Once Bitten *On Hiatus*

𝕾𝖎𝖝𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖎𝖛𝖊

• 𝓜𝓪𝓮 •

The blood stopped the pain and the weakness, just like they said it would. But I was still so damn tired. I sat on Seraph's bed, looking at the ten empty bags of blood, and made a promise to myself. I would do what I had to do to kill Zero. And then I would kill Titus for turning me.

After that...I guess I'd figure it out after that point.

I finally stood and took the empty bags to the trash can in the bathroom before I went and opened the door to allow them back in. They all looked at me, searching me as if to make sure I drank the blood and didn't pour it down the drain.

Good idea to stash in the back of my mind for later, I guess.

"Who turned you," Kite finally asked when they all stepped in. "Do you know?"

I closed the door and locked it. "Titus."

I turned, and Kite's mouth was open slightly in shock. "Why would he...why did he..."

I wish I knew why he changed me. He'd made it pretty clear that he didn't like me. So why would he have changed me?

"What happened after Zero slit my throat," I asked. "I saw Luca and Noah start moving, but I blacked out too fast."

I thought I died. I was there in the room one moment, and then I saw my parents. My kids. None of them spoke a word to me. They simply looked at me, and then my parents hugged me. It had felt so real. I smelled my mom's shampoo and perfume. I felt my dad's rough stubble against my skin when he placed his lips on my temple. I tried to speak to them. To tell them I was finally with them again. That I wasn't going to leave again. And maybe they heard my thoughts, because their eyes became sad.

My kids all grinned at me, then waved as my parents took a step back away from me.

And though they didn't speak, I could tell what they were trying to tell me with their eyes.

"Not yet."

And then I was awake in that cell. It had felt like only minutes, but one of the vampires down there had said I'd been out for a month.

"Luca and Noah went to subdue Zero," Kite said. "Then there was just a rush of people. They took Zero, but before you ask, we have no idea where they're holding him. And then my dad said he'd take care of you. But...I thought he meant bury you. Not this. We all thought you were dead for the past month."

No one told them. Not one person said a thing to any of them. How fucking shitty it was to allow these four believe I was gone.

I leaned back against the bedroom door and closed my eyes.

"Before you showed up," Noah said, his voice quiet, "we were going to ask Titus where he buried you. And try and figure out where Zero is."

"Why were you trying to figure out where Zero is," I asked.

"Because we were going to kill him." Those words from Luca made me open my eyes.

They were going to go find and kill Zero? While an interesting image - them storming into wherever Titus is and demanding where Zero was being kept, only to kill him - I was glad that they didn't. Not because I suddenly wanted Zero to live, believe me. I was just glad I woke up in time to be able to do it myself.

"How do you mind link," I asked.

Noah shrugged, looking to Kite for help.

I glanced at Seraph.

"If they're in the same room as you," he answered willingly, "then you just do what you do with me. If they're not in the same room as you, which is inherently more difficult, you'd have to envision them in the room with you and reach out with your mind. For a new vampire, it's next to impossible."

I closed my eyes. If it didn't work, there would be no reason to feel embarrassed. It would just look like I was resting my eyes again.

'Titus,' I thought, envisioning him in the room with us. It was hard, since I'd only ever seen him that one time, but his commanding presence made a mark in my mind. I may not have gotten all of his features correctly, but I was sure the person I was imagining was the one and only dickhead ruler of South District.

Nothing.

I opened my eyes. Of course not. How in the world did I think that I would be able to do something only seasoned vampires could do? I was newly turned, and had just woken up.

'Yes, Maeve?' Titus's voice made me stop breathing.

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

Shaking my head, I sighed. 'I want to know where Zero is.'

There was a chuckle in the back of my mind, and the four men in the room with me stared at me in shock.

'I'd like to be very clear with you,' Titus said, and I saw Kite's face go pale, 'I didn't turn you out of the goodness of my heart. I expect yours and Zero's next meeting to be extraordinarily entertaining. So where he's being kept, and when I plan to let him out, will remain my little secret. I suggest you train hard, Maeve. In every aspect.'

That line of communication was cut so quickly it was like whiplash in my mind. Noah even flinched.

"How did you do that," Luca asked.

I waved towards Seraph. "I just did what he told me to."

I was more concerned with the fact that Titus turned me solely for the fact that he thought me killing Zero would be entertaining. Or maybe he thought what Zero could do with an immortal would be entertaining.

Well, close enough to an immortal.

Zero had hoped they would change me. He said vampires were harder to kill. They - we - healed from nearly any wound. I could only imagine what shit he was planning.

I lifted my arm and bit into it, tearing the flesh there.

"Mae!" Noah took a step towards me.

I barely felt it. Blood welled and ran down my arm, but by the time the stream met my elbow, the wound was closed up, whatever pain I'd felt completely gone.

Kite stared at my arm. "How did you..."

Seraph raised my arm and wiped the blood off with a shirt. "I don't think Titus realizes what he did when he turned her."

The three other men looked at him, waiting for him to explain further.

Once he was done wiping the blood from my skin, he looked at me. "Put your hand on my head and show me your favorite memory. Just focus on transferring it to me."

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion before reaching out and touching his head, feeling his soft hair beneath my fingertips. I closed my eyes and imagined my tenth birthday, when my dad came into the kitchen holding a huge golden one and zero balloon. He was grinning so wide, already singing happy birthday before my mom was even able to enter the room with the cake. She'd given him an exasperated look before she started singing along, then bumped him with her hip as she sat the cake down in front of me.

I'd glanced up at them, chuckling, and asked them if we were having cake for breakfast.

My dad had told me that if it weren't for my un-sweet tooth, we'd have it for every meal that day.

I opened my eyes, that familiar burn in the backs of my eyes. But I wouldn't cry. Not here.

Seraph stared at me in awe.

The other three looked...shocked? Confused?

I'd been touching Seraph, but I was wanting them all to see it. To see a memory that brought me joy, but also a kind of sadness I couldn't express in words.

"I don't think he realized how powerful she would become when he turned her," Seraph finally whispered.