"Masson! Watch out for fuck's sake!" I grabbed his collar and threw him to the floor just before the baseball bat hit him. I managed to meet the wild eyes in front of me before I raised the gun and shot.

"Is that everyone?" Max shouted from the back of the room.

"It's empty," Œil concluded.

I glanced down at Alex, who was still lying on the floor, completely shaken, staring at the vampire at my feet with a bullet hole in his forehead and blood oozing out onto the concrete floor.

"Are you okay?"

"I... I don't know..." he mumbled, taking my hand so I could help him up.

"You'll learn soon enough."

"Learn what? How to kill cold-bloodedly without remorse?" he said with a trembling voice, unable to tear his gaze from the body.

With a sigh, I placed a hand behind his neck and met his terrified eyes. "Listen to me," I pulled him closer in what resembled a hug. "Think of it this way: it's us or them," I sighed. "And they won't hesitate; they'll kill you the moment they get the chance."

A forehead leaned against my shoulder, and I felt the quick nods against my jacket and the tense body in my arms. I was about to tell him to pull himself together, that there was no point in crying. But I stopped myself before I could open my mouth. Damn, he was a kid. He could cry as much as he wanted, I thought with a sigh, and hugged him a little tighter.

"You can stay in the car at the next stop if you want."

Irritated, he took a step back and pushed me away. "Teach me how to kill the idiots instead," he snapped, wiping his tears before leaving the room with quick steps. I watched him go with a heavy heart, wishing his life was different. 

The events of the morning felt like a distant memory as the sun began its descent, casting long shadows across the city streets. After a grueling day of confronting vampires and navigating the chaos that followed, we finally found a moment of respite. The relentless pace had drained us, and now, as evening settled in, we took a long needed break.

"So what's happening tomorrow, boss?" 

I sighed and glanced at Max, who was walking beside me."Masson is the boss now; you should ask him." 

I saw the doubt in his eyes as they swept over the broken guy walking next to me. We had cleared three more locations one after the other, and we were all extremely exhausted. I had reluctantly instructed Masson on the easiest way to kill a vampire, and he was learning frighteningly fast. 

Our clothes were dirty with various grime and blood, our bodies screamed of hunger, but we had chosen to work as much as possible before heading back to town. The four of us were effective together, much thanks to the kid. But with every vampire we killed, I saw the change in Mass; it was as if a piece of his humanity was disappearing with each blow and each shot. He was getting quieter and quieter with every passing minute, and my feelings of guilt only grew.

We had jumped out of the car and decided to walk over to Hilda's for a well-deserved break, hoping that the change of scenery would get Mass on other thoughts. We were two blocks away from the pub when I saw Magnus stepping out of a house, gripping someone's collar tightly.

"You know the deal, Lilly," he sighed before dropping what appeared to be a young woman with black streaked hair and a sullen expression on the ground in front of him. "No magic among humans," he warned.

"It won't happen again," she replied, but we all saw through her lie, even Magnus, who just sighed and waved her away from the spot.

"Hi," I said with a smile as he lifted his gaze and looked over at us.

"Dominic," he replied politely, remaining in his Guardian role.

"We haven't done anything," Œil shouted hastily, taking a step back.

"Are you sure?" He grinned, looking amused.

"Give me a minute," I said to the others and took a step closer to him. A sudden longing to run my fingers over his stomach and smell his hair washed over me.

Max and Œil looked at me in surprise but shrugged and walked away, relieved to escape Magnus's watchful eyes.

"So this is the new guy," he asked, peering at Alex with a concerned look.

"Yup," I replied, ruffling the short hair on his head. "Alexander Masson in the flesh," I grinned, but only received an irritated glance in return. "Go after the others, Mass; Magnus and I need to talk."

He raised an eyebrow, first looking at me and then at the tall giant in front of us. "I'm going home," he muttered softly.

"You know the way?" 

He nodded a few times before he walked off. 

They barely got out of sight before the facade cracked, and I closed my eyes, tears streaming down my cheeks. I heard my lion gasp, and it didn't take long before his arms were firmly around me as he backed us into the shadows."Tough day?"

"One of the worst," I sighed, hiding my face against his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked softly, running a hand over my hair.

"He deserves better."

The scent of honey and pine surrounding him calmed me, and I buried my face in his neck."But it could have been worse," he whispered. "At least he has someone who cares about him."

"Maybe," I sighed, wiping my tears. "But I hate everything I have to teach him."

"I know, darling," he sighed, giving my lips a light kiss. "But what's the alternative?"

"More death," I sighed, leaning heavily against him and drifting off to sunny days filled with his ringing laughter, apple pie, and picnics on checkered blankets.

"Ehm... Nico?" His voice made my whole body stiffen, and I closed my eyes again, wishing we could just teleport home.

"What is it, Mass?" I mumbled, my face still hidden against Magnus's broad muscles.

"I can't find my way home," he whispered low, his voice sounding so fragile that I had to turn around with a faint smile on my lips and reached out my hand towards him.

"It's okay; I'll walk you home."

Mass cast a quick glance at Magnus, a hint of guilt crossing his face as he whispered a low, heartfelt, "I'm sorry." 

In response, the lion, offered him a calming smile that seemed to ease the tension in the air. "Just walk safely," he encouraged, his voice steady and reassuring, as if to remind Mass that he was not alone in this moment.

"He's completely different than I thought," Mass said with a grin as he walked beside me on our way to the apartment. 

 "Magnus?" 

 "Is that his name?" he asked, tasting the name. "Magnus, he has a funny accent." 

 "He's from up north, Denmark, I think."

 "Really? Didn't you say you basically live together?" 

 "I always mix up those Scandinavian countries," I said with a shrug, pulling out a cigarette from the pack I had in my breast pocket. "So what did you imagine he looked like?" I asked curiously. 

 "I would have guessed a classic vampire guy with long dark hair and pale skin. Quiet and mysterious. Someone who could make you weak in the knees with just a glance," he laughed. 

 "Like in all the modern vampire movies," I smirked. "Are you disappointed?" 

 He shrugged, "He seemed nice." 

 I nodded and smiled my biggest, goofiest grin as I thought of my Scandinavian blonde waiting back home. "He's the nicest person I've ever met." 

 Mass laughed, "Dude, you're in love." 

 "Yup, madly and deeply," I laughed and lit my cigarette. I really enjoyed being able to talk about Magnus with someone, and I couldn't help but ask more. "So you thought I would fall for a dark, skinny guy with sad eyes?" 

 "Someone who looks more like you, I guess. Your giant is pretty much the opposite," he grinned.

 "Exactly," I said contentedly as we walked toward our neighborhood with light steps. The world didn't feel so heavy after all; there were glimmers of light, there was love. 

 "Hey, Nico?" 

 "Mmm?"

 "Can you stay with me tonight?" 

 "Sure," I replied without hesitation. He probably felt terrible after everything he had been through today, and it wouldn't feel right to leave him alone. 

 I slept at Masson's place that morning and several mornings after. He had hysterical nightmares every day but never wanted to talk about them when he woke up, and it didn't help that we went on more missions with the triplets. Calvos or Du Bois or whoever the hell had us in their grip had become power-crazy lately and wanted to take everything they could get. Everything. It was only a matter of time before I would have to fight against Les Mites. 

 We were sitting in a beat-up car again, driving on country roads with gravel that peppered the metal. I should have concentrated on what lay ahead of us, on the old factory that contained the largest production of silver ammunition in all of France. It was a hell of a big operation, everyone was involved, but my thoughts were somewhere else. They were with Valec. His name felt foreign on my tongue these days, and I hadn't heard anything from him, not even when I recruited Max and Œil to my new gang. I wondered if he trusted me or if he saw me as one of his enemies now? Not even I knew what the hell I was or who I was loyal to. 

 "Listen, this is big," Mass muttered nervously beside me. "You have to be really careful, do you hear me? You need to be careful, Nico... okay?" He shot a fleeting glance at me before looking away again. "I don't want to be alone again; you can't leave me with all these lunatics," he babbled on, drumming his thighs in stress. 

 I studied him for a while; his stress and worry calmed me. I needed to be calm for his sake. My head leaned heavily against the headrest as I patted him on the shoulder. "Breathe, dude... breathe..." 

 "Seriously, promise me!" he snapped, swatting my hand away. 

 I laughed and leaned forward to ruffle his hair, "I promise I won't die today." 

 And then, just then, when I saw his relieved expression, I knew that I didn't care about Valec, Du Bois, and all the damn princes. Masson was my brother now, and I would do anything to protect him. Anything.