#vampire!ashton

“What are you doing in my house? How’d you get in here?” I moved to grab a knife from the kitchen counter and he was inhumanely fast on my track, quickly pinning me down against the counter, his body easily overpowering me and capturing my wrists in his large hands. The knife clattered to the kitchen floor. I looked down at it and back at him in fear before he also pinned his knees against my thighs, not giving me room to move those either. He looked down at me with that hungry smirk again and smiled, only this smile held nothing nice about it and only made my hair prickle and stand on end.

“They say when your food fights you, it makes it just a bit more tender,” he whispered into my ear these words and my skin crawled at the sound. I was close to revulsion. Even close to nausea as I felt his tongue flick on my neck, causing me to quickly hiccup trying not to cry. Was he tasting me?

“Please, please leave me alone.” I whimpered, whining now. Something I never did in my life was beg a man for anything before but here I was really wishing this man, this thing, this cannibal, whatever this fucker was would just leave my house.

“And why should I, pet?” he leaned in more, I heard him sniffing my skin, “You’re blood smells so sweet...so delicious. It would be a shame to just drain you and leave you for the dead. Maybe I should keep you as my servant.”

Now that made my blood grow cold. Blood smelling sweet? Drain me? Dead? Did this man think he was a vampire? Did he not know that didn’t exist? Please don’t tell me he’s like an escaped patient from the out of town institution. I was so scared at this point I needed to put reason into anything. Make something substantial out of whatever this man was saying because none of it was making any shred of sense.

The man started to chuckle, low and deep. I heard his chuckle against my chest, practically causing a vibration through my whole body. I looked up at the terrifying man in pure distraught and he continued laughing before speaking, “There’s a lot to the world you don’t know, child. Just because you think it doesn’t exist, doesn’t mean it’s true. Some monsters are really out there, roaming your streets at night and you’ll never know because you’re too small minded to even think farther to what you can see. Crazy, isn’t it? The world you thought you knew just got a little bigger and you won’t even process it because, if you’re lucky, in the next five minutes, you’ll be dead.”

The sob caught in my throat then, causing me to cry out, “Please, please don’t kill me.”

“Hmmm,” the man pretended to think about it, “No.”

Then his mouth was opening, wider and more grotesque than I’d ever seen, his jaw practically unhinging with the movement, or was it double-jointed? I couldn’t tell because the second I saw it, a scream that was building took over and ripped through my entire body. I was able to see every inch of his mouth and before I knew it, it was moving towards my neck. All I saw was his mouth’s blood red ridges and I swore I could see down his throat and into the never-ending pit he seemed to be.

“Get the fuck away from her, leech,” a voice spoke from nowhere and I turned to it, cutting off my scream to see the most beautiful person I’d ever seen standing there, brandishing a crossbow of pure silver, fully cocked and ready. The most perfect part of all was that this crossbow was trained on the monster in front of me.

The monster quickly dropped me to the ground and turned to the crossbow man, giving me the opportunity to crawl away and into the pantry since these men were blocking my front door. I grabbed the knife that fell on the floor on my way, my wrists screaming from the movement. I crawled in and was able to still peek out to watch the two intruders.

“Ashton Irwin. I’ve heard all about you. And your hunter mother. Shame what happened to her, isn’t it?” the monster spoke, his words cut like knives through the air as he seemed to grow taller and his jaw remained unhinged and hanging down, his mouth a pure scarlet red that convinced me the whole vampire thing more and more. It was just nothing like Twilight. Nothing like it, at all.

“Shut up, leech,” Ashton, I guess his name was, spoke, his voice deep and unwavering. He wasn’t scared of this thing, not even in the slightest bit. The monster, however, seemed more than irritated that Ashton ruined his meal but I couldn’t be happier.

I heard the bow before I saw it. It was a suctioning, soft noise, almost barely recognizable and it sounded the same as when you close a refrigerator. The crossbow was silent as it let out the arrow, the shiny silver coated thing, with a clear liquid dripping off of it into the monster. The leech, as Ashton called it, cried out as the arrow tore into his mouth with perfect aim. Ashton’s aim was stunning, ripping through his mouth and splitting his head apart with just one coated arrow.

The scream the creature let out was one of bloodcurdling pain. That was how it died, half a head left, just a bottom jaw and body, the other part of his head rolling across my kitchen floor. Say goodbye to my security deposit, huh? His blood squirted out from where the rest of his jaw was, a gooey black that was just unnatural to exist in nature, almost the same consistency of tar. 

I watched it coat Ashton Irwin’s shoes and he rolled his eyes, “Dang, I just got these shits washed too.”

I watched him take account of the mess in my kitchen that he and his bloodsucking friend made and then pull out a slim black phone, pressing some buttons before his phone rang. I was only able to hear his part of the conversation, “Hey...yeah...I sent you the clean up address. One survivor, taking them back for debriefing and cleaning.”

From where I was, I was able to finally get a good look at him. He was tall, made to look strong and sturdy, and had gorgeous, tanned skin. His hair was curly and I could tell he tried to keep his curls gelled back and out of his face. I caught a glimpse of pretty hazel eyes, wide and unassuming. His lips were a pretty pink color and I could tell when he smiled it was probably the prettiest thing the world has seen. He was dressed fully in leather body armor with multiple hostlers with many weapons. His black boots were covered in the gooey, blood substance but through it I could tell they were probably steel toe.

He hung up and turned his head in the direction of where I was hiding. It’s then when he finally relaxed, “Hey, you can come out now. That vampire is as good as dead now. Plus, you’re safe with me.”

“Am I?” I said suddenly, practically scaring myself and this was a lot to take in and this man, some man I’ve never seen before just comes to my rescue from a monster that I didn’t even know existed. My life has just been turned around upside down in one fucking hour and he wants me to thank I’ll be safe. He’s pretty but, god, is he dumb as hell.

I stood up and left the pantry, shaking the knife in my hand and holding it out to him, keeping a wide berth from this mysterious man. Come to my rescue all he wants but I still didn’t trust this man and considering with just one look at him compared to my own plus-size, fabulous self, I wouldn’t be able to trust him as far as I could throw him. Which wasn’t going to be much.

He was quick to set down his crossbow, letting it hang off the holster around his body, raising both his hands, “Hey, hey, hey. Look. I’m a friend. My name is Ashton Irwin. I know this may be a shock but there is a world you have never heard of before with creatures like him and more who tend to pray on those we call bloodsingers. Come with me and I can keep you safe. I promise.”

His words were sincere as well as his eyes, big puppy dog eyes that reminded me of ice green tea with lemon in the summer on hot days. But I was not stupid. I had to be tripping.

“I’m having an acid trip, aren’t I?” I asked him and his eyes widened more as I got closer, the knife still strong in my hold, “I was out with my friends, someone slipped something in my drink, and that man just tried to assault me and you saved me. Tell me I am not stepping across my kitchen to you right now and I don’t just so happen to be stepping in his brain and blood. Tell me that, Ashton Irwin. Tell me I just need to drink some water and rest and I’ll be fine.”

He just stared at me apologetically. I fucking lost it then, “Tell me this isn’t happening!”

“I’m so sorry, love,” Ashton said, coming closer, admirably risking the fact he didn’t know if I was going to stab him but moving to comfort me, “What’s your name?”

“Jada. Jada Norris,” I said, a sob threatening to choke me up, and I lowered my knife, “what is going on?”

“You’re what we call, a bloodsinger,” the man said with a small smile. It was comforting even though I knew it was more pitiful than anything, “Creatures, like that one, will constantly come for you, the longer you go without protection. I don’t know how you’ve gone this long without seeing one before but let me help you, keep you safe. Please, Jada Norris.”

“Drugs?” I said, holding my hand out so Ashton would stop coming closer, “That’s what this is, isn’t it? Some cult thing gone wrong and you’re going to tell me it’s monsters. You drank the Kool-Aid, huh?”

“Jada, this is serious,” my laugh came out humorless, “Please let me take you back with me, you’ll be safe.”

“Over my dead body!”

“It almost was!” Ashton yelled back before taking a small breath, I’m guessing to control his emotions, “You are being difficult, miss. Come with me. I’m not giving you a choice anymore.”

“You’re supposed to be a good guy and you won’t even give me consent?” I laughed, again with no hilarity in this situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was losing it because honestly, what the fuck was happening?

“I am a good guy, that’s undisputed,” Ashton rolled his eyes, seeming exasperated, “I just saved your life!”

“So you can kill me yourself most likely!” I yelled back and he groaned loudly, “Good guy, my ass. You should have let me die.”

“Do you enjoy being a pain in the ass?” Ashton retorted and I looked at him, incredulous, “Some leech was just about to drain me of all my blood. I think I am entitled to be a bit of a pain in the ass right now.”

Then, in the middle of our argument, a piercing scream full of pain and sorrow cut through the night, still strong enough to be heard even in the once peaceful sanctuary of my apartment.

“Come on. You’re not safe, Jada. Grab some things and let’s go,” Ashton held his hand out once again for me to take and this time I quickly took it.

“Oh wow. A scary scream did it for you?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“What’s up with this one, Ashton?” a voice said the second we entered some old hotel. Ashton was a scary driver on the road, completely terrifying to witness but it was at least better than dying at the hand of something with an unhinged jaw and a blood lust for certain girls.

I was able then to see the owner of the voice. A tall man with short blonde curly hair and decked out in full leather. He had multiple holsters, some seeming to hold nothing but tiny bottles and blades covered in carvings. His arms were exposed from the leather which allowed me to see that he was ripped as fuck and covered in black ink tattoos. He looked down at me, his brown eyes taking me in completely before looking uninterested and looking back at Ashton. Dang, excuse me.

“A leech cornered her in her own apartment after following her for three blocks. Needs debriefing and regulating most definitely,” Ashton said to the man and he nodded. Ashton turned to me, “Jada. This is Calum, a coworker of mine. He’s going to talk to you for a bit about what happened, then give you a suite to rest, wash, eat, whatever you need to feel safe. If you need anyone after that, just pick up the phone and call upfront. We’ll be there instantly. I will see you later.”

He clapped a hand on my shoulder reassuring me and then left me with the cold, beautiful friend of his, Calum. I looked up at him and he just looked back, blankly. He chewed the gum in his mouth slowly as he looked at me, his jaw working with the piece, causing me to have to stand there awkwardly under his piercing gaze. The out of nowhere, his face broke into the most adorable smile, “Sorry, I zoned out on your face for a second.”

Then he laughed, “I’m Calum. Calum Hood. Come with me, sweetheart. Follow, follow. There’s some food and water in this room here and we can talk about everything that happened.”

God, I swear this night was giving whiplash like hell.

My suite in the old hotel was simple. It was a king bed, the linen nicely tucked in, one dresser in the corner with a TV on top of it with two nightstands, both having multiple books I assumed I was able to peruse. There was a separate section with a kitchenette and a nice spacious bathroom and closet. Nice for something leech hunters used.

Once I was out of the shower, taking the grime and blood off of me, I found myself sinking into the floor at the foot of the bed and turning on a kids network. Something lighthearted to get my mind off of what the hell was happening. Which was so much. It was so simple two hours ago. Two hours ago I was doing nothing but playing Cards Against Humanity with my friends and laughing at dumb jokes while drinking sprites and eating whatever junk food my friend, Meredith, kept in her apartment that we laughed about because she hid it from her health nut fiance. Then, all of a sudden, I was being followed home by some scary creep who also happened to apparently be a bloodsucking vampire and some literal god among men had come to my rescue. Now I was in some swanky, obviously gentrified, old hotel trying to make some regularity to my night, which wasn’t going so well. So much was happening and here I am fucking watching Super Why and crying into my night shirt.

Two knocks were heard on my door ten minutes later and I was still sitting in my own tears and relearning words that end in -ight. I called out to the door, really scared and hopeful it wasn’t another leech coming to finish the job of the one who Ashton killed before, “Come in.”

The door opened up and there he was. My knight in shiny leather. Who even was this guy? He had a bag of take out in his hand and held it up to me, the smell of cilantro and jalapenos wafting from it.

His smile was coy and boyish as he lifted the bag, his other hand going to scratch the back of his head, “I figured you would need a pick me up after your crazy night so I went and got some comfort food.”

“I’m not hungry,” I don’t think I could stomach a bite of food at all right now, considering an hour ago I was almost puppy chow.

“Now, now, I won’t take no for an answer,” Ashton came in, going to the little table in the corner of the living room section of the suite and beginning to set the food and table, “When bad things happen, we must be careful not to lose a sense of routine, then we will lose our minds in the madness.”

I looked at him. He spoke some sense. Hell, he was right, I just didn’t want to agree and wallow in my sadness for as long as I could.

“I see you showered. Which is good. It’s a good way of taking care of yourself. Let’s try eating too,” he smiled and gestured for me to take a seat across from him, “Come on. It’s the best arroz con pollo from this taco truck. You have to try their ceviche.”

“Fine but your Spanish accent sucks,” I stood, my joints popping from how long I was stuck there and sat across from Ashton who quickly smiled and took a bite of his plate. It did smell and look good. It was crazy to think of myself as trying to eat when just a bit ago, I was about to be food.

“Don’t think of it as ‘how does this feel being eaten?’ Just survive for right now, Jada,” he said softly and I nodded, taking a bite and instantly moaning at the taste of the ceviche.

“Oh, this is heaven.”

“I’d say it’s better than sex.”

“You’re right. It is,” I said with a laugh and continued to eat the great Peruvian food.

“So, let’s talk about everyday leading up to yesterday. Who were you before today, Jada?”

“Um, easy,” I said with a small smile, “I just graduated college, working in a bank. Nothing special. I write on the side, hoping to someday publish.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear you’re going to have to quit your job,” Ashton said, as if it was nothing and he wasn’t just telling me to quit my livelihood, “Now, you’ll have time to write more. I take it you brought your laptop with you.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” I sat my fork down and looked at this man who just looked at me as if he didn’t just drop a huge bomb, “You’re saying I can’t go back to work.”

“Who’s going to protect you at work?”

“I work in a bank. One of the safest, most guarded places,” he let out a laugh at that, before pushing a strand of that curly hair back that the gel didn’t seem to hold, “Yeah, because that will stop them finding you. You saw that thing got into your house even though you tried locking the door.”

“How did you get in my house?”

“I busted the door down, duh,” Ashton took another bite of his food, “Look. This is for your safety. When your blood sings, it is described as sounding like a kettle when you leave it on too long. They hear it for miles.”

I stopped and let him talk for a second, hoping he’ll start to make some sense, “When you’re here, you’re muted, the walls of this old hotel are coated in holy water daily and blessed by holy leaders of all religions and worships. When you’re with one of our hunters, we can protect you from anything. It’s what we were trained since birth to do. I promise you, Jada, this is the one way we can keep you safe.”

“You’re just a regular human like me?” 

The man in leather sighed. I wonder if he ever got hot in that get up, “Yes and no.”

“Meaning?”

“Well,” Ashton sat back and I could tell he was juggling with which words to say, “I am human, yes. But more along the lines of superhuman. With enhanced strength, height, senses, looks, obviously, haha.”

I rolled my eyes and he continued, “But I have the sight. I can see these creatures even before they show themselves. And being near me gives the ability of your singing blood to be muted to them.”

“Singing, huh?” I said and took a sip of the water he brought to me along with the Peruvian take out food, “I wonder what chair my blood is in.”

Oh god. Was I really getting that far into my freakout that I am just starting to joke about whatever?

“I also like mezzo-sopranos,” Ashton commented with a laugh. He smiled at me, sincerely. I liked the way he smiled, it taking over his whole face and seeming to warm my supposedly songful blood. His gaze was intense on me for a second as his eyes raked over my face, as if he was taking every piece of me in.

I chuckled softly and let him watch me for that second. Hell, when was the last time I flirted with a guy? And if I couldn’t flirt with a guy when my whole world was turning on its head, when could I?

“Well, thank you for saving me,” I thanked him for the first time since meeting him. And I meant it. If he didn’t come to me rescue, I’d be passing through some greasy vampire’s second intestine. And for that, I was grateful for the existence of this Ashton Irwin. His looks and sweet, sweet smile was just a huge added bonus.

“It’s my job,” Ashton said simply, trying to leave no room for discussing his heroic actions and I scoffed.

“Some people tend to be willingly bad at their job,” I looked him dead in the eyes and he captured my gaze instantly. There we were my brown eyes locked on his hazel eyes. Looking at them, I saw flecks of gold sparkling off of them in the dim lighting this hotel provided. I wish I brought a sketch pad because I could paint his eyes over and over again a billion times and never do any justice to how strikingly beautiful they were on his face. Was it like law that people who worked here had to be the most attractive citizens to walk the earth? If so, sign me the fuck up.

“Your eyes are really pretty,” Ashton said softly, “I’ve always loved brown eyes. They’re the prettiest things to me. So many shades of brown and you never see the same one twice.”

He stood up before I could process what he said and walked to the door, “Get some rest, Jada. I’ll get you for breakfast in the morning.”

The sound of the TV in the background filled the silent air he left. He didn’t leave angry or rushed but he left with questions and I think that is the most empty feeling. The ‘what if’ left behind.

I rolled my eyes at myself and cleaned up the food mess. What was I even thinking? Looking at this superhuman soldier in a romantic way. God, he probably only saw me as some helpless human who couldn’t figure her own shit out. Which is a fair assumption, considering the fact that my whole life was just turned on its head.

I went to the door mirror and took a look at myself. Those brown eyes Ashton was talking about were just full of worry. My hair was all over the place which in any other situation I would have been rushing to do something to my hair but I was so tired from these last couple hours I needed a break.  I was taller than most girls which I guess allowed me to get a better look into Ashton’s eyes, which I must say are the most gorgeous things ever. 

I looked at the clothes I was wearing early, now ruined. My favorite pair of jeans that somehow were the right fit which was so hard to find for a size 16 were now covered in the guts of some ‘leech’. 

Now I was officially upset. Do you know how hard it is to find a pair of jeans that you like that also make your ass look like the bomb dot com? And are comfy? It is near impossible, no matter what size you are. And now, my favorite jeans were ruined because some fugly ass, low rent, stinky breath monster with nothing better to do but follow me that long ass walk home and sneak into my apartment that I spent so FUCKING long designing and ruining my floors and for what? Try to eat me? See how that shit worked out for him, he’s now missing half a brain he barely had to begin with and I’m missing my comfortable ass bedsheets I got on sale!

I wonder if I can just ask to go home and they can spare a guard. Or maybe I can bring my things here to this suite and make it a cute little apartment for myself. I’m not stupid, I’m not going to try to leave and put myself in danger with things out there trying to kill me but at least I can try to make this situation work for me. 

And, hell, maybe I can convince a certain superhuman hunter to fall for me along the way.

Taglist:

Don’t go, you’re going to kill Michael

“Oh yeah, and what has Michael ever done for me, besides suck my blood and try to force me to break up with my boyfriend?”

He’s your mate, your soulmate!

“And I don’t even know what that means! Honestly, I can’t believe in this stupid ‘mate’ bullshit, I can’t let my life end, I can’t let myself turn into one of those monsters”

Why not? You have nothing left to live for! Your parents are dead, you have no friends and it’ll take a miracle for you to be accepted into college. Honestly, you have no reason to live.

“Tom. I have Tom”

And the voice in your head shut up as you continued to mutter your boyfriend’s name, clinging on to the last reason you had to live, the last hope you had of staying human.

You started walking to Tom’s house, forgetting that you hadn’t masked your scent with the river water and that your scent could now be caught by Luke, Ashton or Calum.

And that’s exactly what happened.

You screamed when you felt someone grab you, trying to struggle out of their grip but too weak to do anything but give in. You felt the person pick you up and in no time at all, you were in Luke’s apartment, facing the vampire with icy blue eyes, the arms wrapped around you still not letting go.

“I found her, Luke!” Ashton’s voice announced, triumph lacing his tone.

“y/n, where the hell have you been?!” You whimpered and shrunk under Luke’s glare, fear ripping through you as Luke’s eyes glowed in anger. “Michael has been dying, and you decided to fucking run off to the middle of nowhere and somehow mask your scent to avoid us all?! Do you know how fucking selfish that is?! Michael could have DIED!”

“Luke, calm the fuck down” Calum instructed, pulling Luke back from you as he had gotten really close to you when shouting. Luke growled and turned around, storming his way out of the flat. The arms around your waist loosened and before you could warn them, you had fallen to your feet; you didn’t have enough energy to stay standing.

“Woah, y/n, careful” Ashton picked you back up and sat you on the sofa, before looking into your eyes. “Cal, go get her some water and something to eat” Calum nodded and went off into the kitchen.

“Why did he go into the kitchen? You’re vampires” You asked.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t eat human food. We just don’t get enough energy from it. A lot of us don’t like to eat it” Ashton informed you and you nodded, too exhausted to reply. Calum returned with some water and a plate with a sandwich, fruit, cheese and a bag of crisps. “I didn’t know what you wanted so I just got random stuff” Calum stated, handing you the plate and placing the cup on the table.

You thanked him and silence consumed you all as you ate, until Ashton said “he got worse, you know”

“Michael got worse?” you asked with a frown.

“Yeah. I don’t know what you said to him before you left but he can’t communicate with us through his telepathy at all” you thought back to your words, wincing.

“So what?! You only care because I might be able to help you stop dying or whatever the fuck is going on! Well, I can’t do anything to help you so stop trying -  let me get the fuck away from here!”

“I didn’t say anything nice” you stated, looking down in shame. “I was angry and scared and I didn’t know what to do” you looked up slightly to see Ashton’s face flooded with guilt.

“I’m sorry, y/n, about the-”

“Don’t. I don’t wanna think about that” you instructed Ashton, who respected you and didn’t finish the rest of his sentence.

Once you’d finished eating, Calum coughed and started to talk.

“I’ve worked out who could possibly help us”

“Who?” you asked, your eyes not meeting the brunette’s.

“A Luna witch” Calum informed you.

“A what?”

“Luna witches are basically werewolf witches. They have direct connection to the Goddess Luna, apparently” Ashton explained.

“And how do we find one?” You asked, this time meeting Calum’s eyes.

“We need to travel to the sabertooth pack, they live north of the river” Calum stated.

“Well what are we waiting for, let’s go” you said, standing and starting to walk but being pushed back to the sofa. “You’re definitely not going” Ashton stated.

“What, why?” You asked.

“Because you’re as thin as a twig, I’m pretty sure you’d snap if the wind slightly changed direction” Ashton stated.

“But Michael’s my soulmate, I got him into this mess so I need to get him out of it” you stated.

“So you can stay and look after him” Calum instructed you.

“Surely the witch would want to meet me, seeing as I’m his soulmate or mate or whatever I am” you said, gaining hope as Ashton frowned.

“Point...” Calum said, trailing off and looking at Ashton, who sighed.

“Fine, you can go, but wait for a couple of days. You need to build your strength up” Ashton stated, before turning and leaving to check on Michael.

I knew you’d stay to help.

“Shut up” you mumbled.

“What?” Calum asked. 

Damn, forgot he was here.

“Nothing” you stated with a smile, before walking towards Luke’s room and pushing the door open.

Your eyes met Michael’s greying, thin, ill-looking body, guilt and sadness seeping through you.

“Definitely staying”

~

ughhhh that was shit.

~

Part 15

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