The Blood You Drink

Chapter 5: Threat

Castiel lay in bed sound asleep. Once he returned home from Dean's apartment, he changed into sleepwear and crashed out the moment his head connected with his pillow. Normally, he slept quietly and lightly. That night, he snored loudly and nothing had a chance of waking him except his alarm clock. When his alarm sounded in the morning, he woke up with a startle. He reached over and switched off his alarm and wiped away the drool that was smeared across the left side of his face. He put his face in his pillow and groaned. Despite sleeping soundly, he was exhausted and would have given anything for a few more hours. Just when he was about to slip back into the dream world, his second alarm blared throughout the room, reminding him he had a scheduled meeting with Amelia. He dragged himself out of bed and walked into his bathroom to get ready.

Castiel stepped out of the shower and tied a towel around his waist. He winced, his neck felt sore. As he wiped away the steam from the mirror he noticed something off. He turned his head and saw that Dean had left a mark on his neck. There was scaring around two puncture wounds that had clogged up with blood and scab. The scaring was an angry red and there was no way he could hide it. Castiel sighed; at least he was going to wear his cassock.

He parked his car in Amelia's driveway. The car's obnoxious engine cut out in sputters when he turned it off. He was already missing that beautiful impala. Barely able to admit it, he was also missing Dean, despite the pain in his neck that seemed to be getting worse. He stepped out of the car and rang Amelia's doorbell. The door opened and Amelia smiled sweetly, "Hey, Castiel. Thank you for coming."

"It's my pleasure, Amelia," said Castiel as he walked inside her home. He sat down the couch across from her chair just like always. "How are you recently?"

Amelia slowly sat down in her chair and took a cup of tea into her hands, "I'm," she paused, "I'm recovering slowly. Without Matthew, things are more difficult. Between the mortgages, the other bills, work, and now I'm taking college courses, it all seems like so much."

"But you're pulling through," observed Castiel. "Keeping your faith is the key here." Amelia gave Castiel a small smile.

"I am, but Castiel, may I ask you something?" she questioned. Castiel nodded his head and raised the corners of his mouth, encouraging her. "Have you ever been in love?" The question nearly sent Castiel into shock. He shifted uncomfortably; he had been in love once before. Knowing the pain of losing the one you love, he could relate to Amelia. He simply nodded again, not meeting her gaze. Amelia saw the look on Castiel's face, and instantly she knew. "You lost the one you loved too…" Again, Castiel nodded. "Have you ever felt yourself…falling in love a second time?" In that moment, Castiel's heart dropped into his stomach. Falling in love a second time is what he feared the most, it's why he became a priest. But in the back of his mind, he knew was starting to fall again. Dean had warned him that everything would draw him in like a moth to a flame, but he didn't expect it to actually happen.

"Possibly," he replied. He brought the back of his hand to his mouth and tilted his head away from Amelia. He couldn't believe he had just admitted to it. To Amelia, it probably sounded like he had found a nice girl at the church. Amelia smiled at him as if that was her exact thought. Castiel felt embarrassed and nearly ashamed at how wrong she was.

Setting the cup of tea on the table, Amelia took a deep breath. "Can I have a name?" she asked. Castiel bit his bottom lip.

"Um, well, I think we're getting a bit off track. I mean," he tried to gather his thoughts, "it's good you've found someone to love again. Let's focus on that. May I ask who it is?" Amelia's cheeks lit up red. She shifted in her seat and stared at her hands.

"Well," she began, "I don't really know how to say it. I don't see it working out, no matter how much I would want it to. And I don't know how you would react. You might think of me as ridiculous and I—"

"Amelia," Castiel interrupted her, "anything you tell me stays between us. You've shared many secrets with me. If this is something you need to get off of your chest, you can." He smiled at her softly, "Just tell me who it is," he spoke gently, trying to make her feel secure.

Amelia lifted her eyes to meet Castiel's. A single tear rolled down her cheek, "You." Castiel's smile faded. No. His hands tightened into fists on his lap. What could he say? Amelia had already suffered so much, so he didn't want to cause her any pain. Amelia noticed his discomfort. "I told you, you would think of me as ridiculous," she stated, feeling humiliated.

"You're not ridiculous," said Castiel as he ran his fingers through his hair, feeling stress make his whole body feel weak. He hoped it was stress, and not blood loss. "It's very flattering, but I can't be involved with anyone."

"You said you were falling for someone!" retorted Amelia beginning to feel hurt. "Who could it possibly be? There are almost no single women in this small town. And if there are, they're all underage! Crushing on a minor or something?"

"Now you're being ridiculous!" shouted Castiel. He stood up and started to leave. Amelia rushed to her feet and grabbed his arm, making him turn around. She reached up and placed her hand right where Dean had bitten Castiel. Castiel cried out in pain and tore away from her touch. "Don't!" was all he could say.

Amelia reached out to him again. "What's wrong?" she asked, her anger replaced with concern. Castiel had his hand firmly on his neck despite the pain that was shooting through him, stinging him.

"Nothing, I slept wrong and I have a kink in my neck," he answered. He backed away from her touch and thanked God he was wearing his cassock. He knew Amelia well enough to know she was stubborn. If he had been wearing anything else, she would have made sure to get a look at his neck to see if he was hurt.

"I can help," she reached for Castiel just to face rejection again. "Why won't you let me help you? If it's just a kink I can—"

"Amelia," Castiel cut her short again, "no. It's complicated. Just, please, leave it alone." Amelia retracted her arm. Tears welled in her eyes and she nodded her head as she turned away.

"You should go," she whispered. Castiel felt terrible. His expression turned from panicked to sympathetic in an instant, but before things could get worse, he left without saying another word. Little did he know that a certain emerald-eyed vampire had seen and heard the whole incident.

The day seemed to drag on forever. By the time the moon was set high in the sky, Dean felt like an eternity had passed. He walked through the empty streets, his eyes forward, his mission clear. Amelia was in the way. End of story. Part of him wanted to turn around. Part of him didn't think of her as a threat at all, but the strong part of him, the instinctive part, told him that she was a threat to him and his mate, and she needed to go.

He approached her house, expecting her to be asleep, but through the window he could see her lying on the couch watching TV. He silently cursed; breaking in undetected wasn't going to be as easy as he had planned. He went around back and used his inhuman strength to the open the window. Crawling inside silently, he got to his feet and began to make his way towards Amelia. Amelia sat up and muted the TV. Dean stopped moving, she knew. She slowly lifted away her blanket and got to her feet. Dean turned the corner and slipped into a different room. Amelia instinctively pulled out her cell phone and dialed. Dean could hear her voice mumbling, but he was too weak to hear Amelia word for word. Even after feeding on Castiel, he wasn't at full strength. He suddenly felt worried. What if Amelia was calling the cops? He had to work fast.

Amelia walked past the room, and stopped dead in her tracks. She saw Dean in the moonlight that was shining through the window in the room. She screamed and started to run, but Dean was right in front of her in the blink of an eye. Dean felt his instincts taking over more than before. "So you've got a thing for the priest, hm?"

"What do you want?" asked Amelia as she backed away. Dean moved forward, staring her down like a predator. "Just leave me alone!"

Dean backhanded Amelia causing her to stumble. "I want you out of my way," he growled. Amelia grabbed the lamp that rested on the nearby end table and swung at Dean with it like a baseball bat. Dean caught the lamp in mid-swing and tossed it aside. Amelia screamed again and tried to run. She pulled out her cell phone just to have Dean snag it from her; he crushed it with his bare hand. "You won't be needing that."

"Please!" screamed Amelia as tears poured down her face. Her whole body trembled. She held out her arms submissively. "Please don't hurt me! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't hurt me!" Her arms shook and she nearly tripped over the rug. As she lost her balance, Dean caught her. He tightened his grip on her aggressively.

"That's the thing, sweetheart," he said. "You won't do what I want. And even if you did, Castiel's still got a soft spot for you."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Amelia choked no her words. Tears continued to flow. She had never been so scared. She couldn't even try to wiggle out of Dean's grasp. Dean had her caged in his arms like a Venus flytrap. "And what do you care?" she asked becoming hysterical. "I don't even know you!"

"What do I care?" repeated Dean. "Castiel belongs to me, bitch." He swept Amelia's hair away from her neck. "He always has been."

Amelia let out a sob. "What are you talking about?" she screamed. Dean wrapped his hand around her jaw and pushed back, giving himself more access to the veins that ran through her neck.

"I could tell you, it really doesn't matter. You wouldn't live long enough to tell anyone, but I'm wasting time, aren't I?" his voice dropped into a whisper. "This is what happens when you get in my way." Amelia screamed as she felt Dean's fangs sink into her flesh. Dean sucked her blood as quickly he as could. With all the screaming and the phone call, he knew there would be police coming at any moment. Suddenly the front door swung open, but it wasn't police, it was Castiel. Dean dropped Amelia in an instant. "Cas?" he whispered. He reached up and touched his lips, realizing he was covered in blood, Amelia's blood. He felt mortified; he must have looked like a monster.

"Dean?" shouted Castiel with confusion. He glanced down to see Amelia on the floor, her eyes pale and lifeless. "Amelia!" he dove down to his knees and lifted her head. "Dean why would you do this?" he asked looking up at Dean with terror in his eyes.

Everything seemed to snap into place. Dean blinked a few times, as if coming out of a trance. "Cas…I…I'm so sorry."

"Sorry!" screamed Castiel. "You're sorry?" he set Amelia down gently and stood up to properly meet Dean's gaze. "Why? Why her? She didn't do anything!"

Dean looked at Castiel like he was wounded. "I didn't mean to!" Castiel looked at Dean like he was crazy. "It was instinct, okay? I had no choice!"

"Choice?" questioned Castiel. "What are you talking about instinct? What does she have to do with anything?"

"She was in the way!" shouted Dean. He felt like the whole world was crashing down on him. If he lost Castiel, he would lose everything.

"In the way? What just because she had feelings for me?" screamed Castiel as tears formed in his eyes. He may not have had romantic feelings for Amelia, but she was a good friend, and now she was gone. "Is this what you do? You kill everyone that—" Castiel stopped. Without warning, the news about Hannah rushed through his mind. He remembered being told about the two puncture wounds on her neck. He saw the image of his own puncture wounds in the mirror from earlier in the day. "You…" he whispered. "You killed Hannah. Didn't you?" he swung at Dean. Dean's face barely turned to the side when Castiel's fist made the connection. Castiel held his fist in pain.

"I didn't have a choice," replied Dean. "She…she wanted to sleep with you and I couldn't let that happen." He felt like an idiot.

Castiel held his fist and looked at Dean with pure confusion. "What? How could you even know that?" his voice was starting to crack.

Dean felt tears of his own gathering in his eyes. Seeing Castiel, his mate, so hurt, scared, and angry with him, it was killing him. "Because I heard her say it. Vampires, we start dreaming about our mates long before you start dreaming about us. I was keeping an eye on you, making sure you were safe. You had just gone home, and I heard Hannah writing in her journal. She was going to talk to you about having sex, and I couldn't let it happen."

"Why not?" yelled Castiel. "I never would have, but even if I had, why would you care?" Tears began to drop down Castiel's cheeks as remembered the night he received the call about Hannah's death. He remembered the devastation losing the one person he loved more than anyone at the time.

"Because…I can't turn you if you're not pure," stated Dean. Castiel looked at him in shock. "In order to become a vampire, you have to be a virgin. I don't know why. No one really knows why, but that's how it is. If you had slept with her, I would have never been able to turn you. So when I found out, instinct took over. When we find our mate, we do what we have to. Vampires mate for life." Castiel continued to stare at Dean looking shell shocked and terrified. Dean looked back with desperation. "You mean more to me than life itself. Well, undead life. So I did what I had to," a few stray tears trailed down Dean's face. "I'm sorry."

Castiel felt like he was breaking. Why was this happening to him? The woman he had loved was dead, and his friend was dead, all because of him. And the worst part was, he wasn't even remotely angry with Dean. It was almost like he understood. How could he understand killing people? But for some reason he felt only despair for the ones lost, no anger or resentment. "We should go," he said. Dean looked up at him. "Before the cops show up, come on. I didn't see your car out front, we'll take mine." Dean followed Castiel outside and got in the passenger side of the car. Castiel's pathetic engine made its best attempt to roar to life, and Castiel drove to Dean's apartment.

Once inside the apartment, Castiel sat down on Dean's bed and stared at the floor. Dean sat down next to him and slowly placed his hand atop Castiel's. He was surprised when Castiel didn't pull away, and eased into his touch. "Thank you," were the only words he could find.

"Matthew," started Castiel, "did you kill him too?"

Dean wove his fingers through Castiel's and scooted closer, "In my defense, I needed to feed, and guy was a dick." Castiel stifled a chuckle. It wasn't funny, but it at the same time it was. "Cas, I never meant to hurt you. When it comes to you, I'll do anything."

"I can't believe I'm saying this…but I understand," said Castiel confused with his own words. "I'm guessing it's the whole 'mate' thing. It's like I'm connected to you. Like I can feel how desperate you were to make sure I could be with you."

Dean managed a small smile. "We are connected. We are in ways that even I can't explain. Just know that I'll do anything to protect you."

"Let me ask you something, Dean," Castiel looked up into Dean's eyes. "What happens the longer I go without being changed?"

Dean struggled to look Castiel in the eye and tell him the truth, "Anyone that gets close to you…I'll want to kill."

Castiel leaned towards Dean, leaving only centimeters between them, "Then change me," he whispered. He gingerly pressed his lips against Dean's. Dean was surprised that Castiel had been the one to initiate the kiss. He melted against Castiel, snaking his arms around the priest. He kept one hand on Castiel's back and brought the other up to the back of Castiel's head, tugging at his hair roughly. Castiel started to kiss Dean with more aggression. He sank his teeth into Dean's bottom lip and tugged back. Dean moaned and started to bite back, making sure his fangs wouldn't come out and hurt Castiel. He brought his hands to Castiel's chest and started to unbutton his shirt. Castiel parted Dean's lips with his tongue and ran his tongue over Dean's hungrily. He moaned and tugged at Dean's belt impatiently. He moved his lips and trailed kisses from Dean's jaw to his neck, sucking and nibbling as he pulled at Dean's jeans.

Without warning, Dean's phone sounded, and Dean groaned as he pulled away from Castiel and answered, "What?" he asked sharply, sounding like he was out of breath.

"Little brother," said Sam as a smirk formed on his lips. "I stopped by your work, and I said hi to your girlfriend." Dean's sat up straight, his eyes widening in fear.

"What did you do to her?" he asked trying to keep his voice steady. There was no response. He looked at his phone to see Sam had hung up. "Dammit!" he yelled as he stood up and grabbed his car keys.

"Dean, what's going on?" asked Castiel also getting to his feet. Dean grabbed his house keys and opened the front door. "I'll explain on the way."

The moment Castiel was in his seat, Dean locked the car and sped off into the night. Castiel found himself clutching the dashboard much like before. "Dean! What's happening?"

"It's my brother," said Dean tightening his grip on the steering wheel imagining it as his brother's throat. "He's the clan leader and he's expecting everyone to choose a mate to keep our numbers up, especially me. He thinks the girl at my work, Jo, is my mate. He said if I don't change her he will! He just called me saying he was over there. I can't let him do this!" Castiel became like a statue, frozen with fear. Dean had spoken of the clan like it was a cult he was trying to escape. And now the clan leader was Dean's own brother.

As the pet store came into sight, Dean slammed on the breaks and turned the wheel tightly, causing the car to skid across the parking lot until it abruptly stopped right in front of the doors. He and Castiel quickly got out of the car and Dean tried to use his keys to the store to find the door was already open. "Jo!" he screamed as he ran inside. "Jo, where are you?"

"She's not here, Dean," said Sam as he turned on the lights to the store. Dean was struck with horror when he saw how much of a mess the store was. Jo must have put up a fight. Items from shelves were strewn across the floor, animals were still squeaking in fear, and the table set up in the back with pamphlets on animal care was upside down. "She put up a fight, but she's not here." Castiel stood right behind Dean and to the side just enough to see Sam. He was shaking like the Chihuahua's in the back of the store. Sam caught Castiel's eye and made a "tsk, tsk" sound. "Dean, Dean, Dean, you should have known better than to bring him here with you."

Dean bared his fangs at his brother and stuck his arm out protectively in front of the priest. "Leave him out of it! He has nothing to do with it!" Sam threw his head back as he laughed.

"He has everything to do with it, Dean," he said in a condescending tone. "I mean he's the reason you started becoming more reserved a few years ago. You didn't want me to know, but I know everything."

"You don't know me or him!" shouted Dean.

Sam smirked and bared his own fangs in an eerily psychotic manner. "I know he's your mate." Dean swallowed and felt as if his body was collapsing. He took a step back, making sure Castiel backed away with him. "Let's see." Sam glanced at Castiel's neck. Since Dean had previously started to unbutton Castiel's shirt, Sam could barely see a nasty blotch of red. Sam used inhuman speed to rip away some of the fabric of Castiel's shirt, and get back to where he was standing all before Dean or Castiel could react. Now he could easily see the two puncture wounds on Castiel's neck. "And now I know you're already half way done changing him."

"Just leave it alone, Sam!" yelled Dean backing away more. "Bring Jo home, and Cas and I will leave. You won't have to see us again. Punish me first if you have to. Just don't hurt either of them. Please." Sam simply shook his head slowly. "Then I'll fight you if I have to."

"You know you can't win," said Sam. "You know that all too well. So here's what you're going to do. You're going to come home, hand over the priest, and change the girl."

"And if I don't?" asked Dean in the bravest tone he could muster up. Sam smiled in a way to make sure both Dean and Castiel could see his fangs.

"I'll kill the girl and the priest. And let you live to remember it was all your fault. You have until the last night. If you don't come home by then, you can kiss them both goodbye. See you soon, little bro," Sam left so quickly it was as if he had vanished.

Castiel almost lost his balance since his body was shaking so violently. "D-Dean," he stuttered as he started to fall. Dean turned around and caught the priest in his arms, steadying him.

"Whoa, whoa, easy," he said in a soothing tone. "I'm going to fix this I promise. I won't let my brother hurt you or anyone else." Castiel clung to Dean like a child. Death was never something he feared, but everything was coming down on him at once. People were dying, people were being kidnapped, and he was being threatened to be killed. "Come on we've got to go." Dean led Castiel out to the car and started to drive to Castiel's home.

"What are you doing?" asked Castiel trying to calm himself down. He was barely able to buckle the seat belt.

Dean suddenly felt guilt wash over him. This was his fault. Castiel being threatened, Jo being kidnapped, it was all because of him. "You need to pack your things." Castiel looked at Dean questioningly. "Cas you can't go back home. Ever. You have to stay with me if you want to stay alive. My brother will you hunt you down. We have to get Jo, and then I've got to get you both somewhere safe."

"So that's it," said Castiel. "I can never come back. I have to disappear." Dean pulled up into Castiel's driveway and turned off the car, leaving them in silence. He felt a single tear roll down his cheek.

"I'm so sorry, Cas. This is all my fault," he said quietly. Castiel reached over and gently turned Dean's head to look at him.

"This is your brother's fault, not yours. You're doing everything you can to protect me and Jo. You're sticking your neck out for us. It's a lot for me to take in, that I have to leave everyone I know and start over, but if I'm with you I know I can get through it. We're going to save that girl, and we're going to get you away from your brother for good." Dean unbuckled his seatbelt so he could lean over and peck Castiel on the lips as a thank you. The vampire and the priest went inside the house and started packing everything they would need.

As Castiel stuffed his belongings into a suitcase, he came across the box of Hannah's things. For the first time, he looked at the box and didn't feel sad. He felt grateful that Hannah was safe. He put the box in his closet where it belonged, knowing it was just another thing that would pull him away from where he truly belonged. He wasn't sure where that was, but he knew wherever it was, it was with Dean.

Hey guys! Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm having a lot of fun writing this so I hope you like it. Be sure to leave me a review telling me your thoughts, and check out my other work for more stories. Thanks again! Bye bye~