Thank all of you for your responses last chapter. I'm always so touched by your outpouring of support for this story.

Remember that I've only ever watched the anime, so if you notice any differences from manga canon/events, that's why. Reader ben4kevin has been my awesome manga resource and it's thanks to them and the VK wiki that I've been able to work in manga tidbits.

To my reviewer who asked about influences on the wedding ceremony, I believe the 'bride' being escorted by a large party as protection is a Middle Eastern custom, but honestly I don't quite recall if there was any Arabic influences. The main inspirations were Japanese Shinto and Chinese weddings; I had several firm ideas already planned, like the cords, but I went on a giant wiki walk and read a bunch of articles to flesh out the rest.

IX. Why the Caged Bird Sings

Where am I?

The room is dark, only the slightest crack of light coming from somewhere across the room. Zero's thinking is slower than it ought to be; his thoughts ooze like honey, and his emotions, thankfully, are also dulled. He snuggles more deeply into what feels like the most comfortable bed he's ever slept in, with a mattress like a cloud, and the finest sheets, warmed by the heat of his body. Everything is soft and warm and good, and then Zero remembers how he came to be sleeping in this nice bed.

This is my wedding bed. Last night was my wedding night.

The Hunter curls himself more deeply in the sheets and bunches the cover in his fists. Miraculously, the Kurans had left him intact - if you could call intact draining their meal into unconsciousness. Zero has not been spared defilement; it has merely been deferred. He can already feel fear creeping up on him - what if they change their minds and decide to come back through those doors and finish what they started? It would be completely allowed by their agreements. At least he knows for certain that they aren't interested in his body that way, except as a duty, a pity fuck whose only purpose is to pop out baby vampires.

The rush of alertness called up by those memories is fading; Zero's still recovering from his blood loss, and he falls back into sleep. His last coherent thought is to marvel at how he could sleep for so long without suffering his usual nightmares. Perhaps if he was ill all the time they would go away for good, but he can't do that, because his ghosts would leave him, and without them wouldn't he really be alone?

(What Zero does not realize is that earlier in the evening, he was sleeping on the opposite side of the bed. Sometime after his spouses left, the omega rolled over to where they had lain, nestled himself in the warm spot left by their bodies, and slept through the night in a dreamless, restful sleep, surrounded by the potent scent of alpha, instincts comforted by the familiar smell.)

Zero wishes he could remain asleep longer, but his body physically won't let him. He's lost track of the time, since there are no clocks in this room (the partners are meant to enjoy themselves without worrying about schedules), but he knows from the grittiness of his eyes and the heavy feeling in his body that he's slept the day away, and possibly the next night.

Zero nearly pitches over when he tries to rise. He's so dizzy, and his stomach flips with a combination of hunger and nausea. The wedding robes he's still wearing, thank the Ancestress, aren't helping with their sheer weight and volume. Thoroughly creased, and stained with blood at the collar, he wonders if the silk is even salvageable at this point.

The Hunter manages to stagger over to the table full of dainties and drinks, but his hands shake so badly that he doesn't dare try to pour a glass, and drinks the lukewarm water, all the ice long melted, straight from the pitcher, slopping some down his chin and onto himself. Then he wolfs down the easily edible sliced fruit, and forces himself to crunch down on the nuts because his body needs the protein.

(Unknowingly, Kaname had miscalculated Zero's condition. If Zero had normal feeding habits, such a large, but safe amount of blood loss would have been easily recoverable. Starving, malnourished Zero is far more heavily affected.)

Adding a headache to his symptoms of fatigue, nausea and dizziness, Zero gets himself back to his spot in the bed, and huddles there until some of the mental fog clears and he doesn't feel so much like he's been hit by a truck.

And he keeps hiding there until the servants come to check on him, probably on Kuran's orders, and he's kicked out so they can clean. Politely, of course. They don't order him; they merely suggest heavily that Consort Kiryuu might wish to rise and examine his new quarters, where a change of clothes is waiting. They also manage to imply disdain both for his laziness and his current state of disarray. Zero can see the resemblance to their master.

The servants also hand him a letter, which he reads as he stumbles through the house, following behind one of them traveling just the slightest bit faster than he can manage with dignity in his current state. His sense of balance is gone, and the words written in Yuuki's neat print swim before his eyes.

To Consort Kiryuu,

From the events last night, we guessed that you would prefer not to see or speak to us when you woke. Therefore, we have instructed the staff to see you are taken to your rooms, and that your every need is seen to. Please do not hesitate to ask them for anything you need. If you wish, we will avoid you until you are settled and feel more secure.

With you in our thoughts,

Kuran Yuuki. Kuran Kaname.

Kuran's signature is the most ridiculous, curving, perfect piece of calligraphy Zero's ever seen, and it fits the egotistical bastard. It's exactly what Zero would have imagined, if he spent a single watt of brain power thinking about something so stupid.

When Kuran said 'rooms' Zero expected a bedroom, closet and bathroom, maybe with an entry if they were especially large. What the servant ushers him into is more like a small palace within a palace. The Hunter might have been touched, if he didn't know this suite belonged to him because of tradition rather than favor. It's still more than a little exciting to know that these rooms once belonged to Consort Aileya, and have been preserved unchanged ever since.

Zero's new rooms are decorated marvelously in nothing but art objects and antique furniture. No more pre fabricated, self-assembled dressers for him, Zero observes wryly. It's undeniably dated, but still pleasing. Aileya's spouses must have treasured her very much, to build her such a grand place to live, he thinks longingly, running his hands along polished wood and cool silk.

The first entry room doubles as a guardroom and a room for servants to wait before being called, quite simple compared to the rest of the suite. The next chamber the servant calls the Nobles' Room, a receiving room where Consort Aileya held audiences. The suite also has a private sitting room, a family dining room, and a study. Farthest away from the guardroom and the public spaces are his bedroom, decorated in cool green, white and gold, a full bathroom, a nursery, and a playroom; through a connecting door in the playroom is the hallway leading to the older childrens' bedrooms. This suite, and the children's bedrooms next door are positioned as the most protected rooms in the entire palace. All of his rooms are arranged around a modest central courtyard containing a garden and a pond with a fountain.

Past his bedchamber, through a door on the far wall of the bathroom, is a strange, windowless room with no furniture except a second, more enormous bed. The room itself is positioned in the far corner of the courtyard square. Zero is quite perplexed by the need for two beds, and next to the guardroom it's the plainest chamber in the entire suite, but filled with rugs, curtains and cushions. Too exhausted to inquire with the servant about its purpose, he later finds out that this room is called a nesting den. Here an omega gives birth, sleeps while in season, and spends their heats.

For now, the Hunter requests a meal, to which the blank-faced servant bobs her head, and leaves Zero to paw half-heartedly through his meager belongings. Finally in private, he can shed the outer robes, and carefully puts aside his Hoseki and Yuuki's engagement ring. He has thirty-one calls on his cellphone, all from Yagari, Cross, and Kaito. Zero taps out a text to all three of them, telling them that he'll call once he gets a chance.

The meal takes too long. Zero's hands shake when he finally locates his bottle of blood tablets; he really should take three or four.

Zero dry swallows one, and retreats back to bed until he has to eat.

High above from a balcony of the state palace, hand resting lightly on the railing, Yuuki watches Zero explore the grounds of Rosehill.

'He will not wish to see us after last night, Yuuki. We should leave Kiryuu alone while he gets used to his new home,' Kaname-sama had said the night following their wedding, after slipping out before Zero woke.

Part of her had agreed; Zero had acted so terrified of them, curled up in their wedding bed and reduced to frightened compliance. Zero was brave, an experienced Hunter who never backed down from anything. But he had been afraid of her, even as he forced himself to stay still and fulfill his 'duty.' Yuuki never wanted her touch to frighten him so badly ever again. If it meant she forced herself to keep away from Zero, then she would endure the separation.

Another part of her knew her brother did not suggest this course of action just for Zero's benefit. Their animosity was well known in Cross Academy, and neither of them made any secret of it to Yuuki. It may also be true that their absence would put Zero at ease, but Kaname-sempai mostly wanted an excuse to keep the purebloods away from their newly wedded Consort. Whether it was just because Kaname-sama disliked Zero, jealousy for her affections, or some other reason, her brother did not confide in her.

It was easy to agree with him; Yuuki was desperate to please her husband, now more than ever. If it made him happy, and it was better for Zero, then why not take that path?

And Yuuki wanted time to understand her feelings before she faced Zero again. When Zero was far away from her, and in danger, Yuuki could put aside her feelings for the sake of protecting him. But now that the Hunter was beside her, and safe, everything came rushing back, threatening to pull her under the surface.

Every time she imagined meeting Zero again, Yuuki had felt anticipation and joy, even when Zero had been a Hunter, and no omega, and would have pointed his gun at her - his enemy - if they did. Seeing Zero at the wedding - their wedding - Yuuki's chest had overflowed with those warm feelings.

But she had not foreseen the pain, welling up like a spring deep in her heart. Zero had been distant, cold, formal, and refused to meet her eyes. And Yuuki had expected that, on some level, and prepared herself for the certainty that their relationship could not simply take up where they had left it. They were far apart from each other for over thirty years, in mind and body; how did one experience such a rift and not find themselves estranged?

But what surprised her was the old pain of their parting. Yuuki had left him. Left Zero alone. And she held crushing, soul deep guilt for that action. But there was also Yuuki's pain, that Zero had inflicted with his own actions. He had rejected her, because she was a pureblood vampire, and no pain she knew of matched the rejection of a loved one. Zero had promised to kill her, the next time they met. Even after such a cruel promise, Yuuki did not hold it against Zero - it meant reunion would come again. But to have Bloody Rose pointed at her chest, and lavender eyes look at her with cold anger, after knowing nothing but protection and affection from him - pain was not a strong enough word. Agony unbearable, wrenching her world off its axis more than the forbidden thirst for his blood.

What would she have chosen, if Zero had opened his arms and welcomed Kuran Yuuki into his embrace? The question has kept her awake in bed, many, many times. The answer is a secret even Yuuki does not know.

Leaving with Kaname-sama had been a simple matter, after that. When one side of a balanced scale lost its weight, the other side naturally fell. Yuuki owes her brother a debt of obligation that she will never repay, not if she stays by his side for the rest of their immortal lives. Kaname-sama had taken her and taught her when she needed to know, living beneath the moon in the night of the vampire. He had been patient with her errors, and protected her from the nobles and other purebloods who would try to use her for their own ends.

How much more had he sacrificed for her, and she didn't even know? Kaname-sama had been a child himself when Papa and Mama were killed by their uncle. Her brother had sacrificed every last bit of his childhood protecting her, forced to act as an adult before his time, making sure her life would be better and safer than living the way he did, in a house of nobles thirsting for his blood and hungry to make him their puppet. Perhaps some of the secrets he kept were about that time, and he wanted to spare her the guilt of knowing.

She tried not to burden him with her feelings of dislocation, wrenched without warning from her old childhood world, and the grief of her losses - of her humanity, her old life, her friends, her guardian, and her remembered parents, still fresh in her recovered memories.

And Yuuki had repaid her brother's kindness with cruelty. Who married a man when you could not promise him your entire heart? Yuuki had. She had forced Kaname-sama to accept that half of her heart belonged to him, and the other half held firm to Zero. And miraculously, he had. Yuuki had offered to let Kaname-sama leave her, but he chose to stay. Her only comfort was that she had at least been honest with him, once she unraveled the tangled feelings she held.

So she tried by any other means she could to atone for her sins against him. She strove with every ounce of her ability to become the pureblood Kuran princess everyone expected, to match her brother's ability and aura of control, dignity and authority. She learned the most complex protocol and etiquette under Ruka's tutelage, and pursued her education as a vampire with Aido. She dressed in the elegant and feminine clothes he bought her, wore the heels he liked. Steward Inukai taught her the skills to run Rosehill's palaces, and she attended every soiree at her husband's side, watching how he handled the nobles and trying to imitate him.

Kaname-sama mourned her humanity, and her innocence; he blamed himself for their loss. He wanted most of all to see the carefree smiles of that time return. Yuuki had tried to give him that too, hoarded the scraps of that time and fashioned it into a garment she wore. It had not been hard; she missed that time too.

But her efforts had led to failure. Her very best had not been enough. Yuuki could not push herself to equal his abilities. In great or small matters, there was no place she excelled his talents at the same age. Kaname-sama held himself and his feelings away from her. He blocked their blood bond. He kept secrets, important ones. He trusted his subordinates more than his own wife. Yuuki was never invited to play a part in his plans, always gently and indirectly excluded from their meetings. He was protecting her because he cared for her; she knew that. But she wanted to be a person who could protect people too. And Kaname-sempai was also someone she wished to protect.

Yuuki had not been wholly content, if she was being her most honest. But she had accepted the way things were. She could have lived that way for many, many hundreds of years - perhaps thousands - and not wanted anything more. She has been happy with Kaname; together they have experienced many joyful moments. That happiness was not false. Only when the cracks showed in their bond did she feel unsatisfied.

Yuuki loves Kaname unconditionally, whatever may come. She had accepted that her brother may never trust her, and it was not her place to push him. She had no desire to hurt him or force him to give her any more than he already had. Whatever he wanted to offer her, she would gratefully accept.

But now the holding pattern Yuuki and Kaname have been maintaining for thirty-five years is starting to falter. A new element is stirring the currents. A storm is building, and everything might be swept away by the force.

She should be afraid. She isn't.

(Yuuki thinks she might feel an edge of anticipation).

At first, grateful for any reprieve after weeks of stress and apprehension, Zero is pleased to be ignored by the Kuran couple. He stays in the consort's suite for another day while his body finishes recovering, and allows himself to hide for a third, before venturing out, feeling like he inhabits a small island amidst a sea where the stars were strange.

Zero spends hours calling his small Hunter family to reassure them he's alright; they don't believe him, but they know him too well. He keeps the details of his wedding night a secret, except to convince them the Kurans had not harmed him any more than necessary. He wouldn't have told them at all, but Zero couldn't come up with a convincing excuse why he didn't answer his phone for a full day. Master Yagari is a man of few words, and Kaito has a motormouth but also has work to do, so it's mostly Cross' usual antics taking up those minutes.

Zero has never lived like a vampire before, sleeping away the daylight hours and waking at sunset. It makes him uneasy, as though he's giving in somehow, and the Hunter makes a point of going outside sometimes during the day, just to feel the sun's burn on his skin. But his body takes easily to the new schedule, with something like relief. A film of exhaustion, carried so long he forgot this wasn't the way he was meant to feel naturally, leaves him.

Wearing the bonded omega's wardrobe Zero finds in the expansive closet of the consort's suite is not as much of an imposition as the Hunter feared. The clothing owes much to Takuma's good taste and consideration of Zero's personality, and it's well made and comfortable. Amusingly, wearing the full skirts and sleeves makes him feel like he's dressing all the time as a character in a historical drama. He has new shoes as well, house slippers and fitted boots of tooled leather and sewn fabric. His tennis shoes are consigned to the back of the closet, worn only for Hunts.

The wide, enveloping sleeves were exactly as much of a pain as Zero thought they would be; more than once, Zero has found himself sweeping knickknacks off the tabletops when he forgot what he was wearing. The broken objects frustrate him; as a Hunter whose bodily awareness has been trained and honed since birth, Zero ought to know where he's placing his limbs down to the tiniest movement.

When he dares to leave his rooms, the household steward himself guides Zero on a tour of the smaller residential palace, every bit as lavish, elegant and beautiful as his first glimpses promised. His favorite is the ancient library, of course. Only Zero's navigation practice as a Hunter prevents him from becoming hopelesssly lost anytime he leaves his suite. On his own, Zero explores small sections of the palace grounds adjoining the residential complex.

True to their word, Zero sees no trace of the Kurans. They do not call for him, or happen upon him when he leaves his suite. As far as Zero knows, he and a handful of servants are the only people inhabiting this building.

The first week, Zero calmly accepts this state of things. He keeps up his training in the suite's courtyard, calls his guardians once a day, and keeps himself occupied. He even tries his fighting exercises in the plainest omega clothing he has; the skirts leave him a comfortable range of movement, and are short enough he won't step on them; the sleeves can be folded up. Zero hopes he will never have to fight in them, but the results are encouraging.

To his surprise, Zero finds that the strength of his charms has increased by a noticeable margin and spends many hours testing his new capability until he is confident he can compensate. Was this what the Ancestor had meant, with her cryptic message?

But then the silence, and the loneliness, start to wear on him. The Hunters still call every day, but cannot permanently devote so many hours to talking with Zero. His days have no distinguishing features; he goes where he likes, does what he pleases, takes his meals when he wants. No one expects him. No one needs anything from him. His existence makes no difference to anyone; if he disappeared, only his guardians and Kaito would notice. When he gets up in the evening, there is nothing different from the day before; every night of the rest of his life stretches out in the same featureless, meaningless blur before his feet.

When Zero's resolve starts to falter, worn away by his increasingly grey mood, the staff's behavior starts to bother him.

The servants all wear uniforms with the Kuran crest on their livery, even the Steward. While most of them are C Rank, more than a few are B Ranks who could claim membership among any gathering of aristocrats. Only a pureblood would have nobles as servants, Zero thinks dryly. Most of them have served the pureblood Kuran family their whole lives, and are descended from ancestors who spent their lives seeing to the needs of those same sworn masters. This generations long association has bred extraordinary loyalty and protectiveness of the Kurans in the household staff.

And Zero has fallen afoul of that loyalty, since before he even arrived at Rosehill. On the surface, there is nothing Zero can complain about - they address him by his title, speak politely, and their professionalism is impeccable. They never shirk fulfilling their duties even when it is abundantly clear they do not like him. Their rebuke and resentment is more indirect, carefully displayed in ways that would be difficult to prove, and sound foolish when said aloud. It's the way they say his title, rolling it around in their mouths like it's a dubious joke, or something distasteful to be gotten out of the way as quickly as they can. It's in the twist of their lips when they ask if Consort Kiryuu requires anything further, tone making it clear they would prefer a negative response. The way they turn their bodies away when speaking to him, or refuse to meet his gaze, as though they're looking right past him. He can sense them, staying outside in the hallway when he requests things, just so he waits a little longer. The servants cut corners, or deliberately make small mistakes - never anything that damages the Kuran's property - just to inconvenience him. Zero knows saying anything would be wasted breath, and would give them an imagined grievance to persecute, so he stays silent.

At first Zero had ignored their distaste, uncaring in his exhausted physical and emotional state what a bunch of vampires thought of him. But it started to hurt, when the only living beings he sees for days on end treat him with disdain laced with contempt. The Hunter couldn't figure out what he had done to offend them; he'd been in the palace for less than a day when the first servants he'd met acted as though he was unwelcome.

He finds his answer once he begins exploring, and comes upon the servants in mid-conversation, exchanging rumors with one another. They're not alert or trained in stealth, and since Zero covers himself in scent masking charms out of habit, he can easily unintentionally sneak up close enough to overhear.

...how bad do you think that D has to be, that Kuran-sama and Kuran-hime wouldn't even touch him?

I heard he begged and cried his way out of it, that the dishonorable coward refused his real duties.

I heard he's disfigured, that he's hideously ugly naked because he's not a true omega.

I heard our Masters are too disgusted to sleep with him, because he allowed all the Hunters to use him like a loose slut, even though he'd been promised to the Kuran family.

He finds them everywhere, like they're watching him, even when he stops casting the scent charms. No matter where Zero goes, he always uncovers one of the servants nearby, peering at him.

...such a shame Consort Ichijo was not compatible. He would have been a worthy omega for the Masters, not the dirty-blooded Level D poor Kuran-sama has to endure. Shame about how weak the children will be...

...who does this Hunter think he is, to refuse them on their wedding night, after all they did for him? Thinks he's too good for our Master and Mistress? After demanding to bond them? Kiryuu is nothing but an upstart social climber who wants to use them...

...I bet that Level D is barren. That's why his alphas rejected him. At least the Hunter's whore will be able to give the Masters a good fuck, with all the practice he's had.

His interest in exploring his new residence wanes; he neglects his training; he eats less, sleeps more, or just lies in bed when the insomnia and nightmares keep him awake. When he goes out, Zero tucks himself into other hiding places, sometimes for hours.

The whispers still follow him.

Fourteen days after his marriage, Zero is slumped behind a stone bench in the rose gardens when he gets an emergency Hunt summons. Now that Zero is married, Cross explained to him, he would be able to Hunt less frequently. Only the jobs that Zero alone could do, or that would be extremely dangerous for a lesser Hunter, would be given to him, for political reasons. It looks bad if the Hunters rely on someone who is now considered a vampire to help them all the time.

So the Hunter is alarmed and surprised to receive a request from dispatch so quickly. According to their message, Zero has been activated only because he is the closest Hunter to the incident, and because the life of a hostage is at risk. A Level E vampire has kidnapped a child from a family in a small countryside village, and the Hunters must act quickly for a chance to save the vampire's young victim.

The Hunter tries to leave word of his departure, but the Steward informs him that the Kurans are out this evening at a soiree. Zero hadn't even known they were gone.

He borrows a car and pushes it to the limit, racing the clock, hoping the fallen E had taken the time to savor its meal. Despite the grave situation, it's a thrill to finally leave the palace, and the Hunt has always been his sanctuary, something Zero could take pride in for his skill.

Zero makes it, just barely. When he finds them in an abandoned train station, the Level E is bent over the child, so young he can't even tell if it's male or female, just sinking its fangs in. A single shot to the head from Bloody Rose is all it takes to dust the vampire, distracted by its meal.

The child bleeds out in less than thirty seconds, living just long enough for Zero to hold the child in his arms as it dies.

Smaller prey are harder to safely feed from, and the Level E was hurried and incompetent.

Zero sits with his head bowed until the corpse cools. Then he covers the tiny body with his coat, and numbly contacts dispatch. He keeps watch over the body until the cleanup crew and the other Hunters arrive, to find Zero seated nearby with his back to the wall, bare-armed in the cold March night. His cold, stony expression, and his shirtfront soaked in dried blood keeps the other Hunters at a distance.

Objectively, Zero realizes it's not good that his first return mission ended this way; the other Hunters might believe he intentionally allowed this, given his new conflict of interest. They will question every action he took this evening, judge whether he was distracted, neglectful, incompetent; there will be concerns about using him again at all. At the moment, Zero can't summon anything but apathy.

The Hunters whisper too. They might know Zero can hear them; they just don't care.

We shouldn't be surprised; Kiryuu failed to support the treaty too. Couldn't even lie on his back and spread his legs properly. And purebloods will fuck anything.

Except Kiryuu, another Hunter jeers.

When Zero goes back to Rosehall, no one meets him at the door. If not for the guard at the gate, no one would know he was back at all.

The servants who cleaned their wedding suite must have talked, for the news of Zero's failure to have reached the world outside the estate. And if even the Hunters know, than he can be certain the entire vampire world also has intimate knowledge of his failure. Cross and Yagari and Kaito must know - have known for days - Zero realizes with horror.

He wants more than anything to go scrub himself until he bleeds, just to clean the child's blood from his skin, but the chief maid for his quarters stops him just outside the door. She casts her eyes over Zero, taking in his stained clothes and lack of Hoseki, and reminds him that it reflects poorly on his spouses if he cannot properly attire himself. Then she informs Zero that one of the maids has accidentally broken something that belongs to him - a palm-sized glass horse that his father gave to his mother before they married.

Zero asks for the pieces.

They've already been thrown away.

He asks to be shown where; it's the kitchen garbage, where all of the refuse from the entire household goes before being taken away.

Zero spends the rest of the night painstakingly digging through heaping piles of trash, hoping in what he knows is a useless hope to find some fragment of his mother's prized possession, in front of the eyes of most of the staff, oozing satisfaction behind him, who have gathered to gawk at the sight of a pureblood's consort doing something so filthy and dirty. The child's blood is still on his clothes; it feels like it's sinking into his skin.

Zero searches through the entire heap, and can't find a single piece of glass.

In his bath that morning, Zero lets himself slip underneath the water's surface. As he lays at the bottom of the tub, staring out of the water blankly, Zero holds himself underneath until his body screams with the need to breathe. He starves himself of oxygen until he's light-headed and dizzy, and the water presses down on his lungs, and his mind is emptied by the near suffocation.

Kaname casts his arm over his face, vainly trying to cover his eyes against the noon sunlight streaming through the window of his study. He ought to be in bed, asleep; he has a full night of meetings ahead of him, both with his business managers and with a few council members.

Yet here he is. The pureblood has not even summoned the will to close the curtains against the bright sun. He's disheveled, stripped down to his shirtsleeves, hair mussed from running his fingers through it in agitation. Leaning back in his chair, Kaname reluctantly gives in and admits the reason he's unfocused: Kiryuu Zero is a damned distraction.

Denial is a wonderful thing. Kaname has poured his very best efforts into pretending the Hunter doesn't exist and his house is blissfully omega free, and consigned any strange memories of a second wedding or the haunting taste of hot, spiced blood to the equivalent of a padlocked safe in the back of his mind.

But it seems like every little thing is conspiring against Kaname to constantly remind him that yes, he has saddled himself with an omega. Not the least of those reminders is Yuuki. She constantly asks after Zero to the household staff; Kaname ordered them to watch Kiryuu the first night he arrived, both for her peace of mind and for his own; Kiryuu has a habit of stumbling into trouble. Any time Kaname seeks her out, his wife can be found with the omega nearby, and he can't tell if it's purely accidental or if she's deliberately sticking to the letter, rather than the spirit of their resolution. And Kaname may keep his end of their bloodbond clamped down, but Yuuki allows her feelings full reign to pass through it, and she has been agitated and on the edge of hunting focus for almost two weeks now.

Once he finally gave up on pretending the Hunter didn't exist, Kaname examined every interaction with Kiryuu he's had since the Hunter shocked everyone by presenting as an omega, down to the most minute detail. Somehow his self-mastery has cracked and given way to weakness; Kaname has never let another mind bend his will without intending to allow it. He has never reacted so strongly to an omega before, not in ten thousand years of life. What is it about Kiryuu that has his alpha complaisant? Kaname has identified nothing, no reason whatsoever, after spending days grappling with the problem. Kiryuu is the same irritating, hot tempered, rude, disagreeable Hunter he's always been.

In frustration, to preserve his daily unruffled demeanor, Kaname decides to shelve that part of the problem and work out how to fix his alpha's uncontrolled behavior instead. Kaname concludes, after deep thought, that while the alpha objects to physical harm done to Kiryuu, especially in close proximity, he can still contemplate mental forms of injury and punishment from afar, and the alpha cannot touch Kaname's personal feelings of dislike toward the Hunter, only override them temporarily. So as long as the Kurans see to Kiryuu's physical needs and well-being, Kaname's alpha will keep quiet and stay under control.

With the problem of his alpha solved, Kaname ought to feel at ease. He just wants his disordered thoughts to let him rest. But it isn't enough. With a groan, the pureblood drops his forearm, exposing his eyes to the sunlight. The stabbing brightness is a good counterpoint to the painful memories of his life as the Ancestor that come upon him in unguarded moments. Memories of her.

He hadn't loved the Ancestor of the Hunters. But between the two of them was a nebulous sense that if they had wished, they could have loved one another. The two Ancestors had been allies who held similar views, working toward the same goal. But the pain of their final meeting and quarrel, and her self-sacrifice to create the anti-vampire weapons, left the Ancestor of the Kurans with a deep well of regret from that time.

To have seen her again felt like an undeserved act of grace. And she had spoken to him, recognized him after all this time. The comfort given by her words sets some of those memories at rest, and once again he replays the moment in his mind:

I am grateful that we can see each other again, after so many millenia. I feel I owe you an apology for how we parted, but I do not regret my choice. Your heart was not made for the fire, Kaname. Your heart was made for this, and for her - and I hope, someday - for him too. Please, take care of my Zero; he deserves much better than he has received. I don't believe I will ever see his equal again, even if my children endure for ten thousand more years. And remember, the darkness in your heart is not as deep as you believe it is. Trust the light in their hearts to illuminate yours. If you need me, I am always beside you, Kaname, in my children. Be well, dear friend.

The pureblood sighs. He can hardly disregard such an earnest, final request, now can he? That would feel ungrateful. And Yuuki would beg the same of him if he asked. Kaname will do as they wish - as he has done for Yuuki before - and look after Kiryuu. That probably means no more choking or throwing into walls. Or pretending he doesn't exist. Pity.

But the idea that he might someday love Kiryuu - what a ridiculous thought! Certainly, that will never happen.

Why is is that both Yuuki and her are so fixed on that ex-human Hunter? Kaname doesn't see anything special about him.

Mate is special because he is ours, says the alpha matter-of-factly.

Kaname covers his eyes in frustration.

Zero is sleeping down the hall in the consort's suite; Yuuki can feel the pull of him as she lies half-awake in her bed. The hour has passed midnight. She has tossed and turned for hours, thrown off her sheets trying to cool her overheated body; her nightgown is rucked up on her thighs and hangs off one shoulder.

Staying away from Zero had been a complete failure. The house is crisscrossed with his scent; Yuuki has caught herself following the trail absentmindedly when she's lost in thought, or come to her senses stopped in place inhaling deeply to bring the fragrance over her tongue. No matter how she tries, Yuuki finds herself hovering in Zero's vicinity, just beyond where he can sense her.

Leaving Zero space and time to come to terms with his new world sounded like a good idea, in theory. Except the part of Yuuki that knows Kiryuu Zero, her human heart, keeps whispering that they shouldn't leave Zero alone. Zero is a lonely person, and leaving him in solitude may be what he prefers, but given Zero's habit of brooding on his problems, is not always healthy. She has been on the cusp of breaking her resolution for days, hovering indecisively in halls and doorways, Kaname-sama's disapproval and Zero's rejection the two fears holding her back.

That's not the whole truth, hisses her vampire in the back of her mind. Halfway between sleep and awareness, the pureblood comes upon her, a cloak of night freed from the restraints Yuuki places on it in her waking hours.

That is not the only reason you are afraid. That is not the whole reason you stay away from him now, her pureblood whispers in the back of her mind.

"I love him. I want to protect him," she insists.

Those things are undeniably true, says her pureblood self.

But you also want to consume him.

The dark seed of obsessive desire, planted in the blood-soaked, black soil of a pureblood's heart, sleeps in your breast too.

Yuuki squeezes her eyes shut. It's true. The moment his blood touched her lips, it birthed a craving that could never be satisfied except by that unique, exquisite taste. Only Kaname's blood can inspire the same endless, ravenous hunger. If she were ever denied the blood she craves, the blood of her beloved ones, Yuuki knows she would go mad with tortured thirst.

The night of their wedding, all of her darkest urges came roaring back from the deep, woken by her second taste of his coveted blood. She wanted to drain the Hunter until his body lay on the precipice of danger, an addict denied her sweet, warm drug for an eternity. Even now, sated from her last feeding, Yuuki aches for their blood, to sink her fangs through skin and drink down the nectar beneath.

Not just his blood, reminds her pureblood self.

You want all of him - blood, heart...and body.

You want to know what his warm, slick insides feel like, clenching around you. You want to keep him in your bed for days, and know what noises he makes when he cries out in ecstasy. You want to fill him with a new family, reparation for the ones you both lost. And then you want to do it all again.

Yuuki shudders, and shakes her head futilely. It feels wrong; Zero will never welcome such desires. Why can't she be satisfied with what she has? Kaname-sama is more than generous when they're together. Except...there is one thing he has never suggested, never hinted at the possibility. Yuuki wants to know what he feels when he penetrates her. She's never been invited to reciprocate that act. Yuuki would never, ever ask of her own accord; the very idea of making such a request of her cool, imposing brother is anathema. But a desire disregarded and suppressed does not go away.

Why do you reject these desires?

"They are inhuman. I shouldn't want those things!"

Does that make them wrong? You are what you are.

"The people I love value the human part of me the most. And how can I want those things, when Zero doesn't?"

Do you intend to carry them out without his consent?

"No! Never!"

Then what is the harm?

Yuuuki says nothing.

You fear the depth of your desires. You avoid him because you fear you will lose control and harm him. You wish to protect him. Can you protect him from yourself?

Yuuki thinks for a long time, examining her feelings from every angle, taking them apart, naming them, and then studying their structure.

"Yes," she answers her vampire.

"I love Zero. And love is the selfless desire for the good of another person. If I act on that love, rather than my selfishness, I will not willingly hurt him. There's a part of me that wants to cage Zero, bind him to us so he can't ever leave. I chose to set him free instead. I will struggle against my ugly selfishness so I can stay by his side. After we bond, if he decides he doesn't ever want me to touch him again, I will obey his desire. No matter what. Even if I have to sacrifice myself to all my ceaseless hungers, I will protect Zero."

The pureblood projects acceptance, and submerges itself back into her mind. Finally at peace with herself, Yuuki rests.

She waits until mid-morning, when Zero will be awake and hopefully have left his suite, too eager to wait any longer. Yuuki hasn't seen Zero up close in two weeks, and now that she has chosen to go to him, every fiber of her heart aches with yearning to end their separation, to see for herself he is well.

Yuuki doesn't want to enter his living space yet; let the consort's suite be a place of refuge for Zero if he needs it, where his spouses won't venture. She finds her quarry in the back of the library, of course, stretched out on a velvet divan, half-heartedly flipping through a heavy, leather bound history book.

Zero's Hunter senses are unequaled; the ex-human probably knew she was approaching him before she could even sense his quieter Hunter's aura. Yuuki made no effort to hide her presence, or her destination. If Zero wanted to avoid her, he could. She was not going to trick him or fool him into accepting her.

She knows immediately, just from looking at him, that Zero isn't well. She should have come to him earlier, so she could protect him like she promised. Yuuki won't make that mistake again.

Her alpha whines. Mate is hurt? It doesn't always understand complicated emotional situations like this, but it knows that Zero in pain is unacceptable.

Zero's face is drawn, posture exhausted, and there's a dull, pained look in his eyes she would give anything to ease. The black color of his clothing just enhances his wan paleness. Despite his state, Zero still presents a striking image in a long black undergarment paired with a matching breast-length jacket that has a folded fur collar and cuffs. To Yuuki's delight, she recognizes the same diamond Hoseki he wore for the greeting ceremony of their wedding.

Holding up a book, Yuuki asks, "Do you mind if I join you?" Her tone is inquisitive, the question genuine.

"It's a library, Kuran-hime. It doesn't belong to me," replies Zero carefully, sitting up now and watching her warily.

"It does belong to you. You are our Consort, Zero - this house is partly yours now. And you always get to decide if want company or not. I'd like to sit with you. May I?"

"If you want to read, it wouldn't bother me," he allows.

Ostensibly, Zero returns to his book, though Yuuki can tell he's not paying full attention. She sits in a nearby armchair, and opens her book to a random page, not even pretending to read, drinking in the sight of Zero instead.

Just as it had before, the raw hunger for Zero had leapt like a flame in oil the moment her vampire caught his scent. It rages under her skin as she sits there, urging her to get up and pin him down so she can consume him properly. With Kaname, when she feels such desires, Yuuki knows he could resist her if she lost control. But the only thing keeping Zero safe is Yuuki's self-control, the restraint of her will.

"Do you need something, Kuran-hime?" Zero meets her gaze, and the two study each other for several moments.

She takes a risk, and tells Zero the truth.

"If I wanted to hug you, would that be alright?"

Taken aback, Zero's stoicism cracks and he gapes at her a little. The pureblood waits patiently as he sputters, the alpha inside her gone still and intent while its mate decides if he will accept their touch.

Yuuki feels her heart crack when Zero puts his book down and stands up, nodding once while looking at his shoes rather than at her. She won't waste such a precious offer. She's found some vulnerability already in him, a secret grief he needs soothed away; Zero won't yield so easily when he isn't in such pain.

Yuuki is careful to move slowly and carefully, and not to tighten her grip so much he would feel trapped. The pureblood wants to squeeze him tightly and refuse to let go, push him down on the divan and block out the rest of the world with her body until the hurt in his face goes away. His sweet scent, rising from his skin close by where her head rests on his shoulder, tempts her.

The undertow of her darkest hungers tries to pull her under, but Yuuki stands firm. It isn't easy - she wants to eat him so badly the hunger is like torture - but her resolution is enough, and she marvels that she can hold him and know he is safe from her darkness. Maybe someday - if Zero wants - Yuuki will unchain those desires just a bit, and let herself slake her appetite. But for now, she listens to the beat of his heart under her ear, fur soft against her cheek, and savors this tiny victory.

He's too thin, Yuuki realizes There's less of him than there should be; she can feel Zero's ribs underneath her hands; Yuuki immediately plans to order a mid-morning tea and cajole Zero into eating when she orders 'too much.' But he's right there, inside her arms, and she hopes that whatever comfort she can offer is helping Zero's grief.

"I've missed you," Yuuki whispers. Zero doesn't answer, but his arms come up to barely touch her back.

If I spend ten thousand years working just for this, she thinks as her alpha purrs in her chest, I will do it without regret, then spend ten thousand years more working even harder to gain your love, Zero.

If Zero and Kaname's plot arc turns around their relationship with one another, then Yuuki's turns on the decisions she makes to grow into the relationships she already has.

I want to make clear that Yuuki and Kaname love one another romantically in this story. Their relationship is genuine and good, but it could be deeper and more fulfilling for both of them. The core problem with the Kurans' relationship is that each of their personality flaws dovetail in such a way that they deadlock and can't move past them to improve it. Kaname's flaw is his desire for control and his habit of keeping secrets. Yuuki's flaw is that she feels intense self-guilt for things (that are not always her fault) and a reluctance to challenge the way things are. Kaname won't reach out, and Yuuki won't push him. Kaname likes to talk about Zero's obligation to Yuuki, but Yuuki feels an even greater an obligation to Kaname. Luckily, dear Zero has no problem fighting Kaname and has always been Yuuki's best coach.

Next chapter: Yuuki takes a page out of Kaname's less-than-virtuous playbook, Zero learns more about what it means to be an omega, and after 80,000 words we finally get the three of them in the same room doing things together. Hallelujah.