Chapter 16

That night you were plagued with more nightmares.

Violet eyes and fangs and splatters of blood on white walls and you in the middle of it all. Something hit you on the back and you collapsed in a pool of crimson red blood as thick as syrup. You cried, pushing yourself up on your knees, which only made it worse since now your entire front and legs were covered in the blood. You stared at your trembling hands and tried to wipe them on your jeans, but the motion only made it messier. Your tears felt as thick as the blood and you heard a cackle above you.

You looked up to see a girl with a long braid down her back and piercing violet eyes. You gasped when her face came into view and you realized that it was you, not Rosemary. You whimpered in fear as you watched yourself grin cruelly, revealing sharp fangs.

"Don't you get it? This is who you are..."

You jolted awake with a yelp, sitting up in the bed abruptly. You looked around for a few seconds, trying to piece together where you were. You rubbed your eyes, trying to dispel the horrible, ghoulish images that were already fading from your mind. The events from the day before flooded your brain and you let out a deep sigh when you remembered Taehyung and Rosemary and the new information that she might be related to you.

You felt a numbness in your chest as you tried to figure out exactly what you were feeling in that moment. You should be feeling something, but it felt as though ice had frozen over your heart and instead of allowing yourself to feel, your body froze any and all emotion in order to protect itself. You sighed and pushed yourself to your feet, feeling your stomach rumble loudly. At least you knew that you could still feel the important things... like hunger.

You left the bedroom and walked to the top of the stairs, wondering if there was anything left for you to eat. Perhaps you'd have to break out the bags of rice. Rice for breakfast, you smiled wryly to yourself.

Just as you reached the top of the stairs, you stopped in your tracks when you saw Taehyung and Jimin on the floor below you, arguing in hushed voices. Taehyung was holding a duffle bag and Jimin was standing in front of the front door, as if blocking his exit. You quickly crouched down, hoping they couldn't hear you as you listened in on their conversation.

"Get out of my way, Jimin, you can't stop me." Taehyung growled. Jimin stood his ground and crossed his arms.

"I'm not letting you leave, Taehyung. You'll have to go through me first." He said firmly. You gripped the balusters of the stairs as Taehyung stomped his foot angrily.

"There's nothing for me here!" He exclaimed. "Lazarus promised that if I did this, if I did what he said, he would tell me where Rosemary was. He'd give me her location and I could do what I wanted with her." You gaped at his outburst, a piece falling into place. so that was what Lazarus had promised him, a window to his past. You understood all of a sudden why Taehyung had sworn obedience to the Elder vampire. "Well, I found her already so there's nothing keeping me here." Taehyung threw his hands up, almost in defeat. Jimin shook his head, his eyes ablaze with determination.

"You took an oath. You know better than anyone that you can't make an enemy out of an Elder." He said, his voice grim. You shivered at the way he phrased it. Taehyung rolled his eyes and crossed his arms as well, so they were mirrors of each other.

"I don't give a crap about the stupid oath." He snapped defensively. "And Lazarus isn't even a real Elder. He goes against them every chance he gets. It's a wonder they haven't kicked him out yet."

"Watch your tongue." Jimin snapped, his voice ringing with warning. You couldn't see clearly, but you were pretty sure Taehyung flinched.

"Whatever. I'm leaving, now move." He grumbled, taking a step forward. Jimin side-stepped, blocking his path.

"What about Y/N, huh? You're going to leave her too?" You sucked in a sharp breath when your name was mentioned. You quickly clamped a hand over your mouth, remembering that they had super senses. Any tiny noise you made, they could probably hear.

"She has you and Jungkook, she's fine." Taehyung replied. "And it's not like I care about her. Why would I care to stay for her?" Something cracked in the ice wall in your chest at his words.

"You do care about her, you can't lie to me." Jimin shook his head and scoffed knowingly. "I saw it in your eyes yesterday when I was yelling at you. That's why you brought her back unharmed. If you didn't care, then you'd have abandoned her to get what you wanted." You blinked, realizing that Jimin had a point. If Lazarus had promised Rosemary's location, and Taehyung had gotten the location, then why had he brought you back or taken you with him at all? Why not just abandon you and go off on a revenge trip by himself?

"You're wrong. The only reason I brought her back was because I knew you'd kill me if I didn't. I didn't want to have to deal with your wrath as well." Taehyung protested, shaking his head. He started toward the door again and this time, Jimin let him walk past him, his shoulders tense and fists clenched.

"She saved your life, didn't she?" He said suddenly, just as Taehyung reached the door handle. Taehyung paused at Jimin's statement and Jimin turned around to face him. "I saw your neck, Taehyung. Rosemary really sank her teeth into you. There's no way she would have been able to stop unless Y/N was able to stop her."

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Taehyung grumbled. Jimin crossed his arms again.

"I don't? Then why was it bandaged up? I know you don't know the first thing about first aid, which leads me to believe that not only did she save you, but she took care of you after the fact." Taehyung turned around, his eyes ablaze with anger as Jimin stared him down. "And you're still going to leave her?" Jimin asked incredulously.

"Fuck off, Jimin." Taehyung snapped angrily. Jimin scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"You're getting defensive because I'm right." Jimin sighed. "I know she'll probably be fine with just me and Jungkook, but we're supposed to be a team, Taehyung. We've been together through so much and you really want to throw that all away now? Just because you found out you have a shitty ex?"

"A shitty ex?" Taehyung retorted, cutting him off. "Really, that's what you want to call it?" Jimin sighed again and scratched the back of his head.

"Ok, sure it's worse than that, but come on Taehyung. You mean to tell me this whole time that we've been together you only cared about confronting Rosemary? You don't care at all about me or Jungkook?"

Taehyung turned away again, trying to look uncaring, but you could hear the emotion in his voice as he spoke again.

"You spend most of your time threatening me. And Jungkook is just a pansy who paints all the time. Just because we've been living together doesn't make us friends." He growled, clenching his fists.

"That's bullshit and you know it, Taehyung."

Taehyung closed his mouth and you stared as the two vampires glared hard at each other, daring each other to challenge the other. You held your breath, waiting for the explosion because you could feel it coming. Taehyung's angry expression was enough to warn you that something huge was about to blow up.

Finally, Taehyung was the first to move. You watched, surprised as he turned around and walked out the front door without looking back. Jimin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, agitated. He walked back into the manor, and you heard the door to the dining room shut behind him. You exhaled the breath you'd been holding and stared at your feet, your brain shaking with what you'd just listened to.

You honestly didn't know what to think or how to feel. Had Taehyung truly left? Was he gone for good? He'd left in a way that you had least expected. Instead of yelling at Jimin or attacking him, he just... left. You didn't know how to take it. From the little you knew about Taehyung, leaving without saying anything definitely seemed out of character.

If he had left, if he really was gone... what did that mean for you? To be honest, you felt sad that he might be gone. Granted, your relationship with him had been pretty rocky up to this point, but you felt like you'd finally had a breakthrough with him. He'd opened up to you when he didn't have to, and he'd showed real kindness toward you that you thought he was incapable of prior to the whole fiasco. And to be honest, you empathized with him greatly. Having your entire family killed by someone you can't confront, or reach is horrible to experience.

As it turned out, you didn't have to wonder or feel sad for very long. The rest of the day was surprisingly uneventful. You spend the morning cooking up a bag of rice and eating it plain. As you ate, Jungkook had walked into the kitchen and noticed your pathetic breakfast. After that, it didn't take long for Jimin to suggest going to the grocery store for real this time. The trip to the grocery store was uneventful. And that evening when you were finally able to enjoy a frozen pizza heated in the oven, you were finally feeling a bit better. Neither Jungkook nor Jimin had tried talking to you after everything that had happened yesterday. They were giving you your space, which you appreciated.

As you ate slice after slice of your favorite pizza, you heard the front door open and your heart thudded in your chest. You ran to doorway and peeked out to see who had just come in. Your eyes widened when you saw Taehyung shutting the front door behind him. He was still carrying his duffle bag and his eyes swung around as if looking for anyone who would ambush him. His gaze swung to you and inhaled sharply when his eyes locked onto yours. The two of you stared at each other for a few seconds before Taehyung tore his gaze away and walked up the stairs.

You breathed a sigh of relief and leaned against the wall of the kitchen, taking another bite of your pizza slice. So, Taehyung was back. Was it because of what Jimin said to him this morning? There really was no reason for him to be here if he wasn't getting anything out of it. Did that mean... he was here because he wanted to be and not because of anything he was promised?

A few days passed before you finally spoke to Taehyung again. He was in the kitchen, drinking blood from a glass when you walked in to make yourself some lunch. You paused when you saw him sitting at the counter, the wine glass smeared with a thin sheen of blood. Taehyung's eyes lifted from the glass and met yours and the two of you stared at each other for a few moments before you snapped out of it and moved to the fridge. You took out ingredients for a sandwich and started making yourself your food as Taehyung returned his attention to his phone.

You would glance up at him every so often, wondering which one of you was going to make the first move. He definitely seemed... more mellow ever since the big fight with Jimin. He didn't give off the aura of rage anymore, and he didn't glare at you anymore. Instead, his looks were filled with curiosity and scrutiny, as if he were trying to figure something out when he looked at you. It was definitely strange. And it was even weirder that you almost missed him being so angry all the time. At least then, you knew where you stood.

"Blood from a bag today?" You asked, breaking the tense silence. Taehyung looked up at you and then at his nearly empty glass. He shrugged and finished the glass, setting back down on the table.

"It'll do for now, I suppose." He replied, his voice sounding hoarse for some reason. You licked your lips and arranged your sandwich on the plate before putting the ingredients away.

You still remembered vividly when Taehyung had come home with that poor girl and compelled her to do his bidding without feeling any kind of remorse. It made you sick to your stomach just thinking about it and the compassion that you'd been recently feeling for him lessened slightly. Regardless of how horrible his life had turned out, there is never an excuse to treat someone like garbage.

You looked up at him again, your eyes falling on his neck where Rosemary had bitten him.

"Your neck looks better." You noted. Taehyung's reached up to rub it and nodded. The wound had healed tremendously over the past few days and now there was just faded scars of where her teeth had sank into his flesh.

"How did it heal so fast?" You asked curiously. You still remembered your own wound from when Taehyung had bitten you the first time you'd met. That wound had taken more than a week to heal and even now there was scarring that you weren't sure would ever go away. Taehyung sighed and tilted his head, like he was cracking his neck.

"Vampire injuries are usually superficial, so they heal really fast. Only injuries that come from wood have the ability to truly damage anything." He deadpanned, running his fingers through his hair. You nodded and gripped the edges of your plate, remembering something else you needed to talk to him about. This was about to get really uncomfortable, really fast.

"Taehyung," You started, taking a seat on a stool a couple feet away from him. He looked up at you, his eyes clouded. "Can I ask you about Rosemary?"

Taehyung's eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched at the mention of her name. You held your breath in anticipation of his response. When you'd first found about her questionable past, you had been overwhelmed, you didn't want to add to the disaster that swam around in your head. But now? Now, you wanted the real truth.

You wanted to know if Rosemary was related to you. You needed to know if she was the woman that Dracula had described in his journal. And you figured your best bet of getting the truth was from Taehyung. You couldn't trust Jimin to be truthful, Jungkook was way too closed off to even acknowledge you, and Taehyung had already started to open up to you, so it was only logical that he was your best option.

Taehyung looked away from you for a second, swirling his empty glass around, as if debating how to respond to your question. You took a bite of the sandwich, just as Taehyung met your gaze again and nodded slowly. You took a breath and opened your mouth.

"I know... I know about your past with her, but do you know anything about her past? The others... they said that she might have known Dracula at one point and I just... I need to know." You trailed off awkwardly and watched as Taehyung took a deep breath and glanced up at the sky as he considered his answer.

"Rosemary is one of the oldest vampires in existence. She was around during the vampire-human wars back in the Dark Ages. She is extremely well-versed with the Elders and with Lazarus." He started, his voice grim as he spoke about his ex-lover. "And I know that she knew Dracula. But I don't know her history with him or how she turned into a vampire. She never told me anything about that." He sighed and looked down at the table again, steepling his hands in front of him.

"She created a story when she was with me. Turned herself into someone that I could easily fall in love with a fake personality and fake history. Everything I thought I knew about her turned out to be false." He glanced up at you, looking you in the eye. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I have the answers you want." He finished, giving you a solemn nod. You blinked and looked away, digesting the information you'd been given.

She really was a master manipulator. Your skin crawled at the idea of turning yourself into something else simply to toy with people's emotions and their lives for your own pleasure. You sincerely hoped that you didn't share any blood with her.

"Is she an Elder?" You asked, breaking the tense silence. Taehyung blinked.

"What?"

You sighed and met his gaze again. "Well, you said that she's old enough to be one and that she knows Dracula and Lazarus so... shouldn't that make her an Elder as well?"

Taehyung pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at you, before shaking his head deeply. "She's not an Elder, no. The Elders are all male." He deadpanned. You blinked in surprise.

"What? Why?" Taehyung rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully and looked up at the ceiling.

"Well, when the Elder coalition was formed, women weren't exactly appreciated, for human or vampires. And the traditions haven't adapted or been modernized no matter how much time passes. This is just how it's always been." He explained solemnly.

You looked away, frowning slightly. It was a little shocking to hear about how outdated the vampire traditions were. Although, if you thought about it, it wasn't entirely surprising. Vampires are immortal, which means it takes them much longer to adapt and change than humans. And at the time, you were sure that there were many outdated traditions were women were basically just property and trophy wives. There was nothing they could do without permission from a man, so the idea that they would be allowed on a council of Elders who would basically rule over the vampire society was probably deplorable for the time.

You thought back to the one of Dracula's journal entries that criticized the Elders and their way of viewing the human world as something to be separate from instead of embracing. Dracula was much more open minded and mature than you thought could be possible for someone so old. You felt a strange spark of pride that he was related to you for a split second before you caught yourself.

After you finished your sandwich, you made your way to the stairs with Taehyung. You hoped to perhaps read another journal entry that would shed some light on the Rosemary situation. Taehyung suddenly stopped in front of you and you almost ran into his back before catching yourself just in time. You peered around him, wondering why he stopped and swallowed hard when you saw Jimin standing at the bottom of the stairs, giving you both a long look. Jimin and Taehyung stared at each other, neither one saying anything. You gulped, looking back and forth between the two anxiously.

These two hadn't said a word to each other since their fight and then the angry conversation that you'd eavesdropped on. You had no idea where they stood with each other. Taehyung was back, but you still didn't know why and if it had anything to do with what Jimin had said to him. On top of all of that, you were still unsure of Jimin's motive. Why did he want Taehyung to stay? It wasn't like he and Jungkook couldn't handle the protection by themselves. And from the fight you witnessed, it seemed like Jimin was the stronger of the two, despite Taehyung being a bit bigger and a little taller.

"Glad to see you two are finally getting along." Jimin said with a smile, breaking the silence. Taehyung rolled his eyes and crossed his arms defensively. You chewed on your fingernails nervously. You really didn't want to get caught in the middle if these two decided to start fighting again.

Taehyung didn't respond and instead moved toward the staircase, as if to ignore Jimin completely. Before he could walk past him, Jimin side stepped directly in front of Taehyung, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

"You're going to have to talk to me eventually. We live in the same house and we have a mission where we need to work together." He deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. Taehyung growled and tried to walk around him, but Jimin side-stepped again, blocking his path. You frowned, thinking this whole situation seemed a little childish.

"I don't have to talk to you to be able to work with you." Taehyung ground out through gritted teeth. Jimin let out a small sigh and reached out to place a hand on Taehyung's shoulder. Taehyung jerked back, Jimin held firm, forcing Taehyung to remain in place.

"I wasn't being malicious the other day. I'm sorry if what I said hurt you, but you know better than anyone that we need each other."

"Take your hands off me."

"Suit yourself, Taehyung. Just remember you're throwing away one of the only positive relationships you have left. After what you've gone through, you're going to need a few friends."

"Fuck off, I don't need you. You think I need you?"

"Of course not. You don't need anyone." Jimin smirked, obviously mocking him. Taehyung made a sound in the back of his throat and shoved Jimin back angrily. You gasped slightly, fully expecting a full-blown fight to occur again, but Jimin just laughed and stepped out of the way, raising his palms up. Taehyung stomped past him and up the stairs, grumbling under his breath. You watched him go, feeling a little sad for him. Why was Jimin being so mean all of a sudden? He seemed to genuinely care about him when you'd overheard their conversation so why—

Your looked back and Jimin and your heart slammed in your chest when you saw his expression. He was watching Taehyung, same as you had been, but there was a sinister smile on his face. One that made your face pale and your palms start to sweat. It was the most terrifyingly evil smile you'd ever seen, it made you want to sprint in the opposite direction. As quickly as it was there, it was suddenly gone as he placed a pleasant smile on his face and turned back to you.

"Don't worry, Y/N." He said, smiling down at you. He obviously hadn't noticed your reaction because he walked toward you cheerfully, giving you a pat on the shoulder. "He'll come around. He usually pouts for a few days, but then he's back in business. You won't have to deal with us being at odds with each other for very long."

Jimin walked away, heading for the kitchen and you shivered after he left. You hugged yourself, trying to get the image of his evil smile out of your head. You glanced back up the stairs and almost jumped in surprise when you saw Jungkook at the top of the stairs, looking down at you. his arms were crossed, and his lips were pursed as they scanned your face and body language. Had he seen the exchange had he seen Jimin's smile?

You glanced behind you at where Jimin had just been standing and shivered again. There was something ominous approaching. You didn't know how you knew or when it would happen, but you had a strange inkling that something was going to happen. And you just had a feeling that things were not going to work out in your favor.