Death's Middle Name {boyxboy}

Chapter Thirty-Three

~Sunday 7th January 2018~

Alwynn whined under his breath, covering his mouth with his hand when the familiar bitter taste of his own blood returned. It was the fourth time that morning alone that he had accidentally bitten through his lip, although he had lost count of how many times he had injured himself over the past few days.

Blood no longer seemed to bother him, not when it was all he could think about. It used to make him a little queasy, which he had tried his best to ignore for the sake of Vant feeding from him. That feeling was no longer present. It had no effect on him, not anymore.

Alwynn closed his eyes for a moment, barely aware of the tears falling as he tried desperately to force the change, to make his fangs disappear. They ached, burning every time they grew, a constantly throbbing in his jaw that the boy had had to endure for the past five days. It was agonising, and he wasn't sure if it would ever stop.

Clutching at the fabric of the hoodie he adorned, Alwynn focused more, whining once again when he ripped through the arms of the material. He had no idea what he was doing, no idea how to control himself, he was clueless. Hopeless. And terribly alone.

More tears were spilt at the thought of Vant, out there back home worrying. Alwynn ran his fingers over the cracked gems on his bracelet, basking in the weakening aroma that emanated from them. He had never been able to detect it before, now it just tormented him. Day in, day out, he could imagine Vant with him, only to have the illusion ripped away when he opened his eyes. It was torture far worse than anything Brodie had inflicted.

A soft whimper slipped out of Alwynn's pursed lips when he opened his eyes, his gaze landing on the blonde man crouched in front of him. Zaith, he had said his name was, then again, he also said he was trying to help Alwynn. What little there was to believe in that.

"No... Please, I don't want it," Alwynn whined, trying to push himself back further into the corner but not succeeding in the slightest, "please, go away, leave me alone," Alwynn had spent far too long begging, yet knew there was no point trying anything else.

"I'm sorry, I know you're scared, Alwynn," the boy froze, he had never told Zaith his name, "I know this is a difficult time for you but you have to have my blood. Just this one last time, OK?" Alwynn grimaced, feeling the pull, the craving, of the beast within himself. Taking Zaith's wrist in his hands, Alwynn sunk his fangs into the vampire's flesh, the battle beginning within himself. Disgust fighting against desire.

What little of the humanity Alwynn had retained hated feeding from the stranger, even if he was the boy's maker, it just seemed wrong, especially when he had restricted Vant to only feed on him. It didn't seem fair. And, yet, the vampiric nature that was consuming Alwynn adored every second, marvelling in the taste of the blood, the feeling of it running down his throat and settling nicely in his stomach. It was terribly conflicting.

"Alwynn, Vant is here," Alwynn reared back when Zaith touched his hair, the little gesture just adding to the fear within the boy, "did you hear me? Vant is here, Alwynn, he's upstairs," Alwynn covered his ears, beginning to sob as he did after every feed, the hysterics kicking in at the same time as the reality. He knew Vant wasn't there, Zaith had been saying that since the night previous, it was just another aspect of torture. Another wound to rip open and rub salt in.

Zaith may have acted like he cared for Alwynn but the boy simply didn't trust him. He hadn't met many other vampires outside of Vant and his children, with Killian being a terrible example. How was he expected to trust any of their race with only the first impression of Vant's maker to go on?

They were a sadistic race, Alwynn knew that, Vant had told him it upon multiple occasions. They weren't all compassionate like him, a lot of them were animalistic, savage almost. They were driven by their cravings for blood and they didn't care for humans. That was the only description Alwynn had to go off, so that was exactly how he viewed Zaith. Nice or not, Alwynn wasn't taking any chances. He had learnt from trusting, had learnt from thinking he was safe, letting his guard down. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.