Seducing the Cambion

By Bentedwreath

Edited & Beta'd by MikaTertius

Chapter 1: The Change

​"Nosferatu reeks again," Perrie said as Nos slid into his seat. "Gross."

The blonde vampiress was as striking as her words were sharp. She was part of the group that always ridiculed him. But Nos didn’t bother looking at her. Instead, he focused on the syllabus on his laptop, anything to keep his mind off their insults. He forced himself to keep his expression neutral, refusing to give them satisfaction.

His real name was Nostriano, but that didn’t stop their dumb jokes. Being a dhampir, half human, meant he smelled differently to purebred vampires.

"Hands down, the stinkiest of the dhampirs," another one of Orion's lackeys chimed in, likely Emon. 

While Orion himself was unpredictable, his friends lacked the creativity for more cutting insults. So far, Nos had managed to keep the stony expression on his face as he forced himself to read the syllabus index for what felt like the fourth or fifth time. He needed to anchor his focus elsewhere.

"The one with the ugliest face, to boot," Orion added menacingly, slamming his hand onto the corner of Nos's desk. Nos couldn't help but stare at the obnoxiously ornate ring that glinted on Orion's third pale finger.

Nos shot Orion a hard glare. Even if they were both standing, the vampire would still tower over him. He squared his shoulders, pushing up his chunky glasses and swallowing his pride. Nos knew he wasn’t actually ugly, even by human standards, but Orion loved putting him in his place. He’d targeted him for years.

Orion stared at him with an expression that could only be described as smarmy. Nos had to admit that the vampire was ridiculously good-looking. Copper hair, sharp cheekbones, bright blue eyes; the whole package. No wonder everyone let him get away with being such a jerk.

Nos looked around at everyone else, all gorgeous and otherworldly. He wished his vampire side would finally kick in. Maybe then Orion would let him be. As much as he balked at the idea of turning out anything like her, Nos had to admit that if he had even a smidgeon of his mother’s vampiric beauty, he’d stand out enough to attract his fated match.

Unfortunately, his Change was late. Every other dhampir changed at twenty-one, but Nos was already twenty-two. He just wanted to stop feeling like he didn’t measure up.

In one of Nos's classes, they discussed a rare case where a dhampir's human genetics overshadowed the vampire traits. The woman in question had a longer lifespan than a typical human, but she never developed any of the supernatural abilities associated with vampires: speed, heightened hearing, or enhanced vision. Nos shuddered at the thought of ending up as powerless as her.

"I wonder if your blood tastes as human as you smell," Orion snarled as he flashed his fangs.

"Does your dick get hard when you're wondering?" Nos shot back before he could stop himself. Orion’s hand came fast, backhanding him across the face and knocking him right off his chair.

Dazed, Nos realized the ring had a silver tip; painful for dhampirs like him. Most wounds healed instantly, but silver lingered. The sting on his face soon drowned out every other ache.

"You're such a rank piece of shit that even your mother left you," Orion hissed.

"Were you talking about… your mother?" Nos replied. Deep down, he knew it was the stupidest thing he could have done to allow his stinging pride to run his mouth.

Orion seethed, his anger flaring hotter than the pain in Nos’s cheek. The redhead’s boot was already rising to kick him when classmates pulled him back.

"The prof is coming!"

The vampires dropped into their seats as the door swung open. Nos, still on the ground, scrambled upright on the floor just in time. His face had already healed. He adjusted his glasses, acting casual.

That was all the professor noticed.

"Did you drop something, Mr. Neroli?" the instructor asked. "Or are you checking for gum beneath your desk?"

Nos heard several students snickering and shot a glance at Orion. Their ringleader deliberately ran the hand with the ring through his hair and slyly flipped Nos off as a warning.

"No, Professor Runo," Nos said, taking his seat with a sigh.

"Then I want everyone's eyes on the board for this presentation."

Professor Runo showed them how to decipher encoded ancient text, but Nos barely paid attention in class. As soon as it ended, he took off, feeling like crap for allowing his desperation to bleed through. No purebreds attended his next class, but he couldn’t help feeling like a coward though, deep down, he knew getting out of there was probably the right move.

Paranormal Anthropology & Dhampirism with Professor Hemingway was the only dhampir-only class at the university. Not because the information didn’t also pertain to purebred vampires, but because it included the finer details of the Change dhampirs underwent and what they should expect, which was irrelevant to their purebred peers. Hemingway was a dhampir himself, and was more than qualified to teach both subjects. 

"You’re here earlier than usual," his classmate, Blake, said while raising a blonde brow.

"Orion Foulis wants to stomp on my face, and not in a good way."

"I see."

Blake was the closest Nos had to a friend at Karras University. Nos remembered that before his Change, Blake’s eyes were a muddy green. Now, they were bright and added to his elegance. As dhampirs, the two had to watch each other’s backs. While Orion and his crew were the biggest threat, their other purebred vampire peers enjoyed giving them grief, as well. 

Nos had a feeling it had to do with jealousy. Unlike their purebred peers, dhampirs could eat anything, hang out in the sun longer and, while they weren’t immortal, they lived way longer lifespans than humans. Once matured, they matched vampires in strength, hearing, and speed. He imagined some of the purebreds would trade their immortality to not be as ruled by bloodlust and sunlight. 

"Still no sign of the Change?" Blake asked, pretending to read but not even looking at the book in front of him.

Nos knew Blake acted indifferent, but he wouldn’t have brought it up if he didn’t actually care.

"Trust me, if I’d Changed, Orion would be the one hiding, not me," Nos said with a snort.

Nos was the last immature dhampir left at the university, and honestly, it freaked him out. What if he was one of those rare cases who never Changed? Would he have to fake being human forever? He doubted Orion would let him live in peace.

"Did you provoke him again?"

Nos didn’t really appreciate the look Blake gave him. Blake had Changed less than a month ago, and Nos couldn’t help but feel jealous. Why was he the only one left behind?

"It wasn’t even a comeback. Just calling it like I saw it," Nos said, shrugging.

Nos figured Orion was acting out more because he still hadn’t found his fated match. While Nos was desperate for his vampire side to kick in, he honestly hoped Orion would hurry up and find his match. Most of all, he prayed to every star that it wouldn’t end up being him.

"Just don’t get yourself killed before you Change, okay?"

"Didn’t know you worried that much about me," Nos said, a little surprised. He wasn’t used to Blake being that blunt. He was still thinking about it when the professor rushed in, juggling two bags of stuff.

"The multicultural meet is a couple of days away," Professor Hemingway began. Not a strand of his long, strawberry blond ponytail was out of place, but his mannerisms appeared frazzled. "I want to make sure that all of you remember what is respectful and disrespectful for each visiting group."

"How many groups?" Jess, a fellow dhampir, asked. She had been the first of their group to undergo a Change, but she never rubbed it in any of their faces.

"Just two this year," Hemingway replied. "Ame-onnas and incubi-succubi."

Nos perked up, actually interested for once. As a kid, he’d sneak into his adoptive dad’s study to read about other supernatural beings. He knew a lot about Japanese yokai, but seeing one in real life? That was rare.

Ame-onnas were ethereal, misunderstood beings from Japan. If they got upset, it would literally start raining. They were pale, had unusual eye colors like vampires, and most had long, black hair. Nos remembered from his books that they were always mourning a lost child.

Incubi and succubi, however, lived in another plane of existence called Helderlus, which was somewhere between dreams and reality. Scholars still argued about whether the name meant Lucid Loop or Limpid Lust. But, incubikind came in all sorts of colors: eyes, skin, hair, everything. 

Nos had seen an incubus with highlighter orange hair and yellow eyes once. His adoptive father, Luc, had dark blue hair and grey eyes. The main traits that set them apart were their webbed wings, a pointed tail, and horns, which could vary in appearance and size from one individual to another.

"If an ame-onna hugs you tightly upon first greeting and calls you by a different name, it is because you remind them of a child they've lost…" Professor Hemingway explained. "Take it in stride and try to avoid mentioning anything about children. If they ask you about your childhood, the best course of action is to change the topic and steer the conversation toward something you are personally passionate about."

Nos wouldn’t have thought to do that, but he did know kids were a touchy subject for ame-onnas. He’d read somewhere that the first one was a woman who lost her baby on a rainy day and turned into a spirit because of her grief. After that, she’d show up for crying kids, hoping to find her own.

He wasn’t sure if every ame-onna had the same story, but a lot of them remembered losing a kid. Nos could already picture some clueless purebreds saying the wrong thing and getting rained on. The idea cracked him up.

"Don’t be surprised if an incubus or succubus hugs or even kisses you as a greeting…" Several students snorted or muttered, some surprised, some amused.

However, Hemingway ignored them and continued, "While they may be considered distant cousins of our own species, their customs are rooted in the need to be grounded by physical touch."

Nos zoned out after that. He’d grown up with an incubus for an adoptive dad, so he already knew many of their customs. At the moment, his stomach was also doing flips from the awful cafeteria food, and probably from all the Orion drama. He tried to keep it together and not hurl in the middle of Hemingway’s lecture.

By the end of his last class of the day, Nos felt drained. He was relieved when he made it to his motorcycle without running into Orion or his annoying crew in the hallways. The black Zfmoto 250 had been his eighteenth birthday present. Probably the only thing his mother ever bought him. He hopped on and decided to ride out of campus fast.

"Finally," he muttered, revving the engine and peeling out.

The university was similar to a fortress within a gated vampire community. Nos passed a circle of shops and then rows of large, fancy houses. His mother had a massive mansion with a small staff, all of whom were run by an incubus butler, whom Nos thought of as his real dad.

Lucario was nothing like Nos’s biological father, the human who bailed as soon as he found out Nos’s mother was a vampire. Luc, the incubus, always had great posture. He hid his horns and tail, so only his pointy ears and grey eyes gave away what he was. Incubi and vamps stopped aging at will, but Luc actually let himself go gray at the temples before halting the process. The rest of his dark blue hair was always pulled back in a neat ponytail.

When he was a child, Nos had always wanted to look more like Luc, but he didn’t. Not even close.

​His biological dad, Norris, had passed on most of his genetic profile to Nos, and his resemblance to the man was uncanny. That was why his mother couldn't stand to look at him and left him in Luc's care the moment he turned nine. She paid for his day-to-day expenses and tuition but preferred communicating through letters rather than seeing him in person.

​The frequency of the letters diminished over the years. While he didn’t exactly blame her, Nos couldn’t help but feel rejected.

​"Welcome home," Luc greeted him as soon as Nos walked through the front door. The incubus kissed him on both cheeks and his forehead before pulling him into a tight hug.

Professor Hemingway called it their need to be grounded by touch. Nos just felt that incubi were more affectionate than most. He sighed as he felt his nightmare of a day melt away with his dad’s embrace, which felt warmer than usual.

​"Dad, I don't know what I ate," Nos confided without a shred of distrust. "But if I’m not out of the bathroom in under an hour, I think we should call the doc." He immediately felt the back of the butler's hand press against his temple.

​"Doesn't seem like a fever," his dad muttered in concern. "Cooler than I expected."

"I’ll have my phone with me, just in case," Nos said, waving it before heading to the bathroom.

He did his business, but then the nausea hit, so Nos decided to take a quick shower. He put his glasses on the sink, got undressed, and stepped in. The second the water hit him, things got way worse.

Nos gasped as chills shot through his whole body. The water felt way hotter than it was supposed to, and his stomachache spread everywhere. He leaned against the wall until he finally felt steady again.

One deep breath, and all the weird pain just… vanished. Nos shook his head, finished showering, and dried off. When he stepped out, his stomach felt fine.

Weird.

He threw on a robe and padded barefoot to his room. Suddenly, his hip started itching like crazy. When he looked down, he saw a pale geometric marking about the size of his hand, one big diamond in the middle with smaller ones overlapping on either side. What appeared to be a line  with two arrowheads crossed through the center of the row of diamonds.

Nos yanked up his pajama pants and yelled, "Dad!"

Luc rushed in, looking seriously worried. Nos realized he could actually see the little wrinkles on Luc’s face, even without his glasses. That made his eyes go wide.

"It’s alright, it’s okay," Luc whispered, pulling Nos into a hug and stroking his hair.

This time, Nos stayed tense until Luc said what he’d hoped to hear.

"You’ve Changed, son. You finally Changed."