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The loudness of this place terrifies Technoblade.
There are people yelling, fists banging on the cages, humans crying or wailing in fear. His sensitive hearing makes it so much worse, picking up on every sound that bounces off the cavernous stone walls of this basement. Maybe basement isn't even the right word to describe it. Techno's home had a basement. It was just big enough for a bunch of shelves and crates, storage, the like. Sometimes Techno and the other pups would play hide and seek down there, though they were always told off when an adult caught them. They said one of them could get hurt easily.
This place is huge. Techno thinks an entire city could fit in here. He can't see the entrance or exit, can't see all the walls. And the ceiling is super high up, with strange candle chandeliers hanging from it that cast a little light over the room. Not a lot, but Techno has good eyesight in the dark anyway, so it doesn't really bother him.
And it definitely doesn't seem to phase the vampires running this place.
They terrify Techno even more than the loudness does. Vampires are evil, cruel, not to mention notoriously hostile towards werewolves. Their scent lingers all over the air, the sharp tang of rotting corpses and incense. Technoblade doesn't understand why they brought him here rather than kill him like they did with all the rest of his pack. Every other cage is filled with humans.
"Quiet down!"
The vampire who caught him slams his hand down on the cage next to his. The human woman inside whimpers and curls up more, pressed into the bars as she hugs her arms around her own body. She's young, maybe barely an adult. Her long brown hair falls in front of her tear-stricken face.
Another vampire who was walking by as this happens, scowls slightly and clicks her tongue in distaste. She continues on by, not affording them a second glance. The vampire trying to sell them seems displeased at this, and he kneels in front of the human woman's cage.
"Seriously, you're better off not acting like such a pathetic mess," he says. "You'll make things worse for yourself."
The woman shakes her head and buries her face in her pulled-up knees, sobbing.
"Can't get much worse than this," another human says. He's slightly older, a man, in a cage a little bit to the right, so Techno hasn't managed to get a good look at him. His voice sounds strangely emotionless. As if he's not feeling anything.
The seller leans against the woman's cage, trying to smile and make eye contact with potential customers to lure them in, even as he continues talking.
"Nonsense. If you're healthy and show them you can behave, one of these rich suckers might get you as a blood bag. The lucky ones aren't treated too badly," he explains.
"And the unlucky ones?" the human man asks. He doesn't get an answer.
Techno shudders, curling up in a similar position as the woman next to him, tucking his tail around himself. It makes sense that the humans are being sold as food. But he's a werewolf. Werewolf blood is much too bitter for vampires to drink, some even say it burns them. Nobody is going to buy him to keep him around as a blood bag. Vampires hate werewolves. The only reason anybody will buy him is to kill him.
If that is the case, he wishes he could have just died with the rest of his pack.
"Technoblade," Seraphine's voice carries down the hallway, and Techno half-turns without slowing his running, almost bumping into the wall as he does so. She shakes her head fondly at the sight, bouncing some blonde curls over her slim shoulders and tucking the laundry basket under her arm better. "Didn't they need you in the kitchen?"
"Simon said it was okay for me to take a break," Techno says, trying not to pout. Of all the chores he could be assigned to, kitchen duty is by far the worst. Techno doesn't want to peel another potato in his life.
"Fine then," Seraphine says. "But don't run in the hallways, you're going to knock over something."
Techno nods, looking at the floor guiltily. "Sorry." He waits for her to walk around the corner, then takes off again at a slightly slower jog.
The other young pups are already in the kids room. If you're younger than eight, you don't have to do any chores. You're allowed to lie around, wrestle, watch TV, play with toys, basically all the time except when you have lessons. It's great. But when you turn eight, as Techno did a few months ago, you need to start carrying your weight in the pack. Techno gets assigned very simple tasks because he's still so small. But Simon, who is already fifteen and practically an adult, gets to go out and hunt and stuff. Techno wishes he could do that instead of kitchen duty.
"Techno!" Blitz jumps on him immediately, clinging to his leg. "Techno, look what mom brought me from the territory." She pulls on his sleeve, dragging him over to a nest of pillows and blankets where the pups sometimes sleep.
"Bruh, I'm coming, calm down," Techno complains half-heartedly, though it does nothing to curb the enthusiasm of the four-year-old girl. Her head nods vigorously, ears twitching in excitement to show him her treasure. Techno allows himself to be pulled, until she pushes him down into the pillows and climbs into his lap.
"Look, look!" She says, holding something up in cupped palms.
"I can't see it if you're holding it like that," Techno says, laughing at the girl's peeved expression.
She unclenches her fingers somewhat, barely revealing what lies beneath. Techno isn't able to tell what it is right away, until she unfurls her hands enough for him to make out that it's a tooth.
Not just any tooth. A sharp incisor. A vampire's tooth.
"Gross," Techno says, deadpan. Not because he actually thinks it's gross, but he expected Blitz to be more squeamish about it.
"Dad cleaned it with… with fluori… uh…" Blitz's small face scrunches up, memory failing her. "He cleaned it," she decides firmly. "So it's totally not gross. And totally cool, right?"
Techno takes the thing between his thumb and pointer, carefully turning it over once or twice. This means a vampire must have been killed by the pack.
That isn't too out of the ordinary, sadly. Their pack is decently small, and suffers a lot from vampire attacks. The territory needs to be fiercely protected by all pack members old enough to do so. Techno's own parents died in a vampire attack a few years back. Since werewolves are not the type to abandon their kind, especially not pups, Techno was allowed to stay and is being raised by them all the same, despite being an orphan. They all take care of each other.
"It's pretty cool," he agrees. He drops the tooth back into Blitz's waiting palms, then wraps his arms around her. "You know what's even cooler?"
"What?" Blitz asks.
"Taking a nap."
Technoblade lets himself fall back onto the heap of blankets and pillows, pulling Blitz to lie down with him. She yelps before trying to squirm away from him.
"Technooooo!" She drags out his name in a very funny way. "No fair, you said that if you got out of kitchen duty, you'd play with me."
"After the nap," Techno promises.
Blitz tucks her chin against his chest. "Meanie."
"Yeah, I'm the worst." Techno yawns.
Mischievously, Blitz smiles and pokes at his cheek. "The worst," she agrees.
Techno doesn't let it bother him. Sleeping while curled up with their pack members is a joy every werewolf craves, no matter how old they are. Blitz will definitely nod off within a minute, most pups do. And it's miles better than peeling potatoes.
They'll have plenty of time to play when they wake up.
A strange ringing pulls Techno free from the memory.
He flinches slightly, covering his ears at the noise. His blue eyes trail up, instinctively trying to seek out the source. Among the many candles hanging from the ceiling, he can barely make out a huge golden bell. The thing swings side to side, made to do so because of a long rope that disappears into an alcove of the cave wall. A vampire must be ringing it.
The seller curses under his breath and walks in front of the cages. He flips something on top of them. Techno thinks it's the little signs that tell people how much it costs to buy them.
This gets confirmed a moment later when the vampire puts a hand to his mouth and raises his voice. "Lowered prices! Get yourself a good deal before sunrise!"
Does that mean the bell ringing is to warn vampires that sunrise is right around the corner? It would make sense. While only the youngest fledglings burn in the sun, all vampire powers diminish during the day. Most vampires wouldn't be hanging around a market during daytime. They'd all want to get back to their covens before the sun came out.
Techno notices it in the vampires hurrying past too, all of them picking up their pace. Even less of them are glancing at the cages, and Techno is suddenly beset by a truly terrifying thought.
What will happen to the unsold wares?
He doubts this seller is going to keep them around forever. Before this, they were in some sort of warehouse, the noises and smells even more terrible and overwhelming to Techno. But the warehouse was beneath the cave. And the seller wasn't there.
Somebody stops in front of their cages. Techno can't see them properly because the cages are so low to the ground, and the person who stopped is very close. Their pants are dirty and stained. "Only fifty?" they ask.
"Sunrise deal," the seller replies. "If you fancy a quick snack before heading home."
"Sure." The vampire digs into their pocket and drops some coins into the seller's hand. He turns around to undo the latches on the human woman's cage.
She screams - high in her throat, gagging for breath. Screams as if her lungs are trying to escape her chest, and then flings herself backwards into the bars, trying to get away from the seller who is reaching into the cage. He grabs her wrist and drags her out no matter how much she twists and struggles.
"Fuck, it's a good thing somebody wants her, she'd never make a good blood bag," the seller remarks, almost casual. As if it's not a horrific thing that he's saying.
The vampire who bought the woman hums in agreement and lays a hand on her shoulder. She's pushing, punching, fists and legs both flailing. But the vampires hardly seem to notice.
And then there's a crunch.
Techno shivers, the sound entering him like a physical thing. Fangs tearing through skin and flesh until they hit bone. The woman's howling only picks up until she's spasming and choking on every cry. Another sharp scent mixes with the wafts of decay Techno gets from the vampires. It's metallic, deeper, enough to make his mouth water because he hasn't eaten in days.
Blood.
A shrill noise wakes Techno up.
His face scrunches into a frown, and one of his ears flicks, trying to bat the annoying tone away. Techno's brain is too caught up in the residue of sleep to fully grasp what's happening, but he can see some of the other pups fussing uneasily, put on edge by the alarm.
That's what it is. An alarm.
The pitch is so high only a werewolf's sensitive hearing could pick it up. And that is by design. This alarm is only used in the most dire of circumstances.
"Techno?" Blitz asks, fingers curling into Techno's shirt. He puts a hand on her back.
"It's going to be okay," he says.
The alarm is like a wave, rising and falling and rising again, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It's easy to get dragged along with it. For him to forget what he's supposed to be doing. But then Blitz whines, fingers clutching tighter, and Techno blinks out of it. He's the oldest in the room right now, all the other pups are too small. Techno has to remember what they've been taught.
"Get to your rooms," Techno says, standing and putting Blitz onto her feet. "Quickly. Don't waste time."
Blitz hasn't let go of his shirt, worrying the edge between her small fingers, nails that haven't sharpened into claws yet. "But-"
"Quickly," Techno repeats. "Under the bed, like we practiced."
Some of the others start to move, siblings dragging each other along. Techno stands at the door with Blitz still attached to his hip and waits for the room to empty completely before he follows them into the hallway. The living quarters are right around the corner. For now, they're alone. All the adults would have reacted to the alarm by going upstairs.
"Techno," Blitz breathes. Her honey-brown eyes are so wide and deep. Techno pats her head. "I'm scared."
"Don't be," Techno says. "Remember? It's just like hide and seek. Just stay put until your parents come get you, yeah?" He nudges her back at the bedroom door.
She nods, and finally releases her fingers. Her other hand stays loosely curled into a fist.
Techno returns to his own bedroom - the one he used to share with his parents - and gets under the bed. Vampires don't actually have a good sense of smell. Their other senses are terrifyingly heightened, but picking up on individual scents is one thing they can't do properly. When the alarm rings, all the pups are supposed to hide in their bedrooms, where their own scent and that of their parents hangs so heavily in the air and on every surface, that a vampire wouldn't easily be able to distinguish between them. That way, it becomes very hard for them to tell where they are.
The pups must stay there until the adults come back to tell them it's safe. Or, if things get too bad, a few runners will be sent to evacuate the pups while the rest of the pack holds off the vampires.
Techno doesn't know how long that could take. He lies under that bed for what feels like hours. Sometimes he hears things, from up above or even from outside the door in the hallway. He closes his eyes and tries to lock it out, tries not to think.
The last time this happened, somebody came to get him eventually. And that same person had to tell Techno his parents were dead.
This time, the terror lasts so much longer than he thinks it should. Techno can't stand it, and no matter how often he counts to a hundred in his head, it doesn't seem to stop. Simon told him that counting would make it easier to bear. But now Techno thinks he must have been lying.
And then, when it's been quiet for what feels like longer than it has ever been loud, Techno finally breaks. He crawls out of the hiding spot on all fours and creeps towards the door. He tries to listen very hard first, just to make sure he's definitely not mistaken and there are any vampires around. Nothing. Putting one hand to the wood, Techno pushes it open an inch.
The house smells weird. He didn't notice it before, when he could only smell himself and his own fear and just barely the residue of his parents that had been slowly fading from the room. But now it hits him, that metallic tang like raw meat before a special occasion. And the smell of rot, earth, and worms crawling over pale skin.
Techno peeks through the gap, realizing the other doors are open too. They're not just open a crack, though. They're half open, or wide open, and there's a blanket that has fallen onto the floor in the room across from him. The noises he heard earlier… it must have been the adults coming to fetch the pups after all.
Why didn't anybody check his room?
On shaking legs, Techno stands. His knees hurt from the plywood floor, and he distractedly rubs at them as he steps into the hallway. He doesn't understand. Did the runners forget him? Did they take the other pups and not know he was here? Maybe somebody knocked on Techno's door, and he was supposed to follow them out?
Slowly, he walks to the stairs. Every few seconds, he stops and waits, straining his hearing to the limit in case there is a vampire in the house somewhere. But he can't hear a peep. When he approaches the steps, the smell of raw meat gets more pronounced.
Until Techno realizes it's something else.
Warmer. Blood.
He can smell a lot of blood.
His body revolts, and screams with every instinct it has that he should go back to his room and continue to hide. The smell is bad, dangerous. Techno shouldn't be anywhere near it. But he can't go back to that empty room, that abandoned hallway. He can't. His pack has left. He has to be with them. He can't stay here or their trail will go cold and he'll never find them again.
Techno makes it all the way to the living space before he sees the first body. Techno barely recognizes them. Their limbs are spread wide, neck bent at an odd angle, more blood on the ground than was drained from their shriveled remains. Techno's inhale hitches.
The smell has only gotten worse.
The entranceway of the house is a mess. The door was ripped off the hinges. Techno can see the remains of an improvised barricade. But it's obvious to him that the pack never stood a chance. They were terribly outnumbered. So much blood, so many corpses. Techno feels numb. He walks over to Seraphine's body and touches her wrist. The skin is clammy, palm turned up to the ceiling. She died hours ago.
But the pups were taken away.
That's the only thought Techno can hold on to, the only thing left that can make all of this terribleness a little less terrible. When the pack realized they would die, they sent some runners to grab the pups and get out. They could have escaped to the bordering territory of another pack. Blitz will be safe there. Simon too. Techno hasn't seen Simon's body, so he's hoping he was one of the runners…
Something thuds behind him, feet hitting the floor. Techno turns, but that's the last thing he remembers.
Techno watches the woman's fingers twitch, twitch, twitch, until they finally stop.
When the vampire finished drinking from her, he just dropped her to the ground. And the seller didn't clean her up. Techno wonders, distantly and vaguely, if anybody will clean up the pack's home.
The bell rang again a little bit ago. Sunrise can't be long now.
"Look at that one!"
The new voice that suddenly intrudes upon his thoughts makes Techno flinch. He looks up into vibrant red eyes.
"Tommy," another voice says, "Come on, Mom and Dad are gonna kill us."
"He looks weird." The boy crouches in front of Techno's cage. "What the fuck is wrong with him?"
"It's a werewolf," the seller interjects. "A rare specimen. They don't let their younglings out of their sight, so I had to go through quite some effort to catch this one."
"Whoa! Did you hear that, Wilbur? It's a real werewolf!" The boy called Tommy starts to try and put his hand near the bars, but the one named Wilbur grabs his elbow and pulls him upright.
"Don't do that! Werewolves bite."
"Not when they're this young," the seller says. "They can still be trained, kept as pets."
"Boys!" Techno shrinks back when another adult vampire arrives at the scene. She's tall, and the smell that comes from her is infused with flowers, rather than the rot that has finally stopped burning Techno's nostrils. "What did I tell you both about coming to find us as soon as the bell rang?"
"Mom, look," Tommy says, pointing at the cage again. "It's a werewolf. Can we buy him?"
The woman steps closer and kneels down. Her eyes are also red, like the boy's. But hers have a purple sheen to them. Techno finds it hard to look away.
"Aw, look at him." She smiles in a way that lights up her entire face. "Isn't he precious?"
"He's a werewolf," Wilbur says, a little snappish. "You guys are weird."
The woman ignores him and puts one hand on top of the cage. "Hey there, sweetie. My name is Kristin. What's yours?"
Techno knows he shouldn't tell her. He doesn't want anything to do with these people. Except, those gorgeous redish purple eyes are staring into his, and Techno finds his lips moving without his permission. "Techno."
Tommy, who at this point knelt down next to his mother so he could pull on her sleeve, grins. "Can we keep him? Please, mom, please please please."
"Dad said you're not responsible enough for a pet," Wilbur says.
"We can take care of him together," Kristin soothes. She straightens and turns to the seller. "We'll be taking him."
"Wonderful." The vampire holds out his hands to receive the money. Techno blinks, head clearing a little as he watches the gold being exchanged. Wait… they bought him? But they don't intend to kill him? That doesn't make sense.
When the cage is opened, he shies back, but like with the woman who was fed on earlier, it's useless. The seller reaches inside and yanks on Techno's wrist. Techno whimpers, every muscle in his body protesting at the sudden movement when he's stiff and in pain from sitting in the cramped cage for hours.
Kristin coos at the noise, putting a hand on Techno's head to pet it. "It's okay, darling. You'll be okay." Techno flinches back from the touch.
"I'm Tommy," the youngest vampire says, getting so close he's practically in Techno's face. He's a little taller than Techno, though he can't really tell how old he is. "You can talk, right? Can you read? Write?"
"I-" Techno says, feeling the seller squeeze his wrist in warning. "I can."
"Can you do a handstand?"
"Probably," Techno says. Such strange questions.
"Don't overwhelm him," Kristin says mildly. "You'll have plenty of time to play together when we get home."
She suddenly bends over to scoop Techno up into her arms. Techno struggles, inching away from the cold and the scent of decay. But then she puts a hand on his cheek, he looks into her eyes, and all that fear melts away into a quiet, pleasant buzz.
"Don't be scared," Kristin says. "Just relax."
Vaguely, Techno nods. Kristin adjusts him so she can carry him better, having Techno rest his cheek on her shoulder. Her hair tickles his face, and it smells like flowers too, like the garden back at home. Techno looks at the cages as they pass, the humans that didn't get sold, who are sobbing and crying out. It's almost like they don't know what's worse, staying here or being taken by a vampire.
"Dad is going to laugh his ass off," Wilbur remarks.
"How so?" Kristin asks pleasantly, a smile in her voice.
"Because he told you that Tommy was going to whine about getting some new toy," Wilbur says. "And you bought him a werewolf."
"This bitterness doesn't become you," Kristin says, fake solemn.
Techno can barely see Wilbur's face pull up into a scowl. "I was attacked by a werewolf once, they kind of stop being adorable once they've almost ripped your face off."
Kristin chuckles. "The adult ones, sure. But look at him, he's too small to rip much of anything."
"I'm just saying Phil will laugh at us."
"Well, speak of the devil. Let's find out." Kristin shifts him, and Techno tilts back a bit. A fourth vampire is approaching them. He's an adult like Kristin. His eyebrows pull up at seeing Techno in Kristin's arms.
"Didn't we agree we weren't buying anything today?" he asks. And then Techno can pinpoint the exact moment Phil notices the tail, currently pressed tight against his own waist, and the ears that are angled to hide in his hair and cut out some of the loudness around them. "Is that a fucking werewolf?"
"Cute, isn't he?" Kristin asks, bouncing Techno lightly, as if it's meant to comfort him. "Bought him as a sunrise deal too, barely paid a hundred gold."
"You got a werewolf at a discount?" Phil snorts, sounding more amused than angry. So perhaps Wilbur's judgement was correct.
Kristin sighs, reaching up to brush her fingers through Techno's long hair. "Both of you are such killjoys," she laments. "Tommy wanted him, too."
"Tommy wants a lot of things," Phil says. "He wanted a horse last week."
"I don't want a horse!" Tommy says loudly. "I need a horse!"
"Wants and needs are the same thing with you," Phil says, flapping a hand at him.
"You're not going to ruin this for me," Kristin says firmly, though again it comes across as more playful than a genuine argument.
Techno feels like, on the inside, he should be panicking. But nothing is happening. He feels dull and sleepy, pressing closer to Kristin's embrace.
"You know he's not going to stay this small forever," Phil warns.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Kristin says. "Besides, it could be handy to keep a guard dog around. It would scare off other werewolves."
The bell starts to ring a third time, cutting the conversation short.
"Time to go home, little ones," Kristin says happily. She stops stroking Techno's hair long enough to pull back and make eye contact again. "You should rest for a while, darling. The journey won't take long."
An exhaustion unlike anything he's ever felt before falls over Techno. The feeling reminds him a little of being in the nest with his pack, nothing but warm softness around him, safe and happy. His eyes close involuntarily, and he drifts off, though it doesn't feel like he's properly asleep. Strange sensations filter through. A chill that makes Kristin wrap around him more, the return of fingers in his hair, muted conversation, the smell of festering flesh and bursting flowerbuds. After a while, Techno feels himself wake up a little, right as they're walking into a big house. It looks similar in size to the pack's, though it seems even more huge because there's less furniture.
"Can we play now?" Tommy asks, immediately turning towards his mother again. Kristin takes one hand away from where she's using it to steady Techno's back, and pinches her fledgling's cheek instead.
"Not yet, darling. He's very tired and needs some time to adjust, okay?"
Tommy seems mildly disgruntled at that, though it clears quickly when Phil ruffles his hair. "Let your mother get him settled first. How about we get some food?"
The promise of blood easily lures Tommy along, and Wilbur follows after another glance back at the pair, leaving Techno alone with Kristin. The vampire hums as she carries him up a set of marble stairs. In a werewolf den, all the bedrooms are underground, so it's weird to him that it's the other way around here.
"We need to get you cleaned up and into some fresh clothes, don't we?" Kristin asks, though Techno doesn't think she expects an answer. His mind hasn't stopped buzzing, that strange static which makes it hard to think. Part of him suspects it should feel bad, but it really doesn't.
Kristin opens a door and puts Techno down. She gently takes his chin so she can tilt his head back and make eye contact once more.
"Be good for me and wait a moment. Don't go anywhere."
Barely, Techno shakes his head. He won't move an inch.
Kristin bustles around the room, rearranging some of the objects in it. She pulls out extra blankets and pillows for on the bed, as well as several stuffed animals. Colorful toys appear on the dressers, and she brings out a strange device that Techno realizes is a lamp when she plugs it in and turns it on. The outside is made of a purple flimsy material, with all sorts of different star shapes cut into it. They diffuse a dim light onto the ceiling, like a night sky.
When she's done, she returns to Techno while holding a bundle of clothes. "I'm going to get a brush. Change into this, okay?"
Without so much as a thought, Techno obeys. The fabric is heavy and extremely soft, maybe the softest thing he has ever felt. His arms are shaking, but he puts on the sleeping clothes after Kristin leaves the room. And then he just stands there, glued in place. Limbs too heavy and mind full of static, making him unable to move.
Kristin smiles when she comes back and sees this.
"I bet you're hungry too," she says as she takes his hand and gently leads him over to the bed. "But you need to sleep more. Tomorrow morning, we'll have a whole feast to celebrate that you're here."
That sounds nice. Actually, everything about staying here is starting to sound nice to Techno. Kristin pulls him into the heap of blankets. She settles Techno into her lap, but in such a way that she can brush his hair. The brush feels wonderful, and Techno's shoulders slump more.
"Tell me about yourself, Techno." Kristin tilts his head up to look into his eyes, tapping his nose once. "I want to know everything."
He blinks, and then his mouth opens, and everything spills out. While Kristin brushes his hair, Techno tells her about his pack. About Seraphine and Blitz and Simon. About his parents. About them all dying. About being left behind. Kristin makes compassionate noises, and rubs his back, and Techno's brain melts a bit more with every second in her presence. He answers all of her questions. He feels like he's carving his chest open for her.
And the emptiness that's left behind is filled right back up with every kiss she presses to the top of his head.
After she finishes brushing his hair, Kristin stands and tells him to lie down. She tucks him in tenderly, smiling. Techno can't smell the rot anymore. Only the flowers.
"What happened to keeping him around as a guard dog?" Phil asks from the doorway. Techno blinks sluggishly, a tiny spike of fear at having another vampire present. And then the smoothing of Kristin's palm over his forehead wipes that away.
"I didn't say that exactly," Kristin replies softly.
"Right." Phil crosses his arms and grins. "But at least be honest about this having nothing to do with what Tommy wants."
"It's been a while since we had a little one," Kristin says. Her cold hand lingers on Techno's cheek again.
"He won't stay small forever," Phil repeats from before.
"And we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Kristin reaffirms. "There are many ways to fix that, dear. When the time comes."
"You are terrible," Phil laughs. He finally comes over to stand next to her. Looking down at Techno too. "But I suppose he is pretty cute. In an abandoned puppy sort of way."
Techno tries to frown. He tries to do a lot of things, but he's so tired, and Kristin's touch is like heaven. And it's so hard not to give in.
Would it really be so bad if he did? His pack isn't here anyway?
The thought anchors in his mind as soon as it pops up. They died, and the ones who didn't die left him. Techno needs to have somebody take care of him - he deserves somebody to take care of him. These vampires will take care of him. They already love him so much, more than he can even know.
Phil takes Kristin's wrist and pulls her hand away from Techno's face, intertwining their fingers together. "Give him a break. If you keep going, you'll fry his brain. And he needs to sleep, remember?"
"Of course." Kristin smiles and kisses Phil on the cheek. "We should get everything ready for tomorrow." She leans down to kiss Techno's forehead as well. Techno looks up at her. Kristin's eyes really are very pretty. "Sleep for now."
He's out like a light long before they've even closed the door behind them.