AN: Beware that the chapter has mild sexual innuendos. Nothing explicit; haven't decided on whether I want to go full-on smut route yet. It will be an adult story nonetheless, as I've plans for gore and some serious deranged mind-breaking stuff later in the arc. Just FYI. You should drop now, if it is too much for you.
Anywho. Hope you enjoy! (¬‿¬)
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Bonnie – Outside the Door
The corridors of the Continental always unnerved her. Too clean. Too silent. Even the air felt heavy, humming with something she couldn't name. Tonight it felt worse. Her heart pounded as she traced her fingers along the faint etchings on the wall—Yantras carved so delicately into the architecture that only a witch would notice.
She wasn't supposed to be here. Grams would kill her if she knew. But ever since the wildfire, ever since Ayaan came back burned and hollow, Bonnie couldn't stop herself. She wanted to get to the bottom of the mystery surrounding Ayaan. He was different now, and different meant dangerous. Even though, she wasn't doing it to save anyone; even she herself didn't recognize that she was obsessed.
The intellectual curiosity, the deep talks, the smugness. She wouldn't admit it, but she missed all of it. He was the only one in the whole town who could keep with her pace; and his vacancy hadn't been filled by anyone yet. She had tried, with multiple guys, but none could handle her strong-willed and intellectual pursuits.
When she reached the door he was staying in, her phone buzzed in her palm. A text from Caroline, ignored. Another from Elena, unopened. She shoved it into her pocket and pressed her ear to the door.
The hotel's wards were strong—normally no sound would escape—but tonight she heard something. Even if her psychic powers were still few, eves dropping from few meters away. She could do.
A faint hum, then a click, like lock undone. And then—voices. Ayaan's. And another.
Vicki Donovan.
Bonnie froze, stomach twisting.
Inside – Ayaan and Vicki
The room was dark except for the faint glow of moonlight seeping past the curtains. He stood near the bed, jacket already discarded, scars catching silver light across his shoulders and back.
The marks looked less like burns and more like a map branded into his skin—a devil's back, Vicki once called it.
Vicki sat on the edge of the bed, straight in front of the door, tugging her hospital uniform over her head, her hair spilling wild around her face.
"You know," she said, lips curling into a smirk, "I dropped out of school, and now I'm busting my ass in the hospital job you set up. You've been molding me like your little project, Ayaan. You ever think I'd get tired of being your vent-out toy and leave? or worse yet, tell your little girlfriends about the darkness that you hide behind that stoic and carefree facade?"
He glanced at her over his shoulder, expression unreadable. Her glistening skin reddened by his touch. Palm print tattoo-ed on her cheeks from previous thing.
He couldn't say he wasn't impressed by how well Vicki took his angst, or how impressive she looked with those sharp lines and eyes that were rebelling right now.
He quietly bend down near her legs, spreading them apart as her skirt opened up, wafting an air of desires towards his face.
He tightly brought his hands up her thigh, his hands warm with some kind of yellow glow.
"Uhm~", a moan unconsciously leaked her mouth.
"Stop it!" He teased. Let me heal you first.
His voice softened. "Vicki, You aren't a toy. I needed an anchor from the start. You chose to stay."
"—As for them, they aren't my girlfriends; at least Elena is far from it now; she clearly made her choice back then: Matt."
Vicki was immediately woken up. "Ah! Ayaan, you know," she muttered, "He is just a loser. Always, acting all goody and kind; but I know he is just insecure."
"—He hates me too. For ruining his reputation, more so for sleeping with you. You shouldn't worry about him and Elena. She didn't even let him kiss her before they broken up in 4 months."
"Hahaha," his laugh like a villain, "Don't panic so easily. No need to worry, I won't touch your brother. I'm not a monster." He paused "Yet."
Vicki felt her naked back shiver as his hand glide up her skirt.
"—He is safe. It is not that easy to get hands on my women."
"~huh. Aren't you too confident. What you had with her was so long ago; and she didn't even experience the best part about you." Hinting at something vulgar.
Her laugh sharp. "Also. You say: Anchor, toy—same difference. You burn, I bleed. You rage, I bruise. And in return I get…" She trailed off, eyes narrowing. "Nothing. No power. No piece of what you are."
Ayaan stepped closer, his shadow falling over her.
"Power eats more than it gives. You want to be stronger? Then you'll end up emptier than me." His voice was flat, heavy, like it came from somewhere deeper than his lungs.
Vicki shivered, though not from fear. "Then let me choose. Don't just use me when the fire inside you needs out." She hugged him bare chest, arm coiled around his neck; and a deep kiss.
Bonnie – Watching
Through the narrow keyhole Bonnie saw it all: Vicki sprawled back on the sheets, Ayaan's scarred form bending over her. She bit down on her lip until it hurt. She should leave. She knew she should.
But she didn't.
Inside, Ayaan pressed Vicki down with sudden force. Her nails raked across his back, digging into the scar tissue. Bonnie's breath caught when blood welled under Vicki's fingers, running dark down the grooves of his burned skin. Vicki gasped, half in pain, half in pleasure, whispering his name like a curse.
The sound shot straight through Bonnie, shame burning her cheeks. Yet she couldn't stop watching.
Inside – The Conversation
Vicki arched against him, voice ragged. "There have been four mauling already. People ripped apart like roadkill. What is it—animal? Vampire? Something worse? I don't want to be the fifth, Ayaan."
His grip on her waist tightened, his breath harsh. "The Council asked me to handle it. I've put Yantras across the borders. When the signs appear, I'll know."
Her nails dragged deeper, forcing another bead of blood. "Liz must be pissed. You've never taken this long before. Since March—five months—and another body could drop any day."
Ayaan leaned close, lips brushing her ear, his voice a low growl. "You're safe. You carry my Yantra. As long as you don't do something stupid, nothing touches you."
~Pat ~Pat. The Yantra threaded around her neck slapped against her chest.
"All tricks, these Yantras" she spat, though her body betrayed her words, arching in a comfortable way.
"And what about you? What about this 'evil fire' you talk about? How long before it eats you alive?"
He stilled for a moment, then as if remembering something ugly, he pushed harder, rougher, like he wanted to silence the question with movement.
"It won't. I still have drugs. And I still have you."
Inside his mind, though, doubt screamed. Not enough. Not forever. My past self must have planned for the seals to break within three years. Eighteen months already gone… I can't hold on much longer.
But he said nothing. Only forced a crooked smile.
Bonnie – Realization
Bonnie's nails dug into her thighs, when she heard the words: Evil Fire.
The pieces snapped together in her head. The rage, the scars, the indifference, the way he clung to Vicki, the way he avoided her.
He wasn't just indulging. Not just avoiding them. He was surviving. Protecting them. If he didn't do this—if he didn't burn it out of himself—he'd turn into something worse. A Predator.
The shame she felt at the misunderstanding, twisted into something darker. Desire. Not for the act itself, but for the closeness, the trust.
He could have come to me. She wanted to be the one he relied on. Just like she had, on him, countless time before the Incident that consumed him.
She wanted to be inside the fire, not just watch it from the outside like a spectator.
The thought terrified her.
Inside – Council Politics
"And how will you the Council. They already know that you are losing your powers. Only half of what they used to be?"
Vicki's voice cut through the haze. "You put too much faith in the Council. What if something comes for them? Something they can't handle? They won't protect you forever, Ayaan."
He pulled back just enough to look at her, his eyes dark.
"They won't betray me. They can't. They're addicted—my Yantras, my healing. They can buy charms from the Continental, sure; but healers are rarer than blood diamonds. Until they find another me, I'm untouchable here."
Her lips curled into a smirk, though her voice shook. "And if they do? If they find another?"
"Then we all burn together."
Bonnie – Breaking Point
Bonnie trembled. She couldn't breathe. Couldn't stop watching the way his scars shone with sweat and blood, the way Vicki clung to him like she wasn't afraid of being consumed.
She wanted to scream. To cry. To burst into the room and demand answers. Instead she pressed harder against the door-frame, biting down on her knuckles until the skin split.
Why her? Why the council? Why not me? He could've shared it all with me. I would have been of bigger help. At least, I'm like him. A supernatural. I understand the cost of "Evil fire" more than they will ever understand.
Her phone suddenly rang, loud and sharp in the silence. Bonnie cursed, fumbling, silencing it, but it was too late.
Before gathering her thoughts. She bolted down the hall, her heart pounding like she'd been caught, shame chasing her every step.
Inside – The Threat
Vicki's breathing slowed, her voice softer now. "Aren't you afraid? That I'll slip. That I'll tell them what you are. That if you don't bleed this fire out through me, you'll turn into a monster."
Ayaan's mouth brushed her ear, his voice low and dangerous. "If you scream, they'll only hear the cries. But the fire always tells the truth."
Her laugh was shaky, but she didn't pull away. "Then let them hear."
End Beat
Outside Continental, Bonnie leaned against the wall, chest heaving, phone still recording in her trembling hands. The red dot blinked accusingly.
She wanted to delete it. She couldn't.
She wanted to forget. She wouldn't.
The last thing she heard through the door before she fled was Vicki's voice, smug and triumphant:
"Those girls really don't know what they're missing. Not that I'm complaining. The more they look away, the more I get to keep you all to myself."
Bonnie's throat closed. She ran.