CHAPTER 19 — Heartbeats and a Bite
ELION — POV
The apartment was quiet in that strange way only late-night spaces could be—alive with the faint hum of the fridge, the shifting creaks of old walls, the soft moonlight shining through the windows and illuminating the living room with a otherworldly air.
The apartment had gone dark.
The kitchen lights were off, the hallway silent, and the only illumination came from the faint blue wash of moonlight filtering through the living room windows. Shadows stretched long across the floor.
And standing in the center of that dim, quiet room—
—was a goddess.
Alexiy's damp hair clung in soft waves around her face, pink eyes catching the moonlight in a way that made them glow faintly. Her fingers nervously pinched the hem of the oversized black-and-pink hoodie she wore—one long enough to reach mid-thigh.
Unfortunately for my sanity, she was also wearing the shortest pair of booty shorts I had ever seen beneath it.
I'm talking about barely visible. meaning most of her juicy thighs were shone bare. This has to be illegal.
She shifted her weight nervously from one leg to the other, and the hoodie lifted just enough that my brain short-circuited.
Now, look— I appreciate everything. I'm not one to be so shallow, I'm not an ass-man or boob-man. Perfect in any size, shape, or universe. A cup to K cup. I think all boobs are great.
But thighs?
I don't believe in god, but God created those on His day off as his last act of being merciful.
"Thick thighs save lives," I always said. I never expected the universe to test me on it. And right now, Alexiy was testing the absolute limits of my self-control. I sat there frozen, al thoughts of magic, skills, bloodlines gone from my head.
The only thing I could look at — could think about was her.
She took a hesitant step forward.
Her voice was soft, almost shy.
"Um… Elion?"
Her tone pulled me back to reality—barely. Like splashing cold water on a fever.
I swallowed, trying to keep my voice steady. Everyone else was asleep. It was just the two of us. Late at night.
I sat up straighter. "Yeah?"
She hesitated, took a breath, then stepped closer.
"Can we… talk?"
I nodded and patted the space beside me.
She climbed onto the couch softly, her movements careful—as though she was afraid to shake whatever strange fragile peace had settled between us.
She sat close.
Close enough that her knee brushed my thigh.
Close enough that her scent—sweet, faintly floral—curled into my lungs and made something slow inside my chest.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
I could hear her breathing. She could hear mine.
"Today was…" she started, then stopped. "A lot."
"Yeah."
"You died, Elion." Her voice trembled. "I watched you die."
I turned to her fully then.
She looked small in this moment. But I remembered how she wasn't weak— no she stood by me during the fight, asking me not to leave her, it wasn't fear... just honesty. So I decided that I wouldn't hold anything held back either.
"I'm here now," I said quietly.
"That's not what I…" She shook her head, then exhaled. "I keep thinking about it. Everything! The way you threw yourself in front of me. How you saved me in the pharmacy. How you killed that man when he—"
Her voice cracked.
I gently put my hand over hers. "You're safe now. As long as your with me I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe."
She stared at our hands—the way my thumb brushed over her knuckles.
"Elion… what are we now?"
The question hit deeper than I expected.
I didn't pull away. Instead, I let my fingers entwine with hers.
"I'm still figuring that out, I'm new to all this" I admitted. "But I know one thing."
"What?"
"I don't want to be without you."
Her breath hitched. A soft sound. Almost a gasp.
She looked down at our joined hands and whispered, "I'm not good at this either."
"At what?"
"Feelings." She swallowed. "But… I like you. A lot. More than I understand or know what to do with."
My throat tightened.
"And," she continued, voice softer, "I don't mind if you… end up with other girls. Lily keeps talking about harems and anime and destiny and "OP MC" or whatever that means… it's from whatever show she's been watching."
I snorted. "That sounds like her."
Her cheeks flushed. "But I realized part of what she was saying was true. Elion I want to be with you. Even if I'm only a part of your future. Even if you don't want… all of me."
I brought my hand to her chin gently—guiding her gaze up to meet mine.
"Alexiy," I said steadily, "you're not a part of my future. Right now you are my future."
Her lips parted in a soft, shaky exhale.
Then she climbed onto my lap.
Carefully. Slowly. Legs on either side of me. Her arms circled loosely around my neck.
Her face was inches from mine.
If she could feel my heartbeat beating 1000 miles an hour, she didn't show it. I noticed how her weight settled over me, she didn't comment. She was hovering above me, as if she thought she was too heavy to sit down.
If only she realized how easily I could grab her waist and drag her closer, yet, she didn't move away.
She leaned in, and slowly pressed her lips to mine.
The kiss was slow.
Warm.
A brush of lips that made my new heartbeat thrum like a deep drum inside my chest.
She pulled back just enough to whisper against my mouth:
"I just want to support you. Whatever you ask of me… whatever you need… I'll give it. Partner, girlfriend, wife, maid. You saved me more times than I can count. My life is yours, Elion."
Those words hit something raw. Something deep within me felt like I was holding the most precious creature in the world. Something that deserved love and kindness... Something that I would give everything to see her smile and hear her laugh.
This feeling wasn't just desire, or lust. No this was deeper, a Need
Almsot belonging.
But I shook my head and gently cupped her cheek.
"I don't want your life," I murmured. "I just want you to be happy."
Her breath trembled.
Then her eyes flicked to my mouth.
"Elion…" she whispered, "you said your bloodline needs… blood. Once a day."
My stomach twisted. That deep, cold hunger coiled low like a second heartbeat. I had mentioned it briefly as we were walking back tot eh apartments.
"Yeah," I said quietly. "I'm a… knockoff vampire, I guess."
She managed a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "You didn't sparkle in the sun, so that's a relief."
"But it's not a joke," I added, my tone more serious. "If I don't drink blood… I start dying again. I have to drink blood, every day, probably for the rest of my life." I said looking into her eyes.
Her expression softened, all humor slipping away.
"Elion… you can drink mine."
My eyes widened. "Alexiy—"
She placed her fingers over my lips, silencing me.
"I trust you," she whispered. "More than anyone. Plus I don't want you drinking someone else's. Call it jealousy or just think of me as a your personal blood bank~ And… if this is what you need to stay alive, then I want it to be me." she whispered that lat part.
I swallowed thickly.
The hunger pulsed again. I've been trying to hold it in but since I awakened it was like I've been thirsty no matter what and only my high will allowed me to ignore the feeling and focus on magic.
"I don't know what'll happen," I warned. "I don't want to hurt you."
"You won't," she said without hesitation. "I know you won't."
Her confidence in me hurt in a way nothing else did. Like a wound I didn't know how to close. If she was putting this much trust on me, then I can believe it too. After all I delivered that no mater the worst case I won't end up killing her. I make my resolve as I wrap my arms around her.
I felt something shift in my mouth—pressure, prickling heat—and I realized my fangs were descending. they felt like vampire teeth, I could feel them with my tongue, as I spend my mouth.
Her breath caught, and her pupils widened as she saw my fangs.
"Do it," she whispered.
I leaned in. Slowly. Giving her every chance to pull away.
My hand slid to the back of her neck, guiding her gently as she tilted her head for me, exposing her skin.
Her pulse fluttered under her throat—soft and fast.
I kissed her neck first.
A small, soft brush of my lips.
She shivered.
"Elion…"
Then—
I bit.
Gently.
Her breath hitched in a sharp, trembling moan. As I felt my teeth break skin, then a warm rush of blood filled my mouth, rich and intoxicating. Like drinking warmth itself. Like swallowing a living heartbeat.
Power surged through me—bright and cold and electric.
Her hands fisted in the back of my shirt.
The moan she made was soft, broken, almost embarrassed—but entirely real and almost sensual.
My fangs withdrew carefully. I only wanted a sip, I felt like I only needed a gulp or two to satisfy the hunger for another 24 hours.
I licked the two small open wounds, slow and deliberate. I really need a healing skill if I'm going to be doing this daily.
Her entire body melted against mine.
"Elion…" she whispered, voice barely audible, "that… felt… weirdly good. Too good…"
I rested my forehead against hers.
"Thank you," I murmured. "For trusting me."
She cupped my cheek with warm trembling fingers.
"Elion... I'd do anything for you, you just need to ask."
"You're so amazing," I whispered. Holding this delicate, precious existence.
I kissed her.
She kissed me back softly—more tender than before.
She rested her head on my shoulder, fully sitting on my lap now, my arms wrapped securely around her waist.
And for the first time since my mother died…
I told someone the truth.
"My mom was the only good thing in my life," I said quietly. "She got sick with some rare cancer when I was 6, but was fully hospitalized when I was 8, and she died when I was eleven."
Sadness was etched on her face as she looked like she was almost about to cry, but she didn't interrupt me, she just sat their quietly listening.
"My mother was the only one I could talk to growing up, the only one to show me love, I don't know about grandparents or other family. And after My mother passed away… my father beat me for years. He'd call me a "Bastard" or a freak, or retard, or... 'monster'."
My voice was low as I was thinking about my past.
Her fingers curled in my shirt.
Anger flickered in her eyes, bright and soft. Protective. It was cute seeing her get this upset for me.
"Elion…"
"If he's still alive out there," I said, voice low and honest, "I'm going to kill him."
Her breath hitched softly—not in fear, but in understanding.
She pressed her forehead into my neck, hugging me tighter.
"I'm not perfect either," she whispered. "I'm not all innocent, or as pure as I look like. But… I want to stay with you. And I want to be someone who makes you feel safe."
"We all have skeletons in the closet." I said as I leaned back on the couch and I closed my eyes. Still holding her, with my arms around her waist.
"But the world was ending outside. So I say I don't care about what kind of past you hide. All I care about is this warmth in my arms as the rest of the world freezes over in hell." I murmur.
Yes, here, with her breathing against my shoulder and her arms around me—
—for the first time in years, I wasn't alone.
We talked for hours.
Getting to know each other more about childhood. Or some of our fears. About the strange comfort we found in each other. We talked over what the future possibilities might hold. We simply talked about everything and nothing.
Eventually, while telling her about how freedom tasted sweeter than anything else in this new world—
I fell asleep mid-sentence.
As I lay there with her warmth pressed into me, hearing the steady beat of her heartbeat. the faint floral scent she gave off. They all pulled me under like a lullaby, letting me slip peacefully into sleep after a long day.
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ALEXIY — POV
He fell asleep holding me.
Just like that—mid-word, mid-thought, his breath slow and warm against my collarbone, arms still wrapped around my waist.
I felt his weight settle… and something inside me softened in a way I didn't know was possible.
I traced a hand gently through his hair.
"So brave," I whispered. "And so broken."
Thinking about his story, his past, how it broke him, turned him into the man I see before me now... but he lived.
For the first time in years, he felt free.
I cupped his cheek.
He mumbled something in his sleep. I couldn't understand it, but the sound made my heart squeeze painfully.
Because he trusted me enough to fall asleep like this. Because he chose me. Because he didn't push me away. It might've been fate that he saved me. I keep thinking about how lucky I am to have been saved him Elion within the first few hours of the apocalypse. I knew by now that I wouldn't have made it day alone by myself.
I leaned in and brushed a feather-light kiss onto his cheek.
"I'm not as innocent as you think," I whispered against his skin. Not by a long shot.
Something dark flickered at the edge of my thoughts—a shadowy part of me I rarely let out.
But for him?
For him I would burn the world if it meant keeping him alive.
I nuzzled into his neck, feeling the faint thump of his unnatural heartbeat.
He felt warm. Alive. It was insane to think about he died earlier but now he back and he was mine. The apartment was quiet. Everyone else asleep.
The world outside dead and cold.
But here—
In his arms—
I felt something new blooming in my chest.
Love?
Obsession?
Devotion?
Maybe something between them.
But whatever it was…
…I wasn't letting go.
Not now.
Not ever.
With that final thought, I tightened my hold on him and closed my eyes.
Listening to the soft rhythm of his breathing until sleep gently pulled me under.