[CONTENTID1]Black Dahlia[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Twenty-Three[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

TW: chapter contains non-consent.

Yoonhee held her soulmate’s hand as they talked to the other clan members. Although their conversation didn’t flow as naturally as she was used to, it was entertaining and distracted her from the hostile vampires inside Aeri’s mansion.

At least, until something strange occurred. She sensed a shift in the atmosphere, an anomaly that disturbed her peaceful aura. For a brief moment, her magic was thrown off balance. Yoonhee frowned, unable to place the eerie and foreign feeling, but her attention was quickly diverted when Baekhyun grimaced and tensed.

“What’s wrong?” she asked concernedly.

“My head… hurts,” he whispered, touching his aching temples.

“Do you need fresh air? The balcony is just over there. I’ll accompany you,” she offered. Her smaller hand found his and squeezed reassuringly. She was there for him.

“Okay,” he breathed.

“Will you be fine?” Junmyeon asked somewhat worriedly, having observed their exchange. Yixing also appeared on guard since it was peculiar for a vampire to get a headache out of nowhere, but he figured that the reunion with Aeri was stressing him out.   

“Yes, don’t worry. We’ll be back in a few minutes,” Baekhyun answered and didn’t resist when Yoonhee guided him to the balcony. She pushed the ajar glass door open, finding the area outside empty and illuminated by moonlight. Cool night air welcomed them, a pleasant breeze accompanying it. She glanced at the stars before her soulmate gained her full attention.

“You’re probably stressed, Baek. I will use a spell to ease the pain for a while. You’ll be just fine in a second.”

Contrary to her expectation, he did not answer her. She was puzzled by this since Baekhyun was typically quite interested in her magic and eager to see it. She could have sworn his eye color changed, but it was hard to tell in the dim moonlight. The ethereal blue looked like a murky green all of a sudden. A bad feeling spread through her stomach. Had she just sensed a hint of dark magic in him?

“Baekhyun?”

He squinted at her as if he couldn’t see clearly anymore. His hand slipped from her gentle hold. When he took a step back, she became alarmed. “Tell me what’s wrong. Maybe I can help you!” she insisted. Panic manifested in the pits of her stomach, making her feel nauseous. The traces of dark magic she had sensed were now gone—but something wasn’t right.

His blank stare went right through her as it moved back and forth, searching for something… or someone. The edges of his lips curved down when he did not find it.

“Baekhyun, darling!” the shrill voice of Aeri interrupted. “I’ve been looking for you!”

The vampire reached the balcony and immediately clung to Baekhyun like a leech, pushing her cleavage against his arm. Yoonhee clenched her hands into fists, glaring at the shameless woman. Caught up in her rage, she didn’t notice Baekhyun’s alarming stupor. He didn’t fight Aeri’s advances like he used to.

“Don’t touch him!” the young witch snapped, not caring to be polite. She was on edge.

“Be quiet, lowly human! It’s time you learn your place,” Aeri shot back in a rude and aggressive manner. Her fangs glinted in the moonlight, but Yoonhee refused to back down despite the obvious threat.

“Let him go!” Yoonhee hissed. “Leave Baekhyun alone already!”

“Shut up!” Baekhyun’s sudden words made her freeze. His voice rang in her ears, so cold and detached, like he was speaking to an annoying child and not to his soulmate who he cherished. “Don’t yell at Aeri. She is a vampire, so you have to treat her with respect,” he demanded, lowering his tone to a threatening snarl.

“W-What?” Yoonhee stammered. Her heart was stabbed by tiny needles as the unbearable pain of betrayal spread through her chest. Blindsided and hurt by his behavior, Yoonhee could only watch as he followed Aeri back inside, intertwining his fingers with hers.

“Baekhyun, what… what are you doing?” Yoonhee whispered. Frustration overcame her. This was not like him. He had never threatened her like this. Not a single time throughout their entire relationship had he treated her badly. Baekhyun was not like this. Something weird was going on, and Yoonhee had to find out what it was.

With her heart thundering in her ribcage, she lifted the fabric of her floor-length dress a little and hurried back inside the hall. She had lost sight of Baekhyun, so she dodged a few vampires and found her way through the crowd. Her eyes searched for her clan members, wildly jumping from face to face. She garnered curious looks, some of them leering and thirsty. Yoonhee was a rabbit surrounded by snakes. Nausea and panic mounted. She wanted to be with Baekhyun. Without him by her side, it felt like a piece of her soul was missing.

Finally, her distraught gaze was captured by Chanyeol who made his way through the crowd to reach her. His confused expression turned into a scowl. “You shouldn’t be alone,” he reminded her. “Where is Baekhyun?”

She didn’t want to cry, but it was hard to contain herself, so she wrapped her arms around his torso and hid her face in the fabric of his black dress shirt. “I don’t know,” she whispered. “He left with Aeri.”

Chanyeol sighed, patting her back. “Let’s go back to the others first. Then we can talk.” He took her hand, making sure she didn’t get lost a second time.

The other clan members had realized something was off even before Chanyeol and Yoonhee arrived in their midst. A sense of agitation hung in the air. “Why is Baekhyun not with you?” Yerin asked, mostly out of concern for her friend who was so pale that she looked ill.

“Something’s wrong with him. He yelled at me before he left with Aeri. I don’t know where they went and I’ve never seen him act like this.”

“Why would he leave with her?” Chanyeol growled under his breath. “He despises her.”

Yoonhee couldn’t answer his question. She herself tried to figure out a solution while fighting the pain that ate through her heart. From the moment Baekhyun had mentioned a strange headache, everything had gone wrong. Just what could have caused it? Was it the dark witch’s doing? Yoonhee hadn’t seen her yet, but she was sure the witch lingered somewhere nearby. If her dark magic somehow hurt Baekhyun, Yoonhee would—

Her train of thoughts was abruptly cut off. The other clan members stopped whispering and stared in the same direction. She followed their gazes, spotting Baekhyun. He made his way through the crowd towards them, and Aeri was not far behind. Everything about him screamed ascendency. The worst was his gaze. So cold and unfeeling, merely looking at him made her sick to her stomach. This uncaring expression reminded her of Sooyoung which left a stale taste in . An old, seemingly buried fear came back to light. Yoonhee felt very, very uncomfortable under her soulmate’s glare.

Baekhyun shouldn’t be like this. It was completely absurd, and Aeri’s presence at his side only aggravated Yoonhee’s turmoil. The blonde vampire smiled victoriously. She didn’t hide her contempt for her rival.

“What’s the meaning of this, Baekhyun?” Junmyeon asked. His posture exuded authority, though Yoonhee saw through his façade. Deep down, he felt betrayed and confused by the unexplainable change in one of his closest friends.

“As of today, I will no longer be a member of your clan,” Baekhyun announced without hesitancy. Not even a hint of regret was discernible in his face. Just pure derision. “I will stay with Aeri instead.”

“Are you insane?” Chanyeol snapped, his fiery temper surfacing. He wanted to shake him, slap him, do anything that would make him come to his senses. Baekhyun’s behavior was ridiculous and Chanyeol refused to believe their friendship meant nothing to him. But Baekhyun didn’t even look at Chanyeol. His eyes remained on Junmyeon, uncaring and apathetic.

“Tell me why,” Junmyeon demanded. “Why so suddenly?”

“I’ve been contemplating this for a while.”

“You don’t really expect me to believe this.”

“I don’t care about your opinion,” Baekhyun said, making Yoonhee flinch when his stare hit her once again. “You will stay here with me.”

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Kyungsoo spoke up, horrified. “She is not safe with this clan! You can’t be so ignorant as to believe she would be—”

“Why would I care? She’s merely sustenance to me.”

And with that, Yoonhee’s heart broke into tiny pieces. Her chest constricted. She felt like she couldn’t breathe as a wave of panic and betrayal rolled over her. The tears pricking at her eyes were hard to hold back. It hurt so bad—perhaps it hurt even more than the vicious attack of the vampire many years ago. Baekhyun might as well have torn her heart out from her chest.

“You are condemning her!” Kyungsoo shouted. Their altercation had long since drawn the attention of the crowd. The hall had gone silent safe for their angered voices.

“This is none of your business. Our soulmate bond doesn’t allow me to let her go. Otherwise, I would have,” Baekhyun snarled.

Aeri watched the argument with a growing smile. Her hand trailed over Baekhyun’s arm, holding on to his hand. When his fingers closed around hers, she felt triumphant because she finally had him all to herself. Aeri’s demeaning gaze pierced a dazed Yoonhee.

“Well, what’s the problem? Didn’t you hear him?” Aeri giggled and made a dismissive gesture. “Hurry and leave! You’re not welcome here any longer.”

As soon as these words left , her clan members’ attitudes changed. They showed open hostility to Junmyeon’s clan, cornering the nine vampires and Yoonhee who held on to Chanyeol’s hand. She was in disbelief. Her life had gone off the rails within a few minutes. Baekhyun was the only person who had gained her full trust, even though he was a vampire… and where had it led her?

She couldn’t understand why he had changed so much in so little time, but she had a suspicion in mind. If it was true, then Baekhyun was in grave danger.

Junmyeon assessed the situation with narrowed eyes. Since his clan was outnumbered and at a disadvantage, he could only surrender. A fight was a risk he did not wish to take. “We will leave,” he announced. “Baekhyun, I hope you reconsider your decision. You’re always welcome to return.” Baekhyun’s stony façade did not waver. He held Junmyeon’s gaze for a moment. Then, Junmyeon turned away.

“But she stays here!” Aeri reminded them icily.

“ you, like hell we will let her stay,” Chanyeol growled back and tugged Yoonhee closer to him. If Baekhyun didn’t want to protect his soulmate, then Chanyeol would take care of it. She was part of his family, and therefore he treasured her.

“What was that?” Aeri smirked. “I don’t think you have any authority in my residence.” She snapped her fingers. Her clan members moved faster than lightning, using brute force to steal Yoonhee away from Chanyeol. They overwhelmed him with their numbers.

“Hurt her and I will kill you!” Chanyeol shouted as his explosive temper flared. Junmyeon sent him a warning stare.

“You won’t see her again,” Aeri countered.

Two vampires flanked Yoonhee, holding her upper arms in a bruising grip. She groaned in pain but lacked the resolve to keep fighting. Her spirit was crushed—Baekhyun’s words weighed heavy on her mind and heart. As