"It seems fair enough, but would it be possible to not give my blood to any high ranking Vampires, please?" Mika answered and Charlie nearly jumped to the roof. He was so glad that the panther accepted the deal, he wanted to cry.

Charlie found it strange that Mika asked for such a condition, but maybe he was just afraid of being exploited. It was pretty normal considering all the bad blood between the two races. Charlie nodded to Mika, feeling pleased with the deal they reached.

***

Months had passed and Mika had slowly grown accustomed to his new life. Living with a stranger was difficult at first, but Charlie had been pretty considerate, not rushing it, nor going too slow. He had been forceful when needed, like when he had gone to buy Mika some clothes and basic supplies without his consent. He had really needed to stand his ground when Mika had refused to let him buy a bed for him, but Charlie had still won in the end, which resulted in Mika pouting for half an hour, before the black panther silently hugged him in thankfulness. The Doctor had nearly melted on the spot.

All of Mika’s injuries had healed in a week, leaving some scars with the already existing ones. The blood donation had started from then, and Mika has now been donating three times a week for a while now. 

The shifter had also found a job. Because of his prince’s training, he could fluently speak and understand many languages, he had thus decided to become a freelance translator, working for many big companies at the same time. He was busy, but he enjoyed it.

The Vampire and him had developed a routine of some sort, they would get up at the same time, wash and eat, then Charlie would go to his clinic and Mika would start working on his documents. They would both work all day, before Charlie comes back from work. They would then do the blood extraction if it was on one of the scheduled days, go shopping or just play games or watch a movie together. They would then sleep and repeat the same process the following day. Charlie’s office had been transformed into Mika’s own with his bed also there.

Life had flowed so quickly, Mika had difficulties believing that only months ago, he was being beaten by his father. The shifters’ community, as Mika had expected, had been disgusted when learning of his deeds. The web page where the shifters exchanged news had blown up with insults after an official post about the reason for his expulsion had been published. An arrest warrant was now on his head, promising plenty of gold if he was detained or killed.

The reason was treason.

Mika had cried his eyes out when he had seen it. He hadn’t told Charlie of his identity, nor why he was now homeless, and he didn’t plan to, so the Vampire had been completely clueless when he had come back home to a wormy Mika, all covered in a cocoon of blankets and hiccuping in his bed with puffy red eyes. The feeling of being rejected was strong, even more so in a shifter community, where everyone lived in a big strong pack. Mika’s little heart was broken in pieces and depression had hit hard.

He was doing better now, but he would still have some low phases when he wouldn’t be able to leave his bed, staying curled up in the corner for hours, completely hidden in his dark but comforting cage made of blankets and negative thoughts. They decided to call it Episodes.

Charlie would then come look at him from time to time, trying to make him eat something, only to face soulless eyes and heavy eyebags. At first, he would try to force Mika out of his unresponsive state, pretty worried about his well being, but he had discovered that such forceful tactic wasn’t the good one in this case, mostly after he had throw Mika in the bathroom and ordered him to wash up and get out of his head. 

He had found the black panther in the bathtub with sliced wrists.

It had been a while now since the incident, but the Vampire was still really afraid of finding the same sight again. Thus, he let Mika take his time coming out of his Episodes, bringing him plushies, hot chocolate and sweet treats to comfort him. Charlie had helped Mika build a small nest-like corner, where he would spend his days when he was having an Episode. The Doctor had found out that it helped Mika get back on his feet faster if he was feeling safe and loved.

The Episodes were starting to get fewer now after a few months of having them, only one or two happening per week. Charlie was glad to see some progress. He studied the body, not the mind, so he didn’t really know how to handle Mika’s mental health, but he tried to make him feel better. 

Charlie came back to reality as a nurse called for him, telling him that a young man was waiting for him at the entry. As working hours were over and Mika had come a few times to his workplace, the Vampire hurried to put on his coat, leaving his office at a brisk pace, thinking that it was the black panther that had come for him. 

The person waiting for him, though, wasn’t exactly who he was thinking of. Charlie came to a slow halt a few feet away from the other vampire. A grinning man with long black hair stood before him, his blue eyes sparkling in glee. Charlie harrumphed, crossing his arms before his chest.

The man, Damian, was one of his childhood friends, but he had difficulty handling his teasing, so Charlie was often mad with him. The last time they had parted, Damian had kissed Charlie to tease him, saying that he would take his virginity if he still couldn’t find anyone to get laid with.

Charlie was still embarrassed.

"I would love to chat with you, kitten, but I have come for an urgent matter. You know the blood you gave me a few days ago? My superior caught a sniff of it and asked if he could have some too." Damian said, making Charlie freeze at the unexpected request. He had given Mika’s blood to his friend three days ago, so it meant that he had betrayed the promise he made to Mika now that a high-ranking vampire knew about his blood. Charlie knew he wouldn’t be able to refuse the request, it wasn’t exactly a question too, it was more of an order. 

After all, Damian was the Vampire King’s subordinate.

Hey dear readers, did you think Charlie was the ML?

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(1 133 words)