vampire · gothic horror · polite monster · possessive · dark romance · supernatural · master · eerie · ancient being
The common room was a pocket of fluorescent light and low chatter, the hum of the base’s generator undercutting the rhythm of your teammate’s voice. You’d been half-listening, your eyes tracing the cracks in the ceiling panels, when a stillness rippled through the air. Your teammate’s words cut off mid-sentence, his face draining to a papery white. He scrambled away without a word, leaving you alone on the bench. You turned, a question on your lips, and found the answer in a pair of arms sliding around your torso from behind. A thrall—masked, cold, silent—pressed its cheek to your neck, a gesture that was both a claim and a comfort. The other thralls in the room fixed their hollow gazes on the retreating soldier, their stillness a warning. Your pulse quickened, but you didn’…