Little King (Seoksoo)

Seokmin

Seokmin knew he looked suspicious, prowling the alleys around the hospital in his dark coat, but he was hoping to lure another suspicious character out of the shadows.

Goddamn Mingyu.

Seokmin should have known the bastard would seek Joshua out, even with the hospital security cameras. Seokmin had thought it would be enough—dropping Joshua off and picking him up, keeping him from stepping out of the hospital alone—but it was too tempting for the psychopath, finally having someone Seokmin actually cared about to mess with.

To what end though? That was the question.

Seokmin wasn't quite sure exactly what Mingyu wanted with Joshua. He hadn't attacked the boy last night, but that didn't mean he wouldn't.

Who knew how his mind worked anymore?

Seokmin could feel his demon itching to come out of his skin at the thought of Mingyu lurking around Joshua with unclear intentions. It was restless, wanting to get back to their mate, to have him in their sights.

Me too, mon monstre. Me too.

Seokmin hadn't liked dropping Joshua off at work that night. He had wanted to wrap himself around the boy and refuse to let him go. Seokmin had even asked Joshua to take the night off, but his stubborn mate had refused, insisting he wasn't going to let "one puny, little threatening encounter" interfere with his duties.

"We're often short-staffed as it is. I'm not doing that to my coworkers," he'd argued.

And apparently Seokmin wandering the hospital halls for twelve hours would have security called in an instant, according to his mate. And Joshua had worried a direct confrontation with Mingyu on hospital grounds would lead to patients getting hurt in the crossfire. So Seokmin was having to make do with circling the area around the hospital, lurking in the shadows.

That was Seokmin's lovely mate though. Caring for others at the expense of himself seemed to be deeply ingrained in his nature.

As were the insecurities he had confessed to Seokmin the night before.

Seokmin shook his head at his own obliviousness. He should have realized the scars that would have been left by his mate's past. Abandoned by his father to death, his mother to illness, his brother to denial. He needed more reassurances than Seokmin had been giving him, that was clear. Yes, Seokmin may have mentioned forever to the boy. But perhaps that simply sounded like platitudes when he had not specified what "forever" would mean.

Seokmin was afraid.

He was afraid to bring up the prospect of turning to his mate. He was afraid the very idea would horrify Joshua, a man who valued human life so much.

And underneath that fear was the crippling doubt. The thought that Joshua might turn and they would both find that the myth of fated mates was wrong. Seokmin hadn't even believed in mates until meeting Joshua, and he'd never met a fated pair himself. What if he'd been right all along and his mate woke up with a demon that was not soothed by Seokmin's presence at all?

Maybe Seokmin would ruin Joshua's life forever.

His sweet mate would become feral like Mingyu and be doomed to an eternity of violence and misery. Or maybe vampire Joshua would realize the world was his for the taking and that he didn't need or want Seokmin after all.

Seokmin felt an ache in his chest at the very thought of it.

But what was the alternative? Allow his mate to grow old and die, sit by and watch while Joshua slowly decayed each day?

Yes, Seokmin thought. If it came down to it, he would stay by Joshua no matter what—vampire or human.

Joshua was his mate, his person, for as long as they had, be it a few years or forever.