NaNoWriMo Story Snippets

50. Excerpt from untitled vampire!Seth story

Subject to editing, etc. I was holding this one back to use for wrestlebang, but I'm not happy with the ending, so I'll try a different story for that.

"What happened with this one?"

Seth was so busy formulating responses to Hunter's inevitable questions that he didn't notice his Shield brothers lingering outside the office until he heard Roman's gently chiding voice. "Hey." Looking from Roman to Dean, Seth sighed. "Why are you guys here?"

Dean shrugged one shoulder as he chugged his water. "Because of you, dumbass. Why else? Roman's the golden boy and never fucks up. I'm the bastard redheaded stepchild and they're used to me fucking up at this point." After he cleared his throat, he looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. "Aside from breaking up with your girlfriend, did you do anything monumentally stupid recently?"

Suddenly Roman's comment made more sense. Seth had known the relationship was winding down for a while, but he tried to string it along as much as he could. Being a vampire in a major wrestling promotion was difficult enough, but he didn't want to attempt it without having a regular feeding source. That usually meant he always tried to have a girlfriend, even if there was no one he was really interested in dating. That, of course, led to its own share of problems, like his cheating scandal, but he would rather have his nude photos leaked than his secret. "It wasn't fair to her, okay? She's a good person and I know she was interested in that guy from her hiking group," Seth explained, "but she held back because of me and she... she deserves more than that."

Nodding absently, Dean started tossing his water bottle from hand to hand. "But you have someone else lined up, right? Did you at least feed before—"

"Dean." Roman cut him off sharply. "That's rude."

"Rude, sure, okay." Dean waved off the reprimand. "But our boy here needs to—"

Hunter's door opened suddenly, and he looked like he was in an even worse mood than Seth was. "All of you get in here. Now."

The Shield dutifully filed into Hunter's temporary office, making the space feel suddenly and sharply small. There were enough chairs for all of them, but Dean chose to stand so he had the option of moving around more. Once they were settled—or, in Dean's case, as settled as he was ever going to be—Hunter leaned back in his chair. "We had a deal, Rollins. It was in your NXT contract and I sure as hell made sure we had a proviso in your main roster contract. I crafted the wording myself. You made sure your feeding was taken care of and that it wouldn't affect your performance or the rest of the roster." He ran a hand over his head and huffed out a long breath. "Are you safe to wrestle tonight?" he asked bluntly. "I can take you off the card and shuffle things around if I have to."

Shooting Dean a dirty look, Seth nodded. "I'm good. I'll be good for a few days. I... I knew the split was coming, so I—" He stopped short of giving details. He hated thinking of any of his girlfriends that way, as convenient blood supplies and hook-ups all in one, but that's what most of them had been as of late. In a lot of ways, it was easier than getting attached. He kept telling himself that he treated them well, but that was small consolation. "I'll find someone soon, I promise," he said, sitting up straight. "I'll wrestle tonight yet and then... then take me off the house shows. There are a few women who come in to my gym that might be good candidates for something casual until I can find someone more permanent, so just let me—"

But Hunter was already shaking his head. "No, Rollins. I need more reassurances than fuckbuddies, okay? I don't just have to worry about you losing control if someone bleeds during a match. I also have to worry about every girlfriend and one-nighter you burn through." When Seth opened his mouth to interject, Hunter silenced him with a steady glare. "I know you say you... 'wipe their memory' or whatever, but what about their phones and their social media? The conversations they have with friends? There are too many loose ends with your way of doing things."

This is Paul talking, Seth thought grimly, not Trips. Sometimes the distinction between Hunter's corporate self and his wrestling demeanour wasn't so pronounced, but when it came to the well-being of the company, he was steadfast. As much as Hunter himself might not mind a little mess if it kept his people happy otherwise, he would never purposefully jeopardize WWE. Seth glanced over at Roman, who gave him a small nod—his version of I've got you.. If it hadn't been for his Shield brothers, there would have been plenty of times when Seth would have slipped and potentially either hurt someone while feeding or forgot to wipe their memory. "What do you suggest?" he said at last, leaning back when he felt Dean grip the chair. His friend's knuckles gave him something to focus on so he didn't get defensive.

"Have a... blood source at home if you want," Hunter began, waving a dismissive hand. "What do you call them—feeders? I don't know. Girlfriend or hook-up, I don't care. Just be discreet about it. But you need someone available while you're on the road."

Roman scoffed before Seth could even process Hunter's suggestion. "And how's he supposed to swing that? We're on the road for days at a time? Unless the person works freelance, they wouldn't be able to get that type of time off on a weekly basis."

"It wouldn't be a problem if it were a wrestler with the same schedule," Hunter countered, lips just starting to twist up in a smirk. "They would already be on the road, so it wouldn't be suspicious. And the concept of road wives and road husbands is practically built into the business. No one would question it."

For a moment, Seth thought Hunter was going to suggest Roman or Dean. They were the first people in the company—aside from Hunter and Stephanie, of course—that he had told about his vampiric nature, and he had fed from them as a last resort, but he definitely didn't want to endanger them. "It couldn't be someone who's wrestling regularly, though," Seth argued. "The blood loss...."

Hunter waved away the concern. "We have plenty of people who aren't in big stories at the moment. Fans will barely notice if they're not on TV here or there." Then he tapped a piece of paper. "So I made a list of potentials. I guessed you'd prefer a woman, though for the sake of minimal drama, I would prefer that it didn't get sexual." Holding up his hands, he added, "I know, I know. Consenting adults. I can't stop you. But if it happens, Rollins, it better be mutual and clearly consensual. No memory wiping or coercion or any of that bullshit."

"It won't. It wouldn't." Seth shook his head. After the Zahra incident, the last thing he wanted was another locker room affair that brewed up drama. "But... with all the focus on the women's division now, don't you need everyone you have?" He didn't want to be the reason some young wrestler got brought up from NXT, raising her hopes only to have her be essentially a personal assistant.

"Vince is focussing on the Charlotte and Sasha feud for now," Hunter replied. "And he has some plans for Alexa. I was thinking Becky would be a good fit for you."