Campaign Snippet
Characters: Eva and Samson
Word Count: 2800
“Come on, let’s make a deal. You like deals.” Samson offered a wry smile at Eva. Barely a day since they’d met, and he found her mask fascinating. Of everyone in this new ‘coterie’ he found himself stuck with, he just couldn't figure her out. And of everyone in the coterie, she definitely seemed the least interested in trying to feel human. The Blush was warming him from the inside, to the point he could feel the slight chill of the evening breeze, and the air actually felt like it was reaching his lungs. How could she not want that? “You Blush, and I’ll drink.”
“No.” Her flat response made him smile even wider. While he enjoyed being difficult, especially when it came to people like… don’t even think about Isabelle right now – meeting people who acted just as difficult was a different, yet just as entertaining, fight he wasn’t about to back down from.
“Why not? You clearly want me to drink. And you like making bets.”
“It’s not a bet, it’s a deal.”
“So it is a deal, then? Excellent.”
“Not what I meant,” Eva shot back. “And I don’t want to.”
“Huh. Well, can I at least get a hug?” Sam stood and circled the table, waiting. Please, at least take this deal. I could really use one. Maybe if she felt his Blush, it could tempt her, too.
“... fine.” She stood, barely reaching his chest, looking up at him with a slight pout and those bright, unblinking eyes. For a second, he stared. They were blue. Just like his used to be. Before he was cursed with this unending life and unending hunger. No. Stop it. Stop thinking about it. It’ll just make it worse. He pulled her into a hug. Though he meant to keep it light and friendly, he couldn’t help but lean into it even if she kept her hands at her sides and didn’t reciprocate. It was awkward, but it was still a hug.
After a few seconds, Eva started wriggling and trying to push away. Kinda like Canela when I held her too long. Her voice was muffled slightly with how her face was squished against him. “You can let go now.”
He didn’t want to. The two weeks with Isabelle had been hell, aside from the sex. She hadn’t exactly been a hugger. When she was done with him, she’d never stayed for cuddles. It was nice to be able to just… hold someone. Even if they didn’t want to admit they might need it too. How can I make it last a little longer? “I’ll let go if you agree to the deal.”
“What?” She pushed against him, to no avail.
“Come on, do it. Blush and I’ll let go.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Then I’m not letting go.” He kept his tone light. Joking. This is how I make friends, right? Been a while since I had to. And he didn’t let go even when the others finally walked around the corner, having finished asking whatever questions they’d wanted with the old Hound guy. Sienna looked a bit distant, staring down at her phone. Sorina was… still holding the gun. And the knife. And Marcus had several books under his arm and a smile on his face. Ilknur wasn’t with them – she must have stayed behind with Alastair for a bit longer.
“Alright, shall we get going?” Sorina looked around, getting her bearings, and picked at a wedgie with the hand still holding the knife, the blade dangerously close to cutting a slit in her clothes. “Park’s this way!”
“Come on, Eva, we’re going.” Sam adjusted his grip, not enough to let her slip away, but enough to pick her up and sling her over his shoulder as he followed everyone down the street. Maybe a little more teasing would defrost her indifference. And if the others really wanted him to put Eva down, he’d listen. Especially if Sienna asked. Good thing she was still distracted by whatever she was doing on her phone.
As they walked through the park, despite Eva’s insistence that he put her down, the lighthearted jabs Sorina and Sienna sent his way to listen, he kept the smile plastered on his face. Yes, he was allowing himself to have a little fun. But if he dropped the smile even for one second or stopped laughing with his new companions, the hunger would start creeping back in. Best to ignore it. Pretend everything was fine. He could wait a little longer until Eva accepted the deal.
And then he made his next mistake. When Sorina went to… well, he didn’t know exactly what she was trying to do — grab his ass or pants him in the middle of public — in a moment of stubborn determination to not let her win the little contest, he felt his blood flare with a burst of energy and speed. He managed to dodge her grip just enough that her fingers brushed his pants, and Eva used the distraction to wriggle from his grip. That was fine. What wasn’t fine was the chill that immediately washed over him, a brief but intense vertigo, and the sudden flare of hunger in his stomach. Whatever relief Sienna’s blood had given him, he’d just burned through it to win a petty argument.
“And our deal isn’t on until tomorrow!” Eva said indignantly, straightening her shirt from where it had ridden up from him carrying her.
“Yeah, sure. That’s fine.” He waved her off and turned away. Shit. The ache was already starting. The evening breeze picked up, carrying the smell of damp grass and earth and — blood. He froze. Fresh, live blood. Somewhere nearby, a human was taking a midnight stroll in the park. He could smell it. He could almost taste it. He’d taken two steps in that direction before he noticed and forced himself to adjust his trajectory, making it look like he’d simply gotten turned around on his way back to their new sleeping quarters. No. No, no, god damn it, no! “I’m gonna head back. I’ve had enough excitement for one night, I think.”
A stupid excuse, but he had to get away from the park. It still felt strange to hold his breath, the instinct to keep doing it present despite technically not needing to anymore. Even with the Blush, he managed to not take another breath until he crossed the street and located the staircase that led to his new home. The rest of his companions followed. He paused at the top of the steps, letting the others go first in a show of making sure everyone was there and okay. He didn’t need them seeing how he needed to use the railing to stay steady.
As they descended the steps into the subway, the stairwell tilted sideways for a second. Sam gripped the railing, swallowing hard, doing his absolute best to stay composed. There was no bottle of blood waiting for him. No sexy, deadly Sire to take pity and indulge his desperation for comfort. But he still couldn’t handle the thought of feeding from humans. Even though Sienna had offered… and she’d been so sweet, so apologetic, so reassuring about helping him figure out how. Maybe I should. She’s right. It won’t be that bad if she’s there to help. If I say no it’ll just make her feel even worse – No. No, stop it! He gripped the rail harder, feeling it bend slightly under his hand. It was that bond talking. What that red-haired old fart had explained. That stupid blood bond that was influencing his thoughts. His feelings. Sienna is just a friend. Just a friend.
But he had to drink. Sure, he’d been hungrier when trapped with Isabelle. But he’d had doors and blood bottles and her to keep him contained and the hunger just barely under control. Out here, he had none of that. And he’d almost slipped in that club. Despite accidentally bonding him, which he still couldn’t fucking believe – that Alastair guy said it takes three drinks! Why did it work with just one for me? Why… why didn’t it work when I drank from Isabelle? – Sienna had kept him from making a catastrophic mistake.
When his vision stopped swimming, he eased himself down the rest of the stairs and followed his new companions into their hopefully temporary haven. A shock of pink hair caught his attention. Eva was wandering into the back, away from the others, probably getting ready for bed. He set his jaw and headed towards her.
“... Eva?” She turned, head tilting slightly at his tone. He licked his lips, trying to not stare at her neck. “I – I don’t think I’m gonna make it to tomorrow.”
That got a reaction out of her. Just a tiny rise of the eyebrows, a slight widening of the eyes. She studied him, really studied him, and seemed to realize he wasn’t joking around like before. She didn’t say anything at first, just took his hand and led him further into the shadows, away from the others. For a second, he hesitated as she led him away from Sienna. I should ask her instead. She’d help me, right? I – no, you’re doing it again! Drink from anyone else. You won’t get bonded again. Just drink from the others until this one goes away and I figure out how to… how to hunt. And safely.
When they reached the end of the tunnel, she turned to face him again. Still blank expression, but a hint of concern in her eyes. Then she held up her wrist. “Take what you need. More, if you have to. You need to be safe.”
I want to be safe. Funny, how he might find that in the arms of the smallest person here.
His fangs slid from his gums almost too eagerly as he took her wrist and stared at the dark veins beneath her too-pale skin. Just a sip. One drink. It’s fine. You can stop. You will stop. He raised it to his lips and bit down as gently as he could manage.
Just like Isabelle’s and Sienna’s, Eva’s blood was cold. And just like Isabelle’s and Sienna’s, it tasted exquisite. The moment the blood touched his tongue, all thoughts of caution and hesitancy were washed from his head. He leaned into it, hunching over slightly, shoulder pressing into Eva and almost making her stumble back a step as he drank. One sip. Another. Then another. And something was pulling him in, too. A comforting connection blooming in the back of his mind, telling him that everything was going to be okay, that Eva would take care of him, that she was going to be everything to him. That tiny, scared voice of his humanity was screaming at him to stop before it was too late… but it was too late. Just as Sienna’s blood had reached out and smothered his will, Eva’s was doing the same. A blood bond. A second blood bond. Impossible, and yet he knew without a doubt what it was.
And he couldn’t fight it.
He pulled back from her wrist, blood dripping from his mouth, stuck between horror and bliss. Their eyes met and he couldn’t look away. Her eyes were so beautifully blue. He noticed the almost imperceptible widening as realization hit her too. She felt the bond. Her lips parted, a silent gasp, though she wasn’t even breathing in that moment. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to taste her. Yes. I want to taste you again. You said to take what I need. I need more.
He leaned in, and she didn’t pull back. For a split second, he didn’t know what he was intending to do. Then he tilted his head and his fangs found her neck and he tasted her again. She sucked in a tiny breath, tensing, not pushing him away. The persistent ache that had existed inside him since he woke in the alley, that not even ripping apart five men had quenched, that had disappeared for barely a day when he’d caved and drunk his fill from Isabelle, that he hadn’t let himself ease with Sienna’s blood, was finally relenting.
And there was something in Eva’s blood. He thought he’d imagined it when he’d drunk from Sienna. Thought it had been noise leaking into his thoughts from the club. But there was no club here, no music pounding against his skull and chest from the outside. This was something inside that he could finally, blessedly, hear.
It doesn’t have to hurt. Your body’s marching to a different beat now. A new tempo. A musician as good as you should be able to match it by now. Just listen to it. And obey it.
He loathed that Isabelle had been right. Because he could hear it. Isabelle’s blood had laughed and sang with the tempo of one of Our Saviours’s angrier songs. Sienna’s blood slow-danced in his veins like a lover’s hands on his hips. But Eva’s blood was quiet. It was soothing. It was like a lullaby. It didn’t laugh; it whispered that he was going to be okay. He was listening now. Each of their blood had a resonance to it. A rhythm. A song he could finally hear clearly.
The blood bond settled over him like a weighted blanket. The ache was fading. And he kept drinking. Her nails dug into his back slightly, but she wasn’t telling him to stop. Of course she wasn’t. She’d told him to take as much as he wanted.
And he wanted more.
Her back hit the wall. His fingers tangled in her hair. She still wasn’t Blushing, but he didn’t need her to. There was a flutter behind his ribs, his heart vainly attempting to beat once more with the blood he’d finally given his body. Just a little more. He didn’t know how much would be too much. Could a vampire die if they lost too much blood? Could he take more than just blood? The music he was hearing was a deeper layer to Eva, something beyond just her taste and her physical being. It was like he could taste her soul.
When her weight suddenly became heavier in his arms, her knees starting to buckle, that’s when he came back to himself. That’s enough. That’s enough! Stop! He wrenched his head back, pushing away from her, blinking hard as the lullaby slowly faded from his mind and he remembered where he was and what he was doing. She stood, still not saying anything, just staring at him in shock and realization and something else he couldn’t put his finger on. It didn’t look like the bites had hurt her. But they were bleeding. And he didn’t want anyone else in the group to notice. Not yet. They couldn’t know he’d slipped again. Especially not Sienna.
Blood slowly leaked from the bite on her wrist. It was calling to him. The bond held its arms open to embrace him again and hold him close. He took her arm and pressed his lips against the wound, tasting the final drops as it began to heal. But the smell was still hanging in the air. The lullaby still sang to him. There was the bite on her neck, too. He could get one last taste. Don’t waste a drop. He leaned in again, running his tongue up the side of her neck until he found the fang marks. Those he lingered on until they faded and he couldn’t taste the blood anymore.
Only then did he hear the tiny voice in the back of his mind, finally making itself heard over the sound of Eva’s resonance. What am I doing? He pulled back, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, staring at Eva and feeling the blush in his face. “Oh god. I’m… I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not again. The blush pulsed through him, stronger than ever with Eva’s blood now running through his veins. There was nothing he could do to stop the heat creeping up the sides of his neck, into his cheeks, the facsimile of life he wanted so badly betraying him in the moment. He couldn’t hide what he was feeling.
Why? Why does this keep happening? He hadn’t been able to stay away from Isabelle. He hadn’t been able to keep from drinking. He should’ve been able to control himself with Sienna. He should’ve been able to control himself here.
He shouldn’t be bonded again.
He can’t be.
And yet.
Why me?