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Shane was not going to stomp his foot. He wasn’t. Even though he really wanted to.
He wasn’t a child for fucks sake. He wasn’t even that young of a vampire anymore. It was nearly ten years ago that he was turned by Ilya. Even though most of those ten years were spent sleeping, it didn’t matter.
Shane was finally starting to get some space from his sire. Gradually, the fledgling spent more and more time awake. He no longer needed to be stuck to Ilya’s side 100% of the time despite his sire still keeping him close. He learned more about his rebirth and all that came with being a vampire.
Of course, he knew the sun was bad for him. That was one of the rules Ilya had drilled into his head. One of the many rules.
They were all just babying him because he’s the youngest in the nest. It wasn’t fair. Kip and Hayden got to go outside, and they were young fledglings, too. Everyone got to go out to watch the sun set except Shane, and it wasn’t fair.
“Shane, come here.” Ilya’s voice was stern. The coven leader was sitting on one of the couches in the living room, beckoning Shane to come closer. “Enough of this pouting, маленькая летучая мышь. You know why you can’t go outside.” (baby bat)
Shane ignored his sire in favor of watching Scott fuss over Kip and Hayden. The older vampire was making sure his fledglings were properly covered, so their delicate fledgling skin wouldn’t be burned by the sun. Long sleeves and pants, sunglasses, and baseball caps.
The urge to once again stomp his foot in protest was nearly too difficult to resist.
“Why can’t I just cover up, too?” Shane whined.
Ilya sighed, standing up. The movement made Shane take another step away, not wanting to be near his sire.
“If the sun accidentally touches their skin, the worst they’ll get is a mild sunburn.” Ilya explained. He stalked towards his retreating fledgling. “Your skin is far more delicate, my love. You could get permanent burns.”
Light footsteps interrupted Shane’s snappy response. His head swiveled to see Rose and Svetlana descending the stairs.
Rushing over to the adolescent fledgling, Shane hugged Rose tightly. She was shorter than him in stature, but since she was over a hundred years older, she would always be stronger.
Shane buried his face in her hair, breathing in her floral scent.
“Please, let me come outside with you.” He begged.
Although Rose’s embrace was comforting, she wasn’t as warm as Ilya. Nobody was. Even when all four fledglings cuddled together in the nest, Shane was still never as warm as when Ilya was there.
"Oh, Shane," Rose sighed, nuzzling him back. Her tone wilted any of Shane's hope. "I'm sorry, sweetie."
“It is not up to her, глупый мальчик.” (silly boy) Svetlana teased, ruffling Shane’s hair.
Shane glared at her, baring his little fangs.
“I wasn’t talking to you.” He snapped.
A pinch on his bottom caused Shane to let out an involuntary chirp. That was another thing. All the new sounds he could make were strange. Chirps came the easiest. Purring was more difficult than he had expected. Hissing was pretty easy, though.
“Be polite, брат.” (brat) Ilya scolded, taking Shane out of Rose’s arms, much to the fledgling’s dismay. The warm chest of his sire comforted some deep part of Shane against his will. “You are hungry and tired, my love. We’ll have some quiet time inside the nest, where it is safe for little baby bats, just you and me. Sounds nice, da?”
Ilya spoke softly in his sire voice as Hayden calls it. Scott has one, too. Something about the tone and vibrations settle the fledgling’s brain, making them want to obey.
“No,” Shane squeaked, struggling against Ilya’s hold. It was like a steel cage, though. “This is all your fault! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.”
Ever since spending more time awake, Shane had taken to reminding Ilya how everything negative about being a fledgling was Ilya’s fault. Shane’s gums ached, it was Ilya’s fault. Shane was cold, it was Ilya’s fault. Shane wasn’t allowed to leave the house, it was Ilya’s fault. Shane couldn’t eat or drink his favorite human foods, it was Ilya’s fault.
Anytime something remotely upset Shane, it was Ilya’s fault.
In those moments, all the sire could do was hold his emotional little bat and reassure him that Ilya loved him and would always be there to care for him. Ilya would shower Shane with promises of happiness and remind him that the coven has Shane’s best interests at heart.
Despite being in the nest for several years, Shane had yet to warm up to Svetlana or Scott either. Part of Shane would always be drawn to Ilya because of their sire bond, but the new fledgling had maintained a distance from the other two grown vampires.
It was something Ilya was trying to work on.
There were rare, sweet moments where a sleepy Shane drunk off a belly of Ilya’s blood would allow Svetlana or Scott to hold him, letting his fledgling brain become more used to their scents. If Shane actually fell asleep in their arms, it was considered a success. More often than not, though, he would squirm and fuss until he was either laid in Ilya’s arms or in between Kip and Hayden.
“Теперь представь, что у тебя было бы два маленьких монстра.” (Now, imagine if you had two little monsters.) Scott said, looping his arms around his fledglings. “Be grateful you have more arms than you do fledglings.”
Ilya barked out a laugh despite his squirming baby bat. It was true. Kip and Hayden had been a nightmare duo. Scott was lucky Ilya had been there to help wrangle his two fledglings.
“Ah, yes, perhaps you can ask Kip what happens to eager little bats who go outside without permission.” Ilya raised an eyebrow at the fledgling in question.
Kip flushed red, turning to hide his face in Scott’s chest.
Go outside without permission was a generous way of saying escape attempt.
The two fledglings had been caught eavesdropping on a conversation between a visiting vampire and the older coven members. They had earned themselves spankings and nips, but while Kip was in the corner, awaiting his turn, Scott’s attention had been fully on Hayden. That allowed Kip to sneak out of the room and all the way to the door.
The fledgling had been inches away from the sunlight, and he would have stepped straight into it if he hadn’t run into Ilya instead. That was the first time Ilya had stepped in to personally punish one of the fledgling’s, but it certainly wasn’t the last. Fledglings who deliberately put themselves in danger would accomplish nothing but a sore bottom.
“You are not the first fledgling to test me, маленькая летучая мышь.” (baby bat) Ilya crooned, pulling Shane up off the floor, cradling him. “You are feeding and going straight to bed, my love, and that is final.”
Shane opened his mouth to argue, but one look into his sire’s eyes knew what awaited him if he did. It wasn’t fair.
Tears welled up, and Ilya’s gaze softened. He kissed Shane’s cheeks, covering his overtired fledgling with his scent.
“I know, дорогой, I know.” (sweetheart) Ilya murmured as he started heading for the nest. “Your time will come. The sun will still rise and set in a few more years when it is safe for you to see.”
Shane was a good boy. A sweet boy who was still navigating the big change in his life. Some allowances could be made for overtired, hungry baby bats.
Ilya settled sitting up in the nest with Shane straddling his lap, now fully sobbing. Both of them were naked with as much skin-to-skin contact as possible. These were the important moments for Shane to find comfort in Ilya, not just blame his sire for his sadness.
“You are safe, my love.” Ilya spoke softly into Shane’s ear as the fledgling fed from his neck. There were still some tears, but they were beginning to slow. “You are so good. You are protected. You are warm and fed and comfortable. Nobody will ever hurt you again. You will never again be alone or hungry. You are so loved.”
Shane let out a whimper, as if to protest, but Ilya shushed him, rocking them back and forth.
“I know you are very sad, mourning past life as human.” Ilya continued, his accent growing thicker with emotion. “Is okay to be sad for a little while, but you will be happy again. Your sire will make sure of it.”
Shane continued to suck, taking his fill of Ilya’s blood. His little fangs brushed the skin every now and then, making Ilya shiver, but they never bit down.
Eventually, Shane eased off with little kitten licks to the open wound. His breathing had evened out, and the smell of salty tears had worn away.
“Let me see you.” Ilya cupped Shane’s face. His eyes were puffy, and his blood-stained lips were pouting adorably. “Ah, you are so cute, моя маленькая летучая мышь.” (my little bat)
Shane’s cheeks flushed with newly replenished blood, highlighting his perfect freckles.
Ilya leaned forward, placing a chaste kiss on Shane’s lips.
Over the last several years, they hadn’t spoken of their previous relationship. Ilya told Shane he loved his fledgling all the time, but Shane never returned the words. It was expected, but Ilya still longed to hear it. He just had to be patient.
He also longed to fuck Shane again. The urge had been curbed due to the energy required to keep Shane alive during the change, but it had slowly been returning.
Ilya missed Shane’s pretty moans and tight little body. His own darling fledgling was a walking temptation, and Ilya was tested every single moment.
The sire had indulged himself with a few caresses of Shane’s body while the fledgling slept because it still was not the time to be reintroducing sex to Shane’s life. Ilya was a firm believer that sex was not a good use of Shane’s energy until he was a little more mature.
That was something Ilya learned from Scott’s experiences. Once the boys got a taste of sex as vampires, they were insatiable for years. It made feeding and sleeping a fight, and the boys even had a brief few months where they grew aggressive against Scott because they were growing too sexually attached to each other.
It had been a painful process breaking that behavior for all involved.
No, Ilya did not want to potentially stunt any of Shane’s progress. His baby bat needed gentle reassurances and rest to grow the bond with the nest before dealing with any other urges.
But…what happened in his sleep wouldn’t hurt Shane.
Ilya kissed his now snoozing fledgling’s forehead, letting his hands wander to Shane’s pretty little prick, watching it react to his touch instantly.
“Sweet dreams, my love.” Ilya whispered as he continued to tease the pink flesh with feather-light touches, entertaining himself as it twitched eagerly.