#wbade

"When Charles left the house, his mood was not the best, and the weather hovering over Paris that evening did not help the feeling that permeated through the SUV filled with members of his clan.

The rain drummed against the tinted windows, drawing irregular rivulets that slid like tears down the face of a weary city. Paris - lively and bustling during the day - was now wrapped in a gray, shimmering shroud and seemed to be holding its breath under the heavy blanket of low-hanging clouds. The smell of asphalt permeated the passenger compartment through the windows, which the driver had rolled down.

He sat in the back seat, his expression  blank and impassive as he once again checked his gun with the expertise of someone who had done it thousands of times before - a move that had become second nature to him. He pulled out the magazine, made sure it was fully loaded, and slid it back in with a sharp click before slipping the gun back into the holster under his coat.

He glanced around at the other members and noticed that they were doing the same. They all knew what was at stake tonight, and everyone was looking for little ways to keep themselves occupied, to do anything to steady their nerves."

snippet ch. 22 - Paint it Blood

“Ma che cazzo mi stai dicendo Charles?” [What the fuck are you telling me, Charles?!] Antonio shook his head, looking increasingly incredulous. He raised his hands as if to say something, but he probably didn't even know where to begin. “Yeah, it's crazy, but it’s like this.” Charles shrugged, unfazed, and dipped a fry into an unapologetically messy mix of mayo and ketchup. After Max had shot him down with a spectacular cold shoulder—and Charles could pretty much guess where it came from—he’d asked Joris to get him something to eat. He was certain sleep was out of the picture, especially since he didn’t want to go back to his bed and find it empty, Max nowhere to be found. And at five in the morning, the only place open was the kebab shop around the corner. Ironic. So here he was, sitting in the kitchen with Antonio and Joris and, on the table, a greasy box of fries accompanied by some unidentified meat bathed in every condiment possible, along with a glass of O-negative. Max’s comfort food. Repurposed as an excuse to vent to whoever was unlucky enough to be there at that moment. Charles had just finished recounting the last week of his life, interweaving laughter, absurd details and heavy silences, all the while Antonio had just stared at him, unable to decide whether to laugh or punch him, and Joris had seemed more interested in stealing fries than actually listening to him… Typical. “You know, I understand Max a bit,” Antonio said, leaning back in his chair with a crooked smile. “Andrea didn’t exactly ask for my permission before turning me. I mean, yeah, I was dying, there was no time for some loving vampire parenting or gentle guidance, just trenches, corpses everywhere and smuggling blood during the Great War. Hell of a way to start immortal life, huh?” After grilling Charles for every possible detail about Max’s blood power, Antonio was now addressing the elephant in the room. Charles knew it: he was being selfish.

You can catch up on chapter 21!

Sorry, wonderful readers, we're late again.

Chapter 22 is finished, but we're waiting for a read from our @chandelier-s-notebook edit before publishing it!

When Blood and Death Embrace

Chapter 22 - Paint it Blood

Max had slept for about five hours and had spent the last two shut in his room, stretched out on the bed with his phone while his stomach growled furiously.  If it was exactly hunger or something else entirely, he couldn't tell anymore. All he knew was the nervous restlessness that had made it impossible to stay still since he'd woken up. So he'd tried to focus on something else, scrolling through notifications and Discord, opening and closing apps without really reading anything. And of course, in his endless browsing, he had stumbled upon the video. The clip was everywhere. He wasn't recognisable as Charles had promised. But it still bothered him.  He knew the vampire wouldn't risk his life, not on purpose at least, but there were people who knew he had survived the attack, people he had worked with at the club. How could he be certain that none of Stroll's men would turn up again looking for him? They had already shown up at his apartment once. In the end, if this mess was worth it in any way, it was only for Charles, for his own benefit. It didn’t help Max’s case. On the contrary. Nonetheless, he wasn’t proud of the way he’d left the night before.  He had walked out on Charles, his only words being that he was going to sleep and not even looking back.  Sooner or later, he would have to come clean and talk to Charles to clear the air. Sulking in his room like a teenager wasn't helping anyone. Maybe he should also apologise to Seb for the snappy answer he’d given him on the stairs.  Not wanting to think more about it, Max locked his phone, letting the screen go dark, and closed his eyes for a moment. He tried to shut out his racing thoughts and instead tuned into the house itself: the faint hum of pipes, the distant creak of wood. Footsteps. Soft and careful, drawing closer to his door.

Since, as you know very well, Charles loves rather kitschy clothes, we decided to give him one of the worst outfits in the whole book lol. We're also adding a new location…

As always, we apologize for the delay. Chapters 23 and 24 are already written, and we're working on editing them!

Hello anon! Unfortunately, one of us is having some work issues and the editing time is taking longer than usual.

Thanks so much for the support!

When Blood and Death Embrace

Chapter 21 - Driving with blood

He was just about to go downstairs to get something to eat when he met Pierre, who was coming down the stairs. “Oh, Max, I was just about to come and get you. Come with me,” said Pierre, not even pausing to wait for Max before turning on his heel and heading back the way he had come. Max froze for a second, blinked, then followed Pierre upstairs. When he saw that they were heading back towards Pierre's room, he assumed it was probably for another Call of Duty session and warned Pierre, “I'm really not in the mood right now—” Pierre stopped at his door, turned his head with a sly little smile, and cut him off, “Oh no, trust me… you’d love this.” Once inside the room, instead of heading towards the far end where the sofa and the large TV were, Pierre veered left, towards an area with two full SIM rigs that were nearly identical to Max’s own setup. Okay… what the hell is going on here? “Well, Max,” Pierre began. “Or Lion, if you want, I know what your real job is, besides being a bartender in Paris's shadiest clubs. I’ve always had an extra rig because Charles and I sometimes have fun with it, but I don’t use it as much as I’d like, so this one on the left? I’ve logged it out from all my accounts. It’s completely clean. You can use it whenever you want. Mi casa es tu casa, as they say.” Max's jaw dropped in that instant. He knew he looked stunned, and Pierre burst out laughing. “Go on,” he said, giving Max a friendly pat on the shoulder. “Get comfortable. I’ve got a meeting to prepare for.” Max still hadn’t been able to utter a word when Pierre paused in the doorway. “Oh, right…something’s missing.” He disappeared into another room and returned seconds later with a wine glass and a blood bag, placing them on the small table next to the SIM rig. “This time, you drink it. And when I get back, I don’t want to see a single drop left.” “What? I don’t… Pierre, thank you, but—” Max tried to say. “Yeah, I know. I’m amazing, thanks.” He gave himself an exaggerated little flourish. “But, as you can imagine, the idea didn’t come from me.” And, with a wink, Pierre left the room, leaving Max alone with a pristine SIM rig and a full bag of O-.

Unfortunately, it's been difficult for us to keep releasing chapters every two weeks lately.

We haven't forgotten about you, the readers, so don't worry!

snippet ch. 21 - Driving with Blood

It had been messy and fast. Charles had been on edge, and Max could tell. But what he didn’t understand was why Charles was treating those three days like the end of the world. Despite everything, Max wouldn’t have had a problem giving Charles his blood again. However, Charles had cut him off, saying that they would have to talk about it and that it couldn't just happen by accident again. Hadn’t Charles himself said that Max had given him a gift? Now he wanted to take it back? What on earth did that mean? Under the shower, Max found himself replaying those moments in the kitchen. They could have been caught at any moment, but that hadn’t stopped them from getting their hands down each other’s pants like a couple of horny teenagers. The thrill of it had been amazing, and they’d both climaxed quickly. Then, Charles told Max he needed to go and meet the others, and that they’d see each other later. Now, for the first time in days, Max was alone, left to think about everything that had happened. Alex, after being half-dead and burned, had found out that the dream of a 'half-human' life had been nothing but an illusion: everything still depended on Max’s blood. He’d become their golden goose, so to speak. Every vampire in the world would try to hunt him if they knew of his existence. The thought of the wrong vampire using his power to walk in daylight sent a shiver down his spine. So right now, the smartest move was to not move at all. He was safe at the mansion. Fucking ironic.

We apologize for the delay during the Christmas holidays, but we couldn't meet the deadline!

When Blood and Death Embrace

Chapter 06 "A Bloody Welcome"

He wasn’t alone. Someone else was in the room. “It was about time,” a voice called out. Max turned toward the direction of the voice.  The mysterious figure sat in an ornate, luxurious chair, one leg crossed over the other, completely camouflaged in the darkness on the far side of the room.  "What? Who the fuck are you?" Who the hell was this guy? Had he been there the whole time, keeping an eye on him while he was knocked out?  The man shifted slightly, tilting his head to the side, as he studied Max like he was some artifact.   “Max, isn’t it?” He said, his tone surprisingly measured despite the odd situation. “Relax, you’re safe here. I know you’re confused, but I promise, no one is going to hurt you.”  There was something about his voice—soothing, even comforting in an unsettling way—that momentarily stilled Max's racing heart. For a brief second, the instinct to flee faded, replaced by a strange, involuntary sense of calm. “My name is Sebastian,” the man continued, his eyes locking onto Max's. “Listen, we need to know what you are, and you certainly want to find out, too. So let’s cut to the chase, yeah?”

CHAPTER WARNINGS: strong language, mentions of graphic violence, blood, injuries, kidnapping, mention of needles.

To help you reading, some photos/locations for this chapter!

When Blood and Death Embrace

Chapter 20 - The blood runs out

Charles could hear the car pull into the driveway. Thankfully, it was still only six in the morning, and Max hadn’t woken up yet. He really didn’t feel like facing the inevitable conversation about what was approaching. The new Italian boss was due to arrive that evening, and it was time to act. Carlos’ antics weren’t just annoying anymore; they were disrupting the whole system. Not only for Charles’ clan but for everybody. He’d spent two days caring only about his new condition, enjoying Max and the pleasure they both shared, but now he had to get back to business. The situation with Stroll was far from resolved.