Dinner was . . . strange.

   With our six guests, the dining room table was crowded and I wa forced to sit in between Chansung’s father, who was at the head of the table, and Nichkhun. Taecyeon sat on the other side, telling some stupid story about how he managed to break an arm off while wrestling a bear, and when he was done, one of our five other guests set his goblet down on the table and cleared his throat.

   “Young master Chansung,” The vampire said with some menacing stare in Taecyeon’s direction. “I wish to commemorate you on your ability to socialize with such . . . beasts.” He was obviously talking about Taecyeon, who was sitting right next to him. “Back at Castello Bianco . . . we keep our dogs outside.”

   I choked out a snort of a laugh and Taec just glared at me.

   Chansung sighed, but replied respectfully. “I thank you for the compliment, Hyesung . . . but in this house, we consider even werewolves as people. So I would ask that you put aside prejudices during your stay here, if you would be so kind.” Even though his smiled, there was a hint of a tone in his voice that suggested that he wasn’t simply asking, he was ordering. Like it was natural for him. For the first time, I actually saw Chansung as the true heir that he really was.

   Hyesung just smiled and bowed his head. “My apologies, young master.”

   This was the only time Chansung had stood up for Taec in any way, so of course I was going to say something. Just as I opened my mouth, Nichkhun jabbed me in the side of the leg with a fork and my lips sealed shut on their own. I glared at him as I tried desperately to pull my lips apart but he just made a quick zipping motion across his lips and then released the spell that had my lips momentarily glued. Nichkhun cleared his throat and spoke up before I could say anything. “I don’t believe we’ve done any formal introductions for our dear Wooyoung.” He smiled at me with a look at said ‘shut the up’ and then motioned towards Chansung’s father.

   “You already know Lord Eric,” Khun said and Eric’s eyes flashed towards me, sending chills down my spine so I looked to the next guy Nichkhun introduced, who sat at Eric’s right hand side. “This is lord Minwoo, second in command” Minwoo bowed his head and murmured a hello and then the two guys next to him smiled politely at me as they were introduced. “Lord Dongwan and lord Junjin.” The one who had made the comment about Taec just rolled his eyes and went back to drinking from his goblet. “Lord Hyesung . . . And over there we have Lord Sunho, but he prefers to be called Andy.”

   Andy leaned over from the far end of the table and waved with a weird kind of creepily adorable smile. “Nice to meet you, Wooyoung.”

   “They are an elite group of immortals known as the Shinhwa clan.” Nichkhun said. “They are the leaders of the oldest covens in the world, and once you pass the initiation ceremony, you’ll have the option of chosing which one of their covens you would like to blong to.”

   I stared at them all and then asked the first question that popped into my head.

   “Why are you all dressed so dumb?”

   The only thing that was missing was the screeching sound of a record being scratched, and the scene would have been perfect. All eyes stared at me, a few twitching, and Chansung just facepalmed. 

“Honestly, I don’t get what everyone was so shocked about.” I said as Nichkhun escorted dragged me to my room. “They have to realize that their little outfits look ridiculous, I mean . . .  they do have eyes, and that’s a fact!” I puffed my chest out only to be deflated the second Nichkhun spun around and suddenly – with some weird hidden speed and strength that I always forgot that he possessed since he was always so gentle and subdued – pinned me against the wall, blocking my path to move with his arms both sides of my head.

   “Do you realize what it means to have them here?” Khun was all but humorous. The silly, casual and nonchalant tone that he usually spoke to me with was completely gone and it was like I was staring into the eyes of some stone figurine of him. “Do you realize what this initiation means for you . . . ?” For the first time, I felt the depth of his power, it radiated from his skin and filled the room like an invisible mist of passion, fury and sadness, all at once.

   It suddenly felt like I was being left in the dark, like everyone knew something and I was the stupid idiot that just played along for fun and games. My lips parted slowly but for once, I couldn’t come up with something sarcastic or snobby to say. I just looked at the way he stared at me, like he was losing something, and then my eyes watered. Suddenly, he lowered his arms and his features softened. With a sigh, Nichkhun turned away, murmuring.

   “You don’t know.” He said. “Of course you don’t know . . .” Just before I could reach out to him, he vanished into thin air – most likely to his bedroom – and I was left alone in the hallway, just outside my own room.

   I would have cried, had I not noticed the faintest movement from the corner of my eye, followed by a familiar scent filling my nose.

   “What did he mean by that, Chan?” I asked the darkness, and didn’t even look to see the figure step out of the shadows.

   Chansung looked at me sympathetically before holding his chin up and pretended to speak cooly, an action that had been practiced through many years. “Once you go through the initiation . . . You can’t live here anymore. You have to live with your chosen coven.” My eyes widened and I shook my head. It was odd, unexpected, but as I pondered the thought of leaving my new found home, the only thing I could think about was . . . Nichkhun's face.

My body was too tired, much too tired to continue, but I had to keep running if I was going to make it. The sun was just starting to creep over the line of trees, and I could see the outline of the castle in front of me, illuminated faintly by the tinge of orangey red from the morning sun. The crack of a stick behind me had my senses of hyper alertness and I looked back quickly, seeing exactly what I didn’t want to see.

   They were gaining on me.

   The figures were cloaked in black, and there were three of them. The only features of their faces I could see were the bright crimson eyes that glowed under their hoods. With every painful bit of power left in me I forced my body to move faster, jumping over a fallen tree and scraping my cheek on one of the broken branches. I heard a growl from behind and looked back just in time to see one of my chasers lunging at me.

   I screamed as loud as I could, closing my eyes and covering my face. I shook my head and kept screaming, fighting the urge to curl into a fetal position as rough hands landed on my shoulders and shook me.

   “Woo!” A panicked voice startled me and I opened my eyes, looking into the face of a honey blonde wizard. “Are you okay?” He asked after I had calmed down a little.

   I looked around my dark bedroom, realizing what it all was. It was a dream. The whole thing, the stupid league of elite vampyre whatevers and the initiation and everything. I clung to Nichkhun with absolutely no shame. “Oh my god, I just had the craziest dream . . .” I wiped my damp eyes and looked at him, laughing just to keep from crying. “There was some stupid vampyre initiation and you guys had left me alone with these freaks that dressed like goth guys and then these cloaked things started chasing me – it was horrible.”

   Khun rubbed my cheek and strangely, I didn’t slap his hand away with utter repulsion. “It was just a dream . . . No one was chasing you.”

   “I know!” I nodded, wiping the snot that started to gather under my nose. “I’m just so glad I imagined that whole vampyre initiation . . . why the hell are you in my room, anyway?”

   Nichkhun raised an eyebrow and then stared at me. “Wooyoung,” The tone of his voice had me knowing that I wasn’t going to like whatever it was that I was about to hear. “The initiation wasn’t a dream, you really do have to go through with the test tomorrow.”

   “Aw !” I whined and pulled the pillow over my head so I could try and suffocate myself. Which would have worked, had I actually needed air to survive, but you know . . . being one of the undead an all, I totally didn’t need it. I flopped around in my bed while I threw my tantrum and Nichkhun just watched me until I suddenly stopped, remembering about something. “Hey!” I pulled the pillow away and glared at the wizard. “Why are you in my room while I was sleeping. OH MY GOD, where you trying to me?!”

   Khun looked at me so dully that I settled down by myself, at which point he looked in his lap and sighed. “I was worried about you.” I would have hit him had I not known completely that he was being one hundred percent genuine. “Honestly . . . I came here to try and convince you to run away.” He held up his hand before I could protest running away with him like the happy couple he wanted us to be. “Not with me . . . You’d have to go alone, but at least then you’d be free to live happily, however you wish.”

   I was in complete disbelief. Normally, everything Nichkhun said just made me feel grimy and resonated grease and cheese like a cholesterol filled burger. But right now, I felt something different. A soft melody was being played on my heartstrings and I didn’t want to admit it, but for a moment, I actually kinda liked him. Shaking my head of that thought, I shivered and murmured quietly. “I thought you liked me, though.”

   “I do,” Nichkhun smiled, like a dork, before his face fell and he became serious again. “That’s why I want you to be happy.”

   “But doesn’t that mean I won’t get to live here, with Chansung and Taec and . . . you?”

   He nodded sadly. “You probably wont see us much afterwards.”

   I wouldn’t say it out loud, but my mind was made up instantly. Sure, it might be crazy to skip my chance to run away and be free of Nichkhun’s annoying affection once and for all, but . . . maybe I kinda sorta got just a little bit used to it? Yeah, we’ll go with that.

   “Just think about leaving, at least.” Nichkhun stood up and walked towards the wall.

   “Wait!” I sat up before he could do his whole disappearing trick, suddenly blushing as I realized that I was about to make myself look like an arrogant idiot, but I needed to know. I needed this truth, before I finalized my decision to stay. Khun looked back at me, waiting for what I was about to say, I took a deep breath, out of habit. “Why haven’t you ever put a spell on me? Like, you know, to make things easier for you?”

   His brows raised in amusement, that same sly smirk that I used to hate so much curved his lips and he just shrugged at first, like he was struggling with his words. “Because I want you to want me, otherwise it’s not real.” And with that, I watched the wizard walk through the wall, to where his own bedroom rested.

   Call me crazy, but I felt like he was still there with me. I suppose that’s just what it felt like to have someone truly give their heart to you, it lingers with you everywhere you go, and even when they’re gone, you feel it.

   I laid back down with a silly smirk that just wouldn’t go away.

Morning came with a groggy feeling in my body from sleeping in such a strange position. Stumbling out of bed, I groaned and pat my hair down from its disheveled mess as I dragged my feet towards the door. Just before I could reach the knob, the door flew open and Chansung stormed inside, looking pretty damn wired. “You aren’t dressed yet?!”

   I looked at my pajamas pants. Last I checked, yesterday was Friday, which meant that today was Saturday, and Saturday meant pajama day. “Can’t I wear this?”

   “You’re not wearing a shirt.” I gave him puppy eyes when he shook his head and then our stare down began. I could see Chansung clenching his jaw slightly. “No, absolutely not.”

   “Well then I’m not coming down.” I crossed my arms and made a ‘hmph’ noise, just to let him know that I was serious.

   The other vampyre growled and threw his hands up in defeat. “Fine! You win.” Chansung grabbed my wrist and yanked me out of my bedroom. “Everyone’s initiation is different, created specifically for that person . . . mine was a test of the mind.”

   Nichkhun appeared in front of us and I didn’t miss how his eyes ran immediately to Chansung’s hand that was clasped firmly around my wrist. “Where’s your shirt?”

   Chansung answered for me. “He’s not wearing one.”

   With a snap of Khun’s magical fingers, I felt fabric clinging to my chest and looked down, whining at my suddenly aquired clothes. “It’s pajama dayyy~”

   “Wooyoung, I need you to treat this like a serious matter, for once.” Chansung turned me so that I was looking straight into his eyes. “Can you do that?”

   “I am being serious,” I said. “I am seriously pissed off that my pajama day has been tainted with clothes.”

   Even Nichkhun couldn’t stop from laughing. Which pissed me off more, since they were obviously underestimating how serious I was being. Where was Taecyeon when I needed him to back me up? Surely he would appreciate semi-ness with me.

   Soft paw prints caught my attention and the three of us looked at the stairway just as Jeonggam came trotting upstairs. He looked kinda annoyed, if it was possible for a cat to look as such. “There is something mentally wrong with that Andy, fellow.”

   Khun and Chan nodded in agreement while I just gave a ‘wtf’ face. “Huh?”

   “He bathed me,” Jeonggam stared directly into my soul. “With his tongue.”

   I cringed at how gross that thought was, suddenly regretting my choice to go on with this initiation. I was being pushed forward before I could run away, Chansung had his hand on my shoulder. “Let’s get this over with.” He said while Khun let out a dissatisfied sigh on my other side.

   The six vampyre lords were gathered in the living room, this time wearing clothes that didn’t make them look like they stepped out of a cheesy manga. However, they all wore black. I guess weird is just their thing.

   Lord Minwoo stepped over, eyeing me with his eyebrow raised so high it almost touched his hairline. “Well, I suppose we should get on with the ceremonies. Shall you do the honors, Lord Eric?” He asked as he turned to their leader, though Eric simply waved his fingers for Minwoo to continue, looking like a bored statue. “Do you have any questions, young master?”

   I nodded, my eyes darting to the other vampyres in the room before lingering on one in particular. “Why is Andy sniffing the walls?”

   All eyes turned to the strangest member of the vampyre group and I swear I heard Hyesung grumble something along the lines of ‘ing idiot’. Andy didn’t seem to notice us staring at him while he rubbed his face against the wall and kept inhaling deeply, almost purring like some kind of cat. “Mmm . . . very nice, indeed.”

   It was Dongwan that spoke up first and I was utterly surprised by his strong accent. “He fought uh mage sum’ years back . . . ain’t quite been a’ since.” Lord Junjin was standing next to him, nodding along.

   Andy removed himself from the wall when he noticed everyone staring at him. "Marvelous wallpaper.” He casually smiled, motioning to the wall with his thumb.

   I almost laughed at the subtle twitch in Minwoo’s eye had Nichkhun not cleared his throat. “Let’s carry on, shall we.”

   Minwoo nodded, looking at me. “Your initiation will be a test your heart.” He held up his closed hand as he spoke, opening his fingers and revealing a small bluish-purple berry. “Eat this.”

   I looked at the berry, then back at Minwoo, then back at the berry, then over at Nichkhun, Chansung rolled his eyes and I looked at the berry, then once again at Minwoo aaaaaand . . . no. I shook my head, pushing his hand away from my face. “I’m not eating that. I’ve never seen such a weird looking berry, are you trying to poison me or–” Minwoo grabbed my face and before anyone could react, I was swallowing the berry and trying not to choke in the process.

   “Now, young master, your test shall begin.” I glared at the sly smirk on Minwoo’s lips. “You have but to answer one question.” He held up a finger, you know, just in case I didn’t know what one was. “But be warned . . . if you answer with untruth, your heart will corrode from the inside out.”

   My eyes widened at the sensation that burned down my throat. I felt it wrapping itself around my heart and squeezing a little, my chest tightened and winced, wanting to rid myself of this. I felt a hand on mine and looked over to see the person that I wasn’t expecting. Chansung held my hand and gave me a nod of assurance.

   “Wooyoung,” Eric’s voice echoed through the room and I had trouble standing up straight, it felt like I was having another one of my episodes. I looked at the vampyre lord, sitting in the chair across the room, he looked bigger, blurry, but his voice rippled through to me loudly. “Why do you wish to be immortal?”

   Such a simple question . . .

   Only, it wasn’t.

   Mere months ago, I would have answered with some snide remark about how being a vampyre would mean that I would be better than everyone else. That I would no longer suffer at other people’s expense but I would come out victorious for once in my miserable existence. I would say that I want to be immortal because of the undying beauty and the power, the ability to be more, to be better.

   To live forever without fearing anything.

   But now, now I felt so much more than that.

   As I looked around the room, I saw Taecyeon sitting off in the corner, his ear twitched to indicate that he was listening even though he pretended to be absorbed in his phone. Chansung was next to me, like the beam of support that he had been for me since we’d met, he was stronger than I was in so many ways but he never failed to tell me how good I was doing. Even the two annoying ghosts peeked inside the room, Junho with his shining eye smile and Junsu . . . being Junsu.

   Lastly, I looked at Nichkhun. He was staring at me, his chocolate eyes so full of anticipation with only a small glimmer of hope. When I looked at him, he smiled. If now was the time to be completely honest, then I had to admit, he had a beautiful smile.

   “Because . . . I . . .” There were so many things I could say, but I had to chose wisely.

   I had to be completely free with everything I felt, which was scary, since I was so used to hiding myself from everyone that I almost forgot what it was like to be honest. “I finally have a family.” Taecyeon looked up, surprised, but I continued. “One that understands me . . . And when they don’t understand, they still accept me. I didn’t have that before, when I was human.” I kept my eyes on the only pair that mattered to me at the moment, the burning intense eyes that stared right back at me. “And even though we fight sometimes, I want to stay with them, forever . . . because if I’m not here, with them, then I’m not home.”

   Truth. That was the best I could do.

   Silence swept the room, and I could tell everyone was waiting for my heart to explode out my chest, but it didn’t. After a moment, Junho appeared behind me and gave me a tight back hug. “Aww, Wooyoungie, I lub yew too!” Before I could swat at him, he disappeared again and I felt the hold on my heart slowly letting go.

   I did it.

   “Well, young master . . . Your heart appears to be pure. You have passed.” Minwoo said, to which we could hear Junho somewhere in the house cheering with a loud ‘yeay’. Andy joined in on the cheering, clapping his hands and making everyone laugh.

   Well, almost everyone.

   Lord Eric stood up and stalked forward to look at me for only a moment before he spoke. “You may now choose which house you belong to.”

   I looked around, chewing my bottom lip. “I can pick any lord here?”

   “Yes.” Eric said.

   “Any one?”

   “Yes!”

   Grinning, I pointed to none other than the vampyre that created me. “I chose Lord Chansung, of the House of Awesomeness.”

   “Can he do that?” Hyesung interjected.

   Eric eyed me up and down before, surprisingly, chuckling. “Yes, he can.” Eric looked at Hyesung. “You forget, we deemed Chansung lord of this region . . . And, since there are others in this house, I suppose a coven can consist of more than just vampyres. Chansung,” The father turned to his son. “This fledgling is yours. Take care of him . . . and all of them.”

   “We’ll take care of each other, I promise.” Chansung said as Taecyeon stalked over and slid between us, slinging his arms across both our shoulders.

   “So now that everything’s finished . . . can we get breakfast?”

   “I am totally with Taec on this!” I wiggled away from the giant’s stinky dog arm and made my way out the room, only to stop when I passed by Nichkhun. He was just smiling at me, but it wasn’t the normal, creepy ‘I’m going to follow you’ smile that he normally had. It was like he was truly happy about something. I bit my lip, questioning myself while I motioned for him to follow me. “Wanna talk?”

   He pushed himself off the wall he was leaned against. “Are you calling a truce?”

   “I just want to talk.” I said as he followed me down the hallway. At first, I was going to go into the kitchen, but then I realized that with Taec hungry and on the prowl, we would have about point zero zero one seconds before there was a ravenous dog raiding the fridge. So I led him out the back door, to the tree in the backyard, where we could be alone for at least a little bit.

   Nichkhun stood in front of me while I leaned against the huge tree trunk. “What did you want to talk about?” He asked after a while.

   I was nervous. Why, I would never know, but I just was. “Why me?” I started with, recognizing the look on his face at the unexpected question. “You could have anyone, so why me?”

   Khun just looked down. At first, I thought he wasn’t going to answer but then, he looked up at me. “Because you’ve always seen me for what I actually am.”

   I felt a knot in my throat but swallowed it, looking down as I tried desperately not to blush. “Th-That’s it?”

   He smirked, and I almost didn’t even notice him stepping closer. “There’s some other things, but those aren’t as important.”

   “Like what?” My curiosity was officially perked.

   “Like all the cute faces you make when you’re nervous.” I pressed myself back against the tree the closer he got. I could hear how fast his heart was beating, feel his warmth radiating against me. I inhaled his scent and bit my lip, causing that smirk of his to widen. “The way you bite your lip when you’re deep in thought.” Nichkhun whispered as he leaned in. “There’s so many reasons why . . .” It felt intoxicating, his lips being so close to mine, eyes bright and passionate. I had but to lean forward, and we would kiss. Was I ready for that? Just the thought of it had my body on fire, spreading through me and raising my internal temperature by a few thousand degrees. Was this what I really wanted?

   The answer came when his lips touched mine and everything lit up, blazing fire around me in the form of desire. Maybe it was a vampyre thing, but I felt like I could feel his heart beating though his lips as they devoured mine. My nails dug into the bark of the tree as his tongue massaged against mine, his hand clutched at my shirt and oh too soon after it began, he was leaning back with a silly smile on his pink lips.

   “Does this mean you’ll go out with me?”

   I wanted to both laugh and hit him at the same time, so instead I just nodded, feeling quite dazed myself. He kissed me again, only this time it was quick, but still just as mind numbing. I could definitely get used to this.

to be cont.