Chapter Ten:

The day dragged, and I didn't see any of the brothers since I'd called Subaru during lunch period. Although, I never understood why they had a lunch period for night school. It was more like a midnight snack period, but I guess they had to call it something…

I was relieved when the wait was finally over, but as soon as I stepped out of the school, and realized that I now had to get in the limo with all of the brothers, my heart skipped a beat or two. I was beyond nervous. First of all, Ayato would be in there, and he was probably still mad at me. On the other side of the coin, I wasn't sure if I should tell him about Subaru. Did he need to know? Would he want to know? Another problem was something that just came up: Subaru said that Ayato's scent was on me… And if he didn't know what happened last night, then who else was about to find out in the back of the limo? I could barely take the embarrassment and I hadn't even seen any of the Sakamakis yet.

I tightened my grip on my book bag's shoulder strap and walked straight at the long, black car, feigning a no-fear expression. I thought I was doing a good job until I grabbed the door handle and paused. I took a quick breath and opened it.

Before I averted my eyes to the ground, I noticed Laito, Reiji and Kanato. The others weren't here yet, and I was thankful for that. At least, I was thankful until I got in my usual seat and realized that now I would have to watch them come in here.

As if on cue, the door opened and I jumped. I heard Laito laugh a little at me, and I was relieved once again, to see a familiar puff of light orange hair. Shuu looked as bored as always, but strangely enough, he walked past his usual seat and took the empty spot to my left—usually reserved for Ayato. I frowned for only a second, but then decided that Ayato not being able to sit next to me might be a blessing.

"Bitch-chan. You seem nervous. What's wrong?"

Laito leaned forward, placing his hands on his knees for support and stretching his neck. I recoiled a little from him—I wasn't in the mood for his games. He tilted his head and smirked. "Everyone already knows..." he whispered, loud enough for everyone in the limo to hear him. I blushed and looked away. "Ooh, I'm so excited. Can I be next?"

"I think we already know who's going to be next,"" Reiji spat, looking out the window and fixing his glasses. Laito smirked devilishly at the older brother.

"Well, I guess that checks you off the list, bookworm… Again." He looked back over at me and winked. "Well? Who is it then?" I saw his eyes wander to Shuu sitting next to me, and I was about to shake my head when the door opened once again. Ayato strolled in and my eyes widened before my gaze hit the floor between my feet.

"Aww, she's shaking… Ayato, were you too rough with her last night? You know I'd be gentler, Bitch-chan… don't you?" Laito cooed, and I felt like crying. Why were they making fun of me like this? Did he not care about how I felt? If he cared so much about me, as all the brothers said they did, then why do this to me? I didn't understand…

"Shut up, pervert." Ayato smacked his blood-brother on the side of his head before taking the seat on the other side of me, which was usually just left open. He didn't even seem to notice that Shuu was sitting beside me. Or maybe he didn't care. But before I had another second to think, his head hit my lap and I jumped, my hands shooting up to my chest. But in that long moment, I was calm.

Unfortunately, I couldn't help myself. He was pissed at me all day and because of that I literally had one of the worst days of my life. And now… he thought he could just come to me and use me as a pillow? What was his problem? But I was never very good at being mad…

"At least apologize," I whispered under my breath. It was all I could muster, even if I was still mad at him.

Laito started laughing and even Kanato giggled a bit. Reiji just shook his head, still looking out the window, into the dark. If vampires could see in the dark, then that was an ability I hadn't gotten yet. I couldn't see anything out the window. I wish I could, just to have some kind of distraction.

Ayato never apologized, and if he was about to, he was cut off by Subaru entering the limo and slamming the door shut behind him. I was going to say hello, but he completely ignored me and sat in the seat opposite me, next to Reiji. It was the farthest he could have been from me, and I had the feeling he did it on purpose.

A part of me was grateful that he wasn't going to make it a big deal, or that he wasn't going to make a scene in front of the others. But on the other side of things, it hurt a little that he didn't even look at me. Maybe he just wanted to bond, and that was it. I wondered if any of them actually felt like they loved me. Everything with Ayato seemed so animal-like now. He made me feel like garbage all day, and he had to know about it. He could feel my emotions, so he must have known what a shitty day I had. And yet, he just dismissed that and felt that it was okay to come sit next to me and pretend nothing happened.

And maybe it was because I forgave him, but I stroked his hair all the way home.

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Ayato wouldn't leave my room. We still hadn't said anything about the school day, and I was getting tired by the minute. I wanted him to leave because… Subaru… Once I stepped into my bedroom I couldn't stop thinking about being bonded to him. It wasn't even that I was excited about the sex—even though I had to admit that I was. It was even more so the fact that I could be bonded to him, and him to me. It was exciting and I wanted it, so badly. I hardly even knew what it meant to be bonded, but with Subaru… I couldn't wait.

Unfortunately, though, I had to wait as long as Ayato was sticking around…

"I'm getting tired," I said softly. I was in bed already, and he was sitting on my vanity stool, avoiding eye contact with the mirror for the past half hour.

"I'll sleep beside you," he said, standing and heading over to the bed.

"I think I'd rather sleep alone tonight." And instead of it just being a simple statement, I heard it come out insulting, and Ayato narrowed his eyes at me. For a moment, I actually felt as if I'd done something wrong, but then I thought about everything that happened, and what was really going on, and I narrowed my eyes right back at him. "I know I don't really understand what it really means to be bonded, but what you did today was cruel and you know it."

"What I did? Me?" he spat. "You're kidding, right?"

"I'm not," I glowered. "And what's worse is that you seriously think you did nothing wrong."

"Well, clearly I did something, because you were pissing me off all day!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Was me being upset a burden for you?"

"It is, actually."

"Well, if you didn't want this, then you shouldn't have bonded!" I shouted, firing his own hurtful words back at him.

"I didn't think you were going to revert back to your disgusting humanity!"

"This is the way I am, Ayato!" I said, and a traitor tear came crashing down. "I'm sorry this isn't what you wanted! I'm sorry you made a mistake by bonding to me! I'm sorry I don't like it when you prey on the other girls at school! I'm sorry I'm not a better vampire! What else do you want me to say—"

"Enough."

I jumped when Subaru was at the door, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. He was glaring daggers at Ayato.

"What do you want?" Ayato snarled, but stood up straighter when Reiji, Shuu and Laito appeared behind Subaru. They all entered my room and I involuntarily brought the sheets up to my neck, covering myself, even though I was wearing a nightgown anyway.

"Fix this," Reiji said, and it seemed like they were all mad at Ayato. I was glad that they took my side, but a part of me wanted to defend him, too. "Now." Ayato snarled, but only for a moment.

"Even I can feel her desperation," Shuu said. "It's been annoying me all day." Subaru just nodded his agreement. "Whatever you did, undo it before I get mad."

"I'm already mad," Subaru said, baring his fangs. "If I kill you, then you can't hurt her anymore."

"Don't be mad because she chose me over you," Ayato smirked.

Subaru took a fleeting glance over at me before responding. "She asked for me tonight. So, whenever you're finished making a fool of yourself, leave us." Laito immediately got visibly happy and flashed over to my bedside.

"Are you sure you didn't ask for me, Bitch-chan? I'm make you feel really good." He winked and leaned closer, but I just blushed and shook my head. He smirked. "Just let me know when you're ready. I'm a very patient man."

"Why..." Ayato whispered. Everyone got quiet to hear him and I looked across the room. "Why would you tell me that you want to learn to control your emotions? Don't you realize that my ability to feel you is the base of our bond? If you got rid of that…" He paused, and then snarled again, at everyone, even me. "Whatever. Do what you want."

His face was full of rage as he flashed out of the room.

And in the next few moments, so was everyone else… except Subaru. And without warning, he was standing beside my bed. He got down and crawled up next to me, staying on top of the sheets while I stayed under them. Everything had happened so fast that my mind and body were confusing itself. Ayato's words made sense. I hadn't thought about it like that. I was just trying not to bother him, but at least now I understood his hurt a little better. Maybe I wasn't as much of a bother as I thought—it was just so strange for me to be doted on by someone like that, especially when there was nothing I could hide from him.

My mind was racing for thoughts, but Subaru was beside me, and my body was fighting to not think about anything but primal desires. I could feel the butterflies coming back, and he was staring at my face, looking it up and down as if he was taking a picture in his mind. And it was very difficult to concentrate.

"Yui..." he whispered, and I gulped. I didn't want to be nervous, but this was a lot different that what I felt so strongly back in the hallways at school. "You've had a long day. And you came to me when you were in pain, looking for ease. You aren't trapped here. You should never feel like you are. I'm glad you know you can come to me for comfort… But, I think you shouldn't make decisions on a whim or in anger. I'll sleep beside you, but I won't mate with you tonight."

And that was the biggest relief of all. It wasn't that I was looking for a way out—not at all. I just truly wasn't in the mood to sleep with him for the first time; not with thoughts of Ayato and my bond to him so strongly in my thoughts. But it felt like I was already bonded to Subaru—for all I knew, I was. And this only strengthened what I felt for him. This was the Subaru that I loved. This was the kind of thing I was sure he'd only do for me. And it was a good reason to sleep with him anyway… But he was right. It could wait. He would wait. And it wasn't unfair. He wasn't in a hurry. In fact, the way he closed his eyes, and stayed on top of the covers, so as not to touch me… it seemed like he was truly enjoying this. And so was I.

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The next morning, I woke up to stagnant air and cold air beside me. In a flash, Subaru must have woken me as he left the room. He was no longer beside me, and I remotely remember being excited to wake up to him… Maybe next time.

Instead, I slowly looked around, not quite ready yet to jump out of bed and start the night. I most likely had hours before school started, and I didn't know how I wanted to spend my time. On a positive note, though, waking up at night instead of at sunrise was becoming a nice change for me. I suspected it was the vampire side, but no matter the reason, the moonlight was gorgeous and felt wonderful when it bathed my room in a soft glow, like now.

"Oi, Pancake..."

I jumped and turned my head. "Ayato?"

"You… You didn't mate with him? Why?" He lifted his nose and sniffed around the air a bit before looking at me again. For some reason, just looking into his eyes made me upset, so I looked away. "Oi," he repeated, walking over. He stood beside the bed and looked down at me. "Look at me."

I shook my head, my eyes glued to the wall on the other side of the room. I knew if I stayed like this much longer I might start to cry, so I closed my eyes and just shook my head again.

"You don't want me here?" he asked, and he sounded pained.

I didn't respond. I listened to him breathe for a minute or two before he stopped. Without warning, I felt the one side of the bed crinkle as he leaned forward. I jumped and scooted away—involuntarily, for the most part. But he backed off in reply.

"This wouldn't be happening if you weren't human before..." he muttered.

"Out of all the things you could say, you pick that?"

"I shouldn't have to say anything," he spat, getting angrier now that I was verbally responding to him. So, I got quiet again. "Are you even listening to me?"

I nodded.

"You don't understand how these things work. I get that, but..." he trailed off. "But… It's not like it doesn't make sense, either. You told me you wanted to get rid of my connection to you. Or at least control it so I can only feel what you let me. That's cruel. What you said was cruel, too. I didn't even do anything."

I huffed and flipped onto my back to look at him.

"Ayato… You think that what you know as a vampire makes sense because you lived it. Can you really not apply the same concept to me because I was once human?"

"You don't even understand what you did," he glowered.

"I do, now that you actually took the time to explain it to me, instead of making me feel awful for an entire school day. Maybe you need to learn to communicate. I know you think that you're version of common sense is basic knowledge to everyone, but it's not to me. You have to explain things to me, or I won't understand. And that goes double for things about this bond, because I know next to nothing about it or what I'm supposed to do."

"Fine, I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"As much as I'm glad that's settled, on the other side of the coin, you have to be willing to listen when I try to explain things to you, too."

"Fine."

"Like, first of all, I said what I did because from my perspective, in a human world, where there's no such thing as bonding, there are very few people that can ever benefit from you telling them that you're upset, or stressed or disappointed, or anything like that. And frankly, most people don't want to know because they don't care. And it would be a burden to put all my emotions on someone that I cared about. And I didn't want you to feel my sadness or anxiety because that could be a lot of weight on someone's shoulders… human shoulders."

"That doesn't make sense." he crossed his arms and looked away for a moment, almost like he was defiant against what I was trying to say. I frowned and he looked at me again.

"Well… it makes sense to me. I said it because I didn't want to bring you down with my burdens, okay?"

"Fine."

I sighed. At least if he didn't understand the concept, he understood my intentions. That was a plus.

"Now," I continued, "Will you help me understand the bond better? So maybe we can avoid future arguments like this?"

"What don't you understand?"

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I just closed them for a second and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Ayato was the definition of unintentionally getting on my nerves.

"Why don't I tell you what I know, and then you can add to it?" He nodded. "Okay, so Reiji told me that bonding is for… well, mainly having children. And there are a lot of males to females, ratio-wise in your species—"

"—Our species."

"Sorry..."

"You can't even call yourself one of us," he spat

"Can you just drop that, please? Imagine you were turned into a dog and all of a sudden you had to refer to yourself as a dog for the rest of your possibly immortal life. You can't stand there and tell me that you wouldn't screw up a little in the beginning."

"Whatever. Back to your lack of knowledge—"

"Ayato!"

He paused and then smirked at me. I kept frowning, so he lifted an eyebrow at me.

"Well, you understand the most basic definition of the word, so that's better than nothing. On the other hand, I think it'd be hard for me to just explain everything right on the spot. Like sure, it's for mating to have children, but then you become leader of the coven and you join multiple families. It has to do with coexisting with each other, especially because our kind tend to not like each other very much. Females lead. You bond to bring vampires together. Many bond to start battles. Or finish them. You choose what to do with yourself. You want to bond with my brothers? Fine. You'll bring our family together. Our father will join. So will our mothers… the ones who are still alive, at least. They'll want to meet their grandchildren. When our father finds out, he'll probably try and get you to start producing offspring immediately. Of course, it's entirely your choice. I can tell you when you're rutting. I'll be able to smell it. So will the others. If you don't want offspring, then we won't mate with you during that time."

"Why do you think it's okay to flirt with that girl in the pool?" I spat out. I couldn't help it. It had been on my mind for a while. Ayato just smirked again.

"She's not a female, Pancake. She's prey. It's as simple as that."

"But you… you let her get so close to you…"

Ayato placed both hands on the bed and crawled forward, leaning his face down near mine. I froze.

"She means nothing to me. She's a body of warm blood." He smirked. "Getting close to you, on the other hand..." He leaned forward and I panicked.

"Does she smell good to you?" I asked quickly, and he recoiled a bit. "Does her blood turn you on? It's the same thing, Ayato! You think because you'd never bond to her, there's no problem? What if I don't want you to drink from her? What if I asked you not to take her blood because I don't like her? You said I have nothing to be jealous of, but what if I'm jealous of that?"

"You don't even like it when we bite you…" He looked at me strangely. "Or, do you? Do you want me to bite you, Pancake? And only you? That's how it should be, you know. I would only drink from another because you dislike when I take from you." He paused. "I guess, from a human perspective, it would be like me getting jealous of a dog."

"What?" I paused.

"Let's say you found a stray pup on the street and brought it home. Then let's say I became jealous of the amount of time you spent with it over me. Same concept?"

"I guess… It just feels different because… well, she's so pretty and I'm…"

"Mine."

I looked up at him. I wanted to kiss him for a split second, but he was too far away and I was too embarrassed to put forth the effort. He probably wouldn't want to anyway…

"I'm confused as to why you didn't mate with my brother last night," he said, breaking the moment of silence. "Wasn't he willing? And didn't you ask for him? That's a little cruel, Pancake, to turn him away after being like that."

"It was his idea, actually… He didn't want me to get hurt, so he said we'll do it another time." I couldn't help but smile as I looked at the sheets between my hands.

"Why? He wanted to hurt you how?"

"No, no. Not like that. He knew that you and I weren't on the best terms, and he didn't want me to make any rash decisions because you and I were fighting… I thought it was very kind of him to do that."

"Wouldn't he have made you feel better?"

"For a time, sure. But I needed to make things better with you before I did something with anyone else. Subaru understood that."

"What's the difference, if you're going to bond with him anyway?"

"It's just the timing, Ayato. You really don't understand?"

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Another stupid human notion?"

I sighed, and he glowered even more. "I suppose. I can't help but feel like I'm cheating on you by asking him to bond, and it would feel even worse if I did it when we're fighting."

"Cheating me?"

"No, cheating on you." I had to take a moment to laugh. "Humans can only be with one mate, in most instances. If they are intimate with another while openly with someone else, it's cheating."

"That sounds familiar."

"I think I've mentioned it before."

"We don't have that. As males, our bodies won't allow us to mate with another after we've bonded. And for females, I would be honored if you took more mates. Especially if they were my brothers."

"It's just… strange to hear you say that."

"We're already a coven. We're all related by blood. The only thing that could bring us closer is a proper mate. We would all want the same thing from you. And… as males, it would make us feel complete. We are purebloods, after all. And with the only Bride in existence, imagine what our offspring would be like… Reiji mentioned that there may be something better than a pureblood, and that might be it."

"Better? How?"

"Stronger. Faster. Maybe even truly immortal."

"Aren't you immortal?"

"But we can be killed. By fire. Decapitation. Removal of the heart."

I swallowed. This wasn't a conversation I had ever imagined I'd be having.

"Ayato…" I trailed off, but it was time this silly argument was over. "I'm sorry for saying what I did yesterday. I only meant that I didn't want you to be unhappy. I thought that if I could learn to control what I was feeling, then maybe you would be happy. That's all I want for you. I don't want you to be unhappy just because I feel an unpleasant emotion, because I do that a lot. Does that make sense?"

"What makes sense is that you're still concerned with human ideals. If you were to hide your emotions, I would be falsely happy. And the last thing I would want is to smile while you're hiding your pain. Making you comfortable is my right. If you take that away from me, I'm just like any other male to you. This way, I am your mate… And you are mine."

"But," I smiled sheepishly. "You would never even know that I was unhappy."

"That doesn't make a difference. Whether I know it or not, if the truth is that you are hurt, then you are hurt. It wouldn't matter what I know."

"But if you were hurt as well because of me, don't you see that would make me hurt even more? Maybe if you were happy and smiling, it would make me feel better."

Ayato smirked, and there was a kindness in his eyes that made me feel so weak. I suddenly wanted to kiss him again.

"Yui..." he whispered, leaning his head down and brushing his lips over my cheek. I shuddered and let my eyes drift closed. I listened to him breathe for a little while until he let his upper body down onto mine, his weight shifting so I could feel his chest rise and fall with his breathing. I knew he didn't need air to live, but he ran the side of his nose up and down my throat, tracing my veins and running over my collarbone, catching my scent.

I gasped when his cold tongue gently ran over my skin, and up to my jawbone. I arched my neck, half involuntarily, and half for him. I felt his fangs gently scratch my skin, and I immediately knew what was coming. I froze, and in turn, he paused.

"Yui," he whispered again. "If you want me to be happy when you're in pain, I can promise it will never happen." He ran his tongue over my throat once more and a rogue sound came out of my mouth in an exhale. "But… if you didn't want me to feel your agony, I would never be able to feel your bliss. And I would never be truly happy anyway."

He places his fangs on my skin and ran his tongue between the two sharp points. I felt him reach his hand up and run his fingers through my hair. He swiftly pushed the points into my skin and I flinched. He removed them just as quickly and began to suck. His eyes slowly lidded and then closed as he wrapped his arms around me, drawing me into him, my middle coming off the bed to meet him.

Just as my eyes were about to close, and I was prepared to let myself go, the door clicked and opened and I jumped, placing my hands against Ayato's chest and giving him a light shove. He backed up but lifted an eyebrow at me in confusion. I looked over and Subaru was closing the door behind him, quietly. It was one of the first times I've seen one of the brothers not use their super-speed when entering or leaving my room.

"What's wrong?" Ayato asked, tilting his head at me. I blinked a few times. Did he not realize that his brother was almost standing over us now?

"S… Subaru..." I breathed, lifting a hand to motion towards him. Ayato still looked confused.

"Don't you want him?"

I blinked at him a few times in awkward silence. This wasn't going to be something I could explain with human logic. At least that much I knew. This was something else completely. At first I hadn't realized it, but now I saw. Ayato's eyes were beginning to glow red. So were Subaru's…

"I… don't understand." I was the only thing I could say.

Ayato smirked. "You're confused, but not scared. Ask him to bond to you."

"W… What? Why now? I thought we were…?"

"You already have me. And my brother's been waiting. You asked for him, didn't you?"

"I…" I had no idea what to say. "I… don't understand."

"Will you ask him to bond to you?"

"Right… now?"

Ayato nodded, but instead of looking at him, my eyes wandered to the white-haired vampire approaching my bed. My face was flushed, having him come closer while Ayato and I were already so close, almost skin-to-skin.

"What will you…?" I asked Ayato, and he chuckled.

"Whatever you want me to do."

"Yui..." Subaru whispered, and I jumped, hearing him speak for the first time since his unexpected arrival. "Are you all right now?"

"W… What do you mean?"

"I can't feel any ill emotions from you anymore." He paused. "But outwardly, you are very… tense… Are you all right?"

"I'm tense because I'm confused," I said, trying to make my voice steady.

"Confused? About what?"

"She doesn't understand this yet," Ayato answered for me, without taking his eyes off mine. He wasn't smiling, or poking fun. He was calm and understanding for once.

"Should I… not have come?" Subaru asked, his eyebrows furrowing for a second. "Is your anxiety because of me?"

I couldn't answer him. On one hand, of course it was because of him. I thought Ayato and I were going to… and he just walked into my room without warning. But on the other hand… my body was telling me that the last thing I wanted was for him to leave now.

"Yui, ask him to bond," Ayato repeated, a little more forceful this time. I looked at him, a little hurt. I wondered if he'd been excited to be with me again… Did he think this was strange? But then again, he barely even noticed when Subaru entered my room. Unless he noticed, but noticed it like a draft coming in through the window…

"But… I'm with you now..." I whispered.

"Don't you want us both?"

Immediately, butterflies erupted in my stomach and my entire body went up a few degrees. Is that what this was about? Subaru could tell that we were about to be intimate and… thought it was a good time to just show up? But that was so… weird. Unexpected. That was what this was all about? Did Ayato expect it, too? Or did he just happen to think it was a good idea? It couldn't have been planned. I didn't even know Ayato and I were going to start something like this. We'd been fighting still…

"Well? Do you or don't you?" Ayato pressed.

"Can't you just read my mind and figure it out?" I gently snapped at him, and he laughed a little.

"I can tell what you're feeling, not thinking," he smirked. "Of course… I know you're eager to have me, and you're eager to have my brother, but you're also nervous. You're emotions are troubling to figure out. You have a strong sense of desire, but you also have a lot of bars on what you want in your mind. That's the human part of you."

"What do you mean?"

"As a vampire, your instincts are final. You want to mate? Then you mate. Your body tells you that you would enjoy having both of us, so you'd do it without hesitation. On the other hand, even as a vampire, if your mind tells you to be scared of this, then you'd send us away. It's because of your human side that you feel both. You have your emotions barred over your primal desires. You have your fear controlling what you want. You should learn to control it."

"But each of my desires and emotions are for a reason. It's not… It's not like my human side is… is faulty."

"But it is," Subaru said, standing right beside the bed now, looking down at us. His arms were crossed, as if he was getting impatient. I doubted that was it, but I was thinking the worst from his tone. "Like that. Yui, we can both feel your body. Even I don't have to be bonded to you to feel your want. We can almost see the heat coming off of you, there." He motioned downward with his eyes and I didn't need to see where he meant. "We can smell your desire. I can taste your needs on my tongue. They're even making my fangs sting."

"Ok, so I… I can't control how my body reacts," I stammered. "H… How is that faulty?"

Subaru slowly uncrossed his arms and leaned forward with them onto the bed, bringing his face close to mine… close to Ayato's. He gently ran his lips along the side of my jawbone, making me shiver.

"Your desires are part of you. They don't belong to either vampires or humans, but as any animal… Any creature feels these things. It's your emotional side that's faulty..." He licked up a trace of blood left behind on my neck from Ayato's bite marks, closing his eyes to savor it for a moment. "Ayato says he can feel your fear… Why? Anxiety, I can understand. You've never done this before with more than one. But fear? Tell me what you have to be afraid of… For one, Ayato is beside you, and he's bonded. You think he would let me near you for a second if he thought there was any chance I could bring harm to you? Even so, do you think I would hurt you? Do you think he would?"

I shook my head. I could feel bead of sweat forming on my face and I swallowed hard again.

"See? Your fear is faulty." His face got a little calmer. "Even when you were human, Yui… have I ever truly hurt you? Truly?" He paused when I didn't answer and his face seemed sad for a moment. "I know… for a time… there was a time when you were afraid of us…" He looked at me sadly, and then pushed himself off the bed. He took a few steps towards the door, and Ayato looked over at him then, just as confused as I was. "It was before Cordelia had taken control of your body… when your blood had been so irresistible that I drank from you… and I was prepared to destroy you to have it all. Do you remember that?" He turned to look at me over his shoulder. "But you… You couldn't even hold that knife to me. You dropped it at my feet… And I might have killed you."

"When was this?" Ayato growled, sitting up straight. I sat up as well. Ayato snarled at his white-haired half-brother.

"It's not like I was the only one. When the moon was full, before Cordelia's awakening. Her blood had been so potent that all of us were nearly driven to insanity… And even though I gave you my knife, you still refused to use it on any of us." He looked at the carpet, seeming lost in thought. When he looked back up, it wasn't at me. "Ayato… You were the only one who tried to protect her from us. And yet here I stand, wondering how is it that I could feel something like humans do…"

"What are you saying?" I asked gently.

"How is it that you hide it so well?" he whispered sadly, and Ayato smirked.

"And that's why I know you wouldn't harm her." He smirked. "We all have it… for whatever reason."

"What are you talking about?" I asked them, but they shared a smile for a moment before acknowledging me again.

Ayato smirked at me and pushed me back down, ignoring my yelp of disapproval. He kept smiling at me, and it made me blush. Subaru was beside the bed again in an instant, and he crawled onto it, beside the two of us. He reached for my arm and leaned down, running his tongue along my skin before gently biting down below my shoulder. I gasped and Ayato licked at the bites on my neck before moving to right below my collarbone to make two new marks there. He bit down gently again and I flinched back. It took a few moments, but the slight pain subsided and all I could feel was their soft lips on my skin, and the slight tugging as they drew my blood into their mouths and drank.

Subaru came up, his face inches from mine as he breathed warm air onto me. In an instant, he grabbed a handful of the front of my shirt and pulled my head up off the bed. Ayato grumbled, but didn't stop drinking.

Without warning, his mouth was on mine, making me gasp. He kissed me hard, with force I'd never imagined, despite the fact that I thought vampires didn't kiss. He ran his tongue over my bottom lip, slowly, but hard. He slipped it between my lips, finding mine and sucking it into his mouth. I gasped once more as he tried to get me to contribute, but I was still in shock.

"Subaru," I whispered, and although he was always so gentle with me, Subaru took the handful he had of my shirt, and tore it open with one violent pull. Buttons popped and fabric ripped until I was exposed. I wasn't even wearing a bra… But before I had the time to be embarrassed, his tongue was in my mouth again, and mine was in his. He sucked me as eagerly as he sucked my blood, swallowing mouthfuls of my saliva, one after the other, and enjoying it. My face flushed, but my eyes finally closed and my hands moved up to his beautiful hair. I felt a hard bite on my upper thigh, and it made my mouth open wide in another gasp. Subaru took full advantage, practically shoving his tongue down my throat. I couldn't help but gag.

"Subaru..." I panted, and he finally pulled back, more out of breath than I was.

"Yui..." he breathed, "Please… Let me take care of you."

I nodded only once, wondering for a moment why they always said that.

"Bond to me."