After getting out the shower, Grayson helped me dress in a pair of sweats, while I got him a clean shirt and pair of sweat pants. Mom had called again, telling me Dad had gotten a little too excited at dinner, so they had decided to get a room for the night, since it was closer to where they were. I was relieved, not wanting to have to explain to my drunk Dad why Grayson was staying the night, along with Preston, and possibly Blaine. The latter had arrived at my house shortly after our shower, Preston assisting Blaine up the steps to the house, both of them coming in and sitting on the couch. Blaine looked uncomfortable having Preston help him, but Preston being the stubborn vampire he was, insisted.
Grayson pulled me to him, sitting down in the love seat that sat across from the couch. He kept his arms around me, never letting them unravel, as he gave Blaine a hard look. "How long have you known what you are?" he questioned, his voice not the usual light and carefree tone I was used to. No, he was in king mode, his tone hard, holding every ounce of authority in the room.
Blaine's discomfort seemed to grow, as he began twiddling his fingers nervously under Grayson's hard gaze. "I didn't, not until your friend called me 'hunter'."
Grayson's eyebrow raised, and he gave Blaine a hard look. "Where is your father? I'm assuming he's the full blooded hunter?"
Blaine shrugged, looking down. "Don't know. He ran off when I was little."
Grayson and Preston shared a look, before the latter sat up, leaning against his knees. "So, you're one of the only known men with hunter blood, and your father just left you?"
"Why did you carry a stake around if you didn't know?" Grayson butted in, the power in his voice forcing me to look down.
"I-it just... I don't know, man. It felt right." Blaine stammered out. He had began running his hands up and down his thighs, his hands shaking as he seemed to shrink under Grayson's hard gaze. "I found a box in my moms attic that had all this vampire hunting stuff. It just felt right to carry it around once we moved here."
Preston raised his eyebrow. "You did it off instinct?" he asked, sitting back on the couch lazily, a lot less tense than Grayson. "Why are you so fidgety?" he noted, noticing how Blaine's hands hadn't stopped moving since he sat down.
"I.. I don't know. Mom says I have ADHD, I've always been this way. It get worse..." he paused, glancing between Grayson and Preston.
"It gets worse around vampires?" I asked, finally speaking up.
He nodded at me, his eyes softening as they landed on me.
Grayson caught it, hissing quietly at him, just loud enough for him to hear it. I rolled my eyes, giving Grayson a look. "Really? Okay, stop." I said, sitting up from his lap, glancing at Preston. "What's going on? Why are you two interrogating him?" I demanded. They didn't believe him when he said he didn't know what he was, and I was growing frustrated with the two. Blaine hadn't done anything to warrant Grayson's attitude. He was a friend, nothing more, and had fought of a vampire to protect me. If anything, Grayson should have been more grateful.
Preston glanced at Grayson, who nodded his head once, before preston spoke. "Your friend is part hunter, as Grayson's already said. The hunters were thought to be extinct, so it's sort of a shock that he's one of them, or at least partly one of them. His father would be one of the last, if not the last known hunter in the world. We need to figure out where he is, if he's still alive." Preston explained to both of us.
Blaine didn't like his father being brought up, and he also didn't like the thought of them finding him. "What, you wanna find him and kill him?" he demanded, sitting up straighter on the couch. "I never knew the guy, but neither one of you have the fucking right—"
"Calm down, Hunter." Grayson's voice rang out, silencing Blaine. "We don't want to kill him. We want his help. We need to figure out whose creating these vampires, and a hunter may be able to help us with doing that. They have an advantage, being able to go out in the daylight. They could sense the vampire before it has a chance to attack anyone again."
Blaine studied Grayson, not speaking for a moment. Finally, he lowered his eyes, mumbling, "What makes you think my dad would help you anyways? You're his sworn enemy."
"We're different from the undead. Our bloodline is pure, and our heart still beats. So, really, we aren't your sworn enemy, but technically." Preston said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Blaine picked his head back up, watching Grayson as he spoke. "You drink blood, pretty sure that makes you both my enemy."
Grayson smirked, attempting to get a rise out of him. His hand went back to my waist, pulling me back into his lap, his head resting on my shoulder, his lips dangerously close to my neck. "Only from willing sources, Hunter."
I rolled my eyes, glancing between the two men. Blaine looked like he was fighting every instinct he had, wanting to run over to me and drag me away from the vampire in front of him. Grayson seemed to be enjoying himself, knowing he was getting under Blaine's skin, taunting him. I sighed, rolling my eyes once more, removing Grayson's arm from my waist and standing up. "Okay, both of you, stop it." I demanded, watching as they both ignored me, continuing to stare one another down. I huffed, crossing my arms and going to stand in front of Grayson. He peered up at me as I blocked his view of Blaine, his hands immediately going to my hips, holding me. I looked down at him, my eyebrow raised. "Stop it, Grayson. I'm serious." He didn't reply, just nodded his head, pulling me back to his lap after I turned to face Blaine once again. Blaine gave me a worried glance, keeping his eyes on mine, avoiding looking at Grayson. "I'm fine." I told him, giving him a serious look.
He sighed, but nodded, relaxing slightly at my words. Preston chuckled and shook his head, giving Grayson an amused look. "Well, now that we're all aquatinted, why don't be we build a fire and roast marshmallows? Sing Kumbaya while we're at it?" he asked sarcastically, knowing that was not something Grayson and Blaine would be doing any time soon.
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Shut up, Preston." I said with a small laugh.
Preston's eyes widened in fake shock. He chuckled and looked at Grayson, his eyebrow raised. "Ohhh, I see our Queen is fearless." he said sarcastically. "Killed a vampire, and now she thinks she bad."
Blaine's eyebrows furrowed, glancing between the three of us. "Queen?" he questioned, his eyes finally landing on me.
I gave him a sheepish smile. "I told you, Grayson leads the vampiric realm."
Blaine raised his eyebrow, humming. "Damn. There's a lot I don't know that I should, isn't there?"
Preston nodded, standing from the couch, glancing at the door that led to the basement. "Yup, and you do need to learn. You could be an asset to the investigation." he told Blaine. He then sighed, giving Grayson a pained look. "Guess we'll hang in the basement once it's morning." Grayson nodded, confirming his words. Preston growled a little, his eyes shifting to me. "We're gonna stay for a few days, if that's alright? We need to start searching again for the maker of the vampires."
I nodded, giving him a small smile. "Yeah, I'll talk to Mom. She'll get Dad to come around, somehow."
Blaine leaned forward, curiosity in his voice. "Do your parents know, ya know, about the whole vampire thing?"
I nodded. "Yeah, my mom does." I glanced behind me at Grayson, my voice questioning. "I guess we need to explain it to my dad, right?"
"That would probably be best." Grayson answered. "I'll talk to him, with Caroline's help if she would?"
I nodded again, standing up from his lap, walking into the kitchen to grab a drink. "Yeah, she totally loves you, regardless. So I'm sure she'll agree to help you talk to him."
Grayson stood also, following me, leaning against the counter as I pulled a bottle of water out from the fridge. "And the Hunter?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"His names Blaine, Gray. And he's welcomed to stay the night if he needs to." I called the last part of my sentence out to Blaine, who chuckled from the living room.
"Thanks, I think I'll take you up on that offer. I should be fine by tomorrow." he called back, his voice growing closer as he made his way to the kitchen.
I grabbed another bottle of water, tossing it to him, before opening my own and taking a sip. He gave me a thankful nod, doing the same, the three of us standing in the kitchen in an awkward silence. Finally, I grabbed Grayson's hand, leading him towards the stairs. I turned back to Blaine, giving him a smile. "There's a guest room you can sleep in. I can get you some more clothes if you need them?"
Blaine shook his head, taking a long sip of water, before swallowing. "I'll be alright. Thanks, Grace."
I nodded, Grayson and I making our way back to my room, immediately going to lay on the bed. He pulled me to him, his arms wrapping tightly around me, my head resting on his chest. I ran my hand along his stomach, feeling the dips and curves of his abs under my fingertips. "Why do you have to stay in the basement tomorrow? I thought you had protection spells?" I asked, my voice light with sleep.
"We didn't have time to cast them. So I can't go in the sunlight while I'm here." he answered.
"Why can't you just cast them here?" I asked, my voice breaking as a yawn tore through me.
Grayson chuckled, running his hand through my hair soothingly. "Only a witch can cast spells in the human realm. Back home, we have the spells given to us, and cast them ourselves once shown how. Things are different in your realm though."
I hummed and nodded, feeling my eyes begin to droop with exhaustion. "I love you, Grayson." I mumbled, sleep quickly beginning to overcome me.
"I love you, Sweetheart." I heard him reply, before I fell into the consuming exhaustion.
