Disclaimer: Do not own Marvel, DC, The 100, Teen Wolf or Carmilla
A Her Guardians story.
Tribute to WolfHowlRunner61.
Warnings for bigotry, violence, intended genocide in the story, attempted murder and planned serial murder.
Spoiler warnings for season 2 of the web series, Carmilla.
A most tempting offer
It had become bedlam in only a few days, after Baron Vordenberg had taken control of the school.
There were species of all sorts running around, trying to escape or causing chaos to get the new leader of the school to get angry.
Werewolves, vampires-just to name a couple of creatures, ran around, feeding, killing, evading.
Clarke Griffin and her siblings; Wells Jaha, Lydia Martin, Jillian, Cooper and Lila Barton, not to mention their friends, Scott McCall, Laura Hollis, Allison Argent, Kira Yukimura, Isaac Lahey, Malia Tate, Perry and Lafontaine, all were holed up in their hideaway.
Carmilla, a vampire and someone who technically speaking, was dating Laura, but had for now, cut things off with her mate, and was running around the campus with her coven sister, Mattie-Matska, and they were feeding on the student body.
Derek Hale, a werewolf, was one of the on the side of the supernatural, defending the student body. Scott, Kira, Allison and Malia, wanted to be out there, helping too. But Derek had suggested that they do otherwise, in order to protect their friends.
Then there were all the other vampires that were tied to this group-through Clarke Griffin.
Clarke Griffin's mates.
All twenty-five of them.
Understandably, as soon as Clarke learned of Vordenberg's new ruling? She had felt her blood become cold.
Never mind the fact that that was just plain bigotry, it meant also, that all of her mates were in danger.
Right now, communication between the campus and the outside world had been cut off. So, Clarke, Wells, Lydia, Cooper, Jillian and Lila's family-the rest of the Bartons, couldn't respond or hear anything about the things going on, on the campus.
All of the Barton siblings at the school, weren't sure that they weren't grateful for that.
Their group had been staying at this place, hiding, for about a few weeks now. Clarke's mates would patrol the area and protect the rest of them.
It was late one night, as everyone was asleep, that Clarke couldn't get to sleep and worried about her mates going out at night, worried that Vordenberg's murderous army of new bigots might attack her mates.
Yes, she knew her mates in every single one of those scenarios, would be the ones that won the fight.
But still? It would put an even bigger target on her mates' backs.
And it was when she was pacing around in one of the large rooms with its fancy furnishings and polished oak interior, as she passed by a window, that she gasped, when she heard a scream outside.
Clarke turned to the window, panicked.
Was it one of her mates? Were they okay?
Clarke looked out the window and saw a large group near one of the dorms. And it looked like one of these figures was restraining someone else.
Clarke's teeth clenched. She didn't want to bring attention to herself or to anyone else here.
But if someone was in trouble? Didn't she have to help? She knew Wells, Lydia, Jillian, Cooper, Lila, Laura and Scott would all do the same in a heartbeat.
So, against her better judgment, she ran for the door, yanked it open, closed the door behind her and ran across the lawn, to where the commotion was.
In her dark blue pjs and black flip flops, no less.
As Clarke came barreling forward, ready for a fight, she stopped, her eyes growing huge as she took in the sight in front of her.
She had been expecting many things.
But not this.
She had thought it was Vordenberg and his assholes attacking people that he thought were vampires.
Or maybe Carmilla and Matska causing trouble for students.
Or maybe the discord between the different fraternities and sororities that had been going on throughout campus lately.
But she wasn't expecting this.
There were bright lights attached to the top of the dorm she was in front of, so it allowed her to see what was going on.
Her mates. All of them. They were here.
Several of them were looking disturbed and troubled by what was in front of them. Some of them looked amused, like they didn't mind what was happening. But at the center of all this attention? Was Hela.
Clarke still didn't know the exact ages of all her mates, but she was willing to bet actual money that Hela was the oldest of her mates.
And Hela was holding a young woman, clearly a student, by the woman's shoulders, and Hela's head was leaning down, her mouth, full of sharp fangs, inches from the unconscious brunette's throat.
"No!" Clarke cried out, almost whimpering the word out, horrified by what her mate was about to do.
All of Clarke's mates whirled around and faced her. Then again, they had to have known that Clarke was approaching. They had much more enhanced senses than humans did, after all.
So, Clarke wasn't surprised at her mates' lack of surprise at seeing her there.
"Hello, Clarke," Natasha said, smiling.
"What the hell are you guys doing?!" Clarke demanded in disbelief.
"What are we doing?" Anastasia echoed, looking over at Hela, grinning, "Why, Clarke, love, we're simply having our fun, feeding on who we want to."
"Why shouldn't we?" Yelena asked, glaring at the woman that Hela had in her grasp, "We're just attacking those that sided with Vordenberg's beliefs. Why should anyone care what happens to them?"
Clarke shook her head as she said, "That doesn't make it okay. You can't just go around attacking people who are civilians!"
"Civilians?" Hope snorted, "You mean the people that supported someone who's going to wipe out a large number on campus, just for being not human?"
Clarke fought a weak laugh. Almost a year ago? This would have been bizarre for her.
Here she was, caught in the middle of a vampire/werewolf/human war.
And it felt completely normal to her.
You know, maybe it felt normal to her, because she was meant to be with twenty-five vampires. For all she knew? Maybe it was in her blood and instinct to take all this supernatural stuff calmly.
But it didn't change that everything that had happened at this campus, was insane.
"You're right," she said, "There's no excuse for anyone to agree with what Vordenberg's doing. But you can't kill her."
"Why not?" Natasha asked, tilting her head as she looked at Clarke, "She would have all of us killed. Maybe you as well, for loving us. For being our mate. And what do you think they would want Vordenberg to do to Lydia, Derek, Scott, Kira, Isaac, Malia and Carmilla?"
Clarke flinched, hearing this.
Right. She hadn't forgotten that her friends, and her adoptive sister, Lydia, all technically counted as "supernatural," by this point.
Scott was now a full-blown werewolf. Carmilla and Derek had always been of the supernatural nature, ever since Clarke and the others had met them on campus. Kira also. She was what was called a "kitsune." Malia was a shifter of sorts. And Lydia? Well, after this whole thing had started, Lydia had gotten bitten by a werewolf, but instead of turning, the werewolf bite had enacted something in her genes. Apparently, Lydia had banshee blood in her veins, which the werewolf bite had triggered.
A good number of the people Clarke knew here, were supernatural.
And Vordenberg wanted to hunt them down and wipe them out.
And whoever supported him? Of course, agreed with his policies.
Clarke swallowed hard. She had known, since the moment Vordenberg proudly had declared his intention to hunt down anyone who was or was suspected of being of the supernatural nature; vampires, werewolves and others, that clearly, Vordenberg's supposedly helpless old man appearance, was all bullshit.
Vordenberg was dangerous. That went without saying. And so were his supporters.
Still, she couldn't stand by and do nothing while this girl's throat was being torn out!
Wouldn't that just prove Vordenberg's point?
Clarke observed her other mates.
The ones that she would have thought would be against this type of action.
Helena, Dinah, Diana, Mari, Wanda, Gamora, Tora, Sigrid…
But all Clarke could see was resignation. They agreed with this action, even if they didn't like it.
Seeing Clarke looking at them hopefully, Diana sighed, "Clarke, this is to protect all of us. Do you think we'd be doing this, if we didn't think you and the rest of the Barton family would also be in danger? Think, what do you think will happen to the Bartons, when it's been discovered that they've been keeping secrets about vampires and werewolves for literally years?
Clarke froze. She hadn't thought of that.
But yes, they had a point.
If Vordenberg found out her family had been keeping her mates a secret from the world, for decades now?
What would happen?
Again, Clarke had that unsettling wakeup call. Vordenberg was NOT harmless.
Clarke shuddered at the thought of anyone coming after her family.
Clarke's family's faces flashed across her mind, and the worst of all, was her baby brother, Nathaniel's innocently grinning face.
However, should Vordenberg send someone after her family in the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri, they wouldn't be defenseless. Clint and Laura and their kids there, had all sorts of weapons.
Not to mention, Clarke and the others here, had made their own allies. Packs of werewolves and other covens were loyal to them after all she, her mates, Lydia, Scott and the others had been through. Should anything happen, they could send some of their allies to protect the rest of the Barton family living in the national forest.
Still, Clarke hoped it wouldn't come to that.
And still…
Clarke thought about how the rest of her family would react, if they found out that Clarke had left this young girl to die.
How would Wells or Lydia react? How would Jillian, Cooper and Lila react? How would her friends react?
How would Clarke's other siblings; Zachary and Jessie react?
How would Clint and Laura Barton, her mom and dad, who despite having taken her in on the orders of her mates, had loved her and taken care of her, and considered her their own daughter, for years, react?
And how would…how would her baby brother, Natey, react if he found out she let someone die?
"No," Clarke snapped, "You do this, and I'm going to make sure you remember it."
She knew she couldn't stop them. They were much, much stronger than her mere human muscle.
But she could potentially guilt them, right?
Shayera said calmly, "Clarke, this isn't just because we are worried about Vordenberg. Look at Hela. Really look at her."
Clarke frowned and did as Shayera told her to do.
She looked closely at Hela.
And as soon as she did, her eyes widened again. Oh, shit.
It appeared that it wasn't just a calculated decision on her mates' part, to attack Vordenberg's supporters.
It looked like Hela had lost control. Hela's eyes were darker than before and Clarke recognized that animal look that her mates tended to get, when they lost control of themselves.
Hela was hungry, losing control of her instincts.
"Shit," Clarke mumbled.
"Yes, you see the issue here," Melina said, nodding.
"Wait!" Clarke cried, as Hela began to lean her head down to the young girl's neck again, "What if you drank from me instead?"
This made every last one of Clarke's mates go absolutely quiet.
Hela, who still was out of her mind with her instincts, slowly turned her face to look at Clarke.
Clarke swallowed and said, "You can drink my blood, Hela. And when you have enough strength, you can use the blood you have in you, to go hunt animals in the forest. Deer, bears-anything that isn't human."
"Clarke," Dinah began, her voice making it clear that she didn't like this idea, at all.
"I know none of you like this," Clarke said urgently, "But hear me out. If you feed on Vordenberg's supporters, it will just feed his supporters the lies that he's already been giving them. But if you need blood right now? I can give you some of mine. Then you can have enough strength to go after animals. Just don't attack any other human tonight. Please."
The silence that befell the whole group, was enormous.
Clarke knew that they must have been wondering if she had lost it.
Throughout Clarke's entire time knowing her mates? She had never been fed on by any of them. Not so much as one time.
Her offering her blood now? She didn't have to be a mind reader to know that this was a lot for them to hear.
Clarke could see the conflict on their faces, and the worry, but soon, that changed.
Soon the fear, worry and conflict, changed into something else. Hunger. Desire.
Clarke tried to ignore the shiver that ran down her back. She knew that she wasn't in any real danger.
Her mates would never risk killing her. And she knew they wanted to wait longer, till they turned her, they had agreed to give her time. Honestly, Clarke was hoping that they wouldn't turn her at all, she was positive that she didn't want to be a vampire. She didn't want to risk hurting anyone. But they had agreed to wait.
So, Clarke knew that she was in no real danger right now.
Still, she had never been bitten by a vampire before in her entire life.
Her mates had explained that sometimes a vampire would feed on their mate, and it was meant as an act of love, but Clarke was unsettled at the prospect.
And it was a feeling that grew, as Hela tossed the young girl in her hands to the ground, clearly deciding that she no longer needed the college student's blood.
Clarke felt her heart jump as Hela slowly approached her. She knew that her mates had all heard her heart jump just now. She didn't need to look at any of the others, to know.
They heard her heart jump, which was probably why Diana said softly, "We can stop her, if you want, Clarke."
Clarke shook her head. She knew they could stop Hela. Hela might have been older than all of them, and one of the most powerful breeds of vampires in the world, a Draugr, but the other vampires here, could overpower her, if they all worked together.
"It's alright," Clarke assured Diana, "I know none of you would put me in actual danger."
Still, even knowing that and even saying what she said, the hunger in Hela's eyes and face, as the tall, dark-haired vampire came closer, made Clarke shiver, a great deal of it from fear and only some of it from excitement.
Clarke took a deep breath, when Hela was only inches away, reminding herself that this was one of her mates. This was Hela. Hela would not hurt her. Not really.
She was safe.
Hela and none of the others, would ever take more blood than she could give without putting her in danger.
So, she felt herself calm, somewhat, as Hela put her arms around Clarke's waist, and pulled Clarke closer.
Hela nuzzled Clarke's throat, making the blonde shiver. Hela inhaled and growled coolly, "You have no idea how happy I am that you offered me this, my little one." And her fangs pushed slowly into the right side of Clarke's throat.
Clarke whimpered, eyes clenching, as she felt the intrusion. She finally realized why there were so many sexual types of movies and TV shows, made about vampires. Because "penetration," fangs, penetrating someone's flesh, get it? Ha-ha.
Clarke yelped then, when she felt herself being lifted off of the ground and pulled into Hela's arms, feeling Hela's teeth still in her neck, and gasped, as she felt a tug, feeling her blood being pulled out of her slowly, almost sensuously.
Hela held her carefully, clearly trying to sooth Clarke as she drank from the human woman. Clarke closed her eyes and relaxed, knowing that Hela wouldn't really hurt her, and didn't struggle as the vampire fed from her.
Around them, the other vampires watched hungrily.
It wasn't just that they also wanted to taste her blood, wanted to turn her, even if she didn't want to be turned, it was that they could smell her blood, and they were moved by Clarke's willingness to let them have her.
Not that it would make a difference.
Those that were not feeding on Clarke, all shared a similar look.
This would not help save Vordenberg's followers. After Clarke passed out, they would take her back to the house and put her to bed with the others.
Then they would go after more of Vordenberg's people, killing all of them. Natasha, Carol, Maria and Wanda, glanced down at where the young college student that Clarke had saved, lay, unconscious.
They'd let this young girl live. For Clarke. After all, Clarke was giving up so much for her, why not let the girl live a bit longer, for Clarke's sake?
But the rest of Vordenberg's followers? They were dead.
Across campus, Carmilla and Matska, were draining most of Vordenberg's troops. No loss there.
The rest of Clarke's mates watched as Hela drank from Clarke, causing Clarke to squirm wince, but also moan.
They'd let Clarke think that she had made a huge difference. And she would go to sleep happy. That was all that mattered.
But later on tonight? They were going to wipe out most of Vordenberg's people. After all, they'd do anything for Clarke. And this was for Clarke's protection, not to mention for the protection of Clarke's friends and family.
The rest of Clarke's mates snickered at Hela and Clarke's synchronized moans. But that didn't mean that they weren't very happy that Clarke had given them this tempting offer.