Corven held his breath, jaw tight, bracing himself as his eyes drifted upward—fixating on the pale, silver moon above.
A weak distraction. A feeble anchor for what he knew was coming.
"Go on…" he whispered, his voice low, strained—laced with something between command and surrender.
A shiver passed through the undead spawn.
And then—it bit.
Her fangs sank deep into the side of his neck with an audible shlk. His skin gave way, and suddenly there was no barrier between them—just heat, blood, and something primal.
The initial stab of pain hit hard, like lightning lancing through his nerves.
Then came the pull.
The sensation was layered—complex, twisted. Pain and pleasure coiled together in equal measure. Like ten thousand glass slivers pressing into his flesh, each laced with something maddeningly sweet. It bypassed pain. Bypassed touch.
It became something deeper.
"Shit…" Corven groaned, biting down on his lip, drawing his own blood. His fists clenched, his body locked.
The sensation of being drained was unnerving.
Violating.
Intimate.
And yet… he didn't pull away.
Couldn't.
His legs trembled beneath him as blood drained in slow, pulsing waves. His strength flickered like a candle dancing against the wind.
The world blurred.
But she—the spawn—began to change.
With every drop, her corpse-like form began to smooth, to fill. Her skin, once cold and gray, took on the faintest flush. Her skeletal frame knit itself back together. Tendons tightened. Veins darkened. Her breaths, once ragged gasps, now steadied into a slow, controlled rhythm.
Still pale.
Still monstrous.
But undeniably... becoming.
Corven blinked through the haze.
"I underestimated this…" he laughed weakly, though it came out more like a breath. A half-surrender to the darkness licking at the edges of his vision.
He staggered. His knees nearly gave out.
And then—something shifted again.
Her eyes.
Once hollow, lifeless voids...
Now swirled with color.
Deep crimson. Incandescent.
They glowed—mirroring his.
No longer empty. No longer feral.
They saw him.
And as her feeding continued, so too did her behavior change.
The ravenous, instinctual suckling faded. Replaced by something more… deliberate.
More aware.
She pressed closer, melting against him.
Her chest brushed against his with a soft, accidental graze—warm now, rising and falling with every breath. He felt the faint swell of her form against his ribs, and for a fleeting moment, the feeding blurred into something else entirely—something closer to desire than survival.
Her body, once rigid, now curved into his like warm wax drawn to flame. One hand slid across his chest—fingers twitching, unsure, as if memorizing the texture of him. The other found his waist. Not to steady herself, but to feel.
She fed slower now. Deeper. With intention.
Corven's throat tightened. He told himself it was just blood loss—but the warmth of her mouth, the subtle pressure of her lips, the way her tongue lingered at the wound... it all whispered of hunger that wasn't just for sustenance.
And worse—he felt something stir in response. Something primal.
Corven sucked in a sharp breath as her lips shifted subtly at his neck—not just drinking, but tasting. Her tongue flicked against his skin in brief, instinctive motions that sent shivers racing down his spine.
The chill of death had fled from her touch. Now her hands were warm—tinged with his heat. Her breaths came quick and shallow, brushing his collarbone.
Corven's eyes fluttered half-shut.
There was danger here.
But also—control.
His control.
And yet, something about the way she responded to his gift made that control feel... fragile. Addictive.
Like clay softening under fire.
Alive.
Receptive.
Evolving.
"Good... It's working…" he murmured under his breath.
The bond was awakening.
Not just of master and servant.
But of sire and progeny.
Of predator and reborn.
And still, her hands continued—searching, exploring, curious.
Not skilled, but not mindless either.
She moved with growing boldness. Her touch was clumsy, yes—but it was learning. Adapting.
He let her feed.
Let her transform beneath his blood.
His gift.
And though part of him reeled from the sheer intimacy of it all—there was no denying the truth:
She was no longer just spawn.
She was becoming something more.
Independent.
Aware.
Bound to him—not by force, but by choice.
His vision flickered again. The world swam in and out of focus.
His body trembled from blood loss.
But something else stirred between them.
A pull.
A tether.
The spawn's mouth lingered at his neck, her lips parted around the wound she had made. But now, her movements had shifted entirely.
What began as raw hunger had turned reverent.
Each draw of blood—slower. Measured. Intentional.
Her fingers softened against him. One hand lifted, trembling, brushing along the edge of his collar—exploring fabric, tracing his frame. The other steadied against his chest—not to hold him, but to anchor herself.
Corven's breathing hitched, but he didn't move.
Couldn't.
Because her eyes—those glowing crimson mirrors—looked at him now with recognition.
She saw him.
Not as prey. Not even as a master.
But as a presence. A person.
Her lips parted, her breath catching in her throat. Fangs retracted slowly. The wound stopped bleeding—but it pulsed, still warm, in rhythm with something unseen.
Corven staggered, catching himself against a nearby tombstone.
Pale. Weak. But watching her.
She stood still, staring down at her hands.
Color had returned to her lips.
Her limbs—once brittle and skeletal—now appeared whole. Not human. Not yet.
But close enough.
She blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then spoke.
"…What… am I?" Her voice cracked like old parchment. Dry. Brittle. But undeniably alive.
Corven exhaled.
Soft. Tired. Almost relieved.
"You're waking up," he said.
Her hands flew to her chest.
She gasped—not in panic, but in realization.
Memories—faint flickers—raced behind her glowing eyes. A field. A grave. A scream. A name whispered in the dark.
Her fingers touched her throat.
"I remember… something," she murmured. "Not everything. But I remember feeling."
"You were someone once," Corven said quietly, standing taller. "And now... maybe you can be someone again."
The wind stirred around them, lifting dirt-stained hair from her face. She looked younger now—not in age, but in presence.
Less a corpse.
More a survivor.
More a woman pulling herself back from the edge of oblivion.
He extended a hand.
Not as a command.
But an invitation.
She looked at it.
Hesitated.
Then—slowly—reached forward.
Her eyes lingered on his mouth for just a heartbeat too long.
Then her gaze dropped to his neck again—where the wound had closed, but still pulsed faintly with shared memory.
Her tongue flicked out, wetting her lips.
Her fingers brushed his.
Warmth.
Just a flicker.
But real.
And in that moment, beneath the cold moonlight and the silent gaze of the dead, something ancient and new forged itself between them.
Not master and servant.
But two beings—walking out of their pasts.
Together.