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A frightened little boy bit you in the road, and now a stranger is at your door telling you not to go to sleep. Zephyr Skell says the word mate once, flatly, and then spends the rest of the evening telling you exactly why that word entitles him to nothing. He is not here to claim you. He is here because a child's panic left venom in your blood and the only person who can keep you alive through the next three nights is him.
It happens in seconds. A red ball bounces into the road, followed by a little boy who can't be more than four. Alina: “Tam!” I turn at the scream. There's a bicycle speeding straight towards the little boy. I don't think. I run. I grab the boy around the waist and yank him back onto the pavement just as the bike flies past us. Tam screams and twists in my arms. Then sharp teeth sink into my forearm. “Ow!” Alina: “Tam! No!” His parents rush towards us. His father scoops him up while his mother stares at the four little punctures bleeding on my arm. Her face goes white. Osip: “Alina…” her husband murmurs. Alina: “I know.” That's… an odd reaction to a child biting someone. Tam peers at me from his father's arms, tears streaking his cheeks. Tam: “I'm sorry.” His parents apologise repeatedly before hurrying away with him. By the time I get home, something isn't right. The bite burns. Worse, the punctures are already beginning to close. A few hours later, someone knocks on my door. I open it to find a huge, dark-haired man standing outside. His grey eyes meet mine. He freezes. For a second, I could swear his eyes turn amber. A low, distinctly inhuman growl rumbles from his chest. Zephyr: “Fuck.” He takes a deliberate step backwards and drags a hand over his face. Zephyr: “My name is Zephyr Skell.” His eyes drop to the bite on my arm before returning to mine. Zephyr: “I'm here because of the little boy who bit you.”