The Turning

(Thirty-Three)

A small burst of sadness nudged I.M in the chest. He winced at the emotion, familiar with the heaviness but not from Jooheon. It seemed the other vampire was experiencing another emotional burst. It was a change from his normal nonchalance.

The vampire woman, Hana, lifted her head, looking at them briefly before returning her attention to Gunhee. “My brother and I have always been able to interfere with fatal outcomes. It’s a power we share. Unfortunately, we had to use it often because so many have faced near death situations. Earlier we were locked in an intense battle. Once we won, we started to notice a disturbance. It sounded like humans screaming in agony.”

The vampire woman’s brother, Hangyeol,nodded. “My sister and I arrived at the location. We discovered two humans in terrible condition. And we knew right away we couldn’t turn any humans, too risky. I’m the fourth member of our clan and my sister is the fifth. Our only solution was to keep them alive. So, I watched over one human using my power while my sister did the same for the other. We are thankful for the Ahgase clan because we wouldn't have been able to help either of the humans."

"An ambulance has already been called but I fear we won’t be able to keep our power going for long. We’ll try but we have to be realistic," Hana said.

I.M’s chest ached as the two vampire siblings gave an explanation of what happened. He thought back to the time he stopped them from being attacked by shifters. At the time, he wished he could have done a better job of protecting the humans. Sadly, it had been so difficult to keep track of them when so much was happening.

"Everything will be okay, Gun,” Jooheon said, voice wavering.

“Joo?” Gun asked, tears in his eyes as he looked up at him.

“Yeah, I’m here and so is Hyungwon.”

“Wonnie?” Gunhee asked, eyes focusing on Hyungwon.

Hyungwon nodded, voice wavering. “We are here, Gunhee.”

“What do we do? If the ambulance has already been called, then it should be here by now,” Minhyuk said.

Jooheon looked down at his friend, giving him a warm smile of reassurance. The younger vampire of the clan got to his feet. He walked toward him, brows furrowed. Jooheon stopped in front of him, eyes focused on him. I.M’s hands trembled.

“You heard what JB said,” Jooheon said.

“I did.”

Jooheon looked over his shoulder, attention focused on his friend sobbing on the ground. I.M’s gaze fell upon the human, fighting to survive with the help of two kind vampires. Jooheon looked back at him, an emotionless expression on his face.

“You said you’d protect my friends and I,” Jooheon said, head tilted to the side. “You need to turn him. He isn’t going to make it.”

“I said I wouldn’t do this again.”

“This is different, and you know it. Gunhee needs you,” Jooheon said, a little bit of hurt shining from his eyes. “Please, I.M.”

I.M looked over at Gunhee. Hyungwon knelt beside his friend, hand covering his mouth as he shook his head. He turned his attention away from the tragic scene and focused on the fear in Jooheon’s eyes. The bond strained under the pressure of fear and anxiety. He gave Jooheon a firm nod yes. I.M knew he never planned to reject the other, but for a split second he couldn’t help but hesitate. Relief shone from Jooheon’s eyes.

Jooheon threw his arms around him. “Thank you, thank you.”

I.M nodded, giving him a pat on the back. They broke away from the embrace and walked over to the human laying on the ground. If it weren’t for the vampire siblings, Gunhee would have died. The state of his injuries were intense. He knelt on the ground beside Hyungwon. Hyungwon made eye contact with him, giving him a nod.