Before you can think enough to say anything else, strong arms grab you by the shoulder and collar, slinging you through the air and shoving you roughly into the nearby couch. There's force enough to knock the wind out of you a little, but nothing hurts.

It's not the iron grip on your collar that holds you into place, it's the red eyes that find and hold you gaze.

"Little sacrifice walks into my home all on her own?" He muses and laughs. "I never thought I'd see the day!"

"I'm not a -hurk!" You're yanked up roughly, cutting your words short. Your legs are dangling and you're scrambling to find purchase on the hand that's holding you in the air, pulling yourself up to it to lessen the strain against your collar from the grip.

"If you're not a sacrifice, then a thief?" He prompts, his tone dangerous.

You shake your head. "N-not a thief!" You gasp. "Please let me-eep!" Your word turns to a squeak as you move through the air faster than you can on your own. Being yanked all over the place is disorienting, especially in the dark, and you can feel your stomach knot.

"Not a sacrifice, not a thief." You feel a finger against your hip as those amused red eyes regards you, tongue slipping along a grin. "A gift then?" Something, a claw probably pierces your dress at the hip. The nail is cold and smooth against your thigh, and it slides down your leg, ripping the skirt of the dress slowly.

If you didn't know how utterly powerless you were before, you're acutely aware of it now.

"I'm – I'm," if you tell him you're a Honeysuckle then he wouldn't be allowed to harm you by law. But you'd also be risking him returning you to the facility. The second he scratches you or does anything that draws blood from you, you'll be found out. That you aren't already bleeding is a testament to his control.

"Gift," you say quietly, unable to meet those blood red eyes as you speak.

You grunt as your back is up against a wall, feet just barely touching the ground. You can feel heat rolling off his body, the hot sensation of his breath against your neck as his nail's tearing new lines into your dress. Desire and anticipation roll off him in waves, and neither emotion was being allowed to rush him.

The slow steady rip of cloth sent chills through you, fear, concern, and a strange sense of anticipation. You had no way to wrest control from him, but the slow and inevitable destruction of your clothes was making your nerves coil in on themselves. It almost felt like you were being simmered in your own tumultuous emotions, and once you were done to his liking, he would no longer be restrained.

Despite the rough handling, you weren't scratched or bleeding. Your clothes were ripped, but you were still covered in the strictest sense of modesty. The beastly man who had you in iron grasp was getting ready to ask you more questions when there was a heavy pounding at the front doors.

Both of you stop moving. The silence carries on for a second and you realize he's not expecting guests. Which means that whatever is on the other side of the door is probably for you. Marines out looking for you, and if it was them, then you knew who was likely on the other side of the door.

The only person at the facility with the authority to parley with vampires.

You claw at his hand, scrambling to get away for the first time since you saw him. Fear was gripping you in earnest now, and you didn't need to hear the voice from the other side of the door to know who was there. All you could think was that you needed to get away.

"Go... lemme go, I have to – have to," your voice is strained and panicky and as quiet as you can possibly make it, tears filling your eyes. The marines are the most terrifying things in the world to you right now, because unlike anyone else, they can harm you.

"I'm Captain Shu, we're looking for an escapee, and request your cooperation!"

The red eyes looking at you shift, they're far more golden in hue, but uncomfortably focused on you. Even with your vision blurred from the tears threatening to overtake you, you can see them clearly. Something in them forces you to calm down. You can feel your heart slow, and your body relax. Your soul is laid bare and there's understanding between the two of you whether you want it or not.

"Please." You beg softly, shivering.

He drags you toward the door without a word or gesture, and there's nothing you can do about it. You understand completely that this man can rip you limb from limb if he so desires. The treatment you had received thus far could almost be called gentle compared to what he was capable of.

He shoves you roughly against one door, and you struggle to keep from making any sounds. You can feel the amused, toothy grin cross his features as he opens the other door, shielding you from the people outside.

Moonlight pours over him, and you get the first good look at him. Fire red hair defies the moonlight, and porcelain skin nearly glows in the soft light. Two long scars are etched along his face, one trailing down his neck and disappearing into a mass of fur from the cloak he's wearing. He was by no means small, but the coat made him look inhumanly large.

"What does the military want with me tonight?" He asks, voice bored and irritated.

"A young woman escaped our facility, and we were hoping to commission your aid in finding her." The familiar voice of the marine captain makes your body tense.

"Oh? Our agreement was pretty simple. I leave your little honeysuckles alone, and you. Stay. Off. My. Property." The hand gripping you against the door tightens as a terrifying smile splits his scarred face. You can feel a force wash over you, urging you to get away in whatever action would be the most efficient.

You're vaguely aware of the sounds of people collapsing on the other side of the door.

"We are willing to compensate you for the inconvenience." The captain responds in a voice steady as stone. You can hear unrest from the others that are with him, and you're impressed with yourself for not crying from the aura rolling off the master of the house.

"You dogs can't afford my rates," the beast promises. "Get off my property before I escort you myself."

There's a tense moment between the two and the captain steps back. "Very well."

The grip on you relaxes a little, and so does the irritated grin on his face. "Ah, Captain, I'll be generous for now, but after tonight any little toy soldiers I find in my woods will be viewed as sacrifices. Just so there's no pesky misunderstanding."

"Understood." There's a tense, brief pause. "Thank you for allowing our presence for the night."

"Sure, sure." He waves the marine away dismissively, closing the door. Red eyes regard you in the deep dark of the foyer again before you see them shift to gold. You can't really see anything except for his eyes. "You got one," he hisses the word, "chance. Don't fucking lie to me."

You shake your head as you're pulled away from the door. You're in the air, there's no way to know where exactly you are in the renewed darkness. "No lies!" You gasp, eyes closed.

"You're a Honeysuckle." He says, and you nod. It didn't sound like a question, but even if you had some reason to try and deny it, it was painfully easy for him to prove it. "An escaped Honeysuckle."

You nod again, and your scrambling feet find purchase under them. You're standing on something kind of soft, and when you open your eyes to try and see what it is, you notice his eyes so close to yours you can almost see yourself reflected in the soft light. Your brain short circuits, all at once you think how beautiful his eyes are, how calming the light is, how terrifying it is to be so close to a vampire, and how he still could turn you over to the marines.

You watch his eyes shift over the features of your face, pupils flicking and focusing on different things before he leans in. The light of his eyes rolls over your cheek, his lips by your ear.

"Why?" He asks softly, the heat of his breath sending chills over your skin.

"I... I've always... just wanted to b-b-be," you can feel the damp, hard press of teeth dragging lightly over your skin. "Fuh-free." You manage to squeeze the words past your nervous throat.

"Little flower didn't like her perfectly curated greenhouse," he muses, his voice is low and his lips graze your skin as he speaks. He holds you by your hair, but you hadn't registered the shift in his grip until he had begun to speak.

"B-being raised inside my own coffin...." You try to describe your reasoning, but a tug in your hair quiets you.

"I have no use for a living drug," he growls. "Why the fuck shouldn't I just toss you back in your pen?"

"I-I'm a Honeysuckle R-Red, I'm not-!" He tugs your hair harshly, pulling you back and holding you off balance, claw pierced through the front of your dress and ripping downward slowly.

"I'm not addicting!" You cry out in panic and the tearing sound stops.

"... All of you are addicting." He states, his sharp gaze driving into you.

"N-no we're not." You're shivering, but you force yourself to keep speaking. "O-only the m-metallic classifications are addicting. Gold, Silver, and B-Bronze. Chromatics aren't. Red, Blue and Black." You swallow hard, talking about the types and grades of honeybloods makes you uncomfortable. It feels like you're talking about a product, and not a group of people.

There's a tense silence before you're lifted into the air again. You're only in the air for a moment, set down a little roughly on the couch before the room fills with light.

He's leaning against the mantle, fire warming and lighting the room, regarding you with interest and amusement. He's even taller in the light than you thought he was in the dark. Pale skin, gold eyes, fiery red hair, massively broad shoulders, arms crossed in front of his chest. He wore a deep red, almost black fur coat over his shoulders, loose pants held up by a set of leather belts. The heavy boots caught your attention unexpectedly, but mostly because you could barely believe that he had moved so soundlessly in such heavy boots.

"Relax a little." He says, stepping away from the fire and sitting down on the couch across from you. "You're far too interesting to toss back to the dogs.

"For now."