Dew woke to the feeling of something foreign—something off in a way he couldn't name.
His body felt strange. Not weak, not in pain, just… different. His senses buzzed—heightened in a way that made the air feel thicker, the room sharper, the scent surrounding him unbearably present.
A scent he didn't recognize.
Warm. Rich. Lingering with something dark and intoxicating, like night air after rain.
His brows furrowed.
Where was he?
His eyes cracked open, and for a moment, everything blurred—then cleared. A dimly lit room. The scent of herbs. Shadows shifting in the low candlelight.
And someone sitting beside him.
Dew tensed instinctively, but the moment his gaze landed on the figure, his body reacted before his mind could catch up.
Something in his chest pulled.
The man was watching him with an intensity that made Dew's breath catch. His posture was relaxed—one leg crossed over the other, hands resting on his knee—but his golden eyes didn't waver. Not even for a second.
Vampire.
It hit him instantly.
Not just from the scent, but from the presence—an undeniable, steady weight in the air.
Dew's throat felt dry.
"…Who—?" His voice was rough, hoarse, like he hadn't spoken in days.
The man's eyes flickered, something unreadable flashing through them. Then—
"You're awake."
His voice was smooth, controlled. But Dew caught it—something underneath. Something tight, restrained.
Like he'd been waiting.
Dew's pulse stuttered.
He swallowed, trying to clear his throat. "…Where am I?"
"The Stormveil stronghold," the man answered.
Stormveil.
Dew exhaled slowly, the memories filtering in—pain, fire burning through his veins, the smell of blood, Pond's voice fading in and out—
Then nothing.
Until now.
His fingers twitched against the sheets. "How long?"
"Three days."
Dew's breath hitched.
Three days.
The man—the vampire—was still watching him, unwavering. And that scent—the one that wrapped around him like a second skin—his scent—
Dew swallowed hard, an unfamiliar heat curling in his stomach.
His wolf shifted inside him, restless.
Why?
Why did this vampire's presence settle so deep into his bones?
Dew exhaled sharply, trying to push the feeling aside. "And you are?"
The vampire was silent for a moment. Then—
"Tee."
The name stirred something faint in the back of Dew's mind. Tee. He had heard it before.
The meeting.
Stormveil.
His gaze sharpened slightly. "I remember you."
Tee didn't react, but something in his eyes flickered.
Dew hesitated.
There was something else here. Something he couldn't name.
His body still felt strange—on edge, like he was waiting for something he didn't understand.
The air between them was charged, heavy with something unspoken.
And it was only when Dew shifted slightly—when the blanket brushed against the side of his neck—that he felt it.
A dull, faint sting.
His breath caught.
His hand shot up before he could think, fingers brushing against the spot.
The moment he touched it, his wolf reacted.
A bite.
His blood ran cold.
Slowly, he turned to Tee.
The vampire didn't move. Didn't break eye contact.
Dew's fingers trembled slightly against his skin.
"…What did you do to me?"
----
Dew's fingers hovered over the bite, his pulse hammering against his ribs.
This wasn't just any wound.
This was a mark.
A claim.
His breath came shallow, his mind struggling to catch up.
He barely knew this man. They had crossed paths once at the Stormveil meeting. A fleeting moment, a glance exchanged—nothing more.
And now—
"You bit me."
His voice came out sharp, edged with something raw.
Tee didn't flinch. He remained as still as before, his golden eyes watching, unreadable.
Dew's wolf bristled, torn between unease and something else—something dangerous.
Tee finally exhaled, slow and measured.
"Yes."
The moment the words left Tee's mouth, Dew's blood ran cold.
His hand shot up to his neck, fingers grazing over the faint imprint of fangs. It wasn't just a memory. It was real.
He had been bitten.
By a vampire.
By him.
Dew jerked back, his body screaming in protest, but he barely registered the pain. His breath came sharp and shallow, his pulse thundering in his ears.
"No." His voice was hoarse, shaking. His fingers pressed against his skin as if he could erase the mark. "No. What the hell did you do to me?"
Tee didn't flinch. He remained seated at the edge of the bed, watching him with that same unreadable expression. Calm. Too calm.
Dew's chest heaved. His mind was spiraling—flashes of the battlefield, of pain, of drowning in darkness. And then, the sharp sting of fangs piercing his skin.
The burn. The rush. The terrifying pull that hadn't faded.
His head snapped up, fury crackling through his veins. "You—" His voice cracked, his throat raw. "You bit me. You turned me?"
Tee's eyes flickered, but his voice remained steady. "No."
The single word did nothing to calm Dew's storm.
"Then what did you do?" His voice rose, a mixture of panic and rage. "I—I don't—" He stopped, his hands gripping the sheets, his breath shaking. Something felt wrong. Off.
Like a piece of him wasn't just his anymore.
Like something else was there.
Tee exhaled slowly. "I saved your life."
Dew let out a hollow laugh, but there was no humor in it. His hands curled into fists, nails digging into his palm. "By biting me?" His voice wavered. "I didn't ask for that."
Tee's gaze didn't waver. "You were dying. Wolfsbane poisoning. Your body was shutting down. Nothing else would have worked."
Dew's stomach twisted. He remembered the pain—the unbearable cold seeping into his bones, the weight of death pressing down.
But that didn't mean he could accept this.
His eyes locked onto Tee, something sharp and accusing flashing behind them. "So what now? You—" His breath hitched as the realization clawed its way to the surface.
"What did you do to me?"
Silence.
A thick, suffocating silence.
And then—
Tee's voice dropped. "You already know."
Dew's pulse spiked.
He did.
He felt it.
The unnatural pull. The way his body recognized Tee in a way it had never recognized anyone before. The way his instincts weren't screaming for distance—but for the exact opposite.
It wasn't just a bite.
It wasn't just a rescue.
Tee had claimed him.
The truth crashed into him like a tidal wave, stealing the air from his lungs.
No.
No, no, no.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
His breathing turned ragged. His wolf—the part of him that was supposed to fight, to reject—wasn't resisting. It wasn't recoiling.
It was accepting.
And that terrified him more than anything else.
-----
Dew exhaled slowly, his head still buzzing with everything Tee had just said.
A vampire had bitten him. Not just any vampire—this one. The same man who had barely spoken a word to him before the attack. The same man who had thrown himself into saving his life without hesitation.
And now?
Now, something about him felt off.
Wrong.
Too much.
His skin prickled, his senses tuned too sharply to the presence beside him. Even though Tee wasn't touching him, he could still feel him—like an invisible thread connecting them, tightening every time he tried to ignore it.
Dew hated it.
He wasn't someone who let emotions control him. He was logical, calculated—always a step ahead. But this? This wasn't something he could strategize his way out of.
The thought alone made his jaw clench.
"So let me get this straight," Dew finally said, voice laced with forced nonchalance. "You bit me to save me."
Tee, sitting across from him with a maddeningly unreadable expression, gave a small nod. "Yes."
Dew let out a humorless chuckle. "And in the process, you conveniently left out the part where this happened." He gestured vaguely between them, as if that explained the unnatural pull, the way his body was reacting to something unseen.
Tee didn't deny it.
Dew's fingers curled against the blanket. "Great. Fantastic. Love that for me."
Silence.
Tee was watching him. Not impatiently, not smugly—just watching. And that made it worse.
Because for the first time in his life, Dew wasn't sure what move to make next.
He could push, test the boundaries, see if he could shake whatever this was—but his instincts warned him it wouldn't work. Not this time.
And deep down, buried beneath all his irritation, something else lurked.
Something he didn't want to name.
Tee finally spoke, voice smooth but firm. "You were dying."
Dew exhaled sharply through his nose, tearing his gaze away. "I didn't ask you to save me."
"No," Tee agreed. "But I did anyway."
Dew swallowed.
There was no arrogance in the words. No expectation. Just a simple truth.
And somehow—that made it harder to argue with.
----
The door creaked open.
Win stepped in first, his sharp eyes sweeping over Dew as if assessing his condition. Pond followed close behind, tension radiating off him in waves. Nani lingered at the threshold, his usual self-assured presence dimmed by exhaustion.
Dew stared at them, momentarily frozen. They were here. Alive.
Something in his chest loosened—just for a second.
Pond was the first to speak. "You look like shit."
The words were blunt, but the roughness in his voice betrayed the emotion underneath.
Win exhaled, stepping closer. "We thought we lost you."
Nani nodded, a flicker of something too soft in his eyes. "How do you feel?"
Dew swallowed, his throat raw. "I'm fine."
It was a lie.
But before anyone could call him out on it, the memories surged back.
The explosion.
His father's car—engulfed in flames, torn apart by fire and force.
Dew's breath caught. The relief he'd felt just seconds ago shattered, replaced by something sharp and unbearable.
His fingers clenched into the sheets. No one had said it yet—had confirmed it—but he knew. He had seen it. Felt it.
His father was dead.
The grief slammed into him like a physical force.
Dew lurched forward.
A sharp, tearing pain shot through his body—his wound, the one he'd barely registered before, ripping open. Warm blood seeped through the bandages, but he barely noticed.
He had to get up. He had to move. Had to get out.
His breathing turned ragged, his vision tunneling. His mind screamed at him to do something, to fight against the truth pressing down on him, suffocating him.
Hands grabbed him before he could make it off the bed.
Firm. Unrelenting.
Not restraining—grounding.
Dew thrashed instinctively. "Let go—"
Tee didn't.
The vampire's grip was like steel, arms wrapped around Dew's trembling frame, keeping him still even as his body twisted with raw, desperate energy.
"Stop," Tee murmured, voice calm but unyielding.
Dew gasped, his whole body shaking, his wound burning, but he still fought. He needed to run. Needed to do something.
He couldn't just sit here. Couldn't just accept it.
Tee held him tighter.
"Breathe."
Dew's chest heaved, his pulse erratic.
"Breathe," Tee said again, lower this time.
Something in the way he said it—like a thread pulling taut—sent a shudder through Dew's whole body. He sucked in a sharp, broken breath.
The mate bond pulsed between them.
It wasn't force.
It wasn't control.
It was something deeper, something primal—something Dew couldn't fight, even as every part of him screamed to resist.
His vision blurred. His hands, clenched into fists, trembled against Tee's chest. He could still feel the grief, the loss pressing into every inch of him.
But he wasn't falling anymore.
Tee was holding him up.
And Dew hated it.
He hated how easily Tee had stopped him. How right it felt even as his mind rejected it.
A choked sound broke from his throat. His fingers curled weakly into Tee's shirt.
The fight drained out of him all at once.
Tee didn't let go. Didn't say anything.
Just held him.
Win, Pond, and Nani watched in stunned silence.
None of them had ever seen Dew like this before.
And none of them had ever seen anyone handle Dew like this before.
The realization settled over them like a weight.
Dew wasn't ready to face it yet.
But deep down—somewhere he couldn't reach yet—he already knew.
He wasn't just bound to Tee.
Tee was the only thing keeping him from falling apart.