(Addis) 

Addis settled into his seat, quite pleased with himself as he sipped on his warm tea. This little plan of his was going better than expected and it no longer required much from the vampire. The slight ache in his face was still there, but he knew it would fade once Lena tended to the human's broken nose and he had already berated the creature for hurting Faye.

Addis had known that Adrian would try something at the office, enjoying the frustrated scowl on Adrian’s face from being thwarted by the vampire’s presence. Everything went smoothly, with Faye going about his work undisturbed and Addis felt certain he would return on time tonight. Lena would be pleased that Faye was no longer being abused and returning on time, and Addis would no longer be subjected to nightly pains.

Of course, there was still the matter of Faye himself and the bond. The human was more than suspicious about the vampire’s motives and Addis had to admit, he had every right to be so. Addis was not particularly known for acts of kindness and his protection of the human would eventually start to become suspicious. This was an act he could only keep up for a short time, and his only hope was that the bond would fade before anyone decided to examine his motives closer.

“It will work,” Addis reassured himself, taking another sip of his warm tea. He knew his little interruption today would make Adrian more hesitant to act in the future, and he could always simply have his shadow mimic his eyes in the human’s shadow. Just a little reminder, just long enough for this frustrating bond to fade. With any luck, the bond would disappear within the next few weeks, and the vampire could stop pretending to care about the human at all. 

“Wanna share with the rest of the class?” Ruben asked, leaning heavily against the table as Addis hummed again, finishing off his tea and sliding the mug to the man. Ruben hissed, swiping the cup as he turned to make Addis more tea. “What will work?”

“Hmm, I wonder,” Addis smiled, and the human sighed, sliding the vampire his new mug. Addis chuckled, picking up the warm drink and taking another slight sip of the hot beverage. As much as he enjoyed the tea, his thirst was starting to bother him more and he knew it would be time to drink soon. He sighed heavily, considering if it was time to head back home to his home or not. Faye had not returned for the day, and Addis wanted to be sure that Adrian followed the rules before he left.

“So who is it?” Ruben continued, and Addis started to frown, glaring up at the man. Ruben was meeting his glare evenly, making it obvious he was not going to back down. Addis had managed to dodge Ruben’s insistence questioning, but it seemed that the human was determined to get his answer tonight. “Who are ya bound to this time?”

“As I’ve said before, it’s not of your concern. I have it under control,” Addis retorted, sipping his tea as he closed his eyes. Ruben sighed again, leaning close across the table.

“Look, Addis. I’ve been around you for a while, and I’ve never seen you entertain a bond before. Heck, the poor sap would be lucky if they lasted days after you realized,” the man started and Addis sighed heavily, his frown starting to turn into a small smile. Ruben ignored this obvious warning, leaning closer to the vampire. “Yet, you’ve had this one for at least a month. I don’t really care who it is, but I know you don’t want it or need it. So, why haven’t you broken it yet? Why aren’t you ignoring it?”

“I have my reasons.”

“You know what happens if you don’t break it soon? Those pesky emotions of theirs are gonna start bothering you. You know, those things you think are so useless and frivolous and–”

“Don’t you think I know that, Ruben!” Addis exclaimed, slamming his mug back on the table as he stood from the chair. The human jumped back, surprised by the vampire’s sudden outburst and it took Addis a moment to realize what he had done. He slowly sat back down, avoiding the man’s gaze as he placed his hands around the mug again. He closed his eyes, fighting to get his breathing under control before speaking. “I am… aware of what happens, Ruben. I have no intention of letting things go so far.”

“Then why haven’t you allowed it to fade yet?”

 “It’s not that simple.”

“Why? Never seemed to be a problem before.”

“I only recently became aware of whom I was bonded to, and unfortunately, killing them is not a choice,” Addis sighed, sipping off his mug again as Ruben watched silently, waiting for the vampire to continue. Addis brought the cup down from his lips, contemplating how much he wanted to open up to the man. He always appreciated Ruben’s friendship and the human’s willingness to push back against him, but this was not an easy matter for Addis to talk about. “I am dealing with it. It will not be a problem for much longer.”

“Fuck, Addis, who the fuck are you bonded to that you can’t kill them?” Ruben sighed as Addis chuckled, bringing his hand to his face. “Is it a human? Someone staying in the shelter?”

“Yes and yes, if I’m in the mood to be honest. I do not need to draw Lena’s ire, when I have gone through so much to convince her I am here to help,” Addis breathed, swirling his mug to watch the liquid flow inside the ceramic container. “They also belong to another high vampire, which is another headache I do not need.”

“Addis,” The vampire looked up, slightly annoyed to see the concern on Ruben’s face. He did not want the man’s pity, regardless of how long they had known one another. “Who is it?”

“It’s-”

“FUCK YOU ADDIS!” The vampire was interrupted when the doors to the kitchen were thrown open and the pair turned to see Faye panting in the doorway. His anger was palpable from where he stood, his face flushed with the increased blood flow. Addis was annoyed as his thirst reacted to the human’s blood still dripping from his nose, turning to face Faye as he stomped up to the table. That explained why Addis’s face still hurt: Adrian must’ve constantly agitated the wound. “I didn’t ask for your damn help!”

“And I do not care if you want it or not,” Addis grinned, meeting Faye’s angry pink eyes evenly as the human stood over him. He took another casual sip of his tea, chuckling to himself as he continued. “I made a promise to Lena, and I will–”

“FUCK YOU BOTH!” Faye yelled, slapping the cup from Addis’s hand, surprising the vampire as his beverage shattered against the far wall. He looked to Faye with an awed expression; just what in the world was wrong with this human? “I didn’t ask for no fucking vampires to interfere with my life. If you two mess with me again, then I’ll fucking leave here on my own.”

“And go where, Faye?” Addis asked dangerously, finally standing from his seat as he glared down at the human. Faye stared up at him defiantly, and Addis had to admit, it was amusing. He didn’t understand what Adrian had done to make the human so angry; after all, he couldn’t have physically abused him beyond breaking his nose or Addis would have known. “Your owner and Lena have an agreement, and I doubt Adrian will react well if you embarrass him again. If you leave, then I can’t protect you.”

“Fuck him and fuck you!” Faye spat, still refusing to back down as Addis put his arms behind his back, maintaining his expression. This human really didn’t know how lucky he was that Addis could not kill him. “I’m tired of being treated like I don’t even fucking exist.”

“Well then, you–”

“And you can wipe that smug ass grin off your face, because Rasvan is insisting I go with you to the gathering tomorrow,” Faye scoffed and Addis found himself shocked into silence for the second time. The king was insisting what? “Adrian is pissed, you won’t let him hurt me, and that bastard is going to find a way to take it out on me all day tomorrow, like vampire bullshit is my fucking fault.

“So leave me the fuck alone and just let Adrian beat me. It’s better than the alternative,” Faye finally turned to walk away from the kitchen and Addis let him, still too shocked from what the human had said to stop him. Adrian had been about to beat Faye earlier because of the King? Addis already knew that Rasvan would force a human onto his arm for the night, but why was he choosing Adrian’s toy? Exactly who was Rasvan trying to punish here?

 “Is he the one?” Addis was shaken from his stupor as Ruben spoke and the vampire turned as he sat back down. Ruben was already preparing another fresh cup and he quickly pushed it to the vampire. Addis hummed with frustration as he was presented with his new tea, but the man placed his hand over the lip of the mug before the vampire could take a sip. Addis didn’t try to hide his growl as he lifted his eyes to meet Ruben’s glare.

“And what if he is?” Addis carefully slid the mug from under the man’s hand, helping himself to more of his warm tea. Ruben scoffed before loudly laughing, irritating the vampire even more as he sipped his drink. He cleared his throat as he placed the mug back on the counter, glaring at his servant. “I would rethink who you are laughing at, Ruben.”

“You’re fucked, Addis, in more ways than one,” Ruben finally wheezed, leaning against the counter as he closed his eyes. “And Rasvan is forcing him to be your arm candy for his stupid party? You are so screwed and it’s all your fault.”

“It’s not–”

“It is and there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t refuse, or Rasvan will strip you of your status,” Ruben interrupted and Addis sighed heavily, standing without his mug. He was tired of Ruben’s unnecessary ridicule of his situation and now that Faye had returned, he had no reason or desire to remain at the shelter. He began to walk out when Ruben’s voice made him pause. “Be careful.”

“Excuse me?”

“Be careful, or you’ll only make things worse. You have to get rid of him.” Ruben repeated, and as Addis turned, he saw no more mirth in the man’s expression. Only serious concern remained and the vampire turned away from that look. Addis made no effort to answer, walking out into the brisk night.