Sweeter Than Wine

Haven

The car is enveloped in a thick silence, I can feel the tension pulsing through the air, much like the blood in my veins.

George pulls me closer, my head falling on his shoulder. "It's okay, darling...don't be afraid. We're here for you..." he whispers gently against the top of my head, punctuating his sentence with a kiss.

John squeezes my hand reassuringly, "that's right, sweetheart. Nothin' is gonna get you when we're on the case."

Paul and Ritchie grunt in agreement, then Paul turns in his seat to face me. "We're going to Mabel's, our wards were compromised and she's got wards against him too..I only hope she won't shoo us away in fear of drawing him in..."

I squeeze my eyes shut, leaning heavily on George until I feel the car slow to a stop.

George gets out first, guiding me out with a strong hand on my waist.

He gently pushes me toward the little shop, the lights mostly out, except for one in the house portion.

Another wave of sickness rolls through me, causing me to stop and hunch over in pain.

"_____!?" George asks worriedly, bending down to look at my pale, waxy face.

I groan, feeling as if I'm about to burst. John lays his hand on my back soothingly.

I turn my head to look up at him, and instinct kicks in. I stand up abruptly, pulling John to me with almost violent force.

He makes a concerned noise, but gets no further as I sink my teeth into the spongy flesh of his neck.

I release my excess into him, the painful pressure in my veins relieved for the moment.

I let out a strangled moan of satisfaction, backing a step away from John.

The lads look at me, concern etched across their faces. "That's the second time you've done that..." George says glancing at his watch, "in about 20 minutes."

He wraps his arms around me pressing his forehead into mine, "...are you okay?"

I take a moment to answer, allowing time to mentally assess myself. "....yeah...I feel fine...it's just...it almost seems like my blood is multiplying at an alarming speed...and I'll bet it's got something to do with him."

George squeezes me gently, pressing his lips to the top of my head. "Let's get inside..."

Paul leads us up to the door of the shop, tentatively pushing on the door, a surprised "oh!" Escaping his lips as it opens.

We walk slowly into the darkened space, no sign of life anywhere.

I grasp wildling in front of my until I find a pair of hands. Ritchie whispers, "it's okay, honey. They're most likely just relaxing at home..."

We slowly move through the shop, almost afraid of making any sort of noise as we pass through like ghosts of yesterday.

We get to the employee entrance door, and Paul knocks tepidly upon the dark wood.

We wait a few moments before the door opens, greeted by the tired eyes of Mabel.

Her eyes quickly widen, opening the door for us to shuffle through. She ushers is quickly down the hall until we're in her living room.

We all take a seat as she rushes off. My eyes wander around the room, taking in decorations and photos of her and Emma.

My eyes land on a very old, barely recognizable one of her and Samuel. My heart clenches in my chest and I quickly look away.

George tilts my head and kisses me gently, "it's okay darling. We're safe here..."

Mabel enters the room then, a tray of tea in her arms. She places the tray onto her table, then takes a seat across from us.

"....what brings you bunch here?" She asks, picking up a cup and blowing on it softly.

"It's...a long story...but we need somewhere to recoup." George says, squeezing me tightly.

Mabel nods, willing him to go on. George recounts the last few days in grave detail. I squeeze my eyes shut, the memories making a sheen of sweat break out across my chilled skin. I feel George rise from the couch, and open my eyes to watch him.

He hands the needle Samuel made him inject me with to her. She scrutinized it closely, turning it slowly in her hands.

Finally she looks up at us, setting the needle on the table, "You're lucky you got away, George. Samuel injected you with his blood so he could control your will. Not many can break free, and those that did...well..it didn't end so well for them."

Her soft blue eyes turn to me, "And you....Samuel was working on this when he first took you....to ensure you wouldn't die from us taking your blood." She taps the needle with her pointer finger.

"What exactly does it do?" I ask, squeezing George's knee.

"Well, essentially it increases your blood so it can be...uh....harvested..."

A shudder runs through my body, and George pulls me half into his lap. "That's...wow...." I say pressing into George's embrace.

"How long will it last?" Paul asks, "she's already vomited up a ton, and given some to George and John."

"Oh wow...it's working better than he ever dreamed..." she says thoughtfully. "A syringe this size, I'd say a day or two. And it'll be best to keep a low profile until then. She smells so....delicious....they would catch her scent the second she steps out. We can spray her with the masking solution...but I'm not even sure if that will work..."

"Hey, where's Emma?" John asks, eyeing Mabel.

She sighs, looking toward the bedrooms, "she wen tout a few days ago and I haven't seen her since..."

We exchange worried glances, "so that's why the front was open..." Paul says, tapping his chin.

Suddenly a loud crash comes from the storefront, making me nearly jump out of my skin.

John, Paul, and Ritchie jump from their seats to investigate as George angles himself protectively in front of me.