Chapter Seven

Deepest, Darkest Secret

For every inch Karou clawed her way closer to Warren, he would push her back three-fold and ensue a frost to heal the dent she left in his icy façade. She wasn’t allowed in; she wasn’t allowed to know him. The less familiar they got, the better. It would be easier that way - easier for what he didn’t know, as he certainly wasn’t going to let her leave the Compound, but it would be safer for her to keep her distance from him if she had to stay.

Too many lines have already been crossed, haven’t they?

Karou was persistent. The security she felt at the Compound had ignited a hunger inside her to experience things she’d gone without in her other life. The knowledge that if she was patient enough, she could get what she wanted from Warren fortified her. Although Karou wasn’t sure what she wanted, her ideas were gradually becoming more concrete.

That day her patience was failing. She grew more and more agitated by Warren’s enduring silence. It’d been twelve days since she’d had her first insight into what it might be like to have a love life. The odd few words he’d said to her since had been curt. The act he upheld of being too busy with work to entertain her was his way of pulling back and regaining composure, but to Karou, it was just another flavour of neglect. It wasn’t that she wanted endless conversation but, she didn’t think that wanting him to acknowledge her existence was too much to ask.

Karou thanked the high powers that Warren wasn’t lurking about when she got up. Having woken up with a stiff back was uncomfortable, and it had put her in a bad mood. To spite Warren, she hadn’t eaten breakfast for the last two days, so all she’d consumed was coffee, but that morning she wasn’t even sure she could stomach that. She collected the quilt from her bed and dragged it through the unit to the couch, where she curled up in her corner while grumbling to herself; she cocooned herself there. A cheery comedy played on the TV, but unfortunately, the light-hearted plot did nothing to lighten her mood. She felt weak, pathetic even, and now the ache that had plagued her through the night had gotten worse. Her back felt to be on fire as if every fibre of her muscle were shredding or twisting. Sleep eventually found her in her worn-down state, and she’d keeled over on the couch.

Sometime later, Warren exited his office and didn’t notice that he wasn’t alone. He was stood before the side table, pouring himself a drink, when he spotted the quilt piled up on the couch. The TV had turned itself off a while ago because Karou had spent her day sleeping off the pain. She’d gradually been coming around already, but she was finally roused into wakefulness by the clink of Warren’s scotch decanter contacting the silver tray beneath. She groaned, sat upright, and turned to look directly at Warren while he removed his tie. In that bird-like fashion of hers, she tipped her head to the side curiously. Without a word, Warren turned on his heels and disappeared back into his office.

Oh, that’s it, Mister! Something snapped inside Karou - She’d had enough! If he was going to be like that, then she at least wanted to know what she had done wrong to make him avoid her with so much conviction.

Her back twinged as she stood up, but she was too angry to let the discomfort deter her from confronting him. Karou stomped across the lounge to his office and burst through the door. Warren was busy rolling up his sleeves with his back to her. When she entered so abruptly, he glared at her over his shoulder. Karou had disturbed his ritualistic preparation for his evening relaxation. His eyes were a clear icy blue and caught her off guard. You’re angry at him, remember? Now is not the time to be admiring him!

“You’re a- a real ass-hole, y’know that?” Karou opened, straight to the point and with as much vigour as she could muster.

“Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the first time I’ve been told that...” Warren mumbled. Reaching for his drink, he took a large gulp and allowed the silence to build uncomfortably. Turning around to rest his rear on the ledge of his desk, he looked over at her with high expectations that she was about to lose it. He gathered that Karou had much more to say, and for once, he felt inclined to listen.

“Is that all you’re going to say?”

“I suppose I could idly mention the weather, but I haven’t been outsi-”

“You’re so... Difficult!” Karou’s hands became animated in her anger. Why isn’t he taking me seriously? She thought as she watched him sit there ‘oh so casually’ and sip his drink. “And frustrating!”

“Hmm, yes, I’ve been told that too.” He muttered another icy comment as he stared at his feet.

At this point, a blazing row was better than being suspended in silence, but she couldn’t even get him fired up enough to fight. “If you’re going to ignore me, at least tell me what I’ve done wrong? What have I done to deserve this treatment Warren?” Her gusto was disappearing, and now that made her mad at herself. She didn’t want him to see how pathetic she could be, and she certainly didn’t want to angry cry in front of him, but she could feel her lip quivering already.

“You haven’t done anything wrong; it’s just the way I am.”

“There has to be a better reason. Why are you so mean to me? I – I didn’t run away from that hell-hole I lived in with my parents just to be neglected by someone else...”

“I took you in, didn’t I? Or should I have left you out there to freeze to death? I feed you, even though your dietary requirements are ridiculously difficult to navigate. I clothed you. I gave you a bed to sleep in; I gave you my bed. I don’t think those things constitute neglect.”

“If that’s what you want to tell yourself, then fine, but regardless of what you’ve given me materially, all of which I have been very grateful for, you still act as if I don’t exist ninety-eight per cent of the time. I’ve tried to be your friend...”

“I am under no obligation to be your friend Karou.”

“What? Do I mean so little to you?” Karou’s lip quivered uncontrollably now, but he still wasn’t looking at her. Even if he saw her cry, she needed him to answer her. “At least look at me...” She whispered.

“You mean nothing to me,” Warren said, managing to keep his face emotionless; it was somewhat of a talent of his. However, his icy blue eyes looked directly at her just as she’d requested, and combined with his words, the sentiment cut her deep. What he said cut like a wire.

Of course, I don’t. Karou resigned to her thoughts. Tearing her eyes away from his, she stared at the floor until she turned and silently left his office. There was no need to hear him explain further.

Left alone with his thoughts, Warren listened to his ‘demons’ bicker amongst themselves. Sometimes he felt like just a mouthpiece. One put forward its argument. You’re being cruel to be kind. She should know now that she’ll never get close to you, rather than get hurt later on. In his frustration, Warren began to pace his office's length.

She’s a child, a mortal child, and so fragile, so delicate and breakable; she doesn’t need to be entangled with the likes of you. Keep her at a distance. Another agreed.

When the war is over, she can leave this place, live a normal life, and be happy and free. Something replied. The barrage of chattering voices was well-meaning, but they did nothing to comfort him; in fact, they wound him up more. The tenser he was, the faster he marched his ovular path, circling the floorboards at such speed the friction could have set them on fire.

You don’t need to be her ‘friend’. It could easily go too far. A resounding voice sneered; it was usually the one that spoke the most reason. It was usually where his kinder nature came from, but Warren didn’t understand its reasoning this time. His retarded understanding of his feelings rendered him useless in this situation and a helpless victim of confusion. The term ‘cruel to be kind’ never made any sense to him - watching the look that came over her face, the way her body shrank into itself, and how her usually pretty blue eyes had glazed over with tears hadn’t brought him any peace. How could he believe he was making the right choice to push her away when she looked at him like that? As he combed his fingers back through his hair with one hand, he rubbed the back of his neck with the other, trying to soothe himself into a state of calm. It was no use.

From the blackest corner of his mind, the voice of temptation retorted; Would it have hurt so bad to let her come closer? Warren paused in his tracks, the seductive whisper had cut through the panic he felt, and now he stood still and docile. What she wants wouldn’t be hard to give. How many times is she going to have to reach for you before you give in? Isn’t it getting harder to ignore this feeling? In his mind, the wicked face associated with the voice grinned when referring to the sensation that made his whole body ache. He couldn’t name it, but it was yearning. You’ve imagined it so many times. Images, memories of Karou’s face flashed through his mind, all her expressions. The sweetness of her smiles had warmed him to her and made him smile in return. They eventually flickered away, and the quiet sound of pleasure she’d made against his lips rang in his ears all over again. It set seedy imaginings into motion, and soon flashes of past daydreams came to mind. Her supple skin beneath his fingers and lips. How it would burst open beneath his fangs as he consumed her and filled her all at once. Their naked bodies intertwined. The imagined expressions he could make her make taunted him, and his inner demon chuckled as the imagined moans grew louder and louder. He suddenly felt hot.

She asked you to kiss her and when you did, wasn’t that feeling worth it? She didn't look at you like she did just now after you kissed her. Kissing her didn't hurt her like what you said to her just now has.

But what happens once she’s given all she can give, and you’ve gotten bored of her?

Drain her!

“Stop it.” Warren yelled, dropping the glass from his hand. It plummeted to the floor and shattered into a thousand shards in perfect symbolism of how his mind had splintered. Cupping his hands to his ears to block out his noisy thoughts, he rocked back and forth in an attempt to self-soothe.

I have Ellis. He thought, desperately trying to make a counterargument.

Hahaha. You haven’t had Ellis for decades, but she’s been toying with you for a lo-ong time, and you let her.

The office phone rang, breaking the room's silence which was a welcome distraction from the voices. They shut up, and finally, there was internal quiet that felt sacred and cleansing. The ringing carried on longer than he’d usually allow, but he needed a moment to regain composure, and the monotonous bleeting was therapeutic.

Once the office door closed behind her, Karou ran away to the safety of her bedroom. She scoped the space and planned her next move. There was no time to cry, so she wiped her eyes and set her plan in motion. Pulling her backpack from under the bed, she packed clothes she’d need for an escape. Reaching under the bed again, Karou retrieved a small cardboard box. Grabbing her flashlight and old cell phone, she packed them into the remaining pockets of her backpack. The other item she’d secreted away would be tucked into the front pocket of her jeans for when the time was right.

Recalling how Warren had noted how inappropriately dressed she’d been the last time she ran away, she made sure to wear warmer clothing this time. Once she’d shrugged the backpack on over a jacket and concealed her pocketknife, she was ready.

Her gunmetal eyes scanned around the unit for what she thought would be the last. Once she’d made sure the coast was clear, she dashed to the front door, grabbing her shoes on the way. Pulling them on quickly in the courtyard, she scrambled across the small courtyard as quickly as she could so that Warren didn’t notice her leaving.

Karou knew her way to the gate that she’d been brought through on the night of her capture. By now, she’d also managed to befriend one of the guards that’d apprehended her too. Although he looked like a tough guy, Nate was actually a big furball. As she strolled towards him and the east gate’s watchtower, he waved to her.

It wasn’t until she got closer and he spotted her backpack that he grew suspicious. “Hey, Karou.” Nate greeted. He was trying to hold his gun more casually so as not to spook Karou, but he couldn’t help but feel cautious about how she presented to him.

“Hiya Nate. How are you doing?” She asked, trying to seem casual too.

“Oh, y’know, just at work... What’re you doing here?”

“Today is the big day.” She stated as if he ought to know. It was a bluff, of course. She just needed to convince him to let her leave, even if she had to lie. “I’m leaving today.”

“Oh?” His mousey blond brow shot up in surprise. “You’ve been given your marching orders by the boss then?”

“Yep. I guess he finally got sick of me.” She forced a smile and chuckled. “He knows I’m trustworthy enough now, so he says I can leave.”

“It’ll be a shame to see you go, Karou. You’ve got some good friends here. Where is it that you’re planning to go from here?”

“Well, I don’t have family, so I guess just to whatever is left out there for me to find. I should be with my own kind, right?”

“Even if it’s the losing side?”

“Yeah, I’ve realised that even if I don’t make it out there, I certainly don’t belong here.”

“I see your point, I guess,” Nate nodded and reached for his radio. Speaking into it whilst maintaining eye contact with her, he said, “Guys, we’ve got a code four here.” He grinned. “They’ll open the gate in a second.” Nate’s face was assuring, but moments later, she saw his gaze flicker over her left shoulder. Before she knew it, she’d been apprehended and held at gunpoint by none other than Apollo. “I’m sorry, Karou. I had to call this in. If Mr Howard says you can go, you can go, but I’ve got to ask him first. He’s the boss here. Y’know how it is...”

“Let go of me! I have to get out of here. He doesn’t even want me here. Nate, please?” Karou begged, writhing against Apollo’s strong arms to no avail.

“Look, even if the rumours are true… And if they are, I’m really sorry, but I can’t help you escape like this. It’s my neck on the line too, Karou.”

“What?!” Karou already looked alarmed due to being in her situation, but she thought that all those rumours had died. “What rumours?”

“Y’know... That he’s-” He hesitated. “-Using you.” Nate whispered and looked genuinely sympathetic.

“Rumour has it that you’re his little plaything,” Apollo said bluntly. Apparently, the onexus didn’t care if it was true or not. He even smirked at what he said next. “Surprised you’ve lasted this long…”

“What? That’s not true.” Karou exclaimed. “Sure, he hates me, but he hasn’t raped me! Just let me go. I can’t live with him anymore.”

The phone conversation was brief. It’d come directly from the east gate’s watchtower. Kade, the demonic kin on the guard force, had informed him that Karou was trying to exit the Compound. Nate had personally requested his permission to allow her departure or give further orders.

“Hold her there. I’ll be with you shortly.” Warren said plainly before hanging up. I should have expected as much. She’s a feisty little thing. The matter was urgent, so he used the full extent of his vamperic speed to get to the east gate and arrived in less than a minute. The scene before him was easy to decipher; Karou had packed her bag to leave and was attempting such. She was still begging to be released, but Apollo had a firm hold on her.

When Warren approached, the guards greeted him respectfully. “Sir.” Nate nodded. “What would you like us to do with her?”

“Firstly, you can lower your weapon,” Warren stated calmly and glanced to Karou.

“Why won’t you just let me leave?” Karou interjected. By now, she was angry-crying despite herself. When Apollo let her go, she shrugged away from him whilst glaring in Warren’s direction. “The manhandling is totally unnecessary.”

“You have nowhere to go.” Warren reasoned. “Whatever mortal militia group you meet out there could glean information from you. They’ll torture it out of you if necessary and then dispose of you once they’ve gotten what they want. Then they could organise an attack on this place. It would be irresponsible of me to allow you to leave. Once the war is over, you’re free to go. Until then, you have two options; you can live as a prisoner of war in the cells, or you can resume your life at the unit.”

“After the war!? Who knows how long that’ll be!” Karou yelled dramatically. “I’m not going back there with You.” She continued, and although her voice lowered, it was still an angry grumble.

He knew she would say that, and honestly, he deserved it, but she was determined and limiting his options. “The cells it is then.” All he had to do was give Apollo the nod, and Karou found herself arrested again, and this time Nate handcuffed her for good measure. The two men followed Warren as they escorted her back towards the Compound’s main building.

Surely a cell won’t be so bad. Karou didn’t fight her fate and put on a brave face. She allowed the guards to hook their arms under hers and all but carry her.

“Isn’t there someplace else we can put her, Sir?” Nate asked gingerly. Although he respected Warren’s authority, he was often disappointed that his boss lived up the rumours about how heartless he was said to be.

“If there were, I would’ve already allowed her to live there, Nate. How many other lycan families live with yourself in your unit?” Warren asked, hoping to illustrate his point.

“Er, three other families of four or more, Sir,” Nate explained simply. Karou got the message.

“And Apollo, how many other single men do you bunk with?”

“Eight, Sir,” Apollo answered.

Again, Karou understood what Warren was getting at. But at least they live with people and not icebergs, she thought bitterly.

Warren took the lead and walked with purpose. No matter how he was feeling inside, it never showed on his face. When they came to the main building, they took a left turn rather than walking through the hefty doors at the entrance that led to the reception, library, and lounge Karou knew so well. Instead, the four of them entered a code-locked door that led down a dark concrete corridor before descending a set of wide steps that opened out into a vast underground chamber that Karou immediately recognised as a prison.

A column of cells ran down the centre, two back-to-back, and others lining the four walls. Some were inhabited. From inside, it was clear that the prisoners had no idea what was going on outside; Karou concluded that the screen frontages were some sort of one-way glass.

Warren stopped in front of an empty cell in the corner. The transparent screen slid open when Warren entered a six-digit code into a wall-mounted console. From there, the overseer took a step back, and Nate and Apollo took over, adhering to protocol. The onexus went about un-cuffing Karou. The lycan proceeded to remove her jacket, then insisted on her shoes as well, then pulled a tri-fold privacy screen around her and handed her a pile of clothes. Karou knew it was a rite of passage for an inmate to relinquish their identity by way of their clothes and personal effects.

“Take off your underwear too, and please… Don’t make us check.” Nate said. For now, Karou was relatively calm and followed the orders because she had a feeling that this was as reasonable as Warren was willing to be at this point.

The screen saved her dignity a little, but it was still humiliating getting undressed with three men present. As she slowly stripped and dumped her clothes over the screen, she started to wonder if this fiasco was just a total screw-up on her part. This was the cruellest Warren had outwardly acted towards her since she’d arrived. Even though she had pushed him to this, she continued her protest - as childish as that seemed, the negative attention was better than no attention. Still, Karou was at Warren’s mercy, and maybe his resolve was stronger than she’d been counting on. Have I given him too much power in this scenario? I’ve pegged this whole thing on him having a softer side. What if he doesn’t have any kind of conscience? What if he actually locks me up in here and never lets me out? Perhaps she’d misjudged the vampire. Maybe he had nerves of steel. After all, he always seemed to handle everything thrown at him with such ferocious calm; she imagined that not even an apocalypse could throw him off-kilter. He would straighten his tie, comb his hair back into place and carry on - that imaginary scenario made her grin despite her predicament. Little did she know that her arrival had been the very thing that had nudged him into unbalance.

On the other side of the screen, the two guards loitered awkwardly. Apollo stuck out his chin, tapped his fingers off his firearm, and glanced around the room while still stood at attention. He hated waiting; he wasn’t a patient person.

Nate, on the other hand, sighed and stared at the ceiling. He’d taken a more casual stance, and his firearm hung from his shoulder by its strap whilst his thumbs hooked into the front pockets of his pants. He thought this had already gone too far because he knew that Karou’s fears were likely to come true. Warren was too stubborn and too proud to allow her to get one up on him. She was going to be punished into submission because there was no way other than Warren’s way.

Down to her underwear, Karou hesitated. Her courage had already faltered. Pull yourself together, Karou. If you back out now, you’re going to look like a pathetic coward.

When Karou placed her delicates over the edge of the screen, Nate’s eyes widened and shot a look at Warren as if to ask if this was necessary. They both knew she wasn’t a threat and didn’t deserve this treatment, but she insisted on being difficult. Warren huffed and folded his arms to show the lycan that he wasn’t about to back down. “This is her choice,” He stated calmly.

Karou dressed in the ‘uniform’ provided, a white t-shirt and dark grey jogging pants. They were so oversized that they hung off of her petite frame almost comically. Once she was decent again, Nate peeled back the screen and gave her a nudge into the cell. Once she was inside, she expected the screen door to close immediately, but it remained open while she looked around. The prison cell was a hollow cube of concrete, one way in, one way out. In there, one could have no idea if it was night or day or even how much time had passed. It was disorientating by design. The isolation was total, and the stimulation was zero. Just bare, sterile, whitewashed concrete all around, and the floor was cold beneath her feet too.

Her backpack had been confiscated again and was being emptied onto a metal table by Apollo. He noted each item noted down onto a clipboard and loaded them into a plastic storage box; nothing Warren had given her belonged to her anymore.

Sitting down on the bed, she watched Nate and Apollo finish up their task before they both took their leave from Warren and marched back up the steps and out of sight.

Out in the courtyard, on their way back to their post at the east gate, Nate turned to Apollo after having scoped the area for any potential eavesdroppers before he said, “D'you think the rumours are true?”

“Nah, she’d look like Swiss cheese if they were,” Apollo replied casually, making a joke at his vampiric boss’ expense. Truthfully, he didn’t much care if they were or not.

“How d’you know she doesn’t? He might not bite her neck.” Nate reasoned.

“Trust me. She hasn’t got a bite mark on her...” Apollo winked, and it made Nate’s nose wrinkle. “Jus' this nasty great gash down her back.”

“How d'yo-...”

“Oh, come on! Ya didn’t check out the security monitor when she stripped off?” Apollo grinned wickedly. “You’re on camera twenty-four-seven down there. Technology is a beautiful thing." He continued whilst chuckling. Nate was lost for words, and Apollo could tell by the look on the lycan’s face that he disapproved. “All’s I’m sayin’ is you missed a trick there, man.” The burly onexus shrugged.

“Apollo, she’s my friend, and there wouldn’t have been any point in me ogling her anyway.”

“She not your type?”

“Obviously.” Nate shook his head, but then something dawned on him. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?” Now it was Apollo’s turn to look clueless.

“That I’m gay,” Nate stated very plainly.

“...but you have a wife and three kids?”

“Uh-huh, and I was my pack’s Alpha when we moved here. Things changed when I got found out.”

“Holy shit, you’re bein’ serious...” Apollo’s brown eyes widened as he eyed over Nate. “Ya know the guys at the gate have a book open as to why you’re not Alpha anymore, and le’me tell ya’ “gay” isn’t one of the odds.”

Nate just grinned, not that his sexuality was a secret or a big deal anymore, but he was always amused by how his peers reacted when they found out. “That’s surprising. Kade could stand to make a lot of money off of that bet. He knows… My er… persuasion.”

“Do I wanna ask how he knows?” Apollo gave Nate a look of wary curiosity.

“I think you can figure that out on your own.”

The two men were back at their post and wrapped up their conversation, but before parting ways, Apollo was due to go out on patrol; he turned to the lycan and said, “Hey, about the girl and the boss, maybe even if the rumours are true, what if it’s all consensual?”

“I thought that, but then why did she want to leave?”

“Beats me, maybe they’re having a lovers tiff?” With that said, the onexus shrugged and walked away.

Warren watched the guards leave; his face was expressionless, but the voices in his head had already been quarrelling for some time. How far are you going to go to prove your point? He thought with his hand lingering over the cell's console, ready to close the door.

He looked at her one last time. “Karou, you’ve made your point now.” He muttered. She seemed perfectly fine sat on the bed with her arms wrapped about her shins. Even if her clothes were too big and she only had one blanket. Even if there was no shower and she had no idea whether the prison food would aggravate her allergies, she had neither her sketchbook nor books to read; the outlook was bleak. Would you really rather stay here than live with me? “Do you still want to stay here?”

“You won’t let me leave,” Karou stated the obvious, but his question gave her a small glimmer of hope that he might cave if she kept to her plan. It wasn’t that she didn’t like her life at the Compound; it was just that she didn’t know how much longer she could stand the emotional torture of living in such a small space with Warren.

“No, I can’t,” Warren reiterated and went to sit on top of the table opposite her cell door. He rubbed over the back of his neck and sighed; her stubbornness was as tiresome as people found his. Perhaps he’d met his match in that department. “I checked months ago if any of the other units had space for you because I knew you didn’t enjoy living with me.”

Absentmindedly he looked into her box of belongings at his side. Though Warren managed to keep his face expressionless, he was surprised to see the style of underwear Karou had been wearing. He recalled how embarrassed she’d been by the risqué selection of garments Ms Finch had purchased for her. The moment was fleeting, and he tore his eyes away because it was ungentlemanly to have noticed her underthings in the first place.

“Living with you isn’t so bad when you don’t make me feel invisible.” Karou wiped her face with the back of her forearm when she felt her eyes welling up. “Just… acknowledge my existence. You don’t have to care about it.”

Her words were cutting, but they didn’t tell him anything he didn’t already know about himself. He was extremely introverted, but despite that, he didn’t want to lock her up down there. The cells were for petty criminals; those who chose not to behave around the Compound were shown some discipline via a night or two in a cold cell. Karou was not a criminal. She hadn’t done anything wrong. Besides, she couldn’t stay locked up indefinitely. Still, if he had to scare the spirit of revolution out of her to get her back to the unit with him, he would. Warren had shown that he cared about her existence enough to keep her alive, but Karou was right in thinking that Warren had kept his cruelty tame so far. Maybe if she saw the alternative, she might quit being so stubborn. “There is one other option...” He paused, awaiting her reaction. “Other than this cell, or the unit, I mean.”

“Okay…” Karou accepted cautiously. “What is it?” Then, curiously, her head tipped to the side in her usual adorable way.

“I can show you.” Warren hopped down off the table and started in the direction of the stairwell.

Tentatively Karou stood from the iron sprung bed to follow. Retrieving her tennis shoes from the confiscation box, she pulled them on and tottered after Warren to catch up with his long stride. He’d anticipated her slower pace and waited for her in the corridor. Once she’d caught up, he led her outside. They walked over the courtyard and through another locked door on the west side of the main building that Karou never even noticed was there. Down another similar-looking concrete staircase, they came to a large volt door.

Before now, she had always trusted the vampire, but since learning that she meant nothing to him, she felt less inclined to abide by his whims. Call it instinct, but she was very hesitant. The feeling rattled her so much because she’d never felt threatened while in Warren’s company before. Wishing she’d followed her instincts, she looked back over her shoulder and considered running away, but if she ran, he would catch her for sure; she’d seen first-hand how fast he could move. The gasp the volt door made as it opened stirred her from her escape plots, and curiosity carried her forward. Warren flicked on the lights, but even with them, Karou had to strain to see. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was relieved to find that the room was just storage, a room full of stacked pallets and crates. On the crates' side, she recognised the logo as that of Warren’s business: REDford.

During one of their rare personal conversations, she’d asked Warren about his work. He’d told her he was the CEO of a successful biologicals company. When she’d pressed for more information about what his company dealt with, he’d initially clammed up. It wasn’t until after she’d had to fetch him blood from his office safe and saw that his company logo was on the packaging that she’d put two and two together. The thought that all of those crates were full of blood bags like those that filled Warren’s safe made her blood run cold. Until then, where the blood Warren consumed on an ‘every other’ daily basis had come from had never really taken up much space in her mind. While Karou took her time looking around, Warren had traversed the length of the room to another volt door. Again, without willing them to, her feet carried her forwards.

What confronted her was like nothing she’d ever seen before. In the sterile, ultra-violet light, she could make out that they’d entered a glass booth that separated them from the chamber beyond. What the facility was, was so obvious that the brutal reality was winding. As harrowing as it was, Karou had witnessed so much violence in her short life that her perspective adjusted quickly. The initial surprise subsided, and Karou accepted that she had been conquered; it left her feeling numb as she stared at the machines. But, as is often the case with something horrendous, it was impossible to tear her eyes away. Morbidly curious, Karou examined the contraptions and their hosts methodically - tall metal columns reached the ceiling like life-draining trees, and on their branches sat people. Hundreds hung in formation, circling thirty-something columns. Mortals; suspended, sedated, and wound in tubes that supped away the blood from their veins. The substance lost its characteristic crimson colour in the UV light, making the scene feel more sterile and less grotesque. She supposed the machines themselves were quite ingenious if she removed the fact that they reduced people to cattle from the equation. When she finally tore her eyes from the sad depiction of her race from higher up the food chain, Karou looked up at Warren despondently. So this is my other option. “Are you going to put me in there?”

“If I’d wanted to put you in there, I would have the night you arrived,” Warren replied while staring down into Karou’s eyes. The lighting made them appear bluer, he thought.

Karou knew that her ploy had worked when she registered the vulnerability of his body language. Even if his eyes were black and hollow looking, to the point that she couldn’t construe any emotion from them, the way he held the rest of his face said a great deal. A man who was otherwise a highly private individual was willing to reveal something about himself this atrocious to coerce her into remaining his roommate. Would he rather she hate him to the core than let her leave the Compound? She wondered. Still, if this wasn’t an indicator of how toxic Warren’s character could be, she didn’t know what was. Yet, she was surprised by the guilt she suddenly felt for forcing him to show her his ugly secret. Is he ashamed of this place? Karou wondered as she stared back at him. “Then why did you bring me here?”

“Lots of reasons,” Warren said in a hushed voice. “To show you that this is what I am. This is what I do and what I’ve become very successful at. This is why I live the life that I do. I’m not just a jerk, Karou; I’m a real-life, walking, talking monster. If you want to be my... ‘friend,’ then you should know that this room exists.” Warren sighed and ran his hands back through his hair. “But I think mostly I wanted to prove to you that I lied.”

“You lied?” Karou didn’t understand and tipped her head to the side the way she always did when intrigued.

“Yes. I lied. If you meant nothing to me, I would’ve put you in here. Your scent gives away that your blood would taste delicious. As a procurer, I know that your lifetime's worth of it could make me a lot of money if I hooked you up to one of these machines.”

“If I smell so… tasty, then why haven’t you bitten me?” Karou asked, almost playing the devil’s advocate, but if she was honest with herself, she was curious to answer all of her darker questions now that he’d shown her his darker side and the core of his vampirism. Somehow this revelation was what she wanted. All this time, she’d just wanted to be considered and to get to know him.

Warren shrugged one shoulder, unsure how to answer. “I’m still clinging to whatever remains of my humanity by making the right moral choices despite my vamperic nature.”

“You… don’t like what you are, do you?” Karou had to ask.

“I have moments where my zest for life ignites brightly enough for me to ignore my inner darkness. -” Warren was too proud to admit that self-loathing marred his mental health. “- But they’re fleeting.”

His answer made Karou sad. “Everything happens for a reason.” She muttered. “If you weren’t still alive, who knows what would’ve happened to me? So, in some twisted way, I’m grateful that you are what you are. Don’t they say that the road to self-love starts with learning to accept your ugliest parts? It’s only natural for you to want to take blood from me.”

“That being the case, maybe I should get it over with already?” He mumbled spitefully. “You’re just too easy to obtain. I would be taking advantage of you and your youth and your willingness.”

Karou’s brows arranged in a puzzled expression. “Are you saying you’d only bite me if I struggled because… it’s more fun that way?”

“Oh, there’s always fun in the chase.” He rolled his eyes. “But that isn’t my point. My point is that the thought of it doesn’t terrify you like it should. What I want might be natural, but your reaction isn’t.” Warren sighed. “Look out there, doesn’t that prove my brutality, my emptiness, my incapability to care? Doesn’t this frighten you either?” Combing his hand back through his hair in his exasperation, Warren gestured the room beyond them.

“No, I’m not scared. All this proves is that you’ve been trying to protect me by keeping your distance, and that shows that you’re not as monstrous as you think you are and that you can and do care, even if not for me but just for the sake of your morality.” Karou only took her eyes off of Warren for a second before she continued. “And besides, they’re sedated. They have no idea what’s happening to them. They’re not afraid of being attacked by a ‘monster’. This is just evidence of how you’ve chosen to survive. You haven’t done this to satisfy a twisted desire to hurt people. This is how you feed other vampires.” Karou reasoned and looked away from him and at the machines again. It was so sterile feeling to her with her emotions put aside. “I don’t believe that deep down; you’re a jerk either. You’re not acting like one right now.” Her eyes found him again. “He’s pretend. He’s the person you become when you think you need to hide who you really are, for whatever reason. Sometimes I bet your reason is bullshit.” Karou made her point with a stunning amount of confidence. “You’re making yourself feel guilty for something you haven’t even done… I just want to know what it feels like.”

Warren had stepped closer while peering down into her face more intensely. Still entranced by the look in her eyes and bewildered by her words, he didn’t abate how his gaze might’ve affected her. Did she have him all figured out? Did she already know him better than he knew himself? “You have no idea what I could do to you...” He whispered, half hoping to scare her and half that he could show her without consequences.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t scare me... because you lied when you said I meant nothing.”

“What did you think I meant instead?”

“I don’t know yet, but we can find out, can’t we?” Karou smiled up at him, as wholly fearless as she was hopeful. To Warren’s mind, Karou had no idea how sultry the tone of what she’d said was, but his appetite for her was thoroughly whetted as if his thirsty eyes didn’t already show that.

“What are you?” Warren posed a question much deeper than it sounded, but Karou seemed to understand.

She continued to smile sweetly and lifted one shoulder to shrug. “Oh, I’m just a girl.”