In the illusory world, two bleeding holes appeared on Jake's skin, accompanied by a sharp pain and dizziness. At this, the young man was glad and, with a genuine smile, informed his cousin, who was still holding him, dodging the attacks on his axe.

“Klaus arrived.”

When Jake's already pale skin whitened even more, the vampire pushed himself away from him, then approached him again, licking his lips as he repressed his instincts, his hunger.

He had spent six straight months away from his beloved, from the only humanoid blood he dared, and wanted, to consume. Resisting devouring him completely, in more than one way, at that precise moment was a great effort.

Beyond his abstinence from distance, beyond the particular taste of the blood of a Nephilim, unique and scarce, the more a vampire loves someone, the more delicious their blood becomes and the greater the temptation to consume it.

Luckily for both of them, Klaus was the being with the greatest self-control in the entire history of his species. Such control had come to him naturally and had been reinforced by grueling years of training and torture by his king and those close to him.

Having inherited the best qualities of his parents, he was possibly also the most powerful, with the strongest curse, the greatest power to convert others, the greatest ability to transform and the greatest elemental power, being even one of the few vampires who controlled more than one element.

The earth, manifested through the spontaneous creation of crystals with variable characteristics, and the air, manifested as the total manipulation of all gas around him, including that inside living beings.

Still struggling with himself, he prepared to remove the seals from Jake. Holding his wrists with one hand while removing the gloves with the other, delicately as if they were made of elegant Baccarat crystal.

Once both gloves were removed, a powerful purifying light emerged from the young officer, illuminating the entire parking area. His wings spread in a violent explosion, causing him to nearly fall, remaining upright by the same power that emanated from him.

Klaus was pushed back by the wave of energy. Quickly recovering, he collapsed his own crystal wall and allowed the power to flow freely, purifying the Diagvelia demon in its path.

Jake opened his eyes, meeting Klaus' eyes directly on the ground in front of him. Quickly the vampire curse that ran through his veins was also purified, and his veins began to blacken. Seeing this, the vampire took the gloves and placed the silver plates in them on his beloved's naked abdomen.

With his powers sealed again, Jake fell to the ground on his knees next to Klaus, who offered to put the gloves on him properly.

The moment Jake purified the demon, its illusory world was destroyed, releasing the souls trapped in it and the consciousness of his cousin. Cloud woke up in an unknown place, in a strange bed but lying next to a familiar face. Cloe slept peacefully next to him, in the same bed, but each with their own set of blankets. Soothed by the presence of his friend, especially in such a relaxed state, he decided to sleep too and wait until morning to ask questions.

Klaus and Jake remained in the train parking lot for a few minutes, sitting on the floor of the car next to each other.

“What took you so long?” Jake asked with noticeable joy, as he finished adjusting his clothes.

“The stupid guard wouldn’t let me through…”

Again, silence filled the car, now with a peaceful atmosphere.

Klaus kept his gaze fixed on Jake, absorbing his smiling image, illuminated by the moonlight as if he were adorned with a silver veil, with his vertical pupils so enlarged by the pleasure of that view they looked like ovals.

The sweetness of the moment only lasted a few seconds.

Remembering what he had discovered that afternoon, the happy face of his beloved, which brought him so much joy and calm, now made him sad, for more than one reason.

“By the way… I need to tell you something.”

Leaving his shirt unbuttoned over his shoulders, Jake stood completely still, staring into his boyfriend's worried face.

Although Klaus' unmasked voice was usually rough and deep, giving an impression of aggression or haughtiness to others, Jake was able to detect the subtle changes in it and clearly hear his emotions. The seriousness and weight with which Klaus had expressed himself had made him nervous. He remained expectant of what he would say.

“I think we have found your brother.”

“What?”

Jake's nervousness increased, the gloomy way in which Klaus expressed himself made him think of the worst case scenario.

“Yes…” he sighed “I saw a child identical to him. No. I'm sure it was him.”

Jake continued to dress, waiting to hear more details of the situation, waiting to discover why his boyfriend looked so downcast in the face of what should be good news. Seeing that his beloved continued to wait in silence, Klaus began to elaborate on the matter.

“You know, around 10 years old, fair skin, though not as fair as yours, deep black curly hair, yellow eyes, and most notably, a Nephilim aura.”

Hearing that last part, with his blind trust in the vampire, Jake stood up celebrating, joyful, even with half his arm out of the jacket.

“GREAT!! I can finally see him again!” his boyfriend looked even more gloomy, his gaze now on the floor, avoiding Jake “Klaus? What's wrong?”

The vampire glanced at his beloved, debating with himself on how to give him the news, how to avoid worrying him or saddening him too much.

“I… I don't know what happened to that boy, but, there was something strange about him, something corrupt, something very different from you, something almost…” he turned to see Jake's uneasy face “almost demonic.”

Balancing his thoughts, worries, and possibilities, Jake calmed down a bit, forcibly cooling his head. He grabbed his tie and moved even closer to his boyfriend, sitting a couple of centimeters from his face.

“That's one more reason to see him now.”

Klaus changed his focus again, now looking at Jake's white neck, with skin so thin that it allowed him to distinguish his veins with the naked eye.

He was still thirsty, he still wanted to consume the warm taste of his plasma, but even more than that he wanted to kiss him, clean with his tongue the blood that was still smeared on him and continue down his body. His pupils grew again, reflecting his beloved in them.

Noticing his gaze, Jake loosened his tie again.

“I'm completely regenerated now, if you want you can do it.”

“No, I wouldn't be able stop myself this time.”

“I can take off a glove while you drink, so I'll recover at the same time.”

“Ah, that's what you meant…” he smiled mischievously at him. “No thanks, it's okay.”

Klaus enjoyed the rapid change in the color of his beloved's face, from white to red in an instant.

Although they had been dating for a year now, Jake had a hard time adjusting to Klaus's shameless flirting. Before, he used to be more reserved, but since they confirmed their feelings, he had become much more provocative.

Klaus had always treated Jake with sweetness, delicacy and chivalry, as if he were a precious and fragile being that could break at any moment.

It had been difficult for him to get used to this as, since his father died, no one had shown such a strong and clear concern for his well-being. This without diminishing his power and abilities, each of his actions were full of respect and admiration.

His softness hadn't really changed, which is why those little moments stood out the most to him. Moments where Klaus showed that deep down he wanted, in a very specific way, to break Jake. To break all his barriers, all his fears, all his inhibitions, completely helpless, completely himself with him and only him. And Jake wanted it too.

Being forced to care for and protect others at a young age, to grow up in a rush, Jake had never allowed himself to depend on anyone else but Klaus, physically and emotionally.

Klaus was the only one he trusted to take the weight off his shoulders, the only one he allowed himself to be vulnerable with. And he finally had him back after six long months of seeing him exclusively through a screen, sitting right in front of him, in the middle of the night with the two of them completely alone.

He considered it seriously, pressing his lips together as he looked straight into Klaus's face, his eyes dancing between the vampire's eyes and bleeding lips, occasionally jumping to his hands, large, warm and surprisingly soft.

For a moment he returned his hand to his loosened tie, the thought of unbuttoning his shirt again and letting the vampire do whatever he wanted to him crossing his mind.

Luckily for both of them, again, Klaus was really good at self-control, no matter what kind of instinct it was.

“Jaky, darling, there are cameras all over the place. Remember where we are.”

“Ah!” Regaining his composure and embarrassed by his thoughts, Jake tightly adjusted his tie. “Why do you say that? I wasn’t planning on doing anything…”

“What a pity.”

Jake cleared his throat, trying hard to ignore that last comment and not fall back into those thoughts.

With a subtle sigh, Klaus stood up and offered his hand to Jake, who took it firmly. The vampire caressed his knuckles with his thumb and pulled him up.

Once the young officer was on his feet, his boyfriend gave him a light kiss on the healed cheek and led him out of the car without letting go of his hand, heading towards an uncovered area in the center of the parking lot.

The vampire spread his wings again, put Jake's left arm over his shoulder, holding him firmly with his left hand, interlacing their fingers. He took him by the waist with his right hand and pressed his hips together to make sure he had him well held. Klaus flew away, carrying his lover with him to the house they shared.