Hakyeon couldn’t remember the last time his feet hurt so badly. They’d been walking for hours, mostly uphill, and his body was screaming for mercy. His stomach rumbled in his gut, only adding to his distress. He just hoped sunrise would come soon so they could find shelter and rest. He didn’t like the idea of sleeping during the day, but at this point, he was so exhausted he couldn’t bring himself to care that he was becoming nocturnal.

Their shelter ended up being a decrepit old concrete building that had more than likely once been some kind of factory. Throwing caution into the wind, the group slipped inside just as the pink sky began to turn gold.

“What about chemicals...?” Junsu asked tiredly, looking around at the crumbling concrete. “Asbestos and stuff...”

“Just stay away from the sketchy barrels and you’ll be fine,” Yoochun yanked his sleeping bag off his backpack and threw it on the ground, immediately burying himself in it, becoming still rather quickly. Junsu flopped down next to him, no doubt falling asleep equally as fast.

Hakyeon turned his gaze towards Hongbin and Wonshik, watching the vampire carefully set the injured slayer on an open sleeping bag Sanghyuk had retrieved. Hongbin looked like death, and if Hakyeon hadn’t seen him move, he would’ve assumed he was already gone. The sight made his heart ache. Hongbin was the last person who deserved to suffer like this. He wished there was something more he could do.

Sanghyuk shooed Wonshik away, zipping the sleeping bag up around Hongbin who didn’t protest. The younger slayer quickly laid his sleeping bag beside his friend’s and sunk into it, gripping Hongbin’s hand in his. Hakyeon couldn’t help but smile weakly. Sanghyuk hadn’t left Hongbin’s side since the moment he’d been bitten. He’d always known the two of them were very close. How close, even Hakyeon wasn’t sure.

Hongbin had come into his clan at the age of sixteen. He’d been alone, his hair a tangled, shoulder length mess, his clothes coated in vampire blood and ash. It was a rather dramatic sight to see, and Hongbin’s only explanation had been ‘I was hunting’. Though Hakyeon wanted to send him away, there was something about his gentle flower boy face that caught his attention. He looked soft, but his eyes told tales of the battles he’d been a part of, and a distant agony of a past long gone. This slayer wasn’t a pushover, and Hakyeon had known it the moment their eyes had met.

From day one, Hongbin had been a tough nut to crack. Sanghyuk pestered him with questions about who he was and where he came from. Hakyeon made no move to stop the younger from doing so, as he was equally as curious about the newcomer as Sanghyuk was. Hongbin, however, guarded his secrets like a dragon would a precious treasure, and to this day, Hakyeon had no idea how Hongbin even ended up alone at the edge of their camp, covered in blood and ashes. He respected the boy’s privacy, but the curiosity rarely stopped coming.

As Doojoon’s slayers bundled up in their sleeping bags as well, Hakyeon finally knelt down to roll his out. His exhausted mind was whirling and coming up with strange thoughts even he didn’t quite understand. Taekwoon seemed to be first and foremost on his half asleep mind. He wondered what his story was and whether if it was just as secret as Hongbin’s. Who was Taekwoon? How did he become a vampire? How did he meet Wonshik, Jaehwan and Jaejoong? More questions followed after those ones. He knew he could get some answers out of Yoochun and Jusnu about Jaejoong, but he was infinitely curious about the other two vampires in their company. Jaehwan had dealt with a...Pet Keeper, as he’d called it. Wonshik...? There wasn’t a single clue as to who the white haired vampire was. His friends and family had often shouted at him for asking too many questions. It just seemed to be in Hakyeon’s nature to ask, ask, ask. His curiosity may as well have been a curse.

...

Taekwoon knew the exact moment Hakyeon dropped into sleep, and it pissed him off.

The slayer’s heartbeat was soft and gentle against his ears. He’d stupidly chosen to stand guard in the area nearest to him out of pure instinct. He decided he might not be the only one when he glanced over to see Wonshik standing just a little too close to the sleeping forms of Hongbin and Sanghyuk.

Sighing heavily, Taekwoon turned his gaze towards Changmin, who he’d unceremoniously chained to an old pipe and left to sit amongst the crumbling building. The vampire’s sky blue eyes stared roughly at him, even from a distance, his red bangs tucking the worst of the piercing gaze away. Taekwoon could smell the need rolling off him, the scent of blood addiction so strong, he was awed he hadn’t noticed it long before now. He guessed it was the scent of charred flesh that had masked it.

Heat began to bubble inside Taekwoon as he looked away from the vampire quickly, a warm, spicy scent filling his nostrils. His mind rushed back to Jaehwan of all things. It had been days since the vampire had approached him. He hadn’t been counting, but he assumed it had been a decent amount of time. He’d fed on the day they’d left for the slayer camp. He’d abstained for another. Now, the third day was rising, and Taekwoon could only guess at how Jaehwan was feeling. The thought worried him. He knew Jaehwan was getting good at controlling his addiction, but he wondered just how long he could keep it up.

Then again, Taekwoon thought, he went a week last time. He’ll be okay,

But then...what was it? Why was his blood burning like this? There was no logical reason for it. The scents filled his nostrils, spicy and mingled with the old, rusted metal and crumbling stone dust of the factory around them. His mouth ran dry with longing. He wasn’t addicted. He could’ve sworn he wasn’t addicted. Jaehwan was the one with the addiction, not him. Unless...that last feeding had turned the tables. Taekwoon closed his eyes, shuddering at the mere thought of it.

A laugh, unfamiliar and strangely cold hit his ears. His eyes snapped open as he turned to face Changmin who was grinning at him, uncaring that he was showing his fangs.

“Wow, you’ve got it bad,” the vampire laughed. “Why don’t you take a bite and get it over with?”

Taekwoon heard the rustling as Jaehwan and Wonshik turned to look in their direction. Gritting his teeth, Taekwoon glared at Changmin, clenching his fists and forcing away the thoughts of the wonderful scent invading his mind.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Taekwoon snarled.

Changmin snorted. “Bull,” he grinned cruelly. “I’ll bet your two friends there can smell it too,”

Wonshik stood his ground while Jaehwan shifted uneasily, forcing his expression into one of passive innocence. It was his tell. Taekwoon knew Jaehwan was only pretending he didn’t know what Changmin was talking about.

They know... Taekwoon felt his pride shatter. He didn’t even have the control to stop himself from craving the blood of another. Jaehwan knew it too, perhaps even revelled in the idea of Taekwoon being addicted to his blood once more. He wanted to kill the younger vampire for it. Rage boiled up inside him, his breath shaky in his lungs.

Changmin laughed again. “Wow, you’re cute,” he said, crossing his legs as he shifted into a more comfortable position while his wrists were tied tightly to the pipe. “Getting angry over something so natural...Just take a bite and get on with your life. It’s not like you need thes—” his sentence was cut off when Taekwoon lunged for him, his fingers digging aggressively into the vampire’s chest. Changmin squirmed, his face twisting into a grimace as fingernails cut through the fabric of his shirt, digging into the flesh beneath.

“You shut the up,” Taekwoon snarled. “Or I will kill you,”

Changmin scoffed. “Right, and lose your only chance to find Yunho. Go right ahead, cutie,” the grimace was now laced with anger, and maybe a touch of fear.

“I’ll smell out that goddamned bastard,” Taekwoon growled. “Don’t think that I won’t find him,”

Changmin gulped, squirming as the fingernails dug deeper.

A hand on his shoulder yanked Taekwoon out of his bubble of rage. He recognized the firm, yet steady grip of Wonshik, gently tugging him away from the vampire. Taekwoon obliged him, following him into the darkened corners of the old, dilapidated building, leaving Jaehwan alone to guard Changmin and the slayers.

“Wonshik, I’m fine,” Taekwoon said sharply.

“Shh,” Wonshik turned him to face him. “You will be. Just calm down. You can’t afford to lose yourself in this situation,”

“What do you mean?” Taekwoon frowned.

“Changmin’s still loyal to Yunho, I’m sure of it,” Wonsik’s brow was creased now. “God knows if he’s even leading us towards him right now,”

“I have it under control,”

“Do you really think a few drops of your blood will sway him to our side?”

Taekwoon swallowed. He did have a point, and a very good one at that.

“At this moment, he’s either using us to get back to Yunho, or he’s planning on killing us long before we get there. I don’t know which he’s planning, but I’m convinced we can’t put our full trust in him,”

“What else can we do, Wonshik?”

“Watch him. I don’t know. Just don’t put all of your faith in him,”

Taekwoon was frowning. Wonshik was telling him not to trust the only thing they had against Yunho. They had no choice but to use Changmin in order to get to the vampire that had taken Jaejoong. The mere suggestion that they stop trusting him was beyond him. Changmin might’ve been a complete , but in the end, he was all they had.

“We have no choice,” Taekwoon merely said. “Now get back to your post,”

Wonshik opened his mouth to protest further, but a quick glare from Taekwoon stopped his words in his throat. For the briefest seconds, his violet eyes flashed in anger but calmed down a moment later as he his heel and walked away, heading back to his post beside Hongbin and Sanghyuk. Taekwoon felt bad for ignoring Wonshik’s words, but in the end, he pushed the thoughts away. If they couldn’t trust Changmin, they would never find Yunho. That was just the way things would go.

Stepping back towards the group of sleeping slayers, the spicy scent washed over him once more, his eyes falling on Hakyeon, sleeping mere feet away, his hair curling across his forehead, brushing his eyebrows. His eyelids were fluttering as he slept, and those pink lips were parted ever so slightly. The breath that slid from his lungs was deep and even, but even as he watched for the briefest of moments, he became aware of the lingering heartbeat, slow and melodic.

Ba-dum...ba-dum...ba-dum...

And Taekwoon understood, the blood in his veins growing hot once more as he turned his back to the slayer. It wasn’t Jaehwan’s blood he craved. It was Hakyeon’s. Changmin’s lips curled into a knowing smile as he grinned cruelly in his direction. He knew exactly what he wanted, and he would probably keep encouraging him to just take a bite and move on with his life.

Taekwoon pressed his lips together, biting down on the tip of his tongue and holding his breath, stopping himself from giving into temptation; stopping himself from singing to the beat of Hakyeon’s slowly beating heart.

Ba-dum...ba-dum...ba-dum...

“Hyung,” Jaehwan’s voice whispered in his ear. He felt the incessant tug on his sleeve and couldn’t help but allow himself to be dragged away once more. Still biting heavily on his tongue, Taekwoon began to tremble, even as Jaehwan slid an arm around him in comfort. He felt an old metal door creak and slam shut behind them and found himself embraced tightly in the arms of the younger vampire, his face buried deep into the crook of his shoulder. He began to breathe, his breath coming in rapid, hissing gasps.

“Hyung,” Jaehwan whispered, combing his fingers through his hair. “I know, I understand,”

“It’s not you,” Taekwoon hissed. “It’s not you!”

Jaehwan merely chuckled, his hair with a gentle hand. “Even if it’s not me, it doesn’t mean I can’t do something to help you, maybe take the edge off,”

“I’ve never,” Taekwoon rasped. “Not...”

“It’s one of the mortals, isn’t it?” Jaehwan asked, his brow creasing with concern.

Though it was the last thing he wanted to do, Taekwoon nodded, confessing the sick, twisting feeling in his gut. “H-He smells like...” but the words were lost on him. What did Hakyeon smell like? It was spicy, crisp and...God, he wanted it.

Jaehwan just nodded, the smile creeping up on his face once again. “Drink from me, hyung,” he said softly, sliding his cloak off his shoulder and exposing his throat. “Maybe it’ll help,”

Though the request for Taekwoon to drink from him wasn’t uncommon, the circumstances certainly were. His mind muddled with need, Taekwoon couldn’t think straight enough to refuse. All he wanted was relief, and if Jaehwan’s blood could give it to him, then he would take it.

Taekwoon shoved the younger roughly against the door they’d slipped through, knotting his fingers in his copper hair. Jaehwan’s sliver eyes snapped closed as the elder dug his fangs into his neck, a shameless moan escaping his lips as he clutched his hyung to his throat. The numbing fog obscured his mind, and as Taekwoon’s fangs left the younger’s flesh, he thought briefly that maybe Jaehwan had taken advantage of his weakness to get what he wanted.

The concerns exploded into meaningless dust in his mind as the younger’s fangs pierced his neck in return, driving him to his knees as he let out a dazed whimper. His thoughts of Hakyeon were washed away in a single tsunami, the fog settling like a blanket over his mind, dragging him into a calm he thought impossible.

“Feel better, hyung?” Jaehwan breathed, the blood from his lips.

Taekwoon merely nodded, his head falling onto the shoulder of the younger, closing his eyes as he allowed himself to fall, just this once, into Jaehwan’s embrace.

...

Wonshik was angry. He knew Taekwoon often had trouble expressing himself through words, but at the very least, he should’ve listened to what Wonshik had to say. Instead, he’d been pushed aside, his words thrown out the window the moment they’d been said. In all honesty, the moment he saw Taekwoon return to the war with his thirst once more, he thought bitterly that his leader deserved to suffer. Even through the dark thoughts, he was relieved when Jaehwan pulled him aside, leading the trembling vampire towards the back rooms while Changmin watched with amusement, twiddling his bare toes in front of him as though waiting for something far more interesting to happen.

No sooner than the distant sound of a metal door slamming shut met his ears, Hongbin let out a long, low moan, wriggling in his sleeping bag. In an instant, Wonshik was by his side, pressing a hand into his sweaty forehead. Hongbin’s stuttering heartbeat met his ears, making him grimace. Vampire venom was rough on the heart. It always had been. It was where it became most concentrated. The heart was always the first thing to change because of it.

“Oh god I’m dying,” Hongbin gasped, his nails digging so roughly into his chest that Wonshik could smell his blood trickling from beneath his skin. “Wonshik help, please-” his plea was cut off as another spasm racked his heart, making him curl into an even tighter ball, whimpering faintly.

Sanghyuk was still asleep, and Wonshik already knew he wouldn’t be waking up. The vampire reached out and pulled the injured slayer into his lap and held him tightly, rocking him gently and whispering reassurance. Hongbin’s hands clenched at the front of Wonshik’s shirt, making the stitches protest and creak. The vampire wouldn’t have been surprised if the dying mortal’s fingernails had clawed right through the fabric.

Hongbin’s body convulsed one final time, his back arching as a weak, choked sob was ripped from his throat. Wonshik held on tight, listening to Hongbin’s heartbeat gradually stabilize and return to the weak, yet steady heartbeat that he’d come to know as he’d carried the slayer throughout the night.

The attack over, Hongbin let out a whimper and a sob, the tears streaking down his face like terrible rivers. Wonshik wiped them away with his hands, holding him close as the body shivered in his arms. Taekwoon and Jaehwan still hadn’t returned when Hongbin’s trembling and sobbing came to an end, his face pressed into Wonshik’s shoulder. Wiping the last of the tears off the fair faced slayer’s cheeks, the vampire cuddled him close, wishing he could do more for him.

“I want to die...” Hongbin rasped.

Wonshik stiffened.

“It hurts so bad, Wonshik, I want to die...”

“You can’t die,” the vampire murmured. “We’re going to save you, Hongbin,”

“No you won’t,” the slayer breathed. “I’ll just be here, suffering for days and it’ll be for nothing. I don’t trust that vampire to take us there,”

Wonshik felt a leap of excitement rush through him. Hongbin didn’t trust Changmin either. Somehow, knowing someone felt the same made him feel so much better about the situation.

“Neither do I,” Wonshik admitted.

“How much longer...?” Hongbin whispered.

“How much longer, what?”

“Do I have? Until I die?”

“Taekwoon said you had at least five days, maybe a week,”

Hongbin shuddered again, shaking his head. “No,” he whimpered. “It’s only been one day...I can’t do this, Wonshik...I...”

“Hang in there, Hongbin,” Wonshik held him closer, feeling the shivers returning to his body.

“What’s the point if I can’t be saved?”

“You were only bitten once, you have lots of time left. We’ll save you,” Wonshik tried to reassure him, though even he had his doubts.

“So if I was bitten again, there would be less time?”

Wonshik hesitated, but he nodded, hoping he didn’t already know what Hongbin was thinking.

“So if...you bit me, I would die faster?”

“No,” Wonshik said quickly. “I can’t do that, I won’t,”

“Please...?”

“It’ll only make the pain worse,” Wonshik said. “Yes, it’ll cut the time significantly, but you’ll be in more pain,”

“Wonshik, it feels like my heart is exploding in my chest. If dealing with more pain means I die sooner, then so be it. Please, Wonshik, I don’t want to be in pain,”

He knew the slayer was serious. He could hear it in his voice and see it in those sweet, round eyes of his. The issue was whether he could allow himself to do it. If he bit Hongbin again, he would turn faster, and they would never make it to Yunho in time. Not only that, but if the legend were true, saving Hongbin would require the death of two vampires – Wonshik and Yunho. On top of that, he knew how angry the slayers would be if they couldn’t save their friend. They might even lose their allegiance. He wasn’t Jaejoong; he couldn’t see the future. But Wonshik already knew what the right thing to do was.

And his instincts never lied.

.

.

.

A/N: Some Keo, for the deprived Keo fans reading the story~! Also, yeah, some of you picked up on the Rabin a few chapters ago haha istg I ship every VIXX pairing.

And yes, I did in fact just deliberately end the chapter like that. I’m not sorry at all~!

Also, I was asked in the comments last chapter whether there is YunJae in the story at all because Yunho seems evil so I’ll answer it for everyone here: If you haven’t figured out that Yunho is the main villain of this story yet, then you are in some next level denial hahaha I’ve made it very clear that Jaejoong hates Yunho, and that everyone in the story is determined to kill Yunho. Whether they succeed or not is up for debate, and if you’re holding onto that hope that Stockholm Syndrome is going to kick in for Jaejoong, continue to do so I guess?

Much Love and Affection!!

~starlitskies