Out for Blood [Zeldris x OC x Meliodas]

39

"Azy, we're here it's okay, look at me," I cooed at him, he looked so frightened, likely the same look I had in my eyes. He was struggling against Zeldris, who had both arms around him tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Listen to me, baby. You inherited Momma's bloodline and I'm so sorry, I didn't want this for you...but, we need you to bite your Dad's arm and drink his blood, okay?" I tried to wipe his tears away with my thumbs but he was so scared he couldn't stop crying, making my own tears flow. I heard Zel sniffle, we were all a mess. I pulled up Zeldris' sleeve and looked into Azriel's red eyes, "It'll be okay." "I don't want to, Momma!" he sobbed, making my heart wrench. "I know, baby, I know. But you have to, or you could hurt someone you love like Niya. I know it's not fair," I tried comforting him, my voice cracking. "Ali, you're gonna have to break the skin, he's not gonna do it unless he smells it," Zel's voice was wavering, it made me let out a sob. "You're gonna feel better in a second, baby," I assured him before biting Zel's arm, the smell of his blood filled the air.

Azriel's eyes instantly looked down at his Dad's arm as the blood flowed out a bit, but Azriel was adamant he didn't want to. "Azy baby, it's not gonna go away if you don't do it, I promise you'll feel better," I stroked his hair. I looked at Zel and nodded, he brought his arm up to Azriel's mouth, knowing he wouldn't be able to resist it long. "No-" Azriel started to say, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Zel shoved his arm in. It was nearly instantaneous the way he calmed down at the taste of his Dad's blood. He stopped crying and breathing heavily, no longer struggling. Zeldris pulled his arm away and released Azriel, who immediately jumped into my arms. I hugged him tightly and stroked his hair, looking at Zeldris, both of us still had silent tears falling down our cheeks. Azriel's life just got infinitely harder and he was a baby in the grand scheme of things. He was going to be feared so much more than he already was and it crushed us both.

Meliodas came to check on us, "How is Lancelot?" I asked quietly, Azriel had fallen asleep in my arms. "He's okay, just shaken. Ban and Elaine took him to their room. Tristan and Niya are with Elizabeth. How's Az?" he sat down next to his brother and put his hand on his back. Zel had his head in his hands, trying to reel in the emotions of everything that just happened. "Scared. But he's okay, physically, for now," tears continued to fall down my face. "This is my fault, I did this to him..." I sobbed quietly. "It's not your fault you were born that way and there's no way you could've known this would happen," Meliodas insisted, trying to comfort me. "Did Merlin say whether this would happen to Niya, too?" Zel asked, head still in his hands. "Just Azy," I responded. He exhaled slowly, "I'll start keeping some sort of supply for him." "Merlin said she may be able to develop a blood pill for him to take so he doesn't have to drink it. I told her I'd do whatever she needed to help, but I thought we'd have years til we needed it..." I informed him. "That must be where she went then," Meliodas commented, "Merlin disappeared as soon as she realized what was happening."

"Zel, should we just go home?" I asked my lover as he lifted his head up. His eyes were black, clearly so stressed he was using his demon powers to regulate and dampen how he was feeling. "Yeah, I think that's best," he replied. "You should stay, making a big deal out of it might scare him more. Stay, at least long enough for me to teach him Full Counter. It could help him feel better to do something he's really been wanting to do," Meliodas suggested. I looked at Zel, who nodded, "He makes a good point. If we do make a big deal out of it, it might freak him out even more than he already is," he commented, surprisingly agreeing with his brother. I had a shocked expression on my face, making Meliodas giggle. "Tristan had a similar reaction to finding out he was half demon," he pointed out. I finally stopped crying, feeling a little better having talked with Meliodas.

I stood up, being careful not to disturb Azriel, "Go grab Niya, I think we should explain what happened to her brother," I told Zeldris. He nodded, Meliodas and I waited on him to grab her. "Thanks, Mel. I'm so sorry though, I'm afraid everyone will hate us and you by extension," I whispered. He put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side, "It'll be alright, Ali...you asked Merlin about us, didn't you?" I nodded, "Yeah..." He sighed heavily, "There's nothing we can do about it, according to her. She told me to make sure I was never alone with you, as if I can't control myself." He sounded irritated. I giggled, "To be fair, we don't have a great track record of being left alone together." He giggled in response, removing his arm from my waist as his brother entered the room with Niya.

"Let's go to our room, Niya, we should talk about what just happened with Azy," I told her softly, she looked at me with bloodshot eyes, she'd been crying as well. "Daddy, will you carry me?" she asked, still shaken from the event. He picked her up and we followed Meliodas to where we'd be staying. As expected of a castle, the room was large and extravagant with two large beds. "Thanks, Mel. We'll see you in the morning," I said quietly, closing the door behind him. I put Azriel in one of the beds, tucking him in like I used to when he was really little. I wiped a bit of dried blood off his face then kissed his head. Zel sat on the other bed, resting his back against the headboard and holding Niya in his lap. I sat next to him, facing toward them.

"Niya, are you okay?" I asked her sweetly. She looked at her brother then back to me, "What's wrong with Az?" she whimpered. Zel tilted her head up to look at him, "Nothing. There's nothing wrong with him. He's just different than you and me, he's like Momma," his voice was sweet and loving. He'd said the same thing to me when he met me, that nothing was wrong with me, it made me smile. "Different?" she looked at me, her green eyes wide with curiosity. "Momma has to drink blood weekly, because she's half-vampire. Az inherited that, it just awakened much earlier than we expected. What happened today won't happen again since we know now, he just has to drink some blood and he'll be alright," he explained to her. She sat for a few minutes, letting his words digest before speaking again. "Am I gonna have to drink blood?" she asked.

I caressed her cheek, "No, baby, you won't. You didn't inherit it like Azy did." She leaned into my hand, "Okay. Is Az gonna be sad?" I gave her a small smile, "Maybe for a little bit, but Momma is gonna talk with him so he knows he's not alone. It'd also help if you don't treat him any differently and defend him if others are mean to him about it. Sound good?" She grinned, "I'll protect him!" Zel hugged her tightly, "That's my girl!" I grabbed her hand, pulling her off the bed, "It's time for bed now, we're gonna show you around Liones tomorrow." She grinned again and crawled into the large bed Azriel was sleeping in. I kissed her forehead and booped her tiny nose, "Night, Nini," Zel called out from our bed.

I joined Zeldris in our bed, snuggling up against his chest. He hugged me tightly against him. "He's gonna be okay, Ali. He has you to help him navigate this." I heard his voice in my head. I lifted my head and kissed his lips softly, "I know he will. I just can't help but feel guilty. His life is exponentially harder now." He stroked my hair, "No use in feeling guilty, we can't change it. I'm just relieved it happened with us around and he didn't hurt anyone." I hummed in response and sighed, ready to drift off to sleep. I planned on waking up early to take Azriel for a walk with me.

The next morning I woke up, the sun was barely at the horizon. I got dressed and rubbed Azriel's back, waking him quietly and putting a finger over my lips so he didn't wake his Dad or sister. I motioned for him to come with me. He got out of bed, rubbing his eyes, and took my hand I'd extended to him. We got out of the room and he mumbled, "Where are we going, Momma?" I smiled down at him, "We're gonna go for a walk, just you and me." He grinned up at me, "Okay!" He'd seemed to recover well from the terrifying night he just experienced. As we walked out one of the doors of the castle, we saw Meliodas going for a walk as well. He always was a morning person. "Hey, Mel," I called out to him. "Ali? Why are you awake right now?" he asked cheerfully, "Hey, little man. How're you feeling?" Azriel grinned up at him, "I'm okay...I think!" Meliodas chuckled at him and ruffled his hair, "It's like looking at my little brother all over again."

"I'm taking Azy for a walk with me, we're gonna chat about last night," I told him. He nodded then grinned down at Azriel, "When you get back, have your Mom bring you to the training room. I'll teach you Full Counter." His red eyes lit up, "Okay!! Mom, let's go so we can get back!" I giggled at his excitement, "Alright, let's go." We waved at Meliodas as he walked a different way, his hands on the back of his head like always. "Where are we gonna walk to, Momma?" Azriel asked. The town was nearly dead at this early in the morning, but I still wasn't comfortable talking to him within the walls. "We're gonna go to that cliff side over there, it's a really nice view of Liones from up there," I told him, pointing. "Can we just fly? There's no one around," he suggested. "No, Azy. Just because you don't see anyone doesn't mean they aren't there," I answered softly. He nodded in acknowledgement.

We walked and chatted about things he saw, he hadn't seen them coming in as he'd fallen asleep on the way to Liones. The sun was starting to rise, he was enchanted, "The demon realm doesn't have this! It's so pretty!" I squeezed his hand, smiling, "It is really pretty, isn't it?" We finally reached the cliff side, I sat down and let my legs dangle and he plopped down next to me, in awe of everything he could see from where we were. "Wow! This is so cool!" he exclaimed, pointing out various things to me. "Azy...we should talk about what happened last night," I mentioned after we sat in silence for a few minutes. He sighed, "Okay..."