Mina: Enjoy it, readers! I've been working on this and part 3 nonstop for the past week! ^^

-

You came to slowly, your vision swimming between black and color as you opened your eyes. You let out a small groan as you shifted, whimpering at the feel of gentle hands cupping the back of your head and helping you tilt your head up.

“Careful, sis,” you heard one of your coven Sister’s, Victoria, telling you. “It might take you awhile to recover from an unwanted bite.”

“I’m fine, just a little sore,” you rasped, wincing at how scratchy your throat felt.

“Stop faking and drink this,” Victoria commanded softly, and you felt the rim of a small bowl being pressed against your lips. You drank whatever she was giving you, knowing that it would be some kind of herbal remedy. The liquid rushed down your throat, instantaneously soothing the scratching dryness in your throat and seemingly giving you a burst of energy, enough to sit up on your own. “Now, tell me what happened.” You looked around and recognized the inside of your room.

“The leader of the vampire coven came to the shop,” you spoke quietly, not wanting to disrupt the quiet of the room. “Someone fed him lies about me wanting to get rid of the vampire coven in the city with my new leadership, and he believed them.” You folded your hands in your lap, looking down at the old pajamas you were wearing. “Victoria, how am I here?” You asked.

“Well, Sulli was cooking dinner when somebody knocked on the door; when she answered it you were collapsed against the door in tattered clothing. All of the symptoms for a vampire attack were there, but we were skeptical, seeing as we couldn’t see the typical scars on your neck that are left on survivors of vampire attacks.”

“He hasn’t claimed me fully,” you whispered, visions surfacing from the back of your mind – bits and pieces of information that you had taken from Kris when he ripped away your pendant. “He knows that if he claimed me then I would fight it.”

“That’s not good,” Victoria hummed. “If you lose your ability to remain impartial, then you might have to forfeit your leadership – and no one else has the gift of Sight as strong as yours.”

“But there’s someone who does have the Sight,” You mused, the first vision you remember from Kris surfacing in your mind, a sense of familiarity creeping up on you as the person who Kris spoke to became clearer, along with their voice. “There’s someone in the coven who would have something to gain from me dying.”

-

“That really stinks, man,” Jongdae was the first to respond when Kris finished telling his coven about his encounter with you and his discovery. “I mean, almost killing your mate -” Kris hissed and narrowed his eyes, effectively shutting him up. Kris slammed his hands down on the table in the massive board room and stood up, glaring around the circle of vampires at the table.

“What matters is that there’s someone in this city who got away with playing me like a fool,” he growled, trying to radiate as much anger as he could; he succeeded, seeing as almost all of the other vampires in the room seemed to cower away from him. There was a gentle knock on the door, making Kris react with a snarled, “What?” There was a moment’s hesitation before the human secretary poked her head in.

“You… have a guest, sir,” she told him, looking afraid.

“Tell them I’m busy!” He snapped.

“She’s very insistent, sir.” Kris went still and his anger quickly changed into suspicion.

“She?”

“Yes sir. She says that she was sent by someone named _____?” For a flash second his face morphed into surprise, so quickly that anyone not looking would have missed it, before it was replaced by stony indifference.

“Very well, send her in.”

“She… has someone with her, sir. Should I send him in, as well?”

“Fine, just get her in here,” he growled; the secretary let out a small squeak and quickly closed the door.

“I’ve always wanted to meet a real witch,” Yixing declared, his airy expression showing a hint of interest. The door opened at that point, and a young woman Kris didn’t recognize strode in with a man following after her, his expression clearly dazed as though he was hypnotized.

“I assume you’re Kris?” She queried while putting her hands on her hips, staring intently at Kris on the opposite side of the room, the length of the long table separating them; vampires lined both sides of the table, but a handful of the chairs were actually empty.

“I am,” he responded, “my secretary said that you claim to be sent by ____?” The woman beamed and nodded.

“_____ is the head of my coven – and one of my closest friends. I’m Amber,” she greeted.

“Why isn’t _____ here herself?” Kris narrowed his eyes, his body tensing up; Amber quirked an eyebrow before shrugging.

“She didn’t say. Only that she’s ninety-nine percent sure that this guy is a traitor to our coven,” she pointed at the man who had followed her in, drawing attention to him for the first time. Kris didn’t look pleased when he finally looked at him.

“You!” He snarled, pointing at the man with her.

“Yeah, _____ was pretty sure it was him,” she mused, tapping her chin as she turned to face the man behind her. “This is Wei. According to _____’s grandmother he was second in line to become head of the witches coven – if anything happened to ______ then he would gain control of the coven.”

“Why him?” Minseok spoke up for the first time, looking genuinely interested. Amber looked reluctant to say anything before she let out a small sigh and crossed her arms.

“The only witches who are able to lead a coven are the ones with the gift of Sight; apparently they’re able to use it to make decisions, because they’re able to see the outcomes. According to the former leader of our coven, ______ has the most powerful Sight our coven has seen in the past four generations. This guy here -”she paused to gesture at the man with her, “- is ______’s cousin and also has the Sight, only it’s a lot weaker. Because he has the Sight at all he’s able to lead the coven, but just because he can doesn’t mean he should,” she finished while wrinkling her nose. “Especially after what he did.”

“What did he do, exactly?” Kris growled, still glaring at the male witch.

“He cast a spell on you that only lasted long enough for him to plant an idea in your mind that would eventually manifest itself in a really stupid decision,” Amber deadpanned. “At least, that’s how ______ explained it.”

“Where is she?” Kris glared at her, hoping his face could intimidate her as well as it did other humans, and even some vampires.

“She’s still recovering from the incident with you almost killing her,” Amber declared, merely quirking in eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. “She sent me because, according to her, she didn’t know where to find you and I would be able to figure it out because I’m a dowser.” She then beamed and pulled a string out of her pocket with a crystal attached to the end. “And she had me use this to find you,” she continued while reaching into her backpack that Kris hadn’t noticed and pulling out his blazer. She tossed it onto the table, and it only slid a few feet and stopped in front of Kai.

“If he tried to have your leader killed then why are you bringing him to us?” The second youngest vampire asked, looking up from Kris’s blazer.

“It’s against our laws to kill, even when they’ve committed a heinous crime. That’s why he didn’t just kill ____ himself and make it look like an accident. Not to mention,” she hesitated to meet Kris’s eyes, “you’re the one he played like a fool.” Kris growled at the mention as she reached into the pocket opposite from where she kept her dowsing crystal and pulled out a small tube and set it down on the table. “_____ put a heavy hypnotism spell on him, and this powder was made by one of our best herbalists – hold it under his nose and a single whiff will snap him out of it. I’ll leave him here for you to do what you wish,” she finished before turning around and walking out; the click of the door closing after her seemed to echo in the now-silent room.

“So, what’s your call, boss-man?” Sehun drawled from his position at the end of the table, closest to where Amber left the powder.

“Kai, lock the door and then block it so he can’t escape,” Kris growled, his eyes bleeding into red as his pupils dilated into slits; Kai did as he was told. “Sehun, wake him up.” The youngest of the vampires was usually one to complain, but he was currently amused by the whole thing and did as Kris ordered with a small smirk, which grew wider as Wei’s eyes cleared and he seemed to regain his awareness. He blinked slowly and looked around the room, his expression melting from a blank look into fear and panic.

“It looks like he’s already realized how dead he is,” Suho mused, glancing at Kris. A fraction of a second later and Kris was gone from his spot at the head of the table and standing directly in front of Wei, seizing him by his throat and lifting him off of the ground.

“Baekhyun, you’re a connoisseur of blood, aren’t you?” Kris called over his shoulder.

“I like to think so,” the vampire in question preened.

“Have you ever tried witch blood before?”

“Once, a long time ago,” Baekhyun told him before punctuating his statement with a sigh. “She was German, and tasted like your standard German girl – but the magic in her blood added a bit of a ‘zing’ y’know?”

“Would you be eager to taste it again?” He asked softly, turning around and still holding Wei off of the ground; he started to struggle against Kris’s grip on his throat.

“Please,” he choked out. “P-please -”

“Please, what?” Kris asked, his smile clearly sadistic. “Please make your death quick and painless?” Wei whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut. “I feel obligated to let you know something I found out as I played right into your plan,” Kris seethed as he lowered Wei enough to growl his words into the witch’s face. “_____ is my mate – and you almost tricked me into killing her.” At this new information Wei started to visibly sweat; the vampires could all smell his fear, and Kris saw his coven all looking as interested in the possibility of a meal that they couldn’t usually have.

“Fear also adds adrenaline to the blood, which makes it taste sweeter,” Baekhyun declared, and at that Wei let out a small sob, the noise choked by Kris’s grip on his neck.

“Sweet with adrenaline with the zing of magic? Sounds like a treat,” Kris declared, smirking at the rest of his coven. “Dig in, boys – and make sure to savor it,” he said before tossing Wei onto the table; he landed directly in the center of eight hungry vampires. Kris decided he wasn’t interested and walked passed the table and strode towards the floor-to-ceiling windows, listening to Wei’s screams as the coven devoured him alive. He looked out over the city before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the necklace you had worn, staring down at the luminescent.

“Where are you?” He murmured to himself as he thought of you while caressing the stone with his thumb, ignoring the sounds of splattering blood behind him coupled with the crunch of bones and the pained sobs of a dying man.

-

“The deed is done.” You looked up from your book and smiled at Amber from your bed.

“Thanks Amber, I really appreciate it,” you told her with a nod.

“I would say that I can’t believe Wei would do something like that, but I’d be lying,” she sighed as she sat down on the edge of your bed. “How’re you feeling?” You closed your book and gently set it down on your lap, pressing your lips together in thought.

“Physically, I’m fine,” you told her, but your continued statement was only a whisper, “but mentally, not so much.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Your friend asked, placing her hands on top of yours. You thought back to the visions you had of yourself with Kris, but then to how he treated you in the present, and felt tears building in your eyes.

“Maybe someday,” you told her with a watery smile, knowing that most of the visions you had were mere suggestions and not necessarily set in stone. “I just don’t know when.”

“Are you…” Amber seemed reluctant to ask what was on her mind, but she asked anyways, “Are you afraid?” You paused for a moment before you nodded.

“I’m very afraid,” you admitted. “But that’s part of being human. And as long as I have this,” you tapped the uncut stone that had replaced the necklace your mother gave you; a poor replace for the real thing, but it was what your grandmother had on-hand when none of your coven Sisters could find the one Kris ripped from your neck anywhere in your shop, “I feel a little bit safer.”

“It doesn’t look as nice as your old one,” Amber pointed out with a frown.

“It’s just the focus stone, to tide me over until I find my other one,” you assured her. “For right now, it’s enough – I just don’t want to be assaulted with visions of a person’s past, present thoughts, and future every time I come into physical contact with them.”

“That’s a good plan,” she mused as she reached out to gently touch the stone. For a moment a mental image flashed through your mind of Amber messing around with a young woman with long, neon pink hair. “So, enough about me. Why don’t you tell me about how things are between you and Krystal?”

-

Your encounter with Kris changed you; every day you checked the necklace you wore, forgetting that it didn’t have the runes that made it a protection stone, warning you when danger was near. You were constantly anxious, living in fear of when Kris might reappear and try to finish the job. You were so desperate for that small bit of comfort you tore your shop apart as soon as you felt brave enough to leave the apartment you shared with your five coven Sisters.

“_____, we all looked for it,” Luna insisted as she watched you shuffle through your shop on your hands and knees.

“Then the only reason it could be gone was if -” you froze in midsentence and your hands dropped to your sides. “He didn’t,” you hissed before spinning around and going to get a lacquer bowl off of a shelf and setting it down on the table. “Sulli, go to the fridge behind the counter and get me the bottle of water!” you called into the front area where another member of your coven was watching the door. She stepped through the curtains soon enough, handing you the bottle.

“You’re going to scry for something?” Luna asked with a quirked eyebrow as you proceeded to pour water into the bowl while whispering a spell. “Don’t you need to have the person here -”

“It’s my own past,” you cut her off with a scowl and making a few hand symbols over the water and closing your eyes, taking a deep breath; you opened your eyes again and they were a misty gray, staring into the bowl.

Kris held you tightly, gently kissing your neck that was bare of any sign that he’d bitten you.

“I’m sorry,” he proceeded to whisper as he redressed you, replacing your torn shirt with his blazer. He looked around as he lifted you into his arms, his gaze falling on your pendant; he carried you over to it and picked it up, a look you didn’t recognize flashing across his face before he dropped it into his pocket and readjusted his hold on you, standing up.

“That bastard!” You shrieked, tossing the bowl to the side as you lunged to your feet. Both of your coven Sisters lunged back; they’d never seen you so angry. “How dare he!” You snarled, pacing back and forth furiously.

“What happened?” Sulli asked quietly, still intimidated by your anger.

“That bastard stole my necklace!” You cried, your anger changing into distress. “He ripped it off of me when he assaulted me, and then before he left he took it himself!” You couldn’t restrain your tears as feelings of helplessness began to overwhelm you. “He took it,” you whimpered, feeling your coven Sisters hug you on either side. “He took it and I don’t know how I’ll get it back.”

“You could confront him?” Luna suggested softly while your hair.

You realized that she was right – and that the only way you were going to get your pendant back was by finding Kris and getting your necklace back yourself.

-

There was a neighborhood on the very edges of the city, with a handful of large houses estates; twelve houses, and a handful of them were abandoned. Apparently, there were rampant rumors that the twelve large estates belonged to each of the vampires in the city’s coven, and the abandoned estates belonged to the ones who had mated and preferred to find something else with their mates. You didn’t want to believe the rumors and was only there on a suspicion, but as you approached the entrance into the large community the security guard at the front gate saw you and practically melted with an expression of relief.

“You’re here,” he sighed with a small smile. “He’s been running everyone ragged for days, we thought you’d never come.” You frowned at that and he hit a button, the gate on the sidewalk unlocking with a soft click. “His estate is the largest one at the end of the street, you can’t miss it – I’ll call ahead and let him know that you’re here.” You eyed the guard warily as you pushed the gate open, glancing nervously down the street as you proceeded.

You never understood why such large estates were built with what seemed like western architecture when you would have expected Chinese for some of the houses and Korean for the others, considering the origins of the vampires in the coven; the eeriness of the architecture was only enhanced by the dreary and ominous weather, the sky overcast and the concrete wet from the previous night’s rain. You reached the end of the street and swallowed nervously at the large iron gates in front of the house that was obviously the largest on the street. You took a deep breath and raised your hand to push the button on the intercom beside the gate, but there was an echoing click from the gate and you heard engines whirring as the gates opened wide for you to walk forward and up the long driveway.

You reached the end of the driveway and stepped onto the massive porch and towards the large double doors; you were about to knock when the door swung open and a young woman stood in front of you, looking exhausted but happy to see you. You noticed that the interior entryway was more similar to a Korean home, judging by the litany of shoes by the door, so you kicked off your sandals at her subtle gesture.

“Come with me,” she told you gently after your shoes were off, gesturing quickly for you to follow her. You looked over your shoulder out at the dreary weather before stepping inside, frowning at how well-lit the inside of the house was; it was brighter indoors than it was outside. You followed the young woman up the winding staircase in the marble entryway, eyeing the blatant displays of wealth with disdain; you knew that the only people who probably lived in this house with Kris were his employees, and even then they probably had a separate, smaller house in the back. You yourself had a three bedroom apartment in the city that you happily shared with five of your coven sisters, so the idea of having so much space to yourself irked you.

She stopped in front of two very large double doors, pivoting on her heel to face you.

“Just knock,” she instructed you briefly before smiling comfortingly and walking passed you. You turned back to face the doors and swallowed nervously before extending your hand to knock, but there was a soft click from the door and it opened just a crack.

“This is definitely a trap,” you mumbled. You knew that was a bad sign, but you wanted your necklace and you were going to get it; you nudged the door open and poked your head inside.

“Hello?” You called out gently, eyes skimming around the room for Kris as you carefully stepped in. Both the wall directly across from you and the wall to your right had large windows with heavy-looking red curtains; the curtains were pulled to the sides to show the different views: the window on the right looked out over the street, showing the rows of lavish houses, and the window straight ahead looked out over the trees of the property.  The wall on the right had a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf, and a few feet in front of the window overlooking the property was a large desk, two chairs positioned in front of it and a high-backed chair behind it.

“Hello?” You called out again; the hairs on the back of your neck stood on end when the doors clicked shut behind you, punctuated by the distinct sound of a lock being turned. You had been hardly three feet away from the door, how had he so easily snuck up on you? You turned and grabbed the door handle, the hairs on the back of your neck standing on end when the door not only didn’t budge, but you noticed there was a keyhole instead of a lock. The only way out was either with a key or a spell, and you could feel Kris’s heated stare on your back.