The Pet Shop (bxbxb)

13. Stare

(Baby rhinos sound like kittens... and are very soft.)

Waking up to the feeling of being watched is always unsettling. As Warden blinked open his eyes, he could actually feel a heavy weight in the air. He struggled to sit up, pulling thick breaths into his lungs like his room had filled with humidity.

When his eyes cleared from sleep and settled at the foot of his bed, he felt uneasy. Stumbling out of bed, Warden pushed himself up off the floor. It was clear that Cerat wasn't there, but he could still feel his presence in the room.

Where is he? He asked himself seconds before his movements stopped abruptly at the sight of something in his peripheral vision. Cerat. The vampire was perched in a predatory crouch on one of the chairs pushed slightly away from the tiny dining table, narrowed eyes a soft red as they remained pinpointed on him. 

"I'm hungry, Warden."

Shifting warily, Warden slowly made his way out of the room. Cerat hopped down from where he had been crouching and made his way toward Warden, meeting him halfway. Warden noticed that Cerat's electric collar was clearly damaged as he got closer. Carefully-placed claw marks sliced at the small electrical box on its side, likely removing any future possibility of it being of any actual use.

"You're hungry? Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked as Cerat continued to stare, a quiet rumble starting from his chest that easily unnerved Warden.

The vampire smiled after a moment, then chuckled. "I don't like causing trouble, but for some reason, I kind of want to now. If you want to go back to sleep, I'd be glad to wake you up, but you said that you would get mad if I bit you again like I had last time."

When Warden didn't reply right away, Cerat leaned forward and gestured with his finger for Warden to come closer. Instead of doing what he wanted, Warden stepped back and straightened his shoulders, eyes narrowing defiantly.

"I told you that I wasn't yours to just take blood from whenever you want." He stated with his serious, boss voice. He wasn't a walking blood bag for the vampire.

Cerat seemed to find his words funny, because he threw his head back, off balancing his body to flop over on the carpet and laughed quietly. The sound echoed in Warden's head, making him fidget.

"Oh. You are, Angel." Cerat said as he sat up abruptly, a lopsided smirk on his face. "You need to feed me whenever I need blood, because I'm starving." He said as he stood and stepped up to Warden. He had to look up at him, but not enough to dissolve the worry building in Warden's gut.

"And that's all. Your. Fault."

The words hurt, because Warden knew that they were true. He'd put Cerat in a situation where he had to rely on others for everything. Of course his personality is starting to change now. I'd let myself change and adapt as quickly ass possible in his situation, too.

"Let me drink." Cerat mumbled, his words slurring as he allowed his fangs to extend. They still weren't completely back to points, making Warden's stomach turn. It would hurt... but he deserved it for what he'd done to the guy.

Unable to quell the unsettling feeling in his belly, Warden let his knees drop to the carpet. His body tensed and he shivered as he felt Cerat's frigid hands on his shoulders as he knelt down. "Good Angel." He whispered as he leaned over, fangs scraping against the right side of Warden's neck.

Warden squeezed his eyes shut and balled his fists, waiting for the pain to start. His heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest with each new scrape. With each non-bite. When he finally heard Cerat growl and the sharp sting of his fangs breaking his skin, he stiffened, ready to ride out the pain. Except, a roaring snarl broke through his thoughts and then Cerat's fangs were gone. Warden jerked his left hand up to cover the wound the abrupt removal of the vampire's teeth had caused, as his eyes located Cerat to his left, slammed against the wall, held there by Drake's snarling, half-formed wolf.

Fur sprouted from his skin, along with claws and a blunt, fanged muzzle, but it was clear that he was still more in his human form than anything as he leaned into Cerat's face. "Someone's getting cocky." Drake rumbled, his words almost not intelligible through his partially transformed muzzle.

With a grunt of annoyance, he tossed Cerat away. It only took Warden a moment to realize that Cerat's personality had changed a few moments after he'd landed over in the corner when he hurried to cower under the blankets he'd left there. 

"He doesn't need anymore food, Warden!"

Hearing Drake's angry, yet human voice, Warden snapped his attention up to the man. He had already moved in front of him and was dropping to his knees. "Move your hand." He growled, making Warden hesitate with a scowl.

"Don't start shit. Move your fucking hand or I'll break it!" Drake snarled.

Warden started doing as told, awkwardly slowly. It wasn't fast enough for Drake, though. He reached over and yanked Warden's arm down by the wrist, then leaned over fast enough to make Warden lean backward out of instinct.

"Fucking stupid chicken. He's had more than enough blood!" Drake snarled as he leaned forward, putting himself between Warden's legs. He lifted his bare right leg slightly and rested it on Warden's pajama-clothed left one, pinning it to the floor with his weight as he began sniffing at the blood flowing from the injury Cerat had made.

"He would have fucking drained you if he lost control, which would have likely happened. Stupid, idiot, dumbass bird." Drake growled angrily. 

Most of Drake's fur vanished as he spoke, leaving only small bits of color just barely-there on the surface of his skin. His muzzle had also retracted, though Warden doubted his fangs had disappeared considering the anger in his voice.

Heat that could have been considered scalding in comparison to Cerat's cold hands suddenly warmed his injury, making Warden flinch and hiss in a breath. A deep growl echoed him, a warning not to move as Drake continued to slowly clean away the blood as he moved his right hand to rest on Warden's bare shoulder. It was hot, too, and strong. There would definitely be a bruise, but Warden knew better than to go against the man when he was so furious.

"I'm going with him today. You're going to work at the office." He growled after several tense minutes.

Warden didn't dare argue, even if it was his responsibility to go with Cerat. He gave a stiff nod, expecting Drake to withdraw from his neck since he'd stopped licking when he'd accepted his words. Instead of moving away, Drake began to nip at Warden's already-injured skin. A low rumble echoed from his chest, the sound almost like a deep purring growl.

"Drake...?"

His friend's head jerked into his abruptly, making Warden yelp and reach up to grasp his head as he felt Drake jump away from him. Before he could even look up, the sound of the man's footsteps quieted as he ran from the room.

The hell?