Once Bitten *On Hiatus*

𝕱𝖎𝖋𝖙𝖞 𝕰𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙

• 𝓜𝓪𝓮 •

I didn't scream. Zero already told me what he'd do if I did. He didn't care who came to the door, he'd kill them and make me watch. And then it would be my fault, because I couldn't control my fear. And I would have to live with that for the rest of my life, knowing I could have kept them safe if I would have just shut the fuck up.

He tied me to the foot of the bed, giving me just enough room to sit on the floor somewhat comfortably. I tried to control my shaking, but every time I glanced up at him while he knotted and double-knotted the rope around my wrists, images of me being tied down and collared in a cage flashed through my mind.

When he was finished, he sat in front of me, watching me.

"Do you do it on purpose," he asked.

I frowned. "Do what?"

"Seduce my friends," he said.

I stared at him blankly. I didn't do any of the seducing. I didn't actively go to any of those four for anything other than friendship, and at the beginning, I didn't even want that.

"If I say yes, can you please just kiss me," he mocked when I didn't respond. "Your guard completely goes away with Seraph, doesn't it? You two didn't notice I was in the fucking room earlier."

I narrowed my eyes. "What the fuck-"

He laughed, a maniacal sound that made me stiffen. "No, you didn't even notice me before that either. Writing away in your little journal."

Oh, my God. How long had he been in my room? How did he get in? I didn't notice him. Didn't feel him watching. Did he know what I was writing about?

The look on his face told me he knew. He knew it all. He knew I wanted to kill him. He knew I planned out many, many ways to do so. He knew Seraph was involved. And he wasn't angry at Seraph, like they assumed he would be. All of his anger was aimed towards me.

"I've thought long and hard about what exactly would bring you the most pain for the longest amount of time," he said calmly, almost like he was talking about the weather. "And I think I've finally figured it out. Care to take a guess?"

I remained silent, my heart rate pumping quicker with every passing second neither of us spoke. Seraph said he could feel my emotions. Could he tell how terrified I was? How every second of silence made my skin crawl?

Zero smiled. "Humans are so weak. If you cut them open, their organs spill out and they bleed to death. But vampires...you can cut them open and they'd bleed out, and they'd still continue to live. Just shove the organs back in and give their body enough time to regenerate and they'd be good as new."

My fear skyrocketed. My hands became clammy and my body started shaking uncontrollably.

"That was a hint, Maeve." He leaned forward, chuckling when I leaned back as far as I could, pressing myself into the side of the mattress. "Guess."

I remained silent, hoping that Seraph would come. That he'd stop this before Zero was able to do anything. I believed he was stronger than Zero.

But what if he wasn't?

I clenched my eyes shut.

"GUESS!" Zero slammed his fist into the mattress beside me, so close that I could feel the lightest touch of his fist as it flew past.

I opened my eyes and watched as he pulled his hand out of the hole he created. I knew it didn't matter if I guessed or not.

"Don't," I whispered.

"What is the one thing you hate most in this world," he asked, too close to me.

I hate you, I thought. I hate you so much that I fantasized about killing you and watching the life drain from your eyes. For killing my kids. For killing Noah. For tormenting me for years. 

Goosebumps sprang to my skin when I registered the look in his eye. There was no good left in that man, if there ever was any.

"Vampires," he answered for me. "Though, fucking four of them is really killing that persona you worked so hard for."

'Seraph,' I thought. 'Seraph, please. Zero's here. He-'

Zero's eyes lowered to my hip and he tilted his head. And then he started laughing. He clutched his stomach, doubling over and pretending to wipe a tear from his eye. He reached out and plucked the silver dagger from my pocket and held it between us.

"This was Seraph's mom's," he crooned, slipping the sheath off. "You'll understand why this is so funny...if they decide to save you. But who am I kidding? Of course they'll save you. Their precious little whore."

"Zero," I said, panicked. "Zero, don't. I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry!"

He grinned. "Sorry? Oh, no, Mae. Don't say sorry. You'll spend the rest of your eternity apologizing with a collar around that pretty little neck of yours and I still won't forgive you."

He moved too quickly. I didn't even feel it at first. I stared up at where his hand used to be, then I looked down at my thigh. My mind - damn my mind - blocked out nothing of it. The silver knife in my thigh. The blood welling up around the blade. The sudden white hot burst of pain that only seemed to amplify when he tore it out.

Dark blood gushed out of the wound, coating my pants and the floor beneath me in seconds.

"Can't stab anything too vital," he murmured, and his voice sounded muffled through the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. The blood gushed from my leg with each pulse of my heart.

I was still in shock - that couldn't be mine...that wasn't my blood - when he stabbed the other leg and shook me out of my silence. I finally screamed, pulling at the ropes as hard as I could to try and push him away. I kicked, crying out when pain lanced up my body as he sliced down the artery.

There was pounding at my door. Yelling. But I could barely hear it over the sound of my screaming. I looked up, screaming at Zero to stop. That I was sorry. That I'd never do it again. Anything to make him stop. But he simply licked a bit of my blood from his lips as he shoved the knife deep into my stomach.

Don't.

Please, God. Don't.

I coughed up blood, pain slicing across my abdomen at the invasion.

When the door slammed open, breaking from its hinges, the yelling became louder. But I couldn't look away from Zero. He pulled the knife back out of my stomach, and I felt the now-warm silver slide between muscle and flesh as it was forced out of my body.

A sick smile crossed Zero's face seconds before he swung the blade one last time.

I stopped screaming. My hands flew to my neck and blood bubbled out, coating my skin in the hot, sticky liquid.

My eyes found the four other men in my room. All of them had varying expressions of horror on their faces.

My body was becoming weaker and weaker by the second, growing cold on the inside. I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was choking on blood every time I tried to take a breath.

I opened my mouth to tell them not to turn me into a vampire. But there was a determination on Seraph's face as he took in every bit of the scene. Every bloody surface. The weapon. And finally, me.

I fell limply to the floor, pleading with them with my eyes as my vision went dark.

Please. 

Just let me fucking die.

*****
A/N: Don't get too angry 👀
I have plans, I promise