Your Vanilla Scent (Junhao)

Myungho

Myungho got a little concerned when Jun didn't show up more than an hour after his text.

Not too concerned, because Myungho wasn't quite sure what he had meant by bringing home a stray, and maybe Jun was stopping to pick up an actual stray, like a puppy or something? A task like that could cause all kinds of delays.

But that was probably too much to hope for; a week of dating was too soon in the puppy-giving timeline, Myungho was pretty sure. Seokmin had waited almost a year before he'd gotten Ferdy for Joshua, after all. Although, Seokmin was a vampire, not a human, so maybe that was different?

Also, Myungho's apartment didn't allow dogs. Should he text Jun and warn him about that?

But then Myungho got more than a little concerned when it had been two hours with no sign of either Jun or a puppy and Jun wasn't answering his calls.

And then he got very concerned when he received a text from Soonyoung instead.

It might be wise to check up on your human right about now.

That was not a good text. That could very well be classified as a bad text. His beastie's hackles rose in response, a new, fearful sort of tension flooding his body.

What had Soonyoung done?

The trip to Jun's apartment passed in a blur. Myungho didn't have a car yet—he'd been told by his friends he had to be 70 percent less of a menace on the road before he could consider one—so he was traveling on foot and probably moving more quickly than was wise for blending in with humans. But it was cold enough there weren't many people out on the streets, so hopefully no one noticed.

Jun's car was in front of the apartment, and his door was unlocked.

"Jun!" Myungho called, rushing inside, hoping to find—well, he didn't know what he was hoping to find other than Jun safe and whole and happy to see him.

But the next sound out of Myungho's mouth was a broken wail, coming from somewhere deep in his chest, from a place he hadn't known could hurt this badly.

Because Jun's glorious form was sprawled out on the couch, and he was still—much too still—with no audible heartbeat at all, the coppery smell of blood in the air matching the red streaking his too-pale wrist.

"No, no, no." Myungho felt sick. He felt hot. He felt...he didn't know. He didn't know.

He moved toward the couch cautiously. He wasn't sure why; it wasn't as if approaching too quickly was going to startle anyone. Maybe he was hoping to delay confirming...whatever he would be confirming.

It hurt to swallow. This was all his fault. He'd brought Jun into contact with vampires, and now his human was clearly not breathing, and any minute, Myungho's beastie was going to rip out and—and—

Myungho paused a foot from the couch, his vision cloudy with tears he hadn't known he was shedding. His beastie was oddly...fine. It was alert but no longer clamoring for Jun in the way it had been. More like his beastie was...expectant. Waiting for something.

Myungho sniffed, wiped his eyes, and looked closer at the scene in front of him.

Blood was on Jun's wrist, yes, but it wasn't actively bleeding—whatever bite had been there was already healed. There was no heartbeat, not yet, but Jun's chest, once Myungho dared to touch it, was warm.

Oh. Oh.

Myungho had seen this process before.

Turning, Myungho's beastie said, smugness radiating from its words. Our mate is turning.