Chapter 12:
The vampire's grip was as cold as ice and you had to focus to keep from shivering when you felt his breath next to your ear. He led you toward the back of the store, keeping your pace casual and unhurried. From anyone who looked at the two of you from afar, you were sure you looked like an intimate couple. You knew there was no way you could get outside help. Not unless you could somehow get Taehyung's attention.
But how could you do that? He was on the entire other end of the store. You knew eventually, he would realize something was wrong if you didn't come back in time, but by then it would be too late. You'd be long gone. You needed to somehow get his attention now.
This vampire was different from the last attack. He knew about you, he knew you couldn't be compelled. Did he also know that your blood was poisonous? Did he also know about your heritage? If he knew those things, it was going to be much harder to get away from him. You had to assume that he did, since he hadn't yet commented on your strangely sweet smelling blood, despite its toxicity.
Your eyes widened and you stifled a gasp when an idea came to you. Just in time too as the vampire pushed the handle to the backdoor open, revealing the bright sun and the back side of the grocery store. You could see a van parked about fifty yards away, which you assumed to be his.
Just before he could push you outside, you reached your arm out to the sharp edge of the latch strike in the door. You sucked in a sharp breath and braced yourself as you dug your arm into the edge and dragged it as hard as you could, splitting the skin in a painful line. You hissed at the sting just as a hand wrapped around your wrist and yanked your arms away from the door. The vampire shoved you outside and you stumbled forward, bringing your arm to your chest. You looked down at it and smiled when the open wound started to pool blood.
You gasped when the vampire grabbed your arm hard, yanking you forward. He raised your bleeding arm to his nose and took a deep inhale, glaring at you at the same time. You could see his arms shaking and his jaw was clenched just a little too tightly. He was having trouble controlling himself. You smirked.
"What's wrong?" You asked, pushing your wrist closer to him. The vampire's fangs flashed, and you gasped, thinking he might actually try to feed on you. Instead, he yanked you closer, twisting your arms behind your back and turning you around, so your back pressed against his chest.
"What game do you think you're playing?" He snarled in your ear. You struggled against his grip, even though you knew it was futile.
"You know what I am." You hissed back. "But you have no idea what I'm capable of..." you struggled again, wincing when his nails dug into the open wound in your arm.
"Don't think you can trick me." The vampire growled, pulling you back with him, the two of you backing toward his van. You glared at the back door to the grocery store, mentally willing it to open.
What the hell is taking him so long?
Suddenly, the door burst open and Taehyung emerged, a wild angry look in his eyes. You exhaled sharply as a wave of relief passed over you. Taehyung's eyes met yours and they flashed red when they processed your predicament.
You knew that your blood had an unusual aspect to it, more than just the fact that it was poisonous. You also knew that it was significantly more intoxicating and sweet-smelling than a normal human. On top of that, you knew that Taehyung had a particular affinity for your blood, as proven the first time you met and when he'd almost lost control when you had a head injury in the first attack. Because of this, you were sure that if you were to draw blood, he would smell it, he would know something was wrong, and he would come looking for you.
Now you just hoped he was stronger than the vampire holding you captive.
"Well this isn't what I had in mind." The vampire said, his voice close to your ear. Taehyung approached carefully, his jaw locked tight and his back ramrod straight.
"Didn't expect her to have company?" He asked, his face expressionless. The vampire tightened his grip on your arm, and you winced at a sharp pain in your shoulder. If he pulled any harder, it would dislocate.
"No, I expected the company. I just hoped to avoid any confrontation." The vampire clarified, his tone although calm had a slight edge to it that proved he was nervous. Taehyung tilted his head and raised his eyebrows.
"You can't escape. Give her back and I might let you live." He growled dangerously.
Your captor scoffed. "We both know that's a load a crap."
Taehyung cracked a smirk and you shivered at the cruel amusement on his face. Your captor's grip tightened, so you knew he'd seen it too.
"You got me there." Taehyung said with a casual shrug. "Fine, here's a more accurate deal. If you return her to me now, then I promise, I'll make your death quick." Taehyung's eyes darkened and you saw the sincerity in his gaze.
"As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll just keep her." You captor started to back away, taking you with him. Taehyung followed, one step forward for every step you took back.
"You know I can't let you do that." He said with a flex of his fingers. The vampire made an exasperated grunt and you felt him shake his head next to you.
"Oh, come on, Taehyung. You and I both know you don't care for this girl." He said knowingly. Taehyung stopped and lifted his chin as the vampire continued. "Just let me take her, you can say that you fought valiantly but you were unable to save her."
Taehyung was silent for a few beats and you felt your heart pound in your chest. You hoped he wasn't seriously considering the vampire's proposal. As awful as it would be for you, it was probably exactly what Taehyung wanted. You two weren't on the best terms, so in a choice between rescuing you and pretending he'd failed in a rescue attempt, you weren't sure which he would choose.
"You know my name." Taehyung said suddenly, breaking the silence. You sucked in a sharp breath, realizing he was right. The vampire had called him by his first name.
"Oh yes, I know all about you." The vampire leaned down close to your face and you cringed, feeling his breath by your ear as he purred at Taehyung, knowing he'd caught his attention. Taehyung scowled and squared his shoulders.
"Then you also know that I don't lose. I would never 'fight valiantly' for anyone." He deadpanned, taking another long stride forward. The vampire yanked you closer and twisted your arm, causing you to cry out, which made Taehyung stop in his tracks.
"Well, I suppose that's true. Fine, then, you can make up your own excuse. But I know you don't really want to save her. You're just following orders." The vampire crooned, trying to sound confident, but you could still hear the edge to his voice.
"It really doesn't matter what I want." Taehyung's voice was dark, hoarse, barely above a whisper. Sadistic, volatile, aggressive. He was getting ready for a fight. You just hoped you wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
"Oh, but I think it does. In fact, I'll make you a deal. You let me keep the girl and I'll give you something you really want." The vampire said quickly. Taehyung chuckled humorlessly.
"What do you have that I could possibly want?" He asked, a smirk on his face. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw your captor smirk.
"I know where Rosemary is."
Taehyung's jaw went slack, and his fists unclenched. His eyes widened and the hardness in his face softened. He looked truly stunned and surprised. This was the first time you'd seen any other emotion from him besides anger or cruelty. Who was Rosemary? And why did that name have such an effect on him?
"What do you know about her? Where is she?" Taehyung demanded, the scowl back on his face. He took a step forward, but the vampire yanked you back in the same motion.
"Ah, ah, ah. First, you let me keep the girl and then I'll tell you where she is." He scolded, shaking his head. Taehyung tilted his head and a grimace formed on his face. He pulled his lips back to reveal his sharp fangs, and his eyes turned blood red.
"I have a better idea. You tell me where she is, and I'll take the girl back." He snarled.
"Wha—"
Suddenly, in a blur of motion, Taehyung appeared in front of you. You gasped as you felt him grasp your shoulder, move you to the side and throw a punch with his other hand. You heard a sickening crunch of his fist making contact with the other vampire. You felt a whoosh of air and you turned to see the other vampire flying back from the force of the punch. He slammed into his van, making a large dent in the door.
Taehyung released your arm and you stared up at him in awe as he flexed his fists and cracked his neck, glaring at the other vampire. You looked back to see the other vampire had stood up and brushed himself off. The two squared up and moved closer to each other, both glaring and hissing showing their fangs and flexing their shoulders. They looked like a pair of cats circling and sizing each other up.
The other vampire suddenly pounced in a blur of motion. You gasped as the two began to fight, throwing punches and dodging blows at a speed to fast for your eyes to keep track of. Normally, you would never let anyone fight your battles for you, but this wasn't normal. The way they moved wasn't normal. Both had superhuman strength and speed so there was nothing for you to do except watch with your mouth parted slightly and your hands shaking at your sides.
Your arm was still bleeding, and you could feel the blood trickle down your hand and drip to the floor. But you were still too much in shock and in awe of the unreal fight to try to stop the bleeding or even be aware of the stinging pain.
You gasped when you saw Taehyung's fist slam into the other vampire's face again and he flew back, landing painfully on the concrete. Taehyung stood over him and reached behind in the waistband of his jeans, pulling out a wooden stake that you only now noticed. Had that been there the whole time? The vampire looked up and gasped, raising his hands just as Taehyung bent down drove the stake into the vampire's shoulder. He screamed in pain and you winced, looking away from the scene.
"You lose." You heard Taehyung snarl. "Now, tell me where Rosemary is."
The vampire whined and whimpered, and you heard a sickening squelch and another scream of anguish. You dared to look back at scene to see Taehyung twirling the stake in his hands, which was now coated in thick red blood. The vampire cried and wailed, gripping his shoulder, which was spurting blood.
"Tell me!" Taehyung yelled, brandishing the stake under his nose. "Or I promise I'll make you wish you were dead." You shivered at the cold, sincere threat.
"Go... fuck... yourself." The vampire sputtered, glaring up at Taehyung. Taehyung stood back up and sucked in a sharp breath through his nose, tightening his shoulders. He lifted his leg with a flash of his eyes and stepped on the vampire's injured shoulder. The vampire screamed and you clapped your hands over your ears, trying to block out the sound.
After a couple seconds, the sound died down and you removed your hands, opening your eyes again. You gasped when you saw Taehyung standing directly above you, glaring down at you. You took an instinctive step back, not expecting him to be so close. He looked down at your arms and narrowed his eyes as he focused on the one that was bleeding.
"Oh... uh, I figured this was the best way to get your attention." You said self-consciously, lifting your arm awkwardly.
You went to cover the wound, but before you could, Taehyung wrapped his hand around the gash and squeezed causing you to cry out in pain. The blood seeped from the wound and covered Taehyung's hand, leaking through his fingers. He released your arm and you jerked back, cradling your arm to his chest. Taehyung lifted his now bloodied hand up and rubbed your blood around in his fingers. You opened your mouth to yell at him, but he was already walking back to the other vampire's slumped form.
You watched suspiciously as Taehyung grabbed the vampire's shirt and yanked him up, earning a pained hiss. Taehyung lifted his bloodied hand to the vampire's nose and your eyes widened when you understood what he was doing. The vampire sniffed and opened his now crimson eyes, focusing intently on the blood in Taehyung's hand. His tongue darted out of his mouth and swiped along his fangs and you could see him fighting the urge to lick Taehyung's hand.
"I know you can't control yourself." Taehyung snarled. "Go on, have a taste."
The vampire coughed and jerked his head away from Taehyung's hand. "Fuck you..." He croaked, squeezing his eyes shut. Taehyung let out an exasperated grunt.
"Tell me where she is, and I'll put you out of your misery. Tell me where she is, and I won't force you to drink the blood on my hand." He growled, smearing your blood around in his fingers.
The vampire shook his head. "N-no..."
Taehyung's face twisted in rage and you gasped as he shov-=[ed his palm against the vampire's face. He smeared the blood around, and vampire whimpered, his tongue darting you instinctively. The vampire sputtered and coughed, but you could see that he was too late. He'd already ingested your blood.
Taehyung stood up and smirked over the vampire's body as he started to cough loudly and painfully. He started to choke and rolled onto his side, curling up in the fetal position. He gagged and sputtered, and you quickly turned away as you heard Taehyung's cruel laughter from above the writhing vampire.
"New deal." Taehyung shouted above all the coughing and whimpering. "You tell me where she is, and I'll put you out of your misery."
The vampire responded with nothing but coughing and more gagging. Taehyung bent down and leaned his head to the side to listen as the vampire finally relented and said something. It was too quiet, you couldn't hear, but Taehyung's smile vanished, and his face hardened. He straightened and rolled out his neck, his expression dark and unreadable.
"P-please... kill me..." The vampire whined, coughing and gagging again. Taehyung looked down at him and his mouth curled downward, unmercifully.
"Die on your own terms." He snarled, turning away. He walked back toward you, leaving the vampire poisoned and dying painfully behind him. You stared, mouth parted slightly, in awe of what had just happened. Taehyung stood in front of you and looked down, scanning you up and down.
"Let's go." He deadpanned, turning back to the grocery store. He walked away, but you were still staring at the vampire, writhing on the floor. "Y/N!" You jumped at Taehyung's shout. You turned to see him glaring at you at the door. "Let's. Go."
You felt your legs move on their own as you followed him to the door. Taehyung turned and entered the grocery store again with you following behind him. You stared at his back, watching as his muscles flexed and contracted and his fists clenched and unclenched. There were a lot of heightened emotions within him, you could tell, but you had no idea what they were or how they related to what had just happened.
Taehyung led you to the grocery store bathroom and stopped abruptly, turning to face you.
"Get cleaned up." He said tersely. He turned on his heel and walked into the men's room, leaving you standing in front of the bathroom, your arm still bleeding and clutched against your chest.
You breathed out and turned to the women's bathroom, walking inside. You made your way to the sink and dunked your arm under it. You winced at the water poured over your arm, washing away the fresh blood and cleaning out the cut. You looked up at yourself as you let the water run over your wound. Your cheeks were pale and there was a haunted look in your eyes. You were still in shock, you assumed.
You'd never witnessed anyone being tortured, much less anyone being poisoned and left to die. Vampire or not, it was jarring, unnerving and you didn't know how to react. You could still hear the vampire's screams as Taehyung tortured him. he tortured him without mercy, without... an ounce of compassion. He felt nothing, only anger. You shivered, remembering the way his eyes looked as he smeared your blood over his fingers.
What had made him like that? Why had he become so cruel, ruthless?
Rosemary. It was the name that had triggered the whole confrontation. If that name hadn't been brought up, Taehyung would have killed him quickly. Instead, he resorted to torture to get information out the vampire.
And he had gotten it. Unfortunately, you hadn't been able to make out what the vampire had said, but he told Taehyung where she was located. Who was she? What relationship did she have to Taehyung? And why had her name triggered such a reaction from him?
You sighed and turned the sink off, moving to the paper towels to clean your arm off. You were lucky, the cut had already stopped bleeding. You just hoped there weren't any infections or anything on the door where you'd cut it. You wiped your arm off and splashed some water on your face before leaving the bathroom. Taehyung was waiting outside, his arms crossed, and his face twisted into an angry scowl.
"The hell took you so long?" He demanded, as you emerged from the bathroom. You frowned at him and planted your hands on your waist.
"I was cleaning my cut. Unlike you, I'm susceptible to infection so I'd rather be thorough." You snapped rudely. You winced mentally, not meaning to sound so rude. Taehyung scoffed.
"Whatever, let's go." He turned on his heel and you had to jog to catch up to him as he strode to the store's entrance and walked right out, without looking back.
"Hey!" You called out to him, but he ignored you, walking back to the car in long, angry strides. "What about the groceries? That was the whole point of this."
"I don't give a fuck about that." He entered the driver's seat and you threw your hands up in exasperation. You stood next to the car, your hands on your hips as you contemplated how to address the situation. Taehyung stuck his head out of the window and yelled at you. "Get in the car before I leave you here!" You rolled your eyes, but did as he asked, slipping into the passenger's seat.
Taehyung started to drive, and you immediately noticed when he missed a turn that would take you back to the manor.
"Hey, what's going on, where are we going?" You demanded, turning to face him.
"We're not going home." He growled, his knuckled whitening from gripping the wheel too hard. You felt a surge of panic at his words.
"What do you mean we aren't going home? Where the hell are we going?" You exclaimed whipping your head around.
"Shut up." Taehyung snapped. You settled back in your chair and stared at him. His jaw was tight and his back taut. He was completely on edge, more than you'd ever seen. It was unnerving to see him like this.
"We're going to where that vampire told you, aren't we?" You asked, filling in the blanks for him. Taehyung bared his teeth and a growl escaped his lips.
"I said, shut up!" He shouted, smacking his hand on the steering wheel, making you flinch. You were quiet for a few seconds, wondering whether to push it. You decided for it and tried again.
"This is about Rosemary isn't it?" You asked, a little quieter this time. Taehyung's jaw tightened again, and you almost regretted asking the question when he swung his gaze to yours.
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about, so shut your trap." He snarled, enunciating the order as if to emphasize how he was at the end of his rope. His eyes were swirling with a kaleidoscope of emotions. You could recognize a few: rage, tension, and panic were prominent but there was also a touch of fear, which confused you greatly.
"Why are you taking me, Taehyung?" You asked. "If you want to go on a wild goose chase, then leave me out of it. Leave me at the manor. I'm sure Jimin or Jungkook are back by now." You said, hoping you sounded convincing enough.
"No. We can't lose time. If we waste any time... she could move on." Taehyung muttered, turning back to look at the road. He started to pull onto the highway, and you wrung your hands together.
"Who even is she?" You asked quietly. Taehyung sighed deeply and was quiet for a few moments before responding.
"The most dangerous vampire you'll ever meet, now please shut up." He murmured. You gaped at him in shock. Obviously, that wasn't the full story, but this information was enough to make you more panicked than you already where.
"If she's that dangerous, then why again are you taking me? Leave me at the manor, Taehyung." You said, raising your voice slightly. You really didn't want to be on this expedition if the person you were going to see was worse than even Taehyung was himself.
Taehyung waved a dismissive hand. "She won't care about you." He said tersely. You huffed in indignation.
"I'd rather not take the chance either way." You snapped. Taehyung let out an exasperated sigh and ducked his head down for a long moment before raising it again.
"Just, shut up." He growled. "You'll be perfectly safe. I just need to talk to her." He added, not sounding very convincing at all.
"Who is she?" You asked again.
"I already told you."
"No, you didn't." You snapped, cutting him off. "Who is she, really?"
Taehyung let out a long, dramatic sigh. "She's the reason for who I am." He said vaguely.
"What does that mean?" You asked, straightening slightly. Taehyung was quiet, his hands flexing and contracting around the wheel as he contemplated his answer.
"It means," He began, taking a deep breath. "Rosemary is the vampire who turned me."