The Vampire's Requiem II [malexmale]

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve (Xed)

I laid on my bed in the room of our apartment, absolutely still and silent.

Newell was laying against my chest, his head resting just beneath my chin, his arms brought up to his chest as he breathed weakly. His body felt oddly smaller, frailer. It was like he was made of glass and would break any moment, so I kept my arms around him gently, listening to his shaky breathes, his weakly beating heart.

I waited for him to wake so I could feed him my blood, hoping it would be enough to heal the damage Hunter had caused. I could just smell the reeking odor of oni blood flooding through Newell's veins, slowly poisoning him.

I did this.

I did this because I had selfishly left him. I should have known something like this would happen. It always happened. Every time I so much as turned away from Newell, something came back to remind me why I stayed with him for long, but this time was the worst. I'd never seen Newell look so defeated and broken. It crushed me to know that I hadn't been there to stop it. It made me tighten my arms around him now.

Hunter was right, for once. I had done exactly what everyone else had done. I had done what Newell feared would happen the most and that was leave him. And the fact that I couldn't speak, I couldn't give him the proper reason as to why I had left, so there was no doubt that in his mind, he thought it was because I thought he was a monster, just like everyone else.

His mother. His father. His friend. His companions from Zephyra.

They had all done the same thing to him. They smiled at him and treated him as an equal, as something special, and when the time came, they all turned their backs on him. They beat him down and destroyed everything he had, because of something he couldn't help. It was one thing to never have kindness, and another to experience it and have it taken from you like that.

I couldn't imagine that kind of pain. While my family had refused to accept my apologizes and refused to allow me back into their tribe, I wasn't too heartbroken. I had prepared myself for that possibility when I had left them. And I knew that I wasn't alone, even if they had disowned me, because I still had Newell.

But Newell wasn't that positive.

He always assumed the worst case scenario, and the sad part was that he was usually right.

I felt Newell shift and looked down at him as he sucked in a shuddering, weak breath. He looked like he couldn't move, like his body was too heavy for it. He slowly shifted his head, turning it until his chin was resting on my chest, his eyes slowly opening, blinking a few times to try and focus his vision. His eyelids looked heavy over his pale blue eyes, dark circles curving beneath them. He seemed to be struggling to stay conscious. His breathing was labored, short and dry. His lips parted every so slowly so I could see his fangs.

I wanted to say his name, but no sound came past my lips, so I was only mouthing it. Newell gazed at me for the longest time, still looking dazed, barely conscious. I was surprised to see a very faint smile tug at the corners of his lips.

"Xed..." I felt goose bumps form on my skin at the sound of my name coming from his lips. His voice was hoarse and exhausted, forced. He had mustered up everything he could just to say my name and it made my heart ache. I clutched him to me tightly and he moaned quietly, blinking a couple times before parting his lips further. He dug his nails into my skin to pull himself up to my throat where my artery throbbed. He bared his fangs and I tilted my neck, giving him full access to the area.

His fangs sank down into my throat and I held my breath for a moment at the sharp pain of the fangs puncturing my flesh before I relaxed. I held Newell's head close to my throat so he could drink deeply, his nails still digging into my skin. I expected him to just lay there and drink from me, but I was surprised when his tongue pressed hotly against my skin, making me shudder. I held him tightly, wondering if I should pull him away or not, but decided against it as he sucked at my throat, fangs still embedded in my skin.