Chapter 13

~o~

Step 1: Fill up on tons of blood

Step 2: Breathe

Step 3: Stay calm. Focused

Step 4: Don't rip Arthur's throat out

Alfred repeated the steps in his mind like a mantra as he paced up and down his windowless cell like a caged animal. Arthur was coming down to visit. Whether he could get free or not depended entirely on this moment. And he had to get out.

Arthur had been the only one who had bothered to explain what the hell was going on, during their daily calls whilst Alfred was stuck in the dungeon. Including the reason behind the loss of his bracelet, which had been painful to hear. (What it meant for them after Alfred got out was left unspoken.) Problem was, the more the Brit told him, the less sleep Alfred got. The idea of his precious, fragile human boyfriend going after some psychotic evil supernatural overlord as though he were a professional monster-hunter absolutely terrified him. Especially when the Watchers, the ones watching his lover's back, were a bunch of incompetent morons, the way Arthur told it.

Alfred was also highly motivated to make sure that Arthur didn't see him as a monster. (Even though intellectually he knew Arthur already had seen him at his worst. He didn't remember any of it, so he could sort of ignore that.) The vampire had even asked Ivan for water to wash up and fresh clothes. He absolutely didn't want to give Arthur a bad impression. He was as jittery as a kid going out on his first date. That almost cracked a smile. This would be sort of like a first date, wouldn't it? The first time that Arthur saw him completely as himself. Which just made it all the more vital that he not fuck this up.

Alfred jerked when the door knocked and he heard Ivan on the other side. "Arzur is coming now. Be ready."

"Thanks," Alfred called back. He set himself just on the other side of the door, pressing his cheek to it so that he could hear his lover's footsteps coming. He closed his eyes, willing himself to breathe deeply. Eventually, he heard the soft tap-tap of steps echoing down the stone stairwell and his nerves fluttered with excitement.

Just as suddenly, the Want reared up in excitement as well. He could sense the fresh human blood, that beating heart thumping like a nervous rabbit. This was prey, coming closer, walkingwithinreach.

No! Alfred snapped at himself, shaking his head free of the dangerous thoughts. This was Arthur. He wasn't going to feed on the love of his life. He had to get a hold of himself. He breathed more deeply, forcing down his jittery nerves. The footsteps were getting closer and closer, finally stopping just on the other side of the door.

"Alfred?" he heard Arthur call out and the name swept over Alfred like a balm over a his fried nerves.

"Yeah," Alfred replied, breaking into a shaky laugh out of pure relief. The compulsion was there, but it was quiet in comparison to the overwhelming affection he felt towards his lover. "I'm here, Arthur." His senses were still so primed, he could feel the heat of Arthur's hand touch the door.

"Is it safe to come in?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah, it is. Go ahead." Though he felt in control, Alfred took a few precautionary steps back. Besides, he wanted to see Arthur fully as he came in. Backing up into the wall, he clasped his hands behind him and hooked his fingers into the stone.

The metal door swung open. Ivan entered first, which made Alfred slump in disappointment for a fraction of a second. Then Arthur fully entered.

The sight of him made Alfred's breath catch in his throat. Honestly, he looked much the same with his soft choppy blond hair, his slender build and his brilliant green eyes. However, something was different about him. He had a changed air and carried himself differently. Quietly confident and authoritative. More mature and more haunted. Like he had seen and learned things that no normal human would (or should) ever dream of.

Then Arthur smiled and all of Alfred's sad and wistful musings vanished. "Alfred, I missed you," the author declared, hurrying up to the vampire to wrap his arms tightly around Alfred's person.

Alfred eagerly returned the embrace, squeezing Arthur tight against him. He was well aware that Ivan was watching for any dangerous movements, but he didn't care. Things were finally right in the world again. "I missed you too, Art," he said, his voice choking faintly. He peppered his lover's face with kisses, reveling in the ability to just hold and touch him.

Arthur squirmed in his arms, twisting around to their audience. "Ivan, do you mind?" he snapped over at the slav who was unabashedly staring at them. The doctor shrugged and stepped just outside the door. But didn't close it. Glaring at the huge man, Arthur gently tugged for Alfred to release him which the vampire did with the greatest reluctance. "How are you feeling about other humans, love?" Arthur asked him.

For a split-second Alfred forgot that Arthur already knew about the Want and was making a vaguely jealous inquiry the way he sometimes did. Then he remembered and thought how odd it was that Arthur could ask about his murderous urges so casually. Alfred worried his lower lip. "Um... it's not really under control yet. I'm super close though, I can feel it," he promised earnestly.

"Hm, well, I found something that might help," Arthur said, bringing out the large book that he had brought into the room with him. "I don't care much for you being trapped down here in case Vlad should ever find this base. So I looked for some sort of spell that might serve as a deterrent or inhibitor for your urge to go after other human beings. I went through several possibilities, but many of them I deemed unsuitable for a variety of reasons, and why are you grinning at me like that?" the author suddenly asked when he noticed Alfred's giddy smile.

"Nothing," Alfred replied with a laugh, his blue eyes sparkling merrily. "Just that you're talking about spells and vampire urges like it's some sort of everyday thing. It's... I never expected it, is all. I kind of like it."

The Brit's cheeks heated. He was adorable when Alfred caught him off guard. "Y-yes, well, you may not like this." He pointed to one of the long-winded and indecipherable spells in the spellbook. "This is the best contender for getting you out early. The Collar spell. It would allow me to be able to control you. However, considering past experience, I absolutely do not want to do this without your permission. It would-"

"Okay," Alfred said quickly.

Arthur blinked. "What? Really? Just like that."

"Well... it's only fair, isn't it?" the vampire replied. He was immediately rewarded with an alarmed look.

"...What?"

"Well, because I can control you just by looking into your eyes," Alfred said simply. The author gaped at him. But Alfred had promised that he was going to be completely, even brutally, honest with him from now on.

"W-when- How-" Arthur spluttered, before he managed, "Did you do that to me before?!"

"Only twice," the vampire answered, holding up two fingers. "One by complete accident, then I basically told you to tell me all about your first visit to Vlad. Second, when I told you not to call the police when you thought you killed Ivan. Which that was a good thing, wasn't it?" he added, his smile growing nervous when he saw Arthur's gaze intensening. "Cuz, he wasn't even dead. So really, calling the police would have been a really, really bad idea, right? Oh, and I guess that I did it all those times when I was going out hunting at night, but I don't even remember doing that at all, so that doesn't really count, right?"

Arthur's eyes were like liquid fire. Without a word, he slammed the book down onto the computer desk and opened it up fully to the Collar spell page. "So, are we doing this?" he demanded, shoving a finger at the book.

Now Alfred wasn't really so sure about this. "Um... I guess so?" he said, glancing nervously off in Ivan's direction. Ivan wouldn't let Arthur do anything too evil right? The guy was sort of his guardian and everything. However, Ivan only gave him a creepy smile.

Arthur immediately started into his spell before Alfred could change his mind. "Τώρα εγώ γιακάς σας," he intoned forcefully, holding a hand out to the vampire,"Είστε ορυχείο για να κάμψει το θέλημά μου. Τις επιθυμίες σας είναι τις επιθυμίες μου. Σας ανάγκες είναι οι ανάγκες μου. Σας θα είναι δικό μου..."

Jeezus, this is a super long spell, the vampire thought as Arthur continued on for several minutes, shifting his weight absently from foot to foot. It was a lucky thing that he'd agreed to this, else Arthur would've probably been clobbered over the head by now. No sooner than he thought that, Alfred felt his throat constrict as tightly as a vice. His fingers flew to his neck, but felt nothing there. Then the feeling slowly dissipated. He swallowed thickly, feeling like he had a fishbone caught in his throat. "Um... so, was that it? Now what?" he asked, looking over to his lover.

"Now we test this," Arthur replied shortly. "Ivan, close the door and bring Raivis." The slav shrugged his shoulders, locking the author in with the vampire.

"Are you sure about this?" Alfred asked, though he may as well have been talking to a wall. His eyes went to the door, waiting for some sign of another meatbag coming by. But seriously, he didn't even know what Raivis looked like. It was totally fair to call him a meatbag. Like before, he could hear the footsteps come by, feel his Want rising up in his dry veins. His teeth ached, clawing for room within his jaws. He stepped forward, his claws reaching out to the door.

"Stop," a voice hissed behind him, freezing Alfred within his tracks. He whipped around, letting out a cry at the one who would bind him so. "You will not harm Raivis or another human soul for the sake of sating your bloodlust."

The constriction around his throat grew, squeezing so tightly that the vampire thought it might sever his head from his body. It twined around his mind, his instincts, his soul, until he felt everything sever sharp and painfully. With a gasp, he stepped back and his head spun as he was wrenched away from his bodily needs.

A hand touched his arm and he looked down to find green eyes facing his own. "Alfred," Arthur spoke softly, "How are you? Can you control yourself?"

After a long moment, the vampire replied slowly, "Yes." The teeth retracted, allowing him to better speak. "I'm... I'm okay. I think. Yeah. I think I am..." Alfred slumped back against the wall, trying to recover. Arthur went with him, squeezing his shoulder tight in comfort. The metal door slowly opened and Alfred saw Raivis for the first time.

No. Second. He was one of the peeping toms in the Hummer... Every fibre of his body bristled, still caught halfway in between beast and humanoid. Arthur crouched down next to him, his hands gently stroking his cheek, his neck. It helped, but only a little. "Can he come back upstairs?" he heard Arthur ask, feeling too dazed himself to do more than listen.

"If you can keep on leash," Ivan said after an uncertain pause.

Arthur nodded and brought his arms around Alfred, helping him away from the computer. "Alright, love. Let's go upstairs. You'll stay in my room."

"Not home...?" the vampire asked weakly, only dimly aware that he was being helped along the dark halls and up the stairs.

"Vlad's probably watching our house. We cannot go back until this ends," Arthur explained, brushing his fingers over Alfred's brow, bringing his sweaty bangs out of his face. "Cor, you look terrible. Maybe this was a bad idea."

"No," Alfred replied thickly, shaking his head even though it made him dizzy. "Leave it. I need to stay with you, Arthur. I have to help you."

Beside him, the Brit snorted softly. "If you think I'm going to let you anywhere near Vlad, you're mad. It's your heart he wants on a silver platter." Nonetheless he pressed a comforting kiss to Alfred's cheek. "But you can help here. If for nothing else than to keep me sane."

~o~

Wait... how long have I been gone? Alfred couldn't help but wonder when he attended his first Watchers meeting. The tiny group wasn't really as incompetent as Arthur made them out to be. Captain Ludwig kept them all in line, while Ivan lingered creepily like Pyle from Full Metal Jacket. Eduard, Toris and Raivis were all good little soldiers, though sometimes they seemed a little out of their depth.

Arthur though. Arthur was a General. Alfred couldn't help but gape at him whenever he took command of the room, the conviction and purpose in his demeanor making everyone (even Ivan) stand a little straighter to attention. He strategized, planned and coordinated all of them, falling back on talents that Alfred didn't even know he possessed. He seemed like a completely different person than the irresponsible and free-spirited artist Alfred first met. He'd heard once that adversity didn't build character, it revealed it. And in Arthur...

"Alfred," he heard his name and he blinked when he was called back into the conversation. He looked up and saw his lover looking in his direction. "Did you get that?"

"Ah... you want to set a trap?" Alfred hazarded a guess. Honestly, he had no idea. How was he supposed to pay attention when his boyfriend was being so... However, the Brit leveled him a flat look. Okay, yeah. He probably got that wrong. "Um... sorry?" he said with a helpless shrug.

"I need to make a blood golem," Arthur said with a huff, turning back into his impatient boyfriend for a moment. "So I need some of your blood. Then we'll use it to poison Vlad and kill him."

"So it is a trap!" Alfred declared triumphantly. His team members groaned, but he carried on as though he hadn't heard. "Okay, yeah, no problem. You can take what you need." Arthur nodded and turned to the rest of the group to reiterate their own orders and then dismissed them. The vampire immediately followed on his lover's heels as they left the conference room. His eyes stayed on the author's back, admiring how it seemed so much straighter and sturdier now.

"You seemed particularly distracted during the meeting," Arthur commented on the way back to their room. He glanced over his shoulder at the vampire out of the corner of his eye.

"You could say that," Alfred replied lightly, giving his lover a toothy grin. He could tell it creeped out Arthur a little bit to see his teeth so sharp. It wasn't exactly his fault though. Too may not-Arthur humans around and his body still craved blood desperately though the Collar kept him from acting on it. His hand rose, touching the small of his lover's back. "Are all the meetings like that?"

"...Yes?" Arthur replied, suddenly wary. So he wasn't completely caught by surprise when Alfred grabbed him by the waist and tossed him onto the bed as soon as they were back in their room. "Alfred! What are you-" he started when Alfred smashed his lips up against his own. He melted like putty against him, his hands coasting over the corded muscle that still covered his body for the time being. "Alfred," he whined against the vampire's mouth, "you cannot keep distracting me like this. I have to make a blood golem. It takes hours."

"You want my blood, you gotta earn it," the vampire breathed huskily. "Besides, how am I supposed to help myself when you're being so ungodly sexy?" The words worked like magic over his lover, who moaned and arched up into him.

It took several hours more than it should have to create the golem.

~o~

Apparently, Alfred's first meeting was also his last, as the Watchers were ready to deploy almost immediately after the blood golem was created. With things moving much more quickly than he expected, he was in a dizzying state of disorientation as he watched the moving parts of the Watchers' plan all coming together. Before he knew it, they were loading the faceless blood golem into the back of a nondescript white van, all of them armed to the teeth with spells and guns, strapping themselves into enchanted modified police vests.

"I don't like this," the vampire told Arthur as the author prepared as though he were going to go to war. The rest had already gone outside, leaving just the pair of them in the entrance hall. Somehow Alfred had forgotten that generals led battles. Now he was sick with dread and he wished desperately that his carefree artist was back. Worse, he was being left behind from the frontlines.

"We've been over this," Arthur said impatiently, sliding his sleeves over his spell-scrawled arms. Those were the ones he couldn't memorize. "You know very well why we can't take you. Raivis will stay here with you and make sure that you're safe." He turned back to Alfred, giving him a faint smile. "If everything goes well, we can finally take care of Vlad and go home."

"This isn't worth you getting hurt," the vampire insisted fervently. He took Arthur's arm before the author could get to the door. "Hey. You know I can make you stay right?" he demanded, letting his eyes sharpen. It was oh-so tempting to entrance him right now. To make Arthur stay. To keep him from harm. Why didn't he see that Alfred's life wasn't worth his?

Arthur sucked in a breath, waiting to be hypnotized. But after a beat of keeping his mind, he said softly, "But you won't." He cupped Alfred's cheeks, pressing a warm kiss to the vampire's lips. "I love you..." he spoke softly, touching his brow to Alfred's own.

"I love you too," Alfred returned, wrapping his arms tightly around his lover's slender body. "Please don't leave me behind. Please? I have a really bad feeling."

"Shhh," Arthur hushed, giving Alfred's another quick peck. "It's alright. Everything will be over tonight." Alfred wondered if the author had any idea how ominous that sounded, making the vampire clutch to his lover all the more. However, Arthur managed to slowly extricate himself from Alfred's strong grip, heading over to the entranceway. He paused there, turning back to glance back at Alfred with tired, green eyes.

Suddenly, they were back on the front sidewalk of the brownstone, huddled together in the night, waiting for the gas company to show up and check for a non-existent leak. "Can't let anything happen to you, now can we?" Arthur said softly, giving him a warm smile.

Then he was gone.

Alfred rushed up to the door, seeing his boyfriend slip into the back of the white van and disappear. He saw Ivan getting into the driver's seat, so he dashed up to pound against the window. "Hey!" he called out, grabbing the slav's attention. "You better not let anything happen to him! I mean it. I'm holding you responsible! If he doesn't come back, I will end you," he hissed, letting his face sharpen into more brutal features. He heard a splutter of embarrassed indignation from the back. He assumed it was Arthur.

Ivan regarded him with an impassive look, before giving him one of those crooked, amused smiles. "You are interesting vampyre, Alfred Jones," he commented lightly, then he nodded. "Da, I vill keep him safe. If only to see if you two vill thrive or end in ruin."

"What a stellar endorsement of our relationship. Thanks," Alfred muttered flatly. Then more softly, he added for Ivan's ears only, "Thanks..."

Another nod. Alfred stepped back when the engine started up, watching as the van pulled away over towards their destination. It eventually vanished down the road, behind one of the many decrepit abandoned buildings that littered the rundown neighborhood. Sighing softly to himself, the vampire turned back into the asylum and locked up behind him.

"Raivis!" he called out into the building. Funny, he hadn't seen the Watcher at all through prep. He strode through the halls, wondering if Raivis was busying himself with secret Watcher duties. "Raivis, we still have those drones right? Could we use one to-"

Alfred stopped dead when he entered the kitchen.

Vladimir Negrescu smiled wanly at him as he sat casually at the kitchen table. Raivis sat next to him, his slumped and unconscious body tied up to his chair. "Finally," Vlad said lightly. "I fought zey uould never leave."