The next time Marquise awoke, he felt surprisingly better. He wasn't healed by any means, but he could breathe much more easily and his mind wasn't fighting against him to rest more. 

My head doesn't hurt much, either. 

With that thought, he considered opening his eye, but hesitated. 

"Ah, are you awake again? I was getting worried, even though you were showing improvement. A lot of times people suddenly improve a lot right before their body gives out for good," the doctor said as he walked over, then began checking his vital signs. 

"You've been out for three days, but I got you two transfusions and the last time I checked a sample of your blood the silver scent coming from it had greatly decreased," Taru said, clearly excited that things were actually working out well. 

Marquise listened as the man moved around him, then, finally, tried to see if he could move his own body. It took a few moments to get sensation back in his left hand and feet, but to his surprise, they responded somewhat well to being moved a tiny bit beneath the light blanket covering his lower half. His right hand was still unresponsive, but he hadn't really expected anything from it. 

Surprised he hasn't cut it off by now. 

"Oh, yes, see if you can move a little here and there. You're probably going to be really sore, but the new blood in your system has definitely helped heal some of the damage the silver had done," the doctor said as he gently began helping him sit up just enough to slide a few more pillows beneath his back and head. 

These are really comfortable pillows...

He'd rarely ever gotten to sleep back when he'd been in charge of his pack, so his bed usually went unused most days. It honestly felt strange to be so comfortable. 

"Here here, just like I promised," Taru said, snapping his attention back to the man as his left eyelid finally lifted like a curtain at the beginning of a much-anticipated play. 

He couldn't see much, at first. Everything was extremely blurry, but as he blinked several times over the next minute, things began to take their own forms. 

The first thing he saw completely was, of course, the overly-excited doctor leaning over him with the biggest smile he'd ever seen this close up. The man couldn't have been more than twenty-eight or so. At least, that was likely his age when he'd gotten changed into a vampire. 

He did say something about being over one-hundred...

"Your eye color is absolutely gorgeous! I've never seen a beautiful green like that," Taru said as he clearly fought himself not to move any closer. 

Marquise let the man fawn over him for a short while as his vision finished clearing, then realized something as he took in a deep breath. 

I smell pie.

Turning his head against the pillow it lay on, he quickly found his target sitting on a small table next to the bed he was lying in. 

"Oh, right! I did promise you some pie and luckily I managed to get there just in time yesterday to grab the last piece," Taru said as he went and retrieved the treat. 

Marquise made sure that he was ready to eat it, too. He managed to push himself up a little bit more on his stack of pillows and his tongue even licked across his dry lips once in anticipation. 

"I'll help you eat, here," Taru said as he sat down beside the bed and, after nudging away the crust of the pie, took a decent spoonful of the filling and lifted it up to his lips. 

Marquise didn't hesitate to open his mouth, and as soon as the sweet apple and cinnamon concoction touched his tongue, he moaned. 

"Yeah, I can't blame you for that response. It's truly heaven, isn't it? And you've been so sick lately that you've struggled to even stay awake, let alone eat much," Taru said as he gently slid the spoon forward so that Marquise could take the remaining filling it held into his mouth. 

It took him quite a long while to eat all of the filling from the large piece of pie, but he'd been determined and very hungry. 

"Very good," Taru praised as he finished the last spoonful, then, surprisingly, reached up and pat Marquise gently on the head. 

It took every ounce of willpower within him not to tilt his head up and nuzzle into that hand. Instead, he gave his head the slightest shake, sending the message that he didn't appreciate the childish attention. 

"Ah, sorry. You are a grown man, so that was quite rude of me," Taru said as he quickly backed off and went to take care of the remaining fragments of pie. 

"Wait." 

The doctor froze immediately, his body tensing for a split second before he turned back around with wonder in his eyes. When he didn't speak right away, though, Marquise took his chance. 

"I want the rest," he said in a quiet, rough voice. 

Taru looked between him and the remaining food a few times before frowning and shaking his head. 

"I'm sorry, but it's going to be too tough for your throat and stomach right now. How about this? Drink some honey water and see how well the filling settles in your stomach, then later I'll break the crust up a bit and we can give the rest a try?" 

He wasn't a fan of his suggestion, but what else could he do but agree with it? He doubted he could even stand on his own right then, let alone get past the other man if he didn't wish him to.

Closing his eye for a moment, Marquise took a deep, calming breath, then sighed it out as he opened it again to stare at the man. 

"Fine." 

He could see the Taru's mind working behind his eyes... and he wasn't a fan. Turning his head to the side, Marquise broke eye contact. It was a submissive gesture to wolves, and to most people, but he didn't care anymore. He was no longer an alpha and no longer had wolves watching his every move, looking for any possible sign of weakness. 

Well, here are all your signs of weakness, he thought sarcastically to himself. 

"So, um... since you're fully awake now. Could I ask for your name, sir?" the doctor said, clearly curious about who he really was. 

Of course, if he gave them his name, they'd easily be able to track down that he wasn't a local human. That much was probably obvious, though, since he'd walked quite a long way to get to... wherever the heck he currently was. Wild werewolves didn't often bother with names, either, so not having one would be a dead give away, too. 

Deciding not to play the game the man likely expected, Marquise smiled slightly and replied. 

"My name is Marquise and I am a werewolf." 

The straightforward response seemed to stun the doctor, because the man simply stared at him for long, long while before finally seeming to remember to respond, himself. 

"You... you're really a werewolf?" Taru asked with only a hint of disbelief in his voice. 

He had considered it possible, or even likely, before, so it shouldn't have been much of a surprise to hear the words straight from his mouth. 

Marquise gave a quiet hum of agreement as he slowly rolled onto his side, then tried to push himself up into a sitting position. His arms began to shake immediately as their tired, damaged muscles tried to complete the task they were given. Of course he failed and was forced to fall back down to the stack of pillows, but it had been a good test of his current strength. 

He could sense the other man watching him, unsure of what to do about the situation now that he'd revealed himself. What he did actually end up doing a few moments later, however, wasn't what Marquise had expected. 

Taru promptly walked right up to him and pressed a hand to his forehead. 

"Your fever is gone and you feel normal. Werewolves run hotter than humans, but you're relatively cool." 

Before Marquise could even consider a response, Taru gently but firmly pressed a finger against his bottom lip and lowered his jaw enough to look inside. 

"Your teeth are also very normal. Werewolves tend to have more pointed canine teeth, though it's not always that way."

Marquise couldn't argue either of those things. No one would believe him if he said that his wolf had had itself sealed up within him permanently by choice. Evidently, doing such a thing had also sealed away any characteristic it had brought to his human form. 

"Do you want to die so badly that you're lying to me?" the man asked, his tone turning far more gentle as he removed his finger from Marquise's lip and leaned away, a frown on his face. 

Marquise wanted to answer affirmatively, but he had to correct one thing. 

"I am not a liar. I am a werewolf and am already dying. What does it matter if I try to save myself some pain and end it sooner?" 

He knew that it was the easy way out, but his body was already rotting away. Was that not enough punishment? Honestly, he didn't think so, but he was also, evidently, a coward. 

Looking back up to meet the doctor's eyes, Marquise was just opening his mouth to tell him to just let him die when their attention was abruptly taken by the sound of footsteps coming closer from down the hall. 

They both looked at each other a moment later, their expressions matching ones of surprise. 

"He shouldn't be back this soon..." Taru whispered right before they both looked back to the now-opening door. 

"My meetings ended quicker than expected, my sweet heir," Vrasje said as he calmly strode right up to Marquise and raised an eyebrow. He had clearly heard what Taru had just said.

"It's awake," he stated with a hint of disgust to his words. 

He was more than happy to help the man rectify that, though. Marquise met his eyes and gave a tired smile. 

"Lord Vrasje, I—" Taru's words were silenced with a simple raise of his master's hand. 

The elder vampire took a moment to calm his already-flaring temper, then turned to his heir with a surprisingly-gentle expression on his face. 

"I'm sorry that I couldn't save him, Taru, I really am, but this person is not him. He does look very similar, but he's not your little brother, and helping him is only going to hurt you, and possibly others in this town," Vrasje said, allowing Marquise to finally put together the situation. 

He didn't help me because he thought I wasn't a wolf. He helped me because I look like his little brother from so long ago. 

It was sad, but it also made him a tiny bit jealous. He'd never had any siblings, and before he could even make friends amongst his pack, he'd been singled out for constant training in order to be alpha one day. He'd never gotten to be a normal pup. 

"But master, he doesn't have a high standard temperature, and his teeth are normal..." Taru tried to argue, though his voice was already moderately quiet, as if he knew that he wouldn't win even if he pointed out a thousand things. 

Vrasje sighed but didn't reprimand him. Instead, he walked over and tugged Taru into his arms for a gentle hug. 

Marquise tilted his head slightly against the pillows and watched the two interact. It might have been considered rude to stare, but he was going to die anyways, so what did it matter? 

"Go downstairs and eat something. You look like you haven't had any blood since I'd left," Vrasje eventually said as he gently led the other man to the door, then quietly closed it behind him. 

That is the door closing on my life, Marquise thought solemnly but contently. He had been around long enough. So, when the elder vampire turned around to settle his narrowed gaze upon him, he didn't feel anything but relief. 

"You are smiling on your deathbed, wolf," the man said as he calmly walked closer. 

When he stopped beside him and sat down on the edge of the bed, Marquise allowed his smile to widen slightly as his one eye squinted a bit with the gesture. He truly was happy that he was going to die soon. Not only did he deserve it, but he was honestly suffering, and while Taru had tried his best, stopping the rot that was rampaging through his system was a lost cause. 

Closing his single, tired eye, Marquise relaxed his aching body. 

"I have lived long enough," he stated simply as he felt the man lean closer. 

When he felt cold, firm fingers begin to wrap around his neck, he tilted his head back a little in order to give the man more room. He wanted it to be done smoothly in one go. 

He waited for several moments as the man got his grip situated where he wanted it, but when he not only didn't snap his neck, but began to rub his thumb along the steady pulse in his throat, Marquise became nervous. 

He was just about to remind the man that he should finish his task when he felt that hand suddenly slip away from his skin. Confused, Marquise did open his eye then, intent on speaking, but his words got caught in his throat when his gaze met Vrasje's. 

Why is he looking at me and not killing me? 

They stared at each other in silence for far too long before he felt cold fingers ever-so-gently nudge his lips apart and press his lower jaw downward the slightest amount. 

 He's checking my canine teeth? 

He couldn't believe it. 

"Kill me," he rasped, seemingly snapping the vampire out of the thoughts he'd evidently got lost in, because he quickly blinked a few times, then moved his hand back down to Marquise's neck. 

"I was just curious," Vrasje stated coldly, making Marquise roll his one eye. 

He got an immediate hissed growl for his efforts, making him refocus on the vampire leaning over him. 

"You dare, dog?" Vrasje said, his words dripping with venom. 

This man is so frustrating and I've only been around him for a few minutes altogether. 

Narrowing his own eye, Marquise jerked his head to the side and, surprisingly, Vrasje let his hand fall away from his throat with that one simple gesture. He then turned it back so that he could face the man. 

"You ramble and complain about me being a wolf, yet you can't even kill me because I look like someone who has long-since died?" he said, hoping that his words made the man mad enough to finally get the job done. 

Well, his words definitely got the man's attention, and anger, but while he reached for him again, he didn't grab his throat, but redirected his hand toward his jaw. 

"You think I'm hesitating for Taru's sake? Killing you would be much easier on him than letting you live another second longer!" he growled. 

So he is hesitating, and if not for Taru, then that would mean...

Narrowing his eye again, Marquise pushed past the ache the man was causing by squeezing his jaw so tightly and spoke clearly and calmly. 

"Then you're hesitating for yourself."