Chapter 27:

"Well, it's good to meet you, Y/N. My name is Dracula. Perhaps you've heard of me?"

You could only stare, speechless as the perfect male version of you smiled across from you. You couldn't even remember to be scared, you were so stunned. You shared the same blood with this vampire and he was... here? Alive?

"I... you're... You're Dracula?" You stammered, unable to come up with a better sentence. His nodded cheerfully.

"Yes, indeed I am. You may call me Drac if you wish, the full name sounds so formal, doesn't it?" He winked at you and his grin widened. You swallowed hard and shook your head incredulously.

"I don't... I don't understand. Lazarus, he told me you were dead. The others... they thought you were dead." You mumbled, shaking your head. You licked your lips as Dracula chuckled amiably.

"Well, technically in the eyes of the Council of Elders, I am dead." He grinned and rubbed his hand up Rosemary's back. Your eyes panned to the movement, a pool of uneasiness settling in your stomach as you looked up into her piercing violet gaze.

When looking back at Dracula, you noticed that his eyes were a strange color too. You hadn't noticed at first, you'd been too caught off-guard. Instead of black, like you'd been used to seeing, or even red like Lazarus', Dracula's were a pure gold, almost eerily so. There were no flecks or hints of anything else, no ring of another color, his irises were pure gold like antique jewelry. They were haunting and you definitely preferred the deep obsidian eyes that Jungkook had... Wait...

"Where's Jungkook?" You exclaimed, looking around suddenly. You winced at the pain in your head from moving too fast, and you reached up to feel around your head, touching a large lump on the back. Dracula and Rosemary exchanged looks and you felt a wave of fear shoot through you.

"Where is he?" You demanded, your voice shaking. You refused to imagine the worst, but your hands were trembling and your face felt pale and clammy. Dracula sighed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Y/N, there are some things that I need to explain to you. Lazarus hasn't been honest with you, and I'm afraid the vampires he entrusted to protect you, don't have your best interests in mind." Dracula started, leaning forward solemnly.

"I already know about my blood." You snapped, cutting him off. Dracula quirked an eyebrow.

"You know—"

"I know that Lazarus is trying to use the blood of Dracula descendants to turn human again. I ran away, Jungkook was helping me. What did you do with him?" You said firmly, frowning at both of them. You didn't care who they were, if they'd hurt him...

Dracula raised his eyebrows and looked back at Rosemary, leaning back in his seat.

"Well... that's something I definitely wasn't expecting." He let out a small laugh and looked back at you, nodding. "This will makes things a little easier." Rosemary nodded in agreement and you clenched your hands to fists.

"You're not answering me. Where is Jungkook? What did you do with him?" You demanded, feeling panic rise in your throat. What if they'd...

"Calm down, darling, he's fine. He's just locked up in the basement." Rosemary flourished her hand. A wave of relief passed through you and you exhaled heavily. "I'll let him go when we're done talking." She added. You shook your head quickly.

"No, I want him here. Anything you want to say to me, you can say to him too, he's the only person I trust right now." You said, your voice gruff. Dracula raised an eyebrow at you and an amused smirk danced at his lips. He looked up at Rosemary and gave her a long look, like he was leaving it up to her. She glanced at him, then back at you and her smile fell off her face, to be replaced with an annoyed scowl.

"Seriously?" She spat, glaring at Dracula. His smile widened and he shrugged.

"You heard her, he's the only one she trusts." He said it sarcastically, like he was making fun of you and you felt indignation churn in your stomach. Rosemary huffed and stood, casting you an annoyed glance.

"Fine, I'll fetch him." She stalked out of the room, and ever though she wasn't happy about it, she still looked flawless, like a model walking down a runway, her ample hips swaying behind her.

You and Dracula were left alone and you turned your attention back to him, warily.

"How did you find out about your blood, if you don't mind me asking?" Dracula asked, breaking the silence. You swallowed, feeling much more nervous now that it was just him.

"I found your journals. There was one hidden in the wall." You said tersely, not feeling like explaining more. Dracula's eyebrows shot up and a delighted smile formed on his face.

"Ah, you did? That's wonderful! I was hoping that would help someone one day." He clapped his hands in delight and you blinked at him in surprise.

"So, you were the one to hide it there?" You asked slowly. Dracula nodded and rested his chin in his palm, smiling boyishly.

"Oh yes, I knew that if Lazarus saw I'd written down his plans, he'd destroy it and I wasn't sure if I'd be alive long enough to warn people." He said it so cheerfully and you could only stare, not knowing how to respond to him.

The two of your stared at each other for a few long minutes. You still couldn't believe that he was really here, sitting across from you. He was your only living relative, the only person in the world who shared the same DNA. And yet, he was also a ruthless vampire, not just some random vampire, but the vampire. The one from all the stories, the one that even humans had heard of.

You tried to picture him in a long sweeping black cape with a popped collar and black gelled back hair, like the way most media portrayed him. You couldn't imagine someone cruel in his dancing, golden eyes, but there was something sinister just underneath that you wouldn't have noticed if you hadn't become so accustomed to vampires. You weren't sure if you could trust him.

"I... I've never met anyone I was related to." You said softly, breaking the silence. Dracula pressed his lips together in a kind smile and leaned forward, extending his hand out for you.

"Well, I'm delighted to finally meet you, my girl. I've been trying to get ahold of you for quite a while. As soon as I heard Lazarus had you in his clutches, in fact." You tentatively placed your hand in his grip. His hand was cold, so cold, colder than Jungkook's. You shivered and considered his words.

"You sent all those vampires who tried to kill me?" You asked, looking into his eyes. He tilted his head, seeming confused.

"Kill you? They were only trying to save you from your trio of bodyguards." Dracula scratched his chin and leaned back, releasing your hand. "I apologize if they were a bit rough with you. It's hard to find good hired held these days." He cracked a smirk at his own joke.

You thought back to all the times you'd been attacked. It was true, now that you thought about it, they had only wanted to kidnap you, not kill you. The only reason the attacks turned violent was because you turned them violent, or one of the others vampires did. You pressed your lips together and wrung your sweaty hands together. There were so many questions on the tip of your tongue and you could barely sort through your thoughts enough to formulate any of them. This was your only living relative and yet you were speechless in front of him.

Dracula leaned back, stroking his chin thoughtfully he his eyes flicked over your face.

"You do look a lot like me, don't you?" He commented with a flash of teeth. You swallowed, and looked down sheepishly.

"Do all humans related to you look like you?" You asked, feeling more than a little awkward as he scanned you up and down. Dracula chuckled and shook his head.

"I really couldn't tell you. I don't usually make it a point to meet my descendants." He snorted. "Besides they're all dead." He threw his head back and laughed loudly. Your skin prickled and your frowned. You really didn't find that very funny.

"So, that part of Lazarus' story was true. The Elders are hunting people like me?" You asked as Dracula's laughter died down a bit. He pressed a palm to his chest and wiped at his eyes.

"Sort of, it's a bit more complicated than that." He said, his voice a bit thick. You opened your mouth to ask him to elaborate, but you heard a noise outside the door that drew your attention.

You and Dracula turned to the door. You could hear Rosemary and Jungkook talking as they approached the door and you breathed a sigh of relief at the sound of his voice.

"I swear to god, if you've laid even one finger on her—"

"Don't get your panties in a twist, she's fine. I'm sure her and Drac are having a riveting discussion."

"I'll kill him too if he touches her."

"My goodness, you are dramatic, aren't you?"

The door then opened, revealing Rosemary followed by Jungkook. Jungkook's hair was disheveled and there was a fresh cut on his cheek. His clothes were rumpled and torn as well, like he'd been in one hell of a fight. A wave of relief passed over you and you stood as his gaze locked onto yours. You didn't even have to say anything, you both moved toward each other simultaneously. You flung yourself into his embrace and he swept his own arms around your waist, pulling you tight against chest. He rested his chin on the top of your head and breathed a long sigh of relief near your ear.

"Thank god..." You heard him whisper. "I thought they were going to..." His voice shook and he trailed off. His voice rumbled through your body, making you shiver.

"They wanted to talk to me alone, but I didn't want to do this without you." You murmured into his chest. His grip tightened.

"I'm always here. I'm with you, Y/N. I've got your back." Your chest swelled at those pure, simple words that were exactly what you needed to hear.

You peeled yourself back and turned back to Dracula who was watching you two with surprised interest. His mouth was quirked into a half smile as he stared between you two. His gaze dropped to where your were still clutching Jungkook's arms and he pressed his lips together, like he was trying not to laugh. You guided Jungkook back to the couch and you both sat down. Jungkook scooted next to you, close enough that his legs pressed against yours and when you glanced at him, you saw he was glowering at Dracula and Rosemary, sitting up straight protectively.

"You two are adorable." He said with a grin. You blushed and instinctively tried pulled away from Jungkook, but he squeezed your hand, refusing to let go.

"I want to know what this is all about." Jungkook snapped, not even acknowledging the comment. "I want to know how you're alive, why you two are together, and why you wanted to kidnap Y/N."

You released a breath and sent up a silent thanks to whoever gave you Jungkook. He was blunt and to the point and you needed that, because you could barely understand what was happening, let along form the right questions.

"Well, I've been alive this whole time, surprise!" Dracula said, chuckling a bit. Rosemary joined him on the loveseat again, this time sitting on his leg. He rested his palm on her thigh tenderly and you swallowed. A chill rolled down your spine when you deduced that they were probably together. Did that mean you really were related to her as well?

"No, but in all seriousness, I am in hiding. I did confront Lazarus after finding out his plan for my human offspring," He winked at you and you bristled. "And he explained his plan, his experiments and all of that. Of course, I realized that he was just barking mad." He laughed and Rosemary smirked. You and Jungkook exchanged looks.

"There is no way to turn a vampire human again. Lazarus is just obsessed because he believes he deserves a second chance at life." You stared in surprised and glanced at Jungkook, who looked just as shocked. Dracula continued. "When I tried to calmly tell him that he was crazy, he attacked me. I managed to escape, but he was on the Council and I wasn't, so he easily convinced them that I was a threat to vampire society and they decided to hunt me down." He smiled wryly, his eyes narrowed. "It worked in Lazarus' favor because he was able to hunt and collect my descendants to experiment on them without anyone knowing. As for me, I had someone pretend they'd killed me, then I killed them, and I've been in hiding ever since."

He finished his story, like he was done with a school presentation, leaning back, as if expecting applause. You could only stare, the words turning over and over again in your head. He was so nonchalant about the whole thing, like being hunted and killing people was part of everyday life. And you supposed... it was for him. But something he said nagged at you, and made you uneasy.

"So... Lazarus' experiments..." You whispered. Dracula's smile turned sinister.

"None of them have worked. He's chasing a pipe dream. So rest assured, your blood does not have the ability to turn vampires human." He seemed more vengeful than reassuring. He hated Lazarus, you could tell from that smile.

"Why does she look like you?" Jungkook cut in abruptly. You swallowed and pulled your gaze away from Dracula's cruel smirk. Dracula sighed, replacing it with a thin lipped smile.

"She has my blood in her, why wouldn't she look like me?" He said simply, shrugging. He stroked Rosemary's leg and she smiled, giving you a cutting look. You stared at her, frowning when you were reminded of the first time you'd met her. The first time she'd seen you, had she pretended not to know you?

"I met you before." You cut in suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to you. You pointed at Rosemary. "Did you know who I was when Taehyung and I confronted you?" Rosemary quirked an eyebrow, her smile widening.

"You're pretty observant, aren't you?" She giggled and gave you an appraising look. "Of course, I knew who you were darling, but I couldn't very well say anything in case I gave away that Drac was in fact alive." She winked at Dracula. "And besides, I did try to kill Taehyung so I could bring you here, but that didn't exactly pan out the way I planned." She grinned, licking her lips like he was reminiscing on that terrible event. "He was just as cute as I remembered."

"Easy girl," Dracula crooned, his eyes narrowing dangerously. Rosemary chuckled and patted his cheek.

"Don't be jealous, darling. He was just a blip on the road to you, of course." Dracula smirked and the two shared an intense stare, you were afraid they were going to jump each other's bones right then and there.

You coughed. "So you two are..." You gestured between them.

"We're anything we want to be." Dracula cut you off sharply. "We've been working together for quite some time, so we've got a great working relationship." He smirked and Rosemary grinned back. You wanted to vomit.

"Why do you think I got your boyfriend to work with me to kill Lazarus and rest of the council?" Rosemary winked at Jungkook and he colored.

You straightened, remembering Jungkook's story. He'd had a history with Rosemary in that she'd convinced him to try to assassinate Lazarus and the rest of the Elders. It hadn't occurred to you that she'd done that for Dracula, but suddenly it made sense. Jungkook looked like he was shooting fire from his eyes and you clutched his arm, hoping to reassure him somehow.

"Oh, yes and I guess I should mention I was the one to save you from Lazarus when you were a baby." Rosemary added abruptly. You whipped your head around sharply. You coughed, choking on a bit of saliva and gaped at her, jaw hanging open. She laughed at your expression, like this was a pleasant surprise, not an earth-shattering development.

"When I was... Lazarus tried to kidnap me when I was a child? You know what happened to my parents? I was told they died in a car accident but..." You trailed off and your hands started to tremble. Jungkook's grip tightened reassuringly.

"Well, yes they did, sort of. I was part of the hunting party that went after your parents. Lazarus was part of it as well, of course. Your parents did die in a car crash. We caused the accident. The idea was to injure, not to kill, but we might have overestimated a little bit." She chuckled and made a mock apologetic face. "I saw you in the backseat, and by some miracle, you weren't dead, so I scooped you up, hid you from the others and dropped you off at a fire station. It was the greatest deed of my life." She pressed her hand to her chest, like she was genuinely proud of herself. You leapt to your feet, rage curling in your chest.

"You were part of the raid that killed my parents? You killed them?" You demanded, brandishing a finger at her. Rosemary gave you a weird look, like you were overreacting.

"We didn't mean to, of course. Well, Lazarus didn't mean to at least. Not your mother anyway, since she was the one with Dracula's blood. Your father on the other hand... Ok, yes we did mean to kill him." She laughed and rage flared up in your stomach.

You took a step forward, but Jungkook grabbed your wrist, halting your movement. He pulled you back down to the couch and leaned down to whisper in your ear.

"You won't get through to her." He murmured. "She's too far gone, don't even bother."

You turned to him in surprise. You weren't even sure what you'd been planning to do, but Jungkook had. Somehow, he knew you were going to start screaming at her, trying to make her understand what she'd truly done. He'd known what you were going to do before even you...

"So, you aren't related to her?" Jungkook asked, perking up your attention. He was pointing at Rosemary. Rosemary looked at you, then at Dracula and they both burst into laughter.

"Oh my goodness, no!" Rosemary exclaimed.

"That's the funniest things I've ever heard, you related to Rosie? Please..." Dracula and Rosemary cackled loudly, making you feel extremely uncomfortable. You were definitely relieved that you weren't related to her, but all this information was still a lot, and it was hard to figure out how you were supposed to be feeling.

"Oh, you know what I just remembered, Jimin was part of that hunt." Rosemary added, oblivious to your anger. This time, you and Jungkook both whipped your head toward her in surprise. She tapped her chin and nodded. "Yep, I definitely remember him being there. He was working for Lazarus at that time too." She laughed. "He really is Lazarus' lapdog, isn't he?"

"Jimin... was there when my parents were killed?" You whispered. A lump formed in your throat ad you gritted your teeth turning away. You could feel Jungkook tense next to you and he let go of your hand.

"I can't believe he..." You swiped at your eyes, not finishing that statement. You could believe it. You could believe he was capable of killing your parents, but you didn't want to. Even through everything, even if you thought he wanted to use your blood to turn him human again, you thought maybe that some part of him was good. But there was nothing good about him. Nothing...

"Oh, I'm sorry, did he mean something to you?" Dracula noted, unapologetically. "You know, he doesn't care one bit about you. He's known who you were all along and what Lazarus wants to do with you. He wants to be human again, just like Lazarus."

"I know..." You croaked. "That doesn't mean it still doesn't hurt."

"I realize that this is a lot to take in, so just take your time." Dracula said. It might have been reassuring or kind, but you couldn't help but feel like he was annoyed.

"All of this is great, but it still doesn't explain why you wanted to kidnap her. I understand not wanting her to die, but since when have you cared about any of your offspring?" Jungkook spat, his voice full of venom. Dracula quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Testy, aren't we?" He smirked and Jungkook scowled. "Well, Jungkook, I was just getting to that. The reason I wanted you here is because I want to stop Lazarus once and for all. I want to come out of hiding, I want to be able to live my life... metaphorically speaking, of course." He grinned, but neither of you returned it. Dracula swept his arm around Rosemary's waist and smiled at you, his eyes glinting. "And before you say anything, no I don't want to kill him. I could do that without your help." He laughed again. "No, I want to hurt him where it counts. He forced me into hiding and I want to return the favor. I want him to suffer like I did. And there is only one way I can think of to do that." He grinned at you and your blood ran cold, pressing yourself closer to Jungkook unconsciously. You did not like that smile.

"The only way to take away any hope Lazarus has of turning human again is to take away his last chance. You, Y/N dear."

Jungkook stood up immediately and stepped in front of you, his eyes flashing red.

"Yeah, over my dead body. You even think about killing her and I'll rip you to shreds." He snarled, hands clenching to fists. There was a burst of warmth in your chest and you forgot to be scared.

"Goodness me, call off your guard dog." Dracula exclaimed, frowning. He waved a dismissive hand at Jungkook, displaying the first bit of negative emotion. He gave you a look, but you didn't say anything, staring him down. Dracula sighed and looked back up at Jungkook, holding his palm up.

"I don't want to kill her, you neanderthal." He turned back to you and smiled. "I want to turn her into a vampire, of course."