flurrys-creativity

San entered the ballroom with all the impudence of an arrogant Fae Prince. Nephew to the current King of the Unseelie, San was one of the most important Fae in the room. But he was also very much in danger. 

That’s how you came to be created. No allegiance could be sure, in the Fae realm, and even an oath binding could be wiggled out of with a few loophole words. So, life was breathed into you, as a mushroom. You were created in a woman’s image and your bond to San was that unlike any sworn servant. You see, your life was in San’s hand. You were created to be his loyal guard, and if he so happened to die, then your life would be taken from you as well. 

The whispers ran through the crowd like a wave retreating from the coast. Your deep russet hair, with random white spots and dull ivory skin had not been seen before. The simple rush of being the attention flushed through your body.

“Where did you dig up this beauty, San?” A bored voice drawled.

San ducked his head in greeting to multiple people but smirked towards the one asking this particular question. “From the dark, musky part of the forest.”

You scratched the back of your neck and turned your head to hide your flush. 

“Does she guard your body well?” Another asked.

Your sword whipped from its sheath by your side and wavered at the chest of the Fae who dared demand you did not complete your life's duty to the best of your ability. 

San pushed your sword down with two fingers, chuckling. It drew your sword down the body of the male fae, who looked a little turned on by it, if you were being honest. “Careful now, Wooyoung, that sword is poisonous.”

“Is your uncle really that worried about you?” 

San shrugged like he hadn't a care in the world. 

A spring dryad walked with an extra sway in her hip to your charge. You intercepted her immediately. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I was bid to entertain the prince,” The dryad responded, sending a gratuitous wink towards San.

You smiled but it was full of bitter recognition. “No one is allowed to come near the prince, dryad. Go find someone else to weakly hump.”

The dryad let out a loud ‘humph’, clearly insulted, and found a more receiving Fae Lady. 

San leaned into you from behind to whisper into your ear. “Jealous?”

“No one is touching you,” You insisted, keeping your face blank. 

San mingled during the ball but he did not ask for anyone’s hand to dance. He conversed and drank, spilling out anything that wasn’t approved by you. You ate and drank anything he consumed first, to make sure it wasn’t poisonous. You, of anyone, were the best at discovering if something was poisonous or not. 

But soon, your Fae Prince tired of socializing and was ready to leave the ball. It was truly sad that he was unable to attend the final waltz of the evening. He danced so well. You shook your head. This was no time to get your head full of images of San.

The quiet roar of the crowd fell behind the both of you as you left the ball. San’s smart shoes clicked rhythmically against the wood floor polished with age and use. You kept your ears and eyes open for any threats that thought they could take advantage of the early morning hours. 

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many eyes more interested in someone other than myself,” San said.

You scoffed at his statement. “Oh, you had plenty of eyes on you, My Lord.”

San cocked his head curiously, turning on his heel to look at you. “Did you want to squish those offending eyes with your fingers, Red?”

Your hand tightened on the grip of your sword. “My Lord,” you growled in warning.

San smiled impishly, playing with the black opal bracelet on his wrist. “But it's so fun to tease you!”

You jerked your chin in the direction of San’s rooms. “Shall we get to where it’s safe first and you can tease me all you want?”

San sighed wearily. “Fine, have it your way.”

A tiny bit of stress left your shoulders the minute you closed the door to the suite of rooms that were due to the Unseelie Fae King’s nephew. San did not move to his bedchambers nor did he begin to disrobe, like you had hoped. He was looking to wriggle under your skin with his words like a worm in a rotting apple. 

“I should have insisted you wear a more revealing dress,” San teased, his eyes alit with malicious merriment. “Perhaps that would have lured Yunho to caress that perk little bottom you were created with.”

“My Lord--”

“San, please, Red. We are in my rooms and you shall address me as I prefer. I am your lord, as you say.”

“San, your self destruction is almost an art.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Is it self destruction to--”

You gracefully swung your sword from its sheath and had the tip delicately touching San’s neck, just below his Adam's apple, in mere seconds. “--yes, it is.”

San held himself still, glancing down at the sword and then back to meet your eyes. “You can’t harm me.”

“Wrong,” You corrected him. “I cannot kill you.”

You leaned in slightly and a small cut bled immediately from San’s neck. You gasped when you felt a nick of pain on your neck. You reached up with your free hand to check and came back with black ooze. 

“See.” San smiled crookedly, revealing his canine teeth. “I told you, you can’t harm me.”

You twisted your lips in a grimace. Even your poison would have no effect; San consumed an antidote for your poison every day, for the sake of you simply being unable to harm him. You should have guessed that along with your lives being intertwined, you would be harmed when he was harmed as well. 

In a small fit of rage and rebellion, you whipped your sword in the air and then twirled it to sheath it. San opened his mouth as if to question the sudden embellishment of swordsmanship and then gasped when his decorative armor fell from his body. 

“It is time for you to go to sleep, little lordling,” You commanded. 

San slipped both his hands into the deep pockets of his satin pants. “Put me to sleep?”

You rubbed your face tiredly. “That, most definitely is not a part of my job.”

San stood there, topless, folding one arm behind his head while scratching the back of his neck. “I would like it to be.”

“I am supposed to be guarding you,” You growled. “I can’t do that if you’re inside of me.”

San sent you a boyish grin. “What better way to guard my body than to be as close as you can be?”

 You searched what you assumed was your heart, to see if this was the right choice in your path of your new life. You could feel your heartbeat but was it for the Fae Prince because if his heart withered, yours would go with it? Or was it because the roguishly handsome Lord really had grown on you enough to bed him?

San took a step forward, cautious of your abilities with your sword. He ran a finger along your bare shoulder. “You’re not even a little bit curious?”

“I didn’t have time to be curious,” You spat. 

This wasn’t the first time San had propositioned you. Nor would it be the last if you declined. He was adamantly vying for your body. Something about tonight was pushing you towards finally folding for him. 

“You’ve got time now,” San said. He walked around you, still trailing that finger along your skin. He was behind you now. “So how about it?”

He was temptation, with his muscles gleaming and the satin clinging to his legs. San knew that, you knew that. And of course you were curious. But was the risk worth it?

“If you ask me, I think it’ll only bind us even more,” San whispered, now on your other side. “You will have known me in my most intimate moment and will always be able to protect me.”

“I think someone had a little too much Fairy Wine, my lord,” you mused. 

“Nay.” San shook his head. “You would know me as a giggly fool if I had drunk truly. I am sober and looking to finally bring down your barriers, Red.”

“Want me desperate for you when typically I am reserved?” You mocked him.

San stood in front of you once again. His face was a combination of seriousness and lust. He put his hands on your shoulders and pulled you against him. You didn’t resist him. Your chest was pressed against his when he murmured, “Don’t our hearts beat as one? Shouldn’t we be connected in this final way?”

You tipped your head and kissed your sworn liege lord. His lips were soft and wet and when he sighed into your mouth, your tongue sought to tangle with his. San cupped the back of your head, tilting his head, and deepening the kiss. You allowed him to back you up to his bed and tumbled onto it with him. San managed, with his strength and grace as a Fae, to turn you around so that he hit the bed and didn’t even break the kiss.

You ate at his mouth like he was honey and you couldn't get enough of the sweet, sticky substance. You could feel your body tingling from the kisses but San was fairing much worse. When you broke the kiss, his tongue came out, chasing yours. He lied there, his pupils blown, looking like a panting dog. 

“San, are you quite alright?” You wondered. 

“You are like the sweetest, strongest brandy I have ever drunk.” San smiled lazily. 

You sat back. San appeared… he could not lie so he wasn’t drunk before you began to kiss. The situation was odd. 

Now that you sat back, however, you could not deny what was waiting for you under San’s satin pants. The Fae prince moaned lowly as your ass put pressure against his straining hard-on. His hands found your hips, and he held you in place, so he could grind up into you. “What will it take for you to let me slip inside of you?”

You frowned delicately. You petted your braid in thought. There was something off about this but you could not put your finger on it for the life of you. “Have you been taking your antidote potion regularly?”

“ ‘course I do. Don’t be silly.” He groaned as he pushed his cock between your lips, with only his satin pants as a barrier. He was ruining the garment but it didn’t seem like he cared at the present.

“Very well,” You shrugged. 

You grounded your lower half against San and his back arched off the bed. “Please,” he whimpered. 

“What do you want, San?” You said coolly. “Tell me and I may be able to fulfill your demand.”

San’s eyes widened, as if in an attempt to push off whatever stupor was pulling him in. Was he simply the type of man who became a slave to a cunt until he was satisfied. “Take me, take all of me, deep inside of you. I need to feel encompassed by you.”

“My sweet Fae prince,” You cooed mockingly. “All high and mighty because of his mushroom guard but the minute he gets behind closed doors, he’s a whining mess, rutting up into a pussy that’s always been denied to him.”

San pouted. “You’ll let me have it, right? You won’t let me lie here, begging, will you? Please, I’ll be good.”

You clucked your tongue against the roof of your mouth, moving your hips against San again. “Be good? You don’t know the meaning.”

San raised his hands from your hips and laid them on either side of his head, in abeyance to you. He even kept his eyes lowered but his Adam's apple was bobbing again. “I can try.”

You lifted your lower half up so that you could reach underneath you and yank San’s pants down. San gasped as the cool air suddenly hit his raging hard-on. You grasped his phallus immediately and began to run the head of him along your wet folds under your short copper dress. 

It was a test and San was struggling. His hands made tight fists and he bit hard on his lower lip. “Don’t you want to be inside of me, Sannie? What’s stopping you from…” You angled his cock to be flush with your hole. “...simply penetrating me with one sharp movement, San?”

San whined in the back of his throat. “I can be a good little Fae Prince for you.”

You let go of San’s cock, watching it slap his stomach satisfactorily. You rutted along the length, coating it in your slickness. You didn’t know which god or goddess San was praying to, but his lips moved fervently in silence. As if that would help him. 

You supposed he was taking his oath seriously. He was being good and hadn't attempted to take control since he said he would relinquish his power to you. Perhaps you could reward him.

You leaned down against San’s chest. He was sweating profusely, withholding back was taking a lot out of him. You ran a finger around the areola of his nipple. “Shall you show me what a good boy you can be?”

San nodded very quickly. “What do you need from me?”

“Flip us over and you may penetrate me. But!” You stopped your new lover. “You must go slowly. I want you to watch as every inch enters me.”

San licked his lips, wetting them once again. “And then?”

You chuckled. “Let’s see if you can do it first, Sannie.”

San had you flipped just as quickly as before, albeit slightly more clumsy. “You are the most beautiful mushroom lady I have ever had the pleasure of fucking.”

You snorted. “I am the only one of my kind, Choi San.”

“Still.” San grasped his dick with a soft gasp and then angled it between your open thighs. “You put the majority of the Fae Court to shame.”

You both groaned lowly as he finally pushed the head of his cock into your wet entrance. He pushed and pushed, and to be honest, it was a struggle for both of you. He was thick and seemed to fill you up perfectly.

“So! Wet!” San panted. “I--” he whined in the back of his throat. “Are we in the middle of a fairy ring?!”

Alarmed you had accidentally caused a growth of mushrooms, you looked wildly around but the room simply had San's minimal but expensive decorations; no mushroom in sight.

“San, are you sure--?!”

San completed sinking into you. He held himself aloft, his arm muscles moving as he shifted. He closed his eyes, perhaps in an attempt to focus on not jackhammering inside of you.

“Please? Queen of my desires? Let me plunge in your depths. I need to--I will die, surely, holding myself inside of you like this!” San pleaded.

You traced a finger along San’s collarbones. “You are so dangerously handsome.”

San swallowed loudly. “Dangerously handsome enough to fuck you so hard that you'll see stars?”

This fae princeling, this arrogant, untouchable man, was a puddle between your legs and you were becoming quite charmed by it. 

San blinked hard, clenching his eyes and shook his hair out of his face. The lines of his nose and jaw balanced out the soft curves of his lips. He really was gorgeous. 

“San,” You hummed softly. 

San opened his eyes and they were glossy with lust. “Red. I'm all yours. I've always been all yours. You're dedicated to keeping my body safe and I'm dedicated to yours.”

You pulled San closer, wrapping your arms behind his neck, and bringing him chest to chest to you. “Fuck me so hard I'll see stars,” You whispered into his ear.

A shudder went through San's body and then he tensed up so that he could pull back. “Better hold onto my arms,” he suggested.

The first thrust punched the air in your lungs out in a lusty cry. Your shoulders moved up the bed a full inch with the strength that San had thrusted into you. You immediately wrapped your hands around San's bicep to hold yourself in place. 

The cries didn't end as San fucked you hard. His thrusts were punctuated by a noise from you being thoroughly fucked, just as you had requested. You could hear the obscene slapping of skin against skin and the squishing of San’s cock against your wet entrance. It was debauchery at its finest and you couldn't find an ounce of you regretting it at this moment. 

San was a drooling mess in the crook of your neck even though his hips worked relentlessly between your legs. He whimpered and whined, pussy drunk inside of you. “So good, feels so good being inside of you, so wet, so tight, so good,” he babbled.

“San,” You said in a strained tone. “Remember, you are fucking me until I see stars, not the other way around.”

“I can… I can… I can be good…” San panted through his lust-filled mind. 

“Can you?” You groaned after a particularly hard thrust. “Can you put my needs before your own, you greedy princeling?”

“Can, can, can,” San chanted, even though he sounded like he was getting closer to his climax. 

You couldn't help but to sow a little chaos, considering how much chaos San had thrown your way this evening. “Are you going to come inside of me, Sannie?” 

San cried out and stilled his hips against you. “Nooooooo,” he lamented. “Why did you do that?”

“To see if I had that kind of power,” You admitted. You petted the back of his head in comfort. “But you were not a good little princeling, Sannie. You came before me.”

“It was so good,” San whined. “You can’t blame me!”

“I guess you’ll have to start over again,” You said flippantly.

San raised himself up so that he could look at you. He had the right amount of suspicion in his eyes as he said, “Start over again, how?”

Your fingers brushed some of his hair from his face that had stuck to his hairline from the sweat that was pouring off him. “Why, Sannie, you’ll have to clean up the mess you made inside of me and fuck me again.”

San’s eyes widened and you watched as he visibly slipped back into his subby headspace. “You want me to lick my cum from your pussy and then fuck you again?”

“Mmm,” You hummed. “Can you do that for me? Be a good little princeling and fix the mess you made? Do you want to be a good boy for me, Sannie?”

“Yes, please,” San murmured.

He immediately slid down your body and pressed his plush lips to your core that was aching for a release. You could feel his cum leaking from you and that’s how San began, licking your cunt diligently. And when he couldn't find any more cum to lick, he slowly stuck his tongue inside of you, looking for leftovers. 

“Yes, San,” You moaned. “Such a good boy for me. Put your tiny little tongue inside of me and make me feel something.”

San groaned against your cunt, and the richness of his baritone voice washed over you. You would have let him make you come with his tongue plowing inside of you but you were firm in teaching San that you were the one in charge and he needed to follow your directions. 

You pulled San’s head up by gripping his hair and tugging upwards. “Time’s up. Did you clean me up well?”

San’s appearance, with your slickness and remnants of his own cum all over his bronze face, was one for the record. He smiled lazily, looking like a cat caught drinking the cream. “You taste so good. Like a mushroom pastry. I could eat you up all day.”

You brushed some of the fluids from his pink lips with the pad of your thumb. “Shall I tell the other courtiers why you’re so busy? Can’t be bothered with any of the Fae politics or affairs, because you’d simply rather be between a mushroom guard’s thighs?”

San’s face flushed with pleasure and embarrassment. “If it pleases you.”

“Lie down, Little Princeling,” You commanded softly.

San did so, his body now horizontal to the bed. You finished pulling off his pants and discarded the soft copper-worked dress you had donned that evening. This moment of total dominance, of a bared soul, deserved flesh against flesh, heart against heart.

“I will ride you, my fair lord,” You declared. You set a knee on either side of San’s narrow hips. “I will take you within my cunt, dripping of my own desire and yours spent, and I will take exactly what I want from you. And you will lie there and give me everything, won’t you?”

San’s irises were round like saucers. He seemed unable to completely focus but he did respond. “I would pull the stars from the sky and string them along a chain for you, Red. Is that what you want? To show that the Fae Prince you guard is owned by his mushroom lover? I will do it. I would prostrate myself before my uncle and declare myself unfit to be next in line because I am simply a puppet to your--”

You put a finger to San’s lips and he quieted. “Do not speak of such a thing while you are between my legs, San. All your wits have gone out with your cum.”

San smiled dopily. “You make me this way, Heart.”

“Do not call to me fondly either,” You scolded him gently. “This should not cross from lust to love.”

“Then I will simply have to work harder for your love,” San sighed dreamily. 

You laughed under your breath. There really was no stopping this man once he got something in his head. “Let us start with this,” You said as you angled his cockhead to your entrance. 

San began to babble once again while your body struggled to adjust to his girth. “Why must you squeeze me so tightly? It is as if you would eat me whole with your cunt!”

You laughed in amusement, voice tight with your own withheld struggles. “If you were a mortal and I, a simple mushroom, it would be so, would it not?”

San groaned, his eyes rolling into the back of his head with pleasure as you took him full-hilt inside of you. “You make me come undone, Red.”

You moved your hips, watching San intake sharply at the sudden movement. “I quite like it this way.”

San part moaned and part laughed. “You’ll drive me mad with lust. Can I touch you?”

“You may,” You allowed with a small dip of your head. 

San’s hands smoothed up your thighs, over your hips, and then they encompassed your waist, thumbs skimming your rib bones. Finally they rested just below your breasts, looking to cup them both. “I wish to sink into you every morning and every evening, sometimes in between.”

You bounced slightly, enjoying the way San’s eyes were eating you up. His hands held your breasts in place as you slowly began to build some pleasure between the two of you. “Perhaps I’ll allow it, Sannie. But only if you’re good.”

San licked his lips slowly. “I can be real good to you, Red.”

“So far you’ve only been a spoiled princeling, taking what he wanted and giving nothing back,” You reminded him.

San pursed his lips in thought. “Only--!” He paused to gasp at the pleasure luring his mind away from reality. “--only you do this to me. I am a skilled lover. I have made others weep. Please, I can prove myself a second time. You are--there is something about you that drives all the edges of my brain to soft, unending, blurred lines.”

“But you know enough that it is me you are inside,” You joked.

San sat up suddenly, more serious than you had seen him all night. His eyes traveled over the planes of your face. “Nothing could make me forget you.”

And so you rode San like this, chest to chest, heart to heart, eye to eye. You drank in every gasp and whine that left his pretty lips. San ran his fingers up and down your bare back. And finally when your orgasm overwhelmed you, breaking over you like a wave over a cliff, he kissed you with his mouth slanted over yours, determined to feed from your noises. 

“Yeah, that thing is better off.” Mingyu shouted back, where he was lining up tapes in the kids section. “By the way, could you help me check the return box? There’s some tapes missing here, they should be there.” 

You waved out, going to the returns box at the entrance of the store. A few tapes were in, three Toy Story 2, one Tarzan and a copy of 10 Things I Hate About You along with two Armageddon at the bottom. You placed the movies on the counter as Mingyu was approaching you. “We need to rewind them first, all of them!” You say inspecting the tapes, “Geez, why do they never do it?.” 

Mingyu laughs and shakes his head. “The sign even says “Please” on it, right?.” He taps the hardcover of the vhs box, where “Please rewind before returning” signs reads on it.

“And it's so hot to be in the rewind room!.” you nag once more, taking the tapes with both arms and dragging your feet to the back of the store and rewind the tapes before someone comes looking for them. Mingyu returns to his previous spot on the kids section, not without laughing at you first. 

Despite the whole minute that it took you to get there, you are now placing the tapes into the machine, leaving the door open so some of the air could get in, the small and dark room feels suffocating just by being two steps inside it. In the speakers of the store, the faint sound of Genie In a Bottle plays on and you start humming, partly because you have the song stuck in your head thanks to Mingyu playing the cd over and over when he is on shift, and because it somehow helps the task be a little less tedious.

While on it, you hear the bells ringing meaning a customer has come to the store. You peek out to see a familiar tall figure enter, waving his way in walking directly towards the back where Mingyu was at the kids section.

“Hey!” you heard the guy saying until he disappeared from your line of sight. You tried to peek out more but it won’t be possible without you stepping out of the room, so you hurried up the process to get another glance before he’s out.

In the month you have been working there, you have seen this guy come in at least once a week. You were sure he was Mingyu’s friend as he always walked directly towards him or looked for him especially after picking up some tapes. The past times he had come with you on shift without Mingyu, you had the bad luck of always doing something like rewinding tapes or in the bathroom, never getting the chance to even greet him when he entered the store.

One thing for sure, hee was cute as hell. Cat like eyes and thin defined lips, huge black frames on his face, making it look smaller. And you noticed only by getting little glimpses of him, as he was always in a rush or something, never staying more than five minutes. You thought of asking Mingyu who he was but decided not to as you were still new in the store and even if you liked and had fun working with him, Mingyu has proven to be the teasing type, and he wouldn’t let you work in peace if you dare asking him about this other guy.

Just as you were cursing at Armageddon for rewinding so slowly, you heard them saying goodbyes and the chiming doorbell announcing he was out. 

With a sigh you rolled your eyes and finished your task without hurry, hoping the cat boy would come back soon and you were luckily enough to be on the counter to greet him. 

.

.

.

Today was a Monday, and the week promised to be a quiet one. Not many new releases came to the store yet so customers wandered a little bit before getting out, or just asking when would you stock Sleepy Hollow or why you had so few copies of The Sixth Sense. You tried your best to give every customer a smile at the beginning but after a month of getting the same questions over and over, you just shrugged and advised people to come back later, and maybe the previous customer had brought it back by then. 

Mingyu was way better with customers, both girls and guys. ‘I’ll get it ready and rewinded this afternoon for you’ he said with a wink to a middle aged lady, who shamelessly smiled and flirted with him while her kid smudged chocolate from the bar he was eating on a copy of Inspector Gadget.

“Great, now I have to clean that.” you glared at Mingyu as he saved the piece of paper with the woman’s number on his back pocket once she and the chocolate kid were gone. “I swear to God I’ve seen her come in with her husband.” you arch your eyebrows at him. 

“That doesn’t seem like a me problem.” He shot gun fingers at you and got back to his task on the counter, where a few other ladies waited for him.

You chuckled and started spraying windex on Mathew Broderick’s face covered in chocolate, laughing at how Mingyu flirted shamelessly with every single one of them, all at once, but they didn’t seem to mind. 

Once good ol’ Mathew’s face was clean you left the tape back on the shelf, when you heard the bell ring. “Y/n, can you help?” Mingyu hurried to tell you, he was now surrounded by the women as he showed them a copy of Between Your Legs animatedly. “This one is from our exclusive foreign section, so exotic! And the plot is fascinating…” He looked at the ceiling and the ladies followed.

You shook your head and got up from where you were squatting, seeing the tall figure of cat-boy coming through the door. He looked at the commotion on the counter and figured out Mingyu was busy at the moment. He hesitated for a second before turning back ready to head out when you sprinted towards him, shouting “HI!! WELCOME IN!” maybe a little too enthusiastically. 

“H-hi,” he said back, a little startled by your shouting. Mingyu also looked up to you for a moment, but he was quickly back to answering curious questions from his little fan club. “Uhm, I’ll be back later when-”

“No! Please, I know Mingyu usually helps you out but please tell me what can I do for you?,” you smiled with pressed lips and your voice two tones higher than how you usually speak, but you couldn’t help it. Seeing him in front of you confirmed your suspicions, he was stupidly handsome, freakingly hot even behind those thick square glasses. His hoodie smells like coffee and the cap he was wearing backwards made the earring on his left ear seem more dangly. 

“I really would prefer to wait for Mingyu…” 

“Nonsense!” you guided him towards a free counter next to where Mingyu and his harem were discussing Between Your Legs, quickly putting some space between you two before you would get inappropriately close and start sniffing his sweater, your eyes shining brightly as you spotted cat hairs on them. 

God he is so hot for a nerd!!!

“So, what can I do for you today, I’m Y/n by the way,” you smiled again and you could swear you creeped him out by the way he started sweating. It was hot as hell inside but still, his ears turned red and the tapes he was carrying under his arm were starting to slip from his grip. He quickly put them in the pocket of his hoodie, smiling awkwardly and glancing at Mingyu behind his frames. 

You glanced at Mingyu too, who began chuckling, losing for a moment his track on the plot of the movie he was explaining. 

“Are you going to return those?” you extended your hand but he stood still, tapes still packed into his hoodie. “No?,” you asked again. He opened his mouth briefly but smacked his lips loudly looking at the ceiling. 

He looked at Mingyu and his expression changed from mortified to annoyed. He bit his cheek and took a deep breath before taking out the tapes and laying them one on top of another before you. 

Night of the Giving Head, A Beautiful Behind, Yank my Doodle! It's a Dandy!, and Throbin Hood laid on the counter before you.

There was a few seconds of silence, only broken up by Mingyu’s suppressed wheeze. You cleared your throat lightly, taking the tapes and checking if they were rewinded. “Oh a rewinder, that’s unusual!” you chuckled dryly not really knowing how to break the wall of ice that suddenly appeared in front of you.

“I didn’t watch them,” He cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact. “That’s why they are- anyway.” He sighed and stopped, releasing it seemed like he was making up excuses for not one in particular. 

“You don’t have to explain,” You tried to sound friendly and not make a big deal, but you had so many questions and this selection was the last thing you expected to see him with. “We are a judging free video store,” the words coming out mechanically as you remembered the training video Mingyu played for you once on your first day.

“Yeah…It’s not… Can we please get this over with quickly?,” He returned to his mortified expression and you nodded quickly annotating the returns on the logbook. “Thanks,” He smiled awkwardly at you before tapping the counter once, glancing quickly at Mingyu one more time before sprinting out.

“He’s going to murder me, but oh god, it was worth it!”

Mingyu was now smiling ear to ear, waving goodbye to the last girl that visited the shop for the day, her phone number written on his palm. “I got no more sticky notes left,” he said before sticking his hand out to her.

“Yeah that was… I didn’t even know we had these.” you were sweeping the floors as the store was about to close, keeping yourself busy for the rest of the day still thinking about the Night of The Giving Head cover inside your mind. “Wait, he’s your friend, does he only watch porn?.” 

Mingyu laughed loudly, helping you out by taking the trash bags out of the bins and emptied them in one big plastic bag. “Maybe, why do you ask?” he arched his eyebrows at you. 

“No reason, it was just- he doesn’t look like the porn addict type.” 

Mingyu laughed louder. “Wait till I tell him you think he’s a porn addict!” He collected the dust you were sweeping onto the plastic bag, making a knot and throwing it on his shoulders. 

“Wait! Why would you tell him that?!” 

“No reason…” he smirked, walking outside to take out the trash. 

.

.

.

The next week the store got busier than usual, so Mingyu and you barely got to chat with each other about cat-boy or anything really. He had also switched shifts to train a new employee, a younger guy, probably a highschooler, who he spent most of the time in the mornings, leaving you alone to take care of the closing shift. 

Saturday came quickly, and you were alone in the shop. Lights were almost all out, and you were finishing stocking some new tapes that came that afternoon, the last task before officially closing. 

Somehow the humid air was insufferable even by night time, so you were sweating bullets over the thick fabric of your uniform shirt. You couldn’t believe they made you wear this in this hot weather, but alas, you were transpiring and melting under it. 

As you finished putting the tapes on their respective shelfs, you walked towards the bathroom where you had a spare shirt, not before turning the volume of the radio a little, you played music a lot in the shop and the customers seemed to like your taste more like Mingyu’s.

Once there, humming to Bills Bills Bills, you were looking for your spare shirt when you noticed you it wasn’t there. “What the-?” you cursed under your breath, sure you had one hanging on the stall reserved for staff. One glance at the sweaty uniform shirt you just took off and you knew you won’t be wearing that again. “Come on, I already put roll-on….” you whined. Then you remembered there were a couple of uniform shirts in the lockers, maybe too big for you but that would do for today and you will return them tomorrow. 

And so you were signing,

Can you pay my telephone bills?, 

Can you pay my automo’ bills? 

If you did, maybe we could chill…. 

When suddenly the tall figure of cat-boy appeared in front of you right by the counter. He stared. And you stared back. And his eyes stayed on your face for a a few seconds, but they quickly drifted a little down, on your lace see through bra, nonetheless.

“What the fuck?!” you shouted, sprinting towards the locker room. 

“Im sorry! I knocked, and the lights were on…. I thought…” you could hear him speak but there was a high ringing pitch in your ears that made his voice fade away as you took one of the spare uniform shirts and slipped in over your head. “The fuck you needed to wear a see through one today, huh?!” you covered your face with both palms.

“I’m sorry… I better go…”

You heard footsteps and shouted “No!” back but when you were out you could only see his back walk out the door.

You blew raspberries, feeling insufferably hot under the hot fabric of the oversized uniform shirt, that covered you like a circus carp. “Too much for our second encounter, cat-boy.” 

.

.

.

The next day you got to the store a little early, trying to catch Mingyu before he left for the day, and to your surprise, he was waiting for you.

“A nipple piercing!” 

“Good afternoon to you too!” you sighed, walking towards the locker room with Mingyu’s tail wagging at your ankles. “And how could he notice that?! It was dark!” you threw your backpack at your locker, huffing and puffing, ignoring Mingyu’s curious eyes.

“I guess he was really paying attention,” he teased. You shot him a glare and he raised his arms signaling peace. “Hey, don’t be mad that he told me, I’m his best friend and well, he actually came looking for you, how could he know you liked walking around the store naked when you were on shift alone?” 

“I-wasn’t-naked.” you slapped the locker room shut. “Wait… he came looking out for me?”

Mingyu wiggled his eyebrows in response. 

“Tell me everything, or else.”

“He likes you, duh.” Mingyu moved toward his locker, pretending to roam for something but you knew there wasn’t anything there. “He has had his eyes on you, since the first day he saw you working here.”

“But why hasn't he talked to me? He always comes in and it’s gone in a second.” 

Mingyu clicked his tongue. “He had a bad break up two years ago, and honestly he’s pretty shy, maybe that’s why we are such good friends, we balance each other…” you crossed your arms signaling he was deviating from the topic. “... So he wasn’t sure how to approach you, he has been coming here asking me to be a wingman but I refused, I was trying to encourage him so I told him you were going to be alone yesterday.”

You sighed, walking out the locker room with Mingyu behind you, ready to get off.

“Want me to tell W-”

“NOO!” you shouted, making the couple of customers in the store turn their heads at you. “Don’t tell me his name, I want him to tell me when he finally comes and talks to me.”

Mingyu chuckled and nodded, messing your head a little in sign of encouragement. “Get him, tiger. I’ll pass the note out.” He winked and you shrugged as he walked out the store.

Needless to say, all the way to the evening your stomach was swirling inside you. You jumped a little every time the doorbell chimed, and it sank back to your stomach everytime cat-boy wasn’t the one entering.

It was almost seven and you were waving goodbye to the last customer of the day before you changed the sign from open to closed, when you heard the bell one more time. 

The couple of teens walked past cat-boy as he entered the store and they walked out. You could hear loud stomps inside your chest, and you were pretty sure they were so loud he could hear them too. You looked at the mirror wall to your left, and despite being a few feet away you could spot the newest shades of red adorning your face. 

As he walked closer, you smiled shyly, spotting the same color on him too.

“Hey,” he waved so tiny that you felt like your body was becoming butter, cause despite standing up, you felt melted, all over the floor. 

“Hi,” you replied back, not knowing what to say really. Dissociating a little from the awkwardness you focused on him. All of him. His fluffy hair, not hiding under a cap this time. The black thick frames. He was wearing a black sweater, a turtle neck one. Few noticeable white hairs on it. You remembered marshmallow, your cat, and smiled without noticing. 

“Y/n,?” you heard his voice crack, noticing you smiling.

“Sorry! Seeing the cat hair on your sweater reminded me of mine.”

“You have cats?” his eyes became a little bigger. “Me too!”

“Yeah.. I can tell by the cat hair,” you chuckled.

“Right…” he scratched the back of his head. “Well I have a couple.. A few.” 

“I love cats! I only have marshmallow because my landlord doesn’t let me have more, but one day I will!” you were glad you mentioned the cat hair cause this gave you a shot to talk more comfortably. “By the way, did Mingyu tell you my name?”

“I asked him, the first day I saw you here working.”

“Not fair, I didn't let him tell me yours.”

“Huh?” He arched his eyebrows, puzzled. 

“He told me you came looking for me yesterday… Sorry you find me like that, I swear I don’t usually walk around naked when I’m alone here…”

He laughed. “Mingyu told me you probably did.”

You scoffed. “He’s the whore not I.” 

“Can’t defend him from that,” He lowered his head a little, “Sorry I told him about your… well I was frantic after seeing you like that and ran straight to his dorm, I was too shocked I guess, I wasn’t trying to be a creep.”

“And what about the pornos? Night of the Giving Head, seriously?” 

“That was Mingyu! He dropped them at my dorm the night before telling me I should distract myself from being a coward and not talk to you…” He speaked fast and you were trying to follow up. “I swear I didn’t watched them, I tried, but they were too tacky”

“There’s tasteful porn?” you laughed.

“There should be… somewhere” he laughed back. 

“Bet the bastard wanted you to return them so I could catch you myself!” 

“He a hundred percent did.” 

There was a moment of silence after the laugh, and you felt like staring at the floor because looking at him was becoming addicting too quickly. 

“Want me to help you close? I want you to walk out with me for a while, maybe get some coffee?” He suddenly speaks, and you snap out of the mental image of you two sitting on your couch, a few cats around. 

“Uh- well I just need to take out the trash and I’m ready, I- would love that,” He smiles from ear to ear and stands straight, making you notice he’s like, really really tall. 

“I’ll help you with that, be ready when I come back!” He sprinted towards the entrance where the two plastic bags laid one beside the other and took them out. You run towards the bathroom as soon as he’s out, changing your ugly uniform shirt into your spare one, feeling relieved when you notice is there this time. After putting roll on, combing your hair a little and putting some perfume you walk out, finding him waiting for you near the entrance.

He asks if he can wash his hands and once that’s done you close up, and you start walking beside him to nowhere in particular. 

You suggest walking to your recent favorite spot, a part cafe, part flower shop near your apartment. Walking there you talk about your studies, the tedious but fun times at the video store, his job at the library (he was such a nerd!), his and your cat, about everything and nothing in particular, and time just flew by so quickly.

“This is so nice, I didn’t even notice the hour!” you say checking the casio watch on your wrist. And he does the same. 

“Let me walk you home, I would feel bad by letting you take a cab at this hour.”

“It’s not far away…” you object but he insists. “Fine, but just by the door, what if you are indeed a creep or something!” He pouts and gives you the stink eye. You laughed, delighted how quickly you became comfortable with each other.

Once at your door you ask him to give you his palm. “I learned this trick from our dear Gyu,” you say, taking out a sharpie pen from your backpack and writing your number on his palm. “There, call me as soon as you get home, I’m not done talking to you.”

You thanked him for the coffee and sprinted towards your complex door without letting him say anything else. 

A quarter to eleven, your phone starts ringing. 

Grabbing the cordless phone from its base and throwing yourself over your bed you answer. “Hello?,” 

“I was about to tell you my name and ask you on a proper date,” you heard his shaky voice from the other line. He must have literally run or sprinted towards his own apartment. “But you ran away.” 

You smiled, twirling your hair, eyes closed remembering every moment since you closed the video store a few hours ago.

“Y/n?,” 

“Not yet cat-boy, I want you to tell me only after you first kiss me.” A few moments of silence before he speaks again, you can’t see him but you know he’s smiling too.

“Deal, then I won’t be cat-boy much longer.”

“You’re Hongjoong right? Kim Hongjoong?”

The black haired man, or boy, looked up at you through big glass frames that dwarfed his face much like everything else he wore. From the thick brown wool of his old fashioned sweater, to the large worn out leather bag slung across his body; the way he was sitting on the cafeteria bench did not help at all, legs pulled to his chest with one of the course books open on his thighs. The book he had been reading before you walked up to him and called out.

“That’s me, who’s asking?” He stretched his legs out and put the bookmark in the pages before shutting it.

You gave your name, cocking your hip and placing your hand on the curve. “I’m your model for your fashion project it seems.” When you had signed up on a whim for some extra credit, you didn’t expect to be paired with someone who dressed with clothes from your grandpa’s closet, hoping whatever fit he put you in wouldn’t make you the laughing stock of your friends.

His face lit up, breaking into a wide grin where the corners of his lips dimpled in. “Oh right! I kept meaning to find you.” He sat up more, legs thrown to the ground as he patted the bench next to him. “Sit. We can talk about planning and exchange contact information?” He was much more confident than you initially gave him credit for, and cuter.

You sat down, setting your bag next to you and watching him as he pulled out a hefty binder from his bag and set it on the table. He was quiet as he flipped through the pages, but you were still watching. The longer your eyes were on him though, the more flustered he got, almost squirming by the time he got to whatever he was looking for. “H-here.” He pushed it in your direction, showing off a very poorly drawn clothing design.

You frowned, brow scrutinizing the page as if it would make it make sense. “What am I looking at?”

He huffed, pulling it back. “My design for this project! It’s just a rough sketch but-”

“Rough sketch? Buddy that looks like a two year old drew a shirt on a stick figure.” You retorted without thought, immediately feeling guilty when his cheeks burned darker. “Sorry that was harsh.”

He shrugged, shutting the book. “You aren’t wrong though. The design is part of the grade unfortunately and I don’t do the best there, so I have to come up with a design that passes with flying colors to make up for it.”

You leaned forward, offering a smile and placing your hand over his. You didn’t know why but you wanted him to be successful, maybe it was the cuteness aggression since he looked like a small pouty squirrel? “It’s okay Hongjoong, I’ll be the best model I can for you! We’ll get you the best grade we can.”

He seemed even more flustered now, but encouraged by your words based on his smile. He was just a cute little nerd, you thought.

Boy were you wrong.

The project was for his final, the fashion department working together to put on a large fashion show for the end of the year festival, but they had been short models and were offering a little cash and a little extra credit for anyone else in the university that wanted to participate. How did you manage with perhaps the biggest perv in the department?

At first you thought you were just misinterpreting words and touches, but they kept happening. He’d adjust your clothes constantly, always make sure he was behind you when walking, offer to go to your apartment to work on the clothes, and go so far as to walk with you to and from work. You thought he was just being a gentleman.

Then you noticed it. The way his touch would linger if he touched your skin, seeming flustered. The way his breath would hitch when he walked behind you, especially if you wore a skirt. The few times you swore he moved something in your apartment or something went missing when he left like a dirty shirt you left out, or your water bottle had been moved or he spent far too much time in your bathroom.

Any excuse he could conjure up to touch you. To be around you. To especially come into your apartment and better yet: your room. He would get flustered, grinning as if out of breath, and a glossy look in his eyes.

What really gave it away was the fittings. He’d have you model for him often in the two outfits he was building, even making a third “just in case”, all revealing and requiring you to stand in your bra and underwear. You weren’t shy about your body, so you hadn’t minded, not at first anyways… not until things got, well intense.

He’d run his hands over your bare skin, fix your bra and underwear and cup your tits and ass, admiring them with that look on his face. He’d quickly say he was just adjusting them for the outfit, but you knew better.

Yet you never once called him out on it. You wish he would ask, admit it, maybe then you’d let him play with you a bit because damn his small hands felt so good on your body. His attention had your stomach knotting up, underwear wet, and daydreams full of his pervert expression.

Your final straw? Spotting a pair of your dirty underwear in his bag as he started packing up for perhaps the last time. The clothes were done, all that was left was picking out shoes and the actual show so he had no reason to come over multiple days of the week.

Scoffing, you adjusted your tee shirt you just threw on and strode over, reaching into his bag while calling his name. “What the fuck Joong?” You held up the fabric, turning to him and taking in his pale, bug eyed expression.

“I-I can explain.”

“If it’s some stupid excuse other than the truth I don’t want to hear it.” You stepped closer, watching the fabrics fall to the ground as he scrambled back. You huffed again, reaching out and pushing him onto the bed. “Pervert. Admit it. You’re a fucking pervert and want nothing more than for me to ride your sorry excuse for a cock?”

He whined, whined, at your degradation, gripping the bed sheets to keep from touching you. “I- that’s not-” He couldn’t look at you.

You scoffed again, bringing the underwear to his face. “You know, I got off in these. Rubbed myself on a dildo just to soak them.” You climbed onto his lap, underwear the only thing covering your bottom as you pressed down on his slacks, pleased to feel him growing hard under you. “Just-” You grinded up against the bulge “-like-” then down, “-this.” He moaned out as you repeated the motion, now grabbing your hips.

“Y-You did?” He gasped out, torn between staring at the underwear and watching the way you grinded down on him.

Your hips were still moving, but you lifted yourself just enough to take some of the pressure off his cock, smirking as he whined in protest. “Mmm I did. Almost thought about recording it for you.” You tease, laughing breathlessly when he bucked his hips up.

It was cute how he looked beneath you, pupils blown wide and pretty lips parted as he panted. His tongue ran over his lips, slicking them and giving you a wonderful idea. When he opened his mouth to reply, you shoved the panties between his teeth, stomach flipping at the pure pornographic moan he let out around the fabric. His eyes rolled back as he desperately bucked again, painted nails digging into your hips as he tried to pull you down on his cock.

“You like the taste of soiled panties that much? Disgusting.” You spat out, pleased when he squirmed more beneath you. He was enjoying the shame, so willing beneath you without question or complaint. You wondered how far you could go with him, how much could you push him?

He nodded, lifting his eyes to yours, the desire in them taking your breath away as it was the only potent emotion you could make out in his otherwise hazy vision. You were sure that same desire reflected in your own eyes. He spoke around the cloth, or well tried to, just to moan around them.

He was sucking on them the next second, the sound going right to your core. You wanted to use him, but instead your body reacted differently, palm hitting the side of his cheek just for him to moan louder. “I didn’t say you could suck on them.” You chastised, taking them out just to scoff as he chased them. You slapped him again, this time with the panties. “Behave, bad boys don’t get good things.”

“But- I- please. You taste so good.” He stammered out, releasing your his to grab at the underwear, his desperation just making you throb more.

Spurred on by his actions, you grabbed his wrists and began to tie them together with the panties, hiding a smile at how compliant he became the second he realized what you were doing. “Oh now you want to listen? Filthy pervert, you are just begging for me to use you aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes please use me. Fuck I want you to use me so badly Mommy, please please.” He rasped out in broken cries, bringing the panties to his pretty lips to lick at them more while rolling his hips up against your core.

Every sound he made, every word, was a chill up your spine and sparking your brain in all the right ways. You had been a bit put off by his pervertedness when you first realized it, but now… well you were apparently just as big a pervert because you loved it.

Loved the whiny, begging man under you even more. “Since you asked so nicely, Mommy can't help herself. But I won’t if you keep touching those panties. Even filthy little toys like you know how to obey yeah?”

He nodded fervently, letting his hands sit on his chest as he clasped them to keep from playing with them. His glasses were skewed, hair a mess, and drool coated his lips and chin already; some of your filth too probably.

Smirking proudly, you climbed down him, leaning forward to press a kiss to the bulge in his slacks just to tease him. Your hand had pressed down on his thigh to keep him from chasing your lips but he still whined.

“So fucking pathetic how needy you are.” You chastised, unbuttoning his pants and pulling them down roughly. He lifted his hips to help, watching as you tossed aside his pants, breath lodging in his throat as you stared unashamedly at the wet patch in his underwear. “So much… did the little pervert cum already?”

He shook his head, knuckles white from how tightly he was gripping them together. “N-no. But close. Still so close Mommy. Do you want me to come? I will. I’ll cum as many times as Mommy wants me to. Any way Mommy wants me to.”

You had no doubt in your mind he would, once again tempted to test how far you could take that knowledge. But you were also so fucking turned on, so desperate for him in turn despite your cool, detached tone as you continued to degrade him. 

You pulled his underwear off roughly, yanking down his cock in the process and earning a cry from him as his back arched, cock slapping back onto his stomach and leaking even more. Oh it was so pretty, you wanted a taste. Maybe next time.

He was whimpering as he shut his eyes, trembling to the point you could see his thighs clenching with the effort to stay still. Which he did manage to stay still. It was almost disappointing that he did.

So you scoffed, finger running up his cock before you gripped it harshly, scoffing. “Your dick is just as pathetic as you are. Do you really think this will satisfy me? You think you can make Mommy cum with this?” He was maybe average in size, a little bigger, but that you just couldn't pass up the opportunity to insult him; not when it had him whining louder and leaking on your hand.

“I promise it will Mommy. Promise. Use me any way you want, promise you’ll love it.” He whined out with broken pleas as his fucked out gaze followed your movements when you pulled away. Protests died the second your shirt came off, bare tits on display for him. He licked his lips, hands reaching up just to be slapped back down. “Please Mommy, wanna suck on them.”

“You have to earn that by proving you aren't as pathetic as you seem.” You moved so he could watch you pull your underwear off, now holding up the freshly soil underwear on display so he could see that despite your words, you were enjoying this so much: enjoying him so much. “Look at what you made me do. I ruined another pair because of you. You’re going to have to clean these.” You demanded, bringing them to his very eager lips. He lifted up to pull the wet fabric between his teeth, moaning at the fresh taste of your arousal.

It was so fucking hot how pathetic and desperate he was for you, but the scene wasn’t perfect. He continued to suck and moan around your panties while you swung your legs over his, pushing his shirt up and over his head until the fabric was to his elbows, his arms outstretched and torso now bare to you.

This was the first time you got to see him so exposed, his pretty waist and slightly toned stomach, but his tits, particularly the fact they weren’t just flat chest bone like you expected, was a pleasant surprise. You kept his glasses on him, you wanted him to see this after all, and leaned down to take one of his pretty pink nipples in between your mouth.

His reaction had your head spinning. He cried out around your underwear, back arching to put more of him in your mouth. You pushed his hips back down, feeling how taunt his muscles were beneath your hands as you flattened your tongue against his pebbled nipple. Biting down had him writhing beneath you, moaning louder around the fabric until only one word could be deciphered.

You pulled away in time to watch ropes of white splurt out of his cock and onto his stomach, your breath hitching at the sight he was. His head had fallen back, drool running out of the corner of his mouth and pants loud despite the fabric muffling him. He was tugging at the sheets above his head, his thighs flexing again and again under you as his climax coursed through him.

He was so fucking pretty like this, that you wanted to see it again and again. In fact you were upset with yourself for not feeling it inside you.

You wanted to cum so badly that you waited only long enough for his cock to stop leaking cum before you were grabbing it and lining it up with your entrance. Before you pushed down, you pulled the underwear out of his mouth just so you would be able to hear him. 

His head snapped up when he felt your slick lips on his tip, his neck veins prominent as he literally held his breath to watch you sink down on him. You took it slow, your own mouth falling open at the sensation while he moaned out deeply.

Only when you bottomed out did his head fall back, becoming a begging babble for you. “Mommy feels so good. So tight. Fuck please use me. Use me so good. Mommy please. Milk me, fuck me so good I can only think of Mommy.”

As much as you wanted to hear it, there was still that side of you that wanted to degrade him, so you used the wet panties to swipe up his cum and then shoved it back in his mouth with a pleased hum. “Mommy’s turn to cum so be a good toy and just take it. That’s all a disgusting pervert like you is good for yeah? Being used as a fucking toy for Mommy.”

He was sucking on the underwear again, moaning around the fabric as he stared up at you with half lidded hazy eyes. It only took one roll of your hips before he was pliant and fucked dumb beneath you. It was astonishing how close you were already to cumming, all the teasing and toying having riled you up just as much as him.

So you used him, the second your walls were used to him you were rolling your hips and slamming down on him with reckless abandon. His cock was still sensitive, the fabric muffling his moans but they were still loud. You reached for his nipples again, pinching and pulling at them both until he was squirming under you again.

“Such a sensitive perv, so disgusting and filthy and you fucking love it don’t you? You’re so glad I caught you. You wanted to get caught. Wanted Mommy to find you disgusting and punish you.” You spat out but it lacked the cool tone from before, your own pleasure slipping into each word as you were slamming down hard enough on his cock the sound was echoing in the room.

He nodded, but didn’t respond. You reached for his hair, yanking the strands and resulting in his glasses falling from his face even more. “Didn’t you?”

He could only nod again, but his muffled words were understandable enough. As well as the word ‘cum’ again. Eager to feel him pulsing and filling up your pussy, you kept your pace and tugged harder on both his hair and his nipple.

His cry was exquisite, so was the feeling of his hot cum filling you up while his cock was twitching between your tight walls. You clenched down to milk him for all he was worth, now noticing tears pooling in his lashes.

You came the second the first drop slid down his temple and into his hair, hips rolling to a slow space to ride out your high as you moaned for him, getting close to his ear and feeling him shiver at your breath against his skin.

Shutting your eyes for a moment, you took the underwear out of his mouth and just listened to his heavy breaths and whines; the incoherent words that sounded like praises and thanks.

Once you regained your own senses enough, you sat back up, staring down at him as he blinked away the remaining tears to refocus on you as well. With a wicked grin, you pointed down, waiting until his head was lifted before slipping off his cock. You leaned back on his knee, using your free hand to spread your pussy lips for him, feeling his cum and your arousal immediately slip out and onto his softening dick. “Take a good look at how well Mommy used you, naughty boy. Was it everything you ever dreamed of?”

He swallowed hard, Adam's apple bobbing and veins more prominent as he clenched his jaw. “A-almost.” When you quirked a brow, he rushed on. “Would be better if my cum was dripping out of you while you walk the runway in my designs. Please Mommy? I’ll do anything for that.”

Your eyes went wide at his fantasy, imagining it yourself. Your tongue darted out as the image lit a fire in your core again. “Anything baby?” He nodded. “Mm… I think Mommy can do that. For her favorite little pervert.”

He beamed at your words, and you smiled right back.

It ended up being quite thrilling to have so many eyes on you while you wore his designs with his cum packed in your pussy and ruining your underwear. The same underwear you shoved in his mouth after the show, just to pack your cunt full of him all over again.

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There once was a baker’s daughter, a spoiled girl, who lived in a sleepy village at the foot of a mountain. The baker’s daughter was spoiled because her mother died giving birth to her, so her father sought to keep her happy and fed with all the delicacies he could bake. The baker’s daughter grew up and her body matched the happy life she led. She was plump and happy, and in love with the shepard’s son, Jisung.

Often, they could be found together, eating sweets, on the top of a hill, Jisung’s sheep bleating softly as the sun set. They’d whisper their hopes and dreams to each other. That is where our story begins, with you as the baker’s daughter who was about to give her heart to the shepard’s son.

“I’d like to see what’s over the horizon,” Jisung sighed, hand holding his face up.

Your eyes wandered to his chubby cheeks. You wished you could pinch them. “I’d like to get married.”

You gasped as the words left your mouth, and you knew you had been caught. But Jisung was completely oblivious to your feelings.

Jisung sharply dug a finger into your side. “Maybe if you stopped eating so many of your father's pastries, you'd be married by now.”

Your eyebrows furrowed at the sudden attack. Shame washed through your body, and your throat tightened with emotion. “Thank you for your insight, Jisung. I think I'll be going now.”

“Wait, Dumplin!” Jisung began to protest as you walked away but you couldn't stop.

The tears started to fall and you needed to get out of here. Your feet carried you out of your village and up through an old goat path. The walking turned to running. Soon, your breath was ragged and tearing through your throat. You fought between sobs to gasp in some air. When you finally collapsed, you realized you had fled to the caves behind your village, in the mountains.

You sniffled, looking around at your bearings. In your need to get away from Jisung and his cruel words, you had fled deep into the mountain. You weren’t sure you had ever explored this deep into the caves, even as a child.

“Stupid Jisung,” You hiccuped. “I'll become the baker and you'll see.”

Your tears were hot and still streaming down your face and neck. You attempted to wipe it up by dabbing at your cheeks with the sleeve of your dress. Your eyes were still blurry with tears when you saw the first flash of brilliant light.

You gasped when you caught the second one. Suddenly, there were crystals throughout the cave you were sitting in, glowing with their individual colors. You clapped in delight, your heartache temporarily forgotten.

Will you stop crying now?

You looked around wildly, but you couldn't see who was speaking to you amidst the glowing of the cave. You had heard of the myth of a dragon living under the mountain, but no one in a few generations had ever seen this dragon.

“I…” Your throat tightened up again. How could Jisung say those words to you? He was your supposed best friend. “I'm fine.”

You heard a resounding crack and then a soft tinkle. You saw a crystal lying on the ground in front of you.

For you. To keep the tears away

“I…” You wiped your tears away from your cheeks, still sniffling. This odd moment of kindness healed your heart a little. “Thank you,” you whispered.

You picked up the crystal, and it shone, glowing softly. It rippled through lovely colors of blues, purples, and pinks. “I will treasure it.”

As I will treasure this moment together

You let Jisung apologize profusely when you go back to the village, but your mind wasn't on your babbling best friend. You kept replaying the smooth-as-molasses voice in your head. What exactly had gone on in the caves?

As your days carried on, your father complained when you kneaded the bread too much. You started over two more times until he dismissed you from his kitchen. You couldn't focus enough even on the temptation of mixing the frosting in order to taste the test, of course. That's when you knew you had to go back to the cave.

With your hair braided neatly, and pulled under a kerchief, you made your way back to the cave in the mountains. You kept one hand trailing along the caves wall until your eyes adjusted and another in the pocket of your apron, where you had stashed a rolling pin. You couldn't come completely unarmed. You weren't that enamored with the voice…

“Hello?” You called out cautiously.

Your eyes had adjusted, so you took your hand off the wall and clutched the crystal you had been given. It still blinked and shone but at shorter instances with longer wait time in your room. But it seemed, as you put one foot in front of the other, the crystal shone brighter and for longer.

“I don't wish to intrude!” You called out again, head swinging back and forth, in search of the kind soul who gave you the crystal. “I just wish to see who gave me this.”

Your crystal began to shimmer, casting waves of light against the cave walls.

You'll scream

You pressed your lips together and swallowed. “I won't.”

Was it a monster who had given you a moment of gentle kindness? If so, was it truly a monster then?

Don't say I didn't warn you

Your hands flew upwards to cover your mouth as a beautiful rainbow pearl scaled dragon stepped into the cavern.

Its lovely pale blue eyes blinked at you as it lowered its head to view you.

There, now you can brag to your friend about having seen the dragon

With a saucy whip of its tail that sang over your head, it turned around to leave.

“Wait, please!”

You called out, hand wrapping around its tail in an attempt to stop it. You cried out when a tail spine sliced open your palm.

The dragon trumpeted in distress. One moment, its entire body filled your peripherals, and then, with a bright, blinding light, there was a handsome man with sharp light blue eyes and shockingly white hair in front of you.

“Humans are so thoughtless,” the man scoffed.

His quick thinking had him ripping a strip of the silken robe he had on. He grabbed your injured hand and wrapped it around your hand. He finished the makeshift bandage with an impromptu knot, making you wince with the tightness of it.

“I didn't mean to impose on you,” You said in a dejected voice.

What kind of impression could you have made on this dragon shifter? You bawled like a baby in your first encounter and then acted like some stone-brained imbecile the next. Jisung was wrong. It wasn't the pastries that made it so you weren't married; it was just the fact that you were you.

Tears fell unbiddingly onto your injured hand. The dragon-shifter’s eyes widened in surprise and immediately his voice turned sweet and soft.

“Nonono, sweetheart, don't cry.” The man cupped your cheeks, and his thumbs banished your tears. “I'm happy you came, truly. I would be fortunate to have a gem as bright as you in my collection.”

You smiled, your face heating up at the compliment. The shifter mirrored your smile, his eyes almost disappearing with joy. “That's much better. Your smile only brightens up your face.”

“What's your name?” You inquired simply.

“Hyunjin. But to you, please call me handsome.”

You giggled nervously. “I would call you beautiful. In either form.”

Hyunjin's eyes flitted flirtatiously from the ground to your face. “Do you really think so?”

“You're more breathtaking than one hundred crystals,” You said in awe.

Hyunjin giggled merrily to himself. The cave lit up with his glee, causing you to clap your hands.

And that's how your budding romance began with the crystal dragon.

Your father wasn't too keen on Hyunjin. The village had been terrified the dragon was here to steal a bride. Until you met him at the field and brought him to the bakery to taste some strudels, hot out of the oven. Your father quizzed him with questions of honor, loyalty and priorities in life.

Hyunjin answered as any dragon would. His loyalty was to his treasure trove. His priority was to always add to it. And his honor was his treasure; if he swore on it, you knew it to be true.

The only thing that truly melted your father's heart was seeing the dragon dote on his only daughter. Hyunjin spoiled you with gifts from his trove. Soon you acquired square cut emerald earrings, a fiery opal necklace, the size of a goose egg. He could tell that Hyunjin simply wanted to make you happy, and that's when he finally gave his blessing.

Hyunjin spent so much time in your village, visiting you, that when your father finally allowed Hyunjin to officially court you, Hyunjin allowed you further into his cave--into his treasure trove. He watched you with curious eyes as you took in the grand crystal gate that he kept his treasures behind.

“You live here?” You asked, tipping your head back to take in the wall and door that towered over you.

“It’ll be your home too,” Hyunjin offered tentatively.

You pressed your lips together, your emotions getting the better of you. “Hyunjin…”

Hyunjin’s haughty expression melted into a soft one. He tentatively reached out, and when your hand met his, he giggled. His fingers curled into yours, and although the gesture was adorable, you felt electricity shoot through your body.

“I want you to be mine,” Hyunjin whispered.

You swallowed hard, your throat getting tight. “Why?”

Hyunjin’s eyes became fiery, and you took a step back. “I know how you view yourself; how the villagers speak of you. They are fools. Your soft curves are what make you beautiful. They don’t understand how it is to live with sharp edges. You’re a gift, in my eyes.”

Your body heats up at Hyunjin’s words. You feel tears again threatening to escape, but you don’t want to upset Hyunjin, so you dash them away and smile happily at the dragon. “I want to be yours with every bone in my body, Hyunjin.”

Hyunjin smiled, and your heart skipped a beat. He pulled a key from under his robe, strung across a chain and around his neck. He pulled it off and offered it to you. “This is your key now.”

“Oh…I’m not sure…” You fumbled over what to say. Having a key to Hyunjin’s treasure trove seemed… forward considering…

Hyunjin grabbed your wrist and poured the chain into your palm, closing your fingers over the key. “Please. It will give me peace of mind that you can come here whenever you want.” Hyunjin’s eyes grew sharp at the reminder of the first time you had come across him. “It’ll stop me from going to the village and snatching you back to my cave.”

Your mind raced with the image of Hyunjin in his beautiful dragon form, his talons carefully wrapped around your middle, soaring above the village, kidnapping you from the world you grew up in. You shook your head to come back to reality. “Thank you.”

Something flipped between you and the crystal dragon after Hyunjin gave you the key to his treasure trove. The first hint of it came when Hyunjin had come to visit you while you were working in your father’s bakery. Your father hadn't been feeling good that day, so you had banished him to his favorite chair by the fire and then went to the bakery yourself to make some bread.

By the time Hyunjin had found you, you were in a loose dress, apron and hands covered in flour. Your hair had long given up to the heat of the kitchen and you had sweated enough to perspire through your entire dress.

When you spotted Hyunjin, his jaw was on the floor. You patted your hair with your flour-covered hands. “I probably look a mess, I’m sorry.”

Hyunjin launched himself over the table you had been preparing the bread on and swept you up in his arms. Your body was pressed against his and you felt your face heat up. “Hyunjin?!” You squeaked.

“You look delectable,” Hyunjin said lowly.

Hyunjin caught his tongue between his teeth, and you moaned, eyes zoning into his pretty pink lips. He smoothed his hand over your hair so that he could lean in to speak into your ear. “I can see your nipples through your dress, sweetheart.”

“Oh sourdough,” You cursed.

Hyunjin attempted to hold in his laughter but it came out like a snicker. “Let me give you more reason to sweat?”

You pulled back, bewildered, to look into Hyunjin’s eyes. “But Hyunjin! We aren’t--”

“Dragons mate for life. We don’t do that before being with each other carnally.”

You swallowed as Hyunjin traced the shell of your ear with his tongue. “In the kitchen? What about the bread?”

Hyunjin licked his lips. “I’ve got you sweetheart, don’t worry.”

Hyunjin put you up on the table, in order to push your legs apart and kiss up your thighs. You gasped and moaned as he nipped and sucked and licked along the flesh. He squeezed and griped your thick thighs, moaning himself. “You’re so soft.”

“Isn’t it…”

Whatever self-depreciating comment was about to come out of your mouth was gone because Hyunjin chose that moment to softly kiss your labia. His lips touching the sensitive flesh there made you shiver.

“I’m going to eat you up, sweetheart,” he groaned before plunging his tongue into your pussy.

Your hands dove into his hair, yanking on it harshly. You whined his name, bucking your hips into his thrusting tongue. The messy noises that were coming from between your legs brought even more heat to your neck and chest, embarrassed and turned on at the same time.

“Feeeeels soooo goooood,” you groaned. You tossed your head back in pleasure of the moment, being loved and desired.

Hyunjin began to make noises, as if he was eating the most delicious chocolate cake. “Hyunjin, you can’t sound like--oh god, what are you doing now?”

The dragon had started to slowly suck on your clit, light eyes directly on you. He sucked and sucked until you came for him, breathy moans for his name only. When he came up for air, his face was smeared with your wetness.

“That was only the beginning,” Hyunjin promised, a smile on his face that made your heart skip a beat.

“I think you’re going to get me in a lot of trouble, sir,” you whispered.

“Need to mark you,” Hyunjin breathed out. He stood up and wriggled his hips between your legs. He pushed two fingers into your gushing hole and ate your cries as he stretched you. He curled his fingers inside of you just as his teeth settled on the nape of your neck, biting down on the skin there.

Next he pulled his pants down past his ass, and wrapped his hand around his curved, long cock. “I need to fill you up,” Hyunjin growled.

Your hole was aching, and something inside of you knew that Hyunjin would complete you. “Make me yours, Hyunjin.”

You brought the head of his cock to brush against your entrance. Hyunjin simply rolled his hips and then he was filling you out more than his two fingers had been able to. Your gasps and groans intermingled with the crackling of the fire from your wood stove. In no time at all, Hyunjin had the neck of your dress pulled down so that he could suck on your nipples. He played the tip of his tongue against your stiff peaks, unsatisfied until he was sucking and fucking you.

“Oh god, you’re sucking me in,” Hyunjin gasped. “I don’t know… I’ve got to spill inside of you, sweetheart. Take my love.”

Within moments, the two of you were tipping over the edge. Your cries, deep and high, folded into each other. You felt teeth on your nipple but it just mixed in with the climax you were coming down from. Hyunjin kissed up your chest, along your neck, and then captured your lips. “You were amazing,” He said breathlessly.

“Hyunjin?” You gasped as he continued to stir inside of you.

“Yeah?” The dragon grinned, running a hand through his messy hair from where you had tugged it.

“I think I love you,” You laughed.

Hyunjin’s eyes grew wide, and then his face split with a happy smile, his eyes getting lost in his happiness. “I love you more, sweetheart.”

Your marriage wasn’t far after that. Hyunjin had to have you in every way. He could barely stand letting you sleep in your father’s house any longer. He was sure someone else was going to steal you away, always ready to glare a warning at Jisung.

Although your marriage was a joyous occasion, you still shed tears for the life you let go. You let go of your dreams of being with Jisung. You cried for leaving your first half of your life behind living with your father as a happy child. You cried for the most important moment of your life happening without your mother. You cried for your old sad self who didn’t believe in her own beauty.

Hyunjin didn’t let any of those tears hit the ground, however. His fingers brushed them away and then he played with the first crystal he had gifted you with that hung around your neck still. “I don’t want to see you cry ever again. I’ll do everything in my power to always make you happy. You’re the greatest gem I have in my treasure trove, after all.”

You giggled at Hyunjin being overly corny. You smushed some frosting onto his gorgeous face, the cake your father made for your wedding; the most delicious thing you had ever had the pleasure of eating. “And you’re better than any sweet pastry I’ve ever made.”

“Night creatures?” Yunho asked, hand on his whip. 

“Whatever it is, be alert” Seonghwa walked slowly towards you, and as soon as he reached you, you noticed.

“Shit. the trees are so tall, it–”

“... practically night down here” Seonghwa finished for you. He then whispered. “On guard, they´re here”.

As soon as he finished talking, the whooshing sounds of something moving between the trees resonated against the utter silence. Then they launched against you. Seonghwa moved fast, tacking you down to prevent the creature from grabbing you. Yunho launched his whip against it a few feets back.

“Stay sharp” Seonghwa disappeared, well rather sprinted so fast you couldn't see him. The creature, one of them, wasted no time and launched at you again as Seonghwa disappeared. You launched icy pillars to its front, quickly dodging him., but he was persistent. 

Seonghwa´s sword swinging catched nothing but air. Yunho´s whip did no better. These creatures had thought of this attack. If you didn´t stop them soon they would overpower the three of you, and who knows how many of them were hiding, ready to launch at you too when you were too  vulnerable. 

You screamed, pushing back the one attacking you, placing your palms over its roughen skin. The fire burning in your palms made the creature retreat before gaining speed and launching back. You took a few steps back ready to receive his attack, when something grabbed you from behind. 

In a blink of an eye you were being dragged against the mud, when you felt a strike of air rush in front of your face. Yunho´s groan accompanied by the swing of his whip hit the creature that had a hold of you. The hit in your head made you dizzy but you managed to stand up and make an energy barrier around you. Yunho launched himself back to the creature.

“Yunho no!” you shouted but he was already beating the creature, or rather, trying not to let himself be.

You sprint to help, but are stopped by a sharp clawed hand ripping your arm. The sting was painful, but you had no time to complain. Seonghwa kept fighting about three of them to your right. You launched a few flames at the creature´s feet, it squealed and backed off. You created more flames on your palms when you saw it, two more appeared by its side, the three of them ready for you.

As they were sprinting ready to attack, you saw, or heard the familiar sound of Seonghwa making its way through the trees, one of them lunged towards you, making your back hit the ground. Seonghwa launched his sword at its head, but just as quickly another was on top of you. Your flames kept them back but they quickly went at you. 

“Fuck,” Yunho groaned. He aimed his whip at the creature's head on top of you. With gritted teeth, he pushed the one fighting him and wrapped his whip around it until it was finished, quickly running towards you. 

You saw him launch himself on top of the creature growling at you, he was beating himself up. You glanced at Seonghwa, he was too. You just wished he knew what he was doing. 

Yunho killed one and then threw away the other one. You stood up and ran to the middle, between your partners and launched icy pillars and flames to the creatures as both Seonghwa and Yunho launched them in the air. 

There was only one of them left, and just as it appeared, it retreated back into the trees.

“Fuck, about time they backed up,”Yunho spoke under his breath. 

“Exactly. We need to move, there's probably more coming” Seonghwa said, still alert in case a sudden launch of claws appeared in front of his face. 

The tree of you moved quickly, the sun was blinding the moment you stepped out of the forest. 

“They won't attack us here, let's rest for a bit, then we can go to the nearest town and find and in” Seonghwa suggested, gathering wood to light a fire pit.

“And something to eat, I'm starving” you added. You sat against a rock, thankfully it was a flatten one, when Yunho approached you as Seonghwa disappeared for a bit. 

“Are you alright?” 

You blinked slowly at him. It was not like Yunho to come to you and ask you if you were doing fine out of the blue. “A little beaten, nothing that fresh bread and some ale can´t fix”. 

“Yeah, alright.. Hm” he seemed to want to say something more but didn´t. “What about that?” he eyed the long scratch on your arm.

“It's fine, I fixed it already, thankfully I moved fast so it wasn't too deep. I just need to rest, and take a warm bath”. 

Again he seemed to want to add something else. 

“And some ale! And bread!” you kept going. It was bothering you that he just seemed to have trouble saying whatever he wanted to say. “Anyways, it's a beautiful sunset, I like it way better than inside that filthy forest” you chuckled. 

“Hm. Yeah,” Yunho whispered.

“Out with it Yunho, you want to say something?” you squint your eyes at him, cornering him up.

“What do you mean?” 

“It's not like you to come and ask me if i´m alright, there's something weird with you tonight”.

“We almost died back there, I might be melancholic”.

You laughed. Yunho´s vulnerable side was something you didn't expect to witness today. “Sorry, I just.. It's so weird seeing you act like this–” you turned to see him, and got startled by the way he was looking at you. “Yunho?” 

There it was, it was a fine smile drawn on his lips. His eyes shone brightly. He seemed happy. 

“Sorry, I– just enjoy when you laugh, you look beautiful”. 

“What?” you snapped. 

Yunho frowned, he had just said it without thinking. Yes. He wasn't thinking at all. “I mean,” he coughed trying to make up the words he wanted to say.

“Stop with that!” you pushed him back. “Don't say things you don't mean” you stood up, going to sit across from him. 

“What the fuck did I do?” Yunho groaned, standing up and walking past you, probably to find Seonghwa and retaliate his anger towards him.

.

.

.

“Just so you know, you should take care of her tonight”.

Seonghwa rolled his eyes at his companion, turning his head to look at you, sitting a few tables back speaking to an old man animatedly. The same man you said “looked like an old mage” as soon as the three of you entered the tavern after wandering around almost all night. 

“I don’t think your friend can hold on anymore, I don’t want to have to clean up her mess if she throws up on my table”. The tavern owner looked at both Seonghwa and Yunho with a raised eyebrow as a warning.

“See, that’s exactly what I am saying” Yunho turned back to Seonghwa, pushing his cheek with his tongue and giving you a quick annoyed glance.  Seonghwa sighs, getting up from his seat and walking towards you. 

“Thought you said you were good with alcohol?”. he sat beside you, crossing his arms and legs. “Come on, come back with us, leave this poor man alone”. The old man looked at you with pleading eyes, and signaled how he couldn't unlink his arm from yours. 

You threw your hands at Seonghwa, getting closer and brushing your lips on his cheek. “You come to rescue me, or him?” you whispered before bursting into laughter and going back to the old man’s side. “I'm not going ANYWHERE WITH THAT PRICK” you snapped out so Yunho could hear. It was a successful call out as he turned again, now looking even more annoyed.

“Aha!” Seonghwa turned, “So he made you mad and now I'm paying the price” 

You got closer to him again slowly, fluttering your eyelashes. “Am I that much of a nuance for you, Hwa?”

“When you are angry— yes, you are insufferable, now that three drinks to that and no one is safe”.

“Oh she’s had more than three, she had taken mine too!” the old guy finally snapped, taking the chance to free from your arm and leave the table, taking what was left of his drink with him.

“You scared him! He was telling me how to cut time on our way to Bralia!” 

Seonghwa laughed, taking your hand and dragging you back to the counter where Yunho was hunched on his seat. “Come one you can talk about this with him, don't be childish”.You took your seat in between them, but without looking at Yunho to your right. Yunho glanced at you for a second, before going back to stare at his drink. 

“How are you not drunk yet? Though the Jeon’s had it in their blood” Seonghwa snapped at Yunho trying to break the silence that followed but was unsuccessful. “Well, cheer up you two, we still in one piece —against all odds”

“Exaaaactly! Let's cheer for that! You let out with a hiccup, asking the bartender for another round. The very tall and very bald man grinned behind his mustache but served each of you another round.

“I seriously think you shouldn't…” Yunho started but you quickly shut him up.

“Leave the thinking to Hwa or me, alright? I had enough of your ideas tonight” 

Yunho grunted, turning to the side and gulping his drink in one go.

Seonghwa soothed the space between his eyebrows and sighed deeply. This was going to be a long night unless he dug on what got you two grumpy at each other. And the sooner the better, if he wished to have some decent sleep before venturing into the deep forest again tomorrow morning. 

“Can you join me outside for a second? I need some fresh air” he asked. He knew Yunho wouldn’t say a word and he still didn't know how to push him to open up to him. But you were a firecracker, a few paths in the back and you will tell him about everything. 

Seonghwa was just about to ask you what had happened when you snapped.

“HE CALLED ME BEAUTIFUL!”

He blinked for a few seconds, letting out a dry laugh. “So that’s what happened back there! No wonder why he kept groaning instead of helping me get the wood for the fire pit”.

“He was! I don’t know…afraid to die back there I guess, I man he could have panicked!” you stumbled between words. You knew Yunho meant it, but you didn’t want to accept the fact that on what he thought it was going to be his last thought, he decided to call you beautiful. 

“Darling, you know he meant what he said. Why are you upset about that instead of acting on it?” 

You blushed hard. You have been so attached to both Seonghwa and Yunho since the journey started. You have learned to confide and love them both. But with Seonghwa, even in his constant silence, things were easier to say. Now Yunho… he made you weak cause you could trust Seonghwa to take care of himself, but Yunho needed you the most, he was still very broken. You shook your head. Yunho would hate hearing you talk of him like this, but, it was how you felt… 

“Seriously, you two need to fuck soon, im getting tired of this.” 

You freezed in place. “Seonghwa!” 

“I mean it. I would gladly let Yunho join anytime you want, you know I love you both, but I do think you need a first time alone before that can happen”. He smiled, grabbing you by your chin.

“Stop that!” you blushed hard. The alcohol mixed with the swirling on your stomach caused a rather unpleasant reaction. “I dont wnt to fuck him, he– I don’t know how to feel about him!” 

“You love him, just like you love me, well this hurt me to say but you might love him a little more, you are just too proud to admit it”. 

“Hwa…” 

Soeghwa raised his eyebrows. “It’s fine sweet, Jeon has that drunk charm that's hard to resist, I guess.” he chuckled and you pushed him back, to which he theatrically retreated. 

“Alright alright, I give up for now, but seriously you need to talk to him, he’s harmless like a cat, and he— Wait here, I’ll let him say it”.

Seonghwa sat you gently in the stool outside the tavern. You hugged yourself head spinning and legs trembling. You weren’t sure you were drunk anymore, the idea of Yunho and you… and Seonghwa…

A few minutes later you could hear the voices inside the tavern getting louder, and a couple of grunts and loud steps startled you. You stood up to check what was happening inside when suddenly the door opened, and Yunho was pushed outside, Seonghwa peeking his head by the door. “You two will settle this tonight. I won't let you in until you do.” with that said he closed the door behind him. 

“Bastard! Open up!!” Yunho grunted trying to open the door. Inside you could hear the voice of the tavern owner yelling at Seonghwa for barricading the door, to which you smiled, as if it would be a harder challenge to pretend he was struggling to keep them away, than actually doing it. You turned to Yunho, who kept grunting trying to open the door from outside, so you knew you had to do this quickly.

“Yunho,” you stood beside him, eyes on the dark starry night, calling him out but trying to avoid him at the same time. “Seonghwa is right. We need to talk this up”.

“Talk about what? Oh yes, the fact that you pushed me back when I said … forget it”.

“Yes yes, about that.” you sighed.

“You know I wasn’t lying, so what do you want to pretend I did? That wasn’t even the only thing I was going to say before you punched me”. Yunho grunted.

You froze again. Oh no. Here it comes. ”What do you mean?” 

Yunho tried but quickly stumbled on his words, looking everywhere to focus his eyes on, but you. “I care about you, back there we could– have died, and that never scared me before,” you tensed up and crossed your arms over your chest, eyes drifting over to him. “Now that I have you two, I don´t know, I think I would like to live a little longer…” He was looking at his feet, but suddenly his eyes lifted and met yours.

“Yunho…”

“Fuck I´d rather be back fighting night creatures,” You knew he was going to back off if you didn´t say anything, and only the thought of him blocking himself to you made your guts swirl again.

“Yunho! Just say it!”

Yunho looked at you like a nervous dog waiting to be scolded. He looked anxious, he knew the words but he didn't know how to say them. Suddenly, both turned around and saw the knob turning without success.

“Geez. listen, I like you, I know you know but you always take everything I say so… lightly”.

“Yunho, you always say dumb things that get us in trouble, and you are always half drunk if not drunk completely, and– you always say how idealistic I am and how much it bothers you, you don't take me seriously either”.

“Yeah but that’s not things that make me dislike you, I actually admire those things, and you make us get in trouble far more than me by the record”.

“Oh you–”

“So, what I'm trying to say is that I like you– I do think you are beautiful, daring, and you always fight without trying to hurt innocent people, even if you don't like violence. I– never met someone like you before” 

You kept silent but smiled, you wanted to say a thousand things but words felt useless. You wanted to tell him that you liked him, even loved him as well. That you were grateful to have them both beside you on this journey. If he just did what you were thinking… If you just did it.

Yunho leaned towards you, smiling shyly and your eyes shone at how delicate he looked even if he was practically towering you up. He got closer and closer and you closed your eyes instinctively, waiting for him to brush his lips against yours at least, when the sudden stomp for the door being pushed open startled both, making Yunho move the inches back away from you. 

“So, is it settled?” Seonghwa laughed, getting breathless by the second as the bald tavern owner and the few other guys inside fell over him finally making him move away from the door.

Yunho smiles sweetly at you. A smile you had only seen on him the day the three fought and won against the night creatures of Dracula, back in the castle. 

You smiled at him, and then at Seonghwa. 

“Almost,” you replied sweetly, as Yunho and you helped Seonghwa stand up, as the men cursed at you three and closed the door in Seonghwa´s face. “Thanks Hwa, for giving us some time”.

Seonghwa smirked, flattened his jacket and started walking. “I´d hope you would kiss her at least Jeon, but you ain't very good with words”. 

“Bastard, you were listening?!” Yunho grunted, immediately following him down the stone path towards the in. The sun was coming up and you looked at the sky for a moment. The bickering of your two companions served as white noise and even behind Yunho´s cursing and Seonghwa´s snarky replies, you smiled.

 It felt so warm, like home, like a real family.

@mingsolo please do not repost/translate to other sites.

smut warning: oral (m & f), vaginal sex, fondling, groping (consensual), biting, marking, blood play (not gorey), dirty talk, alcohol consumption during sex (theyre not drunk (on wine) and its consenual. they dont drink a lot and its only mentioned once), felching - if im missing anything else lmk!

The sound of wet noises fill the mansion, whispers and quiet conversations filtering through the obscene noises. In every corner, the smell of blood is prevalent, hands roaming over bodies. There’s a lustful haze in the room, as there always is during the annual blood ball hosted by the ancient Hala clan, the oldest vampire clan in the region.

Vampires from all over the country—and even some travelling from abroad—all flock to this event, eager to participate in the celebration of the first blood moon of the year. It is a night of celebration, of feeding off each other, of reaching a high, and the most important part…of intimacy.

—

Hands roam over your body as you moan into the mouth of one of the hosts, Mingi. His cold hands grip your sides, his thumbs pressing into your ribs as you helplessly try to ride his clothed thigh. Gazes from all around the room rest on you, and you find it vaguely awkward to be the only one unclothed, but Mingi does a good job distracting you from lidded eyes.

You’re the lucky guest chosen to entertain the clan leaders, and you’re already overwhelmed by the pleasure. Bite marks from all eight of the vampires surrounding you litter your body, on your chest, your neck, most of them gathering on your thighs. You aren’t the only marked vampire, though. Mingi shares the same red marks on his neck, lips, and even his pretty fingertips. His blood coursing through your veins makes your eyes roll back in your head as you moan into his mouth.

“I think we’ve done quite enough now,” Mingi groans into your mouth, his rough, honeyed voice making you still your hips. “Come, esteemed guest, why don’t you show your appreciation?”

At his prompting, you slide down to come face to face with his crotch. Carefully, with gentle fingers, you pull down his pants, letting his half-hard cock spring, bobbing against his stomach and dribbling pre-cum. You can’t keep your eyes off it, even as you lower your head to press kisses and nips to the skin of his thighs.

Mingi groans, a rumble in his throat at the sensations. “Don’t tease,” he commands, although there is a lilt of a whine to his voice. His hand works its way through your hair, gripping the strands and tugging, guiding your face closer to his dripping cock.

Instead of gracing him with a response, you lean forward, pressing your lips against the velvet head, before slowly enveloping the tip in your mouth. A long groan escapes Mingi as he throws his head back at the feeling of your warm mouth on his member. His hand in your hair tightens as his cock twitches in your mouth, spilling more sticky pre-cum down your throat.

You’re too focused on sucking Mingi’s cock, you don’t realise how close the other vampires have gotten until you feel cold hands roaming all over your body. As they grab at your flesh, you can’t help but to moan, sending vibrations down the dick in your throat. “Shit!” Mingi exclaims, his grip almost painful in your hair as he pulls you even further down his throbbing cock as he reaches his orgasm. Come shoots down your throat, slightly sweet, and as you pull off, it sticks to your lips and slides down his length. Unable to resist, you lean in to nip at his thighs until you break skin, eyes rolling back in your head as his sweet blood mixes with his come.

The hands are still roaming all over your body, pinching at your flesh and massaging your ass. They wrap themselves around your shoulders and lift your torso up until you’re sitting back on your knees, looking up at the other seven men surrounding you with obvious hard-ons.

One of them, Seonghwa, strides forward, reaching out and grabbing your jaw until your mouth parts involuntarily. “So pretty, hmm?” he hums, stroking your cheek with his thumb. “Are you going to keep that pretty mouth open so we can paint you with our come?”

Eagerly, you nod your head, tongue lolling out. Hands reach out to grab at your flesh, pulling you this way and that like a ragdoll until you’re sandwiched between bodies. He leans in, pressing his lips against yours in a quick kiss before standing straight and stroking his cock, offering the length to you.

Happily, you open your mouth wide and let him guide his dick into your throat, drinking in the breathy moans that leave his mouth. His hands find their way to your hair, pulling you closer to his stomach, making you gag on his cock. The way he just uses you makes something in his gaze burn deliciously, and it doesn’t take long for him to hold your head down as he comes down your throat.

As he pulls out, he bites into his hand and offers the blood pulsing to you. Without any hesitation, you latch on, licking at the wound and your eyes roll back as ecstasy hits you. You can’t even really see what’s going on around you, the hosts surrounding you and making you feel dizzy with their presence and overwhelming aura.

Hongjoong’s face is in front of yours, leaning in closer and closer until he slots his mouth against yours. The kiss is brief, Hongjoong quickly pulling away and straightening up only to rest the head of his cock against your lips. “Come on, pretty,” he hums low in his throat. “Why don’t you put your mouth to use?”

Instead of gracing him with a response, you lean forward slightly to take him into your mouth. The taste of his precum floods your mouth, but it just serves to make you wetter. Your eyes flutter shut as you work your mouth around his length but a hand tugging at your hair causes your eyes to fly open again.

“Keep your gaze on us, esteemed guest. We wouldn’t want you to miss the show,” you hear Yunho’s gravelly voice near your ear as his large hands grasp your waist, squeezing at the flesh. Without warning, his teeth sink into your neck and you can’t help but squirm at the burning sensation of his venom flowing through your veins.

Yunho moans into your neck as your jerky movements have you pressing against his cock. ‘Hold still, pretty,” he murmurs before pressing his cock into your waiting cunt. The sudden feeling of being filled makes you groan, hands scrambling for purchase on Hongjoong’s thighs. Each time you whine or moan around his cock, you can feel it twitch inside of your mouth from the vibrations. His brows are furrowed as his gaze is focused on you intensely.

As Yunho continues thrusting into your wet heat, your mouth slows. “Don’t stop yourself on account of me, esteemed guest,” Yunho teases, reaching over to grab the back of your neck, pushing your head down further onto Hongjoong’s dick. This time, Hongjoong is the one to choke at the sensation of your throat tightening around him and he comes with a drawn-out groan.

The salty taste of his come floods your mouth, but just as quickly as it entered, he pulls out. After a quick pap to your cheek, a new presence moves to sit in front of you, a hard cock already waiting for your attention. “Hello, darling,” San hums, a smile pulling at his cheeks and dimples on full display. “How are we feeling?”

You whine as your response, but all San does is raise an eyebrow and grab your jaw, forcing you to meet his eyes properly. “Good, good, please, please,” you beg, not fully coherent enough to give him a full answer.

A delighted giggle leaves San’s mouth as he leans forward to press his lips against yours in a short kiss, his teeth scraping against your lower lip. His hands glide down your body, pulling at your thighs until your legs inch open enough for him to settle down in between him. He grinds his hips against your crotch, eliciting whines out of your mouth, swallowing each noise you make eagerly.

His cock is pressed against your stomach, and you can feel every twitch against your flesh. “San–” you gasp into his mouth, and it almost feels like his length becomes even harder.

“Come on, say my name, pretty,” San huffs, his breath warm and lips eager. “How much do you want me?”

“Stop teasing the poor guest,” Yunho groans, his hips stilling as he finds his release in your hot cunt, leaning down to bite into your neck and lick away the sting of pain. “She still has four others to service.”

As he pulls out, leaving globs of his release dripping down your thighs, San moves to sit behind you, pulling you into his chest as he slips his cock into your well used cunt. He sighs happily, leaning down to press his lips over the bite mark Yunho left, lapping up the blood beading.

Yeosang greets you quietly with a smile on his ethereal face as he steps closer. Happily, you reach out to grasp his cock, pressing your lips to the lip and looking up at him right before you envelop the head of his dick into your mouth. His perfect lips open slightly in a silent groan at the feeling of you lapping at his veiny length.

Both San and Yeosang are gentle, a welcomed break from the rough fucking you had been receiving up until now, and you let your body relax as you continue to get lost in the haze of being fed from. Their hands play with your hair, brush against your skin, grasp at your flesh, and you’re swallowed up by all the sensations surrounding you.

“You’re so good for us,” Yeosang praises through shuddering breaths as he reaches his high, filling your mouth and throat with his come as San chuckles at the whine escaping your mouth. When he pulls out, Yeosang leans down, licking and nipping at your lips until you can taste the copper taste of blood. Your eyes roll back and your cunt clenches around San’s thickness as you come for the first time of the night.

“Good girl,” San hums, leaning in to pepper kisses against your jawline, his hands moving up to cup your breasts. With every slow thrust, his breaths become heavier until he finally reaches his peak as well, filling you with searing come.

You’re granted a minute to catch your breath, gladly taking the glass of wine offered to you by Jongho’s warm hand. When the haze settles over your brain again, you look up at the two remaining vampires. Everyone else has trickled out of the room to mingle again, and the three of you are the only ones left.

Jongho steps forward, chuckling at the sight. “Gonna sit still and let me fuck your throat?” You nod eagerly, letting your mouth drop open willingly as he shuffles forward, pushing his cock into your mouth. He’s girthy, thick, and so fucking good. The ache in your jaw is welcomed as your eyes unfocus and all you can think about is sucking dick.

You’re so out of it you almost don’t notice the other host coming around to stroke your hair. Your eyes slide over to see his smiling face out of the corner of your vision and you whine, hoping he’ll fuck you as well.

Jongho chuckles, his hands cupping your cheek and settling at the base of your throat. “I think she wants you to fuck her too.”

Wooyoung can’t help but smile fondly as he leans down to press a kiss to your temple, letting his teeth scrape gently against your skin. “Then she’s gonna have to learn a little patience, no? I promise I’ll treat her well when it’s time.”

You can’t help the pout from forming the best it can around Jongho’s cock, and both vampires coo at the sight. “Aw, sweetie is just so needy, huh?” Jongho teases, thrusting a little harder just to hear the obscenely wet sounds of your mouth getting fucked. “And yet your mouth is still so fucking good.”

His thrusts become more and more erratic, just chasing his own pleasure, and yet it still makes your cunt drip.

“Do you want an extra treat?” Jongho asks, although he doesn’t wait for an answer from Wooyoung before he gently prods you to lay onto your back and presses the head of his cock against your fluttering hole, painting your folds and walls with come. “I’ll see you back out on the floor, sweets,” he winks at you, although you can barely process what he’s saying.

You’re in the middle of catching your breath when a sudden press of fingers against your hole makes your hips buck and a gasp rips its way out of your throat. “I hope you didn’t forget about me, honey,” Wooyoung smiles up at you from where he lays right between your legs. “Like I said, I still have to treat you.”

Before waiting for your response, he leans down and presses the flat of his tongue against your pussy, licking into you and tasting all the come from the others still stuffed in your cunt. Your legs twitch, but it doesn’t bother Wooyoung just grabbing your thighs and holding them in place without flinching.

He works his tongue into your clenching hole, his nose pressing against your clit and making you whine and moan. You think you might lose your mind if he keeps this up any longer, and yet his ministrations don’t stop.

It’s when he tilts his head to bite into the soft flesh of your thigh while shoving two fingers into your cunt and pressing against your sensitive spot that you feel the tension in your gut snap and you moan out loud, back arching and hips stuttering. Your head is thrown back and your hands come down to grip at Wooyoung’s hair.

It takes a moment for you to regain your senses about you, body shuddering as your eyes fight to focus. When you finally become a bit more aware, Wooyoung’s face is mere inches from yours as he smiles at you, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Doing okay? There was a lot of blood exchanged, do you think you want to sleep it off?” Although his eyes sparkle mischievously, his voice is sincere. “You can take all the time you need.”

You nod, and Wooyoung reaches out to fix your hair when you lift your arm to grab his wrist. “Will you sit with me for a little?”

Branches pulled at your hair and clothes, almost as if they were trying to hold you back. You would have leaned into their help if not for the tall, Fae man dragging you through said dark and menacing forest.

“Don’t ever enter the Darkling Forest, sweet,” your mother always told you. “You’ll get trapped and never return.”

Was it a different situation if you were forced into said forest?

Rewind to perhaps a couple hours earlier, where you were celebrating the autumn equinox. You had a solo cup full of a neon green liquid that burned down your esophagus every time you chugged it. You might have gone for some beer if not for the rowdy crowd of people permanently stuck to the keg. 

Not that you were one to turn down a good time with some alcohol but you weren’t starting to feel like you shouldn’t have come to the gathering. Your social battery was already at an all-time low from your job and your family. You were starting to want to kick your past self in the but for agreeing to go to this, despite your busy schedule.

Taking another sip from your cup, your eyes skirted around the blazing bonfire near the dark edge of the forest, and your eyes settled on a figure near the edge. The shadows seem to cling to their lanky form. Unlike the rest of the people around you, bundled up in puffy jackets and fuzzy sweaters, this person had a thin cloak that fluttered in the moonlight. You saw peeks of red and gold. You weren’t one to judge someone on what they chose to wear to a party, but this seemed extremely out of whack. 

Then, the person cocked their head towards the forest and then disappeared into its depths. 

Now, you weren’t a stupid person to simply follow a stranger into the woods. You were more likely to end up on a crime documentary as the killer rather than the victim. But there was something in your chest that was pulling you to follow them. 

You threw your solo cup in a can after downing the rest of the contents, of course, and took long strides to meet the edge of the forest.

Fuck it, the party wasn’t that fun anyways. 

Bathed in the moonlight in a clearing was the person you had been following. The light from the moon seemed to only highlight his light-colored hair that had to be dyed because no one had hair that natural color. His dark eyes under his fringe, however, were solidly locked on you.

“I didn’t think you’d come. Perhaps they are right,” the man murmured to himself.

You sighed tiredly. “Look, if this is a ruse to kill me, I’ve got a knife in my bag, and I know exactly where to dump a body.”

The man smiled, sharp with amusement. “Quite the opposite, in fact. My name is Jeong Yunho.”

You rubbed your chest. You had felt a zing of something in your heart. What had that been? Heartburn from the neon drink?

“ ‘kay, well Yunho, I’m going to need you to be a hell of a lot less cryptic if you think this is gonna be a thing right now,” you said boldly.

Yunho cocked his head at you curiously. “It’s clear you were brought up amongst them, but you’re going to need to find a way to be less blunt if I bring you back.”

“You know, you may be really hot, but you’re not making a whole lot of sense right now. If you’re selling drugs, I’m not interested.” With that, you walked backward, not giving him the benefit of your back or seeing your ass, if you’re being honest.

The black bindings that ran down his left arm snaked out from his body as he stretched his arm out towards you. They raced along the sticks and leaves on the bare ground and finally wound around your ankles, anchoring you in your spot. 

“Leaving is not an option,” Yunho mused. “I’m afraid I can not let you have that much power over your life right now.”

You should have been scared. You knew that objectively. It wasn’t every day that a man controlling shadows wrapped you up in a forest. But you felt something slowly curling inside your chest as Yunho moved closer to you. You didn’t know exactly what it was, but something in you was telling you that Yunho would never hurt you.

Then the moonlight flashed against Yunho’s eyes, much like when a cat’s eyes reflected light and suddenly everything clicked together. The warnings your mother had told you every day that tied in with never going into the Darkling Forest.

“You’re one of them!” You exclaimed. “One of the Fae.”

“And so are you.”

You scoffed at the statement. “Please, if I was a fairy princess, I--”

“Do you have a habit of winding words and working around the truth, or spinning something into how you would like it to sound?” Yunho cut you off.

You rolled your eyes. “Sure, but--”

“A darkness inside of you assuring you of your survival. A sharp mind that can thirst for blood?” Yunho continued, stepping closer and closer. 

“In my defense, that tree had it coming!”

“If you believe I’m Fae, then you know I can’t lie.”

Your mouth shut audibly. Well, he had you there. “Wouldn’t I know if I was a--”

“A changeling?” Yunho’s eyes glinted with mystery. “Haven’t you always felt like you didn’t belong?”

That one hit a little too close to home. “Why now?”

Yunho’s eyes flitted around to the darkness behind you. “They’re coming for you. We have no King or Queen. They’re worried you’ll claim the throne. They want you dead.”

It was your turn to cock your head curiously. “Then why are you here?”

Yunho pressed his lips together, looking at you, then looking at the ground. “You’re mine.”

“Excuse you?!” You shouted in surprise.

“Don’t you feel it? Our bond? They handfasted us as babies. We’re mates.”

Your hand rubbed your chest with an odd sense of warmth at Yunho’s words. “We’re mates?”

Yunho snatched your free hand. “We have to go.”

That’s how you found yourself currently, running through the dark forest with Yunho. You couldn't lie. It was very thrilling; your heart was beating out of your chest and your legs attempting to keep up with the long-legged man dragging you along. 

Then, something zoomed past your cheek, and you cried out. Yunho halted immediately but steadied you with two hands on your shoulders. Your free hand, not currently entangled with Yunho’s, rose to your cheek and came back red. 

“He’s here,” Yunho said, eyes flitting about behind you. 

“My killer? If I’m a Fae, shouldn’t I have cool powers like you? Let me help. Surely, two against one is bet--”

Yunho clamped a hand against your mouth and pushed you up against a tree. “Quiet. We have to blend into the shadows right now. It’s the only way he won’t find us.”

You watched as the shadows seemed to rise from the ground, encompassing the two of you in a bubble of opaque darkness. 

Who was the one pursuing you? You couldn't ask, of course, due to Yunho’s hand on your mouth. So you stuck your tongue out and ran it up and down his palm. Yunho sucked in some breath hard at your moist tongue, licking him, but he didn’t look down at you. That was annoying.

You dropped your jaw so you could draw some of the skin between your teeth. Yunho’s jaw clenched, but still no eye contact. 

You were about to push your hands onto his chest when a twig snapped in earshot. 

A man with long black hair, a red thread making a braid down one shoulder, and a bandolier criss-crossing his chest. He held two knives between his fingers, flipping them there as he stalked through the forest. Was that your pursuer, because if so, he was really fucking hot.

A low growl emitted from Yunho’s chest. You could feel it because of how close he was, pinning you up against the tree. His eyes were finally on you again, and they were burning with anger. 

You smirked against Yunho’s hand. Was he jealous?

Seconds ticked by as hours, but eventually, Yunho lowered his shadows and his hand on your mouth when the other man rushed off in another direction. 

“Don’t you ever look at another man like you want to fuck him in front of me ever again,” Yunho commanded.

You raised your eyebrows. “Or?”

Yunho’s shadows wrapped around your wrists and pinned them over your head against the tree. “I know you feel the bond. Do not play with me, Changeling.”

“Me? Play with you? But I’m just human raised, aren’t I? What’s that to a Fae grown up in.. the courts, I’m assuming? Do tell me how I’m besting you,” you purred.

This was fun. Maybe being a Changeling wasn’t half bad. 

Yunho’s eyes were getting darker. With what, you had a sneaky suspicion you knew. For within your bond, darkness crept through. Darkness of the way Yunho clearly wanted to possess you. His want seeped through the bond. And you wanted to provoke that. 

“Show me.”

Yunho’s nimble fingers ran along your jaw. “You want to cement this? In the middle of a forest, with a man pursuing to kill you?”

You couldn't help but grin. “Wouldn’t that go to show I’m Fae after all? Yes.”

That was all Yunho needed to flip the switch. His fingers dug into your jaw, holding your face in place, as he slanted his lips against yours. You found yourself kissing him back with equal ferocity, a hunger pushing you to be closer to him. 

Yunho grumbled angrily, fumbling at your unfamiliar clothes. Eventually, he managed to push up your sweater and bra above your boobs and was currently sucking on one nipple while massaging your other breast. 

You let out a low whine when his fingers tickled down your ribs, leaving your breast and moving to wriggle under your pants. Your hips bucked forward, looking for that friction that you were craving. 

Yunho grunted, pulling his hand from your pants.

“Wh-why?” You couldn't help but demand. 

“These offend me. They need to be out of the way.” Yunho slipped his thumbs on either side of your hips and yanked down both your pants and your underwear down to your knees. 

Knelt, his face level with your cunt, he spread your pussy lips and started to hearteningly lick at your clit. He had you mewling with the sensation, making your climax built with his skilled tongue. 

“Please, Yunho,” you moaned. “Put your fingers in me.”

This Fae was beyond frustrating. He left your cunt and stood up. You pouted that you weren’t going to feel those wonderful fingers inside of you. 

“I must claim you,” Yunho murmured under his breath. 

His hands moved to his pants and pulled them down under his balls. Your eyes widened in surprise and delight to see that he was long. Fully hard, he bounced against his stomach, and you licked your lips. The weight of him on your tongue would be wonderful, you thought to yourself. 

Yunho bent to scoop your legs from under your knees, effectively bending you in half, your back still against the tree, and your arms still wrapped in Yunho’s shadows above your head. It made it easy for him to slip along your wet folds to aid in pushing into you.

“Oh fuck,” You moaned loudly as Yunho’s cockhead pushed into your clenching hole.

Yunho slapped his hand over your mouth again. His eyes were hooded and looking down at you as he slid into you fully. “You are…so warm.” His lips pressed together, and he closed his eyes like he was taking in the moment. “So tight.”

You found yourself enjoying the domineering man melting for your pussy. You clenched down on him and elicited a moan from his beautiful lips. “Fuck me, Yunho,” You whispered. 

His eyes snapped open, dark and glittering. “It would be my pleasure.”

The tall, Fae man jackhammered into you, hips moving at a speed that was sure to split you apart. You made muffled noises of pleasure against Yunho’s hand. 

And when you sneakily licked his palm again, he pulled his hand away, if only to push his fingers into your mouth. The pads of his tongue pressed firmly down on your tongue, effectively silencing you in a different way. 

Yunho’s other hand pressed down on your stomach, and you found your bonded mate smiling at the bulge there. You only moaned again, sucking down eagerly on his fingers. The same hand pressed against your abdomen moved lower until his thumb began thrum against your clit. 

In no time, you were seeing stars. You screamed with Yunho’s fingers in your mouth. It was that good. Your heart felt so full, so complete. A string of gold showed that both your hearts were connected now, permanently with this action done in the Darkling Forest. 

Yunho pulled out and jerked himself off. He bent your body sideways and sent strings of come onto your bare stomach. He cried out with his orgasm, those pretty fingers of his making himself feel good. Yunho coming was a feast for the senses. 

“I’m…I come from…” Yunho panted as he came down from his climax. “My family is fertile. I can’t afford to come inside of you. I don’t want to share with you anyone.”

You grinned, still bent in half. “You do love me!”

Yunho’s ears turned pink at your claim. His eyes wouldn’t meet yours as he let go of your legs and released your wrists. “I…”

You patted Yunho’s cheek fondly. “That’s okay, if I’m a Fae, I’m sure we’ve got plenty of time for you to admit this to me. Now, are you going to tell me the name of the man trying to kill me?”

“Mingi, behind you!” You shout.

You point your forefinger. Fire forms in a ball at the point and then it shoots off. The ball of flame hits your target, a demon with a lizard head, and engulfs it in flames. 

Hongjoong rolls his eyes derogatorily. “So much for being a part of the infamous Belmont family.” With a flick of his wrist, he sends his floating sword through at least ten different demons, like a needle threading through material.

“Hey,” Mingi grunts as he plants his feet to change the direction of his morning star. “You didn’t say anything mocking to our witch when she needed my help a moment ago.”

Hongjoong sends you a shiver-inducing (the good kind), hooded-eyes look. “That’s because our Darling is perfect.”

The spiked ball at the end of the morning star lands with a wet thud into a demon and Mingi lets out a triumphant ‘aha!’. He then sends you a long look. “Can you tell our dhampir friend that if he wants to get cute he should wait until we’re back at the castle.”

A teasing smile pulls up the corners of your lips. “I dunno, Mingi, I kinda like being told I’m perfect.”

“Ugh,” Mingi sighs. He wraps his morning star neatly to hang at his hip, the group of demons you had been fighting vanquished.

You meander over to Mingi’s side and link your arm through his. “Come on, Loser, let’s go home and get cleaned up.”

Hongjoong snickers behind you. “I thought for sure you wouldn’t lose after last time.”

A blush climbs Mingi’s neck, memories of the last time the three of you were together carnally. The deal was the one with the least amount of kills ended up being in the middle of your throuple sandwich. Mingi had lost last time, and had ended up inside of you while Hongjoong fucked him. Mingi had come prematurely, not being able to handle all the stimulation.

Mingi scowls, trying to defend himself. “I’ll have you know that blowjob before almost brought me to my knees, that’s why--!”

You interrupted Mingi by pressing your lips to his. He got a silly, goofy smile on his face as a result. “You make the cutest faces when Hongjoong fucks you,” You couldn't help but tease.

Hongjoong’s head fell back, belly-laughing as Mingi got his scowl back. “Oh, Darling, you are everything and more.”

Suddenly, two demons dropped from some foliage, aiming straight for you and Hongjoong. Mingi launches himself in the air, vaulting over your shoulder and his morning star whips through the middles of both demons. Their guts steam in the cool early morning air. 

“Shit,” Hongjoong curses under his breath.

Mingi looks triumphant. “Who’s the loser now?”

“Still you,” Hongjoong drawls. “At least in attitude. Remember, I’ve still got years on you, pup.”

“Come on boys,” You say in a chipper voice. “You’re both losers because you’re men. No need to fight.”

Both of your men sent you scathing looks and you shrugged a shoulder at them. “You just can’t beat a witch.”

After all of you shower off the monster goop within Dracula’s crashed fortress, you all tumble into the beyond king sized bed, naked and soft. Well, both men were hard as their bodies naturally tangled with yours. Hongjoong cupped your face tenderly, pecking your lips while Mingi’s arm pulled you close so he could leave love bites along your collarbones.

“This is nice,” You hum, nipping back at Hongjoong’s lips. 

“Maybe the winner should be the one stuck between,” Mingi mumbles against your skin. 

“When was the last time we shared her like this?” Hongjoong wonders.

Mingi swallows loudly. You can feel his Adam’s apple move against you. “The first time we…”

When the two men finally let the edge of hatred for each other cut into desire, it was a mess. No one knew where everything went. For the longest time, Hongjoong and Mingi fought for dominance. Until you gently reminded them that it was for their love of you that grounded the hate they felt, so you became the object of both of their desires. If their tongues happened to cross while kissing you, so be it. If both of their dicks rubbed against each other while being inside of you, that was a price they paid to love you. Eventually, they fully descended into being with each other, and you with them, thus creating your throuple

You chuckle lowly. “Hongjoong, don’t you dare try to get out of being the bottom this time.”

“I’m not trying to get out of anything,” Hongjoong says in a sing-song voice. 

The dhampir wiggles down your body until he is between your legs, his face adjacent to your mound. His back arches wonderfully as he offers his ass up. “You can watch Mingi fuck me while I lick and suck and bite your perfect pussy. How does that sound, Darling?”

You pet Mingi’s head, looking for his approval. “Love?”

Mingi let his long tongue leaves a swath of spit on the swell of your breast and then he released you. “I can give the blood sucker what he wants.”

Hongjoong raises an eyebrow. “Are you saying I deliberately let you kill those final two in order to be in between you both?”

Mingi grinned as he moved around Hongjoong. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

Hongjoong grumbles under his breath, the only words reaching your ears being ‘uncouth bastard’ and ‘hung like a horse’. 

You silently laugh but it turns into a strangled groan as Hongjoong’s fangs scrape the sensitive skin of your thighs. “You’re having entirely too much fun, Darling.”

“I always have fun with you two,” You giggle, blowing a cheeky kiss to both the men in your life.

Hongjoong doesn’t waste any time taking you down a peg. His tongue licks you from hole to clit, making your eyes roll into the back of your head. He takes his time tasting you, pausing to dip his tongue teasingly into your hole before going back to your clit and swirling the mixture of your wetness and his saliva along the sensitive nerve.

Mingi, meanwhile, appreciates the plump ass in front of him now. His hands smooth over the globes of Hongjoong’s butt, before pulling them apart and spitting on Hongjoong’s hole. Mingi sucks two fingers lewdly, eyes on you before pushing them into Hongjoong. Hongjoong’s eyelashes flutter close, and he pushes back into Mingi’s fingers. 

“I bet you’re at full mast,” Mingi mutters under his breath towards Hongjoong. “So arrogant but oh so fuckable.”

Hongjoong stops licking your pussy for a moment to retort. “At least I don’t blush like a milkmaid being touched for the first time…every time,” he quips. 

Hongjoong replaces his tongue with a finger, almost mimicking what Mingi was doing to him, now that you’re quite wet and willing for him. You whimper as Hongjoong crooks his finger inside of you. If he massages that spongy part inside of you, things could get real messy.

As if reading your mind, Hongjoong’s golden eyes lock gazes with you. “I want your cum and your blood on my lips, Darling.”

Now that Hongjoong’s fangs are away from your skin, Mingi takes this as his cue to enter Hongjoong. The larger man groans loudly, slowly opening up Hongjoong. “Fuck, Hongjoong.”

Hongjoong’s eyebrows furrow with pleasure. “Mi-mingi.” The dhampir reaches back with one hand, searching for Mingi’s.

“I got you,” Mingi assures him, hand clasping the man he was fucking.

Once Mingi had successfully entered Hongjoong, no small feat in of itself, that's when the dhampir’s fangs pierced your flesh. Your hips arch at the feeling, blood dripping down your thigh from the delicate holes, and then Hongjoong was right back at, eating your cunt like blood simply wasn't enough to satiate him.

You whimper as Hongjoong flicks his blood-soaked tongue against your clit as he adds a second finger into your clenching hole. Your fingers card through Hongjoong’s hair, holding him to your mound so you can grind against him.

“Ride his face, fuck yes,” Mingi groans. 

Mingi slaps Hongjoong's ass and Hongjoong cries out against your clit. “Right there, Joongie, fuck, keep going, it feels so good.”

It didn’t take long for Mingi to spend himself inside Hongjoong’s tight little entrance, nor for you to come undone for Hongjoong’s skilled hands and tongue. Mingi casts his head back as he stills inside Hongjoong, breathing deeply as his orgasm runs rampant through his nerves. Explosions fire up behind your eyelids right after you see Mingi come. You chant Hongjoong’s name as you thrust into Hongjoong’s fingers, riding your high. 

You open your eyes to see Mingi pulling out and groaning when he watches his seed pour out of Hongjoong’s hole. Hongjoong rolls to his back to catch his breath and your eyes zero in on Hongjoong’s hard-on.

“Mingi!” You scold your other lover. “You didn’t even make Hongjoong come?”

Mingi, exactly as Hongjoong had described, flushes pink. “I couldn't last long. He’s so tight!”

“Poor Joongie,” You say in a quiet voice, crawling to Hongjoong’s side.

You wrap your hand around Hongjoong’s cock, giving it a few pumps, and making Hongjoong moan. “Can we make it better?”

“Mouths…both of you…” Hongjoong pants.

You share a long look with Mingi and you both nod your heads. 

You move down Hongjoong’s body and begin to lick where Mingi’s cum is leaking from his gaping hole. Hongjoong gasps in response and moans again when you start to push back Mingi’s cum back into Hongjoong’s hole. Your tongue ran along the rim of Hongjoong’s sensitive hole, his muscle clenching in response to the pleasure you were giving him. 

“Make room for me,” Mingi grumbles behind you.

You wiggle your ass invitingly, teasingly. “What, no love for my ass, love?”

Mingi gives a resounding smack to your ass, causing you to yelp and move over so he can join you between Hongjoong’s legs. Hongjoong does have to concede and spread his legs wider, for Mingi’s shoulders take up a lot of room regardless that you were already between his legs.

Hongjoong bucks his hips when Mingi shallowly sucks on the tip of Hongjoong’s cock. The larger man places an arm across Hongjoong’s pelvis to keep him still. You move up to meet your mouth with Hongjoong’s cock, sliding up and down to wet it.

“Fuck, that’s it,” Hongjoong moans.

Your lips move upwards on Hongjoong’s cock, and briefly you exchange a tongue-tied kiss with Mingi, before descending down again. Mingi remains at the top, tongue diligently sliding along Hongjoong’s slit to collect the precum that’s built up there. 

Hongjoong’s balls are tight against his body as you caress them. Your other hand runs up and down his leg. 

“Oh Darling, you’re so good for me,” Hongjoong cries out at your gentle touches. 

Eventually, Mingi matches your pace and your lips meet as both your mouths move up and down Hongjoong’s length. The dhampir fights with Mingi’s strength, his ass tightening as his release gets closer.

“Please, please, please,” Hongjoong chants, a slight whine tinging his words.

The high pitched “uh!” is all you have as a warning before Hongjoong spurts his cum all over your face and Mingi’s. Racing Mingi to the top, you engulf Hongjoong in your mouth, sucking with no mercy, pulling all of the dhampir’s cum from his half spent-cock.

Mingi makes a face of displeasure, but uses his finger to wipe Hongjoong’s cum off his face and sucks on them greedily. 

“That…was…every…thing,” Hongjoong pants, casting an arm over his face tiredly.

“Does this mean you’ll start losing more?” Mingi looks hopeful.

“When the only light in darkness comes from hell,” Hongjoong snorts.

“We can make it worth your while,” You grin teasingly, moving up Hongjoong’s body to place a kiss on his cheek.

“No,” Hongjoong shakes his head, “I’m aiming for you to lose next time. Help me out, pup?”

Mingi cocks his head, clearly considering it. “I do love a good spit roast.”

You perk up at the slight mention of food. “I’m starving, now that you mention it.”

Mingi groans. “I suppose we have to feed the true monster of this group.”

Hongjoong pushes up, his palms flat on the bed, supporting himself. “Hey, I take offense to that.”

Mingi waves his hand tiredly, already getting up from the bed. “Yes yes, you’re the big scary monster that slumbered under the town for centuries. Dracula’s son, blah blah blah--”

In a flash, Hongjoong is off the bed, his arms wrapping around Mingi and his fangs bury into the larger man’s shoulder muscle. Mingi moans in pleasure, his cock becoming full of blood once again, even though Hongjoong was draining him.

“Hey!” You shout half-heartedly, throwing a pillow at Hongjoong but missing and hitting Mingi in the face instead. “You ate already, don’t stop Mingi from feeding me!”

Hongjoong’s golden eyes flash, clearly unamused by the rude way you interrupted him and his next meal. Mingi’s eyes are also flashing dangerously, having been the brunt of your pillow and not Hongjoong. 

You narrow your eyes, two icicles sliding along your palms. “Either I get fed or you both are about to become ice skewers.”

Mingi gulps and Hongjoong releases the other man. “As you wish, Darling,” Hongjoong relents.

“I’ll cook, you can feed her,” Mingi says out the side of his mouth as he pads towards the small kitchenette. “I’m not risking getting my fingers bitten off.”

Hongjoong laughs quietly. “Oh no, you’re not touching the kitchen. Last time was a nightmare.”

You watch Mingi punch Hongjoong good-naturedly in the shoulder and they laugh at something surely for male ears only. 

You sigh happily. This was the life for you. Fight monsters. Fuck the fighters. Eat a good meal. Who could complain? Certainly not you.

Everyone inside the room stared with serious expressions at the presentation, the graphic showing the spike of abductions.

“There have been leads those are connected to a large hybrid smuggling ring. While we stopped a few transports, we still need to find the head of the organisation. So take all the leads we have and find that godforsaken bastard. That’s all for today! Dismissed!” The commander waved with his hand, watching how his subordinates left the room.

You stared at the pictures in your open folder with a crease between your brows. The unit had known about the abductions and the smuggling ring for a while now but nothing seemed to work. Every lead you received was too late. Every time you arrived at the scene only remnants of the ring were left. Scattered clothes, dead and heavily malnourished hybrids that didn’t make it. 

A shiver ran down your spine. You knew too well what they had gone through. Sometimes you considered the found bodies to be the lucky ones. Their suffering and fear had finally ended, while the remaining ones still had to deal with torture and more unfathomable things and survivors were plagued with trauma, nightmares and anxiety.

“Detective Lin.”

You looked up, snapping out of your thoughts when you heard the voice of your superior. “I’m sorry, sir.”

He sighed deeply and rubbed over his tired looking face. Over the few years you had worked under this unit, he had aged immensely. His once dark brown hair had now streaks of grey in them, his sun kissed face had deep lines all over it and his eyes - once full of life - seemed to dread every second of his existence. “Are you alright?”

You blinked a few times before a soft smile appeared on your lips. “Still the dad of the unit”, you snickered and shook your head playfully. “I’m alright, sir. You should take more care about yourself, if I may say so.”

The commander laughed dryly, knowing full well you were right. “Not until I know everyone in this community is where they belong.”

Now you were the one to sigh. “This unit needs you. Don’t overwork yourself.”

“I could tell you to do the same.” The commander tilted his head as he stared at you with a playful twinkle in his eyes. “I know this case is getting to you on a personal level. If I could I would remove you from this case but we need your senses to have at least a small break-through.”

You grabbed the pages and neatly stacked them inside the folder again before you stood up, your expression tense from anger. “I would ignore your command and work on it either way. I don’t need your permission to help my kind.”

He stood up as well and rounded the corner of the table, joining your side as you two made your way to leave the meeting room. “I know, I know. That’s the only reason you’re still on it. You’d go rogue otherwise and put yourself and probably others in danger.”

You relaxed again, turning your head with a bright grin. “You know me too well.”

He laughed in amused defeat and patted your shoulder, as if he was telling you to stay in line and not do something reckless. With that he left for his work space and you followed his back with your eyes until he was out of your sight.

You made your way to your own desk, nodding at your colleagues who you passed. Technically this was the last meeting for today and you were free to leave. Yet you, and most other colleagues too, decided to stay after hours working on the case. Once you reached your desk, you placed the folder on the surface and sat down on your spinning chair. 

“Time to find a new lead.” You sighed deeply and started the computer, quickly typing away on your keyboard. Your eyes flitted across the screen, the pictures and headlines of articles reflecting in your eyes.

At one point your thoughts drifted away from the case and got mixed with your own memories:

You shivered from the cold, having sat down in the farthest corner of the cage. You had wrapped your arms around your legs, which were pulled against your chest, trying to preserve any warmth left. The thin clothes on your body hung loose and were mostly torn to shreds as well.

Your skin was covered in bruises and scars, some better healed than others. You received at least half of them during the rough transport. They had picked you up and thrown you into a transporter with no isolation nor security. After they reached their destination, they dragged you out and threw you in this cage in the basement. 

While you stayed there one man came down every morning and threw some moldy bread and stale water in a bottle towards you. When he wanted to get the empty bottle back, he used an electric stick to keep you in one corner of the cage while coming inside.

Sometimes that man enjoyed your yelps of pain when he electrocuted you just for his own enjoyment. 

You were nothing but a child back then. You barely understood what happened around you or why they even kept you in a cage. 

You snapped out of your thoughts again, staring at your screen with distant eyes for a moment longer. Even though years had passed since that incident, the memories felt like it only happened a few days ago. You rubbed over your arm, the phantom pain of your bruises haunting your body. 

It had been a miracle back then that you were found by authorities before anything worse could have happened to you. Even now you struggled to believe there was a fate worse than what you had experienced. 

Only the pictures in your folder told you differently.  

With one last glance at the pictures on your computer screen you decided to leave it for the day. You closed all the files and turned the pc off, cleaning your desk afterwards. 

Right as you were about to turn off the little lamp on your desk, the red light of your telephone started blinking. 

Your hand halted mid air as you stared at the light of the phone station. You had the sound turned off since the ringing hurt your sensitive ears. Instead the light would blink whenever you got a call. Which rarely happened. And never after working hours.

“Detective Lin?” You said questioningly into the receiver after picking up the phone. 

“Thank goodness, you’re still there”, someone on the other side of the line breathed in relief. “Can you come to the emergency call centre on the first floor? We got a situation that could use your help.”

You didn’t ask what situation it could have been. The second you heard they wanted you at the emergency call centre, you already had grabbed all your belongings. “I’ll be there in three.” 

With that you slammed the phone back on its station and rushed away from your workplace. Instead of using the elevator from the fourth floor, you pushed through the doors of the staircase. 

Your steps steadily echoed through the air with every step you took. It was rare for your colleagues to ask for your help. While all of you were equals and worked for the same cause, they kept their distance from you. Simply because you were a hybrid and your hardened scales that covered parts of your skin seemed to freak a lot of people out. 

Or they thought of you as something dangerous. It was well known that hybrids tended to be stronger than humans - even if they were the weakest kind of hybrid like a hamster or a mouse. You yourself weren’t considered a dangerous species as well. Just a very desired one on the black market, same as your animal counterpart. 

The pangolin was probably the most traded animal on the black market. Their scales of hardened keratin were supposed to have some special healing abilities in several ancient medicinal practices. Some rich assholes even liked to have them as pets since they looked rather adorable despite their large claws.

The biggest difference to your animal counterpart was the fact you as a hybrid were able to regrow lost scales like normal strands of hairs. A fact that made you as a hybrid way more valuable than the animal itself.

You skipped the last step and jumped to the ground, running to the door towards the first floor. You rushed along the hallway and pushed through the last door without knocking, finally reaching the emergency call centre.

“Over here”, someone called out.

You quickly followed their voice and hurried over to them, only stopping right behind their chair. With a short glance at the screen, you saw they had an ongoing call. You furrowed your brows, wondering why you were called now.

“I don’t have much. He seemed frightened and confused but he confirmed being a hybrid. I thought maybe you could get through to him.” The operator explained to you shortly, getting up and offering you their chair.

You nodded hesitantly and sat down, grabbing the headset and putting it on. “Hello?” You heard rapid breathing but nothing else. “If you’re not able to speak right now, please tap the phone twice.” You waited for any sound but except for the rapid breathing there was nothing else. 

“My name is detective Lin and I’m here to help you, okay? I heard from my colleague that you’re a hybrid? I’m one myself, can you tell me what kind of hybrid you are?” You tried to sound as reassuring and kind as possible, wishing to calm the hybrid as much as possible so they would answer you.

“Eric.” His voice sounded hoarse as if he hadn't had something to drink for a while now.

“Eric? That’s your name? Okay Eric, can you tell me where you are?” You pressed gently, needing the information so you could actually help him.

“At a gas station. I don’t know where exactly. I’m hiding in the forest nearby.” His breathing had slowed down considerably, though he still only spoke in a whisper.

You turned to your colleague and mouthed to them that they should track the phone call, hoping to get the exact location that way.

“Alright, can you tell me what happened? Why are you hiding?”

His breathing hitched momentarily and if you hadn’t your sensitive hybrid hearing you probably would have missed it. “They kidnapped a hybrid. They grabbed them inside the toilet rooms of the gas station and dragged them away to a transporter. I’m hiding so they won’t get me too.”

“Are they still there?”

“I don’t know, maybe.” He whimpered softly, making your heart ache.

You knew what kind of terror he must be experiencing right now. At that moment your colleague placed a sticky note with the address in front of you, silently telling you they had sent a police car to check the situation.

“Hey, there are some colleagues on their way to your location. Do you think you can hold on until then?”

“Are they hybrids too?”

You sighed softly and shook your head: “No, probably not. Most hybrids aren’t in the active field, so I’m afraid the two will be humans.”

“Can’t you come?”

“Me?” 

Your eyes widened in surprise at the request. For a moment you were too stunned to speak and simply turned to the operator with a questioning look in your gaze. 

They nodded and waved one of the technicians over to you. With a few adjustments on your phone, which they had asked for quietly, they transferred the emergency call to your mobile phone. That way you were able to keep in contact with Eric while you made your way to the location.

“Alright, I’m on my way.” You replaced the headset with your phone, relieved you heard his breathing and whimpers. With a short gesture of your hand you bid your goodbye and left for your car. On your way down to the garage you also texted your commander, informing him of the situation.

During the ride to the gas station you kept Eric talking, needing the reassurance he was still with you. For some reason you feared the smugglers were still around and would get him before you could reach him.

Though when you reached the remote gas station you only saw the car of your colleagues parked to the side. You parked beside them and got out of the car, looking around with narrowed eyes. 

You colleagues just exited the gas station, heading towards the toilets at the back. You hurried towards them, joining them with a short nod. 

Technically you were there to get Eric and make sure he was alright, but you remembered what he told you about another hybrid being kidnapped on the toilets. You had to see the crime scene, you needed to make your own picture of it, hoping to see a clue or connection to the other cases.

“Hey Eric? I’m here now. I’ll just check the toilets before I’m going to look for you, yeah? My colleagues are with me in case something happens. But don’t you worry, okay?”

He didn’t answer you this time. You only heard some rustling and the sound of his breathing. Therefore you focused on your surroundings for a moment.

As your colleagues opened the doors, you immediately wrinkled your nose in disgust. The smell of urine and other unspeakable liquids invaded your nostrils against your will. You quickly raised your hand and pressed the sleeve of your jacket against your mouth and nose. Even though every fibre of your body was against it, you stepped inside the toilets and looked around. Trash and used paper towels littered the ground, the walls and doors to the toilets were covered in stickers and tags. 

You made a face, knowing there was no way of finding any kind of useful forensic evidence. There was simply too much of everything around. “Guess that won’t do”, you sighed as you turned around your own axis. 

You came to a halt when you noticed someone standing in the entrance. At the same time the connection of the phone call ended with a click. Confused, you turned to look at your phone in your hand and then back up at the person. 

The colleagues, who had checked the stalls just now, came back out and were about to shoo him away, when you stopped them with one word. 

The person had stepped back, as if he was afraid of your colleagues. He held a phone in his hand and his eyes flitted back to your form.

You tilted your head and dropped your hand as you took one step closer towards him. “Eric?” Even though his sweet honey scent barely managed to overpower the gross smell surrounding you, you picked up the hybrid in the air.

He nodded slowly, staring at you with his mouth slightly agape. Eric moved further into the room, rounding you slowly. 

Your colleagues told you they’d leave again since there was no sign of a crime. You nodded, barely paying them any attention anymore. Something about Eric pulled you in and you couldn’t avoid your eyes for even a moment. 

“Detective Lin”, he breathed out, his eyes roaming over your form. He reached the mirror and leaned against the wall, tilting his head in wonder. 

You nearly missed how he wiped something away from the mirror and froze the second you realised what he did. “Wait!” You leaped forward and pushed him aside, staring at the remnants of some letters. “What was that?” You turned your head to look at him, demanding an answer.

“What was what?” 

“Don’t play around! You just wiped over this message! What was written on the mirror?” You hit the sink with your hands and turned around fully, glaring at the other hybrid with annoyance.

His eyes widened in surprise. “I did? Shoot, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to wipe something away. Do you think that’s from the smugglers?”

You crossed your arms over your chest. Something about him rang your alarm bells inside your head, yet you couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was. Still, you decided to keep your guard up. You sighed deeply, reminding yourself of the disgusting smell surrounding you. “Let us go outside, please.”

Eric nodded and stepped outside, holding the door open for you. 

“How come you don’t seem as scared as you sounded on the phone?”

He stopped at the edge of the parking lot, contemplating your question for a moment. After a while he shrugged with his shoulders, slowly turning towards you. His eyes implored yours when he said: “I guess, I just feel safe with another hybrid around. Especially a hybrid detective.”

You snorted and shook your head, avoiding looking him in the eyes. You felt the heat creep up your neck and onto your cheeks. Before he could notice something, you turned around and brushed your hair out of your face, keeping your hand on the top of your head. “Alright, let us go somewhere to eat something and then you can tell me what you saw.” You motioned for Eric to get inside of your car and shortly followed after him.

The ride itself almost felt stuffed, despite the air conditioner running on full power. Neither of you said anything, and while you tried focusing on the road you couldn't ignore his presence at all. 

Your instincts told you something wasn't adding up but you had absolutely no evidence to know what it was exactly. Additionally your head refused to even consider another hybrid being the reason for all the recent abductions of hybrids.

Though your instincts rarely betrayed you.

The interrogation with Eric over some dull fast food brought no new leads. You had noted down every minuscule detail but when you compared them to the information you already got, nothing added up.

You sat at your desk again and stared at the open files thrown over the surface. The desperation to find something gnawed at your insides and slowly suffocated you. 

Before you could despair completely, the leading commander called for an emergency meeting. Within seconds everyone jumped up and rushed to the meeting room, eager to know what the commander had to say.

“We got a new lead”, he announced as he walked into the room. The few conversations immediately died down. “Someone noticed a suspicious looking truck standing in the parking lot of a school.”

“How is it connected to the abductions”, you asked with a raised eyebrow. Sometimes truckers use parking lots to rest there for a while before continuing their long routes across countries and states. 

The commander nodded shortly, thankful one of his detectives questioned the intel they got. “According to the caller the truck has been standing there for several days now and he claims to have heard voices from inside.”

You nearly jumped up from your seat, ready to bolt and get to that truck in an instant. 

“I need two officers, who are willing to check out the situation. I don’t want to send a whole squad for a possible prank”, he explained with a grim expression, “still everyone, who isn't going, has to stay on standby in case it's real.”

Your arm shot into the air. “I volunteer.”

“I had hoped you'd say that”, the commander chuckled with a soft smile. “I need your keen senses to check this out.” 

When you arrived at the parking lot with one of your colleagues, you hesitated to step out of the car. Your eyes were glued towards the parked truck. You tried to mentally note down every little detail you could see before you’d use your other senses for intel.

The second you stepped out of the car and moved towards the truck, your pulse spiked. Nervousness creeped up your back and had a tight grip on your neck. It controlled your every movement.

Your colleague checked the front cabin, silently motioning to you that it was empty. He gave you a sign to walk around the truck and meet with him at the back again.

You nodded once and cautiously started walking. You moved forward while keeping somewhat close to the ground, checking underneath the truck as well. Though you didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

At the back of the truck you stepped several feet away and raised your weapon, pointing it at the closed door. You nodded towards your colleague, who stood at the door and waited for your signal to open it.

He pulled it open with force and immediately got out of your shooting line, backing away as well and pointing his weapon at the open entrance too.

Nothing happened and both of you quickly realised the truck was actually empty. 

You secured your weapon again and walked towards the open doors. Though as soon as you reached the edge of the truck, you held your breath and hurriedly stepped back again. 

“What’s wrong?”

Your colleague looked at you with a raised eyebrow. He took over and walked to the truck, checking the empty inside. 

“It reeks of death”, you told him with your arm pressed over your nose and mouth. Ever so slowly you dared to move closer again. Your eyes wandered over the floor and walls, seeing remnants of blood.

“There are no bodies here though.” Your colleague jumped on the platform and walked into the area. Even he wrinkled his nose in disgust, but you were sure he only smelled the stench of blood and maybe a mixture of excrements in there as well. “Are you sure someone died inside of this?”

You shook your head. “I don’t think someone actually died. But those, who were trapped in here, were on the verge of death before they got out.” You hesitantly took one more whiff and stepped back again. “I smell several hybrid breeds, though the scent is faint and I can’t pinpoint what kind they were nor how many.” Your throat suddenly closed up, the urge to throw up overwhelming you. Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes as you fought against the tension inside of you.

Still, you had to run a few metres away from the truck so you could pull your arm away and greedily suck in fresh air through your mouth and nose. Your chest still constricted for several minutes, urging you to throw up but you pulled through.

With a large distance you walked back around the truck to the front, deciding to investigate the driver cabin. To your surprise it wasn’t locked and you easily pulled open the door. You smelled sweat, old fast food and something that made your skin crawl.

You climbed up the steps and looked over the seats, noticing a memo pad next to the driver’s seat. You leaned over, noticing his sweet honey scent even stronger now. Your thoughts raced inside your head, questioning why you smelled Eric’s scent inside this truck. Most importantly you were sure he wasn’t hurt but that would make only one other option the possible outcome - and you still didn’t want to believe he could be part of the smuggling.

You grabbed the memo pad and the pencil next to it, gently scribbling over the surface and revealing a message.

“Abandoned opera out of town, auction starts 11pm”

At the bottom of the note you even saw a date and your jaw clenched. Almost automatically you pulled out your phone and dialed the number of the commander.

You told him about the message and the bloodied back of the truck, but you kept secret about having smelled Eric. The commander promised to send an investigation team and that you should return the second they took over. In the meantime he would prepare for another emergency meeting.

You shortly updated your colleague about the situation, before you walked back to the car and sat down on the passenger seat again. You kept the door open and stared out into the distance, deep in thought.

To be honest with yourself, you liked Eric. When you spent time with him at the fast food restaurant, he definitely made an impression. He was funny, kind, a little bit silly but still incredibly charming. You would lie if you said you didn’t have fun spending time with him. You would also lie to yourself and anyone else, if you said you hadn’t thought of texting him at all since then.

Your fingertips twitched, the idea of simply messaging him now twirling around in your mind. You watched your hands move around as if they didn’t belong to your body, seeing how they turned on your phone and dialed the number you somehow had memorised already. Your thumb hovered above the call button and before you knew it, you had pressed it.

It only rang once before you heard his distant voice from the speaker. You ever so slowly raised your hand with the phone to your ear, hearing him call out again.

“Hello?”

“Eric?”

Silence. For a moment you heard nothing but his breathing and your own loud heartbeat. 

“I was wondering when you’d call me, Detective Lin.”

A small grin tugged at the corners of your lips upon hearing his cheeky statement. “So you missed being interrogated already?” Somehow flirting came naturally to you when you talked with him. You leaned against the seat and pulled your legs up to the edge of the car. “Why did you wait for my call though?”

Eric laughed and you could picture him shaking his head. “Didn’t your boss tell you I was the one calling because of the truck?”

Almost instantly you sat up straight again, barely missing bumping your head on the roof of the car. “What?”

His laugh stopped and his tone suddenly became serious. “I pass that parking lot every day on my way to work. I thought it was suspicious, that’s why I called.”

You stepped out of the car again, turning around your own axis. For some reason you felt being watched all of a sudden and you couldn’t shake that feeling off. “I haven’t said a word about the truck”, you whispered, unconsciously holding your breath right after.

“Isn’t that the reason you called?” Eric kept quiet for a few heartbeats. “That would have been the only logical connection in my book, unless-”

“Unless?” You exhaled shakily, somehow fearing what other conclusion he came up with.

“Unless you want a second date.”

You snorted in disbelief, shaking your head as you started to relax again. “That wasn’t a date back then.”

“So you’re asking me on a first date.”

“I’m not”, you laughed, hearing him snicker cheekily as well. 

“It was worth a try”, he told you after a while, almost sounding woefully. His tone quickly switched with his next question. “Anyway, why’d you call then?”

You weren’t able to dwell on the change as the investigation team arrived at the parking lot. “To be honest, you already answered the question I had. I gotta go back to work, talk to you soon.”

You cut the call and concentrated on your job again, making sure the team was aware of the things you had noticed before you and your colleague drove back to the headquarters.

The second the two of you stepped out of the elevators at headquarters you got ushered to the second emergency meeting that day.

The meeting dragged on for hours and you felt how your energy and motivation level sunk lower and lower. 

All of you knew what had to be done but for some reason some of your colleagues were opposed to the idea - including your commander. 

“Can we stop talking around the issue at hand?” You groaned and dragged one hand over your face before you straightened yourself again. “I will go undercover on the side of a hybrid and while I know it will be dangerous, I won’t be alone with some of you going undercover as buyers. And if push comes to shove, I trust you will save me.”

They shared a few glances with each other before your commander sighed in defeat. “Fine, but the second something doesn’t go according to plan you’ll get pulled out there.”

You bowed to him. “Understood.” 

He still didn’t seem convinced but instead of voicing his concerns he continued with the meeting, going over every minute detail for the new undercover mission.

A few days after the emergency meeting you walked through the town at night. The commander had pointed out an area with the highest abduction rate and you strolled around that place in hopes of getting caught.

While you had to pretend of being unaware of your surroundings, you couldn’t help but notice the eerie silence around the street. Most of the lanterns weren’t lit and the few that shared some light, casted distorted shadows along the ground and walls.

You nearly jumped when your phone suddenly rang. You looked at the caller ID, immediately recognising the number. For a moment longer you stared at your display before accepting the call and raising the phone to your ear. “Eric?”

“Get out of there! Now!”

You stopped, rooted to the ground. “What?” Your thoughts tumbled over each other and you struggled to form anything coherent. 

“I told you to get out of there immediately!”

Ever so slowly you turned around, looking behind you and to every dark corner of the street. “How do you know where I am?” A shiver ran down your spine.

“That’s beside the point! I need you to run now!” Eric frantically yelled into his phone.

His panic swept over to you and you felt your heartbeat increasing as adrenalin got pumped through your veins. Your body automatically prepared for whatever was coming, even before you knew what it was.

“Eric, I’m not leaving”, you tried your best to sound as nonchalant as possible. “I’m on a mission here.”

“For the love of everything that is dear to me”, he whispered exasperated, “this is not a joke, Detective Lin. You have to run! NOW!”

Right as his command ended, screeching tires stopped right next to you on the street. You barely managed to turn your head before you saw how the sliding door of a dark grey transporter opened and two bulky men jumped out. 

You stared at them with wide eyes, frozen to the spot. Old memories flashed before your eyes as they grabbed your upper arms. 

One of them snatched the phone out of your hand, grinning evilly as he slammed it to the ground, silencing Eric’s calls in the process, and stepping on it to destroy it completely.

They pulled you into the transporter like you were nothing but a ragdoll. You got thrown in the back, groaning from the pain and knowing your skin would bruise from that alone.

The men closed the doors behind them and told the driver to take off before they turned back to look at you.

“This looks like a feisty one”, the taller one said with the same evil grin on his lips.

“Whatever, we’re not testing”, the other cut in with a stern look in his eyes, “deal with this quickly.”

You barely even comprehend what he meant by that, before the taller one got closer and knocked you out with one punch to your jaw. 

You woke up with a splitting headache and a dull throbbing of your jaw. A quiet groan escaped your lips while your eyelids fluttered open. 

Even though there was only spare and dim lighting, you noticed the metal bars around you. Despite being awake now, you stayed in your position and assessed your surroundings.

You heard hectic bustling further down the hall, quiet sniffles, clattering teeth and shallow breaths closer to you. Ever so slowly you pushed yourself up, noticing you were barely able to sit properly in the small cage you were in. Carefully, you turned around, taking everything in, that you could make out in the dim light.

There were dozens of cages in various sizes lined up around you. Most of them were occupied with other hybrids - all of them in bad shape. The smaller ones looked severely beaten up while the bigger ones were heavily malnourished and all of them appeared to have broken spirits.

You scooted to the side of your cage, leaning against the cold metal bars. “Hey”, you whispered silently, catching the attention of a deer hybrid next to you. “Do you know where we are?”

They looked at you with utter horror, shaking their head violently and refusing to give you any sort of verbal answer.

“If I were you, kid, I wouldn’t talk so much.”

You turned and saw a feline hybrid sitting in the cage across from you. “Why?” You crawled closer to the male, curious about his intel. 

He scoffed mirthlessly before he came closer himself, emerging from the shadows and showing his scar littered body.

You gasped and stared at him with wide eyes. “Did they do this to you?”

“That’s what happens when you defy humans.” His voice was laced with regret and his dark, sad eyes finally met yours. “There’s only one last hope, most of us cling to that now.”

“The police saving you?” You asked, knowing your colleagues would be at the auction. Though you didn’t want to crush his hope, fully aware the police didn’t have enough money to bid on every hybrid and while they could raid the place, your commander decided they would only do so if the head of the organisation would show their face at the event. Even if they would raid the opera there was no guarantee they would catch everyone and free every hybrid.

The hybrid in front of you laughed dryly. “As if the police ever cared about us hybrids.” He spat on the ground, showing you clearly how much he hated them. “I’m talking about TBZ.” He leaned back again, hiding his face in the shadows once more. A soft chuckle escaped his lungs. “Though it will be quite hard for hybrids to join the auction as buyers.”

You tilted your head in confusion. “What do you mean? Who are TBZ?”

Before he could answer a loud metal clang made you jump in surprise and let all the other hybrids cower in fear. “Shut your mouth, dirty scum”, a human with an electric stick shouted, glaring at you and the tiger hybrid.

He crouched down and turned to the tiger, tapping the metal cage with the stick. “I would have thought you had learned your lesson, Mr. New. Guess, I was wrong.” He pressed the button on his electric stick, letting little white lights spark the metal of the cage and jolting the tiger hybrid.

“Stop it!” You called out, reaching your hand through the metal bars in a fruitless attempt to stop the human. “I said, STOP IT!”

This time the human looked over his shoulder, still pressing the button and electrocuting the tiger. He raised an eyebrow as his eyes wandered over your form. “Who do we have here”, he mused with a sick grin on his face, finally turning around completely and letting off of the hybrid. “Did our royalty finally decide to wake up from their deep slumber?”

You gritted your teeth but did everything to keep your face neutral and emotionless.

He laughed out loud, his eyes crazed as he waddled over to you in his crouched position. “You are a feisty one! So Tango and Whiskey were right! Oh, it will be such a joy to break you like all the others.” Without even blinking he tapped the electric stick against your cage and pressed the button.

The pain immediately surged through your body, your muscles tensing uncontrollably from it. Yet, you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of making a sound.

When he turned off the stick, you slumped down to the ground, unable to move. “I know it’s just a short time between us two but it will mean so much more”, he giggled and turned the stick on again. He watched you flap on the ground like a fish out of water, waiting with bated breath for you to make a sound. “Oh, darling, I will make you scream sooner rather than later.”

“Delta! Stop torturing the beasts and help us prepare the fucking auction!”

The man with the codename Delta turned off the electric stick with a loud whine - as if his parents just told him to do laundry instead of playing his video game. Still, he turned to you one more time, pressing his face between two metal bars. “We’re seeing each other again in no time, darling.”

“DELTA! Don’t make me come back there!”

Delta stood up with an annoyed growl. “I’m fucking coming already, Charlie. Get off my dick, man.” With that he left and moved back to the front of the hall.

“Are you alright, kid?” The tiger hybrid whispered in the lowest voice he could muster. 

“I had worse”, you simply told him, turning your head and giving him a half assed smile. While your statement technically wasn’t a lie, this was a first and you already knew should you experience being electrocuted again you’d rather wish to die.

“That was quite brave of you, kid. And incredibly stupid.”

“Weird form of saying ‘thank you’, Mr. New.” 

“Call me Chan-hee”, he told you, hesitating momentarily, “and thank you.”

You introduced yourself as well, still lying on the ground. You used the moment of peace to mull over the intel you got from this short and painful interaction. 

Those jerks used the NATO phonetic alphabet for their code names and with Delta following the orders of a man called Charlie, you assumed each name had a specific rank to them as well. Therefore the guys kidnapping you must have been quite low in rank, while Charlie and Delta should be in the third and fourth position of the ranking. That would mean there were only three more above them in rank and the one at the top must be called Alpha.

You startled awake again from the loud sound of metal scratching over concrete. With a groan you pushed yourself up, groggily realising you must have passed out while lying on the floor.

“Wakey, wakey you bastards! It’s time to shine! The auction begins in a few hours!” Delta stopped next to your cage again. “Look, who is awake again”, he lowered his voice to speak with you, grinning like a maniac, “I’ll take especially good care of you, darling.”

You wanted to hurl right this instant but you kept your face passive and forced your body to stay neutral. Whatever that meant, you would endure it. For the sake of the mission, for the sake of the other hybrids, for the sake of your sanity.

The cages got moved to the front of the hall, people pulled the hybrids out of their confinements and dragged them away. Others returned with them, chaining them up along the walls. You noticed how they had a change of clothes and seemed to have bathed in some way.

You silently watched how dozens of hybrids were dragged away and brought back. Meanwhile you stayed in your cage until the very end. Even when the deer hybrid behind you and Chan-hee next to you got dragged away, you got left behind.

Until Delta came up to your cage again. “It’s your time to shine, darling.” He threw a collar into the cage and ordered you to put it on, tapping his electric stick against the bars when you weren’t fast enough. He then grabbed the leash that was attached to the collar, opened the cage and harshly pulled you out. 

You stumbled forward, falling on your knees and hands. The yanking on the leash tightened the collar around your throat, making it hard to breathe.

Delta laughed again. “You wanna go on all four? Like the animal you are? Sure, be my guest!” 

“Pangolins are bipedal”, you grunted and pushed yourself up on your feet. 

“And I couldn’t care less”, he told you, his face only inches from yours, before he moved back and kicked you in your stomach, making you fall to the ground again. “So now, crawl.”

You ignored the humiliation and silently followed him out of the hall. Your knees hurt from the bare concrete floor and you knew, you scraped them already.

Not soon enough you reached something that looked like the showers of a football stadium. Grimy tiles and six shower heads on each side of the room.

“Undress.”

You looked at the man, waiting for him to turn around or at least leave the room. Though the second he pulled on the leash and made you come closer to his face again, telling you the same command through gritted teeth, you knew you had to strip in front of him.

With glares that could kill, you started undressing yourself. You let your clothes drop to the ground where you stood, not even trying to cover your nakedness. You were too damn proud to give in to his humiliation tactics. 

His eyes roamed over your body, a sneer marking his face. He looked at your scale like plates covering your sides, shoulders, upper arms and hips. “You’re an abomination of nature”, he stated after a while. “Disgusting.” Delta then motioned you to go to one of the shower heads, telling you to get clean.

You froze in place, the gasp stuck in your throat when the ice cold water descended on your body. You waited a moment longer, hoping the water would turn warm against all odds. With trembling hands you started scrubbing your body.

Once you were done, you stepped away from the water and back to Delta. You tried to keep your body from shivering with the cold wetness clinging to your skin and hair, staring at the man and waiting for a command.

He threw a moldy smelling towel at you and told you to dry yourself, calling for someone with fresh clothes. Delta watched you intently as you got dressed again, grinning at the outfit he picked for you.

On one hand you were quite surprised how nice the clothes were to the touch. On the other hand you knew better looking merchandise got a higher price. Additionally his choice barely covered the intimate parts of your body, showing the hybrid traits that you owned.

You noticed everyone got clothes that highlighted their traits when Delta brought you back to the others, chaining you up at the very front of the line. “Remember to look pleasantly to the eye when on stage”, he told you with a smirk, zapping you one last time before he got called somewhere else.

Soon enough someone else unchained you again and dragged you towards a heavy curtain. He pushed you into a cage again, this one appearing to be made out of silver with an intricate design. Once the door of the cage got shut, some sort of mechanism pulled you upwards. 

You grabbed the bars to your sides, trying to stabilise yourself from the sudden swaying.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to welcome you to a night of wonders and exclusiveness.”

Your attention got pulled to the voice beyond the curtain.

“I’ll guarantee for a show that you’ll remember. The first few options for you to buy are already among us.” The voice laughed and seemingly walked around the stage. “All of our cute little waiters and waitresses can be bought tonight. You’ll recognise them from their maid outfits.”

You made a grimace from just imagining the sick and twisted mind behind that sort of display.

“Obviously that is not all! Tonight we offer you 37 hybrids, ranging from prey to predator, from common to extremely rare. While we won’t bid on this one until the very end, let me introduce you to the highlight of our night!”

With that the curtain opened and the cage moved forward into the bright light. 

You squinted your eyes, slightly turning your head to the side from the brightness alone. You heard the audience murmur and whisper, until the auctioneer told them what breed you were, additionally with your age, weight, height and other measurements. You stared at him in bewilderment, a shiver running down your back at the thought someone must have taken all these while you were unconscious.

The cage lowered slowly and the lights didn’t blind you anymore. Your eyes trailed over the audience. The bright lights on the stage compared to the dim light in the audience made it hard for you to see any details. 

Still, you were able to make out that every person wore a mask that covered at least half of their face. Women fanned themselves with feathered fans, men smoked cigars and all of them chattered joyfully like this was just another charity event.

“Now, let us begin with our first hybrid”, the auctioneer called out, waving his hand for the henchmen bringing the hybrids in.

Again the auctioneer told the audience what they saw in front of them and finished his introduction with the lowest price accepted.

Buyers rapidly raised their number cards, the price jumping higher and higher in steps of one thousand. 

“Sold to the man with the number 24!”

You saw how one of the henchmen hurried over to a man with a silver mask sitting at a table far to the left. They had a short interaction, you assumed a check got signed, before the sold hybrid got dragged towards the man.

Your attention got pulled back to the stage with the next auction. With each new hybrid the starting price got higher and higher. When it was finally Chan-hee’s turn you noticed a change in his behaviour. 

He almost appeared indifferent, confident even on stage. His eyes flitted to the number cards in the air and the corner of his mouth always twitched upwards when certain numbers were called out.

Confused, you turned your attention to the audience again. To your surprise you suddenly realised how the bought hybrids weren’t in the audience anymore, while their buyers still sat at their tables. 

The number 30 with a yellow mask had bought the scared deer hybrid, number 19 with a purple mask bought a dog hybrid, number 2 in white currently grinned mischievously as he battled for the buy with number 82 with a red mask. 

Your eyes flitted around the room. You could have facepalmed yourself upon realising all those numbers had the same kind of mask just in varying colours. You saw someone in a sky blue mask with the number 67, number 16 with a golden mask, also a black mask with the number 39, number 9 in orange and number 11 in blue.

The last one you saw was a man with a pink mask, holding the 22 as their number card. To your surprise he already stared at you, not even interested in the auction of the other hybrids. 

You tilted your head, feeling some sort of pull towards him, as if you should be knowing him.

“The tiger goes to number 82!” The auctioneer cheered, catching your attention again.

You looked at Chan-hee, who barely contained the grin on his face as he got pulled to his new owner. As the next auction began, you decided to focus on Chan-hee and the buyer instead. You narrowed your eyes, seeing how he patted Chan-hee’s shoulder almost like an older brother, hugging him shortly. You also noticed how relaxed Chan-hee appeared and it slowly dawned on you.

“TBZ”, you mumbled, eyes immediately jumping back to the man with the pink mask. Your heartbeat quickened as you realised that all hybrids had been bought by these people so far and you slowly started to wonder who they were.

“It’s finally time for the highlight of the night”, the auctioneer announced and your cage moved again towards the middle of the stage. He repeated your details once more, remembering everyone how rare and valuable you actually were.

The man with the pink mask pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against the whole time, moving to the front. Others followed him, wanting a good look at you. 

You barely acknowledged the presence of the others, completely transfixed on him. He tapped his chin with his number card as if he was thinking about something but the simple movement let his sweet honey scent waft over to you. 

A knowing smirk pulled at the corner of his lips when your eyes widened in realisation.

Your mind reeled, questions tumbled over one another as you stared at Eric. Why was he here? Was he part of that group Chan-hee mentioned? Who were they? Were all of them hybrids? Why would they bid on other hybrids? What was their goal? Were they the reason for all the hybrid abductions or are they a whole different group to deal with? What if they were part of this smuggling ring and this whole auction was just a farce. What if this was a setup for the police?

Your attention drifted from Eric as your eyes searched the large crowd. The commander had ordered several masks and showed them to you, so you would recognise your colleagues even in the crowd.

You noticed some of them, seeing how they chatted with other buyers and barely paid you any attention. 

For a second you were relieved to see your colleagues but something didn’t sit right with you. A bad feeling gnawed at your insides, a thought you couldn’t fathom just yet emerging from the back of your mind.

“50.000!” 

Your attention got pulled back to Eric, who just yelled an incredibly large sum and raised his number card. You blinked several times, wondering for a split second if he actually got that much.

“60.000!”

You tensed, hearing the voice of Delta ring through the audience. You glanced at the auctioneer, who only raised an eyebrow questioningly but shrugged it off quickly to entertain the crowd. 

You looked at your colleagues, confused why they weren’t bidding for you. Sure, 60.000 was quite a lot but there were undercover missions that were way more expensive.

“70.000!”

Eric yelled again, his jaw tense as he glared towards Delta. 

“80.000.”

You looked at the man, seeing a lazy grin on his lips. He wasn’t concerned in the least, as if he was certain he’d win this battle.

“One million!”

Once again you checked for your colleagues and your mind raced all over again. Why wouldn’t they be bidding for you? Was there an order they followed that you hadn’t received yet? You tried to reason, mulling over every possibility there was. You glanced towards Delta. What if the commander hoped Delta would bring you to the head of this organisation?

In that case Eric would ruin the plan if he won the auction. You looked at Eric with worry in your eyes, seeing how determined he was to buy you.

“Five million”, Delta said, rolling his shoulders and twisting his neck. “I can do this the whole night, boy. Give up now before you seem too desperate.”

“Ten million.” He hissed through gritted teeth. Fear pooled in Eric’s eyes, seeing how Delta didn’t even flinch at that offer. He turned to look at you and you saw how he desperately tried to come up with something.

“I’ll be fine”, you mouthed at him, trusting the police had a superior plan in mind.

“Fifty million.” Delta waited a second before he called out again. “Wait, let me double that offer, one hundred million.” He leaned forward, silently challenging Eric to make a better offer.

Eric visibly deflated, shaking his head in defeat. 

The voice of the auctioneer rang in your ears like a gunshot, telling the crowd Delta won and bought you for one hundred million. 

You wished you could have talked to Eric for a moment but your cage got pulled behind the stage again. The curtain closed before your eyes, drowning you in darkness again. 

When they opened for a split second and light pooled over your cage, your heart jumped with hope Eric had decided to barge through. Though your hope immediately got crushed when you realised it was Delta, who walked towards you now.

He threw that same collar at you and waited for you to put it on. “Did you hope that loser in pink would buy you?” He sneered as he pulled you out of the cage. “That guy never stood a chance. I told you we would see more of each other. After all, I still have to break you, darling. And until then you’re my little play toy.”

You silently followed him for the sake of the mission, even when everything inside of you screamed at you to run away.

The second you stepped into his car everything became a blur of pain and suffering. Every waking moment you had was filled with Delta ‘playing’ with you.

His interpretation of playing was torture. Some days he chained you against a wall, others he hung you head down for hours. One time he wrapped a plastic bag over your head and gave you a tube to breathe through, before he buried you naked in his garden - cutting off the air supply whenever it pleased him.

The first few days you still had hope nestling inside of you - hope, he would lead you to alpha; hope, the commander or a group of detectives would raid this place and save you. But with each passing hour where nothing happened that hope dwindled like the flame of a candle becoming smaller and smaller as it neared its end.

Delta tried to hurt you as much as possible without killing you, wishing for you to finally scream in agony. He got increasingly frustrated with your lack of reactions, not knowing you had lived through torture once.

He scoffed and shoved your naked body away, watching you stumble backwards until you fell down. Delta stared at you silently before he stood up and flipped the cigarette he had used to burn you into the tiled room and moved to the door. “Alpha told me you were a tough one”, he told you casually, “but I already know how to break you.”

You didn’t even manage to lift your head, simply watching him with your eyes as he walked further away.

“You scream the loudest when I hurt someone else.”

Your heart dropped into your stomach and your eyes widened in panic.

“THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO SEE”, Delta cheered loudly, clapping his hands as he saw the mortified expression on your face. He grabbed his phone and called someone. “Foxtrot, bring the mouse hybrid.”

“No”, you exhaled in a weak attempt to stop him but it was too late already.

Minutes later the door opened again and a woman brought a tiny girl into the room, shoving her inside before she left again without saying a word. 

The mouse hybrid trembled like a leaf in the wind, nervously looking around until her eyes landed on Delta and your bruised form on the ground. 

In an instant Delta shot up and crossed the room with a few steps. He grabbed the mouse hybrid by the throat and lifted her into the air. “The only way you’ll survive is when that abomination over there complies.”

“Let her go”, you croaked out. You tried pushing yourself up but your arms buckled underneath your weight and you dropped back to the ground.

“What was that?” Delta mocked you, knowing full well you wouldn’t be able to speak louder than that since he barely gave you enough liquid to survive.

“Please”, you whispered, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes as you watched the mouse hybrid struggle in his hold, clawing at his grip and silently begging for air. “Please, I’ll do anything. Just let her go.”

Delta huffed in annoyance. “I already took everything you had to offer. Everything except your agonised screams. You know what I want.”

“Please beat me, please. I promise I will scream.” By now you started sobbing. You weakly pulled yourself across the tiled floor, trying to get closer to Delta. When you reached him the mouse hybrid already stopped moving in his hold. You clawed at his pants, begging him to release the girl before it was too late.

With another huff he let go and the mouse hybrid dropped to the floor. She turned to her side and started coughing violently.

Again you tried pushing yourself up, succeeding this time. You gently rubbed the back of the girl, pulling her into a reassuring embrace when she calmed down enough. You cupped her cheeks, whispering to her that you would do everything to protect her.

She smiled at you weakly, nodding and blinking away her tears while you pushed strands of her grey hair out of her face.

Suddenly Delta cupped your hands and snapped her neck. “Her death is on you.”

You saw the light die in her eyes right before she lifelessly dropped to the ground. 

You screamed. 

You cried.

You tried pulling her back into your arms with trembling fingers, screaming even more when she didn’t move or react to anything you did.

Delta just stood in front of you, his expression showing you he just experienced complete and pure bliss. 

“You monster”, you screamed at him, rocking the dead body like a mother would with her child. You sobbed as you caressed her face, silently asking her to forgive you.

You barely acknowledged Delta’s presence and became quieter and quieter. You gave him what he wanted and for nothing, you weren’t able to save that girl.

Delta stepped closer and ripped her body out of your hold, before he kicked you in the stomach - propelling you backwards until you slammed against the wall behind you. 

You couldn’t even recover from the blow. Delta immediately got to you and chained you to the wall. “Don’t even think we’re done here.” With that he stepped back and towards the corpse of the mouse hybrid.

You stared at him with horror, already shaking your head because you didn’t want to believe it. “No”, you breathed out, “you wouldn’t.” You didn’t even hear your own cries and screams as you watched him defile the corpse. You pulled at your restraints, ignoring how the shackles cut into your wrists and drew blood already. 

“You bastard! Monster! Let go of her! I will kill you!”

As your last curse escaped your lips the door got kicked in and several men in colourful masks filed into the room. 

The one with the red mask knocked out Delta and watched him drop to the ground. Another with a golden mask checked the pulse of the mouse hybrid and sadly shook his head. 

Only after the pink mask came into the room and rushed straight towards you, did you recognise it was the same group from the auction. 

Eric unchained you and immediately caught your body as you simply slumped down. “Shit”, he cursed and quickly pulled you against his chest. He grabbed his jacket and wrapped it around you. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”

You inhaled deeply, your eyes fluttering shut as his sweet honey scent engulfed you. “It wasn’t your fault”, you whispered weakly. 

“Let us get out of here.”

You nodded and got on your feet with his help, slowly walking through the room. You stopped when you reached the mouse hybrid and Delta’s unconscious body. You gently tucked on Eric’s shirt. “We need to take them with us.”

The men looked at each other, sharing a silent conversation that you didn’t understand. Only after the one with the red mask sighed and motioned for his comrades to grab these two, did they gather around them.

“Be careful with her”, you asked them before you turned your eyes to Delta. “And just make sure he survives.”

They grinned, some even snickered at your statement. 

You watched how they gently picked up the girl and carried her outside, while two of them each grabbed an arm of Delta and pulled him along, uncaring how he bumped against steps and corners.

You turned to look at Eric. The energy keeping you up slowly died down and you noticed how the edges of your vision darkened. You wanted to warn Eric but all you could manage was a softly whispered ‘sorry’ before you passed out.

When you woke up again you found yourself in a soft bed. You didn’t know how much time passed while you were unconscious but it definitely wasn’t enough since the dull throbbing of pain radiated from each corner of your body.

“You shouldn’t move too much just yet”, the voice of Eric interrupted your thoughts. He walked into the room with a small tray in one of his hands, closing the door quietly behind him. “I’m glad to see you’re awake again.”

“Are you sure? This feels like a dream, seeing you serving me.”

Eric snickered and shook his head. “Good to see nothing has changed either.”

You made a grimace at the thought of what had happened. “On the contrary. Everything has changed”, you mumbled and sat up on the bed, leaning against the headrest. “How long was I out?” You looked around, trying to find a clue of what time or date it was.

Though the room was barely decorated and definitely didn’t have a clock hanging around. Additionally with the drawn curtains you only assumed it was daytime, not knowing for certain.

“A few days”, Eric told you and sat the tray with food on your lap before he sat down on the edge of the bed. “You sustained a lot of wounds, most of them only healed superficially.”

You hummed and nodded in agreement, sensing the throbbing within your body. 

“Q said to give you a few more days and then the pain should be gone.” Eric looked at you, his eyes holding a sadness and pain you couldn’t fathom. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.”

This time you shook your head, leaning forward despite the pain increasing, and patted his hand softly. “It wasn’t your fault. I had a mission to fulfil.”

Eric winced at your words. “No mission should require for you to live through torture”, he growled and pulled away from you, standing up and marching from one side of the room to the other and back again. “You could have died in the hand of that monster.”

You bit on your lower lip, secretly knowing he was right but you still didn’t want to admit it to yourself. You grabbed the tray and placed it next to you, slowly getting up and walking over to Eric.

He stopped his pacing, his hand shooting forward to stabilise you and hold you. His eyes roamed over your face, while a storm of emotions and questions plagued his features. “How can you be so calm about this?”

You shrugged with your shoulders. “Not my first rodeo.”

Eric closed his eyes, his face twisting in pain. He gently pulled you even closer to him, engulfing you in a tight hug. 

For a moment you didn’t know what to do, but his sweet scent wrapped around you like a warm blanket and you melted into his touch. You hugged him back, having your arms wrapped around his hips and leaning your face against his collarbone.

At that moment the door opened and you saw Chan-hee walk into the room with another guy. “Oh, did the badger finally find his honey?” He teased, snickering with Chan-hee at his joke.

“My honey?” Eric questioned with knitted eyebrows. He looked from his friends to you and back again, before the realisation dawned on him and he desperately tried to hide his blushing.

You stepped away from Eric, surprised to see Chan-hee again.

“Good to see you again, kid.”

You huffed but smiled nonetheless. “What are you even doing here?” You walked over to him and hugged him shortly, thankful he seemed alright.

“Like I told you. TBZ.”

“Technically you only said their name and nothing else”, you countered with a roll of your eyes. “So would anyone be kind enough to enlighten me? The police force has no record about a group called TBZ.”

“I’m not surprised you didn’t get the records about us, Detective Lin”, Eric half teased and half grunted. “As a hybrid you would have been a danger for their mission to eradicate us.”

You frowned at him and then looked at the other two men, hoping to receive an answer to all your questions.

Eric gently grabbed your elbow and guided you back to the bed, motioning for you to sit down and eat while they would explain all they could to you.

“TBZ is a group of hybrids, fighting for the safety of other hybrids. We started this when we noticed the officials and the police barely did anything against the discrimination we received”, Eric told you with a solemn expression.

“We try to stay under the radar of the police but they have connections everywhere”, the man, whose name you didn’t get explained.

“Even in the smuggling ring.”

You turned to Chan-hee, looking at him for a moment as if you wanted to argue with him but scenes of the auction resurfaced in your mind and you decided to keep silent for now.

“We fight to get all hybrids from the smuggling ring before they leave town and transport them to safety. There are hybrid communities all across the globe and more and more hybrids and sometimes even humans joined our cause. Still, there are too many we cannot save.”

All of you looked down at the blanket, possibly remembering the faces of all the victims you had lost.

“Right now our biggest enemy and issue are the police.”

“But why?” You frowned, shaking your head softly. “We have a special unit that’s solely tasked to track down the smuggling ring and prevent more hybrid abductions.”

“And yet there was an increase in abductions”, Eric growled, looking away from you.

“Up until Eric showed up, how successful were you with your unit?” Chan-hee asked you with a raised eyebrow. 

You blinked several times, recalling all the months you had been on that task force. Either the leads were flukes or your unit arrived too late at the scene. You grimaced at the realisation. “Not really good.”

The silence following your words was almost deafening. You knew their trust towards the police or the government couldn’t be restored like that anymore. Not until the last rotten egg was discovered and dealt with.

After you ate the food Eric had brought you, the men left the room again, telling you to rest some more.

You hadn’t even noticed how exhausted you were from this minimal interaction, though you knew most of your energy was used to heal your wounds. 

Even with your hybrid genes it took a few more days before you were able to move around without feeling any sort of pain. Once Eric gave his okay as well, not wanting to put any sort of strain on you, you were allowed to do smaller tasks around the house again.

Though you didn’t really care about the opportunity to work out again. You wanted to do something else entirely.

So when you sat down with all the men, you immediately blurted out your request: “I want to interrogate Delta.”

All of them stared at you like you grew a second head. Before you could even explain yourself they started discussing the topic with each other, saying pros and cons as if you weren’t sitting right next to them.

“Not on your own. One of us has to be with you. For safety reasons.”

You turned to look at Eric, silently asking him if he would accompany you. While you got to know all the other men, you still felt the most comfortable with him.

“I’ll bring you there tomorrow morning”, he promised, ending the discussion at that point.

Though when he accompanied you to your room, Eric was far from convinced. “Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked and closed the door of the room behind the both of you.

“He knows who the head of the smuggling ring is. I need to find that person.” ‘And make them pay.’ The last part you only thought, unsure whether Eric or the others condoned revenge.

“Then let me do the interrogation. You don’t need to see that scumbag ever again.” Eric walked over to you, pulling you into his embrace from behind. He leaned his chin on your shoulder, gently nosing along your neck and jawline.

You slightly turned to look at his face with straight lips. “Don’t tell me you haven’t tried before.”

Eric chuckled softly and hugged you even tighter. “Fine, we did try and he wouldn’t talk at all.”

Now you turned completely and wrapped your arms around his neck, giving him a soft peck on the cheek. “I know how to break him, please don’t worry about me.”

“You know I can’t help but worry about you, honey.” Eric gently pushed you towards the bed, grinning when both of you fell on the mattress. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

You hummed softly, stroking his hair while he laid on top of you with his head resting on your chest. “What if I have to hurt that man to get the information I want?”

Eric contemplated your question for a moment, before he shrugged with his shoulders. “He had it coming then.”

“And you won’t think differently of me? No matter what I’ll do tomorrow?”

This time Eric pushed himself up to look at you, tilting his head with a frown on his face. “While I think I know what you’re capable of, I feel like I shouldn’t ask what you’re planning to do tomorrow.”

You turned your head away, not wanting to meet his eyes. “I’m not really planning anything”, you mumbled with a small pout on your lips, “it’s just that I learned a lot of ways to extract information the hard way.”

Eric gently grabbed your chin and made you look at him again. His eyes were so soft and you could have sworn his gaze alone turned you into a puddle. “No matter what you’ll be doing tomorrow, I’ll have your back. I’ll still call you honey and still hold you in my arms at night.”

You mouthed your thanks and leaned upwards, pecking his lips before dropping back on the mattress.

“That’s all I get?” Eric asked in mock offense, falling back on top of you. He grinned brightly when you started to laugh and tried pushing him off of you. Playing along, he grabbed your side and turned both of you around, so you straddled him now. 

You raised an eyebrow teasingly, trying hard not to grin. Before you failed, you quickly leaned down and captured his lips in a kiss.

Soon enough one kiss turned into several and the kissing turned into making out. His hands roamed over your sides and yours over his chest. Both of you tucked at the clothes, pulling them off between kissing and throwing them somewhere into the room.

You spent the whole night together, connecting with one another even more intimately.

You had needed a night like that, needed Eric as your life buoy preventing you from drowning in the darkness that surely spread inside of you. 

When the next morning came, you momentarily wished to turn back the time not wanting to leave his arms just yet. Not wanting to become the monster for the sake of getting the information you needed.

Yet, you still got up and Eric silently followed you, sensing your inner turmoil but giving you the space to deal with it the way you wanted to.

He drove you to an abandoned house a few miles outside of the town. Eric guided you inside and into the basement, where Delta sat on the ground - chained to the wall he leaned against.

“What a surprise to see you, darling.”

Eric growled at him, already getting into a stance to attack him. 

You on the other hand kept your expression passive. With a simple hand gesture you calmed Eric down as well. “I need a chair and a desk”, you quietly told him, waiting for him to nod and search for the furniture.

For a few moments you had Delta for yourself, staring at him with a cold distance in your eyes. “You know there are two reasons for someone to use torture”, you told him, your voice void of any emotion, “one is to extract information and the other is simply for joy.”

“Why are you telling me this?” He spat, getting restless and tugging at the chains that held him.

“I mainly want one information from you. But believe me when I tell you I will torture you for my own twisted entertainment and nothing more.”

“You think I’d give you any information without torture?”

You didn’t answer him, hearing how Eric came back with a round wooden table and a folding chair on top of it. He placed the things in the middle of the room and looked at you expectantly.

“Could you put him on the seat while I get a few things?”

This time you didn’t even wait for Eric to answer you, walking out of the basement room and to the old kitchen. You heard how Delta fought and screamed but with his weakened state he had no chance against a hybrid - and definitely not against a honey badger hybrid. Though you paid them no mind, collecting what you deemed helpful in your cause: a few rusty knives, a lighter and matches, old cigarettes, a candle, some towels and a jug of water.

When you got back to the basement, Delta begrudgingly sat on the folding chair. His chained hands rested on the table in front of him, while another chain was wrapped around his torso, ankles and chair.

You placed the items on the surface of the desk in a calm manner, not saying a word as you did.

Eric stepped back to one wall, giving you the room you needed.

After everything was placed down, you sat on the edge of the table and grabbed one of the knives. You twirled it between your fingers a few times and then grabbed one of Delta’s hands. 

“You know, my species is hunted for their plates. Yet they are nothing more than hardened hair. Just like fingernails.” You looked up, passively staring at Delta’s confused expression. “Do you know how they extract those plates?”

When he shook his head no, you slammed the knife right underneath the fingernail of his pinky, twisting it and therefore dislocating the nail until it dropped to the ground.

Delta screamed in pain, trying to pull his hand away from you but your grip with your own claws prevented him from even moving a bit. 

You repeated the action on two more fingers, watching him writhe in pain with an almost bored expression. 

“I can’t believe it was that easy to make you scream”, you taunted him as you let go of his hand.

“I wasn’t that brutal towards you”, Delta exclaimed in anger. 

“No”, you shook your head, “you were worse.” You grabbed the lighter and the cigarettes, lighting one and pressing it down on random spots of his body - no matter whether it was covered with clothes or not. 

After the sixth mark, Delta cried out: “What do you even want to know? You haven’t even told me what information you need from me!”

You hopped onto the table and crossed one leg over the other, tilting your head as you watched the mess in front of you. You still held the cigarette between two fingers, silently contemplating to just continue and ignore his outburst. Yet, you flipped the cigarette away and placed both hands on the table, leaning back on them a little. “And I told you, I’ll only torture you for my own twisted entertainment.”

You grabbed the matches and lit one of them, staring at the dancing flame in front of you. “Did you know that burning human flesh technically smells like any other burnt flesh? The only reason humans find it repulsive is the fact they know it is human flesh.” With that you moved your hand with the burning match to the hem of his shirt.

Delta tried leaning away from you again, but it was too late and the fabric already caught on fire. 

You dropped the match to the concrete floor and calmly grabbed a towel to drench it with water, while more and more of Delta’s shirt started burning. 

He screamed in agony, pleading with you to put out the fire.

You placed the towel over the flames before they reached his shoulder, making him cry out in pain yet again from the rapid change between heat and cold. 

When he had calmed down again, you lit another match. You barely contained the wicked smile on your lips as you watched the dancing flame and the writhing body of Delta. 

This time though you didn’t set him on fire but simply lit the candle on the table. Again, you threw the match to the floor, gently pushing the candle towards Delta. 

“Tell me, who is the person behind the title Alpha.”

Delta trembled on his seat, tears streaming down his face. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him.”

You hummed, staring at the flame of the candle, seeing how more and more wax turned into liquid. “I don’t believe you.”

“NO!” Delta tried freeing himself again. “I’m telling the truth. I’ve never seen him!”

“Yet you said to me Alpha told you I was a feisty one. How can you not know someone when you spoke with them?” You jumped from the table, grabbed the candle with one hand and the hair on his neck with the other, pulling his head back so he was forced to stare at the ceiling.

“It was a phone call. All our interactions were only via phone calls!” 

You looked up at Eric, seeing his face seemingly sculpted out of stone. “Do you have his phone?” While you asked him you tilted your hand with the candle, letting the molten wax drop into Delta’s right eye. You ignored his struggling and cries of pain, waiting for Eric’s answer calmly.

Eric nodded and walked to a shelf on the other side of the room, pulling a phone from it. “We turned it off before we brought him here so we couldn’t get tracked.”

You thanked him softly and turned your attention back to Delta. “Is Alpha’s contact saved on your phone?”

“Yes, yes, yes, it is. Please, please let me go. Please show mercy.” 

You let go of Delta and placed the candle back on the table, instead you grabbed a larger knife. “No.” With that you turned around and slammed it into his throat.

Delta’s eyes widened as he made gurgling sounds and blood started pouring out of the wound and his mouth.

“He hasn’t told you who the head of the organisation is”, Eric stated, a hint of confusion in his voice. 

You looked at him, tears brimming at the corners of your eyes as your lips formed a pathetic version of a smile. “I never needed him to tell me.”

Eric immediately crossed the distance between you two and pulled you into his arms, shushing you and rubbing your back in an attempt to calm you.

You let him hold you until you heard Delta’s last heartbeat. Then you stepped away from Eric and grabbed the phone he had placed on the table. You turned it back on and unlocked it with Delta’s still warm fingerprint. Within seconds you found the contact name Alpha.

With one last shared look with Eric, you pressed the call button and put it on speaker. It rang a few times, before someone picked up.

“Yes?”

“Commander, I secured one of the men belonging to the smuggling ring.”

“Detective Lin? You made it out alive! I’m so glad! Where are you? I will come and get you.”

You motioned for Eric to write down the address, telling the location to the commander, who promised to be there as soon as possible and asked you to stay put.

When the call got cut, you dropped the phone to the ground. You looked at Eric, stepping towards him and cupping his cheek with one hand. You leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “This is going to be ugly. More than what you’ve already seen.”

He leaned his forehead against your, cupping your face with his hands. “I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

You exhaled shakily, a soft smile playing over your lips. “Let us cut off the electricity. The only source of light should be that candle.”

Eric nodded and was about to go, when he stopped and kissed you more passionately this time. “You’re saving a lot of hybrids this way.”

“I know.”

You watched him leave and retreated to a corner of the basement, hiding in the shadow. Eric would join you soon, so you could wait for the commander to arrive.

“I’m ready to become the monster”, you whispered and closed your eyes, knowing there was no going back from the path you had chosen the second you had called the Alpha.

© all rights reserved

(m) Closer @luvt0kki ft.Hongjoong

Synopsis: FoxHybrid!Wooyoung x Reader x Husband!Hongjoong

(m,f) Tarot card: The Empress @staytinyville

Synopsis: StarvingArtists!Reader x SupportiveBf!Wooyung

(f,a,m) Good lil boy @sorryimananti-romantic

Synopsis: Prince!Wooyoung x Princess!Reader, Enemies to Lovers

(m) Sticky fingers @zero00kiryu00

Synopsis: Roommates/Housemates

(m) More satisfying than pearls @ilovejeongintoo

Synopsis: Fantasy, Siren!Wooyoung x Reader, Accidental Marriage

(m) Milkshake @byuntrash101

Synopsis: Wooyoung needs to impress the ceo and chairman to get the newly open ceo position and for that he's planning to go all out, show off everything he's got. Including his precious, stunning and bewitching wife: You.

(m) Alluring whispers @ja3hwa

Synopsis: Pirate!Wooyoung x Siren!Reader

(m) Morning Juice @bro-atz

Synopsis: You and Wooyoung share more than just breakfast.

(m) Rooftop pool cool down

Synopsis: Established Relationship

-

Svt The8: Felix Felicis @blue-jisungs

Synopsis: Hogwarts!Au, Slytherin!Hao x Hufflepuff!Reader

Txt Soobin: Vanilla&Citrus, Coffe&Lavender

Synopsis: Hogwarts!Au, IdiotBestFriends-To-Lovers

-

Atz Seonghwa: The Match @daybreakx

Synopsis: SlytherinSeeker!Seonghwa x SlytherinBeater!Reader, Hogwarts!Au, Enemies-To-Lovers

Atz Seonghwa: The Death Eater

Atz Seonghwa: The Death Eater II

Synopsis: HarryPotter!Au, DeathEater!Seonghwa x Muggle-Born!Reader

Atz Yeosang: Of Quidditch And Potions

Synopsis: Hogwarts!Au, Half-BloodRavenclaw!Yeosang x QuidditchPlayer!Reader, Enemies-To-Friends-To-Lovers

Atz San: The Champion

Synopsis: Hogwarts!Au, Slytherin!San x Slytherin!Reader

Atz San: Loyalty

Synopsis: SnatcherDeathEater!San x ChosenOne!Reader

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Atz Mingi: Planted Desires @flurrys-creativity

Synopsis: Magic!Au, EstablishedRelationship, Gardener!Mingi

Atz Jongho: Burnt Marshmallows

Synopsis: FireMagician!Jongho

Skz I.n: All Hallow’s Eve

Synopsis: Spirit!I.n x Witch!Reader

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Svt Joshua: Rainbows And Butterflies @gamerwoo

Synopsis: Witch!Joshua

Svt The8: Misplaced

Synopsis: Witch!Minghao x Familiar!Reader, Roommate!Au, College!Au, Fantasy!Au, SliceOfLife

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Atz Yeosang: My Heart Is With The Sea @ja3hwa

Synopsis: PirateWarlock!Yeosang x SirenHybrid!Reader

Atz Mingi: Witch x Vampire

Synopsis: Vampire!Mingi

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Atz Seonghwa, Hongjoong: Twilight Academy @sanjoongie

Synopsis: Enemies-To-Lovers, ModernWizardrySchool!Au

Atz Yeosang: Experimental, Nipple Play

Synopsis: BloodMagicDoctor!KangYeosang x PlantMagic!Reader, TwilightAcademy!Au, Fantasy!Au, MagicUsers, Doctor!Au, BlindDate

Atz San: Potions

Synopsis: Lord!ChoiSan x Witch!Reader, Historical!Au, Medieval!Au, Witch!Au

Atz Mingi: Planted Desires, Topaz Edition

Synopsis: MagicalBotanistResearcher!Reader x Boyfriend!Mingi, ModernMagic!Au, Fantasy!Au, Botanist!Au, EstablishedRelationship

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Atz Seonghwa: Twin Flames @staytinyville

Synopsis: Vampire!Seonghwa x Witch!Reader, Historical!Au, TwinFlames!Au

Atz Mingi: Tarot Card: The Star

Synopsis: Witch!Mingi, Non-Idol!Au, Neighbors!Au

Txt Yeonjun: Tarot Card: The High Priestess

Synopsis: FamiliarGumiho!Yeonjun x NewWitch!Reader

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Svt: Seventeen Sorting Hat! @nishloves

Synopsis: Hogwarts!Au

Svt Scoups: Smell You Later @aclowntiny

Synopsis: GryffindorQuidditchCaptain!S.Coups x SlytherinQuidditchCaptain!Reader, Rivals-To-Lovers, Hogwarts!Au

Svt Scoups: Take Responsibility, Choi @ch3ol

Synopsis: Friends-To-Enemies-To-Lovers, Hogwarts!Au

Svt Scoups: Devil’s Girl @smileysuh

Synopsis: KingOfHell!Cheol x WitchDescendant!Reader, Prophesy!Au, ArrangedMarriage

Svt Jeonghan: Bound To You @onlymingyus

Synopsis: Supernatural!Au, Soulmate!Au, Warlock!Jeonghan

Svt Jeonghan: Nothing A Little Camaraderie Can’t Fix @smilehui

Synopsis: Slytherin!Jeonghan x Ravenclaw!Reader, Hogwarts!Au, EnemiesRivals-To-Lovers

Svt Wonwoo, Mingyu: Bad Blood @taeyongdoyoung

Synopsis: Werewolf!Mingyu x Witch!Reader x Vampire!Wonwoo

Svt Dk: Honey Jar @heartkyeom

Synopsis: Strangers-To-Lovers, Witch!Seokmin x WichcraftShopWorker!Reader

Svt Woozi: The Witches In The Woods @rubyreduji

Synopsis: Witch-Hunter!Jihoon x Witch-HunterWitch!Reader

Svt Seungkwan: A Little Request @wooahaes

Synopsis: Non-Idol!Seungkwan x Witch!Reader

Atz: Hogwarts Students @edenesth

Synopsis: HogwartsStudent!Ateez x HogwartsStudent!Reader

Atz Seonghwa: Prefects And T(h)reats @pirateprincessblog

Synopsis: HarryPotter!Au, Slytherin!Seonghwa x Hufflepuff!Reader

Atz Hongjoong: Gaze Of Stone @ilovejeongintoo

Synopsis: Gorgon!Hongjoong, MagicAcademy!Au

Atz Yeosang: Cast A Spell On Me @yunkiwii

Synopsis: Hogwarts!Au, Vampire!Au, Enemies-To-Lovers

Atz San: From The Shadows @dairyminki

Synopsis: Slytherin!Ran x RavenclawOc!ArinBramwell,Hogwarts!Au, Enemies-To-Friends-To-Lovers

Atz San: Catch Me If U Can @kpophogwartsaus

Synopsis: SlytherinSeeker!San x GryffindorSeeker!Reader

Atz Mingi: Sweet Juice @hongism

Synopsis: Strangers-To-Lovers, Magic!Au, WitchesWarlocks!Au

Atz Wooyoung: Woo’s Brews @covenha

Synopsis: Witch!Wooyoung

Txt Taehyun: Witch’s Brew @thetxtdevil

Synopsis: FamiliarDemon!Taehyun x Witch!Reader

Skz, Bangchan, Atz: The Scars Of Our Past @jagibangbangchan

Synopsis: Shifter!Chan x OcWitch!Aurelia, Shifter!SkzAtz, Non-Idol!Au, Enemies-To-Lovers

Skz, Bangchan: Storm Clouds At Midnight @sunmoonjune

Synopsis: PolyOt8!StrayKids x Reader, Werewolf!Au

Skz Bangchan: Somewhere Among The Pines @echo-rambles

Synopsis: Werewolf!Chan x Witch!Reader

Skz Hyunjin, Felix: Accidents Happen @kwanisms

Synopsis: BoyfriendWitch!Felix x Girlfriend!Reader x Incubus!Hyunjin

Skz Felix: That Hufflepuff Boy @kkami-writes

Everyone inside the room stared with serious expressions at the presentation, the graphic showing the spike of abductions.

“There have been leads those are connected to a large hybrid smuggling ring. While we stopped a few transports, we still need to find the head of the organisation. So take all the leads we have and find that godforsaken bastard. That’s all for today! Dismissed!” The commander waved with his hand, watching how his subordinates left the room.

You stared at the pictures in your open folder with a crease between your brows. The unit had known about the abductions and the smuggling ring for a while now but nothing seemed to work. Every lead you received was too late. Every time you arrived at the scene only remnants of the ring were left. Scattered clothes, dead and heavily malnourished hybrids that didn’t make it. 

A shiver ran down your spine. You knew too well what they had gone through. Sometimes you considered the found bodies to be the lucky ones. Their suffering and fear had finally ended, while the remaining ones still had to deal with torture and more unfathomable things and survivors were plagued with trauma, nightmares and anxiety.

“Detective Lin.”

You looked up, snapping out of your thoughts when you heard the voice of your superior. “I’m sorry, sir.”

He sighed deeply and rubbed over his tired looking face. Over the few years you had worked under this unit, he had aged immensely. His once dark brown hair had now streaks of grey in them, his sun kissed face had deep lines all over it and his eyes - once full of life - seemed to dread every second of his existence. “Are you alright?”

You blinked a few times before a soft smile appeared on your lips. “Still the dad of the unit”, you snickered and shook your head playfully. “I’m alright, sir. You should take more care about yourself, if I may say so.”

The commander laughed dryly, knowing full well you were right. “Not until I know everyone in this community is where they belong.”

Now you were the one to sigh. “This unit needs you. Don’t overwork yourself.”

“I could tell you to do the same.” The commander tilted his head as he stared at you with a playful twinkle in his eyes. “I know this case is getting to you on a personal level. If I could I would remove you from this case but we need your senses to have at least a small break-through.”

You grabbed the pages and neatly stacked them inside the folder again before you stood up, your expression tense from anger. “I would ignore your command and work on it either way. I don’t need your permission to help my kind.”

He stood up as well and rounded the corner of the table, joining your side as you two made your way to leave the meeting room. “I know, I know. That’s the only reason you’re still on it. You’d go rogue otherwise and put yourself and probably others in danger.”

You relaxed again, turning your head with a bright grin. “You know me too well.”

He laughed in amused defeat and patted your shoulder, as if he was telling you to stay in line and not do something reckless. With that he left for his work space and you followed his back with your eyes until he was out of your sight.

You made your way to your own desk, nodding at your colleagues who you passed. Technically this was the last meeting for today and you were free to leave. Yet you, and most other colleagues too, decided to stay after hours working on the case. Once you reached your desk, you placed the folder on the surface and sat down on your spinning chair. 

“Time to find a new lead.” You sighed deeply and started the computer, quickly typing away on your keyboard. Your eyes flitted across the screen, the pictures and headlines of articles reflecting in your eyes.

At one point your thoughts drifted away from the case and got mixed with your own memories:

You shivered from the cold, having sat down in the farthest corner of the cage. You had wrapped your arms around your legs, which were pulled against your chest, trying to preserve any warmth left. The thin clothes on your body hung loose and were mostly torn to shreds as well.

Your skin was covered in bruises and scars, some better healed than others. You received at least half of them during the rough transport. They had picked you up and thrown you into a transporter with no isolation nor security. After they reached their destination, they dragged you out and threw you in this cage in the basement. 

While you stayed there one man came down every morning and threw some moldy bread and stale water in a bottle towards you. When he wanted to get the empty bottle back, he used an electric stick to keep you in one corner of the cage while coming inside.

Sometimes that man enjoyed your yelps of pain when he electrocuted you just for his own enjoyment. 

You were nothing but a child back then. You barely understood what happened around you or why they even kept you in a cage. 

You snapped out of your thoughts again, staring at your screen with distant eyes for a moment longer. Even though years had passed since that incident, the memories felt like it only happened a few days ago. You rubbed over your arm, the phantom pain of your bruises haunting your body. 

It had been a miracle back then that you were found by authorities before anything worse could have happened to you. Even now you struggled to believe there was a fate worse than what you had experienced. 

Only the pictures in your folder told you differently.  

With one last glance at the pictures on your computer screen you decided to leave it for the day. You closed all the files and turned the pc off, cleaning your desk afterwards. 

Right as you were about to turn off the little lamp on your desk, the red light of your telephone started blinking. 

Your hand halted mid air as you stared at the light of the phone station. You had the sound turned off since the ringing hurt your sensitive ears. Instead the light would blink whenever you got a call. Which rarely happened. And never after working hours.

“Detective Lin?” You said questioningly into the receiver after picking up the phone. 

“Thank goodness, you’re still there”, someone on the other side of the line breathed in relief. “Can you come to the emergency call centre on the first floor? We got a situation that could use your help.”

You didn’t ask what situation it could have been. The second you heard they wanted you at the emergency call centre, you already had grabbed all your belongings. “I’ll be there in three.” 

With that you slammed the phone back on its station and rushed away from your workplace. Instead of using the elevator from the fourth floor, you pushed through the doors of the staircase. 

Your steps steadily echoed through the air with every step you took. It was rare for your colleagues to ask for your help. While all of you were equals and worked for the same cause, they kept their distance from you. Simply because you were a hybrid and your hardened scales that covered parts of your skin seemed to freak a lot of people out. 

Or they thought of you as something dangerous. It was well known that hybrids tended to be stronger than humans - even if they were the weakest kind of hybrid like a hamster or a mouse. You yourself weren’t considered a dangerous species as well. Just a very desired one on the black market, same as your animal counterpart. 

The pangolin was probably the most traded animal on the black market. Their scales of hardened keratin were supposed to have some special healing abilities in several ancient medicinal practices. Some rich assholes even liked to have them as pets since they looked rather adorable despite their large claws.

The biggest difference to your animal counterpart was the fact you as a hybrid were able to regrow lost scales like normal strands of hairs. A fact that made you as a hybrid way more valuable than the animal itself.

You skipped the last step and jumped to the ground, running to the door towards the first floor. You rushed along the hallway and pushed through the last door without knocking, finally reaching the emergency call centre.

“Over here”, someone called out.

You quickly followed their voice and hurried over to them, only stopping right behind their chair. With a short glance at the screen, you saw they had an ongoing call. You furrowed your brows, wondering why you were called now.

“I don’t have much. He seemed frightened and confused but he confirmed being a hybrid. I thought maybe you could get through to him.” The operator explained to you shortly, getting up and offering you their chair.

You nodded hesitantly and sat down, grabbing the headset and putting it on. “Hello?” You heard rapid breathing but nothing else. “If you’re not able to speak right now, please tap the phone twice.” You waited for any sound but except for the rapid breathing there was nothing else. 

“My name is detective Lin and I’m here to help you, okay? I heard from my colleague that you’re a hybrid? I’m one myself, can you tell me what kind of hybrid you are?” You tried to sound as reassuring and kind as possible, wishing to calm the hybrid as much as possible so they would answer you.

“Eric.” His voice sounded hoarse as if he hadn't had something to drink for a while now.

“Eric? That’s your name? Okay Eric, can you tell me where you are?” You pressed gently, needing the information so you could actually help him.

“At a gas station. I don’t know where exactly. I’m hiding in the forest nearby.” His breathing had slowed down considerably, though he still only spoke in a whisper.

You turned to your colleague and mouthed to them that they should track the phone call, hoping to get the exact location that way.

“Alright, can you tell me what happened? Why are you hiding?”

His breathing hitched momentarily and if you hadn’t your sensitive hybrid hearing you probably would have missed it. “They kidnapped a hybrid. They grabbed them inside the toilet rooms of the gas station and dragged them away to a transporter. I’m hiding so they won’t get me too.”

“Are they still there?”

“I don’t know, maybe.” He whimpered softly, making your heart ache.

You knew what kind of terror he must be experiencing right now. At that moment your colleague placed a sticky note with the address in front of you, silently telling you they had sent a police car to check the situation.

“Hey, there are some colleagues on their way to your location. Do you think you can hold on until then?”

“Are they hybrids too?”

You sighed softly and shook your head: “No, probably not. Most hybrids aren’t in the active field, so I’m afraid the two will be humans.”

“Can’t you come?”

“Me?” 

Your eyes widened in surprise at the request. For a moment you were too stunned to speak and simply turned to the operator with a questioning look in your gaze. 

They nodded and waved one of the technicians over to you. With a few adjustments on your phone, which they had asked for quietly, they transferred the emergency call to your mobile phone. That way you were able to keep in contact with Eric while you made your way to the location.

“Alright, I’m on my way.” You replaced the headset with your phone, relieved you heard his breathing and whimpers. With a short gesture of your hand you bid your goodbye and left for your car. On your way down to the garage you also texted your commander, informing him of the situation.

During the ride to the gas station you kept Eric talking, needing the reassurance he was still with you. For some reason you feared the smugglers were still around and would get him before you could reach him.

Though when you reached the remote gas station you only saw the car of your colleagues parked to the side. You parked beside them and got out of the car, looking around with narrowed eyes. 

You colleagues just exited the gas station, heading towards the toilets at the back. You hurried towards them, joining them with a short nod. 

Technically you were there to get Eric and make sure he was alright, but you remembered what he told you about another hybrid being kidnapped on the toilets. You had to see the crime scene, you needed to make your own picture of it, hoping to see a clue or connection to the other cases.

“Hey Eric? I’m here now. I’ll just check the toilets before I’m going to look for you, yeah? My colleagues are with me in case something happens. But don’t you worry, okay?”

He didn’t answer you this time. You only heard some rustling and the sound of his breathing. Therefore you focused on your surroundings for a moment.

As your colleagues opened the doors, you immediately wrinkled your nose in disgust. The smell of urine and other unspeakable liquids invaded your nostrils against your will. You quickly raised your hand and pressed the sleeve of your jacket against your mouth and nose. Even though every fibre of your body was against it, you stepped inside the toilets and looked around. Trash and used paper towels littered the ground, the walls and doors to the toilets were covered in stickers and tags. 

You made a face, knowing there was no way of finding any kind of useful forensic evidence. There was simply too much of everything around. “Guess that won’t do”, you sighed as you turned around your own axis. 

You came to a halt when you noticed someone standing in the entrance. At the same time the connection of the phone call ended with a click. Confused, you turned to look at your phone in your hand and then back up at the person. 

The colleagues, who had checked the stalls just now, came back out and were about to shoo him away, when you stopped them with one word. 

The person had stepped back, as if he was afraid of your colleagues. He held a phone in his hand and his eyes flitted back to your form.

You tilted your head and dropped your hand as you took one step closer towards him. “Eric?” Even though his sweet honey scent barely managed to overpower the gross smell surrounding you, you picked up the hybrid in the air.

He nodded slowly, staring at you with his mouth slightly agape. Eric moved further into the room, rounding you slowly. 

Your colleagues told you they’d leave again since there was no sign of a crime. You nodded, barely paying them any attention anymore. Something about Eric pulled you in and you couldn’t avoid your eyes for even a moment. 

“Detective Lin”, he breathed out, his eyes roaming over your form. He reached the mirror and leaned against the wall, tilting his head in wonder. 

You nearly missed how he wiped something away from the mirror and froze the second you realised what he did. “Wait!” You leaped forward and pushed him aside, staring at the remnants of some letters. “What was that?” You turned your head to look at him, demanding an answer.

“What was what?” 

“Don’t play around! You just wiped over this message! What was written on the mirror?” You hit the sink with your hands and turned around fully, glaring at the other hybrid with annoyance.

His eyes widened in surprise. “I did? Shoot, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to wipe something away. Do you think that’s from the smugglers?”

You crossed your arms over your chest. Something about him rang your alarm bells inside your head, yet you couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was. Still, you decided to keep your guard up. You sighed deeply, reminding yourself of the disgusting smell surrounding you. “Let us go outside, please.”

Eric nodded and stepped outside, holding the door open for you. 

“How come you don’t seem as scared as you sounded on the phone?”

He stopped at the edge of the parking lot, contemplating your question for a moment. After a while he shrugged with his shoulders, slowly turning towards you. His eyes implored yours when he said: “I guess, I just feel safe with another hybrid around. Especially a hybrid detective.”

You snorted and shook your head, avoiding looking him in the eyes. You felt the heat creep up your neck and onto your cheeks. Before he could notice something, you turned around and brushed your hair out of your face, keeping your hand on the top of your head. “Alright, let us go somewhere to eat something and then you can tell me what you saw.” You motioned for Eric to get inside of your car and shortly followed after him.

The ride itself almost felt stuffed, despite the air conditioner running on full power. Neither of you said anything, and while you tried focusing on the road you couldn't ignore his presence at all. 

Your instincts told you something wasn't adding up but you had absolutely no evidence to know what it was exactly. Additionally your head refused to even consider another hybrid being the reason for all the recent abductions of hybrids.

Though your instincts rarely betrayed you.

The interrogation with Eric over some dull fast food brought no new leads. You had noted down every minuscule detail but when you compared them to the information you already got, nothing added up.

You sat at your desk again and stared at the open files thrown over the surface. The desperation to find something gnawed at your insides and slowly suffocated you. 

Before you could despair completely, the leading commander called for an emergency meeting. Within seconds everyone jumped up and rushed to the meeting room, eager to know what the commander had to say.

“We got a new lead”, he announced as he walked into the room. The few conversations immediately died down. “Someone noticed a suspicious looking truck standing in the parking lot of a school.”

“How is it connected to the abductions”, you asked with a raised eyebrow. Sometimes truckers use parking lots to rest there for a while before continuing their long routes across countries and states. 

The commander nodded shortly, thankful one of his detectives questioned the intel they got. “According to the caller the truck has been standing there for several days now and he claims to have heard voices from inside.”

You nearly jumped up from your seat, ready to bolt and get to that truck in an instant. 

“I need two officers, who are willing to check out the situation. I don’t want to send a whole squad for a possible prank”, he explained with a grim expression, “still everyone, who isn't going, has to stay on standby in case it's real.”

Your arm shot into the air. “I volunteer.”

“I had hoped you'd say that”, the commander chuckled with a soft smile. “I need your keen senses to check this out.” 

When you arrived at the parking lot with one of your colleagues, you hesitated to step out of the car. Your eyes were glued towards the parked truck. You tried to mentally note down every little detail you could see before you’d use your other senses for intel.

The second you stepped out of the car and moved towards the truck, your pulse spiked. Nervousness creeped up your back and had a tight grip on your neck. It controlled your every movement.

Your colleague checked the front cabin, silently motioning to you that it was empty. He gave you a sign to walk around the truck and meet with him at the back again.

You nodded once and cautiously started walking. You moved forward while keeping somewhat close to the ground, checking underneath the truck as well. Though you didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.

At the back of the truck you stepped several feet away and raised your weapon, pointing it at the closed door. You nodded towards your colleague, who stood at the door and waited for your signal to open it.

He pulled it open with force and immediately got out of your shooting line, backing away as well and pointing his weapon at the open entrance too.

Nothing happened and both of you quickly realised the truck was actually empty. 

You secured your weapon again and walked towards the open doors. Though as soon as you reached the edge of the truck, you held your breath and hurriedly stepped back again. 

“What’s wrong?”

Your colleague looked at you with a raised eyebrow. He took over and walked to the truck, checking the empty inside. 

“It reeks of death”, you told him with your arm pressed over your nose and mouth. Ever so slowly you dared to move closer again. Your eyes wandered over the floor and walls, seeing remnants of blood.

“There are no bodies here though.” Your colleague jumped on the platform and walked into the area. Even he wrinkled his nose in disgust, but you were sure he only smelled the stench of blood and maybe a mixture of excrements in there as well. “Are you sure someone died inside of this?”

You shook your head. “I don’t think someone actually died. But those, who were trapped in here, were on the verge of death before they got out.” You hesitantly took one more whiff and stepped back again. “I smell several hybrid breeds, though the scent is faint and I can’t pinpoint what kind they were nor how many.” Your throat suddenly closed up, the urge to throw up overwhelming you. Tears pricked at the corners of your eyes as you fought against the tension inside of you.

Still, you had to run a few metres away from the truck so you could pull your arm away and greedily suck in fresh air through your mouth and nose. Your chest still constricted for several minutes, urging you to throw up but you pulled through.

With a large distance you walked back around the truck to the front, deciding to investigate the driver cabin. To your surprise it wasn’t locked and you easily pulled open the door. You smelled sweat, old fast food and something that made your skin crawl.

You climbed up the steps and looked over the seats, noticing a memo pad next to the driver’s seat. You leaned over, noticing his sweet honey scent even stronger now. Your thoughts raced inside your head, questioning why you smelled Eric’s scent inside this truck. Most importantly you were sure he wasn’t hurt but that would make only one other option the possible outcome - and you still didn’t want to believe he could be part of the smuggling.

You grabbed the memo pad and the pencil next to it, gently scribbling over the surface and revealing a message.

“Abandoned opera out of town, auction starts 11pm”

At the bottom of the note you even saw a date and your jaw clenched. Almost automatically you pulled out your phone and dialed the number of the commander.

You told him about the message and the bloodied back of the truck, but you kept secret about having smelled Eric. The commander promised to send an investigation team and that you should return the second they took over. In the meantime he would prepare for another emergency meeting.

You shortly updated your colleague about the situation, before you walked back to the car and sat down on the passenger seat again. You kept the door open and stared out into the distance, deep in thought.

To be honest with yourself, you liked Eric. When you spent time with him at the fast food restaurant, he definitely made an impression. He was funny, kind, a little bit silly but still incredibly charming. You would lie if you said you didn’t have fun spending time with him. You would also lie to yourself and anyone else, if you said you hadn’t thought of texting him at all since then.

Your fingertips twitched, the idea of simply messaging him now twirling around in your mind. You watched your hands move around as if they didn’t belong to your body, seeing how they turned on your phone and dialed the number you somehow had memorised already. Your thumb hovered above the call button and before you knew it, you had pressed it.

It only rang once before you heard his distant voice from the speaker. You ever so slowly raised your hand with the phone to your ear, hearing him call out again.

“Hello?”

“Eric?”

Silence. For a moment you heard nothing but his breathing and your own loud heartbeat. 

“I was wondering when you’d call me, Detective Lin.”

A small grin tugged at the corners of your lips upon hearing his cheeky statement. “So you missed being interrogated already?” Somehow flirting came naturally to you when you talked with him. You leaned against the seat and pulled your legs up to the edge of the car. “Why did you wait for my call though?”

Eric laughed and you could picture him shaking his head. “Didn’t your boss tell you I was the one calling because of the truck?”

Almost instantly you sat up straight again, barely missing bumping your head on the roof of the car. “What?”

His laugh stopped and his tone suddenly became serious. “I pass that parking lot every day on my way to work. I thought it was suspicious, that’s why I called.”

You stepped out of the car again, turning around your own axis. For some reason you felt being watched all of a sudden and you couldn’t shake that feeling off. “I haven’t said a word about the truck”, you whispered, unconsciously holding your breath right after.

“Isn’t that the reason you called?” Eric kept quiet for a few heartbeats. “That would have been the only logical connection in my book, unless-”

“Unless?” You exhaled shakily, somehow fearing what other conclusion he came up with.

“Unless you want a second date.”

You snorted in disbelief, shaking your head as you started to relax again. “That wasn’t a date back then.”

“So you’re asking me on a first date.”

“I’m not”, you laughed, hearing him snicker cheekily as well. 

“It was worth a try”, he told you after a while, almost sounding woefully. His tone quickly switched with his next question. “Anyway, why’d you call then?”

You weren’t able to dwell on the change as the investigation team arrived at the parking lot. “To be honest, you already answered the question I had. I gotta go back to work, talk to you soon.”

You cut the call and concentrated on your job again, making sure the team was aware of the things you had noticed before you and your colleague drove back to the headquarters.

The second the two of you stepped out of the elevators at headquarters you got ushered to the second emergency meeting that day.

The meeting dragged on for hours and you felt how your energy and motivation level sunk lower and lower. 

All of you knew what had to be done but for some reason some of your colleagues were opposed to the idea - including your commander. 

“Can we stop talking around the issue at hand?” You groaned and dragged one hand over your face before you straightened yourself again. “I will go undercover on the side of a hybrid and while I know it will be dangerous, I won’t be alone with some of you going undercover as buyers. And if push comes to shove, I trust you will save me.”

They shared a few glances with each other before your commander sighed in defeat. “Fine, but the second something doesn’t go according to plan you’ll get pulled out there.”

You bowed to him. “Understood.” 

He still didn’t seem convinced but instead of voicing his concerns he continued with the meeting, going over every minute detail for the new undercover mission.

A few days after the emergency meeting you walked through the town at night. The commander had pointed out an area with the highest abduction rate and you strolled around that place in hopes of getting caught.

While you had to pretend of being unaware of your surroundings, you couldn’t help but notice the eerie silence around the street. Most of the lanterns weren’t lit and the few that shared some light, casted distorted shadows along the ground and walls.

You nearly jumped when your phone suddenly rang. You looked at the caller ID, immediately recognising the number. For a moment longer you stared at your display before accepting the call and raising the phone to your ear. “Eric?”

“Get out of there! Now!”

You stopped, rooted to the ground. “What?” Your thoughts tumbled over each other and you struggled to form anything coherent. 

“I told you to get out of there immediately!”

Ever so slowly you turned around, looking behind you and to every dark corner of the street. “How do you know where I am?” A shiver ran down your spine.

“That’s beside the point! I need you to run now!” Eric frantically yelled into his phone.

His panic swept over to you and you felt your heartbeat increasing as adrenalin got pumped through your veins. Your body automatically prepared for whatever was coming, even before you knew what it was.

“Eric, I’m not leaving”, you tried your best to sound as nonchalant as possible. “I’m on a mission here.”

“For the love of everything that is dear to me”, he whispered exasperated, “this is not a joke, Detective Lin. You have to run! NOW!”

Right as his command ended, screeching tires stopped right next to you on the street. You barely managed to turn your head before you saw how the sliding door of a dark grey transporter opened and two bulky men jumped out. 

You stared at them with wide eyes, frozen to the spot. Old memories flashed before your eyes as they grabbed your upper arms. 

One of them snatched the phone out of your hand, grinning evilly as he slammed it to the ground, silencing Eric’s calls in the process, and stepping on it to destroy it completely.

They pulled you into the transporter like you were nothing but a ragdoll. You got thrown in the back, groaning from the pain and knowing your skin would bruise from that alone.

The men closed the doors behind them and told the driver to take off before they turned back to look at you.

“This looks like a feisty one”, the taller one said with the same evil grin on his lips.

“Whatever, we’re not testing”, the other cut in with a stern look in his eyes, “deal with this quickly.”

You barely even comprehend what he meant by that, before the taller one got closer and knocked you out with one punch to your jaw. 

You woke up with a splitting headache and a dull throbbing of your jaw. A quiet groan escaped your lips while your eyelids fluttered open. 

Even though there was only spare and dim lighting, you noticed the metal bars around you. Despite being awake now, you stayed in your position and assessed your surroundings.

You heard hectic bustling further down the hall, quiet sniffles, clattering teeth and shallow breaths closer to you. Ever so slowly you pushed yourself up, noticing you were barely able to sit properly in the small cage you were in. Carefully, you turned around, taking everything in, that you could make out in the dim light.

There were dozens of cages in various sizes lined up around you. Most of them were occupied with other hybrids - all of them in bad shape. The smaller ones looked severely beaten up while the bigger ones were heavily malnourished and all of them appeared to have broken spirits.

You scooted to the side of your cage, leaning against the cold metal bars. “Hey”, you whispered silently, catching the attention of a deer hybrid next to you. “Do you know where we are?”

They looked at you with utter horror, shaking their head violently and refusing to give you any sort of verbal answer.

“If I were you, kid, I wouldn’t talk so much.”

You turned and saw a feline hybrid sitting in the cage across from you. “Why?” You crawled closer to the male, curious about his intel. 

He scoffed mirthlessly before he came closer himself, emerging from the shadows and showing his scar littered body.

You gasped and stared at him with wide eyes. “Did they do this to you?”

“That’s what happens when you defy humans.” His voice was laced with regret and his dark, sad eyes finally met yours. “There’s only one last hope, most of us cling to that now.”

“The police saving you?” You asked, knowing your colleagues would be at the auction. Though you didn’t want to crush his hope, fully aware the police didn’t have enough money to bid on every hybrid and while they could raid the place, your commander decided they would only do so if the head of the organisation would show their face at the event. Even if they would raid the opera there was no guarantee they would catch everyone and free every hybrid.

The hybrid in front of you laughed dryly. “As if the police ever cared about us hybrids.” He spat on the ground, showing you clearly how much he hated them. “I’m talking about TBZ.” He leaned back again, hiding his face in the shadows once more. A soft chuckle escaped his lungs. “Though it will be quite hard for hybrids to join the auction as buyers.”

You tilted your head in confusion. “What do you mean? Who are TBZ?”

Before he could answer a loud metal clang made you jump in surprise and let all the other hybrids cower in fear. “Shut your mouth, dirty scum”, a human with an electric stick shouted, glaring at you and the tiger hybrid.

He crouched down and turned to the tiger, tapping the metal cage with the stick. “I would have thought you had learned your lesson, Mr. New. Guess, I was wrong.” He pressed the button on his electric stick, letting little white lights spark the metal of the cage and jolting the tiger hybrid.

“Stop it!” You called out, reaching your hand through the metal bars in a fruitless attempt to stop the human. “I said, STOP IT!”

This time the human looked over his shoulder, still pressing the button and electrocuting the tiger. He raised an eyebrow as his eyes wandered over your form. “Who do we have here”, he mused with a sick grin on his face, finally turning around completely and letting off of the hybrid. “Did our royalty finally decide to wake up from their deep slumber?”

You gritted your teeth but did everything to keep your face neutral and emotionless.

He laughed out loud, his eyes crazed as he waddled over to you in his crouched position. “You are a feisty one! So Tango and Whiskey were right! Oh, it will be such a joy to break you like all the others.” Without even blinking he tapped the electric stick against your cage and pressed the button.

The pain immediately surged through your body, your muscles tensing uncontrollably from it. Yet, you didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of making a sound.

When he turned off the stick, you slumped down to the ground, unable to move. “I know it’s just a short time between us two but it will mean so much more”, he giggled and turned the stick on again. He watched you flap on the ground like a fish out of water, waiting with bated breath for you to make a sound. “Oh, darling, I will make you scream sooner rather than later.”

“Delta! Stop torturing the beasts and help us prepare the fucking auction!”

The man with the codename Delta turned off the electric stick with a loud whine - as if his parents just told him to do laundry instead of playing his video game. Still, he turned to you one more time, pressing his face between two metal bars. “We’re seeing each other again in no time, darling.”

“DELTA! Don’t make me come back there!”

Delta stood up with an annoyed growl. “I’m fucking coming already, Charlie. Get off my dick, man.” With that he left and moved back to the front of the hall.

“Are you alright, kid?” The tiger hybrid whispered in the lowest voice he could muster. 

“I had worse”, you simply told him, turning your head and giving him a half assed smile. While your statement technically wasn’t a lie, this was a first and you already knew should you experience being electrocuted again you’d rather wish to die.

“That was quite brave of you, kid. And incredibly stupid.”

“Weird form of saying ‘thank you’, Mr. New.” 

“Call me Chan-hee”, he told you, hesitating momentarily, “and thank you.”

You introduced yourself as well, still lying on the ground. You used the moment of peace to mull over the intel you got from this short and painful interaction. 

Those jerks used the NATO phonetic alphabet for their code names and with Delta following the orders of a man called Charlie, you assumed each name had a specific rank to them as well. Therefore the guys kidnapping you must have been quite low in rank, while Charlie and Delta should be in the third and fourth position of the ranking. That would mean there were only three more above them in rank and the one at the top must be called Alpha.

You startled awake again from the loud sound of metal scratching over concrete. With a groan you pushed yourself up, groggily realising you must have passed out while lying on the floor.

“Wakey, wakey you bastards! It’s time to shine! The auction begins in a few hours!” Delta stopped next to your cage again. “Look, who is awake again”, he lowered his voice to speak with you, grinning like a maniac, “I’ll take especially good care of you, darling.”

You wanted to hurl right this instant but you kept your face passive and forced your body to stay neutral. Whatever that meant, you would endure it. For the sake of the mission, for the sake of the other hybrids, for the sake of your sanity.

The cages got moved to the front of the hall, people pulled the hybrids out of their confinements and dragged them away. Others returned with them, chaining them up along the walls. You noticed how they had a change of clothes and seemed to have bathed in some way.

You silently watched how dozens of hybrids were dragged away and brought back. Meanwhile you stayed in your cage until the very end. Even when the deer hybrid behind you and Chan-hee next to you got dragged away, you got left behind.

Until Delta came up to your cage again. “It’s your time to shine, darling.” He threw a collar into the cage and ordered you to put it on, tapping his electric stick against the bars when you weren’t fast enough. He then grabbed the leash that was attached to the collar, opened the cage and harshly pulled you out. 

You stumbled forward, falling on your knees and hands. The yanking on the leash tightened the collar around your throat, making it hard to breathe.

Delta laughed again. “You wanna go on all four? Like the animal you are? Sure, be my guest!” 

“Pangolins are bipedal”, you grunted and pushed yourself up on your feet. 

“And I couldn’t care less”, he told you, his face only inches from yours, before he moved back and kicked you in your stomach, making you fall to the ground again. “So now, crawl.”

You ignored the humiliation and silently followed him out of the hall. Your knees hurt from the bare concrete floor and you knew, you scraped them already.

Not soon enough you reached something that looked like the showers of a football stadium. Grimy tiles and six shower heads on each side of the room.

“Undress.”

You looked at the man, waiting for him to turn around or at least leave the room. Though the second he pulled on the leash and made you come closer to his face again, telling you the same command through gritted teeth, you knew you had to strip in front of him.

With glares that could kill, you started undressing yourself. You let your clothes drop to the ground where you stood, not even trying to cover your nakedness. You were too damn proud to give in to his humiliation tactics. 

His eyes roamed over your body, a sneer marking his face. He looked at your scale like plates covering your sides, shoulders, upper arms and hips. “You’re an abomination of nature”, he stated after a while. “Disgusting.” Delta then motioned you to go to one of the shower heads, telling you to get clean.

You froze in place, the gasp stuck in your throat when the ice cold water descended on your body. You waited a moment longer, hoping the water would turn warm against all odds. With trembling hands you started scrubbing your body.

Once you were done, you stepped away from the water and back to Delta. You tried to keep your body from shivering with the cold wetness clinging to your skin and hair, staring at the man and waiting for a command.

He threw a moldy smelling towel at you and told you to dry yourself, calling for someone with fresh clothes. Delta watched you intently as you got dressed again, grinning at the outfit he picked for you.

On one hand you were quite surprised how nice the clothes were to the touch. On the other hand you knew better looking merchandise got a higher price. Additionally his choice barely covered the intimate parts of your body, showing the hybrid traits that you owned.

You noticed everyone got clothes that highlighted their traits when Delta brought you back to the others, chaining you up at the very front of the line. “Remember to look pleasantly to the eye when on stage”, he told you with a smirk, zapping you one last time before he got called somewhere else.

Soon enough someone else unchained you again and dragged you towards a heavy curtain. He pushed you into a cage again, this one appearing to be made out of silver with an intricate design. Once the door of the cage got shut, some sort of mechanism pulled you upwards. 

You grabbed the bars to your sides, trying to stabilise yourself from the sudden swaying.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to welcome you to a night of wonders and exclusiveness.”

Your attention got pulled to the voice beyond the curtain.

“I’ll guarantee for a show that you’ll remember. The first few options for you to buy are already among us.” The voice laughed and seemingly walked around the stage. “All of our cute little waiters and waitresses can be bought tonight. You’ll recognise them from their maid outfits.”

You made a grimace from just imagining the sick and twisted mind behind that sort of display.

“Obviously that is not all! Tonight we offer you 37 hybrids, ranging from prey to predator, from common to extremely rare. While we won’t bid on this one until the very end, let me introduce you to the highlight of our night!”

With that the curtain opened and the cage moved forward into the bright light. 

You squinted your eyes, slightly turning your head to the side from the brightness alone. You heard the audience murmur and whisper, until the auctioneer told them what breed you were, additionally with your age, weight, height and other measurements. You stared at him in bewilderment, a shiver running down your back at the thought someone must have taken all these while you were unconscious.

The cage lowered slowly and the lights didn’t blind you anymore. Your eyes trailed over the audience. The bright lights on the stage compared to the dim light in the audience made it hard for you to see any details. 

Still, you were able to make out that every person wore a mask that covered at least half of their face. Women fanned themselves with feathered fans, men smoked cigars and all of them chattered joyfully like this was just another charity event.

“Now, let us begin with our first hybrid”, the auctioneer called out, waving his hand for the henchmen bringing the hybrids in.

Again the auctioneer told the audience what they saw in front of them and finished his introduction with the lowest price accepted.

Buyers rapidly raised their number cards, the price jumping higher and higher in steps of one thousand. 

“Sold to the man with the number 24!”

You saw how one of the henchmen hurried over to a man with a silver mask sitting at a table far to the left. They had a short interaction, you assumed a check got signed, before the sold hybrid got dragged towards the man.

Your attention got pulled back to the stage with the next auction. With each new hybrid the starting price got higher and higher. When it was finally Chan-hee’s turn you noticed a change in his behaviour. 

He almost appeared indifferent, confident even on stage. His eyes flitted to the number cards in the air and the corner of his mouth always twitched upwards when certain numbers were called out.

Confused, you turned your attention to the audience again. To your surprise you suddenly realised how the bought hybrids weren’t in the audience anymore, while their buyers still sat at their tables. 

The number 30 with a yellow mask had bought the scared deer hybrid, number 19 with a purple mask bought a dog hybrid, number 2 in white currently grinned mischievously as he battled for the buy with number 82 with a red mask. 

Your eyes flitted around the room. You could have facepalmed yourself upon realising all those numbers had the same kind of mask just in varying colours. You saw someone in a sky blue mask with the number 67, number 16 with a golden mask, also a black mask with the number 39, number 9 in orange and number 11 in blue.

The last one you saw was a man with a pink mask, holding the 22 as their number card. To your surprise he already stared at you, not even interested in the auction of the other hybrids. 

You tilted your head, feeling some sort of pull towards him, as if you should be knowing him.

“The tiger goes to number 82!” The auctioneer cheered, catching your attention again.

You looked at Chan-hee, who barely contained the grin on his face as he got pulled to his new owner. As the next auction began, you decided to focus on Chan-hee and the buyer instead. You narrowed your eyes, seeing how he patted Chan-hee’s shoulder almost like an older brother, hugging him shortly. You also noticed how relaxed Chan-hee appeared and it slowly dawned on you.

“TBZ”, you mumbled, eyes immediately jumping back to the man with the pink mask. Your heartbeat quickened as you realised that all hybrids had been bought by these people so far and you slowly started to wonder who they were.

“It’s finally time for the highlight of the night”, the auctioneer announced and your cage moved again towards the middle of the stage. He repeated your details once more, remembering everyone how rare and valuable you actually were.

The man with the pink mask pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against the whole time, moving to the front. Others followed him, wanting a good look at you. 

You barely acknowledged the presence of the others, completely transfixed on him. He tapped his chin with his number card as if he was thinking about something but the simple movement let his sweet honey scent waft over to you. 

A knowing smirk pulled at the corner of his lips when your eyes widened in realisation.

Your mind reeled, questions tumbled over one another as you stared at Eric. Why was he here? Was he part of that group Chan-hee mentioned? Who were they? Were all of them hybrids? Why would they bid on other hybrids? What was their goal? Were they the reason for all the hybrid abductions or are they a whole different group to deal with? What if they were part of this smuggling ring and this whole auction was just a farce. What if this was a setup for the police?

Your attention drifted from Eric as your eyes searched the large crowd. The commander had ordered several masks and showed them to you, so you would recognise your colleagues even in the crowd.

You noticed some of them, seeing how they chatted with other buyers and barely paid you any attention. 

For a second you were relieved to see your colleagues but something didn’t sit right with you. A bad feeling gnawed at your insides, a thought you couldn’t fathom just yet emerging from the back of your mind.

“50.000!” 

Your attention got pulled back to Eric, who just yelled an incredibly large sum and raised his number card. You blinked several times, wondering for a split second if he actually got that much.

“60.000!”

You tensed, hearing the voice of Delta ring through the audience. You glanced at the auctioneer, who only raised an eyebrow questioningly but shrugged it off quickly to entertain the crowd. 

You looked at your colleagues, confused why they weren’t bidding for you. Sure, 60.000 was quite a lot but there were undercover missions that were way more expensive.

“70.000!”

Eric yelled again, his jaw tense as he glared towards Delta. 

“80.000.”

You looked at the man, seeing a lazy grin on his lips. He wasn’t concerned in the least, as if he was certain he’d win this battle.

“One million!”

Once again you checked for your colleagues and your mind raced all over again. Why wouldn’t they be bidding for you? Was there an order they followed that you hadn’t received yet? You tried to reason, mulling over every possibility there was. You glanced towards Delta. What if the commander hoped Delta would bring you to the head of this organisation?

In that case Eric would ruin the plan if he won the auction. You looked at Eric with worry in your eyes, seeing how determined he was to buy you.

“Five million”, Delta said, rolling his shoulders and twisting his neck. “I can do this the whole night, boy. Give up now before you seem too desperate.”

“Ten million.” He hissed through gritted teeth. Fear pooled in Eric’s eyes, seeing how Delta didn’t even flinch at that offer. He turned to look at you and you saw how he desperately tried to come up with something.

“I’ll be fine”, you mouthed at him, trusting the police had a superior plan in mind.

“Fifty million.” Delta waited a second before he called out again. “Wait, let me double that offer, one hundred million.” He leaned forward, silently challenging Eric to make a better offer.

Eric visibly deflated, shaking his head in defeat. 

The voice of the auctioneer rang in your ears like a gunshot, telling the crowd Delta won and bought you for one hundred million. 

You wished you could have talked to Eric for a moment but your cage got pulled behind the stage again. The curtain closed before your eyes, drowning you in darkness again. 

When they opened for a split second and light pooled over your cage, your heart jumped with hope Eric had decided to barge through. Though your hope immediately got crushed when you realised it was Delta, who walked towards you now.

He threw that same collar at you and waited for you to put it on. “Did you hope that loser in pink would buy you?” He sneered as he pulled you out of the cage. “That guy never stood a chance. I told you we would see more of each other. After all, I still have to break you, darling. And until then you’re my little play toy.”

You silently followed him for the sake of the mission, even when everything inside of you screamed at you to run away.

The second you stepped into his car everything became a blur of pain and suffering. Every waking moment you had was filled with Delta ‘playing’ with you.

His interpretation of playing was torture. Some days he chained you against a wall, others he hung you head down for hours. One time he wrapped a plastic bag over your head and gave you a tube to breathe through, before he buried you naked in his garden - cutting off the air supply whenever it pleased him.

The first few days you still had hope nestling inside of you - hope, he would lead you to alpha; hope, the commander or a group of detectives would raid this place and save you. But with each passing hour where nothing happened that hope dwindled like the flame of a candle becoming smaller and smaller as it neared its end.

Delta tried to hurt you as much as possible without killing you, wishing for you to finally scream in agony. He got increasingly frustrated with your lack of reactions, not knowing you had lived through torture once.

He scoffed and shoved your naked body away, watching you stumble backwards until you fell down. Delta stared at you silently before he stood up and flipped the cigarette he had used to burn you into the tiled room and moved to the door. “Alpha told me you were a tough one”, he told you casually, “but I already know how to break you.”

You didn’t even manage to lift your head, simply watching him with your eyes as he walked further away.

“You scream the loudest when I hurt someone else.”

Your heart dropped into your stomach and your eyes widened in panic.

“THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO SEE”, Delta cheered loudly, clapping his hands as he saw the mortified expression on your face. He grabbed his phone and called someone. “Foxtrot, bring the mouse hybrid.”

“No”, you exhaled in a weak attempt to stop him but it was too late already.

Minutes later the door opened again and a woman brought a tiny girl into the room, shoving her inside before she left again without saying a word. 

The mouse hybrid trembled like a leaf in the wind, nervously looking around until her eyes landed on Delta and your bruised form on the ground. 

In an instant Delta shot up and crossed the room with a few steps. He grabbed the mouse hybrid by the throat and lifted her into the air. “The only way you’ll survive is when that abomination over there complies.”

“Let her go”, you croaked out. You tried pushing yourself up but your arms buckled underneath your weight and you dropped back to the ground.

“What was that?” Delta mocked you, knowing full well you wouldn’t be able to speak louder than that since he barely gave you enough liquid to survive.

“Please”, you whispered, tears pricking at the corners of your eyes as you watched the mouse hybrid struggle in his hold, clawing at his grip and silently begging for air. “Please, I’ll do anything. Just let her go.”

Delta huffed in annoyance. “I already took everything you had to offer. Everything except your agonised screams. You know what I want.”

“Please beat me, please. I promise I will scream.” By now you started sobbing. You weakly pulled yourself across the tiled floor, trying to get closer to Delta. When you reached him the mouse hybrid already stopped moving in his hold. You clawed at his pants, begging him to release the girl before it was too late.

With another huff he let go and the mouse hybrid dropped to the floor. She turned to her side and started coughing violently.

Again you tried pushing yourself up, succeeding this time. You gently rubbed the back of the girl, pulling her into a reassuring embrace when she calmed down enough. You cupped her cheeks, whispering to her that you would do everything to protect her.

She smiled at you weakly, nodding and blinking away her tears while you pushed strands of her grey hair out of her face.

Suddenly Delta cupped your hands and snapped her neck. “Her death is on you.”

You saw the light die in her eyes right before she lifelessly dropped to the ground. 

You screamed. 

You cried.

You tried pulling her back into your arms with trembling fingers, screaming even more when she didn’t move or react to anything you did.

Delta just stood in front of you, his expression showing you he just experienced complete and pure bliss. 

“You monster”, you screamed at him, rocking the dead body like a mother would with her child. You sobbed as you caressed her face, silently asking her to forgive you.

You barely acknowledged Delta’s presence and became quieter and quieter. You gave him what he wanted and for nothing, you weren’t able to save that girl.

Delta stepped closer and ripped her body out of your hold, before he kicked you in the stomach - propelling you backwards until you slammed against the wall behind you. 

You couldn’t even recover from the blow. Delta immediately got to you and chained you to the wall. “Don’t even think we’re done here.” With that he stepped back and towards the corpse of the mouse hybrid.

You stared at him with horror, already shaking your head because you didn’t want to believe it. “No”, you breathed out, “you wouldn’t.” You didn’t even hear your own cries and screams as you watched him defile the corpse. You pulled at your restraints, ignoring how the shackles cut into your wrists and drew blood already. 

“You bastard! Monster! Let go of her! I will kill you!”

As your last curse escaped your lips the door got kicked in and several men in colourful masks filed into the room. 

The one with the red mask knocked out Delta and watched him drop to the ground. Another with a golden mask checked the pulse of the mouse hybrid and sadly shook his head. 

Only after the pink mask came into the room and rushed straight towards you, did you recognise it was the same group from the auction. 

Eric unchained you and immediately caught your body as you simply slumped down. “Shit”, he cursed and quickly pulled you against his chest. He grabbed his jacket and wrapped it around you. “I’m sorry it took me so long.”

You inhaled deeply, your eyes fluttering shut as his sweet honey scent engulfed you. “It wasn’t your fault”, you whispered weakly. 

“Let us get out of here.”

You nodded and got on your feet with his help, slowly walking through the room. You stopped when you reached the mouse hybrid and Delta’s unconscious body. You gently tucked on Eric’s shirt. “We need to take them with us.”

The men looked at each other, sharing a silent conversation that you didn’t understand. Only after the one with the red mask sighed and motioned for his comrades to grab these two, did they gather around them.

“Be careful with her”, you asked them before you turned your eyes to Delta. “And just make sure he survives.”

They grinned, some even snickered at your statement. 

You watched how they gently picked up the girl and carried her outside, while two of them each grabbed an arm of Delta and pulled him along, uncaring how he bumped against steps and corners.

You turned to look at Eric. The energy keeping you up slowly died down and you noticed how the edges of your vision darkened. You wanted to warn Eric but all you could manage was a softly whispered ‘sorry’ before you passed out.

When you woke up again you found yourself in a soft bed. You didn’t know how much time passed while you were unconscious but it definitely wasn’t enough since the dull throbbing of pain radiated from each corner of your body.

“You shouldn’t move too much just yet”, the voice of Eric interrupted your thoughts. He walked into the room with a small tray in one of his hands, closing the door quietly behind him. “I’m glad to see you’re awake again.”

“Are you sure? This feels like a dream, seeing you serving me.”

Eric snickered and shook his head. “Good to see nothing has changed either.”

You made a grimace at the thought of what had happened. “On the contrary. Everything has changed”, you mumbled and sat up on the bed, leaning against the headrest. “How long was I out?” You looked around, trying to find a clue of what time or date it was.

Though the room was barely decorated and definitely didn’t have a clock hanging around. Additionally with the drawn curtains you only assumed it was daytime, not knowing for certain.

“A few days”, Eric told you and sat the tray with food on your lap before he sat down on the edge of the bed. “You sustained a lot of wounds, most of them only healed superficially.”

You hummed and nodded in agreement, sensing the throbbing within your body. 

“Q said to give you a few more days and then the pain should be gone.” Eric looked at you, his eyes holding a sadness and pain you couldn’t fathom. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to protect you.”

This time you shook your head, leaning forward despite the pain increasing, and patted his hand softly. “It wasn’t your fault. I had a mission to fulfil.”

Eric winced at your words. “No mission should require for you to live through torture”, he growled and pulled away from you, standing up and marching from one side of the room to the other and back again. “You could have died in the hand of that monster.”

You bit on your lower lip, secretly knowing he was right but you still didn’t want to admit it to yourself. You grabbed the tray and placed it next to you, slowly getting up and walking over to Eric.

He stopped his pacing, his hand shooting forward to stabilise you and hold you. His eyes roamed over your face, while a storm of emotions and questions plagued his features. “How can you be so calm about this?”

You shrugged with your shoulders. “Not my first rodeo.”

Eric closed his eyes, his face twisting in pain. He gently pulled you even closer to him, engulfing you in a tight hug. 

For a moment you didn’t know what to do, but his sweet scent wrapped around you like a warm blanket and you melted into his touch. You hugged him back, having your arms wrapped around his hips and leaning your face against his collarbone.

At that moment the door opened and you saw Chan-hee walk into the room with another guy. “Oh, did the badger finally find his honey?” He teased, snickering with Chan-hee at his joke.

“My honey?” Eric questioned with knitted eyebrows. He looked from his friends to you and back again, before the realisation dawned on him and he desperately tried to hide his blushing.

You stepped away from Eric, surprised to see Chan-hee again.

“Good to see you again, kid.”

You huffed but smiled nonetheless. “What are you even doing here?” You walked over to him and hugged him shortly, thankful he seemed alright.

“Like I told you. TBZ.”

“Technically you only said their name and nothing else”, you countered with a roll of your eyes. “So would anyone be kind enough to enlighten me? The police force has no record about a group called TBZ.”

“I’m not surprised you didn’t get the records about us, Detective Lin”, Eric half teased and half grunted. “As a hybrid you would have been a danger for their mission to eradicate us.”

You frowned at him and then looked at the other two men, hoping to receive an answer to all your questions.

Eric gently grabbed your elbow and guided you back to the bed, motioning for you to sit down and eat while they would explain all they could to you.

“TBZ is a group of hybrids, fighting for the safety of other hybrids. We started this when we noticed the officials and the police barely did anything against the discrimination we received”, Eric told you with a solemn expression.

“We try to stay under the radar of the police but they have connections everywhere”, the man, whose name you didn’t get explained.

“Even in the smuggling ring.”

You turned to Chan-hee, looking at him for a moment as if you wanted to argue with him but scenes of the auction resurfaced in your mind and you decided to keep silent for now.

“We fight to get all hybrids from the smuggling ring before they leave town and transport them to safety. There are hybrid communities all across the globe and more and more hybrids and sometimes even humans joined our cause. Still, there are too many we cannot save.”

All of you looked down at the blanket, possibly remembering the faces of all the victims you had lost.

“Right now our biggest enemy and issue are the police.”

“But why?” You frowned, shaking your head softly. “We have a special unit that’s solely tasked to track down the smuggling ring and prevent more hybrid abductions.”

“And yet there was an increase in abductions”, Eric growled, looking away from you.

“Up until Eric showed up, how successful were you with your unit?” Chan-hee asked you with a raised eyebrow. 

You blinked several times, recalling all the months you had been on that task force. Either the leads were flukes or your unit arrived too late at the scene. You grimaced at the realisation. “Not really good.”

The silence following your words was almost deafening. You knew their trust towards the police or the government couldn’t be restored like that anymore. Not until the last rotten egg was discovered and dealt with.

After you ate the food Eric had brought you, the men left the room again, telling you to rest some more.

You hadn’t even noticed how exhausted you were from this minimal interaction, though you knew most of your energy was used to heal your wounds. 

Even with your hybrid genes it took a few more days before you were able to move around without feeling any sort of pain. Once Eric gave his okay as well, not wanting to put any sort of strain on you, you were allowed to do smaller tasks around the house again.

Though you didn’t really care about the opportunity to work out again. You wanted to do something else entirely.

So when you sat down with all the men, you immediately blurted out your request: “I want to interrogate Delta.”

All of them stared at you like you grew a second head. Before you could even explain yourself they started discussing the topic with each other, saying pros and cons as if you weren’t sitting right next to them.

“Not on your own. One of us has to be with you. For safety reasons.”

You turned to look at Eric, silently asking him if he would accompany you. While you got to know all the other men, you still felt the most comfortable with him.

“I’ll bring you there tomorrow morning”, he promised, ending the discussion at that point.

Though when he accompanied you to your room, Eric was far from convinced. “Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked and closed the door of the room behind the both of you.

“He knows who the head of the smuggling ring is. I need to find that person.” ‘And make them pay.’ The last part you only thought, unsure whether Eric or the others condoned revenge.

“Then let me do the interrogation. You don’t need to see that scumbag ever again.” Eric walked over to you, pulling you into his embrace from behind. He leaned his chin on your shoulder, gently nosing along your neck and jawline.

You slightly turned to look at his face with straight lips. “Don’t tell me you haven’t tried before.”

Eric chuckled softly and hugged you even tighter. “Fine, we did try and he wouldn’t talk at all.”

Now you turned completely and wrapped your arms around his neck, giving him a soft peck on the cheek. “I know how to break him, please don’t worry about me.”

“You know I can’t help but worry about you, honey.” Eric gently pushed you towards the bed, grinning when both of you fell on the mattress. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

You hummed softly, stroking his hair while he laid on top of you with his head resting on your chest. “What if I have to hurt that man to get the information I want?”

Eric contemplated your question for a moment, before he shrugged with his shoulders. “He had it coming then.”

“And you won’t think differently of me? No matter what I’ll do tomorrow?”

This time Eric pushed himself up to look at you, tilting his head with a frown on his face. “While I think I know what you’re capable of, I feel like I shouldn’t ask what you’re planning to do tomorrow.”

You turned your head away, not wanting to meet his eyes. “I’m not really planning anything”, you mumbled with a small pout on your lips, “it’s just that I learned a lot of ways to extract information the hard way.”

Eric gently grabbed your chin and made you look at him again. His eyes were so soft and you could have sworn his gaze alone turned you into a puddle. “No matter what you’ll be doing tomorrow, I’ll have your back. I’ll still call you honey and still hold you in my arms at night.”

You mouthed your thanks and leaned upwards, pecking his lips before dropping back on the mattress.

“That’s all I get?” Eric asked in mock offense, falling back on top of you. He grinned brightly when you started to laugh and tried pushing him off of you. Playing along, he grabbed your side and turned both of you around, so you straddled him now. 

You raised an eyebrow teasingly, trying hard not to grin. Before you failed, you quickly leaned down and captured his lips in a kiss.

Soon enough one kiss turned into several and the kissing turned into making out. His hands roamed over your sides and yours over his chest. Both of you tucked at the clothes, pulling them off between kissing and throwing them somewhere into the room.

You spent the whole night together, connecting with one another even more intimately.

You had needed a night like that, needed Eric as your life buoy preventing you from drowning in the darkness that surely spread inside of you. 

When the next morning came, you momentarily wished to turn back the time not wanting to leave his arms just yet. Not wanting to become the monster for the sake of getting the information you needed.

Yet, you still got up and Eric silently followed you, sensing your inner turmoil but giving you the space to deal with it the way you wanted to.

He drove you to an abandoned house a few miles outside of the town. Eric guided you inside and into the basement, where Delta sat on the ground - chained to the wall he leaned against.

“What a surprise to see you, darling.”

Eric growled at him, already getting into a stance to attack him. 

You on the other hand kept your expression passive. With a simple hand gesture you calmed Eric down as well. “I need a chair and a desk”, you quietly told him, waiting for him to nod and search for the furniture.

For a few moments you had Delta for yourself, staring at him with a cold distance in your eyes. “You know there are two reasons for someone to use torture”, you told him, your voice void of any emotion, “one is to extract information and the other is simply for joy.”

“Why are you telling me this?” He spat, getting restless and tugging at the chains that held him.

“I mainly want one information from you. But believe me when I tell you I will torture you for my own twisted entertainment and nothing more.”

“You think I’d give you any information without torture?”

You didn’t answer him, hearing how Eric came back with a round wooden table and a folding chair on top of it. He placed the things in the middle of the room and looked at you expectantly.

“Could you put him on the seat while I get a few things?”

This time you didn’t even wait for Eric to answer you, walking out of the basement room and to the old kitchen. You heard how Delta fought and screamed but with his weakened state he had no chance against a hybrid - and definitely not against a honey badger hybrid. Though you paid them no mind, collecting what you deemed helpful in your cause: a few rusty knives, a lighter and matches, old cigarettes, a candle, some towels and a jug of water.

When you got back to the basement, Delta begrudgingly sat on the folding chair. His chained hands rested on the table in front of him, while another chain was wrapped around his torso, ankles and chair.

You placed the items on the surface of the desk in a calm manner, not saying a word as you did.

Eric stepped back to one wall, giving you the room you needed.

After everything was placed down, you sat on the edge of the table and grabbed one of the knives. You twirled it between your fingers a few times and then grabbed one of Delta’s hands. 

“You know, my species is hunted for their plates. Yet they are nothing more than hardened hair. Just like fingernails.” You looked up, passively staring at Delta’s confused expression. “Do you know how they extract those plates?”

When he shook his head no, you slammed the knife right underneath the fingernail of his pinky, twisting it and therefore dislocating the nail until it dropped to the ground.

Delta screamed in pain, trying to pull his hand away from you but your grip with your own claws prevented him from even moving a bit. 

You repeated the action on two more fingers, watching him writhe in pain with an almost bored expression. 

“I can’t believe it was that easy to make you scream”, you taunted him as you let go of his hand.

“I wasn’t that brutal towards you”, Delta exclaimed in anger. 

“No”, you shook your head, “you were worse.” You grabbed the lighter and the cigarettes, lighting one and pressing it down on random spots of his body - no matter whether it was covered with clothes or not. 

After the sixth mark, Delta cried out: “What do you even want to know? You haven’t even told me what information you need from me!”

You hopped onto the table and crossed one leg over the other, tilting your head as you watched the mess in front of you. You still held the cigarette between two fingers, silently contemplating to just continue and ignore his outburst. Yet, you flipped the cigarette away and placed both hands on the table, leaning back on them a little. “And I told you, I’ll only torture you for my own twisted entertainment.”

You grabbed the matches and lit one of them, staring at the dancing flame in front of you. “Did you know that burning human flesh technically smells like any other burnt flesh? The only reason humans find it repulsive is the fact they know it is human flesh.” With that you moved your hand with the burning match to the hem of his shirt.

Delta tried leaning away from you again, but it was too late and the fabric already caught on fire. 

You dropped the match to the concrete floor and calmly grabbed a towel to drench it with water, while more and more of Delta’s shirt started burning. 

He screamed in agony, pleading with you to put out the fire.

You placed the towel over the flames before they reached his shoulder, making him cry out in pain yet again from the rapid change between heat and cold. 

When he had calmed down again, you lit another match. You barely contained the wicked smile on your lips as you watched the dancing flame and the writhing body of Delta. 

This time though you didn’t set him on fire but simply lit the candle on the table. Again, you threw the match to the floor, gently pushing the candle towards Delta. 

“Tell me, who is the person behind the title Alpha.”

Delta trembled on his seat, tears streaming down his face. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him.”

You hummed, staring at the flame of the candle, seeing how more and more wax turned into liquid. “I don’t believe you.”

“NO!” Delta tried freeing himself again. “I’m telling the truth. I’ve never seen him!”

“Yet you said to me Alpha told you I was a feisty one. How can you not know someone when you spoke with them?” You jumped from the table, grabbed the candle with one hand and the hair on his neck with the other, pulling his head back so he was forced to stare at the ceiling.

“It was a phone call. All our interactions were only via phone calls!” 

You looked up at Eric, seeing his face seemingly sculpted out of stone. “Do you have his phone?” While you asked him you tilted your hand with the candle, letting the molten wax drop into Delta’s right eye. You ignored his struggling and cries of pain, waiting for Eric’s answer calmly.

Eric nodded and walked to a shelf on the other side of the room, pulling a phone from it. “We turned it off before we brought him here so we couldn’t get tracked.”

You thanked him softly and turned your attention back to Delta. “Is Alpha’s contact saved on your phone?”

“Yes, yes, yes, it is. Please, please let me go. Please show mercy.” 

You let go of Delta and placed the candle back on the table, instead you grabbed a larger knife. “No.” With that you turned around and slammed it into his throat.

Delta’s eyes widened as he made gurgling sounds and blood started pouring out of the wound and his mouth.

“He hasn’t told you who the head of the organisation is”, Eric stated, a hint of confusion in his voice. 

You looked at him, tears brimming at the corners of your eyes as your lips formed a pathetic version of a smile. “I never needed him to tell me.”

Eric immediately crossed the distance between you two and pulled you into his arms, shushing you and rubbing your back in an attempt to calm you.

You let him hold you until you heard Delta’s last heartbeat. Then you stepped away from Eric and grabbed the phone he had placed on the table. You turned it back on and unlocked it with Delta’s still warm fingerprint. Within seconds you found the contact name Alpha.

With one last shared look with Eric, you pressed the call button and put it on speaker. It rang a few times, before someone picked up.

“Yes?”

“Commander, I secured one of the men belonging to the smuggling ring.”

“Detective Lin? You made it out alive! I’m so glad! Where are you? I will come and get you.”

You motioned for Eric to write down the address, telling the location to the commander, who promised to be there as soon as possible and asked you to stay put.

When the call got cut, you dropped the phone to the ground. You looked at Eric, stepping towards him and cupping his cheek with one hand. You leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his lips. “This is going to be ugly. More than what you’ve already seen.”

He leaned his forehead against your, cupping your face with his hands. “I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

You exhaled shakily, a soft smile playing over your lips. “Let us cut off the electricity. The only source of light should be that candle.”

Eric nodded and was about to go, when he stopped and kissed you more passionately this time. “You’re saving a lot of hybrids this way.”

“I know.”

You watched him leave and retreated to a corner of the basement, hiding in the shadow. Eric would join you soon, so you could wait for the commander to arrive.

“I’m ready to become the monster”, you whispered and closed your eyes, knowing there was no going back from the path you had chosen the second you had called the Alpha.

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