When the Mate Bond Fails - A yandere!Felix x vampire!fem!reader x yandere!Demetri Imagine
A/N: The story where I attempt to 'explore' the 'yandere' theme
A/N 2: This is a quite personal story, inspired by the barely-one month I worked.
A/N 3: This is a quite fictional story but the details regarding the hotel's operations were real(istic).
A/N 4: The characters mentioned are very much real, and the hotel was actually part of a resort with 4 other hotels close by, so the chaos was out of the roof.
A/N 5: Though the reader is a vampire, so it's 'designed' to be perfect, the reality of the job included a lot of emotional, and mental abuse (and physical, if doing things that are not supposed to be part of the job count)
A/N 6: (Y/N/N) = your nickname
A/N 7: Most likely cringey
A/N 8: Also, I did like M. Unfortunately, nothing happened between us irl
No. of Words: 9300+ (the longest one-part I've ever written, so brace yourselves)
Mentions of: Smut, Abuse, R*pe, Beating, Trauma, PTSD, Manipulation, Swearing, Stockholm syndrome-like behavior
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Volturi-related Tag List: @eunoia-kth @raindancer2004 @aquanova99 @xxx-wounded-angel-xxx
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Working in the 'extremely demanding' tourism industry was never easy when you had several "needs". Whether it was dietary needs, medical needs, or personal needs, all these had to be set aside for as long as you were supposed to be working, which could range from an average of 8 to 10 hours per day, depending on your job position. And that was what it was like for humans.
Being a vampire was a different case though. Most days, it was really hard when you were constantly surrounded by people, either colleagues or guests. Creatures full of delicious blood walking around all day long, while you had to control yourself to not jump on them and end them right then and there.
I, personally, was at a point where I could easily control my thirst for human blood, though that wasn't always easy. It wasn't just the high possibility of someone getting hurt in any way; it was also the constant contact with humans around.
Just their mere presence triggered my thirst, and I was forcing my vampire instincts to calm down before I ended up killing someone around me. Though, many of the guests’ or managers’ behavior really made me question how long would I be able to control myself from not ending them.
However, I was good at my job. I assisted people successfully and helped them with whatever they needed. Most of the time, I went out of my way to make sure every guest was satisfied, whether they had an absurd request or not. I was warned by a colleague to not be so willing to help others because they would take advantage of my willingness to help. I learned that plenty of times, but I didn’t mind when I had extra time and nothing else to do.
In contrast to my colleagues, I wasn't too “demanding” so to speak. I didn't need a bathroom break or a lunch break, or even a smoke break, because of my nature. I was only set to work around the reception and lobby, making sure everything was working appropriately, then return to the place I had rented a few days before I started working, and then see how the rest of the night would go by.
Usually, my colleagues would either go to their rooms, eat, get ready to sleep and finally go to bed, or go out for a few hours to have a drink; it all depended on their work schedule for each specific day.
However, while the other employees around the hotel would return to their room where they would stay with random roommates, I couldn't handle staying in a small motel-like room with 2 or 3 more people, let alone 4 or 5 or 6, as it was in some cases.
I needed my space and privacy. I couldn't risk exposing myself to my potential roommates by getting caught drinking blood or not sleeping at all or slipping away at odd hours to go out hunting. So, renting my own place was a no-brainer.
Thankfully, money was also not an issue. Just like other vampires before me, we didn’t attack people just for their blood; we also needed their money, so we stole that as well. It was the only way to survive as a nomad vampire, not staying in one place, but still depending on the modern-life ways of exchange to somehow blend in and not draw unnecessary attention.
Even as a vampire who had been alive for quite some time, the days working at the hotel were passing by torturously slow. I was used to the constant nagging by now; it didn’t bother me, and I didn’t let anything or anybody go through me anymore. The fact that "the guests were demanding because they were paying a lot of money" did not affect me any more than it did in the beginning. After all, I got paid a specific salary and the tips were getting less, and rarer as time passed and more money-conscious guests visited the hotel.
If I didn’t need that extra money for myself, I wouldn’t have even started working there. It wasn’t like it was a lot of money anyway. That’s what the guests thought at least - that we were paid fairly or extra money, and that we could use the facilities around the hotel for free, or, at least, with a discount.
That was far from the truth; not only were we not given discounts, but we also couldn’t use anything around the hotel, and the money we were paid was barely enough for the average human to survive. Add the fact that we had to work 6 days per week, 8 and a half hours a day at least, while our employment papers said 40 days per week. It was a total fraud, and totally unfair towards the employees.
I wouldn’t talk about myself, as my only issue was not feeding frequently enough, but I had seen many employees and colleagues get dizzy or even faint because of the working conditions. No matter the weather - hot and humid, or cold and humid, we were not allowed to show any emotions of how we actually felt; we could only smile for the guests to feel welcome and comfortable around.
Working there made me start questioning my sanity. I felt as if I held a huge weight down my chest that should have not been there. And because my colleagues had very limited human lives, it wasn’t as if we went out at all. We were all living away from each other, as far as 20 kilometers away from the hotel.
Some had to take the small bus provided by the hotel that took half an hour to get them close to where they lived, but still not close enough. Others depended on their own transportation means; some of my colleagues at the reception, who lived close to each other or close enough, would share vehicles to cut down the costs because it was too expensive to drive to and from work every day.
And yet, it seemed to be the only feasible way for them to move around. The distance between someone’s place and the hotel was already far enough, even if you lived at the nearest village which was over 10 kilometers away. It just wasn’t worth it, so people tried to find ways around it.
So, we never did anything all together; the distance, the different time schedules, and human exhaustion prevented us from getting together and having fun, even if I had to pretend I drank like a normal human being would.
However - and I didn’t expect that - for the most part, there was “esprit de corps”, solidarity between colleagues. We all understood that we were in this together, and we tried to support and back up each other whenever possible.
There were, of course, times where the more experienced colleagues would put the newer ones - including me - aside, thinking that we could not handle something; that we could not take the responsibility. It bothered me at first, but then, I understood; sometimes, you had to take the extra step instead of someone else, just to make sure that the job was done. Because, at the end of the day, no one cared about you; they only cared about getting the job done.
However, after a few months of working there, my colleagues started to open up to me more, and whenever we had nothing to do in particular - unless a guest suddenly popped by to pay a bill, or ask a question, or book an activity or a restaurant, we had a good time telling jokes, making fun of each other, whining about the guests, and whatever happened at that time.
Usually, the afternoon shifts were the most fun, as the closer we got to midnight, the more my human colleagues were getting tired and their heads fuzzier, and that resulted in many “crazy” conversations and jokes, to the point where we would laugh loudly. Thankfully, there were hardly any guests in the lobby, and the few that were there were enjoying a drink from the main bar and didn’t particularly seem to mind our laugh.
As time passed and I became friendlier with my colleagues, there was one particular colleague who had triggered my interest. M. was austere most of the time, really focused on his job, and he seemed really experienced. He was like everyone else around - he decided from an early age that he wanted to work in hospitality and he worked his way up to get where he was right now.
I, on the other hand, before I became a vampire, didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. It was much later that I went to college for a Bachelor’s and then a Master’s. I had to think very carefully about what I wanted to do before I finally decided what I would do. And I was still not entirely happy with what I chose for me, but, thankfully, I had all the time in the world to make choices and changes in my life, while my human colleagues didn’t.
But M... M. was different. Different than any human or vampire I had ever met. He was willing to teach me and the other “newbies” everything we needed to know for the job - that was, of course, if he didn’t have to do anything around. He may have been austere, serious, and emotionless when it came to work stuff, but he was really understanding and supportive when needed.
One afternoon shift, it was just the two of us. One colleague got sick and had to leave early into our shift, so it was just the two of us working around for a few hours after the others left until we could hand everything over to our colleague on the night shift.
For some reason, I wasn’t feeling like myself. I was usually so good at not showing my feelings, but that day started so badly. I wasn’t hungry or anything - I had fed 2 days ago, and I was doing fine. But something in me kept telling me that something bad was going to happen.
I wasn’t gifted with - subjective - precognition like Alice was, but I could still sense that something was wrong. My own gift of visual and physical illusions helped me seal my identity from the humans but sometimes turned against me, making me unable to differentiate between reality and illusions. So, I could only attribute this feeling to my gift turning against me, making me feel things that were not there.
At some point, I could not focus on my job at all. Thankfully, no guest came to the reception and no phone rang, so I excused myself for a few minutes, walking - not running because we weren't allowed to - as humanly possible as I could to the back room where usually receptionists and grooms would sit for their break or drink water or smoke or chat. I sat down at the only chair available there, hanging my dizzy head low, between the palms of my hands. I felt venomous tears running down my face, leaving tiny cracks, which only I could hear, on their path.
I must have been back here for more time than I thought because M. was now kneeling in front of me, asking how I was. I lifted my head a bit to see worry written all over his features, something that I had never seen before in him. Then again, he had never seen me upset, crying, or taking a break.
He was whispering things but I couldn’t put my head together to understand what exactly he was saying. I felt small sparks all over my cold, undead body when he touched my hands to force me to look at him and calm down. He tried to wipe away my tears, but I stopped him before he burned himself. And in a moment I would have never expected, he leaned closer and kissed me.
The sparks turned into fireworks, and my body came alive, my mind cleared up, and I finally felt peace. While there was always something occupying my mind and thoughts, at that moment, I felt like nothing else mattered but the man before me.
As our lips moved around, I slowly started letting my guards down, until I realized that if he saw my true self, my red eyes, and “vampiric beauty”, as my kind would call it, he would most likely freak out, and everything would be ruined.
I pulled away slowly to look back at him. His face was his usual dark pink but this time, it was even more prominent than any other time, and, even though I didn’t want to openly admit it, it made him so much cuter than he usually was.
His eyes - a perfect mix of blue and green, sparkling more than I had ever seen them all this time - were moving around, trying to understand why I was silent and what I was feeling. I erased any doubt he may have had by pecking him on his lips before I pulled away once again.
“Let’s get back to work, okay?” I told him calmly, as I stood up from the chair.
My mind was finally in order and I could continue work as usual. But I could also feel as if my heart was beating once again, after all this time. He managed to do that to me; he made me feel things I didn’t remember existed. Some time ago, I may have felt something like that, but this time, it felt more genuine and strong; it felt right.
M. did not say anything, but nodded his head, and followed me back to the reception. The rest of the shift went by fairly slowly; the only thing that drew my attention was M.’s rapid heartbeat. It wasn’t the phones ringing, or the guests who passed by the reception to either ask a question, or make a complaint, or book something, or pay their bills; it was his mere presence and his heartbeat that I could only focus on.
I didn’t realize when our colleague came by for the night shift, but I was glad because it meant we only had half an hour until the shift ended. Usually, in those 30 minutes, we would give a briefing of what the night auditor had to look out for, in terms of guests leaving early, or needing to be woken up early, and so on.
But this time, M. dismissed me earlier, claiming that he had everything under control. I asked him if he was sure, if he was absolutely sure, and he insisted everything was okay, and that he would inform S. about what needed to be taken care of.
I thanked him, wished both of them goodnight, and went upstairs to the female changing room to get out of my uniform and back to my own clothes. Usually, by this time, most of the employees around the hotel were gone, so I could let myself free.
I walked in front of the mirror, letting my guards down, now staring at my dark red eyes. It was one of the few times that I looked at myself in the mirror and thought that I wasn’t the monster somebody else turned me into. I did drink human blood, but I wasn’t doing it for fun; I was doing it for survival.
And now, I liked, I really liked one particular human, and I was not feeling like I was a monster. I was actually feeling like somebody actually liked me, and that alone gave me so much assurance, confidence, and happiness. It was like my heart, body, and mind were starting to feel alive again; that I wasn’t just an undead person, but I had substance.
I wasted no more time, getting ready as quickly as I could before someone else decided to come in here. I got out of the monotonous, beige dress, and beige-pink flat ballerinas, and into my usual leggings, t-shirt, and white sneakers.
I was dressing really plainly for a vampire; no fancy dresses or capes or whatever. Blending in was important, but comfort and how easy it would be to get rid of your clothes also played a major role in what I chose to wear. I finally grabbed the backpack that I always carried with me, locked my locker, and exited the room, heading downstairs, and out of the building.
It was about 10 human minutes walking distance to the parking where we left our cars, and, though it was almost midnight, that did not mean that there were no humans around. So, I would still have to walk as slowly as possible - as slowly as the average human would walk. However, just before I could leave, I heard my name being called.
“(Y/N)! Do you mind waiting for me? It will take a few minutes.” M. asked me, still in his work shirt and trousers, and I just nodded my head, letting him know that I’d be waiting outside for him.
He didn’t take long, walking out the door a few minutes later, still in his work clothes, with his own backpack on his back. “Thanks for waiting. I still had a few things to take care of.” He smiled slightly; his heartbeat was once again deafening to my vampire ears.
“Thank you for letting me leave earlier.” I smiled back at him, walking forward along with him.
“Yeah, there was nothing else to tell S. anyway. Besides, I’ve never seen you like…, you know, so I got worried. Are you feeling better now?” His voice sounded genuinely concerned.
“Yeah, thank you, you know, about being concerned for me.” I was never as awkward in front of a human as I was now with M., and I really didn’t know why. He wasn’t even my supposed ‘blood singer’; I would have figured that out on the very first day.
“Yeah, about that. I’m really sorry I kissed you. I didn’t think clearly, and it came out of nowhere. I am really sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I really didn’t mean to.” He looked down at his shoes, his face was getting more red by the minute; something that would go undetectable to the human eye, because of how little light the few lamps around provided.
But I could see everything clearly. I smiled at M.’s awkwardness; he was much cuter than I originally thought, and it made something in me clench slightly; a feeling that I had never experienced so intensely before.
I smirked at his awkward state, a small wave of confidence washing over me. “I really did not mind it at all. I was actually hoping you would sometime before we left from here.”
M. lifted his head, looking hopefully at me, his mouth slightly agape with a slight smile. “Really?”
“Really.” I reassured him, lifting my hand to caress his cheek. He put his own hand on top of mine, turning his head around to kiss my palm - an act that no one had ever done before.
I was now more assured that this man felt things for me, so I did what I wished I had done from the very beginning: I grabbed his face with both hands, bringing him closer to me, and kissing him passionately. He seemed a bit taken aback, but responded quickly by holding my face between his own palms, kissing me with more passion than I had ever imagined.
It felt as if we were on our own, living in our own little world. It felt like fireworks had filled the dark night sky, and everything around us was bright and warm. His heart was beating like crazy, and I swore mine would have too if it was beating at all. His face was burning, and heat radiated from all over his body.
Our kiss lasted a few minutes before it was interrupted by a golf cart passing by. The groom driving the cart, L., had become a friend of mine as well, along with others around the hotel. He didn’t say anything, but smirked lightly, waving us goodnight, before driving towards the reception to continue his night shift.
Now, it did become a bit awkward. Thankfully, we were close to the parking lot so this awkwardness would be over soon. We walked silently towards the parking area, but before we turned towards the road, M. turned around and awkwardly waved me goodbye.
“Wait! You won’t leave in your car? I thought you and D. shared his car to work.” I was confused. Usually, if they had different shifts, one of the two would come here by D.’s car and would leave by bus, as the other came with the bus and left with the car.
“Well, yeah, but D. has a day off tomorrow, so he went back home with the car. I’ll just wait for the bus.” He pointed towards the wooden gazebo-like structure where employees of the hotel would wait under for the bus to arrive.
“That’s nonsense. Come on, I’ll take you home. I’m with my car.” I motioned him to follow me, but he seemed reluctant.
“Are you sure? Don’t you live, like, far away from me? I’m not anywhere near your route. No one actually is, to be honest.” He shrugged his shoulders.
“That’s no problem for me, honestly. Come on. Would you really like to go by bus?” I looked at him as if he was mad.
“Honestly? No. Okay, if it’s okay with you.” He smirked, looking down.
I laughed at his awkwardness and motioned him to follow me to my car. When we reached my car, it was his time to laugh, and I knew why.
“Seriously? A Volvo? A Volvo SUV?” He let out a choked laughter.
It was kind of an inside joke by now. There were a few Volvo SUVs around the hotel because the suites were offered a Volvo transfer service for free. Plus, many guests and high-ranked managers came here with their own Volvos, so they were not uncommon around. However, it was a pain in the ass when guests who had not booked suites wanted the Volvo transfer service, and we had to explain to them that it was not included as a complimentary service for their room.
“It’s a thing a friend and I have. He has always been so obsessed with Volvos, so I once bought one as a joke. But they are really fine actually, so next time I bought a car, I bought a Volvo again, so there it is.” I showed the car as evidence. Truth was that Edward was that friend, but M. did not need to know the details.
“Cool.” He nodded, smirking slightly before I motioned him to get his stuff in the car and get in.
Thankfully, it was a cool night, and the car was not too hot or too cold for both of us to feel comfortable - well, I mostly wanted M. to feel comfortable. Cold or hot temperatures were not an issue for vampires; our bodies were not affected by either, so it did not matter to us. We only hated the sunlight if it was to expose our identity to humans, and, thankfully, I didn’t have that issue.
M. did not say much during the whole route, and I didn’t know if it was because he was scared of how fast I drove through the dark, narrow roads, or if he did not have anything to say. His heartbeat was still pretty loud in my ears, and it seemed like his heart skipped a few beats. Without giving it a second thought, I placed my hand on his. His heartbeat did not slow down significantly, but it became more steady and rhythmic compared to a minute ago.
“I like you, you know. I think it took me a few weeks to realize it when you first came here, but I needed to be sure that that is how I feel for you. And now I am sure that I like you. I wanted to kiss you from the moment I knew, but I was scared. And when you started crying tonight, I felt something in me break. I hated seeing you like this.”
His confession came out of the blue, but it warmed my heart in a way I never felt before. As a response, I only squeezed his hand; not enough to break it, but just enough for him to know that I felt the same for him. This man that I knew for such a little time made me feel feelings of pure love and adoration. I wish he was my mate, but fate had already chosen that, and pretty unsuccessfully I might say. Still, I didn’t care about that; M. was the one I actually wanted.
So, I didn’t think about it when I stopped the car in the middle of nowhere and practically jumped on his lap, kissing him hard on the lips, and then down his jawline and neck. I could feel the blood pumping in his veins under my cold lips, but my thirst for his blood could not compare to the thirst I had for his body. He moaned loudly under my touch, and that gave me more confidence to continue.
I was careful not to rip his clothes in the process, but, at the end of the night, I had to admit that it was the best sex I had in my life. It wasn’t just plain, old sex; it had so much love, passion, and adoration - things I had never experienced before in sex. Most vampires I’d been with preferred rough sex over passionate love, and all the humans I had ever sex with ended up as my meal. But not M.; M. was special to me.
After we were done, we stayed in the car for about an hour or two, just talking about everything and anything, while we lay in each other’s arms. I was careful to not reveal too much, or things that may have sounded suspicious to the human ears. But still, I felt like I could share my soul with M., which had never occurred to me before with someone else.
However, I knew that he needed to get some sleep, so I urged him to get ready so I could drop him off at his room. He smiled at me, his eyes glistening, and he caressed my cheek before he leaned forward to peck my lips. We got ready quickly, and I started the engine again.
About 5 minutes later, I dropped him off at his room, giving him a goodnight kiss before I drove back to my own room, to think about everything that happened tonight, and how lucky I was to have found him.
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The next days were passing by unexpectedly good. M. and I tried to be as discreet as we could at work, and we were pretty successful at that. We would occasionally look at each other knowingly, but apart from that, we didn’t show anything that could potentially go noticed by our colleagues and managers.
However, I would drive M. back to his room every day, except for the times when we had different work schedules and our shifts did not allow us to leave work together. Most times we returned together would end up in passionate sex in the car, or his room, when his roommates were not around.
I was hesitant to let him stay in my room, mostly because my fridge was stuffed with bottles full of blood, for when I was not in the mood to go hunting. Also, the fact that I could not sleep at all would look suspicious to him, and, as much as I wanted to tell him the truth, I was scared of how it would affect him and what we had.
We were not officially together, but I didn’t mind. So far, I had learned that no good thing could last forever, so I had better enjoy something while it lasted. And while I wanted what M. and I had to last forever, I knew that the possibilities of that happening were slim to none.
Those fears were confirmed a few days later. In the beginning, everything seemed normal; it was a typical day of sweet, bitter, and annoying guests - nothing new. It was a few minutes after 10 pm, and we still had 2 arrivals left, but no specific time as to when they would arrive. We were informed that they were ‘special guests’, friends with the owner of the hotel, so receiving top service was vital.
Thankfully, they had booked two suites right next to each other, so it wasn’t our own responsibility. All the suites were the responsibility of the “personal concierge” department, and they were responsible for everything regarding the suites’ guests - from greeting the guests upon their arrival to arranging their restaurant reservations, and from booking them transfers to arranging simple requests, such as room service and cleaning.
That was a huge weight lifted off our shoulders when we were informed that we wouldn’t have to worry about these arrivals, which would come together, as H., the personal concierge manager, would work overtime tonight, just to make sure these two arrivals were met with the highest standards the moment they stepped foot in the hotel. That allowed D., M., and I to continue working undisturbed, assisting the other guests.
H. was sitting at the personal concierge desk, waiting for the phone to ring. Every time guests would arrive, we received a phone call to the reception from the ‘welcome lounge’ where they would greet guests who arrived. They were also the ones we called when a suite wanted a Volvo transfer, as the drivers would park outside of the welcome lounge, ready to drive to, or pick up guests from wherever they were.
They were the showcase of the hotel, and, as they say, ‘first impressions matter’, so they had to be just as professional and helpful as anyone else, getting to know the guests a bit, and make sure everything was in accordance before a golf cart brought the guests down to the reception building.
It was 10:30 pm already, and H.’s nerves were growing more by the minute. Finally, a few minutes later, the phone at the reception rang.
“Good evening. Reception. This is (Y/N) speaking. How may I assist you?” Though I knew it was the welcome lounge, I would say this little ‘poem’ with my sweetest voice, no matter who it was at the other end of the line.
“Hey, (Y/N). This is P. talking. Mr. Romano and Mr. De Lio just arrived. Inform H. to come by and greet them.”
“Of course, P. I will inform him. Thank you very much. Goodbye!”
“Goodbye!” P. hung up, and I ended the call, walking to the Personal Concierge desk to inform H.
Though we were literally a few meters away from each other, we were not allowed to shout at the other. We would either have to call or walk there and since the personal concierge was technically closed by now, there was no point in calling, because the call would return back to the reception.
“Hey H., P. just called. Your arrivals are at the welcome lounge.”
“Thank you, (Y/N). Let’s just get done with this.” H. was quick to leave the reception, getting on a cart and driving up to the welcome lounge to meet the guests in person.
What I would have never expected was for H. to come by the reception a few minutes later, followed by the ‘guests’ - those specific ‘guests’. After these few years of freedom that I got to cherish but not enjoy fully, there they were, right in front of me. Demetri and Felix. If I had a single drop of blood in my body, it would have frozen by now, to match the rest of my body.
I could not believe they were here. I could not believe they found me. The moment they stepped foot in the lobby, they were looking right into my eyes; their own dark brown eyes - the result of lenses - betrayed how evil they truly were, as if to say ‘we got now, and you cannot run away anymore’. They were smirking as if to say they knew they got me trapped somewhere and I wouldn’t be able to escape them.
This brought back memories of days when they were abusive and cruel towards me if I did anything they wouldn’t agree with. Just the mere thought of me looking at someone else besides them, or going anywhere on my own, without their presence nearby, would result in beatings and unwanted, non-consensual sex, just to prove to themselves that I belonged to them, no matter what.
I didn’t realize how much time had passed of me staring at the two vampires in front of me until I felt M.’s hand touching mine, behind the desk, so no one else in front of us could see, but D., who already knew what was going on between M. and I. D. was M.’s friend and roommate, so he was informed about our relationship, but didn’t make a big deal out of it at work.
Still, though M.’s touch calmed me down a bit, Felix’s piercing eyes and low growl terrified me, and I let go of M.’s hand, muttering ‘sorry’ to the man I loved. I heard Demetri whispering something to Felix’s ear, and I couldn’t believe it, until they turned to speak to H. who stood up and came by the reception desk.
“(Y/N), Mr. Romano and Mr. De Lio would like you to do the check-in for them. They seem quite demanding, but don’t worry. I’ll be right beside you if you need anything.” H. seemed kind of terrified or taken aback by their request.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything but do as they requested, as they may have been my worst nightmare, but in this case, they were guests in the hotel I worked at and their needs had to be met no matter what. I took an unnecessary breath and walked out of the reception desk area towards the couches in the lobby area, where the two vampires were sitting, walking alongside H. who seemed more reserved than any other time.
“Good evening, Mr. Romano, Mr. De Lio. My name is (Y/N). I believe you requested my presence here.” I tried smiling as best as I could without trembling, and without showing the others that I was actually terrified of the two men before me.
“Hello, (Y/N). It’s been so long since we saw you last time.” Demetri was smirking lightly, like a lion looking at his meal before devouring it. “How have you been?”
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t know you all knew each other.” H. was trying to be overly friendly, as they all did with the guests, but his cluelessness made him kind of unsure about the situation unwrapping in front of him.
“Yeah, I used to live in Italy a few years ago.” More like 30 years ago. “That’s where I met Mr. Romano and Mr. De Lio.”
“Please, no need to keep all these formalities between old friends, and, we’re hoping, new friends, as well. I’m Venusto. Nice to meet you, H.” Felix reached his hand out to shake H.’s hand.
“And I’m Salvatore. Nice to meet you too.” Demetri, in turn, reached his hand to shake H. who, by now, must have realized how cold they both were, as he unintentionally shivered a bit.
So, they both found fake names, made fake documents, and decided to travel here. For what? Why would they even bother to come and see me now? Unless..
“I am really sorry, gentlemen. I forgot. We need your passports and your credit cards for the check-in, so we can have you in our system and make your stay comfortable and pleasant.” H. mentioned pretty late, as it was usually the first thing we told guests when they came into the lobby.
“Yes, of course.” Demetri smiled happily, clearly full of sarcasm, as he and Felix reached out in their jackets to grab their documents.
“Thank you, gentlemen. I will register your information in our system and I’ll be with you shortly. In the meantime, (Y/N) will give you some information about our hotel.” H. passed the key cards and papers to me and walked towards the reception desk, where both M. and D. were looking in our direction cautiously, so as to not get caught staring.
I turned back to the two vampires and tried my best to whisper, though I was angry at both of them. “What are you doing here? Why did you come after me?”
“Oh, dear (Y/N). Don’t worry. We’re not here for you. We decided to take a small vacation, that’s all.” Demetri smiled and spread his body across the couch.
“Yeah, right. Because of all the places you two would go, you would choose sunny Greece, and then unintentionally choose the hotel I’m working at. I don’t believe you. I didn’t believe you for one second since you came in here. Why are you here?”
I was really angry at them by now. So angry that I could have easily cast an illusion to scare them away - if that would even be possible, but it would raise suspicions as to why the new ‘special guests’ were getting upset at my presence. So, I could only stay angry at them, but not do anything else about it.
"Okay, we'll be honest, because there's no point in hiding behind words. We learned about your secret romance with that one over there." Felix pointed back at M. who looked taken aback and terrified by this sudden attention. Most likely because Felix was staring at him angrily as if he was ready to attack.
I turned to look back at the guards. "Leave him out of this. He didn't do anything. He doesn't know about vampires or the Volturi or the three of us. So, you'll leave him alone. Understood?"
"We'll see about that, dear (Y/N)." Felix smirked, knowing he got the upper hand in this situation.
Before I could reply back to them, H. returned with Felix's and Demetri's fake passports, and I stood up, walking back to the reception desk.
"Here you go, gentleman. I assumed (Y/N) told you everything you wanted to know?"
"Don't worry about that, H. We are not too demanding. Yet. But, we would like to go to our rooms, if you don't mind. We had a long trip and we started getting a bit tired." Demetri played his role of looking as human as he possibly could pretty well.
"Of course, sir. I will call a groom to take you to your rooms."
"Can't (Y/N) take us to our rooms?" Felix smirked, and I swore I could throw up.
"Unfortunately no, sir. (Y/N) works at the reception, and our female receptionists are not allowed to drive the carts around the hotel."
"Then, the young man over there probably can?" Demetri pointed his head towards M. and I knew that wouldn't end well, so I grabbed a walkie-talkie and asked - more like demanded - a groom to come inside for the arrival before M. was forced to drive these two up to their rooms.
M. could see how upset and angry I quickly became, and though he didn't know why, he held my hand and squeezed it lightly to reassure me that I would be okay. I hold his hand in mine while looking at Felix and Demetri angrily and suspiciously.
“Don’t push our limits, (Y/N).” Demetri barely whispered, though enough for me to hear.
“I’m not sure about that, sir.” H. was at a loss for words, as he turned around to look at M., looking kind of desperate. He may have been a manager and had heard about the craziest requests possible, but the two men’s requests seemed too specific and targeted towards specific employees, especially for it being their first time here.
I walked back towards the three men. “I’m sorry, H., M. has to close the register. I will have to help him and finish a few other tasks in the meantime. But I already called a groom, so you can stay here for a while, and D. will inform you when your groom is here to take you to your rooms.” I fake a smile.
“Okay, dear (Y/N), we will be waiting here.” Demetri was smirking at me, looking me up and down carefully. I huffed and went back to the reception desk.
“Come, M., we have to count the money on the register.” I slowly grabbed the register, taking it out of its shelf, and walked to the back office, where it would be quiet, and, most importantly, away from Demetri’s and Felix’s prying eyes. M. followed me without saying anything, probably also glad after this awkward interaction.
The few minutes left until the shift’s end went by quicker, now that I was away from Demetri’s and Felix’s presence. But I knew that wouldn’t be our only interaction; it couldn’t be. The two vampires had made it their life’s mission to control me in any possible way they could.
The next few days were comparably normal to other days, except from the times rooms 707 and 708 would call and request things. Normally, it was the personal concierge’s duty to deal with the suites, but rooms 707 and 708 were occupied by the two people I did not want to have to face ever again, and, being unable to come to the reception to torture me during the day, they were calling and requesting me, personally, to go to their rooms.
Again, normally, that was not my job, and both H. and my manager, T., tried to reason with them, saying that it was out of my responsibilities to attend to their personal needs outside of the reception. The only time they could get out of their rooms was when the sun went down and the dark settled well around the hotel. They would then come by the reception, sit on one of the couches, and watch me until the end of my shift.
That went on for a few days until we received a phone call from the very owner of the hotel. Apparently, “Mr. Romano” and “Mr. De Lio” had personally contacted him, to ensure that I would visit them in their rooms this afternoon. At this point, none of the managers could do anything to prevent me from visiting them.
T. looked at me worried, having been informed by H. about the two “special guests”. She called a groom to come inside, and she then informed him that he would have to take me up to the two suites, but she wanted him to stay outside of the rooms, just to make sure I was okay, and call security or help me himself if anything happened. The groom seemed taken aback, almost terrified and worried for me, mostly because T. sounded terrified herself. He was silent, not saying a single word, as he accompanied me outside.
It was only when we sat on the cart and he slowly started driving away that he asked me. “So, why do these two want you up in their room? We’ve been hearing rumors, us grooms, that they’ve been calling at the reception every day, asking for you.”
“I really don’t know what they may need. I’ve known them before, but not well enough to be considered friends.” It wasn’t entirely untrue - though I may have known them too well, they were not my friends. “So, I really don’t know what this is all about. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t go.”
“What did they do? Complained until T. was forced to send you?” He let out a laugh.
“They call Dr. A.” I looked down, trying to contain the anger I felt inside.
“Hm, so they know the big boss, huh? You’re fucked.”
“I really don’t want to think about it.” I rubbed my forehead with both hands, trying to focus.
“Sorry about that. We’re here. T. told me to wait for you.”
“Yeah. Do what you want. I don’t want you to get in the middle. I will just call your name if anything happens. I can handle it from here.” I got out of the cart, and worked towards room 707, sensing both guards in there. I knocked on the door and it opened within a second.
“Hello, (Y/N). What a surprise! We’ve been waiting for you. Please, come in.” Demetri showed me the room with his hand, inviting me in. I sighed and walked into the room, as he closed the door behind him.
“Ciao, (I/T/N). È bello rivederti. (Hello, (Y/N). It’s nice to see you again.) We missed you, little one.” Felix smiled wide from his position on the armchair near the window.
“Unfortunately, I cannot say the same. Cosa ti serve da me? (What do need from me?) I’m tired of your games.” I spat every single word at them.
“Dear (Y/N), we haven’t even started with you.” Demetri grabbed me by my neck with one hand, as Felix stood up, walking towards me, and kneeling in front of me.
“(Y/N/N), I missed you so much. Don’t leave us, ever again.” Felix stroke my cheek lightly, as he was looking me deep into my eyes. I was unable to move, as Demetri had wrapped his other arm around my torso.
“So, will you tell us about that human friend of yours?” Demetri whispered in my ear, his breath cold and his voice imperative.
“I don’t have to tell you anything.” I spat my words, looking away from them angrily.
“You won’t have to tell us anything, (Y/N). We already know plenty of things. Alice told us everything we needed to know about your little human slut.” Felix’s face distorted into an evil smirk.
“He’s not a slut! If anything, you two are the sluts!”
Felix lifted his hand, slapping me across the face, causing my skin to crack where he touched me. “You better be careful when you talk about us, okay, dolcetta (little sweet one)?”
“You don’t say? You convinced Alice to join you in Volterra, and you’re now fucking her, don’t you? You always had a thing for her!”
“(Y/N), you misunderstood me. Demetri is fucking Alice. I’m fucking only Bella.” Felix smirked, filling me with anger as I tried to break free from Demetri’s arms, but he still held tightly onto me.
“So, what? She decided that Edward was a mistake or something? And she preferred you as a backup? Huh! I always knew this girl would eventually make the wrong choices in her life.”
“You can stop the little act, (Y/N). We let you roam around free for too long. And how do you repay us? By fucking around, and now getting together with a human! It’s time to stop with the nonsense and come back to Volterra with us!”
“And do what exactly? Follow your orders? Serve your Kings? Stay locked in the castle until I’m needed on a mission? No way! These days have passed for me. I’m never going back with you! I’m happy here! He makes me happy!”
"Oh, yeah, as for him, you'll stop seeing him! That human is no good for you!" Felix yelled, now his face slightly cracking from all the anger and frustration.
"And you are?! That human that you speak so disdainfully of is a thousand times better than you! Hell, anyone is better than the two of you!" I yelled back at both of them, not backing away from the argument at all.
"(Y/N)! You'll stop seeing him, and that's final! You are our mate, and you will do as we say!" Demetri chimed in on the argument, supporting his friend's side.
"Honestly, Demetri, tell me if anything good came out from being mated to the two of you. Just one thing! Don't bother. You won't find anything, 'cause nothing good came out of it! You made me a predator. You made me a killer, a monster! Something dangerous and vicious and…!" I was at a loss for words. The anger was getting the best out of me, and I couldn't think straight, even with my vampire brain. I was filled with anger and hatred, and I couldn’t believe these two actually played innocent.
"Save your words, (Y/N). We didn't make you. YOU became the monster, the very thing you seem to hate. You became the 'vicious killer' you talk about. We gave you a new chance in life. We gave you power and a new self." Felix was trying to find excuses for both of them, but it didn't work on me. Not anymore.
"You gave me nothing! You made me into what I am for your own selfish reasons! I was just fine before I met you! I didn't need power or a new self! I was happy with who I was! You made me who I am! You forced me to run away from my family, from my home, because I couldn't hurt them! I couldn't do to them what you did to me! The least you can do is let me live my life the way I want to!"
"That's not possible, (Y/N). We will stay here until you are done with your job. And then, you will come with us back to Volterra. No more 'working'. No more 'sneaking out'. No more 'fun' and, certainly, no more people you get to sleep with!" Demetri's face was as cold and emotionless as Felix's, but his jaw was clenched, and there were clear hints of jealousy and anger on his face, even though he seemed calmer than his fellow guard.
Both of them were looking at me as if they were the parents, trying to discipline me, their disobedient child. But they were not my parents, and I was not their child. And I didn't owe them anything. I didn't have to do as they say; I didn't have to follow them anywhere.
Because, after all these years of being 'damned' into living like this, I finally felt alive and loved and appreciated. And I didn't want to lose that. Not for the power, or the money, or the two mates I was 'cursed' with. I didn't choose this life, and I didn't have to live like this anymore.
“Okay, I will, once I’m done with here.” I calmly said, knowing that I was clearly lying to them. There was no way I would follow them anywhere. “Can you please let me go now? I have to go back to work.”
“Of course, my little baby.” Demetri let go of me, turning my face around to plant an aggressive kiss on my lips. Then, it was Felix’s turn to turn me around and kiss me aggressively.
Everything these two did was aggressive. They were not romantic; they were possessive. And the mate bond intensified this side of them. It was never about true love with them. The mate bond for them meant that I belonged to them, and they could do anything they wanted with me.
The mate bond was bullshit - it didn’t work for me, and it seemed that it didn’t work for Edward or Jasper either. While it was meant to signify your forever love to someone, it seemed to be anything but that. It seemed more as if it was a made-up notion to keep people who did not have anything in common together, even if it meant that they would be miserable with each other.
In my first years after Demetri and Felix turned me, I tried to accept the bond and their psycho behavior as normal - that everything they did was because they loved me. Then, I spent my years doubting their feelings and trying to find a reason why they acted like that. When I had enough, I just tried to tolerate them until I found a way out of there. I knew that they must have known where I was, but they never tried to look out for me, until now. And I still wondered why now? What made them search for me now, and not all these years?
The answer was quite simple though. Their ego. It was quite obvious. I had never been particularly happy with the two of them or with anyone else for the matter. I was happy now, and they had to ruin it for me. If I couldn’t be happy with them, I wouldn’t be happy at all, right? But I was fed up with them trying to ruin the one good thing I found in this life.
I was also scared for M., worried that the two vampires would go after him, and I could not put his life in danger like this. I knew what I had to do. In a moment of total spontaneity, without thinking about it, I called my manager and declared my resignment, telling her that they wouldn’t have to pay me, but I had to leave now for an important family issue, and that I wouldn’t know when or if I would come back.
I drove faster than I had ever driven before to reach my apartment, packing my stuff within seconds. I contacted the owner to let her know that I would transfer the remaining amount of money from our contract to her bank account, and I just left, with no further explanation to anyone. I needed to get as far away from there as I could, to draw the attention away from M. I preferred the two guards coming after me than him.
I stepped on my gas, not thinking about my destination; I would just continue driving until I felt like it was okay for me to stop, even that meant I’d never stop driving. Though I knew I now had a target on my back, I knew how to fight and survive, and I wanted the same for M., so I was willing to make that small sacrifice for him. I gave him no explanation as to why I left, but maybe that was for the best; it was for his own good.
Knowing M. was no longer targeted, I felt more relaxed now, and I knew that I could now deal with the guards on my own. I felt a wave of confidence and power wash over me, knowing that I left no responsibilities behind. I did not even flinch when my phone vibrated, indicating that I had received a message.
Without taking my eyes off the road, I reached my hand out to grab it from my purse on the passenger’s seat. I unlocked it and looked at the message. I smirked at the context, throwing the device in the backseat. Overflown with my newly-found confidence, I continued driving away to my unknown destination, not giving a care about the world around me. As I was driving into the night, I was lifting the weight off of me, setting myself free.
The message wrote: “Don’t ever think this is over, (Y/N). There is no point in running away because you know that we will find you eventually.”
We’ll see about that, dear Felix. We will see.
