Hours in the Moonlight: Persevering Afterlight - 13. Promise
Summary: As if dealing with the aftermath of killing two vampires wasn’t bad enough, you were injured, bleeding, and in the company of another vampire. And while Leona was considerably less hostile than the other two had been, there was still cause for concern. But, if you were lucky, maybe there was some room from trust there too.
Series Type: Gender-neutral reader/ Vampire AU/ series/ romantic/ angst/ angst with comfort/ fluff/ sfw/ platonic interactions too!
Trigger Warning: Vampire
Word Count: 1536
Hours in the Moonlight Master-List
“Herbivore,” Leona’s voice snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts as he grasped my shoulder, and I immediately hissed as his hand hit one of the injuries from the first vampire.
He grimaced, realizing what had happened immediately as he let go of my still bleeding injury before his motions stilled. And I watched in silence as he stared in an oddly numb fashion at the red that now painted his palm.
I swallowed thickly at the blank look on his face, a cold feeling swirling in my belly before I at last spoke, my voice coming surprisingly level, “Leona.”
His gaze lifted, so that it was blankly meeting my eyes, and for a brief moment I could feel myself starting to tense. And then his fingers curled into his palm until new blood burst forth from his fingernails and an almost frustrated frown appeared on his face. But that blank look was gone from his eyes.
I stared at his hand for another moment, not wanting to ponder the fact that it had taken him injuring himself to snap himself out of whatever that had been, before I forced myself to look at him.
“Where did that other vampire come from?” He shook his head at my words, glancing into the shadows like he was looking for something that only he could see before he let out what I could only describe as a displeased sigh.
“I don’t know. She just popped up, like a mad woman on a hunt.” He paused, his gaze shifting back towards where I still sat before continuing, “Almost like she smelled something.”
I grimaced at his words but nodded. They only confirmed my suspicions. Crowley had said that vampires' attraction to me would only make finding crazed vampires easier, and it looked like he was unfortunately right.
Not that I was surprised.
I reached up, wrapping one hand around one of my shoulders as if that would help. The bleeding had already begun to slow, but I didn’t need to stay out here any longer. Who knew how many more might show up. And I didn’t think me or Leona were prepared for that.
Especially considering his initial reaction to my blood that still painted the palm of his hand, now mixed with his own blood from where he’d just injured himself.
“I should get home. Before any others show up.” Leona only nodded at my words, standing from his crouched position before glancing back down at where I still knelt on the ground.
“You had Jack leave, right?” It was phrased as a question, but something about his tone told me he already knew the answer even before I nodded.
I shoved the crossbow back in my bag before slowly standing, frowning at how weak my legs felt now that the adrenaline had fled my system. But I made myself walk over and pull the other stake out of the ground. The pile of ashes surrounding it was the only sign there had ever been a body there, similar to the ashes that had coated my pants until I’d stood.
I stared at the piece of wood in my hands silently for a moment before shoving it into my bag as well and turning to look at where Leona stood behind me. Staring at me silently with who knows what thoughts going through his head as he held out the other stake that had killed the female vampire.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” My voice was surprisingly quiet as I took the wood from him, but my words brought a frown to his face in almost record time.
“No. You aren’t coming to the clan tomorrow. Not with those wounds.” His words brooked no argument, but I still found myself trying even as I finished putting the stake away and started zipping my bag shut.
“But-”
“No buts. You coming around like that would just result in a frenzy. You already reek of blood anyway. You aren’t coming to the clan until you’re recovered.” His words were final, and, unfortunately, he had a good point.
If my scent really was what had brought that other vampire here, then he was right. I had no business going to a place literally filled with vampires.
But his words also had me frowning. I already reeked of blood anyway.
In a flash, the image of that blank, almost hollow look on his face came back to mind and I shook my head. Cutting off my train of thought before it could go any further.
I didn’t want to ponder what had been going through his mind as he’d stared at my blood. That was a rabbit hole I just wasn’t ready for yet. Not when I figured that I knew exactly where it would lead.
“Then I guess I’ll be going….” I trailed off, not sure of what else to say, even though the two of us had just been fighting to keep ourselves alive against other vampires.
Though, admittedly, Leona’s situation hadn’t been quite as drastic as mine was. But I hadn’t exactly liked his position with that lady vampire. Like she’d had him pinned down, and he’d been doing all he could to keep her from jumping onto me while my back was turned.
At a disadvantage solely because he was having to protect me.
“Not like that you aren’t,” His flat words had me freezing, looking down at my ripped clothes and then back at him in slight confusion.
“It’ll be okay; no one will see me and-”
“And you’ll probably get attacked by another vampire since you’re walking around leaking blood. You’d practically be advertising yourself as free food walking home like you are,” Leona crossed his arms as he explained dryly. His words caused me to frown at just how accurate they probably were.
He let out a sigh before holding out his hand and gesturing me over with a single twitch of his fingers, “C’mere.”
And, for a brief moment, I was simply confused until I figured out what he meant. I shook my head, feeling oddly like a petulant child, as I huffed out a response and crossed my arms at the same time, “I can walk.”
He snorted, his eyebrows arching in a purely mocking fashion, “Sure you can, but you’ll be pokey the whole way. If I want to get home before sunrise, you’re getting carried.”
I held his gaze for a brief moment before sighing in defeat. He was right. It would be far faster if I just let him carry me. Even if that was the last thing I wanted.
It’d been different with Jack. That had been an urgent situation. Somehow this just felt more humiliating.
But I walked over as he turned, squatting slightly so that I could clammer up and onto his back more easily.
I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, and his arms hooked under my knees as he stood, shifting only slightly under my weight. And as frustrating as it was, I could already feel exhaustion sweeping over me even as I did my best to not succumb and just flop against Leona’s back.
I opened my mouth to direct him only for him to take off before I could speak. Heading in the exact directions of my apartment.
“You know where I live?” I could even hear the astonishment in my voice, and I felt him chuckle more than I actually heard it before he responded.
“Most vampires do. After all, Vil made it perfectly clear that none of us were to go near the place,” His voice was filled with an almost mocking amusement.
I managed a small, “Oh,” as the brief burst of alertness I’d gotten from my surprise gave way, once more, to pure weariness. Causing me to fall silent as I pondered everything that Vil had done for me.
But I also had a lot of other questions.
What was the real cause of the vampire’s insanity? How could I stop it? Just how much had I been protected by Vil? And what came after I’d figured out the insanity matter? Would Crowley just drop me like a hot potato?
It really didn't feel like I could just quit being the vampire hunter after everything was resolved though. After all, being the Hunter was a job that seemed pretty important since it kept innocent people from being attacked.
I couldn’t let what happened to Epel happen again.
But then, if I really was able to get rid of the insanity issue then maybe vampire hunters wouldn’t be needed anymore. But then what would I do then?
Crowley didn’t seem to want me lingering on the outer edges of the world of vampires like I had been, and both Rook and Vil had implied that once I entered this world, there would be no leaving.
I blinked wearily, yawning slightly and earning myself a side eye from the young man carrying me, “Oi, don’t go falling asleep on me,”
He jostled me lightly, and, despite his slightly rough tone, I found myself nodding with a slight smile, “Yeah, I won’t…. I’ll stay awake until I get home. Promise.”
If you would like to read more:
Previous
Next