Blood Thirst

chapter 2

It was rare to see someone from the Avengers coven outside of the safety of their tower; if you did, it usually meant bad news. Everyone feared the Avengers, rightfully so; it was one of the oldest covens out there and, frankly, the most powerful one. Surprisingly, it was one of the smaller ones, with only a dozen members, contrasting the usual hundreds of members that other covens had. But tonight, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers, the powerful couple founders of the Avengers, were out for a stroll on the empty streets of New York after dealing with an issue with another coven that had been bothering them for months. They had been making their way back to the tower when Steve had a weird feeling and insisted on taking a walk. So, here they were, walking through the grimiest street they could find.

"Can we go back to the car now?" Tony asked, slightly annoyed that he was forced to get out of his car to walk on this cold, smelly street.

In response, Steve stopped walking, making Tony look at him. "Is that a yes?" he asked, already turning backward in the direction of their car, only to be stopped by a hand on his chest.

"Do you smell that?" Steve asked quietly.

"Smell what?" Tony inquired, taking a big sniff before freezing. "Blood," he stated.

"Young blood," Steve specified, already going in the direction of the alley where the smell was coming from.

What they saw shocked them to the core: a young boy was sitting there, pressed against a corner, trying to make himself small by hugging his knees tight against his chest, looking at them with wide eyes that just screamed fear.

"Hey, it's okay. We're not going to hurt you," Steve said, approaching carefully when the boy just tried to press himself even closer to the wall, so much so that Tony feared he was going to become one with the wall with how hard he pressed himself against it.

"Leave me alone," the boy pleaded with them.

Steve crouched in front of the boy. "It's alright, we just want to help," he said, putting a hand on the boy's knee, which flinched so hard that Steve immediately took it off. "Sorry," the man said.

"It's cold out here, kid, and dirty. Do you have a home to go to?" Steve asked, but seeing the miserable look on the boy's face, he almost regretted it. Of course, he didn't have one; if he did, he wouldn't be here.

"Are you hungry?" he asked instead.

The boy just looked at him as if he was thinking before he shook his head. But one look at him, and Steve could see that it was a lie. He was skin and bones, and Steve could hear the boy's stomach growling, begging for the promised food.

"Come on, Son, we both know that's a lie. Just come with us and eat a warm meal, no questions asked, no strings attached," he said, raising his hands.

He watched as the boy thought about it, and Steve knew that even if the kid wanted to refuse, his hunger was too much to pass up the opportunity, and the risk was probably worth it, something that worried Steve. Sure, he wanted the boy to come with them; it broke his heart seeing someone that young in this state, and sure, they would never hurt him.

But what if Steve was someone else, with ulterior motives, trying to lure the boy with food just to hurt him?

"You promise?" a small voice whispered, breaking Steve out of his thoughts.

"I promise, no harm will come to you," Steve said, putting a hand over his unbeaten heart as if to prove his point. "Do you have something that you want to bring with you?" he asked.

"No... everything I had was stolen," the boy responded with a heartbreaking tone.

"Alright, let's get going then," he said, getting up, waiting for the boy to get up himself.