The Blood of the Soul

New to Town

A/N: Please enjoy this alternate universe of Theo/Liam heavily inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. 

Listening to the beating of a human heart, to the blood pulsing beneath their skin and flowing through veins, is perhaps one of the most intimate acts.

Theo could discern a lot from the way a person's heart beat beneath their ribs. Steady, slow beats usually meant that they were healthy. Or, in the case of the boy who squirmed in pain as Theo listened through his stethoscope, whatever drug in his system that had convinced him that jumping from a second story balcony was a good idea had also quickened his heart and made his breathing shallow.

"We'll have to wait for the x-rays, but I'm willing to bet you broke that arm," Theo told the boy before addressing the nurse. "I'd like to do a tox-screen before he goes."

"What? No—"

"How old are you, kid?" Theo interrupted.

"Fourteen."

"We can do this one of two ways. Either you tell me what you're on, and I'll only call your parents, or we do an official tox-screen and I have to call the cops."

The boy muttered something that vaguely sounded like molly under his breath.

"See, now I'm really glad you were honest with me, because if you hadn't been, the painkillers we gave you could've stopped your heart."

The boy's eyes flew wide. It wasn't strictly true, but at least the kid would think twice next time before popping whatever pill his friends handed out at parties.

Theo groaned as he made his way into the hall and leaned against the nurse's station, rubbing at the space between his brows. His feet ached, and a frantic, shaky sensation began to settle in his extremities.

"Incoming, ambulance bay three!" someone called. Seconds later, the ambulance screeched to a halt out front and the emergency room doors parted to allow a patient strapped to a gurney.

The metallic scent of blood sliced through the air, and Theo's spine stiffened. He forced himself to follow the paramedics into the trauma bay, where they rattled off their debrief, but he could hardly focus on how they'd secured a tourniquet around his left thigh or the meds they'd given him because, among his other wounds, dark red trickled from a gaping wound in his leg.

"Thank you," Theo croaked, tugging on a fresh pair of gloves. "I'll take it from here."

As soon as the paramedics were out the door, Theo clenched his fists. It was nearly 4 in the morning, and he was only supposed to have been here for a few hours to show the new trauma nurse around. But they hadn't even shown, and the charge nurse had begged him to stay on for a few more hours. Which, ordinarily, wouldn't have been a problem.

Except for the primal hunger flooding through him. He'd planned to raid the blood bank as soon as his shift ended, but now he was stuck in starvation mode.

Against his will, he found himself bent over the patient's wound, and fangs pierced his bottom lip as the craving became utterly overwhelming.

Theo never, never drank from a patient. His entire profession was a carefully selected cover that both granted him access to blood bags and offered a sliver of redemption. He saved at three lives for each one he took, but tonight... the insatiable hunger had every nerve ending crackling. The patient had already lost a substantial amount of blood... what was a few more pints? Especially if he replenished them later.

His tongue was seconds from darting out of his mouth and licking the open wound when the trauma bay door clanged open and Theo fumbled for his tablet.

"Sorry," a nurse in royal blue scrubs said with faint amusement curving his full lips. "I didn't mean to startle you."