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Lucy sighs as she shines her flashlight on the two blood droplets to the left of the body. She just doesn’t get it. Somehow the killer drained the body completely of blood, and yet there are only two droplets. This is the second just this week. She’s getting scared she’s got a serial killer on her hands.
Well, she’s scared and excited. Any detective worth their salt desperately wants a serial killer on their hands for them to capture. None will admit it, but it’s their best kept secret that all silently agree on. Who doesn’t want the fame? Who doesn’t want the notoriety? Lucy’s too new of a detective not to want it.
Well, unfortunately for her, there is one person on this Earth who doesn’t want any of the things she just listed. Her partner, her best friend, her person, and she’s pretty sure her soulmate, Tim Bradoford. In fact he would live happily as a beat cop the rest of his life. He likes the action and the chase, he just wants to be able to get the bad guy at the end of the day.
No detective at their precinct can understand why he took the detective’s exam, did really well, and agreed to move up. The thing is, Lucy knows why. He did it for her. She was his rookie, and then his sergeant’s aide, and now she’s his partner. That’s the way they’ve always been.
Three years of knowing each other has strengthened their bond until absolutely nothing can come between them. Boyfriends and girlfriends have tried, and all have failed. Ranks and promotions have tried to tear them apart, but they rise above titles and found a way to work together.
Lucy can joke and kid all she wants, she will never trade Tim out for the promotion that would surely come from finding a serial killer.
Speaking of the Devil, she feels a presence at her side, and she turns to him and sighs. “I think this is the same guy as three weeks ago. The two spots of blood, no fingerprints, no injuries, nothing to show how the blood was drained from the body.” She bites her lip, looking to see if there’s anything she has missed.
Tim clears his throat and points to the side of the woman’s neck. “What about these two puncture wounds here?” He says it matter of factly, as if she hadn’t seen them.
Lucy rolls her eyes. Yes she had seen them, she just doesn’t think they’re important. “They’re too small to siphon out this much blood in the amount of time the body has been dead. The M.E. said the same thing about the last one. It adds to why I think it’s the same killer, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the murder itself.” She’s used to his little tests and he likes to get in her head and doubt herself, his way of making her a better cop, but this time she’s confident.
He just hums and shrugs his shoulders. “Don’t think in absolutes, Detective Chen. We don’t know enough to rule anything out.” He tsks as if she lost the test. She groans and shakes her head, turning to survey the rest of the scene.
She sees their sergeant pull up and she elbows Tim, bringing his attention to the newcomer. He clears his throat and stands up straight next to her. Well, more like he towers over her. She’s pretty average height at 5 '4, but next to Derek’s 6 '3, she’s practically miniscule.
They keep to attention as Sergeant Grey walks to them. He looks them both over before singling Lucy out with his gaze. Lucy, ever ready, jumps right in. “Sir, we have another victim drained of blood, no wounds other than the small punctures in her throat.” She throws a quick look at Tim before continuing. “As explained by the M.E. at the autopsy of the last victim, they are too small to draw that much blood out in the amount of time since T.O.D. so it is believed they aren’t relevant.” She bites her lip, nervous that he’s going to call her out for the same thing.
The sergeant looks between her and her old T.O. again before nodding, satisfied. Lucy stands up straighter, proud that she did her team justice. She feels rather than hears Tim sigh behind her, and she slightly wilts. All she really wants is to make him proud, and he has quite the way of kicking her down a peg. She doesn’t even know if he’s aware of how much of an effect he has on her, or if she’s just reading too much into their partnership.
No. She knows he cares about her too. Just, maybe, not as much as she cares for him.
Grey turns from them and surveys the scene. He takes his time before taking a deep breath. “Alright you two, good work tonight, but that’s end of shift. Let the night detective take over and you can reconvene in the morning.” He nods her thanks to the crime scene photographer, gives the partners a smile, and returns to her car.
Sergeant Grey is a whirlwind; Lucy can’t wait to be just like him when she grows up.
She turns back to her partner, and feels as small as a bug under his shoe by the disappointed look he gives her. “I told you not to rule anything out Lucy, and what do you do? Steamroll over everything I said and only give your viewpoint.” He’s right, and she knows it, but she doesn’t want to take the castigation lying down.
She opens her mouth to retort, but he continues. “We are partners now Chen, not T.O. and Rookie, or Sergeant and Aide, that means both of our voices are evenly heard.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
Lucy knows he’s not bringing this up out of jealousy about her getting the sergeant’s ear. Grey usually turns to her first. Once, when she first got the tap to become a detective, he pulled her away privately and told her how he saw great things in her, and wanted her to have every advantage he could give her.
She had told Tim all of that the moment she saw him after the conversation. What she hadn’t told him was she also told Sergeant Grey that what she needed most out of anything, was Tim Bradford at her side.
Tim’s scores hadn’t been bad, but they weren’t great enough to get the tap as quickly as she had, but Grey had heard the rumors of the power duo Bradford and Chen, and readily agreed to get both of them.
Somehow the deal got back to Tim, and he hasn’t quite let it go, even though it’s been five months. She takes a deep breath and extends an olive branch. “I’m sorry Tim.” She sees him shake his head so she puts her hand on his bicep. “No, seriously. I didn’t mean to do that. You know I value your thoughts and opinion over anyone else. I just got wrapped up in all of this.” She waves her hand vaguely around at the crime scene.
She watches it sink in, and he shrugs and nods, accepting her reasoning. She doesn’t let him let her off that easily. “Listen, I know you don’t want to spend your time chasing down a serial killer. How about we give it to Lopez and Harper? They’ll catch this asshole in no time.” She smiles up at him slightly.
He relaxes the rest of the way and takes his own look around the area. He thinks for a moment before shaking his head. “No, we’re gonna do this. You and I are going to find this dickhead and be the first duo at the precinct in twenty years to catch a serial killer.” He looks so driven, Lucy is in awe.
She just watched her partner grow more and more determined, and all she can think is what a beautiful sight it is. She hasn’t seen it since he passed the Sergeant’s Exam two years ago. She falls a little more in love with him then and there.
She pushes her feelings down and jumps up and down in excitement. “Yes Tim yes! Thank you thank you thank you!” She realizes she’s still gripping his bicep as he goes from letting her tug him with her, to solidifying enough that she is pulled down by the lack of give his granite like arm now allows her.
As it’s one of Tim’s many quirks, she brushes it off as she’s done time and time again. “Okay, well, let’s talk theories. Should I come to yours? Or do you wanna meet at mine?” She says it as if they didn’t come in the same car and with his lack of roommates, they’ll obviously go to his house.
He just snorts and shakes his head before leading the way to his truck. He opens the passenger door, helps her up, and closes it behind her. Lucy gets the same butterflies in her stomach that she always does when he’s chivalrous. She’s seen him do it for all of his friends, but she’s deluded herself into thinking something about the way he does it for her is special.
They make it to his house where he pours her a glass of wine. He sticks to water as he always does. He told her once he doesn’t drink because of his father, and after hearing the stories, she has stopped reading into it. She smiles her thanks as she takes a sip and spreads out the file and pulls up her work cell.
She takes another sip and asks the question on her mind. “What makes you think the puncture wounds mean something?” He smiles proudly, causing her to light up.
He points and nods. “Now you’re asking the right questions, Detective Chen.” She blushes and looks down, pushing her hair behind her ear. He saunters across the counter until they’re next to each other and he pushes the pictures around. He then pulls his cell out, swipes through a couple of things, and puts it down next to the evidence. “Tell me Detective, what do you see?” His voice is right next to her ear, she has to fight a shiver when his breath warms her skin.
She gives her a real moment to look at what he’s given her. She sees exactly what connection he’s making. She scoffs. “You really think Rosalind Dyer is back?” Twenty years ago, the last serial killer their precinct caught was Rosalind Dyer. She was what cops call a unicorn. A female serial killer.
She was known for the two pinpricks on her victims’ necks. She was caught, fessed up to the murders. She’d strangle them, take a vial of blood for a keepsake, and then bury them in the forest. She escaped one day and was never seen from or heard from again.
Tim shakes his head. “I think we’re looking at a copycat.” Lucy can see what he sees. Truly she can. She just isn’t sure she agrees. He sees her hesitance and continues. “Not only did he kill them in the same way, just sloppier, he left the bodies exactly where she left her first two victims. I worked on one of her later cases when I worked in North Hollywood. I studied her kills until I could see it all in my sleep. I know this killer has got to be talking to her.” He gets more and more amped up as he talks. It’s super hot and super distracting.
She licks her lips and unconsciously tilts her head to the side. Her fair falls off her shoulder until it shields the part of her face nearest to him. She hears him inhale deeply and she smirks. She had just changed shampoos recently, obviously he noticed.
She sighs and flips her head back up, causing her hair to fan out and brush his chest. “I see where you’re getting that, I do, just, why after twenty years? Rosalind got away. I think it’s more likely they’re copying her against her wishes. I just wish I knew how he learned her ways.” She crosses her arms and takes a step back.
She stares at the photos long enough her vision goes blurry and she groans. “I don’t think I’m gonna get anywhere else tonight. We should go to bed and go at it with fresh eyes in the morning.” She instinctively reaches up and hugs Tim. She smiles when his arms instantly entwine around her back and he squeezes her to him.
She turns and goes into the guest bedroom, practically her room with how often she has stayed over throughout the years. The dresser is even half full of her stuff. She tosses a goodnight over her shoulder, and passes out as soon as her head hits the pillow.
The next morning Lucy and Tim arrive at the precinct together, eliciting excited whispers. They just make eye contact with each other and roll their eyes good naturedly. Everyone has expected them to get together since she stopped being his rookie. Obviously she wants it to be true, but her coworkers don’t need to know that.
They sit down at their desks, angled to face each other, and spread their research across them. Lucy bites her lip and cocks her head, surveying everything with a new eye. She understands why Tim thinks there’s something there with the marks, but she just can’t connect it with the murders. “Okay, so we think this person is a Rosalind Dyer copycat. What do we do with that? We don’t know where she is.” She looks up at him, hoping he has thought something up since last night.
He nods in agreement and shrugs. “I can call some of my contacts. See if they’ve heard anything. You do the same. Let’s reconvene in an hour.” She nods and gives him a thumbs up.
He gets up and leaves, causing her to pause. Tim’s never left her out of the loop like that before. Usually they tag team calls, but if they’re working different leads, they at least bounce answers off each other. This is different.
She feels a little lost to be completely honest. Did something happen? Is he keeping something from her? No, it’s Tim, he doesn’t keep anything from her. She’s definitely overthinking things. She shakes her head and sighs before pulling a folder of her CI contacts from one of her locked drawers.
An hour later finds Lucy no closer to finding the killer or Rosalind. She just hopes Tim has had better luck.
She groans and rubs her eyes, she hates not having a lead.
She’s broken out of her thoughts when a coffee cup is set down in front of her. She looks up and brightens when she sees Tim’s confident smile. He only smiles when there’s good news. “You found something.” She doesn’t phrase it like a question. She knows his accomplished face.
He smirks and nods as he drops into his chair. “One of my CIs knows where Roaslind hangs out. He thinks the killer is one of her henchmen who she lost control of. I’m gonna go talk to her now.” He states it so matter of factly, that Lucy finds herself nodding along.
That is before she registers what he says. “Wait, what? What do you mean you’re going to go talk to her? Roaslind Dyer is?” None of this makes sense. Usually her trust in Tim goes so deep and is so ingrained at this point, she just follows what he says. Not this time.
He sighs and rubs a hand down his face. “She’s charismatic. She’s always had a following, people who are willing to do anything she asks, including hiding from the cops. This idiot who is trying to impersonate her got on her bad side, and therefore her entire clan is out to get him.” He says all of this without looking at her.
Lucy is at a loss for what to say. How does Tim know all of this? “You talk about it like you know her.” She doesn’t really know how to address everything else he said. She’ll get to the questions in time. “Also, you haven’t said anything about me going with you.” She crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow.
He sighs again, sounding dejected, yet like he’s gearing up for a fight. “I met her a long time ago. That's why she agreed to meet with me.” She opens her mouth to respond, but he cuts her off. “Only me, Lucy.” He sounds so firm, firmer than he has since her rookie days. She knows that there’s no arguing with him.
Not that she’s not going to try. “Okay, how about I stay in the shop? She can’t argue against you having backup if you need it.” She’s a serial killer for goodness sake. She’s not letting her partner go in there alone.
He can see she’s working herself up, and he puts his hand on her arm. It settles her, just like every time he touches her. He’s not very tactile, unlike Lucy, who grounds herself in touch. Tim only uses it in very specific circumstances. It’s how she knows he’s serious. “She’ll know if I bring anyone. You can’t come, Luce. I’m not going to risk you.” They stare into each other’s eyes, his hand burning a brand onto her skin.
She huffs and rolls her eyes. “Fine, but don’t expect me to be happy about it. You tell Sergeant Grey, and you call me before and after the meeting, and if you can, text me in the middle.” He nods along with her stipulations, and she flounders for more to say.
He just leans in and kisses her forehead. She freezes and her eyes widen. “Thank you for looking out for me Lucy, but I’ll be okay.” He leaves her then, striding into their sergeant’s office, and she resigns herself to a long night.
It’s not forty minutes after Tim left that Lucy is approached by a stranger. She’s average height, with reddish brown hair, and extremely pale skin. Lucy smiles kindly at her. “Hi, can I help you?” She’s a little put off by the woman. She stops in front of her and cocks her head, seeming to assess her.
Lucy licks her lips and raises an eyebrow. The woman hums before shrugging. “I suppose. I was sent by a certain woman you’re trying to find, regarding a mutual friend of ours.” Lucy tenses up. She just knows she’s talking about Tim and Rosalind.
The woman smirks when she sees her reaction. “Yes, I can see now why she wants you to join our little soiree. Come, we must make haste.” She doesn’t wait for Lucy to acknowledge her, she just turns around and strides for the exit.
Lucy doesn’t give it a second thought. She doesn’t think to talk to her sergeant. She doesn’t think to leave a note. She doesn’t think to shoot Tim a warning text. She just follows.
It’s once they’re at the woman’s car that Lucy freezes. “I’m not getting in that car with you. Tell me where to go and I’ll meet you there.” She stands resolutely as the woman sizes her up.
She seems to deem it not worth the fight as she sighs, seemingly put upon. “Fine, just follow me. Don’t lose me.” She gets in the car and starts it.
Lucy rushes to her car, and pulls out of the parking lot, sticking so close to Rosalind’s henchwoman, she’s practically riding her bumper.
The ride isn’t long. Fifteen minutes tops. It makes sense why Tim hadn’t been gone long before Jade received her summons. She sits in her car for a moment, taking deep breaths. She shoots him a text, letting him know she’s been brought here.
He doesn’t respond, so she gets out of the car and follows the stranger inside the seemingly abandoned store.
It turns out she’s right, it is abandoned. It’s the old train station under the store that is the meeting point.
Lucy hesitantly follows the woman down a ladder and through old tunnels. She tries to keep herself calm, listening to Tim’s advice in her head. She’s going to be okay. If Roaslind was going to kill her, she wouldn’t have been so overt about it. She wants her for another reason.
The walk isn’t long before Lucy hears Tim’s voice, accompanied by a woman’s, sultry and deep. It makes her hackles rise.
They step into a large room, lit by lanterns placed all over the space. In the center of the room two figures are so close they’re pressed up against each other. Tim’s back is to her, so Lucy gets a full view of Rosalind Dyer.
She hates to admit it, but the woman is gorgeous. She has long red hair, such pale skin, she thinks she should see her veins, but her skin is completely unblemished. What catches Lucy by surprise the most is the woman’s blood red eyes.
She smirks when she sees Lucy, and only a moment later, Lucy hears Tim’s deep inhale and he freezes. “Ah, your little puppy has finally joined us Tim.” Her eyes flit to the woman who brought her. “Well done Beth.” The woman moans at the praise.
Lucy is surprised to find herself amused. She knows she has a praise kink, but this woman takes it to another level. Roaslind turns back to her and takes a moment to appraise her. Lucy straightens her back and meets her gaze.
The killer smirks and steps back from her partner. “My goodness, listen to that heartbeat. Strong and steady.” She looks at Tim and smiles. “You chose your puppy well my dear.” Lucy turns her head to look at Tim, and watches as he slowly turns to look at her.
She is caught off guard at the look in his eyes. She was expecting anger, hurt, relief, or even just an acknowledgement of their friendship. Instead she sees an emotion she has never had to recognize in him. Ambivalence.
She forces herself not to flinch, and he shrugs. “She has her uses.” Lucy feels like she’s going to be sick. He sounds like someone would as if they were talking about a pest. Not a best friend.
Rosalind laughs a tinkling laugh. “Oh look at that face. I think you hurt her Tim dear. Don’t tell me you let her actually develop feelings for you. What have I told you? Puppies are fun, but true emotion makes them dangerous.” She sweeps her gaze around all of the people surrounding them. “Unless you put them to use, as I have.” She turns her attention back to Lucy.
Lucy, who is trying not to show how devastated she is by how they’re talking about her. She swallows thickly and decides it’s time to take control. “I didn’t follow Beth here just to hear how you feel about me. What do you want, Rosalind?” She doesn’t look at Tim. She’s so confused. Rosalind speaks to him as if he’s a son… or a lover. Tim hadn’t told her he knew her this well. Of course, it seems Tim hasn’t told her a lot.
Rosalind laughs again and strides over to her. She’s fast. Faster than Lucy’s eyes can keep up with her. She can’t help but step back when she stops a hairsbreadth away from her. “Oh I like you my dear. If Tim doesn’t keep you, maybe I can find some use for you.” She reaches out and caresses her throat. Lucy slaps her hand away and steps around her, deliberately putting her back to her as she walks over to Tim.
At this moment she doesn’t care if her partner never really cared about her. He’s still the most familiar face to her, and even though he hurt her, he’s still the person that brings her the most comfort. “Tim, what’s going on?” The man clenches his jaw, but doesn’t respond.
He looks at Rosalind. “I’m not done with her yet, but you’ll be the first to know if I get sick of her.” He reaches out and grabs her by the back of her neck and gently, but firmly, pulls her behind him.
Lucy doesn’t fight him. She lets him put himself between her and the predator. She watches from behind him as Rosalind raises an eyebrow. “Oh Tim, don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for the girl too.” She sounds so pitying, it almost makes her sound human.
Tim tenses for the briefest moment, before seemingly forcing himself to relax. Lucy doesn’t think Rosalind notices. She only sees it because she’s pressed against him and she knows him so well. “Of course I don’t have feelings for the human Rosalind. I’ve just spent too much time training her to let her go now.” She’s getting really sick of them talking about her like she’s a dog.
She moves to step around him to fight for herself, but a sudden, iron hard hand grips her wrist, keeping her rooted in her spot.
Rosalind of course notices. She snaps her fingers and another crony brings her a box. This time Tim turns to stone and can’t seem to calm down. “Well, if that’s the case, let’s test it shall we?” Again, faster than lucy can see, she moves into Tim’s space, opens the box, and blows a powder into his face.
He tries to turn away and back up, but his hold on her keeps him from getting far. He inhales in surprise and then rips himself from Lucy. Rosalind snorts and backs up. “Hmm, it seems you’ve been holding out on me dear. Your reaction just then told me everything I needed to know.” She takes a deep breath and smiles. It’s then that Lucy notices the sharp fangs protruding from her lips.
Lucy flinches back, and this time Tim lets her. She hears hisses and snarls from around her. She looks around and starts to get genuinely scared when she notices everyone now has glowing eyes and fangs.
She feels her heart rate skyrocket and Rosalind lets out a loud, true belly laugh. “Oh finally she breaks. I must applaud you dear Lucy, you held out longer than I thought you would.” Lucy doesn’t pay her any mind, her eyes swivel to find Tim’s.
What she finds doesn’t put her mind at peace.
He’s staring back at her with the same fangs, but his eyes. Oh his eyes aren’t the same glittering rubies as the others. No, they’re a deep, bloody red, and he’s staring at her in lust.
She turns to look around, but Tim speaks before she can take action. “Don’t run Lucy, you’ll just make it worse.” He sounds like he’s trying to comfort her, but it’s not working. She takes a deep, shuttering breath before meeting his eyes again.
He must see the tearful fear in them, because he takes on the same speed as the apex predator, and flies to her side. He puts his hands on her cheeks and leans in. His nose dips to her throat and he drags it from her jugular down to her shoulder. She tries to lean away, but he doesn’t let her.
His tongue darts out from between his lips, and retraces the line his nose just took. She whimpers and he shushes her. “I’m not going to hurt you Lucy. I could never hurt you.” He kisses her pulse point, moves his hands from her face to wrap around her waist, and tugs her to him.
He rips his mouth from her neck and turns to Rosalind. “I’m not going to hurt her, Rosalind. Tell us where to find Caleb, and we’ll leave you alone.” He says it in his best T.O. voice, and Lucy finds herself moaning against him.
He squeezes her tighter, practically lifting her from her feet. The killer groans and rolls her eyes. “I must admit, I’m impressed, Tim. Fine, Beth, give him Caleb’s address, then let them leave.” She waves her hand, seemingly done with the two of them.
Beth frowns, but glides over, handing Tim a piece of paper. He rips it from her grasp, and picks Lucy up completely with one arm. He nods his thanks to Rosalind, and exits with the same speed she has been witnessing all night.
Lucy is breathless when he stops at her car and steadies her on her feet. He lets her gather her bearings, but cuts her off when he sees she’s gearing up for an inquisition. “Not here. You’ve gotta be hungry, let’s get a veggie burger in you. Let me drive, you’re in no shape to get yourself anywhere safely.” He doesn’t let her argue, he simply reaches into her back pocket and grabs her key.
It’s only then she notices he stopped at the passenger side. He opens the door and gently pushes her down into the seat, and closes the door before moving at a normal human pace to the driver’s seat.
Lucy takes the drive to the diner to gather her thoughts. She has too many questions. She doesn’t know where to start. She hopes that now she knows the truth, Tim will help guide the conversation.
That is, of course, if he wants to tell her. His harsh words about her earlier still linger in her mind. She knows, logically, that he probably said all of those hurtful things to protect her from the literal serial killer. Her heart, however, aches from the callous way he disregarded her place in his life.
They are seated, and put their food and drink orders in before they start the conversation.
Tim sits silently, letting her start. She takes a deep breath and finds she can’t look him in the eye, so she drops hers to her hands, playing with the straw wrapper. “So, you’re a… vampire?” She doesn’t know what else he could be.
He sighs and nods. “That was not at all how I wanted you to find out, but yes, I’m a vampire. I have been a vampire for twenty years. Rosalind sired me after Isabel begged her to turn both of us, but I didn’t want anything to do with her clan, so I’ve been on my own for fifteen years.” He stops then and leans back in the booth.
Lucy thinks for a moment before asking more questions. “I should probably ask more important questions, but I can’t focus on anything other than what you said about me.” She bites her lip and gathers the courage to continue. “I thought we were friends.” Her voice breaks on the last word, so she clears her throat and takes a sip of her soda.
Tim does butt in at this. “Lucy, I said what I said to try and protect you. Of course we’re friends.” He reaches out and grabs her hand. “I know we’ve skirted around talking about feelings for a long time, but I hope someday we’ll be more than friends.” Her heart skips at his words. It’s what she’s always wanted to hear.
She lets a small smile grace her lips before becoming serious again. “Have you ever killed anyone because you’re a vampire?” He’s a cop, she knows he’s killed people before in the line of duty, but this would be different.
He shakes his head. “No, I haven’t personally killed anyone. When I was first turned I relied on Rosalind for everything, I know the blood she gave me was from victims, but once I was steady enough to leave the clan I never took a life.” He holds her gaze the whole time so she’s willing to believe him.
She nods and takes a bite of her veggie burger. “That’s all I need to know for now. I’m gonna eat my dinner, then let’s go catch a killer.” He smiles and nods, but a weight seems to have lifted off his shoulders.
Forty-five minutes later they’re standing at the address Rosalind provided them. It’s a nice house, outside of L.A. proper. Lucy silently wonders if, because it’s housing a killer, she could get a deal on rent.
She knows it’s not the time to wonder about that, so she snaps back into professional mode. Tim and she breach the door.
Everything happens too fast for Lucy to react.
As soon as she steps foot inside the house, something gets a hold of her throat, and she hears Tim shout.
Two sharp points tear into her throat and she lets out a scream of her own, this one bloodcurdling.
It hurts. It hurts so badly, she’s scared she’ll pass out.
She tries to fight, but Caleb is too strong. His arms are clamped around her, keeping her from moving. She hears Tim shout for him to let her go. He’s trying to follow police procedure, but if he keeps letting him drain her, she’s going to die.
Just as she has that thought, the killer’s weight is lifted from her. The teeth are ripped from her neck, and she immediately tries to put pressure on it.
She drops to the ground, and lies on her side, watching as Tim snaps Caleb’s neck and rips his throat out. He rips it so savagely, he decapitates the man, and lets his body drop to the floor.
He rushes over to her. She opens her mouth to speak but only a gurgle comes out. He shushes her. “No, don’t speak. It’s okay baby, I’ve got you, I’m not gonna let you die.” He picks her up and cradles her in his arms.
She watches as his eyes, which had gone back to their regular blue, turn back to red as he smells her blood. She reaches out and tries to push him away. She’s scared he’s either going to kill her or turn her.
He snaps out of it and shakes his head. “Lucy, baby, it’s okay. My saliva has coagulation properties. I just have to lick your wound.” She shakes her head and weakly tries to move away from him. It doesn’t work.
His hold turns firm. He’s still gentle, but she’s not getting anywhere. “Luce, you have to let me do this. You’re losing too much blood.” She’s scared. She knows she’s too close to death, but she doesn’t want to be a vampire.
She cries but finally nods. He sighs in relief and dips his head down. His tongue laves at her neck, and she’s surprised by the heat that he leaves behind.
She feels the blood stop pouring, and her skin stitches up. Soon, she’s strong enough to reach up and feel unblemished skin. She looks at him in surprise. He smiles and shrugs. “Okay it doesn’t just stop bleeding. It can heal too.” She drops her hand and lets her head rest against his shoulder.
Even after everything that happened tonight, she’s still in the arms of the love of her life, and even though he’s one of the monsters, she can’t see herself ever feeling safer in anyone else’s arms.
He kisses the top of her head. “Rest Lucy, you’re safe.” Despite logic and what she saw tonight, she believes him. She relaxes and lets herself rest.