Chapter 6:

Back at the manor, you sat at the dining table where they had first broken the news of your heritage to you. You clutched your backpack in your lap, staring at the table intently. It had been about twenty minutes since the three vampires had brought you here after saving you from the other two vampires who'd attacked you. They had allowed you to clean yourself off in their bathroom and then had told you to wait in the dining room.

You figured that they needed to contact Lazarus somehow. From what you'd gathered, Jimin, Jungkook, and Taehyung did nothing but follow orders. You were still unclear on how the hierarchy worked, but you did know that Lazarus held more power than they did, so they had to follow what he said.

"Y/N, it's good to see you again." You inhaled sharply at the voice behind you. You turned to see Lazarus walking toward you, the other three close behind him. You scowled and turned back to the table. Lazarus took his space at the head of the table and steepled his fingers in front of him, giving you a deep look of sympathy. His red eyes and porcelain skin were still unsettling, but at least you could look him in the eye now.

"I'm very sorry that you had to go through what you did." He said compassionately. "I asked these three to watch over, so nothing like this would happen. I'm sure they're also very apologetic." Lazarus cast his gaze over to the three, who were standing behind you. You shivered at the expression he gave them.

"It appears that your identity is not as secret as we believed it was." Lazarus continued.

"Do you know who wanted to attack me?" You asked. Lazarus' gaze became clouded as he looked off into the distance at something you couldn't see.

"I have an inkling." He whispered vaguely. "It doesn't really matter. What does matter is that you are going to targeted from now on. You need protection." He beckoned to the three who emerged from behind you, standing on either side of you. "I have asked these three to be your personal protectors. This time, however, they won't leave your side so there will be no fear of you being attacked unsupervised again."

"Why would they do that?" You asked cautiously. The questions had been bothering you a lot lately. Why did these three vampires care about you or your weird bloodline? Even though they'd been the ones to discover you, it didn't make any sense why they were still here.

"You don't have to worry about their loyalty. They'll do what I say." Lazarus cast a scathing look to each of them in turn and your blood ran cold. You glanced up at each of them, wondering what exactly Lazarus had on them. Jimin's expression reminded you of a snake, eyeing a potential victim, lying in wait. Jungkook looked bored and stoic as usual, and Taehyung looked like he wanted to rip Lazarus' head clean off his body.

"Why are you helping me?" You asked, turning back to face the Elder. Lazarus sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"I've seen what the Elders have done to Dracula and his line over the centuries. Dracula was by no means a good man, but he didn't deserve the injustice. He was my good friend. So, to avenge his death, I will protect his descendants." He looked down at you. "That means I will dedicate all my resources to protecting you." There was something more than just sincerity in his eyes. Something more than just a promise made to his late friend. You shivered and quickly looked away. There was definitely something about Lazarus that made you on edge.

"So... what does that mean? I have to have someone following me all the time?" You asked, trying to shake away the goosebumps on your arms. Lazarus leaned back and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Well, we might have to be more aggressive than that. The fact is, if you're left alone for even a second, then you're susceptible to an attack. That's why I think it would be most prudent if you were to move in here." He announced. You jaw dropped and you straightened.

"Wait, what? You mean move out of my apartment to live here instead? Are you insane? There is no way I'm doing that." You exclaimed, shaking your head vigorously. Lazarus gave you an annoyed look, but you stared him down, unwilling to budge.

"If you don't, you'll put your friends in danger too." Jimin said suddenly, causing you to turn to him in surprise.

"W-what?"

"It's not just you that's in danger." He continued, staring you down. "It's everyone around you. The friends that you live with could become targets just as quickly as you are. And they are significantly easier to kill."

You closed your eyes, shuddering. You hadn't thought of it that way, but he was right. You had the slightest of advantages when it came to vampires since you couldn't be controlled by them, nor could they bite you without being poisoned. If your friends had to face against the two vampires that had attacked you earlier, they wouldn't stand a chance. They would be dead in seconds.

You felt your heart break as you imagined life without them. Of not waking up and seeing Selena sprawled on the couch or Katie baking brownies on the weekend. They were the only people you'd ever truly trusted your entire life. The first people you could truly call your family. And now... now you had to leave them to protect them from monsters that wanted to kill you because of something you couldn't control. It wasn't fair. None of this was fair.

You took a breath and opened your eyes again to focus on Lazarus.

"Fine. I'll do it your way. But I'm not leaving university. I worked my ass off to get into that school and I'm not giving it up for anything." You stated firmly, clutching your backpack tighter against your chest.

This wasn't up for debate. If you had to leave university, then you might as well let the vampires kill you because nothing would matter anymore. Being enrolled in university on your way to obtaining a degree was the accumulation of your entire life struggling and fighting to survive in the worst circumstances. From the horrible orphanage and the horrible foster homes that you'd gone through and the scars that you'd accumulated over the years. You had killed yourself to get into that school and you weren't going to give it up ever. Not ever.

"That shouldn't be a problem. We'll just have to have one of you go with her. Probably Jungkook, since he looks the youngest amongst you." Lazarus nodded at Jungkook, who clenched his fists, but didn't argue. "He can enroll in your university and take the same classes as you." You frowned, looking at Jungkook, then back to Lazarus.

"Um... it takes more than just deciding to enroll to get into university." You said slowly. Lazarus rolled his eyes and shrugged, giving you an annoyed smile.

"We can compel the dean." He deadpanned. You blinked.

"Oh, right." You totally forgot about their ability to control people. "I have two jobs too. I have to keep going to those because I need them to pay my tuition." You added. Lazarus focused his attention on you and smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners.

"How much do you need?" He asked, leaning forward slightly. You swallowed and leaned back, not liking the look of interest in his eyes.

"My scholarship only covers half. I need those jobs so I'm not thousands of dollars in debt after I graduate." You mumbled, feeling a touch of warmth on your cheeks. It was more than a little embarrassing to have to admit to your financial shortcomings.

"We'll cover the rest." Lazarus said simply, leaning back. You gaped at him in surprise.

"W-what? No, I can't accept your money." You said quickly, waving a hand in front of you. Lazarus rolled his eyes again and you felt a surge of indignation pass through you at his body language.

"Money means nothing to us. We live for so long that acquiring it has never been a problem. We'll cover your class expenses, so you don't have to work anymore. You can go to class and come back here so you're always under protection."

You sighed and looked back down at the table, nodding slowly. You weren't exactly thrilled with this turn of events, since it sounded like you were on some kind of lockdown, but how could you argue with a thousand-year-old vampire?

"Wonderful. Now, it's pretty late so you might as well stay here for tonight. Tomorrow we can start setting things up and moving your stuff here." Lazarus said, standing up from the table.

"This is your house?" You asked Lazarus. He chuckled, as if talking to a child.

"Actually, I believe this house would technically be yours." He smirked and your eyes widened in surprise. "This house once belonged to Dracula himself. I've only been using it as a storage location, but now that you're here, I suppose you can do what you like with it."

You gaped around in awe at the Victorian architecture and tapestries on the wall that you'd just noticed. It was like looking at this house through new lenses. This place had once belonged to your ancestor, the first ancestor. You weren't entirely sure how to feel about it. On one hand, it was a great thing because perhaps you could learn more about Dracula by living where he once did. On the other, it gave you the chills to think that the ghost of his former self was here somewhere in these walls.

"I'll show you to the master bedroom." Jimin smiled and held his arm out for you. You ignored it and stood up on your own, slinging your backpack on your back. Luckily, you had a change of clothes on hand, since you'd just been on your way to your job. Which reminded you, you should probably call in to quit sooner rather than later. Your boss was pretty nasty when he wanted to be.

Jimin led you up the manor stairs and into a grand master bedroom. It was musty and dusty, which meant it hadn't been used in a long time. You wrinkled your nose and tried not to cough as you looked around at the delicate decorations and the huge king-sized bed. You swallowed hard, knowing that Dracula must have slept here. Did vampires even sleep?

"We'll be around if you need us." Jimin said, gesturing down the hall. You swallowed hard and suddenly had a flash of Taehyung's sharp teeth and red eyes.

"Does this door have a lock?" You asked, holding the door. You turned to see Jimin giving you a surprised look. "I mean—no offense or anything." You coughed and blushed, turning back. "I was just curious."

Jimin stepped out of the room and you felt way too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

"You can lock it if you feel that uncomfortable." You could hear the hurt in his voice and you immediately felt bad. You turned to him and tried to backpedal.

"I just meant... I'm really sorry. This is just a lot." You mumbled sheepishly. Jimin gave you a tiny smile and suddenly, his hurt expression was gone and you saw his eyes harden again.

"No worries. Have a good night." He turned on his heel and walked away. You watched him go, feeling confused and a little light-headed. What just happened?

You slowly closed the door and it hit you. He had done that on purpose. He'd gone after your compassionate side, pretended to be offended and hurt by your implication. But he hadn't been at hurt all. It was like he'd been testing you. You blushed furiously and quickly turned the lock in the door. You definitely needed to be more careful around him. If he was able to manipulate your emotions that easily without compelling you... no wonder the others seemed afraid of him.

That night, you slept over the blanket, feeling too weirded out to actually sleep in the bed properly. You clutched your backpack against you, despite the uncomfortableness of the binders inside, but it made you feel safer to keep it close to you. You weren't even sure if you'd be able to sleep, but after about an hour of laying rigid on your side, eventually you faded into slumber. You dreamed of pencils that stabbed out blood red eyes.

The next morning, you didn't feel any better. It was dead silent in the house and you wondered if you were alone in the house. You doubted it, since Lazarus had been very clear in his instructions, but it was nice to believe so. The bathroom was just as dirty as the bedroom was and when you tried turning on the sink, the water spurted out comically slow and barely any water dripped out. You did the best you could and splashed what little water you could on your face, trying to get rid of the sweat and grime.

You slung your bag on your back and gathered your courage before unlocking the door and heading back down the stairs. You cautiously looked around to see if anyone was here, but so far, not a sign from anyone. You found your way to the kitchen and put your backpack on the ground, feeling your stomach growling angrily. You hadn't eaten since lunchtime the day before. You really hoped these vampires had some kind of human food in here.

You opened the white fridge and let out a small shriek, stumbling back at the contents inside. Three of the shelves were filled to the brim with blood bags that look like they came straight from a hospital blood bank piled on top of each other. There was nothing else in the fridge besides for the blood bags.

You stared at the contents of the fridge in horror when suddenly a dark figure appeared next to you and you jumped in surprise. You whipped your head around to see Jungkook standing above you, a stoic expression on his face. He lifted an eyebrow at you, then reached around you to take out one of the blood bags.

He shut the fridge and rounded the counter, took out a glass from one of the cabinets and filled it with the blood from the bag. Then he threw the bag in the trash and began drinking the blood from the glass like it was the most normal thing in the world. You watched him, fascinated as the red from the blood smeared over his upper lip, kind of like milk mustache, and cringed when his tongue flicked out to lick it away. Jungkook glanced at you, as if suddenly aware that you were staring.

"Do you have a problem?" He asked, sipping at his glass. You swallowed.

"How... how do you get so much blood?" You asked, glancing back at the fridge. Jungkook shrugged.

"Blood banks." He said simply, offering no more explanation. You swallowed again and rounded the counter to sit on one of the stools.

"So, do you guys steal from blood banks? Or is there, like, a grocery store for vampires?" You cracked a smile at the thought of a store with the shelves lined with different types of blood for vampire moms to go shopping.

Jungkook scowled at you and downed the rest of his glass. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and dumped the blood-stained glass in the sink. He didn't answer you and instead pulled out a book, opening it on the counter. You frowned as he began to read, pretending you weren't there at all.

"Oh yeah, real mature." You snapped sarcastically, crossing your arms. You saw a ghost of a smile on Jungkook's face and he glanced up, looking at you through hooded eyelids.

"Well, I am over a century old." He said with a small smirk. You narrowed your eyes.

"And yet, you're still acting like a prepubescent teenager." You snapped. Jungkook pursed his lips, then looked back at his book, completely unbothered by your insult. You huffed in annoyance.

"Look," You began, hoping to make some kind of breakthrough. "Obviously, this situation isn't ideal for either of us. But if we're gonna be roommates now, and if you're going to be following me to classes every day, then we should at least try to make it bearable."

Jungkook still didn't lift his gaze from his book and you clenched your fists, feeling the annoyance start to grow into anger.

"Can't you at least try to tolerate me?" You demanded, smacking the table, a little harder than you intended. Jungkook glanced up at you, his eyes focusing on your hand and then up to your eyes. He smirked.

"This is me tolerating you." He deadpanned. You stiffened, feeling a wave of indignation pass over you. Why was he being so infuriating? Fine, he wanted to play that game? You would happily oblige.

"I'm hungry." You stated, crossing your arms. Jungkook rolled his eyes. "I need something to eat. Unlike you, I can't just drink a bag of blood and be rearing to go. I need actual human food."

Jungkook returned his attention to his book, obviously intent on ignoring you. You pursed your lips and sat up straighter.

"Does this stupid house even have running water? Do you people bathe at all? Or do you just roll around in your own filth for all eternity? I bet you don't sleep either. Or if you do you have creepy coffins in the backyard." Jungkook lifted his book higher, so it was covering his face, still completely ignoring you.

"You're going to have to talk to me eventually." You grumbled, glaring at him. Jungkook didn't react and continued to pretend you didn't exist, fully invested in his book.

You huffed in annoyance and narrowed your eyes, trying to think of a different tactic. You smiled when you thought of one. It was a little sadistic on your part, but hey, it was worth a try.

You hopped off the stool and started subtly going through all the drawers around the island. You found the drawer that held all the knives and you took out the steak knife. You glanced back at Jungkook, who still hadn't looked up from his book. You smirked and turned back to the knife. You brought it to your finger and braced yourself before drawing a small cut across your pointer. It was a small cut and it stung a little bit, but it was deep enough that it drew a small amount blood. You winced at the stinging pain and put the knife down.

No sooner had you released the knife, you were suddenly grabbed by the shoulders and whirled around. You cried out as your back was slammed against the counter painfully. You looked up to see Jungkook standing directly in front of you, his eyes as red as the blood dripping from your finger. He grabbed your wrist and brandished it in the space between you. He watched the blood trickle down your finger and onto your hand and wrist. You smirked at him.

"That got your attention." You said triumphantly. Jungkook snarled, revealing his sharp fangs. He looked at you and you resisted the urge to flinch at his unnaturally colored eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" He demanded. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Go ahead, Jungkook." You jeered, pressing your finger closer to him. "I dare you."

You knew you'd won. He couldn't drink from you without getting poisoned and it was just a small cut, so it hadn't hurt you at all. Jungkook's red eyes clouded with rage and he slammed you back against the counter, causing you to cry out in pain. He released you and stalked away, planting a hand on the counter. You pushed yourself off the counter, rubbing your back where the corner had been digging painfully. You looked over at him to see him hunched over, his back facing you. He looked like he was going to fall over and the hand on the counter was holding him upright. He was trembling, and you narrowed your eyes suspiciously.

You quickly walked to the sink and rinsed your hand off, grabbing paper towels to hold over your finger. You approached him cautiously.

"Are you okay?" You asked, tentatively reaching out to touch his arms. He suddenly straightened and smacked your arm away distastefully. You gasped at the sudden movement, jerking back. He turned around to face you again and you exhaled sharply to see his eyes had returned to black. He towered over you and gave you an expression of such disdain and loathing that you felt your knees buckle under you.

"Don't do that again." He commanded, his voice barely above a whisper. His tone sent chills down your back, but you stood your ground.

"Then don't ignore me again." You replied easily, quirking an eyebrow. Jungkook sighed in exasperation and grabbed his book before storming out of the kitchen.

You breathed a sigh of relief and slumped against the counter. You blew a long breath out of your mouth and shook your head, trying to get the image of his eyes out of your head. Had you pushed too far? Maybe, you had. But you knew you didn't want to spend all this time being ignored or brushed aside.

You looked down at your finger, which was still bleeding a little bit. Feeling strangely curious, you lifted it you your mouth and started to suck on it softly, letting your mouth fill with the metallic taste of blood. You smacked your lips lightly and swallowed, wondering what it would be like to drink blood forever. Blood itself didn't have the greatest taste in the world... but what did you know? You were only human.

"Y/N? What happened?" You looked up in surprise when Jimin walked in, scrunching his eyebrows curiously at you. You shook your head.

"Nothing." You hid your hand behind your back. You didn't need another vampire smelling it and losing control. "There's no food in the house."

Jimin lifted and eyebrow and nodded.

"We'll get you some food. The plan today is getting your stuff and moving in here. Taehyung will go with you to your apartment. Jungkook and I will go to your university to get him enrolled. We'll meet back here later. Sound good to you?"

You nodded slowly, not really feeling great about the plan. You saw Taehyung leaning on the doorframe behind Jimin and felt your blood run cold. Taehyung smirked, his eyes darkening dangerously.

"I guess you're with me now, poppet."

You swallowed and clenched your fists, trying to calm your racing heart. You could still feel the wound on your neck and remembered exactly how it felt when his teeth sunk into your flesh. This was definitely going to be interesting.