It took about a week for the incident that had come up while I was at Lilith's to catch up to Katty. I had forgotten all about it, honestly. Especially when Jason got home after a bad day at work and practically tried to inhale me.
He had shoved me into the kitchen, scaring me for a moment until he found something to press me against. Then he was kissing me urgently. I shifted with a little discomfort when the edge of the counter dug into my back and was pleasantly surprised when Jason lifted me up to sit on top of the counter, eliminating the problem.
I had wrapped my arms around him and kissed him back. I rather liked the affection, even if it was hurried and almost frantic. His hands were all over me, but ever so gentle. He gradually calmed and slowly pulled away. We stared at each other for a long moment, lust on Jason's face and confusion on mine. I wasn't quite sure what had prompted the sudden need to kiss me. Katty carefully broke in.
"Bad day?"
Jason huffed and nodded. "Yeah. Sorry." He dropped his head to rest against my shoulder and looped his arms around my waist, pressed between my knees. I held him for a moment, until he pulled away, laying one more kiss on my mouth before moving to kiss Katty.
I just sat where he had left me, staring after him. A bad day required kissing me? I bit my lip. No. Kissing me made the bad day go away. That was it? A kiss was all it took? No beating on me or heavy fucking?
I was broken from my thoughts when there was a knock on the door. I eagerly shoved my thoughts away as I hopped off the counter to get it before Katty could. "I'll get it."
I opened up the door and immediately got a bad feeling. I was also coming to the realization that I should stop opening Katty's door.
The Vampire on the other side introduced himself as a Mr. Burns. The human standing behind him gave no name. Katty came to deal with her guest and the bad feeling got worse as the Vampire told Katty he was giving her the human as payment for a border dispute she had cleared up. My bad feeling turned to anger when Katty accepted the offer. I managed to restrain myself until Mr. Burns had left and Katty had turned her attention to the human kneeling at her feet.
"What the hell Katty?!"
Her gaze jerked up to me in surprise. I almost started to apologize when I caught a flash of amusement in her eyes. My assertion had pleased her somehow. She smirked. "What?"
I folded my arms across my chest as Jason came back from his bedroom, asking about the incident that had brought the human here.
She nodded and glanced at Jason. "Wasn't really a big deal. Not enough to warrant a blood gift. I would have tried harder to refuse but Max disproves my claim that I don't keep humans and he brought my parents into it. Meaning he's thinking more about appeasing them than me." Her gaze dropped back the human. "What's your name?"
My blood boiled when she cupped his chin in her hand to lift his gaze. I grimaced when he responded. "Seth, Mistress." The honorific sent a shiver down my spine. Jason just rolled his eyes and went to get dinner started.
"Well Seth, looks like you're stuck in my hectic family. I won't be expecting much from you. Nothing personal, just the way I operate. If you need anything, let me know. We'll get your room sorted out for you."
The words just enforced the fact that this was happening. My fragile world was now falling apart. I wasn't the only human and Katty and Jason would either forget about me or begin to treat us all like chattel. I sucked in air, unable to get enough in. I jumped a little when Katty wrapped her hand around the back of my neck.
"What's wrong Max?"
I swallowed, breathing hard as my heart pounded. "What do you need a human for? You've got me. Me and Jason. Aren't things cramped in here enough as it is?"
She pulled my forehead to meet hers and held my gaze. "Max. Breathe, okay? Breathe with me." She took in slow measured breaths and waited until I had made an effort. I focused on keeping to her rhythm. "Nothing is going to change Max. Not between us. We just have to make some lifestyle adjustments."
I stared at her. Then let out a sullen 'okay'. What else could I do? It was her place. She gently brushed a kiss over my forehead. She turned to find Seth watching us and asked me to show him around. Then she went to talk to Jason in the kitchen.
I grit my teeth as I showed Seth around the apartment. "That way is Logan's room and the library. This direction is Katty and Jason's room. My room's over there. Everything else you can see."
The blonde seemed more interested in me than in the apartment when I turned back to look at him. He slowly smiled. "Sorry for encroaching on your territory."
I forced myself to relax, licking my lips. "That's not it. I'm just... I wasn't expecting company."
Seth eyed me. Then he was glancing at Katty, talking with Jason in the kitchen. They appeared to be absorbed in their conversation. He moved in a little closer, making my heart jump in nervousness. His smile had faded as he spoke urgently under his breath. "Are you trapped here? These Vampires, they've got you chained, right?"
My eyes slowly widened as I put it all together. "You're a rebel. You never wanted to be a blood whore." Seth nodded and I slowly smirked. "You're in luck then. Katty and Jason won't hold you hostage."
Seth started to respond, then snapped his mouth shut and plastered a smile on his face when Katty came over. "You two getting along?"
Seth nodded. "Yes Mistress."
I noted Katty wince at the title. I winced a little at the title too. There was a very clear line between any and all Mistresses and Katty. It turned my stomach at any blurring of that line.
"You can call me Katty. In fact, I will insist on it. I don't much like being called mistress." After that it became a little more amicable. Seth stuck close to me, which bothered me even as it seemed completely natural. He was just like I had been when I was first dropped in Sophia's mansion. I had found like minded individuals in Tucker and Juliette and we had stuck together. And others after that had been drawn into our group.
It was just...there was something off about Seth.
Katty had me help her clear some space for Jason's things while dinner cooked. I felt like she was giving me a chance to talk to her away from Seth. I just couldn't come up with anything to say. I couldn't explain what felt off. I certainly didn't feel right about asking her to kick him out on the streets. Not if he was like me.
It would be terribly hypocritical.
After dinner, Katty and Jason moved all of Jason's things out of his room and into Katty's. Then Katty informed Seth that he would be staying in Jason's old room. Seth nodded along, still playing the good human. I decided to wait until he approached me again before explaining he didn't need to fake it. No harm would come to him as long as he was in Katty's care.
For that night though, I was eager to take up Katty's offer of sex. I was going to need to be tired out if I expected to make it through the day nightmare free. The whole situation also prompted me to try something new. I broke my first rule.
Jason just about jumped out of his skin when I took his cock in my mouth. Then they were both looking at me incredulously, which just made me second guess myself. They hurried to reassure me and Katty slid to the floor next to me, teaching me how to do it without gagging.
When Jason was finished, he exuberantly returned the favor. And I slept mostly peacefully.
But it didn't last. Seth was just like all the other favorites. Making underhanded comments or casting me disdainful looks. If he weren't so cautious about pissing off Katty and Jason, or making them think he wanted sex with them, I would have said he liked being here. Liked belonging to Vampires.
It seemed I was constantly on guard, trying to watch my own back. It was stressing me enough even sex with Katty and Jason wasn't keeping the nightmares away. And the fact that my friends agreed with my assessment after meeting Seth didn't make me feel any better. It was all putting me in a foul mood, which was irritating Katty and Jason.
I decided to do the dishes, trying to make up for my short temper that was only growing shorter as the week progressed. I glared at the innocent dishes as I scrubbed them clean with misdirected ire, trying to come up with some other way to make it up to Katty and Jason. They didn't deserve what I was throwing at them all the time.
"I can't tell if you're protecting me or being jealous."
I glanced up at Seth in surprise. It was only then I realized we were alone. Katty had gone downstairs to handle something. Jason and Logan were out teaching and learning how to drive, respectively. It was a rare moment where we had the place to ourselves and I had never been particularly fond of those moments. I turned back to doing dishes with a small smile as I considered the question.
"A little of both I suppose."
Seth moved a little further into the kitchen, leaning one hip against the counter. "Why would you be jealous if the bloodsuckers chose me over you? You have to know they don't actually care about you so why care about them?"
My fingers tightened around the plate I was holding. "They do care about me."
Seth just snorted. "The only thing they care about is that they've got some warm body to gang bang. Drink from. I hate to burst your bubble, but you're replaceable dude." I turned to deny his claims and he spoke over me. "Refuse them once or twice. You'll see how fast they drop you."
I drew myself up. "They saved me. Multiple times."
"And so now you repay them by coming to their every call and squealing in their bed."
My mouth went dry and I could feel my face heat in embarrassment. I swallowed hard. I couldn't come up with anything to say to that, and then Katty came through the door. Seth smiled at me with a cold light in his eyes before he turned away. I ducked my head back over the dishes and tried to quell the ache in my stomach.
Katty touched my shoulder as she slipped past me to get to the fridge. "Thanks Max. Though, it was my turn. Need any help?"
I glanced at her as she pulled out some soda and eyed the last few swallows in the bottle. She shrugged and drained it rather than getting a glass. She raised a brow at me as she crushed the air out of the empty bottle and threw it away.
I shook my head. "No, I think I've got it." She smiled and brushed her fingers over my shoulder again as she passed me again. I bit my lip and tried to ignore the flutter in my stomach. She was constantly finding a reason to touch me. Just friendly reminders that she liked me around. At least, that's what I thought she was trying to convey.
Jason brought Logan home just as I was finishing up putting the dishes away and they started cooking dinner. I was kicked out of the kitchen on the grounds that I had already done work and the kitchen was too small. Both were true so I vacated.
I curled up on the couch to read while dinner was finished and then we all sat down to eat. I avoided eye-contact with Seth. It made Katty suspicious. Which made Jason suspicious. I almost gasped in relief when Logan pulled their attention his way by asking about a drivers test.
I managed to get through dinner without being directly asked about what was bothering me. I didn't want to have that conversation in front of Seth. Or at all if I could help it. After they had rescued me from Pierre, I had pinned all my hopes on them. Seth was making me doubt the wisdom of that decision. Could they really be playing me? Using my reliance on them to their own advantage?
I needed to think. As soon as I was done eating, I retreated to my room, locking the door and settling down on the floor to lean against the bed. I stared into space as I tried to work it all out. Someone was messing with my head. I just couldn't decide if it was Seth or Katty and Jason.
I jumped when there was a soft knock on the door and Katty's voice filtered through. "Max? You coming to bed?" She sounded partly hopeful and partly concerned.
I got up and moved to open the door. Katty cocked her head curiously. I licked my lips and tried to hide my inner conflict. "I'm gonna try sleeping on my own tonight."
Katty blinked in surprise. Then she accepted it and nodded. "Alright then. Good luck. We'll be right there if you need us." She looked me over one last time before turning and heading for her own bedroom. The one she now shared with Jason. I swallowed hard and shut the door again.
I crawled into bed, not feeling at all confident about this exercise. I had grown too used to having them around. I grit my teeth and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep through the night. I couldn't depend on them for the rest of my life. When they got tired of me, I would have to be able to survive on my own.
Two hours later I was sitting bolt upright in bed, clutching at my chest as I tried to breathe. I struggled to get out of bed, needing an anchor to ground me. Needing some friendly contact to focus on and quell the panic. The sheets and blankets caught and held me captive for a moment, doing nothing to help me calm. I kicked out of them and bolted for the door.
Katty's door had been left open a crack. That subtle invitation that she seemed to always be extending. I shoved through and stopped dead, biting my lip as I trembled. They were sleeping peacefully, wrapped up in each other. I didn't want to intrude and wake them, but I wanted to be alone even less.
I tiptoed around the bed. There was a little more room on Jason's side. Perhaps I could just curl up against his back and get what I needed without waking them. I slid under the covers and pressed up against Jason's back.
I almost jumped right back out of bed when fingers slid through my hair.
"Shh. Shh. You're alright. It's just me." Katty had propped herself up on one elbow and was peeking over Jason's shoulder at me. I let out a breath and relaxed again. Her fingers soothed down the side of my face. "I guess this means it didn't go too well?"
I shook my head and burrowed a little further into the space between Jason's shoulder blades.
"Wanna tell me what's been bothering you all evening?" I shook my head again and she sighed. She didn't press the matter however. "Alright then. Get some sleep. We'll keep the evil things at bay for a little while."
I closed my eyes and tried not to cry as Jason reached back and grasped my hand, pulling my arm across his waist and encouraging me to cling to him.