~~~

The moon had risen.

Its deep red color filled the sky not too long ago and I could already see a difference in Nico.

I watched nervously from the couch, holding a pillow against my body as Nico quickly paced around the room with his gaze glued to the floor.

Nico had told me to stay there and to stay quiet, so that's exactly what I was doing.

The first effects of the blood moon were already beginning to show themselves.

His breathing was rigid and heavy and although I couldn't get a good look at his face, I was pretty sure that his pupils had turned to slits.

I was too afraid to make any kind of noise. I knew that their mindsets changed as they did during this night and pretty much only focused on their bloodlust and the pain that they felt because of it.

I noticed how Nico's hands were shaking even after he had balled them into fists.

This mornings conversation kept creeping back to me as my worries grew and grew. Something happened to his last pet during the last blood moon.

I could give a pretty good guess as to what happened, but Nico was very upset once Xander brought it up.

Which made me even more nervous.

Nico stopped in the middle of the room facing away from me, his body trembling as he took in a deep breath.

His head cocked to the side, eyes staring out the window. Something akin to a growl exited his throat before he whipped his head back and continued pacing.

I was confused but just slightly relieved that he didn't even glance at me.

Part of me wanted to hide, even though I knew hiding was a futile effort.

Every sense that a vampire became enhanced once their transformation was complete.

Although Nico's transformation was taking longer than I thought it would.

The pet master would have already been browsing through the cages and pouncing on whichever pet he felt like taking, perhaps he would have already moved on to the second one.

My breathing hitched as I recalled those many memories, now knowing that I was the one that was going to be fed from. Knowing that the possibility of me dying was higher than ever.

I soon found myself to begin shaking as well, grip tightening on the pillow.

Every pet knows that this time would come for them, but even that cant compare for when it actually happens.

Even though I knew that Nico was trying to fight it, him and I both knew that he couldn't fight it forever.

Those kinds of predatory instincts run through him like his own blood, only allowing him to fight it for so long until it consumes him. He knew that once it did, he wouldn't have much control over what would happen next.

It was the instincts that kept vampires alive no matter what once their species first began to grow.

It was a fight that he could never win and he knew it.

I knew it.

I looked back up to see that Nico had gone almost completely still save for the quick rise and fall of his chest.

Not a single muscle in his body was relaxed, like if he showed one sign of weakness he would lose whatever control he had left.

His eyes went wide before his entire face contorted in pain.

I let out a small gasp as he stumbled forward, catching himself by grabbing onto the wooden frame on the foot of the bed.

His grip tightened on the wood, his teeth clenching. I could tell that he was in pain.

The schools always taught us that this was a painful process, only making the vampires want to give in to their bloodlust to make it stop faster. I never really understood how one could affect the other, though now that I was actually witnessing it first hand I understood it plenty.

Nico's eyes squeezed shut, his back arching as a sharp hiss of pain passed his lips.

I stared, eyes growing wide as two large, dark, leathery wings sprung from his back, effectively ripping through the back of his shirt in the process.

I continued to stare in both fear and awe as the wings slowly folded against his back, the ends of them nearly touching the ground. The wings that only appeared during a night like this, or if a vampires life was in danger.

Nico's eyes shot open, his pupils so thin that I could barely see them. He sounded as if he was catching his breath as he slowly stood himself back onto his two feet.

His eyes were planted straight ahead, letting out a ridiculously long breath as he slowly ran a shaky hand through his hair, like an act to calm himself down.

Only then had I noticed that his nails had grown and sharpened, almost looking like claws.

This was what they were. What Nico was.

Monsters. Pure, terrifying monsters.

I sucked in a large breathe, pushing myself back against the couch, partially hoping that it would just swallow me.

Apparently, I was a bit too loud because next thing I knew, his eyes were staring right through mine.

I froze, not a single muscle in my body moved, I'm pretty sure that I even stopped breathing.

Nico didn't move either, he was just staring at me. Even his wings stayed completely still.

The sound of my own heartbeat filled my ears as something I didn't really want to recognize flashed in his eyes.

It was hunger.

He looked at me for a moment longer before he took a single step towards me.

He stopped almost immediately after his foot hit the floor, shaking his head with a grunt and turning away from me before continuing his pattern of pacing.

I just continued to stare at where he was standing, slowly allowing the air to fill my lungs again.

He was still fighting it.

Why?

My attention turned back towards him as he extended his broad wings back almost like he was stretching them.

His body hadn't stopped trembling, nor has the uncomfortable look left his face.

It was so weird seeing him like this, so different from what he was usually like.

And so confusing.

Why was he still fighting it if he was in so much pain?

The transformation was over, only now meaning that his urges were going to be stronger than ever.

And he was just strolling around the room, continuously trying to ignore whatever he was feeling.

Ignoring himself.

Causing himself more pain and discomfort.

If he doesn't do something soon, his bloodlust will take over, and any chance I had of surviving this night will be gone.

My stomach turned at the thought, and even more as I tried to come up with some sort of solution.

The only solution could think of was me.

Only the blood from something alive could fix this, and I was the closest thing that fit that description.

I released a silent breathe, focusing back to the vampire that was still exploring the room.

His own nails were digging into the palm of his hand, I could even see hints of blood coming from where he'd pierced his own flesh.

If it was agonizing to watch then I couldn't even imagine what it was like to feel.

"Nico?" his name left my mouth before I even thought to stop them.

His head quickly turned towards me as his entire body tensed up, even his wings seemed to fold tightly against his back.

I could see something close to worry show in his eyes.

"I told you to stay quiet," he growled.

I flinched at the sound, not entirely sure if it was focused towards me or not.

It probably was. I did just disobey an order.

Even so, my next words left my mouth without hesitation.

"You're hurting."

He froze for a moment, eyes going wide before he fully turned towards me.

For some reason, his eyes wouldn't allow me to look at anything else.

"Yea and?" He asked harshly.

I didn't know what to say. I wasn't used to this Nico.

The Nico who was looking at me like a thirsting man finally finding water.

Yet he was refusing to take it.

I knew that I should be happy about that fact, but for some reason, it just felt wrong.

Watching him suffer when I knew I could do something about it felt wrong, even when I knew that I was going to get hurt.

Nico suddenly tore his head away, cussing lowly under his breath.

"And looking at you isn't making it any better." He stated quietly, his voice obviously straining.

He froze, wincing as he tried to turn away, like turning away from me, from something alive, was going to kill him.

"Then do something that will!"

I didn't even register the words before I realized that it was my voice that said them.

I looked down at my own disbelief that I had actually said that, that I actually practically commanded him to do something. Commanded my own Master!

Oh my God I was going to die tonight.

I glanced back up to see him giving me a sideways glare, his wing partially hiding his face from my view.

"No," he said lowly.

His response left me completely dumbfounded.

He continued to turn and walk the other way, avoiding me like I was toxic.

I just watched him as he approached the farther side of the bed, trying to figure out how I could put an end to this.

I took a deep breath preparing myself for whatever I was about to say.

"Nico you can't keep doing this," I started, fully knowing that I was telling his something that he already knew. Still, he stilled once I spoke, a strange look crossing his face once I did. It wasn't necessarily anger, but it was close, "You're just going to make it worse if you-"

"Khloe." He cut me off.

I immediately looked down at the pillow on my lap, already knowing that he was unhappy with me.

"Drop it," he said through clenched teeth, "I'll be fine."

I nervously chewed on the inside of my lip.

How could I just drop it when he was just hurting himself. When I was going to pay for it sooner or later.

He was not fine in any way, nor was he going to be if he didn't do something soon.

And in all honesty, I was actually worried about him.

I mindlessly removed the pillow from my lap, sliding my legs over so they were handing off of the front of the couch.

Nico inhaled a sharp breath before he began coughing like he was choking.

One hand went to cover his mouth while the other held him up as he hunched over the bed, his body beginning to shake even more.

"Nico!" I hadn't even realized that I had stood and taken a couple steps towards him

Even so, I knew he wasn't going to last much longer. OK so maybe I was very worried about him.

His head whipped up to face me, his eyes growing wide once he saw that I had moved.

"Get away from me!" He barked out the command, causing me to freeze.

I wanted to listen to him, I really did.

"I just want to help," I responded quickly.

A small growl exited his throat, mixing with his shaky breaths.

It got cut off once he winced, holding one of his hands against his chest.

"You want to help? Then go sit back down," he said as almost a warning.

That wasn't going to help anything. He wasn't going to benefit in any way be me doing that.

"But I-"

"Now Khloe!" He shouted, effectively making me jump, "I'm not losing another pet to that!" He gestured out the window with his wing.

I just stood there partially shocked and unsure of what I should do.

I knew that tonight was extra dangerous. The slaves were hidden away for the night, so he couldn't do another blood transfusion like he had done in the past.

But that shouldn't stop him from drinking from me.

As horrible as that sounds...

I watched as he pitifully crawled onto the bed, shifting his wings so that he could comfortably lean back against the bed frame, hands pressing hard against his head.

He didn't even look to see if I had done what he had asked.

I couldn't let this happen any longer. If I was going to die tonight it may as well be like this.

I took a deep breathe as Nico's own words came back to me from a few days earlier.

You have a responsibility as a pet... To give your Master what he needs so shit like this doesn't happen.

I swallowed the sudden lump I'm my throat.

I had to give him what he needed, and what he needed was me.

~~~