I'm so excited to finally share my contribution to the YOI Spooky Week!

I will be posting one chapter a day for each prompt. Although it may not seem like it, this is one connecting fic. It may not make sense how in the first few chapters but it will in the end!

Special thanks to my wonderful beta rinablanket for all your hard work!

Day 1 Prompt - Vampires

Who knows when love begins? Who knows what makes it start? One day it's simply there, alive inside your heart. – Andrew Lloyd Webber, Love Never Dies.

Victor was bored. The room was too hot and too filled with people he didn't care to entertain. Partygoers laughed and danced, but Victor didn't see the point. Most of the creatures in the room were mortal enemies just pretending to play nice.

"Remind me again why we torture ourselves by attending these Accord Banquets?" Chris asked after taking a swig of rose-coloured liquid from a crystal flute.

"Because it's our signatures on that yellowing paper over there." Victor pointed to the centre of the room where the Treaty between the species lay open for all to admire. At the time, signing the Accords had seemed like a good idea. Now, Victor wished he could go back in time and stop himself.

"Yeah, but after five hundred years you'd think the Council would allow us to skip a couple Banquets. I swear I blink and it's time for another one," Chris huffed as he surveyed the room. "We're not even allowed to drink real blood at these stupid things anymore. These plasma tablets give me indigestion."

"I've had worse." All the ice in Victor's glass had long melted, leaving his fake blood and whiskey warm and watered down. He held onto the glass so the servers wouldn't force another tumbler into his hands. They couldn't have a bunch of hungry vampires in a crowded room – heaven forbid they have another 'accident' like they did in nearly a century ago.

"I don't know what brand these tablets are, but they're disgusting." Chris handed his drink to a passing server and grabbed an hors-d'oeuvre from her tray. "Why can they serve us fish eggs but no blood?"

Victor rolled his eyes as Chris popped the hors-d'oeuvre into his mouth. Vampires couldn't digest human food once turned. If forced, their bodies could stomach a few bites here and there, but eventually it would have to come right back up. Chris did this every year just so he could leave early, preferring to spend the night vomiting expensive caviar than to pretend the tenuous peace among species was real.

"Just one more hour, Christophe, then you may go." Even if Chris wanted to leave, he wouldn't be able to now. No vampire could ignore a direct command from Victor, not that he liked to use his powers on anyone. But he had to sometimes in order to keep the peace. "Why don't you go convince one of the Fae to offer up a vein. I'm sure there are a few fangers around."

"Fangers?" An unfamiliar voice from behind them asked. Victor turned to see Celestino, the American lycanthrope alpha, and a young pup Victor had never met before.

"Fang bangers," Chris clarified. "Beings who like to have sex with vampires in exchange for blood."

The young wolf's eyes lit up in mock horror. "You're telling me you can convince a person to sleep with you without using compulsion on them? I'm shocked."

"Watch your mouth," Celestino reprimanded. "These two are way older than you could ever imagine. Pardon my beta's rudeness, he's still young."

Chris' eyes went wide with shock. "This little puppy is your second? Shouldn't he be back with your pack if you're here?"

"Our pack is with us." Celestino gestured to the room, alerting Victor to the increase in lycanthropic guests.

Chris laughed. "I was wondering why the room smelled like wet dog. It's strange for you all to leave home to attend one of these stupid banquets."

"Ignore him." Victor glowered at Chris. "He gets crabby when he's hungry. I'm assuming you're here to talk to us for a reason?"

"Yes." The alpha and beta spoke simultaneously, sparking Victor's curiosity.

Celestino cleared his throat. "There's a rumour circulating that the Salem Coven is practicing witchcraft again."

"Shouldn't you take that up with the American Council? All of them are present tonight." Victor wasn't sure why the alpha was bothering him with this news. He hadn't overseen misdemeanours from other jurisdictions in over three centuries.

"We thought you'd want to hear about this first, considering who it's about." Celestino may have been acting normal, but the look in his eyes made Victor feel there was a higher power at work.

"And why would you think that?" Even though Chris was feigning indifference, Victor could tell his subjugate's interest had also been peaked. "It goes against the Accords to withhold information. Plus, I thought the Salem Coven was disbanded?"

The beta's eyes glassed over as his sparkling grey irises turned midnight black. His gaze was eerie, emanating a dark magic that seemed familiar to Victor. He couldn't say where he'd felt this power before but he was sure the essence before him was incredibly old and powerful. Something in the air shifted as the wolf took a step forward and a strange deep voice bellowed from him. "It seems, my dear immortal, that the Salem Coven has successfully resurrected the warlock Eros."

There was a pause. The atmosphere around them grew tense. "That's ridiculous," Chris snapped, seeming not to have noticed the shift. "Eros cannot be resurrected, it's impossible. How dare you suggest –"

"Silence." The command boomed throughout the entire room. Everyone in attendance froze. The temperature in the room dropped. Victor let go a tendril of his powers and slowly wrapped it around the minds of everyone present.

Werewolves were one of the few creatures that could resist a vampire's compulsion. Yet, somehow, someone other than Victor had been able to compel these pups to deliver this message. None of the vamps in this region had the power to command a room full of Children of the Dark. As the first immortal, only Victor had that power.

"Speak, pup. Tell me everything you know."

The beta's black eyes seemed to sparkle and dark power rippled off of him in waves. "The pup, as you call him, doesn't know much. But I do."

"And who are you?" Victor hadn't felt magic this strong in centuries. Not since The Powers cursed them.

"I am always around but never seen. However, who I am is not important. Just know I am a friend of Yuuri's and therefore a friend of yours. I'm here to tell you he's back." Victor froze as the man took Victor's hand in his and a jolt of magic shot through him. "I can't keep this possession for much longer, but he is waiting for you."

A look about the room confirmed everyone in attendance had been frozen. An unnatural smirk graced the beta's lips before his face went completely blank. Then the Beta blinked, as if stepping out of a daze, and the room instantly picked up with noise again. The banquet continued on as if nothing had happened.

"Fangers?" The beta asked, seeming confused by his own question.

"Fang bangers," Chris explained, looking around the room as if he sensed something was off. "Beings who like to have sex with vampires in exchange for blood."

The look of confusion began to fade as the young wolf's eyes lit up in humour. "You're telling me you can convince a person to sleep with you without using compulsion on them? I'm shocked."

"Watch your mouth," Celestino reprimanded, seemingly unaware that anything had transpired. "These two are way older than you could ever imagine. Pardon my beta's rudeness, he's still young."

"This little puppy is your second? Shouldn't he be back with your –"

"Christophe, we're leaving. I'm sorry, but we must be going now." Victor inclined his head, his eyes searching for the exit. "It was nice to see you, Celestino, Phichit." Victor grabbed Chris by the sleeve of his jacket and began to drag him through the throng of partygoers.

"How did you know that little wolf's name?" Chris asked in confusion once they broke through the crowd. Victor was finding it difficult to remain walking at a human pace knowing his Yuuri was out there, calling to him. "Did you compel me to forget something?"

"I didn't, something else did." Victors fangs were digging into his lower lip, filling his mouth with borrowed blood.

"How?" Chris looked horrified.

"I don't know, and I don't care." Victor's vision was going spotty as the news began to sink in.

He's finally back.

Notes:

All quotes and chapter titles are inspired by the same musical this fic is titled for! I love all the music from Love Never Dies and couldn't help myself by weaving this beautiful song into this fic!

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