Chapter Text
Jake really should’ve expected Riki to lead them to the restricted buildings after they left the Veil. His surroundings became vaguely familiar in a way that made Jake want to bash his head against the nearest wall—one shop, then the next, a tree bent oddly to the left, enough that Jake knew he had to stop them before they got any closer. He stopped dead in his tracks, half-expecting the rest of his coven to stop with him. They kept moving, sliding past him with ease, and Jake felt the urge to stomp his foot in frustration.
“Riki,” Jake called. Riki didn’t look back. “Riki, stop.”
Sunghoon looked back at him curiously, one of his rare, warmer smiles lighting up his face. “Jakey?”
Jake made a bunch of useless gestures before groaning and throwing his keys at Riki’s back. Everyone froze, turning slowly to stare at him as if he’d lost his mind. Riki cocked an eyebrow at him.
“One night,” Jake demanded. “I want one night where everything is not going to shit.”
“What if it’s not there tomorrow?”
Jake wanted to strangle him. “It was there the night I followed you; it will be there tomorrow.”
“Hyung—”
“Riki, please.”
“Okay…what are we missing?” Heesenug looked between the two of them, one hand reaching behind himself for Jungwon, who looked just as confused.
“Riki’s trying to lead us to some guarded building that he thinks the Council is behind!”
All heads swiveled Riki’s way. “Tell me you don’t think the same thing, and I’ll drop it.”
Everyone turned back to look at Jake. “Please, baby. One night, that’s all I’m asking.”
Riki looked skeptical; his hair hung low in his face, and he shook it out. He had a contemplative look on his face, eyes straying from the street ahead to his confused coven. Finally, he sighed, his shoulders dropping in defeat.
“Hyung…” He stopped before he even started, staring down at his hands, his fingers twisted together.
Jay appeared beside him, hooking their pinkies together, but it was enough to get Riki to focus on something else. Heeseung and Jungwon turned back to Jake, their expressions suggesting they’d like answers. Jake winced, scratching the back of his head.
“The night I marked Riki in the system…that wasn’t the only thing we did…”
“No shit,” Sunghoon remarked sarcastically. Jay smacked him on the arm.
“I followed him as he was coming home, and he stopped in front of this big building I’ve never seen before. About six guards total; it definitely wasn’t inconspicuous…”
“They’re hiding something,” Riki said defensively.
Jake could feel Jungwon’s anxiety before the bond even sharpened. He braced for it unconsciously, his shoulders nearly hiking up to his ears. It came down hard, forcing the breath from his lungs and tightening the fibers in his muscles. Jungwon was staring ahead with wide eyes, his jaw clenched in the way it always did when he was stuck in his head and didn’t know how to get out.
Heeseung looked the least affected, but Jake could see his pulse throbbing painfully in his temple. He kissed the crown of Jungwon’s head, his hand coming up to squeeze the back of his neck as he murmured words Jake couldn’t hear. After a long moment, Jungwon blinked, his eyelashes fluttering as he tried to rein in the already oversensitive bond. Heeseung smiled encouragingly, and Jungwon’s skin flushed light pink with embarrassment.
“Sorry,”
Riki shrugged, shaking off the tension in his limbs. “Don’t be; you’ve felt plenty from my side that was overwhelming.”
The small smile Jungwon cracked was gone as quickly as it showed up. Jake smiled, only barely acknowledging his ability to take in a full breath for the first time in a while.
“Six guards?” Jungwon asked.
Riki looked up, and Jake frowned. “Yeah?”
Jungwon’s eyes flickered toward him before returning to Riki. Something had shifted behind them. The embarrassment was gone, replaced by something sharper Jake couldn’t read.
“Were they watching the building?”
Riki hesitated.
“Or watching the people around it?”
The street seemed to quiet. Riki's fingers tightened around Jay’s pinky. “I don't know.”
Jungwon nodded once, though the answer clearly hadn't reassured him. “Did you see anyone go inside?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone come out?”
Riki's eyebrows pulled together, and Jake watched realization slowly cross his face.
“No,” Riki said again. “I didn't.”
Sunghoon straightened. “Riki.”
“I was there for almost an hour the first night.”
Jake felt his stomach drop. “And nobody came out?”
Riki shook his head, and for a long while nobody spoke.
Jungwon's gaze lowered to the pavement between them. “The Council doesn't assign guards to abandoned buildings,” he said quietly.
Riki crossed his arms. “That's what I've been saying.”
Jungwon shared a look with Jay, his eyebrows drawing together, and Jay frowned. Jake watched their unspoken conversation in silence for a moment before his attention drifted to Riki. Riki wasn’t looking at him; instead, he stared down at his and Jay’s conjoined hands, twisting the rings around Jay’s fingers as a fidget. Jay didn’t seem to mind, turning soft smiles on Riki that he didn’t see.
Jake’s heart warmed, a burning happiness that was almost too overwhelming to acknowledge. Sunghoon snickered somewhere to his left, and Jake jabbed an elbow into his stomach on instinct. He laughed at Sunghoon’s spluttering and turned back to the rest of his coven. Jay was watching him this time, a sympathetic expression etched onto his face that told Jake he was not going to like the rest of this conversation.
Passersby moved around them like water, skidding around his coven, their eyes catching on whoever was nearest. Jay shifted Riki closer when someone brushed close enough that Riki straightened. Heeseung turned on his heel and disappeared into an alleyway a little ways down. Jake followed him without question, and he heard his coven shuffle to follow as well.
Heeseung was leaning against one of the brick walls, his gaze turned upward toward the night sky. Sunoo saddled up beside him, and Heeseung grinned and wrapped an arm around his waist. Jay and Jungwon stopped with their heads bent together; whispers of fervent arguing reached Jake’s ears, but he was barely paying attention. Riki had drifted towards Sunghoon, leaning into the other vampire like he was too tired to hold himself up. Sunghoon stayed perfectly still, frozen, like he was afraid any sudden movement would spook Riki into moving away. Jake hid a small smile, and Sunghoon glared at him.
“Jakey…”
Jake turned, almost immediately regretting it upon seeing Jay’s anxious face and Jungwon’s distant expression.
“We should…” he started, and Jake felt a burning anger rise to the surface so quickly that Jay paused, like he was afraid to continue.
Jake closed his eyes and waited for it to subside. His coven stayed silent the entire time, only Sunghoon daring to prod through the bond. When he opened his eyes again, Jay had chewed his lip to bleeding, and Jake softened despite himself.
“Not tonight,” he said quietly.
Jungwon looked up, his disagreement loud in his gaze. Jake took another deep breath and rerouted.
“Riki can barely hold himself up right now; we’re all tired, and it’ll be daylight soon. We can come back tomorrow, during the gala or something, when the Council is distracted.”
Riki lifted his head from where it rested on Sunghoon's shoulder to protest Jake’s statement before apparently deciding otherwise and dropping back down to nuzzle into the side of Sunghoon’s throat. Sunghoon preened slightly, then cleared his throat and looked away when he noticed his entire coven watching.
Jake gestured to them like they’d proved his point. Jay wavered, turning to Jungwon, who looked like he could nap for a decade and still wake up exhausted. Jungwon sighed heavily and looked up at Heeseung, who’d yet to say a word about the issue at hand. Jake turned to him too, and Heeseung looked between the two of them in a panic, like he hadn’t expected to be put on the spot.
He straightened, letting out a nervous laugh, fidgeting with Sunoo’s fingers. “It’s up to you, Wonnie; you’re the boss,” he paused. “But I don’t think tonight’s the night either. I don’t want to break into an undisclosed building right now. I want to go home with my beautiful coven and pretend for one night that the world is not collapsing around us.”
He said it with a light tone and a shrug of his shoulders, like it didn’t matter either way, despite his little speech. Jay stared at him blankly before bursting out in unstable laughter.
“Damn, hyung,” he managed.
Heeseung shrugged again and turned back to Jungwon with a small smile. Jungwon looked resigned before sighing and nodding. Heeseung grinned and pushed off the wall.
Jungwon glared at him. “No. You stay there.”
Heeseung pouted exaggeratedly and continued walking toward him, finally managing to capture the smaller vampire in a tight hug and messing up his precisely styled hair. “You know you love me.”
Jungwon pushed him off, but Jake noted the light blush dusting his features. “It’s a flaw I’m working on fixing.”
Heeseung cupped his hands over his heart like he was wounded, but the smile on his face failed to deliver the effect Jake was sure he was looking for. Jungwon rolled his eyes and turned on his heel to leave, but he jerked to a pause beside Sunghoon and Riki. Riki peeled his eyes open to look at him with a dopey smile.
Jungwon softened, running his thumb over Riki’s bicep in a soothing gesture. “Are you okay to walk, baby?”
Riki nodded into Sunghoon’s shoulder, and Jungwon nodded, stepping away. They walked in silence back to the train, sitting as close as possible once they were on it. Getting home was a blur; he hardly remembered anything aside from Riki leading the way almost the entire time, the exhaustion disappearing from his frame with every step.
Once they were inside, someone flipped on the lights. Jake didn’t bother turning to see who it was. Jay’s shoes were off before everyone was even through the door, already making his way to the kitchen. Jungwon followed him, leaning across the counter toward him. Jake shared a look with Heeseung, making a “go on” gesture. Heeseung held his hands up in surrender and made his way to the kitchen as well. Jake followed just far enough to flop on the nearest couch, snagging Sunoo when he passed.
Sunoo laughed lightly, but settled into his side without complaint. Heeseung wrapped himself around Jungwon from behind, tipping the other vampire’s head to the side so he could kiss lightly at his neck.
“I’m going to take a shower; would you like to join me?”
Jungwon hesitated for only a second before nodding. Heeseung’s smile was soft when Jungwon turned into his touch as he led them upstairs. Jake watched them go, his own anxiety lessening knowing Heeseung wouldn’t let Jungwon spiral; he would take care of him. Constant shifting pulled his attention towards the vampire in his lap. Sunoo was picking at his nail beds, small droplets of scarlet blood slipping down his thumb. Jake nosed at the top of his head, letting his senses fill with the familiar scent of Sunoo’s shampoo. When he pulled away, he tugged at a wayward strand. His roots had grown out, and Jake couldn’t remember if he’d bought more dye in the last couple of trips to the store.
“Your roots have grown out.” He said. “What color’s next? Or are we going back to natural?”
Sunoo reached up to touch his hair thoughtfully. “I don’t know; what do you think?”
“You look beautiful in any color,” Jake said truthfully.
Sunoo laughed again. “That’s not helpful.”
“I want to dye my hair,” Riki said offhandedly.
Jake and Sunoo’s heads snapped toward him, where he was practically draped over Jay, whom he managed to drag over to the nearest couch. Sunoo propped himself up on his elbow.
“What color?”
Riki didn’t seem to notice their undivided attention and shrugged. “I don’t know, blond maybe? Like a darker blond?”
Jake looked down at Sunoo. “Do you have that color?”
Sunoo made a face. “Of course I do. Who do you think I am?”
Jake accepted that in stride and helped Sunoo to stand. “All right then, let’s go.”
Riki lifted his head from Jay’s lap, confused. “Go where?”
“Do you want to dye your hair?” Jake asked.
Riki nodded cautiously, looking around like he wasn’t sure if they were kidding. “Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Sunghoon repeated, dusting imaginary dust off his clothes. “I told you, if you wanted something, we’d get it done.”
“Unless you want to get it done professionally,” Jay added. “But Sunoo’s done it enough that he’s practically a professional.”
Riki shook his head so vehemently that Jake was surprised he didn’t get whiplash. “No, I want Sunoo to do it.” He paused. “If you’re okay with that.”
Sunoo rolled his eyes, already halfway up the stairs. “I wouldn’t offer it if I wasn’t.”
Jake shrugged and gestured for them to hurry up as he followed Sunoo up to his room. Sunoo’s bathroom was almost clinically organized, not as clean as Sunghoon’s, but enough that Jake was thoroughly impressed. Only a few of Sunoo’s many skincare products lay in the corner of the counter.
He started pulling things out immediately: gloves, a small plastic bowl, and hoards of towels Jake was sure had specific purposes. “Can you grab me my bleach powder and developer, please? The 20-volume one.”
Jake blinked and opened the bathroom closet, only to be overwhelmed by the amount of products. He grabbed the first two things he saw and held them out to Sunoo just as Riki, Sunghoon, and Jay entered, hovering just outside the doorframe. Sunoo reached to take the products from Jake’s hand before pausing. He looked up at Jake, who held an awkward, hopeful smile on his face.
Sunoo stared for a moment before sighing. “Okay, you know what, just sit there and don’t touch anything.”
Jake frowned. “Oh, come on! I can be helpful!”
“You just tried to hand me purple coloring shampoo and hair-growth oil.”
Jake pouted and handed the products to Sunoo to put back before lowering the toilet lid and propping himself up there. The others filtered in cautiously as Sunoo grabbed the products he needed.
Riki stood in the doorway, looking lost. “Where do you want me?”
Sunoo paused and turned to Jay. “Can you grab him a chair or something, please, hyung?”
Jay, ever ready to please, stood swiftly and disappeared downstairs. Sunghoon sat on the edge of the bathtub, stretching out one leg to touch Jake’s. Jay returned shortly, sitting in between Sunghoon and Jake with his back to the wall. Sunoo gestured for Riki to sit, then slid behind him and ran his fingers through Riki’s hair.
“What are you doing?” Jake asked.
Sunoo didn’t look up from his task. “I’m checking his hair.”
“...Why?”
Sunoo sighed. “I need to make sure his hair isn’t damaged and that his scalp is healthy enough to handle the bleach.”
“Oh, okay.”
Sunghoon snickered, but when Jake looked at him, he shrugged. Riki eyed them out of the corner of his eye.
“I wasn’t aware this was going to be a group activity…”
Sunoo sighed heavily, like that was an issue weighing on his soul. “Everything is a group activity in this house.” But he couldn’t hide the affection in his voice.
Sunghoon kicked out his leg, managing to hit Sunoo’s ankle. “Hey, we’re good moral support.”
“Sure, hyung, sure,” Sunoo said in an unconvincing tone.
Deeming his task complete, Sunoo stepped away and grabbed two boxes. “Alright,” he said, holding up the boxes. “Do you want warm or cool?”
Riki stared at him blankly. “What’s the difference?”
Sunoo looked personally offended, and Jay tsked. “Wrong answer, baby.”
Riki’s wide-eyed look for help almost had Jake bursting out laughing, but Jake knew Sunoo would kick him out of the bathroom if he annoyed him too much.
“You can’t just say ‘blond’ and expect me to know what you mean.”
Riki looked between the two options rapidly before pointing to one. “That one.”
Sunoo nodded. “Good choice.”
He put the unchosen box back in his closet, then turned to his audience. “Ground rules.” He said.
Everyone straightened.
“No one touch anything.”
“We’re not going to touch anything,” Jake promised.
“Jake, you specifically are not allowed to touch anything.”
“Why me?!”
“Because you’ve already touched three things, and I don’t trust you not to somehow turn his hair bright green.”
Jake crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, grumbling, but didn’t argue. Jay rubbed his leg through his jeans to soothe him. Sunoo, satisfied, turned back to his task, shaking out powder into his bowl. Riki sat there for a while until Sunoo turned his attention back to him. “I would suggest you pick a different shirt unless you want to risk that one.”
Riki looked around, like he was expecting a new shirt to pop out from underneath his chair. Sunghoon stood gracefully, slipping out the door and returning with one of his old T-shirts he usually uses for lounging in on a lazy day. Riki took it and thanked him before standing to strip off his current shirt.
Jake tried not to stare at the way his muscles shifted. Something hot swelled in his chest, and Jay pinched his calf.
Jake looked away for a minute before resuming his task, failing at staring. Jay pinched him again.
Jake yelped, leaning down to slap Jay’s hand away. “You know,” he muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his calf, “you could just tell me to stop.”
“You don’t listen when I do that.”
“That’s not true.”
Jay looked at him, and Jake paused. “Okay, that’s fair.”
When Riki sat back down, the shirt that was so large on Sunghoon looked like a regular shirt on Riki. Jake laughed. “I forget how much taller he is compared to you.”
Sunghoon glared at him. “I’m taller than you.”
Jake’s laughter died in his throat. “By like an inch.”
Sunghoon’s grin was feral. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, baby.
Sunoo continued like he couldn’t hear them, mixing in what Jake assumed was the developer he had asked him to get earlier. He paused for a second, then handed the small bowl and mixing brush to Sunghoon.
“Mix this until it’s smooth, please. I’m going to section his hair and add extra precautionary towels.”
Sunghoon looked at the bleach mix like it was a bomb and promptly handed it to Jay, who was more than happy to help. Sunoo, oblivious to the job change, draped old towels around Riki’s shoulders, ensuring each inch was covered before moving on. He pulled on a pair of gloves and dipped his fingers into a clear, jelly-like substance. He lined Riki’s hairline and ears with it, and Jake managed to stay quiet until he reached the back of Riki’s neck.
“What’s that?”
“Petroleum jelly,” Sunoo supplied. “It’s to protect his skin from the bleach and chemicals.”
Jake nodded along as Sunoo removed his gloves and combed through Riki’s hair one last time before separating it into neat sections, securing each one with clips. Jake watched the process with growing confusion, but was glad he wasn’t the one to ask the stupid question this time.
“Why are there so many?” Sunghoon asked, leaning back on his hands.
“Because I don’t want an uneven color.”
“Oh.” Sunghoon tilted his head. “How many is too many?”
Sunoo glanced at him through the mirror, his eyes skeptical even as his hands moved to double-check all the sections. “For you? Any amount.”
Sunghoon pouted, and Sunoo spun around to retrieve the mixture. Riki turned with him, and Jake was quick to pull out his phone and snap a photo.
“Hyung. No.”
Jake pocketed his phone again. “Riki. Yes.”
Sunoo had bent down to Jay’s level to retrieve the bowl he’d diligently mixed, giving him a gentle kiss for his efforts. Sunghoon grabbed his sleeve as he started to stand.
“Wait. I want a kiss.”
Sunoo raised his eyebrow. “Did you mix the bleach and developer?”
Sunghoon let go, grumbling under his breath, and Sunoo rolled his eyes before dropping a kiss on his forehead. When he turned back to Riki, he was looking up at him expectantly. Sunoo huffed, but it was full of affection as he lowered his head enough to oblige Riki’s request for a kiss too.
“You guys are so needy.” He turned to Jake. “I’m assuming you want one too?”
Jake nodded. “Obviously.”
Sunoo laughed, and Jake grabbed him by the waist the moment he was close enough, being cautious to avoid spilling the bowl of bleach still in his hands. Sunoo protested but didn’t make much of an effort to get away when Jake peppered his face with kisses. Jake only stopped when he deemed it enough and released the younger vampire, who dropped his head on Jake’s shoulder.
Jake wrapped his arms around Sunoo briefly and kissed the shell of his ear. “I love you.”
He felt Sunoo smile into his skin. “Yeah, yeah, I love you too.”
When Sunoo finally stood, he placed the bowl of bleach on the counter for a moment as he tugged on a new pair of gloves. He frowned, studying Riki. “Do you want to dye your eyebrows too?”
Riki reached up to touch his eyebrows unconsciously. “Should I?”
“Well, black eyebrows might look a little odd with blond hair.”
Riki nodded solemnly. “Whatever you think is best, I trust you.”
Sunoo laughed and took more of the petroleum jelly, lined the skin around his eyebrows with his gloved forefinger, and began applying the bleach to Riki’s hair from the ends to the roots. He moved from section to section, reclipping each one after he was done to ensure an even amount of bleach was coating each one. Then he gently coated Riki’s eyebrows, ensuring to stay as far from his eyes as he could.
Sunghoon switched his seat, kicking Jay’s legs apart enough to settle himself in between them. Jay’s expression softened even further, if that was possible, as he nuzzled into the crook of Sunghoon’s neck.
“Does it always smell like that?” He asked after a moment.
Sunoo didn’t look at him. “Yes.”
Sunghoon’s nose wrinkled. “That doesn’t seem healthy.”
“It’s bleach, hyung,” Sunoo said flatly, looking at him like he was being particularly obtuse.
“Should we open a window or something?” Jay asked, his words muffled by Sunghoon’s skin.
Sunoo sighed, continuing to apply the bleach. “No.”
When he finished, he stepped back, tilting his head side to side as he examined Riki’s hair. “Hyung, can you set a time on your phone?”
All three of them picked up their phones before pausing. “Which one of us, Sunoo?”
Sunoo glanced at them with a barely concealed smile. “Jake-hyung for thirty minutes and Sunghoon-hyung for twenty.”
Jake set the appropriate timer before putting his phone down. “Now what?”
Sunoo shrugged. “Now we wait. We’ll probably have to bleach it again, but hopefully only one more time.”
Riki cleared his throat, and all attention turned to him. “How many times have you dyed your hair?”
Sunoo cracked a small smile. “I’ve lost count. I’ve been about every color under the sun.”
Riki laughed. “Do you usually dye it yourself?”
Jake watched Sunoo with a curious tilt of his head; he’d always assumed Sunoo did it himself, too afraid the others would mess up the shade he wanted. But Sunoo shook his head. “No, usually I have Jungwon help me.”
Jay and Sunghoon raised their heads. “Really?” Jay asked.
Sunoo nodded, cleaning up the minimal mess on the counter and beginning to add more bleach and developer to the bowl. “Yeah, he’s been helping me for years now.”
Jake paused, thinking through his next answer. “He doesn’t mess up your hair like you think we will?”
Sunoo gave him a look. “I let you help me once; I ended up having teal hair for two weeks. I wanted navy blue.”
Jake spluttered. “You pulled it off!”
Sunoo rolled his eyes. “That’s because I can pull off anything.”
Jay snickered, and Sunghoon rested his head back against his shoulder, like he was there just to witness the fight without being involved.
Sunghoon’s timer went off, and Sunoo turned around to check Riki’s hair again, for what, Jake wasn’t sure. “But Jungwon helps?”
Sunoo smiled softly. “Yeah, he helps a lot. It gives him something else to do; a few more months and I think he’ll be just as good as me.” He leaned back enough to make eye contact. “What made you want blond?”
Riki shrugged. “I just thought it looked nice.”
Jake watched them with a warm heart as they joked and prodded at each other. Jay watched them too, shifting to move Sunghoon to a more comfortable position. “What are you wearing tomorrow?”
Riki eyed him out of the corner of his eye. “This is a planned-out outfit event?”
Sunghoon chuckled. “Yeah, unfortunately.”
Riki looked about as excited as Jake felt, which was not at all. “Great.”
Sunghoon stretched out a leg, knocking his foot into Riki’s calf. “We’ll only stay for a little while, then we can go somewhere else.”
At that moment, Jake’s alarm went off. Sunoo glanced down at his phone before turning back to Riki. He separated one of the sections and frowned. “Huh.”
“What?” Riki asked immediately.
“Nothing bad.” Sunoo rubbed the strands between his fingers, studying the color. “It’s just already lighter than I expected.”
Jay looked concerned. “Is that because of the vampire thing?”
Sunoo shrugged. “Probably. His regeneration is still settling, so his hair might process faster than ours.”
Jake frowned. “So what does that mean?”
“It means,” Sunoo said, already leading Riki towards the bathtub, “I’m going to really have to watch the next round closely to make sure we reach the right shade.”
Sunoo rinsed out the bleach carefully and thoroughly, asking him quietly to close his eyes so he could rinse off the bleach on his eyebrows.
“Wow…it’s a party in here.”
Jake looked up and found Heeseung and Jungwon leaning against the doorway, their skin red from the heat of their shower.
Heeseung looked around the bathroom slowly. His gaze landed on Jake first, sitting on the closed toilet lid. Then Jay and Sunghoon, practically folded into one another against the wall. Then the bowl of bleach. Then Riki, kneeling in front of the bathtub with his hair covered in whatever chemical concoction Sunoo had deemed necessary.
Finally, his eyes settled on Sunoo. “Should I ask?”
“No,” Sunoo said immediately.
Jungwon leaned around him to get a better look. “What happened?”
“Riki wanted blond hair,” Jake supplied.
Jungwon blinked. “And this required all of you?”
“Apparently,” Sunghoon said.
“It absolutely did not,” Sunoo muttered.
Jungwon stepped inside, pulling out a hair dryer and grabbing one of the old towels. He tossed the towel to Sunoo, who caught it mid-air and began towel-drying Riki’s hair over the bathtub. Jungwon glanced at the new bowl of bleach mixture, then at Riki, who was settling back into his chair. Riki’s hair had changed from his natural inky black to a light brown that Jake admired for a moment.
“How many rounds of bleach?” He asked as he plugged in the hair dryer.
“Only one so far, thirty minutes.”
Jungwon’s eyebrows lifted, and he pulled a strand of hair between his fingers. “That lifted fast.”
Sunoo nodded in agreement. “That’s what I was thinking; next round we’re probably going to try for fifteen minutes and check it.”
Jungwon nodded and turned on the hair dryer. He turned to Riki and slowly dried the damp strands. “That’s smart.”
Heeseung exchanged a glance with Jake, who shrugged helplessly. He hopped onto the counter closest to Jake. “Why are we drying it if we just have to bleach and rinse again?”
Both Jungwon and Sunoo paused, turning to him with twin horrified expressions. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask that,” Sunoo said.
Jungwon blinked. “Bleach applies more evenly to dry hair.”
“And it’s easier to tell how much has lifted when his hair’s dry,” Sunoo added.
Heeseung lifted his hand in surrender, and Jake laughed at him like he wasn’t wondering the same question seconds ago. Once Riki’s hair was dry, Jungwon sectioned it again, and Sunoo mixed the bleach solution some more. Jungwon pulled on a matching pair of gloves, reapplying the jelly around the edges of Riki’s hairline and eyebrows before stepping back to let Sunoo add the bleach again.
Riki didn’t let Jungwon get far, catching the other vampire by the waist and holding him close while Sunoo worked. Jake set the fifteen-minute timer without being asked as soon as Sunoo was done. They sat in a loose circle while they waited for the bleach to settle again, talking about everything and nothing.
Riki’s hair changed again, shifting to a reddish brown, then to a shockingly orange color. Jake glanced around to see if anyone else was concerned. When he found no one else paying attention, he tapped on Sunoo’s shoulder.
“Sunoo.”
Sunoo didn’t even look at him. “No.”
“It’s orange.”
“I can see that, thank you.”
“Is that supposed to happen?”
Sunoo looked at him. “Do you want to do it?”
Jake’s mouth snapped closed, and he pouted. Heeseung rubbed his shoulder consolingly. Sunghoon laughed at him. “Stupid.”
Sunoo turned his eyes to Sunghoon. “And what have you been doing?”
Sunghoon smiled lazily against Jay’s shoulder. “Sitting here, looking pretty. You’re welcome.”
Sunoo rolled his eyes and kicked his leg. Heeseung took that moment to steal Sunghoon’s phone. Not that he seemed to mind. He typed in the password, blinking in confusion when the phone buzzed to indicate the wrong password.
“You’ve had the same password for twenty years,” Heeseung said, the statement more like a question.
Sunghoon shrugged. “And? I changed it.”
“To what?”
“Yesterday’s date.”
Heeseung hesitated before typing it in. The phone unlocked immediately. Heeseung raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Any reason for the change?”
“Our coven was completed yesterday. It felt right.”
Riki’s face flushed a light pink, and Jungwon unconsciously ran the back of his knuckles down the column of Riki’s throat. Sunoo had a small smile playing on the edges of his lips even as he reached around them to grab the toner. He held it in his hand for a moment before holding it out to Jungwon.
Jungwon took it hesitantly, and Sunoo shrugged, shooing his hands toward the bathtub in a ‘go on’ like gesture. Jungwon helped Riki out of his chair and propped him up against the side of the bathtub so his back was pressed against the porcelain and his head was tipped back. Riki’s eyes fluttered closed as Jungwon applied the toner, gently massaging it into his hair. While they waited once more, Jungwon rested his arms loosely on his knees, watching Riki’s face with such concentration that Jake was sure everything else fell away.
Sunoo had stepped in between Heeseung’s legs, allowing the older vampire to wrap around him, not unlike a koala, not that he seemed to mind in the least. Jake leaned back, perfectly content to just watch his coven in this rare quiet moment.
“Any predictions for tomorrow?” Sunghoon asked sleepily, his head turned into Jay’s neck.
Everyone groaned, and Jungwon slumped against the bathtub next to Riki, sliding dramatically to the floor. Jay pinched Sunghoon, who jumped and muttered something but didn’t move away.
Jake cleared his throat. “James is going to be all over Riki.”
Heeseung let out a humorless laugh. “We’re going to have to have someone between them the whole time. I don’t know if I can stop myself from breaking his nose if he gets too close.”
“Real mature, hyung,” Jay said offhandedly, and Heeseung shot him a menacing grin.
Jungwon laughed, and Riki, without moving his head, propped Jungwon’s head up in his lap, running his hands through his hair like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Who’s James?”
“No one you need to worry about,” Heeseung said immediately.
Even though Riki’s eyes were turned upward, Jake could feel him roll his eyes. Sunoo must have had the same feeling because he bit one of Heeseung’s arms that were wrapped around his neck, hard enough to make Heeseung yelp.
“James is a vampire who has been trying to get into our coven for decades now.” Sunoo supplied.
Riki’s body locked for only a moment, but it was enough that Jake noticed. “And you didn’t want him?”
Heeseung scoffed. “No. We were friends for a while, but when Jungwon joined and became our leader, he got cocky and insulting.”
Jungwon frowned and began picking at the skin of his thumb.
“I had to make it very clear that he was never going to be a part of this coven,” Heeseung continued. “That our coven was complete and would never need nor want him.”
Riki chuckled, and Jungwon sat up to rinse the toner out of his hair, his shoulder tight. “We thought our coven was complete.” Jungwon corrected quietly.
Heeseung hummed into the junction of Sunoo’s shoulder. “Hanni’s right; we have to go, but we don’t have to see him.”
Jungwon shrugged with one shoulder, but it was tense, uncoordinated in a way that Jungwon never was. Jake watched quietly as Jungwon thoroughly rinsed everything out of Riki’s now-blond hair and lathered it with conditioner. Riki’s eyes fluttered closed again, and the only sound that filled the room was the water hitting the bottom of the tub.
When Jungwon started towel-drying Riki’s hair, Sunoo shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I think everyone’s going to be all over him.”
Riki peeled one eye open to shoot Sunoo a disbelieving look, and Sunoo shrugged. “We’re going to have to be far more careful with the bond, especially with all the extra stimulus.”
The sound of Jay’s head hitting the wall behind him echoed through the room. “Fuck. I forgot about that.”
Jake made a sound in the back of his throat. “You forgot about it? That was this morning?”
Jay groaned. “Feels like forever ago.”
Riki looked down at his hands. “I’ll be careful.”
Jungwon immediately shook his head. “Don't worry about being careful for us.”
Sunoo shrugged. “Just stay within eyesight as a good rule. That goes for all of us. And if all else fails, scream so we can find you.”
Riki blinked at him, his gaze sweeping the entire coven to determine if Sunoo was kidding. Upon seeing the lack of reactions on his coven’s faces, he turned back to Jungwon.
“I’d do it too; this isn’t all about you.” He said teasingly, finally finishing with his hair and standing to throw the towel he’d been using into the hamper. Riki raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
Sunoo inclined his head, and Riki stood without much preamble, crossing the room in just a few long strides. Sunoo cupped his face, turning his head left and right to inspect his hair. He let him go with an appreciative look and gestured to the mirror. “What do you think?”
Riki stared at his reflection for a moment, like he didn’t recognize the person in the mirror. Jake shifted nervously, stealing glances at Jungwon and Sunoo, who seemed perfectly calm.
Riki touched his hair carefully, like he was afraid it would change the moment his fingers came into contact. Sunoo leaned back into Heeseung. “If you don’t like it, we can always try another color.”
Jake thought he looked beautiful. His hair was a sandy color, just dark enough to give him warmth, but light enough to give him the blond he wanted. He looked like Jake’s Riki, just different, less like the scared fledgling Sunghoon brought home all those months ago.
Riki’s face split into a tentative smile, and Jake watched how closely Sunoo was studying him.
“I like it.”
Sunoo’s expression softened. “You look good.”
Jake couldn’t tell how long they all sat there, admiring Riki as he messed with his hair, looking lighter than he had in weeks. It felt like everything bad had washed away down the drain with the bleach. He glanced around the room; Jay was rubbing soothing circles onto Sunghoon’s arm, who was fast asleep, his breath puffing against Jay’s throat. Heeseung’s eyes were drooping closed on Sunoo’s shoulder, but Sunoo adjusted easily to the extra weight, shifting so he could better support the older vampire. Jungwon leaned back against the far wall with his arms crossed over his chest, but Jake didn’t miss the small smile that stretched across his face.
***
By the time they were ready to leave, Riki had almost forgotten what they were actually going to the gala for.
Almost.
The house had transformed around them. The usual mess of discarded jackets and shoes had been replaced with polished dress shoes lined neatly by the door, discarded garment bags hanging from every available surface, and enough perfume in the air to make Riki's nose wrinkle.
He stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the collar of his shirt for what had to be the tenth time. It was black, fitted close to his body, the collar left open enough that the fabric fell away from his throat. His jacket was the same deep black, tailored sharply through his shoulders and waist. There was nothing particularly extravagant about it, but the neckline left his new mark almost entirely exposed.
Riki stared at it.
The gold had faded from the edges over the last few days, leaving the mark dark against his skin. He reached up, running his fingers carefully over it.
Behind him, Sunoo made an approving noise. "It settled well."
Riki glanced at him through the mirror. "There was a chance it wouldn’t?"
"It’s you we’re talking about; you’ve surprised us at every other step. How was I supposed to know this one would be different?"
"What does that even mean?"
"Expect the unexpected and adjust accordingly." Sunoo appeared behind him, reaching around to straighten the lapel of his jacket. He smoothed the fabric once, then stepped back to inspect his work. "There."
Riki looked at himself again. He still wasn't used to the reflection. His hair, now a warm sandy blond, caught against the dark suit and made his skin look paler. The clean lines of the jacket made him look older somehow. More put together. Less like the frightened fledgling who had stumbled into their lives months ago.
Sunoo smiled at his reflection. "You look handsome."
Riki's ears warmed. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
A door opened behind them, and Riki turned. Jay stepped into the hallway first, adjusting the cuff of one black sleeve. His suit was almost completely black, too, though a deep charcoal waistcoat showed beneath his jacket when he moved. A silver watch sat at his wrist, the only obvious piece of jewelry he wore.
Sunghoon followed after him. Riki blinked. Sunghoon looked like he belonged in a different century. His suit was perfectly fitted, the dark fabric catching faintly beneath the hallway lights. His hair was pushed back from his forehead, leaving his face completely unobstructed, and there was something about the severe cut of his jacket that made his already intimidating expression look even sharper.
Sunghoon caught Riki staring. "What?"
"Nothing."
"You were staring."
Riki shrugged. "You look nice."
Sunghoon's mouth twitched. "I know."
Jay snorted, and Sunghoon immediately looked offended. "What?"
"Nothing."
"You laughed."
"I breathed," Jay said flatly, but he looped an arm around Sunghoon’s waist to placate him.
"You laughed."
Riki couldn't stop himself from smiling. The next door opened, and Jake emerged.
His suit was softer than the others, the jacket left open over a black shirt with the top few buttons undone. He had forgone a tie entirely, and the slightly less formal look suited him so well that Riki understood immediately why Jake had spent nearly twenty minutes insisting he wasn't going to wear one.
Jake caught Riki looking. "See? I told them the tie was unnecessary."
"You said it made you look like a waiter," Sunghoon said, turning in Jay’s arms.
"It does." Jake insisted.
"It does not."
"It absolutely does."
Heeseung appeared behind him, and Riki's attention immediately shifted. Heeseung had somehow managed to make formalwear look like something that had been invented specifically for him. His suit was black with subtle silver detailing along the edges of the jacket, old-fashioned in a way that shouldn't have worked with the others but somehow did. His hair was styled neatly, and there was a faint glint of something silver at his throat.
Heeseung looked over the group. "Everyone looks beautiful."
Sunghoon rolled his eyes. "You say that every time."
"Because it's true every time."
"You're biased,” He accused, but it had no heat.
"Obviously."
Jungwon appeared last, making Riki’s breath catch in his throat. Jungwon wore a black suit cut more traditionally than the others, crisp and immaculate, with a dark shirt beneath it instead of the usual white. His hair was styled back from his face, and the simplicity of it made him look every bit the leader he was.
His eyes found Riki almost immediately, and they softened. Then his gaze dropped to the mark. Jungwon crossed the room without saying anything, and Riki watched him approach through the mirror. Jungwon stopped in front of him, reaching up to touch the edge of Riki's collar. His fingers hesitated before settling against the fabric.
"You're sure?"
Riki frowned. "About what?"
"This." His thumb brushed lightly beneath the mark.
Riki shivered, the simple touch sending sparks down his spine. He looked at himself in the mirror again, at the mark, at Jungwon, and the five other vampires reflected around him. "I'm sure."
Jungwon searched his expression for another moment. Then he nodded. "Good."
His hand lingered against Riki's neck for another second before falling away. Jake leaned against the doorframe. "So, we're all agreed that we're going to have to spend the entire night preventing people from staring at him."
Riki looked over his shoulder. "People are going to stare?"
Jake gave him a look. "Baby."
Sunoo laughed. "You have a very visible bond mark," he explained. "You're wearing it to a room full of vampires who haven't seen you before. Of course they're going to stare."
Riki looked down at his collar, and for a moment, nerves fluttered beneath his ribs. Jungwon noticed.
He stepped closer, his shoulder brushing Riki's. "They can look." When Riki glanced up, Jungwon's expression was calm. "But no one will get close unless you want them to."
Sunghoon nodded from across the room. "Exactly."
Jay sighed. "Please don't scare everyone before we've even arrived."
"No promises," Sunghoon said.
Heeseung laughed, reaching for Sunoo's hand. "Come on. Before they start fighting over who gets to threaten the first person who talks to Riki."
"I wasn't going to threaten anyone," Jake said.
"You were thinking about it."
"I was not."
"Sure, baby," Heeseung said in a disbelieving voice.
Jake’s jaw dropped, and he turned to Jay, asking if he believed him. Jay nodded solemnly and patted him on the shoulder, only rolling his eyes affectionately once Jake turned away.
Riki laughed. The sound seemed to settle something in the room. Jungwon smiled, then he offered Riki his hand.
The others began moving toward the door, their voices overlapping as they argued about who had forgotten the keys, whether they were running late, and whether Heeseung had actually turned off the lights upstairs. For once, Riki didn't feel like he was following them. He was walking with them. And when he looked down at the mark on his throat one last time, he didn't reach for his collar.
***
By the time they reached the gala, Riki had forgotten what silence sounded like.
Music spilled through the entrance long before they reached the doors, low enough to vibrate through the pavement beneath his shoes. Voices layered over one another behind the walls—hundreds of them, maybe more—each one blending into the next until Riki couldn't separate a single conversation.
He stopped walking. Jungwon noticed immediately. “Riki?”
Riki blinked, dragging his attention away from the enormous doors ahead of them. “I'm fine.”
Jungwon's eyes narrowed. “You're lying.”
“I’m overwhelmed.”
“That’s different.”
Riki huffed a quiet laugh, but Jungwon had already reached for his hand. Their fingers intertwined, and the familiar warmth of the bond settled somewhere beneath Riki’s ribs.
“You don't have to talk to anyone you don't want to,” Jungwon murmured.
Riki glanced past him.
Heeseung was adjusting the cuff of his sleeve while Jay checked something on his phone. Sunoo was fixing a piece of Sunghoon's collar despite Sunghoon's increasingly irritated expression, and Jake was standing close enough to Riki that their shoulders nearly touched.
They looked completely at ease. Or at least they were very good at pretending. Riki looked back toward the doors. Three days ago, he had been the vampire nobody outside their coven was supposed to know existed. Tonight, everyone was going to know him; he couldn’t hide behind the doors of their nest anymore.
The doors burst open, and Sunghoon jumped, using Sunoo as a shield. The man behind the door didn’t seem to notice, smiling widely, dragging Jungwon and Heeseung into quick hugs that looked uncomfortable at best. He smelled sharp, like cigarette smoke, and Riki’s nose wrinkled as he fought off the instinct to grab his nearest coven member and shove his face into their neck until they were the only thing he could smell. Riki knew he was a vampire; he wasn’t sure how exactly, maybe it was the slight denseness in his scent or the quick recklessness in his movements.
When the man let them go, Jungwon looked exhausted, like he should have predicted that was going to happen. Heeseung was quicker to recover, laughing heartily at something he said even while he reached over to dig his thumb into the mark on Jay’s neck.
Jay tried to shrug off his touch, his glare on the man sharp, but Heeseung just tightened his grip. Riki watched in fascination, shifting just slightly to see what Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Jake were doing, but his ears twitched with sudden and complete silence.
The man had his full attention on Riki now, his eyes dragging over his entire body, but Riki couldn’t tell if he was sizing him up. His mark burned when the man stared at it, and Riki resisted the urge to slap a hand over it. He shifted again, and Sunghoon appeared behind him, one hand sliding around his waist in silent support.
That seemed to break the man out of his trance, and he smiled widely. “Well, I have to say, I wasn’t expecting the rumors to be true.”
Heeseung shrugged. “What can we say? We love surprising people.”
The man turned his attention back to Riki. “Where are my manners? I’m Minjun.”
Riki dipped his head in a bow. “I’m Riki,” He replied, and the man’s smile stretched even wider.
“I have a feeling you’re going to be quite popular tonight.” He said before sweeping a hand behind him and ushering them inside. Riki had expected a ballroom.
He hadn't expected this.
The room seemed endless, chandeliers hanging high above the crowd and casting light across polished marble. Vampires filled every corner, dressed in colors and fabrics Riki couldn't have imagined putting together himself.
And all of them were watching.
Not him, at first. Their eyes followed Heeseung, then Jay, and Jungwon. And finally—Riki.
Blood was handed out in champagne glasses, and Riki wondered morbidly how they got bubbles in it. A waiter stopped in front of them, handing them each a glass from his tray, and moved on before Riki could truly react. He started to lift the glass to his lips on instinct, but Jay covered the opening with his hand, pushing it back down.
His smile was tense, and he leaned in, close enough that it could have looked like simple affection from the outside, but Riki didn’t move when he felt Jay’s lips at his ear. “Don’t drink the blood.”
Riki raised an eyebrow and lowered the glass to around his waist. “And how am I meant to feed?” He murmured under his breath, only half joking.
Their coven was moving around them, talking with the vampires and guests nearest to them, but always close enough to cover them. Jay shrugged and pressed a kiss to the center of his throat. “Ask.”
Riki rolled his eyes when Jay pulled away, his lips immediately pulling into a people-pleasing smile as he was roped into a conversation with a vampire that had approached him.
Riki moved around his coven, slipping in between them to put his glass down on a table. He could feel his coven’s eyes on him, could feel them subtly orienting themselves toward him, like they were afraid he’d disappear. The bond warmed in his chest, not painful, but a quiet reminder of what was at stake.
He glanced up when he felt eyes heavier than usual on him. A woman was watching him from across the room. Riki recognized her vaguely from the night at the club when Jungwon claimed him. She looked him over once, twice, her eyes catching on the mark on his neck, before shifting her gaze away, like Riki wasn’t something of interest to her.
Riki shook off her gaze and turned away, nearly knocking into someone. Hanni just barely prevented spilling her drink on herself. “Damn, you really need spatial awareness.”
Riki’s shoulders sagged. “Hanni.”
She grinned, her hair perfectly curled around her shoulders, her dress so sparkly it was nearly blinding. “Hey, pretty boy, how’s it going?”
Riki groaned, folding himself forward to rest his head on her shoulder. She laughed, patting his shoulder sympathetically. “There’s too much going on; I have a headache.”
Hanni clicked her tongue. “Yeah, you get used to it.”
Riki groaned even louder as he straightened, his eyes searching briefly for his coven. Hanni’s smile dropped slightly, and she leaned in closer. “How’s the, um…you know?”
Riki shrugged with one shoulder. “We should be fine as long as we can see each other. I wouldn’t really test it, though.”
Hanni nodded thoughtfully before wrapping her fingers around Riki’s wrist. “So I can take you anywhere as long as it’s in this room?”
Riki’s eyebrows furrowed. “Okay, well, I didn’t say that—”
Hanni didn’t seem to hear him. Or perhaps she didn’t care as she dragged him with surprising strength to the other side of the room. A group of vampires Riki had never seen before glanced up at them. One of the women had her hair cropped close to her skull, her hair curling around her face. Her lips were bold red, and Riki was baffled at how none of it got on her teeth when she smiled at them.
“Hanni! Who’s this?”
The conversation paused, and every vampire turned in their direction. Riki could count at least seven men and five women and all Riki could think was that this was the largest group of vampires he’d ever seen.
“A friend.” Hanni tugged him down to sit next to her, already chatting to the woman with the red lipstick. “Have you seen Arin at all today?”
The woman shook her head. “Doyoung has been quiet since Lira died. Cody hadn't been seen much either.”
“I haven't seen any of them in weeks.” Hanni frowned.
“They're grieving. Can you blame them?”
Riki almost jumped when a light touch brushed his shoulder.
The man looked just as startled as he was before his face broke out into a gentle smile. He looked almost like a bunny with dyed warm ginger hair falling in his eyes. He was thin, and even sitting down Riki could tell he was shorter.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Riki smiled back, completely unarmed. The man retracted his hand. “I’m Harua”
“Riki.” He replied, and Harua’s eyes lit up.
“You’re Japanese?” He asked, already switching languages.
Riki grinned and nodded. Harua launched into a conversation, introducing Riki to the members of his coven, including their youngest, another Riki, though everyone called him Maki. Maki had his head propped up on Harua’s shoulder, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world than at this event. But when Harua jostled him, he smiled.
“I don’t recognize you. Have you been here before?” One of the men leaned over Harua and Maki, and Riki vaguely recognized him as EJ, Harua’s leader.
Riki shook his head and gestured to his mark. “I was recently marked.”
Maki laughed. “And you already got dragged here? That’s a terrible deal.”
Riki shrugged halfheartedly, and the tall, quiet one, Jo, cracked a smile. One of his members smacked Maki on the arm, something that Maki returned immediately. Riki watched them fight like toddlers for a second until EJ pushed them apart, admonishing them under his breath.
Nicholas glared at Maki over EJ’s head before turning back to Riki. “Who’s your coven?” He asked, his Japanese only barely accented.
Riki turned his head to look back at his coven. Sunghoon was leaning back against a table, easily charming a group of people while he talked, swinging his untouched champagne glass around to emphasize his story. He turned when he felt Riki’s gaze, winking in his direction before continuing with his audience. Jay and Jake seemed semi-relaxed, listening to someone else talk, their bodies angled to the could glance at their coven at any point without making it a big deal. Jungwon was sitting down, swirling the contents in his glass around without drinking, leaning forward when someone said something that interested him. He met Riki’s eyes over the man’s shoulder, and Riki watched as he visibly relaxed, the bond loosening slightly in his chest. He glanced around for Heeseung and Sunoo, and…couldn’t find them. Something seized his lungs, and Riki felt his world narrowing, an instinct Riki didn’t recognize urging him to find them.
His coven had gone tense, their easy smiles sliding off their faces, their posture becoming rigid. The vampires around them touched them with light concern. Jungwon stood up abruptly, grabbing Heeseung by the arm and turning the other vampire around. He pointed to him, maintaining eye contact with Riki before pointing to Sunoo, halfway across the room, partly covered by the group he was talking to.
The instinct retreated, but the nausea lingered. His entire coven sagged slightly, trying to shake off the incident before it became too noticeable. He turned back to Nicholas, slightly out of breath, and the vampire tilted his head curiously. Hanni had paused her conversation, shooting worried glances his way.
“I think I’m going to take him back…” She started to stand, gesturing for Riki to do the same, but he waved her off.
“I’m fine,” he said, a little shakier than he’d prefer.
Nicholas leaned back, wrapping an arm around EJ. “Are you okay?”
Riki nodded, and Fuma tapped Nicholas' thigh. “You’re the rumored seventh, huh?”
Riki traced the edges of his mark with his forefinger. “Yeah, you didn’t notice everyone staring when we walked in?”
The coven laughed,d and all Riki could think was how much Taki and K would adore them. “We noticed, but we didn’t want to presume.”
“You’re a part of a very powerful coven,” Nicholas mused. “How did that come about?” He lifted his glass to his lips, and Jay's warning echoed in Riki’s head. He stared, trying to think of a way to get them away from the blood without making it too suspicious.
“I, uh, I kind of just—ran into them.”
Yuma, a younger-looking vampire, frowned, making a little dent between his eyebrows. “Really? We thought they’d never take another vampire; they seemed so…complete.”
Riki swallowed, and EJ smacked Yuma upside the head before turning back to Riki. “What he means to say is that they never seemed interested in adding to their coven before. Not until you.”
Riki shrugged, trying to ignore the way Harua was studying him so intently. At least until Harua made an affirmative sound and turned to his coven, immediately capturing their attention. “He’s the vampire from the market! I thought I recognized him from somewhere!”
Maki sat up to stare at him for a second. “Wait, the one that was feeding from the Heeseung look-alike?”
Harua rolled his eyes. “It was just Heeseung. I told you, but you didn't believe me.”
“Are you sure?” Maki squinted. “That vampire had black hair,” he pointed at Riki. “He’s blond.”
Harua frowned. “You’re…impossible,” He said flatly, but turned to his leader, looking for someone to agree with him. EJ smiled at Riki apologetically as his entire coven squinted at Riki, tilting their heads side to side before deciding whether or not to side with Harua.
Nicholas was the first to lean back. “He’s right. There were rumors about you for months. Half of the market thought you were just a collective hallucination for a while.”
Riki blinked, unsure of what to make of that. “I’m sorry I’m not?”
Nicholas waved him off, and EJ placed his hand on Nicholas’ knee. “You haven’t been turned for very long, have you?”
For a moment Riki panicked, and the instinct to lie boiled to the surface, but…this coven didn’t seem very much like a threat. In fact, part of Riki wanted to…befriend them. “Uh, no.” He said, and Hanni’s head snapped in his direction. “A little less than a year. It'll be a year in about a month.”
EJ blinked, and Riki could see him doing the math in his head. Maki, less aware, or less caring of the obvious tension, leaned forward. “Did they turn you?”
“No.” he didn’t elaborate. “Did they turn you?” He gestured to Maki’s still-processing coven.
Maki grinned, like he’d been waiting all day to tell someone this story. “Yeah, I basically followed Nicholas around all the time until he finally agreed to turn me.”
Nicholas pinched the bridge of his nose. “You were relentless. You still follow me everywhere.”
“Hey! You love it, and you love me! You just needed a little extra push to turn me.”
Nicholas sighed, but it was affectionate. Riki smiled despite himself. There was something strangely familiar about the way they interacted. Not the same as his coven, exactly, but close enough that something warm settled in his chest.
“Do you still have any connections from your human life?” He asked.
Maki’s smile dulled just slightly, and Nicholas reached over to squeeze the back of his neck, pressing a gentle, lingering kiss to his temple. “Not many,” he finally said. “Do you?”
Riki looked down at his hands, twisting the rings on his fingers. “I call my family every week, and I still go out with some of my friends but—”
“Human friends?”
“Yeah, Taki and K.” He opened his phone and passed it to Maki, whose eyebrows rose even as he passed it to Harua, and so on. Someone touched his shoulder, and this time Riki relaxed into it without thinking as Sunghoon’s scent washed over him. Riki tipped his head back to catch a glimpse of him, and Sunghoon grinned, rounding the table to settle next to him.
He smiled at EJ’s coven, who returned his smile, and turned to Riki, as if he wanted to mold them together and was only held back by the public setting. “You disappeared quickly.”
Riki hummed, leaning into Sunghoon’s touch. “Hanni.” He said by way of explanation, and Sunghoon snorted, keeping firm contact with Riki even as he was dragged into another conversation.
Harua hit his arm teasingly, and Riki could feel his face heating up, but he made no moves to dislodge Sunghoon. Jo asked him something in Japanese, and Riki allowed his attention to be pulled away from the searing heat of Sunghoon’s hand on his thigh.
Something red flashed in his peripheral and Riki turned his head automatically. A woman with vibrant red hair sashayed by, wrapped in a deep green dress that hung to every curve of her body. Something about her tugged at Riki’s attention, something familiar. Riki could’ve ignored it; he should have. He almost turned back to his conversation when another vampire popped up beside her. His face was dotted with freckles that made him look younger. He laughed at something the redhead said, and the entire crowd seemed to part for them.
Songmin turned at the feeling of Riki's attention and caught his eye. For a moment, his expression was unreadable. Then he smiled and inclined his head toward the empty space beside him. Riki smacked at Sunghoon until he finally got his attention, and the other vampire turned to him, confused.
Riki didn’t break eye contact with Songmin even as he paused at a table, wrapping an arm around Lilith as he leaned back. Sunghoon followed his gaze and cursed. Riki followed him as he stood, their coven already closing ranks, reaching for each other the moment they felt Riki’s anxiety spike through the bond.
Heeseung was already tense, intentionally looking everywhere but at Songmin and Lilith. Jay had a hand on his shoulder, his voice hushed as he quietly took a headcount.
“What do we do?”
“What are they doing here?”
“What are we talking about?” Lilith pushed her way into their impromptu circle, and Riki flinched back. How had he not heard her approaching?
Heeseung’s expression fell distant, and he glared at her, his voice harsh in a way Riki had never heard directed at any of them. “You need to leave.” He paused, looking back at Songmin. “Both of you.”
Songmin saddled up beside Lilith, looking every bit smug that they’d managed to get under Heeseung’s skin. “Why, because we’re in danger here? It’s lovely to see that you still care, hyung.”
Heeseung didn’t react, turning on his heel and stalking toward the corner of the room, furthest from the Council. Riki followed him without thinking about it, but he caught the hiss Lilith let out at the sight of his blatant mark. Sunghoon steered him as far away from the two originals as he could until they reached Heeseung.
Heeseung grabbed the collar of Songmin’s suit the moment he got close enough. “I don’t give a shit about you, but you being here is endangering my coven. Leave before I make you.”
Songmin held his hands up in surrender, and Heeseung released him. He scanned the room, but Riki couldn’t tell what for. “Where’s…?”
He looked down at Songmin and Lilith with something akin to horror. “You’re here alone? Syrus doesn’t know you’re here?”
For the first time, Songmin’s cocky expression wavered just slightly. “We don’t need Syrus’ permission for everything.”
Heeseung laughed without humor, and it caught the attention of the vampires nearest to them. “You’re kidding, right?”
When neither of them answered, he shoved at Songmin’s chest. “You fucking idiot.”
Riki had his eyes cast downward when he felt the weight of someone else’s gaze on him, on his coven. Riki glanced up and caught the eyes of the Council, but their eyes flitted over the entire coven this time, especially their new guests.
Riki tapped Heeseung’s wrist. “Hyung.”
Heeseung paused, his attention softening as he turned to Riki. Riki kept his voice low, and his movements measured, trying not to draw the least amount of attention as he could. “The Council’s watching us.”
Heeseung didn’t look at them to confirm; he turned back to Songmin and Lilith. “Why must you ruin everything? You’re going to get everyone here killed.”
Lilith reared back, offended. “Us? You ruined everything. We told you not to mark him.” She threw a hand in Riki’s direction. “You’ve doomed us all.”
Jungwon shifted a little closer, and Riki could almost feel the growl building in Sunghoon’s chest. Heeseung’s eyes looked crazed. “My coven and my decisions have nothing to do with you! You’ve doomed us all with fantasies of a war that was rigged against us the entire time!”
Lilith glared hotly at him. “We’re going to win this time.”
“No. You won't. You’re just going to get innocents killed. Leave me out of it.” Heeseung spat.
“They’re coming,” Riki whispered. Jake shifted uncomfortably next to him, and Jay stepped in front of him, like he could protect him from the oncoming threat. Jungwon took a single step back, and Heeseung turned to him with such a lost look that Riki felt something in his chest crack open.
Jungwon shrugged with one shoulder, but it was tense. “Whatever you decide, we’ll back you up.”
For a moment, he looked impossibly young.
Not like the ancient vampire who had spent centuries surviving wars and councils and things Riki didn't even know how to name. Just Heeseung. Lost and exhausted and standing at the edge of a decision he had spent years convincing himself he would never have to make again.
Lilith's expression twisted. “You always were good at running.”
Heeseung went still, and Riki felt it before he saw it. The air around Heeseung seemed to tighten, his entire body going rigid as if he'd been struck.
“Lili,” Songmin warned quietly.
Lilith ignored him. “You ran when they came for us. You ran when we needed you. And now you're going to stand there and pretend you're better than us because you found yourself a pretty little coven?”
Jungwon stepped forward. “Watch your mouth.”
Heeseung's hand shot out, stopping him. “Don't.”
The single word was quiet enough that only the coven should have heard it. Then the Council arrived.
“Lilith. Songmin.” The Councilwoman's voice carried easily across the room. “You aren’t supposed to exist anymore.”
Songmin laughed. “You’ve hunted us for years, but you didn’t think you caught all of us, did you?”
“Clearly not.”
The tension snapped tighter, and Heeseung stepped forward. “They're leaving.”
The Councilwoman looked at him. “You don't have the authority to decide that.”
“No.” Heeseung's voice hardened. “But I have the ability.”
A murmur traveled through the room. The Councilwoman's gaze moved over him, then settled briefly on the mark at Riki's throat. “You've changed.”
Heeseung's eyes narrowed. “So have you.”
She smiled, then she looked toward Lilith. “Take them.”
“No.”
The Councilwoman's expression didn't change. “Very well.” She turned her head slightly. “Come.”
Three vampires melted out of the shadows behind her, dressed in the same formal black as the rest of the Council representatives.
Riki's senses caught on them before his eyes did. Something about their scents was muted. Dull.
They looked wrong. Thin in a way that suggested they were starving, twitching every couple of seconds as if their bodies were moving before they'd decided to.
Riki stared. He knew them.
“Doyoung?” The name left his mouth before he could stop it.
The vampire's head jerked toward him. Arin and Cody followed.
Jake sucked in a breath. “No…”
Nobody answered. Doyoung's eyes passed over them without recognition—or perhaps with too much of it. Then the Councilwoman moved forward. And the three vampires followed. Like they were tethered by a leash Riki couldn't see.
Everything happened at once.
Songmin lunged backward, catching the first Cody by the wrist. Lilith moved toward Arin, but something flashed in Doyoung’s hand.
Riki barely registered the weapon before it struck. Lilith screamed; the sound cut through the ballroom as she collapsed to one knee, one hand clutched against her side.
Riki's breath caught. A thin, dark line had appeared beneath her fingers. Not blood, but something thicker.
Wrong.
Heeseung's face drained of color. “No.”
Songmin stared at the wound. “That's impossible.”
Doyoung pulled the weapon free. A narrow black blade that looked older than the building.
Heeseung's eyes fixed on the black blade, and his face went pale. “The Severance.”
Jay's expression changed. “That was destroyed.”
“Apparently not.”
Lilith’s wound didn't close. It should have. Riki had watched vampires heal from injuries that should have killed them. He had watched blood disappear beneath skin within seconds. But Lilith's wound remained. The edges of it seemed almost burned.
Heeseung was across the space between them before Riki could blink. Doyoung barely had time to raise his weapon before Heeseung slammed him into the nearest pillar. The marble cracked, and the ballroom erupted.
Screams tore through the room as vampires shoved away from the fight. Glass shattered against the floor. Tables overturned. Blood-filled champagne glasses rolled beneath chairs as people rushed for the exits. Someone screamed that the Originals were back, that the Council was attacking, and that was all it took. Panic spread through the ballroom like wildfire.
“Get them out!” Jay shouted.
Sunoo grabbed Jake's arm and pulled him toward the nearest exit while Sunghoon moved directly in front of Riki. “We got to go.”
“You don’t say?” Riki could barely hear himself over the chaos.
Jungwon seized Riki's hand. “Don't let go.”
Riki tightened his grip. Across the room, Songmin had dropped beside Lilith. “Can you stand?”
She tried, but her legs buckled. “Shit.”
Heeseung tore Doyoung away from the pillar. “Where did you get that?”
Doyoung smiled through bloodied teeth. “They’ve been preparing for a long time.”
Heeseung froze, and Riki watched something ancient and furious pass across his face. “I’m sorry.”
Arin rushed him, but Jay intercepted her. The two collided hard enough to send a table skidding across the marble.
“HEESEUNG!”
Heeseung turned; Songmin was struggling to get Lilith upright. “She's not healing.”
“She won’t.”
“Then help me!”
Heeseung looked between them. For half a second, Riki saw the hesitation. He saw the silent, quick war he waged in his head, and he knew the decision Heeseung made before he even moved.
Heeseung crossed the room; he crouched beside Lilith and pressed his hand over the wound. “Can you walk?”
Lilith's teeth clenched. “If I have to.”
“Alright.” Heeseung looked at Songmin. “Get her out.”
Songmin blinked. “What?”
“You heard me.” Heeseung stood. “Go.”
Songmin stared at him for another second before nodding. He hooked Lilith's arm over his shoulder. “Come on.”
They started toward the back of the ballroom. The chaos was almost perfect; nobody was watching them anymore. Vampires were fighting their way toward the exits. Others were scrambling to get away from the Council entirely. Some had joined the fight. Others were screaming accusations at the Council. The Council had lost control of the room.
Jay caught Heeseung's eye. “Back exit.”
Heeseung nodded. “Move!”
The coven closed around Riki; Sunghoon stayed at his side, Jake kept one hand on his shoulder, and Sunoo followed close behind while Jay and Jungwon brought up the rear. Riki glanced over his shoulder. Lilith was limping badly. Songmin was practically carrying her.
They disappeared through the back doors just as another crash shook the ballroom behind them. No one noticed. No one except the Councilwoman. She stood perfectly still amid the chaos, watching the doors swing shut. Her eyes narrowed, then she looked down at the blood-stained black blade in her hand.
They piled into the car as quickly as possible, the lack of seats making everything cramped. Jay started driving before the doors were even fully closed.
Songmin lowered Lilith against the seat. “She needs blood.”
“She needs more than blood,” Heeseung said. He crouched in front of her again. The wound had barely changed, and Lilith's breathing was shallow.
Riki stared. “What did they do to her?”
Heeseung didn't answer immediately; his eyes remained fixed on the wound.
“They found something specifically for Originals.”
Songmin's face went pale. “Syrus said he destroyed it.”
Heeseung looked at him sideways. “Syrus lied.”
“I need to get her home.” Songmin sounded more human than Riki had ever heard.
“No.” Heeseung's voice was cold. Songmin looked at him. “You're not going back to the Underground.”
Songmin frowned. “What?”
“You heard me.” Heeseung looked at Lilith. Then back at Songmin. “Syrus doesn't know you're here.”
Songmin's expression tightened. “He'll come for us.”
“I know, I’m planning on it.” Heeseung shifted closer.
“What?”
Heeseung's gaze hardened. “You are alive because I chose to make sure you stayed that way.”
Songmin stared at him, the first signs of fear holding tension in his limbs. “And?”
Heeseung glanced back toward the retreating street, at the city lights getting smaller and smaller. “Now he owes me.”
For a moment, Heeseung seemed almost distant, and Riki had to resist the urge to reach out to him. Then he turned sharply, his eyes catching on each member of his coven, before he returned his look to Songmin, his smile brazen. “And this time, we're going to do things on my terms.”