Welcome back, I love my vampires and I hope you do too.

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Frank didn't remember blacking out. The last thing his memory recalled was a glimpse of elevator doors opening, followed by the sight of ivory flooring, the next moment was engulfed by darkness up until now that his eyes snapped open and his body was suddenly very alert. He gasped to himself when his heart jumped in his chest from the sudden awakening, taking on a quick pace like he completed a marathon. He squinted slightly, reaching up to rub the sleep away from his eyes that blurred his vision so all he caught was smudges of different colors blending together. He groaned at the thumping headache immediately dawning over him, throbbing behind his eyeballs and at the very top of his skull. Rubbing them only made white spots appear behind his eyes, so he pulled his hands away and attempted to sit it.

It was then he realized he was tucked into a bed of some sorts, his body having been curled up into the thick velvet sheets and a comforter that smelled overwhelmingly like sweetness and a hint of rain. The rich burgundy covers were pulled up to his waist and the pillow underneath his head had an indent from where he laid on top of it. Surrounding him was a canopy of filmy wine red material with tiny pearls sewn into the slightly see through fabric, hanging from bars above the bed. Looking around, he could see a thick golden rope hanging from one of the bars at his level, resembling a thick braid of blonde hair. Hesitantly, Frank reached out for it, the golden strands weaved into it glistening as he pulled it down. The material surrounding him began to lift, drawing upwards so the rest of the room was no longer concealed.

The walls were deeply colored as the expensive sheets were, but the floors were pure swirled ivory he remembered catching a glimpse of before he fell asleep somehow. The bed he laid on had no underneath support, sitting atop a square of the room a step higher than the rest of the floor. A fire burned on in the chimney against the opposite wall, the smell of burning wood filling the room. Candles loitered the room beside oddly Victorian furniture, leaking candle wax into the trays below them. The lighting was enough to make everything visible in the room, but a tint of darkness still lingered with whatever lighting the burning flames in the room had to offer. Frank looked down at himself, noticing he was still fully clothes, but his shoes laid beside the bed where someone must have taken them off for him.

The part that terrified him was that he had no idea where he was. Everything was unfamiliar, the entirety of his surroundings making him feel like he had surged back into time and he was sitting inside a room built for a person living in the late 1800's. Frank breathed shakily, peeling the velvet and silk covers away from himself and sliding out of the bed. He looked around for a door and his eyes finally landed on one across the room, the color blending in with the rest of the walls so it would be unidentifiable if it weren't for the cooper knob protruding from the solid surface. Frank clumsily grabbed his shoes, pulling them onto his feet. He tripped when he approached the step of the raised platform he was on and nearly went tumbling to the ground, but he held his arms out and managed to keep himself from face planting on the hard ground below. He surged towards the door, body breaking out into a cold sweat.

Before his hand wrapped around the doorknob, he was horrified to find it twisting quickly on its own and the door was suddenly swinging open. He stumbled back, letting out a strange, strangled noise of surprise. Frank raised his wide eyes to the person now standing in the doorway, looking thoroughly unamused over the fact that he'd been attempting to get out. The man was tall, staring at him with intimidating almond brown eyes with an odd splash of olive green interrupting the peaceful color in one of his irises. His light brown hair swept across his deathly pale forehead, and Frank hated to admit that he was mildly stunned by the handsomeness of the young man standing before him.

"Oh, the human is awake." His tone was just as uninterested as his facial expression. He placed his hand on his narrow waist, leaning back slightly and turning his head. "Gerard, your mortal play thing is awake!" He called out down the dimly lit hallway, and when he opened his mouth wider to project his voice, Frank could see a pair of fangs glistening behind his lips. Frank gasped quietly, his mind filled with images of his own vampire rushing to rescue him from the house that fell apart around them.

While having that vampire in mind, Frank was shocked to see him suddenly appear beside the other vampire quicker than he could blink. His vampire glanced at the man beside him, then at Frank, where his intense gaze lingered and one of his perfect eyebrows lifted.

"Must I remind you he isn't a play thing, Michael?" The vampire sounded exasperated.

The tall man beside him, Michael, smiled, full of glistening fangs and a tongue sweeping across one of them. "He smells quite delicious."

The teasing air around the pair vanished in an instant once the words spilled out and Frank wobbled further away from the door, fearing for his throat when the vampire with the light hair leered at him like an animal assessing their meal before lunging for their neck. His vampire, the one who answered to the call of the name Gerard- at last, he had a name- gripped Michael's arm so his gaze tore away from Frank.

"Leave this to me. You will not touch him." Gerard stared at the latter intensely, his jaw clenching as Frank had seen it do before. He looked between the two with worry, expecting  them to bare their fangs at one another and snarl like untamed animals.

Michael disappeared without a trace of his presence left. Gerard nodded once to himself, taking in a breath and turning to face Frank. Frank wondered if he could smell his confusion and the twinge of fear making his heart race at the fact that a vampire made a note on his scent. He loosely cupped his neck, his pulse racing under his fingers.

"It seems I may have some explaining to do for you." Gerard broke the silence with his smooth voice. Shutting the door slowly behind him, he glanced at Frank through his long eyelashes. Frank looked him over and concluded the vampire looked healthier, a slight tinge of pink coloring the tops of his cheeks and his skin glowed under the light of the fire.

"Yes." Frank spoke for the first time since he woke.

Gerard's eyes glimmered. He walked further into the room, brushing a tendril of his black hair away from his face. "I take it you've just woken up from your fainting spell?"

Frank's eyebrow twitched as yet another wave of confusion upset his eerily static mind. "I don't remember fainting."

Gerard nodded, pursing his lips as concern lightly imbedded itself into his features. "You began to hyperventilate in the elevator. I tried to calm you, but you wouldn't budge, and the next moment you were on the ground."

Frank couldn't recall that event either. It made sense if he put the pieces together, however, if he added his pounding headache to the puzzle while shaping it. Also his fear of being trapped in small spaces, it must have become too much on top of everything else. He touched his forehead lightly, blinking.

"Where am I?"

Gerard didn't answer immediately, Gliding across the floor it seemed from how light and graceful his footsteps were, Gerard extended his pale hand, holding it out to Frank. Frank was hesitant to grasp it, suddenly seeing how the vampire's demeanor had changed since they met for the second time back inside the crumbling mansion. His eyes were warmer, more trustworthy than the cold and pointed eyes he met above ground, but they still held the same intensity Frank assumed all vampires had in their gaze. Frank gulped quietly, reminding himself of who this vampire was, and he took the vampire's hand without anymore hesitation tainting his movements.

Gerard led him to the higher up platform the bed was splayed out on, spinning around and gently taking Frank's shoulders to seat him on the bed once more. The mattress was firm enough so it didn't bounce underneath the sudden landing his body made on it, but not firm enough to be uncomfortable. Gerard smiled faintly and turned away to ghost over to a short wooden table with a porcelain jug and two glasses, lifting the jug and pouring what seemed to be water into one of the glasses. Frank watched his every move, the way his elegant hands moved with perfect precision and yet none of his movements seemed practiced or thought out, they were natural. He couldn't quite believe he was watching his vampire, the one he searched for so long, tend to him as the vampire balanced a pain pill in the palm of his hand and glided back to Frank, holding the pill and the water out to him.

"For your head." Gerard whispered.

Frank glanced at him and then the pill before taking the small tablet and popping it into his mouth, chasing it down with a gulp of the fresh water that felt amazing rushing down his throat. He drank until the glass was drained and tiny droplets remained at the bottom. Gerard took his glass and returned it to its spot, opening one of the drawers and pulling out a neatly folded cloth. Gently pouring water onto it, Gerard wringed the material so the water dripping into the used glass and he returned to Frank, the cloth held in his hands.

"A cool compress will also help with the pain." Gerard asked for permission with his eyes to lay the wet cloth on Frank's forehead. Taken aback, Frank could only nod stiffly, his eyes wide. Gerard's lips twitched with amusement. The vampire laid the cloth gently on Frank's forehead, his own cool fingers brushing against his warm skin and eliciting a barely noticeable shiver from Frank. Frank replaced Gerard's hand with his own to press the cool material against his face, sighing with relief as the coolness soothed the heat under his skin.

Gerard pulled his hand away, taking a careful step back and rolling his lightly pink tinged lips into his mouth. "I want to apologize for . . . losing control earlier. You see, I haven't fed in seven years and I had grown ravenous."

The mention of seven years captivated Frank much more than the vampire's apology. He looked up at him in mild shock, his lips parting and moving on their own accord.

"The pattern." He blurted out.

Gerard's eyes glimmered before he blinked the surprised shine out of them and turned his head away, sucking in a long breath as unease crossed over his beautiful features. "You've done too much research for your own good, little human."

Frank shied away, averting his gaze when dissatisfaction filled the brittle cracks filling Gerard's oddly composed voice. "My name is Frank."

"Hm." Gerard hummed shortly, eyes quickly scanning his form. He brushed his hair behind his ear. "It appears you've tangled yourself into quite a spill."

Frank looked up him, suddenly remembering when Gerard informed him that death would be the punishment for knowledge. Panic flooded into him as he realized he must have been brought to where he was for his death sentence, the eternal silence being the only solution in their minds.

"I'm going to be killed." Frank shakily whispered. Shoving away the wet cloth, Frank quickly rose to his feet, his frantic gaze flitting towards the door. Shivering violently, he began to move, but he was stopped by a firm hand clamping down on his shoulder and forcing him to stay put. Frank turned his gaze and gawked at the vampire giving him a glare full of warning, pushing away from him, but he stopped and froze in his tracks when a low snarl emitted from Gerard. He fearfully looked up into the glowing eyes of the vampire, the pupils suddenly coming to life inside of them and pulsing wide as red began to replace the warm dark green he would much rather look into. Frank stopped fighting, finding himself shrinking back onto the bed and shaking from the pure fear inserting itself into his blood when he looked those glowing red eyes coming straight from a horror film.

When Frank surrendered, Gerard's eyes warped back to their normal shade and size. The vampire sighed out of frustration, his eyelids falling down over his eyeballs, and he reached up to rub them.

"Running will surely get you murdered, this entire underground is filled with vampires who need to feed." Gerard's voice was uneven. "I'm trying to keep you safe. Once they've all fed, it still isn't worth the risk, they will never turn down a chance to drink."

Frank's blood chilled in his veins and iced over so violently he swore they would fall apart like chipping paint fluttering in the wind. "Please, let me go and I won't tell anyone anything, just let me live-"

"Frank, no one is going to kill you." Gerard cut in sharply. "I know what to tell them and if that doesn't work, then . . ." He trailed off, his eyes opening and drifting to the floor, his gaze seeing through the ivory and focusing on something far into his mind as a pained expression took over.

"Them?" Frank whispered.

Gerard nodded, hardening the structure of his lips. "My coven. Ten other vampires live here underneath the mansion we both stood in, it is a safe living space for us to take residence in whenever we return to New Jersey."

Frank was stunned into silence. His head still ached, throbbing now as his mind was filled with many thoughts all at once. One moment he believed he was going to be killed, the second was a glimmer of hope that somehow, Gerard was going to spare his life. He had not a clue why the latter was so keen on continuously saving him, unless he was an extremely unlucky person and Gerard was a good hearted man underneath the good and bad sides of him colliding so often.

"What the hell is going on?" Frank choked out, his throat tight.

Gerard glanced at him, bending down and retrieving the wet cloth Frank had dropped when he tried to get past Gerard. He squeezed it tightly in his hand, a weak droplet of water slipping out from between the cracks of his fingers. Frank watched it splatter onto the floor, barely hearing the landing over his ragged breathing and pounding heartbeat.

"I have lived with a coven of vampires for two centuries. We rise every seven years to feed, that being our limit before we start to go mad from hunger, and every fourteen years, we return to New Jersey to begin the cycle of going across the world again." Gerard explained, his voice having smoothed out after having a moment to calm himself. "As neatly as possible, we take our prey, some of us bringing back human partners until we decide it is time to either kill or change them."

Frank swallowed harshly, his throat and mouth suddenly filing with unexpected dryness. "Is that why that other vampire just now called me a play thing?"

Gerard winced softly, nodding once. "Michael, my brother, he isn't aware that you are the child I saved fourteen years ago."

Frank looked up at the vampire, slowly losing some of his stiffness now that he was receiving answers. "Do they all know about that?"

Gerard glanced at Frank so quickly that Frank thought he might have imagined it. Gerard reached up to tightly grip his hair, smiling bitterly and showcasing his fangs without realization. He chuckled, dry and broken.

"They think I killed you."

Frank inhaled sharply. Immediately, he was rigid again, fearing what may happen if his presence among the vampires caused them to realize he was the child Gerard saved from the clutches of a true monster those years ago. He was sure he would not be the only one to suffer the consequences, and now he understood why Gerard was so pulled apart.

"They . . ." Frank stuttered out, his brain frantically searching for a proper solution until he could sputter proper words out again. "They can't possibly know I'm the kid. They've never seen me, been around me, it's impossible."

"I've covered your tracks as smoothly as possible so everything you just said would keep them from knowing I wasn't telling the truth when I," Gerard stopped, exhaling deeply, and tugging his hair once again. "I only told my brother about you at first. He thought me a fool to have let you escape with the memory, but he promised he wouldn't tell our coven leader. But, after years passed, he fancied a human he brought home and kept her around as some sort of pet. When she began to feel affection for me, jealousy blinded him. He killed her and he told our leader of what I'd done. She demanded for me to return to Jersey, seven years before your next return, and kill the child."

"I chose anyone who I found vulnerable walking the streets. I killed her, unthinkingly mauling her, knowing I couldn't kill you. I remembered your innocence, having not seen something so pure for years. And I . . . I couldn't stop. Knowing I was betraying my coven for something I wasn't strong enough to do. I kept killing, drinking." Gerard sank down onto the step leading up to the bed on the raised platform, deflated and holding his head in between his hands.

Frank remembered the discovery of the body of a young woman washing up on the shore seven years too early, the messy array of bodies scattered over the city that made him wonder if a different vampire was on the loose. Discovering that lone vampire had been Gerard, some of the unease left him. Part of his heart ached for the vampire who tied himself into too much of a terrible mess just for the sake of a child he couldn't watch be killed. Frank stood there, the same child Gerard couldn't bring himself to kill even now, and he felt horribly guilty for unknowingly causing chaos.

Frank swallowed thickly, fingers pressed into the expensive covers under his hands. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He wasn't sure what to say to such a story, he could only utter the most human thing to say. The guilt living in him wasn't enough to offer his life to Gerard. He might have once been willing to sacrifice it out of gratefulness for having his own life saved by the same vampire in front of him, but after coming too close to death, he realized how wrong it would be to trade a life for one encounter so long ago. He slowly rose from his spot, moving closer so he sank down onto the same step Gerard sat on with a careful distance in between the both of them.

Gerard glanced at Frank through the strands of black hair hanging in his face. Frank met his gaze there, looking in between the locks and at the glowing green eyes hidden behind them, the pupils pulsing so wildly. Gerard softened a bit, letting his lids slip over his eyes, and he sat up with his elbows resting on his knees.

"You remind me so much of someone I knew long ago." Gerard whispered. His voice was the gentle swaying of a weeping willow in the breeze. solemn in the way it danced, filled with grooves of ancient sadness. Frank's stomach flipped, unused to hearing such misery.

"Could that be one of the reasons why you saved me?" Frank asked, biting his lip nervously. He didn't want to upset the vampire, deeply resenting the fear for him that had sprouted in his chest since the first time he attacked him. Frank longed to be released, even if it meant never seeing his vampire again, but a large piece of him was still filled with an unexplainable fondness for the creature he turned out to know so little about.

Gerard didn't get upset over Frank's question. He cracked a thin, quivering smile, tugging a lock of his own hair. "Perhaps."

Frank rubbed his arms, thankful that no outbursts occurred. "What happened to the mansion?"

Gerard's lips twitched and the tiny smile turned into a frown. His head turned towards Frank slightly, but his eyes remained on the fire crackling in the pit across the room. "Completely destroyed. There is no one but myself for blame for its downfall."

Frank remembered the collapsing foundation, the rubble and dust raining down as the wooden and stone fixtures broke apart. One memory surfaced and his lips parted slightly. "You saved me again."

Gerard shifted, rubbing one of his knees. "You would have been crushed."

Frank winced at the thought, having his body smashed by a wooden pillar falling from the ceiling being such a cruel image. He looked at his vampire, watching the way the shadows the fire casted danced across Gerard's pale skin. "Thank you. You've done so much for me and you . . . you don't even know me."

Gerard turned his head to look at him. When their eyes locked, Frank was surprised to see the latter looking into his own pair of eyes like he was familiar with them, having seem them millions of times before. The look quickly melted away when Gerard took in the rest of his face, leaving Frank curious, but weary to ask.

Before any of them said anything more, the door swung open, startling Frank, but not Gerard - the vampire had already stiffened like a person would when they heard someone approaching.

In the doorway stood Michael, the brother of Gerard, peering in on the both of them with a look of expectancy. "Are you done chatting in here?"

Gerard rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't exactly call it a chat, but yes."

Michael leaned against the doorframe, an aura of cocky confidence wrapping around him as his almond colored eyes raked over Frank. Frank took in him discreetly, blushing to find the vampire was wearing incredibly tight red jeans that left little to imagination where they hugged his crotch.

"Lindsey wants to meet the little human." Michael said. "Everyone is finished feeding, some of us have brought home pets. She thought we could all bond over dinner."

Gerard stiffened. He quickly glanced at Frank who shot him a frightened look, panicking at the thought of being surrounded by vampires with their eventual prey at their sides. He would have to play the part of an unfortunate human only temporarily being strung along and the thought alone had his stomach roiling.

"Must we attend this parade of little puppets?" Gerard narrowed his eyes. "Unlike you all, I'm not fucking my companion."

Frank's eyes widened, his face flushing crimson.

"I'm well aware why you're keeping him around." Michael sniffed the air, his tongue poking out to swipe across his bottom lip. "He smells exactly like-"

"Not another word." Gerard's tone was as sharped as an unsheathed dagger. He was up in a flash, glaring at his brother who held his hands up in a disarming yet mocking manner, mocking coming from the smirk twisting his lips. Frank glanced between the two vampires, unsure what to make of the sudden outburst coming from Gerard.

"Come to dinner in twenty minutes. You've always been on a fine line with Lindsey, you don't want to displease her." Mikey pivoted to the right, disappearing without a trace before the door could shut entirely.

Gerard groaned, strutting to the door and locking it tightly. "Unfortunately, he's right. We need to attend that dinner."

Frank scrambled to his feet. "But I'm not actually your prey, I'm- what's going to happen?" He was unashamed to admit he was afraid in that very moment. He wished he could run, never turn back, but he was bound to be caught by one of the roaming vampires underground and he was certain whoever discovered him would not be as kind as Gerard.

"Nothing will happen to you. I told you, there is a good enough reason for them to know why I haven't fed off of you." Gerard assured him.

Frank's expression screwed into one of confusion. "Is this reason something you're keeping from me?"

Gerard's face drained of whatever little color had filled it. He didn't answer Frank's question, infuriatingly so, unlocking the door and opening it a fraction. "I'm going to fetch you some better clothes. Stay put. If you try to run, I can't guarantee your safety."

Frank's very bones chilled at his warning. Gerard nodded, confirming Frank's thoughts, and he left as quickly as his brother did earlier with the door slamming shut behind him. He sank down onto the bed, feeling dizzy from all of the events taking place this evening. Nails digging into his palm, he did one thing he hadn't done in years after losing his faith, something he couldn't imagine himself doing yesterday.

He prayed.

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A/N: I love this story so much, it's been so long since I've written a book that I thought out so deeply and put so many layers and backstories into. It gets even more interesting super soon- more characters, their pasts, answers to lingering questions, I'm so very excited.

I'm not sure how long this fic is going to be, but I'm thinking it won't be too long. Perhaps twenty chapters, I can't guarantee an exact number. I do still have some planning to do, believe it or not, there are gaps I have to fill in because I have certain events planned, but I need something to lead up to them.

Also, I finished Doll Parts and started up the sequel, little late on the memo. I know some of you might not have read that, but I'm very proud of it and I would love for you to give it a chance :)

"You were meant for this love, you're my flesh and blood."

-aprilxo