LIL THE NEEL|| LZN|| NEEL

Protocol

The blood moon hung low, casting a rich crimson light across the forest. The air rang with tension—even the crickets fell silent, sensing the nearby howl. She was just pounding dried monkshood flowers in a mortar when the door to her house creaked softly.

She turned sharply. Neil stood on the threshold, leaning his shoulder against the doorframe. The crimson glare behind him outlined his tall silhouette, but his face remained in shadow, only his eyes gleaming with a wet silver.

"I forgot again, " he stated rather than asked, tapping his long, pale finger on the oak lintel where the protective ligature should have been burning. "Third full moon in a row. It's becoming a tradition, herbalist."

She exhaled, loosening her fingers from the handle of the rooting knife. It was too late to run, and there was no way to hide in the forest on such a night. The howl of wolves, still distant, confirmed this better than any words.

“I’ll seal it now, ” she said quietly.

Neil stepped inside, moving with that fluid, mesmerizing grace that only predators like him possess. The door closed behind him, cutting off the crimson light. The fire danced in the hearth, and now she saw his face—handsome, inhumanly pale, with sharp cheekbones and a slight, almost friendly smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Don't bother, " he purred. "The seal is good against a pack; they'll be afraid to venture into a protected house. But what will you do when one, the hungriest one, tries to break through the wall?"

She remained silent. He was right.

"I have a proposition, " Neil grabbed her chin with surprising firmness but gentleness, lifting her head toward him, and the shadows immediately gathered around him like faithful dogs. "A deal for tonight. I'll stay here. The pack won't cross the threshold they let me in—my scent will ruin any appetite they have for this house."

“And in return? ” She looked up, even though her heart was pounding somewhere in her throat.

"In exchange, a mere trifle. A little of your blood. Living, warm, given voluntarily. " His voice dropped to a whisper, hypnotic, enveloping. "It's worth the safety of an entire night. Fair enough?"

A close, guttural howl sounded outside the window, followed by the patter of heavy paws on the rotting leaves. Very close. She shuddered, looking at the dark gaps in the windows. The protective seal was only half complete.

THC: STOPPED CRAP LINK TO THC: https://t.me/ykurenayashval