His hand rested on his cool cheek, as he gasped softly and accepted the gentle kiss. Nico pulled back and gave him a small grateful smile. Percy chuckled softly. “We should really work on your way of saying thank you.”

Nico scoffed and smiled. “Ah. It was also an apology.” He shrugged. “I mistreated you. I let you feel used. And I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Percy assured.

Before he could talk again, they heard fast footsteps and immediately tensed. Then Nico recognized Lou Ellen as she broke the barrier. “Nico? Hazel?” she called. The other Mystics swarmed her waiting for news. “Where’s Nico?”

“Come on,” he whispered to Percy, gesturing for him to get on his back. Together they leapt down from the tree, and Percy stumbled away dizzily as Nico walked toward Lou Ellen. “Yeah?”

“He’s coming tonight. He wants to lure you out for the witch, so he’s coming tonight to try and persuade you to come out of hiding.”

“How does he know we’re here?” Leo the imp asked. “I thought nobody knew except the people Hazel told.”

Lou Ellen started to pace as she searched for words. Then the other wolf alpha stepped forward and said, “How do we know she didn’t tell? She’s an alpha’s beta, she has to remain loyal to him.”

Lou Ellen growled and stepped forward to face the other alpha. “I may be a beta, but that doesn’t mean I have to tell him everything. I’m helping him but he doesn’t know how. I’m not ratting you guys out.” She turned to Nico and bit her lip. “It’s because of your sister.”

“Excuse me?” he hissed. Suddenly, he felt a thump in his chest. Then another. “He’s here,” he said. Hazel began chanting softly and the other Mystics remained silent, waiting.

The sound of crunching leaves turned Nico’s attention to the far edge of the barrier. “Nico?” he heard him call. “Nico, I know that you’re here somewhere. I know you can hear me.” Nico clenched his teeth and tried to slow his heart rate. The more blood he wasted, the hungrier he’d be when it was over.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the head of blond hair. Ironically, Will was wearing black clothes as though he wanted to be inconspicuous. But with that hair? It made Nico smile.

Will walked a few paces before stopping, his eyebrows furrowing. “Nico? Look, I- I’m sorry. I’m sorry about everything I said before. You know I didn’t mean it.” He stopped and looked around. As he turned, Nico noticed how dim his eyes looked. The last few days seemed to have sucked the light of him. Was that his fault? “It’d be a lot easier to talk to you if you would come out and answer, you know? Please? Remember, I promised I’d keep you safe.” He paused again and Nico noticed the other Mystics were beginning to close in on him, as though expecting him to burst out and run into Will’s arms, exposing the rest of them.

He wasn’t stupid. Especially after Lou Ellen had warned him.

Will sighed at the lack of response. Then suddenly he fell to the ground as though his knees had been knocked out from under him. Nico gasped and his immediate reaction was to help, but Lou Ellen put a hand on his shoulder. “This is your fault, Nico! This is all you! You should have told me! God, you should have fucking told me!” he yelled. “The moment Cecil-” He stuttered for a moment then shook his head. “The moment Cecil found out, you should have admitted it. Instead of me having to see you get dragged into that damn courtroom!” He took a few ragged breaths and hunched over, growling. “I know you’re here!” he growled. “I can’t Change. I know you’re here.”

“It hurts,” Lou Ellen explained in a whisper. “Not being able to Change. It’s like not being able to take your hand out of a fire.” Nico furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Will again.

“Please, Nico!” he begged. “Please just let me know you’re okay.” He began breathing deeply through clenched teeth, his hands dug into the dirt, whimpers escaped his throat. “They have your sister,” he choked. “They have your dad and your sister in that cell. They’re torturing them, Nico, and I can help you get them out. But you have to talk to me.”

Nico gripped Lou Ellen’s arm. “Is that true?” he hissed.

“I don’t know,” she said fearfully. Nico looked up and debated his options. Would he really help? Or would Nico stepping out only result in him being captured?

“Nico! Nico, you are not the victim here! You hurt me too! You lied to me and you hurt me, don’t you dare act like this is all you!”

“The boy doesn’t even know which tactic to use,” Annabeth, a blond witch that had joined them, muttered under her breath. “He’s going from his own emotions to Nico’s and back.”

“Because he’s insincere,” Percy muttered.

“They didn’t think this plan through,” Hazel whispered.

Nico screwed his eyes shut and covered his ears. He turned away from them and dove into Hazel’s tent, muffling Will’s shouts and getting away from all the other Mystics’ whispers and criticism.

A few minutes later, an uncomfortable itchy feeling began in his throat. His stomach burned and his tongue was dry. He groaned and laid down on the floor wishing he could still sleep. If he could sleep everything would just go away.

Will didn’t mean any of it. He didn’t care. Not really. It was a trap. And even though Nico should hate him… he couldn’t. Not after he’d torn through decades of empty feelings and broken through to remind Nico what it was like to feel… warm.

“Nico?” he opened his eyes and saw Hazel crouching at the entrance. “Your fangs are out.”

“I’m hungry,” he muttered. She frowned and went back out. A few seconds later, Percy opened the tent. “No,” Nico said immediately. “I’ve used you enough. No.”

Percy rolled his eyes and rolled up his sleeve. “It’s fine. You’re hungry. You need to be strong. Besides, we put all that behind us, remember?” He held out his arm and looked at Nico expectantly.

He scoffed and after a moment of hesitation, he took his arm. Instead of biting it, he pulled him closer until he could cup his face with one hand and tilt it with the other. “It flows better from here,” he whispered.

“O-okay,” he stammered.

Nico noticed the vein in his neck pulse faster. With a smile, he pressed his lips against his neck and heard his breath hitch. His eyes shifted into heat-sensitive vision. He closed his eyes and sunk his teeth into his tender neck. Percy sighed. His breaths turned into pants. His hands pulled Nico closer. Once Nico’s thirst was sated by sweet, surprisingly warm, salty blood, he licked the wound shut, but continued to kiss his neck, moving up slowly until they were face to face.

He looked into his sea green eyes that seemed more pupil than iris at the moment. Percy’s breaths were ragged and unsteady. Nico dropped his eyesight to his parted lips and kissed him. He kissed him rougher than he had in the tree, slipping his tongue into his mouth, biting his lip.

At first Percy kissed him back. At first, Percy was pulling him closer until Nico’s legs were on either side of him, until there was no space between them. His hands had gone into Nico’s hair, tangling and bringing him closer.

Then he pulled his hands away and pressed them against Nico’s chest. He pulled away from the kiss, stopped reacting to it until Nico stopped. They were still close, but Percy looked away from him. “Nico, you’re hurting right now.”

“Exactly. So help me stop.”

“Nico,” Percy protested. “That’s not how it works.” Nico began to object and pull him in again, but Percy pushed his hands away. “This isn’t how friendship works. This is you using me again, Nico.” Nico slouched and sat back. “I’m sorry.”

“Mm, you really know how to kill the mood, huh?” Percy looked down, his cheeks as red as his lips. “Hey, that was a joke,” Nico said quickly. He tilted his face up and tried for a smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be.” He gulped and shook his head. “It’s just… how could he just…?”

“Yeah, I know,” Percy assured, pulling him into a hug. “Let’s just take this all step by step. Right now Hazel and Annabeth are trying to figure a new place we can go since they know we’re here. Lou Ellen and Leo are trying to see if there’s a way to break in and get your dad and sister.”

“Oh shit, Bianca,” he remembered guiltily, scrambling out of the tent. He looked around for Lou Ellen and raced towards her. “I have to get her,” he said. “I have to.”

“You’re the one she wants, we can’t put you-”

“Oh come on, Hazel said so herself. I’m just a red herring! A distraction from something bigger! She only wants to make me out to be the bad guy so nobody realizes it’s her. It’s not like I’m important right now.”

“Then why is she making Will try to lure you out?” Leo asked.

“To keep Will on her side,” Lou Ellen muttered. “That bitch is good at manipulation.” Leo and Nico looked at her in surprise. “Sorry, I meant witch.”

“Sure you did,” Leo smirked. “Anyway, we’re not risking you.”

“Who made you lead imp?” Nico snapped. Leo frowned and swiped at Nico with his pointed tail. “Ah! Ow!”

“Boys,” Annabeth interrupted. “As fun as it is to watch you two banter, we actually have a plan.” The other Mystics were gathered by Hazel. Once they were all together, Annabeth began. “School starts up in a bit, right?”

“Yeah like two weeks,” Nico confirmed.

“Okay. So that’s when you’ll go back. Hazel thinks the spell should wear off by then. If not, she’ll give you one that makes your powers stay strong even around him. An anti-potion if you must.” Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “Now, two weeks of absence is enough to make the witch doubt if we’ll ever make a move. Now, Nico you have a certain mission. You have to convince Will of the truth. The truth about you, the truth about Levesque. Piper,” she said pointing at the fairy, “will help you figure out the right thing to say. Persuasion is strong with fairies.”

“And merpeople,” Percy interjected. Annabeth gave him a side look and he shrugged. “Sorry.”

“And vampires,” Nico added.

“Yes, but your persuasion is in your scent, your voice, your appearance. Fairies have it in their voice. And merfolk,” she said acknowledging Percy, “in their mystery and song. So you’ll need her help.” Nico sighed and nodded.

“Why would I go up to him in school though?”

“Because he’s not likely to attack in a place where there’s a lot of teenagers. Especially after the incident in the gym,” Hazel said. Nico frowned and nodded.

“Meanwhile, I will distract Levesque. She doesn’t know I’m missing yet. And during that time, Lou Ellen and Leo can break your sister and dad out.”

“How exactly am I supposed to skip school? He’ll be suspicious,” Lou Ellen pointed out.

“Fake being sick,” Leo suggested.

“Wolves don’t get sick. Their cells are too strong for human viruses and bacteria,” Nico muttered. The other wolf pack and Lou Ellen looked at him in surprise. “What? I read.”

“I’ll go with her,” Piper spoke up. “She’ll need some persuasion on her side.”

“And I will be providing the spells and potions needed to keep you all from being caught,” Hazel added. “Your scents have to be masked, your powers enhanced. I know a lot from my mom… but I am only eight years old.”

“And about relocation,” Annabeth added. “My mother has a workshop where she used to go and study and create potions. She’s left it alone and it looks like an old library from the outside, but it should be safe for us there.”

“We want to go tonight,” Hazel said. “While the discretion potion is still strong in your bodies.”

Nico waved his hands frantically, calling for a pause. “Okay wait, hold on. Did you hear what he said? They have my sister. And for her to have given away our location…. Hazel, they’re hurting her. She won’t make it two weeks. We have to get her out now.”

“They’ll expect you now!” she said. “If my mom sent him out here with that information, she’ll expect you to go after them tonight. She’ll let the guards off duty, make it seem easy enough, and then you’ll fall right into her hands and she’ll have all three of you.”

“If anything happens to her-”

“Nothing will,” Annabeth assured. “Not fatal at least. She needs them as bait for you.”

All of the information was overwhelming. Nico could feel the panic in his chest. He was absolutely useless at that moment, and he was being targeted for no reason. Or rather, for being the unlucky vampire bitten by his father. “This is bullshit!” he shouted, as his fangs came out and the others took a few steps back. “This isn’t m fault! Why do I have to be the distraction, why does she have to hurt them? What is the point in this when in the end it’ll be a full war anyway?”

“To give you a bad look,” Leo muttered. He had his arms crossed and a solemn look on his face. “She wants to make an example of you and then use it to stereotype the rest of your race. That’s what happened to the imps. They took a few and made them brutal, used only for strength, and now that’s all we are. We’re just used for our strength. And if you don’t have that strength or hard exterior….” He sighed gestured to his cheek where he’d been struck by another imp. “Useless.”

“Leo’s right,” Annabeth said. “If she can make you out to be nothing but a killer…. The Mystics will believe that’s all your kind is. And they’ll want to get rid of you, strip you of power.”

“Meanwhile she’ll be gaining it and nobody will notice,” Nico mumbled. He rubbed his face and groaned. “What about you guys? Can’t you get the word out and convince everyone that she’s lying?”

“She discredits us,” Percy said. “When I went to talk to my parents about you, to tell them you weren’t hurting me, they wouldn’t listen because the witch told them you brainwashed me.”

“Yeah, we heard her tell us. She said a vampire could confuse our sense of right and wrong and manipulate us,” one of the trolls said.

“That’s what she told Will,” Lou Ellen said. “She told him you manipulated him so he wouldn’t know what you were. That you tricked him into liking you.”

His hands turned into fists at his sides. He wasn’t the manipulator. That was her. The one with the silver tongue was her and she had the nerve to accuse him. The thought made his blood boil.

“Let’s go to that workshop,” he said. “Recruit as many Mystics as you can these next two weeks. But my sister will not be waiting for two more weeks. We won’t go soon, but we’re not waiting that long. And we need a plan of attack.”

“Should I keep playing the mole?” Lou Ellen asked tiredly. “She’ll find me out soon.”

“No she won’t,” Hazel assured. “Just keep acting like you want to protect Will and hate Nico. You need to pretend that you hate him as much as-” She cut off as Nico’s eyes flickered to her and bore into her like razor blades. She gulped and reworded. “As much as you used to hate vampires. Pretend you still want to be on her side of the war.”

Lou Ellen nodded and sighed. Her phone started ringing and she winced. “I get service here?” She pulled her phone out and answered. “Hello? Will, hey,” she looked at Hazel with wide eyes. “No. No I’m not home, I’m- Will are you… are you crying?” Nico felt his chest constrict and his throat knot. “I’ll meet you in a bit, okay?” She hung up and gulped. “It’s fine. I’ve got this. I’ll let you know any new information.”

“Here’s the workshop address. Memorize it, then burn that paper,” Annabeth said. Lou Ellen nodded and stuffed it in her pocket. “Time to pack up everyone,” she told the others.

They all scattered, but Nico remained where he was, looking at the ground. Slowly, Lou Ellen went up to him and placed a nervous hand on his arm. “He’s just angry. And hurt,” she said. “From the moment we get bitten, we get told to hate and distrust vampires. And… as not only Will’s beta, but his best friend, I can promise you that his feelings for you were genuine. Since before he got up the nerve to talk to you.” Nico looked away and clenched his jaw. “He just needs to get this out of his system. I know you can convince him to believe you whenever we get back to school. That so-called hatred is just the affection he thinks he shouldn’t feel.”

“Right. Thanks Lou,” he muttered.

“Hey, if you could convince me, you can convince him. He’s blinded by pain right now. Even Cecil knows-”

“Lou Ellen, I know you’re saying this to make me feel better,” he interrupted. “But seeing as in this last week he has gone from kissing me like there’s no tomorrow to threatening to rip my throat out and pretending to care just to help the witch catch me, it’s really not.” She took a deep breath and nodded apologetically. “Just… keep him safe. From her. And himself. Please?”

“Of course,” she promised. “I’ll get back to you with any information.” She turned away and started running through the trees until Nico couldn’t hear her anymore.

With that out of the way, he turned to see if he could help carry any of Hazel’s toys or jewels. She was stuffing them into her overalls and, at that moment, she looked so small, so child-like, it was hard for Nico to remember that she was leading this rebellion. And even harder to remember that she was his sister too. That vampire blood or DNA or whatever it was that passed on and had allowed for her creation was running through her veins.

“Hey, Shortstack,” he said as he walked up to her. She glared at him with golden eyes that were full of magic and mystery. “Want a piggy-back ride? I’m pretty fast, it’ll be fun.”

With a bit of trouble, she replaced her frown with an excited smile and nodded. Nico helped her onto his back and turned to see if the others were ready. The fairies were ready to fly, and Leo had one troll in each clawed foot as he flapped his wings slowly enough to hover above the ground. Meanwhile, Percy and Annabeth had each gotten onto a wolf’s back as they prepared to run.

“Alright then,” Nico said. “Time to go.”

The blood drained from Nico’s face and stopped breathing. Suddenly, he wanted to puke, throw up every last bit of blood he drank. Instead, he threw himself against the bars and screamed at her. “No! You rotten witch! What did you do to him? What did you do!” He hissed began to struggle against his bindings, no longer caring about the bindings or the pain that shot up his arms. “Where is he?” he screeched. “What did you do?”

The witch only smiled and turned away. With a flick of her hand, a guard imp opened the cell and grabbed him roughly by his arms. The little girl which Nico remembered vaguely from the park stared in horror and silence. Her mother took her hand and led her away toward the court room as the imp followed, towing Nico’s struggling body with him.

As the court door opened, Nico continued to hiss and struggle, his eyes changed from slits to his own human ones. His shouts echoed through the room until he was thrown against the floor. He opened his eyes and saw a roan colored wolf looking at him with its teeth bared. Nico hissed at it, but his fangs were no longer there. As much as he tried, he could extend his fangs or change his eyesight.

“Nico?”

Nico turned to the voice that made his still heart pound. That’s when he saw Will at one of the thrones next to Lou Ellen. He was standing, staring at him in anger.

“Will?” Nico looked at the others on the panel and it dawned on him. “No,” he whispered. His heart was pounding, the way it did any time he was around Will. It was pounding so hard that he hadn’t realized he was screaming in protest until the imp that dragged him in hit him to shut him up.

A werewolf. He was a werewolf. Will was a werewolf. His boyfriend was a werewolf. And Nico had just chugged his werewolf boyfriend’s blood.

Nico began gasping for breath as Will came down from the throne. He lifted Nico from the floor by his shirt, his face twisted into one of disgust. It was so unlike the Will that Nico knew, he wasn’t sure what to do.

“It was you?” he sneered “You’re a vampire?” he growled, shaking him. Nico tried finding words, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t even smell him. “Answer me!”

“Oh dear,” Madame Levesque said. “We seem to have a problem.”

“Step away from the prisoner,” the imp said.

“Shove that tail of yours up your ass,” Will bit back. He turned to Nico, the look in his eyes murderous. “You.”

Suddenly there was an invisible wall that kept Will from lunging at him. Madame Levesque clicked her tongue. “Take him back to the cell. It seems we have another problem here.”

Nico didn’t have the strength to fight the imp as he dragged him back to the cell with Will following close behind, his hands in fists at his sides. Before he was thrown inside the cell, Will reached for him and threw him against a wall. “You’re a goddamn bloodsucker?” he snarled. “And you didn’t tell me!”

“Why would I?” Nico yelled back. “You didn’t exactly jump to tell me you’re a werewolf!”

“You lied to me!”

“No, I just didn’t tell you the whole-”

“You lied!” Will shouted, pushing him back against the wall again, causing Nico to wince. “About Ethan. You said your sister found him. You’re the one from the gym that day.”

Nico felt his face slack. “You’re the alpha,” he whispered. “And… Lou Ellen…. She was the white wolf?” Will growled. “No. No, no, no.”

“You killed him,” he snarled. “You watched Cecil mourn him. Cecil knew about you! And I didn’t listen.”

“You don’t understand, Will! He was trying to hurt Bianca! He followed her into the locker room, cornered her. She hit him too hard and she was hungry, she couldn’t help it!” Will growled again and threw him against the opposite wall.

“The merboy,” Will remembered. “You bit him?”

Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “How do you know about Percy?” Will bared his teeth. “He was… a friend.” Nico didn’t feel like going into specifics about that particular relationship. “He agreed to it. I wouldn’t have used him if he hadn’t. Merblood keeps us fed longer than human blood.”

“I don’t want the facts about your sick diet, you leech.” Nico gasped and his face contorted in pain. “This whole time…,” he whispered. “From the start…. You were one of them.”

“So were you,” Nico whispered.

Will shoved him back and shut the cell door on him. “You deserve to rot in this cell. You deserve to get soaked in holy water and burn in the pit. You’re a monster.”

Nico whimpered in pain, this one swelling from inside his chest rather than the debilitating manacles at his wrists. As Will began to walk away, he called out, “I can’t smell you.” Will stopped. “I can’t smell you or hear your heart. I can’t trigger my fangs. I have a heartbeat right now and I shouldn’t. Can I guess that you can’t smell me either? You can’t transform?”

Instead of answering, Will continued walking, slamming the door behind him. The further he got, the better his senses became. The weaker his heartbeat was until it ceased. He was thirsty again. He threw his head back against the wall and screamed through clenched teeth.

A mocking cackle echoed through the room and Madame Levesque’s shadow was at his cell door again. “Quite the heartbreaking twist, isn’t it, my poor, poor boy?” Nico scowled at her and turned away. “Oh now,” she said. “Don’t you want answers, vampire?” Nico’s eyes drifted to her, but his body remained still. “Don’t you think it’s strange that you can never smell each other? That you become so humanized when he’s near?”

“Did you do that?” he asked in a flat voice.

She laughed softly. “Indeed I did. He stopped by one day asking for help in finding the vampire that killed his friend. You left quite a mark on him.” Nico remembered their first kiss. The ecstasy that had coursed through him when he’d bit him too hard, the way he’d almost bitten his neck until the car passed by. “Little alpha and little beta,” she said. “With the answer right in front of them, but too inexperienced to see it. I gave them both a little something to decrease their senses around your kind. It let his feeling for you… blossom,” she giggled.

Nico felt his chest compress. “He never cared about me then? That was your doing?”

“Oh no,” she assured. “Your feelings for each other are very much real. I simply facilitated the process. My potion was simply to reduce your Mystic abilities. It decreased their power, and the power of Mystics around them, like you. That heartbeat of yours? Triggered by the block that flooded their veins and powered by the Ordinary blood that coursed through yours. That miserable, painful thirst you felt after? You’d used up your entire supply.”

“Why did you do this?” he said miserably. “Why let me fall for him? What did you get out of it?”

She sneered at him then, breaking the façade of sympathetic smiles. “For the satisfaction of having you know what it’s like to have love at your fingertips and ripped away.” Nico furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Hazel,” she said. “Come say hello to your brother.”

The small girl from the park peeked out from behind her robes and looked at Nico sadly. Nico stared at her then at the witch. “What?”

“Your father,” she spat, “has a wonderful way with words. And far too much free time. And now, I get my revenge in sending his son to death.”

“V-Vampires don’t reproduce,” he protested.

“No, not with each other. But as you’ve found out, they can very well fall for other species. Reproduce with other races.” Nico looked at the little girl whose bright golden irises seemed to glow. “I’ll give you the day to think this all over,” she said as though she were doing him a favor. “Tonight, we will continue the trial. And you will be dead by dawn.”

She turned away and started out of the door. The little girl kept her eyes on Nico and for only a fraction of a second they darted to the floor before she followed her mother. Nico glanced down and frowned when he saw a small brass key. He started for it and surprised himself further when his hands came free.

His wrists were raw and red, and at his feet were a tangle of vines adorned with jagged thorns. He crawled to the key and turned it over in his hand. Several questions swarmed through his head, but he knew he didn’t have time to find questions or let himself muse over them. So instead of questioning it, he tried the key on the cell door’s lock. It opened without creaking or triggering any alarms.

Nico took a breath of relief and tried to ignore his heartbreak. He dashed past the room and down the corridor until he heard footsteps. He went into the bathroom and checked to be sure nobody was in any of the stalls. Then he locked the door and sighed.

“Thank goodness you’re not as stupid as the others,” a high voice said. Nico jumped and found himself staring at the little witch with golden eyes. His sister.

“What are you-? This is the men’s room. And… you’re not turning me in?”

“I’m trying to save you,” she protested. He frowned. “It’s a long explanation and we don’t have the time. My mother thinks I had to pee. Are you strong enough to run?” Nico bit his lip. His throat felt sore, but he could manage. He nodded. “Take this. It’ll make you almost impossible to track. Then go to the beach. Stay hidden in the woods.”

“Why would I go there? That’s one of the first places they’ll look for me.”

“Exactly. My mother knows you’re not stupid. She wouldn’t let them search an obvious place. Now go,” she insisted.

“My sister,” Nico protested.

The small girl shoved a vial in his hands. Her eyes were wide, and they seemed older than her. She couldn’t be older than five years, and yet she was telling Nico what to do and how to escape. “I’ll tell as many of your friends as I can. But you have to go now.” She turned away before Nico could ask any more questions.

Warily, he looked at the vial. It was a soft orange color, and he didn’t really know how much a five year old could know about witchcraft, but he had nothing to lose. So he tipped the vial back and gagged at the bitter taste of orange peels. He wiped his mouth which had begun to crust with Will’s dried blood. The thought made him shiver, so he washed his face clean before jumping onto a stall to break through the high window.

As the glass shattered, he heard the wing flaps of the guard imps. Before he could turn, the smallest one saw him. His brown eyes widened, and Nico froze for only a second before he began to run. Within seconds he was dashing through the city and between cars speeding to get to their jobs. A few seconds later and he was zipping through the trees behind thee park and finally he broke through and fell onto the sand of the beach.

He finally let his confusion and grief creep up on him.

Only last night, not even a full twelve hours ago, he’d been in Will’s arms, kissing him, wrapped in him. And now… Will wanted him dead.

Surprisingly, he felt tears well up in his eyes and spill hot and thick down his face. For the first time in decades, he’d felt something. Something besides lust and indifference. Something strong and beautiful and strengthening. And it was all in vain. They were enemies. They always had been. It was a fact known by even Ordinaries, a fact that made it into movies and books and myths. So why couldn’t he manage to feel the disgust and rage he should have felt for the wolf? Why were pain and longing the only things he managed to find in himself?

He picked up the sound of wings and he scrambled to get back to the trees, climbing like a monkey until he was hidden on the thinnest branch surrounded by leaves. He held his breath and watched the misshaped forms of the imps and their dull colors sifting through the beach. Their tails swung wildly, their teeth bared as they looked.

“Idiot!” Ugly number one said to the smaller one. He backhanded him and the smaller imp fell to the ground. “One job! One fucking job, Leo!”

“He’s fast! I didn’t even see him!”

“We have to tell Madame Levesque,” Ugly number two said. “She’ll punish this one enough. But I’m not picking anything up here.” The first one scowled and lifted Leo by his neck.

“Let’s go.” The three of them took off and Nico let out his breath. Looked like Hazel’s potion worked.

They left and Nico began counting his breaths. He’d lost track by the time he heard a wolf’s howl pierce the air. It was far away and filled with grief. Nico felt it like a dagger to his heart.

He waited in the trees for a few hours, watching the sun rise and begin its descent again. He assumed it was about five in the afternoon when he heard footsteps. “Nico?” Nico sat up in his branch and furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you sure he’s here?” Percy asked.

“If he listened to me, yes. If he didn’t like everyone else, then no,” came the small girl’s voice. Nico let himself fall from the branch and landed softly on the ground. Hazel smiled. “He listened.”

“Oh thank the gods,” Percy said in relief. Nico fixed him with an angry glare. “Okay, I know you think I told on you, but I swear I didn’t. I got angry and I wasn’t careful when I got home. My parents saw the bites and they lost it. They went straight to the bayou to tell the witch and they wouldn’t listen. You never called for me again, you never appeared at the beach, and even if you had, I couldn’t get to you. My parents stopped letting me leave the palace.”

Nico sighed as Percy spoke. The honesty was clear in the features of his face. “You have legs,” he noted. Percy looked down at his human legs and shrugged. “It’s good to see you,” he told him, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around his friend.

“I’m so sorry,” Percy murmured. “I should have told you. I should have told you about Will.”

Nico stepped back and tilted his head in confusion. “You knew?”

Percy looked at him with is innocent sea green eyes and nodded. He looked away in shame. “That day that you took him. He noticed something was in the sea and so I showed myself. I had smelled him and I knew there was more than Ordinary blood in him. When he called out, I knew I was right. And I asked him what he was and he told me he was a werewolf. But I didn’t understand how you could be with him if he was. Then he called you an Ordinary. And I realized neither of you knew about each other.” He looked Nico in the eyes again. “I was going to tell you. But you made me so mad, I decided not to. And then… my parents.”

Nico wanted to tell him off, but at the same time he just wanted to forget about Will. Before he could answer, though, Hazel spoke up. “Okay, as fascinating as it is to have all of these heart to heart revelations, we need to go. Follow me.” She took Nico by the hand and began walked through the woods. Nico glanced back at Percy who shrugged and followed. They reached a denser part of the woods where a small teepee was set up. There were coloring books and dolls scattered on the floor, flowers of all colors growing around the teepee, and jewels of every size and type separated by color in dirt holes. It was enough to make anyone rich. “I come here when I want to be away from her. We can use it as headquarters.”

“We?” Nico questioned.

“Headquarters?” Percy added.

“For the war,” she said as though it were the most obvious thing. “We have to fight.”

Nico’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Fight?” He walked over to her and went down on one knee. “First of all, sweetie, you’re like five.”

“I’m eight,” she growled. “And I’m telepathetic.” Nico furrowed his eyebrows and looked back at Percy who looked just as confused. “Look.” She raised her hand and several of the jewels by the teepee rose and drifted toward her, looking like cheesy special effects. Still Nico’s mouth fell open as the shining gems plopped into Hazel’s small brown hand. “See?”

“Telekinetic,” Nico whispered.

“Whatever. I’m part witch, part vampire. I’m kind of a big deal. And helped you escape. I know what my mother is planning and you need to get off your butt and stop your little pity party. You have things to fight for.”

Nico looked into her wide golden eyes and for a moment he saw a full-fledged war- wolves, vampires, trolls, fairies, imps, and other things he didn’t know about all at each other’s throats. Sparks and mist covered much of his view, and he suspected it was the magic from the witches and warlocks playing their part. He saw the faces of his father, his sister, Will, Cecil, Lou Ellen, and Percy. And then they faded.

Her warm hand cupped his cheek and brought him back to the present. “We have to stop it. And if we can’t then we have to win.” She lifted her chin. “And I can help.”

Nico scoffed and stood back up. “Okay, Shortstack.”

“Hazel,” she corrected, frowning at him.

“Munchkin,” Nico nodded.

She huffed. “I though having a brother was supposed to be a good thing.”

Nico lost his humor and bit his lip. “Speaking of which…. Where’s my sister? Bianca.”

“You have a lot of people willing to help. They all have to find a distraction before they get here though. So it may take a while. Your- Our sister is one of them.”

Hesitantly, Nico asked, “And… Will?”

Hazel pursed her lips and shook her head sadly. “He’s too angry with you. I didn’t trust him enough to tell him.” Nico looked away trying to mask the pain that gave him. “Everyone’s looking for you already. It’s safe here.”

Nico didn’t answer. But Percy put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a sad smile before turning to Hazel. “You said you knew what your mom was planning? Well, what is it?”

Hazel took a deep breath. “Have you ever heard of a red herring?”

Judging by the silence, Nico assumed Percy was confused. “It’s a distraction while something bigger is going on in the background,” he answered. “So what, my trial is just a red herring?”

She shrugged. “Haven’t you wondered what it matters to her whether or not a teenager gets justice? I told her that you didn’t hurt me, that you scared me only. But she took her chance. Suddenly all these other things were happening to you and she was using it all against you. On the one hand, it’s revenge against… your father. For not staying with her. I was an experiment in the first place, but she made the mistake of getting attached.

“Mainly though, this is just a distraction. A way to turn everyone against vampires so that she can be the one with the most power. It’s all about power with her. It’s why she had me and it’s why she’s doing all of this. But I know her, and she can’t handle it. It’s already gone to her head before. She’ll let everyone think this war is against vampires for their safety, but it’s… it’s just a war to get rid of your race.”

“She’s fighting her way up the hierarchy while pretending to be a martyr,” Percy said. Hazel nodded grimly. “She’s good with words, Nico. She convinced my father and discredited me in one sentence. How are we supposed to rally anyone against her?”

But Will laughed and hugged him tightly before letting go. “I have to go. It’s getting late and my dad will be worried.”

“Okay,” he said. He watched as Will opened the door and gave him a final smile before going inside.

He braced himself for the burning sensation that cut through his throat the way it did each time Will was far enough away. As he walked home, he made sure not to breathe. He’d already killed too many people, no matter how despicable they were.

How many families were mourning because of him? How many families waited for someone who would never come home? How many people had Nico indirectly hurt?

The house came into view quickly. And outside stood three imps, two large and one smaller, their bat-like wings beating impatiently, their sharp tails swishing, and Bianca and his father. They were waiting for him, Nico knew it. Bianca paced nervously, uselessly pleading with them.

As Nico approached, the smallest imp, leaped onto the porch railing and looked at Nico with large brown eyes. His features were oddly human, not as shriveled and gargoyle-like as the larger. His eyebrows suggested mischief as did his smile.

“Well you don’t look like a trouble maker. You’re a kid!” he said.

“Stand back,” one of the larger ones said.

The smaller imp let his tail curl around the roof ledge and his body turned until he was hanging upside down, swinging in front of Nico. “Heard you did a lot of bad stuff,” he said, his voice inappropriately excited and upbeat.

“Didn’t do half of it, but nobody will listen to me, will they?” he answered sarcastically. The imp frowned and stopped swinging.

A larger one knocked him out of the way and scowled at Nico, his large sharp nose and gnarled mouth twisting in disgust. “You are to come with us, vampire.”

“I know,” he said tiredly. “I’m not fighting it, am I?”

“Lock him up,” he told the other.

Nico’s eyes widened. “I don’t need to be cuffed, I’m going willingly!” Still the other imp grabbed his arms and twisted them behind his back before tying them.

Bianca began to protest, but their father held her back and began to whisper in her ear. He tried to calm her down, but Bianca was already shaking. Nico tried to rip through the binds by pulling his hands apart, but screamed in agony as a sharp pain paralyzed his arms for a fleeting moment.

“Don’t fight it,” the smaller imp said. “They’re bound by fairy magic. They will hurt you the more you try to break free. Like a shock collar.” His expression suddenly wasn’t playful anymore. It was sad and filled with pity.

“Please,” Bianca cried. “Please, don’t hurt him!”

“Bianca,” their father said, pulling her back. “Be quiet.”

“Let’s go,” one of the imps said. “Take him.”

The imp that had bound Nico’s wrists grabbed him in his claws and shot up into the sky. Nico heard Bianca scream once before the other two joined and they began their flight. Nico looked down at the city and felt his throat burn almost as bad as his arms had. There was so much fresh blood down there, and Nico was starving.

Once, the imp carrying him almost dropped him, and Nico automatically tried to extend his arms, only to twist into the claws holding him as he let out a guttural scream. The imp laughed and Nico slumped wearily. He was taken the rest of the way like a rag doll.

Finally Nico fell to the ground, groaning and wincing. The smaller imp helped him up, his three fingered hands clamped gently around his arms. “They’ll take them off when they get you to the cell,” he assured.

The other two looked at the smaller imp with distaste, obviously not pleased at the hospitality he tried showing Nico. They led him inside a large building that looked like a church, ironically enough. It was silent, and Nico’s footsteps echoed throughout the room. Near the front stood a handful of thrones, each identical. Facing them, in the center, one chair with straps for arms and legs. There were no other chairs or pews, but Nico knew the room would be filled with Mystics waiting to see a vampire executed.

He was led into another room connected to it, where he would wait to get exposed to the others, where he would await their judgement. Then they took him down the hall into another room. This one was made of cement. It had a single cell with the bars drilled into the floor and ceiling. Only the cell door was mobile and it opened smoothly as one imp pulled it. He gestured inside and the kind imp that had taken him began to undo the binding at his wrists.

“Leave them,” the larger one commanded. “Madame Levesque’s orders.” The smaller imp began to protest, and the larger’s eyes began to glow red. “You useless spawn, I gave you an order! Leave the bindings and step away from the prisoner.”

Immediately, the smaller one did. The one who had bound him in the first place, the one who had carried him here, shoved him into the cell. Nico lost his footing and fell to the cold stone floor, spasming as his hands pressed against their binding. He groaned and struggled to get into a sitting position.

His fangs had grown out and he hissed at the imps who laughed in spite of him. They left, and the smaller one gave Nico a final apologetic glance before bounding after his mentors. Nico could smell his own blood from the claw wounds at his side, and though it would do nothing to satiate his hunger, his mouth still watered in yearning. His throat was raw and his limbs were becoming weak.

He didn’t know how long he would have to wait to be fed. Did Mystics offer a last dinner? Of everything Nico researched about his own trial, he didn’t research that.

***

The next morning, the imps arrived at Will’s house, scaring his father horribly. Will couldn’t blame him. The imps were creatures you had to get used to. Their dry coarse skin varied from murky brown to demonic red, their wings were large and their tails all ended in a triangular point. They had three fingers with long black claws, and the adults had the faces of the demons Will had scene in secular statues. The younger ones were lucky enough to look a bit more human. It had taken Will the last two months to get used to seeing them and hearing them talk.

“Will, are you sure this is safe?” his father asked as they waited for Lou Ellen.

“No worries, Mr. Solace. Will isn’t the one on trial. He’ll be treated just fine,” Leo said, wrapping an arm around him.

“You’re a bit young to be part of the guard,” his father noted.

Leo shrugged. “The other two are… intimidating. They let me tag along because of my humor and good looks.” He winked and smiled, the soothing effect broken by his sharp teeth. Finally Lou Ellen arrived and shuddered as she passed the other two imps. “Hey there, foxy.”

She glared at him. “Wolf,” she corrected. “Are we ready?” Will nodded and Leo became a bit more solemn. The larger imps, which Will always forgot the names of, but referred to as Thing One and Thing Two, each got a hold of one of them and dashed into the bright sky. They muttered, obviously uncomfortable with the amount of light.

Leo flew right below them, keeping them company. Surprisingly, he remained silent the entire time until they reached the Mystic Court. Thing One and Two walked away, but Leo stayed beside them. “You know,” he said, “when I was little, all I ever wanted was to be one of the guards. It’s the most important job an imp could get. But… yesterday, seeing the way they are with the prisoners….” He shook his head sadly.

“Leo, they’re prisoners,” Lou Ellen said. “They’re the bad guys. You’re not supposed to be nice.”

Leo shook his head. “Not this one. The vampire we picked up last night wasn’t fighting us. He didn’t even badmouth us. And… I don’t think he did the bad things Madame Levesque is accusing him of. But they treated him just the same.”

Will frowned. “The witch knows everything, Leo. Her word is basically law around here. She’s powerful.”

Leo still looked troubled, and Will had to step back as his tail flicked in frustration. “I guess. I’ll see you guys later. She’s waiting in the panel room.”

He left and Lou Ellen followed Will into the court where several other Mystics waited. The only race missing were the vampires. As they started to walk into the room that was hidden behind the panel thrones, the witch herself stopped them.

“Go ahead, dear,” she told Lou Ellen. “I just need your alpha.” Lou Ellen frowned and went into the panel room. “This, my dear, is a very serious matter,” she crooned. “It requires a blood oath.”

“Blood oath?” Will repeated. She extended her hand and Will gave her his hand. Instead of inspecting it, she gripped it and held it upward. A sharp pain made Will yelp and he saw a thin line at his wrist begin to open with scarlet colored blood. As it dripped down his wrist, it fell into a small cup that she was holding. That’s when Will noticed the small triangular stone dagger she gripped with her pinky.

Once the cup was filled, she used her robe to wipe his wrist clean and a strange ointment from a vial around her neck to heal the cut. It faded into a scar and she allowed him to enter the panel room.

When he did, he saw the fairy queen of their area sitting beside a smaller fairy, much younger. Will had become friends with her, a kind girl named Piper. Beside them, two trolls that Will preferred to steer clear from. They were awfully clumsy and easily distracted, but being near them, one often lost their belongings. Next to them, the king of the sea and his wife, each with legs instead of a fish tail. Beside them, two young women who looked like sisters, their blond curls pinned up elegantly, their grey eyes observing the others. Perhaps they were witches. Madame Levesque might lead the panel, but the Wiccan side of the Mystic community still needed unbiased representation. Then, thankfully, Lou Ellen.

She hurried to his side as they sat, waiting for the witch to return. He grabbed his wrist absently, still feeling the sting of the blade.

The door burst open and Will was surprised to see Percy running in. “Mom! Dad!” he cried. It was strange to see him with legs. “Please, you have to listen to me, he wasn’t-”

“Perseus,” his mother chided softly. “We’ve been through this. Enough.”

“But, Mom,” he insisted. “I’m begging you, would you just listen? All of you,” he said as he turned in a circle to look at the others who would be on the panel. When he saw Will his green eyes went wide. “Will!”

“For crying out loud, Perseus, you know a werewolf too?” his father said tiredly. Percy ignored them and rushed over to Will.

He stepped back automatically, still not fond of the sea prince. “Will, you have to listen to me, okay? You’ll believe me, I know it-”

The door opened again and Madame Levesque walked in, her eyes immediately zeroed in on the intrusion. Percy gasped and turned to Will, but when he opened his mouth, Madame Levesque had already grabbed him by the arm to pull him away. “My dear boy,” she chided. “This is no place for you. I suggest you wait with the others. Your parents will return to you shortly.”

“Will, he didn’t do it!” Percy called over her shoulder before she shut the door on him. Will furrowed his eyebrows and shared a look with Lou Ellen.

“Poor boy,” Madame Levesque said sadly. “Bitten by the vampire and brainwashed.”

“They can do that?” one troll asked.

“The proof is right there. The son of royalty enraptured by the bloodsucker, forced to believe him, defend him even.” She shook her head, the beads in her hair clicking together. “Don’t worry. I will help him when this is all over,” she said, patting the queen’s hand. “Now, I must thank you all for being on my panel. I trust that you all will be home shortly, for this case should not be very long. The allegations against the vampire are numerous and quite heinous. There is no way to prove otherwise.” Will glanced around as everyone held to her every word. Except for one of the grey eyed sisters. She looked wary and suspicious. “Excuse me, while I prepare the prisoner for the trial. You may all take your seats at the panel thrones.”

She left the room, her robes sweeping regally behind her. She reached out a hand and the small girl, Hazel, walked to her side. Will hadn’t seen her standing so silently by the wall. She looked solemn and upset as she followed her mother out of the room. Meanwhile, Lou Ellen took his hand and they started for their seats.

They walked behind the sisters and Will heard them arguing. “Mother, something’s wrong,” one insisted.

“Annabeth, be silent. Let’s get through this trial before jumping to conclusions.”

Will shared a look with Lou Ellen. They sat at their chairs, and he looked out at the other Mystics. The rest of his pack was there in wolf form. Fairies hovered in their place anxiously, trolls and imps strolled along the edges unable to sit still. Will caught Percy’s eyes where he sat beside a young girl covering her face with her hair and hand. Beside them was the vampire Will had seen in the woods.

“I heard,” she said softly. “So… he’s… you’re his boyfriend now?” He made an affirmative grunt. “You realize what that means, right? You have to be there emotionally. You don’t get to mess around with the fairies and the merboy anymore.”

“I know how to be faithful, I just never had a reason to be before,” he answered, slightly annoyed at the way she talked to him like a six year old. “I have a few more months, Bianca. I want to know what it’s like. I want to try this out.”

“What about his blood? You said it was strong and-”

“Yes, I know,” he interrupted. He glanced over his shoulders to where Will and Lou Ellen were talking animatedly and Cecil’s eyes drifted toward and away from him. “But it’s not anymore. I don’t know why. Maybe I got scared enough to where I don’t want it anymore. I’m not even paying a lot of attention to his heartbeat anymore.”

Bianca sighed. “We’ll talk later,” she said in her big sister voice. She hung up, and Nico took it as permission to go eat- well, permission to accompany the others to eat.

He went back to the others and smiled. “All good. I just have to go get something from her. Can I meet you guys at the pizzeria?”

“Sure. You know which one right?” Will asked. Nico nodded. “See if your sister wants to come. The more the merrier.”

Nico smiled and nodded, but he was not going to ask Bianca to tag along. She would just give him that reprimanding look the whole time.

He started away from them but Will caught his arm and turned him. “What no goodbye kiss?” he asked. Nico smirked and kissed him. He knew that if he’d had a heartbeat, it would’ve been beating hard and fast through his chest. Still, with the demonic venom that naturally circulated his body as it was, it seemed to rush through his veins and make him dizzy all the same. “I’ll see you in a bit,” Will smiled.

“Mm-kay,” Nico sighed. He turned away and started for the park. He wanted to disappear through the trees and race to the beach without anyone seeing him. As he walked, his senses returned. He was aware of the heartbeats around him, their scents, and most importantly the scent of their blood.

His throat flared and he choked as though he had a cough. He was so hungry. His canine teeth began to shift into his fangs, the sharp end probing the inside of his lip. His vision shifted from normal to thermal, making him dizzy.

Sweet scented blood made a low rumble begin in his throat as he fought back a hiss. He kept his head down and walked faster. A little boy eating chocolate ice cream ran past him, his blood rushing through his veins, his heartbeat loud, healthy, and fast. Nico’s mouth watered and he covered his mouth. He ducked into an alley trying to get a grip on his hunger.

Unlike most would believe, a vampire’s hunger did not control them. Nico often saw in movies or television shows that smelling blood put a vampire in a trance-like state, pushing them until they reached their blood source desperately, unaware of their actions.

That was wrong. It was like any food source. You wanted it, needed it to survive, but it didn’t make you lose control or sense. A person could see a large piece of steak and want to eat it more than anything in the world, and still hold back from eating. It was the same with vampires. Despite how inviting that boy’s blood had been, Nico wasn’t going to go after him and take it just because he was starving.

He knew he was hungry, but he hadn’t known he was this hungry. He could only be thankful that he didn’t get like this when he was with Will. Otherwise, he wasn’t sure he could have resisted with him so close. That was like putting an alcoholic in a room filled with glasses of the finest wine for free.

Taking a final breath, he began to run. Between buildings, through trees, over rooftops, until he reached the sandy shores of the sea. He sat near a large rock and began to hum, closing his eyes and thinking of Will. He only opened his eyes when he was splashed with water.

Percy looked healthier than ever. The bite marks at his neck and wrist were a glistening silver, but they hadn’t seemed to have an effect on him. He was giving Nico a mischievous, troublemaking smile, well-known among the merfolk. His tousled hair glistened in the sunlight as drops of water fell and slid down his chiseled face.

He was handsome as ever, his eyes a captivating sea green, his body strong and muscular, the body of a fighter, tanned skin, and that flirtatious smirk. Yet, Nico had no desire to play his usual game of cat and mouse with him.

“Hello, Percy,” he said formally.

“Nico,” Percy nodded. “I can’t help but feel like you’re using me, you know?”

“What makes you say that?” Nico questioned. Though he wasn’t wrong.

Percy shrugged and sat along the shallow end were the sand was wet, but only because of the way the water lapped against it after each wave. His scales shone in a mosaic of blues and greens in the sun. “You don’t visit as often. And when you do it’s because you need my blood.”

“My apologies,” he said sincerely. “The days have been…. Well shit. My life is not… in its prime at the moment.”

“Yes, I heard,” Percy said, swishing his tail so the water splashed against his body. “You’ve been summoned to a trial. My mother is on the panel to represent the merpeople.” He paused for a moment. “Now they’re saying you murdered an Ordinary. For sport.”

“Sport?”

“The body had too much blood for you to have fed. He was too well-known. So I heard.”

Nico clenched his jaw. “Do you believe them?”

“Go ahead and feed. Your voice is hoarse. It only gets like that when you get hungry.” Percy took his hand and Nico looked at him. He tilted his head, exposing the same mark Nico had made the first time.

Somewhere in his mind, he felt this was wrong. He was dating Will now. Was he allowed to continue feeding on a merboy he used to flirt with? But then, in another part of his mind, Nico knew if he didn’t, he would go hungry much longer than he could comfortably manage.

He leaned over and placed a hand at his neck, dipping his head as if he was going to kiss him. Instead, his fangs elongated, the pulse thumping through his veins and against Nico’s hand making his mouth water. His skin was soft and cold, and as he sunk his teeth into his neck, he heard Percy whimper.

Cool, thin, sweet blood rushed into Nico’s mouth, sating his hunger and soothing his throat. Percy was moaning, pulling him in by his arms. The bite made his heart beat a little faster, though weakly. Nico unhinged his fangs, and shrunk them back to normal. He ran his tongue over the punctures gently, sealing them.

As he pulled back, Percy pulled him into a kiss. Nico gasped in surprise and toppled over him. “Again,” Percy whispered, biting his lip.

Nico pulled himself up and away from him. “No, Percy. I can’t take too much from you. You know that.”

Percy sat up and crossed his arms, a brooding look taking over his features. The waves lapped furiously at Nico’s feet, and he got the feeling that the water was reacting to Percy’s emotions. Nico stood awkwardly, unsure of how to calm him down.

“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Percy said. “Isn’t there?”

“Am I supposed to tell you anything?”

Percy glanced at him and tilted his head. “You smell strange. I’m used to your sweet scent, like ocean flowers and cakes. But there’s something else to it. Something… tangy.” Nico took a nervous breath. “I can’t tell what it is, but I assume it’s someone else’s scent. And it’s not your sister.”

“Percy-” Suddenly his phone rang making them both jump. Nico pulled it out of his pocket and answered. “Hello?”

“Hey, Neeks!” Will said. “We’re about to order pizza, is pepperoni good?”

“Yeah, whatever toppings, I don’t mind.”

“Cool, see you in a bit.” Will hung up and Nico put his phone away. He sighed and looked at Percy who looked ready to drown him in a tidal wave. “I’m seeing someone,” he muttered. “I didn’t think it’d upset you.”

“Oh really? Well why don’t you tell him that you’ve been kissing and biting a merboy and see how he feels about that?”

“Oh, come on. He’s an Ordinary, he wouldn’t understand. But I thought you would.” Percy blinked, his expression going from anger to confusion.

“Ordinary? But his-”

“Percy, please.” He sighed and rubbed his temples, more a sign of agitation than a headache. “Look, just tell me if this is going to make you stop helping me or not. I need to know how my diet is going to go.”

Percy continued to look at him with a confused expression. “I’ll think about it,” he muttered. He dove back into the sea, giving Nico a final splash of water with his tail.

“Oh, come on. Really?” Nico shook his hair out and groaned. He went home, sneaking into his room to change. Bianca was watching a show downstairs, so hopefully she wouldn’t notice he was home. Nothing could sneak past a vampire- except another vampire.

He changed quickly and dashed back out, heading for downtown where the pizzeria was. He went inside, overwhelmed by the smell of marinara sauce and garlic. He scrunched his nose and looked for Will. The trio were in a booth at the far end of the restaurant, seemingly deep in conversation. When Will spoke, his words were quick and his face hard and angry. Lou Ellen looked frustrated too. Cecil looked more hurt than angry, but he was obviously getting berated for something. Nico didn’t try to listen; he didn’t want to intrude.

As he neared the table, pretending to look at his phone, he noticed Cecil sit up straight and he turned to look at Nico. His gaze was hard and angry, which shocked Nico.

Will called Nico’s name and apparently kicked Cecil under the table because the boy yelped and turned to look at him accusingly. Will slid out of the booth and greeted Nico with a kiss. Lou Ellen changed sides and sat beside Cecil so Nico could sit with Will. A large pepperoni pizza had been placed in the middle of the table.

“Hey,” Nico greeted. “Sorry if I took a while.”

“Not at all,” Lou Ellen assured. “We were waiting for you before eating.”

Nico tried not to grimace. It wasn’t that he couldn’t eat human food. He could. He just didn’t like to. It was like being forced to eat liver and spinach for dinner, which Nico remembered was his least favorite dish. “Thanks, guys.” He grabbed a pizza and bit it, forcing himself to chew and swallow.

Cecil nudged Lou Ellen and whispered in her ear. Nico took the chance to lean over to Will and whisper, “Is everything alright with Cecil? He seems upset.”

Will’s expression darkened. “He’s fine. It’s nothing really.” He smiled at him, his blue eyes twinkling. “Don’t worry.”

Nico nodded and turned back to his pizza, but he was aware of the death glare Cecil was giving him. Nico glanced at him, and saw his eyes narrow. Lou Ellen nudged him, and Cecil looked down, but Nico was still uncomfortable.

“Bianca didn’t want to come?” Lou Ellen asked.

“Uh, no. She’s still a little freaked out over Ethan, and with school starting back up, she wasn’t sure she could face it.” Suddenly, Cecil stood up in his seat and jumped over Lou Ellen. He walked past tables angrily, his fists clenched at his sides until he barged into the bathroom. Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “Are you guys sure he’s okay?”

Lou Ellen and Will shared a look over the table. “He’s just really upset about Ethan. He wants to know who murdered him. They were friends, after all.”

“Oh,” Nico managed. He pushed the guilt away. He hadn’t killed the guy. He had only… made sure he wouldn’t Turn. Besides, it wasn’t Bianca’s fault either. It was self-defense. He was going to hurt her. “I’m sure they’ll find the person who did it.”

“That’s what we keep telling him,” Will agreed. “But he’s young. He doesn’t get it.” Will took his hand under the table. “Really, don’t worry. We’ll help him out.”

Nico nodded, but he couldn’t help the uncomfortable knot that had formed in his throat. Cecil would never get peace and it was his fault. “I’ll go check on him,” Lou Ellen said.

“It’s a boy’s bathroom,” Will pointed out.

“You actually believe he went into the bathroom?” she said with a raised eyebrow. She left and disappeared into the hallway that parted for the bathrooms.

Meanwhile, Will tilted Nico’s face to him. Nico let out a sharp breath and chuckled. “You keep catching me off guard,” he whispered. Will cocked his head to the side like a puppy. “I’m used to people being scared of me. Keeping a distance.”

Will smirked. “I told you, I’ve dealt with worse than a troubled teenager like you.”

“Oh really like what?” Will laughed and shook his head then he leaned in to kiss him. “Are you avoiding the question?” Nico whispered against his lips. Will shook his head and kissed him again. “I thought I was the mysterious one.”

“Would you shut up and kiss me back?” Will said trying to hold back his laughter. Nico complied until someone cleared their throat. They broke apart and Nico saw a little girl staring at them from a table away, her mother glaring daggers at them. “Oops,” Will muttered. “Come on, the pizza is pretty lame anyway.” Nico followed him out of the booth and they left the pizzeria.

They walked down the street as Will texted Lou Ellen their whereabouts. “I’m sorry I tried ignoring you,” Nico said, lacing his fingers with Will’s. “And that I didn’t text you yesterday.”

“I get it,” Will answered. “You freaked out. You’re not used to relationships. But you already learned the first lesson- no running.” Nico laughed and shook his head. “You won’t run from me anymore, right? You won’t just disappear?”

Nico thought about his trial which was supposed to take place in a few months. Without a doubt, he would get convicted. No matter how much he fought, how far he ran, how hard he tried, he would get convicted. He knew that. He would be at the guillotine in a few months, and shortly after that, burned in a pit so deep the flames wouldn’t reach the top. He would disappear. He had no choice.

But he wasn’t going to give up either. He was smart. He could find a way to fix this, to turn this around. Maybe if he didn’t have Bianca, he wouldn’t care. Immortality wasn’t great. It extended the pain, the loss, the hurt. He had to train himself to feel nothing just so he could stop hurting over the people he lost. The only reason he bothered was because of Bianca. He still had her, and he couldn’t leave her. And then there was Will. The emotions, the warmth he gave him. He didn’t want to give up on that either.

“No, I won’t,” he told Will, though he also said it as a promise to himself. “You’re stuck with me now. Suffer the consequences.”

Lou Ellen caught up with them, dragging Cecil along as well. “He’s alright. But I think I should take him home.” Her words were strained, but Nico wasn’t sure why. Will sighed and nodded.

“How can you not-?”

“Cecil, stop it,” Lou Ellen warned.

“Why don’t you tell them? Tell them I’m right!” Cecil snapped at Nico. Nico stepped back in surprise. “I know-”

Lou Ellen clamped a hand over his mouth and tugged him back. He was shaking, his eyes fixed on Nico like a lion would fixate on its prey. Something about the way he said that made Nico’s skin prickle. He stared at Cecil, trying to figure out what he meant, even smelling the air with more concentration, but he couldn’t sense anything out of the ordinary. If anything, he felt less overwhelmed by his senses than he ever had, now that he paid attention.

“Let’s go,” Lou Ellen growled at him. “Now,” Cecil’s head dipped down, and Nico furrowed his eyebrows. She gave them an apologetic look before taking Cecil away.

“I’m sorry,” Will apologized. “He’s… he hasn’t been himself. It’s strange.”

“What… what does he think he knows?” Nico asked staring after the receding figures. “What did he want me to tell you?”

Will shifted uncomfortably. “We’re not sure, Nico. Ethan’s death has messed him up. We’re not sure he knows what he’s saying half the time. Really, just… ignore it. I’ll walk you home.”

“Alright,” he muttered. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Cecil knew something and the other two just weren’t taking him serious. Who would believe a kid who claimed to see things from the Mystic world? And more importantly, how had he figured it out?

Suddenly, Nico was pulled behind a building. Will stood in front of him looking at him with calculating blue eyes. It made Nico think of the doctors he saw on television. “You seem upset.”

“Well, yeah,” Nico admitted. “Cecil was nice and all of a sudden he just snaps at me. I don’t know what I did.”

Will frowned and took a deep breath as he regarded Nico carefully. Nico returned the gaze with his own. He tried to take in his scent, tangy as Percy had said. But he couldn’t. Not as strongly as before. He couldn’t even smell the dog scent he’d noticed when he started taking to him. His senses were diminished. Better than humans, but not as strong as they were supposed to be.

He felt like it should bother him, but oddly, it didn’t. That meant he could be with him without worrying about hurting him. He could stay and be in a relationship.

Slowly, Will leaned in and kissed him, his lips soft and hesitant. Nico closed his eyes and listened to his heartbeat, strong and steady, but no longer tantalizing. Nico wrapped an arm around his torso and pulled him closer. The satisfaction of an increase in heartrate made him smile. Will cupped his face and kissed him with more fervor, causing Nico’s head to swim.

Will pulled away and smiled. “Let’s get you home before Lou Ellen comes back to look for us again.”

Nico shook his head and pressed Will against the wall of the building. He kissed him again, enjoying the laughter it caused Will. “I like it here,” he whispered.

“Yeah, cat piss and garbage dumps. Very romantic.” Nico rolled his eyes and dipped his head down to rest on Will’s shoulder. Just being near him made him feel warm and happy. Such human emotions. Emotions he’d wanted to get rid of once upon a time. He had never realized how lonely it was to force yourself to feel nothing, to force yourself to be empty. “I really like you, Nico,” he whispered into his hair.

Nico smiled and hummed thoughtfully. “I would hope so. We’re sort of dating you know?”

Will chuckled and rolled his eyes. “That’s when you were supposed to say something cheesy. Like, ‘Not as much as I like you,’ or-”

Nico covered his mouth and rolled his eyes. “I’m dating you. You’re the first person I’ve ever actually dated. That should tell you how much I like you.” Will blushed and Nico could feel the warmth of his blood rush to his cheeks under his palm. To his delight, he didn’t get the urge to bite.

His boyfriend began to say something as he pulled his hand away, but suddenly, he tensed. “What is it?” Nico asked.

“Nothing. Nothing, it’s just… I might not be able to walk you home.” Nico furrowed his eyebrows. “I have this bad feeling. I need to make sure Cecil’s okay. I don’t know if Lou Ellen can handle it.”

“Oh. Oh, sure. Of course.” Nico smiled and pecked him on the lips. “It’s okay.”

Will blushed again and took his hand, heading for the streets. “I’ll call you okay?” Nico nodded before he turned the other way and started running for his house. Meanwhile, Nico turned the other way and walked for his own home.

He walked leisurely, enjoying the human pace. He noticed that his senses were returning. He could hear the laughter of children in the park a few blocks away. He could hear the heavy bass of a car going south on the highway that ran to the left of downtown. He could smell the marinara sauce from the pizzeria he’d left behind and the cat piss from the alley he had walked away from. The smell of dogs and sweat and blood clogged his nose, making him want to sneeze.

Was that normal? He wasn’t sure. Obviously his loss of senses was only when Will was around, and they improved the second he got away. But he didn’t understand why. Was it because of what he felt for him? Did affection affect his abilities? On one hand it was good- he wouldn’t be so focused on his blood. On the other not so much- how would he know when he needed to defend himself or Will?

As he got closer to his home, he saw Bianca waiting on the patio. She was swinging on the wooden bench, her hair rustled only slightly by the wind. When she heard Nico coming up a few yards away, she turned. “So we’re not going to Italy tonight, I assume,” she said. “What happened?”

Nico sat beside her and explained the day’s events. From the way he’d tried avoiding Will to the shock when he realized he could kiss him without a problem, to agreeing to date him.

Bianca furrowed her eyebrow. “That’s strange. I’ve never heard of that happening before.” She bit her nail and huffed. “But…. Oh, Nico, I can’t even be angry with you. I’ve never seen you act like this with anyone before. I’ve never seen you care so much.” Nico blushed and ducked his head down. “We’re going to fix our problem with Madame Levesque. And we’ll stick around and you’ll be able to be with him.” Nico smiled at her optimism. After a slight pause, she wondered, “Will you ever tell him? What you are?”

“What? Of course not!”

“What if he falls in love with you?” she asked. “He should know if he comes to tell you that one day.”

“He won’t fall in love, Bianca.”

She hit him on the head and hissed at his stubbornness. “Nico, what do you think relationships are? They’re the pathway to falling in love. Of course, you’re not in love yet, but you’re getting there. With a relationship there’s only two ways to go- you either fall in love, or you realize you’re not meant to be.”

His expression softened almost in defeat. “If I told him, he wouldn’t love me. Mortals don’t love bloodsuckers, Bianca. They’re scared of us. I’d rather he believe I was an Ordinary like him.”

She frowned but didn’t press the subject for which he was grateful. It was the first time he’d felt this way for someone since the 1940’s. And that had not gone well. It was new and scary for him.

In the distance, he heard the howl of a wolf, strong and steady. His face wrinkled in disgust. “The wolves are out early tonight,” Bianca noted, her distaste masked better than Nico’s.

Nico looked at her in shock and pain. It was enough to startle her; she had never seen so much emotion on her brother’s face. “Nico, it’s too dangerous. You could hurt him.”

“I won’t,” he promised. “I’ll visit Percy before I see him. I won’t breathe. I’ll behave-”

“Nico,” she said gently. The one word with finality, an end to the argument. Nico sighed in defeat. She sat beside him and wrapped her arms around him. “It’s alright, Nicky.” She kissed his forehead and held him close, like she did when they were first Turned. “It’s alright.”

***

The whole day, Will didn’t message Nico. Nico hadn’t messaged him either. Part of him was glad- he wouldn’t have to have a whole speech about having to leave and not being able to explain why or where. Part of him was disappointed- maybe Nico didn’t really care after last night.

Whatever the case, Will wasn’t going to talk to him. Not if all he would be able to say was goodbye. Eventually, Lou Ellen stopped by and with a grim expression nodded at Will. His father had left some time before, and Will had to keep himself from letting him notice anything was wrong.

As he followed Lou Ellen through the streets and toward the woods they tended to meet at when the full moon rose, she said, “There has to be another way, Will.”

“Let it go, Lou Ellen,” he said tiredly. He felt his muscles tense, the imminent danger making his instincts gnaw at him, begging him to Change and defend himself. He forced it back and squared his shoulders.

They reached the bayou. It looked dull and boring in the light of the sun, though as it began to set, Will could see the shadows that began to pool through the trees, through the murky water, and around the small house that rested between it all. The hair on the back of his neck stood, the wolf in him tremored, desperate to take over his human body. “Madame Marie Levesque,” Will called in a voice that sounded stronger and surer than he felt. “I seek a meeting with you. As an alpha wolf, I implore you accept my request.”

For a few moments, nothing happened. Then the door creaked open and Marie Levesque stepped out, freezing Will in place with her ghostly, milky eyes. She wore a long purple dress with many folds, a black shawl that fell to the floor as it draped over her shoulders and upper arms, several golden bracelets that all tinkled and glinted against the fading sunlight, her hair in thick braids, pulled back and decorated with colorful beads. Her chocolate skin looked smooth, making her look decades younger than she must have been. In truth, she was beautiful. It was only her eyes and the hard, almost maniacal, look in them that made Will fearful of her.

“You wolves and your arrogance,” she said in a soft voice, like a whispered song. “Do come in, puppies.”

Hesitantly, they did, and he was surprised by what he saw inside. He had imagined her house to be dark, filled with shadows and eerie darkness, and admittedly, a crystal ball. That wasn’t at all what it was. The house glowed a gentle golden glimmer, looking much more like a grandmother’s house than a witch’s. There was a fireplace with a low fire burning, a couch, a bookcase, a few scattered dolls, a kitchen, wooden chairs, and small cot against the wall. Will realized there was a small girl at the table, playing with jewelry. She glanced up at him and he was taken aback by her bright golden eyes. Her skin was darker still, her hair in tight, natural, loose curls around her heart shaped face. She wore normal clothes, and Will thought her to be about five or six.

Only a truly heartless person would think to harm such an innocent thing.

Her eyes were filled with maturity, and that surprised Will more than their color. She seemed saddened, tired, as though she knew more than she felt she should. And maybe she did.

“Well, are you going to tell me your request or not? Forgive me for not inviting you to sit, I don’t want you shedding on my furniture.”

“We don’t shed,” Lou Ellen muttered.

Madame Levesque fixed her with a hard gaze. “Madame Levesque,” Will intervened. “We have reason to believe that a recent Ordinary murder was committed by a vampire. We heard of your daughter getting attacked-”

“Momma-” the girl spoke, interrupting Will.

“Quiet, Hazel. Go play outside. This talk is not for you.”

“But Momma-”

“Now, Hazel.” The small girl stood, her eyes filled with frustration, but she did as she was told. “Continue,” she said.

“We heard of her getting attacked. We were attacked as well, and I believe it was the very day of the murder. My pack and I want to ask for your help in finding the vampire that has caused so much trouble. One or more, my pack will hunt them down and-”

“What an interesting mark you have here,” she said, her fingers reaching out to touch Will’s neck. He froze, her fingers as cold as ice as she pressed the mark gently.

***

Some time later, Nico heard their father’s voice calling for them. Both he and Bianca descended the stairs and stood in front of him, waiting. His face was grim and Nico felt his stomach clench. “The date has been decided,” he said, his voice filled with defeat. “I attempted to placate the witch, but she wouldn’t have it. Your trial will be in two days.”

“And there’s no way I can win, is there?” he asked numbly. He glanced at his father and saw him shake his head only slightly.

Bianca seemed frozen in shock. “No. No, they can’t do that. Not to Nico!” she shouted as she recovered enough sense. “There’s no real reason! He didn’t attack anyone, surely the girl-”

“The girl was afraid, screamed, and ran,” Father said patiently. “She wouldn’t stand up for the vampire she saw.”

“Nico can explain-”

“They won’t take my word for it,” Nico said. “I’m just a bloodsucker. Nobody trusts us, Bianca.”

“Then we can run,” she said desperately. “We can leave this place and go somewhere safe.”

“They’d follow us,” Father pointed out.

“It would only make me seem guiltier,” Nico added.

Finally, she lashed out at them both, baring her fangs, tears streaming down her cheeks. She hit their father first, raking her nails across his cheek, shoving him back hard enough so that he fell back against the couch of the other side of the room. Then she turned to Nico. She screamed at him, pushed him back with all her force but she kept her grip on his arm so he wouldn’t get too far away from her.

“How could you, Nico?” she screeched. “How could you just give up this easily?” She pushed him again, causing Nico to stagger. He didn’t have the strength or the heart to stop her. “You pushed through the Turn. You made me hold on. You pushed through the wars, through the hiding, through everything! You’ve fought for everything for the past almost hundred years, and you want to give up now?”

“Bianca,” he said softly.

“No! No, you can’t just give up! You can’t just leave me to this life alone! I need you, little brother. I need you.” She stopped hitting him and slumped against him crying.

“Okay,” he promised. “I’ll fight, Bianca. I promise.”

***

Will cringed away from her touch. “We want your help. We’re willing to give-”

“Our alliance,” Lou Ellen interrupted. Will shot her a glare, but she ignored it. “We’re willing to offer our alliance in the war you want if you help us find the vampire that murdered Ethan Nakamura.”

The witch looked at them both in turn. She held out her hand, and when neither of them moved, she grasped Will’s wrist and held up his palm. She raked her fingers across his palm and he tried not to tense. She smiled an eerie malevolent smile and cackled with glee. “Oh, my little wolf pup,” she crooned. “So little that you know. So very little.” She turned away, still cackling with glee. “Come, dogs.” She went to her kitchen and pulled out a pot. She grabbed a few vials and a few unidentifiable plants. She mixed as she giggled and talked too quickly for either Will or Lou Ellen to follow.

Whatever she made began to boil and she poured the mix into two ceramic mugs. She pushed them toward the wolves and smiled unkindly. “Drink,” she said.

“Madame Levesque are you going to help us or not?” Will asked, his patience wearing thin. He didn’t trust anything given to him from the witch.

But instead the woman smiled, this time obviously entertained. “You poor, naïve alpha,” she chided the way a patient mother might chide a child who spilled their drink. “You already know who it is. Surely you do. But you are blinded. Now, if you want my help in revealing who the vampires are, you’ll have to drink this.” She held up the mug. “Now, considering you wanted to give me your blood in exchange for the information, this seems a much fairer trade, no?” Will’s eyes widened. “Relax, wolf,” she said carelessly. “I won’t take your blood. I don’t want it. The allegiance, perhaps, but I don’t think I’ll need you to swear your allegiance once you figure this little mess out. Go on, drink.”

He glanced at Lou Ellen, unsure of what to do. “I’ll do it,” she said, taking a mug.

“You both must. It won’t hurt you. I swear it upon the Mystic laws.” She drummed her fingers lightly on the counter.

Hesitantly, Will took his mug. Locking eyes with Lou Ellen, he took a sip, expecting a bitter taste. He was pleasantly surprised by the subtle sweetness of the thick liquid that warmed his throat. He didn’t feel any different, so he drank the entire thing and was even tempted to ask for more. Lou Ellen had obviously enjoyed the drink as well, though she seemed even more wary because of it.

“Okay,” she said, licking her lips. “Now can you help us find out who committed the murder?”

Madame Levesque giggled. “Like I said, you already know. You don’t need my help.”

“But you said you’d help us!” she shouted.

“And I have. I didn’t take your alpha’s blood, I didn’t bind you to a war, and I gave you a wonderful drink all free of charge. Personally, I think that’s the most generous I’ve been in years.” She started away from them and opened the door. “Go on now, you ungrateful mutts. I have business to attend to.”

Lou Ellen snarled, but Will held her back. “Stop,” he said. He kept a grip on her arm and started out of the door. The witch shut the door, receding into the house again. The noise made Hazel look up from her rock collection by the murky waters.

Her gold eyes followed them as they left, and before they got very far, she muttered, “She’s wrong.” Will glanced back at her, wondering if he had heard correctly or if she had spoken at all. But by then she stuffing her rocks into her overalls and walking back to the house.

“This is ridiculous,” Lou Ellen sneered. “What was the point of that?”

“I don’t know,” Will muttered. “I don’t get it. How did she know about the blood? How did she know… anything at all?”

“She’s a witch, Will. She sees everything.” Will shivered at the thought.

***

Bianca had calmed down enough and was addressing the wounds she’d left on Nico with an embarrassed tinge of red on her cheeks. Their father hadn’t said a word. Not to reprimand Bianca or to soothe her or to attempt to fix anything. He’d only closed himself in his study again.

“What are we going to do?” she asked quietly. “How does the witch even know it was you? What you look like?” Nico shrugged.

“She’s a witch, Bianca. She knows everything.” He watched as his skin sealed itself back up despite the ragged tears Bianca’s nails had left. “But if she knows everything, then she has to know I didn’t do anything bad.”

Questions began to swarm in his head, trying to find explanations or solutions. Suddenly their father strode out of the study and looked at them with crazed eyes. “Who did you tell?” he snarled.

“What?”

“About that boy! Who did you tell?” he shouted, angrier still. He neared him and Nico immediately stood at attention. The first name that came to mind was Will, but his father never knew anything about Nico’s… adventures. “The boy you left in the woods, Nico!” he shouted.

“N-nobody,” Nico said in shock. “We didn’t tell anyone. There’s no one to tell.”

“Well then someone saw you,” he accused. “Because Marie just sent a message saying that a witness just accused you of the murder.”

“But that wasn’t him!” Bianca protested. “I did that! That was my fault, not Nico’s!”

“Great, then both of you will be going to trial!” he yelled angrily. “You stupid, stupid boy, you stupid, stupid girl!”

“Bianca is not getting a trial. The boy could have lived, but I made sure he didn’t,” Nico said angrily. He didn’t care what happened to him. He just wanted Bianca to be safe. “I was already going to be killed anyway, what’s the difference?”

“The difference is that you had a chance, however miniscule it was,” Father growled. “Now you don’t.” He took a breath and hesitated. “But… she pushed the trial back,” he said.

“How long?” Bianca asked hopefully.

“A few months.” Nico’s mouth fell open. “I don’t know why. She wouldn’t explain. But the least you can do is be on your best behavior. Show the judge panel that you simply had a bad week. That you know better than to break the rules.” He nodded dumbly as Bianca flung her arms around him.

Again, their father went into his study, perhaps wondering why he ever Turned the pair of siblings. But Nico didn’t care. He had more time to exist, more time to think of a way to win or at least escape death. He hugged his sister tightly and laughed in relief.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get out of here.” She pulled him away from the house and they raced through the woods, two blurs that stepped with so much lightness and grace they didn’t even ruffle the leaves in the trees or alert the critters in their burrows.

Bianca climbed up a tree like she used to when they were recently Turned and had delightfully realized tree bark would no longer harm their skin. Nico followed her and swung onto a branch, lifting himself like a gymnast to another branch where he laid on his back. Bianca perched herself onto the branch beside, crouching and looking out at the night sky. “You know, school starts back up tomorrow. I think they closed off the gym area, but everything else should be back to normal.”

“Do you want to go back?” Nico asked. “Will you be able to handle the crying cheerleaders and somber jocks and the shrine they’ll probably put up in memory of that pervert? Remember, you’re supposed to be the one that found him. If we go back, you at least have to act like you’re still traumatized.”

“I want to leave,” she admitted. “We’re vampires for crying out loud. We should be traveling all over the world whenever we want not repeating high school and learning about the stupid presidents and the wars that we actually lived through.” She sighed. “I just didn’t know if you wanted to go back. Maybe say goodbye to….”

Oddly, Nico felt his chest constrict. He furrowed his eyebrows and sighed. “Yeah. I should at least say goodbye to Will.”

***

Despite the way visiting the witch had completely backfired, Will couldn’t help the relief that made him giddy throughout the night. He would live. He was frustrated that he had gotten no information, but he was alive.

And school started tomorrow. That meant he’d probably see Nico. And considering the last time he’d seen him had been filled with several intense emotions, he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that. Especially since Nico had never bothered to try to reach him despite the promise of Will being different from his previous flings. Whatever the case, Will would figure it out tomorrow. He had time.

The next morning, he dressed somewhat nervously and started for school. Lou Ellen and Cecil and a few other wolves met him at the end of his street where they automatically began for the school as Will fell into step with them.

“So?” Cecil asked. “Did she tell you who it was?”

“No,” Will sighed. “I’m sorry, Cecil. But we’ll find them. I promise.” Cecil visibly slouched and whimpered. But he didn’t press Will. They got to school and Will scanned the area for the boy with shaggy black hair. He thought he saw him at one point, but when the boy turned, it was just one of the goth kids that always skipped in the auditorium.

“You would think,” Lou Ellen said beside him, humor thick in her voice, “that after leaving you with such a dark hickey, he’d at least look for you the first day back.” Will rolled his eyes and gave her a glare. “Come on, lover boy,” she said tugging him away. “We have a class to go to.”

Nico wasn’t in class. Will didn’t see him in the halls either. Not until lunch anyway. He noticed him walking away from the crowd, slithering through the students as agile as a snake. Will furrowed his eyebrows and followed. When he was close enough he called his name. Nico’s shoulders stiffened and he looked over his shoulders.

Will was surprised to see the worry in his eyes. He was more surprised when instead of stopping to wait for him, Nico kept walking, picking up his pace. Will froze and stared after him, not even calling his name again for fear of looking like an idiot. He went back to the lunchroom where his anger began to simmer until he was shaking and holding back his growls.

He left before lunch was over, starting for the library where Nico had surely gone to hide. When he was about two classrooms away, the bell rang. Almost immediately, the halls were filled with a mass of teenagers making their way to the next lunch. He noticed Nico slip out of the library as he started down the hall. When he looked up, he noticed Will. His eyes widened and he turned back, starting for another hallway.

With a scowl, Will started for the same hallway, passing him up by a few feet before he turned and put his arm up, blocking his way. Nico stumbled back, his face portraying the shock he tried to hide behind anger. “Hey,” he said simply, raising an eyebrow at him.

Nico stepped back and looked at the floor, oddly quiet. “I have to go,” he muttered. He tried to go around him. Will wasn’t sure what came over him, whether some hormonal teenage adrenaline or some wolfish alpha dominance, but he reached out and yanked Nico back, pushing him against the lockers where he let out a gasp and stared at Will with wide brown eyes.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “What’s your deal? At least tell me to my face that you don’t want anything to do with me.”

“That’s…. That’s not it,” he breathed. Will tilted his head slightly, not changing his expression. “Will….” Nico sighed and closed his eyes. “I like you. A lot. And that… scares me.” He opened his eyes and looked at him sadly. “I told you I wasn’t good for you. And it’s true.”

“Well what if I don’t care?”

“Then you’re stupid,” he snapped.

“I don’t care about that either,” he added. Nico let his head fall back against the lockers. Oddly enough, Will’s mind had never been clearer. There were no senses overwhelming him, no timid fear holding him back. There was nothing except the need to keep Nico where he was and make sure he didn’t get away.

“Will, I’m-”

Then Will leaned forward and kissed him, shocking them both. And just like before, the feeling of Nico’s lips against his own took his breath away. When he pulled back, his cheeks were flushed with the embarrassment he knew he should have felt, but didn’t. His hand hovered Nico’s cheeks as he looked at him, surprised and gasping heavily.

“Well okay,” he mumbled before pulling Will back in. When he pulled a way, he chuckled. “Is this you asking me out?”