In The Shadows | A Novel

☽∾ 4 ∾☾

𝒲ℴℴ𝓎ℴ𝓊𝓃𝑔
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𝒯he East Factory wasn't a particularly cozy looking joint. Located in an abandoned estate - just as many illegal parties were - the factory was basically a small warehouse full of creepy looking rooms in a layout that could have probably doubled as a maze if the need arose. The walls were all scorched from a fire long ago, and there was a thick, sticky film on the floor which was probably a concoction of Elfdust vapour and blood and sweat and God only knew what else.

Dressed in all black, Wooyoung stretched his neck and rolled his eyes back for a second, a kind of habit he'd developed from doing it so often, and a desperate attempt at keeping his monster at bay.

It never worked.

His Incubus always did as it pleased, and tonight, it was lurking just beneath the surface, waiting for the opportune moment to take control.

There was a purple glow throughout the factory that seemed almost ultraviolet under both his Elf and Incubus eyes. He could already hear the music beating through the walls of the maze, and his monster could already smell the ecstasy from both humans and Strigoi that filled the air.

The Elf in him didn't particularly enjoy Strigoi gatherings, but the Incubus however...

'Wooyoung-ah!'

Startling a little from not being used to hearing his name be called, he spun around to see the figure of a certain blonde-haired Elf running towards him with an enormous smile on his face. It made the old seized chains around his heart suddenly contract, causing an intense wash of emotion through him...

Until suddenly, his emotional wave was replaced with a sudden panic that came with the realisation that Yeosang wasn't actually planning on stopping before he got to him...

Yelping, he threw his arms out just in time to catch the Elf, their chests colliding with force that had them spinning around to disperse.

It made the chains around his heart shift again ever-so-slightly, leaving a small smile to creep guiltily onto his lips, amused wholeheartedly by the Elf's sheer excitement, out on display for all to see.

It was the same feeling that he felt deep inside his heart, and had forgotten how to show...

Flashing his Elvish eyes, he instantly read Yeosang's face, sorting through the different emotions...

And he melted when he saw pure happiness and relief burning the brightest.

'I was worried you wouldn't come...' Yeosang whispered...

Instantly, he felt guilty.

The moment he heard those words, he knew his face had already given away to those glittering Elvish eyes that he almost hadn't. It was too late though to hide it. Yeosang had seen it, and his expression dropped immediately.

'Yeosang-ah, you know you shouldn't be around me... Or any of the other species for that matter.'

Yeosang rolled his eyes, stepping back from him. 'Don't be melodramatic. It's just a den, and- wait where's ... Hongjoong stop being a crybaby and get your ass in here! He's not going to bite...'

As a wash of a new scent entered the room, the monster inside of him poked its nose out enough to have his eyes flickering from blue to red, and as he watched Yeosang look between him, to the wall behind them, it became evident that Hongjoong must have been hiding around the corner...

Yeosang rolled his eyes. 'Okay, well, maybe not like, bite bite. Just like, a little, cutesy aura bite...'

Hongjoong choked.

'What?! Joong, if you're worried about the real biters, Woo is not the one you need to be concerned about.'

I hate this, he thought, groaning in embarrassment and avoiding every pair of eyes pointed in his direction. 'Ya...' he whined, feeling his cheeks heat up.

He gasped a little in surprise as Yeosang leaned over and whispered an apology in his ear, rubbing his arm sympathetically.

But not a moment later, he felt his monster let off a strong wave of pull, and suddenly, as a head of red hair poked around the corner, their eyes met - Hongjoong's wide and brimming with lust...

'Joong stop eye fucking him you're making me uncomfortable.'

Hongjoong visibly gulped, licking his lips. 'Hey Woo, it'd be good if you could look at Yeosang for a bit...'

Ah...

Snapping his gaze away to stare at the gold flecks of glitter settling in Yeosang's eyes, he found it almost as hard to focus, as Hongjoong seemed to be finding it to look away...

'Aaaaand that signals it's time for a drink.' Yeosang grabbed both of their hands and started dragging them towards the next door in the labyrinth. However as he strode off, he almost had his arms ripped off when both of them refused to move.

Staring at Yeosang with horrified expressions plastered on their faces, a deep red glow from his eyes, and an ocean blue from Hongjoong's pierced the iridescent purple lighting...

'Jesus Christ you two are equally pathetic. I love you both, but you know I didn't mean a drink of blood. Now hurry up, or my pointy-toothed friend is going to wonder where the hell we are.'

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A/N: Was going to delete this A/N, and then I realised I wrote this on my birthday, and it brought back a ton of memories. Rip old me, who was working, but just wanted to curl up on my couch, watch a movie and eat Kabana in my kitchen... 🥺