A drop of blood fell onto the embroidery. Helena had pricked her finger in her anger, clenching the needle too tightly.
She immediately looked at Florentina guiltily.
“I’m sorry.”
Florentina stared stupidly, meaninglessly, at the blood, eyes wide. A moment later she scrambled onto the bed and lunged toward Helena. Her face stopped mere inches from her friend’s throat, but Helena did not recoil in the slightest.
“Careful,” Helena said without pulling away. “Or I may misunderstand your intentions.”
OK PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PAY ATTENTION TO TAGS... TRIGGER HEAVY CHAPTER
Geralt shares his blood with Dettlaff. Dettlaff tells his tragic past to Geralt.
“Let’s begin.” Dettlaff dropped his robe. Geralt tried not to wince, unsuccessfully. Scars, red and full crisscrossed the vampire’s frame in a way that made Emhyr’s look neat and tidy in comparison. He looked like if he moved the wrong way he would split at the seams. A good amount of the scars were where he had chopped off his own limbs, or torn into his own flesh.
Dettlaff lowered his eyes. Geralt quickly undid the straps of his armor and piled it onto the floor. He stood before Dettlaff in his thin pants and nothing else, then approached the other vampire carefully.
“I know I am hideous.” Dettlaff said, his voice embittered.
“Will these heal?” Geralt asked, reaching out and running his fingers along the puckered edges of a long scar across his chest. The gasp that Dettlaff took surprised him. Geralt grinned.
“Of course they will.” Dettlaff scoffed, surprised at his own reaction to Geralt’s touch. “It’s a matter of getting enough material in me to rebuild what I lost.”
Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Characters:
Reaper | Gabriel Reyes
Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Jesse McCree
Summary: Gabriel and Jesse have been taken by hunters. Jack is determined to save them.
Read on A03 http://archiveofourown.org/works/13411284
The knife missed Jack’s artery by millimeters. He pivoted, ramming the butt of his rifle into the Order member’s solar plexus. There was gasp. Jack followed the assault with an uppercut to the jaw. The Hunter flew back and crashed to the floor.
Jack whipped up his rifle and scanned the room. That was three, where was number four? A sharp yip cut through the sudden silence. Jesse!
Jack sprinted toward the sound. He came around a corner into another room in time to see the final Hunter raise a thick piece of pipe above his head. Jack barreled into him from behind, tackling him to the dirty floor.
“Get off me!”
A kick to the gut sent Jack rolling. Spots burst in front of his eyes as he struggled to catch his breath. A metal pipe hammered his back, sending bolts of pain through him. He dropped to the floor.
“Traitor,” the man spat. He hammered Jack’s back again.
Jack curled into a ball as pain ripped through him. Wild yapping made him look up. A scruffy coyote, too big to be natural, strained against a chain tying it to the floor. A heavy, metal choke chain around its neck glistened with fresh blood, but still, the beast fought against it.
Jesse, Jack tried to say, but all that come out was a wheeze. He was too old for this. Three centuries too old.
Jesse yipped and barked, thrashing on the end of his leash. Blood dribbled down his chest. The Hunter stepped over Jack, heading for Jesse. He raised the pipe over his head. Jesse’s ears went back and his golden eyes widened. Despite the fear, he bared his fangs at his captor.
Something snapped in Jack’s mind. Damn this old body! He shoved himself to his knees, grabbed the dropped rifle and threw it. The weapon smashed solidly into the back of the man’s skull. He stumbled, dropped the pipe, and fell. Jack leapt on top of him, yanking a cord of rope from the pouch on the back of his belt. With long practiced ease, he tied the man’s hands behind his back.
“Filthy traitor,” his captive gurgled through a broken nose. “Why turn your back on your own kind? They’re monsters!”
Jack wiped his bloody mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. “Only monsters I’ve met are men like us.” He gave the broken face a swift kick and sent the captive to unconsciousness.
All he wanted to do was sink down and rest. His back ached from the pipe, his legs hurt, every old wound seemed to throb. But he was on a mission. The dangerous part was yet to come. Jesse whined, breaking him out of his thoughts. He approached the sandy-colored coyote.
Jesse laid his ears against his skull and shuffled back, tail tucked.
“Easy, kid,” Jack said, sinking to a kneel and slowly taking off his gloves. “It’s just me.” He stuffed the gloves into his back pocket and held out a hand. “Come get a sniff and remember.”
Tail still tucked, Jesse took a hesitant step forward. Jack stood still, waiting out the animal instincts. Carefully, Jesse prowled closer, nose sniffing. The wet snout touched Jack’s hand. Jesse’s tail came untucked and his ears swivelled forward. The long tongue darted out and lapped at Jack’s scared fingers.
“Attaboy,” Jack said, rubbing the spot behind the big ears that turned the kid to mush.
His fingers found a bloody lump of matted fur. He searched and found the choke chain digging into the kid’s throat. Magic bit at him. A warding spell? For a baby skinwalker?
“What did those animals do to you?” Jack ignored the razor sharp pain of the ward digging into him and unbuckled the collar.
Jesse sprang away like a jackrabbit, shaking from head to paws. Jack inspected the collar and chain. The wicked metal spikes gleamed with wet blood. He tossed it away.
“You’re safe now, Jesse. I need you to change back and tell me where they’re keeping Gabriel.”
The coyote whined softly, motioning with his paw for Jack to move back. He gave the kid his space. Jesse turned his back to Jack and sat, hanging his head. Jack hated this part.
Jesse shivered, his pelt rippling like it itched. Clumps of fur fell off him. The tawny skin became lose, wrinkles appeared. Jesse whimpered, laying down and curling into a ball. His whole body convulsed and began to swell.
Jack looked away when the cracking started. Seeing bones breaking themselves apart and rejoining once was more than enough. A pang of sympathy squeezed Jack’s heart. Once the cracking stopped, the ripping started. Jack turned back to watch and see if the kid would need any help.
The form that lay on the ground looked nothing like man or beast. It was a lump of flesh and bone. A human hand tore its way out of the lump, grabbing ahold of the flesh and ripping a chunk off. Jesse yelled as the flesh tore. Another hand appeared and both ripped and tore off strip after stip. Slowly, a human emerged from the gore.
The naked boy tried to stand, but slipped in the piles of discarded flesh.
Jack was at his side in a instant, catching his arm and steadying him. “Easy,” he said.
Jesse jerked away, baring his blunt, human teeth in a snarl.
“Easy does it.” Jack put up his hands to pacify him. “Just me.”
The golden gaze darted around the room. “The Hunters—”
“Got it handled,” Jack said. “You’re safe now.”
After a moment, Jesse deflated, all the fight leaving him in a rush. It was the times after his transformations where he really looked his scant seventeen years. Jack took off his jacket, slowly draping it around the boy’s shoulders.
“Thought I was dead for sure this time,” Jesse mumbled, pulling the jacket close around himself.
Jack brushed aside the shaggy brown hair and inspected Jesse’s neck. Usually, all wounds but the deepest vanished when he changed skins. There was a pattern of bruises and punctures around Jesse’s throat where the collar had been. How could they do this to him?
“Bastards,” Jesse mumbled, leaning against Jack. “I didn’t do nothin’ to ‘em. Just out with Gabe minding our own, not hurting nobody.”
Jack carded his fingers through Jesse’s hair. “I know, kid.” Relief and guilt gnawed at his heart. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t deserve this.”
Jesse weakly grabbed Jack’s shirt. “You gotta get Gabe.” It was almost a plea. “Jack… they ain’t fed him this whole time.”
Jack’s guts tightened into a knot. “Damn it.”
“I heard ‘em teasing him,” Jesse said. “Saying they was gonna throw me in with him and see who was hungrier.”
Jack checked his growl before it could escape. “I’ve got some meat sticks and ration bars in my bag back in the truck.”
Jesse shook his head. “Idiots thought starvation would break me. They don’t know a lick about what I’ve been through.”
But Jack did. Even if Jesse had been used to starvation, that wasn’t his life now. Jack never wanted it to be his life again. “Get to the truck, kid. I’ll get Gabriel. Where are they holding him?”
Jesse pushed away from Jack’s embrace, standing on legs as wobbly as a newborn foal’s. “Got an iron cage in the secret back room.” He padded on silent feet deeper into the lair. He stumbled and wove back and forth. Jack didn’t insult him by offering a shoulder to lean on. Jesse was like Gabriel that way; proud.
Jesse stopped at a wall and slid up a hidden panel. He punched in a few buttons and the wall slid open. “He’s in here.”
Jack’s eyes took a moment to adjust to the gloom. Slowly, he made out a cage on the far side. Bastards. Gabriel thrived on sunlight. Jack stepped inside and felt for a light switch. He found one and flipped it on.
Gabriel lifted his head and Jack’s breath stopped. They’d made a muzzle of iron and strapped it around his mouth. They’d collared him with a choke chain of spikes that dug into his skin. Manacles chained his wrists to the floor. His dark hair was greasy from a week of captivity. His perfect body was marked with bruises. But beatings hadn’t diminished him. He held his royal head high, eyes piercing as a big cat on the hunt. Jack had never wished to harm another human as much as he wanted to exact revenge on the four who had done this to his husband.
Gabriel’s blood chilling stare relented. “Jack?”
Summoned, Jack strode across the floor to the door of the cage. He dropped to a knee and inspected the lock.
“Jack… no,” Gabriel said, his voice hoarse.
“I can pick this,” Jack said, reaching into his pouch and pulling out his tools.
“You can’t come in here,” Gabriel sarled.
Jack selected the hook pick and inserted it into the lock. “Tough. I’m coming in.”
“I’ll kill you.”
Jack glanced up. Closer now, he saw the bloodshot eyes, the extended fangs through the bars of the muzzle.
“How long?” Jack asked, trying to remember the exact day when Gabriel had fed last.
“Too long,” Gabriel whispered. He tipped his head to the side and inhaled like he was oxygen deprived. “You smell good.” His eyes fluttered closed. “Delicious.”
Gabriel’s Voice slid into Jack’s ears and flowed into his brain like a dopamine rush. Rationally, he knew that was creepy. Dangerous. But that Voice made him want to strip and lay every inch of himself out like a buffet for Gabriel to sample.
“Stop,” he ground out, “or I’ll break my tools.”
Gabriel shook himself, chains rattling. “Jesse!” he snapped. “Get Jack away from the door. Keep him away from me.”
Jesse whined and shuffled forward, clutching the jacket around his too skinny frame. “You heard him. Step away from the door.”
Jack didn’t even need to look at him to see through the false bravado. Jesse was weak as a pup after changing skins. And even if he was back to his full strength, Jack still vastly outmatched him.
“Sit down before you pass out, kid.” He rotated his torsion wrench and the lock clicked open.
Jesse swayed to a stop and sat down.
Gabriel shivered. “Jack. Do not,” he growled.
“Don’t start with me,” Jack said, letting himself into the ten by ten hellhole.
“Leave!”
Jack froze, rooted to the spot as his will battled Gabriel’s Voice.
“It was—” Jack began, forcing all his effort into the simple task of speaking. “At the full moon… that you… fed,” he spat the words.
“Turn around,” Gabriel snarled, shifting back until he had pinned himself in a corner. “Get out.”
Jack caught himself turning and stopped. He grabbed hold of the bars to keep the Voice from winning. It was times like these he wished he had magic of his own. But all he had was stubbornness and love. They’d have to do.
“Gabriel… the full moon… rises tonight.”
“I know.” His Voice waved and dropped away. “That’s why you have to go.”
“It’s why I’m not leaving.” Jack knelt down in front of his husband and inspected the collar. Needles of magic stabbed at his hands over and over. He grimaced and did his best to ignore it.
“Magicked so I couldn’t mist away,” Gabriel spat. He leaned in close, nostrils flaring as he sniffed.
“Focus,” Jack said, pushing Gabriel’s face away.
“Unlock me but leave the muzzle on,” Gabriel said. “Take Jesse and run. I’ll feed on the bastards that did this to us.”
“No you won’t.” Jack inserted the pick into the lock of Gabriel’s collar.
Gabriel snarled, the sound ringing in Jack’s chest. “Why won’t I?”
“Because you’re better than them,” Jack said, working the tumblers of the lock as the ward numbed his fingers. “You don’t prey on the weak or unaware.”
“They deserve it,” Gabriel snarled, shaking his head, his long mane of curls swaying over his shoulders.
Instinctively, Jack ran his fingers through them. Gabriel turned and looked him in the eye, his fiery spirit tempered for a moment.
“I know they do,” Jack whispered. “But you don’t have to lower yourself to their level. Not when you have a willing donor.”
The lock popped open. Jack carefully removed the collar. Gabriel shook himself as the device clunked to the floor. Jack inspected Gabriel for any damage. The collar had left similar bruises and puncture marks to the ones Jesse had.
Gabriel tensed. “I’ll kill you.”
“You won’t.”
“I will,” Gabriel snapped, pulling away from Jack. “I’m hours from death. Everything inside me is screaming in hunger. I won’t stop.”
“You will.” Jack reached for the manacles.
Gabriel jerked away. “Don’t free me!” He sounded desperate. “I’d rather die!”
Jack patiently followed after Gabriel until he had him pinned in another corner. He held Gabriel’s wrists and picked the lock.
Gabriel lunged. He barreled into Jack, knocking them to the floor. Jack winced as his back protested, but he didn’t fight back. Gabriel shuddered from head to toe, his hands clamped tight on Jack’s wrists.
“Shh,” Jack soothed. “It’s okay.”
“It is not!” Gabriel roared. His red eyes glowed like he was lit from within. It was gorgeous. “I’m starving, Jack. Not hungry. Starved. If you take off this iron, I will rip your throat out, consume every last drop of blood, and—” His voice broke and he hung his head. “And I will have lost you for good.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Jack said. “You’ve fought off starvation before and didn’t kill anyone.”
“That was different,” Gabriel snarled.
Jack shook his head. “It’s not. Listen to me. You are stronger than any human or teyollohcuani. You’re a king, Gabriel, a base emotion could never get the better of you.”
Gabriel’s eyes locked with Jack’s. “You have never felt hunger like this,” he rasped. “You have not felt every second of time pass in the marrow of your bones and know your doom is moments away.” He opened his mouth, fangs extending. “This is more than hunger. This is survival. This is millions of years of evolution distilled in a single urge to bite.” He snapped his teeth closed.
Jack smirked up at him. “Have I ever told you that you get dramatic when you’re hungry?”
Gabriel hissed. “This isn’t funny.”
“You’re not a beast, Gabriel. You’re a teyollohcuani. Proud, strong, and you will overcome evolution.”
“Do you have a deathwish?” Gabriel asked.
“I do,” Jack said.
That seemed to startle Gabriel into silence.
Jack closed his eyes. “You’ve never hurt innocents. You’ve never broken your vows. You haven’t stood aside and let innocent beings be slaughtered. I have.” He opened his eyes again and found Gabriel staring at him. “If I am to die, I want my death to do something good.” He reached up and put his hand on Gabriel’s cheek. “I could think of nothing better to die for than to save you.”
“No.” Gabriel growled. “Do not die for me, Jack. Live with me.”
“If you don’t feed from me, you die,” Jack said.
“If I feed from you, you’ll die,” Gabriel said.
Jack brushed his thumb along the perfect cheekbone and smiled up at him. “I trust you.”
“Don’t.”
Jack slid his hand up behind Gabriel’s head and pulled the buckle free.
“No!”
The muzzle fell away. Gabriel stared down at him, eyes wide with fear and hunger. Slowly, Jack ran his hand back down to cup Gabriel’s cheek. His husband trembled, fighting himself to remain calm.
“Shh,” Jack soothed again. “I won’t fight. Just breathe. It will be okay.”
“Please,” Gabriel whispered leaning closer, fangs extending. “Please run.”
“I love you. I’ll do anything to protect you.” Jack closed his eyes as Gabriel lunged, his mouth closing around the artery in the side of Jack’s neck.
He hissed, fight or flight instincts kicking in as Gabriel’s fangs sank into his throat. He resisted the urge to panic. The sharp fangs punctured his throat and retracted. Blood gushed into Gabriel’s mouth. He growled, sucking at the wound. Jack grabbed the back of Gabriel’s head.
Most Hunters swore getting bitten by any vampire-like creature was like getting impaled by knives. But after the initial pain, it wasn’t bad. Like a pair of shots. After the bite itself, it felt like bleeding out. He’d done plenty of that in his life. Jack pet the back of Gabriel’s head. Normally, he only needed a mouthful or two, but he was taking a lot.
“Gabriel,” he whispered, getting dizzy. “Gabriel… that’s enough.”
The hand on his wrist tightened its grip. Gabriel snarled, biting into Jack’s neck and forcing blood out faster. Jack’s eyes fluttered closed.
“Gabe!” Jesse yipped. “Stop!”
Jack opened his eyes as Gabriel’s head snapped up. He snarled at Jesse, baring his fangs, claws extending. No. He couldn’t go after Jesse. The kid didn’t stand a chance. Jack reached up and took Gabriel’s face in his hands. Gabriel looked down at him, hair falling into his face. His eyes had a wild, haunted look in them.
“I’m here, cariño,” Jack whispered. His voice sounded weaker than he imagined. “I’ve got you. It’s okay.”
Gabriel ignored Jesse and latched back onto the bloody throat. Jack pet his back with a shaking hand. A wave of drowsiness lapped at his mind. He was so tired. He’d been hunting down Gabriel and Jesse’s kidnappers for a week without rest. A beating had knocked the fight out of him. He just waited to lay here with his husband and sleep. That sounded wonderful.
“Tired,” he whispered in Gabriel’s ear. “Just going to….” His hand dropped away and flopped to the ground. “Rest for a minute.”
“Jack!” Jesse’s voice was far away.
“It’s so’kay,” he slurred, closing his eyes. “You’re both safe. That’s all that….”
~
Everything swayed. He felt weak. No, not exactly weak. More like he wasn’t made of solid matter. It felt like he was a balloon, trying to float away but held down. Was this death? Strange. Wasn’t anything like humans had said it would be.
“Jack.”
Someone was calling his name? He should answer. But he was so warm and cozy. He just wanted to sleep.
“Jack, please.”
Well, they had said please. He groaned, trying to force his eyes open. It felt like his eyelids were full of lead. There was a sharp intake of breath. Something hot appeared on his cheek. Jack nuzzled into it.
“Please, open your eyes.”
Slowly, Jack did as he was told. His eyes took forever to open. His vision was fuzzy and dark. As it cleared, he realized it wasn’t dark, but that someone was leaning over him. He tried to blink the sleep from his eyes. Warm lips pressed against his forehead and kissed him.
“Thank the Mother you’re alive.”
Jack racked his foggy mind. Who was Mother? The warm hand brushed his hair back. Jack blinked up at Gabriel. His mouth and chin where bloody, but he looked good. His skin seemed to glow with health, his curls were silky and inviting. Jack smiled.
“You’re beautiful.”
“And you’re an idiot,” Gabriel snapped. “A simple minded, stubborn, idiot!”
Jack closed his eyes and tried to remember why Gabriel would be mad at him. Jack had trailed the bastards that had taken them and then—Oh yes. “Did you get enough to eat?”
Gabriel’s eyes widened and his nose crinkled as he pulled his lips back into a snarl. “I almost killed you!”
Jack closed his eyes and smiled. “But you didn’t.”
“I should have,” Gabriel snarled, clutching Jack to his chest and rocking them back and forth. “I should have and I don’t know how I didn’t, you stupid, stupid fool. Don’t ever do that to me again! Don’t you ever try to give your life for a monster!”
Jack reached up and smacked him. Or rather, tired to smack him. He was too tired to put much effort behind the blow. It got the desired effect. Gabriel stared at him.
“You are not a monster,” Jack growled. “Don’t ever say that again.”
“Jack—”
He slapped him again. “I called you that terrible word when you’d done nothing to deserve it. I killed and tortured because someone told me those like you were monsters. But the only monster here is me.”
Gabriel grabbed Jack’s hand when he went for another slap.
“No.”
Jack blinked at him. No what?
Gabriel brought their foreheads together. “A monster is unrepentant. It harms with no conscience, no reason. It does not feel guilt or remorse. Your heart feels everything. You are no monster.”
“Gabriel….” Jack rested his head on his husband’s chest. “You are too kind to this old man.”
“You are my mate, Jack.” Gabriel kissed his forehead. “I would not have fallen in love with you if you were a monster.”
Jack was too tired to fight him. Barely, he registered that Gabriel had lifted him up and was carrying him. His pride quailed at the idea that he would be carried anywhere while conscious. He silenced that part of his mind. Jesse was all right. Gabriel wasn’t moments from death. So what if his husband had to carry him? He turned his head into Gabriel’s chest with a smile. Their family was together again. Nothing else mattered.
This human decided to overcome his fear of having his blood drawn so that his vampire friend can feed :)
This drawing took me... a long time. I drew this lineart last year, made this a digital drawing in the fall, and then I finally finished colouring a day ago. The reason why this took so long is because I didn't like the colours but didn't know how to fix it. Once I changed them around, and darkened the lineart, I was a lot happier.
Please don't delete this comment and please do not repost without credit and permission. Thank you.
Singed (The White Rose Vampire Series) book 2 - Chapter Seven (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/Fq8f15xtfZ Fire...It's something that Izzie Sutton knows creates and destroys. It destroyed her parents. It almost destroyed her. Yet as a witch, it is what she has been gifted with to help enact a curse cast well before she was born, binding her and the rest of the descendants of a coven of witches as soulmates to a family of vampires. Now, she must help find the rest of her coven before a fanatical church burns them at the stake but to do that, she must rely on her soulmate, Jonathon Gage, who she feels turned his back on her after she almost died. Will she be able to trust him again or will she find herself facing the stake and the fire that is both her blessing and her curse? Warning: There will be violence and sexual situations within this book!
Singed (The White Rose Vampire Series) book 2 - Chapter Five (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/Uszcti9nSY Fire...It's something that Izzie Sutton knows creates and destroys. It destroyed her parents. It almost destroyed her. Yet as a witch, it is what she has been gifted with to help enact a curse cast well before she was born, binding her and the rest of the descendants of a coven of witches as soulmates to a family of vampires. Now, she must help find the rest of her coven before a fanatical church burns them at the stake but to do that, she must rely on her soulmate, Jonathon Gage, who she feels turned his back on her after she almost died. Will she be able to trust him again or will she find herself facing the stake and the fire that is both her blessing and her curse? Warning: There will be violence and sexual situations within this book!
Singed (The White Rose Vampire Series) book 2 - Chapter Four (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/pLdAEZ5IGY Fire...It's something that Izzie Sutton knows creates and destroys. It destroyed her parents. It almost destroyed her. Yet as a witch, it is what she has been gifted with to help enact a curse cast well before she was born, binding her and the rest of the descendants of a coven of witches as soulmates to a family of vampires. Now, she must help find the rest of her coven before a fanatical church burns them at the stake but to do that, she must rely on her soulmate, Jonathon Gage, who she feels turned his back on her after she almost died. Will she be able to trust him again or will she find herself facing the stake and the fire that is both her blessing and her curse? Warning: There will be violence and sexual situations within this book!
Singed (The White Rose Vampire Series) book 2 - Chapter Three (on Wattpad) https://my.w.tt/Ft4jdNbZuY Fire...It's something that Izzie Sutton knows creates and destroys. It destroyed her parents. It almost destroyed her. Yet as a witch, it is what she has been gifted with to help enact a curse cast well before she was born, binding her and the rest of the descendants of a coven of witches as soulmates to a family of vampires. Now, she must help find the rest of her coven before a fanatical church burns them at the stake but to do that, she must rely on her soulmate, Jonathon Gage, who she feels turned his back on her after she almost died. Will she be able to trust him again or will she find herself facing the stake and the fire that is both her blessing and her curse? Warning: There will be violence and sexual situations within this book!
