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It was just a stupid fight.
Honestly Alfred couldn’t even remember what it was about. Something about bedtimes, maybe?
Or maybe it had something to do with Alfred’s request to go explore the secret tunnels under the castle again. He hadn’t been down there in years but he knew there was something down there.
Someone down there.
Yeah that was probably it.
Reno didn’t want him to go exploring down there in case whatever tried to attack him before all those years ago was still there. To be honest, it probably was. But that didn’t change the fact he wanted to go down there, it wasn’t a whim either; it was something he’d been thinking about for years.
All he wanted to do was to ask whatever creatures inhabited the space a question.
It was something that had been eating away at him since he had first moved into the castle. He only wanted to know why. Why when every time he had finished a heat with Cypress, including this one, all ended this same. These normally special times always ended with scent changes and a deep pain that was both mental and physical for both parties. With lingering questions no one alive knew the answers to. Questions unable to have simple straightforward answers such as compatibility and virility, they were an alpha and omega during the most fertile time of their lives for Fenris’ sake!
He just wanted to know why.
Why it was always inevitable.
But this inevitability came all the sooner. They had barely even gotten back to the castle by the time whatever seed Alfred had planted withered and died.
Honestly, it was a record. Even the first one had made it a few weeks but this... this was just a slap in the face.
So yes, a trip down to the tunnels, where he was almost positive that the spirits of the wolves the vampires had trapped decades prior was in order.
It was the closest thing he could get to begging Fenris for answers.
Answers about why he wasn’t strong enough to do what he was born to do. What the deepest trenches of his body, mind and instincts begged for. To create at least one litter of pups, something, anything. The desire to pass on his genes to give future generations a fighting chance to stave away extinction. The possibility of at least taking some guilt off of being in an interspecies relationship like the two of them were.
But it didn’t matter what the fight was about.
It ended the same anyway.
Reno stepped on his toes, got him riled up when he still had his alpha screaming in the forefront of his mind and he reacted strongly.
With yells and doors slamming and a growled out, “I’m going to town.”
Honestly, he’s surprised he made it out of the castle without an escort, he had gone across the hall to Cypress’ room and told him where he was going before he left. But his personal guard was in no mental state to safely accompany him, nor was Alfred going to ask, he wanted to cuddle with his own mate and Alfred would not tear him away from that even if he had wanted to. Honestly, it was mainly just to ask if the other wanted anything.
So he left, with a request for a pint of ice cream he set off to cool himself down.
He’d never needed an escort for that before so why would that be any different tonight?
It was a perfect night for it at least.
He accomplished the brief drive to town within ten minutes, pulling into an open space on Main Street he glanced around to find a place to grab a drink and relax for a few hours. Headlights cutting through the near-deserted streets and merging with the lights from the street lamps he spotted the perfect spot. A little hole in the wall coffee shop that he used to frequent often when he moved here with Reno. It was one of those places that made his chest ache with nostalgia at how familiar it was even when he had never stepped foot in the store before.
It reminded too much of the home he had once thrived in, in a bustling city now thousands of miles away.
Of an easier time when it was just the two of them.
Him and Cypress.
No imprints, no true mates, no vampire politics or guard training or heartaches that come with stomach pains and scent changes and blood. Amongst, the other current worries that plagued the two of them that were even harder to get into than that.
So that’s where we find the young wolf. Sipping on a frozen coffee that is essentially just a milkshake with the amounts of sugar is in it. Staring out at the road, watching the handful of cars drive by at snail paces and the even fewer amounts of patrons on foot going even slower than that. Off in his own world, oblivious to any of the other patrons in the shop.
Which was probably a mistake on his part?
He’d gotten too used to living in the castle constantly surrounded by the scents of vampires and danger that his instinctual fear at the smell was useless.
So when a stranger sat down in front of him, smelling like the people he’d been interacting with daily for years it didn’t raise any alarm bells in his head at all.
Alfred had always been too trusting. The dangers of the world and the horrors it threw at him on a near constant basis had done little to squander that naivete in his mind.
He was always excited to make friends.
So when one presented themselves to him, smelling like the people he trusted most in the world he opened himself up. Idle chatter turned into lamenting the things that were worrying him, what it’s like to feel like he was being torn constantly two different ways. Having two mates that never really have a lot of time for him, the way people just treated him like he was a fragile child because of how trouble always seemed to find him.
How he sometimes felt like he had an entire world begging for help on his shoulders but no power to do anything to help change any aspects of it.
This made things beyond difficult in the grand scheme of things. Things were simple in Alfred’s world. He was Alpha, therefore he was to be a powerful leader. He had three fundamental roles to accomplish, protect his territory, find a suitable mate (or in his case two) and breed to repopulate. However, in his mate’s world it was like he was merely a fragile figurehead. Someone not destined to protect but to have the role of protector given to someone else to keep himself safe. Not destined himself to lead, to take the wheel, but to support a stronger mate and the things the other wanted enacted. However, the two ideals did not mesh in his mind at all.
But he was unsure on how to correct these conflicting internal feelings.
It was like the roaring alpha that was a constant in the back of his mind was being forced into submission, and while he knew this was not that case. That Reno was merely worried about him, wanted to keep him safe so he didn’t end up like his father he couldn’t help but feel put out by the stifling nature. The constant power struggle that stemmed from his own feelings of inadequacy at being a terrible mate, being unable to rule on equal footing with Reno, a literal king.
As he was getting lost in his ramblings and almost missed the call that said the shop was closing, with a heavy sigh he got up. Gave the stranger a smile, he’d learned the other’s name was Kiren at some point, and shrugged.
“Well, I guess I should head home, they’re probably missing me by now, thank you for listening to me whine. I know you probably just sat down to flirt and I dropped a whole sad story on you,” he said with a slight laugh. A gentle blush spreading across his cheeks. Reno always said he rambled too much.
“Oh, don’t worry, it wasn’t a problem. It was fun to talk to you Alfred, honestly that was more than anybody has spoken to me in a while. It was nice to have some sense of normalcy for once,” Kiren said with a simple smile as the two walked to the exit together. Kiren reaching out and holding the door for the small brunette. “Here, why don’t I walk you back to your car, it’s late at night to be out all by yourself.”
Alfred agreed with a happy, gentle noise made in his chest, tossing his empty cup in a trash can on his way out and thanking the barista for the delicious beverage he stepped out into the cool night air.
Sucking in a deep breath as a stale wind ruffled his hair, tasting the scents in the air with his mouth and a content noise from the back of his throat.
“Thank you! I’m just parked up the street there, surprising how even at night this tiny town has so many cars parked... though I guess it makes sense with how many people probably live above all these little stores and all. I miss living in a bigger town... don’t get me wrong its nice to live in an area pretty much all to yourself but after a while it gets so boring…” he sighed, attempting to flatten down his unruly hair. He definitely needed to get a haircut soon, he hated it when his hair got too long... though the look was positively lovely on Reno.
He was so absorbed in his own thoughts as he walked to his car he didn’t even notice the look in his companions’ eyes. The pure bloodlust that was becoming more and more clear as his soft smile went to a crazed grin complete with two needle-like fangs. If one were to look close enough, they’d be able to see his fangs pulsing.
But Alfred didn’t notice any of this.
Not until he was forcefully dragged off the sidewalk into an alley. Pulled behind a dumpster as the vampire he’d thought a friend forced his smaller body against a wall. The only noise Alfred could think of making was a soft squeak as he struggled. Panic rising in his chest when he realized exactly what was happening.
The trust that Alfred had felt towards the vampires living inside the castle walls did not extend to those on the outside of them.
He whimpered, opening his mouth to yell out for help but a hand covered his mouth before he could even make a sound. He wiggled around, looking up at his attacker with wide terrified eyes as he thrashed. Trying to escape out of the firm, powerful grasp. To use some self defense against the other, to fight back and show he wasn’t useless. That he was an alpha wolf and he could fight his way out of life and death situations.
But Reno had stopped him from doing training with Cypress after the other man had accidentally broken his arm during a simple training routine. He’d never learned how to fight, how to defend himself. Sure he was an alpha wolf, the epitome of the power of nature, but it wasn’t like he could just shift on a non-full moon. Especially a new moon, when even Fenris was sleeping, and he was all alone.
At a time where not even his God could save him.
Alfred tried to send out as much panic through his bond to Reno, to Cypress, begging for help. For anyone to come find him. But Kiren had stifled it before Alfred could even think of how to articulate it correctly, to let his saviour know what was happening and where he was. When the vampire in front of him twisted his neck, a forceful show of submission for any species. Exposing his sensitive scent gland with two sets of mate bites on it. His thrashing got harder, more frenzied as he fought with all his might to escape.
Then sharp fangs had plunged into the sensitive area and his mind got hazy. He couldn’t even articulate a single thought, let alone keep the bond open to let anyone pinpoint his location.
He closed his eyes, letting out the softest of whimpers. Idly reaching out for a hazy figure in his mind one last time before the last of his senses had become overwhelmed by the fire burning through his body.
--
If Kiren was a smart vampire, he would have noticed that one of the mating bite on that delicious tanned neck was definitely not a wolf nor a human bite but he had no time to care about that.
He had to move faster; he didn’t know a lot, but he knew that wolves, like vampires, formed bonds that they could use to track each other in times of peril so he had no time to waste if he wanted to get this done with no uninvited company.
So while Alfred was panicking, wiggling and thrashing about, Kiren opened his mouth and bit down hard where the older bites were, pumping endorphins into the smaller man to calm him down and make this easier on the both of them. Smirking when the adorable little wolf went limp in his hold. The only sounds escaping from that pretty throat was the softest of “no’s”, though it sounded like there was a syllable in the beginning of the word but Kiren both couldn’t make it out nor did he care to.
Honestly Kiren couldn’t believe his luck when he had found a werewolf sitting all alone in a coffee shop at night. He’d always wanted to try the blood of the near extinct species, especially when his sire had lamented on prior days when they could do whatever they cared to to the weaker species.
Oh, but the taste.
The taste was something that vampires like him could only hope of ever dreaming of experiencing! Initially Kiren hadn’t really been interested in the easy prey; he’d remembered the law his king had made years earlier when he mated with a wolf, to leave his companions species alone.
That is until Kiren got an idea.
Word on the street was that the King’s afraid to turn his mate.
That he’s afraid that turning a wolf would just kill them.
But, Kiren reasoned, if he could successfully turn a werewolf and take him to the King as proof that his worries were unfounded.
Why…
The King would sing his praises for years, millennia even! The opulence he would receive would be things he had only ever hoped to dream of as a human. Kiren was a young newly turned vampire, barely having ten years of his recent life under his belt. He was bottom of the totem pole young. So he wanted to do anything he could to gain favor, to make his undead life all the easier for him. And what better way than to have the full-fledged king of vampires in your debt? Not only that, but he’d be a sire to this cutie! Sure the little wolf already had a mate, or maybe even two if the bites on his neck were anything to go by, but there was no way the kids pack would accept him once he became a vampire. So he would be all Kiren’s.
Yes, this was a brilliant plan.
An excellent plan.
Not to mention that the blood flowing into his mouth from this wolf was the best he had ever tasted. Even when he was a human, he had tasted nothing such as this before and he used to be a Michelin star chef!
He knew flavor profiles!! The flavors hitting his taste buds were what they made dreams out of. The taste was something he had never come close to experiencing; it was like he was tasting the sweetest nectar that this world offered. That golden, A Positive blood, felt like it was sending life back through his hold veins, getting his heart thrumming to where he wanted nothing more than to run wild through the woods and go howling at the moon.
It was almost impossible to pull away, to bite his own wrist and get it flowing so he could press it to Alfred’s lips and coax the man into drinking.
He was licking his own lips, about to move back in to clean the wound he made and catch the slowly flowing blood to not waste anything when he heard a long sorrowful roar coming from the head of the alley. Next thing he knew he was being forcefully ripped off of his prize by power that he could only think of describing akin to that of a freight train at top speeds. He barely even had time to gather his new position before it clicked that he was on his back, staring up at the darkened skies and the face of the King he had so desperately been wanting to impress snarling above him.
--
Immediately after Reno and Alfred had fought, Reno had felt more than just terrible. He felt as if he had caused his little mate the utmost of heartbreaks by their argument. He wasn’t expecting Alfred to take the small fight like he had, honestly he just figured it would end like all the other arguments that arose after the Alphan wolf came back to him after a rut.
With sex.
Wild, mind numbingly animalistic sex.
It was a constant!
Or well, it was usually a constant.
Today was different and he could tell it immediately after Alfred arrived, he had come in looking beyond dejected. A look in his eyes that tugged painfully on Reno’s heartstrings. Wanting to do nothing more than to hug his little mate and shower him with affection.
Which is precisely what he would do.
Wrapping his small mate in a tight hug, rubbing his back to try to give him as much comfort as he could manage, pure love and affection soaring through their bond to flood the other completely.
He thought it was working, so when Alfred pulled away and the ominous look was still storming in his beautiful eyes Reno just grew even more worried.
He had taken Alfred’s hand, guided the wolf to the bed and sat down with him. Knees knocking together gently to help ground the other when he finally posed the question to find out what was wrong.
When he didn’t get a straightforward answer.
Just a question in response, a question that caused him more worry than he could show on his face.
He didn’t want Alfred going down there again! The first time Alfred and Cypress had ventured down there they ended up hours away and shaken to their very cores.
So no.
He would not let Alfred go down there, besides him and Cole had sealed the tunnels up immediately after the first time the two had gotten lost down there, and he would not allow him to go back down again. Especially since Alfred wouldn’t even tell him the reason he wanted to go down.
So they fought.
Anger fueling the two of them as they yelled at each other. Emotions riding higher and higher. Alfred’s anger stemming heatedly from his rut and Reno’s from the leaking feelings from Alfred sneaking over into their bond.
It was a very volatile situation.
With an ending, Reno didn’t see coming.
Alfred had never stormed out like that and once he had left, those growled words bit into his very core and left him feeling cold inside.
He just wanted a pleasant night with his mate.
Reno had missed the other so terribly while he was away with Cypress, he wouldn’t say he was jealous. No not jealous, he loved Alfred, and he wanted the other to be happy and if spending time with his wolf’s mate during a heat twice a year is what it took then who was he to take Alfred away from that?
Really, he was just lonely. It was only a week, and yes to a vampire that was such a small almost meaningless amount of time but having a mortal mate made him melancholic when he couldn’t spend every moment with his beloved. It was a mistake made once, a mistake that he still felt the overwhelming guilt from and it was definitely a mistake he did not care to make ever again.
Now alone once again he sat back down on the bed, the coldness settling in his chest biting through him, made even worse when he heard the telltale knock on the door across from the hall. Knew that Alfred had asked Cypress to accompany him into town, seeking the Omega’s company over his own once again.
So with a heavy sigh he laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling and wondering what he had done to cause such a potent anger in his otherwise sweet mate.
Coming up with nothing he just whimpered, pushing up further onto the bed and buried his face in Alfred’s pillow, breathing in the scent’s shadow that lingered. Thankful once again that he had told his servants to not change his bedding for the entire week the other had gone. At least being able to smell his love took some edge off from the fight.
Next thing he knew he was blearily blinking his eyes open, he wasn’t sure when he had fallen asleep, nor what had woken him until he felt the stab of pain in his chest once again. Wincing, he sat up, looking around the room and at the clock as panic filled him. Alfred had been out in town for way too long. But then he remembered that Alfred wasn’t alone, Cypress was with him, his personal guard and confidant so really he had nothing he felt he needed to worry about. Cypress could keep him safe and he didn’t want to step on anymore of the wolves toes by swooping in there to save a day that probably didn’t even need to be.
Or well at least that’s what he would do.
But the loud pounding on his door quickly squashed that idea, Cypress sweeping in there looking worse than Reno had ever seen him before. Screeching that something was wrong with Alfred, that the little wolf had gone to town alone and he should have been back ages ago, because that’s what he had promised before he left and panic from their bond just stopped so suddenly and there was no way he could get to him fast enough. Positive that Alfred was in danger.
Reno’s feet were moving before he had even registered he was up, rushing past Cypress and barking an order to follow. Shooting off a general idea where Alfred could be and then he was running. Drawing on the full extent of his powers as a vampire and as a King and flashing down the halls, out the gates, down the dark and winding streets. He was moving so fast his feet were barely even hitting the pavement, all but flying as he searched for his mate.
Reno slowed when he got into town, catching sight of the familiar car that Alfred had declared his favorite after he had found it, something about how it was his absolute dream car. Reno let out a soft whine when he got to the vehicle, not finding anything amiss around it. The lock on the door was still engaged, so he knew Alfred hadn’t been back to it.
Scoping the area as a gust of wind brought a sharp metallic scent to his nose.
It was blood.
More importantly it was Alfred’s blood.
Reno pursued the scent as fast as he could, terrified about what he would find as he entered the mouth of the alley. Then his vision went red. There was his mate, his precious, loving, perfect mate being held up against a wall behind a dumpster like he was trash. A vampire that Reno definitely did not recognize licking his lips as he moved back to Alfred’s neck to finish whatever job he was doing.
He didn’t even realize he was making a sound, let alone a roar.
Didn’t realize he was moving.
Not until he had this scum under him that dared thought he could take what was his. That dared to defile his perfect, beautiful mate. He looked down at the trash under him, snarling, his eyes glowing a deep red in the night as he listened to the man beg.
It was the stupidest cries he had ever heard.
“Please, oh please don’t kill me! I didn’t know he was your mate, I just thought he was cute and then I found out he was a wolf and I had this stupid idea! I heard y-your mates a werewolf and you’re afraid of turning him because you don’t want to accidentally kill him or something and I had an idea that if I could turn this one, then you’d be so pleased to find out he wouldn’t die and and please please I’m so so sorry,” the man... no the trash below him begged.
It was such a front.
The man was stuttering and crying, while his strong little mate stood behind them propped against a wall was quiet.
Reno hated it.
He leaned in, growled into the vampires ear the last words the man would hear, “So, not only did you attack my mate. You broke my law against not turning anyone without my strict approval. But even worse than that. You broke the only law he has ever enacted in order to try to keep his people safe?”
Before the other man could utter a word in defense Reno snarled, jamming his hand into Kiren’s chest and killed him faster than one could blink.
He pulled his hand up, trying his best to ignore the warm blood that covered it. Alfred’s warmth. Alfred’s blood. Wait. Alfred!
He looked back to his wolf just as he saw him start to slowly slide down the wall. Knees shaking and gasps coming out like rattles in his chest. Neck covered in blood just leaking it. Mouth closed in a grimace, he could tell his jaw was locked, teeth were gritted to keep his cries of pain in. The blood surrounding his mouth painted to what could almost resemble a smile.
Wait.
There’s blood around his mouth?
His eyes widened, moving to Alfred as fast as he could and gently lowering them both onto the ground.
Gently cradling his head in his lap and letting out a choked sob, “Alfred? Alfred no, no, honey. Hey, hey keep your eyes open for me okay? I’m here love, I’m right here.” He was trying his best to keep the panic out of his voice, to stay strong as he gently ran his fingers through Alfred’s soft dark hair.
“Re…. no? Ah... Reno please... please it burns... I can’t…. It hurts…” Alfred gasped out, his voice so soft. So weak and strained.
It terrified Reno, beyond terrified. For all he knew his mate was dying in his arms. “Oh no, oh no no no….” he whimpered, gently petting his cheek, “Alfred” his voice cracked. The fear sinking in in waves around him, “please, please don’t…. it’s okay. I’m here. I’ve got you.”
He didn’t know what to do. Terror was sinking in and he was in a panic. He couldn’t lose Alfred. He’d lost one mate already and he couldn’t lose another.
In his mind he had two options, and he didn’t care for either of them.
He could do nothing.
Hope for the best, that Alfred could fight whatever this was off and he’d be okay. Or he would turn, but then his sire’s dead, Alfred would be straight feral without a sire to be there to keep him grounded. There’s no guarantee he would even recognize Reno, he could attack, he could put up a nasty fight if he did. Reno knew there was no way he’d be willing to fight back against him if Alfred struck, but he had given Cypress this location mostly before he had left. Who knew when him and Cole would get here, Alfred could attack Cypress. Alfred could get hurt, maybe even killed in self defense. Reno might even be the one to do it. Or Alfred would just die in his lap, he’d stop breathing, and he’d never open his eyes again.
He really didn’t want to go with that option. Not at all.
Which left the second.
Reno would have to be the one to turn him. There’s a chance it might work. Reno was a king, a powerful king and Alfred was his mate. This would differ from the Queen’s experiments, or at least that’s what he tried to tell himself as he looked down at the two bite wounds clashing against the scars from mate bites. Looking at it he felt disgust rearing inside of him, that some lowlife even thought he had the right to touch what was his in such a way.
He growled softly, a familiar sense of possessiveness as he gently touched the open bite. Sucking in a soft breath as he hesitated.
He knew what he had to do.
But it didn’t mean he wanted to do it.
He had never wanted to turn Alfred; he didn’t want to have to subject him to this eternal life that he had been cursed with. He’d fought instincts and wicked desires at every turn and here he was, forced with this ultimatum in order have the possibility to save the one person who meant the entire world to him.
It was sick.
Reno was scared, shivering as his tears dropped onto Alfred’s face.
He tried to seek that familiar warmth he could get from his bond with Alfred, except it came back cold.
Which, honestly, scared him more than seeing his mate like this.
He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to lose Alfred. He didn’t want to be like her.
Deep down he knew this would be different. This was Alfred. His mate. He wasn’t a malnourished prisoner kept against his will in the dungeons underneath the castle. Tortured and mentally destroyed in ways Reno could never imagine. That wasn’t Alfred, that was Darren. They were different. This was different. Reno could save Alfred. Save him in ways he’d only dreamed of doing before.
But... he couldn’t.
No. No he wouldn’t.
Alfred would be fine.
He was a powerful alpha wolf; he had an indomitable will. He was a fighter.
He’d be okay.
Reno wouldn’t have to turn him because he could fight this off.
OR at least that’s what Reno had thought. Not even a minute after this he’d panicked even more. Alfred’s eyes had closed.
“Alfred? Alfred baby? Baby no no no open your eyes. C’mon. Please love, look at me, don’t…. don’t…. no. No no no no,” he cried out, gently shaking him. Trying to get those beautiful purple and gold eyes to look up at him but it was to no avail. His eyes were closed and his breaths were shallow and Alfred was dying.
Alfred was dying in his arms, and he was so stupid.
He was here panicking and comparing himself and Alfred to people who were long dead of inconsumable circumstances.
He had to stop this.
He had to get out of his head and do this otherwise he’d lose the only light in his miserable eternal life.
Reno gulped. Pulling Alfred up enough so he could reach his neck. Gently peppering kisses down his face, down his neck before finding the two disgusting puncture wounds. His tears mingling with the dried blood that had oozed out and sucked in a breath. Smelling the sweet sunshine scent and bit down. Pushing his fangs in deeper than the others, taking a minute amount. It didn’t have to be a lot, and it wouldn’t be he didn’t want to hurt the other more than necessary.
He pulled back, licking his lips as his hands shook, gently bringing his thumb to open Alfred’s mouth just enough. Biting down hard on his own tongue as he pushed his mouth to Alfreds’. Pushing the blood in, extensive amounts of it. This was the important part, he would drain himself dry to make sure Alfred got all he needed. Finally he pulled away. Gently rubbing his thumb on Alfred’s throat to coax him into swallowing it.
“Please baby, please... that’s a good boy. Y-you’re so good. So, so good. I love you. I love you so much. Please. Please. I-I need you, Alfred, I can’t lose you. Please. Please God I can’t lose you,” he cried, begged as he buried his face in Alfred’s hair. Broken sobs wracking his body, barely registering the soft gasp from the alley opening. Only looking up when someone started running towards them.
But he couldn’t let anyone near him, near them. So he growled, bared his teeth in a threatening display to keep whoever it was coming close at bay. Grip tightening on Alfred’s body as he held him close. His eyes were unseeing in his grief, his mind supplying that whoever this was coming at them and screaming was a threat and he would not let them near his mate.
His growls didn’t relent when the figures moved back, giving him room. He would protect Alfred with his life. He would let no one else near his mate.
Or well he thought he wouldn’t.
But then another figure came close. It didn’t back down from his growls, just making this placating noise in the back of its throat as it got closer and closer. It was a weird noise. A noise he hadn’t heard since…. Since…. he had been a fledgling. And just like that it snapped him back to reality.
He sucked in a breath when the approaching figure morphed into Cole, his own sire, his confidant. Which meant… ah. Yeah. That was Cypress he was close to attacking earlier.
Shit.
The kid looked an absolute wreck, on the ground, hiding his face in his knees as he rocked back and forth. This had to be the worst day of his life and Reno here almost tore his throat out. Whoops. That would be something he’d have to apologize for later.
Something small ended up snapping him back to reality when he felt someone pet his hair, looking up with wide eyes at Cole. Letting out the softest of noises before he broke down again, ugly sobbing as he hid in Alfred’s hair. Cole was saying something to him but he couldn’t make a word of it out, only responding when Cole tried to take Alfred from him, before he could stop himself he snapped at Cole. Growling deep and tightening his grip, maintaining eye contact in a way that screamed that he wouldn’t stop at that if he tried again. He heard a sigh and then the next thing he knew he was in the air. He’d almost forgotten how strong his sire was.
But he didn’t fight it.
The way he was being held allowed him to keep his own grip on Alfred so he didn’t make any movement at all, just allowing whatever was happening to happen. At first it felt like a hug which was odd because in the decades he’d known Cole the man had never hugged him. So this was without a doubt something different. Probably just the easiest way to move them out of the alley. Into the waiting car at the opening of the alley, into the backseat with a gentleness he had never seen out of the man.
He whined softly as he watched out the window. Watching Cole go back to Cypress and lift him in about the same way he had been, except... no it was different. Because Cypress clung back and oh. Oh, so it was a hug.
He looked down at Alfred, hands still slowly moving through his hair. Except it wasn’t soft any longer. It had become caked with the dried blood from when Reno had killed the other vampire. Reno had slowly covered Alfred in blood, he’d tainted his poor mate’s body.
He shivered at that thought; he didn’t want to think of Alfred as a body. He was alive. He would be okay. This was all going to be okay.
Reno jumped when the backdoor on the other side opened, biting back a panicked growl when he saw it was just Cypress. Reno froze when Cypress moved to close the gap between them. Stopping himself from baring his teeth in a challenge. He had to stop this, Cypress was Alfred’s mate too. They had a bond that Reno couldn’t even think about describing, Cypress had just as much a right to be here as Reno did and he had to accept that.
“S-sorry, he’s so rough looking… I forgot I had blood on my hands... He’s... he’s fine,” Reno’s voice was rough, deeper than he had ever heard it before. Full of pain and terror. When Cypress could only nod he let out a soft whimper.
All too soon the car was moving again, he’d assumed Cole had moved the body so it would at least be out of the eyeline of the sidewalk. Not that it mattered too much, as the body would have disappeared when morning came, anyway.
The sun always took care of the dirty work.
With a sigh, he leaned his head back against the back of the seat, not uttering a single word past that and the entire ride back to the castle was quiet in solidarity.
Even once they arrived back to the castle, it was quiet. Drifting through the halls, his people bowing as the party of three moved Alfred into the infirmary. It was only after laying Alfred down on the bed did Reno finally allow himself to separate from his mate. Pulling a chair close to Alfred’s head and gently gripping his hand in his, bringing the cool fingers to his lips and pressing a gentle kiss to them.
It was only then that Reno took notice of his own hands, dried blood caked to his fingers. The vampire’s blood. Alfred’s blood. He had Alfred’s blood stuck under his fingernails. Dried and dark and it wouldn’t take a trauma specialist to know that he would see that blood on his hands for the rest of his life.
He looked up with a start when the soft whispers that Cypress and Cole had been having became a yell. Flinching back when the adolescent man stood, talking animatedly with his hands as his voice broke on the start of every sentence.
--
“Cole please. Please, I can’t… I can’t let him do this alone. I can’t let him be the only one of us to go through this. I promised I’d always be by his side and I can’t do that if I’m alive and he’s… he’s not. Please, Cole…” Cypress was all but on his hands and knees, taking Cole’s hands tightly in his own as he stared up at the blonde vampire.
Cole let out a groan, honestly he hadn’t meant to groan.
It hadn’t meant to be a dismissive one either; it had only supposed to stay in his head, actually. But when Cypress heard it he reacted like Cole had slapped him. All too soon Cypress’ hands pulled back and a closed air look settled around him. Really, Cole didn’t think this was the right time to do this.
He, like Reno, had never had a desire to turn Cypress.
Cole had been alone a long time, alive an even longer time. It wasn’t…. Something he ever wanted to pass along. Granted, yes, he turned Reno. And yes, it was the best thing he’d done in the entirety of his existence. He loved Reno. Would gladly lay down his life to protect him. Reno was his only progeny and their bond was tight. It wasn’t the same metaphysical bond the wolves created, but it was something strong and linked them together all the same. In some ways he saw Reno as a son, sort of, it was… messy. Hard to explain, but even still he couldn’t deny the sense of pride he had when he found out Reno had passed along his line. Turned his mate and is finally taking on the role himself as a sire. But. He was digressing. That wasn’t what should have the forefront of his attention right now. Cypress was closing off, moving away, body shaking as his mind worked.
The boy had realized everyone would leave him behind. Reno was a vampire, he was immortal. Cole was a vampire, also immortal. Syne, the two kids’ father figure, was a wizard, again, immortal. Kit, the other father figure, while a wolf yes he was also Syne’s familiar and shared the same lifespan as Syne and since Syne was immortal Kit, by comparison, was also immortal. Now Alfred, his other mate, the boy he had known the entirety of his life would leave him behind. He had been turned and, assuming it stuck, was also immortal.
Oh boy, he glanced at Reno, but it was obvious he wasn’t any help. While the red head was watching them though his eyes were glazed over, unseeing. Cole wasn’t even sure he knew the two of them were there.
Cypress was still moving, he was almost to the door. It was now or never he supposed. “Cypress stop, stop. Just. Okay, yeah, yeah I’ll do it. If,” he heard Reno let out a growl. Okay so he was paying attention. “Ahem, sorry. When? When Alfred wakes up, I’ll do it. I’ll turn you, just… Just, if you’re sure. I mean. It’s not something you can take back…” Cole trailed off, looking back again to Reno for help.
“Well? I can say that all I want but I still need your approval,” he called out, tilting his head to the broken man with a nod. A note of surety in his voice, telling Reno that he meant it.
Not missing a beat he heard his King speak, voice sounding stronger than it had the last time he’d spoken, “Approved.”
In an instant something crashed into him. Cypress clinging to him desperately as he sobbed into his chest. Sighing Cole brought his hands up and wrapped around the man, holding onto him as he let his sorrows out.
He would say something to lighten the mood when the door opened. In walking Syne in all his glory, to the untrained eye the man was stoic, like it wasn’t anything new to see his son essentially dead on a hospital bed. But Cole knew Syne for his entire life. Both alive and dead, he knew the man that had walked the Earth for a millennium. He knew his tells. He could see it in the red rimming his eyes, the slight set to his brow as it furrowed, the way his hands shook ever so minutely. His eye’s zeroing in on the pitiful sight on the bed, the boy coated in his own blood and Reno whose hands were covered on it.
Cole had to say he was glad someone had given Syne the entire story before he entered. Otherwise he was almost positive Syne would have incinerated Reno on the spot just from the way things looked. Instead Syne ambled over to the bed, the limp in his gait from the way it was obvious he had pulled his false leg on too quickly, that he hadn’t put it on straight or tightened it or whatever the amputee had to do to move around. Another tell.
He leaned against the wall, moving slightly further from the warlock, they weren’t… on the best terms at the moment. It wasn’t completely his fault. He just enjoyed getting under Syne’s skin far too much.
Cole cleared his throat softly, gently caressing Cypress’ head to gain his attention to the recent visitor in the room. The boy made a soft noise, looking up at Cole with a questioning look and looking behind him when Cole nodded to the warlock. All too soon Cypress was off of him and onto Syne, burying himself in the layers of robes and holding onto him for dear life. Sobbing out broken words that even Cole had a hard time understanding. Pretty much all he could parse out was “papa”, “please”, and “Alfred”.
The two embraced each other tightly and then, Cole saw something he had never seen in all his years. Syne cried. It wasn’t a loud cry and if Cole wasn’t paying attention, he probably wouldn’t have noticed it. It was just a few tears shed from his eyes as he buried his face in Cypress’ hair. Whispering words to the other in an effort to calm him, Cole didn’t care much for what he had to say. It was a private moment, and he wasn’t one to pry.
But whatever he said, maybe it was a spell, almost instantly calmed Cypress down completely. Sure he was still crying, but he knew he saw a smile on the two of their faces and then Cypress was pulling back, moving back to Cole and tucking himself into his side. Cole smiled down at him and wrapped an arm across Cypress’ shoulders, pressing a tender kiss to his temple as he watched Syne tend to Alfred.
The entire room was quiet.
“Reno? Why did you turn him when his body had finished fighting off the first attempt?”
Syne had said the first words to the broken King since entering the room.
And it caused every set of eyes in the room to look at him in alarm.
“I… I did… I did what?” Reno just barely choked out, grip tightening on Alfred’s hand. Any tighter and Cole was certain Reno would break it but he couldn’t bring himself to move, to say anything.
“Yes, it appears that whoever it was that tried to turn my son, ah... Alfred, was not powerful enough to fight back his wolf DNA. The attempt was a failure, Alfred would have been fine. Maybe a little sore but it doesn’t appear that it would have caused any lasting damage,” Syne gently brushed back a piece of stiffened, bloody hair out of Alfred’s face and frowned.
“It looks like it is what caused your attempt to take. His system was too weakened from the other vampire to fight off your poison,” Syne trailed off. Pausing, letting his words sink in for a moment.
---
Suffice to say that caused a vehement reaction out of Reno. When Reno had done what he had done, he was using the excuse that Alfred would die to placate any guilt he had in his mind. But to find out that Alfred would have been okay. That Alfred didn’t have to die. That he didn’t have to have this life after all.
Well.
It broke Reno.
He let out a wail, this one he was at least aware of doing, and sobbed. “No…. No! Oh no Alfred, Alfred my love what have I done. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, please forgive me. Alfred, Alfred, Alfred” he repeated his name like a mantra. Burying his face into the cool neck as he sobbed, hand tightening in Alfreds’ shirt. Breathing in deeply, desperately seeking the familiar and calming scent. Trying to locate it past the smell of death, trying to ignore the deeply ingrained instinctual satisfaction that he had turned the one he loved the most. That he had made Alfred his for eternity.
However, that deep feeling did nothing to overrule the human part of him begging for mercy over what he did to his mate. That he did all of this for naught.
It made him sick to his stomach.
He was so wrapped up in self loathing that he didn’t notice when Syne moved around the bed and knelt beside him, wrapping his arms around Reno’s body and whispering calming words into his ear. About how much he loved Alfred. How he did all of this to keep him safe and alive. Then Syne thanked him. He thanked him for saving his son and it was like a clamp that had settled around his chest had loosened. Then there was another set of arms. Cypress gripped him as he said almost the same thing. A sincere thank you. And the words set him free. He still felt the guilt, but it wasn’t as strong. That yes he did this to Alfred, but he had done it out of necessity, not a selfish desire. He’d done this because he had known that Alfred hadn’t wanted to die in that alley beside a trash can.
This is what Alfred would have wanted.
Then a firm hand was placed on his head and told him, “everything is going to be fine kid,” and just like that. With that simple phrase from Cole. With the thank you’s from the people that loved Alfred as much as he did.
He knew.
He knew it would be okay.
With a soft exhale of breath he loosened the vice grip he’d had on Alfreds’ hand, on his clothes, and slowly sat up. Giving the men surrounding him a broken smile and an even more broken sounding “Thank you.”
He wiped his eyes with a shaky breath and nodded.
They stayed like this for who knows how long, just basking in the love and warmth radiating from the four of them like a beacon.
A beacon that unknowingly to them guided a little wolf home.
Reno noticed it first, the smallest of twitches on the bed.
A signal for what was to come.
“He’s... he’s coming to…” Reno gasped out, awe clear in his voice.
The room was quiet once more.
All eyes on the bed.
Another twitch.
Surprisingly, Cole was the first to speak first.
“We should go, the kid was just turned, and speaking from past experience… It’s generally not good for a fledgling to be around anyone other than their sire for the beginning.”
Syne was next, “Cole is right, plus this is the first time a wolf has been turned. A... hybrid created. We do not understand how he will act, if he will be completely feral.”
Reno was expecting Cypress to fight it, to beg to stay, but thankfully the wolf had had experience with a fledgling guard before, knew how volatile and unpredictable they could be.
“Let me know the second you think I’ll be able to visit him. And... and tell him that I love him, that what happened wasn’t his fault and uh, that he still owes me ice cream,” Cypress said shakily with a nod.
Taking Cole’s and Syne’s hand tightly as the vampire led them out of the room, Cole letting out one last, “good luck kid.” Before the door was shut firmly behind him.
Leaving just Reno and his sleeping mate alone.
Reno just smiled so fondly down at his husband, idly running his fingers through that hair again. Watching Alfred’s face for any sign of when he would awake.
He’d let out a yawn, he didn’t know what time it was, but he knew the sun was in the sky and the stress from the past 12 hours had almost completely worn him down.
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, fighting the urge to close his eyes and sleep.
Thankfully, he’d won that fight to stay awake. Because minutes later Alfred’s nose twitched. A sign that Reno had grown accustomed to from the years of being with the wolf. A sign that meant Alfred was seconds away from joining the world of the awake.
Then the hand Reno was holding returned his grip.
Reno looked down at the hand in wonder, watching the way his knuckles moved and Reno brought it up. Kissing the knuckles and gently dragging his lips across all of them. Smiling so fondly at the hand and all the love it held in its grasp.
Reno chuckled softly when it was pulled back down, but those chuckles died quickly in this throat when he looked back to the head of the bed.
Alfred’s eyes were open, and he was awake.
But even more than that.
He was alive.