Kane loses his patience waiting for the pair of dorks to wake up at around six in the morning. He knows Reid awoke an hour ago but went back to sleep.

He uses his foot to nudge the slightly ajar bedroom door open with a creak of its old hinges. Sunlight spills through the slit in the curtains.

The left side of the bed is empty because both occupants are on the right. He might feel annoyed if Hannah wasn't the one with her arms slung tightly around Reid's neck.

He narrows his eyes at their entangled legs.

There's no surge of possessiveness that he'd get if any other man was so close to Hannah, but Reid is a pest, and there's a good chance he did such a thing so Kane would see him come morning.

Walking to the window, Kane opens the drapes wide. The sun is rising over the tree line of the overgrown yard below. "Wake up, dorks."

He has to resist a smile at the pair of groans his cruelness garners. Natural light spills across the plank flooring, grey rug, and onto the mattress.

Kane shadows the bed. "Time to chase down a murderous vampire. The clocks are ticking. There's also a bathroom full of blood that we've got to scrub before noon. And Kiernan will be here in a few hours. Get the fuck up, because I'm not answering the door for that prick."

Just another day.

"It's too early," Hannah whines. "Go away."

Kane says, "Nope. Up. Now." 

He snorts at the lazy middle finger Hannah gives before she shifts, stiffens, and peels an eye open. She looks at Reid, whose face is smushed into the sheets.

Reid's stirring makes Kane breathe easier. He'd read that newly-turned vampires can sleep up to twenty-four hours.

Hannah apparently decides to let Reid live another day despite her threat last night, because she goes slack, resuming their cuddle. She closes her eyes and mumbles, "Why do you smell so good?"

Reid's head shoots up. The suddenness doesn't take Kane off guard because the idiot often wakes up like he's in the army and he's just been called upon by a nasty sergeant and has to go clean the latrines.

At least he's not trying to bite anyone with the fangs that peek from his yawning lips. Kane loathes the way his heart hastens at the sight.

Fatigued gaze half-lidded, Reid regards Hannah for a long moment, head lulling, and then mutters, "I washed my hair." And that's that; he's back to smushing his face against the bed and pulling the covers over his head, daring to try and go back to sleep.

"A little longer," Hannah says sleepily.

"No," Kane says, annoyed. "Wake up."

When he receives no reply, Kane grabs the end of the comforter and yanks. Reid groans, and Hannah flings sleepy curses. He catches Hannah's dainty ankle when her foot rises to kick his face blindly.

Kane places a knee on the edge of the mattress for leverage and begins tickling the sole of her foot relentlessly. She deserves worse for trying to knock him unconscious. She twists, trying to escape, her quickening breath slipping from her pink lips.

"Stop!" Hannah screeches, suddenly much more awake. Her cheeks are rosy, her lips are parted enticingly, and her knees are bent in such a way that it would be effortless to slip between her bare thighs. And the cotton shorts she wears are loose enough to give Kane a nice view of smooth skin.

She kicks his arm with her other foot. "Asshole!"

Kane can't stop himself from lumbering onto the sheet-strewn bed, chuckling evilly when she tries to twist away. His fingers find her sides, pinching and wiggling to entice Hannah's laughs to turn into downright panic, tears springing in her eyes. He feels very much like a predator, trapping a squirming rabbit.

Hannah's knees hook around his thighs, her feet spurring him closer, and it's only then that he stops. She smiles up at him, flushed. "Isn't this abuse now that you're my boyfriend?"

There's a throaty noise of surprise. At a glance, Reid's taken refuge on the other side of the bed, having dragged the blankets back over his form to his chin, and his blue eyes are narrowed.

Kane frowns. "What?"

Reid drags the blanket to cover the lower half of his face and says, muffled, "Boyfriend?"

Hannah's eyes widen, uncertainty flickering behind her brown eyes as she looks up at Kane for answers.

Kane shrugs. "Yeah. Problem?"

Reid rises onto an elbow, his fair hair sticking up and his blanket falling away. The lull to his head, still tired, makes the inarguable fact he's a vampire that has Kane's instincts flaring every time they meet gazes, really fucking silly. Reid's not a stray cat anymore; he's a kitten that grew into its claws and grisly fangs too fast.

Reid pouts. "Where does that leave me? Are you two going to move away and have warrior babies?"

"Warrior babies?" Hannah laughs, obviously relieved.

"They'll chew their way out of your womb, Hannah!" Reid bemoans dramatically. "I can't lose you like that. Don't make that sacrifice for this brute. You're too perfect!"

Kane smacks the blanket in the vicinity of Reid's thigh. He hits something fleshy, and Reid inhales sharply. Reid's mouth scrunches up, and he tries to retaliate by kicking Kane in the stomach.

He almost does.

Kane's arm hurts when he shoves the foot away last second, and then he's pinning Reid to the mattress, pinching his fat until he's begging for mercy.

Reid hardly puts up a fight, and it's disappointing because Kane hasn't forgotten about testing Reid's new strength in a fight. He's more than curious and needs to know for practical reasons.

How hard is it going to be to wrangle the idiot from now on? Is Reid going to break all the jars when he forgets he's not a weakling anymore? Is Kane going to have to take him into the woods and kick his ass to show him who's boss in their strange, newfangled relationship?

That sort of thing.

Releasing Reid to catch his breath, Kane looks at Hannah. She's stunning, with sunlight dancing across her face, and she's staring at Reid, her gaze fond.

Kane's heart bursts with warmth when Hannah reaches out and clutches Reid's fingers, squeezing reassuringly. "Nothing is going to change," she assures. "And if we go somewhere, you're coming."

Kane sits back. "She's right, idiot. I can't be away from you anyway."

"Oh," Reid says, lifting his face away from the bedding. "Right. I forgot about that." He smiles widely, and Kane hates the way his stomach clenches at the sight of those damn fangs, not in apprehension but in a twisted excitement that flushes Kane with humiliation.

Reid's blue eyes flicker over his face, and Kane realizes with a sinking feeling that Reid knows. "Guess you can't ever leave, huh? You're mine, forever." He's teasing, but Kane frowns because there's an inarguable truth to the claim.

The silence that settles over the room is profound. Kane holds Reid's gaze, even though to do so has a spark of a shiver ascending Kane's spine. He's felt the same feeling in battle. Those blue eyes are a sharp blade posed against Kane's bobbing throat.

Kane's disturbed that Reid can mess with his mind so effortlessly. Back in the kitchen, he'd given in instantly. But he has to believe that Reid would never overstep. He's an idiot, but he's not cruel.

Hannah shifts to sit up and rests her back against the headboard. "So, the companion thing..."

Reid is suddenly suspiciously awake. He throws his legs over the mattress. "I want coffee. Do you want coffee, Kenneth?" His voice is a tad high, cheeks flushed, and Kane agrees with the sentiment; no way is he talking about this out loud without a gun to his head.

"Yeah," Kane says, winded. He rises from the bed just as Reid does. "Coffee sounds—"

"Stop right there," Hannah growls.

They both stop, turning to Hannah and taking in the way her pouty lips have turned downward adorably, and her brown eyes promise violence if they so dare walk away without hearing her out.

"We're talking about this," Hannah says sternly.

Reid smiles charmingly. "You already know. Gabriel laid it all out. What else is there to say?"

Hannah frowns. "You'll give each other blood now?"

"Yes. Does that bother you?" Reid asks sweetly.

Kane's cheeks are so red that he can physically feel the heat of their emanation. He almost passes out when Hannah's brown eyes flicker toward him, appraising and thinking deeply about something.

"No," Hannah says with certainty. She rises from the bed, stretching. "I'm just worried about you two. You know, with the vampire thing, and now this companion thing. Is everything okay?"

"We're fine," Reid says evenly before Kane can muster words to answer. He gives Kane a gentle pat on the bicep. The touch isn't unfamiliar; Reid's a touchy guy, always has been, but in this context, Kane's skin burns where Reid's fingers rest. "No big deal. Right, Kenneth?"

"Yeah," Kane breathes. "All good. Great." He didn't even need to think about a reply; there's a subtle haze that's overtaking him every time Reid holds his gaze, growing stronger and stronger, and paired with the touch on his arm, he can't hope to contend.

Kane needs a strong drink. He doesn't usually indulge, but he'll make an exception.

Reid hums softly, clearly pleased with Kane's quick answer. "See? Hannah." He lays the side of his head against Kane's arm, probably attempting for his shoulder, but their height difference is significant. "Sometimes we'll take each other's blood, and sometimes we'll have sex—"

Kane has a hold of Reid's hair before the idiot can finish his teasing remark. 

Reid bursts into laughter despite the fact he's shoved face-first into the bedding with a knee digging into his lower back. Hannah simply raises her eyebrows, watching them with mild amusement.

"That's fine," Hannah says, smirking. "But I get him on weekdays."

Kane isn't amused, even though his cheeks flush with memories of last night. Hannah beneath him, and losing himself with her. "Fucking shut up. Both of you."

He keeps a hold of Reid's hair, who's squirming annoyingly but not putting up a real fight. Kane's mildly irritated by this fact; he wants to see what Reid's capable of, and the idiot is constantly holding back.

"I will kill you, twerp. Stop playing around about this."

"But companions are lovers," Reid mumbles into the bedding as Kane endeavours to suffocate the moron. When Kane grips Reid's fair hair, pulling his head up, the idiot is laughing so hard his words tumble breathlessly: "Won't you be my lover, Kenneth?"

Kane should've been ready for this jab.

Gabriel was telling the truth when he said the bond is not one-sided. Love is the deciding factor. Both parties must have affection for each other. Kane won't deny that he loves the idiot. Reid's not just a friend; he's Kane's brother and his other half. Despite the rumours that circulate and morph every time he catches a whiff of a new one rising, they're not involved.

Knowing what's coming, Kane knows he'll break if Reid pushes. He needs to act quickly, and he blames it for the foolishness that slips from his lips: "You couldn't handle me."

Reid pants. "Oh?"

"You're so weak," Kane says near Reid's ear, his voice gravelly. "I'd break you."

He's meant it as a jab at Reid's fair physicality, but the wide-eyed look he's receiving from Hannah tells him it did not come off as he intended. She has flushed cheeks.

Kane lets go of Reid's hair, the idiot having gone suspiciously quiet, and backs off, moving ungracefully away from the bed like it's the sole reason he's feeling sweaty.

"Stop looking at me like that," Kane begs desperately. He debates jumping out of the window to seize the thin promise of freedom. He will if Reid doesn't stop blinking over his shoulder with those blue fucking eyes.

Hannah breathes, "You're so hot."

Reid grimaces. "What happened to you?"

Kane backs up, hitting the wall hard and pressing flush between his dresser and the closed closet. "I'll lock you both up until you stop being fucking weird. I swear, don't push me."

"You'll tie us up?" Reid exclaims dramatically. He frowns deeply. "For some twisted fantasy, you have? I'd never..." Slowly, his lips rise in a wicked smile. "Forget that; you can tie me up and have your way."

Kane snarls, "Stop talking." He thinks he might actually die when Reid rises onto his hands and knees, smiling wickedly.

Despite it all, Kane has a pang of nostalgia; the idiot hasn't been in the mood to tease Kane into a fury like this in a very long time.

Reid moans, and it's grossly overdone. The sound isn't one Kane ever wanted to have smeared in his brain, because it's the kind that perverts would pay good money to hear. He doesn't want to fathom why Reid is so good at making such a noise.

He might have to kill Lucas after all.

Then Reid purrs, "Come on. Break me, Kenneth."

Hannah is holding back a laugh, her cheeks puffing. She makes a show of pulling at the collar of her nightshirt, using the fabric to fan her skin. She says, in a low, sultry tone, "If I can watch, I could be persuaded—"

Kane doesn't flee, and he refuses to acknowledge the sound of anguish that slips from his lips. He's a fighter, and he knows how to read the odds of a battle, and this is unwinnable. It's a tactical retreat. Reid is a major problem, but with Hannah, they're an unbeatable force.

He stomps out of the room, dizzy and so hot that he has to wipe sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

The laughter that escapes the bedroom follows him all the way back to the kitchen. Lucas sips coffee at the table while scrolling on his phone. He asks Kane what's wrong as Kane barrels inside the room with ragged breaths.

Grabbing a mug from the cupboard, Kane snorts, smiling fondly. "Nothing. Just a pair of idiots."

Lucas hums from the kitchen table and continues to scroll on his phone.

After Kane takes the seat across, sipping his coffee, he says, "So this whole timeline you wanted is ruined. What was going to happen? It can't hurt if you tell me now, right?"

Looking away from his phone, Lucas frowns. "You're supposed to fight that shadow beast, vampire, fuckin' thing, I don't know.

"Come on, Lucas. Give me more."

Lucas sets his phone on the table slowly, his expression slumping. "Asha's power doesn't give you direct visions. She can't control it. She saw what needed to happen and what couldn't happen. I only knew what I was supposed to keep from happening."

Kane feels a stab of guilt that such a small mess-up has ruined this man's entire world. He tries to come up with words to express his sorry without saying the actual word because, no fucking way, he is apologizing twice in one morning.

Lucas whispers, "I fucked it. We're blind."

Kane hides his deep frown by taking a lengthy sip of his coffee. Setting his mug in front of him, ceramic scraping wood, he asks, "What was supposed to happen, and what couldn't happen anyway?"

Lucas leans back in his chair with a lengthy inhale. "Not taking Reid's blood for one." He rolls his eyes at Kane's glare. "You're supposed to keep Reid from accepting a deal with a raven."

"Alma," Kane mutters hatefully. He remembers Asha's cryptic warning. Alarm prickles the nape of his neck. He'd agreed to go to that damn club to find and beat the vampire until he gave up everything he knew about Azrael, but he's rethinking taking Reid with him, even if the idiot is needed.

It's a vampire club after all; they'll be apprehensive to let a lone human into their inner areas, and Reid is—even though it's weird to admit—a vampire.

But, didn't they already fuck this timeline? Maybe this won't happen anymore. Kane's head hurts to contemplate all this shit. There are too many ways it can go wrong. He realizes why Lucas is looking ready to claw off his face; knowing holds a sense of comfort, and not knowing is like wading through the dark without a light.

Lucas nods. "Yeah, Alma Sinclair. I figured it out pretty quickly. They call him The Raven because, according to rumours, he's a real good businessman. Ruthless. Buys up property and doubles his profit.

"I was supposed to keep Reid away. I saw you three at the auction talking, but Alma left quickly, so I didn't step in. Watch for that asshole, though. Fate or no, I got a bad feeling from him."

"What else?"

"Hannah."

Kane grips his mug tighter. "Yeah, what about her?"

"I don't know the fine details," Lucas says carefully, "but I was supposed to stop her."

"From what?"

"Performing a ritual." Lucas leans closer, lowering his voice to a raspy whisper: "Asha saw Hannah doing dark shit. She went mad for a whole week, raving, and locked herself in the bedroom. That was a bad one. She saw hell."

Kane's breath burns. "What was this ritual?"

"Don't know." Lucas shrugs. "Asha saw some guy. She couldn't see specifics, no features, or anything like that. Just that it was bad."

The chair doesn't finish screeching across the tile before Kane is stomping down the hallway. Lucas says something, but Kane ignores the man, his gaze fiery. He takes two steps at a time to reach the upstairs landing.