Blood Tie

Chapter 3

Rox's POV

Jungkook dropped to the floor of the closet and curled in on himself, seeming to fall apart before my eyes. My legs took me over to him faster than I thought necessary and I knelt down to him. I wanted to help but after seeing his reaction to my hybrid side, I don't know if he would accept comfort from me. My hands fluttered around him, not knowing what to do. In the next moment, in a movement faster than I could see he reached out and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him and dropping his head to my shoulder. I froze, I couldn't think for a moment with his arms wrapped around me and his scent filling my nostrils. He smelled like oranges and cinnamon, a spicy and tantalizing mix that sent my hybrid senses into overdrive. I felt my face grow hot and figured I probably resembled a cherry in that moment. Trying to block out my hybrid senses I tentatively wrapped my arms around his broad shoulders, offering what little comfort I could give. As my arms settled around him, I heard what sounded like a choked sob and after a moment I felt wetness on my shoulder. I felt the wracking of his body as I held him and I realized he was crying, and he was holding on to me like I was the only solid thing he could grab. More heat crept into my face, now spreading down my neck. His quiet sobs and my breathing were the only things that could be heard in the small space we inhabited. I moved my right hand to his soft, dark brown hair and was amazed as it was as soft as it had looked. I gently pet his hair with my right hand as my left rubbed his back in what I hoped was soothing circles. I hoped it was helping, I am not used to being touched by others as most avoid touching me, so giving physical comfort was not something I knew how to do. I don't know how much time passed but he eventually pulled away from me, releasing the arms that had been increasingly getting tighter around me as he cried. I felt bereft when his arms left me and I was no longer touching him or surrounded by his scent. This feeling confused me as I barely knew him. I looked up at him and noticed how disheveled he appeared. His dark brown hair was falling into his eyes which still had the sheen of crying to them and were now red from all the crying. His face was flushed and his bottom lip looked raw from him biting on it an attempt to stop the sobs. His shirt was wrinkled and the neckline was haphazardly hanging on him, showing quite the expanse of lightly tanned skin and muscle. Just the littlest discoloration on his collarbone from the bruising of the implant. Kneeling with his hands laying out in front of him, palms up and opened as if looking for something to grasp onto. Realizing the way he must be feeling I felt a surge of pity for the situation he had woken up in, and the fact that I was the one he woke up to must not have helped. "Jungkook?" I whispered his name softly, afraid to break the fragile boy in front of me. He looked into my eyes and took a deep breath. He then shifted his body to sit cross legged in front of me and folded his hands into his lap. He met my eyes again and spoke in a rough, shaky sounding voice.

"I believe you about the hybrids, I can't deny what I saw. Please tell me as much as you know, please help me understand." His eyes were pleading as they bore into mine and the deep timbre of his voice implied that he needed this.

"Um, where should I start?"

"What kind of hybrid are you, if you don't mind telling me." I sat back in shock at how forward his question was and began to feel what felt like fear, fear of being rejected by him when he finds out. I shouldn't care, I don't know him. Mustering up the courage I had, I faced him and looked him in the eye.

"I'm a vampire hybrid, a living vampire." He blinked slowly at my words and took another deep breath.

"Are you going to try and eat me?" I laughed harshly at him and rolled my eyes.

"Sorry but you don't fit my ideal meal and for the record, I don't need to eat anybody. Being a living vampire means I can live off of human food or blood."

"I'm sorry if I offended you, I guess I just figured you'd be like the vampires in the movies." He looked ashamed and I immediately felt bad for coming off harsh.

"It's okay, I'm just defensive, I'm sorry. Living vampires don't need to feed on blood to live, though in a life threatening situation, it is our best chance. We don't sparkle and we have hearts and a heartbeat. We are not allergic to garlic and can die just like any human. We don't need to sleep in coffins and living vampires have no issues with sunlight. We age and are not immortal, though when we die we do become more like the vampires you see in movies. We then cease to age and must feed on blood. The sun does not burn us but it is easy to tell we are different unless we wear lots of makeup, our skin doesn't have life in it anymore after we die, making it easy to see we aren't human. When we die our powers amplify and we come into our true selves, that's why living vampires are so rare. Most vampires choose to die to become fully vampire, very few choose to stay living. Beheading or a stake are the only ways to kill a true vampire. Next question?"

He looked shocked as he tried to absorb all the information I gave him. He then looked at me curiously.

"So you have powers? Are you strong and fast as well? Is that what kind of hybrid I am?"

"Yes I have vampiric powers, we do have enhanced speed and strength and um," I paused briefly, biting my lip in contemplation of how to continue, "you are a hybrid, but unfortunately I have no idea what you are."

Hope you're enjoying it 😊