Once Bitten *On Hiatus*

𝕱𝖎𝖋𝖙𝖞 𝕿𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖊

• 𝓜𝓪𝓮 •

The next morning, Kite led me to the room he built. His shoulders were tense, and only seemed to become tenser the closer we got. It was strange. I would have thought that room was the one place he could release all of his stress, since no one else could enter or hear what was going on inside.

But when the door came into view, I finally realized why he was so tense.

Seraph glanced over at us approaching, his back up against the door to Kite's room. Noah and Luca stood away from him silently, Luca's arms crossed over his chest and Noah standing there somewhat awkwardly.

I looked up at Kite, but he shook his head to stop the question forming on my lips.

'We're being watched, little bird,' Seraph spoke into my mind.

My eyes fell back on him and he tilted his head almost imperceptibly to the left, where a couple vampires stood speaking to one another down the hallway. But their voices were hushed and they kept glancing over at us. At me. At Kite.

"I said I was hungry and you brought your personal blood bag," Seraph asked.

Kite did an amazing job hiding the disgust on his face. He just shrugged lazily, like it didn't bother him in the slightest that he was handing me over to the resident serial killer - their words, not mine. I kind of liked our resident serial killer.

"Consider it a peace offering." Kite grabbed my arm and pulled me along beside him. "I need you, and I'll allow you to have access to her until we're done."

The two vampires down the hall glanced at each other, not bothering to act like they were speaking anymore.

Nosy bitches.

'Fight him,' Seraph said, his lip twitching into a small smirk.

I pulled back, away from Kite, and his hand tightened around my arm. "Fuck off. I'm not some possession to just hand around at will."

Kite's eyes narrowed as he looked down at me. "I thought I trained you better than this. You are my possession to do with as I wish. Unless you'd like me to ask Zero for help instead and let him have you?"

My lip curled, and it wasn't fully an act. I didn't think that Kite would do that. Not after everything he'd admitted to and done. But a part of me was so taken aback by how serious he sounded, I almost believed him.

Seraph tilted his head once we got closer, his eyes on me. "You wouldn't. Zero can't do what I do, whether you want to admit to that or not."

I blinked, a flush coming to my cheeks involuntarily. When Seraph noticed, his eyebrows raised.

'What part of that made you blush?' He stepped away from the door to allow Kite to unlock and open it, his eyes surveying my reddening face like it was the most astounding thing he'd seen all day.

I blatantly ignored him and pushed inside the room, keeping up with the pretense that I absolutely hated these vampires. I wasn't sure what it was with Seraph. Why I was drawn to him in the way that I was. I'd seen him murder someone. I'd seen that gleam in his eye when he got the go ahead to kill. So, why?

When Kite locked the door behind us, I turned.

He raised his hands. "I didn't mean-"

"I know," I said.

Luca's dark eyebrows raised in surprise, then he looked at Kite. Seconds later, Luca and Noah stared at him blankly, then at me. Like I was supposed to have input on their silent conversation.

I pointed at my head. "Can't hear what the fuck you guys are saying."

Luca blinked. "Did you two fu-"

"The reason why Seraph is here," Kite cut him off, effectively silencing him and practically telling him that he was right, "is because he's likely better suited to show you how to fight."

By the look on his face, he truly thought he dismissed Luca and whatever it was he was going to ask. But by the look Noah and Luca shared, he didn't do very well.

Kite was speaking, but when Noah's eyes met mine, I stopped listening. I had been somewhat nervous for him to look hurt when he found out, even though he'd expressed interest in me being with Kite as well as him and Luca. It had all happened so fast. The tension. The realization that Kite was protecting me in the only way he knew how. The only way he really could.

None of what I felt for any of them would have ever happened without Noah. If he'd still been human, I would have still loathed Kite. And if I ever met Luca, I would have hated him too. I wouldn't have given either of them a chance. I wouldn't have heard Kite out. I would have separated myself from Noah whenever he was near one or the other, back to trying to make myself look invisible to them.

I sure as hell wouldn't have approached Seraph, of all people.

But Noah didn't look hurt. He looked hungry. Excited. Thrilled that whatever image he had conjured up in his mind could possibly happen.

His eyes moved to Seraph.

And then back to me.

My eyebrows furrowed and I shook my head slowly. What the hell?

He smiled slightly and mouthed, "Four?"

I choked on my saliva like the dignified lady that I was and coughed, turning away from the group of them as my face flamed with embarrassment and nerves.

"Did you hear any of what I just said," Kite asked.

Obviously I hadn't, big man. I was trying to do my best impersonation of someone dying.

'What's four,' Seraph asked, his voice confused in my head.

God Almighty, if you exist, please take my soul right now. Amen.

I covered my face with my hands. Number one, he needed to stop speaking in my head. It threw me off. Number two, I was not going to explain why Noah had just asked me about the number four. I knew how four worked. I knew a lot about how four worked.

Fuck.

When I finally turned around, Noah was holding back laughter.

"Fuck you," I coughed.

He bit his bottom lip with his fang, his grin growing.

"No," I held a hand out, "please don't. Don't say anything. Please."

Kite looked confused as all hell. Luca somehow seemed to pick up what had happened and was looking back and forth between Seraph and me inquisitively. And Seraph looked at me like he wanted me to translate.

I wouldn't.

I motioned towards the middle of the room, ignoring the hell out of Noah. When did he become so freaking bold? "So, you're showing me how to fight? I'm sure you're better at it than Kite is. He just kept throwing me around."

Seraph shrugged one shoulder. "I'm actually showing you how to kill, little bird. It sounds like you have one monster you'd like to kill for yourself. And I'll show you, as long as you let me watch you when you follow through with it."

I blinked up at him. "You can watch whatever you want."

I felt three pairs of eyes suddenly burning into me and I once again wanted to die. That was not what I meant and all three of those mother fuckers knew that.

Seraph's lip twitched as he tilted his head towards the sparring area. "Ladies first."