"Do you think they'll be okay?"
"They'll be fine," Jungkook assures me for the fifth time, his brows drawn in concentration as he shifts his eyes out the window. He'd been doing that for the past hour, ever since Hoseok's warning.
"What are you doing?" I ask, rising from the couch and throwing my arms around his neck. His hair is soft and smells of lavender as I rest my chin on the top, following the path of his focused gaze out the frost-bitten window.
"Making sure you remain safe." He replies, casually raising his hand to brush the fingers through my dark locks. "You didn't forget to take your medicine, did you?"
I nod at the empty bottles that Yoongi had set out for me to drink. Ever since I'd arrived here, the first thing he'd done was to take a good look at me and then prescribe a bunch of medicine that he claimed would keep me alive.
According to him, a single cold could kill me off with what weak immune system I possessed.
"I have to remember, Jungkook. He gets so cranky if he sees those bottles full before noon."
A ghost of a smile dances on his lips as he leans back into the couch, finally seeming to relax a bit from the job he'd assigned himself. "That's Yoongi hyung for you. He gets cranky anything."
My lips press together. "Jungkook."
"Yeah?"
"Remember the time you asked me if I wanted you to turn me vampire?" I ask, and curiosity replaces the watchfulness in his eyes as he finally turns to look at me.
".... Yeah?"
"What'd happen if you did?"
His brows furrow as he frowns, a mix of thoughtfulness and reluctance appearing on his features. And when he parts his lips to answer, each of his words are careful, measured.
"Elle. Back then, when I asked you if you did want it..." His voice trails off, and he looks at me with an uncertainty in his eyes. My own struggle to stay pinned to his— somehow, the urge to avoid them grows stronger by the minute.
Then he shakes his head.
"It's a painful process, Elle. For a total of twenty four hours, you'll be put through pain worse than death. After a day and you survive, then you'll emerge as a vampire."
Vampire.
Beautiful, pale, powerful.
"And would I have a gift?"
He nods, motioning towards himself. "Since I would be your maker, yes. You receive the ability to possess a gift if the vampire who makes you is gifted themselves."
But then Jungkook's features twist, and he continues to shake his head in denial.
"It's something that I shouldn't ever put you through, Elle. And the life after that— the blood thirst that you'd feel every single day—"
He purses his lips, indicating the end of this discussion. Even though some part of me wants to continue asking questions, I fall into silence with the worry that I'd make him angry and more stressed than he already was.
Everything seems normal and peaceful when suddenly Jungkook's eyes widen, and within a split second he has my body to his chest.
"Jungkook?"
He makes a silencing motion with his right hand, the other firmly pressed against my shoulder when a stark vibration crosses the air.
"Damn," A voice hisses, clearly displeased as Jungkook tightens his grip on me even further.
"I didn't expect you to have company."
A cold chill races up my spine as I see the vivid yellow eyes, the figure of the vampire I'd never wanted to see. I immediately back into Jungkook's warm chest, trying to increase the distance between even an inch apart.
Even though we're facing a rogue vampire who possibly could mess us up really bad, my gaze shifts around the house.
I can tell Jungkook's thinking the same way as I am with the worry in his stare, the tension in his body.
If Jin came back to this house and found out there was nothing left, it'd be worse than facing a thousand of these vampires.
"Elle."
My eyes flicker up to him, but he continues to lock his gaze on the snarling vampire as he speaks softly.
"Stay here."
It all happens so fast that I'm struck numb with shock as Jungkook lunges, the air already set to vibration as he transports himself and the vampire to another place.
I'm alone.
The moment the clock ticks five times, I break out of my trance and instantly turn and rush towards the large window. He couldn't have gone very far away— he'd only ever traveled short distances.
When I quickly poke my head over the edge, a soft curse escapes my lips. It was much too dark to see anything— not even in the flickering streetlights.
I have no other choice.
My heart races with excitement as I throw open the front door, adrenaline pumping through my veins. A small voice in the back of my mind reminds me of Jungkook's words, but I simply refused to just pace around and panic while he was forced to fight for our lives.
I don't even notice the freeze in the air as I fall silent, listening for sounds of fighting. Blood is roaring in my ears and my heart is pumping way too fast to be considered normal, but I manage to catch a hiss to my right when I focus.
Then a low growl follows right after, confirming my suspicions.
As I approach the noise, I make sure to keep my feet as silent as they would go. Even though they probably heard me crashing through the front door with their enhanced senses, it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.
My eyes squint.
Darkness nearly conceals the two figures, and I only recognize them with their burning vampiric colors. I bite my lip when I see a heavy aura of silver rising from Jungkook's silhouette, like smoke— wisps of moonlight.
He looks angry.
The yellow eyed vampire spits blood into the ground as he glowers darkly. He doesn't look pleased— and he already has a red rivulet trickling down the side of his head.
"Now that's not fair," He says, eyes flickering anxiously at Jungkook's aura. "I didn't realize you had this strong of a Gift."
"I told you to stay away."
A shiver chills my spine when I hear literal ice and poison come out of the maknae's thin lips. There was a lasting hiss to his words— like the remaining vibration after a note was played on the instrument.
It somehow makes him sound a hundred times more dangerous than he already seems.
"It is your fault you did not listen."
Then in the breath of a second, Jungkook has him pinned down to the ground, pale fingers wrapped against his neck. The murder is definite in his posture— the look in his eyes.
There was no stopping him this time.
"Wait!"
The vampire pleads, his last resort. His eyes flicker wildly as he desperately scrabbles at Jungkook's impenetrable grip.
Had he finally realized he can't win?
Then a smug smile twists his lips, and my eyes narrow as he motions towards the direction of our house.
"You— your pack," He rasps, smile only getting wider when he sees Jungkook tense with the mention of the others.
"They are captives now."
Horror blinds my vision as my legs nearly give out underneath my body. A tremble goes through Jungkook as he tightens his grip, eyes feral— vicious with disbelief.
"You are lying."
"Did you really think that I came here without an advantage?" The vampire chokes out, triumphant in his victory. "You are younger and more powerful— but I am wiser. They've been taken."
The arena.
Vampire Arena.
"And you'll only know how to get there if you let me go."
He's made a mistake.
The vampire has made a vital mistake on his part.
Jungkook's eyes harden as he snarls violently, watching the vampire's eyes widen with winter and ice as they begin to widen in terror.
"I don't need you."
Then a loud snap echoes throughout the silence of the night.