for Essek (lacrymaperle) - vampire/werewolf au

[ausgebrannt]

[There had been a simpler time, several years before when Bren hadn't yet known Trent Ikithon, a time when he was thoroughly and blissfully unaware of the things that existed in the dark, when the ideas of werewolves and vampires and other creatures that ought to have been nothing more than fairy tale fodder. Instead, his paths had crossed with Trent and everything had changed. He'd been thrown into a small walled courtyard one night, under the light of a full moon, and he had not been alone. That was the first time he had met a werewolf. Bren remembered the bite, still had the scar of it on one forearm, remembered the confusion and the terror -- both of which were nothing compared to the full moon that followed the month after, the first time he'd transformed. He remembered the pain of his entire body breaking and reshaping itself, the fear of losing himself entirely. He'd blacked out that night, woken up naked and aching as if he'd been run over by a bus.

It had been the same very moon since, except that piece by piece, bit by bit, he held onto some small shred of himself during the transformation. Trent Ikithon had explained that all this was for Bren's own good, that he was safer here than anywhere else. that there were vampires who would tear him apart on sight, one in particular, a singular monster who Trent seemed to have a personal loathing for. Bren tried to probe why any vampire, never mind a particular one, would have any interest in him. No explanation was ever given except that 'the Shadowhand will never have you. Not in this life or the next. I will see to that.'

Bren had no idea what that meant. Before all this, the only strange thing in his life were recurring dreams -- and oh they were beautiful things. Arms that were secure and safe around him, tender and gentle but not warm. The soft lilt of a voice that assured him everything would be well, that wherever he went he would be found again. Trent had hated the dreams and had done his best to cast them out of Bren's conscious awareness. Now they were barely shadows, things he could remember the feeling of more than the details. It hurt even trying to recall them, so he didn't.

This past moon Bren had made his escape after he transformed, finally aware enough of himself that he had his chance. He was free. That was the only thought in his mind right now and it repeated in echoed mantra over and over again as he tried to keep himself from spiraling into a breakdown. It had been years since he'd been out, actually out in the world, not kept with Trent Ikithon's control, trapped within the grounds of that monster's manor. He was, after all, Trent's pet project, for whatever reasons the old bastard had. It didn't matter. Back in that direction lay only pain and isolation. He wouldn't go back.

Of course, he didn't really have a plan to go forward either, really. Even before he'd been captured and turned, he hadn't had any family left, few friends, and he'd been out of the world for years now. He managed to steal find some clothes, ill-fitting, a coat that was too big on his underfed frame, a scarf wrapped about his neck. He was a mess, long copper hair in tangles past his shoulders, his beard untrimmed, a frantic fear in wide blue eyes as he tried to find somewhere to hide, somewhere to get his bearings. He couldn't let Trent find him again. This was freedom, and he would not give it up.

A soft meow caught his attention, and he looked up in surprise as a small orange tabby approached him. For the first time in a long while, Bren smiled.] Hello there... [The little creature sniffed his outstretched hand and headbutted his fingers. It was the first kind touch that he'd known in so long, he almost teared up over it.] Well, at least I am not alone anymore. That's comforting.

[Now if he could just figure out what the hell he was going to do, where he was going to go.]

Comments

[ausgebrannt]

[It was music, better than any song that Bren had heard, more musical than the rise of howls beneath a full moon. This was his mate, the greater part of his soul, finally back in his arms. Still trapped away, Caleb could only agree with this. He had never had the instincts of a werewolf, but feeling them fixed on his soulmate, well, it made nothing but perfect sense to him. Another bond forged between them that nothing would break, despite Trent Ikithon's best attempts to do so.

Bren meanwhile was caught up in every instinct of the beast within him. The scent of Essek flooding his senses, that perfect twilit skin dusted with starry freckles, presented so perfectly to him. A gift, a gift that was more precious than anything he could imagine.

A smile stretched over his lips at those words. One hand ran up along his ass, gathering the slick saliva gathering there, a finger teasing at his hole as he leaned back to speak.]

Good. Come for me, starlight... let me use your seed to fuck you properly.

[His other hand continued its deliberate attention at Essek's cock, kneading, stroking him, pressing that length flat against that taut stomach, through the lacy fabric still mostly containing him.]

[zauberdecke]

Ah~

[ Those relentless fingers stroking him, the lace as it bite against his arousal that throbbed to the touch, throbbed with the blood that he had consumed earlier from Bren's flushed skin. It was blood that carried him through further than normal blood. Even if it had been Caleb, the blood would've sufficed him not very long at all before he needed a new infusion, another bite. But he was already still riding on the blood from the car ride to the event, and it had been such a miniscule amount.

The drowpire was riding the wave of Bren's fingers stroking him and he let out such a moan as his precome dripped through fabric, wetting Bren's palm, everything about him slick while he parted his thighs, spreading them further and positioned in such a way that his back curved downward.

Perhaps in any other circumstances he would've been shamed that he could come so fast for his werewolf lover, but he was too gone to care and as he heard Bren's coaxing, he released with a sigh that turned into a keening cry that was barely bitten back-- and though the sound was muffled, it would be heard by the driver because it filled the backseat as he spilled ropes within his lace panties, against Bren's palm, and splashed right against the fine fabric of those seats. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren growled his approval as Essek arched so perfectly for him, the way those thighs spread wider apart, offered so perfectly for him. His tongue continued its assault on his hole, feasting and intent on devouring him entirely if the obscenely wet sounds he made were any indication. That cry struck straight to the core of him, but he stroked his lover through his climax, catching as much of his seed as he could in his palm.]

Such a mess, Liebling... so perfect for me, so beautiful like this...

[Bren leaned back just enough that he could reach a now come-slick finger to tease against Essek's entrance, slowly beginning to work it inside, eased by the slickness of the other man's spend.

Essek may have come, but Bren showed no intent to ease up on him at all. He wanted him, wanted to fuck him, claim him, fill him with his seed.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Biology like this should never have been a possibility and yet, here it was-- Essek's more primal drow tendancies, something that was by all intents and purposes extinct, laid buried with genetics, was now at it's forefront and he was rutting against Bren's fingers, and still Bren was not done, and he was not finished either. He had it in him, he knew it-- and he wanted Bren inside of him, throbbing and hot.

That body to cover him, teeth to his neck while their bodies grew sticky and stuck together.

All he could do was whimper and push himself back while his thighs dripped with seed and sweat from a previous feeding earlier in the evening when they had been in this same car. Essek keened once again, digging his fingers into leather and it was like a plea and a question posed to Bren's more dominant nature. In this moment it was Bren's turn to ruin Essek, to imprint on him indelibly-- to mate.

Essek knew he was a mess, a dripping mess with his hair touseled and come splattered on his thighs and ever downward to pull, and as he looked to the side, Bren could see his profile-- the lips parted, the teeth digging into his lower lip, a curl brushing against his sinfully high cheekbone. His stance was vulnerable, in this moment he was the one to be protected even as he needed to be claimed ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Whatever trick of biology and fate had brought them to this place, where a werewolf and a vampire were joining together as mates, as soulmates, where the forgotten instincts of the drow responded to the insistent, needing cry of the wolf, it was a miracle and one that Bren would be eternally grateful for. He watched a moment longer, drinking in the sight of his lover rutting against his fingers as he moved them mercilessly inside him.

And that was as far as his control could last. The beast inside took over, a low growl of sound as he withdrew his fingers, stroked slick fingers along his own length before positioning himself at that hole, blunt head nudging there, barely a momentary teasing before he was moving to drive himself inside, hard, intent on hilting himself fully in that tight body in one continuous slide. It was need more than desire now, to be inside him, to claim, to breed, to mate.

He tipped forward, one arm wrapping around a slender waist to pull Essek back against him, tongue dragging along the perfect arch of that neck before he bit, the spot where neck and shoulder met.]

Mine...

[He breathed quietly. And oh he would protect his love, would be his loyal, lethal guard dog should he need it. But more than that, in this, he would guard carefully the heart that had been entrusted to him, would keep Essek in his arms as the precious, beautiful treasure that he was.]

My love. My mate.

[zauberdecke]

[ There was no preamble and no ceremony.

When Bren slid home hot and hard, Essek's own cheek turned to press against the leather of the seat. A gasp followed by a whimper the moment that he could feel Bren's chest to his back and with there being no space now between them. It was no longer anything that could be controlled, from here on it was fueled by instincts. Instincts that had him rolling his hips backward and feeling that cockhead as it hit his prostate, but not only that he could hear Bren's breath against his ear, huffed and panting.

And then teeth against his neck and there was such a rush of pleasure, and why was it that Bren hit a nerve so perfectly that had him struggling to fuck backwards, like some uncontrollable mate underneath Bren and driven solely by sweet hedonistic pleasure. ]

Bren.. please.. fuck.. please-- I need.

[ He could not properly convey that he desired to be ruined by Bren just as he had ruined Bren, would continue to ruin. He wanted a mutual ruination, complete and absolute-- with little room for doubt ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren wondered, with what little bit of his brain was cooperating with his ability to form any sort of coherent thought, if Essek had any idea what he was doing to him? Each movement, the way the other man rutted back against him, like he was desperate for him, desperate to feel the way Bren's cock filled him, reshaped that body to accept him, to be claimed by him, it drove the werewolf mad.

A low growl was breathed against his skin, even as his teeth were still gripping at the back of his neck. But he released to nuzzle there at the bitemark that'd he left.]

I know, Liebling. I know what you need and I will give it to you, all of it...

[To punctuate that promise he have a deliberate roll of his hips, grinding into Essek's ass, rutting as deep as he could. He drew back slowly before thrusting fully inside him, hard enough that their bodies met with an audible slap, and then again and again.]

[zauberdecke]

[ All rationale part of Essek had fled, especially when Bren's body covered him-- all warm heat that filled him from the inside out-- pooling like an inferno within him; Essek was making such sweet noises-- cross between purrs and whimpers as he was mated by Bren's body, a true mating and not the simulacrum of one.

There was nothing more honest in this moment than the thread that ran between them; where Essek was reduced to his lowest common denominator and with Bren behind him growling words into his ear. Even though the words as they were growled out were not threatening but rather grounding. Essek Thelyss focused on that, on the sweetness of those words and the promise in them as he rolled backward to meet a decisive thrust.

Another moan as his lover bred him so carefully, he knew that this was it-- the primal urge between them, and if he read the ancient tests of the Underdark, he'd discover that a drow man only did this for another when there was a bond there, a deep mating bond. That had been unlocked between them, had always been there underneath the surface but something about the situation had emblazoned it into life. ]

Yours.. all yours.

[ He breathed out as Bren's cockhead struck against his sensitive prostate, another whimper and he clutched at anything he could find with his fingers. ] You don't.. have to... be.. gen...

[ The only way he could ask for it, what he wanted as how he slammed his hips backward in a way that felt nearly uncontrollable, trying to show Bren what he wanted, even in his submission underneath that body, he was trying to convey that he wanted more, wanted heat, wanted the hardest and roughest ride that Bren could give him right here and now. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[There was no room for ration or reason, not when instinct had taken over so fully. For all that Bren had known of mating before this, the false and forced imprinting that Ikithon had tried to convince him was real was nothing compared to this. The desire was overwhelming, the surety that this was his mate, the one he was meant to be with in this life and any that followed.

This was his, and oh he would belong to Essek too, had already surrendered his heart and soul and body to the other man.]

Mine...

[He agreed, a demand, a promise. His, all his, and that spurred him on, drove that already overwhelming need in him all the higher. The words that followed snapped the last few threads of any self control Bren may have had. He slammed himself inside Essek, driving his cock home again and again, an endless assault against the drow's prostate, teeth finding purchase at the back of Essek's neck once more, arms wrapping around him and holding him tight and close, pulling his mate back against each thrust forward.]

My everything. You feel so good, so tight, so perfect... I'm going to fill you up with my seed. Make sure the world knows who you belong to.

[zauberdecke]

[ This was primal and raw, this went beyond what he had ever imagined and so as Bren took him like that, a fevering pace as that cock pistoned inside of him and sent him forward against the seat, and then his hips pulled back, he could feel the sweat dripping between them with the musk hot and spicing the car in unremittent waves, where his body did not care if he expired here on the spot because he was impaled so perfectly.

Each thrust caused a moan that grew slowly in intensity, there was no escaping it no matter how soundproofed the car was; some elements of it would be heard by the driver.

He left tears in the upholstery with his sharpened nails and he was rutting backwards, his prostate being assailed at every angle, a pain that was so distinctly pleasurable-- as they completed the circle of mating where Essek would belong to Bren just as he belonged to Caleb-- there was no avoiding nor denying that. But he did not just lay there taking that cock, oh no-- he was in a state of motion with the way that his hips ground back, offering the perfect pillow for Bren to get caught against-- squeezing as if he did not want the other man to slide too far away from him. ]

Fuck.. Bren.. ah, please.. yes.. right there.. right there! [ And then Essek's walls clenched and they spasmed right around Bren's prick and then he was there and coming again as he muffled his screams against leather, teeth against while the force of it hit him like a tidal wave; the violence and turbulence of it; and it added to the pool underneath his thigh of liquid pearls coaxed by his mate. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren was beyond all coherent thought in that moment, broken down to his most basic, to need and sensation. And god both were an inferno that should have consumed him entirely by now but only spurred him on. He could feel his release approaching, and could feel the swelling beginning near the base of his cock, his body's response to finally having his mate this way, at the way that Essek's voice called out, sang that song of pleasure and desperation that they were both dancing to.

He was so close. Essek would feel the nudge of his knot at his hole, pressing harder with each thrust, instinct driving Bren to want to bury himself fully, to knot his mate and fill him with his spend. With Essek spurring him him on, he thrust harder, knot breaching that tight passage and locking the two of them together.

Bren continued to rut against Esse, hips jerking hard, as if he intended to bury himself deeper, as if that were even possible. But the way that Essek's body squeezed at his cock, seemed to hold him in a near stranglehold, the way that muffled scream left the other man, he was following his lover over that edge, spilling himself, painting the other man's insides with the mark of his claim, the proof of who Essek belonged to.

A low growl echoed in his throat as he bit once more at Essek's shoulder, still rocking against him though his movements began to slow.]

[zauberdecke]

[ When the breaching happened, there was a brief moment of pain-- but it was only brief before finally Bren hilted himself in, and the knot served to keep the other man firmly in place behind him, swelling and leaving him with own possibility of escape-- as if he desired that. A sound at the back of his throat, halfway between a moan and a purr as he was held there securely, those teeth against his cool shoulders and his back to Bren's chest.

His senses were blown open and wide, and it felt like he could feel every tendril of chest hair as it pressed against his back. Pants came from him, sweet measured panting as he arched back as much as he could-- and then Bren spilled inside of him and he felt it-- warmth rushing through him, seed that made the shallow thrusting slick, and he had a distinct feeling that no matter what.. he would not be able to escape until Bren's body had determined that he was bred enough.

Fuck, Bren could've stayed there forever. ] Yours..

[ Essek's voice came out as barely a whisper, but that was a promise and in the after-effects of their mating, he suddenly felt soft and vulnerable, and wanted to be taken care of by his mate. And that was at the core the mating bond, was the primality.. but also there was, there should be love at it's core. A protectiveness that transcended all else. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[They had utterly ruined the backseat of this car, and Bren couldn't summon up even a shred of regret about it. No, he was still far too caught up in instinct and reveling in having his mate, in claiming him and holding him and breeding him properly. As his climax finally subsided, as reality slowly trickled back into the edges of his awareness.

That one simple word set his already racing heart to fluttering. He smiled.]

Mine. My beautiful, exquisite mate, my love, my world. You are perfect, you are everything I could ever want...

[He murmured the words softly, breathless, but earnest. He leaves a gentle kiss to the bite mark he'd left, a soothing pass of his tongue along bruised skin.]

And I am yours. Always.

[His hands smoothed up along Essek's side, down, and then up to wrap around him, to press gently at his chest, to urge him to shift, to sit back and come to settle in his lap -- still quite firmly impaled on his cock and kept there by the knot that had not yet begun to abate.]

[zauberdecke]

[ They were both ruinous messes, but they were each other's mess. And so as Bren guided him backward, he moved and it was seamless, as if they were both were working in tandem with their oneness; the mating bond connecting them by a golden thread. And then he was settled on that lap, feeling a sticky mess-- oh he would need a bath when he got home, the both of them would but all he could do was sit backward, on Bren's lap and still impaled.

He looped an arm up and around those shoulders, and his other hand moved to palm against Bren's hand that had settled at his stomach, he could feel the subtle stickiness there but all he could think of was how twined they were now-- the way he could feel the other man's heartbeat as if it were his own. ] There will never be anyone for me but you and together, we will destroy he who hurt you, we will destroy him so that we can finally be happy for the rest of our days, so that you and Caleb will return to me time after time again.

[ Gods, he needed to have the other man return to him... would live for that distinct promise ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren nuzzled at Essek's shoulder, pressing a kiss there, against skin damp with a sheen of sweat. He was slowly rising from the storm of instinct that had overtaken him, coming back into the capacity for coherent thought. And still all he could think of was Essek. His hand beneath Essek's turned to take the drow's, tangling their fingers together.]

I will always come back to you, life after life. But you are right... he tried to keep me from you.

[In this life, and, even if the part of him that was Caleb was still trapped and locked away, Bren suspected the same was true in that life before.]

He deserves something worse than death for that.

[zauberdecke]

We are stronger together.

[ They had always been stronger side by side, and it was only by a divide and conquer strategy that he had separated the two of them by the thin line of death, though it had taken a second time to do so when Essek's vampirism had not served to be the divisive fissure that he had wanted it too and he had to use more final means.

He settled back while their fingers twined together, the warmth to the coolness. How Bren seemed to balance the cold within him by glorious heat, and still that throbbing was within as well as the knotting which served to draw them closer. ]

The sad fact of the matter, for Trent, is that I am aware of all of his business dealings-- and unlike him, I've been amassing an empire that is somewhat useful. [ Bastions of power that he had been content to let Trent have, he was actually rather keen on finding ways to aquire them for themselves ]

I have more liquid assets then he does.

[ausgebrannt]

Always.

[Bren agreed, still nuzzling and kissing gently against whatever skin was within reach, a shoulder, a neck, the edge of a sharp jawline. The wolf in him had been appeased, sated by being allowed to stake his claim on his mate this way, to have that connection sealed and reinforced. His vampire lover, who knew his secrets now and still wanted him.]

Ja... he has his connections and has collected power and wealth as he could, but... I do not think he understands how badly he is outmatched.

[Essek has him out classed and outmatched any day of the week.] He will find out I have found my way to you soon, if he hasn't already. [With their appearance in public tonight, it was inevitable.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Outmatched, very outmatched.

Essek was fairly certain that Trent Ikithon did not realize how much of a weapon he'd made Bren; and there were moments of Bren studying Caleb's old spellbook so there was that too, spells that Essek had placed in Bren's hands to learn. A primal weapon with spellcasting ability? Well, Trent would be in a world of inconvenience-- that was not counting the fact that he had stupidly allowed a very angry vampire to percolate.

He could feel the knot subside though not enough that Bren could escape yet, but he did arch his neck for more of those kisses. ] We will start formulating a battle plan. [ And then even more quietly ] The full moon though is a few days off.. tell me, love-- what do you require from me to make that time of the month endurable for you?

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren was all too happy to shower the offered neck in kisses while they were still so intimately joined together. He hummed his agreement.]

Ja. It will be good to have a plan. I do not know what he will do, but we will be ready for it.

[They would have to be. Bren would never forgive himself if he brought danger to Essek's doorstep and the drowpire was hurt because of him. What Ikithon had done to him was bad enough, but he would not allow any harm to come to the man that he loved. To his mate.

The question caught him off guard. It was not something that he had ever been asked before, and consequently not something he had ever considered.]

Honestly, I had half planned on running and hiding until it was over, if I could not make myself be brave enough to tell you. But now... I can control the beast when I turn these days, but still, I do not want to risk hurting you. Perhaps it would be best if you found somewhere to lock me away?

[That hadn't been what Essek asked, exactly, but Bren genuinely didn't know that what would make this easier for him was the presence of his mate, safe and near, of tactile touch and the presence of his scent so that the wolf would know that it was home, that it was where it was meant to be and that all it loved was protected.]

[zauberdecke]

You do not have to fear hurting me, Bren.. [ His fingers caught and curled in the silk of ginger curls while he allowed himself the touch of his mate, feeling the throb of being so entwined with him; closeness and the beating of that thundering heart against his back. His head fell back then where his neck was littered with bites and bruises, but they were bruises that he would display happily as they were given to him by his lover and mate, he would have him paint his neck as long as it meant that this man was here with. ]

But, I do not think that I want you to leave my sight the night of your turning..

[ And even more quietly as he shifted, just enough so that he could look at Bren's profile, the caress of trimmed stubble and the features that were so sharp and defined, the nose with the bump in the center, of which he could kiss for hours. Like Caleb, and yet not like him all the same. ]

Do you trust me to know that I can defend myself?

[ This was spoken, mate to mate-- soul to soul. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[The touch in his hair was soothing. Being this intimately close to Essek was soothing. His hand wended it sway up along his chest, to settle against where his heart would once have beat -- and still locked inside, the part of him that was Caleb smiled at the memory of it. But beating or not, that heart was precious to Bren and Caleb both, a treasure that he would guard with every ounce of power and life within him.

He was quiet as the drow speak. He did not need to fear... Gods he'd spent years doing nothing but fearing, his entire world a tapestry woven of pain and terror. But he wasn't trapped in that world any longer, he reminded himself.

Leaning into Essek's hand, he nodded.]

I... yes, of course I trust you. I know your strength and I trust you to know it as well.

[His voice dropped quieter.] I would not forgive myself if I hurt you, but if I'm being honest, I do not want to go far from you, even when I turn. I belong at your side. I do not wish to leave it.

[zauberdecke]

[ Perhaps that heart did not beat; but when Bren looked at him like that-- it fluttered in memory of what had once upon a time been; it clenched in such a painful yet beautiful manner. He lightly drew the tip of his nose against a jawline, sweetly and then he shifted, as much as he was able to, until his mouth found the tender flesh where neck met chin.

That same flutter vibrated, the drag of a tongue as he tested the waters-- the slip of tongue and the delicate press of teeth; there was a pause. He would never not ask Bren if it was alright for him to partake of that blood that he now knew could regenerate quickly due to his supernatural nature.

Bren had asserted his claim, and now-- Essek could think of no greater way than to complete the circle, with teeth sinking into tender flesh as Bren's lifeblood throbbed hot against his tongue. ]

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren's eyes drifted shut at the touch of that nose along his jaw, the soft and sweetness of the contact. It set warmth rushing through him that filled his heart and spilled out into his chest. His body and soul both reacted to Essek, like a flower opening up to the sun.

The feeling of that tongue drew a soft gasp from him, the sharpness that followed. It was the hesitation that undid him though, that clear request for permission. And oh Bren would grant it. He leaned his head to the side and murmured, voice barely a whisper.] Please.

[He wanted that, wanted Essek to drink him in again, to take his fill.]

[zauberdecke]

[ Tenderly and yet firmly, those fangs sank down--- into that a not-so-well worn spot; he could not reach it from how they were positioned. So there was some give to it but also there was skin unused to being fed upon and it would leave such a mark that would not even be able to be hidden by a scarf; Essek's tongue then formed the seal as he siphoned it, alternating between sucks and laps that worked at flesh.

Bren's sharp and hot blood as it danced, tanged with who he was-- a spice to it that he was finding himself addictive to; no wonder why it tasted so good. Not only the emotional remembrance of that blood but Bren's own flavor added into the mix to heighten the bouquet.

His fingers tangled in locks of hair, touseled from their recent activities while he murmured in soft moans at the taste that spilled over his senses, and he drank deeply and thoroughly, perhaps far deeper than he had previously but Bren's body? It could take that, because still it throbbed and pulsed underneath him, still there was no weakening of that strong beat that thundered against his own skin, and he galloped with it-- up until that last moment he knew he had to draw away.

And then his mouth came away with panting and he rested his head backward, chest breathing as lungs filled with air and he sighed, his skin once again warm and there was a beating where his heart was being powered at least temporarily. ]

You are magic, Bren...

[ausgebrannt]

[Bren's breath caught, that first sting of pain quickly swept away by the bliss of the feeding. of the connection between them made tangible in this way. His heart beat faster, answering the call of his lover as if eager to provide that sustenance, to let Essek take his fill. He'd wear the mark proudly, this evidence of his belonging to his mate, of being the one to provide for him, to feed him.

He noticed that the drowpire drank deeper, and the only evidence of this realization was a soft moan of his own. He was a werewolf, after all, and the blood that flowed through his veins was made something preternatural. He could sustain. He would. Though if Bren were being utterly honest to himself, if Essek asked it of him, he would let his lover drink him dry, until his own heart gave out. He knew that Essek never would, of course, knew it like an immutable truth of the universe.

A soft sigh as that mouth lifted away from his neck and he turned to nuzzle into Essek, smiling at the new warmth in his skin.]

I am only a man in love. Or perhaps a monster in love. Both, I suppose.