Lover Dearest (Ziam Vampire AU)

Chapter 1

Blood Slave

Blood Slaves are an integral member of the clan. Also referred to as 'blood pets' or more kindly as 'human subjugates', Blood Slaves are subservient humans sworn to obey every command of the vampire(s) they are loyal to. The history of the Blood Slave is as ancient as that of our kind, for as long as vampires have lived, humans have served as both our servants and our food supply.

In essence, a Blood Slave is owned completely (mind, body and soul) by the clan it is loyal to for the entire duration of it's lifetime as a human. It is a Blood Slave's duty to provide the clan with the blood which sustains us, as well as

"Why are you reading that again?"

Liam looks up sharply, the ancient book nearly slipping out of his hands. He shuts it quickly with a snap that sends dust wafting up into his face, his nose wrinkling as he inhales. Zayn is giving him an expectant look, waiting for an answer and, just as the text said, it's his duty to provide one because Zayn requested it and Liam belongs to him.

"I don't know," he admits with a shrug, pushing the book back into its spot on the shelf between two equally old, leather bound books with worn covers and pages that have turned from white to a pale cream colour from time and usage. "Harry always tells me it's good to read up on your history."

"Our," Zayn corrects. "Our history."

Liam makes a face at him. "It's not really my history and you know it," he argues. "I'm not a blood-slave." He says it almost defiantly, raising his eyebrows like he's expecting Zayn to deny, or maybe confirm, that statement.

A soft smile tugs at Zayn's lips, barely there, just a little upward twist and a slight glimmer of perfect white teeth as he crosses the room to adjust the book Liam had just put back so it doesn't stick out any farther than the others. When he's done, he turns to Liam and puts a hand under Liam's chin, tilting it up just a fraction. "Of course you're not," he says, gentle and soft. "You're a lot more than that and you know it, Liam. And Harry would rip apart anyone who dared to refer to you as something as barbaric as—"

Liam drops his chin again, grinning widely. "I know," he admits. While it's not exactly ideal, the life he has, he knows it could be a lot worse.

See, while Liam technically is a 'Blood Slave', as crude and outdated of a term as that is, he's not treated as one. He's met others like him, other human subjugates from other, older clans. When he was fourteen and the Kenward clan had stayed with them for a few weeks, Liam had first noticed the drastic difference in how their subjugate (a beautiful girl much older than Liam with flat, dead blue eyes) was treated. She wasn't allowed to eat unless instructed to, she wasn't allowed to sleep unless granted permission. And then there was Kara, who didn't belong to a clan so much as a single vampire name William, who wasn't even allowed to speak unless directly spoken to by William, even when he wasn't in the room.

But Liam, on the other hand, has a lot more freedom. He's not stupid enough, not deluded enough to think that he's an actual member of the clan, that he doesn't belong to them, but he's still different from the others of his kind. Liam has his own room, with his own things that he likes. Liam is free to explore every inch of their home whenever he likes (excluding Zayn's room, of course, but Niall and Harry don't seem to mind when he goes in theirs). He's not expected to clean or cook for the others. He's not their maid or their servant. He's allowed to say no, have a mind, a personality, of his own.