The light blinded Penelope and me for a moment—but that was enough.

The magic circle finally activated without a sound, all through siphoning enough magic out of myself—and then the binding slammed onto me.

Neck. Wrists. Ankles. All five of them were grasped, clasped within a binding. I could feel how it stilled, how no matter I tried to budge them, none of my body parts that were bound could be moved.

A tug on my hands and feet, and the binding stayed there easily. They stayed in the air, forcing me to keep them loose on the side, unable to come close onto my body. The worst one was the one on my neck, as no matter the way I twisted my body and head, I couldn’t find any way to make it let go or move.

The binding also felt smooth against my skin, not sharp like some types I knew the church could make—but that was a cold comfort. I was still unable to move, bound and blind from the brightness.

I blinked a few times, trying to make the dark spots go as fast as they could. My ears were pricked and ready too to listen to Penelope’s moving, because with me bound, that meant she was the free one now. The one who could do whatever she wished, and me trying and failing to get out of the binding.

My heart was beating faster, breathing becoming panickier with every moment that passed and showed I couldn’t get out.

This was a very precarious position, and I had to take advantage for as long as Penelope’s not here. To find a way out.

But I remembered my research, that the only thing I could do was to wait for it to finish—I thought it was an advantage. That it just meant the vampire would be stuck and unable to run until I finish binding them up properly with something mobile so I could bring her to the church—or even just murder her.

And then the vampire was Penelope. And I was stuck here, bound and unable to move no matter how much I tried—even trying to pour the same magic that made it real was only bounced back—and pressure slowly but surely pressed down on me with every second that passed.

With every failure, I constantly knew and remember that I was on a ticking clock—

“It’s beautiful to see you like this, Stella.” Penelope’s voice was still wonderful, a part of me immediately perking up and wanting to hear more. I gave her my best snarl, trying my best to not show why my body felt warm and happy from having her look at me. She was the enemy, she betrayed me. My heart twisted to remember that, but when she gently cupped my chin, I couldn’t help the way my breathing hitched. “Bound and gift wrapped, all ready for me to slowly open.”

She leaned close, her mouth next to my ears. “And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

I shivered almost violently. But she was saying the truth, even though she was a vampire. A monster and a liar. A traitor. Someone who had taken advantage of me, all because I had no one else to lean on in this cursed village.

“Fuck you!” I said, trying to put in as much vitriol as I could—but from the way her eyes changed to amusement, I didn’t think I managed to even push out half of my feelings out. “If I’m free, I would have kicked your ass until you can’t move.”

I glared and showed how much anger bubbling within my chest, the feelings I had been holding since I knew the truth. I had given up when the villagers didn’t wish to listen to me, but when she had let me befriend her… she had turned this place from hostile, into somewhere I could breathe.

She smiled, her body loose and relaxed. Then she caressed my cheeks once more, reminding me that she was touching me. That I couldn’t do anything to hurt her. The worst part? The way I couldn’t feel a sliver of warmth, a reminder that I should have realized something the moment I knew she was cold. I kept noting it, but not thinking what that might have signified. Not even curious.

That was my sin, and I didn’t know what I could do beyond glaring at her angrily, or trying to bite her fingers if they came close to my mouth. She easily avoided those, her gaze lingering, as well as feeling as if she was looking down at me.

My stomach twisted, the feeling of nausea pressing upon me in the back of my throat. I didn’t know what I could do to try fighting her anymore, not when all of my weapons were inside my jackets where I couldn’t grab them—or the church magic I couldn’t trust, not when all of my blessings all had turned useless—and the only wild magic I managed to do merely bound me to gift-wrap myself for Penelope’s pleasure.

Penelope caressed again, and beyond the shudder that passed through my body—there was that flicker of warmth, from the knowledge that she still stayed close to me despite all of my rejection. I crushed that within my mind, trampling it down as low as it could be because that wasn’t a feeling I needed to have, none at all.

“I see you as a Hunter who tried her best, with everything you have done. Asking around, checking the documents, so many of your fellow Hunters wouldn’t have done half of it, if I’m being honest.” She started, her hand slowly trailing down my cheek, toward my neck and down toward my chest, Penelope’s palm rested against my chest, allowing her to surely hear my fast-beating heart, thumping so loudly I swore I could hear it even now. “And yet you put yourself as a bait… as well as failing the most basic of church arts.”

Blood had rushed through my ears, so loud and nearly drowning everything else—but not completely. I could hear everything Penelope wanted to say, no matter how much I didn’t wish to. I wanted to scream about what she was saying, that the failure wasn’t my fault and…

But my mouth stayed closed, because I knew those were all excuses. I had seen the effect of how my blessing didn’t take, back in Telehan. I still accepted this mission anyway, I still came here to fight and defeat the vampire.

I could have refused, and yet I didn’t.

“You were trying so, so hard.” Penelope’s back to caressing me, soft and gentle, her voice growing to have that certain timbre that made her words felt like they were caressing my brain. “So now it is time for you to finally relax again.”

My head shook almost immediately as an answer. A denial. Or maybe a wish for her to not do whatever it was she was planning, I keep trying. Because if I do that, surely this would all ended with me staying free, right? The panic made my breathing hard, my chest and throat tightening, closing down until I could barely swallow even my own saliva.

Everything spun around me, time ticktocking its way even without a clock, but I knew they were passing.

“Oh pet, you are panicking too hard.” Penelope’s voice managed to cut through the haze in my mind, even as I still hyperventilated, chest expanding and deflating in an accelerated rate. “Hush now, look into my eyes and let go.”

She tilted my head, making me look back up—right into those gray eyes, the ones that I could swear were glowing. Not in such a way they were throwing flashlight beams right into my head, but a glimmer in the back of them, as if there was something behind her eyes causing it.

The moment I looked—I knew I was hooked. I stared, unable to even try to flick away as the glow seemingly expanded and took over my sight. Not in a way they completely go over everything else, but the way my eyes helplessly stayed toward the same position and area. The glow shimmered, flicking here and there in the most attention-catching ways.

“I… I don’t want to be your thrall…” I whispered, the panic receding, even if parts of myself were still stuck within that mode. But the fear, the worry felt too far now, a separation between myself and the negative emotions.

Penelope stayed gentle, her caress sending lightning through my nerves that felt so, so good. Those calmed more parts of myself, even as her smile grew sharper. “Is that what you worry about, pet?”

The yes came out so easily, almost sounding like a sigh. It was growing harder to think on why you were insisting something out of Penelope, but she’s talking again and you listened.

“You are not my thrall. No, you’ll be something better… my pet. A beloved pet who can follow orders. Look into my eyes.” Her assurance was sweet, and yet her command fell on me with a harshness that made me instinctively obeyed rather than anything else.

The gray eyes still swallowed me, as Penelope kept them open, all to allow me to keep looking and seeing without end. They were wonderful, and her light touches started to feel tingly upon my skin… even though she was doing it through my jacket. She wasn’t even touching me straight on, merely pressing against my limbs through the fabric, and those pressure was enough to send fuzzy feelings across the surface of my body.

“Breathe. Take deep ones before letting the air loose again…” Her hand felt cool against my skin, a contrast against how hot I felt. But she helped, her hands gently pushing down before gently pushing me back up—but not enough to lift me. Just enough to keep making me sink, my head slowly falling lower and lower as I listened. “That’s it. You are always so good at this, aren’t you?”

Her question wasn’t aimed to have an answer, but she caressed me anyway. A soft moan escaped my throat, my eyelids slowly falling down as well with how loose I felt. There was something wrong with this situation, but my mind felt fuzzy and calm, and Penelope’s touching me so kindly and always brushing so close to where I most wanted her to go—where her hands would touch my most sensitive and intimate area. And yet, this was enough and wonderful.

“That’s it. You are going down so, so deep that only I can bring you out.” She whispered, making my head nod and so telling me that was how this should be. “Isn’t that right, pet?”

“Yes…” I breathed out, the fog and cotton already swamping all over my mind. The binding was so rigid, helping me to stay up and not falling down. Allowing Penelope to have easier time in touching me, in pulling me further and further into this wonderful state of mind.

“What a good pet you are.” Her voice continued to echo in my mind, wonderful and bouncing and taking over where it was empty before. “We should do more, but perhaps we need to fix one little thing first…”

Penelope’s hand slowly started to roam below my jacket, not taking it off, but pushing them away so I wasn’t wearing it properly. Leaving me with only my shirt, and the jacket merely hanging off my arms.

I didn’t feel any sort of embarrassment, merely warmth from how Penelope could so easily touch me more. Her fingers easily caressed my skin, sending heat down from where her fingers were first before they all slowly gathered within my core. Between my legs, even. My whole body was all fire, coupled with a tightness I couldn’t really understand with my current state.

“Do you trust me to go further, pet?” She asked, full of fake gentleness that nevertheless still make me gasp, jerking slightly in my bonds as if that would allow me to get away from her wonderful touches.

She made me nod again, but—I tried to shake, to deny it. “N-no…” I whimpered out, barely managing to voice out that single word. My head was so empty, except for the fog of arousal and Penelope’s words. Because she had been talking, giving me the right things to think and let sink deep into myself.

But I couldn’t find it in myself to give her my trust again—even if I was no longer sure of why. After all, she was great to me. Helpful, gentle, listening to me and give me help when I asked her to. Those words felt like they had been told to me, appearing and something I understood because someone—Penelope?—insisting it to be true.

“So let’s ask again, do you trust me, Stella?”

This time she didn’t make me nod, but everytime she touched me, whether it was merely on my forearms, or down toward my chest and stomach—there was always a pulse of warmth that made my core tightened further. A delicious tension that made me gasp and moan, full of desire and want. To get more touches that made me submit so much more toward Penelope.

The answer to that question was easy now, after Penelope had patiently told me what to think, reminding me of our friendship—I nodded, feeling pleasure as she immediately petted my head—a reminder of how many times she called me as her pet.

I moaned, melting against her ministrations. My mouth had fallen open, saliva slowly dripping out of it as bliss fully filled my mind. Especially as Penelope touched me more and more—not just content to touch what was open to her, but slipping beneath my shirt. Right against my sensitive skin.

Upper. Below. There wasn’t really any places she avoided, beyond the part between my legs—the one that felt so, so hot and full of need. I whimpered softly as she deliberately pressed my heated core through my pants, my body continuously becoming tenser as she teased me, knowing I was growing more desperate for more of her touches.

“I have been holding myself back so, so much, Stella.” She kissed me, pressing and dominating me so easily—demanding submission I couldn’t help but give with my muddled mind—until she finally backed away, allowing me some parts of my mind back. Not any critical thinking, just the one that was desperate for more pleasure. “And now with you offering yourself so prettily like this… it is time to claim what’s mine.”

There was something about that that should have made me worry, but Penelope caressed my body again and the thought dissolved easily, like sugar into liquid. I pressed myself against her, wanting more, without really saying out loud what was it I truly wanted.

“Please.” The word came out unbidden, easy to say. I gasped when her hands moved to tug on my breasts—my nipples feeling so sensitive as she roamed there, her palms giving delicious friction through the fabric before she then pulled and making me scream as my mind turned white from pleasure.

Liquid fire burned through my nerves, everything becoming overwhelming as I moaned and letting loose more embarrassing sounds—if I could have thought about it. Right now, all I could do was wishing for more, kicking and trying to get out of the bindings. Not for freedom, but to gain the pure bliss I had gotten before under her hands.

“Good girl… I do wish to feed from you.” Her voice was husky, rough and full of excitement. I shivered despite everything, especially when Penelope came close, allowing me to smell her ink and old book scent—still a librarian, someone who took care of those documents despite her vampireness. Her fangs grazed the crook between my neck and shoulder, making me shudder and jerk again in my bonds. “Don’t you want that too, my dear?”

She’s leading the question, making the answer so, so incredibly simple. Especially with your already primed mind, always ready to listen when I have fallen into such deep trance. I couldn’t help the whispered ‘yes’, the agreement easily coming out of my throat.

“What a good girl.” She praised, sending more wonder across every part of my body, making myself grew wetter as well. “Relax and just let me handle it all.”

Tension flowed out of me with that order, the tiny part of myself, the one that had been wanting to fight—was growing smaller, swamped away by my desire and want for Penelope—which she had been cultivating. From all the touch, making me crave more as she gave and gave without allowing me to reach the peak. Some tension of course was still concentrated around my core, the parts between my legs throbbing with need.

But all of those paled to what I needed from Penelope herself, especially as she tilted my head slightly—allowing her easier access to the crook of my neck. To wherever she needed to press her fangs through my skin and finally feed.

She let her teeth grazed against me first, my sensitivity so turned up I couldn’t help but moan and gasp—wishing I could just press against her and she would do it. But with my bound body, and submerged mind, Penelope’s the one holding the control right now.

Then she finally pressed down, piercing through—and I moaned. Screamed. My whole mind narrowed down into that one place, just her slowly sucking, gulping my blood from my body into her own.

Molten pleasure completely filled my body, from my neck down into between my leg, and I didn’t even know if I had orgasmed or not—all I knew was that every movement, every swallow she did sent sparks across my body until I had nothing inside my mind.

My hands clenched hard, especially as Penelope pressed closer, sucking more until my head spun—I didn’t know how much she was drinking. Just that right now I couldn’t help but want her to take everything she needed. I pressed close against her, hoping, wishing she would do it, the pleasure frying my brain as she took everything she needed from my body.

Time passed. Hours, minutes, maybe even merely seconds—I had no idea. All I could do was gasp and whimper, the bliss melting my mind. That was everything to me, the only thing I needed to live and survive.

Then she finally let go, and I… I couldn’t think. The fire had turned all thoughts into charcoal, leaving me a drooling mess with wet pants. Penelope backed away slightly, just so I could see her wonderful visage again. Even if my sight was all blurry, but right now she looked so majestic as she looked down on me, her smile condescending that sent more jolt of desire into my core. I couldn’t do anything, my body merely filled with more arousal for her—to be left unfilled unless she wished for it.

“Mm, it has been some time since I last drank so good. You have great blood, Stella, you should be proud of that.” Penelope’s praise made me smile, my mind’s so empty I couldn’t really connect on what exactly her pride consist of—just that she liked a part of me, and that meant I had done good. “We aren’t exactly done yet, but perhaps we need to go to a better place than this barn, shall we?”

I nodded, because if that’s what she wanted? Then I didn’t wish for anything else.

“Then it is time for me to mold your mind more while waiting for that binding to finally dissolve.”

She said that so matter-of-factly, as if shaping my thoughts were just an everyday occurrence. A part of me worried, a slight frown forming on my face.

“Hush, I’m not going to change you completely. I do care for you… but I can see that we have more things to handle than just ensuring you are just my pet. Even if you will be happy like that, hm?” She caressed my cheek, her hand slowly going up to gently go through my hair.

I gave her more of my agreement, her words somehow sounding so reasonable. Even though I couldn’t really understand what exactly they meant with my putty mind, I knew I could trust Penelope. After all, she had given me the gift of pleasure, allowing me to feel pure obedience to her choices.

“Good girl.” Her praise still gave me such a wonderful feeling, the almost electrical delight filling my whole self. Everything felt warm, feeling so intertwined with arousal that still built and built within my body. “Now it is time for you to go down.”

A finger snap.

I fell deeper.