Dominic

"Belmont needs you," the words were clear as they left my lips, but the heart inside my body was pounding so loudly that I struggled to focus.

Some would say it was a miracle it was beating at all since it had been dead for several years, leaving all its humanity behind. Just like the rest of my body, but still, emotions washed over me like a tidal wave. Jealousy, worry, and hopelessness.

"Let me guess, everything went to hell," the wolf muttered sarcastically on the other end of the line. "I have better things to do than play nurse after your terrible plan." I groaned and was about to respond when the guy continued, "I thought you two would have left by now."

What the hell was I supposed to say to that? "He lost control, completely," I mumbled, receiving a muffled laugh in return.

"No major changes then," he continued muttering. "Let me guess, he drained the whole damn club?"

"I thought it would help him," I sighed, "we've been wandering around for a while, I was going to call you but I was afraid he would, that he would try to kill you too."

Those words seemed to break through the thick skull, there was silence on the other end for a while, a really long while. I had time to think of a thousand different responses, and none were better than the other, but finally, he opened his mouth and the question I got spread a certain relief within me. "What happened?"

Something in his voice made me realize the many emotions the guy was trying to hide; the question was whether he wanted to play it cool in front of me or if he was trying to convince himself that he wanted to moved on, without Belmont.

"The smell of blood in the club was too much for him, so we left," I began. "But it triggered something inside him. He won't stop," I whispered softly, fiddling nervously with the car key in my pocket and glancing over at the red Fiat parked on the side of the road with Belmont sleeping in the backseat. "I thought maybe it is best if we leave."

All around me, birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and it was a lovely spring day. But my heart felt heavy and gloomy; for several days, I had tried to help him, but I had learned a hard lesson. Alone is never strong.

"Where are you?" As always, the wolf weighed his words carefully; he never said anything unnecessary.

"Does that mean you're coming with us?"

"Where are you?" he insisted, and with a simple press on my phone, I shared my location info with the guy I longed for and who I knew Belmont needed. Damn, maybe it was me who needed him? Someone to give a little responsibility to, someone who could knock some sense into Belmont and make him think clearly.

My thoughts were interrupted by a deep sigh, "I'll be there; I need to sort out a few things first."

"Thanks," I replied relieved, but only heard a bitter chuckle from the phone. "I mean it, Conor, thank you," I said again, waiting for a snort.

"There's an old cabin a few miles up in the woods; I'll send directions so I can come when I'm done, okay?"

"And no one will disturb us there?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart, no one but me knows about that place."

"Okay, see you later then," I heard myself say before unlocking the driver's side door and jumping into the car. Belmont was still sleeping, high from the night's escapades.

"Drive safe," I heard him say with hint of a tease in his voice before I hung up to read the directions. It's no use worrying too much, Dominic, I told myself as I released the clutch and drove off towards the wilderness.

"Where the hell are we going, Nic?" A tired voice groaned behind me.

Everything Belmont said and did irritated me, but I couldn't help but agree with him. Where the hell were we? Asphalt had turned to gravel, but gravel soon led to needles and moss, and the car was parked several kilometers away. The directions were clear, but something told me that shoes rarely walked along this road. This was a predator's trail, and the city boy within me shivered with every step. Memories of magical castles suddenly appearing before us didn't make things any better.

"We'll be there soon," I mumbled quietly, keeping my gaze firmly on the ground, because if I looked at him now, my heart would break.

I had failed; no matter how hard I tried, the blood was too tempting for him. The wolf had been my last resort, or maybe not. Clocksworth would be my last resort, but I didn't want to force Bel to go through that shit again. The wolf had helped him before, and I sincerely hoped he could help him once more.

Anything was better than watching Belmont slowly become less and less human with every gulp he took. I bit down on my lower lip as I contemplated; anything? My sharp fangs scraped against the sensitive skin, and I sighed heavily to myself. I had already made up my mind long before Conor answered; if the wolf wanted to take Bel far out into the wilderness and keep him there, I wouldn't protest. I had done everything I could. So, yes, anything.

A stab of guilt crept into my dead heart as I realized I was about to pass the problem on to someone else. The wolf didn't deserve it; he was far too kind-hearted, and for some reason, he always came to Belmont's defense. I glanced at the long-haired vampire stumbling behind me at an angle. Once, I had been deeply in love with him, but now my heart had hardened. Maybe it was to cope; didn't he understand how much he hurt me by not taking charge of his damn life!?

"Where are we even going?" Belmont's breathing was strained, and the dark circles around his eyes clearly showed that his body was on the brink of starvation.

"We're going to visit someone," I replied with a shrug.

"Who lives here?"

I ignored his question and continued to step over roots and trample through moss until his hand grabbed my shoulder, trying to stop me. One would think that blood would have made him strong, but he weren't that kind of vampires anymore. Years of blood dependency had made him weaker than most, and I could easily shake off his hand.

"Don't worry about that. Just focus on standing on your own two feet; I'm not carrying you."

I heard a heavy sigh escape his lips, and immediately regretted my harsh words, but I couldn't help it. I hated the person he had become, and I couldn't help but be bitter about how my life had changed for the worse lately.

A few steps later, a small brown cabin with a grass roof appeared in the middle of nowhere. With a sigh of relief, I walked toward the pot that held the door key, and for the first time in a long while, I felt a glimmer of hope in my tired heart. This was Belmont's last chance; a few months without blood, and maybe he could find his way back to his old self.

The thudding from upstairs had become less erratic and more rhythmic, and I sincerely hoped it was because he was calming down. The coffee cup in my hand felt unusually heavy as I studied the thick sludge at the bottom with some crazy expectation of getting answers to the thousand questions swirling in my mind.

I was just about to get up to clear the dishes when the front door opened, and Conor stepped in, not a thread on his body. Unashamed, he met my gaze for a couple of seconds before nodding toward the stairs, "Withdrawal?"

My eyes drifted over his muscular body, and I struggled to keep myself from smiling. Instead, I moistened my lips and nodded silently but let my eyes roam over him one last time. Memories of the nights we had spent together didn't make things any easier. Now we were we acting like strangers to each other.

"How long?" he continued before closing the door behind him and strolling over to a wardrobe, grabbing some clothes.

"Hasn't he always been like this?" I muttered, starting to clear the dishes on the table and filling the basin with warm water and dish soap. A low growl vibrated behind me, but I was too empty of emotions to react to his mood. But when he just stood there, watching me without saying anything, I couldn't be bothered to argue with the giant anymore. "It got worse yesterday."

A chair was pushed out behind me as I let my hands sink into the water, letting the dish brush sweep over the porcelain in practiced movements.

"So you didn't reach out because you were afraid he would drain me of blood, yet here we are." He kept watching me for a while. "Looks like Prince Charming has given up; is this Princess' last chance before you leave for good and hand over the problem to me?"

His insinuation stung but not as badly as it should have. He could probably sniff out what I was thinking by now. My feelings were plastered all over my body; inside, there was only emptiness. "Something like that," I replied with a shrug.

"Does he know?"

I took my time rinsing off all the suds before placing the plate in the rickety drying rack. A feeling of home suddenly washed over me; the cabin was so damn similar to Magnus's house that I wanted to sit down and cry. Instead, I slowly turned around and met a pair of calm eyes across the table. Fuck, he could have been Magnus at that moment.

"He's not exactly reachable right now."

Conor tilted his head and patted the chair beside him. "You'd better explain the whole blood thing to me once more."

I raised an eyebrow and forced myself not to lose myself in daydreams. "I thought you knew most of it?" I mumbled as I trudged over to him.

"Most of it. Now speak plainly, sweetheart. What happens if he doesn't stop?"

"What vampire movies have you seen?" I countered, receiving a wrinkled brow in response, which I interpreted as none. "Do you know what Les Griffes are?" His nodding silence should have annoyed me, but instead, it gave me the chance to take a deep breath and gather myself. "So you know he's about to become a monster, and he will lose all his humanity," I replied in a long exhale. "If you go in there, he will kill you; he won't care that it's you." I bit my lip before adding, "No matter how much he loves you."

"I figured it was bad when you called with panic in your voice," Conor sighed, running a hand through his hair. "So what do we do, darling? Wait it out like with any junkie?"

I let my fingertip trace a crack in the dark wood of the tabletop before I nodded slightly and whispered uncertainly, "I think so, but I'm not sure."

For minutes, we sat in silence, listening to the dull thudding of fists against wood until I couldn't take it anymore and suddenly stood up, walking toward the couch. "I'm just going to rest my eyes a bit," I mumbled softly to myself and immediately collapsed into a restless sleep, half-aware of Conor walking outside and coming back with planks and nails for upstairs.

Soon, the house filled with double the noise. Belmont thumping on one side, asking to come out, and Conor on the other side reinforcing the door with hammer and nails.

When the sounds finally quieted, the house filled with the new aroma of coffee, the sound of heavy footsteps walking across creaking wooden floors, and a warm blanket landed over me. And for a few minutes, I felt at home, and dreams of kitchen windows with golden sunlight and warm smiles filled my head for the first time in years.