Once Bitten *On Hiatus*

𝕰𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖞 𝕿𝖜𝖔

• 𝓜𝓪𝓮 •

I was shaking, my body finally coming down from whatever adrenaline high it went through for me to do what I did to Zero. My eyes were on the stab wounds in his chest. At the blood. The way he laid there, limp and lifeless.

It had felt like an out of body experience, like I wasn't actually the one to stab him eight times before the guard pulled me off of him.

I couldn't shake the feeling that it had been too easy. I'd aimed for his heart, but I wasn't sure I did enough damage to kill him.

Would anyone of power truly allow me to kill him in their presence? He had said they wouldn't.

I stared down at Zero. Watching and waiting for his body to start healing. I didn't breathe, my focus solely on him.

What bothered me the most was the fact that I enjoyed it.

'He's not dead,' Titus's voice murmured in my head.

My eyes shot up to him. 'But you wanted me to kill him. You wanted this to be entertaining. Let me fucking kill him.'

He tilted his head. 'You shouldn't be able to respond directly to me. Is the guard not taking your powers?'

How in the absolute hell should I know? Him touching me had shaken me out of whatever frenzy I'd been in, sure. But besides that, I still felt like myself.

"Gray," Titus said aloud, "are you taking her powers?"

The guard holding me shifted slightly. "I am."

Titus hummed as a perplexed look crossed his face. "Are you sure?"

Gray was silent for a moment, and I assumed he likely looked just as confused as the man on his throne in front of us. After he finally answered that yes, he was in fact sapping my powers from me, Titus nodded.

'Do me a favor,' Titus said. 'Melt Gray's brain for me and you can do whatever you want to Zero.'

I flinched involuntarily, and Gray's hands tightened to an almost painful grip, my shoulders straining with the pressure.

I shook my head slowly. Number one, why in the world would I want to kill an otherwise innocent person? Number two, I didn't even know how to melt someone's mind. If I'd known that, I would have done that to Zero before he even touched me.

Titus smiled slightly. 'I'll teach you and you can do it to Zero...after you do it to Gray.'

"I'm not killing your guard," I said out loud. Really, what the fuck? Did the guy have no conscience at all? His guard was simply doing what he was told and he was going to die for it?

"If I ordered Gray to rip your head off right now, he would." Titus continued to smile. "Wouldn't you, Gray?"

"Yes," came the immediate reply from behind me.

What an asshole. I almost forgot how ruthless and heartless some of these fuckers could be. A lot of the people who were loyal to Titus would do just about anything for his approval - including killing someone, apparently.

If I agreed, I could just use that knowledge to kill Zero. I didn't have to kill the guard. But what if Titus gave me no choice?

I looked back down to Zero, seeing his wounds slowly stitching back up. The bones in his face re-shaped themselves. He'd wake up soon.

"Maybe more incentive?" Titus's voice drew my eyes away from the vampire I swore to myself that I would kill.

Another guard brought in two familiar people. A young girl and her mother. The girl looked around in awe, like the realization hadn't dawned on her yet. Her mother, however, looked around in horror.

When her eyes met mine, she stared.

I was covered in blood, held back by someone damn near twice my size with a vampire bloodied on the ground in front of me. I wanted to tell Meredith to shield Bea's eyes. That she didn't need to see the blood and horror. But soon Bea looked at me, and her eyes widened.

I didn't breathe.

'You're threatening them,' I asked.

Titus nodded once, just a barely imperceptible motion of his head.

Doyle stepped up behind the two of them and I bared my teeth. 'Get the fuck away from them.'

Doyle glanced up. "As if I'd listen to some pesky little bitch."

Bea looked behind her, then back at me. Her smile was gone, replaced by a sliver of fear. As if she was finally understanding the predicament she was brought into.

"Titus wants me to kill your son and you want to continue to listen to him," I asked, my voice shaking only slightly. "You must be as insane as Zero if you would cast aside the life of your son to stay on his good side."

He didn't respond. He didn't even react.

Gray's grip tightened further and I grimaced.

Titus lost his smile. He looked almost bored, his eyes moving away from me to the four men being held down against the wall. He scanned them, tilting his head, then smiled again.

"Break Noah's arms." The command, followed by a scream from Noah made me stiffen. I had no chance to reply to him, to tell him to stop and I'd do what he wanted.

I looked over at Noah, seeing his arm bent in an unnatural angle and the pained look on his face. Luca struggled against his two guards, but was pushed forward, one of the guards stepping onto his back to keep him immobile.

Kite stared at Noah, his mouth slightly open in shock, and Seraph just looked at me.

Even if I couldn't read his mind, I knew what he was thinking.

Just do it.

I gritted my teeth and looked back at Titus.

"He'll heal quickly," he said, then tilted his head towards Meredith. "But she won't."

I wondered if Titus knew that this was just solidifying the fact that I was going to kill him too. The fear amplified on Meredith's face and she reached out to grab Bea, stepping back only to run into Doyle.

"Fine!" I pulled against Gray's grip and had to bite back a groan of pain when he tightened his grip even further. If he held me any tighter, my arms would pop out of their sockets. "Fucking fine!"

Titus's smile grew, knowing he had me. Maybe this is what he meant when he said I was more malleable. If he threatened someone I cared about, I'd do just about anything he asked. And I cared about too many.

I wished I could turn it off like I had when I attacked Zero. I had felt absolutely nothing in those moments. But seeing Noah hurt, and knowing that he would hurt others to get me to bend to his will...

I hope he realized what he was doing, training me in this way. And I hope he realized that I held grudges, and I was going to enjoy bringing my own personal karma down when it came time.

Titus raised his head, acknowledging my threat but not looking worried in the slightest. I knew he likely had powers that I couldn't even begin to comprehend. He wouldn't have this hold over South District if he didn't. But it didn't matter how long it took. The more he pushed me, the worse it would be for him when it came time.

I was strong. That much was clear. But I wondered if he realized that I would only become stronger?

You know what...maybe I would take his throne.

*****
A/N: I have a feeling this story's going to end up being a 2 book series. I have too many plans and not enough book (unless I make this over 200k words...which I guess cool and stuff but that's too long IMO 😂)

Also side note - the chapters are short for my writing benefit. It's easier for me to write 1,200-1,400 word chapters and group them together when I'm finished than it is for me to write 2,400-2,800 word chapters. Also it's a bit late in the story to be writing longer chapters.