So warm...

Marquise gave a quiet groan as he stretched out his stiff arms and legs, then yawned wide enough for his fangs to extend, then retract again as the action finished. He knew that he had a party to attend soon, but he didn't want to get up. It was nice and toasty beneath the thin blanket he'd been gi—an abrupt chill ran down his spine as he gave a little shiver. 

Huh? 

His body was cooling off very quickly, making him panic and push himself up in confusion. His heart was also struggling in his chest, skipping beats, then beating extra fast to try and make up for the loss. 

What is going on?!

He was just about to shake Vrasje awake when he noticed something and looked down. 

His hand? 

He followed that hand up to its arm, then to its owner. Vrasje wasn't lying close to him, but his long arm had reached over and his hand was lying palm-up right next to where he'd been curled up sleeping. 

His eyes narrowed on that hand, a bit miffed that the vampire had likely been touching some part of him while he'd slept, but then his attention was ripped away as another chill swept through his system, making him wince as a tiny whine left his lips and he reached up to grab at his chest. 

I... I can't breathe!

A blurry shadow appeared as he was glaring down at the blankets, forcing himself to breathe even though it didn't feel like it was working. He had no time to worry about whatever was causing that shadow. He was just trying to keep himself from passing out!

"It's going to—" 

Huh? 

His hearing was going in and out as a loud ringing took over the majority of sound he could process. There was one thing he was able to focus on, though. 

Warm...

Marquise immediately tried to get closer to that warmth, and his struggles evidently earned him a reward as a flare of heat suffused through his aching, shivering muscles. 

He could also feel a firm hand gently press against his back and begin to rub, but because that hand was also generating heat, he paid it no mind. It was more than welcome to be there. 

"I think it's beginning to—."

Who...?

Marquise felt something gently tap against his lips, then retreat, making him instinctively lick them.  

Blood? Am I bleeding? 

"Master, are you okay to feed him more?" 

Taru? 

His mind was beginning to clear, but he still couldn't find the strength to open his eyes back up yet. 

"It's okay, Marra. Just relax and drink," Vrasje said, making Marquise realize that it hadn't been his blood that he'd been licking. 

He didn't really want to, but since Taru wanted him to drink, and Vrasje was evidently already feeding him, he just shoved his minimal pride aside and leaned forward. 

Ah.

He really had been drinking from him. His lips came into contact with warm blood almost immediately, making his fangs itch to bite. 

"Do you know what's wrong, Taru?" Vrasje asked as Marquise hungrily bit down, then began to drink again. 

"I think it's just his two systems conflicting with each other. He's not really a vampire, but he's definitely not just a werewolf anymore, either. It also doesn't help that his body has been trying to repair so much rot, which doesn't allow for proper blood circulation within the severely damaged areas," Taru said. 

"You know how vampires usually dissolve most of their internal organs once they change? Well, his body might be trying to do that, but his werewolf half is still in need of those things, so it's trying to preserve them. That could be causing strain on his heart and his temperature to drop." 

Silence took over as Vrasje considered his words, giving Marquise a chance to drink more and calm himself down without having to try and focus on anything else. His breathing was becoming steady again and his body was now warm. It was a huge relief. 

He finally retracted his fangs once he was comfortable, then leaned back a little so that he could look up at Vrasje, then over to Taru, who was kneeling on the bed beside them. 

"Hey sweetheart, how do you feel?" he asked as he reached over to press a cloth to either side of his mouth, then chin, removing the bit of mess he'd made from his meal. 

Marquise waited until he was done tending to him before he licked his lips and replied in a rasp. 

"Better. Sorry to have worried you." 

Taru gave him a relieved smile and reached over with his free hand to pat his messy hair. 

"Are you still up to coming downstairs for the event? We can postpone it if not," he said, making Marquise frown. 

He didn't like events in general, but it was obvious that Taru had been looking forward to showing off his new heir. 

"I think I'll be okay. You guys will be there, so if I need any help, I can just come to one of you." 

Taru's smile widened a little and he nodded. 

"Absolutely, we will both be available the entire time if you need anything at all. I'm going to head back down now to help Kova and master's servants finish setting everything up. Stay with Vrasje and warm up a little more, then come down when you're ready, okay?" Taru said as he pressed a hand to Marquise's cheek, then leaned away and slid off the bed. 

The moment he was gone Marquise wished that he would come back. He was still a little shell-shocked from what had just happened, but he knew that he shouldn't bother his master more than necessary when he was clearly busy. 

Turning his attention slowly back to Vrasje, Marquise met the elder vampire's eyes. 

Ah, they're glowing? 

Looking down for a moment, Marquise suddenly realized two things. One, he was a terribly messy eater. And two, Vrasje had just helped him by warming up his body... and not just his body, but he'd also warmed his own blood and fed it to him to help him recover from whatever had just happened. 

"Um..." 

Marquise realized that he was fiddling with the fabric of the man's shirt and quickly moved his hands to press against his chest, instead. Then he felt his face heat as he moved his hands upward to his shoulders, because that was a safer location. Err, was it really, though? 

He was just about to try and wiggle his way out of Vrasje'slap, and arms, when he felt Garlic stirring within his mind. 

Oh no... please behave!

Marquise quickly hunched down and pressed his forehead to Vrasje's chest, trying to focus on keeping his little wolf from taking control again. 

"Garlic, love? Please be good for right now," Vrasje said as Marquise felt the man place his hand gently atop his messy hair. 

"Marquise has something very important to do tonight. If you behave, I'm sure he'll let you out once things have finished up later, right Marra?" 

This pup is exhausting...

"Yes, I'll let you out later. We have something very important to do soon, though, so please don't come out yet," he said, pleading with the overly excited brat. 

"I slept with him for you, see? We're still here," he said as he moved a little in Vrasje's lap, trying to get a little more comfortable. 

Why did he suddenly tighten his arms? Aren't we getting up in a minute? 

Now leaning against him with his left side, Marquise looked up at the elder vampire in confusion. 

U-um...

Evidently, Vrasje had already been looking at him, and his eyes had darkened considerably. 

"Vrasje?" he questioned as he felt Garlic watching the man through his eyes. 

The vampire seemed unfocused, and when he didn't respond, Marquise lifted up a hand to gently tap two fingers against his jaw. 

"Vrasje? Are you okay? Do I need to start making terrible nicknames for you, too?" 

Carefully, Marquise twisted his body until he was able to face the man again, then got up on his knees and grabbed either side of his face. 

"Okay, you asked for it. Your nickname is now Jey. And don't think I won't use it in front of all those snobby vampire friends you probably h—"

Why... are you smiling all of a sudden? 

"Why do you think I'm smiling?" Vrsaje said, finally seeming to have returned to his senses. 

Marquise narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips as he tried to figure out the answer, but before he could come up with something he wanted to say, Vrasje began to chuckle. 

"Why are you laughing? What's so funny? Why are you being so weird?" Marquise questioned, making Vrasje only laugh harder. 

This guy has gone insane. Certifiably insane. 

When Vrasje continued to laugh for nearly two full minutes Marquise was finally at the end of his rope of patience. Instead of yelling, however, he decided to let his frustration out physically and simply shoved the man down onto his pillows with a warning growl. 

"Why. Are. You. Laughing?!" 

His snarl thankfully, finally, did the trick and Vrasje slowly calmed himself down enough to open his watery eyes. When those eyes met his, Marquise felt his heart twitch in his chest. 

"What?" he asked after several moments of tense silence. 

Vrasje turned his head away, but Marquise reached up and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at him again. 

"What is going on, Vrasje?" 

He didn't want to play this game anymore. Garlic was already pacing in his mind and he was beginning to get a headache from the little brat's whining. 

"He's not a brat, you are," Vrasje said, surprising Marquise enough for him to release the man's jaw. 

Me?! What did I do?

"Marquise, why do you think Garlic is so attached to me?" Vrasje asked abruptly. 

Um...

Marquise slowly leaned back until he was settled on the man's lower torso, which unintentionally allowed Vrasje to push himself up onto his arms. 

"He just likes you," he eventually said, making Vrasje tilt his head just enough to make his hair slip in front of his left eye. 

"Mm, he definitely does seem to like me. Let's try a different question. Why do you think I let you live? And I'll give you a hint. Taru is not the answer," Vrasje said, making Marquise's body tense up. 

 That question had honestly been on his mind ever since he'd begun to recover. Why had he let him stay at his home and recover? Why was he taking such good care of him, when he was normally what the guy hunted for a living? 

He thought about it, and thought about it, and thought about it for several minutes before finally heaving a stressed sigh and looking back up into the vampire's eyes. 

"I can't think of anything that would make a wolf so addicted to another person besides the mate bond, but that's so unbelievably rare and only happens between a wolf of lower rank and an alpha. And that alpha can't even sense it, so most of the time the lower ranking wolf just has to deal with feeling like shit. I've only seen it a few times, and only one of the bonds actually ended up working out. The other lower ranking wolves ended up leaving the pack to get away from the situation." 

"It rarely works? Why?" Vrasje asked. 

Marquise shrugged one shoulder as he began to absentmindedly fiddle with the man's shirt again, finding a button to clasp and unclasp over and over. 

"The alphas can't sense it, so what do you think they would think? That a little omega or beta was trying to get in good with the head of the pack. Even if the alpha was somewhat interested, the rest of the pack likely wouldn't be on board." 

The look on Vrasje's face had fallen to one of nervous worry, making Marquise a tiny bit curious. He was just about to ask why the man was asking about such a thing, but then he remembered something that Taru had asked previously while Vrasje was sitting in the room before. 

Taru had been the one to ask... but then why is Vrasje the one who keeps bothering me? If Taru had formed a mate bond with me, then why is it that—

Marquise felt all of the blood begin to drain from his face as he stared down at the man he was sitting on. He couldn't think of a single thing to say. All of the words in his head had just up and disappeared into nothing as he continued to stare.

"You're... not my mate," he eventually whispered, unable to raise his voice any higher. 

Vrasje slowly pushed himself up until Marquise was forced to slide backwards into his lap, then the man leaned forward just enough to nearly press their noses together. 

"I am your mate, Marquise," he whispered in return, though Marquise was already looking away, refusing to listen. 

Whether or not Vrasje had somehow formed a mate bond with him or not was obsolete. They were rarely ever reciprocated, and in all honesty, he knew that his chances of being accepted into society were pretty nil. 

"You'll crush Taru's heart if you leave," Vrasje said, clearly reading his thoughts, even though he hadn't intentionally projected them.   

Marquise clenched his jaw, refusing to return his attention to the other man. 

"Do you honestly think that this town will accept me in the end? Two people have already tried to kill me. I'm sure there will be plenty more." 

Marquise carefully climbed off of Vrasje after he finished speaking, then sat down beside him, giving the man his back. 

"Besides, I know for a fact that you didn't choose this. If you are affected by the mate bond somehow, then me leaving will give you back your normal life. I'll go back to wandering once I'm decently healed up and my body has decided what it wants to be, and you'll go back to being a werewolf hunter. It's simple and easy."

Vrasje slowly moved behind him until he was sitting near his back left side. 

"You're going to leave Taru? A vampire only gets one heir, and you have already been registered as his." 

That was a slightly sticky situation, but he'd thought about it already. 

"I'll write to him, and maybe come visit every so often. Garlic seems pretty good at running away, so I think I'll be fine going back to the woods. I've honestly been thinking about it quite a bit. I think it will work out well," he said as he finally looked over his shoulder with a small smile. 

"I don't." 

A pair of cool lips froze his faltering smile in place as they pressed against his forehead the slightest amount, then disappeared less than a second later as Vrasje got out of bed and began doing... something. Marquise wasn't sure what and couldn't find it in himself to even bother looking. He was still frozen in place with his eyes as wide as saucers and his lips slightly parted from shock.