Now

The vampire lunged toward him, claws extended with its leathery bat-like face locked into a snarl, and Kevin just barely managed to dodge its attack and swipe at it with his kukri knife. But his blade made contact, biting into its stomach, and the vampire let out an animalistic howl of rage as it fell back.

Panting, Kevin tried to focus on his offense as he sized up his last remaining opponent. While he'd managed to kill four of the five Red Court vampires Lara had sent him to dispose of, he'd taken a few hits himself, and now his back, arms, and torso were all bleeding freely from bites and scratches.

He was exhausted and wounded; almost a week had passed since he'd last fed, and it showed in battle. He was slower and clumsier than usual, and he couldn't concentrate as well. He would need to feed well and feed soon. But first, he needed to end this fight.

Red Court vampires could appear human if they choose, but when they lost control of their bloodlust or were driven into a rage, their true faces showed through: human-sized black insectoid bats with superior strength and speed, with fangs and claws that could shred steel to ribbons.

But they had two primary weaknesses. The first was the traditional exposure to sunlight, and the second was their stomach. While Red Court vampires were empowered by the blood they drank, as it provided nourishment and energy and helped replenish them after being wounded. But if one could rip open the vampire's stomach and spill the blood they had consumed, the sudden deprivation would kill the vampire.

Kevin had executed the other Red Court vampires he'd battled in the same way. This one would be no different.

He waited for the vampire to rush at him again, and when it charged toward him, he threw open a bandanna of sunlight, magically preserved and tucked away for when he needed it. The vampire let out a piercing shriek as the the light burned its skin, and when it desperately reached up to cover its eyes, Kevin made his move. Raising his blade, he plunged it deep into the vampire's abdomen just below the breastbone, and sliced down to the navel, creating a gaping vertical gash.

The vampire screamed and tried to come at him again, but fell to the ground, blood gushing from the wound to pool on the grass as its body went into its final death throes. Watching distastefully, Kevin kept his kukri at the ready in case the vampire managed one last attack before dying. To his relief, the vampire stayed down, its twitching form going still. Once certain it was dead, Kevin extracted a flask of pure sunlight potion from the pocket of Joaquin's Serpents jacket that he wore, approached, and dumped the last of the contents onto the vampire's motionless body. The effect was instantaneous: the flesh the potion touched crumbled to ash, then spread outward, turning the entire corpse to dust.

Once the vampire was dissolved, Kevin plunged his hand into the pile of ash and took the prize Lara had sought: an athame and its scabbard, the purpose and importance of which she had not explained to him. Regardless, Kevin still made certain to retrieve the item for her. While he wasn't necessarily afraid of Lara, her decision to present him with Madeline's head only proved what he'd suspected since the day they'd met: it would be dangerous to have Lara as an enemy.

As he stood, he noticed that his blood, several shades too pale to be human, was dripping steadily onto the grass around him. His stomach churned with anxiety; it was becoming clear that going as long as he had without feeding was a poor decision. Now, he was left with a choice. He could either be unfaithful to Joaquin and feed from the first person he encountered, or go to Joaquin and feed from him.

Pressing a hand to the most prominently bleeding wound on his chest as he hurried to his Audi, Kevin weighed his options. He would probably freak Joaquin out by going to him looking like he did, covered in blood and grime.

But with a sinking heart, Kevin forced himself to face a truth he'd been ignoring since they'd begun dating: if he wanted his relationship with Joaquin to last, he needed to tell him about what he was.

Taking a deep breath, Kevin settled his aching body into the driver's seat and sent a quick text to Joaquin before twisting the key in the ignition. He had to reveal himself to Joaquin at some point, he reasoned, trying to calm his racing pulse. It might as well be now, so that if Joaquin rejected him, at least they could break up before Kevin was too invested.

Yeah, right , Kevin scoffed at himself as he followed the dirt road out of the forest and turned in the direction of Southside. He already was invested. These days, Joaquin was the only friend he had. Could he really take the risk of potentially estranging him?

Though he tried debating the issue with himself further as he drove to Joaquin's place, Kevin was too damn tired and hurt to carefully consider what was best. Besides, he'd lost all of his other friends. What was one more? By the time he parked and exited his car in the parking lot of the store that held the upstairs apartment where Joaquin lived, he'd committed to his choice. So what if Joaquin thought of him as a lunatic or a monster?

And yet, his father's words echoed in his mind: if you value mortals and the friendships you have with them, you'll have an advantage the rest of the Raiths never will.

An odd sensation filled Kevin, and suddenly he was overcome by the sensation that he was about to either burst out laughing or crying. But he merely clenched his jaw and climbed the stairs as fast as he could before pounding on the door with a closed fist, his Hunger growing nearer and nearer to the surface.

Footsteps approached, and then Joaquin swung open the door. "What the hell is the—oh, fuckin' hell." His eyes widened when he saw the state his boyfriend was in, and he hurriedly grabbed Kevin and pulled him inside. "Who did this to you? Was it the Ghoulies? Because if it was, I swear I'll hunt down those assholes, and—"

"No," Kevin interrupted. His throat was dry, and speaking was difficult. Doing anything but convincing Joaquin to take him to bed was difficult, and he could sense his need strengthening by the second. He was very aware of the sheer want coursing through his being. He needed to feed. He needed Joaquin.

Frowning worriedly, Joaquin took his arm and attempted to steer him into a chair. "You should sit down. And we should think about getting you to a hospital. It's not just the blood, Kev. You look like something's really wrong."

"It's not that," Kevin said, trying to force his Hunger back under control, but his breath was beginning to become ragged. Feed. He had to feed. The desperation of it was making him dizzy, he knew he wouldn't be able to resist very much longer. The more he held out, the more he might hurt Joaquin when he finally let Joaquin take him.

"You're hurt," Joaquin said firmly. "I'm going to call your dad for you, and then we're going to go to the hospital—"

Unable to keep fighting, Kevin grabbed Joaquin and kissed him hard, giving a heavy push of glamour to help him out. As their lips made contact, the deep craving inside of him was momentarily sated, but then roared again, its demands louder and more urgent than ever before.

When the two of them broke apart, Joaquin looked dazed for a few seconds, but then the expression faded, and he just seemed concerned again.

"Not that I'm complaining, but is this really the time for that?" he asked quizzically.

"It has to be," Kevin told him roughly. His instincts were screaming at him to use all of his glamour on Joaquin, to ensure that Joaquin gave him everything he had until Kevin himself was fully healed. And he was tired of trying to put them to rest.

"I need you to trust me on this," Kevin said lowly, struggling to give no hint of the war waging inside of him. "I'm going to take a shower, okay? And in five minutes, I want you to come and join me."

"Uhhh." Joaquin stared at him, open-mouthed. "Kevin, listen to me. Right now, you need a doctor. Sex in the shower can wait."

"But it can't." Despite Kevin's best efforts, urgency crept into his voice as he was flooded by the need to consume . "Just trust me on this, okay? Wait for five minutes, and then come into the shower with me."

Joaquin shook his head. "I don't—" he began, but Kevin ignored him.

Instead, he walked to the bathroom and shut the door before turning on the hot water and shedding his clothing as fast as possible. The wounded parts of his body seared with pain as he did, but he refused to focus on that. In a few minutes, all of his injuries would be healed, anyway.

Stepping under the hot spray did little to quell the rising urges inside of him, but the warm water still felt soothing on Kevin's sore muscles. Without wasting any time, he grabbed the bottle of shampoo and lathered it into his hair and then rinsing it off, and then grasped the bar of soap and focused on washing away any blood or dirt, ignoring the sting of the suds going into his open cuts. Despite the all-encompassing need ensnaring every last inch of his body, it was comforting to be able to wash away the stresses of the day's events.

The door to the bathroom creaked open, and then the shower curtain pulled back as Joaquin joined him, completely nude. Had it been any other time, Kevin might have felt self-conscious or sentimental about being with his boyfriend for the first time, but now he was just overcome by the drive to feed, to restore himself.

It was selfish, he knew. But he was a Raith, and if he wanted to survive, this was the way it had to be.

Wordlessly, Joaquin reached out a hand and softly brushed his fingers near one of the many sets of bleeding scratch marks across Kevin's chest.

"What happened to you?" he whispered, looking at Kevin in worry and confusion.

"That's not important," Kevin told him. His vision was dimming at the edge, but whether it was from his Hunger or his injuries, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he wanted Joaquin, he needed him, could think of nothing else but Joaquin giving him everything he had and more.

"Of course it is—" Joaquin started, but Kevin again cut him off with a kiss.

"Kiss me," he breathed, fire igniting beneath his skin at the contact. "Oh, God, Joaquin, just kiss me. Own me, please, please."

Joaquin complied, drawing him into a passionate, intense embrace, and as his Hunger bellowed, demanding it be quenched, Kevin's eyes could no longer focus. But it was no cause for concern; all he could care about at the moment was pleasure, satisfaction. His breathing grew more rapid, and so did Joaquin's, and as he spiraled down into darkness, the only thing that was important was that he would finally feed.