He was mine.
The powerful desire to claim him flared up within me once more. My body tensed as I fought it down. I couldn't.
I couldn't...
"I feel the same way," I murmured, lowering my head to avoid his eyes. "I don't want to be separated from you, but..."
"But what? You're a vampire? Who cares?"
I raised my head, confused. Certainly he didn't just say that.
"Youdoknow what vampires are known for, correct?" I asked.
"Yeah, you drink blood and turn into bats and seduce people and sparkle in sunlight."
"Well, if you countbursting into flamesas sparkling, then yes, I suppose that's all true."
Scotty smiled. "I don't care about that stuff, Malachi. All I know is that I really like spending time with you. And I really like... you."
I swear this human was going to be the death of me. Each time he opened his mouth, he stole more pieces of my heart.
But it wasn't that simple. He had to know the depth of my urges towards him.
I gently squeezed his hands as I spoke. "Scotty, there's something you must know. I'm not like other vampires."
"Let me guess. You're worse."
That got a smirk out of me. "Not quite. I pride myself on not indulging in blood, human or otherwise."
"Wait, you don't even drink animal blood?"
"I do not."
Scotty blinked as he tried to puzzle out what was left. "Then what do you, er, feed on?"
"Artificial blood substitute."
Scotty grimaced. "That sounds... bad."
"It is. But it gets the job done, though I'm never truly satisfied."
He made a face. "I'm sorry. That sounds hard."
His unexpected kindness warmed my cold, icy heart. I never thought a human could sympathize with an abomination of nature like myself.
"I've grown used to it," I said. "Since I refuse to drink blood, it's my only option."
What a hypocrite I was, saying such a thing to Scotty while his blood sang out to me, tempting me with its scent...
Scotty was quiet for a moment, rubbing his arm. "But you don't have tostealthe blood, right?"
I didn't understand what he was getting at. "What do you mean?"
"There are other options besides just sinking your fangs into someone. What if someone gave you the blood? Like as a gift?"
The idea repulsed me.
Unless... I thought of the hypothetical gift-giver as Scotty. Because I was a hypocritical, sinful creature.
