment, the world stops. You freeze, a look of shock coming over your features. Prince Kihyun’s lips tighten into a thin line, his eye twitches. “Mr. Min, I don’t think that’s anything that should be discussed at this moment!”

“Actually, I think it is.”

The four of you look up to see both of Kihyun’s parents, the King and Queen. They were both accompanied by Wonho, Shownu, and Hyungwon. Prince Kihyun immediately bows his head. He notices your frozen state and glares, a sign to do the same.

“Mother, Father. What are you doing here?”

The King raises a brow, “well, for one, we live here. And two, how could we not hear the ruckus booming throughout the entire castle?”

The Queen gently comes up to you, “my dear, are you alright?”

Your lip quivers and nod your head quickly. “Yes, your Majesty. I’m okay. Please don’t worry about me.”

The Queen nods her head. She turns her attention to her son. “Kihyun, it’s quite obvious how you feel about this girl and Mr. Min is right. According to the current laws, this is something that needs to be addressed.” She clears her throat and shoots an uncertain glance towards the hunter.

Prince Kihyun sighs, forgetting all about formalities. “Yes, you’re right. Obviously my feelings have gotten in the way of our Master/servant relationship. It’s time I let you go.”

Your mouth drops open in shock. “Wait, let me go?! Why! I don’t want to go anywhere. Please, I love you too!”

Prince Kihyun turns to you, a pained look on his face. “Y/N, I did nothing but put you in harms way. I also didn’t help by hurting you myself. You don’t need to lie to me, girl. I know how you truly feel about me. You need to leave.”

The King and Queen exchange glances. The Queen turns back to you, her eyes glowing yellow. “Now, Y/N. You are to tell my son, Kihyun, exactly how you feel about him.”

Prince Kihyun notices what his mother is doing and tries to stop her, “no, Mother. Please don’t, it’s okay-”

“How I feel about your son, Kihyun.” Your body springs to attention, “Prince Kihyun was a monster who I thought would do anything to anyone on his way to the throne. He would even threaten an innocent thief who just wanted nothing more than to live in peace.” Prince Kihyun doesn’t want to hear anymore, his heart in pain. But you didn’t stop there. “That was what I thought before I got to know him. The more I got to know him, I saw who he truly was. A man in pain, betrayed by his best friend. His walls built up just as high as mine. The more time I spent in his presence and the more time I thought about him, my heart grew and my walls came crashing down. I feel for the Prince, hard. I’ve never loved anyone in my life as much as I love him.”

The Queen ends her magic on you with a content nod. You shake your head coming out of the trance. Your face turns bright red and you start to freak out as soon you realize what you just said.

“Oh my god, Prince Kihyun I am SO sorry. That was so out of line and I don’t know what got into me-”

Suddenly, you feel the lips of the Prince pressed against yours. Your eyes widen in shock. You dreamed of this moment, the moment that Kihyun’s lips would meet yours. They were just as amazing as you imagined it, soft and warm and everything you wanted in a first kiss. You melt into the kiss and press your lips back with just as much force. You immediately feel the prick of his fang on your bottom lip, making you pull away.

“O-oh, Y/N. I’m so sorry, did I hurt you?”

You shake your head and giggle quietly. “No, I’m alright. I’ve been bitten worse.”

You stare into those hypnotic eyes of his. ‘God, he really is the most magnificent creature to exist.’

You hear the Queen clap her hands, pulling the two of you out from your thoughts. “Well, now. Time to prepare for a wedding! My son, I imagine you should mark her permanently soon, as there are others still hunting for Siren blood.”

“W-Wait, a wedding?! For us?! What about the laws?” Your mouth drops open in shock once again.

“Well, we were the ones who made the laws, right? We can always change them. Any laws, actually. Including tearing up a certain marriage certificate.” The King winks at you.

Prince Kihyun suddenly grabs you and lifts you up, spinning you around. You giggle, still in shock. Suddenly you remember something. “Wait, does that mean Wonho can finally find Sumi and be with her again?”

Wonho looks up immediately at your question, hope lacing his features. The Queen nods, “of course. We actually have just sent out a search party to find the girl.”

You never thought a smile could be as big as the one that appeared on Wonho’s face at this moment. He drops to the floor in a low bow to the King and Queen. “Thank you. Thank you so much, your Majesties. I am forever in your debt.”

The Queen leans down and raises Wonho up from his bow. “Honey, we never should have taken her away from you in the first place. We were mislead by what happened to my daughter, we never should have blamed all human beings for just one’s actions. Y/N has shown us that. I never thought I would see my son this happy ever again.”

That’s when Min Yoongi rushes forward onto one knee in front of the King and Queen. “I could never make up for my transgressions. I deserve nothing but pain for the rest of my life for what I have done. If you would have me, I would love to serve under you two, to pay off my debts to you. Even if it takes the rest of my life.”

The King nods, “Min Yoongi, as much as you’ve caused this family pain, you’ve proven to have remorse for your actions. I will grant you your wish. To pay off your debts, you will now be Prince Kihyun’s and Princess Y/N’s personal bodyguard. You will protect the two of them till the day you die. Am I understood?”

Yoongi nods his head vigorously. “Absolutely. Thank you, thank you so much your Majesty.”

The King and Queen turn their attention onto you and Prince Kihyun. “Now, we have a lot of wedding planning to do. But first, you all need to get your rest. Y/N, you and Kihyun will rest in his room. The servants will be at your call when you need them. Min Yoongi, your wounds will be treated but as soon as that’s done, you will be standing watch outside their bedroom door. Jooheon honey, come with us. We need to make sure the Strigoi venom won’t activate again anytime soon.” And with that, Jooheon, Shownu, Hyungwon and the King and Queen take their leave.

Wonho rushes up to you, pulling you into a tight hug. “Thank you, Y/N. So much. I owe you everything.”

You pat his back and try to breath, but his vampire strength is crushing you.Prince Kihyun peels Wonho off you. “I’m sure she appreciates it, Wonho but you're crushing my fiancé.”

Wonho backs away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Ahh, I apologize. Well, I’m off to go find the love of my life. Thank you again. “He bows his head and rushes off to join the search.

Prince Kihyun turns his attention onto you, giving you a gentle smile. “Go inside the room, my Love. You need rest and I need a minute with Yoongi.” You nod your head and make your way into the bedroom.

The Prince turns to his old friend. “Min Yoongi, I wanted to thank you for saving Y/N. I just wish I could have gone with you, to make sure neither one of you was harmed.”

Yoongi shakes his head and puts his hands up. “You needed to stay here, your Highness. Just in case I didn’t find her and she came back on her own. It was no problem.”

Prince Kihyun sighs, “I don’t think I can fully forgive you for what you did, Yoongi. It hurts so much still.” He looks Yoongi in the eyes, his face serious. “But, I’m willing to try to make this work. As long as you protect me and my future wife, I will learn to forgive.”

Yoongi nods his head. “Of course, your Highness. I would give my life for you.”

Prince Kihyun nods, content with the response. He turns to walk into the bedroom but stops. “To tell you the truth, I missed you, Yoongi. And I still consider you my best friend.”

He didn’t turn around to see the look of pure shock and happiness on the man’s face. He walks into the room and closes the door behind him. Immediately he comes to your side, making sure you’re okay.

“Y/N, I know a lot just happened. I hope you’re okay with the arrangements that were made.”

You nod your head and smile, “honestly, I am. It will get some time getting used to, but I think I’ll be happy like this. But, wouldn’t you need to find a new feeder?”

Kihyun gives you a look, “you’re still set to be my feeder, my love. That was the original arrangement. Except now, you’re not just a servant. You’re a Princess and soon to be Queen. And once I permanently mark you as mine, no one will be able to hurt you or take you away from me.”

You smile wide at your Prince. Marrying a vampire prince was the last thing you ever thought would happen to you. But you can’t complain. The best decision you ever did was to break into the castle of the infamous Vampire Prince, Yoo Kihyun.

“So what now, Prince Kihyun?”

Prince Kihyun thinks for a moment. “Well, for starters, you can drop the formalities. You are soon to be my wife, my dear. You can call me just Kihyun.”

Kihyun. Wife. Love.

That all sounded like a very happy ending to you.

A/N: Thank you all for being dedicated followers and loving this story! We really appreciate it!

Just remember everyone:

Steer clear of Pride, Gluttony, Lust, Greed, Envy, Sloth and Wrath. It could just get you into trouble. Or worse, killed. They are called the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ for a reason. ;)

[Masterlist]

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