Chapter 11:

Later that evening, you curled up in bed with Dracula's journal, hoping to read another entry before going to bed. You needed to distract yourself from the noise that was coming from Taehyung's room. You could the distinct rhythmic thumps that told you he was doing much more than just feeding on that girl. It made you sick, thinking about how that girl was only being compelled to obey his orders and that she wasn't consenting to anything he did to her. But you knew there was nothing you could do about it. Taehyung didn't care if you disapproved and he certainly wasn't going to stop on your account.

So, unable to do anything else, you opened the journal to the next entry and read:

Lazarus visited again to try to persuade me to come back to the Elders. He wants to please them, but I find the whole society ludicrous. There is no need for a panel of vampires to rule over our society. The elders on the panel are close-minded and grudging. They believe in isolating us from the humans. I believe that mentality is ridiculous. We may be immortal, but we have much to learn from humans. And even though we may feed on them for sustenance, they are useful in more ways.

The way they evolve, for instance. As one who was around during what is now called the Dark Ages, I have witnessed the immense evolution of humanity throughout history. It is fascinating to watch them try to better their world and their lives even though their lives are so short and ultimately meaningless. The Elders call their existence primitive, I find it innovative.

Lazarus is convinced the Elders will bring peace between vampires and humans. I disagree whole-heartedly. Separation is not the answer, we must embrace them.

You finished the entry and closed the journal, reflecting on what you'd just read. So at least now you knew Lazarus was telling the truth, Dracula really wasn't part of the Elders and they were friends. At least he told the truth about that. It was interesting to read Dracula's stance on humans and their place in the world. Even though you were sure Dracula had probably fed on and killed countless human, he didn't view them as cattle or sheep. He viewed them as something to study and learn from because of their mortal lives.

It was true mortality plays a large role in human existence. Compared to the massive universe and the never-ending longevity of time, humans don't live long at all. And that indeed changes one's aspect on life. You, yourself, had found yourself in an existential crisis at a point in your life. You'd wondered, what was the point in trying so hard when your life was meaningless anyway? What was the point in fighting for everything when in the end, your life would be forgotten and everyone you loved would die anyway?

It was a depressing thought, especially for one so young to be having, but it had given you a new perspective on your life. Your life may have ultimately been meaningless, but you still had to live it, so why not try to make it the best it could possibly be? If you gave life your own meaning, then that would bring you your own satisfaction and you wouldn't need to be remembered.

That mentality was flipped on its head for vampires. They were immortal, which meant they probably didn't have the same kind of existential crisis. Theirs was more in terms of the fact that their actions have no meaning because no matter how extreme, it would be forgotten in a hundred years.

You sighed, tucking yourself under the covers. You were mentally exhausted from thinking about everything all day. It didn't take long until you were completely asleep.

~~~

It was around midday the next day when you finally came out of your room, hoping to avoid any confrontation with any of the three vampires. You especially didn't want to run into Taehyung or the girl he was with. You just hoped he had already sent her away.

You walked down into the kitchen, hoping to get something to eat. You were so hungry, you couldn't even remember the last time you'd eaten something. You were pretty sure every time you'd gone to eat something, you'd gotten distracted and then never actually eaten anything. As you emerged in the kitchen, you gasped when you saw Taehyung and the girl sitting around the island. She had a glass of your orange juice and her wrist was laying on the counter in front of Taehyung. You could see the bite marks on her wrist and her neck and even her shoulders, and when Taehyung's eyes glanced up to meet yours, you saw they were still red.

"Y/N, good to see you. This is..." Taehyung smirked nastily at you and looked at the girl for a second, hesitating slightly. "Well, it doesn't matter what her name is." He said with a wave of his hand.

You glowered at him, frozen in place. You didn't know what to do or how to react. This girl was obviously still under his compulsion, judging by the glassy look in her eyes. She was pale, most likely from a severe loss of blood. You were sure if she'd been anemic, she would be dead right now.

"Do you have something to say, Y/N?" Taehyung's cruel voice pulled your attention back to him. He grinned, his fangs flashing dangerously. You clenched your fists and gritted your teeth.

"Oh yeah, loads." You snarled in return, glaring him down. His lip curled as the two of you stared at each other, daring each other to initiate a challenge.

Suddenly, you felt a presence beside you, and you jerked to the side, looking up to see Jimin standing there, a stern look on his face. He looked at you, then over ate Taehyung and the human girl. You saw the gears turning in his head when he realized he would need to diffuse the situation. He looked at you and gave you a reassuring smile, reaching out to pat your shoulder as if to say, 'don't worry, I'll handle this'. You crossed your arms and stepped to the side, avoiding Jimin's touch. He didn't seem fazed at all by the rejection as he turned his attention back to Taehyung and approached him, a firm scowl across his face.

"I think you went a little overboard with this one." Jimin said, touching his palm to the girl's forehead. Just that touch made her lose her balance and Jimin had to catch her arm to keep her from falling over. Taehyung rolled his eyes, uncaring.

"Whatever, she's still alive, right?" He said dismissively, brushing off Jimin's concern. Jimin gave him a look and you saw Taehyung's eyes dilate. It was the only part of him that changed, but you saw the genuine fear in his eyes from Jimin's expression. Your blood chilled again as it usually did when you were reminded how dangerous these vampires really were. Especially if someone as vindictive and cruel as Taehyung was even the littlest bit afraid of Jimin.

"I'm going to take her to a hospital, get her taken care of. But this is the last time you'll bring anyone home, do I make myself clear?" Jimin said, his voice severe and threatening. Taehyung scowled and opened his mouth to retaliate, but Jimin slammed his hand on the table, making you jump in surprise. "Do I make myself clear?" Jimin repeated, his voice an octave lower, barely above a whisper. You saw Taehyung visibly gulp and your blood ran cold. He nodded and turned away, scowling at the floor.

Jimin slung an arm around the girl's shoulders, whispered something to her and then scooped her up bridal style. The girl's eyes fluttered closed and you had to look away from her sickly pale face as the bile rose again in the back of your throat. Jimin gave you a reassuring smile as he passed.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her. She'll be fine." He said with a nod of his head. You nodded in reply, following him with your eyes as he left the kitchen and carried the girl out to his car.

"You're shameless, aren't you?" You turned your head back to the volatile vampire who rose from the stool he'd been sitting on.

"Excuse me?"

He gave you a nasty smile. "Using Jimin to fight your battles for you? That's pretty shameless." He said, walking around the island. You shook your head, glaring up at him.

"I'm not the one who brought a human girl here to prove some kind of sick point. Was that your idea of a threat?" You snapped, crossing your arms.

"A threat? Oh no, don't get the wrong idea." He advanced toward you, making you step back with every step he took forward. Soon, your back collided with the wall and Taehyung was able to close the distance between you two, his chest mere inches from yours. He tilted his head, a nasty smirk crossing his face as you attempted to keep the scowl on your face even though your heart threatened to beat out of your chest.

"When I'm threatening you, you'll know about it." He snarled, reaching out to brush a lock of your hair away from your shoulder. You slapped his hand away and side stepped out from under him.

"You don't scare me, Taehyung. So, you can stop your stupid mind games, because they won't work." You snapped, backing away from him. He turned, a knowing smirk on his face.

"I'm not the one playing games." He said gruffly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" You demanded, feeling strangely offended by the weird accusation. Taehyung smirked, knowing he'd hit a nerve. He said nothing to respond to your question and instead left the kitchen, his nose high in the air. You let out an annoyed huff and had to force yourself to unclench your fists, feeling the sting in your palm from where you'd been digging your nails.

You took a few deep breaths and tried to remember why you were even down here in the first place. Your stomach rumbled suddenly, answering your question. You walked over the fridge and opened it up, looking hopefully at the contents. You ignored the bags of blood and scanned the shelves. You pulled out the turkey cold cuts and the block of cheese, shutting the fridge behind you.

As you made yourself a weird turkey and cheese lunch, Jungkook entered the kitchen. He marched straight to the fridge and grabbed a blood bag. This time, he didn't even bother with a glass and instead ripped the bag open with his teeth, downing it all in two long gulps. You swallowed hard, watching him in awe as he swiped the back of his hand over his mouth and tossed the bag away. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt, but you could see spatters of blue and green on the ends. Paint? Chalk? You couldn't tell. He caught you staring, and you quickly looked away, returning your attention to your own food.

"I'm going out." Jungkook announced suddenly. You looked up in surprise to see Jungkook staring right at you. "Taehyung's here, so you're fine." He continued, ignoring the look of surprise and panic.

"Where are you going?" You asked before you could stop yourself. Jungkook narrowed his eyes and you immediately regretted asking the question.

"None of your business." He said coldly. He turned to leave, and you felt a surge of panic at the thought of being left alone with Taehyung. Jungkook's company wasn't better by a long shot, but at least he didn't make you feel like biting someone's head off.

"Wait!" You called, causing Jungkook to pause at the door. "I...uh—I was hoping to go to the grocery store today to get... more food? Maybe some milk?"

"Go with Taehyung." Jungkook deadpanned. You winced and rubbed the back of your head.

"He's not exactly—"

"Taehyung!" You jumped at Jungkook's shout, cutting you off. You'd honestly never heard him raise his voice before, it was a little scary and even a little... satisfying?

"What?" You heard Taehyung's annoyed yell from further in the house.

"Get down here!" Jungkook shouted back. A few moments passed and you heard the annoyed stomping of Taehyung coming down the stairs. He emerged in the doorway, his face contorted in annoyance.

"The hell do you want?" He growled, glowering at Jungkook. Jungkook gestured to you and you swallowed hard as Taehyung's fierce eyes panned to yours.

"She needs to go to the grocery store." Jungkook said, his voice back to the stoic normal.

"And why can't you take her?" Taehyung demanded, looking back at the other vampire.

"I'm going out." Jungkook deadpanned, as if that were the end of the conversation.

Taehyung snarled, glaring between you and Jungkook. You raised your palms, not wanting this to turn into a huge thing.

"I didn't mean right now," You started hopefully. "I just meant—"

"No, you want to go to the store? Fine, let's go then." Taehyung marched around the island and grabbed your arm, pulling you behind him. You stumbled, nearly falling over as Taehyung dragged you to the front door.

"I don't have my wallet, or my phone!" You exclaimed, pulling at his grip, even though you knew it was futile.

"You don't need it." He snarled, not releasing your wrist. You yanked at his grip, feeling indignation rise in your chest.

"We are not compelling anyone or stealing anything." You shot angrily. Taehyung rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, obviously not Sherlock. I have money." To prove his point, Taehyung reached into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out a black wallet. You barely had time to process when Taehyung was pulling you along again. He pushed the door open and you cringed at the bright sun that almost blinded you. Taehyung basically flung you toward the car and you had to flail your arms to keep from falling over. You caught yourself and turned to glare at him.

"You could have just asked me to follow you. You didn't have to literally drag me." You said with an annoyed shake of your wrist. Taehyung rolled his eyes.

"You're too slow. Get in the car." He snapped.

You huffed in annoyance, but did as he said, sliding into the passengers' seat. Taehyung got into the driver's side, slamming the door and stepping on the gas in the same motion. Your head fell back against the seat as Taehyung stepped on the gas a little aggressively, making the car lurch forward. You recovered quickly and let out an annoyed grunt, pulling the seatbelt on quickly.

"You know, if you were going to be so pissy about it, we could have waited until a later. Maybe even until Jimin got back." You said, giving him glare. Taehyung scoffed, his knuckles white from gripped the steering wheel so hard.

"Oh yeah, just so you can flirt and bat your eyelashes at him instead?" He growled, his teeth bared so his fangs flashed in the sun. You bristled.

"Excuse me?"

"You've got him wrapped around your little finger. I thought he was master manipulator, but it appears he met his match." Taehyung continued, making your jaw drop in surprise. You quickly collected yourself, clenching your fists in your lap.

"He's better company than you are. He doesn't insult me in every sentence." You snapped angrily, getting really sick of his attitude. Taehyung gave you a sharp glare before returning his focus back to the road.

"You insulted me first." He deadpanned. You rolled your eyes, realizing that he was still hung up on the time you'd called him a 'lapdog' a million years ago.

"Oh what, can't take a little heat from a human?" You taunted. "What's wrong? Don't know how to handle yourself around someone you can't control?"

"Shut up." He snapped, cutting you off. You smirked, realizing that you'd just hit the nail on the head. You rotated your body to face him before starting again.

"No, I'm sure you would rather I be just like that girl you took last night: naïve and susceptible to compulsion." You threw your head back and laughed cruelly. "Now it makes sense. You could never get a girl on your own merits. You have to be able to control them first. No wonder you're so angry all the time. If I couldn't get it up, I'd be angry too."

The car suddenly swerved as Taehyung whipped his head around to give you the most scathing glare you'd ever received. You gasped and slapped your hand to the car door in surprise to keep your balance as Taehyung reluctantly steadied the car once again. He focused his attention back on the road, but you still saw the loathing fires in his irises.

"Do you want me to crash this car? I'll survive, but you won't." He said in a dangerously low voice. You laughed, not the least bit fazed by the threat.

"Go ahead and do it. I'd love to see what the others would do to you if you let me die on your watch." You said cruelly, knowing that you'd gotten him.

"You wouldn't be alive to see it."

"I can still imagine. It's quite satisfying to think about."

Taehyung let out a loud grunt of exasperation and slapped his hand on the steering wheel, causing the car to jerk again. You sat back in the seat, digging your nails into your palms, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing you jump.

"You're impossible." Taehyung growled.

"And you're insufferable." You snapped.

The car ride fell into a tense silence as you stared out the window, crossing your arms tight against your chest. So much for making peace with him...

When you finally arrived at the grocery store, you took over the lead of this little expedition and grabbed a grocery cart, pushing it angrily in front of you. You didn't even look to see if Taehyung was following you, but you were sure he was. Despite what you said, you knew he would do what he was told and make sure you were safe, even if he hated you. It didn't really matter to you, the feeling was mutual.

It was definitely awkward as the two of you traveled the aisles, picking out food and drinks for you. You weren't being super ambitious with the groceries, you just knew you needed more than boxes of rice and plain spinach. Taehyung stayed next to you and the cart, but he wouldn't look you in the eye, which was fine by you. you didn't want to talk to him either. You were pretty sure that if you did talk to him, you would start another yelling match.

The mood between you two hadn't changed when you got in line for the register, all the groceries collected. You looked over the items in the cart, mentally checking off a list in your head.

You gasped suddenly. "I forgot milk." You remembered. You quickly slid out from behind the cart and turned to Taehyung. "I'll be right back." You started to walk away, but he caught your wrist before you could.

"Wait, I have to go with you."

You rolled your eyes. "Oh, come on, it's a grocery store. No vampire would ever be in here. It'll take me like two minutes, just wait here. I promise I'll be fine." Taehyung didn't look too happy about it, but he nodded, releasing your arm.

You left him in line and walked to the back of the store were the dairy products were.

Just as you were about to reach for a milk carton, an ice cold hand wrapped around your wrist, causing you to gasp in surprise. You were yanked into a nearby aisle and before you could cry out, a hand clamped around your mouth. You struggled against the firm grip, but to no avail. You opened your eyes, searching for the face of your assailant. A pair of red eyes swam in front of you and your blood ran cold as fear pierced through you.

You have got to be kidding me... Here?

"Don't scream, don't struggle." The vampire snarled, flashing his teeth dangerously. You glared at him, stamping the fear down. You opened your mouth and bit down on the hand covering it. The vampire hissed and withdrew his hand from your mouth, shaking it out.

"Let me go, asshat." You growled in reply. The vampire smirked, sending a chill down your spine.

"You better watch your tone with me. You might be immune to compulsion, but I can still kill you." He said in a low, gruff voice. Your eyes widened when you realized he knew, he knew about you. He knew who you were.

"You can't do anything to me in public. And I'm not alone." You snapped, hoping to instill some unease. Your statement did the exact opposite as the vampire smiled wider, as if emboldened by the idea.

"Oh, I'm well aware of your... protection." He chuckled and the sound sent a spark of fear through you. "And you're right. We are in public. Which is why you'll come quietly."

"And why the hell would I do that?" You growled, darting your eyes around, looking for an escape route.

The vampire grinned, flashing his fangs.

"See those people?" He nodded to the side and you turned your head to see a family a little ways away, just out of earshot from you. The father smiled at his wife and down at his son as they contemplated buying ice cream. "I can kill them in a mere two seconds. You know what I am, you know what I'm capable of. So... do we understand each other?"

Your heartrate sped up as the reality hit you hard. It was true, this vampire could easily kill any one of the shoppers at the store if he wanted. He could do it without a second thought and he could do it in multiple ways. Not only that, but he could do it so fast that you wouldn't have been able to stop him or get away in the time it took him to do it. You squeeze your eyes shut, recognizing your defeat.

"Fine. I'll come with you. Just don't hurt anyone."

"Wise choice." The vampire slung his arms around your shoulders, making you wince. He started to lead you down the aisle and you tried to turn in the direction of the grocery store entrance. Perhaps you could pass by Taehyung and get him to notice you somehow.

"I don't think so, sweetheart." The vampire snarled in your ear, sending shivers down your spine. He turned you in the opposite direction of the entrance and instead lead you toward the employees exit in the back of the store. You gulped, realizing that your chances of being rescued were dwindling lower and lower.

Was this it? Were you about to be taken away to be slaughtered? It certainly seemed that way and as you racked your brain for answer, for a way out, the fear and panic settled in. Tears welled up in your eyes as the vampire pushed the back door open and lead you outside, away from Taehyung and away from anything else you knew.