Kira glared angrily at Yue as the latter continued smiling serenely at her. Yue had promised Kira would not get hurt. She was simply bait, bait for the grand prize. Yue was waiting for Xiumin.

She should not have let herself get taken. She was supposed to be quick enough. But none of her training could have prepared her for a berserker. Kira was so shocked by it’s appearance that she forgot to fire her gun even though she had reached for it the moment she heard her window crashed. Strangely though, she was sure that it would not have made a difference.

The berserker made a low grunt at that moment and Kira jumped at the sound. It was watching her, with it’s wide penetrating stare behind the bear skull it wore. It had brought her to this cave and left her unbound, but Kira knew there was not a chance she could escape with the berserker watching her so intently. The throbbing pain at the back of her head was enough to deter her from wanting to fight the creature physically again. It had knocked her unconscious easily and the next thing she knew when she woke up, was Yue welcoming her with an eerie smile.  

She could not quite put her finger to it, but Kira knew at once Yue was not to be trusted.

“Why are you trying to hurt him?” Kira had questioned Yue.

Yue let out a ringing laugh that sent chills to Kira’s bone. “Hurt? No. Why would I do that? He simply has a gift I want.”

Kira’s eyes widened in understanding. “His powers. You want to take them?”

“It’s win-win, can’t you see? He has something I want, and I have something he want.” Yue’s slender fingers slide across Kira’s face inquisitively.

Kira flinched from her touch. “He will kill you.”

“Maybe he can. But he wouldn’t do it. You want to know why, Kira? Because he doesn’t know you are here. He won’t come for me; he would come to me. He needs me now because he has a desire now. You see, he believed a werewolf took you. If there’s a probability that you may have been infected, he would do anything he can to reverse it. And the only one with that power, is me.”

Yue had been watching them, Kira realized with a shudder. “What are you?”

“You can think of me… as a ‘fairy godmother.’ It simply breaks my heart to see strong and powerful creatures be held back by unnecessary affairs. I help them by granting their deepest heart’s desire. It will come with a cost naturally. It will be the last time you will have any desire, any emotion, any free will. It’s a give and take. I give you what you want, and I take you as mine. It’s an irony really. That free will must be given to me willingly. That I can access and utilize the full potential of their dark energy, but only for their desires. But that’s the consequence of shadow magic. That is why we have our lovely Kyungsoo and Jongdae here. I have granted their desires and now they are forever mine.” She motioned towards the berserker beside Kira and the small fox that had just appeared behind Yue. The fox watched at Kira as it circled around her. The fox was curious, but unlike Xiumin’s curiosity, Jongdae’s interest made her uncomfortable.

She forced her attention back to Yue. “He will never serve you.”

“Not unless he has a heart desire. You know what’s the biggest downfall of vampires? Their arrogance. Their arrogance that being one of the most ancient creatures make them infallible. He will come here tonight, because his arrogance makes him an easy target for our kitsune friend. See, Jongdae here, has a talent for trickery. It was simple enough, to frame a werewolf for your disappearance. It is his arrogance that will make him beg for your humanity. You see, if you die, he may mourn but he will eventually accept it. But if you are infected, he will decide for you that this infinite torture will be too much, and he will keep you away from the darkness. He will ask for your humanity back, even if he so arrogantly told me to my face countlessly of time, that he will never turned to me.”

Kira fell her body went cold as she processed what Yue had told her. “You set a trap for him.”

Yue chuckled with pride. “You can blame yourself for that. Of all the things to care about, he picked the frailest of creatures, human.”

“You are wrong. He doesn’t care for me. He wouldn’t come.”

“Stupid stupid child.” Yue started to walk away from Kira towards a long tunnel at the other end of the cave. “I have known Xiumin for years. A vampire who refused to admit he is part of the darkness. A vampire who refused to harm the defenseless. A vampire with a hero complex. He will come.”

At the mouth of the tunnel, Yue turned to give one last condescending look to Kira. “Rest well now. You will be called for when it’s time for your scene.”

Kira sensed a movement from the berserker beside her and a blunt force hit the back of her head. In an instant, all was black.

-----

“What are you keeping from me? I can’t believe you wouldn’t trust me!”

“No Baekhyun! I am trying to protect you!”

“Do you think I’m that dense, Park Chanyeol!”

Annoyed, Kira stirred slightly from her sleep as she failed to block out the distant yelling match. She made a feeble attempt to reach for her blanket to block out the noise but instead she felt a warm hand grabbing on to her cold ones.

“Kira? Are you awake?” A soft voice whispered to her ears.

Using all her willpower to open her eyes, she found herself staring into the warm brown eyes of one Kim Jongin. Frowning slightly, she gazed at her surroundings and realized she was not in her own bed. Rubbing her temples due to her surfacing headache, she took time to recall her last memory. It came back to her in a rush as if the floodgates opened and she grasped Jongin’s hand painfully, in shock.

“What happened? Where am I? Where’s Xiumin?” She looked fearfully into Jongin’s eyes.

The boy smiled sadly before gazing towards the closed door of the bedroom. “Perhaps I should get Chanyeol.”

At Kira’s confused stare, Jongin shouted for Chanyeol through the door. Her brother burst into the room with panic in his eyes till he locked eyes with her. He let out a small cry before running towards her and pulling her up to envelope her in a warm hug.

“Let Kira rest.” Baekhyun stood at the doorway with his arms folded.

“What’s going Chanyeol? Where’s Xiumin? And Yue?” Kira pulled away from Chanyeol, forcing him to look into her eyes. She needed answers.

He gulped nervously before replying her. “We are at Baekhyun’s. He’s the only one with medical training I could think of immediately, and I don’t really know if I could get you two to the hospital without a proper explanation of what happened.”

Baekhyun scoffed and rolled his eyes in annoyance. “Oh, I’m waiting for that explanation. You can’t expect me to see three of my friends showed up at my house- one unconscious, one bleeding and one hyperventilating, and thought I wouldn’t ask questions, would you?”

The tall boy exchanged a look with Jongin. “I can’t.”

Jongin shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t want to hear you two argue anymore. Baekhyun can know. And Kira. She deserves the truth as well.”

Glancing around the room in confusion, Kira's eyes finally landed on Chanyeol who took a deep breathe before explaining their hidden profession to their friend. Kira watched as Baekhyun gasped in disbelief at learning about vampires and that the siblings were hunters. She waited patiently as Chanyeol explained the truth behind their parents’ death as well as how they met Xiumin. Baekhyun had only moved into their town, less than two years ago and had instan