Vermillion 01: Safehaven

"No, Brianna, it's just..." Nick curled his lips into a smile "A surprise, Dom usually walks around the park or he's buying supplies."

"Hm." Brina turned to Dom.

"This stop was on my way. I apologize for my count's...peculiarity." Dom smiled despite being bothered, obviously mad that Nick and Luna were crashing in.

"S-sure." Brina gave a bow to Nick before waving at Dom and entering the store again.

"Mewow, sexy kitten." Luna said watching Brina walk away "She's gorgeous-

"No shows." Nick warned.

"Whatever, can I eat now?"

"You're taking Luna on a walk?" Dom asked.

"Don't be a dick." Luna flicked him off "Or at least help find me one."

Both Dom and Nick sighed "I'm sorry, Alex came by and I didn't know, Dominic. It was an invasion of privacy."

"It's nothing private, we've had a friendship for years. I'll leave you two to the hunt-

"Dominic." Dom paused and waited "I owe you one."

"Uh huh, you owe me a bit more than one, count." Dom shrugged "But it's okay, it was just a stop before I went downtown. I'll see you both at eleven."

Taking his leave Dom slid back into the shadows of the buildings, Nick looked back at the shopkeeper and frowned.

"Are you alright, my liege?"

"Fine. I know someone who will be the perfect treat for you, they won't mind you feeding." Nick grabbed Luna's hand pulling her along.

After walking around the city into a down town bar, Luna wondered why the king of half the country didn't own a car, a scooter, not even a bike.

Being as it was still early in the morning the bar was closed, red velvet stuck to ever wall with black leather booths sticking in every corner, an oak bar top, and stools with light panels in the ceiling. One guy was cleaning the shot glasses while wearing a dark tee with an image of a green alien on the front. He wasn't bad looking, button nose, chestnut colored eyes, straight black hair, all that was all Luna focused on for the time being.

"Majesty." The man gave a small stiff wave. "Want a drink?"

"No thank you, I try to stay away from alcohol. Especially this early in the day." Nick took a seat at the bar and Luna followed suit "This is Luna, she's a guest of mine."

The barman laughed "You've taken in someone else, shocker."

"Luna, this is Ian, he's the bartender and owner, he's also sarcastic." Nick tapped his fingers on the counter contently. "He's also a supernatural fanatic."

"I wouldn't say fanatic, I sleep with a few nymphs, a vamp, and a banshee and now I'm a fanatic. The last one I'm not sure actually happened, could have been a dream."

"Was she a great screamer?" Luna teased leaning in a little.

"I thought I was going to die when she came. What do you think?" Ian winked.

Nick breathed out of his mouth, he felt odd trying to hook Luna up for a one nighter with a bartender in complete seclusion. He felt as if he were pimping her out, but she needed to feed to stay sated. And from the way Luna flirted back she didn't seem to mind being with Ian.

"So what can I do you two for?" Ian asked placing a glass down.

"Well Luna is-

"I'm a succubus, I feed on the essence of men to survive. And to stay I need a small sip here and there. So as a new friend of the king's, he wanted to help me connect with a man, a willing man, who's single and won't freak out about me being a demon."

Ian grinned "Do you have a tail?"

"Yes, but I'm not showing you. I'm blowing you." Nick rubbed his forehead.

"Can you not be so crass about this?"

"No." Luna shrugged "So?"

"I'm down, anytime work?"

"Yep."

"I'll come around ten."

"We'll see." Luna hopped down off the bar "Nick?"

Nick grumbled to himself "No worries your majesty, I get it." Ian told him "We won't make this a big thing."

"Thank you for your digression." Ian gave a little head nod, he wasn't into bowing and Nick never forced the issue so after that they left.

By the time they got back to the castle Luna was ready to cool off. The first thing she did was go upstairs to her own bathroom and splash her face with cool water. Nick was still there waiting for her in the hall. When she emerged she tapped his shoulder.

"Get a car."

"No. They pollute the air and I never tire of walking." Nick was leaning against the stone covered walls yawning.

"Do you walk to other cities and towns?" Luna gave him a serious look.

Nick cracked a half smile "Okay, I have private cars take me there." Luna then tapped that envelope. "What are you doing?"

Luna tightly balled up her hands "Nick, I can see through the envelope. In the right light I saw parts of the letter, so I know you did. She's not just requesting a love bite-

"Don't push into this, Luna."

"I may be young compared to you and Lurch, but I've seen what's happened to humans who are turned who are in love with-

Nick took the envelope and gently tapped Luna on the head with it "You're worried about me, about her. And I understand it, it's very caring of you to. But please just focus on regaining your strength. I'll handle this." Nick then walked back to his study.

When ten came around Ian came to the gothic palace where Luna led him through the double doors, past the grand hall, up the stairs and into her room. She closed the door once inside, she knew Nick wasn't interested in shows anyway.

"You must get tired of doing this for survival." Ian said sitting on the edge of her bed.

"No, I enjoy it too." Luna excitedly helped unzip his pants "We can make this a once or week or twice a week thing."

Ian shoved off his boxers, his pinkish member laid still. "As long as it's with you." Ian couldn't help, but be drawn into Luna's beauty, her pale skin with a bluish tone, bright sunflower eyes, full pink lips, violet hair down her back, she was like a fairy.

Luna didn't remove any clothing, but got down on her knees placing the luke warm cock in her hands. She slowly licking around the tip in circular motions before trailing down his staff over his balls, she toyed with them sucking them into her mouth, nibbling the skin.

Ian grinned closing his eyes, her teeth did feel sharp, but the way she was sucking his ball sack made him hard. Luna licked across the veins seductively before taking Ian's dick into her mouth, she moved down half way before bobbing up and down pulling at his balls simultaneously. It was a small warmth that she felt as the cock was pushed further down into her throat.

Luna took many men wide and with great length, so when she took Ian into her mouth she did the same to him, feeling her throat squeeze against him, she didn't try to breathe through her noise, but let the oxygen deplete, it made it more exciting as she deepthroated him. Ian was grunting each time she move, her lips gave kisses to his sack every time she went down as the saliva coated him. It gave him a cool feeling that he wasn't expecting.

Harder and harder, squeezing him with her fingers and her throat made Luna wish that she could take him elsewhere, but she felt as if humans weren't worth the salt of entering her other two orifices.

After tugging against his balls again, Luna was happy to feel thick gobs fill her throat. Luna gulped it all down as she disengaged, there was no smudge, drop, or scattering of cum anywhere. When a succubus took in her prey's essence she would literally take all, their orifices would absorb it, giving them energy.

Ian knew he had an energy drain, but laid happily erect on the bed "You give incredible head."

"I try." Luna sat up on the bed with him "Sadly the butler's not back yet, but I'll stay up here with you until you get your strength back, okay?"

"Cool." Ian groaned.

As soon as Dom returned, Ian exited. Luna washed up and went downstairs for dinner, Nick was already there at the table when Dom placed the platters down.

"How was the hunt?" Dom asked. Nick looked at Luna.

"Plentiful." Luna smiled "Thanks again. I'm completely full now. What about you two? Did you grow a pair and ask the cute werekitten out?"

"No." Dom removed the lids "Luna we can be friends."

"Be stupid, that's your choice. She's really yummy looking."

"No." Dom pointed at her "You can play cupid with someone else. I'm eating in my room."

"Alone?"

"Alone and with a high sperm count." Dom smiled nastily.

"Ohhh, someone's cagey. Fine, I'll drop it."

"Thanks." Dom left out of the room.

"For today." Luna added "Nick, you okay?" The answer to that question was a no harder than Ian's johnson.

"No." Nick felt absolute dread reading the letter from Marley that he couldn't eat "She wants me to turn her, so that she can stay by my side."

Luna poked at the food on her plate sighing "She has feelings for you. They would only be enhanced if you did turn her."

Nick had many women who threw themselves at him over the years, a few developed real feelings for him even though they barely knew him. Marley was one of those women, enamored by the mysterious past, honor, responsibility, loyalty to the kingdom. But she saw him, spoke with him a few times, stayed over once or twice to read a book from his study on the history of the city for projects and celebrations.

Sadly Nick never held those same feelings for those who loved and admired him. He'd been in love before, once with a human, another with a witch. He'd even dated before, but he could never find his match and he wasn't searching for one now.

"It may not be my place to say, but whether you rejected this proposition or accepted it, she would still end up changed for the worst."

Nick stared into the bright eyes across from him, they were leveled, and dead calm. "I've never turned anyone and I don't plan to start. It's not only a big responsibility, but it comes with emotional ties, weaknesses that she'll have to alter her life for."

"It's a mess. She seems devoted though." Luna wiped her mouth before replying "Like very, I could practically smell the desperation and anxiety. She'll be in a bad way if you send her letter."

"A letter, in person, through an intercom, it won't matter." Nick fretted over the idea of breaking someone's heart, but Marley was as Luna said, desperate. She wanted to tear away from her simple life and be with him forever in the dark of night, consequences be damned. "I'll tell her here, tomorrow morning."

"I hope it goes over well." Luna sipped some water mulling over the idea. "What if she breaks down?"

"How do you know so much about this?" Nick asked.

"I've had a best friend who was a vampire, for twenty years, we were like sisters. And then she turned her first." Luna grumbled thinking of the bitter memory "She wanted children, but could never settle. So she turned a poor farm girl who was injured crossing the road. She would have died, Nyla took pity and changed her."

"It was nice at first, seeing Nyla teach her the ropes, but then the girl became frantic. She fought every urge to drink blood, Nyla said she could feel her veins boiling from their connection. When at the edge of despair, Nyla cried for her, because she was fighting instinct. I couldn't go along with murder, but Nyla kept telling me that she could control herself."

"So?" Nick waited tapping his fingers against the sides of the table.

"She let the girl loose for a midnight snack in the woods, some miners were coming home. She didn't just feed on them, she ripped their throats out and splattered their entrails on the forest floor. Not only did Nyla and I get there too late, but by the time we tracked her down she had fed on an entire town. Sixty nine casualties, so I got to her before Nyla and I prepared myself to rip her heart out."

Nick gulped, it was hard to imagine Luna about to kill someone. She was sarcastic, playful, charming, but she wasn't a murderer, she was too innocent.

"I didn't. Nyla came and staked her, after that Nyla never wanted another under her ever again. But then came another, a teenaged boy who heard that she was a vampire and wanted power. He craved it, but Nyla refused him, kindly at that. He went back home the very same day and stabbed himself in the heart. Sometimes life isn't enough for mortals."

"Maybe..I don't want Marley to hurt herself or others. I just can't give her those powers as a reply to her feelings, feelings that I can't give in a return to her."

"Hmm." Luna smiled happily "That just means you have a heart, she's young."

"So are you little succubus."

"This is your ruling, king." Luna wiped off her hands getting up from the table "I'm turning in for the night."

"Sweet dreams." Nick told her joking.

"You're not funny." Luna said walking away.

In the morning Nick waited for an already informed Dom to send an invite to retrieve Marley. When the conversation went down, Nick was sitting in the chair, Luna stood off in a corner with Dom watching. Marley nearly pleaded to be turned, but Nick stood firm and eventually wore her down. He even walked her back to her place where Dom monitored her secretly throughout the night.

As days passed, Marley felt the sour ache of her stomach, she had revealed her all and was denied it. She wanted badly to be free from her mortality. And as days became weeks Marley waited patiently. She had begun spending her time at the bars lately, drinking through the pain.

One night she met a most intriguing man. She knew so certainly that he was different and took to him. Weeks became months, nine months of Luna staying in the castle with the man of her dreams.

It was so unfair, Luna still held a weekly meeting with Ian who was interested in something more, but Luna always cut him off when he began to speak on it. Relationships weren't her strong point and being in one with Ian made her grow a thousand worries. No longer a stranger, Luna and Dom became friends, ones who threw sarcastic and cynical jabs. Dom was still visiting Brina on her break at the pet store, sometimes bringing her lunch.

Nick became enamored by the relationships forming around him, Luna was his friend as well as Dom's, and she was becoming a local with the city citizens who happily greeted her anytime she visited. Alex still creeped Luna out anytime she ran into him. She began helping Nick with his work.

Marley wanted to shout sometimes at the thought of them being alone together in his study, but at the moment she was focused on her man. It was around midnight as he laid beneath her naked body.

"Where did you go?" He asked taking her face into his hands.

"Nowhere important." Marley grinned and leaned down to kiss him, another thing to keep her mind occupied was him, she held herself up over his throbbing rod, lowering herself down onto it. She whipped her head back and let pleasure fill her salivating cove. The man underneath her groaned as he let her take his full measure in only a few seconds.

Marley began shifting her body back and forward, riding him with rough speed and ambition. Sleeping with him was great, but she also had made a deal with him two months into their relationship. One that he promised to uphold, though he didn't think it would be during sex. It did heighten the experience though.

"M-Marley!" He shouted, Marley knew then that it was time, still thrusting her pelvis into his. She laid her body on top of his moving her hair aside from her neck.

"Do it." Marley moaned, she was squeezing his sword, taking it into her roughly. She could take it all, but what she couldn't was Luna being so close to Nick "Do it now."

It didn't take long to feel a row of razor edged teeth rip into her neck, the blood slowly rolled down her neck as the teeth disappeared and Marley began to feel faint, but she continued in thrusting until the pain faded altogether.

Both lovers reached their peaks under the watchful eye of the pearl lit moon.

In the morning Luna was waiting in the great hall after breakfast for some noble person to visit, Nick requested her presence since he utilized some of her ideas in dealing with requests from that domain in Vermillion. Luna wore a strappy lilac-sky ombre dress, it was her knees, cutting a bit near the bottom of her thigh, and lilac wedges. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, one that she accidently swept in Dom's hair a few times that morning.

Dom was already in the hall by the inner walls out of the corner next to Luna.

"This is boring." Luna sighed, Nick was already in his chair waiting for his guest's arrival. They turned down Nick's suggestion to bring a car or for Dom to meet them, but being as they were friends Nick didn't mind them taking their own way.

"You're so impatient." Dom told her "They'll be here in a few minutes, you've been standing here for two."

"I'm still bored. Lurch, entertain me."

"I'm his servant, not your court jester." Dom leered.

"Please keep the bickering to the minimum, our visitor is approaching up the hill." Nick told them. Both became quiet until the doors were opened. A man with sandy hair, gray eyes and a gray suit came in, next to him was his ally who walked arm and arm with him.

All three residents of the castle stared in horror and confusion.

The lord of Romus smiled at the lot "Nick, old friend, it's been awhile."

Nick blinked a few times "Same Mason...welcome. You remember Dominic."

Mason nodded "Pleased to see you again."

"Thank you my lord.." Dom was still taken back by the woman on his arm.

"And this is Luna, a guest of mine, as you were once. She helped me regulate trades and provide safer routes with Romus and our city, Verdure."

"Oh, well then it is a joy to make your acquaintance, Luna." Mason held out his hand and she shook it quietly.

"Nice to meet you, lord Romus. I've only met three werewolves in my lifetime." Mason gave a faint smile, Luna knew immediately from the smell, a light musk off grass, sweat, and lemon spray (most likely to hide the outside odor). She could also sense his anguish, it was like something was trapped in another part of his entire being, an intense anger and need to tear apart anything that crossed his path.

"I'm glad to become your forth then."

"Hm.." Luna smiled "I didn't know you knew Marley." Marley clung tightly to her maker, almost lovingly.

"Yes, I met her here during a visit. I sent word ahead of time of course, but I kept having to go back home and then come back here. She's mine."

Dom coughed not believing what he had just heard.

"You made her?" Nick's eyes bobbled up and down, jumping insanely at the disbelief.

"Yes, Lord Romus is my maker." Marley spoke with a deeper tone, she kept her smile firm on her face. "I am his attendant, your majesty."

Nick straightened his posture "I see, well congratulations on...that. Please make yourselves at home, I've had Dominic prepare the spare rooms."

"Yes, if you haven't eaten I can make you breakfast my lord." Dom gave a slight nod at him.

"I already ate. The next full moon will be Marley's first time transforming. I wish to keep her fed and prepped until that time. But for now I'd like to retire." Mason gave a bow to Nick.

"Dominic, please show lord Mason his living quarters." Nick informed him. Dom quickly leapt from one side of the room to the other with Mason already ahead of him.

Nick and Luna were both staring at a very clever Marley.

"I hope it's not an inconvenience."

"It's not...I just don't understand." Nick shook his head "Marley you-

"I accepted Mason into my life, he is my savior, my maker, my lord. After we leave Verdure, I'll only return with him as his attendant. I put my house up for sale, everything has been dealt with. So worry not my king, I'll remain loyal to Vermillion. But I shall live my new life, my true life in Romus."

"It's a foolish decision." Luna looked at her sadly "Did you even think of the chan-

"I'd love breakfast now, if that's okay with your majesty."

Nick gave a silent nod and Dom reappeared, he rushed off to the kitchen with Marley following. Nick and Luna just stared on trying to connect the dots. They were blank on the entire situation.