"Not them. You know they have enough stuff to do with their research projects and buddy program. No need to trouble them any further."

The older warlock sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You're right. I'll see what I can do and let you know, okay? Just... don't do anything rash."

You smile angelically at him. "Wouldn't dream of it, Binnie." With that, you lazily wave one hand, his face vanishing from your mirror. 

Looking back into your scrying glass, you gnaw on your lip. You know the city that rogue vampire is stalking right now - you know it very well actually. 

It's the city your boyfriend lives in.

The probability of the rogue ever meeting him is very slight indeed (probably going towards zero), but nevertheless... an uneasy feeling spreads through your whole body. And being a witch gifted with the power of premonition, you learned to trust to your gut very early on in life. 

So you finally stop contemplating, grab your phone and dial Lou's number. 

He picks up after a few rings. "Hey babe, what's up?"

You can't help but smile as soon as your hear his deep voice. "Hey. I just wanted to ask if you're planning on coming over to my place this weekend.", you ask, twirling some strands of hair around your finger and continuing to stare into the scrying glass, not wanting to miss anything the rogue vampire is doing right now (not that you could actually intervene if anything should happen, but still... it makes you feel a little bit better).

"Uh no, sorry. There's something urgent I need to take care of before I can come see you again.”

You curse silently, closing your eyes for a few seconds and taking a deep breath. Time to bring out the big guns. "I just... I had a hard week. Police training is stressing me out and..." 

You hate manipulating him, but lying to maybe save his life is worth it, right?

"And there's been a death in my family."

Technically, it's not a lie - your Coven just sacrificed one of the older witches for the annual Halloween ritual, but with her being a necromancer it won't take long before she'll be back again. 

"What? Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Of course, I'll come as soon as possible. Are you okay? Do you need anything right now?" Lou sounds worried, his voice all soft now.

"No, it's okay. I just need you.", you answer.

"I'm gonna start packing right now. I'll let you know when I'm on my way, okay? Try to get some sleep, if you can. It's getting late."

You smile. "I'll try. See you soon."

With that, you hang up, letting your head fall into your hands. 

You hate lying to him like this, but it's for his own safety - he's a mere human being, so he's too vulnerable. 

You would do anything to protect him.

"I'll send you everything I've managed to gather so far.", Lou says into the speaker of his phone, picking up his travel bag and shouldering it, "If you need anything else, I'm just a call away, okay?"

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. Where are you going, anyway?", the deep voice on the other end of the line asks.

Lou thinks about this for a second before replying: "There's another case I have to take on."

"The details, I'm stunned." St. Van sounds more than just a little sarcastic, making Lou grin, before he answers: "Keep me updated, okay? We need to eliminate that rogue vampire as quickly as possible."

"I know - and I'll do whatever I can to do just that. Don't worry, okay?"

"Worrying is kind of my job as a hunter."

"I know. But you can trust me."

Lou knows this to be true - he and St. Van met by chance a few years earlier and since then, some kind of weird partnership/friendship has blossomed between the unlikely pair. A hunter and a vampire actually working together? Something unheard of before - but times are changing, the new generation of hunters being more open-minded towards the supernatural world. And Lou actually likes the vampire (even though he'd never admit to that), so he knows he can trust him with this case. 

So he simply says "I know.", before hanging up, smugly imagining St. Van's slightly offended look in his mind. 

He knows he has a duty as a hunter - therefore he's more than thankful St. Van has agreed to take this case.

Because Lous also has a duty as a boyfriend - and his girlfriend calling him in the middle of the night and asking him over when there's been a death in her family definitely calls for fulfilling his duty.

So he sends the promised files to St. Van, quickly locking his apartment and jogging towards his car. Before starting the motor, he sends you a quick text to let you know he's on his way, before driving off into the night.

You stare at your phone, heart already feeling lighter thanks to Lou's text confirming he's actually on his way.

You sigh, leaning back and stretching your arms above your head, yawning loudly. It's definitely been too many all-nighters for you by now - but being in police training at the moment as well as monitoring rogue creatures are time-consuming jobs, to say the least.

You tiredly rub your eyes, deciding some camomile tea will help with your restlessness. Boiling some water, you stare off into the distance, trying to sense if anything's wrong in your city tonight.

But apparently, the supernatural world is resting as well.

Taking your steaming mug, you sit down on your bed, turning the pages of a new spell book you found recently. Ayno has had a bit of trouble with one of his spells backfiring: he was apparently trying to dye his hair again, but Dawon messed up his concentration and the spell managed to somehow hit a friend of theirs just entering the apartment. Ayno asked for your help to find a counter spell and return his neighbors' hair to its natural state again. 

Sipping your tea, you read through some pages before concluding that this, unfortunately, is not the right book. You'll definitely need to look for another one (but a witch can never own too many spell books, right?).

So, you slam it shut and look towards your desk. Your scrying glass is waiting for you, but your eyelids are getting heavier with every second. Maybe you should listen to Lou and try to get at least some sleep tonight.

You shuffle over to your desk and stop the scrying with a simple wave of your hand, before stashing the small silver mirror and your new spell book away, locking the bottom drawer of your desk with a simple spell.

Looking around your small studio apartment, you nod once, pleased with yourself. It definitely does not look like a witch lives inside this apartment, your decor being stylish yet homey, but not like... witch-y. Lou won't find anything weird when he arrives, just how it should be. 

You quickly slip into your pj's, before pulling the covers of your bed over your head.

Seconds later, you're already out like a light.

You awake during the early morning hours, when the sky is slowly beginning to turn a pale blue, the mattress dipping beside you. 

Groggily, you open one eye, being greeted by your favorite smile in the whole world. 

"Hey baby.", Lou murmurs, sliding both arms around you and cradling your body against his.

"You're finally here.", you murmur sleepily, burying your face in his chest and closing your eyes again. 

He chuckles. "Finally? It's been only two hours since you called me. I made good time driving here."

"Mhmm.", you just make, already half-asleep again.

"Sleep, baby. I'll still be here when you wake up."

That's the last thing you hear before drifting off once more.

Lou plans to stay for a week, his job as a freelance graphic designer making this possible, and you finally begin to relax again.

The rogue vampire is still on the loose, but your power of premonition tells you he won't be a problem for long anymore, someone - or something - is coming for him.

The next Saturday, Lou tells you he needs to get back home tomorrow. The whole day, you try to come up with a plan to make him stay for even longer - the rogue one is still on the loose after all. 

In the evening though, Lou suddenly changes his mind - looking up from his phone, smiling at you. "Is it okay if I stay for a bit longer? Someone wants to meet me and talk about some details for the new website they’re envisioning.”, he asks - and you're obviously over the moon, agreeing immediately. After pressing a soft kiss against his lips, you resume cooking your infamous Curry for dinner, humming contently. 

That night, you awake in cold sweat, your whole body trembling and making you feel like you need to throw up. Lou is still soundly asleep beside you, one of his arms lazily thrown over your middle. 

You slip out of bed as quietly and carefully as possible, crossing your apartment and hurrying into your small bathroom. You make a complicated gesture with one hand, being greeted by Youngbin's worried face inside your bathroom mirror afterwards. 

"It's the middle of the night!", you hiss, "Why did you wake me?" 

The man inside your mirror doesn't even look remotely sorry for waking you. "This is urgent, Y/N." 

He's using his leader-voice now, letting you know that this is not your friend you're talking to right now, but the leader of your Coven. 

You bite your lip, shifting from one foot to the other. "What is going on?", you ask nervously, trying to keep the volume of your voice as low as possible, not wanting to wake your boyfriend. 

"Eve is back."

At this, you startle, actually taking a step back. "What? That's not possible. S- she was banned. She wouldn't dare to come back here!", you whisper, suppressing a shiver.

"Well, she did. You need to be careful from now on, okay? We don't know what she's planning. But I'm sensing something big." 

Youngbin's gifted with premonition as well, but his power is weaker than yours. Knowing this makes you hesitate. "Why do you sense something and not me, though?"

"My best guess? She's using some demonic power to block you.", Youngbin says, knitting his eyebrows together and staring right through you, his mind beginning to wander, "But I'm not completely sure about it yet. I'll talk to the others, maybe Rowoon can manage to lift the block. I'm thinking about sending Jaeyoon over to you. He will protect you." 

But you quickly shake your head at his suggestion. "I don't need protection. I can handle this on my own." You know Jaeyoon is one of the strongest defensive spell casters of your Coven, but you definitely don't need your warlock-ex around your apartment while your current boyfriend's here as well. 

"Y/N, this is no joke. Eve wants to kill you."

"Thanks for the reminder, I definitely forgot about that.", you retort bitingly, crossing your arms in front of your chest and scowling at Youngbin, who simply stares back, a dark expression on his face as well.

After a few seconds of silence, he finally sighs: "Okay. You win, no further protection for you. If you die, don't you dare come back and haunt me." With that, he vanishes from your mirror.

A knock on your bathroom door makes you jump. "Babe, who you're talking to?", Lou asks from the other side of the door. 

You tousle your hair, silently cursing at Youngbin for waking your boyfriend and open the door. "Me? Oh, I was just... mumbling something to myself. I’m in desperate need of more sleep.", you answer, sliding your arms around Lou's naked torso and pressing a soft kiss against his collarbone. 

He grins down at you, raising one eyebrow in a suggestive manner. "Sleep, huh? I think I have a better idea." With that, he picks you up and carries you back towards the bed, making you giggle. 

"Is that so? Well... I don’t think I’m opposed to your idea.", you answer when he places you gently back on the mattress, pulling him down to you and kissing him deeply.

Sleep can definitely wait for another time.

Lou gazes at his watch again, impatiently tapping his fingers against the steaming coffee mug in front of him. 

Inseong's not late, but he's way too early this morning - all thanks to him wanting to have breakfast with you, before you had to go to your police training.

Just when he wants to order another cappuccino, the door opens and a tall, lean man with blond-dyed hair steps through. His desert fox eyes zone in on Lou, a small smile lighting up the man's face.

"Hey, Lou! How's it going?", Inseong asks, shaking Lou's outstretched hand and clapping him on one shoulder, before sitting down on the other side of the small table. 

"Can't complain. How about you?"

"Same, same. So, what brings you to my beautiful city this time?", Inseong asks, propping his chin onto one hand and gazing at the younger man in a slightly critical manner. 

"Some personal stuff. But now I'm staying because of a new case. Did the Council contact you as well?"

"Yep, just yesterday. So, the Nightbringer is back, huh?”

Lou nods. "It seems like it. What do you know about her? I just heard some rumors and stories, but..."

Inseong immediately interrupts him: "What's that saying? All the stories are true. And that's the case here as well. Believe me, Nightbringer is the worst kind of witch there is, I haven't seen anything like her in years." He actually sounds a bit impressed. "My parents used to tell me about her, about her thirst for power. At first, she sacrificed a bunch of humans to be granted even greater power by some demon - a Prince of Hell apparently. After that she grew even more power-hungry, almost killing her entire Coven when she tried to drown their powers as well." 

Lou shakes his head. He knows a Coven of witches and warlocks is usually like a big family, there's trust and love between them, so a betrayal like this... well, it's unheard of.

"Why did she vanish, though?"

"Well, as far as I know, some of the younger witches and warlocks of said Coven managed to blindside her while she was drowning the powers of the Elders, making her lose some of her own power in the process. She was shunned after that and had to leave the Coven. But apparently she's back now.", Inseong finishes his tale, interlacing his fingers in front of him and gazing at Lou. "And our duty is to make sure she won't sacrifice any more humans to some demon. We have to track her - and end her. With the Council finally managing to get The Colt, we can take her out with just one bullet.”

Lou nods, smiling slightly. "Well, let's do this then - I'm here to assist in any way possible."

Inseong grins. "Sounds good to me."

You try to track Eve with the help of a miniature scrying glass you always carry with you, but apparently Youngbin was right - she's using something to block your power.

Even Rowoon can't figure out what kind of power she's using, just that it's something demonic. 

It keeps you on edge the entire week and Lou staying with you isn't helping at all - the opposite, actually. If Eve shows up at your apartment, he will be in grave danger as well.

But he doesn't leave, saying he still has a job to do in your town. 

As much as you love his company... it's driving you crazy right now. You just want him to be safe - and with an evil (and crazy) witch out there wanting to kill you... well, he won't be, not while he's staying with you.

As a precaution, you cast some defensive spells around your apartment, which definitely won't stop Eve from entering, but will hopefully manage to slow her down for some time.

What you don't know, is Lou finding these spells, thinking they were put there by Nightbringer herself - he quickly and quietly deactivates them, being paranoid that the evil witch has found you thanks to him. 

He definitely doesn’t want to leave your side as long as this case isn’t solved, as long as Nightbringer is still out there, stalking your city and threatening innocent humans like yourself (... if only he knew).

Thanks to your defensive spells being disabled, you don't awake until you feel a silver blade pressing against your neck, drawing blood. Your eyes widen when you see the dark figure hovering above you.

Eve hasn't changed much - she still has the same long hair, the same light green eyes and the same, slightly maniac grin. 

You whimper slightly, eyes sliding towards the still sleeping form of your boyfriend beside you. 

Not Lou, please not Lou, don't kill Lou, you just think over and over again, your whole body beginning to tremble. 

Eve's grin widens. "Hello, daughter.", she hisses, grabbing a fistful of your hair and dragging you out of bed. You groan, suppressing a scream and closing your eyes.

You are prepared to die tonight. 

If you’re being honest, you have been kind of waiting for this to happen ever since your mother was shunned and exiled. All thanks to you.

You mean - you betrayed the woman who gave birth to you. 

You shunned her. 

Thanks to your betrayal, she had to leave her Coven and this city.

You know all this - and would do it again and again, to save your Elders and friends, to save your Coven as well as all the innocent humans your mother wanted to sacrifice in her maniac thirst for power.

Innocent humans like Lou.

"Let's take this outside.", you whisper, "Mother."

She raises one eyebrow. "Oh, because of your human pet?", she says wickedly, "Mhm, no, I don't think so."

With that, she pushes you from her, throwing you against the wall with the help of a spell, your head hitting the concrete with a dumb thud. 

You yelp in surprise and pain, not having anticipated her strength - where did she get all that power from? You were sure she lost most of it thanks to her being shunned and exiled by her Coven.

You fling one hand towards her, casting a silent spell, but she deflects it almost lazily. 

You feel a small trickle of blood running down your cheek, your head beginning to spin. Almost automatically, your eyes slide towards the bed, tears forming in your eyes.

It will be your fault if Lou dies tonight.

... Neither of you have noticed him waking up - his heart almost stopping when he takes in the scene in front of him.

Why is Nightbringer here? In your apartment? Why is she battling you - not him?

His shock lasts only for a few seconds though, before he jumps out of bed. He sees your eyes widen when they slide towards him, but he lays one finger on his lips, signaling you to keep silent.

"Please.", you whimper, not knowing if it's for him or the witch in front of you.

Thankfully, Lou has stored The Colt, given to him by his father and The Council just a few days ago, underneath your bed. He carefully reaches for it without making a sound, dark eyes trained on Nightbringer. You quickly look away from him and fling both hands out, your hair whipping around your head. 

„You were always weak, daughter.“, Eve - Nightbringer - says, lazily waving this spell away as well, „The only good thing about you was your gift of premonition - which you used against me. We could have shared the power I was searching for, Y/N. But you had to betray me.“ 

Silent tears slide down your cheeks, mixing with the blood from your wound. „I never wanted power, mother. And you betrayed me - us, first. Our Coven. How could you?“, you retort, trying to keep her attention on you so she won’t notice Lou silently loading his weapon. 

„Our Coven was weak. There’s so much more for us in this world - why do we hide from humans? Why do we cower in front of vampires and werewolves? The demons can provide us with so much more and all they want is some mere human blood in exchange for unlimited power.“

You choke. „Some mere human blood?! You killed 20 people! They had lives - they had families and jobs and-" 

Before you can continue, she waves her hands and your head begins to feel like its splitting in half; pain consumes your whole body.

This time, you can’t suppress the scream. 

Then, a shot rings through your apartment. 

The pain inside you stops and you fall to the floor, panting, vision blurry with unshed tears. 

Suddenly, Lou is beside you, talking to you, but you don’t register any of his words. 

You just stare at the woman - no, the body laying in front of you. Your mother’s light green eyes are open, but unable to see anymore. Blood pools around her body - oh God, so much blood.

„Y/N? Please, baby, look at me.“ 

You finally look up. „Who are you?“, you whisper, whole body trembling. 

That couldn’t have been an ordinary colt Lou used - knowing your mother, she had protective spells around her, a normal bullet wouldn’t have been able to pierce her shield.

Lou grimaces. „I could ask you the same.“, he simply retorts.

You gaze at one another, silent for a few seconds. 

„You’re a hunter.“, you finally say.

„And you’re a witch. You’re the daughter of Nightbringer.“

You shiver when you hear the name the stories have given your mother - you and your Coven always refused to use that name. Names have power, names spur fear.

„It’s not like I chose to be her daughter.“, you defend yourself immediately and Lou nods. 

„I never said you did. I heard what you said to her - I know you’re nothing like her.“

You release a deep sigh at that. „No, I’m definitely not. I was the one who betrayed her, after all.“, you mumble, glancing down at your hands. 

Red with the blood of your mother. 

There was no love left between you anymore - but still, she was the woman who gave birth to you. Who raised you, who made your favorite cake for birthdays and hung your silly paintings on the fridge. That was before she became crazy and power-hungry, before your father died and took a part of her with him. 

But still. 

She was your mother. 

You wipe away a lone tear running down your cheek, gazing back at Lou.

„What… what now?“, you ask in a small voice. 

He raises one hand, gently stroking your hair. „Let’s get you cleaned and stitched up. And then, I guess, we should talk.“

You bite your lip, nodding and closing your eyes for a second. „Sounds good to me.“

Three weeks later, you startle awake in the middle of the night, trembling and feeling sick to the stomach.

This time though, it’s not thanks to Youngbin calling you to him - this time it’s thanks to your constant nightmares, making you relive your last conversation with your mother as well as her gruesome death.

The bed beside you is empty.

Low murmuring can be heard from your bathroom; you quickly tiptoe towards it.

“What do you mean, you won’t be able to leave your apartment? The sun’s not even that strong at the moment.” Lou sounds annoyed and you knit your eyebrows together. 

What’s going on? Who is he talking to in the middle of the night? 

Your boyfriend sighs. “I’ll try and see what I can do. I’ll get back to you as soon as-" in that second, you open the door. 

He turns around, phone still in his hand. He immediately begins to softly smile at you. „Oh, hey babe. Why are you awake? Did I wake you?” 

You shake your head. „No… it was a nightmare again.“, you just mumble, hugging yourself tightly and choking on unshed tears. 

Lou takes your hand, pressing a soft kiss against your palm. “Go back to bed. I’ll be there in a second.” 

You gaze at him critically, before nodding and retreating towards your bed. You snuggle back into your blankets and pillows, waiting for Lou to join you. 

Just minutes later, he slips between the covers and pulls you against him, pressing light kisses against your cheeks, nose and finally, lips. 

„Sorry I wasn’t there when you woke up.“, he mumbles, warm breath fanning over your face, „But that was St. Van.“

You raise both eyebrows. „He didn’t catch the rogue yet.“, you say and Lou nods. 

„I know. He attacked a young woman and St. Van takes care of her now - he doesn’t want to leave her side. So I guess I’ll have text Inseong to take a look at the situation. He seemed to be very interested in the rogue vampire, last time I talked to him.“

You nod. „That sounds like a good idea. Do that, then.“

Lou smiles at you, his eyes forming little crescents. 

You pull him closer to you, kissing him softly.

„I’ll use my scrying glass tomorrow and see if I can locate the rogue.“, you say, when you break apart again.

Your boyfriend leans his forehead against yours, eyes closed. „Good idea. By the way... I was thinking about something… Do you think your Coven would be interested in starting some kind of... I don’t know, partnership with us, the hunters?”

You think about this for some seconds, before slowly nodding. „I would say so, yes. We’re a pretty young Coven and more open-minded than some of the older ones. I’ll definitely talk to Youngbin about it.“

Lou seems pleased. „And I’ll talk to The Council, I know he’ll listen to me. This could mark the beginning of a new chapter, you know?“

You smile. „Where the human and supernatural world stand side-by-side against evil forces.“, you say.

He smirks. „That sounds very dramatic. I like it.“

You giggle, kissing him again. „I’m a witch - we have a flair for the dramatics.“

„Oh, I know. That’s why I love you.“

You soften at that, blushing a bit. „Well, I love you, too. You’re actually pretty okay for a hunter.“

Lou huffs playfully. „First of all, I’m not okay, I’m amazing - at everything. And especially at being a hunter!“

You smirk. „Well, you didn’t find out about me being a witch until I was literally casting spells in front of you. I think that says a lot about your skills as a hunter, so-“

Before you can continue, he begins to tickle your sides, making you laugh.

„Say that I’m an amazing hunter!“, he threatens, not letting go of you, even though you’re gasping for breath.

You shake your head. 

„Say it!“

„NO! I’ll say that you’re an amazing boyfriend, though.“, you gasp out, finally making him stop his torture of you.

He actually blushes a bit, beginning to grin like an idiot. „Well, I’ll take what I can get.“

With that, he kisses you again.