"She threw you with her mind?

" Zagan asked, ignoring Penelope's question about his comfort.

He was ancient. He had been dealing with the temptation of blood for centuries. Penelope's blood should not be more difficult to resist than any other's. And yet…

"Yes. It was an accident. She didn't even realize what happened, but she admitted she was frustrated and suspected that she had somehow thrown me against the windows herself. I told her that it may have something to do with the virus or something she encountered during her time lost in suicide forest. There is enough lore revolving around suicide forest that I don't think it is a stretch for her to imagine exposure to the forces there affecting her in unusual ways. The upside of this is that we have an excuse to keep her in quarantine for a longer period of time to monitor these strange behaviors of hers and… w-what are you doing?

"

Zagan had approached her and grabbed her hand, turning it over so the palm faced up. Why was the scent of Penelope Winter's blood affecting him like this? Her hand was so small compared to his own, the beautiful honey color of her skin contrasted with the red that was still leaking out, wafting its sweet scent his way.

"Z…Zagan,

" she risked calling him by his name, because he didn't seem to hear her. He was focused intently on her hand, which he was now clutching in his own.

He responded with a soft puttering growl in his throat, but there was no anger. He lifted her hand closer to his face, passing it under his nose and feeling the way its aroma affected him everywhere. It was as if his not-living yet not-dead body craved her blood specifically… it was calling to him, singing to him, luring him closer, wanting to feed him.

"Penelope,

" he whispered, his cold breath fanning across the skin of her wrist and causing her to shiver.

For some reason, his voice now took on a kind of tantalizing quality, and she found herself becoming lost to the sound of it as it entered her ears, alighting on the nerves that transmitted it to her brain for recognition. It was hypnotic… the sound of her name on his tongue.

His eyes snapped up to meet hers, and he saw the distant look in her eyes. What had he done? He had not meant to hypnotize her. It was not his intention to compel her, and yet she was so mouth-watering. He wanted nothing more than to taste the blood that was calling to him. Maybe just this one time…

Zagan licked his lips, imagining how delectable she probably was. A Winter alyko. He had never tasted one before. And now he had one bleeding before him and compelled to do as he wished.

He groaned and dropped her hand, squeezing his eyes closed to focus on something else. Death. Focus on death. How much he wanted to die. The endless days of lying in his bed, staring at the ceiling, wishing for it all to finally end. The misery of being so alone in this eternity of nothing but thirst.

Penelope stood, enraptured by his presence, waiting for the next words he may utter.

"Bandage yourself up in the lab so you are no longer bleeding. Then go to my room and wait there. I have something for you,

" he told her, hating himself for not taking advantage of this situation.

"If you have trouble getting the door open, I will be there. Wait for me.

"

She smiled as if she had been told the most agreeable of things, and she walked past him out of the infirmary toward the lab.

If it didn't always end badly, Zagan would compel everyone on this island for how happy it made them. Then they would be able to walk through their days as if each were a dream that only he could give them. If only he could create the same fantasy for himself.

He exhaled heavily and set his eyes on the Luna who was swinging her legs nervously on the bed like a small child. Throwing someone across the room without touching them was hardly unusual for an alyko. That was a fairly common ability, but he had not expected it so soon from her when her memory was hindered.

Zagan had to stall long enough to make sure that Nedra had enough time to finish the Luna's cage. She was typically very quick in her abilities, but sometimes when she became temperamental she took longer. In fact, her emotions greatly affected her performance. It was actually quite surprising how much control her emotions had over her. That was why he was so careful to not upset her unnecessarily.

If Zagan did not drink blood, there was no way he would be able to understand how something like that was possible. But unfortunately he had his share of being overcome by emotion. It was like the swell of an ocean wave coming to carry you away. Consent was not part of it. Rationality was not part of it. The tides had their way.

The shiny black dress shoes Zagan wore were loud against the greenhouse's stone floor as he approached the powerful alyko before him. He would need to be careful not to startle her. If she did something else without her express desire, it would be too suspicious, and it was unlikely he would be able to cease from revealing his true nature. It always came out when defenses were necessary.

"August Cady?

" he asked as he came closer.

Her golden eyes snapped to his, her defenses instinctively lowering when she recognized her name. Names were dangerous in that regard. They provided a sense of familiarity, of vulnerability, of weakness. Names were the gateways to death. No one could truly die who was not first named.

"Yes?

" she asked, her legs ceasing their childlike swing.

His eyes caught sight of the silver medallion around her neck that Penelope had been wearing earlier, and he took note of it. Why had Penelope given her that necklace? It could be a simple animalistic type of sentimentality that was characteristic of lycans and alyko and humans alike—a comforting gesture between two individuals who were trying to connect and possibly be friends—but he filed it away as something to ponder in time.

"My name is Cian Vesper,

" he claimed, giving her an easy smile.

"I am the owner of this island. I am pleased you were found and that you are able to recover here. I hope we can make you comfortable during your time here. I know this must be confusing and frustrating, but the pandemic has made things quite complicated, as I am sure you can understand.

"

He was giving her his most charming, persuasive smile. It would be so much easier to compel her as he had Penelope, but that would backfire. It always did.. He avoided doing it as much as possible.