Page 16

Master had me sit on the couch the moment we made it back into his room.

I guess he wanted to get this done as soon as possible.

He took the supplies he got into his bathroom before returning with the only three syringes that already had something in them and a bandage.

"According to your records, you missed the shots you were supposed to get when you were twelve."

I stared at the needles as he approached, my stomach turning a bit.

"Oh..." Is all I responded.

He glanced at me from my lack of a response.

"You sound nervous." He said as he sat beside me.

I watched as he organized the things on the coffee table.

"I am."

"Why?"

I toyed nervously with my pinky finger.

"I... haven't really had the best experiences when it comes to needles," I admitted quietly.

Nico picked up the first syringe, looking over it before taking off the thing that was covering the needle.

"What, did Doctor Marshall not do it right or something?" He asked.

I shook my head, growing more nervous as he extended my arm.

"N-no, He was fine, but the Pet master wasn't exactly the nicest when he gave them to us," I said.

Master paused inches from my arm, his eyes furrowing.

"The pet master would give you guys shots?"

I nodded again, shuddering at the memory.

"For what?"

I shrugged.

"A lot of things. sometimes to make us sleep, sometimes to make us heal faster after he punished us so someone would buy us, sometimes he'd put a certain drug in us just to see how we would act," I paused for a moment, "He wasn't gentle when doing it either."

Master flicked the tip of the needle before he let out a long breath.

"Pet Masters have always been stupid." He mumbled before lining up the needle with my bicep.

I found myself holding my breath as he pushed the needle into my skin.

I was surprised that it didn't hurt nearly as bad as I thought it would.

It still hurt a little, but it was a pain I could deal with.

Apparently Master found my reaction to be a bit amusing.

He removed the needle from my arm, setting the syringe on the table and picking up the next one.

He froze for a moment as he spotted the small drop of blood rising from my arm.

I was about to say something, but he just shook his head and carried on with the other shot.

I hadn't seen him drink blood of any kind since the night he drank from me, and knowing what I do about vampires, that can't be good.

Maybe he hasn't been feeling well lately?

No, if that was the case then he probably would have been drinking more blood.

I didn't even notice he was done with the second syringe and was already doing the third.

Again, he was staring at the blood on my arm, hungrily. It was almost like he was fighting to taste it.

I looked down in nervousness as he removed the last needle from my arm, proceeding to cover it up with the bandage as If what I just saw didn't happen.

"See? That wasn't so bad right?" he said as he got up and took the empty syringes into the bathroom.

I just watched as he did so, looking down at the bandage on my arm.

"Yea..."

Master returned into the room, running a hand through his hair.

He's going to suck me dry sooner or later if he doesn't drink from something soon.

"Nico?"

He lifted his eyes to meet mine.

Again, I felt nervous under his gaze.

"You haven't had any blood in a while..." I said.

Master just looked at me before walking to his desk.

"So you noticed." His voice was plain. It gave me no indication as to why he was doing this.

"Yes," I started, "Are you ok?"

He seemed surprised by my question.

"Yea... I'm fine. The Blood Moon is in a week, so I've been trying to wean myself off of it so I won't be so bloodthirsty." he said casually.

My eyes widened at his response.

A vampire... trying to wean himself off of blood..?

That's physically impossible. They need blood to survive. He of all beings should know that.

In school, they would teach us that a vampire usually could only go about 72 hours without blood before they instinctually started hunting for it.

That was still in another 24 hours, but still.

I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat.

"I see."

He knows what he's doing more than I do right?

He's the Vampire here, I'm just the stupid pet that should probably keep her mouth shut.

"You seem concerned," he spoke.

I quickly shook my head.

It wasn't my place to be concerned, not at his pet.

Questioning a Masters actions was also not my place, it's not like I could do anything to stop him regardless.

"I was just curious." I lied, quickly trying to end this conversation before I could get myself into trouble.

Lying to a vampire was nearly impossible, but Master seemed to accept my answer anyways.

"I see," he repeated my words, grabbing my leash from off of his desk.

"Dinner is in a couple minutes," He stated, " We should get going."