Ready Or Not

Well, Shit.

**Daniel**

I had to admit that it was making me feel slightly uncomfortable, watching Theo open a vein for someone else like he'd just opened one for me during one of the most intimate, unique experiences we'd had as a couple, so far.

I know for a fact that there was once a time, very early in their friendship, that Theo had tried to get into Anna's neon pink pants. Sometimes I forget for a moment that he's not gay, probably because I hadn't ever seen him look at anyone with the barest amount of lust or want... Not since he and I met.

I had the overwhelming and surprising urge to bare my fangs and push her away from him.

I was overthinking. Being ridiculous. That was literally decades ago and now, he and Anna are siblings just the same as Mel and I. That, and I know how much he loves me. He shows it in the oddest ways, every day.

By the time I'd cleared my head from my internal anxiety attack, Anna had lifted hers from my fiance's wrist for what seemed to be the last time. And she'd felt nothing.

Anna's lips were pursed. "Okay. I guess that makes sense. Like a motivation to create new vampires. Humans do it to have a part of them live on... Their own kind of immortality. Maybe vampires do it so that they never have to go far for a blood meal..."

"But why did he lose his scent?!" Theo growled, sounding frustrated and desperate. I rubbed his shoulders.

"Defense mechanism," Anna blurted.

A light flashed on in my head. "Right! So that we can protect ourselves if we want to - by hiding! And it comes and goes because we don't have any natural predators, except for the vampire that created us. Makes sense that it only becomes active when our makers gain the ability to bite us."

Anna nodded in agreement, but Theo looked worried.

"If you need a defense mechanism, does that mean I can kill you, Dan?"

My heart dropped as his face fell.

Anna cooed and nuzzled into him.

"Sweetheart," I said softly, placing a kiss on his neck. "I think you would have to mean to kill me. You'd have to want to. You took very little from me and you felt full. I'm in no danger from you. I trust you."

He leaned back into me and Anna leaned back into him. None of us seemed inclined to move, though certainly we'd be more comfortable elsewhere.

"I just hurt you without even meaning to, Sugar," Theo moped.

I sighed. "That's the thing though- you didn't mean to. You didn't know you could. Now you do." I didn't mention to him that it was sort of exciting to me that he'd be able to feed on me directly, without me having to bite myself for him. Not with my best friend on his lap/my lap.

There was a stirring from the couch and my thoughts went to Hannah and Lydia. "Anyway, I'm not worried about you hurting or killing me. I am worried about what we do with Blondie over there."

As if on cue, Hannah sat up slowly, looking pale and groggy.

Anna was by her side instantly. "Take it slow, Hannah. Don't try and get up."

Theo scoffed. As far as he was concerned, I knew, the faster Hannah was out of his sight, the better.

I patted his legs and he got up off my lap. I joined Anna and our guest in the living room, sinking onto the end of the couch Hannah had been stretched out on. I didn't know what Theo was going to do, but I wanted to be able to react quickly. Surprisingly though, he maintained a level head.