Chapter 5
Ryo drove without any sense of direction. His mind swam with thoughts, emotions, and images. It never ends, does it? He asked himself. Ryo didn’t know where he was headed, but apparently his subconscious did. Ryo pulled slowly into the snow cover parking lot of the park. Almost hesitantly he stepped out of the car. The new snow made him think that the past few days had been just a dream. It was just as pristine as it had been that long ago day he had run away from Sage.

Ryo trudged through the knee deep snow. He was so tired. All he wanted was to sink down and go to sleep. He didn’t get very far before he heard it: a cackling laughter in the wind.

“Who’s there?” Ryo called, frightened.

“Are you lost my pretty little lamb?”

Ryo turned around franticly. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up. “Show yourself!”

There was a ear piercing screech and a ghostly figure swooped down from the trees, landing a few feet away from Ryo in a crouch. The creature’s skin was almost as white as the snow, except it had a gray tinge to it. The long black hair was matted and stringy, but its eyes where what caught Ryo. They burned an feral light red.

Oh shit! Ryo thought.

“Such a pretty lost lamb…you look soooo tasty!” The creature rose to stand before him. Its hands were like claws, nails long and sharp.

Fear washed over Ryo, it blinded him, keeping him from making a move to get away.

“I can smell him on you. You’ve been with him, haven’t you?”

“Wha..? Who…?” Ryo’s feet remembered to move and he slowly shuffled backward.

“HE’S MINE! MINE!!” it howled.

Ryo turned and fled. He didn’t get far, the snow was too deep to make any decent escape. The creature slammed into him from behind, stuffing Ryo face down into the snow and smothering him.

Ryo flailed around, trying to get it off his back. He couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe. Then he was pulled up and tossed like a rag doll onto his back. The force on the impact knocked the wind out of him and made his vision sway.

Then the creature was on him again. Its nail scraped over his cheeks, not hard enough to draw blood, but it left white marks. “Who are you?” Ryo gasped.

The creature drew back from Ryo, sitting up fully over him. “Now,” it hissed, “You will tell me what I want to know.”

“I—.” Ryo stammered. It held up its pointer finger for Ryo to see. Ryo’s eyes widened, “No…” The hand moved faster then Ryo’s eyes could follow. Suddenly he felt a gash on the side of his face.

“Hmmmm, you smell so sweet…” To Ryo’s horror, he felt a wet tongue begin to lap at the blood on his cheek. “Yesssss, you taste even better. You’ve tainted him…I can taste him in you…my child. My child. My child. My child….” Ryo felt sharp nails dig into the skin on his neck, lifting his head up off the snow. Then they twisted, exposing the right side of his throat to the creature.

“I’m so hungry…he hurt me…my child. MY child. He belongs with meeeeee.” It let out a sharp screech to the cold air, fangs bared. Ryo gave one last fruitless struggle before he felt the fangs pierce his skin.

It was not like Casey’s touch which gave pleasure.

It was a violation.

They burned bright hot. Pain and Pain and Pain and Humiliation. Ryo cried out and tears swelled in his eyes. “Please,” he sobbed, “Stop.” It hurts, oh god it hurts…stopstopstopstop..

After what felt like an eternity, it pulled back and released him. Ryo lay boneless on the snow. His breath came out in sharp gasps and his eyes were wild.

The creature began to change in front of Ryo. It was becoming…more human. The skin lost the gray hue and turned into a pale parlor. The hair straightened and took on a light shine. The eyes lost the red and turned a sharp and amazing blue. It was most definitely a he.

“Oh god I needed that,” he looked over his hands admiringly. “I’m back.” He smiled and it sent shivers of fear down Ryo’s spine. His eyes were clear now as they looked deep into Ryo’s. He looked at Ryo with amused and predatory interest.

“Who…who ARE you?” Ryo whispered.

He thought for a second, as if he had to remember. “Julian…I think I was called Julian. Yes. I’m Julian. Casey’s sire.”

Ryo’s eye widened. In their heart opening talks, Casey had mentioned a Julian. Julian had become insanely jealous and had beaten, raped and embraced Casey all at once. When Casey had tired to leave or run away from him, Julian always managed to find him and take him back, either willingly or unwillingly.

“Yes, he’s talked about me. How touching. What did he tell you? That I beat him? That I raped him? Did he tell you he didn’t deserve it? That I am heartless?” Julian leaned in so he was almost kissing Ryo. “He’s right, you know. But I did all that out of love. That is NOTHING compared to what I’m going to do to you, little slut.”

Julian backhanded him across the face.

Panic came into Ryo’s eye. He tired to shake his head, but he found that he was too tired to move. He could only mildly struggle when Julian closed the space between them and gave him a kiss.

“Now…where shall we start?”

On to Part 6
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