𓊈𒆜 ＤＩＳＣＬＡＩＭＥＲ 𒆜𓊉

Please note that this story is rated M for mature.

Just a note to start us off here: The characters in this story are supernatural beings. One is a Vampire and one is a Demon. Neither have specific ages, however, both of them are well over eighteen years of age–(One refers to the amount of time he’s been alive as Millennia, so that’s the scale of things we’re working with here. One of them is not massively older than the other.) On top of that, there’s also other Demons, Elves(High Elves), Witches(like magic witches not Wiccan witches), Werewolves, Warlocks, mentions Dark Elves, the Fae, Dragons, yadda yadda… Basically, everything in this story is straight up just fantasy stuff. I like video games a lot. So. Yeah, this was a long time coming.

This is all a work of fiction. It is NOT intended to represent anything I personally believe in or whatever. It is based in an Alternate Universe, and the entirety of the (albeit tiny) bit of history  in this story is just the mental ramblings of someone who probably should’ve taken a nap. Okay, it’s not bad, but what I’m saying is, don’t take it too seriously. It’s just a fun story, mindless self indulgence on my own part, and I will plead the fifth before divulging further into that.

Let’s get on with the list of warnings, then.

This story contains graphic sexual content, strong language, and has A/O dynamics. It contains BDSM, Dominant/Submissive Dynamics, Alpha/Omega Dynamics, Demon Omega, Vampire Alpha, Loss of Virginity, Mating Bond, Blood-Exchange, Breeding Kink , (A Lot of)Cockwarming, Creampies, Fingering, Biting Kink, Blood Drinking, Rough Sex Sometimes,  Mating Cycles/In Heat, Self-Lubrication, Knotting, Blood-Drinking(one’s a vampire… so , yeah), Rimming, Actual Breeding, Surprise Pregnancy, Cross-Race Breeding(I’m inventive?), Vampire/Demon Sex, Vampire Speed during Sex, Slight Masochism, Overstimulation, Cross-Dressing, Exhibitionism, Hand-Jobs, Degradation Kink(Slight), Cum in underwear, Cum eating, Multiple Orgasms, M-Preg, Nesting, Throne Room sex, Throne Sex, Sex in a Crown, Teasing, Dirty Talking, Somnophilia, Mirror Sex, Praise Kink, Aftercare, Power Exchange, Sex in Suit, Master Honorific, Orgasm Control, Hair Pulling, Cumming on literal command*, Untouched Orgasms, Blowjobs, Humiliation Kink(Slight), Dacryphilia, Choking, Non-Traditional BDSM*, Semi-Public Intercourse, uuuuuuuh… honestly at this point, I think you probably get the picture.

𝘊𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥*: The two main characters form a pact, (one is a demon), and as such… an orgasm happens. On command…

𝘕𝘰𝘯-𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘉𝘋𝘚𝘔*: This story is set in an alternate universe. They aren’t trained, but are kind of just experimenting together, with a Dom/sub relationship. They don’t have a set contract, and as far as it goes, they don’t always talk about stuff before they do it, but they do sometimes. One is a vampire, and the other is a demon. The demon is an omega, and is naturally more submissive. I did this intentionally… Let me explain.     It’s set in another realm all together, not even associated with the human world during the story. To the ‘dominant’ in question, he’s not having kinky sex, he’s just having sex. I feel like immortal beings would have much fewer reservations with sexual intercourse, and as such, something that would be considered a kink to a human isn’t even a thought. However, that’s not the whole reason. Our world is full of technology that allows us access to information at our fingertips, but it’s not the same way in this universe–technology as we know it hasn’t been invented.     After having said that, the pair do not have intercourse before they are mated, and they have a mating bond that allows them to feel each others emotions at all times. As such, they could feel if one or the other were to be uncomfortable with one situation. Also, the Dominant in the situation is much more of a soft Dom than a hardcore Dominant pulling out whips and nipple clamps. They’re developing things–by the end they do actually have a safe word in place. I put a lot of thought into how to approach this in a society that was completely separated from the society that I live in, and I worked very hard to keep things safe and tasteful in spite of this.

Additional Warnings: Abusive Family(?), Mental Torture, Altered Reality, Threats of Punishment, Punishments, Repression, Imprisonment(?), Recovered Memories, Brainwashing, Manipulation, probably more. Please note that all of this is in the PAST and is not a part of the relationship–It’s backstory. 

I can’t lie to you, I had a shit ton of fun writing this book. These two characters were so much fun. The world building was a lot of fun, and honestly, I have ideas for a sequel and even a third installment. However, I will be working more on David’s book before I start the sequel to this book–I have already started it, I just had a random spell of motivation for this story while I was writing David’s book and after a certain point, stopping so close to finished would’ve been pointless. I’m sorry, my deepest apologies– however–

I come bearing vampire on demon smut so there’s always that? Ha- ha-hahaaaa… anyway.

With the Epilogue of this book, it is a completed story. Writing this and then editing it was a lot of fun, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. Furthermore, I have copyrighted the stories on my account. If you wish to use one, please message me to ask for permission.

Also please note that I will not tolerate any kind of rude/offensive comments in my stories or on my profile. I can deal with constructive criticism, that is 100% okay. Anybody that comments rude and or offensive things will be getting blocked, or reported, depending on what the comment says or is about.

If this isn’t your cup of tea, that’s fine, just please just be kind to everyone, so we won’t have any problems.

𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝐿𝑖𝑠𝑡:

1. 𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐵𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑛, 𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑    ✓Completed

   

• (𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑛 & 𝐼𝑙𝑠𝑎, 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛/𝑉𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒, 𝐴𝐵𝑂 𝐷𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑠)

   

*ʸᵒᵘ’ʳᵉ ʰᵉʳᵉ

2. 𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝐵𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑇𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑    

✓Completed

   

• (𝐼𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 & 𝑁𝑎𝑒𝑣𝑦𝑠, 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛/𝐻𝑖𝑔ℎ-𝐸𝑙𝑓, 𝐴𝐵𝑂 𝐷𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑠)

3. 𝑂𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑅𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠     In Progress

   

• (𝐼𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑟𝑜 & 𝑀𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛/𝐷𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛, 𝐴𝐵𝑂 𝐷𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑠)

✎﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

To my returning readers, thank you so much for reading my stories, it means a lot to me. To any new readers, welcome to my story, I hope you enjoy it. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I’m excited to share it with you.  (Chapter 29 and the Epilogue have yet to be edited yet. I will update them as soon as possible!🙂)

〔✎ WC: 179,990 | Language: English 🔤〕

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/82b4ccbd46e9efa86273accf0a8171c1e3d40c8a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f456d676550514d73794b575161673d3d2d313235303035363037372e313730343637363831663931353265643237313633353138333530332e706e67)

𓊈𒆜 ＰＲФＮＵＮＣＩＡＴＩФＮＳ 𒆜𓊉

Some of the names in this book are names I’ve created, languages that are not super common, and as such I wanted to provide a very ‘simple’ guide as to how to pronounce some of the words that I thought were particularly difficult to pronounce or ‘sound out’ in your head, either way.

Names ~

Cassian - Cass-ian

Seraphina - Sera-Fina

Ilsa - Ill-sa

Isoloses - Eye-So-Low-sis

Isandro - Eh-San-Dro

Naevys - Nay-Vis

Laiex - Lay-ex

Iden - Eye-Den

Ilan - Eye-Lan

Ignatius - Ig-nat-ius

Realms ~

Caelestes (Demon Realm) - Cay-Lest-tes*

Tenebris Regni (Kingdom of Darkness) - Ten-eh-Bris Reg-ni

Epiria (Realm of the Fae) - Ee-Pir-eya

City Names ~

Ilyenasera (City) - Ill-Yen-aye-Sera

Névé (City) -  Knee-v

𓊈𒆜 ФＮＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜 •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

Ilsa hated his life. He didn’t have it particularly ‘bad,’ but his life held little meaning. He’d lived for many millennia, but was so dreadfully bored. Every day was the same, get up, go to tutoring sessions, and return to his room. He was ‘royalty’ and yet remained locked in the castle like he was a shame and a disgrace for having compassion. Which, he supposed, was a crime when you’re a demon. and are supposed to be soulless and evil, but he didn’t see it as a bad thing. He was the youngest son of three, and had no hope of succeeding to the throne no matter how hard he worked, unless he were to kill his father or one of his brothers, and that wasn’t happening. He had no hope of getting married, because even after millennia locked in the castle he was only allowed out during certain events, and only under the agreement that he stays with guards the entire time.

Neither of his brothers were treated the same, much to his annoyance. They could do anything they wanted–but what it really came down to was they couldn’t have a ‘sweet’ docile omega running loose in Caelestes. His brothers were taught combat training and military things, while he was taught to heal and use sleeping magic, and he wasn’t allowed to use curses or hexes. He’d never been allowed to see humans let alone make pacts with them, he’d been horribly mistreated, essentially imprisoned, and he’d never even been given the opportunity to show his worth–so he decided he was leaving.

It wasn’t an easy decision to make, but it was necessary in his mind. He was going to be homeless, and definitely at the bottom of the food chain in the human world–it wasn’t like many humans were trying to make pacts with demons who were essentially useless unless they needed a dose of sleeping magic, or a quick heal. His only arguable accomplishment was being able to heal entire armies, and that was only if his father allowed him full access to his power.

Perhaps he was making a mistake, but he’d never truly know until he tried. Of course, his father wasn’t the forgiving type so it was definitely a decision he needed to be certain of, but even so he wouldn’t change his mind. Not when he was this close to a chance at freedom–an actual life that wouldn’t be meaningless in its longevity. He wasn’t changing his mind, even if the warlock who was sending him off looked about as reliable as a bag of rotten apples.

“And what are you willing to trade for passage?” The warlock asked, his beady black eyes eerily dark and abysmal as he stared over him. There was an obvious tension in the air, he knew exactly what the Warlock was thinking, and he repressed the urge to shudder as he reached into his over-the-shoulder bag and pulled out his bargaining chip–the one that wasn’t his ass, that is. An expensive book of hexes and curses, he’d snagged it from the family library on his way out knowing exactly what its value would be to a warlock who could only dream of obtaining a demon’s curse book.

“Is this good enough?” He asked, looking up from under the hood he was wearing to disguise himself, ensuring he used the hand without the mark that signified him as a member of the Royal family of Caelestes. No one would dare go against his father, and they definitely wouldn’t dare to send one of his sons anywhere without his consent. The warlock snickered and grabbed the book, his fingers carding through the pages as he assessed it. After a couple seconds, he looked up, and passed him a creepy smile.

“Looks pretty good to me. I shall open your portal to the… human realm.” The way he said it made Ilsa’s eyebrows raise a little. It was suspicious to say the least, but he couldn’t ask for the book back, and he couldn’t return home empty handed either. He’d be strung up from the chandelier and whipped for stealing. The warlock smirked at him and went through the ritual to open the portal. Ilsa watched the glowing ball of fire that grew between his moving hands before the warlock flung it towards two bended, unnaturally shaped trees that were woven together by their limbs.

Ilsa tensed, expecting it to burst into flames, but instead the ball of fire caught, almost as if an invisible spider web hung between the trees and it stretched, and grew into a thin, swirling portal that looked terrifying. It looked as though he’d come out on the other side with third degree burns. He chanced a glance at the warlock before walking forward and stepping into it with his eyes shut.

As he stepped over the threshold, he was pushed forward slightly by the force of the portal closing behind him. He took a deep breath and began to focus on his surroundings. The first thing he heard was the leaves rustling in the wind around him, and the distant chirping of a bird he’d never heard before. Caelestes isn’t exactly known for its wildlife. He opened his eyes and glanced around the dark woods he was spit out in. Where was he? Since he was without a map, he hoped he wasn’t far from the exit of the woods.

He walked forward, looking around the woods and taking in what little he could make out in the dark. He vaguely wondered about following the birds, but when he glanced back over his shoulder all he could see were trees for miles. He couldn’t walk backwards, so he’d have to go forward. As he walked he looked around in wonder, passing by glowing flowers and bugs. The farther he walked, the more he noticed, but then he heard the distant sound of rushing water.

Humans would gravitate towards water sources, so he just had to find it. He followed the sound, all the way down and through the trees, weaving his way between them in his haste because there wasn’t a visible trail anywhere to be found. And then he caught sight of it, a little river, with water so blue it had to be artificial, surely. He glanced around and sighed. He was not having good luck–

“What do we have here?” His blood froze as the cold and emotionless voice hit his ears, but he didn’t have time to run, or say anything at all, because suddenly there was a hand covering his eyes and he was out like a light.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When he opened his eyes next, there was something over his head. A bag, perhaps, something that he was definitely breathing through. He was acutely aware of the scents in the room he was in. It smelled amazing, though not like anything he’d ever smelled before. Food, he thought, his stomach growling a little in protest. “We found this… person … roaming around in the witches’ territory.” The same cold, emotionless voice he’d heard just before he blacked out, said quietly.

“Well, why’d you bring them in with a bag over their head? That’s hardly hospitable. I’m sure I can handle one little mortal witch, yes?” The voice was full of authority, a slight bit of arrogance lingering in the deep voice. Ilsa could almost feel the vibrations of his voice through him, his heart speeding up in his chest. Where the hell was he? He wasn’t a mortal! Or a witch! But, he couldn’t say that, could he? The bag was pulled off of his head, and he found himself staring at the most inhumanly beautiful person he’d ever seen.

He had pale white skin, with almost a blueish-silver glow to it as it shined underneath the odd-colored flamed lights, and bright swirling orchid purple eyes. He had golden blonde hair that seemed to deepen into the same orchid color of his eyes at the tips, longer than he was used to, with the back of it pulled up into an up-do that seems way too complex for him to have done it himself.

“Well, whatever do I have here?” He said, those swirling orchid purple eyes narrowing in on him. “You have a heartbeat like a human, and yet I can feel the power flowing off of you. Are you a witch? You’re not hairy enough to be a werewolf.” He said, appearing directly in front of him very suddenly. Ilsa jerked back a little, looking up at him in confusion. “Well, I don’t have all day, beautiful, I’m going to need some sort of information on you if I’m to punish my men for breaching the accords with the Witches.”

“I am a man,” Ilsa said, glaring heatedly up at him. “And I’m just a human.”

“A human? Here? Don’t make me laugh.” He said, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Are you shy? Shall I have my men step away?” It sounded so nice, but it felt like there was an air of condescending in his tone, and it made Ilsa frown. “Go on, gentleman, surely I can handle the interrogation from here.”

“My Lord, I really must protest, this man was brought in from the Witches Woods, nothing good comes from there–” A voice, it was so soft and soothing that it made Ilsa’s skin tingle a little, replied. It was a male, he could tell that much, but it somehow sounded different from the other males voices in the room.

“Didn’t I pick you up from the Witches Woods?” The man questioned, his patience seeming to run out. “Can you three just do as I’ve commanded you? I’m the king, the strongest vampire in the realm. Must you all continue to squabble over protecting my life?”

“Yes, My Lord.” The soft voice said, and then the sound of three sets of footsteps followed the words–and then they were alone.

“Shall we start with something simpler then? What is your name?” He asked, turning his attention back to Ilsa. Ilsa gulped a little and bit his lip. He knew the king would want a full name, but Ilsa Caoimhe Solsissothoz was not a name he particularly wanted to hand out to the man, given that with it he could control him, his father had told him as much, so he had to maneuver carefully.

“Ilsa,” He settled on, after a moment. He couldn’t budge an inch on that. No full name.

“Good then, Ilsa,” The king squatted down in front of where Ilsa was kneeled, offering his hand to him. “I am Cassian Elynbrigge, the king of this realm, and I’m afraid you’ve been poking around in some less than ideal places, little one.” Ilsa hesitated a bit, his hand reaching out cautiously. King Cassian smiled at him, it was so enchanting that it had his heart squeezing painfully in his chest. As his fingers brushed over the soft, cool skin of his hand, an electric current seemed to run through him for a moment, causing him to blush and bite into his lip.

“I’m sorry,” He said softly, bowing his head. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble. I was just looking for the city and got lost.” He said. The king hummed a bit, tilting Ilsa’s head back a little with a gentle hand.

“Where are you traveling from? I know every being that exists in this realm and you are not one of them.” He said. Ilsa sucked in a deep breath, he was caught much sooner than he’d thought he would be.

“I… would like to ask for me not to disclose that.” Ilsa said softly, chancing a look up at him. “I ran away, I have no intention of returning there.” He said, bowing his head more.

“Then, how about you and I compromise?” The king asked. Ilsa looked up at him from under his lashes, a little shy under the attention. “I will not ask about where you are from, if you can offer me something worth the risk of retaliation from your realm.” Ilsa looked down at his hands for a moment. He had nothing. Everything was abandoned in Caelestes.

“W-What about me?” Ilsa whispered, his face heating up. “That is all I really have to offer.” He said, looking down at the floor again.

“An intriguing offer indeed, lovely.” He hummed, looking over him with thoughtful eyes. “I would like to make a counter offer. Since you have offered yourself, I assume you’re in a rather particular situation, and I’ve found myself in a rather… unsatisfactory situation myself. Would you be privy to a negotiation?”

“Negotiation…” Ilsa murmured, his stomach growling a little. He hadn’t eaten since dinner, and he really couldn’t be certain how long ago that’d been. He still felt a little confused from having been knocked out or put to sleep… but he wasn’t in any pain so he supposed that was a fair enough trade off. If it had been his father he was brought to, he’d be getting far fewer pleasantries certainly.

“Yes, and perhaps something to eat, as I’ve been listening to your stomach growl for an hour now.” The king said, and Ilsa sucked in a deep breath. He had him at food. He should’ve eaten before he left the castle in Caelestes. Ilsa nodded his head, and raised up off of his knees when the king stood back up. “You’ll have to put in an order with the staff, I do not actually eat food.”

“Don’t eat food?” Ilsa queried, his eyebrows raising. “But… How do you live?”

“I’m a vampire, I subside off of blood.” The king explained easily, leading him through the castle and towards the dining hall.

“That seems unhealthy. Won’t you contract diseases?” Ilsa asked, looking up at him a little.

“If I managed that I wouldn’t be much of an immortal, would I?” He asked, his head tilted back as he chuckled. “I’m immune to all human and inhuman diseases, to answer your question.” He continued, thoughtfully. “I am already dead, I cannot die again.”

“I suppose that’s a good point.” Ilsa didn’t point out to the man that even if he were dead, he had a soul–a life essence, really, because it was much different from human and demon souls alike. It shined bright, a beacon of light in its enormity. It was beautiful, so beautiful that he could barely stand to look at his chest where it resonated. He couldn’t point that out, it’d raise questions he couldn’t answer at the moment.

“Excuse me,” The king said, bowing his head for a moment. “Sera, my love, where are you?” Every word out of the man’s mouth sounded like honey, something he should definitely be weary of, but at the same time he had a calming nature about him. A second passed, and then a beautiful pink haired woman with bright, neon pink eyes appeared in front of them.

“Yes My Lord, what can I get for you tonight,” She said, bowing her head in respect. Ilsa’s eyes widened, and he cut them over to the king. The king who looked to be only the physical age of his middle brother–he couldn’t be older than that, certainly. He had a sort of youthful glow about him, he’d probably lose it over the next couple of millenniums should he live that long.

“This is my guest Ilsa, and he would like to request food. Does anyone in the kitchen know how to prepare food?” That question sounded rather redundant. Why would they work in a kitchen if they couldn’t cook? And why did they have kitchens if they don’t eat food? Was only the king a vampire? Where the hell had that shady mother fucker dropped him off at? He knew for a fact vampires were not in the mortal realm, so unless this man was playing a cruel joke at his expense, he was definitely not in the right place.

“Yes, My Lord, what may I get for you?” Her bright pink eyes turned to him and he fought back a gasp as he noticed–her eyes were weird and it was more than just the inhuman color. The iris of her left eye seemed to be shaped like a heart, and it was disconcerting. He also had no idea what to ask for. Without knowing where he was, he couldn’t even think back to all of the books he’d read about the topic because he didn’t know the topic.

“Whatever is easiest for someone to prepare,” Ilsa settled, biting into his lip shyly as he averted his eyes. He felt so shy under her attention, as if she were picking him apart.

“Yes, sir, right away,” She said, tipping her head forward before she disappeared as if she’d never even been there in the first place. The teleporting was strange and made him feel uneasy. He couldn’t protect himself if they just appeared out of thin air! He could barely protect himself as is.

“Why did you flee your realm?” King Cassian asked. Ilsa paused and looked up at him. He couldn’t say he was a part of the Royal Family of Caelestes, that’d only result in getting him sent home. He didn’t know what realm that shady warlock had sent him to, but no realm would knowingly go against the Royal Family of Caelestes, knowing the possible complications. Ilsa had planned to go to the human world and hide there, staying as far away from civilization as possible while still being able to go into a town for supplies–but now he was in a King’s house, which no doubt his brothers could track if they decided to realm-hop.

“I was bored,” Ilsa said after a few seconds. It wasn’t the whole truth, but this man didn’t need to know his life story–they’d be there for a while if he did, millenniums take a while to hash out in conversation form.

“That seems somewhat dishonest,” King Cassian said, and Ilsa paused. Had he lost his ability to lie or something? “I have an ability, the ability to detect one’s truthfulness. Every king that succeeds inherits the powers of those that come before them, and a power of their own is added,” He explained, as if he could sense his thoughts. “And mine happens to be a lie-ometer.” He said easily. “Of course, I’m not going to push for your honesty, however this is something you should take into consideration when deceiving me.”

“Duly noted,” Ilsa mused, smirking a little. “What realm did I end up in?” He asked.

“Tenebris Regni–the Kingdom of Darkness.” King Cassian said, pushing open a giant door and holding it open. “In you go, I mustn’t let you roam the Castle on your own, what kind of a king would I be?” It seemed rhetorical, but as Ilsa really couldn’t be certain of the realms’ customs, he wasn’t going to ignore it.

“A pretty bad one,” Ilsa answered, walking forward through the doorway and pausing. The room was huge, with a ceiling so high he couldn’t really be certain how tall it stood. In the center of the room was a massive table with a strange, solid black wood finish, but it didn’t look as if it’d been stained. “What kind of wood is this?” He asked, and the king paused.

“That is Darkwood, from a very rare kind of tree that grows in werewolf territory.” He explained. “It was hard to procure, but it never chips, fades, or warps so it was a necessary endeavor. I’m sure if you saw this place in the early evening hours, you’d be surprised at the amount of messes that are made here.”

“That sounds sort of ominous. I do not particularly care for messes.” Ilsa said, and the king laughed a little.

“Truly, neither do I, but I host all of my guards here and I allow them complete freedom to feel at home.” King Cassian said, leaning against the edge of the table.

“So about this negotiation…” Ilsa trailed off. The king paused for a moment, seeming to deliberate.

“You wish for safety from your realm and no questions asked about why, and your offer was yourself.” The king simplified, and Ilsa nodded. He really didn’t have anything with him he could trade, nothing of value to a king like himself. He had fled with as little as possible so as to rouse the least amount of suspicion. He couldn’t let the Royal Guard at the castle be alerted, and walking out of a hidden entrance with a massive amount of luggage wouldn’t exactly be discreet. “How far are you prepared to take that statement?” He asked, an air of hesitancy around him.

“I-I don’t quite understand what you mean?” Ilsa asked, unsure. He knew he was essentially offering this man his virginity, but when it was put that way it sounded, somehow so much more… frightening.

“I am in a rather particular situation myself,” The king said, pausing for a moment and picking up a fruit from a basket off the table. It hadn’t even registered to his mind as food, surely food shouldn’t sparkle and glow, right? That seemed unhealthy to say the least. “My mother, the crazy old wench,” He grumbled, “Wants me to marry. And the bride she picked for me is… unsatisfactory.”

“Um… I apologize?” He didn’t really know how to unpack that statement. “Why is she unsatisfactory?”

“Well, the mere fact that she is a ‘she’, truly.” The king said, tossing the apple at him. Ilsa caught it unsteadily and looked at it in wonder. Up close, the dark surface of the fruit looked almost like what he imagined an outer-space sky to look like, dark with tiny little glimmering lights in it, as if resembling stars. “But, she and I both agree we do not wish to wed, however if I don’t have a replacement bride by the weeks end, I’ll be married to her.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be a king? Can’t you just say no?” Ilsa knew that, to some extent he could protest, but when dealing with monarchs like the two they obviously came from, a simple no wasn’t enough of an argument.

“Obviously not, if I am pleading with a strange traveler to be my bride.” The king replied, and Ilsa frowned.

“That is another good point. Why me?” Ilsa asked, shifting his weight and crossing his arms.

“Well, because my people will never accept a marriage that has no background, and because you are from another realm, I can fabricate a background.” The king explained. “I have free access to travel between mine and other realms and enough influence to be able to prevent a scandal from being made–which means it wouldn’t be beyond my capabilities to have formed a bond with an outsider, nor to be able to hide the fact that I was taking trips. Are you beginning to understand?” Ilsa nodded.

The man was either a total psychopath or completely brilliant, he had no idea. Either way, though… it was an intriguing offer. He’d be protected by a king’s army, and reside in a castle. He wouldn’t go homeless or starve, which were definite benefits. However, this was a negotiation, and as such, he would negotiate.

“I see,” Ilsa mused, biting into his lip. “Then, I have some rules.” Ilsa said, and the king nodded.

“Of course, I will try to make your time with me as pleasurable as possible.” The king said.

“I want access to the royal library.” Ilsa said, crossing his arms. He couldn’t pass up an opportunity to immerse himself in the literature of another realm. He glanced down at the fruit in his hand, especially not one with such interesting fruits and living creatures.

“I… was never going to prevent your access, so I agree?” The king answered, and Ilsa nodded. Obviously the library here isn’t as restrictive as the one in Caelestes is.

“I go through a heat cycle once a month. If I’m supposed to be your bride and remain faithful you’ll need to assist in that.” Ilsa said, blushing a little. When being locked in the castle by his father, he’d had to suffer through his heat cycle alone and in misery, he didn’t want to suffer through it by himself if he had someone who could help. He wouldn’t be embarrassed when the time came anyway, he’d be too overcome with lust to care. If the king was shocked, he didn’t show it.

“Of course, I’m yours a week of the month then.” He said, and Ilsa nodded.

“I do not wish to be locked away like a damsel in distress. I am a person who wishes to learn and explore, I don’t want to be hidden away from… society…” Ilsa hesitated over the words, a flush trailing up his cheeks.

“Also something I feel is just common courtesy, however, I agree.” The king replied, and Ilsa nodded his head. “About sleeping arrangements. I will set up for you to have a room at first, but eventually you will need to move into my room if we wish for this not to get out.”

“I don’t mind sharing a room with you right away.” Ilsa said, and the king’s eyes widened. “For one, it’d make little sense that we had a background together if I slept in my own room, and another thing; I offered myself to you and I do not do anything half-way. If we do this, I wish to make it as legitimate of a relationship as possible. Especially if you plan to actually marry me.”

“Very well,” He said with a smile. “I have no other choice than to marry someone, I just wish to have a say in who. Furthermore, I do not wish to force you. If you’d rather not do this, I am capable of sending you to the realm of your choosing.”

“You are not forcing me. I made my decision, and I stand by it.” Ilsa said, a surprisingly small amount of nervousness washing through him. “I don’t feel pressured. You’re being very cooperative. It almost looks as if you’d get on your knees and plead,” King Cassian laughed, and it hit Ilsa right in the heart. It was soft and gentle, so unlike all the men in Caelestes.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that, however, I wouldn’t mind seeing you on your knees.” He said with a little smirk. A shock of arousal shot through Ilsa and he closed his eyes. This man… made him feel weird . The distance between them was suddenly far too noticeable, the man seemed so kind, yet intimidating at the same time, and he was the first man outside of Caelestes Ilsa had actually been around since he’d been assigned an Omega at eighteen physical years old–and his body had changed.

The guards he had were not ‘demons in human form’ like most of the higher-level demons could manage. The guards were, honestly, hideous and frightening. They were not even humanoid, they were just– monsters . Ilsa had been utterly terrified of them, and it wasn’t like they were personable to be around either. Not only were they hideous, huge, and covered in something that looked like armor with all the juts and sharp edges poking off of them, they were also just mindless servants with no drive or thought. They exist only to serve a purpose given by the king, and once their purpose has been served–they just burst into flames from the inside out. That was not a pretty sight, and Ilsa had been scarred for life after witnessing it. So in other words, his omega instincts had been repressed from his fear. Despite suffering through heats, none of the guards were even slightly appealing and generally speaking, in heat demons don’t really care .

It was generally rather rare for male omegas to be born, though, and even more rare for them to be royalty so he couldn’t really use normal circumstances to explain his existence nor could he validate his existence in any way. He was an anomaly, a cosmic mistake. Someone who should’ve never been born. And yet he had, so he had to make do with what he had.

“When is the wedding?” Ilsa asked, looking up at him.

“A week’s time, just as my deadline for finding a new bride.” King Cassian said.

“So soon? Well, given that it is only a week, my final request is that over the next week we don’t have intercourse and that I get some time to get to know you. I feel that’s fair, given that I hadn’t been planning this, and I don’t know you at all.” Ilsa said, and the king looked momentarily surprised before he laughed and nodded.

“Of course, you are the royal bride now, so your wish is my command,” He said, bowing his head. Ilsa couldn’t fight back the giggle that escaped him. For some reason, he didn’t feel quite as nervous as he had expected to feel. Instead, he felt… maybe excitement. He couldn’t be too sure. But he did know one thing, at least he had more of a chance here at being free here than at home.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷФ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Ilsa woke up the next morning, he did so with excitement. It was a new day, and while he was getting married to someone he didn’t really know in a week, it wasn’t honestly the worst case scenario for him. For one, the king was attractive, more so than any demon Ilsa had ever come across. With the golden blonde-and-orchid hair that framed his face, and the orchid colored eyes, with his pale white skin that seemed to have a faint bluish-gray undertone to it, he stood out. He also was much taller than Ilsa, much to his chagrin. Though he really shouldn’t be all that surprised.

Omegas were physically smaller than alphas and betas, it was meant to make them less imposing. The differences between omegas and alphas were substantial–alphas were dominant and held positions of power, quick tempered and strong, and omegas were submissive, held menial positions, were generally very soft-spoken and because they’re not allowed to study anything other than healing and sleeping magic they are also weak and unable to fight back. Of course there are omegas who are taught the offensive and defensive magic under the table, but that’s generally frowned upon. Hence why he’d been denied the right to learn it. It built a certain level of resentment for the people around him because he felt so secluded and unsafe. He went into heats and couldn’t defend himself if people came around–which none ever did, thankfully, but he had to rely solely on his guards to protect him. That was terrifying.

Even so, he still craved having a companion, a life partner. He wasn’t wholly believing in ‘love’ either, coming from where he came from, but even demons crave companionship and physical intimacy. The arrangement was something he could appreciate, and it honestly made him feel somewhat safer. He was serving a purpose, he knew he’d be taken care of at least to some extent, and… He could sympathize with the king for wanting to choose his bride, and on the same hand, he needed somewhere safe to stay. It would fulfill his desire for companionship, keep him safe, and fed, and the king could choose his bride. It seemed fair enough, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t attracted to him.

In other words, he was less than dissatisfied. It played out in his favor. Plus, it felt sort of… nice. Nice to know that even if he wasn’t in love with the king, he had someone . Even someone he didn’t really know. And, it was the life he was robbed of back in Caelestes because he was born an omega instead of an alpha.

A knock sounded on the large darkwood door. Ilsa’s eyes popped open and he looked over at the door nervously. “Good morning sir, I apologize for the disturbance however the king has requested we wake and dress you.” Dress him? What the fuck are they talking about?

“Of course,” He called, sitting up on the bed. The door pushed open and in walked two small, unimposing males. One had bright white hair and matching eyes, and the other had hair that looked like actual gold with swirling golden eyes, and Ilsa was certain he’d never get used to the ‘color coded vampires’ thing. What the hell is with the vampires and color?

“Sir, we really must hurry, you have tea in the garden with King Cassian in thirty nine minutes and we didn’t know you weren’t a vampire! So we need to hurry!” The white haired vampire said.

“I haven’t had a shower yet!” Ilsa protested, and the white haired vampire looked over him before sniffing the air.

“It’s fine, you don’t smell. Once tea is over I’ll arrange for you to come back here to shower before you leave on your journey.” He said, and Ilsa raised an eyebrow.

“Journey? Where to?”

“His majesty requested it to be a surprise.” The golden haired vampire said. “Now, this is nothing but pointless dawdling when we’re on a time limit! Come, come, we must find you suitable clothes for tea time.” Ilsa didn’t really have much room to complain, he was already awake and didn’t have any plans. Also, a journey sounded… exciting . He’d never been on one of those before.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Ilsa was finally dressed and walking through the halls of the castle he’d now call home, he felt massively out of place. Everyone was pale as ice, with different odd arrays of hair colors. It was painfully obvious that he was an outsider. He was being led by Helix–the golden twin. Felix was the white twin–though he didn’t really see any outward similarities. He was amazed by the castle–the castle he resided in in Caelestes was so dark and dingy, lit only by fire. The castle here was bright and open, with stone walls that housed portrait after portrait of vampires–obviously spanning the generations of royalty.

Felix had ended up allowing him to shower as per the request of King Cassian, which Ilsa would forever be grateful for. He might not have smelled but he felt like he needed a shower, if only to scrub off the feeling of having been in Caelestes for millennia. Caelestes is a generally warm , smoggy place. The water is scarce, but it’s okay because most demons don’t need it. Only the higher ranking demons who can manifest human forms naturally need water, food, et cetera. The… monsters in Caelestes are more frequent than the human forms naturally, otherwise there’d be too much of a balance between them, and thus the royals would fall out of favor. Of course not all of Caelestes residents are demons–some are warlocks, witches, dark elves–people who can move through realms with ease, but the royals maintain a strict traveling process which hinders those who can come in or go out. Hence why he’d had to go to such a shady warlock in the first place.

He had to choose someone who had too much to lose to report the incident. His father was not merciful to people who break his codes and processes, enough so they’d rather be caught and held for treason than admit their actions.

He was led out through a giant archway with beautiful hanging lanterns made out of gold, white, and silver mesh cloth that looked beautiful with a light blue flame flickering behind it. Each one was intricately lined with gold tendrils of designs that seemed to somehow overlap and fit together all in one. They were stunning and something he’d never seen before. Helix led him through a little hallway and then to a giant wooden door. A quiet knock sounded before Helix pushed open the door and ushered him inside.

As Ilsa walked into the garden, he was overcome with a sense of wonder and enchantment. In the center where King Cassian sat underneath a sterling white granite looking gazebo, the same string lights from the hallway hung through the posts of it–it was huge, almost as big as the stage in the center of Caelestes, and all around it were plants and trees, beautiful flowers blooming and weaving through the railing on the gazebo and leading up the pillars, even connecting around the strings of the lights. So many colors, blues and purples and pinks, bright yellows and scarlet red flowers littered the pillars and the bushes. Trees holding fruits that looked strange and exotic, with textures and colors he’d never seen before.

All around the flowers were fluttering bugs that looked like butterflies only with otherworldly colors–and a faint glow that seemed out of the ordinary. Everything was so enchanting and bright, as if out of the human world children’s books he’d read as a young adult. He may have been heading for the human realm but this was a beautiful realm to have been dumped in.

“You look fantastic, Ilsa, truly,” King Cassian said, standing up when he reached the bottom of the stairs and offered him his hand. Ilsa looked down at himself, blushing a little. He did look pretty nice–quite dapper. The plain white shirt he was wearing was soft and gentle, buttoned up fully to support the delicately tied bow-tie Helix had insisted on. On top of the shirt he was wearing was a red plaid vest with five golden buttons, it had a fairly deep v-line, which caused the vest to line up perfectly with the jacket’s v-line when it was buttoned up. The jacket was perfectly fitted to him, enhancing his waistline. The black suit was beautiful, obviously well made and stylish. The jacket was longer in the back, with a pocket on either side, and the breast pocket held a pocket square. And his shoes–oh they were lovely. So comfortable, like wearing nothing at all. They perfectly complimented his suit as well, plain-toe oxfords. And, to top it all off, he had on a belt that was quite stylish if he did say so himself, with a golden wristwatch and a pair of pristine black gloves to accentuate the whole thing.

He felt like royalty, he looked like royalty.

“Thank you, you look quite handsome,” Ilsa said shyly, blushing as he took the king’s outstretched hand. He did look quite handsome–he was more decked out than himself. A light orchid dress shirt, fully buttoned up and held together with the elegant black tie with a golden tie pin on it. On top of the shirt was a golden vest with six black crystal buttons. Atop it, he was wearing a black suit jacket–obviously tailored for him, a perfect fit. It had an intricate rope connected to a little golden thing on his right shoulder with tassels hanging down. His jacket had four buttons buttoned, and his breast pocket had a small orchid pocket square. His pants were well fitting, matching his suit jacket perfectly with a fancy pair of cap-toe oxfords, a classic black belt, a golden watch, and a pair of black gloves that matched his own.

He wasn’t used to the niceties of this realm yet–the clothes were much more fashionable than at home. Everything was scraps and rags for most people and even the ‘finer’ clothes had nothing on the suits they were wearing.

“Shall we share some tea before we head off on our trip?” He questioned. Ilsa nodded and let him lead him over to the small table out in the center of the gazebo. The king paused and pulled his chair out for him, and Ilsa blushed a little as he sat down. This was nothing like he’d been expecting it to be. “I hope this is to your liking,” He said, nodding towards the tea pot.

“My Lord,” Sera said, appearing beside them suddenly. Ilsa jerked on instinct, his heart flying into his throat. Them just appearing out of nowhere is something he would never get used to. He was not used to people just popping up out of thin air, if someone did that in Caelestes they were definitely there to assassinate you. “I have the small cake you requested,” She said, bowing her head as she walked forward and sat the plate down on the table in front of him before she picked up the tea pot and poured the tea into his cup.

“Thank you, dear,” The king said. Sera bowed her head and stepped away before pulling a disappearing act again. “How did you sleep?” He asked courteously, picking up his tea cup and sipping from it with a smile.

“Fantastic, truthfully.” Ilsa said, looking away from him. He had slept better than he had in a millennia. “The beds here are wonderful.” He said, and took a sip of the tea, eyes widening a little bit as the flavor hit his tongue. It was fantastic, so flavorful and sweet with a hint of something… cinnamon-like.

“Are they? I’ve only lain on the beds here so I have nothing to base that off of.” King Cassian said, taking a larger drink of his drink.

“Yes, they are very nice. Isn’t it supposed to be morning, though?” Ilsa asked curiously, peeking between two of the pillars to look up into the dark sky. King Cassian nodded.

“We have two moons–a dark moon and a light moon. The light moon is our day, the dark moon is our night.” King Cassian said casually, setting his cup down on the table after he was finished with it, delicately enough that it didn’t even clink against the saucer beneath it.

“That’s interesting,” It was, but Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder how long his tan would last in a realm with no sunlight. “Where is our journey going to take us this morning, then?” Ilsa asked, and the king smiled a little.

“That is something for you to be surprised by, Ilsa.” The king said simply, smirking a little. Ilsa flushed and nodded. He wasn’t good with patience, he was used to being told everything as soon as he asked, and he was not familiar with experiencing ‘surprise’ after so many millennia. However, a quick once over of his surroundings left him surprised, so he supposed he should get used to it.

He couldn’t really help the giddy excitement if he tried–he was getting to go on a journey.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

After tea time, they immediately headed out for the carriage ride somewhere. Ilsa had been so excited, he couldn’t tear himself from the window once the large stone walls surrounding the castle were behind them. Trees, birds, bats, all kinds of life he’d never seen before. It was just trees for miles and miles, with so much life and beings–some of them were so strange and unfamiliar to him. He kept asking different questions, and King Cassian kept answering him with no hesitation, indulging his curiosity further.

The more he learned the more he wanted to learn. The more he wanted to study, read–he wanted to observe everything. Everything was so fantastical and beautiful, so interesting and new. It seemed almost out of a story book, with colors and brightness that left his eyes so pleased. It was so different from his home realm, so bright even without a sun. The sky was littered with clouds of dark blues and purples, with greens and pinks in certain places–it was magical, no doubt.

“Would you like to gather some supplies for you to journal?” King Cassian asked, and Ilsa hesitated for a moment. “It is alright, I do not mind taking a short pause at The Paper Trail to get you anything you’d like. It is a bookstore and houses all of the things needed to begin journaling.” He explained. Ilsa was suddenly interested. A bookstore and journaling? He couldn’t turn that down. He’d like to take account of all of the wildlife and plant life in the city, learn about it all and study it–he had eons to dedicate to it, after all.

“Is that really alright?” He didn’t want to be a bother. Surely the king would have much better things to do than escort him to a bookstore to purchase him journaling supplies, right?

“Of course, Gerald, please stop by The Paper Trail when we head through town.” King Cassian said, orchid purple eyes seeming to glow with amusement as Ilsa blushed. He felt so aware of King Cassian beside him, the slight chill of his body was somewhat relaxing. He’d spent so much of his life surrounded by heat, the chill was almost… welcome. However, the most notable thing that Ilsa had noticed was that his heart seemed to be keeping a new pace, a faster one whenever the man was around. He couldn’t help the strange and unfamiliar urge to be closer to him, and he’d be forever indebted to the gloves that prevented his skin brushing against the kings accidentally. Every time a spark shot through him it made him feel slightly… off center.

He was wholly confused by his body’s reactions to the man. Perhaps it was just him being hyper aware, however, because he knew eventually the man would touch him. He couldn’t really be certain, everything felt so new, perhaps he was just experiencing excitement for the first time in… well, probably ever.

“Ah yes, Ilsa come here and look–” King Cassian said, drawing his attention from the window he was looking out of towards the one on the other side of the carriage. Ilsa immediately tried to crane his neck to look out the window but he couldn’t really see what the king was showing him. “Come here, you’re shorter than me, aren’t you?” He asked, and Ilsa nodded a little, scooting closer to him.

He leaned over a little more and found himself practically in the king’s lap as he stared out in wonder. The road they were riding on was on the edge of a giant cliff, and it swirled around across a bridge he couldn’t see from the other side of the carriage, and atop the other side of the cliff where the bridge connected the two was a giant city. It was built along the banks, its uniqueness matched by the backdrop of the giant mountain behind it. The skyline was mostly empty, save for the high walls that surrounded the back of the mountains and around one edge of the city farthest away from them.

“It’s beautiful,” He said in awe, his eyes widening as they got closer and he became able to make out the labyrinth of rivers that flowed through the city–everything seemed built around the mountain, into it somehow–with streets and bridges to accommodate the system of rivers and allow it to flow freely. It was breathtakingly beautiful, all lit up by lanterns with faint blue lights and the moon which shone bright and faintly blue in the sky.

“I thought you might like it. Feel free to move, I can scoot over if you’d like to sit on the other side.” He offered, and Ilsa bit into his lip. That seemed inconvenient for him. Ilsa hesitated for a moment before he lifted himself up and sat down on his knees, careful to avoid putting himself directly in the man’s lap.

“Is this okay instead?” Ilsa asked, peeking back at him shyly. He nodded his head and passed him a smile–it was breathtaking and flawless, and sent a shock of heat through him that made him a little lightheaded. He sucked in a deep breath and focused on relaxing his heart rate–a benefit of sleeping magic was the additional teachings of meditation for relaxation. He could relax in every situation he’d come across–except his heats. He couldn’t focus enough to practice magic at all.

“That’s fine.” The king said with a smile, his glove-covered hands settling on his hips outside of the jacket. “I am going to hold you however, this cliff is notorious for rocks and twigs falling into the street. It’d be a pity for you to fly right out the window.” He said, and Ilsa nodded, his heart squeezing in his chest as he felt them. He could hardly breathe, he felt so hyper aware of the touch, every molecule in his body seemed to be alive beneath his skin, sparking and heating up. He was certain he’d never felt anything so exhilarating or terrifying at the same time.

“Okay,” Ilsa managed to get out around the lump in his throat. His attention was fully drawn to the king, though, now that he was in his lap. He could feel the coolness of his skin through their pants, and it was distracting in a totally new way to him.

✧❅✦❅✧

After stopping by ‘The Paper Trail’–possibly the cutest book and stationary store Ilsa had ever seen, they had continued on towards their final destination. Which was the edge of a giant mountain–the giant mountain that was behind the city. He was endlessly curious as the carriage pulled to a stop and the man steering stepped off and opened up the door to the carriage. Ilsa blushed and quickly pulled himself out of the king’s lap and took his offered hand, a slight bit embarrassed. As he stepped out he looked up at the mountain in awe. It was so densely packed with trees, so beautiful and full of life. He was enchanted.

“Are we going to hike? I feel improperly dressed,” Ilsa said, and King Cassian laughed a little as he stepped up to him.

“Hiking up this side of the mountain is impossible for anyone without vampire speed and agility.” Gerald offered politely, and Ilsa bit into his lip. Okay, so then why was he here? If he couldn’t hike didn’t that just mean they’d be sitting at the bottom of the mountain?

“I plan to blink you up.” The king said, smirking a little as he looked down at him. “It requires me to touch you, and for you to hold on to me. Is that okay with you?” He asked courteously. Ilsa nodded.

“What is blinking?” He asked curiously.

“I’ll show you.” He said, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Ilsa’s waist, his gloved hands settling onto the small of his back. Ilsa blushed a little and wrapped his arms around the king’s shoulders, unable to calm his racing heart because his mind wouldn’t slow down enough with the man in such close proximity. “I suggest closing your eyes,” He suggested, and Ilsa nodded breathlessly.

Ilsa squeezed his eyes shut and he felt the ground drop from beneath him. It felt– odd . Like he was being rearranged, almost. He couldn’t quite explain the sensation because he had never felt anything like it before. It wasn’t like walking through a portal, it was… different. And then the sensation left and the king was stepping away from him. Ilsa’s eyes shot open and he gasped, looking around.

It was amazing. They were standing on top of a waterfall–one that he hadn’t been able to see in the city or on the ride–it was hidden, a perfect circle carved as water flowed from a river that led farther up the mountain. It flowed over the edge of the circle and down into the abyss of the mountainside. He could hear the sound of the water rushing and hitting water below, but he couldn’t see further. “Here, let me help,” Cassian said, reaching out and grasping his hand. “This is a bit steep, if you need help up I’ll pull you.” He said as he stepped up onto a rock. It seemed almost like it was meant to be a bridge or something out to the center. Ilsa–with more help from the king than he liked to admit–got up onto the rock and carefully followed his steps across.

He peeked down through the hole and gasped. “How far down is it?” He asked, and the king shrugged a bit.

“Whenever I dove off into it, it took about twelve and a half seconds for me to hit the water.” The king explained. Ilsa’s eyes widened a bit.

“You dove off of this?” Ilsa asked in horror, “Into that hole? And fell to the bottom?” The king laughed a bit and nodded his head, acting as if he couldn’t have been killed. Well, Ilsa supposed he might not die from it–but that didn’t make it anymore ‘safe’ . What if he broke a bone, or landed straight on his face? That’d lead to–at the least–facial deformities!

“Don’t look so terrified, it’s a typical form of entertainment here. We are much less… breakable than humans, and most other magical races alike. There is a reason that we have survived this long and remain in power–we are simply not easy to damage, break, or kill.” The king explained, kneeling down at the end of the half-bridge and reaching his hand into the water.

“How does the water look so calm here?” Ilsa asked, and the king smiled up at him, pulling something up out of the water–a beautiful flower which had been floating on the top of the water that he hadn’t been able to see.

“This water is controlled by the elves’ magic, set here to symbolize the beginning of our alliance.” The king explained, smiling fondly. “This used to be a realm of only vampires–every set of races had its own realm, and we all stayed to ourselves. There was balance in the universe. And then a war was waged on the elven realm, Ittotsia, in which their numbers were drastically declining–or turning dark.” Ilsa felt a little nauseated because he knew of the exact war he was speaking of. His father had been the ring-leader behind it. “My father, the first vampire to be able to move from realm to realm, went and siphoned out the women and children, and any males that were willing to leave and brought them here as refugees. We offered them homes in our city, but they wanted the mountain to themselves.”

“That seems as though it could be troublesome,” Ilsa remarked and the king laughed again.

“On the contrary, the elves are one with nature, and we allowed them to take over the mountain and it flourished–surely you noticed the rivers that seemingly flow from nowhere? That’s the elves at work. They are imperative to the wellbeing of the city and the growth of our realm as a whole.” He said, and Ilsa’s eyes widened. He’d never… heard a king speak highly of his subjects like this. “Without them, the mountain would’ve never grown so dense and thick, we would’ve ran out of wood for homes and plant and wildlife would’ve died off slowly but surely as water did not flow so freely back in my fathers time.”

“Wow,” Ilsa said, unable to help being impressed by the king’s kindness. It was a definite change from what he was used to, but… he liked it. “What about the Witches Woods?” Ilsa asked curiously.

“Witches are yet another refugee we took in–a battle between Witches and Warlocks broke out in The Eternal Mirage–their realm.” The king explained. “The warlocks were heavily dominating the masses, and a group of twelve witches and their acolytes summoned the vampire king– me –after hearing of my fathers assistance in the war in Ittotsia. I welcomed them into the city just as my father had, but Witches wish to be with the elements and they requested some of the woods.” He explained.

“Why is there a stigma around them then? The vampires in your guard seemed displeased when I was found there.” Ilsa said. King Cassian shook his head and frowned.

“Some of the vampires here are not so keen on sharing the Kingdom of Darkness with Witches because of superstition. Vampires can be born or created,” He explained, pausing for a moment. “Most of the vampires here were born here–or vampires we rescued from the human world when we had a mishap about two hundred years ago when a crazed vampire managed to get one of the witches in Witches Woods to open a portal for him.” He explained, shame written across his face.

“What happened?” Ilsa asked, unable to help himself.

“The vampire went through the portal to the human world, and went on a rampage, slaughtered hundreds and turned many more. We ended up bringing them all here so that they wouldn’t be targeted by hunters and exterminated the crazed vampire.” He sounded oddly uncomfortable, so Ilsa decided to change the topic.

“This place is beautiful.” Ilsa said, sitting down on the stone and hanging his feet off of the edge, leaning over to feel the crystalline blue water kiss the skin of his hand. “Thank you for bringing me.” He said, chancing a glance back over his shoulder.

“It was a pleasure, you are the most delightful person to be around,” The king said with a kind smile and Ilsa fought back a tremble. He wanted to be so much closer to him in that moment, he wanted to feel his hand on his lower back again, feel the chill of his body creeping into him. He couldn’t though, he barely knew him, so he kept the slight space between them and focused on keeping his heart steady instead.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＨＲＥＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa spent the next couple of days reading literature and working on his new journal–he had it separated into plant life, animal life and insect life. There were so many new things for him to learn and explore. The king had met him for tea each day, and he’d spent time with him each evening after he finished working. Ilsa didn’t really know what all he had to do, however he couldn’t help but notice that he was busier than usual. That was evident when he had hurriedly explained he’d be missing tea time because of an emergency. He hadn’t gone too into detail about it, but Ilsa could tell it was worrying him.

Ilsa couldn’t help but be worried that it might be his father–and so that led him to wandering out of the library and walking forward through the hallway, peeking around for life of… some kind. He just wanted to make sure everything was okay… and that he wasn’t what was causing the problem. He ventured through the maze of walls, trying to figure out where someone might be. When he happened upon a door.

It was the same kind of door as the king’s chamber room door, so he knocked on it softly. When he heard King Cassian’s voice coming through the door, he carefully peeked inside. The king didn’t even look up from his paperwork.

“Ilsa, darling, you can come in,” The king said, and Ilsa flushed a little and walked inside. “I apologize, I know I was supposed to dedicate today to taking you around the grounds but something pressing happened to fall onto my desk,” He said, sounding genuinely apologetic. Ilsa was not used to that.

“I wasn’t bothered, I was worried–Did something happen?” He asked. The king paused and lifted his head a little, hesitating for a moment before he motioned for him to sit down. Ilsa nodded and sat down in the chair across from him, blushing under the attention a little too much.

“It was just one problematic warlock trying to get past the witches’ wards. It’s all settled now, the guards caught him and he’s been sent back to his realm.” The king said after a moment, before he looked back down at the paper in front of him, his hand elegantly moving across the page accompanied by the sound of the nib of the pen scratching against the paper.

“Why did he come here?” Ilsa asked, trying to keep from sounding too interested. He didn’t know if it was the same warlock that’d sent him off, but it did seem a bit coincidental.

“He was just madly rambling about finding something he’d misplaced. Everything is fine, dear, don’t worry.” Ilsa bit his lip and nodded, worry filling him briefly. The warlock he’d met with hadn’t given him anything so he couldn’t have been looking for him. He’d not misplaced anything, so there was no reason for him to worry. Unless he was the ‘something’ that he had misplaced, but even so it’d have been more efficient to have simply asked about new travelers to the area if that were the case.

“I won’t,” Ilsa promised, shifting in his seat a bit and taking a shuddery breath. He hesitated for a moment, unsure what to do. He had only really come to make sure everything was fine and that his father wasn’t screaming and kicking up a fuss but now that he was with him, he really didn’t want to leave yet. He couldn’t really explain it, but he wanted to be around him for some reason. He couldn’t explain the urge, he’d lived in seclusion forever, why was it suddenly bothering him? “D-Do you need any help with anything?” Ilsa asked shyly, looking down at his folded hands.

“Do you know how to use a stamp?” The king asked after a moment of silence. Ilsa nodded his head, raising an eyebrow. “Well, if you just want something to do I have some paperwork that needs to be stamped,” Ilsa nodded, much too eager to do someone else’s paperwork. The king stood up and stepped away, going over to a wooden file cabinet and pulled out a folder that was… thick . It looked like it hadn’t been stamped in months. Though he was a bit dizzy by the amount of papers in the folder, he accepted it and pulled the chair closer to the other side of his desk. The king took his seat and then opened another drawer and pulled out a stamp and an ink-pad and sat it down.

“What do I do exactly?” Ilsa asked, and he smiled a little bit as he sat down with his pen in front of him. “S-Sorry, I don’t mean to–”

“You aren’t interrupting me, and I’m not bothered. You’ve nothing to apologize for. All you really have to do is flip through the packets and stamp everything that’s highlighted.” He explained with a kind smile. Ilsa’s heart sped up and he bit into his lip, took the stamp in his hand and pushed it into the ink-pad before leaving it to flip through the first packet. He easily found the highlighted sections and marked them with his fingers, stamping each page. They all had dates on them, but they meant nothing to him–they weren’t the same three months that they had in Caelestes.

He couldn’t even be sure that there were only three months on their calendar because he had never seen it. He knew some places had more months in their calendar years–many more than Caelestes.

He couldn’t really be sure how long he sat there in a comfortable silence with the king, just stamping the king’s signature onto the bottom of documents that he didn’t bother reading. He felt oddly comforted by the man’s presence. He couldn’t figure out why. It didn’t make sense. But it felt nice to sit with him, even doing something as boring as stamping paperwork.

“You’re rather intriguing to me, Ilsa.” The king said. Ilsa looked up and blushed brightly. They’d been just sitting in silence for a lengthy amount of time, and his talking caught Ilsa off guard–but also the king’s swirling orchid eyes were roaming over him in a way that made his skin heat up. Ilsa paused, his hand stilling with the stamp on the page for a moment before he quickly pulled it up and sighed. It left behind just a small blot, hopefully it wasn’t too much.

Ilsa swallowed, his mouth gone dry under the attention as he reached up and ran one of his hands over his neck nervously. “I’m really not that interesting,” Ilsa said, biting into his lip. He felt so shy under his full attention. He wasn’t being dishonest–he really had spent his entire life being locked away with nothing but books and studying to take up his time.

“Funny,” The king mused absently, his hand still moving perfectly across the paper as those orchid eyes seemed to be peering into him, taking him apart. “Uninteresting people don’t generally have to say they aren’t interesting,” The words were teasing, and Ilsa’s heart sped up in his chest, unsure what to call the feeling forming inside of him. His mind felt foggy, why did this conversation feel so intimate? King Cassian was all the way on the other side of the desk, sitting with an unaffected expression on his face. He was composed at all times, with a self-restraint that Ilsa thought he’d mastered years ago… but he felt as if he’d never had any to begin with.

The gaze the king pinned him with made his heart skip a beat–it was somewhere between appreciation, curiosity, and desire. Ilsa swallowed again, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his gloved thumb and forefinger–a nervous habit he’d developed sometime over the past century and a half. The look in the king’s eyes was intense , staring deeply into his very being. It felt as if he were being taken apart from just the feeling of his eyes ghosting into him as if he were somehow meant to be there. He wasn’t, so why was he?

Why did this vampire affect him this way? How was he slipping into his head? Why did it feel as if he had crawled under his skin and made it impossible to ignore him? Why after all of these years of loneliness and disappointment, did he suddenly feel as if it was justifiable to have hope for something more? Ilsa was unsettled because he didn’t want to get his hopes up again and be disappointed. The king put him in a place where he wasn’t sure of himself, he couldn’t even pinpoint exactly why. The most infuriating part of all was that he didn’t know why the king made him feel the way he was feeling. He didn’t even have a true name for the feelings he had, and had never experienced them a single time in all of his life.

The feeling was a fond familiarity, a sense of belonging, almost but not quite. He wanted to be around him, he wanted to learn about him and with him. He wanted to listen to him talk because he had the smoothest, softest voice that somehow always managed to sound as soft and murmurous as wings fluttering in the breeze. It was also the way he smelled, somewhat like blackcurrant, apple, pineapple, and bergamot, while the heart of the scent drives home the fragrance of patchouli, juniper berries, jasmine, and birch. At the bottom of the smell, he could detect hints of oakmoss, musk, vanilla, and ambergris. It was really a combination of things–and small things the man did made it worse.

Like when he offered him his hand when walking up stairs, or making detours to stop and buy him journaling supplies, or making time for him even if it was inconvenient. There were also things he couldn’t really help, like when he smiled at him and his breath caught or when he’d offer him laughs and information about anything he asked for without question or hesitation.

“What are you trying so hard to hide?” The king murmured softly, almost as if he hadn’t even realized the words had slipped between his lips. He looked completely lost in thought, but even still his hand never stopped writing. Ilsa flushed and lowered his eyes, beginning to stamp the papers again. He didn’t respond, he didn’t really know how to. He was hiding many things–where he was from, what his race was, and many other things buried deep within the labyrinth of his mind, many secrets he’d hide forever. Some were his, and others were not, but it didn’t matter because they were shared with him. He had many, many things he wouldn’t talk about with anyone… and yet there was something about the king that made him want to spill his guts.

The king seemed to be an anomaly, someone who’d managed to slip past his walls and into his mind and alter things. Ilsa had plenty of uncomfortable conversations–some similar to this and it’d never affected him. He’d never gotten flustered before under someone’s gaze–not like this . It was unsettling, but he found himself somewhat liking it. The king fell silent again, working on the paperwork in front of him with his pen scratching against the paper.

It felt comfortable and relaxed, as if nothing had been said at all. The only indication that the king was still lost in thought was the man’s orchid purple eyes pinning him with looks occasionally that made his insides feel electric and alive.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Ilsa was suddenly called for tea time by Helix and Felix, he was confused. He’d already had tea time with King Cassian, so he shouldn’t be having it a second time, correct? Still, he stood up off of the soft sofa he was lounging on in the giant library in the castle and let them lead him away. He had been so right to demand access to it–it was huge, with books from realms that Ilsa had never even heard of! It was fantastic and exciting, he fully planned to study each and every realm’s available information.

“Who am I having tea time with now?” Ilsa asked, and Felix and Helix shared a look between them before turning around and stopping in front of him. His heart jumped in his chest as their strangely colored eyes narrowed in on him. “I wasn’t trying to be rude!” He jumped, but Helix and Felix raised their fingers to their lips and then reached their hand out and placed them on either side of his head.

His majesty’s friend, Prince Naevys Greris

wishes to share a cup of tea with you. What the hell? What the hell is going on? Relax, do not panic, your heart rate will spike and alert the guards. Felix’s voice was echoing through his head, and it was uncanny and unsettling given that he could see the man’s mouth and it was not moving.

The king has lied to him about your relationship and it is up to you to come up with a believable story to tell him. Leave the dates alone–you’ll never find a day Naevys will not try to fluster you with. He will try to manipulate you into telling him the truth. Do not do it. He is not to be trusted as far as he could be thrown, and I have my suspicions he’s so dense he would fall directly to the ground. Ilsa nodded, biting into his lip. He would take the advice, even if he was confused as hell on the delivery. Could all vampires do such strange things? Perhaps he should focus on studying the vampires before he started studying the realm itself.

Helix and Felix were walking in front of him before he even had a chance to realize they’d moved away from him and he had to walk a little faster to keep up with them. When he reached the ‘tea room’ he was ushered inside and he wasn’t even given time to understand that the castle had a ‘tea room’ as well as the garden area. Interesting.

His eyes immediately caught sight of Naevys and his heart caught in his throat. Fuck . He was beautiful, but terrifying. His black hair was cut short, neatly coiffed around his pointed tipped ears, revealing his heart shaped face and perfectly plump lips. His eyes were black, solid black, but even so he was immeasurably attractive. His only imperfection were scars stretching from the bottom of his left cheek and towards the right side of his lips. He was dressed much more casually than King Cassian dressed, a plain black shirt that was left unbuttoned around the neck. On top of the shirt he was wearing a light grey vest with a high v-line, seven little white gemstones acting as the buttons of it, with a floral brooch pin on it. He looked, even with the scars, much more beautiful than Ilsa had ever looked.

“Well hello, I assume you would be Ilsa, yes?” Naevys asked, his voice sounding almost as gentle and intricate as water rushing down a rocky mountainside. It was eerily soothing, and Ilsa didn’t like it. He walked forward and took his seat in front of Naevys, putting his hand on his coffee cup.

“And you must be Naevys, it’s wonderful to meet you.” One of the king’s lovers would obviously know his best friend’s name; it seemed smart to start with something that’d lower the man’s guard. “Cassian has told me much about your friendship, I’m delighted to have finally gotten to meet the man he speaks so fondly of.” He couldn’t say too much, though. If he did he’d back himself into a wall.

“I am Naevys. I am of the High Elven Royal family,” He said, and Ilsa nodded, smiling. “Are you Royalty yourself?” He asked rather vaguely, and Ilsa didn’t waver as he shook his head. Lying to King Cassian was difficult, this man meant nothing to him however. He obviously wasn’t as good of a friend as he felt he was because the king didn’t tell him of their arrangement. “That’s a pity, you’re quite pretty aren’t you?” Ilsa flushed and lowered his eyes.

“I’m not,” Ilsa denied, and the man–elf, he didn’t know if they even used gender roles in this particular group of Elf-people. Some Elven societies did and some did not–they had more lee-way with their appearance as none of them have masculine or feminine qualities. The only determining factor is genitalia, and it’s often hard to tell one from the other unless they actively tried to show it. Naevys seemed to, but even so, he didn’t want to assume.

“Don’t be so modest, modesty isn’t attractive to me.” Ilsa fought back the urge to scowl. Did it seem as though he cared what was attractive to him? If he did, he hadn’t meant for it to. “What I’m interested to know is when you met Cassian. How you met. What you did together when you were together and how long you’ve been seeing him.”

“That’s a lot of questions at one time that aren’t really phrased as questions.” Ilsa said, crossing his arms over his chest. “We met around a year ago, he was visiting my realm and he offered to pay for a journal for me.” It seemed open-ended enough, to him. And the first thing he had bought him was a journal and journaling supplies so it wasn’t entirely dishonest, either. “We spent evenings in my cottage and talked, spent time together…” Ilsa blushed at his own implications.

“I see.” Naevys said, and he paused before turning his unsettling black eyes straight into Ilsa’s. “You must lie better when you meet with the old Queen in a few weeks, she has a very keen eye for dishonesty.” He said calmly, and Ilsa raised an eyebrow. “Vampires cannot be out in the sunlight. You are tanned. If you wish to make a story work, you must use the little details to support and corroborate your story.” He suggested.

“You’re… critiquing me on my lying abilities?” He asked.

“Of course. It is in my best interest that this relationship works out. If the old wench sniffs out a lie from you, my plans will fall apart.” Naevys said, waving his hand. “Say you met him while traveling to Epiria. Epiria is the realm of Fae, and the king has business there frequently.” Naevys said. “It is the only realm other than our own that has two moon cycles instead of a sun and moon cycle.”

“I don’t see…”

“Ilsa Caoimhe Solsissothoz of Caelestes, the third prince of Caelestes. You were from a rather hot realm, your jacket gives you away. It is much cooler here, isn’t it?” Ilsa was speechless, what the hell was he supposed to say? “I must admit, Caelestes Royalty definitely have their gems, yes? However, a pretty face and feminine physique will get you nowhere with the old queen. You must sell yourself to her, as though you’ve been absolutely enamored with the king for decades. A year will not be accepted, as the king is immortal. A year is basically a day and a half.”

“B-But…” Ilsa couldn’t find words.

“Your little secret is safe with me so do not fret. Everything is as it should be. As long as things continue on this path, the outcome will be satisfactory.” For you , Ilsa thought bitterly, now he had the added worry of this man outing his secret to King Cassian. He couldn’t trust someone who beat around the bush… but what other choice did he have? Helix and Felix had warned him of this but… it seemed genuine.

“ Naevys ,“ King Cassian said, making Ilsa jump out of his skin. “If you intend to keep secrets, perhaps it’s best to do so in a castle with less echo.” He said, scowling a little. “Though you do know that my hearing is incredibly enhanced so I heard you the moment you spoke your first words above a whisper.” Does that mean that the king know knew his little secret? That he was from Caelestes? Was he fixing to be kicked out of the kings castle? He wouldn’t blame him, given his home realm was obviously one that’d caused a fair bit a trouble for this realm and he really hadn’t been honest with the king. But… he really loved being there.

“I knew you’d come break up the fun eventually, you’ve always been a stick in the mud, old man.” Naevys said with a fond smile, waving his hand a bit idly. “I knew of your plan before you did, I just wanted to see how well it’d play out if I didn’t get involved, and now I know.”

“How like you to go underneath my nose to do something,” Cassian said, scowl deepening. “You are a nuisance and a pest, why are we friends again?”

“Because I’ve never steered you incorrectly.” Naevys said smugly, and Cassian’s scowl softened.

“You have a point there. But do show the royal bride more courteous and kind behavior than this going forward.” Naevys laughed and waved his hand with a smile. “Friend or not, I will not stand for you disrespecting him. Ilsa will be the queen. He deserves respect.” King Cassian said, putting his hand on Ilsa’s shoulder, giving him a soft look. “Would you care for me to join you, Ilsa?”

“Yes, please,” Ilsa said softly, and the king nodded his head.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa was having a hard time sleeping. King Cassian hadn’t questioned him at all about Naevys’s revelation about where he was from. Was he still honoring the vocal agreement they had with no questions asked? That felt so odd, and he couldn’t get any peace about it. He wanted to talk to him, but what exactly could he say? What could he do? He’d never planned on telling the man anything about the where he came from but now that he already knew not talking to him about it felt even more dishonest. Ilsa sighed and shifted on the bed and looked out the window. Everything was always so beautiful in this realm, so mystifying and interesting.

The sound of the king’s chamber room door sliding open caught Ilsa attention and he glanced back over his shoulder. “Good evening,” Ilsa said, unable to help the smile that came from seeing the king. He felt so unimaginably happy to see him, it made him wonder why but he couldn’t really be sure. All he knew was, he really liked being around him.

He was kind and thoughtful, with a gentle nature about him. It was kind of mind boggling to him. He couldn’t really get used to the differences between King Cassian’s personality–hell, all of the personalities of the people he was around now. They all are kind, they all have such different approaches to life and interactions.

“I didn’t expect you to still be up, Ilsa, are you having trouble sleeping?” The king asked, worry crossing his face. Ilsa shook his head, rolled over onto his back and sat up, crossing his legs in front of him. The king walked forward while working his belt open and sighed tiredly, sitting down on the bed. “I finally finished approving all of the requests from the local businesses.”

“That seems tedious, shouldn’t you have someone to do it for you?” Ilsa asked, and King Cassian laughed a little as he worked his tie with his fingers for a moment before he stopped and rubbed his eyes a little. He looks exhausted , Ilsa thought a little worriedly. Without even thinking about it he moved across the bed and started working the knot of his carefully, blushing brightly while lowering his eyes.

“Perhaps it would be easier, however it is my duty as king. I fund most of the expansions on the local businesses, and if I had someone else do it, the whole thing could get messy.” The king explained, leaning his head back as Ilsa pulled his tie off of him.

“M-May I…?” He asked, putting his fingers on the top button of his shirt. King Cassian nodded and Ilsa set to work on the buttons carefully as the king pulled his shirt out of the waistband of his pants for him. Ilsa blushed and worked the buttons open slowly. “I can help you with it if you’d like.” Ilsa offered, biting his lip.

“Aren’t you just a dear,” Cassian purred, reaching forward and cupping the back of Ilsa’s head gently. Ilsa couldn’t fight the slight shiver that raced his spine at the touch, but he was surprised at how much he liked the way it felt. “You’re free to do as you please. If you wish to help with my work I’ll give you work to do.” He said, and Ilsa smiled and nodded.

“Hard as you work, I have never heard you complain—about anything.” Ilsa said, and Cassian tilted his head to the side a bit with a smile. “I just think you might be overworking yourself and even if you’re immortal you still need rest and time to decompress.” Ilsa said softly, and Cassian hummed quietly, his cool fingertips gently rubbing circles on the back of his neck. Ilsa bit his lip and trembled, heat racing through him suddenly.

“You are so beautiful,” Cassian said softly, and Ilsa flushed and lowered his eyes away from those enchanting orchid eyes. Ilsa’s heart stuttered in his chest and he bit his lip.

“Would you like me to help you sleep?” Ilsa offered, flushing a little.

“Can you?” Cassian asked, and Ilsa nodded. “Sure, then.”

“Okay,” Ilsa pulled away from him and sat cross legged on the bed in the center by the headboard of the bed propped against some pillows. “Take off your pants and lay your head in my lap.” Ilsa said as he put a pillow into his lap. The king nodded and stood up, undoing the fastenings of his pants before slipping out of them along with his shirt, and put them in a chair beside the bed. He then crawled onto the bed and laid on his back with his head resting on the pillow on Ilsa’s crossed legs. Ilsa reached forward and put his pointer and middle fingers on the king’s temples and shut his eyes, focusing.

He focused on the connection between his fingers and the king’s temples as he gently massaged them in circles. He reached inside of himself and tapped into his magic, feeling his fingertips beginning to tingle as he concentrated the stream of it straight into Cassian’s brain. He kept the stream open, pouring the most relaxing feeling that he could muster into him. “Wow,” It was soft and sleepy, falling off of Cassian’s lips just before Ilsa felt him fall asleep through the connection.

Ilsa waited a few minutes before he closed the direct connection to his brain and moved one of his hands down to rest on Cassian’s shoulder and let his energy seep through there instead, resting himself back against the pillows and closing his eyes. He was pretty tired too, and moving his hands meant that he could send less concentrated bursts of sleep magic through him. He would be able to wake up regardless of the bursts, but if he kept the sleep magic directly on his brain he’d sleep until Ilsa removed his fingers and the magic wore off which, depending on how much he concentrated into the person, could take hours. The dose he gave him would allow him to instantly fall into a deep sleep, and the bursts would help keep him asleep until his body feels rested.

Ilsa couldn’t help but smile a little as Cassian sighed softly in his lap, sleeping soundly. At least I can make use of my abilities here, Ilsa thought as he brought his free hand up to comb through the king’s hair gently. It’s so soft , he bit his lip before he stopped and rested his head on a pillow and let out a sigh of his own. It felt so nice to be close to someone like this. He couldn’t help but feel excited, even if he still was curious about why the king hadn’t questioned him at all.

Truthfully, he didn’t belong there and he knew that–but it felt like he did.

𓊈𒆜 ＦФＵＲ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

 

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

Walking down the stone sidewalk of Ilyenasera, the main city in Tenebris Regni, was brand new and exciting. Cassian had woken up after Ilsa helped him sleep and suggested that they have Gerald take them to town, and he was more than just a little enthusiastic about it. The moonlight lit up the city beautifully, the sparkling blue water that flowed in little streams and pooled throughout the city along the edges of the streets. The streets were full of carriages and people walking around–Elves stood out the most because their eyes were all black, their ears were pointed, and they wore their hair in a way that displayed them proudly. Vampires also stood out a fair bit–they had bright colorful hair and strange eyes. It seemed, however, that the royals and the royal guards were the ones with the most interesting colors. The normal vampires had normal colors–red, blue, green, yellow, pink, purple–but it seemed like the more unique the color and variations the more unique the abilities were.

Sera had the ability to see compatibility, and he supposed she was somewhat like a succubus–she had the ability to ‘persuade’ men into trusting her. It was interesting, and he’d wondered immediately how Cassian managed to contain that ability. He didn’t want to pry, though, or come across as rude and distrustful. In Caelestes, abilities like that were deemed ‘unsafe’ and thus, the users of those abilities were always imprisoned or kept very far away from the royal family. Helix and Felix had an interesting ability. Helix could read thoughts and Felix could manipulate thoughts–and when combined they could straight up communicate through telepathy. It seemed as though Felix and Helix talked to each other that way often. They were nearly always together. It was interesting.

He was curious about Cassian’s strength–he said he had multiple abilities and Ilsa couldn’t help but be curious about it. How could one person manage so many abilities? Did he just ‘know’ how to use the abilities right out of the gate or did it take work? If so, how much work? And if it didn’t, how did he just know how to use them? It had taken Ilsa years to learn the magic he was allowed to learn from his tutors, so the idea of someone just knowing how to do something was foreign to him.

Cassian was gentle and admirable as a leader in Ilsa’s eyes. He valued the businesses in the main city and the residents as well. It was different to see a king he didn’t think was undeserving of his title. His words were polite and warm, but the power that emanated around him made Ilsa’s knees weak. His beautiful orchid eyes were somehow intimidating, swirling and beautiful. He had a very strong presence, dominating in a way. There was something about the cool sophistication he carried himself with that made Ilsa feel odd .

That seemed like the right word for his reactions to Cassian. Odd. It wasn’t normal for him to feel flustered, for him to feel his heart lurch in his chest when he met someone’s eyes, or to have to try not to shiver when someone speaks to him. He wasn’t the type that typically entertained thoughts of lust… but everything that Cassian did made his insides coil up in a knot and his cheeks flush.

Cassian was walking beside him with his arms behind his back, excellent posture, with his eyes scanning over the shops and businesses as they walked by. People passing by looked at Cassian, so many different looks–interest, appreciation, admiration, lust … Ilsa was surprised by the shock of jealousy that shot through him when he saw the looks of lust on peoples faces. He flushed a little and stepped a bit closer to Cassian. Cassian glanced down at him and smiled, it was brilliant, beautiful, and it made his heart thump in his chest uncomfortably. Cassian wrapped one of his gloved hands around Ilsa’s gloved hands. Ilsa bit his lip and blushed more, holding onto his hand tightly.

Ilsa knew that Cassian was attractive, it wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed it–he definitely had. He just tried to force the thoughts away, because he didn’t really understand why he felt so attracted to him. It was just easier not to think about it. It wasn’t until they stopped in front of a little shop, a business called Beautiful Salvage–an antique tableware shop from what he could tell by peeking in the window. The ding of a bell sounded as Cassian pulled open the door and Ilsa noticed Cassian’s ears twitch a little in annoyance. I don’t mind not having that issue , Ilsa thought to himself as he followed behind him.

He was right, it was an antique tableware shop. Plates, tea sets, dish sets… and Ilsa couldn’t help but admit that it was a little cute. “I would like to see this please,” Cassian murmured softly, the low, husky tone in his voice made Ilsa stiffen a little from where he stood just behind him. Whatever he was looking at, Ilsa could not see, but the hum of appreciation made him undeniably curious. He stepped forward and peeked around Cassian’s body to catch sight of a small little teacup with a matching plate. It looked so delicate he would honestly be afraid to use it.

“How intricately painted,” Cassian murmured, his eyes roaming over the teacup carefully. “Perfect gradient, no visible brush strokes…” Ilsa looked up at Cassian and found himself utterly lost in the look of appreciation in his eyes. Perfect, Ilsa mused as his eyes roamed over Cassian’s face, a fond smile creeping across his own face. Cassian glanced over at him and for one chance moment their eyes met and Cassian smiled at him softly, warmth in his gaze. Ilsa couldn’t help but smile back, his heart skipping a beat. “Do you like it?” Cassian asked.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful,” Ilsa’s breath hitched as he looked over it. It truly was. It was black and shiny, thin as a piece of parchment Ilsa would guess, with light orchid flowers painted onto it with thin little vines intricately painted in swirling tendrils around the center of the cup. It was beautiful and delicate. But Ilsa was more caught up in Cassian , somehow. The look in his eyes made something inside of him long to be looked at the same way

“I’ll get the set then,” Cassian said with a smile. “In honor of our upcoming nuptials.” He said with a kind smile. Ilsa nodded and returned the smile. As Cassian settled up with the shopkeeper, Ilsa found himself standing behind him holding his hand as if he were a child. He felt… ridiculous, but oddly warm . When Cassian finished with the shopkeeper–a cute elf girl with a long loose braid that hung down behind the counter and loose hairs hanging around her pretty face–Cassian led him out of the shop with a wooden box with two perfect teacups carefully wrapped in a soft and thick purple fabric to keep them all from shattering in his hand.

It was silent, and Ilsa couldn’t help but glance up at Cassian as he walked, a blush spreading across his face. He quickly glanced away and looked over the crowds of people lulling about at restaurants, businesses, and taverns–it was bright and happy and exciting. Just how he had always wished for the world around him to be.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa suddenly found himself being fitted for a suit–a very nice white suit that absolutely did not belong on a being with no innocence to speak of, but he digressed. It was an image thing, he understood that. It was just funny to him, honestly. He definitely wasn’t the one deserving of a white suit when Cassian existed.

The shirt was light pink, and the carefully tied bow tie he was wearing was black. The shirt was paired with a white vest with seven buttons–they looked like diamonds. The jacket was white with black lace on the back with a corset lacing down the back that seemed to only be for aesthetic affect rather than any sort of use, and it had a tail that fell down at a point behind him. The pants matched perfectly, with the same lace and corset lacing down one side of his pants legs. The ribbon used to lace it was light pink, matching his shirt, and the belt he was wearing was black like his bow tie.

It looked really nice in contrast to his tanned skin but his black hair seemed a little too plain in comparison to Helix and Felix’s hair. He was acutely aware how genuinely human his human form looked. It wasn’t much different from his demon form honestly, so it wasn’t that much of a change–he was a royal, and thus he was a descendant from the original ‘fallen’ celestials who’d been kicked from the Caelestia Regna at the beginning of Caelestes itself.

“You look fantastic,” Cassian said, and Ilsa jumped, his heart jolting in his chest. He would never get used to these vampires appearing out of thin air. It was not normal and it was startling, but he supposed he’d have to learn to deal with it. “Sorry for frightening you.” He said, and Ilsa shook his head.

“No, it’s okay, I just have to adjust to people appearing behind me.” Ilsa said softly as Cassian walked forward and stood behind him in the mirror. Cassian put his hand on Ilsa’s hip gently and smiled at him in the mirror.

“I’ll try to be mindful of it, still.” Cassian said. Ilsa nodded and flushed, looking away from him. He felt so shy in his presence. It felt like he was going to be driven insane. He wanted to lean into him too much, he wanted to feel his hands on his skin instead of just through the clothes he was wearing. His recent fascination seemed to be with Cassian’s fangs. Whenever he caught sight of them he trembled a little and heat raced through his body.

“How gentlemanly,” Ilsa teased, as he looked back over his shoulder to meet those swirling orchid eyes he’d come to love. “You probably shouldn’t be seeing me now, though. Isn’t it bad luck?”

“I’m not superstitious.” Cassian said with a teasing smirk, reaching his hand up to brush at Ilsa’s bangs. Ilsa’s breath caught in his throat and he took a shuddery breath.

“Me either,” Ilsa murmured breathlessly, and Cassian smiled a little.

“Helix, Felix, please give us a moment,” Cassian said sternly. Helix and Felix stopped working on altering the suit and nodded, stepping back and tipping their heads.

“Yes, My Lord,” They said in unison and then disappeared without another word. Ilsa turned around to face Cassian and flushed, looking down at the floor in front of him.

“Is there something the matter?” Ilsa asked curiously, and Cassian shook his head.

“I just wanted to talk to you about the wedding… and what’ll happen after the wedding so that we are on the same page. Please know if you’re not comfortable with something you can say so.” Cassian said, and Ilsa nodded. He felt like he knew what was coming. He’d done research on vampire wedding traditions thanks to the royal library and ‘mating’ came up very frequently. He’d already come to the conclusion it’d probably be asked of him and he was marrying the guy, so mating didn’t seem like too much of a jump.

“I understand,” Ilsa said after a moment, realizing that Cassian was going to wait to continue until he verbally agreed with him. He had no qualms about voicing concerns, he wasn’t going to roll over and accept just any treatment regardless of the fact that he was essentially status-free here.

“Good. First things first, my mother will not be in attendance. She is rather displeased with me for making such a big change at the last moment, but she’ll get over it.” Cassian said, and Ilsa nodded. That was honestly relieving. He was not ready to face Mama Cassian (that was not her name, but he couldn’t really figure out what her name was) and he definitely did not have a good enough story to fool her. “Second, there is the mating ceremony that typically happens after a marriage.” Ilsa nodded.

“Yes, I read about it.” He said softly, looking away from him nervously. “Did you not want to do that?” He didn’t really understand why his heart felt kind of empty at the thought. It wasn’t logical–they weren’t in love so why would he want to mate with him?

“That isn’t it.” Cassian said vaguely, sitting down on the bed and patting the bed beside him. Ilsa walked over and carefully sat down, taking care not to accidentally get anything on the white clothes. “I just want to go over the mating ceremony and see if you’re actually okay with it or not.”

“Okay,” Ilsa said softly, peeking up at him shyly.

“Mating will bond us together. There’ll be many different benefits to this–you’ll be able to reach out to me from anywhere through our mating bond, we’ll be able to tell when one or the other is in acute distress–but, there are also downsides.” Cassian said, and Ilsa nodded his head in understanding. There’s downsides to everything, he knew this would be no different. “It could impact your heat.” Cassian said.

“I know, it makes sense. Mating is a part of being an omega as well.” Ilsa said, and Cassian nodded his head.

“In order for us to mate I have to drink your blood–and you have to drink mine.” Cassian said, hesitating. “Usually vampires only mate with each other, so it’s not usually a problem but if that isn’t something you’re comfortable with…”

“Well, I’m not going to lie to you and tell you I’m drooling at the thought,” Ilsa said, biting into his lip and looking down. “It’s only one time though.”

“That is true,” Cassian said with a soft smile. “We’ll also be somewhat inseparable for a while.” Cassian said, and Ilsa nodded. He knew that–all mates were like that. Every mate is impacted by distance at first–it’s just a part of the process. The bond is brand new–‘weak’ so to speak, and the inseparable period is meant to help with emotional bonding. It is helpful to the couple in the long run, though it is inconvenient. “If we mate we’ll also have to sleep together. It’s a part of the ritual.” Cassian explained. Another thing he knew, but he appreciated the heads up regardless. “Which position do you prefer?”

“I-I never considered anything other than bottoming.” Ilsa admitted softly. That was mainly because of him being an omega. He didn’t have any experience with sex, but there was one thing he knew instinctively. He was below–that was honestly how he wanted it in the bedroom. Especially when he was in heat. All he could think about was being full, he just wanted to be bred when he was in heat. Which was kind of the point. A shock of arousal shot through him and Ilsa whimpered and blushed, looking away from Cassian.

“Alright,” Cassian said with a smile. “I just want to make sure we’re on the same page so there’s no need to look so embarrassed. There’s nothing you have to be embarrassed about.” Cassian said comfortingly, reaching out to put his hand on Ilsa’s cheek. Ilsa let out a stuttered breath and nuzzled into his hand with a soft sigh. “There’s one more thing. When vampires bite, they have venom. This venom won’t hurt you–it’ll likely feel very good. It will numb the area of the bite from pain, and it’ll send a rush of dopamine, serotonin, endorphins and oxytocin through you. These are the four ‘happy’ chemicals the brain releases–” Ilsa nodded.

“Can you bite me now?” Ilsa asked curiously. Cassian’s eyes widened a little. “I just… Well, considering the next time you’ll do it we’ll be in the middle of intercourse. We should at least… test it out?” The truth was, he’d known nothing about the venom but he was fascinated with it. He was naturally inquisitive, and this sounded too interesting not to want to try it.

“What if it sends you into heat? That is why I’ve not mentioned anything ahead of time. It’s possible that the influx of hormones could trigger it.” Ilsa bit his lip.

“If that were to happen, I trust you to take care of me.” Ilsa murmured shyly, glancing down at the floor. He’d never felt so shy before. Cassian put his hand on his lower back and gripped his chin gently, nudging it up so that they were staring into each other’s eyes. Ilsa trembled a little, heat flooding through him.

“I will take care of you, for every moment of eternity, Ilsa. I can’t really explain how much you marrying me truly means to me. You are saving me from a lifetime of unhappiness and discontentment. I can never repay you for the sacrifice you are making.” Cassian said softly. Ilsa’s heart sped up in his chest and, in a moment of thoughtlessness he leaned up and connected their lips. Cassian paused for a moment, seemingly surprised, before his lips started moving against his. They were cool, slightly off temperature but it had Ilsa’s heart speeding up as he pushed closer to him. Cassian’s hand landed on the small of his back, holding their bodies against each other. Passion flowed between them, heat surrounding them, and Ilsa found himself foggy headed–much more foggy headed than he’d thought he’d be.

He didn’t pull away until his lungs started burning from the lack of oxygen, Cassian seemed to not realize he needed it–but he was a vampire so he probably just didn’t think about it. Ilsa’s skin burned, his heart sped up and he felt heat pool in his stomach. He was going to lose his mind, he felt so on edge with Cassian so close to him, his body seemed hyper-aware of the man beside him to a point that it was breathtaking.

“Ilsa,” Cassian said softly, his eyes softening as he looked over him. “You should change your clothing, I believe you’re in heat.” The strained tone in his voice was barely recognizable, but the look in his eyes made Ilsa tremble a little. Ilsa flushed and shook his head.

“I-It’s not that–if it was you wouldn’t be able to warn me.” Ilsa murmured shyly, biting his lip. “It is just…” I’m turned on , how was he supposed to spout that out to a literal king? He couldn’t. He just had to cover it up somehow, but he didn’t really know how to do it.

“ Ah ,“ Cassian murmured softly, understanding flashing through his eyes. “That’s good then. I’m relieved to hear that, as we’ve not married yet.” Cassian said, smiling fondly down at him. Ilsa flushed, his heart speeding up in his chest as Cassian’s gloved finger tips grazed his cheek. Ilsa reached up and put his hand over Cassian’s, biting his lip a little.

“Do you always wear gloves?” Ilsa asked softly, his face heating up. It seemed like such a weird thing to bother him, right? He couldn’t really explain why, he just wanted to feel his hands on his skin.

“I am unable to regulate my own body temperature.” Cassian murmured softly, brushing the hair from Ilsa’s eyes gently. “As such, my fingers are cool to the touch, and I thought it’d be unpleasant for you if I touched you without gloves on so I try to wear them most of the time.” Cassian said, softly.

“I won’t become accustomed to it if you don’t touch me,” Ilsa murmured. Cassian laughed softly and pulled his hand back away from his face, brought the hand down in front of him and pulled his glove off, exposing his pale, blueish-gray hand, and reached his hand up and brushed his fingers along Ilsa’s cheek. Tingles traced behind his fingers and Ilsa sucked in a deep breath, his eyes slipping shut. He could feel the chill of his fingers creeping into him, but he didn’t really find it unpleasant.

“You are much too precious,” Cassian murmured softly, Ilsa flushed and peeked up at him. “You look so beautiful in this outfit, Ilsa. I cannot wait to marry you.” Cassian murmured, putting his hand down on his lower back as his eyes roamed down over him. Ilsa blushed brightly and nodded his head, sucking in a deep breath. Cassian looked over him so softly, so much emotion and compassion on his face, and it was so nice.

“I can’t either,” Ilsa murmured softly, his heart practically beating out of his chest. He’d never felt so excited before in his life for something. The closer it got, the more exciting it became. He was going to get married–even with the circumstances of how it was happening, he couldn’t help but be excited about it. He was just happy to have the opportunity–he’d spent his entire life thinking he’d never get married. He never thought he’d have someone touch him, and kiss him, he’d been kept so far away from everyone that it wasn’t possible.

And if he had gotten married off, it wouldn’t have been favorable for him. Omegas go to Alphas. Alphas are males–and none of the male demons he’d ever met were different from his father. It was probably to be expected, but the demons in Caelestes were evil . Pure, and total evil. His father waged wars on non-violent realms–just like the elves that resided in the Tenebris Regni realm. His father knew that Elves were nature based beings who wouldn’t be able to defend themselves as well.

They were peaceful by nature until they go dark–and that’s what his father had been hoping for. Once an elf goes dark, they wouldn’t care about what happened to the people around them so they just turned dark and moved to Caelestes or the dark Elven realm which Ilsa had always wanted to visit but he couldn’t because–well, obviously if he couldn’t leave the castle grounds without trouble, he obviously wasn’t allowed to.

It was complicated growing up under a tyrant like his father–and it was even more difficult that he was born different from his brothers. It put him in a place that made him the odd one out and gave his father a reason to ‘coddle’ him, as his father put it. It wasn’t coddling, it was basically imprisonment, but what could he have done given the circumstances? His father was the most powerful person in the realm he lived in, his father could track him anywhere on the realm he went and getting out of the castle without alerting him had been nearly impossible. It wasn’t just ‘sneaking out the back door when his parents fell asleep’. It was learning a spell to conceal his footsteps, learning the layout of the sixty or so percent of the castle he wasn’t allowed into–which wasn’t as easy as it probably sounded–and even stealing from his fathers personal library to manage to get a portal open.

It’d taken months of planning to get out of the castle without being caught–he had to drug his father once a month for six months so that he could get through the wards of parts of the castle his father didn’t let him into. He had to steal a priceless book of spells from his fathers library which wasn’t easy to get into, and it was harder to get out of. It tended to change shapes and layouts–the door would open on one side and then when you leave, you’d come out somewhere else entirely. And trying to bring something out of it? He had to disengage the wards, which he could only do thanks to the book he’d stolen. He’d had to find a warlock that opened portals for not so honestly acquired objects, which wasn’t all that difficult, it wasn’t like evil beings were opposed to stealing.

The hardest part had been getting out of the castle on his own. He’d managed, but it hadn’t been easy in the slightest. He’d had to use a strong sleeping potion to put his father to sleep and to hinder his ability to use his magic for a while so that he’d have time to escape. He’d had to use the spell book four times which had drained his energy–he wasn’t used to practicing magic that wasn’t healing or sleep magic, and the spells were incredibly complex to do. Taking down the wards on the outside door was even more difficult than the previous six doors. The only things that he’d been able to bring were himself, a change of clothing, and something he could sell once he got to the human world so that he’d be able to have money.

Knocking broke through the silence that’d encompassed them and Ilsa jumped, making Cassian hum softly, his fingers moving gently against his cheek again. To Ilsa’s surprise, he found himself relaxing into the touch as Cassian called ‘one moment’ and stroked his cheek softly. Ilsa found himself nuzzling into the hand, his heart racing in his chest. It made him feel so calm, so free from worry. It pulled the omega in him to the surface–hell, everything Cassian did pulled at the omega in him.

It was equally as amazing as it was nerve-wracking. He hadn’t been properly educated in Caelestes about being an omega because he wasn’t allowed to leave the castle for classes, and the only information he was given was approved by his father. It left him with much less information than what he hoped most omega’s were provided. If it was the norm, then his father really needed to step his game up because he felt like a fish out of water.

Cassian stayed with him for a few minutes before he excused himself to deal with whatever urgent business he had to take care of before the wedding and Helix and Felix returned to continue working on fitting the suit to him. He couldn’t help but feel a little elated and nervous at the same time. The mating ceremony was coming up and he had no idea how that was going to affect his heat–or his omega. He really needed to spend the evening in the library, trying to research anything possible on omegas mating with Vampires.

𓊈𒆜 ＦＩＶＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

It was the day. He was getting married. When Ilsa had woken up, it’d been to Helix and Felix knocking frantically on the door, and his morning had only gotten busier. Cassian had been busy the entire morning as well, which was understandable and expected. Cassian had meetings to handle last minute business, and then they would be getting married. He was nervous–he couldn’t even really figure out why he was so nervous. He just felt as if he were going to bounce out of his skin. He was so excited–but what if something went wrong?

What if he forgot his lines? What if he tripped while walking down the aisle? Was he walking down an aisle? If so, who was walking him down the aisle? What if the mating process is public and he went into heat during the ceremony? What if the original bride wasn’t as okay with their engagement as Cassian claimed? What if Naevys suddenly turned against him and told everyone he was lying? What if his father showed up with an army and killed everyone? What if Cassian’s mother showed up and immediately saw right through him? He was going to go insane with all of these questions. He felt so nervous, and honestly all he wanted was his teddy. He’d left him behind in Caelestes, but he was beginning to regret that decision. He couldn’t just pop in for a visit and collect his lost items from his father now that he was gone.

It was his only comfort item he’d had all his life, and he thought because he was older than most mountains in the human realm, he had evolved past sleeping with a stuffed hellhound, but obviously not. He was way too nervous. It was all in his head, he knew that, but it didn’t make it easier. He wanted this to be perfect. He didn’t even know why it meant so much to him, he’d not planned a single moment of it… but even so… he wanted it to be a good memory.

“It’s time,” Someone said softly, popping up behind him. Ilsa gasped, his hand jerking up to his chest. “I apologize for startling you, sir,” The man said as he bowed his head. Ilsa flushed and shook his head, waving his hand.

“It’s no big deal,” Ilsa assured him, feeling a little shy. He didn’t recognize this man–while he was dressed in a suit and Ilsa could tell he was a vampire, he still didn’t know him and he felt a moment of hesitation. He couldn’t help it. There were many faces around the castle that he’d see in passing but this wasn’t one. “What is it time for?” Ilsa asked. The man was tall and slim, with deep violet hair and eyes, they seemed almost lifeless, though. Cassian’s eyes seemed to swirl and glow, but this man’s just seemed… dead.

“I was sent by his highness’s guard to summon you to the garden.” He explained, and Ilsa frowned for a moment. That was where the wedding was being held, but still felt like something wasn’t right. Helix and Felix were usually the ones who came to escort him somewhere, and he just couldn’t justify leaving with him without checking it out.

“Helix,” Ilsa said, pausing for a moment, “And Felix were supposed to escort me.” He said, discreetly trying to call them. Apparently, his plan had worked, because Helix actually popped up in front of him immediately.

“What are you doing here?” Helix said, frowning and crossing his arms. The vampire sighed deeply and scratched the back of his neck.

“I was doing the job I was assigned, Helix. What are you doing here?” He responded, scowling at him as he too crossed his arms. The pair seemed to be at a momentary impasse. There was a strange energy around them, it almost seemed to feel thick and heavy, like something was sitting on his chest. He didn’t feel ‘in danger’ in the slightest, but… He seriously thought Helix might punch the vampire in question.

“U-Uh… Is the wedding starting?” Ilsa asked, and Helix immediately turned his attention to Ilsa.

“Yes, I will escort you, let’s go sir.” Helix said, smiling at him in a way that let him know he probably shouldn’t question it, and instead should just let him lead him off, so without a complaint in the world, Ilsa found himself being dragged off. He felt excitement bubble in his chest and he bit his lip. I can’t wait to be married to this man. The thought was a little surprising, but it made him happy, regardless.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

By the time the ceremony was over, he was exhausted and elated in the same hand. It was the night– their night, the first time he’d ever be touched by someone besides himself. It was nerve-wracking, but at the same time, exciting. He’d been resigned to spending an eternity pleasing himself, but that was only because he didn’t really have another option. He was glad that he asked Cassian to wait until they got married though.

It wasn’t a religious thing–Caelestes is very anti-religion, so he didn’t grow up with religion around him, it just wasn’t something he cared about. It wasn’t a love thing–Marriage in Caelestes is not about love or even ‘binding yourself in the eyes of a higher power’ it was all about politics. It was a safety thing–he wanted to feel safe, and some sort of connection, even if it was shaky at best… but to his surprise he felt more than just a little safe. It was likely that he could go into heat in the next few days–he felt oddly okay with that for the first time in millennia. He knew Vampire’s had stamina thanks to the research he’d secretly been doing, so even if he wasn’t an alpha he could definitely keep up with Ilsa’s sex drive.

He could be an alpha though, if Ilsa figured correctly. As a pureblood vampire, which was what the royal family is, Cassian could definitely be an alpha because he was half demon. Purebloods were interesting because they were never wholly human or wholly demons–they were the in-between and no one really knows how the first family came into existence. It’s assumed witches created the first, but Ilsa had seen the vampires that witches had created before and they were not pretty. And he didn’t even mean in an aesthetic or shallow way.

They looked like literal corpses with skin, with teeth reminiscent of what the books in the library in Caelestes had called ‘sharks’. They were terrifying , insane, Ilsa had only seen one when it had attacked him after it managed to escape from custody of the guards with it. Thanks to healing magic, he ended up with nothing but just a nasty scar on his calf. He didn’t even see it coming, it could’ve bit him anywhere, but it just attacked him blindly while he was walking towards his quarters. They were much different from the vampires here, who seemed to have ways of getting blood for themselves without attacking people–vampires here get mated, and the vampires drink each other’s blood. Ilsa wasn’t really sure how it worked, but he’d researched a lot about vampires after he’d talked to Cassian about mating out of curiosity.

Perhaps that was because he was a demon–he couldn’t imagine evil beings smelling appetizing. He was more nervous about Cassian drinking his blood and not liking it than he’d like to admit. He knew most vampires feed on their mates, but Cassian hadn’t accepted when he offered. Did he really want to keep Ilsa from going into heat early, or was it more because he didn’t smell good? He was nervous about the blood exchange, though it did stand to reason that most vampires were mating with vampires so it probably wasn’t something that usually was an issue. Regardless, he’d agreed to mate with Cassian, and he wasn’t going to let something like that get in the way of his doing so.

Ilsa took a shuddery breath and looked over himself in the bathroom mirror, his face heating up. He felt so shy all of the sudden, knowing that Cassian was going to be inside of him soon, that he was going to feel those cool hands on his skin… he was ready, but terrified. He’d never had sex, he’d never been touched, and he’d never touched anyone. He didn’t know what he was doing, and he was definitely going to mess up somehow. He’d never been self-conscious before, but suddenly he felt hyper aware of his shortcomings. He was tanned, and he was the only one . His hair was just flat black, and his eyes were blue, his body was slimmer and lither than he’d ever realized, and suddenly he felt inadequate.

A knock sounded on the door, and Cassian called out his name softly. Ilsa sucked in a deep breath and turned to the door of the bathroom and pulled it open, blushing a little. “Sorry,” Ilsa murmured, lowering his eyes a little.

“If you aren’t comfortable doing this, it’s okay.” Cassian said softly, reaching up to brush the hair out of his face. Ilsa bit his lip, a wave of surprise washing over him. “I can wait until you are comfortable with it, even if that doesn’t happen.” Cassian assured him, and Ilsa frowned a bit and shook his head.

“It’s not that I’m not comfortable,” Ilsa admitted softly, a wave of nervousness washing over him. He’d never felt so out of sorts before in his life. “I just… I’ve never…” He trailed off, blushing as he reached up and tugged on the ends of his hair a little. “I’ve never had… intercourse before, so I’m nervous because of that. It isn’t you.” Ilsa murmured, and Cassian nodded, reached his hand out, and cupped his cheek in his hand.

“I’ll do everything I can to make it memorable,” Cassian said softly, his thumb brushing along Ilsa’s cheek. Tingles traced behind it, the slight chill of it had him shivering, but to his surprise it wasn’t off-putting. He really liked the way it felt to have his bare hands on him, they were calming–it was disorienting, but not in a bad way. In a way that just made his mind turn to mush and made him long to feel more of his touch. “Where do you want to start, Ilsa?” Cassian asked him.

Ilsa bit his lip. What a loaded question. Well, the best place would probably be taking off the suit he was wearing. When he started getting aroused he’d get wet, he didn’t want it to get ruined. He loved this suit, and would’ve probably worn it every day if it didn’t have such a memory behind it.

“Let’s take off some of these clothes. That works, right?” Ilsa asked shyly, and Cassian nodded. “D-Do you want to… Do it?” He asked again, nervous. He wished he had some experience with this, so that his inexperience wasn’t so obvious. He had to be totally killing the mood, right? He almost sighed, but managed to hold it back.

“Allow me,” Cassian murmured, carefully leading him over to the bed. He sat down on it with a shaky breath and watched as Cassian started working on the tie around his neck. He took his time, undoing the knot in the tie and pulling it off of him, those enchanting orchid eyes practically staring into him as he began working the buttons on his vest. It was quiet, Ilsa could hear his own heartbeat in his ears and the blood rushing beneath his skin as he watched Cassian’s pale fingers work the buttons of it. Ilsa found himself relaxing, though, the sight of Cassian’s swirling orchid eyes made his heart stall in his chest as they darkened slightly with each removed layer of clothing. By the time that he was down to his boxers, he was nestling his erection between his thighs in embarrassment.

“M-My turn?” Ilsa asked softly, looking up into his eyes shyly. Cassian smiled and nodded again. Ilsa took a shaky breath, and started working the tie around Cassian’s neck. He felt so excited, the thought of Cassian’s hands on his skin was elating–he had barely managed to hold himself back when he’d felt Cassian’s fingers ghosting his skin when he’d pushed his shirt off of his shoulders. Ilsa was much less precise with his movements, but Cassian didn’t really seem to mind, and he was grateful that Cassian was being so relaxed.

Undressing Cassian wasn’t as embarrassing as he’d thought it might be, his presence was calming and familiar, and because he’d already done it once– somewhat –it was easy. Once they were both down to their boxers, Ilsa moved over to the bed and sat down, blushing a little as Cassian followed him, sitting down on the bed and leaning back some. He was so sinfully gorgeous, it had Ilsa feeling way out of his league–but he wasn’t about to just roll over and accept that. He was just nervous and inexperienced, and the whole thing felt so intimate.

And it was only going to get more intimate. The arousal clouding his mind made his insides tremble in excitement. He was about to actually have sex. That might sound odd, but after such a long life where he’d suffered through heat after heat, his body and mind pleading for someone to touch him… well it was honestly a little relieving. He didn’t have to love Cassian for him to help him with his heats, he just needed to trust him. And he did. He’d never felt so exposed in his life when Cassian looked into his eyes.

Ilsa flushed, his heart racing in his chest as he forced himself to meet Cassian’s eyes. He might’ve been uncertain of what to do, but he refused to let that impact the experience as a whole. After being alive for many millennia, he could handle this without losing his composure.

“Ilsa, come here,” Cassian murmured, his hand wrapping gently around his wrist. He didn’t even tug him, his grip soft and gentle on him as if he were afraid to grip him too hard, so he settled for barely gripping him at all, the touch sending a shiver down his spine. The gentleness was appreciated, honestly, familiar. Ilsa shifted forward, closer to Cassian, his body heating up in excitement. Cassian’s hand led him forward, until Ilsa was settled on top of him, his thighs spread around his waist.

Cassian’s hand settled on the small of his back, cool but even so, it made heat flood through him. Ilsa flushed a little as Cassian connected their lips, his eyes slipping shut immediately as Cassian’s lips moved against his softly. He’d been kissed exactly once, coincidentally by the exact person who was kissing him now. Only this time, no one was going to come and interrupt them, this time–was the time. He’d never felt quite as exposed as he did in that moment. It felt so different knowing that more was to come.

Part of him was excited. He had always wanted sex, but never been able to access it–even when his body physically needed it to some extent. Another part of him was absolutely terrified. His father had allowed him some classes on his secondary gender, but only the ones meant to terrify him so he didn’t try to leave the castle. He didn’t know whether or not it was going to hurt and that scared him. He didn’t understand why he was freaking out so much, he was actually very attracted to Cassian physically speaking. He also trusted him, something that should’ve probably scared him but Cassian didn’t scare him.

Cassian made him feel safe. Ilsa barely knew him, Cassian could be anything and Ilsa would never know the difference if he didn’t tell him. He shouldn’t feel safe, not when his father was probably searching for him, not when Cassian was basically a stranger to him. He just… Cassian… Ilsa didn’t know how to express it honestly–the constant need to be near him, his urge to hear his voice, his desire to feel Cassian’s touch on his skin. It consumed him, made the omega in him tremble and the power he radiated made Ilsa’s insides burn with desire.

When he was this close to him, he could practically feel it–the pulse of energy that radiated from his soul constantly. It made Ilsa’s body tingle, a part of him aching to do what he was intended to and take it. It wasn’t something he was proud to admit, but demons collect souls like humans collect baseball cards, or stamps. It was instinct, even if he hated it. Cassian pulled away from the kiss, and Ilsa found himself parting his eyes as a whine slipped out of his mouth.

“I will take care of you, Ilsa,” Cassian murmured as he moved them back onto the bed, settling on top of him. Ilsa’s heart sped up, his body burning faintly, an itch starting inside of him that left him feeling off-center. He felt so empty, like something was missing. It didn’t feel the same as his heat, not the same nerve-tingling intensity. It was driving him to a point of delirium. He felt like he was on fire, maybe.

Cassian’s fingers started moving over his skin, so cool to the touch it left behind a line of goosebumps on his skin wherever he touched him. It wasn’t off-putting, though, Ilsa felt a little like he was overheating, and the chill made the heat more bearable. The look in Cassian’s eyes wasn’t helping his overheating problem, and neither was the gentleness that he was handling him with. His lips started trailing along his skin, just a little cool, and it sent shivers of pleasure down his spine, a soft moan falling off of his lips.

It felt so different from how he’d always imagined it, the gentle brush of Cassian’s lips on his skin, the way his fingers glided over his skin–the sensations bursting beneath his skin made the nervousness all but melt away. The way Cassian was touching him, taking his time with him, running his fingers over his skin as if he were writing every inch of his body to memory was somewhere between erotic and sweet in an odd sort of way. Ilsa was struggling to concentrate on anything other than the tips of Cassian’s fingers and his lips.

The only part of his body Cassian hadn’t touched was where his boxers were covering, and Ilsa was reaching a point of desperation. He was soaking wet, sure that he was probably leaking into his boxers, and his cock was tenting the front of his boxers so much it was embarrassing.

“May I?” Cassian murmured, his lips pressing against his abdomen, just above the waistband of his boxers as his fingers trailed the edge of them. Ilsa was surprised that he asked that, he kind of just assumed he knew he could. Was this another difference between demon and vampire interactions?

“Y-Yes, please,” Ilsa managed to get out, his face deepening in color. Cassian lifted up enough to pull them down over his hips. Ilsa’s flush only deepened when the cool air of the room hit his erection.

“You are quite beautiful,” Cassian murmured against his skin. “It is truly an honor to be the first one you’ve allowed to touch you this way.” Ilsa’s heart hammered in his chest as the words sent a flood of arousal washing over him. Cassian’s cool fingers gripped into the back of his legs and led them up so they were parted, making a wave of embarrassment wash over Ilsa as the cool air hit his hole. Ilsa’s hands instinctively moved to cover himself, suddenly feeling shy. Cassian’s hands caught his before he managed to cover himself.

“You are perfect, Ilsa,” Cassian murmured, “Do not hide yourself from me, you have nothing to be ashamed of.” Ilsa flushed and nodded, his heart pounding in his chest. Cassian’s hand wrapped around his length, making a choked moan come out of Ilsa’s mouth. Cassian’s hand was cool, but it seemed to have heated up with his extended time touching him, which made the touch even more pleasurable than the initial colder touch. When his hand started moving, Ilsa couldn’t hold back the moan, or the way his entire body trembled under the touch, so much pleasure crashing down on top of him so suddenly that his body didn’t know how to handle it.

When one of Cassian’s fingers brushed over his hole, Ilsa let out a quiet gasp, his entire body narrowing in on the feeling. It felt so good, all he wanted to do was melt into the touch. He wanted to push into it and feel them pushing deeper inside of him.

“P-Please,” Ilsa moaned, his hips wiggling down towards Cassian’s fingers. One of Cassian’s fingertips pushed against the rim of his hole and he flushed as he felt his hole leaking more. Oh it’s so embarrassing , Ilsa thought, reaching one of his hands up to cover his face as it flamed red. His thoughts were cut off when the finger pushed inside of him, a moan falling off of his lips immediately as pleasure radiated through him.

He was familiar with fingering himself, but having someone else’s fingers doing it just somehow made his entire body quiver with excitement. There was a nagging little voice in the back of his head that kept correcting ‘someone’ to ‘Cassian’ but he was pointedly ignoring it. His finger pushed deeper inside of him, curling and moving around as if he were looking for something.

“Oh!” Ilsa gasped when his finger brushed something that made sparks flash behind his eyes, pleasure coursing through him in strong waves that made him lightheaded. Cassian immediately focused his fingers on that spot in repeated movements that had pleasure rushing through his body. Cassian’s finger running along the slit of his erection made his hips push up and his body tremble–every touch caused an immediate reaction from his body, it was so good, so much he could hardly think. No, he couldn’t think.

“Cassian, C-Cass,” Ilsa moaned, his hands moving to tangle into his hair as his hips pushed down into his finger desperately. He wanted more, another finger or just Cassian’s length in general. He was pretty sure Cassian could’ve gone straight into him, admittedly. It was uncertain, but the learning materials he was provided in Caelestes claimed that most omegas were ready to go from the start so he was unfamiliar with the idea of having someone else’s fingers inside of him. There were really not many male omegas that’d ever been born in Caelestes–was it possible that this was another cultural difference? Was it a racial difference? Or was it a moral difference?

“Ilsa, darling, you want a second finger?” Cassian questioned, making Ilsa nod his head desperately as a moan fell off his lips. He didn’t know what the difference was, but he just wanted more. Everything was a haze as Cassian started working a second finger inside of him. Ilsa couldn’t help the little noise that fell off his lips at the slight… pressure? It wasn’t quite painful, but it wasn’t comfortable either. Cassian’s hand moved faster on his erection, effectively distracting him from the stretch as he worked his finger deeper inside of him.

“Cass, i-it feels good,” Ilsa managed to get out as Cassian’s fingers pressed down on that spot again, rubbing it in circles. Cassian nodded his head, applying more pressure into the spot over and over until Ilsa couldn’t hold back the desperate, pleading noises that fell out of his mouth as his hands tugged desperately at Cassian’s hair. It was so soft, he loved it so much.

“I’m glad it feels good, darling. Another?” Ilsa shook his head, his fingers tugging Cassian up to him.

“I-I’m ready for you,” Ilsa said desperately. Cassian hummed quietly, his orchid eyes deeply colored from his arousal. “I want you, I need you,” Ilsa pleaded, desperate to have him inside of him. He just wanted to feel him buried inside of him, the omega in him was practically squirming in desperation. He needed him.

“Are you sure?” Cassian questioned softly, making Ilsa nod his head. He had never done this before, but there was an itch spreading through him, urging him for more, more friction, anything to fill him fully instead of just partially. He was far, far too empty, Cassian’s fingers were larger than his but still didn’t feel like enough.

“Y-Yes. Please.” Ilsa said, making Cassian nod his head and pull his fingers out, making Ilsa whine quietly. Cassian shushed him gently, pulling back enough that it made Ilsa let out another whimper. Don’t leave, no– his mind pleaded silently as he squeezed his eyes shut, disappointment and embarrassment washing through him. He was so bad at this. Cassian settling back on top of him brought him out of his thoughts, and he let out a noise of confusion.

“I’m right here, relax,” Cassian murmured soothingly, his lips brushing his forehead softly as he led Ilsa’s thighs up around his waist. “Hold here, precious, okay?” Cassian said softly, making Ilsa flush and nod. He should’ve known that. When Ilsa felt Cassian’s erection poking against his hole, he immediately whined and squirmed, pushing down into it desperately.

“Cassss…” Ilsa pleaded, his voice so needy and pleading that he almost sounded pouty. He just wanted him so much, his body was already soft and pliant, begging to be entered silently. Ilsa moaned as he felt Cassian pushing inside of him, stretching his hole around the head of his erection. He was so wet his body was easily accepting his length, agonizingly slow and precise. When he settled into the hilt, Ilsa couldn’t help the way his eyes widened or the shocked cry of pleasure that escaped him.

“Cassian,” Ilsa moaned, his back arching as pleasure consumed him. His length was bigger than he’d expected, but he felt so full–deliciously full, as if his body was being molded to fit Cassian’s. One thrust had him immediately falling over the edge into his release, his entire body clamping down around Cassian as he felt his cum landing down on his stomach.

“I love the sound of you moaning my name,” Cassian murmured, thrusting into him a little deeper. Ilsa gasped, his eyes rolling back as his fingers gripped into Cassian’s shoulders desperately. Cassian rocked their bodies together gently, each thrust hitting something inside of him that had pleasure coursing through him. Cassian’s eyes never felt Ilsa’s, the eye contact was almost as erotic as the pull of Cassian’s erection inside of him. He’d never met someone who was able to stare into someone before, but every time Cassian’s eyes met his it felt like they were picking him apart. Usually, he would’ve disliked the feeling because he had always hated it when other people tried to stare into him like that–but he didn’t mind the idea of Cassian inside of his head.

Languid movements worked Ilsa up to a point his entire body was burning, and he could barely think. Cassian’s lips caught his in a kiss, gentle but firm, and it had Ilsa trembling in desire. Each rock of Cassian’s hips seemed to be moving in just the right way to have his body thrumming with pleasure, arousal flooding through him as he clung onto him tighter.

It was so soft, nothing like he’d spent millennia fantasizing about, but it was better because he felt like he was floating, gliding through his pleasure as if he were protected in a bubble. It was also a little earth shattering, on the pleasure scale, but not because it was rough or strong. It felt… like he was being loved. Was this what humans call love?

Or would love be the warm feeling in his chest, the way he couldn’t quite breathe as he looked up at Cassian? He couldn’t be certain. Nothing felt certain, except for Cassian’s touch and his gaze–locking him in and holding him prisoner as he moved within him.

“It’s time,” Cassian murmured, leaning over a bit to the nightstand beside them, grabbing a silver dagger off of it. He sat the dagger down on the bed beside them and he wrapped his arms around Ilsa’s waist, pulling their bodies up off of the bed and positioning them to where Ilsa was sitting in his lap again. Ilsa moaned as they were brought closer, gravity allowing him to take more of Cassian’s length inside of him.

“I-I’m ready,” Ilsa said breathlessly, excitement pooling in his chest. Cassian pushed him back a little so there was space between them, tightening one of his arms around his lower back to support him. Cassian grabbed the dagger and brought it over to him with the other hand, gently putting it into Ilsa’s hand. Ilsa took it, his hand squeezing around the handle shakily.

“My pulse point,” Cassian murmured, leading the dagger up into place. Ilsa let him, hesitating for a moment. He didn’t want to hurt Cassian . What if he cut him too deeply? Could Cassian bleed out? He knew only certain kinds of materials could injure vampires fatally, but silver was one of them. Would it heal as quickly as any other lesion he got?

“I-I’m scared,” Ilsa murmured, “W-What if I accidentally kill you?” Cassian laughed softly, his hand applying a little pressure. Ilsa watched the tip of the blade poke into his porcelain skin, a small bead of blood pooling at the tip. He sucked in a deep breath.

“Now, darling just drag it along about an inch.” Cassian murmured, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Then you can get rid of it,” Cassian promised softly, trailing his lips along his forehead until he reached his temple, pressing a kiss there before continuing down his cheek. Ilsa did as instructed, letting Cassian’s hand guide him. As soon as Cassian’s hand released his, Ilsa pushed the dagger into his hand. Cassian sat the dagger down and pulled Ilsa closer, where his mouth was near the cut, leaning his head forward to run his nose along Ilsa’s neck softly as his hand cupped the back of his head.

“Don’t be afraid, darling,” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa nod breathlessly. He wasn’t afraid, he was… nervous. With Cassian’s assurance, he actually did feel better though. When Ilsa felt Cassian’s teeth sink into his neck, he took the cut into his mouth, sucking a little. The first taste made him tense, his nose scrunching up a bit but… the taste seemed to disappear or recede as he felt something lightly trailing along inside of him. It felt cool, temperature wise, a gentle breeze ghosting through his heated insides. It was creeping, almost like a fog, tickling Ilsa’s senses just enough to leave him trembling.

It was cool and pleasant, felt familiar and safe, and it was sinking into him. It made his body feel warm but cold at the same time. It felt so oddly pleasurable, creeping through him as it slowly consumed him, taking him over. He was overcome with a sense of closeness, a sense of belonging. He’d never felt anything like this before. It felt so intimate, his eyes slipped close as his head felt heavy.

He couldn’t quite put the words together eloquently enough to describe the feeling, he just felt so close to Cassian, it sent a burst of warmth through him. Nothing existed but Cassian.

𝐼 𝑣𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑦 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, the words leaked into his mind, in Cassian’s calming voice almost as if he were really inside of his head. Ilsa gasped as a chill spread through him for a moment, then settled in, a burst of something that felt like electricity flowing through his body. As Cassian pulled away from his neck, Ilsa was quick to follow and look up at Cassian, a flush spreading across his face.

Cassian met his eyes, a soft expression on his face as he wiped his cheek gently, wiping away a tear Ilsa hadn’t even noticed escaping. Ilsa smiled up at him, wrapping his arms around Cassian’s body, unable to keep a shiver from racing down his spine.

“You’ll never be alone again, Ilsa,” Cassian murmured softly, making Ilsa flush more.

“I will never leave your side again,” Ilsa murmured, a little drunk off of the newly acquired sense of connection. Not only was Cassian buried inside of him, he could feel two sets of emotions coursing through him. A foreign wave of nervousness washed over him as Cassian buried his face in his neck, shaking a slight bit. Worry filled him almost immediately.

“I’m okay,” Cassian murmured, “I just drank too much of your blood.” Cassian pulled back from his neck, a smile pulling up the corners of his lips.

“What do you mean?” Ilsa questioned curiously. In a blur of movements that even Ilsa could barely see to describe, he found himself on his back, Cassian holding himself above him, the slight jostling of his body sent blinding euphoria through Ilsa, his mind fogging over with desperation almost immediately at the slightly rougher, less concentrated movements.

“Your blood is much more potent than human or vampire blood,” Cassian explained, wrapping one of his hands around Ilsa’s erection. “It makes me quite a bit stronger when I consume a great amount of it, it seems.” He murmured as Ilsa arched his back and brought his fingers up to dig into Cassian’s shoulders.

“Does that mean I should hold onto you tighter then?” Ilsa murmured, flushing a little at his own boldness. Cassian chuckled softly, beginning to rock his hips forward into him again.

“Perhaps you should,” Cassian hummed, his orchid eyes softening. “I cannot lie, I do quite enjoy the feeling of you clinging onto me.” Cassian admitted, leaning down to kiss Ilsa’s lips, the movements of his hips speeding up just a bit. A moan fell off of Ilsa’s lips, edging closer and closer to another orgasm. He was so sensitive, he just wanted to melt into Cassian’s touch.

“I-I-” Ilsa struggled to find the words he needed to even vocalize anything. He couldn’t really think, he couldn’t clear the lustful fog from his head. Every wave of pleasure that rippled through him was echoed by one that came from Cassian and it had every inch of him trembling. He couldn’t even tell which set of pleasure was even his.

It felt like he was consumed with fire, but instead of pain, it was only pleasure. So much pleasure nothing else seemed to exist.

“You close, darling?” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa nod his head erratically, his fingernails biting into Cassian’s skin.

“Y-Yes, yes, Cassian, please, it feels so–so good!” Ilsa pleaded, not too sure why he was really pleading. His body seemed to know what to do more than his mind did, it moved against Cassian’s body instinctively, despite the trembles coursing through him. The angle caused Cassian’s length to hit against the spot inside of him that had pleasure coursing through him like sparks, Ilsa’s eyes rolling back with the intensity as he let out a whine and looked up at Cassian with half-lidded eyes.

It did not take but a couple more thrusts for Ilsa to plummet over the edge into his release, his entire body clenching and his length pulsing out line after like of cum as Ilsa let out a pleasured scream. Trembles coursed through him as Cassian let out a groan, his pace momentarily faltering as a groan tore its way out of his throat, burying his face in Ilsa’s neck.

“You feel so good, I’m going to cum,” Cassian said, his voice tight with pleasure as his hips moved. The words hit Ilsa’s ears and he let out a pleading moan, his mind centering in on those words, his omega forcing its way to the surface.

“P-Please, please, Alpha,” Ilsa pleaded, his hips beginning to rock down into Cassian’s thrusts. “Breed me,” The words seemed to hit Cassian right in the face, his eyes darkening at them as he buried his length inside him as hard as he could, his fangs sinking down into Ilsa’s neck. His orgasm had cleared the ‘lust’ from his mind, so he’d expected to feel this bite. He expected it to be excruciating, unpleasant, uncomfortable, all of the above. Maybe just one of the above, he wasn’t sure. But this wasn’t what he expected it to feel like. It was a pinch, he could feel it vaguely but within a second he felt tingles begin spreading through him from the bite.

“Oh,” He gasped, his body feeling warm and fuzzy, content, as he felt the flood of Cassian’s cum inside of him. It was cool, not quite the temperature of his own, despite the fact that Cassian’s skin was now just as warm as his own. Ilsa couldn’t help but let out a quiet yawn as he sank back onto the bed, satiated for the first time in millennia.

Cassian sank down on top of him, murmuring soft words into his ear as he moved to pull out of him. Ilsa let out a weak whine, his legs wrapping around Cassian’s waist, parting his eyes to plead with him not to pull out yet.

“N-Not yet,” Ilsa pleaded, not wanting the fullness to fade from him. Not wanting the connection to close. He couldn’t be sure he’d ever feel this close to Cassian again–the effects of recent mating were often more intense in the beginning, so as time began to pass, it’d lessen significantly. He wanted to spend as much time in this moment as he could before it ended.

“Okay, darling.” Cassian murmured, flipping them over so that Ilsa was on top of his body instead of below him without Ilsa even realizing what was happening until he found himself lying on Cassian’s chest, his length still buried within him. “Get some rest,” Cassian murmured softly, pressing a kiss to his temple. Ilsa let out a moan of agreement, his eyes slipping shut as he fell off into the depths of sleep, satisfaction spreading through him.

𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑𝑛𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑,

The words echoed through his head, even in his slumber, and it made him smile in his sleep as he nestled himself closer to Cassian.

𓊈𒆜 ＳＩＸ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

The rest of the weekend was admittedly wonderful . Cassian had spent the entire time with him, he read to him sometimes, out of books written in a language that Ilsa couldn’t read himself. It was runic almost, but he still couldn’t even identify the language with ample knowledge of most of them. It was soothing to be read to, he found. He also took him on walks around the castle grounds–there was so much to look at, Ilsa couldn’t possibly hope to walk the entire thing in one day while taking in the scenery.

There was a lake, a bench in one corner secluded off behind some trees that lined the back of the giant stone walls that surrounded the grounds, and a running stream with a little bridge over it. There was the garden, with all kinds of flowers and plants that were foreign to him. Cassian had been kind enough to describe what each plant was, along with the usage of them–notes for his notebook. The training grounds were separated, where Ilsa was absolutely not allowed to go without Cassian’s company.

He told him: You can go anywhere as long as you take a guard with you, just stay away from the training grounds. Ilsa had no questions–he would avoid the training grounds. For what it was, it didn’t really look intimidating or dangerous, but Cassian’s explanation had been swift to follow his request: Vampires when training tend to accidentally bite each other. This leads to blood lust. Your blood is potent and smells unlike any other blood from the other residents in this realm. They will be attracted to your scent if you’re close enough.

Ilsa didn’t even need the explanation, but it honestly meant a lot to him. He was used to pointless rules he couldn’t contest or question, being informed on why he had to do something honestly made him feel comforted. He could feel Cassian’s worry as well, the feeling of it had been enough to almost make him queasy. It wasn’t for the same reason his father was preventing him from doing things. His was from care, concern–something unfamiliar to Ilsa.

When it came time for Cassian to go back to work, it came with almost a sense of dread. While Cassian was still in the castle with him, Ilsa wanted to be beside him. He hadn’t started his heat yet, he felt like it was close, but it wasn’t there yet. It left him in this weird limbo where all he could do is wait, but he was honestly a little anxious for it to happen already. He wanted to experience what a decent heat was like, and he had a feeling that Cassian would be so… great.

After having sex with Cassian multiple times over the weekend, he couldn’t lie–he definitely felt excitement for the first time in his life. He had been so nervous in the beginning but it’d turned out to not be bad at all–in fact, it was much better than he had ever thought it could be. The picture of sex he’d had painted for him his entire life was way different than the picture that Cassian had painted for him. He had the sneaking suspicion that had been his fathers intention. He had intended to scare him into compliance, and the easiest way to do that was to make him afraid of the mostly male population of Caelestes.

Ilsa let out a sigh and looked up at the moon quickly before roaming his eyes over the plant he was trying to draw in his notebook, comparing the two. He quickly added a couple of details before he closed his book and put his pen on top of it, glancing around the garden. He missed Cassian. There was something nagging in his stomach that just wouldn’t quite leave him, making him want to go hunt him down. His fingers reached up to his neck where Cassian’s still healing bite mark rested.

A shiver ran through him when his fingers touched it. He could feel the pulsing calmness that was Cassian’s presence through the mating bond, it made Ilsa feel comforted, but he still couldn’t keep Cassian out of his head. He just wanted to be beside him.

“Lovebird,” Cassian’s voice came from behind him and Ilsa jumped, his hand flying up to his chest in an attempt to slow his rapidly beating heart.

“Cassian! What’re you doing, don’t you have work?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian chuckle and nod.

“Constantly,” Cassian agreed, sitting down beside him on the bench. “But, it’s nothing I cannot leave, at least for the moment.” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa smile without even thinking about it. The nagging feeling in his stomach completely faded away with Cassian’s returning presence, flooding him with relief.

“Are you sure?” Ilsa asked worriedly. He knew despite the fact that he wanted Cassian around him right now, he still had to keep up his duties as king. He couldn’t commandeer all of his time, even if his omega wanted him to.

“Yes,” Cassian promised, a comforting feeling washing through the mating bond. It made Ilsa’s heart speed up. “I can rearrange my evening work to make up for the time now.” Ilsa nodded, unable to help scooting a little closer to him. His body was chilly as per usual–Cassian couldn’t regulate his own body temperature, however whenever Ilsa’s body was pressed against him, his body temperature would rise slowly but surely.

Something about that made Ilsa feel a little warm, he loved the idea of being useful–he’d always felt rather useless when he lived in Caelestes. It’s not like he could use magic there, nor could he really do anything. Being able to provide some kind of assistance, even if it was menial stuff like sleep magic to help him rest better, letting him drink his blood–if Cassian ever asked for it, that was, and helping him regulate his body temperature. Even if Cassian’s temperature didn’t bother him, it made Ilsa feel like he served a purpose of sorts.

“If you’re sure.” Ilsa agreed, a smile set on his face as he glanced around the garden, his body practically vibrating in excitement at the close proximity to Cassian. Since mating, it felt like he was hyper aware of Cassian’s presence to a degree that he probably shouldn’t be.

“If you ever wish to visit me in my office you are free to as well. It’s a tad stuffy, but there’s plenty of space for you to find a place to sit and read.” Cassian murmured, his hand landing on the center of his back.

“I wouldn’t want to distract you,” Ilsa murmured shyly, lowering his eyes.

“It wouldn’t be a distraction. You are always welcome wherever I am.” Cassian answered, making Ilsa’s heart speed up and his cheeks flush. He didn’t really know how to respond to such kind words, to such softness and understanding. It was so different from what he’d come to know in Caelestes but… it made him feel so nice and warm.

“Okay,” Ilsa agreed softly, flushing more.

“What have you found to entertain yourself with?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa pause nervously. Cassian didn’t seem to limit what he did, but would documenting the flora and fauna of the realm be a problem for him? “Anything interesting?”

“I-I was just… you told me about all of these plants yesterday, I didn’t want to forget…” Ilsa murmured, his eyes moving over to his notebook worriedly but he was too nervous to reach out and grab it. His father would have lost his mind on him, taken his notebook and burned it right in front of him–if he had grabbed it, he would still light it on fire while it was in his hands.

“That sounds interesting. I have a secondary library room in my office with the elves’ official documentation of all the plant and animal life present in Tenebris Regni. If you’d like access to that, I’ll unlock the door for you whenever you come into my office so you can go as you please.” Cassian offered, making Ilsa’s eyes widen excitedly before hesitating. What if he was just saying it to get him to show he had interest– No, Cassian is not father , his omega pushed.

“I-I… Is that okay?” Ilsa asked nervously.

“Of course. If I’m busy I’ll lend you the key.” Cassian said, smiling as he looked around the garden, his eyes settling on a flower that was glowing a luminescent gold color. “I like your inquisitive nature. Knowledge is a very powerful tool to have,” Cassian complimented, making Ilsa’s body heat up under the compliment. “Would you like me to show you something?” Cassian offered after a moment, making Ilsa nod excitedly. “Come with me.” Cassian said, standing up and leading Ilsa over to the flower where he kneeled down in front of it.

“Cassian your suit-!” Ilsa said, worried about him staining or dirtying his expensive clothes in an attempt to show him something.

“It’s a little dirt, it’ll come off. Get over here,” Cassian said, smiling as he wrapped one of his gloved hands around Ilsa’s wrist and pulled him down beside him. Ilsa knelt beside him, unable to help the slight amount of worry seeping through him at the thought of both of their suits being dirty. They were creating a huge problem for the maids, or–were they laundry people here? Caelestes had two servant positions–butlers and maids. Butlers and maids were basically the same thing, except for their differing genders. Housekeepers, essentially.

“What are you showing me?” Ilsa asked curiously as Cassian leaned over the flower and ran his eyes over it. Cassian said something in a language that Ilsa couldn’t understand, watching in wonder as the flower began to twinkle and glow, brighter and brighter, until it changed to a soft pink color, golden sparkles glowing within it. It continued fading into different colors, from light to dark in each color–so pretty and sparkly that it made Ilsa’s eyes widen. It was beautiful.

“I thought you might like it,” Cassian said in a pleased tone. “You seem fond of flowers.” Ilsa nodded, flushing brightly as he looked over his shoulder at Cassian, suddenly very aware that he was leaning over his back. He wasn’t like, pressing against him, there wasn’t really any sexual intention behind the movement he could tell. It was innocent. So why did a wave of arousal suddenly wash over him when he realized Cassian was so close to him?

“I do quite like them…” Ilsa managed breathlessly, flushing as his eyes ran over Cassian. He was so handsome, his golden blond hair with the deep orchid tips and his swirling purple eyes, along with his pale skin, seeming to glow under the moonlight. The changing colors of the flowers reflected well off of his porcelain skin, and it had Ilsa struggling to breathe because of how beautiful he actually was. Cassian’s eyes darkened and he inhaled swiftly when another wave of arousal washed over Ilsa, his eyes running over Ilsa’s heated face.

“Ilsa,” Cassian murmured, one of his hands landing on Ilsa’s lower back gently, his eyes darkening as they ran over him. “Shall I blink us to our chambers?” Cassian asked with a smirk, making Ilsa nod his head and shift closer to him, wrapping his arms around his neck and holding on. Cassian let out a hum, his arms looping around Ilsa as he blinked them to his room.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Their intimacy had been interrupted by one of Cassian’s waitstaff, and now Ilsa was sitting alone in their bedroom about four and a half hours later, immensely worried. He could feel Cassian’s presence through the bond, but there was a distinct lack of emotions flowing through it that had him shifting around uncomfortably. Ilsa knew it was possible for certain vampires to mask their emotions from their mates at times… was that what was happening?

Cassian was so open with him all the time, it seemed strange. Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. So he found himself getting out of bed, giving up on waiting for him like he’d said. Another thing that set alarm bells off in his mind. Cassian didn’t go back on his word. He stood up and made his way over to the door, peeking out into the hallway to see if anyone was there.

The answer was, no. It was absolutely deserted, not even a maid or a butler lingering about. Ilsa found that almost as odd as Cassian not being there. Ilsa wandered out into the hallway, walking slowly so as not to make a lot of noise. The eerie silence had his heart thumping. Ilsa found his way to Cassian’s study, where Cassian had informed him he’d be, listening to the soft hum of voices just barely seeping through the wood before he knocked on the door.

“Ilsa, darling,” Cassian called, making Ilsa stick his head inside of the room. When Ilsa’s eyes landed on Cassian, relief filled him immediately, followed by realization when he caught sight of Naevys, a giant male that Ilsa could tell just by looking at was a werewolf–Cassian was right, he wasn’t hairy enough to be a werewolf–and a woman with long black hair, pulled up into an up-do with tiny strands of ringlet curls falling out in some places. She was wearing a black dress, and had a pentagram necklace on her neck. A witch, he knew immediately.

“Am I interrupting? I can come back later.” Ilsa said, honestly just glad to see with his own eyes that there wasn’t anything wrong with Cassian, he just wasn’t doing anything he was having emotional reactions to.

“It’s no bother, dear. Go ahead and come in, you can sit in my lap if you’d like to join.” Cassian said, making Ilsa flush. The part of his brain that knew he should probably excuse himself and let Cassian handle his work flickered for a moment, before the omega in him was moving his body into the room without waiting for his mind to accept it. As soon as he was beside Cassian, Cassian turned towards him and pulled him down into his lap. Ilsa straddled his waist and rested his head down on Cassian’s shoulder, contentment tracing through him. 𝑁𝑜𝑤, 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑒𝑡, 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔? 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑚𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, Cassian’s voice echoed through his head. Ilsa nodded, flushing. The words made his omega practically melt into a puddle on top of Cassian.

“That’s right, you did just mate didn’t you? The wedding was lovely. I didn’t get to say hello, but it was a beautiful ceremony.” The woman said, making Ilsa’s head turn a bit, peeking out at the three guests. The woman had the strongest energy he’d ever encountered, second only to Cassian’s which was like an eternal flame.

“I agree, me and my Wife were honored to be in attendance. We weren’t here when the original king was married.” The werewolf agreed, making the woman huff.

“If only you were so honored for me graciously asking you to keep your spawn out of my cabbages, we might not be interrupting the newly-weds bonding time.” The witch said, making the werewolf snap his teeth angrily.

“If your cabbages weren’t over the property lines he wouldn’t be tempted to play in ’em.” The werewolf said, making the witch wave one of her hands around exasperatedly.

“I measured out four meters from the property lines.” She responded icily.

“Why is this a conversation you’re having with the king anyway?” Naevys asked, making the witch huff.

“I’m tired of my cabbages being chewed on! I have a child to feed!” She said angrily.

“Why are you feeding your kid something that can be chewed on like a toy ball?” The werewolf asked.

“Not every being in this realm is carnivorous.” She said, making him growl. “And cabbages are not balls!”

“If they were, maybe they’d serve a purpose other than getting my poor son into trouble with you,” the werewolf snapped.

“Well, I took my own measurements. The witch is right, it is within her property lines, and your son is being a shithead.” Naevys said, crossing his arms over his chest and giving them both a bored look. “This is boring, can’t you two fight about something worth the forty five minute carriage ride? I do have my own responsibilities to attend to as well,” Naevys said, running his eyes over his nails.

“Ha! I told you so!” The witch said, making the werewolf growl.

“That being said, he is a werewolf pup and cabbages do resemble balls for him. If they’ve taken actions to prevent him from getting into them and it has not worked up until this point, it is a wise option to move your cabbages to the other side of the garden. Put something, like berries, growing in the place of the cabbages. The pup won’t play with your cabbages anymore because the bushes will hide them from his eyes.” Naevys’s bored voice drawled, flicking his black eyes over to the werewolf.

“I will move the cabbages–but if he gets in them again, I’m building a fence!” She said, making Naevys sigh boredly.

“Conjure a fence, who am I to stop you.” The werewolf said, standing up. “I expect this’ll be the end of this fight. See you again in a couple of months?” The witch frowned for a moment before she rolled her eyes and smirked, shrugging.

“We’ll see when your spawn decides to create more trouble for both of us.” She said, waving him off. He rolled his eyes and waved, bowing to Cassian.

“Thank you, your majesty.” Cassian smiled and waved his hand.

“It was no trouble, really,” Cassian said kindly. The werewolf bowed again before excusing himself. Naevys shifted in his seat, crossing his arms.

“Your Highness, if I may inquire something of you,” The witch said, making Cassian glance over at her. “Have you considered sending your new bride to magic studies?” Panic surged through Ilsa at the thought of being sent away from the king so soon, making one of Cassian’s hands fall to his lower back where it rubbed in soothing circles.

“I–uh, no, I have not considered doing that, truthfully.” Cassian said, looking down at Ilsa. “Also, sending is a very general, frightening sounding word. You wouldn’t be going far away from me, darling.” Cassian murmured soothingly. Ilsa felt a wave of relief rush through him at the words, his hand unclenching in Cassian’s shirt–something he’d not even noticed he’d been doing until he relaxed.

“He has a very strong energy inside of him, I would love to teach him spell work.” She said, making Ilsa’s heart jump in excitement.

“Is that something you’d be interested in, Lovebird?” Cassian asked him softly, making him nod his head. He wanted to be useful to Cassian–he wanted to help . To mean something and make a difference. He had a chance here, he really had it pretty good. Cassian was kind and courteous to him, he supplied him food and shelter, bought him expensive clothes, allowed him his freedoms and made him feel genuinely happy . He had never thought he would experience happiness or joy, so there was so much Cassian had done for him that Ilsa couldn’t really vocalize to him. He just wanted to make his life better, easier, like Cassian had done for him.

“It would be an honor. I can even come here to teach him at first, because of the recentness of your bonding.” She offered, making Cassian hum.

“Is that okay with you?” Cassian asked, looking down at Ilsa softly. Ilsa nodded his head and looked over at the witch, flushing a little.

“Does three days from now work for the first lesson?” She asked. Cassian’s eyes found Ilsa’s and Ilsa nodded.

“Yes, that’s perfect,” Cassian said, making her smile.

“Fantastic. I’ll get out of your hair, and I’ll pull Naevys along with me, so you two can have some privacy.” She said, standing up and meeting Naevys’s eyes. Naevys’s black eyes met hers and he rolled them, standing up. “It has been an honor your highness.” She curtsied before walking out of the room, Naevys waving to Cassian before disappearing after her.

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦’𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑒𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑢𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑚𝑠,

Cassian’s voice drawled through Ilsa’s head, making him giggle a little. 𝐴𝑙𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝐼’𝑚 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑜𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑜, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.

Ilsa nodded his head and buried his face in Cassian’s shirt collar, smiling faintly.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa’s first magic lesson came much faster than he’d expected it to, and it was boring. Well, at least for now. The next lesson would come with actual ‘magic practicing’ however, he had to study the spells first because they were written in another language and the spells had to be pronounced a certain way to make them work. It was a pain, but Ilsa had learned plenty of languages in less than a week so he wasn’t worried about that. What he was worried about was, all the sudden, he felt very… tired.

Ilsa glanced up from where he was sitting in the windowsill of Cassian’s office, taking in the sight of him bent over his desk. He looked buried in paperwork again–a near constant issue he seemed to have despite the fact that Ilsa helped him almost daily with it. The paperwork was never ending, and Ilsa honestly felt so bad. He always worked so hard, he barely even thought of himself.

“Ilsa darling, are you okay?” Cassian asked, glancing up from his paperwork. Ilsa met his eyes and nodded his head, smiling faintly.

“I am okay,” Ilsa promised, standing up from where he was sitting to walk behind Cassian and put his hands on his shoulders. “Do you always wear your hair up?” Ilsa asked curiously, desperately wanting to see how long the king’s hair actually was. The front of it was left down around his face, but the back of it stayed up in a bun or some other kind of up-do almost every day. He’d actually never seen it down in the back.

“It’s tradition,” Cassian murmured, his hand grasping at a coffee cup as he tapped his pen with his other hand once. “Well, the length is tradition. I just dislike the feeling of hair on my neck.” Cassian explained.

“Ah,” Ilsa murmured, making Cassian peek up at him.

“If you’d like to see it down, feel free to take the ties out.” Cassian said, making Ilsa bite his lip. He wanted to see the king’s hair, but he didn’t want to make him uncomfortable either. Cassian chuckled quietly, reaching up and tugging at the band in his hair aimlessly. Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder who was doing the king’s hair because it certainly could not have been the king himself. He seemed unfamiliar with how to even undo a hairband. Cassian gave up after just a try or two, opting for just snapping the band. Cassian’s hair fell down around his shoulders in waves. The back of his hair was much longer than anticipated, going down the back of his chair. The top of his hair was bright golden blond, deepening about halfway down into a light purple, then to its darkest color, the orchid that matched his eyes at the tips.

Ilsa couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and run his fingers through it, feeling the softness of it between his fingers. Cassian let out a sigh, leaning his head back into Ilsa’s hand, making a smile come to Ilsa’s face. After a few minutes, Cassian continued on with his paperwork and allowed Ilsa to continue running his fingers through his hair. It was comfortable, quiet.

Ilsa didn’t really know how long the silence stretched on. Truthfully, he didn’t really care, it wasn’t like he had a lot going on in his personal life. He was much happier to spend his time with Cassian doing stuff like this–intimate and soft gestures that made Ilsa’s heart feel like it might just flutter out of his chest. He loved the way Cassian’s presence made him feel safe and untouchable.

“I was wondering, do you know how to ballroom dance?” Cassian asked curiously. Ilsa nodded, then hesitated. He knew how to ballroom dance in Caelestes, but he couldn’t be sure that it was synonymous with ballroom dancing in Tenebris Regni. “How do you feel about ball gowns?” Ilsa flushed and nodded.

“I’m fine with wearing one.” Ilsa murmured shyly, making Cassian hum quietly and hold up an invitation to something. Ilsa ran his eyes over the strange writing, barely able to make out the words in the elegant but ancient handwriting style.

╒══════════════════════╕

☾ ‧₊˚⊹

ℌ𝔢𝔩𝔩𝔬! 𝔗𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔦𝔰 𝔞𝔫 𝔦𝔫𝔳𝔦𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫 𝔣𝔬𝔯 𝔎𝔦𝔫𝔤

𝕮𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖆𝖓 𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔥𝔦𝔰 𝔫𝔢𝔴𝔩𝔶 𝔟𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔡 𝔟𝔯𝔦𝔡𝔢

𝔱𝔬 𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 ℌ𝔦𝔤𝔥 𝔈𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔫 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢

𝔑𝔞𝔢𝔳𝔶𝔰’𝔰

𝔟𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔥𝔡𝔞𝔶 𝔟𝔞𝔩𝔩.

ℑ𝔱 𝔴𝔦𝔩𝔩 𝔟𝔢 𝔥𝔢𝔩𝔡 𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔪𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔯

𝔞𝔱 𝔱𝔢𝔫 𝔦𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔫𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔬𝔫 𝔱𝔥𝔢

𝔭𝔯𝔦𝔫𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔟𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔥𝔡𝔞𝔶.

𝔚𝔢 𝔥𝔬𝔭𝔢 𝔱𝔬 𝔰𝔢𝔢 𝔶𝔬𝔲 𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢!

☾ ‧₊˚⊹

╘══════════════════════╛

“I’m sure it looks rather boring at first sight,” Cassian murmured, glancing up at him. “But, Naevys is known for having very nice birthdays. I’m unsure if you drink alcohol, but he is quite fond. I am not personally affected by alcohol, at least not to the extent of getting drunk. The most I can hope for is a nice buzz.” Cassian chuckled.

“I’m not sure, I’ve never drank much,” Ilsa said, making Cassian nod. “I don’t think it sounds boring, it actually sounds like a lot of fun.” Ilsa murmured, unable to help the excitement coursing through him. “I could use a refresher course in dancing however.” Ilsa lowered his eyes shyly, flushing.

“I can help with that. We shall start practicing tonight after you eat dinner. It’ll be wonderful, dear. In the meantime, I’ll have Helix and Felix fit you for a gown. Do you have a preference for color?” Ilsa bit his lip.

“Black, please.” Ilsa requested softly.

“Alright,” Cassian scribbled it down on a sheet of paper so he wouldn’t forget it. “I have made a note so I won’t forget. It’s two weeks away, so we have a little time to play with here.” Ilsa nodded his head. He couldn’t help the excitement pooling inside of him. He was going to a ball–with a king , not just any king, though– his Mate . His eyes widened a little in realization of what he’d just thought.

It was true, technically. As they’d mated, he was technically his mate–but the omega in him might’ve meant that in a different way than Ilsa really knew how to put into words.

𓊈𒆜 ＳＥＶＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa was absolutely in love with the freedom the king allowed him. He was sitting in the ‘secondary library’ in Cassian’s office, multiple Elven parchments surrounding him with detailed descriptions of every plant and animal in the entire realm. Ilsa was absolutely in love. There were way more than he logically had room for in his singular journal so he settled for picking out his favorites and he’d just purchase new journals each time he fills one to continue the process. It was working out quite nicely for him.

He really loved getting to learn about the different kinds of animals in the area, so it was a real shame that he didn’t have enough space in his journal to be able to document all of his favorites so far. The top three were already filled out in his journal–it wasn’t detailed, just minor notes about the size of the animals–but it was enough to keep him entertained. He was vaguely aware that one of the things on the list were technically categorized as arachnids–but to be honest, he wasn’t from the human realm so he had no idea what to classify them as.

Caelestes’s only put effort into teaching Caelestes history from Ilsa’s understanding–where you get to learn about multiple millennia of terrible war crimes committed by Ilsa’s tyrant of a father on less able realms. How his father hadn’t been overturned in all these millennia Ilsa will never understand. He was wreaking havoc on the people of Caelestes and yet, he was not punished for it– ever . Everyone was either too afraid, or maybe Ilsa was the only one with a conscience. It felt like it, honestly.

No one ever noticed that his father was missing a son everywhere he went. No one asked about Ilsa or where he went after his secondary gender was discovered. No one cared . It was just him, all alone, like a princess in a tower. Except instead of being a princess, he was a prince with weird anatomy and a secondary gender that made everyone in his realm look down on him. What was the point of having secondary genders if males who are born with one that isn’t Alpha or Beta are shunned? Isn’t it supposed to make procreation easier not… whatever the hell it was in Caelestes?

Ilsa’s hand brushed over his stomach, a frown marring his face. It was highly unlikely that he’d ever be able to conceive–there was a slight chance, depending on the ratio of demon to human DNA in Cassian because of him being a pureblood vampire, however… it wasn’t likely. Demons weren’t meant to procreate with any other kind of being–humans were much more versatile. He supposed he didn’t really know for certain either way, but it seemed unlikely. He also supposed it didn’t really matter–he and Cassian were married for appearances. It wasn’t like Cassian actually loved him and wanted to start a family with him.

𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑛𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠.

Cassian’s voice came flowing through his head, making Ilsa’s heart stutter in his chest. He flushed and moved his hand back to his notebook, his eyes scanning over it quickly.

Three of six. He supposed that was a good enough place to leave off for the moment. Sifting through hundreds of parchments of animal information wasn’t easy, and he wasn’t wholly familiar with the vocabulary that the Elves had used for some of the information–he’d need Cassian’s help to read most of it. Most of what he managed to get on his own was the sizes and weights of them, not much in the way of descriptions but he was at least familiar with animals that existed on the human realm that were similar–Wruquit is Wolf, Ilsa supposed because of ‘werewolves’ they wanted a differentiation between ‘werewolves’ and wolves. Or maybe they just looked similar and he’d yet to understand how they were different.

Arachey’s are a kind of spider that greatly resembles the tarantula–except for the glowing blue or green line throughout their darkly colored bodies. Their eyes were a bright white color without a pupil, and they, unlike tarantulas, do not have the tiny fur things. It looked like fur to Ilsa at least. The names of those little hairs were probably lost in translation, somewhere along the millennia. Sreerbat’s seemed to be the coined term for what were essentially vampire bats–or really just any kind of bat that resided in Tenebris Regni.

Ilsa’s eyes glanced over at the parchment in front of him, a smile pulling up the corners of his lips. He was so happy for such a silly little privilege of being allowed to research at his own pace. He might be a little too simple, but it was such a nice change from what he was previously accustomed to.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa found himself being summoned to the garden of Cassian’s castle by Shadow. Shadow was the witch that was training him in magic, and well, she did not really know how to stick to any sort of a schedule. The feeling of the ground falling from beneath him sent a shock through him–as, no joke, the stone floor swirled into what looked like a sinkhole full of endless black, shimmery sand. Ilsa struggled for a moment, trying to enlarge the portal before the timer went off. He didn’t know how long he had, but once it ran out, it’d just enlarge and swallow him– and spit him out right in front of her on the grass.

Which is precisely what happened. The portal grew beneath him, and he screeched as he fell into it, the feeling of dread for his landing already starting. The idea is for one person to open the portal and send it, while the other enlarges it and steps into it–thus landing perfectly on their feet in front of the person who sent it. Well, Ilsa was not as skilled at Witches magic as he was at demonic magic, which was saying something because he had no idea about demonic magic for the most part.

Once he got ‘spit out’ by the portal, his eyes widened as he found himself falling straight down onto the ground. Shadow, as if sensing his fall coming, swooped her hand out and the ground beneath him– changed . When he landed on it, it was soft and he bounced a little, his eyes widening as he looked up at Shadow.

“I ran out of time,” Ilsa said, making Shadow shake her head.

“No, you enlarged the circle, you just lost your balance in the sands as it grew and went splat.” She said, a pretty smile pulling up her lips. She, just like he, was much tanner than everyone else here. Her hair was also a shocking black color that was equally as flat as his own. It was–well, nice to not feel plain in comparison to someone. “It’s fine, you will learn as time goes on that once you enlarge the portal you much jump into it feet first.”

“Jump feet first as soon as you enlarge the portal. Got it.” Ilsa sai, making her smile and nod.

“Exactly. You are eager to learn, aren’t you?” Shadow asked, making him nod.

“You’re the only one who’s ever offered to teach me anything useful,” Ilsa said, making her smile a little.

“Perhaps they fear the power that you possess.” She said, looking over him as he stood in front of her. Ilsa let out a shocked noise, his eyebrow rising. No one had ever feared him before, he was certain. “Your power levels are unlike any I’ve seen before.”

“I am absolutely useless in battle.” Ilsa murmured. “All I can do is put people to sleep.”

“All you’ve been taught to do is put people to sleep.” Shadow corrected, a weird glimmer flickering through her eyes. “You have the capabilities to do much more than just put people to sleep. But even if you don’t, have you considered how powerful the ability to make an entire army go to sleep would be on a battlefield? Have you considered that, with your ability, any person who attacked you, or King Cassian, could be put right to sleep with a concentrated burst of energy?” Ilsa was silent, because no he hadn’t really considered either of those actualities despite the fact he probably could already somewhat do it. Much smaller scale than she was talking, but he’d done it in combination with other omegas before during wars–when the soldiers needed to sleep until their injuries healed or… the not so preferable option of them being on their deathbed.

His father didn’t much like to hear the cries of the wounded while he was celebrating his victories.

“Now that you are linked to the king, he is a secondary power source for you,” She continued almost as if he wasn’t really meant to respond anyway. “Think of him as a candle during a ritual–only much stronger. Part of him is in you, just like part of you is in him. Your already almost unlimited power is amplified by Cassian’s almost unlimited power, and vice versa.”

“I can’t really… feel that?” Ilsa asked, confusion seeping through him.

“Close your eyes.” Shadow instructed, crossing her arms. Ilsa did as Shadow requested and shut his eyes. “Can you feel the mating bond pulling inside of you?” He focused in on the feeling of Cassian–the pulsing connection deep in his chest that currently was seeping out a soft, gentle wave of contentment. Cassian must be having a cup of tea in his office. Ilsa couldn’t help the smile that slipped onto his face. “I’m going to take that lovesick-ewie-gooie smile as a yes, and will continue. Focus on it, trace the line of the connection, and push into it.”

Ilsa reached into himself, focusing on the feeling of Cassian–the slight chill that echoed out from the bond that’d settled into his bones, the gentle radiation of his power and presence, the warmth that inevitably came from him–and then he did what he thought she was telling him to, reaching into it and–

𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐼𝑙𝑦𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑎 𝑆𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐’𝑠 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑢𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑦. 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐸𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠, 𝑙𝑜𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒. 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝑊𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠–𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑠, 𝑝𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝑎 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡, 𝐼’𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝐶𝑎𝑒𝑑𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑖𝑓 ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝑊𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑤𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠–𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛? 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑛? 𝑁𝑜, 𝐼’𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑡–𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑑𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐸𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑜 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑡, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑊𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡. 𝑃𝑒𝑟ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑠 𝐼’𝑙𝑙–

Ilsa’s eyes popped open, a gasp falling out of his mouth as he looked at Shadow. She met his eyes and smirked a little.

“Something happened?” She asked, making him nod.

“I-I could hear him thinking.” Ilsa said, making her raise her eyebrow.

“Okay, that’s a start. You have to keep reaching, past his thoughts, until you feel his strength. Reach until you can’t anymore.” She said, making him frown.

“Does he know that we are doing this?” Shadow laughed and nodded.

“Cassian is well aware of the connections and benefits to magic,” She assured him. “Now, try again.” She said, making Ilsa nod and repeat the process, reaching into himself and towards the bond, past Cassian’s thoughts and deeper, not really sure what he was supposed to be reaching for. Until he hit something that made a burst of energy run through him like an electric current. His entire body heated up almost immediately, it felt like every molecule of his body was electrified as strength or perhaps power surged through him in waves that left him a little unsteady. “Perfect!” She said, making Ilsa’s eyes pop open.

“I-It’s hard,” Ilsa managed, accidentally releasing the power. He gasped as it snapped back into place and staggered a bit, Shadows hand reached out and steadied him before he could fall.

“Your power is immense. I am honored to have the opportunity to teach you about magic,” She said kindly. Ilsa smiled, unable to shake the feeling of… familiarity that Ilsa couldn’t really place. “The ones who’ve held you back are right to fear you for your strength–as soon as you master your abilities, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”

“I’m glad I have someone to teach me how to use it.” Ilsa said, excitement coursing through him. “I have always wanted to learn more magic, but I didn’t have the opportunity to.” Ilsa said vaguely, making her hum her agreement.

“Now you do. Do you have any special requests for this lesson?” Shadow inquired, making Ilsa scratch the back of his neck a little.

“Not particularly. I’ve been practicing the spells you gave me.” Ilsa said, making her nod.

“I believe we will need to start with something more small scale than spoken word spells.” Shadow said, putting her hands on his shoulders. “You are powerful, but you have no control over that power. The power currently is locked inside of you–so we will start with the magic that can be done inside of you.” She said.

“That doesn’t make sense–” Ilsa broke in. Shadow held up her hand, smiling softly.

“I will explain. Watch.” She said, bowing her head forward and shutting her eyes. She pressed her fingertips to her chest and after a few moments of absolute stillness, she pulled her fingertips away from her chest, a soft but bright yellow… transparent cloud that looked almost like fire was grasped between them. She turned her hand, opening her palm and he watched in fascination as she moved the energy around her palm.

“How?!” Ilsa asked, his eyes widening.

“I am familiar with manipulating energies. This could be nothing more than something to amuse me on a carriage ride, or as devastating as a meteorite depending on how I direct that energy.” She said, “You have no control of your power, your energy, so your body is not only your host, it is your prison.” Fantastic, such a fitting analogy, Ilsa couldn’t help but think. “The kind of magic you will do well with is non-verbal magic, at least until you get a handle on manipulating your energy. Moving objects with your mind, controlling animals to make them do what you desire, even changing your appearance with nothing but a thought is possible if you are taught well enough.”

“Changing my appearance?” Ilsa questioned.

“Yes, for short durations it is possible to–shall we call it, glamoring yourself. You can look like a whole new person–female, male, doesn’t matter.” Shadow said, crossing her arms. “It’s a handy tool to have in your arsenal as the bride of a realm’s king.”

“Why?” Ilsa asked, making her tilt her head.

“Think of it as insurance.” She said, making him frown. “If you can look like someone besides yourself, if someone were to come after you, you could change your appearance in an instant. You could disguise yourself and walk around town freely without wandering eyes of curiosity.”

I could disguise myself if father ever showed up looking for me, to spare Cassian from having to fight a losing battle, Ilsa realized. He nodded his head.

“What did you have in mind, then? I’m ready and willing to learn anything.” Ilsa said, making her smile. She waved her hand and a small, deep blue stone ball appeared in her hand, floating just in front of her fingers. As her wrist turned, it settled into the palm of her hand.

“This ball here. Look at it.” She said, making Ilsa raise an eyebrow but he complied. “Do you see the shape? Can you estimate the weight? The amount of strength necessary to throw this ball?” She asked. Ilsa really didn’t know anything about estimating the weight of an object, but he could guess it couldn’t have been more than a couple of ounces right? It was small, too small to be over a pound. It didn’t look like it’d take much strength at all to throw it. “Here, feel the ball.” She said, making his face heat up.

Ilsa took the ball from her outstretched hand and let it rest in his palm. To his surprise, it was much denser than he’d initially thought. It felt as if it were somehow dense enough that it defied gravity–he almost worried it might actually press his skin into his bone from the outside. It felt like throwing it could actually be hard, somehow.

“What is this?” He asked, making her laugh.

“I invented this–it’s a ball for self-defense and training.” She explained. “In its current state, it’s for training, but–” She snapped her fingers and the ball in his hand suddenly split into fourths and then down to eight little balls all sitting in the palm of his hand. “Each one of these is capable of moving at the speed of a bullet, through anything you shoot them at.” She said with a smirk. “They can also be used to imprison people. You have them spin around the person’s body, each time they move the balls move in closer–and it gets a little heated when they start moving fast.” She grinned.

“Oh my!” He said, his eyes widening.

“Incentive for them not to squirm or try to escape.” She said, sticking one of her fingers up. “Of course, if they try, that’s when the bullet ability comes into play.”

“What am I defending myself against in this scenario?” Ilsa asked, raising an eyebrow. She chuckled, crossing her arms. “If it’s like, just a mugger or something, I feel there should be options between ‘imprisonment, possible burning’ and ‘bullet straight through them’ somewhere. Perhaps a third less inhumane option, like, ‘soft but swift knockout’ or something.”

“I just called it bullet rain and heated entrapment to save time, but I suppose those are accurate names for them as well.” She said with a laugh, waving her hand. “You can call it whatever you want–I just want you to throw the big ball with your mind. We’ll keep at this until you figure it out, so don’t worry.” She said, snapping her fingers. The balls recombined into one larger ball, and his eyes widened at how seamless the whole thing looked as it re-merged.

“Okay, move it with my mind. Got it.” Ilsa said, looking down at the ball in his hand.

“Concentrate on the feeling of it in your hand. It’s heavy, right? So try to just take the weight off your palm. Focus on the ball, and what you want it to do.” She said, making Ilsa nod his head. Okay. He could totally do this. No big deal.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

𝒞 𝒜 𝒮 𝒮 𝐼 𝒜 𝒩

• ⊱───{✦❅✦}───⊰ •

Cassian woke up around midnight, and at first, he felt as though he’d fallen asleep in a fire-pit. His skin felt sweaty and sticky–something that immediately struck him as odd because he couldn’t physically sweat, but he was half asleep so all he did was start to kick off the blanket covering him up. Trying to uncover only brought his attention to the fact that Ilsa had already kicked it away sometime in the night. Cassian blinked open his eyes, realizing that Ilsa had wrapped himself around him like a koala, which was what both woke him up and caused him to overheat.

Cassian took a deep breath, something he didn’t do when he was sleeping, and the scent that hit his senses made his blood heat up and desire flare through him like a bomb had gone off. Upon further inspection, Cassian realized Ilsa’s skin was practically on fire as he shivered and pressed himself closer as if he could force himself under his skin and become a part of him if he tried hard enough. Cassian cursed under his breath, surrounded by that scent that was as intoxicating as it was alluring. It sparked a fire inside of him, a desperation to reach out and touch him, his hands itching to–but he blinked out of his grasp so as not to disturb his sleep. Straight into his office, on the other side of the castle.

He is early enough in his heat now that he can rest still, Cassian’s mind pushed as he sucked in a deep breath of clean, non-hormone riddled air and then called Seraphina, placing an order for food for Ilsa. Something sweet, to accommodate any cravings he might have, and something to provide protein and energy. Dream melon sunrise to top it off. Plenty of nutrients to keep him full and satiated hunger wise until the next morning when the first waves of his heat should recede.

As he waited for Seraphina to begin Ilsa’s food, he gathered all the paperwork he needed to have done ideally before Ilsa’s heat, but if necessary he’d let it collect dust for a week. He blinked it into the bedroom, along with a candle and sat it on his desk before glancing over at Ilsa. Despite his fever, he kept shivering–Cassian had never had a temperature before, he wasn’t sure if he needed to cover him up or not, but it was worrying so he quickly tucked the sheet around him. Light enough it hopefully wouldn’t incubate heat, but enough that it might fight off any chills he had.

Cassian let out a quiet sigh and quickly collected spare bedding from the linens closet, getting more sheets than he got blankets because Ilsa’s body temperature would rise before it descended back to normal towards the end of his heat. Overheating could hurt him more than being a little chilly, and with Cassian’s temperature being affected when in a close proximity, he felt certain he’d be able to keep him warm.

He stacked them in a chair beside the bed, clearing off the bedside table for food trays to be discarded onto them. Cassian held his breath the entire time, unbothered by the lack of oxygen–it’d keep him clear headed until he got food and something to hydrate Ilsa.

Cassian had initially prepared for the possibility that his alpha might not trigger out–it depended; some creatures, like Elves, when they went into heat triggered his alpha with their scent, but werewolves in heat had no effect. He had demon partners in the past, he’d been through heats before, sometimes his alpha triggered, other times it wouldn’t. He supposed it depended on the type of demon he was dealing with. Incubuses, mainly, but he couldn’t be wholly certain what Ilsa was.

He had his suspicions. He wasn’t a human, nor a witch, he knew. He knew he wasn’t an elf, his eyes and ears gave that away easily. He didn’t smell like a wolf, despite having the same kind of skin tone. Wasn’t a fae, he knew that from experience. Couldn’t be a vampire, he didn’t have the senses for it–but he refused to ask. He didn’t really care about the answer to the question. He could tell by interacting with Ilsa that regardless of what realm he was born in, he was the kind of person Cassian was honored to call his mate.

It was tradition for purebloods to marry purebloods, but the only unwed pureblood vampire was a woman, and Cassian just didn’t want to spend the rest of his eternity unhappily married to a woman when he was gay. He knew he had to do something , he had to find a partner somewhere–Naevys had been his first thought but Cassian was remiss to admit it’d be awkward and uncomfortable. He didn’t feel attracted to Naevys, not enough to spend his life remaining faithful to him, and he didn’t want to risk ruining his relationship with him to even attempt such a jump in dynamic.

When Cassian had caught sight of Ilsa, though, it felt like something in him had shifted. He could see the fear and nervousness on his face, he had practically been trembling at first–he had immediately wanted to calm him, wanted to smite every one of the royal guards who’d been so rough with him. He was small, startling so, in comparison to his guards, and it had sent a wave of possessive worry over him immediately. He hadn’t been able to tell at the time what happened, but… he knew now that he’d realized he was his mate.

There were two kinds of mates, decided mates and instant mates–the difference was probably pretty obvious. A decided mate is one you chose and mate with, giving up your chance at an instant mate. An instant mate is fate, fully, completely. It could take centuries, millennia, waiting for an instant mate. Cassian hadn’t expected it, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain about it.

Cassian settled himself at his desk once he finished collecting everything for Ilsa’s heat, getting straight to work without taking a single breath. Air was unnecessary, but taking care of business and Ilsa were both very, very necessary tasks for Cassian.

𓊈𒆜 ＥＩＧＨＴ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

  •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa woke up in the middle of the night to the feeling of sweat sticking to his skin, and the first thing that crossed his mind was hot. It was so hot. He blindly pushed at the blankets he’d needed only a few short hours ago and shifted, suddenly becoming aware of another thing. Wet. He was soaked, his boxers clinging onto his ass in a rather uncomfortable way. His insides felt warm and tight, painfully aroused, somehow still managing to feel a little like jelly. Ilsa moaned, his mind lagging a bit as he tried to wake up.

What…? Oh. OH. Heat. Ilsa reached out, blindly looking for Cassian but the spot beside him was empty. His eyes shot open, a flicker of nervousness washing through him. In a moment of panic, he wrenched himself up in bed, his eyes darting anxiously to the door of the room. He was in heat, in a castle full of vampires that could definitely smell him. Cassian wasn’t with him, despite the fact that it was night and he usually would’ve been with him–his mind was really clouded and he couldn’t think straight.

He could smell Cassian, the smell of something that he’d never smelled before coming to this realm–he didn’t quite know how to put the exact smell into words. It was smoky, cinnamon-y, spicy, sweet somehow, too–masculine. Ilsa couldn’t really be sure–it was nice, comforting, but faint enough that it didn’t do much for him. His senses weren’t as strong as Cassian’s were, if he wasn’t beside him–it just wasn’t close enough. There was an insistent whisper echoing in his head; Find Cassian. Find Cass. Find ALPHA. FIND ALPHA, NOW–

“Lovebird,” Cassian murmured, drawing Ilsa’s attention, sending a shock of relief and happiness through him. Ilsa’s head turned towards his voice, noticing the soft light from a candle lit beside him on a desk Ilsa had never seen him use before, a pen in hand, paperwork stacked on the surface of it. His golden blond hair was pulled into a loose bun, hair falling out of it, dark orchid tips hanging around his face. Those swirling orchid eyes were looking over him, fiery and dark, an unreadable expression written across his face.

Panic forgotten, everything in Ilsa’s body centered on Cassian. Alpha, his omega pleaded, his body burning with desire. He needed him, he needed to be closer.

“Alpha,” Ilsa murmured, going to move towards him. Before he even managed to lift himself up, Cassian was beside him, one of his arms wrapping around his waist. Ilsa’s heart immediately sped up, his body trembling in excitement under the contact, arousal flooding through him in a rush.

“Stay,” Cassian said, his voice soft but commanding. It sent a wave of arousal through Ilsa, his body quivering as he sank into Cassian’s touch. “Have you eaten?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa pause. He really couldn’t remember, not with the lust hazing his mind and making him unable to think clearly. “You have to eat first,” Cassian murmured, his fingers running gently along Ilsa’s hip. Ilsa shuddered, his head shaking desperately.

“C-Can’t, not… not hungry, please,” Ilsa pleaded, managing to wiggle around so that he was looking up at Cassian, desperate for him. “A-After, I-I sw-swear,” Ilsa pleaded, his hand curling in Cassian’s button down shirt desperately. Cassian sucked in a deep breath, his eyes immediately darkening, and Ilsa realized–he wasn’t breathing. That’s how he wasn’t as affected. Ilsa whimpered, his eyes widening pleadingly as he shifted closer. Cassian’s eyes never left him, burning desire swirling in their depths. He could literally feel how much Cassian wanted him through the mating bond, and it had him feeling dizzy.

“You’re not thinking,” Cassian murmured softly as Ilsa moved closer, settling himself in his lap, letting out a moan when he felt Cassian’s erection hidden beneath his pants. He was too hazed to even care about how wet he was, or whether or not Cassian’s suit was getting covered in slick. It didn’t matter, not when he was so lost in his heat. Cassian’s presence affected him so much, his entire body was practically throbbing, his hole clenching and unclenching desperately. He needed Cassian’s length inside of him, filling him, moving and breeding him he–he couldn’t think about food right now.

“I can’t,” Ilsa moaned, squirming around in his lap a little. Cassian’s hands settled on his hips, his grip squeezing a little tightly–a testament to both his self-restraint and his deteriorating control. The grip wasn’t tight enough to injure him, but it was sure to bruise–the idea sending a wave of arousal and pleasure through his body. “P-Please,” Ilsa pleaded, rubbing into his abdomen.

Cassian’s hand smoothed down his back over the knobs of his spine, hand so cool it had shivers racing down Ilsa’s spine, his lips parting on a moan as he shifted forward and rubbed into him. More, he needed more, Cassian inside of him, filling him and breeding him. When Cassian’s hands settled on his ass, his omega practically keened as Cassian pulled him closer to his chest.

“P-Please,” Ilsa tried again as Cassian ran his nose along his neck. It was soothing, but he could tell that Cassian intentionally wasn’t breathing in his scent still and it made him whine softly.

“Silence,” Cassian hissed softly, nosing at his mating mark. Shivers of pleasure rocked down Ilsa’s spine and he immediately silenced himself, squirming around in his lap desperately. “Listen to my voice, Ilsa.” Cassian instructed, his tone sending waves of arousal through him. “I will enter you now, but once you are settled on top of me, Seraphina is going to bring you some food and a drink. I will feed you, and only once you’ve had nutrition and something to hydrate yourself will I fuck you. Do you understand me?”

Ilsa immediately moaned his understanding, his omega settling under the promise of penetration and the dominance he hadn’t really expected. It went without saying he had a desire to submit, it was fulfilling to the omega inside of him–especially when he was in heat. The desire was overwhelming and it left him leaking into his boxers and complying thoughtlessly.

“Ilsa?” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa’s eyes flutter open and he whined.

“Y-Yes, I understand,” Ilsa managed, making Cassian hum quietly and release a soft breath.

“Good boy. Behave for me, okay?” Cassian said, making Ilsa keen and nod his head, eager to be praised. He wanted to be good for his alpha. “Lift up, Lovebird. Let me undress you.” Cassian murmured gently, his hand sliding down into the waistband of Ilsa’s pajama pants. Ilsa whimpered and quickly raised himself up, flushing as he felt his slick-coated pajamas clinging to his skin. Cassian either didn’t notice or chose not to acknowledge it, and it sent a wave of relief through Ilsa. Cassian always knew just what to do for him, it made him feel a lot more safe than he already did and he seriously worried he’d just melt into a puddle on top of him.

Cassian eased his pants off of him, bringing his boxers with them, pulling his knee up a bit to pull them under it. He repeated on the other side, his cool fingertips trailing along his shins as Ilsa leaned forward and lifted his feet up a little so Cassian could pull them off easier. He was rewarded with a soft kiss to the scarred bite mark on his neck, tingles of pleasure trekking through him. Ilsa moaned, his fingers gripping into Cassian’s shoulders as his hands started fumbling with the button of Cassian’s pants.

Cassian’s steady hands took over for him, easily undoing the buttons, reaching inside of his pants, and pulling out his length. Ilsa was sinking down onto his length before he even had a chance to move his hand and Cassian hissed softly, a warning.

“Slowly, don’t get too worked up. You’re not at the height of your heat yet. You’ll need energy later as well.” Cassian said, his hands moving to guide Ilsa down on his length much slower than Ilsa would’ve liked. He was too heat-stricken to really care about physical limitations, they didn’t really exist at the moment because he just wanted Cassian so badly. Cassian’s care and concern left him sexually frustrated, but it also made him feel so warm, safe, and mushy.

“S-So full,” Ilsa whimpered as his ass hit Cassian’s thighs, the soft material of his pants making his skin tingle. Cassian let out a soft groan, his hand gripping into Ilsa’s hip. Ilsa shifted slightly, leaning forward against his chest, trying to keep from pushing himself back onto his length.

“Very good boy.” Cassian praised softly, leading him back a bit before working the buttons to his shirt quickly, pulling it off of himself. “Put this on, lovely, so Sera can bring your food in.” Cassian murmured softly as he pushed Ilsa’s hand into the sleeve of his shirt. Ilsa complied willingly, helping Cassian slip him into his shirt easily. Cassian did up the buttons on the shirt quicker than Ilsa’s lust-fogged brain could keep up with. Cassian ran his hands over the back of the shirt carefully, covering his ass. “You’re not too hot, right, Lovebird?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa shake his head. He was hot, temperature wise, hot enough that Cassian felt just as warm as he did. It was made bearable by the chill seeping in from a window pushed open just the slightest bit, and the thin button down Cassian put him in allowed the air to brush at the exposed parts of his skin comfortably enough.

He wouldn’t overheat.

“Seraphina,” Cassian murmured, and Seraphina pushed open the door to their room–for once not just popping in like all the vampires seemed to do–a tray in her hand.

“I’ve brought honey-coated pancakes with a vanilla crocotta pudding whip and stone cured Draseoko with a dream melon sunrise to drink.” Seraphina’s high voice rang as she sat the tray down on the bed carefully, not a single piece of the delicate glassware clinking together.

“Yummy,” Ilsa mumbled thoughtlessly, burying his face in Cassian’s neck. He didn’t really know what most of the food he ate was even called–he never bothered asking because none of the animals were named the same things as they were in Caelestes, or the human realm either. Everything he ate tasted fantastic. He didn’t care. Whatever Cassian thought was best.

“Thank you Sera my dear. You are relieved for the night. I will call you in the morning when I need breakfast delivered.” Cassian murmured, his hand rubbing gently on Ilsa’s lower back. It soothed him, even as his body screamed for movement and stimulation. Cassian kept this soothing, calm feeling echoing through the mating bond that–well, he wasn’t sure what it was doing or even what it was. While his body burned with need, slick leaking out of him, he was so calm and relaxed that his body didn’t ache, his muscles didn’t contract from the lack of movement. The unquenchable lust was there–but it felt dulled or diluted.

“Ilsa darling, lean up,” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa whimper. He complied shakily, his entire body feeling heavy as he pushed himself up. Cassian shifted them easily, one of his arms curling around his lower back. “Good boy,” Cassian brushed his other hand over Ilsa’s cheek softly. “Eat at least half, okay?” Cassian said, making Ilsa nod. Cassian grabbed the fork off of the plate and cut a square out of the pancakes, stabbing it with his fork. He then brought it up to Ilsa’s mouth, his fingers running along his hip softly. “Open up.” Ilsa did, the flush deepening on his cheeks as Cassian pushed the bite of food into his mouth.

Ilsa couldn’t help the moan that fell off of his lips as the taste of it blossomed on his tongue. It tasted amazing, the perfect amount of fluffiness, the sweetness of the honey–oh it was delicious. Ilsa felt pleasure creeping through him, his entire body hyper aware of the proximity to Cassian, every cell in his body vibrating. Cassian patiently fed him all of the food, pausing in between to pet and coo at him, praising him and giving him drinks between bites. Ilsa didn’t have to move a muscle, Cassian was completely taking care of him. Supporting his weight with one arm, and doing everything else with his other hand–It was a kind of gentleness that Ilsa and his omega didn’t know how to react to.

Ilsa wasn’t sure he, a demon, deserved the kindness and tenderness that Cassian showed him.

“Is your tummy full now?” Cassian murmured softly, making Ilsa nod quickly. He just wanted him to move, he’d been complaisant, done as Cassian asked perfectly like a good little omega. He wanted him to move now.

“Y-Yes,” Ilsa stammered. Cassian nodded his head then tipped his head back, finally, finally, pressing a kiss to his lips. Ilsa melted into the kiss, a moan falling off of his lips as Cassian slipped his tongue into his mouth, hips beginning to rock gently as he moved the tray over to the bedside table that’d been cleared off at some point. Ilsa didn’t know when, but it didn’t matter. Nothing did but Cassian moving. Cassian’s fingers worked the buttons on Ilsa’s shirt, his lips moving firmly against Ilsa’s, tongue tangling with his in a way that had heat flooding through him. Pleasure coursed through him, bursting beneath his skin as Cassian’s fingers brushed the shirt off of his shoulders.

“You could bottle this scent and call it temptation,” Cassian murmured, his breath ghosting against the heated skin of Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa whined, wrapping his legs around Cassian’s waist, desperately trying to get closer, closer– all that mattered was more and closer. Cassian was quick to flip them over so that Ilsa was on his back, naked beneath Cassian as he looked over him with those alluring eyes. Ilsa was completely pliant, his hands fell to the bed, grabbing at the sheets as Cassian’s fangs sunk unto his neck, a rush of venom flowing through him that made his head fuzzy as pleasure crashed through him. Ilsa wiggled, squirming his hips around until–

“Alphaa!” Ilsa sobbed, his fingernails clawing at Cassian’s shoulders as he lost himself to an orgasm, pleasure curling through him as Cassian’s length hit Ilsa’s prostate. The lack of stimulation combined with the sudden stimulation he’d been wanting desperately had him aching and desperate, and the flood of his release felt well earned this time.

𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑟𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑒𝑡, Cassian’s voice flowed through his head, making Ilsa moan, burying his face in Cassian’s neck. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑠𝑜 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑, 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙,

Cassian’s thoughts kept slipping into his head and it had him shuddering. He felt so close, so connected, and he couldn’t help but tighten his grip around Cassian’s waist, his body clenching around Cassian’s length.

It felt so good, the heat that usually ravaged his senses was a contained fire, pulsing beneath his skin but it was appeased by Cassian’s touch. It was still all-consuming, but it didn’t come with the same sense of terror it always had in the past. Everything was fine, controlled by someone who wasn’t lost in lust, and it made him feel so safe. He felt so safe, he wanted to cry and he wanted to cum. He was so emotional because his hormones were elevated and he felt so close and safe–it wasn’t normal, but it felt so good.

Cassian pulled away from his neck, his tongue running over the bite mark, making it tingle before he brushed a kiss against it. Ilsa gasped as Cassian started moving his hips with precision, each thrust hitting his prostate, it felt so good he could hardly think. Ilsa was burning up, his back arching up into each movement of Cassian’s body, moans falling out of his mouth as pleasure consumed him. He didn’t bother trying to muffle his moans as Cassian’s length dragged along his insides. He was far too desperate for anything to matter–his world had narrowed down to only the source of his pleasure–Cassian inside of him, holding him down to the bed as his lips and teeth trailed across his shoulder and neck.

His entire body was hyper aware of every touch, the sheets against his skin, the brush of skin to skin contact whenever Cassian’s lips brushed his skin, even the feeling of the loose strands of hair brushing against his skin had him shaking and desperate. He didn’t try to fight it, he didn’t have to this time. There was a certain power that came with surrendering to his heat and letting it take over that was undeniable and grounding.

Everything felt so much better since his mind wasn’t fighting against his body. He was flying, fearless as he collapsed into pleasure. Cassian’s nose ran along his neck, and Ilsa couldn’t hear it, but he knew Cassian inhaled because his hips pushed harder into him, desperation seeming to momentarily consume him before he managed to pull it back just a bit. Ilsa moaned, his fingernails scrambling against Cassian’s warm skin–he was so warm fuck, how–how, his mind couldn’t process it.

Cassian’s touch always felt a little like ice, it was soothing to some degree–but like this, his hands felt like molten lava, each place they touched alive with sensation as pleasure coursed through him. Everything feels so intense, so good, and he couldn’t help but lose himself in it. How was he supposed to do anything other than moan, and tremble, and take it, because he couldn’t think about doing anything else. Cassian’s touch was so soothing, despite the fact that it was stroking the fire inside of him and he just wanted to sink into it. It was so good, too good, but just what his body needed, and wanted, and fuck.

Cassian’s scent was aromatic, spicy, captivatingly masculine–he’d never noticed it to the extent he was now and it just affected him so much… fiery ginger, smoky incense, spicy pink pepper, hints of clove, cinnamon, black cherry–amber, smoky notes of myrrh. It had his omega trembling in desire, every inch of his body tingling in excitement whenever the scent strengthened around him.

“A-Alpha,” Ilsa moaned, suddenly realizing he hadn’t heard Cassian talk to him in a while, he needed to hear his voice–he didn’t know why, it wasn’t based on logic, only on what he wanted.

“Such a good little omega,” Cassian murmured softly, his hand wrapping around Ilsa’s erection. Ilsa moaned, his back arching as his hips rocked desperately down into the thrusts that Cassian was expertly landing. “So obedient,” Ilsa whimpered and nodded his head as Cassian’s hand started tugging him off in time with his thrusts. Ilsa moaned when Cassian’s fingers brushed against the underneath of the head of his erection, falling over the edge at the slight stimulation, his entire body tightening. Cassian groaned, sinking his teeth down into Ilsa’s neck, biting down. The flood of venom pushed him over the edge again.

“FUCK!” Ilsa sobbed, his fingernails tearing at Cassian’s shoulders as he was swept away in an orgasm that had every inch of his body trembling, his eyes rolling back as his legs desperately pulled him closer, deeper. He was too caught up in his pleasure to care about anything–nothing mattered, nothing, other than this. “Breed me, Alpha, please, I’m yours, yours, yours, yours–” Ilsa was so far gone, the only thing he cared about was Cassian on top of him. “Alpha, A-Alpha, ahh!” Ilsa pleaded, breathy, pitchy, desperate.

His omega kept telling him to beg for a knot, but he didn’t–Cassian wasn’t a demon he had no idea–he couldn’t–he didn’t want to beg for something Cassian couldn’t give him but his body was urging him and his mind was stretched thin, all he needed was– Oh, oh, Ilsa whined, feeling himself stretch more as he felt what seemed suspiciously like a knot. He couldn’t think about how, nor did he even care, as he felt it stretching him more and more. Cassian shuddered, leaning up before he sank his fangs down into Ilsa’s shoulder and lost himself to his own orgasm. Ilsa’s entire body tightened up, he’s so so so so close, but he’d just cum and he couldn’t again not yet but oh fuck it felt so good.

Cassian’s hand kept moving on him, a gentle but firm pressure that only kept edging him closer and closer to an orgasm. Cassian rocked his hips, the heavy weight of his knot shifting deeper–stretching more, filling him more. The only three brain cells in Ilsa’s head that weren’t too busy melting out of his head from the fantastic sensation of fullness and connection, wondered how he’s managed to survive every other heat up until this one. It felt so good, it was so much, too much, but just what his desperately aching body needed.

And then it hit him, like lightning, it sent a pulse of electric pleasure through him, every inch of his body clenching as he lost himself to an orgasm. He had not even the faintest idea what pushed him over the edge, but it was so good–and enough to send Cassian over the edge into his release, cum flooding him and–

Oh, he wasn’t even sure if he came again. It was just pleasure, deep and grasping, pulling him in and tossing him around as if he were nothing. Everything inside of him was centered, satiated, pleased–it didn’t matter if it was orgasmic pleasure or just a general feeling of pleasure from fulfillment. It felt good. So good.

Ilsa was brought out of his thoughts at the feeling of Cassian’s knot tugging a little against his rim and he whimpered desperately, his fingers clawing at him as a whine fell out of his mouth. Even though he knew logically he couldn’t pull out, couldn’t leave, his mind wasn’t processing that. All he could process was that it felt like Cassian might be pulling out and that wasn’t okay with him. Not yet, not so soon, when he felt so good and–

“Shhhh, Lovebird,” Cassian whispered huskily in his ear, his fingers running along the small of his back. Ilsa forced his eyes open, blinking up at Cassian from where he laid on his chest. Ilsa flushed, realizing the slight tugs had been from him shifting their position so he’d be more comfortable. “It’s okay, you’re such a good boy,” his head fell back against the bed and he let out a quiet groan. Ilsa moaned when he felt more cum shooting into him–he was certain Cassian’s never done this before, but it kept his omega satiated and silent, purring in satisfaction.

“Al-Alpha,” Ilsa stammered tiredly, sinking down on top of him, his head facing towards the window where the moon was peeking in through the cracked window. Any other time, he’d be freezing, but he was perfect, so perfect, so relaxed, so satiated. Cassian nosed at his mate mark with a gentle pressure that sent tingles through his body.

“Ilsa, are you doing okay?” Cassian murmured into his ear, his hands roaming gently over Ilsa’s bare back. Ilsa nodded, his eyes fluttering closed. He was doing more than okay. “You’re doing so well,” Cassian’s hands were so soft and smooth, the way they caressed his skin was more than divine. In his satiated, uninhibited, lust-wrecked mind, all he could think about was Cassian. He was, for the first time during one of his heats, not in agony. He wasn’t scared. He wasn’t alone. He–He had Cassian.

“’m tired,” Ilsa mumbled, making Cassian hum.

“Sleep if you can, little Lovebird,” Cassian murmured softly into his skin, making him whimper and nod. He could do that, right now. For now, at least.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa had lost count of a lot of things in the past twenty-four hours. He couldn’t count the amount of orgasms he’d had, couldn’t count how many knots he’d taken, how many times he’d fallen asleep nestled to Cassian’s chest in multiple different ways, only to wake up fucking himself back onto his length. He was dirty, probably covered in cum and slick, sweaty he knew for sure, body practically melted into Cassian’s as he held him from behind–and Cassian just kept holding him, touching him.

The knot holding them together made Ilsa’s body burn pleasantly. His heat was intensifying by the hour, it felt–though he was quite certain he just spent so much time sleeping and being fucked over the past day that he couldn’t really tell for certain. The bites on his neck, some already healed, other’s hadn’t healed–Ilsa didn’t know the difference between them, only that there was a difference. One tingled, the other burned–both pleasant sensations to his lust fried mind.

Cassian’s body behind his was warmer than he’d ever felt it, he almost felt human, maybe just alive-r. Ilsa couldn’t tell. Each load of cum that was pumped inside of him was cool–the temperature seemed unaffected by the temperature of his skin, and fuck. It was–it was odd, he could concede, but relieving in a way. He was burning from the inside out, so hot that he couldn’t think and Cassian’s cum felt grounding in some way.

It wasn’t hot like him, he could actually feel it, and it satisfied the omega in him to a degree that made him shudder in pleasure each time a wave of it hit his insides. Ilsa shifted, letting out a whimper as he felt Cassian’s knot shift inside of him slightly, Cassian’s arm curled around his waist tighter in response to his movement.

“Ilsa,” Cassian groaned breathlessly, burying his face in Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa’s breath caught, arousal lighting beneath his skin as he felt Cassian’s length pulsing inside of him. He couldn’t resist the urge to rock his hips back, making Cassian hiss quietly. Cassian shifted them suddenly, a quick blurring movement that landed him on his stomach. He immediately fell pliant against the bed, Cassian’s forearms bracketing around his head as Cassian leaned over his back. Ilsa shuddered, a moan falling off of his lips.

“Don’t move,” Cassian breathed into his ear. Ilsa stilled immediately, being rewarded with Cassian grinding his hips down before pulling them back just a bit. Just far enough that the tug of his hole stretching around his knot was faint, not tipping into pain, just rocking into him, pushing deeper, filling him. Ilsa’s eyes fluttered closed, his body sinking down into the bed as Cassian lowered his head so that his forehead was resting on Ilsa’s shoulder, his breath washing over the bite marks.

Ilsa trembled, his length pulsing between his body and the bed, Cassian’s weight holding him immobile beneath him. Ilsa was devoid of thought, pliant, unable to shift enough to wrap his hand around his length–all he could do is let Cassian’s thrusts rub his erection against the bed and let the pleasure and overstimulation shake him apart.

“You look so beautiful like this,” Cassian murmured, his tone sounding decidedly hazed, almost a hiss. “All for me, too, I’m the luckiest man in all of Tenebris Regni,” Cassian’s voice had him shuddering, and then his fangs sank into his shoulder. Ilsa whimpered as he felt more cum pouring inside of him, his eyes rolling back as he lost himself to his orgasm, venom, pleasure, fullness– everything collides and he, for a moment or more, loses gravity. Loses everything but the pleasure and the inescapable ecstasy that had him more than willing to remain pliant beneath Cassian.

He couldn’t be certain when the pressure of Cassian’s knot started to abate, but when Cassian pulled out slowly in one smooth motion, Ilsa whined in displeasure. He wanted to reach out for him again, but his mind was too blank, instead he just laid on his stomach, desperately clenching his hole as much as he could to keep the cum inside of him.

Cassian gently rolled him over to his back, running one of his hands along Ilsa’s stomach and abdomen carefully. Ilsa whined, trying to push himself closer to Cassian. He didn’t like feeling Cassian’s cum leaking out of him, staining the sheets, another thing Cassian would have to take care of for him.

“I need to bathe you,” Cassian murmured into Ilsa’s ear. Ilsa whined softly.

“I’m tired,” Ilsa whined, making Cassian chuckle quietly, his lips brushing over his forehead. Instead of forcing him, arguing with him, or getting angry, Cassian scooped him up in his arms, cradled him to his chest, and carried him into the conjoined bathroom.

“Allow me to indulge my instincts, then,” Cassian murmured softly, making Ilsa flush. He’d never heard an alpha talk like this–treat someone so gently. Caring is usually considered the omegas domain–alphas protect the physical and the omegas handle the emotional. Cassian pulled up the lid of the toilet and sat him down on it, looking over him. “ Stay . Let the cum leak into the toilet while I prepare a bath for you.“ Ilsa flushed, letting himself rest against the back of the toilet, watching as Cassian moved around the bathroom, getting a bath ready. He would rather analyze Cassian’s movements than focus on the feeling of cum leaking out of him.

It made part of him squirm in embarrassment and the other part of him wanted to kick and scream and fill his hole himself. The clarity from his orgasm was slight but it allowed him to think slightly. While it was relieving, in all honesty, it also made it harder because he was present. He could think, he was hyper aware of his body, his reactions and even if Cassian didn’t act like they were strange, he felt like they were.

Mental conditioning from his father, he could only assume. Cassian turned on the water and plugged the drain, walking over to a closet Ilsa had never even looked inside up until this point, pulling out a few vials of something that didn’t have labels. Cassian hummed quietly, sitting them on the edge of the tub before he grabbed a cloth and laid it over the lip of the tub.

“Ilsa, may I see your wrist, please?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa nod immediately and offer out his arm. “Listen to me closely, Lovebird,” Cassian said, making Ilsa blink and nod again. “I’m going to drip a single drop of each of these vials on your wrist. If it hurts, burns, stings or anything uncomfortable, tell me.” Ilsa nodded, and Cassian grabbed the first vial, a shimmering blue color that seemed to kind of glow in an odd way. Cassian held his arm still and tipped the vial, letting a single drop of it fall onto Ilsa’s skin.

Ilsa immediately felt something–not pain, no stinging or burning sensation–just a cooling sensation. It was slight, only where the dot was, but it felt so good. Cassian hummed, making Ilsa shake his head. He didn’t need words to know what the noise meant–he just knew Cassian was asking him if it hurt. Cassian grabbed the second vial, a light purple milky looking mixture. He pulled the glass lid off of it and tipped it over, again, one single drop hit his skin. Another hum from Cassian, and Ilsa shook his head. The final vial was tested, and then Cassian poured a little of the first one into the water, the whole second one, and a half of the third vial in, before he turned to Ilsa.

“Up,” Cassian said, holding his arms out. Ilsa put his arms up, letting Cassian lift him and put him into the bathtub without fighting. Ilsa whimpered when the water hit his skin–even as warm as he was sure it was, felt almost cool against his skin. “How’s that feeling?” Cassian questioned.

“C-Cool,” Ilsa murmured breathlessly, fighting the urge to absolutely drown himself in the water. He didn’t know how to describe it–his skin, overheated and flushed, seemed to lose some of its sensitivity. It felt a little like aloe on a burn, soothing in the most deeply satisfying way to his hypersensitive skin. “W-What’s it–” He didn’t know how to ask what he wanted to know, he realized.

“One works to relax overstimulated nerve endings, one soothes the tenderness of your skin, hydrates it, and it even might give you momentary release from your heat symptoms, and the last one is meant to help replenish your energy levels. Is it having any of those effects on you currently?” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa nod his head breathlessly.

“I think so.” Ilsa said, flushing a little as Cassian grabbed the cloth and dunked it into the water. “Feel’s so good,” Ilsa sighed, sinking down into the water a little more as Cassian started rubbing at his skin with the cloth. It was soft against his skin, the water having the same effect on the rest of his body as Cassian used the cloth to clean his skin off. With each swipe of the cloth, Ilsa found himself falling complaisant, his body melting beneath Cassian’s hands.

So gentle, Ilsa couldn’t help but note as he rested himself against the lip of the tub. When his entire body was so clean he was pretty sure he’d slip on the floor if he stepped out of the tub, the cloth was thrown into the water with little regard.

A moment of panic washed over him when Cassian scooted him back so he was laying in the water. He couldn’t help it, memories flashed behind his eyes and even if he felt safe, it was instinct to fear drowning. Cassian let out a soft hum, his thin and soft fingers scrubbed at his hair, and then he was raised out of the water quickly. Ilsa couldn’t help but blink at Cassian, just look at him. What could he really say? Not much, honestly.

Cassian’s hands left for a moment, and it made Ilsa whimper, but when he heard the sound of a bottle opening, he let out a deep breath of relief. In seconds, Cassian’s hands were back in his hair, massaging the shampoo into it. Ilsa couldn’t help the soft sigh that fell off his lips.

“You feel better, Lovebird?” Cassian murmured softly, making Ilsa nod. He found the whole thing very–very something. It was making him feel odd, and not necessarily in the way he expected it to. He was aroused–not even in a heat way, just naturally. Cassian touching him like this, being so kind and open–he wanted him. He felt so different from any other heat, it wasn’t unmanageable pain so far–though he knew the hardest days were the last, when he was more clear headed, were the hardest. When his whole body ached and his mind pleaded for the end of it, that was probably the worst.

Cassian finished washing his hair and pulled him out of the bath, drying him off, before sweeping him up into his arms. Ilsa let out a squeak, his body already beginning to burn a little as Cassian’s skin hit his own. Cassian carried him into the bedroom and laid him down on the bed, soft clean sheets replaced the ones soaked in their previous mess.

“Alpha,” Ilsa whined as Cassian stepped away from him. Cassian hummed quietly, leaning over him, being careful to avoid the fresh linens on the bed as he reached out and petted Ilsa’s head softly.

“I’ve got to shower first, love. I don’t want to sully the sheets with sweat. Your skin is much more sensitive than mine.” Cassian murmured softly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “It will take three minutes, tops, love. If you need me, all you have to do is say my name, I’m right there so I’ll be able to hear you.” Cassian promised, making Ilsa flush brightly and nod.

“Okay Alpha,” Ilsa complied softly. He knew if he pushed, Cassian would stay. Ilsa could feel his own reluctance to leave his side echoing through the mating bond, but also, the softness of his eyes softened Ilsa. He was clean, Cassian should be too. Cassian nodded and stepped away from him.

Cassian disappeared into the bathroom and the water cut on. His scent didn’t even have time to lessen by the time he returned. He was clothed differently from what Ilsa had ever seen him dressed in–a long sleeved shirt with a v-neck and a loose fitting pair of pants. They looked like sweatpants, almost, and his hair was falling loosely around his shoulders, wet from his shower. Ilsa’s mouth probably hit the floor, based on Cassian’s response.

“There is little point in getting properly dressed when I can smell your arousal growing by the second,” Cassian said, his voice just loud enough to be heard from where he stood. “Also, these clothes are easier to launder.” Ilsa tried to focus on the words coming out of his mouth, they didn’t sound important enough, though, not when–not when he was starting to burn again.

“H-Have you done this before?” Ilsa managed to ask, making Cassian hum quietly as he sat down on the bed and offered Ilsa a bottle of water. He took it, Cassian’s hand reaching out to help him sit up so he could drink. Sitting up made him feel a little lightheaded as the blood seemed to rush or something–moving during heat wasn’t particularly easy for him.

“Ah, I have. Was I so obvious?” Cassian asked, chuckling quietly, as he leaned over Ilsa resting his elbow down on the bed beside him, his cool body lowered the temperature of his blood a little, helping his heat come in more comfortably somehow. Ilsa didn’t understand his body’s reaction to Cassian. “I have had multiple partners over the years.” Cassian said rather vaguely, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. “I don’t mind talking about it, but I feel like while you’re in heat probably isn’t the best time.”

“I-I’m not jealous.” Ilsa said. Cassian raised a questioning brow. “It’s relieving,” Ilsa admitted shyly. “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, I-I suffered my way through them alone every time, and-it was always so hard-” He cut off abruptly, fighting back tears. He shouldn’t be talking about this, he wasn’t thinking clearly, he knew that. The more he revealed about himself the higher the likelihood that he’d want to get rid of him.

“Hey,” Cassian murmured, one of his thumbs wiping at Ilsa’s eyes. “You don’t have to know what to do right now. It’s okay. This is your first heat with someone else, it’s natural for it to be easier. Your previous experiences fully depended on your own abilities–which are lessened during your heat.” Ilsa nodded, whimpering a little as a wave of arousal washed over him. “You need help, little Lovebird?”

“P-Please,” Ilsa whimpered.

“I’m going to try something new, okay?” Ilsa nodded, not even caring what he did to him as long as he got relief from the heat beginning to flood his body in waves. Ilsa thought maybe he wanted a new position, they’d mainly done it on their backs, sides, or with Ilsa on his knees, Cassian kneeling behind him–after so many times, he could imagine Cassian wanted something different. Ilsa was wholly confused when Cassian rolled him over onto his knees again.

Slick stained the new bedding, but Ilsa was beyond the point of shame. Cassian had seen him in much more debauched positions than this, at this point, but even so, his cheeks burned when he felt Cassian’s eyes running over his hole. Then he felt something soft and wet running over his hole. He whimpered, his eyes squeezing shut at the wave of pleasure seeping through him.

He’s never–never even thought of…

“A-Alpha, Alpha,” Ilsa moaned, clawing at the bedding, trembling at the pleased noise that came out of Cassian’s mouth. He couldn’t help his body shaking, the shudders running through him–he had no idea what to do with himself, unable to hold back the pleasured noises falling from his mouth. “Oh, oh feels–” Ilsa panted as he sank his face down into the mattress. He was already sweating, his bangs clinging onto his forehead. Each movement of Cassian’s tongue had him jerking, twitching, trembling–he was leaking slick all over himself, down onto the sheets, his thighs, everywhere.

Ilsa keened, his toes curling as Cassian moved his tongue in a different way and it sent a wave of pleasure through him. The scent of his heat and Cassian’s scent combined wrapped around him, making his mind fog over and his body hyper aware of Cassian behind him. He could feel the bites and fingerprint marks all over him, some of the bites tingling while the others burned just the tiniest amount, the fingerprint marks ached just the slightest bit–a testament to both the amount of restraint Cassian had during his heat-waves and similarly the momentary lapses when he’d been just as consumed as Ilsa.

“P-Please, Alpha, please, oh no, no no, ahhh,” Ilsa couldn’t decide if he wanted to push into his tongue or pull away from it. On one hand, it felt absolutely amazing, but on the other Cassian was–Ilsa had–he couldn’t even think it to himself. Truthfully, he didn’t want him to stop but–was it even okay? He was a king and–

His thoughts quickly became irrelevant as precise fingers and lips tugged at his rim, exploring every millimeter of his hole. Cassian’s fingers quickly found his prostate, rubbing against it as his tongue slipped into his hole beside his fingers, and Ilsa couldn’t really do anything but lose himself in the pleasure. His mouth was so warm and wet, addictive.

“A-Alpha,” Ilsa pleaded, not really sure what he wanted. Cassian hummed into his skin, the vibrations echoing through Ilsa and sending shudders through his body.

“Touch yourself, Lovebird.” Cassian commanded, his voice still soft as ever, but there was a weight behind his words that had his omega tremble in complaisance. One of Ilsa’s trembling hands released the bedding and found his length, rubbing up and down it desperately. “If we can get you off this way now, it might be used later when your heat waves come faster. Less knotting, less pain.” Cassian explained softly, making Ilsa choke out an okay. Ilsa tried, he tugged himself off, releasing all thoughts into the thick mire of lust clouding his mind and pleasure radiated through him.

His erection throbbed in time with his heartbeat, and he was certain his release would eventually come–it had to . He needed it too, wanted it so much. Cassian’s tongue moved inside of him and he could do nothing but lie still and move his hand desperately, circling his finger tip along his slit, pressing down around the base of his length.

“You’re so beautiful, Ilsa,” Cassian murmured, his hands running along the insides of his thighs, breath caressing Ilsa’s hole. It made him shiver, his hand moving faster on his length. “You’re so good, my beautiful little Lovebird,” Cassian’s tongue was everywhere, and Ilsa couldn’t think enough to respond. The things Cassian could do to him were beyond what he could express with words, but the things Cassian made him feel were beyond even that. He couldn’t comprehend them, all he knew was that if anyone was able to bring him to the release he longed for, it was Cassian. Alpha. His Alpha.

“A-Alpha,” Ilsa moaned pleadingly. Shivers traced through him, his orgasm slamming into him like a freight train. Stars danced behind his eyes, his vision blanking out a bit as he trembled and moaned desperately. He couldn’t breathe, but he wasn’t quite sure that he needed to. When his vision came back, he caught sight of Cassian leaning over him, his hair a mess, orchid eyes clouded, his scent seemed to have deepened or… something and the immediate surge of heat that rushed through Ilsa at the scent had him shuddering. “Knot,” Ilsa pleaded, pushing his hips back into Cassian’s erection.

“Ilsa,” Cassian choked, one hand gripping into his hip tightly while the other tugged at his pants. “You’ve just come,” Cassian murmured, seemingly a little dazed as the head of his erection teased his hole. Ilsa shook his head, trying to think, to form the words necessary to communicate that he just really did not give a fuck, he just–he needed Cassian now. Not fifteen minutes from now, even a full minute was too long.

“P-Please, please, Alpha, please knot, wanna–wanna be bred, please,” Ilsa couldn’t think, the words coming out of his mouth weren’t even what he was thinking, his omega having more control than he did. It didn’t matter though, as long as it worked and Cassian gave him what he needed.

“ Shit ,“ Cassian hissed, sounding somewhere between blissed and surprised, as his length sank into him. Ilsa grappled, his hands clenching into the sheets as he immediately went pliant, surrendering to the pleasure coursing through him. Cassian’s clothes weren’t even fully discarded, the desperation leaking through the mating bond and amping Ilsa’s up even more. The air around them felt thicker, his desperation coiling into his veins and clogging up his mind. He could feel every inch of Cassian’s length inside of him and his omega was scratching at him, desperately clawing to get out.

“A-Alpha, knot, knot,” It was all Ilsa could think about. He could feel slick leaking out of him, even with Cassian’s length stuffing him full, and it had his heart hammering in his chest. His insides felt warm and fuzzy, the weight of his length inside of him left him breathless. He was so hot from the moment that Cassian touched him, his body practically burning in desire. He felt so sensitive that Cassian’s hand skimming over his skin made him tingle, and he just wanted to be bred, to be full, connected.

“Such a good omega wife aren’t you?” Cassian praised, his voice deeper than usual, huskier, sending trembles through his body. Cassian’s hips moved, clearly erring on the edge of his control, faster, practically bashing into his prostate with each movement. He didn’t know what was changing, what was happening, the lust was making it so hard to think, to clear his head. The scent around him was so strong, pulling at him, almost forcing his body’s temperature to rise. Rut, Ilsa’s omega practically sighed in bliss, and Ilsa really couldn’t understand at first. It felt like his blood was boiling beneath his skin, he needed more, so much more. Understanding set in and his omega managed to take over.

“W-Wanna take y-your knot, please,” Ilsa pleaded desperately, trembling with desperation. Cassian’s length moving against his prostate was pleasuring him so much, but it wasn’t enough, “More, please, Alpha, breed me,” Ilsa all but sobbed, his fingers tearing at the sheets, his eyes rolled back in pleasure as Cassian’s speed picked up. Ilsa shifted his weight up to his elbows and rocked back into his thrusts the best he could, closing his eyes as the combining sensations cascaded over him.

Cassian’s breath was warm on the back of his neck, and Ilsa couldn’t help but shudder whenever Cassian’s lips or teeth ran over his skin. Cassian’s fangs kept biting down into his skin, his shoulders, neck, anywhere and everywhere, way more than before, but Ilsa wouldn’t complain. Not when he loved the feeling of being marked by Cassian.

“You want that, Lovebird? To give me an heir to the throne? Such a beautiful little omega, too.” Cassian praised, his hands roaming over Cassian’s skin, so soft despite the frantic pace of his hips.

“Yes, yes,” Ilsa sobbed, it was all he could do to keep from bursting into flames as pleasure seeped into him, his entire body clenching. Cassian’s eyes were full on glowing , each thrust deep and powerful. Ilsa cried out, his nails digging into the sheets more, too weak to even try to grapple around. His body was somewhere between numb and so sensitive that the slightest touch was so pleasing he couldn’t contain himself. “B-Breed me, breed me as you wish please,” Ilsa babbled, tears streaming down his cheeks, eyes wide and desperate as he looked back over his shoulder at Cassian. “P-Please knot me, Alpha.”

Ilsa bit down into the bed, rocking back into Cassian’s thrusts. He’s so hot again, so close, he needs the weight of Cassian’s knot inside of him, anchoring him as pleasure consumes him. Cassian hissed quietly, pushing his knees apart more, thrusting deeper, harder. Ilsa let out an incoherent string of pleas; Alpha, knot, breed–it didn’t make any sense, but it didn’t matter because Cassian knew what he wanted. Cassian pulled his hips up and pushed his cock deep inside of him, deeper than before.

Cassian’s hands clamped down on his hips, he definitely could feel the bruises forming beneath his grip, but everything felt so good he didn’t care. It’s all just pleasure, pure sensation rolling through him, and he couldn’t breathe or think because it just felt so good. He trembled as his body sank forward into the bed, Cassian’s movements keeping him mostly still but even so Ilsa couldn’t help but try to rock back into his movements.

Ilsa managed to shift enough to get some leverage, his hand pressed against the headboard and he pushed himself back into Cassian’s thrusts. Cassian let out a deep groan, his length swelling with his movements. Cassian’s cock ran over Ilsa’s prostate, and every time the pleasure pulses deeper, stronger. Ilsa was so, so close, his entire body clenching. Cassian groaned, his hands releasing him as his body leaned over him, hands gripping into the edge of the mattress. Cassian groaned again, his fangs sinking into Ilsa’s neck, knot slipping into place inside of him. Ilsa fell apart, moans falling off his lips as everything inside of him centered on Cassian.

The stretch of the knot was perfect, his hips grinding deep, Ilsa’s body convulsed as he lost himself to his release. He couldn’t even cry out, the feeling of his orgasm washing over him so intensely that all he could manage was trembles and sobs of pleasure into the mattress as Cassian’s movements stilled and Cassian nuzzled into the back of his neck. Ilsa hadn’t even realized he pulled his fangs out of him, but the soft motion made his body heat up.

Cassian moved them around, gentle once again, as he laid them on their sides, his hands running over Ilsa’s chest and abdomen gently, a soft hum falling off of his lips.

“I apologize, I seem to have been… affected by your heat more than anticipated,” Cassian murmured into his ear, pressing a kiss to Ilsa’s cheek softly. Ilsa hummed tiredly, opening his eyes to look blearily over his shoulder at Cassian.

“Feels good. Smells good.” Ilsa guessed that would have to do. Cassian hummed softly in response, probably unsure how to respond to such a random remark. Cassian’s hand ran over his stomach softly, down to his leg, then back up his side, mindlessly seeming to travel over him. “D’ya think it’ll…” Ilsa broke off, flushing brightly as he realized what he was saying. He could want it, could think about it, but was it… even possible? His omega whined at his thought, a wave of something he couldn’t really place washing over him.

“I’ll fuck you until it takes Lovebird,” Cassian murmured softly, tone soft and soothing. “Over and over, for the next five days, keep you full and bred. If not this time, next time. We’ll try until it happens.” Ilsa flushed and nodded.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Cassian took the care to blink him to the library on the third day, after feeding him breakfast while keeping Ilsa settled on his knot, and then another bath to help appease his heat long enough to give him a break physically. Ilsa had been reading for a while, satiated from their earlier relations, but it seemed like the heat was beginning to take him over again. The third day was probably the worst for him, the waves of heat so frequent they were unbearable–with Cassian they didn’t feel quite so unbearable. The waves were strong, but with the help of Cassian’s knot, less frequent than usual. Still frequent enough that it drove him insane.

He was just physically kind of tired. Slick leaking out of him, coating where he was sitting on the couch made his face heat up and a whine to fall out of his mouth. His body didn’t care though, obviously, and it made him a little emotional. He felt tears prickling at his eyes as he looked over at Cassian.

“C’mere, Lovebird,” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa moan pathetically as he shifted closer to him. Cassian pulled him closer, lifting the hem of the button down shirt Ilsa was wearing up and pulled his length out of his sweatpants. Ilsa gripped his book to his chest, heat flooding through him as Cassian moved him over his lap, slowly sliding him down his length, murmuring soft words in his ear as he sank back against Cassian’s chest.

“C-Cold,” Ilsa whimpered, and Cassian let out an apologetic noise, his fingers gently running along his hips as he trailed kisses over the exposed skin of Ilsa’s neck. Cassian’s gentleness calmed him, and he found himself slowly relaxing against Cassian’s chest while he rocked their bodies together.

“You’re my adorable little cock-warmer, I can’t help it,” Cassian murmured, his nose moving the collar of the shirt out of the way to press his lips against Ilsa’s shoulder gently. Ilsa took a deep breath to calm his shaky breathing. Despite him being cool to the touch, he wasn’t actually cold but Ilsa couldn’t help the urge to gripe though, embarrassment making his ears turn red. “Go ahead lovely, read your book. I’ll abate the heat for you.” Cassian murmured, one of his cool hands settling on Ilsa’s abdomen. Even through the shirt, his hand was cool and soothed the ache in Ilsa’s stomach the slightest bit.

Ilsa turned back to the book, his blurry eyes struggling to focus as Cassian moved his hips. Once he managed to recall the paragraph he’d been on, he managed to focus to some degree–just enough to see it, not enough to comprehend it, but he kept trying regardless, wanting to at least read a single chapter. Pleasure coursed through him, but even so, he tried to focus. Tried so hard. But he couldn’t stop himself from wiggling around in Cassian’s lap, making Cassian’s length hit something inside of him that had shockwaves of pleasure radiating through him.

Ilsa moaned, his head falling back to rest on Cassian’s chest. Cassian’s hips rolled skillfully, sending a wave of pleasure through Ilsa’s body. Ilsa’s hand wrapped around Cassian’s wrist, making Cassian’s movements stall a bit, a questioning hum falling off his lips.

“P-Please, I can’t… it… move,” Ilsa’s English abilities seemed to have failed him, as he managed to barely make out the sentence. Cassian let out a soft hum.

“You smell divine,” Cassian growled into the back of his neck as his hips rolled forward again, faster, repetitive motions that left him all but trembling as pleasure coursed through him. Ilsa laid himself limply against Cassian’s chest, hips idly rocking back and forth with Cassian’s thrusts, cries of pleasure falling off his lips. Cassian’s orchid eyes were glowing behind him when he glanced up over his shoulder, book completely forgotten in his lap as Cassian pleasured him. Filled him. Cassian leaned forward, his teeth sinking down into Ilsa’s neck as he picked up his pace.

Each thrust sent pleasure spiraling through him. It was like he had jumped straight into a portal with no destination–once he jumped, the portal would decide everything else, only he had jumped into Cassian and everything was Cassian’s choice. It was freeing, releasing his ever growing lust and making it less unbearable. He surrendered, and it really didn’t take much to send him over the edge into his release. When he came, it knocked the air from his lungs, sobs falling off his lips as the world shattered around him.

He couldn’t help but tremble, it felt like every cell in his body was multiplying and he was burning from the friction of it.

“Knot, Alpha please, knot me, breed me,” Ilsa pleaded desperately, his hands tugging at Cassian’s shirtsleeve desperately. Cassian’s scent flooded the air, rich and heady, and Ilsa couldn’t help but inhale it deeply. Instantly each jolting thrust of Cassian’s cock inside of him unfolded a new dimension of pleasure, rising, swirling, smoky pleasure permeating every inch of his body. Ilsa’s brain short circuited. Higher reasoning vanished before him as the world became nothing but the fuzzy rapture inside of his body.

Ilsa grabbed onto Cassian’s arm and clung to it, slamming his hips back against Cassian’s, each pummeling thrust ringing every nerve ending in his body like a bell. Even though it was frustrating and made things hard, he loved this. He loved the release from everything, the way Cassian’s body filled the void inside of him. He was one with Cassian like this, he was connected, as connected as he could be–the only thing he needed was Cassian length inside of him, his knot filling his hole as his cum filled him. All that he wanted to think about was Cassian.

In a daze, he couldn’t help but wonder; would their children look pretty? Cassian was handsome, he’d been called beautiful enough by Cassian to believe it to some extent. He felt like he paled in comparison to some of the other residents in this realm, but that didn’t really matter if Cassian thought he was beautiful. He just wanted to please Cassian, to be good enough for him. Ilsa could feel Cassian’s fangs biting into his shoulder, his hand moving to curl around Ilsa’s cock, tugging out new trills of pleasure in rhythm with the rolls of his hips. Ilsa could almost cry from loving it so much, from being so close to orgasm that he felt like shattering again.

“Breed–” Before Ilsa could even finish the plea, Cassian started to knot him, and he broke off with a cry of pleasure. It’s. It’s so much. So deep and so big, but he’s been fucked so much that it was a familiar feeling. It felt as if Cassian were perfectly shaped to rub against his prostate and it made the pleasure stronger, more intense–so much sensation. Cassian’s thrusts stuttered and Ilsa knew it was happening, Cassian was cumming inside of him, filling him up, soaking into him.

“A-Alpha,” Ilsa gasped, inhaling again as the pleasure kept rippling through him. Then Ilsa was gone, sucked under by a riptide of pleasure, trembling and convulsing in the churn, holding onto Cassian like a life-preserver as every muscle in his body seized in blinding delight. It was so good, so good, so fucking good–

For a few minutes, the world around Ilsa vanished, leaving just him and Cassian. Alone. Just them, surrounded by the one thing in the world that gave Ilsa a similar feeling to what Cassian gave him. Warmth, excitement. When he found his way back to reality, he became aware of the warm palm resting over his stomach softly.

“My good little omega,” Cassian murmured into his skin, pressing a kiss over the mate mark on his neck. Tingles traced through Ilsa and he shivered, his hand squeezing lightly around Cassian’s wrist as he let out a little moan. “Would you care for me to read to you, Lovebird?” Cassian murmured, making tears prickle in Ilsa’s eyes.

“ Please. “ Ilsa whimpered. Cassian hummed and nodded his head, his hands picking up the book that Ilsa had managed to push off the couch at some point–he just had no idea when– and opened up the book, easily hunting down the page Ilsa had been on. When Cassian’s soft, whispery voice started reading the first paragraph, tears flowed down Ilsa’s cheeks and he hurried to try to wipe them away discreetly.

“Lovebird, are you in pain?” Cassian asked worriedly, his tone so soft and concerned it made Ilsa’s heart crack a little.

“N-No, no,” Ilsa cried, shaking his head and covering his face. “It’s so good. Everything is so good, it’s just a lot.” Ilsa said, making Cassian nod his head in understanding, his lips pressing to Ilsa’s temple.

“I’ll read to you. Sleep if you can. When you wake up, the knot will have gone down, and I’ll give you another bath. See if we can’t give you another short break, yeah?” Cassian murmured. Ilsa nodded his head. Sleep seemed nice, Cassian reading to him seemed nice. He had a feeling he might know which he preferred, however–he also knew which was more probable. He was exhausted, sleep was inevitable, but that didn’t mean he had to want to go to sleep.

He didn’t want to go to sleep when he was so connected to Cassian. He loved the closeness, the way he was connected to Cassian–he couldn’t get away, he was stuck, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it. He was safe, with his alpha, where nothing mattered but his arms around him, and the soft tone of Cassian’s voice as he murmured the words of the book into his ear. It was soothing, setting everything inside of him to a stillness that he wasn’t familiar with, at least until the past few days.

There were many, many drawbacks to his heat. The overstimulation was pleasurable, but at a point it becomes redundant, even painful at times. The inability to think clearly or properly for any duration of time was another. He felt as though he’d lost his mind at times, things were blurred because honestly, he’d just been fucked so much how could he possibly remember every single time?! Which sounded way worse than it actually was–it was just constant. His heat was used to frequent waves which were intense. Sometimes his heatwaves didn’t even stay away long enough for Cassian’s knot to go down. It was a side effect of spending many millennia alone. His heat had been accustomed to trying to constantly pull someone to him for help, frequent waves of heat means frequent waves of hormones released to attract a mate. His body was used to working on overdrive, so even as much as Cassian tried to keep him comfortable, he knew it was much more difficult than Cassian was making him believe because he’d done it before.

There were seemingly as many pros as there were cons, though. For one, Cassian was purely focused on him–which Ilsa couldn’t lie, made him happy. The king worked so much and so hard all the time. He admired that greatly about him, it was admirable–but he really liked this . It is quiet with just them, intertwined like this. No one bothering them, nothing was wrong, it was just him and his mate and everything was perfect.

It really shouldn’t have surprised him when he fell asleep on Cassian’s chest, even so, he felt a bit of disappointment. He couldn’t fight it though, and the world faded into darkness around him as his thoughts tapered off.

𓊈𒆜 ＮＩＮＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

To be honest, the rest of Ilsa’s heat was a haze of memories he couldn’t make sense of. His heat had intensified at the peak, and then he’d not been able to sleep because the waves were hitting so frequently. His body seemed to want to make up for all the missed opportunities, and honestly, he was just relieved that it was over. When he’d looked over himself in the mirror, he’d fought back a gasp when he looked at how many marks covered him.

Hickies, bruises shaped like Cassian’s hands, bite marks–some healed, others not quite. Had he not just gotten out of his heat, he probably would’ve gotten turned on. He loved the way the bruises ached just the slightest bit, and the bites would occasionally sting when his shirt rubbed them the wrong way. A subtle reminder of the passion he’d been entangled in only a few hours previously, one that Ilsa was hard pressed to call painful at all. It felt pretty good, and his demonic healing would have them all healed by the days end, which was a little annoying. He didn’t want them to heal.

Needless to say, his experience had been overall positive, and to Cassian’s credit, he had done everything he could to make it more comfortable for him. He had gotten him off in so many different ways he hadn’t even known were possible. His body being sensitive meant that Cassian could push him over the edge in many inventive ways, so when, on the final day, Ilsa’s heat had began tapering apart more and more Cassian had just sat him on his length–no knot or anything, just so that he’d feel full and had done some things that Ilsa wasn’t sure he could meet Cassian’s eyes after.

At least not honorably, but he supposed he was a demon, so honor and integrity were not exactly important qualities. Even so, he was a king’s wife–regardless of race, he was meant to save face. Whenever Cassian’s gaze landed on his, he was powerless to stop the bright blush that covered his cheeks. In an attempt to avoid Cassian, and to distract himself from the remnants of his lust, Ilsa managed to sit down and read a book.

He spent his morning practicing moving the ball Shadow had given him with his mind and he succeeded–about 33.187% of the time. He’d done the calculations, and at this rate, he’d have the skill mastered by the end of the week–accounting for any possible plateaus or lazy days when he doesn’t have time to practice. After practicing for approximately an hour and a half more, he spent the rest of his morning in Cassian’s office helping him with paperwork–but that ended when he couldn’t help but blush and it got embarrassing so he excused himself.

What was he doing now, though? Trying to teach himself to dance, because he didn’t want to bother Cassian with another thing he had to learn to do properly. He felt like such an inconvenience. His mother never bothered his father, they had a strong, and seemingly happy–as per Caelestes standard at least–marriage. He wouldn’t call them lovey-dovey, they didn’t really do anything for anniversaries or the like, but they were stable, and for what they had, it was a pretty decent marriage.

She certainly wasn’t as comfortable as Ilsa had become, but Ilsa was saddened to admit, he wasn’t feeling too piteously towards her. Perhaps Ilsa was holding a grudge over being imprisoned and mistreated, he was uncertain, but it was hard to feel bad for her when he’d been mistreated in front of her for years and she didn’t care. There were noticeable differences between how his parents treated his brothers and him–he was locked away, his brothers paraded around proudly. He wasn’t allowed to learn defensive magic when he was definitely the one who needed it, while his brothers were trained on the battlefield. He could take or leave the battlefield part, but the defensive magic. He couldn’t help but want that.

“Care for a partner, Lovebird?” To Ilsa’s credit, he didn’t jump when Cassian appeared behind him. Ilsa turned to face him, face flaming red as his eyes met Cassian’s.

“W-What are you doing out here?” Ilsa asked, motioning around the garden where he was dancing.

“I grew bored of paperwork,” Cassian replied, putting his hand on Ilsa’s lower back. Ilsa’s breath caught in his throat, and he tipped his head back to look up at Cassian shyly. Cassian’s orchid purple eyes glowed brightly as they roamed over his face. “Seems like I picked a good time, if my bride would give me the pleasure of a dance, at least,” Cassian teased, offering his hand and a playful wink.

“Is that alright?” Ilsa asked wearily, taking his hand anyway. He couldn’t hide his wide smile though, even as Cassian adjusted his hand into the proper position. Cassian put his other hand on Ilsa’s shoulder blade, pulling him closer.

“It’s just a short evening break. Indulge me,” Cassian said, making Ilsa nod his head, blushing brightly as his other arm fell into place. Cassian began leading him, “Now, you’re the follower. I’m the lead. All you have to do is listen to me. Feel me, here and here,” Cassian put pressure on his hand and his shoulder one by one. “Step back and balance as I step forward.” Ilsa nodded.

“You’re so good at this,” Ilsa said, embarrassment flooding through him, making Cassian hum quietly.

“I’ve had a while to practice. My parents had me trained in all forms of dancing–a gentleman must be able to dance to any tune, my mother always said.” Cassian murmured, “You’re working on the box step currently, right?” Ilsa nodded his head, flushing. “Allow me.” Cassian said, pushing forward against Ilsa’s hand as he took a step forward, forcing him to start the box step. “One, two, three, four, five, six… Keep your posture, but dip and sway with the rhythm of the music playing.”

“But there is no music playing,” Ilsa pointed out quietly, flushing as he followed the movements with Cassian. “You’re just guiding me where to go?” Cassian nodded.

“Yes. Just take each step in time with mine, and trust me to guide you.” Cassian murmured softly, brushing a kiss to his temple. Ilsa didn’t point out he already trusted Cassian much more than he probably should–that he was possibly more attached than he’d like to acknowledge. He was scared to admit that perhaps this whole thing had turned into something else all together. “It’s more difficult because there isn’t music out here,” Cassian said as Ilsa stumbled a little over his foot.

“Well, I’m outside. I couldn’t quite haul the grand piano out here.” Ilsa defended, flushing a little.

“You definitely could, actually. You’re in a castle full of vampires. I’m sure one of the guards would’ve been delighted to have moved it for you.” Cassian teased, making Ilsa giggle a little. “I did tell them to keep an eye on you while I was in a meeting.” Ilsa raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve not noticed them being more attentive,” Ilsa said. Cassian hummed.

“That’s because I told them not to disturb you if there was no immediate danger. I was not particularly fond of whom I was attending a meeting with.” Cassian said, a pang of worry shooting through their mating bond. Ilsa frowned.

“Is something the matter?” Ilsa asked worriedly. Cassian shook his head and smiled, sliding his hand from Ilsa’s shoulder, down along his spine, settling on his lower back. Cassian pulled him closer.

“Perhaps this would be more fun in the media room,” Cassian murmured. “I’ll put on a vinyl, pour a couple glasses of wine…”

“Are you trying to distract me?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian hum.

“I suppose. Is it working?” He questioned, leaning forward to run his nose along the line of Ilsa’s collared shirt, making Ilsa’s breath catch in his throat.

“Maybe it is,” Ilsa said breathlessly, a wave of arousal washing through him. “But… is everything really okay?”

“If something serious, or dangerous was going on, I would tell you. We’ve just been having a warlock problem lately, and had to meet with someone from their realm to try to put an end to it.” Cassian said, making Ilsa’s blood freeze.

“Y-You mean… I mean, what realm?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian pause for a moment.

“I visited Caelestes this evening.” Cassian murmured. Ilsa hesitated. He was about to get kicked out of the castle, or the king was going to unmate him–he was sure it was possible, just not frequently done– pull yourself together! Ilsa think! His mind pushed, making him breathe again.

“Oh,” Ilsa said, mentally smacking himself for his lack of awareness. “What’s been happening?”

“While your heat was happening, there were multiple cases of warlocks trying to break the barrier between realms despite the extra wards we put up after the first incident.” Cassian explained softly. “None succeeded in getting past, no one was injured, but it was enough that the guards suggested speaking with the king of Caelestes in an attempt to end the occurrence. Problem solved.” Ilsa nodded–he couldn’t be too surprised. It was the king’s duty to see that law and order was upheld, and his father probably had warlocks flooding every realm in an attempt to locate him. Generally speaking however, it could prove worrisome. Eventually they’ll run out of realms to check. And where does that leave Cassian?

“Now… Ilsa, let us go to the media room. I’ll put on my favorite vinyl and dance with you as long as you’d like. I am at your full disposal, my queen,” Cassian murmured.

“Of course,” Ilsa murmured, slipping close to him. Cassian wrapped his arms around him, blinking them into his media room. Ilsa had never seen it before–it was large with tons of vinyl records categorized on what seemed to be endless shelves in pristine condition despite their obvious age. A turntable sat on a table, or maybe it was just attached, Ilsa didn’t know, sat in the only non-shelved corner of the room. Cassian released him long enough to start up a song on the turntable, before he was pulling Ilsa back into his arms and putting him into position to start dancing again.

Ilsa flushed a little as Cassian took him into his arms, marveling at his luck for a moment. Cassian was nothing short of a perfect gentleman, leading his movements gently. He couldn’t help but cling onto him a little, his knees trembling at the close proximity.

“Walk, side, close,” Cassian murmured softly in time with each of their movements, “One, two, three, four, five, six… perfect, Ilsa.” The song changed after a few minutes, a bit fast for practicing, he thought, but didn’t comment. “Elbows up,” Cassian reminded gently. Ilsa took a deep breath and nodded, waiting for Cassian to start moving them.

Almost as soon as Cassian was moving him, he started watching his feet to make sure he was getting the footing down. Walk, side step, close legs, walk, side step, close legs–it was distracting, and he immediately tripped a bit after stepping on one of Cassian’s feet. Cassian caught him before he could make a total fool of himself, but even so, he was not good at dancing he could already tell.

“Ilsa, you’re thinking too much, sweetheart. Trust me, I will guide your way.” Cassian murmured softly, pulling him a little closer. “This time, don’t look down. Don’t look away from my eyes. Your feet know what to do, feel me, relax, and concentrate on my hands.”

Ilsa flushed brightly, meeting his eyes shyly. Cassian nodded his head, a smile crossing his handsome face. Ilsa was surprised to find himself relaxing under the gentle command, feeling the gentle pressure of his leading touch through his suit jacket. Ilsa couldn’t help but sink into the moment, letting Cassian maneuver him around in a simple, rotating box, allowing Ilsa to get used to the movements. Ilsa was awed by Cassian’s acceptance and trust in him.

Sure they were partners– mates, but Cassian was making many allowances for him he couldn’t really understand. Ilsa found that following Cassian was as natural as breathing, it was easy to let himself fully relax against the length of his arm and shoulder, following his movements. Letting go, trusting him.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa found himself alone in the boudoir, save for Helix and Felix who were fitting him for a gown. He’d never worn one before, but the one Cassian provided was beautiful. It was black, designed in a stretch mesh, edged with satin. There were two long slits up either side of it. The top of it, where most of his body would be showing, had a thin layer of cloth the same color as his skin. It melted seamlessly to his body, seeming to blend in perfectly enough that he couldn’t even tell where the slip ended without close inspection. It fell to his feet, with a pair of black heels. They had orchid diamonds on the ankle clasps.

The accessories made the outfit, truthfully. Sheer gloves with a black diamond shaped design woven into it up to the top of his arm with a second set of shorter black gloves that wrapped around his thin wrists beneath them. His wedding ring glittered brightly under the light, fashioned in white gold with dazzling diamonds that had partial inlays of meteorite intersecting as they curve together in a twisting profile, a bright orchid diamond in the center of a white gold setting that was raised slightly above the rest. It was accompanied by numerous other white gold rings. Around one of his wrists was a white gold bracelet with another glittering orchid diamond hanging off of it.

Around his waist was a white gold chain belt, it had different chains connected to it, with dangling orchid diamonds covering his hips as they layered over them. A similar arrangement was connected to the shoulders of the mesh gown, clasped into place on the front and back of each shoulder. Orchid diamonds shaped like teardrops fell where his gloves ended on his arms. And around his neck, there were six rows of orchid colored diamonds, in a white gold setting of some kind that allowed them to curl around his neck just tight enough for it to lay flat. All of it contrasted against his tan skin in a way that made him feel a little… beautiful.

It was reminiscent of something he’d seen worn by one of his brother’s wives at their wedding. Much more modest admittedly, but even so… it felt vaguely familiar in a way he couldn’t place.

“It fits perfectly.” Helix murmured, making Felix murmur something that Ilsa couldn’t hear. Helix chuckled, his eyes sparkling a little. “Ah, yes, I have forgotten one thing.” Helix stepped away, returning with a tiara enclosed in a glass box that shined brightly in the light. Helix sat it down on a table and opened it, pulling the tiara out and carrying it over, placing it on his head gently. Ilsa’s breath caught as he looked over himself in the mirror, taking in the sight of the crown.

It was beautiful, with a classic styling and truly regal elegance. At its highest point, it was about two and a half inches tall, the metal was hand-wired into leaves and blossoms throughout, in what looked to be white gold, orchid diamonds accented the leaves and blossoms gracefully. It was beautiful , way more beautiful than the clunky old thing his mother had to wear. There were pieces of what looked like the same meteorite that made his ring carved into little beads to accentuate everything .

“The king was right, the purple truly looks fantastic in contrast to his skin.” Felix said, making Helix nod. Ilsa blushed brightly and lowered his eyes, running his hand along the mesh fabric shyly.

“I-Is this okay? It’s quite revealing.” Ilsa asked shyly, making them both nod.

“This is my design, but Cassian provided the reference material, and instructed me on any alterations to the overall design he wished to have,” Helix said.

“He said it would mimic the culture from your realm,” Felix offered. Ilsa flushed with realization. This was the kind of thing that would be considered a high-class ball gown in Caelestes. It was much higher quality, admittedly, but even the chains–despite being white gold when in Caelestes they would be silver–were similar. It was Cassian’s attempt to let him know he knew and didn’t care, maybe, or it was an attempt to cater to what Ilsa might want and either way it was charming.

“It’s beautiful, truthfully. I think there’s a different kind of elegance in it,” Cassian offered, making Ilsa start. Ilsa turned around quickly, flushing. “You look truly magnificent.” Cassian said, smiling at him from where he leaned against a wall.

“Excuse us,” Helix and Felix said in unison, bowing their heads before disappearing.

“It’s beautiful,” Ilsa said. Cassian nodded.

“I thought it was quite nice,” Cassian said, stepping forward until he was right in front of Ilsa before putting his gloved hand on Ilsa’s lower back. Ilsa shivered, more from excitement than from the chill this time. “It suits you. I like it.”

“Are you ever going to ask?” Ilsa dared to ask, making Cassian take the hand with his wedding ring on it. He shook his head, orchid eyes twinkling a little.

“Where you’re from doesn’t matter to me, or to any of my kingdom. We began as a realm of strictly vampires, but over time have begun assimilating other cultures and beings. Inclusivity breeds growth, exclusivity breeds chaos.” Cassian said softly. “When you are ready to talk about your past, where you are from, or what have you, I will listen readily. But until then, as I promised, I will not ask.”

Ilsa didn’t know how to respond, but he supposed Cassian knew that, because before he could try to struggle for something to say Cassian pulled him closer and kissed him. All possible responses were pushed from his head as he lost himself in the tangling of their tongues.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

The air was thick, there was a stench in the air that had him feeling nauseated. It was eerily familiar, a scent he had thought he’d never have again. Ilsa opened his eyes and felt a jolt of terror wash through him. No, no, no, his mind pleaded as his eyes darted around the stone room he spent most of his life locked in. No windows, stacks on stacks of books littered every single free corner of his room. Ilsa looked down at himself, his heart clenching in his chest. This can’t be real.

When he had gone to sleep, he was in Cassian’s arms. He couldn’t be in Caelestes. Right?! He couldn’t… his father couldn’t summon him from so far, couldn’t force him to come back home. Right? Suddenly, the stone wall parted, and his father walked into his room, his brothers flanking him. Ilsa scooted back as far as he could away from them, but knew there was nothing he could do now. There was nowhere to hide, nowhere they couldn’t reach him.

“Isoloses, Isandro, take Ilsa’s arms.” Fear shot through him as his brother’s hands circled his forearms. He struggled, desperately against their grip, his heart stalling in his chest. His brother’s hands were warm and hard, squeezing to a point it brought tears to the corners of his eyes but he refused to cry.

“No!” Ilsa pleaded, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Before he could say anything else a cloth was shoved in his mouth.

“Silence,” His father said, smirking evilly down at him. “You’ve broken the rules, Ilsa. What are the rules?” He taunted, making tears flow down Ilsa’s cheeks. He would be punished for not answering, even though he couldn’t speak. “I thought I asked you a question, what, can’t talk around what you’re choking on?”

“N-No,” Ilsa managed, making his father chuckle.

“The least you could do is make yourself understandable. Tsk tsk.” Isandro’s hand squeezed around his arm a little, making a pained whimper fall out of his mouth.

“How can he talk with a cloth shoved in his mouth?” Isoloses voice cut in and Ilsa’s eyes shot up to where he was. Deep burgundy red eyes looked over him, pity and something Ilsa couldn’t really comprehend mirrored there in his eyes.

“He can’t.” Isandro said icily, his hand squeezing tighter than it had been, jerking him a little. “He doesn’t have to speak to be dangerous, just smell him.” Ilsa frowned, he wasn’t in heat, he’d just gotten out of heat. Even so, he wouldn’t smell to his family he didn’t think–at least he’d never smelled his brother’s ruts, but he guessed he was probably kept far enough away he probably wouldn’t.

𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, Cassian’s voice echoed through his head, making Ilsa’s eyes widen. 𝖭𝗈 𝗂𝗍 𝗐𝖺𝗌𝗇’𝗍 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒, 𝗇𝗈𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝗈𝗄𝖺𝗒, 𝗁𝖾 𝗐𝖺𝗌 𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗂𝗇 𝖢𝖺𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗌.

“Lean him back. Grab his hair.” His father demanded, a dark look coming over his face. “It’s punishment time, Ilsa. You know the rules. You broke the rules. Now it’s time…” Ilsa felt the panic seizing him as his brothers held him down, Isandro’s hand curling into his hair and forcing his head to recline. “Take a deep breath,” Before Ilsa could even attempt to, water was filling the cloth in his mouth and overflowing into his nose. Ilsa choked, his throat and nose burning.

“Please,” He tried to plead, but it wasn’t like it could be understood with water and a cloth in his mouth.

𝐼𝑙𝑠𝑎, 𝑚𝑦 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒, Cassian’s voice echoed through his head again, and Ilsa felt tears running down his temples as he choked and sputtered. Didn’t he know that he wanted to come back, he didn’t want to be here?! Could he think that Ilsa just abandoned him and… there was a faint pressure in his hand, it felt like something holding his hand. Ilsa squeezed it, terror filling him. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚, 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑. 𝐼’𝑚 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠, Cassian’s voice rang through his head again.

It’s not a dream it couldn’t be–

Ilsa awoke with a scream, the feeling of a cold hand wrapping around his wrists startling him enough to make him wrench away from it like he’d been burned. Cassian jolted away from him, clutching at his ears as he fell down onto the floor, a groan of pain echoing. Ilsa immediately jerked himself up, hurrying down to Cassian on the floor just as the entire guard appeared in their chambers, weapons of various kinds drawn and pointed right towards both of them. Ilsa’s eyes widened and he jumped back a little behind Cassian, and Cassian raised his hand.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We’re fine,” Cassian said, making the guard relax their stance a bit, eyes roaming over them. Shame flooded through Ilsa at the realization–his scream had been loud enough to possibly blow Cassian’s eardrums, and he’d alerted the entire guard of what’d happened.

“My lord–” One of the guards said, stepping forward to offer his hand to help Cassian up. Cassian shook his head as he shifted to his knees.

“The echo,” He explained, wincing a little as he rubbed at his ear. “It’ll be fine.”

“There’s blood in your ear, my lord.” The guard said, making Cassian frown and reach up, wiping at his other ear.

“Oh, that sucks. It’ll heal quickly though.” Cassian waved a hand dismissively.

“Should we take you to a physician?” Another guard asked, making Cassian look up at him incredulously.

“I’m a vampire, my healing is accelerated–there isn’t even a physician for vampires in the city.” Cassian said, getting up off of the ground and shaking his head. “I’m fine. I appreciate the diligence. At ease,” Cassian waved his hand, making them all nod, disappearing one by one until it was just Ilsa and Cassian alone again.

“I’m so sorry,” Ilsa whispered, covering his mouth where he was still kneeling on the floor. Cassian stepped over to him, his hand landing on the bottom of Ilsa’s chin, leading his head up.

“Don’t be sorry. You’ve nothing to apologize for. Shall we go back to sleep, Lovebird?” Cassian asked. Ilsa gave a non-committal shrug, looking up at Cassian shyly. He doubted he would be sleeping any time soon. “If you don’t feel ready to sleep again so soon, perhaps I can do something to help?”

“Can you tell me a story?” Ilsa asked, looking up at Cassian. Cassian nodded, motioning for him to stand. Ilsa did as commanded, stepping forward towards him. Ilsa caught sight of the wedding ring around Cassian’s finger, his heart speeding up in his chest. It was a white gold setting overlaid with the same meteorite as the one used in Ilsa’s ring, and the tiara.

“I can do that if you’d like.” Cassian offered, putting his hand on Ilsa’s lower back. Ilsa’s breath caught in his throat, his heart thumping at the close proximity to Cassian. “I will do anything I can to make you feel better, my little Lovebird.”

Ilsa found himself being pulled back to the bed, Cassian’s arms wrapping around him as his soothing voice began murmuring some story in his ears. It was interesting, but even so, the only thing Ilsa could focus on was the softness in Cassian’s voice, and the smell of his scent, which Ilsa had become accustomed to picking out during his heat. While he was in heat, admittedly the smell was stronger, but even without the haze of lust and desire clouding his mind that scent set his blood on fire.

His dream was fresh on his mind, it must’ve just been a memory–he had so many unpleasant memories after eons spent locked in his fathers castle that at some point, they all just started bleeding together into one giant swirling pit in the back of his mind that haunted him whenever his subconscious tried to take over. He hated that, the fact that even after escaping from his fathers clutches, he was still in the corners of his mind, erring him to the edge of insanity with his mistreatments.

Ilsa was unsettled about Cassian’s visit to Caelestes. He knew that. Regardless of whether or not Cassian would judge him over his race and familial background, he knew Cassian stepping into Caelestes would only raise suspicion of his realm, attract the attention of his father. Ilsa hadn’t even known this realm existed until he showed up in it–which didn’t necessarily mean his father didn’t know about it already, but… what if his father took him showing up and asking for them to stop flooding their wards with warlocks as an admission of guilt? The last thing Ilsa wanted to do was lead his father to Cassian. That would be a mistake.

Cassian was strong but his father was a demon lord . The king of Caelestes, a fallen celestial with the power to overtake realm after realm with no losses. Ilsa was anything but stupid, he didn’t like those statistics. What could he possibly do to protect Cassian at this point though?

Leaving with their bond so new–that could kill both of them. Leaving at all would be unbearable in a way, because he’d always be missing his other half. At this point, all he could do was learn defensive magic. That was his best, and only option to protect Cassian from his father. He had to be strong enough to defeat him on his own if he came looking for trouble.

If not, that was better for Ilsa, but even so, if his father attempted to hurt Cassian in any way, he’d have literal hell to pay. Ilsa wouldn’t be opposed to torturing him the same ways his father had tortured him over the years to really impress on him that he meant business. His father deserved to suffer the pain of the thousands of people he has murdered, the realms he destroyed, and the pain he brought on the people of Caelestes, even.

How many of his soldiers went off to fight a war of oppression under the orders of his tyrant father that came home dead? It wasn’t like his father would take no as an answer. Hell, the only reason Ilsa himself wasn’t a soldier is because he was an omega and his heats would ‘distract the other soldiers’ which might have been a fair point–if he was in heat all the time. Not that he wanted to get the disgusting tar-like substance they used for markings in Caelestes injected into his skin. Regardless of safety, it wasn’t the kind of look he wanted to go for.

None of that mattered though. He would make himself sleep soon, because the first thing he was doing in the morning was practicing for his meeting with Shadow, before going to his lesson with her. He was going to be ready to start spells as soon as he possibly could be.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Shadow showed up for their training session, Ilsa was quick to show off his newly perfected skills. He had been practicing the entire morning, intent on fully mastering the techniques she had previously shown him. He wanted to start on something useful, something he could use to defend himself and Cassian with. That was when she pulled out a book of spells. The book of spells was a book on energy bending.

Getting the book was the easy part, Ilsa soon realized, as he opened it and scanned over the pages of the book. It looked like someone had scribbled out all of the writing in the book.

“Shadow, how am I supposed to learn from a book I am unable to decipher?” Ilsa asked, not intending it to sound sarcastic but he was pretty sure that was inevitable. It was such a blunt statement, there really wasn’t much of a way to soften it and honestly, Ilsa was just concerned–did Shadow actually give him the wrong book or something?

“Deciphering them is part of the work, Ilsa. You must look beyond what is covering the words to access the spells.” Shadow offered with a smile. “It is your task for this week. You must decipher at least the first three by this weeks end. If you manage to do more, that’s fantastic, but aim for three. Okay? They’re short, sweet.”

“My task for the week is deciphering a book that doesn’t want me to read it?” Ilsa asked, making Shadow nod.

“Sounds like an annoying task, right? Well, to some degree, it is. It’s meant to keep our spells from falling into the wrong hands. I’m sure you can do it.” Shadow said, putting her hand over the book. “You have to focus, clear your mind and let the words jump off of the page at you.” She said, making Ilsa nod. Okay, that sounded easy enough right? Ilsa nodded again.

“I think I understand.” Ilsa said, making her smile.

“You can do this, Ilsa.” Shadow said, putting her hand on Ilsa’s shoulder. “I have faith in your abilities to figure out even the hardest energy bending spells. You are incredibly intelligent, I can tell just by you mastering telekinesis in a week’s time. You’ve shown impressive growth,” She paused, fixing him with a look that made his heart skip a little excitedly. “Show me what you’re made of Ilsa. Can you do it?”

“I can do it.” Ilsa said.

“One more thing before the end of our lesson.” Shadow said, pulling her hand away. She did a movement with her hand, her fingers seemed to move in a waving motion before a bag appeared in it. “What do you know about tarot?”

“Not a lot, admittedly.” Shadow nodded and pulled out the cards, fanning them out.

“These cards are–shall we say, multi-use.” Shadow said, smirking a little as she ran one of her fingers along the edge of one of the end cards. “Seventy eight cards in a deck. Each card has its own imagery, symbolism, and story.” She paused for a moment. “There are 22 Major Arcana cards that represent life’s karmic and spiritual lessons. They represent a path to self awareness, depicting the various stages encountered as you search for greater meaning and understanding. They hold meaningful lessons for you.”

“There are 56 Minor Arcana cards, and they reflect the trials and tribulations that you experience on a daily basis. These cards highlight the more practical aspects of life,” Shadow paused, “And can refer to current issues that have a temporary or minor influence.” He paused, about to question her on the emphasis on that word, before she continued. “Within the Minor Arcana cards, there are each representing 16 different personality characteristics you might express at any time. There are also 40 numbered cards sorted into four suits– Cups, Pentacles, Swords, and Wands. Each suit is exactly ten cards in number, representing various situations you encounter day to day.”

“I don’t get it though–what does this have to do with defending myself?” Ilsa asked, making her giggle a little.

“Tarot is the storybook of life, the mirror to the soul–the key to inner wisdom. Every trial and tribulation we meet in our lives can be found in the seventy-eight tarot cards.” Shadow said, making Ilsa frown.

“How do I do it?” He asked.

“For one, be careful with the card’s edge–they are sharp and will cut you. The edges of this deck have razor blades so if thrown it will, in theory, slice through whoever you throw them at. Well–maybe not vampires. Their skin is hard to penetrate.” She said.

“How do I use them?” Ilsa asked, instead of responding to what she said.

“Allow me to show you before I leave.” Shadow said, motioning for him to kneel with her. He nodded and did as she said, watching as she laid them down on the ground. “Pay close attention to me.” Ilsa nodded and watched her expectantly, waiting for her to do some witchy juju or something. After a moment, she giggled a little. “It’s not that serious, Ilsa, shuffle the dick.” Shadow paused and then burst out laughing. “The deck, the deck, not the dick.”

“Did you just–”

“Shhh, pay attention and shuffle the deck.” Shadow said. Ilsa took the cards and started shuffling them, pushing back the urge to keep teasing her about her slip.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa found himself sitting alone in the king’s chamber with the energy binding book, trying to decipher the spells. Look beyond what is covering the words, Shadow had told him.

𝔈𝔫𝔢𝔯𝔤𝔶 𝔅𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤

S̸̢̲̉͒̔͝͠p̴̳̺͈͕̞̜̯̪̆͋͂̍͛̀̉̈͝e̶͈̽̓͛l̵̡̯̞̳̀ļ̸̨̘̖̰͖̹̱̈́͗̂̃̃͘͘͠͝ ̴̢̡̲̙̥̘̞̭͓͐͗̉͐̿͊̈̄̅n̴̢̨̤̪̻̗̬̼̺̒̽̓̐̌͌̐̐a̴̢̗̯͓̜͇̠̬̽̃̉͗͜m̵̲͈͊̂̂̔̀e̶̛̳͌͊̈͆͒͘̕͠:̸̧͍̺̘̮̠͍̹̊̉̕̚̕̕͜ ̶̛̲͎̻̦̮̦̙͂̾̀̍̽̄̈́͘ͅḮ̸̩̓̌͗̕͜͠n̴͕̦͙̺̟͆̈́͝c̶͎̉̄́̿͒̎̽̐̕r̴̡̛̩̮̩͖̯̫̒͐̈̈́̿̈́͑e̸̛̙̲̔̇̊͑͐̿̆̕͝e̵̡̡̝̪̠̱͍͊͛̕n̶̤̳̍̈̚d̷̥͉̩̾͌ȋ̷̡̊͑̑̄͌͌̕ų̴̞̜̼̱̩̦̈́̌̑ͅs̵̨̨͚̭͇͚̪̫̞͔̋̈́̀̅͒̋̈́̾̓̕ ̸̤̳̜̯͛̈́̄́̐͊͒͘͜͠V̶̻̻̜̖̱͓̥̼͓̜̓͐͑͂̌̑i̶̡̗͇͉̻̩̯͈̳̯͒̎̈́ŗ̵͍̤̼̞̞̈́͋̉͐͋͑̒͠͝å̷̧̼͎͕͚͍̤̬̳̒̈́̅͒̐̚͘l̶̩̫͖̻̹̠̆͑̓͊͌͐̿̅͘͠u̶͓̣̱̙̯̐̅̄͐͌̓̀͌͠l̴̳͉͇̉̾͋͛̚̕ụ̴̮̰̱̳̱̟̓̇̀͒͌͋s̷̖̤̳̘͔̣͕̏̀̂̊͜͜͠͝

̶̢̥̥͉̲͖̉̏̈́̓͜Ē̷͚̥̂̈́͒͂̈͝f̷̧̠̙̺͓̜͎̆̉̔͋̇͊̈f̸̛̳͂͂͛̎͆͒̈́̌̕e̵̱͕̜͖̲͕̬̼̐c̴̨̣̺̠͔̘̏̇͐̌̅̋͛̊͘͠t̵̢̟͓͚̖͙̰̽͌̈̋̂̀̈́̍̈́͌͜:̶̝̱͈͇͔̞̫͚̍̐̊̍͂͛̀̒̚ ̸̡̬̱͎̝̗̠̼̪͈̈́͋̀̓͊̓̆̌͝C̴͈̐͑̇͗̓͌͠ŗ̸̔e̸̞̠̦̦̜͍̺͇̘͆ͅa̷̤̖̝̔͆̉̏̅̕͠ţ̶͇͍̫̟͈̦̮̒͑̐̅̓̊͜ę̶͈̹̻͐́ș̵̨̻̎ ̶̣̃̊͗͊̎͠͝͝a̶̛͈̥̬͎̒̊̌͆͝ͅ ̵̢͈̮͕̯͈̯͎̈́̿̂̓̈͐̏͜ṁ̴̧̢̛͔͎̻̥͈̑͋̀́̀͂͆ȧ̵̡̛͎̾͛g̶̢̙̟̬̤̓͆͜ͅi̷̪̩̪̻̩̰̩̦̍̈́̓̈́͝ͅc̷̢̧̡͇͖̟̙̦̳͕̽̆̉̈́͒̒̏̈́͝͝a̴͎̜͗̈̔̇͜͝ḽ̷̫͈̰͗͊̉͗ ̸̥̣̥̔b̴̡̢͚͍̞̰̈́̓̆̏̔͆̇̂͘͠a̸̜͂͗̓̕r̵̗̩̜͕͕͍̼͙̊̋̊̎͜r̶̳͕̝̩̳͈̋̒̀̿̍̉̒̿̚ͅĭ̶͎̙̖͙̗̦̗̣́̒̌ͅę̷͙̠̦͓͈̻̓̌ṛ̷́̓͛̑͘̚͜͝ ̵̙͕̺͚̼̮͕̲̘͙̾̒̍̃͐̽͘t̴͖͎̖̐͌̓́́̉̌h̶̨͋͒̕͠à̴̪̼̮̪̆̐̂̄̏̄͝t̷̜̤͉̮̊̾̒̀͗̆̓͂͝ͅ ̸̛̗̳̰̹̝͓̓͐̽̋̃̉w̷̱͑͒̈́̾̅̎̿͠ī̵̡̲͍̱̃͂͋͠ĺ̵̤̞̳̗͙̙̰͚͔̒́̒͗͒̂͒ĺ̶̞͔̿͐͛̃̔̌ ̷̻͔̪̠̤̤͙͇̱̮͑̉à̴̰͇͙̘̒͂̀͂l̵̮̝̟̝͇̜̭̲͗͂͝a̶̰͎̽̾̍͐̕͠r̸̨̲̙̺͕̦̟͋̎̏͂̍̔̋͊͜m̶̛̗͖͗̀̈͂̾͠ ̴͍͑̀̃̉̾̌̈́

t̴̨̡̛͎͈͓̰̹͓̝̏̽̇̾̂͜͠h̴̨̨̤̼̥̬͖̐̍̀̑̋͆͒͆͜͝e̶̯͖͋̽͜ ̸͉̦̞̪̝̩̄͊̄̃̊̕͜ͅc̷̛̯̰̺̏̈́̂ȧ̵̡͔̦̤̞̽͂̍̓͠s̸̟̹͕̩̪̓ţ̵͎̄̐͘ê̸̝͆́̈́̕r̸̡̨̭͈͇̺͒ ̷̨̘̦̍́̆̃̑͐̔́ò̶̢̰͚̐͝f̶̨̞͈̱̫̌̄́̍̆͗͑͋̕ͅ ̸̡̛͎̘̤̻͓̰ä̷̞̦̖̙̦͈̬͓́͋͑̎l̵̨̡͔͗̐́̈́͛̌̕͝l̵̢̠̣͔̒̊̒̏͘ ̷̣̋͊͘l̵̡̯̩̩̀̈̑́͝ĩ̷̖̗͈̼̺͓̉̓͂̈͛̇͂̽͘v̴̢̢̢̛̳̱̗͍̠̉̀̌͌̈́̽i̶̛͉̙̯̭̥̹̔̓́̔̋̐̚͘͜n̶͔̭̭̦̪̰̖̠͌͌̀͐̽̈́̀̏̚̚g̷͍̠̺̙͇̖͓͒ ̶̡̡̛̞͉̤̲̝̍ć̷̡̳̣̺̳̄̈́͛̓͘͝͝r̷̦̟̖̫̞̀̉̆̆́͒̿͊̕e̸̢̞̳͍̬̻̩̹̮͚͌̅̆̕͝͠a̶̢̬̣̣̬̼͓̩̯̩̅t̴̩̹̣͙̃̉̽̎̄͘ư̶̹̱̦̰͂̉̈́̓́͒͆̋͠r̴̢̭̻̈́e̵̟̙̙̺͈͐̋̔̏͂͛̓͠͝s̵͕̭͙̩̎ ̵̗͙͌̅̌̀̍͑͐͘͘t̵̪̲͋h̶̑́͘ͅa̷͎̪̻̫̰̘̗͋̓̇́̕t̶̢͚̟̝̹̤͖̗̊ ̵̧̞̦̎͐̐̃̈̚̚͝p̴͖̯̍̊̆̿̿̔̚a̵͕̪̙̝̳̜̺̐̈̀̓̊͜ͅş̷̘̰̫͔͉̥͇̳̈́̀̀̅̎ş̴͓̝̥̰͈̪͆̉͛̈̔̌̈́͐̕ͅ ̷͍̱̒̍͌̽͒̂́̿̊͘ḭ̸̡̡̢̘͔͈̘̰͑́́́̑͊͒̏̒̎t̶̮͕͋͛̈́͒̂͊̍̂̈͝.̴̪̃̀̔̀͊̈́͘

̶̢̻̗̰͍̪͙͑̓̎A̶̡̰͇̞͓̹͒̿̀ͅṗ̸͉̹̘͚͓̟̻̗́͊̔̎p̷̛̙̑̂̑̊̕e̵͕̪͙̺̞̝̘̤̍̐̐̅ä̶̙̖̫̖͒̂̓́͘r̷̨̨͎̳̓͛ǎ̵̺̐͒̿̇̅́̍ń̵̛͓͚̩̆̇̈́͊͠ċ̸̡͙̮̳̠̀ę̶̟̳͉̼̺̠̬̀͊̉͗̏̋̈́:̸̟̝͓͈͚̫͐̈̎̈́̚͠ ̵̦̪̱͚̓̏̂́͠͠͠͝A̷̡͍̐̾̿̀͘ ̴̳͕̪̖͕̍̂̈̿̀̈́̎͗́͠s̴̡͇͇̫̩͔̯̯̆͗̏͊̏̉͑̀i̷̞̲̓m̵̧̖͚̫̞͔̠̦̖̘̊̑̏́̈́͛̒ṕ̷̨̘̳̺̙̫̾͐͐̅̈́̌̚̕l̸̹̱̿̅̀é̸̱͓̤̇͒̊̚̚,̷̖͌̊̒̌ ̶͓̞̦̪̗̯͆̈̃̈́̉͊̽́ͅr̶̡̬̳̱̃͋͗̚ẽ̵̡͖d̵̥̭͊̒͋̒́̍̈́̈ ̶̡̱̰̱̫͇͚̘̱̉̑ś̸̰̺̭͈̊́͗̈́̽͝u̸̠͚͑̑̈́̐̑͊̅͌́͝r̸͇̜̠̝̪̞̠͝ǧ̸̢̮͈̝̭̖̺̩̮̈̊͛̊͝é̸̡̳͉͉̜̲̹̔͜ͅͅ ̸͚̦͕̙̤̙̯͗̎͠ͅo̷̻͎̼̯̼̜͖̦͗͊̉̅̉̑͑͘͘͜͜f̵͔͌́ ̸̡̧̛͈̩̌̄͒͒̈̄̐́p̷̡͎̹̳̞͈̝̳͎̓͆̓̉̇͗͝a̵̤̤̲̖̋̍̾̅͑͑͋̕̕r̴̨͇̬͗͗̉͒͘ţ̸̼̟̟̙̝̮̙̫̯̂͊͐̄̊i̴̝̾͛͝c̴̻̣̯̬̩̙͂̀́͆͆̀̓͜͝l̵̢̼̫̻̙̮͊͒̏̔ȩ̴͎͕̤̱̺͎͈͎̃͋̋͘͝s̵̡̝̮̞̃ͅͅ.̴̨̛͉͚̥̥̮̲̊̏̅͒̊̎

It was so impossible to see through the scribbles and the blotting. Ilsa was beginning to wonder if it were impossible, truly. It shouldn’t have seemed so difficult, he was a magic being and this wasn’t rocket science. He was literally a being of infinite power, he shouldn’t be struggling with something as simple as a witch’s curse. He didn’t have the knowledge of magic to know a work around either. Ilsa struggled to figure out how to read through the scribbles. It felt so much harder to clear his mind when he was trying to clear his mind.

He was old enough to be fully capable of harnessing his magic. What was his struggle? What was blocking his access to his abilities? Had his father done something to him? His father could’ve bound his magic but he was able to access some of it, so that didn’t make complete sense. He couldn’t have taken away his magic, he would’ve died–that is what happens to demons when they are cast out. They’re turned mortal and released into the human world. Often demons are eons old, their death is swift afterwards, a mortal body cannot withstand eons of life. Which meant his magic wasn’t bound, he hadn’t been cast out–he wasn’t there for his father to do the ceremony to strip him off his power. Which meant the block could be his own inner demons fighting against him.

He had to fight back. He had to overcome it.

“Lovebird, your stress levels are skyrocketing.” Cassian said, his voice startling Ilsa enough to make him jolt and gasp. Ilsa quickly turned around, sucking in a deep breath as he looked up at Cassian.

“You were working,” Ilsa said, and Cassian nodded his head. “I’m sorry for interrupting. I’m sure it was worrisome for my stress levels to rise.” Cassian shook his head and walked forward, putting his gloved hand on the back of Ilsa’s neck, tilting his neck back so that he could lean over him. Cassian’s eyes met his, swirling pools of orchid staring into him, through him. Ilsa felt a shiver of excitement wash through him.

“You didn’t interrupt, I could’ve ignored it, I chose not to.” Cassian said. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m just struggling with these spells. I cannot decipher them.” Ilsa said, making Cassian hum quietly.

“Perhaps you’re looking too hard.” Cassian offered.

“How can I do anything differently though? If I don’t look I can’t see but if I do look, I can’t see…” Ilsa trailed off.

“Sit. Look at the book, and allow me to assist you.” Cassian said. Ilsa turned in his chair, facing the book once again. “I am going to try something. It’ll only work for a moment, but you’ll have to focus and look closely at the page.” Ilsa nodded. Cassian took off his gloves and laid them down on the table beside his book and then two of his cool fingertips pressed into both of his temples. “Breathe and focus.” Ilsa nodded, looking down at the book in front of him.

𝔈𝔫𝔢𝔯𝔤𝔶 𝔅𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤

S̸̢̲̉͒̔͝͠p̴̳̺͈͕̞̜̯̪̆͋͂̍͛̀̉̈͝e̶͈̽̓͛l̵̡̯̞̳̀ļ̸̨̘̖̰͖̹̱̈́͗̂̃̃͘͘͠͝ ̴̢̡̲̙̥̘̞̭͓͐͗̉͐̿͊̈̄̅n̴̢̨̤̪̻̗̬̼̺̒̽̓̐̌͌̐̐a̴̢̗̯͓̜͇̠̬̽̃̉͗͜m̵̲͈͊̂̂̔̀e̶̛̳͌͊̈͆͒͘̕͠:̸̧͍̺̘̮̠͍̹̊̉̕̚̕̕͜ ̶̛̲͎̻̦̮̦̙͂̾̀̍̽̄̈́͘ͅḮ̸̩̓̌͗̕͜͠n̴͕̦͙̺̟͆̈́͝c̶͎̉̄́̿͒̎̽̐̕r̴̡̛̩̮̩͖̯̫̒͐̈̈́̿̈́͑e̸̛̙̲̔̇̊͑͐̿̆̕͝e̵̡̡̝̪̠̱͍͊͛̕n̶̤̳̍̈̚d̷̥͉̩̾͌ȋ̷̡̊͑̑̄͌͌̕ų̴̞̜̼̱̩̦̈́̌̑ͅs̵̨̨͚̭͇͚̪̫̞͔̋̈́̀̅͒̋̈́̾̓̕ ̸̤̳̜̯͛̈́̄́̐͊͒͘͜͠V̶̻̻̜̖̱͓̥̼͓̜̓͐͑͂̌̑i̶̡̗͇͉̻̩̯͈̳̯͒̎̈́ŗ̵͍̤̼̞̞̈́͋̉͐͋͑̒͠͝å̷̧̼͎͕͚͍̤̬̳̒̈́̅͒̐̚͘l̶̩̫͖̻̹̠̆͑̓͊͌͐̿̅͘͠u̶͓̣̱̙̯̐̅̄͐͌̓̀͌͠l̴̳͉͇̉̾͋͛̚̕ụ̴̮̰̱̳̱̟̓̇̀͒͌͋s̷̖̤̳̘͔̣͕̏̀̂̊͜͜͠͝

̶̢̥̥͉̲͖̣̉̏̈́̓͜Ē̷͚̥̂̈́͒͂̈͝f̷̧̠̙̺͓̜͎̆̉̔͋̇͊̈f̸̛̳͂͂͛̎͆͒̈́̌̕e̵̱͕̜͖̲͕̬̼̐c̴̨̣̺̠͔̘̏̇͐̌̅̋͛̊͘͠t̵̢̟͓͚̖͙̰̽͌̈̋̂̀̈́̍̈́͌͜:̶̝̱͈͇͔̞̫͚̍̐̊̍͂͛̀̒̚ ̸̡̬̱͎̝̗̠̼̪͈̈́͋̀̓͊̓̆̌͝C̴͈̐͑̇͗̓͌͠ŗ̸̔e̸̞̠̦̦̜͍̺͇̘͆ͅa̷̤̖̝̔͆̉̏̅̕͠ţ̶͇͍̫̟͈̦̮̒͑̐̅̓̊͜ę̶͈̹̻͐́ș̵̨̻̎ ̶̣̃̊͗͊̎͠͝͝a̶̛͈̥̬͎̒̊̌͆͝ͅ ̵̢͈̮͕̯͈̯͎̈́̿̂̓̈͐̏͜ṁ̴̧̢̛͔͎̻̥͈̑͋̀́̀͂͆ȧ̵̡̛͎̾͛g̶̢̙̟̬̤̓͆͜ͅi̷̪̩̪̻̩̰̩̦̍̈́̓̈́͝ͅc̷̢̧̡͇͖̟̙̦̳͕̽̆̉̈́͒̒̏̈́͝͝a̴͎̜͗̈̔̇͜͝ḽ̷̫͈̰͗͊̉͗ ̸̥̣̥̔b̴̡̢͚͍̞̰̈́̓̆̏̔͆̇̂͘͠a̸̜͂͗̓̕r̵̗̩̜͕͕͍̼͙̊̋̊̎͜r̶̳͕̝̩̳͈̋̒̀̿̍̉̒̿̚ͅĭ̶͎̙̖͙̗̦̗̣́̒̌ͅę̷͙̠̦͓͈̻̓̌ṛ̷́̓͛̑͘̚͜͝ ̵̙͕̺͚̼̮͕̲̘͙̾̒̍̃͐̽͘t̴͖͎̖̐͌̓́́̉̌h̶̨͋͒̕͠à̴̪̼̮̪̆̐̂̄̏̄͝t̷̜̤͉̮̊̾̒̀͗̆̓͂͝ͅ ̸̛̗̳̰̹̝͓̓͐̽̋̃̉w̷̱͑͒̈́̾̅̎̿͠ī̵̡̲͍̱̃͂͋͠ĺ̵̤̞̳̗͙̙̰͚͔̒́̒͗͒̂͒ĺ̶̞͔̿͐͛̃̔̌ ̷̻͔̪̠̤̤͙͇̱̮͑̉à̴̰͇͙̘̒͂̀͂l̵̮̝̟̝͇̜̭̲͗͂͝a̶̰͎̽̾̍͐̕͠r̸̨̲̙̺͕̦̟͋̎̏͂̍̔̋͊͜m̶̛̗͖͗̀̈͂̾͠ ̴͍͑̀̃̉̾̌̈́

t̴̨̡̛͎͈͓̰̹͓̝̏̽̇̾̂͜͠h̴̨̨̤̼̥̬͖̐̍̀̑̋͆͒͆͜͝e̶̯͖͋̽͜ ̸͉̦̞̪̝̩̄͊̄̃̊̕͜ͅc̷̛̯̰̺̏̈́̂ȧ̵̡͔̦̤̞̽͂̍̓͠s̸̟̹͕̩̪̓ţ̵͎̄̐͘ê̸̝͆́̈́̕r̸̡̨̭͈͇̺͒ ̷̨̘̦̍́̆̃̑͐̔́ò̶̢̰͚̐͝f̶̨̞͈̱̫̌̄́̍̆͗͑͋̕ͅ ̸̡̛͎̘̤̻͓̰ä̷̞̦̖̙̦͈̬͓́͋͑̎l̵̨̡͔͗̐́̈́͛̌̕͝l̵̢̠̣͔̒̊̒̏͘ ̷̣̋͊͘l̵̡̯̩̩̀̈̑́͝ĩ̷̖̗͈̼̺͓̉̓͂̈͛̇͂̽͘v̴̢̢̢̛̳̱̗͍̠̉̀̌͌̈́̽i̶̛͉̙̯̭̥̹̔̓́̔̋̐̚͘͜n̶͔̭̭̦̪̰̖̠͌͌̀͐̽̈́̀̏̚̚g̷͍̠̺̙͇̖͓͒ ̶̡̡̛̞͉̤̲̝̍ć̷̡̳̣̺̳̄̈́͛̓͘͝͝r̷̦̟̖̫̞̀̉̆̆́͒̿͊̕e̸̢̞̳͍̬̻̩̹̮͚͌̅̆̕͝͠a̶̢̬̣̣̬̼͓̩̯̩̅t̴̩̹̣͙̃̉̽̎̄͘ư̶̹̱̦̰͂̉̈́̓́͒͆̋͠r̴̢̭̻̈́e̵̟̙̙̺͈͐̋̔̏͂͛̓͠͝s̵͕̭͙̩̎ ̵̗͙͌̅̌̀̍͑͐͘͘t̵̪̲͋h̶̑́͘ͅa̷͎̪̻̫̰̘̗͋̓̇́̕t̶̢͚̟̝̹̤͖̗̊ ̵̧̞̦̎͐̐̃̈̚̚͝p̴͖̯̍̊̆̿̿̔̚a̵͕̪̙̝̳̜̺̐̈̀̓̊͜ͅş̷̘̰̫͔͉̥͇̳̈́̀̀̅̎ş̴͓̝̥̰͈̪͆̉͛̈̔̌̈́͐̕ͅ ̷͍̱̒̍͌̽͒̂́̿̊͘ḭ̸̡̡̢̘͔͈̘̰͑́́́̑͊͒̏̒̎t̶̮͕͋͛̈́͒̂͊̍̂̈͝.̴̪̃̀̔̀͊̈́͘

̶̢̻̗̰͍̪͙͑̓̎A̶̡̰͇̞͓̹͒̿̀ͅṗ̸͉̹̘͚͓̟̻̗́͊̔̎p̷̛̙̑̂̑̊̕e̵͕̪͙̺̞̝̘̤̍̐̐̅ä̶̙̖̫̖͒̂̓́͘r̷̨̨͎̳̓͛ǎ̵̺̐͒̿̇̅́̍ń̵̛͓͚̩̆̇̈́͊͠ċ̸̡͙̮̳̠̀ę̶̟̳͉̼̺̠̬̀͊̉͗̏̋̈́:̸̟̝͓͈͚̫͐̈̎̈́̚͠ ̵̦̪̱͚̓̏̂́͠͠͠͝A̷̡͍̐̾̿̀͘ ̴̳͕̪̖͕̍̂̈̿̀̈́̎͗́͠s̴̡͇͇̫̩͔̯̯̆͗̏͊̏̉͑̀i̷̞̲̓m̵̧̖͚̫̞͔̠̦̖̘̊̑̏́̈́͛̒ṕ̷̨̘̳̺̙̫̾͐͐̅̈́̌̚̕l̸̹̱̿̅̀é̸̱͓̤̇͒̊̚̚,̷̖͌̊̒̌ ̶͓̞̦̪̗̯͆̈̃̈́̉͊̽́ͅr̶̡̬̳̱̃͋͗̚ẽ̵̡͖d̵̥̭͊̒͋̒́̍̈́̈ ̶̡̱̰̱̫͇͚̘̱̉̑ś̸̰̺̭͈̊́͗̈́̽͝u̸̠͚͑̑̈́̐̑͊̅͌́͝r̸͇̜̠̝̪̞̠͝ǧ̸̢̮͈̝̭̖̺̩̮̈̊͛̊͝é̸̡̳͉͉̜̲̹̔͜ͅͅ ̸͚̦͕̙̤̙̯͗̎͠ͅo̷̻͎̼̯̼̜͖̦͗͊̉̅̉̑͑͘͘͜͜f̵͔͌́ ̸̡̧̛͈̩̌̄͒͒̈̄̐́p̷̡͎̹̳̞͈̝̳͎̓͆̓̉̇͗͝a̵̤̤̲̖̋̍̾̅͑͑͋̕̕r̴̨͇̬͗͗̉͒͘ţ̸̼̟̟̙̝̮̙̫̯̂͊͐̄̊i̴̝̾͛͝c̴̻̣̯̬̩̙͂̀́͆͆̀̓͜͝l̵̢̼̫̻̙̮͊͒̏̔ȩ̴͎͕̤̱̺͎͈͎̃͋̋͘͝s̵̡̝̮̞̃ͅͅ.̴̨̛͉͚̥̥̮̲̊̏̅͒̊̎

After a couple of seconds, the text seemed to become even more fuzzy and unreadable. His mind was racing, for a brief moment, before his mind blanked out entirely. Worries faded to nothing as a cool shock seemed to hit his head, eradicating everything he was thinking about. It perfectly cleared his head, not a single thought left to wander. It seemed almost as if the scribbles thickened before the scribbles seemed to move. They began separating, maybe fading off of the page, and then he saw the words beneath the scribbles and nonsense.

𝔈𝔫𝔢𝔯𝔤𝔶 𝔅𝔢𝔫𝔡𝔦𝔫𝔤

𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦: 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘶𝘴 𝘝𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘭𝘶𝘴

𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵: 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘮

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘵.

𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦: 𝘈 𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘴.

Ilsa’s eyes widened and he let out a happy noise on accident. After a moment Cassian’s fingers pulled back from his head and Ilsa blinked up at him, curious over what he’d done. Cassian hummed quietly as if to ask if it worked, and Ilsa nodded his head.

“What did you do?” Ilsa asked.

“You couldn’t clear your head, so I cleared it for you.” Cassian said, putting one of his hands on Ilsa’s shoulder. “You know how your dream magic works?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa nod. “Think of it like that, only less long term.” Cassian said. “Essentially, because we are mated, I am able to send brief bursts of emotions through you if necessary. If you were in distress, for instance, I could relax you. If you were angry, I could calm you. In this case, you were anxious, your mind was racing, so I stopped it.”

“That’s useful.” Ilsa said.

“Indeed,” Cassian said softly. “Did it manage to help you at all?”

“Yes,” Ilsa said. Cassian smiled. “I appreciate it.”

“There is something I wish to speak to you about.” Cassian said suddenly, making Ilsa frown worriedly at the tone in his voice. “Tomorrow I would like to ask that you go to Naevys’s castle. Just out of the city to a private residence.”

“Why?” Ilsa asked immediately, making Cassian sigh.

“There is a visitor coming from out of the realm and I’d very much prefer him not to know you are here.” Cassian admitted.

“A visitor?” Ilsa asked. A shot of nervousness shot through Cassian, making Ilsa’s frown deepen.

“One of the king of Caelestes’ children is coming to search my realm for a missing person,” Cassian said, making Ilsa frown. “He and I have an agreement you see,” Cassian said, hesitating for a moment. “He leaves my realm alone, and in return, I leave his alone.”

“What kind of agreement?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian pause for a moment.

“A long time ago, Caelestes army showed up here.” Cassian murmured, pausing for a moment. “They tried to attack, and they failed. Vampires are stronger than the low ranking demons they use in their armies. It was a four day battle that cost them many lives. See there’s one thing they did not anticipate when coming here.” Cassian said, making Ilsa hum.

“Silver is the only thing that can injure us.” Cassian said, motioning towards himself. “My royal guard is a mix of magical creatures, but the main guard is vampires simply because they are so indestructible. We can blink anywhere on any realm we are standing on, we are silent and fast,” Cassian paused, “We can smell and hear them coming. Unfortunately the gateway was opened between the Elves and Witches territory. Even with immediate response, lives were lost and citizen’s injured–Naevys was injured by one of the princes of Caelestes. Regardless, we won the battle. Caelestes’s army retreated and the king and I forged an agreement. His realm does not break the borders, my realm does not invade.”

“He’s afraid of you?” Ilsa asked, confusion clear in his voice.

“I don’t know if it’s fear he feels for me, or respect,” Cassian said, crossing his arms. “Regardless, the king’s son, Isoloses, is coming to do a tracking spell to search for an individual that recently fled the realm that they seem anxious to track down. If… we are speaking hypothetically, and someone were to be… hiding from being tracked, it might be a wise idea to go to a safe location outside of the city.” Cassian said, making Ilsa nod but frown.

“Are you coming with me?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian sigh softly.

“I have to stay here to meet Isoloses,” Cassian said firmly.

“And what if he chooses to kill you?! Can you really afford to be so reckless as to have–as to have–” Ilsa broke off, not trusting his voice. Not sure how to even finish the sentence himself. “It’s not safe, Cassian.” Ilsa said, instead, making Cassian sigh.

“I know that,” Cassian said, raising his hands and putting them on Ilsa’s shoulders comfortingly. “I wouldn’t be asking you to leave if I didn’t. I–” Cassian paused for a moment. “I need you as far away from this castle tomorrow as possible, in a place I know he will not be able to track you. I am giving you an order. Be ready at dawn, that’s when I’ll be taking you.” Cassian said.

“Fine.” Ilsa said, looking away from him. On one hand, he could understand what Cassian was doing. It was honestly probably for the best, he could admit that. He couldn’t protect Cassian from harm, not yet, and if his brother couldn’t find him, he couldn’t justify attacking Cassian. If he did find him though, he would be away from Cassian, vulnerable and alone.

“I understand you might be scared, but I wouldn’t send you alone. Helix and Felix will come along after I leave to ensure your safety, and I will be able to talk to you all day long just by thinking. You will not be alone. But you must go to this safe house, and you must remain within the four walls of that house. Do you understand me, Ilsa?” Cassian said.

“I understand.” Ilsa said. “Even if… I think you’re being difficult.”

“Just be a good boy for me, I’ll reward you when you come home. Anything you want, it’s yours.” Cassian said, urging him up onto his feet. Ilsa flushed brightly, looking up at him as he stood in front of him. “I just want you to be safe, Ilsa. You can be angry, I’ll understand, but it’s necessary for me that you remain safe from harm.” Cassian said, putting his hand on Ilsa’s lower back.

“I’m not angry,” Ilsa said immediately, looping his arms around Cassian’s neck. “I’m worried, mostly.”

“Don’t worry,” Cassian said, “Isoloses isn’t going to attack me when I am inside of the castle–I’m surrounded by forty or more vampires who would rather die than have our throne in the hands of Caelestes’s leadership.”

“Would so many blindly protect you?” Ilsa asked, pausing for a moment.

“I trust my guards with my life,” Cassian said. Ilsa frowned.

“But you don’t trust them with mine? That hardly follows.” Ilsa teased.

𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝐼, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛. Cassian’s voice flowed through his head as Cassian’s lips pressed down against his, silencing his worries almost immediately. He knew what Cassian wanted from him was the safest option, he understood where he was coming from–he wouldn’t fight him, not when he knew that Cassian intended to protect him.

He didn’t know how safe he felt, however, knowing that in the morning his brother would be in the realm with him. He didn’t know how to feel, really, but there wasn’t much he could really do about it was there? He just had to hope for the best and trust Cassian. Everything else will fall into place.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa found himself being woken up before the dark moon had even fully fallen, Helix and Felix were dressing him again. He was too tired to pay attention to what clothes they were putting him in, and there were two other vampires dressing Cassian beside him. He felt weird waking up at the same time with Cassian, he had no idea how Cassian could get up before him, go to bed most of the time after him, and still function but he supposed that must be a perk of being a vampire.

By the time he was fully dressed and the four vampires that were dressing them left, Ilsa was a little more awake, but even so he felt groggy. It was harder because he genuinely didn’t want the day to start. He wasn’t looking forward to the distance between him and Cassian, even if he knew and understood what Cassian was saying. Leaving him felt scary, he hadn’t been without him the entire time he’d been here, and he was nervous .

“Are you ready?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa nod and hum quietly as he grabbed a book off of his nightstand. “It’ll be okay,” Cassian promised as his hands wrapped around his hips from behind, his chest pressing against his back. Ilsa let out a shuddery breath, nodding his head as Cassian’s lips pressed against the back of his neck.

“I’m not worried,” Ilsa lied softly. Cassian chuckled a little and shook his head.

“I’ll let you off of the hook for that one, Lovebird. Hold on tight.” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa nod, turning around in his hold to loop his arms around Cassian’s neck. Cassian’s arms wrapped around him tighter. Ilsa closed his eyes as he rested his head on Cassian’s chest, feeling the ground drop from beneath his feet. The same but somewhat less startling feeling of being rearranged almost hit him, and then after a moment he found himself on solid ground again. Ilsa’s eyes parted and he looked up at the castle with wonder.

It was huge, formed on the highest edge of the giant mountain that was a part of the city of Ilyenasera, the only side Ilsa hadn’t seen from the carriage. It was formed out of trees, the trunks of the trees seemed to wind together, the highest parts of the castle reached the highest parts of the trees. Flowers and leaves grew all over and vines crawled through it. The closer that Cassian led him, the more details he could pick out. The windows had no glass, the trunk of the tree seemed to have formed the windows, with twisting spiraled window frames.

The castle looked beautiful, like the ones that Ilsa had seen in the stolen Elven books he’d read back in Caelestes. At the time, he’d thought it was too good to be true, that the painter had obviously made it look more picturesque and fantasy-like, but it was beautiful , everything the painter had captured in the paintings and more.

“I see you like Naevys’s handiwork.” Cassian teased, making Ilsa flush and nod. It was a very beautiful castle, much less imposing than the one he’d grown up in, much less manufactured than the one Cassian lived in. “It’s beautiful, I admit. Though I would be driven insane by the lack of insulation. I can hear everything for miles inside of his castle.”

“That sounds unpleasant,” Ilsa admitted, stopping short as the giant door, made of twisting, curling tree limbs weaved together, popped open and Naevys stepped out to greet them.

“Cassian, how very expected of you,” Naevys said, smiling a bit as his black eyes twinkled brightly under the recently rising ‘day’ moonlight. “Ilsa, it’s wonderful to see you again.” Ilsa smiled kindly, a little unsure of what to say in response.

“It’s nice to see you.” Ilsa managed to get out, nerves wrecking him. He was going to be away from Cassian for the entire day and that was–that was terrifying to him. He didn’t want Cassian to go, he didn’t want to be alone with Naevys, just for the simple reason that he didn’t really know him. Cassian trusted him, but Ilsa wasn’t sure. Everything he’d been taught about Elves suggested not to trust them, that they had a way with words, and they were experts at trickery. Could Cassian’s friendship with him cloud Cassian’s judgment?

Ilsa wasn’t sure, so he would be cautious about trusting him.

“Ilsa, are you alright?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa’s head raise before he nodded. He was fine, he could do this. “Helix and Felix will be here soon, they are set to blink over as soon as I return to the castle.”

“Felix will be here?” Naevys asked, interest sparking in his eyes. “How exciting.”

“Naevys, please, please, don’t do anything with Felix. Keep your eyes on Ilsa at all times, add extra wards to protect against tracking spells and–” Cassian said, making Naevys wave his hand.

“All done, your highness,” He drawled, offering his arm to Ilsa. Ilsa hesitated for a moment, looking up at Cassian. Cassian nodded, his orchid eyes settling back on Naevys as Ilsa released Cassian to grasp onto him. “I have protected many of your treasures over the years, I’m sure I can attend to one more.” Cassian shot him a dirty look. “Isoloses will be arriving soon. You should be on your way.”

“How did you–you know what, never mind. Naevys, I am trusting you with something that–‘’ Cassian broke off, his eyes shooting down to Ilsa before going back up to Naevys. “I am trusting you with someone very important to me. Don’t let this be the first time in thousands of years that you let me down.”

“What kind of a best friend would I be if I allowed anything to harm your mate? I got these scars protecting you in battle, do you think I would allow harm to come to your mate? Please.” Naevys said, waving his hand. “It’s adorable watching you worry like a school boy, but truly, you’re running out of time. I apologize your majesty, you should be leaving now.”

“Okay. Okay. Ilsa… I’ll see you in a little while.” Cassian said. Ilsa nodded his head.

“I’ll see you in a little while.” Ilsa promised. Cassian smiled and then disappeared, leaving Ilsa alone with Naevys. Naevys hummed quietly and looked down to Ilsa.

“Shall I get us some tea?” Naevys asked politely. Ilsa nodded hesitantly. Naevys waved his hand and a breeze of wind blew through the room, jingling a little bell that hung on the wall. “Are you a fan of riddles?” Naevys asked, making Ilsa nod as he was led to a wicker couch with a soft silky cushion covering it. Ilsa sat down nervously, shifting towards the end by the table.

“A man on a trip brought a fox, a goose, and a sack of corn with him. He comes upon a stream which he has to cross and finds a tiny boat that he can use for the same. The problem is that he can only take himself and one of the items across the stream at a time. It is not possible for him to leave the fox alone with the goose or the goose alone with the corn. How can he get them all safely over the stream?” Naevys asked, making Ilsa hum.

“Why can the fox and goose not be left alone?” Ilsa asked, making Naevys chuckle.

“The fox would eat the goose. The goose would eat the corn.” Naevys explained. Ilsa took a moment to think about it before he decided on an answer.

“Take the goose over first and come back,” Ilsa began, “Then take the fox over and bring the goose back. Now take the corn over and come back alone to get the goose. Take the goose over once again, and all’s been carried over with nothing eating each other.”

“Very smart,” Naevys hummed, tilting his head. “I can be flipped, broken, opened, closed, and removed. However, I can never move. I am sealed by hands. What am I?” Naevys mused, making Ilsa hum.

“Perhaps a deal?” Ilsa questioned making Naevys nod. Before Ilsa could offer a riddle of his own, the vines covering the doorway of the room he and Naevys were in shook as an Elven woman pushed a little wicker stand on wheels made of a shiny rock of some kind that Ilsa couldn’t identify.

“Lord Naevys,” The woman said, bowing slightly. “I have brought your tea to you sir. Helix and Felix are in the kitchen, they insisted on preparing your guests breakfast this morning,” She dipped her head and Naevys nodded.

“Fine, fine. Whatever works.” Naevys said dismissively as she handed Naevys his tea cup. Ilsa smiled gratefully as he accepted his cup, thanking her quietly. “Double the wards, keep in contact with the guards. There is no threat, but in the event of another surprise attack, I’d like to be prepared.”

“Yes, Lord Naevys.” She said, bowing her head. “I also raised a bit of a fence around the castle.” She admitted.

“A fence? But the beautiful view of the waterfall will be interrupted–oh, I suppose that’s a fine idea. Just take it down before bed so I can see the waterfall.” Naevys said.

“I will, Lord Naevys,” She said, bowing politely.

“It’s not too much trouble for elves to do such tasks,” Naevys said as she walked out of the room. “To be fair I could probably do it myself, hmm? I have become rather lazy in the last three thousand years.” He hummed, tilting his head to one side. “On the bright side, I pay my housekeepers and servants a hefty sum for their troubles, and give them bonuses when I am especially difficult.” Naevys said.

“Fair enough I suppose.” Ilsa murmured, looking away from him. He was hardly in any position to judge anyone. He felt a little awkward and unsure of what to say to Naevys.

“Answer me this, Ilsa? If a picture is equal to a thousand words, what does my portrait say of me?” Naevys asked.

“I don’t feel there’s an appropriate answer to that,” Ilsa said softly.

“Any answer is appropriate to such a question,” Naevys said. “Pictures and their interpretations are subjective. I could show the same photograph to ten different people and every one of them would perceive the image differently.” Naevys explained, leaning back a little.

“Then why even bother asking?” Ilsa asked, not intending it to be rude–but what was the point of a question if there was no right answer?

“Everything is subjective if you think about it deeply enough,” Naevys said, those black eyes sparkling a little as he looked over at Ilsa. “Perception is a fickle thing. What I’m most interested in, Ilsa, is your perception.”

“Why does my perception matter so much?” Ilsa asked skeptically.

“It doesn’t,” Naevys said, making Ilsa frown.

“Is your intention to confuse the shit out of me?” Ilsa asked, crossing his arms.

“My intention is to gain the knowledge of how you perceive things.” Naevys said, waving a hand dismissively.

“Why?” Ilsa asked.

“A long time ago,” Naevys said, “There was a being I fought in a battle.” Naevys said, one of his hands reaching up to run along the scar on his face, an almost glassy look in his eyes as he reminisced. “There were two attackers that I was holding off as the guard defended the fleeing elves in the woods,” Naevys paused.

“And that has what to do with me?” Ilsa asked, a little tired of him talking in circles already.

“If you would stop interrupting me every half-second perhaps I could finish my depressing backstory.” Naevys drawled with a playful smirk, his eyes seeming to sparkle. “Or perhaps, I could just show you.” Naevys stood up and waved his hand, the vines hanging down over the doorway curled and weaved together before his eyes, forming an oblong oval shape. Naevys walked over to a pitcher that was placed on a stand by the doorway. Ilsa had initially regarded it as just a decoration, but Naevys tilted it and a stream of water began pouring out.

But… instead of pouring like water, it poured like clear slime, and it didn’t follow the natural laws of nature at all. It moved through the air aiming straight towards the doorway, curling and coiling, stretching further and further until the entire doorway had a thin layer of water stretched across it.

“Come, Ilsa. Take a look inside my mind.” Naevys said. Ilsa stood and walked forward, stopping at a safe distance, so that Naevys couldn’t push him through it if it was a portal or anything. Naevys chuckled and reached forward, tapping his finger in the center of the water, making it settle. Clear, almost like a sheet of unsolidified ice.

The room suddenly darkened and Ilsa’s eyes immediately darted around to see the newly formed covers over the windows. His eyes moved back to the watery doorway where Naevys was reflected in it. Ilsa took a cautious step forward and watched Naevys. He gasped when slowly, the image began to change, the water seeming to ripple faintly before settling and beginning automatically.

On the screen(?) in front of him was Naevys, an elegant wooden staff in his hand, flame like decorations dancing and wrapping around the entire staff with the exception of the handle, the bottom of it was decorated with beads, hanging from similarly colored glowing threads. The top of it was a circle, decorated with a mosaic of rough multi-colored crystal shards of varying sizes. He was standing, as if he were waiting for something, his staff in his hand.

And then he moved, like a lightning bolt, using the circular end of the staff to pole vault himself across the field where he landed on his feet, swiftly turning towards the two people running straight towards him. In this clearing, there was nothing, not a tree in sight, something Ilsa found odd because the whole realm was overgrown with trees and plant life. How did this one clearing exist? Because Naevys wills it, Ilsa realized. Interesting. Elves do have a connection with nature, that’d track. When he caught sight of who was running towards Naevys, he gasped. His brothers were attacking him. His face was scar-less, he looked so young –oh no no no, Ilsa couldn’t.

The memory paused , on a still frame image of his brothers.

“This one,” Naevys said, pointing to Isandro, “Gave me this scar right here.” His fingers ran along his face. “I was protecting Cassian and he got me with a switchblade. Better me than the king. I don’t care much about that, though my mirror probably has some concerns.” Naevys chuckled. “The one I want to know about is this one. Isoloses.”

“I don’t know what you want me to tell you? What Isoloses perception might’ve been of you?” Ilsa asked, confused.

“When I first saw him,” Naevys began, “There was this feeling inside of me that I cannot really describe. I’ve fought many battles at Cassian’s side, I’ve stood upon a bloody battlefield with blood on my own hands, and yet… I have never hesitated to kill. I had a job to do, I had to protect my people, Cassian’s people, the realm that I reside on. There was no question of morality in that moment because I had a duty and a job, and I was either going to come back victorious or not come back at all.” Naevys explained, his eyes falling on Isoloses. “Why did I have the blade of his own brothers knife at his throat and hesitate when I looked into his eyes?”

“Ngh?” Ilsa muttered unintelligibly.

“The fight was enthralling, one of the most interesting fights I’ve had in years. It was neck in neck, and yet I managed to wrap vines around them both, completely encasing all but their heads in the vines–so as not to kill them.” Naevys paused. “I knocked out Isandro and that is when Isoloses told me about you ,” Naevys said.

“Me?” Ilsa asked, confused.

“Correct.” Naevys closed his eyes, and then the image changed, to his brother Isoloses, burgundy eyes looking into Naevys’s with a knife to his throat. The memory began playing, maybe a little farther along than it had been previously, but it wasn’t by much.

‘𝙼𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝙸𝚕𝚜𝚊, 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎.’ 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚟𝚘𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚙𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚎𝚙. ‘𝙷𝚎’𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚌 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚢 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝙸𝚏 𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚎, 𝚏𝚊𝚛, 𝚏𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖, 𝚑𝚎’𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚑𝚜’ 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎.’ Ilsa had no idea what to even think about that, truthfully. How could his father do such a thing? Keeping him locked away so that he could slowly eat away at his magic, his very life source? He could’ve been killed! He guessed his fathers life should’ve held value too, to some extent, but he could have at least been honest with him!

“𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖?” 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍, 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝. Ilsa flinched a little, unable to help it. Isoloses looked pretty helpless already, it seemed a little like overkill. Even so, Naevys was probably angry because they’d attacked his home–Ilsa could understand that to a point.

‘𝙷𝚎’𝚜 𝚘𝚕𝚍, 𝚠𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚊𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜.’ 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚕𝚢. ‘𝙲𝚊𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚞𝚒𝚗, 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚖𝚜, 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚘𝚜, 𝚖𝚞𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛, 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚒𝚖. 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝙸𝚕𝚜𝚊 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎. 𝙱𝚞𝚝…’ But what? Why was he the sole reason his father was in power, yet was treated as if he were garbage? None of this made sense, not in the slightest. He wasn’t even strong himself, how was he the reason his father was powerful?!

“𝙸’𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚙 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚜𝚑, 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜, 𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚞𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚔𝚗𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝’𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝,” 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚗𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍. “𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗, 𝙸’𝚖 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚙𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎.” Naevys did have a reason to be angry, still, Ilsa couldn’t help but look away for a moment.

‘𝙳𝚘 𝚒𝚝,’ 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊 𝚜𝚒𝚐𝚑. ‘𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎.’ Ilsa’s heart stopped at the look in Isoloses eyes, dead and empty, sadness swirling through them.

“𝙴𝚡𝚌𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚎? 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞?” 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚕𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚎𝚍. Ilsa couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the fact that Isoloses might have been as miserable as him. Isla just couldn’t tell.

‘𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚊𝚖 𝙸 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛? 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎. 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚛 𝚍𝚘𝚗’𝚝, 𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚢. 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎.’ 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚙𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎. ‘𝙷𝚎𝚕𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚎.’ Do what? Ilsa thought he might have a heart attack.

“𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎.” 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜. Ilsa hated to take Naevys’s side, but he did have to admit… That sounded like a preference for life. Regardless, his brother obviously hadn’t died after the altercation between them somehow, so Naevys obviously let him go.

‘𝙻𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚍, 𝚑𝚒𝚐𝚑 𝚎𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚗 𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚜.’ 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢. ‘𝚈𝚘𝚞’𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚐𝚞𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚐𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎. 𝚄𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎’𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚢 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜.’ Ilsa could’ve smacked him for being so catty with a blade to his neck. Did he have no survival instincts at all?

“𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝙴𝚕𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚎𝚕𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸’𝚖 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚝𝚘𝚘.” 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚊𝚝, 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚎𝚌𝚔. Ilsa gasped a bit, unable to help himself.

‘𝙸’𝚍 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚎 t𝚘 𝚊𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝙲𝚊𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚜,’ 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢. ‘𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸𝚕𝚜𝚊 𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜, 𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚢. 𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠… 𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝, 𝙸𝚕𝚜𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚞𝚙𝚘𝚗 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚑𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚊 𝚏𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜, 𝙸 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚍𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚜𝚌𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚍. 𝚂𝚎𝚝 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚊𝚢 𝚊 𝚑𝚎𝚏𝚝𝚢 𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚊𝚕 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞’𝚕𝚕 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚝 𝚑𝚒𝚖.’ So it hadn’t been luck or careful planning at all that allowed him to flee the castle. Even his escape from the castle had been planned by someone else. It somewhat made him feel a little disappointed. He had thought that he outsmarted his father, that he did something on his own when in reality, someone had been pulling all the strings behind him without him ever even knowing it.

“𝚂𝚞𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚟𝚊𝚕𝚞𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚞𝚙 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢.” 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚎. “𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸’𝚖 𝚗𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛.” Ilsa hardly thought he needed a babysitter, no matter how long ago this took place, but even so, he suddenly understood how Isoloses was able to get away.

‘𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚔𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚖?’ 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍, 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚕. Really, Isoloses?! That’s your argument?! Bringing a war that you were a part of–Ilsa could’ve smacked him straight through the water. Ilsa had no idea how to communicate either, but fuck, anything was better than that, surely?!

“𝚆𝚑𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚜𝚑, 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞?” 𝙽𝚊𝚎𝚟𝚢𝚜 𝚊𝚜𝚔𝚎𝚍. Honestly, kind of an expected remark, Ilsa could amend.

‘𝙾𝚔𝚊𝚢, 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢, 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢,’ 𝙸𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍. ‘𝙸 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚕𝚕 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚎,–’ What?! The memory suddenly cut off and Ilsa’s eyes looked over to Naevys.

“It shut off?!” Ilsa said, making Naevys nod.

“I was unsure you’d like to see your brother and I rolling around in the dirt next to your other unconscious brother, but if you’d like to see that–” Ilsa’s eyes widened and he immediately shook his head.

“How did you even end up in that position? Your face was cut–” Ilsa pointed out.

“A little water and a healing charm and I was on my way to a swift recovery.” Naevys said, waving his hand dismissively. “I have thought over that memory time and time again. Wondering what possessed me to make a deal with a demon when I never trusted them before. And yet, here I am. Trusting a demon.”

“I thought you had seen how all of this will play out?!” Ilsa said.

“I have,” Naevys paused, “but there is some room for… different outcomes based on choices made. The future’s not set in stone,” Naevys explained. “However, I do hope I placed my trust in a viable source. Otherwise, I might just die tonight.” Naevys paused, before looking over his shoulder. “Isoloses. I summon thee to come to my side at once.”

“What are you doing?” Ilsa asked, terror shocking through him as Isoloses formed behind Naevys. “What have you done?!”

“I kept my end of the bargain. Isoloses, you get ten minutes and then you must leave.” Naevys said, making Isoloses nod. “At this rate, you’ll leave before you’ve said a word, however, so I’d suggest speeding things up. Cassian will find your location and it won’t just be you he wants to rip into pieces.”

“Comforting, Naevys, truly,” Isoloses said sarcastically, turning to look at Ilsa, who frankly didn’t even know how to feel. How was one supposed to act when faced with their demon brother who tortured him in front of his father, but went behind his back to conspire with him? Should he be grateful? Because all he really felt was pissed. If Isoloses had stepped in, or if he had just acted like he cared, Ilsa might… Ilsa might not have decided to leave… “Ilsa I’m on a time limit so I can’t really explain everything. I’m shit at words anyway, so here.” Flames erupted from his hand, and out of it, came a book that flew to his feet. “I’ve done my best to–to explain things in this. Are you happier here?”

“I guess I would be,” Ilsa said, cautious, uncertain as he kneeled down and picked up the book. He wasn’t taking his eyes off of either of them for a moment. He could put either of them to sleep if he had to, just one concentrated burst of magic. He could feel it tickling his fingertips, fear coiling through him. He could feel Cassian through their mating bond, which brought him a slight bit of comfort, but even so he was scared.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Naevys will kill me.” Isoloses said, raising his hands. Naevys nodded his head.

“In less than a heartbeat.” Naevys chimed in. “My loyalties lie to the king, I merely had a contract to fulfill.”

“Is father… dead?” Ilsa asked, not even sure he wanted to know the answer. Isoloses shook his head.

“Not yet, no.” Isoloses said, “He’s weakening by the day, though, using more and more of his power in an effort to find you. All efforts have failed up to this point.”

“I don’t want some ‘skeletons in the closet’ bullshit answer, what the hell is wrong with him?” Ilsa asked.

“Feisty,” Isoloses shook his head, “Father started getting ill before you were born, Ilsa.” Isoloses said, stepping forward cautiously. “He was old, drawing most of his power straight from Caelestes itself. And then you were born.” Isoloses paused, “When you were born, at first, things seemed different. He seemed stronger, maybe more clear headed–and then it was a descent to madness. As you grew stronger, he grew weaker. Every day, every new skill you acquired, every spell you learned, all of it made him weaker. So he started first by limiting the kinds of spells you had access to, and told you omegas weren’t allowed to practice magic.”

“He lied to me?”

“Is that so surprising given everything else?” Isoloses asked, making Ilsa bite back a snide remark. “Even so, the draining was still happening. The more he tried to repress you, the more it drained him. He used spells constantly, reality spells to change your perceptions of your surroundings, kept you locked away so no one could inform you. He invented an entire race of demons simply to ‘protect’ you.”

“The addition of the quotation marks are important there, huh?” Ilsa asked, making Isoloses nod.

“He knew if you didn’t fear everyone around you, you’d never stop trying to escape. He thought keeping you locked away and powerless would keep you complaisant, fear is a stronger binder than ropes or cords.” Isoloses said, pausing. “I have to go, Cassian will be back in a few minutes to check on the progress of the spell I am supposed to cast to look for you.”

“Wait but–I have so many questions still!” Ilsa snapped.

“If Cassian found out that I allowed him passage into my home with you here, he would paint the walls of my castle red with my blood, Ilsa.” Naevys said, those black eyes narrowing in on him. “I quite enjoy my head being attached to my body.”

“No,” Ilsa said, anger surging through him. “It’s not fucking fair that everyone is always taking my fucking choices away from me.” Ilsa yelled, energy bursting through him suddenly, sending out a wave that seemed to ripple through the air. And then it was completely silent. Naevys was still, Isoloses too. There wasn’t even the faintest sound of birds or bats chirping outside. It was total stillness.

𓊈𒆜 ＥＬＥＶＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa seemed to snap back into reality after a moment of anger, realization washing over him. What had he done? It seemed as if the entire moment had paused, the world around him completely still and quiet. Ilsa walked forward, towards Isoloses, stopping in front of him. This was the closest he’d been to Isoloses when his father wasn’t around, and for once, he took a minute to actually look at him.

He didn’t seem nearly as frightening as he had back in Caelestes, perhaps that was just because of what he knew now. His skin was tanned, with deep black markings weaving and curling down his arms like tentacles. His black hair and burgundy red eyes seemed almost lifeless and empty, a weariness Ilsa had never seen before reflected from them. His tanned skin seemed to be coated in soot–something that was common when walking around Caelestes. The whole place was on fire, literally, it was hot and the air was muggy and thick. The smoke in the air actually could stain your skin, in an odd sort of way.

Ilsa couldn’t resist the urge to reach up and put his hand on Isoloses face.

“Ah!” Isoloses gasped, his eyes blinking rapidly. Ilsa jumped and screamed, his heart practically flying through his chest as he jolted away from Isoloses. “What the hell just happened?” Isoloses questioned, his head turning to Naevys who was still frozen in place. “Is–Is this you?” Isoloses questioned.

“I think so!” Ilsa said anxiously.

“How are you doing this?” Isoloses asked, Ilsa shrugged.

“I HAVE NO IDEA?!” Ilsa yelled, throwing his hands in the air. “I don’t know what’s happening, I’m just the one who did it!”

“Okay, okay, let’s both just calm down.” Isoloses said, “The clock has stopped.” He said suddenly, realization flickering across his face. “Okay, you’ve stopped time there’s nothing to worry about, but it needs to be undone–”

“No shit!” Ilsa said, his heart speeding up in his chest. “I don’t know how to start time, I don’t even know how I stopped it in the first place!”

“Maybe it’s conditional. You wanted more time. Now you’ve got it.” Isoloses said, making Ilsa pause. That could be it. Spells could be conditional. Okay, all he had to do was get his questions answered. But all he could think about was Cassian, and what he was doing. He hoped Cassian wasn’t frozen. Could he freeze all time? Had he frozen the entire realm? Was time going to break apart into pieces? “No, no, don’t panic, don’t panic it’s okay. We’re okay. You’re okay. Everyone is okay.” Isoloses said.

“I’m not panicking,” Ilsa said, crossing his arms.

“You’re panicking.” Isoloses said, motioning towards him. Ilsa suddenly became aware of the feeling of his tail curling around his leg. “Ilsa, you have to relax to control your magic. Right now, you’re an open gateway, just letting everything flow through you–you have to reign it in.”

“I-I can’t think, I can’t think.” Ilsa said anxiously. Isoloses stepped forward and put a cautious hand on his shoulder.

“You were angry at me.” Isoloses said. “So you should try recreating that anger, so that in theory, we can replicate what happened and trigger the same event twice.”

“Yeah, I’m still pretty damn angry at you.” Ilsa snapped. “You lied to me, you mistreated me–and what’s worse is that you knew you were doing it!” Ilsa said, pushing him back. “You fucking lied to me. I was all alone, I was so fucking scared every day of my life and you could’ve been my friend but you were just as bad as everyone else.” Isoloses nodded.

“That’s it. Get angry, Ilsa. I fucked you over, mistreated you. I didn’t protect you when I could have.” Ilsa pushed him back more, making him stumble a little. “I could’ve stopped him, I could’ve gotten you out of there, I could’ve done more to help you. And I didn’t.”

“How do you think it felt for me to be so alone and afraid?” Ilsa yelled, making Isoloses nod.

“Probably miserable. Which, in essence, was my plan.” Isoloses said, “You had to be so miserable that even your fear wouldn’t hold you back from fleeing.”

“So what, your plan was to torture me until I got so desperate to leave I’d do anything?” Ilsa asked angrily, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. “What if I had of thrown myself out a window?”

“You were never alone with any windows and that wouldn’t have killed you either.” Isoloses said easily, stepping forward. “But even so, I knew you wouldn’t. You were scared, yeah, helpless, probably, but you know what else you had?” Isoloses said, walking forward until he was standing toe to toe with him. “The will to actually experience living.”

“So you banked your entire plan on the condition that I was just depressed enough to escape, but not enough to run straight through the guards surrounding me and jump to freedom?” Ilsa asked incredulously.

“That’s right.” Isoloses said, “If you were to die, your power would be absorbed by Caelestes, giving father back some of his power. Couldn’t let that happen, princess.”

“I’m not a fucking princess!” Ilsa snapped angrily.

“Aw, did that make you angry? How cute, I might actually be afraid right now.” Isoloses said, making Ilsa growl a little.

“I will-”

“Will what? Trample me with your toe pads? Please,” Isoloses said. Ilsa jumped, swinging his fist out to punch Isoloses, who effortlessly caught his hand. “You’re not angry enough, Ilsa, get angrier!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I SWEAR TO FUCKING EVERYTHING IN THE TWENTY SEVEN REALMS–” Ilsa screeched angrily.

“Hush hush now, no need for a temper tantrum.” Isoloses said, his eyes sparking a little. “Wouldn’t want the princess to have her panties in a bunch.”

“Call me a princess one more fucking time,” Ilsa snarled, “I’ll tear you limb from limb and then Naevys is going to have to repaint.”

“Not if you don’t unfreeze time, princess.”

“Okay you self-righteous, arrogant, son of a bitch–” Ilsa snapped.

“Tsk, tsk, and you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Isoloses snarked.

“No, my mother can rot in Caelestes with my father.” Ilsa said.

“You’re losing momentum, Ilsa.”

“I can’t do this! I don’t even know what we’re doing!” Ilsa exclaimed.

“You were threatening me. I was intentionally and purposely acting like an ass in order to anger you enough for you to do the same thing twice, and thus, you would’ve restarted time. As it is, we’re stuck here.” Isoloses explained, looking over at Naevys. “The question is, how much time has been affected.”

“What do you mean?” Ilsa asked.

“There are some spells that are strong enough to reach multiple realms.” Isoloses said, shrugging. “Though it might be a good thing if we’re the only two beings in the twenty seven realms awake, because Cassian is completely defenseless right now.” A shock of fear coursed through Ilsa and he immediately stiffened.

Cassian, oh no no no… Panic flooded through him as he realized. Cassian was frozen, he couldn’t defend himself and he definitely hadn’t managed to freeze time in Caelestes so while time was frozen where they were, it wasn’t frozen where their father was. Every moment spent in this limbo was a moment that their father could attack Cassian. Ilsa found himself opening one of the shifting sands portals–the one like Shadow taught him how to use, and jumped inside of it, headed straight for Cassian.

When he landed on his feet in front of him, he didn’t even stumble. A wave of relief washed over him as he looked at Cassian, standing outside of a doorway in the castle. He found himself thinking once in a while how statuesque Cassian’s appearance was, but now with him basically a statue, all Ilsa wanted was him to move. Ilsa reached out to put his hand on Cassian, but before he could touch him, Cassian seemed to jolt awake on his own.

“What the hell are you doing here?!” Cassian immediately said, his eyes widening. “I thought you were safe at Naevys’s house–” Before Cassian could even finish, Ilsa was jumping into his arms, relief coursing through him.

“Alpha you’re okay,” Ilsa said immediately, burying his face in Cassian’s neck. Cassian put his hand on Ilsa’s lower back and pulled him closer, his nose running along the mate mark softly.

“Of course I’m okay.” Cassian replied.

“Dammit Ilsa that wasn’t cool do you know how many–” Isoloses said, pausing when he took in the sight of Cassian and Ilsa. “Okay, shit, Ilsa, couldn’t you have unfrozen Naevys too?!” Ilsa didn’t even turn his head.

“No,” He said, his words muffled in Cassian’s chest.

“Naevys?” Cassian said. “Isoloses, why are you not in this room that I am standing beside?” Cassian’s voice was sharp as he said it.

“Okay, jeez, it’s shit on Iso day.” Isoloses said, huffing a little as he crossed his arms. “Why don’t you calm Ilsa down so we can unfreeze time?”

“Here is how we are going to do this. Isoloses shut up for a moment. Ilsa, Lovebird, please explain to me what is going on so that I can try to help however I can.” Cassian said, putting his hands on Ilsa’s shoulders and leading him back a little. Ilsa peeked up at him, biting his lip shyly.

“I-I… Well, for starters, I was–I was ambushed !” Ilsa defended himself, a pout taking over his face. “I was frightened, and angry, and things were going too fast and I just needed them to stop. So… I stopped them somehow?”

“Okay, starting with the ambushed thing–are you injured?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa shake his head. “Okay, that’s good. We’ll deal with the frightened and angry thing in a moment. The more pressing matter is how you did what you did. Okay?”

“He was angry,” Isoloses chimed in. “Real angry. Did a whole screech and everything–it was quite theatrical. I was amused until–well, until everything blacked out for a minute, and then I woke up and he was in front of me, looking as angry as a nun in a whorehouse.” Ilsa couldn’t help giggling a little, his face heating up.

“I am trying not to laugh right now, and your commentary is making that very difficult. Please, “ Cassian said, holding his hand up, “Without comedic overtones, what is going on?”

“My father’s a bastard, he’s on his deathbed.” Isoloses said, shrugging a bit. “I made a pact with Naevys a long time ago, and we hatched this plan. It was great. My father was already mistreating Ilsa, and there wasn’t much I could do to stop him other than kill him. And, without a crowned king in place Caelestes would fall to ruin. Chaos would ensue, treaties would be broken,” Cassian nodded, his jaw set.

“Okay, that’s too far into the past for this current moment, please, skip the beginning.” Cassian said.

“It’s rather short after that. Ilsa escaped Caelestes, somehow ended up mated to you. I came here, with the intention of returning home and lying to my father whether or not Ilsa was here in this very castle.” Isoloses shrugged. “Naevys allowed me to check on my brother, to see him one final time, before I returned home. I had no intention of harming him and Naevys knew that.” Cassian made an annoyed noise, so Isoloses continued quickly. “Now, here’s the thing, you can totally rip me to shreds, just leave Naevys out of it.”

“Pardon?” Cassian questioned, Ilsa thought, but couldn’t really tell. He sounded confused.

“I’m saying, I went against the terms of my agreement with you, knowing what the punishment of that was.” Isoloses said, “Naevys was a tool I used to get what I wanted, which was to see Ilsa. I manipulated him into agreeing to–”

“No, you didn’t.” Cassian said stiffly. “You’re saying you did, but I can see through you like a piece of glass.”

“Milk glass is a thing,” Isoloses piped in. A wave of annoyance flashed through the mating bond.

“Technicalities aside, I can tell you’re lying. Save the pleading, I wouldn’t execute Naevys, or you, for that matter.” Cassian said, narrowing his eyes. “Naevys is safe because Ilsa is safe and you’re safe because I can’t kill you without starting a war.”

“This isn’t helping!” Ilsa snapped. “Not at all, I’m pretty sure it’s actually getting worse now.”

“Okay, Lovebird, breathe and tell me what I can do to help you figure this out.” Cassian said, putting his hands on Ilsa’s shoulder’s. “Anything you need. I’m here.” Ilsa felt a smile pulling at the corners of his lips before he could even try to stop himself.

“I don’t know what to do! I didn’t unfreeze you and I don’t really know how I unfroze Isoloses.” Ilsa said, feeling a little overwhelmed. “I have never had this happen, I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t know what I’m doing!”

“Okay the last thing you need to do is freak out!” Isoloses said.

“I don’t think that is helping the situation at all,” Cassian interjected. “Stressing him out isn’t going to help. Ilsa, sweetheart, focus here. Isoloses, sit somewhere and be quiet. I need to calm Ilsa down and you’re obviously not capable of remaining quiet.”

“Fine, fine.” Isoloses said, raising his hands up in defeat before sliding down one of the castle walls.

𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑. 𝐼’𝑚 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝐼’𝑣𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐹𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑒, 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦? 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒. Cassian’s voice echoed through his head as Cassian pulled him into the room that Isoloses was supposed to be inside.

“I just don’t know what I did,” Ilsa said worriedly, his hands gripping into Cassian’s jacket.

𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡. 𝑅𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑒’𝑟𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑. 𝑂𝑘𝑎𝑦? 𝑊𝑒’𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑦 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘. 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑢𝑠ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒, 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠. 𝑂𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑. Ilsa nodded and squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to ‘push’ his thoughts to Cassian.

𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑛? 𝐶𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑒? 𝐴𝑚 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡?

Ilsa genuinely had no idea if what he did worked, he couldn’t actively hear Cassian’s thoughts like when he’d been doing magic with Shadow–it was different. It felt different, perhaps–but it still wasn’t indicative of whether or not he managed to pull it off. 𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑛? 𝐶𝑎𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑚𝑒? 𝐴𝑚 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡?

𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒. 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑏𝑒𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑚 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒? Ilsa took a deep breath and nodded as Cassian ran his hand down Ilsa’s back, pulling him closer.

𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑑𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡! Cassian hummed quietly, running his nose along Ilsa’s mate mark, sending a wave of tingles over him. It felt so nice whenever Cassian touched his mate mark. It seemed to react to Cassian’s touch, it was relaxing in an odd way, and always set him at ease. 𝐼’𝑚 𝑠𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑦, 𝐼 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑥 𝑖𝑡.

𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝, 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒𝑧𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡. 𝐶𝑎𝑒𝑑𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑡. 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤. Ilsa couldn’t help but shake his head, burying his face in Cassian’s chest. He was so embarrassed. Cassian was seeing how incapable he really was and he couldn’t help but feel like sinking into the ground. He didn’t even know why it was embarrassing–perhaps, it was just because he cared a lot about what Cassian thought about him. He wanted Cassian to be proud of him, but here he was, freezing everyone in the realm!

𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑧𝑒𝑛! 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑒𝑥𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠. Ilsa frowned and squeezed his eyes shut, an overwhelming wave of anxiety washing over him. Cassian hummed softly again, keeping it up this time, just a soft hum that seemed to relax Ilsa a little.

𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ, 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑛’𝑡 𝑓𝑢𝑐𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝. 𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠. 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑒𝑦𝑒𝑠. Ilsa nodded his head, despite the fact he’d already closed his eyes. 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡, 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑔. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑒. 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑏𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. Ilsa nodded again, taking a deep breath. 𝐼𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑢𝑡, 𝑠𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑜𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠. 𝑆𝑒𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡, 𝑏𝑎𝑏𝑦, 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦. 𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦.

𝐸𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦, Ilsa thought back to him, his hands curling in Cassian’s jacket tighter. He could feel his heart beginning to slow down as Cassian held him, humming some unfamiliar tune in his ear. It was soft and relaxing, his scent washing over Ilsa’s senses. Everything was slowing down, slowly but surely, the panic began to recede.

When Ilsa was calm, Cassian carefully led his face away from his chest, his gloved hand gripping into Ilsa’s chin. Ilsa took a deep, shuddery breath as Cassian’s thumb ran along the line of his bottom lip, smiling softly.

𝐺𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑦, 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑤? Ilsa nodded his head, his breath catching as tingles traced through him. He wanted to sink into Cassian’s touch and melt. He could feel the chill from his skin, it was soothing, relaxing. He felt hot, not in a horny way, just overheated. He could feel his magic draining by the second, and strong spells take a toll on the body. It wasn’t severe now, but the longer the spell was in effect and he was using his magic, the more of his energy will be drained. 𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑝, 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑. 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦?

𝑇𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑, Ilsa responded, making Cassian frown as he pulled his glove off before pressing his palm to Ilsa’s forehead. 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑑𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑. Cassian frowned a little, nodding his head.

𝐼𝑓 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑔𝑜 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑟 𝐶𝑎𝑒𝑑𝑚𝑜𝑛. 𝐸𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠. Ilsa frowned. He wasn’t sure how that’d work out for multiple reasons. For one, probably the most obvious reasoning, was they were frozen as well. Unless it happened to be possible for them to unfreeze themselves. Cassian seemed to have done so himself, or maybe something similar happened when Isoloses had ‘unfroze’ and it was an emotional thing?

𝐼𝑠 𝑖𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔? Ilsa questioned, making Cassian nod discreetly. 𝐼𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑟𝑦 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑧𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒, 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝐼𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠’𝑠 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢–𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑠𝑜 𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡, Ilsa thought, making Cassian nod again.

𝐼𝑓 𝐶𝑎𝑒𝑑𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑟 𝑆ℎ𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑟𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑚 𝑦𝑜𝑢. Cassian suggested, making Ilsa hum.

𝑊𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡? 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑜 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑? Ilsa questioned. Cassian nodded.

𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡, 𝐼𝑙𝑠𝑎. 𝐴 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙, 𝑛𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑜𝑚 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡. 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑠, 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐, 𝑝𝑜𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠–𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑛𝑤𝑒𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙. Cassian explained. Ilsa scrunched up his nose a little, raising an eyebrow.

𝐴 ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑𝑛’𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑎 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙, 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ, Ilsa pointed out. Cassian hummed as he nodded.

𝑁𝑜, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑜𝑡, 𝑢𝑠𝑢𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦. 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑦 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑚–ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟, ℎ𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑠 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑏𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑚𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑐 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑠. Cassian pointed out. 𝐼𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑠, 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑙𝑦, 𝑜𝑛 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ. 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑤𝑒 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑒 𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑.

𝐼𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡. Ilsa thought, putting his focus back on what they were talking about. 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝.

𝐼 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓𝑓 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑢𝑝𝑠𝑒𝑡. 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡’𝑠 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑤𝑒 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑑𝑜. Cassian offered, making Ilsa bite his lip.

𝐼 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑖𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔. 𝐼𝑡 𝑖𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑔𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑠𝑜 𝑤𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡? 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛’𝑡 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑧𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟… Ilsa shook his head. He felt so ridiculous. This couldn’t be a problem every demon faced, Isoloses seemed so surprised, and he didn’t really know he was strong enough to do something like this at all.

𝑌𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡. Ilsa nodded in understanding, his hands gripping tighter onto Cassian’s jacket.

𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤, 𝐼’𝑚 𝑜𝑘𝑎𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑤. 𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡… 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒. Ilsa pleaded, unable to help the fear that if Cassian went too far from him, he’d freeze again. He knew it was a little bit unwarranted, he had no reason to fear that, but he still did. He couldn’t justify the fear, but keeping Cassian close to him would be ideal anyway. Having Cassian close to him would also help keep him calm, which would arguably be beneficial.

𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙, 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑. 𝐼’𝑚 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑔𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡. 𝑇𝑜𝑔𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝑌𝑜𝑢, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒. 𝑀𝑎𝑦𝑏𝑒 𝐼𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑠, 𝑖𝑓 ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦. Ilsa nodded his agreement, warmth flooding through him as Cassian brushed a kiss to his lips. Cassian pulled away before pulling him around the corner into the hallway where Isoloses was leaning back against the wall, his legs pulled apart as he tossed a orb of sparkling red energy against the wall before catching it.

“I was just thinking. What if I tried casting a spell to unfreeze time?” Isoloses questioned as he tossed the orb of sparkling burgundy red energy up in the air and caught it.

“Do you know one?” Isoloses paused.

“No, I don’t,” Isoloses admitted as he kept tossing the ball in the air.

“Then I’m not quite sure how you’re going to cast a spell to unfreeze time,” Cassian said. Isoloses hummed and shrugged, shrinking the orb down smaller and smaller until it disappeared. “I thought we might get one of the witches to assist.”

“There’s the other solution,” Isoloses said, crossing his arms.

“What’s that?” Cassian said.

“Ilsa’s connected to you, and you’re the king of a realm. Lots of strength and power, but more notably, energy.” Isoloses said, making Cassian nod his head expectantly. “I am really not supposed to tell anyone I can do it, but I can suck the energy out of anything I can touch. I’m less familiar but still capable of returning the energy to where I take it.”

“What exactly are you suggesting?” Cassian asked.

“Mating works differently here, you guys believe in matrimony, soul binding, yadda yadda. Demons don’t typically bind their soul–eh, that’s a really questionable name for it, but I suppose it’ll have to work. Regardless, Ilsa’s energy is infinitely affected by yours, and vice versa.” Isoloses paused for a moment. “If I were to touch Ilsa and ‘suck the energy’ out of him, putting him, essentially, down for a nap so he can regenerate energy, it might reset time.”

“That doesn’t sound like the worst idea,” Ilsa piped in. Cassian’s head turned towards him.

“Ilsa, that sounds like a magnificently horrid idea. There has to be some way between sucking the energy out of my mate and time staying frozen. Caedmon could undo the spell without putting him to sleep.” Cassian said.

“The longer it’s like this, the weaker I’m getting.” Ilsa said, pausing for a moment. “I’ll run out of energy long before we can research any spells, and I certainly don’t know any off the top of my head. If I can restart time by taking a nap, we might have to just deal with the consequences of that.”

“I am able to pull and push energy,” Isoloses chimed in. “In theory, if we drained your energy and thus depleted the source of the magic, we could pull the energy out long enough for the spell to cease.”

“But I’m tied to Cassian, wouldn’t that inadvertently affect him as well?” Ilsa said, squeezing his hand in Cassian’s jacket worriedly.

“To some degree, but notably less than you will be affected. Think of your bond as two bubbles that’ve combined into one. The place where the two bubbles meet in the center is a wall with a door.” Isoloses explained. “The door is how the two bubbles communicate. While the energy on either side is active, both doors remain closed, and can only open when a force is applied to said door.”

“That’s typically how it goes, that is correct,” Cassian said, crossing his arms as he looked to Ilsa and then back to Isoloses. “When one side is energy depleted, there’s nothing to hold the door closed.” Isoloses nodded.

“Precisely. So, if we manage to pull his energy from him, the door will pop open allowing some of your energy to flow through him. The doors are only so big, so only so much will be transferred,” Isoloses offered. “I can hold the energy, and put it back into place.”

“On a living test subject?” Cassian questioned.

“I’ve done it before.” Isoloses defended.

“How many times?”

“Six times.” Isoloses admitted.

“How many times did it work ?” Cassian said, making Isoloses pause.

“Four times.” Isoloses admitted. “But that’s because the first person was on something that absorbed energy, and the second didn’t work because he was a siphon and had no energy of his own.”

“And what happened to the test subject you failed with?” Cassian asked.

“He slept for like a week and woke up good as new.” Isoloses said. “A little drowsy, nothing too serious.”

“A week is a long time to sleep.” Cassian inputted. “That seems more than ‘a little drowsy,’” Cassian said. Isoloses smiled sheepishly.

“Admittedly I’m rather new to returning energy. I’ve not done exactly what I’m suggesting before.” Isoloses said, “Our father’s been using it in Ilsa’s absence, taking energy from magical relics in the king’s vault in Caelestes. I’ve transferred the energy from an object to a person–however I have taken energy from people plenty of times so I know what I’m doing on that front. It’s a non-painful torture option.”

“I’m glad to know Caelestes is as efficient as ever in torture, but you’re not exactly selling yourself very hard, right now.” Cassian said blankly, his orchid eyes roaming over Isoloses skeptically.

“What are you gonna do, change demon-energy-siphons? Please,” Isoloses said, crossing his arms while raising an eyebrow. A wave of annoyance shot through the mating bond, making Ilsa fight back a giggle. “We’re in short supply, I know, I am one.” Isoloses raised his hands.

“My father has had you do this to him?” Ilsa questioned, making Isoloses nod.

“I’ve done similar things with him many times since you’ve left, already.” Isoloses promised.

“If you kill me, I’m going to come back as a ghost and haunt you.” Ilsa said, making Isoloses smirk a little.

“Aw princess, how sweet of you.” Isoloses said, making Ilsa shoot him a dirty look. Isoloses raised his hands and laughed. “I know, I know, not a princess. Except, you are. In Caelestes, male omegas are considered to be more feminine than masculine. They don’t swap pronouns or anything, but your status in Caelestes is as a princess, not a prince.”

“What? That makes no sense.” Isoloses shrugged.

“I’m just the messenger, I didn’t classify you as a princess, father did.” Isoloses said. Cassian frowned.

“Who’s going to take over Caelestes when father dies?” Ilsa asked suddenly, making Isoloses shrug.

“Probably Isandro. You know he is the favorite.” Ilsa didn’t know that–but Isandro did make more sense than Isoloses. Isandro was married, probably had a baby on the way or was at least attempting . He was the oldest, the one that was actually dedicated to his father fully–at least that’s how it seems now . “Regardless of that, are we doing this?”

“We are.” Ilsa said, taking a shuddery breath.

“Isoloses, if we do this and something happens to Ilsa, you’ll never leave this castle again, and there’s nothing your dad or Isandro could do to get you out of my castle.” Cassian threatened, his arms wrapping around Ilsa protectively.

“Nothings gonna happen to Ilsa.” Isoloses promised. “Might wanna put him on a bed, though. He’s gonna sleep at least a little,” Cassian nodded.

“There’s a guest bedroom right across the hall.” Cassian said, leading Ilsa into one of the rooms off of the hallway, and then to the bed. Ilsa laid down on it and took a deep breath.

“I’m ready.” Ilsa said, closing his eyes.

“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt.” Isoloses said, making Ilsa frown.

“You said it’s used for torture.” Ilsa drawled, making Isoloses laugh.

“Yeah, because if you stop in the middle the person is drained of over half their energy and can’t even move enough to get away despite knowing they’re about to suffer, or possibly die. Essentially, it only works if the person is fearful already.” Isoloses said, pausing for a moment. “But, doing it how I’m doing it shouldn’t hurt. It might feel like you’re getting weak and tired, but you’ll fall asleep before most of your energy is gone so you won’t even be aware of the physical side effects.”

“Is this safe?” Cassian cut in. Isoloses hummed.

“I mean, arguably, probably not. But it’s happening already because of the spell. The spell wont stop where I will, but it will fall inactive when he goes to sleep. Part of what makes sleep happen is the speed at which the energy is drained.” Isoloses explained, and Ilsa opened his eyes to look at him. “See, the way it is now, the energy is trickling out with the spell. It won’t drain him quickly, it’ll draw it out because it’s using the energy efficiently with a finite energy supply. You’re a vampire right? So, think of it like this. If you drain someone dry of blood, that’s one meal, right?” Cassian frowned and crossed his arms.

“I reject the premise of that–Vampires are different from Vhampirs. But… you are somewhat correct.” Cassian admitted.

“Oh no way, those monster vampire things aren’t vampires?” Isoloses asked.

“No, no they are not. Vampires are half human, half demon. Those are humans which have been magically altered, it’s not something that is human or demon. It’s sort of–they’re not people. It’s not a practice that is encouraged, and I’ve made it a mission of mine to hunt down the few witches and wizards that create them.” Cassian explained.

“I didn’t even know.” Isoloses said, making Cassian nod. “Anyway, back to what I was saying. If you slowly drink off them, you get more meals.”

“I suppose that’s an analogy that is understandable, though it seems rather barbaric.” Cassian said. Isoloses nodded.

“The spell is going to slowly drain him in an attempt to maintain itself. It’s not conscious or anything, but by nature spells are generally meant to last so unless there’s a set time for it to end, it’ll continue until the energy is depleted or the spell is ended.” Isoloses said. “Essentially what I’m going to do is take the energy at a faster pace, which’ll shock his body into sleeping to reduce its own energy usage, and it’ll cut off the flow of his energy to the spell. As soon as he goes to sleep, the energy will be redirected to him , therefore cutting off the energy to the spell. We have to essentially choke the energy off from the spell by redirecting the energy flow inside of him away from it.”

“Just do it, for fucks sake.” Ilsa said, squeezing his eyes shut. He was already nervous, them discussing this was only making it worse. Someone sat down on the bed beside him and put their hand on his shoulder. The hand was warm, way different from the cooling, calm touch of Cassian. Ilsa couldn’t help the urge to jerk away from it, making Isoloses hum quietly.

“It’s okay.” Isoloses murmured, his hand starting to heat up a little. Ilsa sucked in a deep breath as he felt his energy slowly beginning to seep out of him. It felt like he was being given a sedative, truthfully, just like he was actually being put to sleep. It wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t lightning fast either. “I’m not gonna let anything happen to you now.” It was quiet, obviously meant to be said to himself, not requiring an answer–and that was good because Ilsa felt too tired to respond. He didn’t know how to respond anyway, what could he say to that? He didn’t really feel the urge to comfort him, he’d never comforted Ilsa in any way.

He didn’t really know how to feel about Isoloses, about anything. All he knew was Cassian’s realm was his realm now and he had to unfreeze it. It didn’t matter if he trusted Isoloses or not. He’d do what he had to do.

It didn’t take long, maybe five minutes, for him to fall asleep and everything faded away from him.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＬＶＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Ilsa woke up, he was covered up in Cassian’s room. He wasn’t sure what time it was. He shifted and looked over to find Cassian in the bed beside him, sleeping soundly. Ilsa had no idea how long had passed since Isoloses had put him to sleep. He didn’t know if it worked, or if it failed. He knew one thing, though. Cassian was okay. He was okay. The sound of bats and birds chirping filled the air–did bats chirp? It was an echolocation sound, he knew, but it was kind of a chirping sort of noise. He suddenly wanted to get up and research about bats in the human world as they were most similar to the bats in Tenebris Regni.

For a few minutes, everything was silent save for bats and the birds outside. That was hopeful, when he’d gone to sleep everything was silent. He let out a soft sigh and looked for the clock, catching sight of it. Time was definitely moving again, so that was great. He initially didn’t notice much, his mind was lagging behind his thoughts and he just felt really unsettled. A little nervous. As he laid there silently, he began to notice his heart speeding up as fear started coiling through him and he was genuinely afraid for a moment, before Cassian shifted beside him and let out a quiet noise. Ilsa shifted, his eyes settling on Cassian again.

He had no reason to be afraid, there was nothing around him to scare him–and then he realized it wasn’t his fear, it was Cassian’s. He was having a bad dream. Ilsa had nightmares rather frequently when he lived in Caelestes, they’d tapered off because Cassian was with him but it didn’t always dissuade the dreams. He was familiar with waking up to fear crawling through him, his heart pounding in his chest. He hadn’t really even considered the fact that there might be things Cassian was afraid of.

They hadn’t talked much about life before they got together, Ilsa was keeping secrets and he couldn’t give off too much in the beginning. He couldn’t risk being sent back to Caelestes, even if lying wasn’t the right thing to do it was his only for sure option. Once Cassian knew, he would’ve talked whenever Cassian asked, but he wouldn’t divulge the information without being prompted. Cassian didn’t really divulge his life story either, so it wasn’t like Ilsa was the only one who hadn’t been forthcoming. He didn’t really care, it wasn’t like that was something he really could blame Cassian for. He didn’t blame him in the slightest, he just hadn’t realized that Cassian could fear anything.

Cassian was pretty tight-lipped about the things that plagued his mind, but he seemed like the kind of person that didn’t have many problems. He seemed perfect, fearless, effortlessly presenting himself as strong and confident, unwavering in his own beliefs. He was a force of nature, relentless like a winter storm and as immovable as a mountain. He was Ilsa’s safety, the only person who’d ever cared enough for him to actually protect him. Feeling the amount of terror sinking into him through the mating bond had Ilsa’s heart doing a weird twist in his chest.

“Cassian?” Ilsa murmured, keeping his voice soft and lulling. He didn’t want to startle Cassian, and touching him might startle him. He had no idea what he was dreaming about, so he didn’t know if it’d be a comfort or a catalyst to his fear.

Cassian bolted up, his hand jerking and gripping onto Ilsa tightly, a haunted look in his swirling orchid eyes. Ilsa winced a little and rolled over, reaching out for him. To his surprise, Cassian moved over to him and wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing his face in the crook of his neck immediately. Ilsa was helplessly curious, but he wouldn’t push, he could understand why he might not want to talk about it. He understood the desire to leave what you were, or maybe even are, behind and move on better than anyone.

“Ilsa,” Cassian sighed into his neck, sounding as if he’d woken up expecting him not to be there. Cassian’s arms tightened around him some, making Ilsa wince a little as he brought one of his hands up to run through his hair. The Cassian in his arms didn’t seem like the same Cassian he was used to. He was trembling, and Ilsa could feel the emotions coiling through Cassian thanks to the mating bond, and it was nothing he’d ever felt before from Cassian’s end of the bond. It made him realize that he wasn’t perfect, wasn’t without fear, wasn’t strong all the time.

“It’s okay, I’m right here,” Ilsa promised, smoothing one of his hands down Cassian’s back gently. Cassian relaxed into his touch, sinking his teeth down into the mate mark. Ilsa moaned softly, his eyes fluttering shut as he felt venom course its way through him. It always made Ilsa’s mind a little haywire when Cassian bit him, but this time it felt different. More desperate, somehow.

𝐼 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢, the words echoed through his head, sounding almost desperate as Cassian bit into him harder. Ilsa nodded, the hand in Cassian’s hair gripping just the slightest bit tighter as excitement raced through him. He couldn’t help it, even when Cassian didn’t touch him his body craved Cassian. Hearing the words I need you hit him right in the face, as well, and he couldn’t help the way his entire body heated up at those words.

“Anything you want,” Ilsa murmured, making Cassian pull away from his neck, his eyes roaming over him as his cool hand ran across his cheek softly.

“I missed you,” Cassian murmured, his swirling orchid eyes filled with emotions that Ilsa didn’t have time to decipher before Cassian leaned down and pressed their lips together. Ilsa didn’t hesitate to kiss him back, his arms wrapping around Cassian’s neck as Cassian’s hands smoothed down Ilsa’s sides, stopping at his hips to grip into them tightly. Cassian’s lips moved against his with passion and fervor as he started rocking his hips into Ilsa’s.

“C-Cass,” Ilsa moaned as he pulled away from the kiss, his heart fluttering in his chest as his cheeks heated up. Cassian looked down at him with gentle eyes, one of his hands reaching up to run his fingers along his cheek. Ilsa whimpered, his eyes meeting Cassian’s shyly, his fingers curling into Cassian’s hair as he wrapped his legs around his waist. “How long was I asleep?” Ilsa murmured, making Cassian hum.

“Three days,” Cassian husked into his ear, making him tremble a little as his cool breath washed over Ilsa’s skin, leaving behind a trail of goosebumps. Ilsa whimpered again, not really sure what to say in response as lust coursed through him. He was so easily turned on by Cassian, even when he shouldn’t be or when he should focus on something more important. Cassian’s behavior made more sense, though. In essence, he’d been away for three days, he hadn’t talked to Cassian, touched him, he hadn’t heard Cassian’s thoughts the entire time. He wasn’t sure what Cassian had felt or experienced, but he could only imagine Cassian was affected by it because it wasn’t quite the same as him being awake. He wasn’t talking to him, kissing him, touching him, interacting with him.

“Did time unfreeze?” Ilsa asked. Cassian nodded his head, rolling his hips into Ilsa’s, drawing a moan from his lips.

“Yes, Ilsa,” Cassian said breathlessly as he trailed his lips along Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa could definitely read the room at the moment, he knew further questioning wouldn’t be appreciated, and frankly, he didn’t really know what else he could ask when all he could think about was getting Cassian inside of him. He had questions, but he couldn’t think about them with the lust clouding his mind. “It was hell,” Cassian murmured. “I couldn’t hear you unless I managed to catch you in the middle of a dream, when your subconscious was active.”

“I’m sorry,” Ilsa murmured, flushing. Truthfully he hadn’t really thought about what would happen in the event that the plan turned sour and his brother killed him. It could’ve happened, no matter how kind Isoloses claimed to be. Cassian made a soft noise and shook his head, making Ilsa whimper. He pushed his hips up into Cassian’s, shutting his eyes as he felt pleasure radiate through him at the skin to skin contact. He was hard, and his hole was wet, and he wanted Cassian so much.

It never took much for him, he was easily affected, and it was even more so evident with the intimate haze surrounding them. The air felt thick, crackling with lust and desire as Cassian pulled him into another kiss. Ilsa’s breath hitched as Cassian slid his hand down his thigh, his fingers gripping into it for a moment before he trailed it further down and lifted his leg to wrap around his waist. Cassian’s hand slid around his leg, sliding his hand up Ilsa’s side, over his ass, and to his lower back, fingers dancing along the waistband of his pants.

Ilsa moaned, his hips pushing up into Cassian’s again, a wave of arousal washing over him as Cassian’s cool hand slipped into his pants, his fingers gripping into his ass a little. Ilsa found himself being shifted quickly, his back pressed to the bed as his legs curled around Cassian’s waist, the new position allowing both his legs to wrap around him instead of just one. It changed how their erections were pressing together as well, and Ilsa couldn’t help but whimper and push his hips up again.

“C-Cassian,” Ilsa pleaded, as Cassian pulled away from his lips, allowing him to take a breath. “I want you so much, please,” Ilsa flushed as the words left his mouth.

“Fuck,” Cassian groaned and nodded his head, lifting off of him to undress himself. Ilsa was quick to move as well, but Cassian was finished well before he had even fully pulled his shirt off. As soon as his shirt was off and discarded, Cassian’s bare chest pressed against his back, his hands landing on Ilsa’s waist, fingers digging into his stomach as he lifted him up. Ilsa quickly pulled his pants down, letting them fall down into the floor as Cassian’s lips moved along his neck gently.

Once he was undressed, he quickly maneuvered onto his back again. Cassian kneeled between his thighs, scooting up until his length was resting beside Ilsa’s on his pelvis. Ilsa moaned as he felt Cassian’s fingers ghosting over his erection. Ilsa moaned, his hips pushing up into Cassian’s hand desperately.

“Tease,” Ilsa whined, looking up at him with his bottom lip poking out. Cassian let out an amused huff, leaning his head down to press kisses along the line of his neck, his fangs sinking down into it. Ilsa moaned, his fingers tangling into Cassian’s hair as Ilsa rolled his hips up, grinding against Cassian’s length as much as he could.

𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑎𝑚 𝐼 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑠𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑒𝑙𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑦 𝑡𝑜𝑢𝑐ℎ? Cassian’s thoughts echoed through his head as he gripped into his hip to still his movements. Ilsa jerked his hips up desperately, trying to rub against Cassian’s erection. He could feel it, it was literally on him, but all he wanted was it inside of him. He wanted to feel connected to Cassian. Cassian shifted them a bit, pulling him over so that his back was no longer on the bed, his hand skimmed over the swell of his ass before gripping into it tightly. For a moment, Ilsa waited patiently as Cassian’s fingers dug into his skin, expecting him to move his fingers over more, towards his twitching and wet hole.

Cassian finally moved his fingers over to Ilsa’s hole, circling it gently while sighing softly. Ilsa flushed, his body heating up as he squirmed to push against his fingers desperately. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑜 𝑠𝑜𝑓𝑡, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠, Ilsa whimpered as Cassian’s voice echoed through his head. 𝑆𝑜 𝑤𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒, 𝑡𝑜𝑜, Ilsa blushed, his body shaking in anticipation.

Cassian let out a quiet hum as he pressed his finger inside of Ilsa, slick easing the way and making it painless. Ilsa squirmed around, a breathy moan leaving his mouth. He eagerly rocked his hips back into Cassian’s finger, desperate and just wanting more. He needed him closer, deeper, to be connected again. His omega was silently urging him to move over onto his stomach and beg, but with Cassian’s hands on him, he couldn’t stand the idea of rolling. He wanted to see him. 𝑆𝑜 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡, 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, 𝑠𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙, Cassian’s thoughts bled into his head again, echoing through it and making him whimper.

“Please,” Ilsa pleaded, turning his head a little to press his cheek against the pillow. He couldn’t help the tremors tracing through him, or the warmth radiating within him. Cassian worked a second finger inside of him, immediately beginning to scissor and open his hole gently, pulling a moan from Ilsa’s mouth as his fingers brushed his prostate and applied pressure to his hole. He felt so empty and he just needed more. More of Cassian, before the desire consumed him. Cassian tended to always skirt the line between so gentle it made Ilsa feel like he was made out of porcelain and yet still desperate. Almost as if he couldn’t help but squeeze just a little harder, as if he’d finally let his control slip just the slightest bit.

The pleasure washing over him was undeniable, even if he wanted more, wanted Cassian to just take him already. The amount of care and concern for his well-being even when he could feel the desperation seeping through the mating bond on Cassian’s end. Cassian wanted him as much as he wanted Cassian, but he was restraining himself–perhaps in an attempt to ease his discomfort given the amount of time that’s passed but even so, it hadn’t been that long. He didn’t need the level of preparation, but who was he to deny pleasure from Cassian when the emotions flowing through the mating bond had him trembling and speechless?

They were wholly unfamiliar but yet familiar at the same time. He’d never felt them before coming to Cassian’s realm, but he still hadn’t figured out what those feelings were when he was feeling them. How was he supposed to understand them when they were Cassian’s feelings? He couldn’t fight back the urge to rock his hips in an attempt to take his fingers deeper, whimpering out

helplessly as he stared up at him desperately.

“Does that feel good, Ilsa?” Cassian asked, his voice deep and laced with desire. Ilsa shuddered slightly, his hooded eyes staring pleadingly up at Cassian as he nodded his head. Cassian curled his fingers to rub into his prostate as he pressed a kiss against the skin of Ilsa’s shoulder. Ilsa whimpered and pushed back into his fingers more, pleasure and need coiling through him. He needed him so much…𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑖𝑚… the words ran through Ilsa’s head, almost as if he wasn’t supposed to hear them. They seemed less intentional than the other sentences, always referring to him and not just about him. It also didn’t sound like the full thought, Cassian was much more eloquent than Ilsa could claim to be himself. Regardless, it sent heat rushing through him.

“N-Need you,” Ilsa pleaded, blushing brightly as he looked up into Cassian’s eyes. Cassian pulled him to a kiss, tangling their tongues together as he pulled his fingers out before maneuvering them so that he could slip inside of him. Ilsa sighed happily, leaning forward against Cassian’s chest and clinging onto him tightly as Cassian worked his length inside of him. The movement was much less controlled than most other times Cassian had entered him, and it made his omega writhe in desire.

Perhaps he was wrong for it, but Cassian needing him–even if it was just the mating bond pulling them together–made him feel good. The position wasn’t much for speed, but admittedly, he felt more connected to him than usual. Closer, as if he were actually one with Cassian. Cassian, seeming to realize he’d been rather rough, let out a noise and nuzzled into his neck, offering him a quiet apology and a moment to adjust.

“Alpha,” Ilsa pleaded, unable to help letting out little whines and whimpers as he shifted and squirmed around. Cassian sucked in a deep breath and pressed a kiss to the base of his neck. Ilsa whined as he tilted his head up and over, putting the side of his neck on display that Cassian favored–the one with his mate mark.

“Alright, Lovebird, I got you,” Cassian murmured into his ear, his restraint seeming to crack a bit as Ilsa clung onto him tighter and whined. Cassian started rocking his hips, lightly running his tongue along the shell of his ear, pulling a shuddered breath from Ilsa’s lips. Ilsa moaned breathlessly as he nestled closer to Cassian’s neck, nosing at it as he felt pleasure washing over him.

Ilsa let out a gasp, squirming a bit as Cassian hit his prostate and stars danced behind his eyes. Cassian wrapped an arm around his lower back, pulling him so that he was firmly pressed into Cassian’s chest, keeping him both still and close to him. On one hand, Ilsa disliked that he couldn’t try to meet Cassian’s thrusts, but on the other hand, he knew that Cassian knew how to take him apart without any of his help required.

Cassian knew just how to take care of Ilsa, regardless of the speed he went at, he always hit all the right places, always made his mind completely fog over as pleasure consumed him. Ilsa had intended to take care of Cassian tonight, as he knew by the smell of soap and the fresh clothes he’d woken up in, Cassian had been taking care of him hours earlier, even while he was sleeping. It might sound odd, but he would have hated to have woken up dirty and sweaty and smelly. He wouldn’t have wanted to be close to Cassian like this if he hadn’t showered for three days. Regardless of intention, he was unable to resist giving himself over to his omega, and ultimately to Cassian. Cassian’s dominance, even gentle, made him weak.

Maybe a little helpless, but he didn’t mind when it was Cassian who’s hands he was helpless at. Cassian seemed to have the sense to know boundaries and he never frightened him when he was in control of him, of his pleasure and his needs. He actually quite liked it when Cassian took control of him–his biology desired it, on some level he desired it, just not to the same extent his father had taken it. Which was an odd thought for him to think while having intercourse, but it seemed relevant.

He trusted Cassian, he had never trusted anyone, but he knew with the mating bond in place he had no reason not to trust Cassian. He had always taken care of him, made him feel like it was safe if he was helpless because he knew that Cassian would take care of him. It was… a new experience, one he couldn’t figure out how to feel about.

Cassian shifted his hips and thrusted in at a different, much deeper angle that it made Ilsa moan and dig his fingernails into his skin. With them so close this way, he couldn’t quite catch his breath. Cassian usually left him somewhat breathless, but with him crushed against Cassian’s chest, he couldn’t breathe. Every inch of them was touching, it was impossible for him to think beyond the two of them. There wasn’t a world outside, the only being in the entire realm was Cassian. His touch, warm now but still off temperature enough it registered to him, and it made his entire body burn with desire.

“You’re mine, Ilsa,” Cassian whispered heatedly into Ilsa’s neck, trailing kisses along it gently as he worked his hips in a steady, mind-numbingly slow pace that left him torn between relief and agony. On one hand, he desperately wanted Cassian moving, and he didn’t care what pace he went in as long as it felt good and this did , but there was something about the air that made it harder to think. Every thrust of Cassian’s hips had the head of his erection hitting Ilsa’s prostate, and the feeling of him slowly dragging along his insides had him trembling.

“Y-Yours, all yours,” Ilsa agreed, his heart speeding up in his chest at the words as he rubbed his erection up against Cassian’s muscular chest, slivers of pleasure piercing through him. He was edging closer and closer to orgasm already, it never took much for him. He was unfamiliar enough with sex, with being touched, and experiencing pleasure that it was easy to work him up, easy to bring him off. However it was different, this time, because usually the buildup was fast so when the release came it was welcome and almost overwhelming–in a good way. This time he didn’t want the release to come at all.

He could find nothing wrong with the idea of them staying intertwined like this for the rest of eternity–not when Cassian wanted him, not when he loved being touched by Cassian. The close proximity between them, the heated air, Ilsa’s touch, had Cassian’s body temperature rising steadily and Ilsa couldn’t help but nuzzle closer to him. A pleased sigh fell off his lips as Cassian’s lips grazed his ear, the hand that wasn’t holding his hip moved up to cradle the back of his head.

Ilsa felt lightheaded, each sensual touch igniting his desire for more, more, more. Ilsa couldn’t hear anything but Cassian’s groans of pleasure in his ear, still so quiet despite definitely being ‘loud’ for Cassian. Ilsa couldn’t smell anything other than Cassian’s scent, setting Ilsa’s mind immediately to rest. He could feel every inch of them intertwined and he had no idea where one of them ended and the other began. Cassian was his, wholly, and Ilsa couldn’t lie, he was devoted to Cassian as well.

Incontestably intertwined, body and spirit. Ilsa had never experienced these feelings–the feeling of closeness, of belonging, the feeling of being wanted , needed. Important. He wasn’t just a burden on Cassian, at least he wasn’t made to feel like one, and that was enough for him honestly. He just wanted to feel like he was good enough for something, for someone. Deserving of the happiness he had, because he didn’t feel like he was.

“I’ll never leave your side,” Ilsa murmured, blushing brightly as he gripped into the back of Cassian’s neck and shifted closer to him, pressing his lips against the scarred cut mark on his neck–Cassian’s mate mark. “I’m yours, now and always,” Cassian shuddered a bit as his arms tightened around Ilsa slightly. 𝑀𝑖𝑛𝑒, Cassian’s thought entered his head as he thrusted harder into him, not speeding up his pace, but aiming straight for his prostate. Ilsa gasped, his eyes rolling back as his arms wrapped tighter around Cassian, nearly tumbling over the edge into his orgasm before he managed to pull himself back some, barely managing to catch it.

“Good boy, cum for me, it’s okay, I’ve got you,” Cassian murmured into his ear softly, prompting Ilsa to whimper, his eyes squeezing shut as tremors rocked through him. Cassian’s murmured words continued as he slowly rocked their bodies together, working Ilsa up to his orgasm again with a swiftness that had him a little dizzy. As pleasure consumed him and he lost himself to his orgasm, he found himself being lulled by Cassian’s murmured praises. So pretty, so good, taking me so well, good boy… the words were whispered or maybe they were Cassian’s thoughts, Ilsa couldn’t really be sure because everything was a delicious haze.

“S-Shit,” Ilsa breathed, turning his face to bury it into the crook of Cassian’s neck, embarrassment coursing through him as cum smeared between their bodies. He didn’t want Cassian to know he was embarrassed by such a silly thing, he was much wetter than he should’ve been by all rights, and that wasn’t embarrassing anymore. Well, not fully . He could push it aside when Cassian was inside of him.

Cassian chuckled against his throat before pulling Ilsa’s skin into his mouth and sucking. Pleasure coiled through Ilsa, his hole tightening around Cassian’s length, his hole eagerly accepting every thrust. It felt amazing, like absolute perfection, overstimulating and overwhelming but only in the ways that Cassian was capable of bringing and it made Ilsa shudder a little in desire. Cassian held him tight against his body as he kept rocking into him, over and over. Pleasure wrapped around Ilsa’s senses, consumed by Cassian but that was strangely okay with Ilsa.

He didn’t want anything more than to be wrapped up with him, his warmth was more of an emotional one than a physical warmth, and Ilsa had never known he’d even needed it. He was the only person who Ilsa would trust fully to see him in any sort of vulnerable position, the only person he’d ever trust to see him in a position that left him open to attacks. He was truthfully everything to Ilsa, the only thing that truly mattered. Ilsa had stumbled into this realm, he really had no place here, no place with Cassian, and yet here he was… literally tangled with the king of this realm.

He didn’t deserve to be treated this way–not like he was something special, and yet he still was.

𝐼 𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ, 𝐼𝑙𝑠𝑎, Cassian’s thought echoed through his head as he trailed his lips along Ilsa’s neck, suddenly flipping them over so that Ilsa was back against the bed, thrusting deeper into him. Ilsa cried out, his fingers scrambling against Cassian’s back as he tried to ground himself from the pleasure. Ilsa arched up into Cassian’s chest, his muscles clamping down around Cassian’s length as he moved with heavy and precise movements, hitting his prostate with each movement of his body.

With Cassian hovering over him like this, it was impossible for him to see anything other than Cassian–and that was perfectly fine with him. Cassian was handsome, inhumanly beautiful in some way, in a way that stood out noticeably even when he was surrounded by other vampires. They all had minor imperfections, almost as if their perfection had limitations, but Cassian was different. He looked strong, he stood out among anyone around him, with a chiseled jawline and a muscular frame. No doubt his Vampire genes helped that along, given the fact Ilsa hadn’t seen the man work out and he’d been there a while. He couldn’t really remember how long, he didn’t have a calendar.

Cassian rested his weight on one of his elbows, snaking his other hand down to Ilsa’s erection. At the touch, Ilsa’s length jerked a little, overstimulation creeping in as Cassian’s hand pulled him off in time with his thrusts. Ilsa’s mouth fell open as he shuddered, tightening his grip around Cassian’s waist as he almost immediately came again, all over his chest and Cassian’s hand. Cassian stroked him through it, murmuring gentle words of encouragement against his neck as he grinded his cock inside of him deep, allowing him to ride the high of his orgasm until he was twitching and overstimulated. Tears slid down his cheeks as he moaned, writhing around beneath him as pleasured pain coursed through him.

Ilsa loved it when Cassian did this to him, kept him in the throes of pleasure endlessly, he hadn’t been expecting it because of the pace, but it felt fantastic. Somehow it felt more intense because of the buildup behind it. The pleasure was intense either way, but different. So different. The gentleness of his rocking motions kept the pleasure there, but during his release, it was like a bomb of ecstasy crashed down inside of him.

The gentleness of Cassian’s touches were contrasted by the slight prickling sensation of his fangs sinking into Ilsa’s skin. Accidental slips in the midst of passion, something that was equally as endearing as it was hot. In Ilsa’s mind, they were like a sign that Cassian had been there, had touched him, and it made him feel closer to Cassian somehow. Cassian was completely himself, unashamed and presented to Ilsa, and only Ilsa.

Ilsa wasn’t in a rush, and it seemed Cassian shared the sentiment, because his movements somehow managed to turn even more leisurely as he released Ilsa’s length. Each rock of Cassian’s body had pleasure swirling through Ilsa and he couldn’t think. He couldn’t focus on anything but the way Cassian was holding him down, the way their bodies moved together as if they were somehow made to go together. The world around them had disappeared, leaving behind only them, and Ilsa was practically drowning in his emotions.

All he could think about was more, he wanted Cassian forever, to be with him like this and to stay beneath him. He felt more strongly about Cassian than he had ever thought possible. When he looked at him, his heart stalled. When he kissed him, he couldn’t think. When he touched him like this–well, all he could do was feel, and it was overwhelming and fantastic. He felt so warm and safe, the look in Cassian’s eyes was so affectionate it made his heart squeeze a little.

He was floating through the pleasure on a knife’s edge, Cassian somehow managing to balance the stimulation in a way that kept it pleasurable even with the slight sting from the overstimulation. Cassian moaned and sank his fangs into Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa moaned in response as Cassian’s venom flooded through him. His entire body convulsed, his cock immediately spurting out line after line of cum. Cassian groaned into the bite, his hips pushing forward into Ilsa as he lost himself to his orgasm.

Ilsa let out a moan as he felt cum filling him, the off temperature making it register enough to satisfy the omega in him despite the lack of a knot. Cassian sank down on top of him, pulling his fangs out of Ilsa’s neck, licking over the mark gently.

“F-Fuck,” Ilsa murmured, looking up at Cassian with a flush covering his cheeks. He reached his hand up shyly and combed his fingers through Cassian’s long hair. Cassian groaned softly as he rested his head down on Ilsa’s chest. Ilsa was a little drunk on the feelings washing through him, they made him feel light and satiated.

“I’ll have Sera bring you food. Is it okay if I stay inside of you? I’ll feed you,” Cassian murmured into Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa nodded. He liked the idea of Cassian staying inside of him, it was somewhat like knotting. He couldn’t really tell what the difference between this time and when he was in heat, but perhaps it was just the addition of his hormones–the scent of them could interact with Cassian’s biology given he was half demon. Ilsa wanted to run some tests on Cassian to see how it worked, how his body maintained–what the differences between their biology was. “Sera,” Cassian murmured as he covered their bodies with a blanket, rolling them so that Ilsa was back on top of him.

Ilsa couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face as he rested his head on Cassian’s chest, his heart speeding up. He couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do than stay right there, wrapped up with Cassian intimately until they were forced to part.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＨＩＲＴＥＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

Ilsa found himself sitting in Cassian’s office, curled in a corner while he sketched in his notebook. He’d been awake for about two days, and things were mostly normal. Except that whenever he wasn’t with Cassian, there was worry seeping through the mating bond. Cassian was trying to hide it, but he was checking in with Ilsa a million times a day to make sure he was okay. It was understandable, Ilsa wasn’t really annoyed–all it really took to appease Cassian’s worries was responding to him through the mind link so it wasn’t that much of an inconvenience for him.

It was just a little weird for Cassian, who seemed to never worry about anything. Ilsa was fighting his own worry, because whenever Ilsa felt worried for Cassian, Cassian’s worry would skyrocket because Ilsa was worried. It was a loop that Ilsa seemed captured in, along with Cassian. He couldn’t seem to fully keep his worry hidden, and it wasn’t as easy to hide his worries with a mating bond that tended to give him away at every turn.

Ilsa had tried to stay in the library, but he’d been pulled to the office by Cassian’s endless worrying. It was mostly silent worrying, admittedly, something that Cassian seemed to be pointedly ignoring which only made Ilsa worry more. When Ilsa was in sight of Cassian, the worry faded as if it didn’t exist–which led Ilsa to a conclusion.

Their mating bond was still new, Ilsa had unintentionally frozen time which resulted in him being comatose for three days. He could’ve been hurt much worse than he had been if things hadn’t been resolved with Isoloses help. Isoloses had returned to Caelestes while he was still sleeping, which honestly kind of sucked because Ilsa wasn’t angry anymore, he could think clearly and he had so much he wanted to say that he couldn’t anymore. He wanted to say that he wasn’t all that angry, he definitely probably would’ve done the same thing Isoloses had out of fear of their father. It was understandable, he didn’t have to like it or anything, but he could understand to some degree where Isoloses was coming from.

Naevys’s memories had shown him that his brother was willing to die without struggling if Naevys just promised to help him escape. That seemed like a noble gesture, in some way. He wasn’t sure it excused anything, but at least he knew that in his own way, Isoloses had cared about him. He was still alone and that really sucked, yeah, but he wasn’t sure he would’ve asked Isoloses to stick his neck out for him. Isoloses had never experienced the things he had, the situations were so different that it was hard to be genuinely angry at Isoloses about it.

Isoloses had never experienced the kinds of things Ilsa had been forced to at the hands of their father–or maybe he had which even that seemed to form some sort of justifiable reasoning behind his plan. He wouldn’t say he’d forgiven him, but he would be wrong to say he didn’t want to talk to him again.

“Cassian, did you find a book when you changed my clothing?” Ilsa asked. Cassian’s head popped up and remembrance crossed his face. He nodded and pulled out a key and opened one of the drawers in his desk with it, pulling out a black envelope that was thick and seemed padded on the inside because it looked puffy .

“I did not find this, actually, Naevys did. He had Helix and Felix bring it to me when time unfroze.” Cassian said as Ilsa stood up to walk to get it. “He didn’t tell them anything about the package aside from some mumbo jumbo about give it to whomever asks for it. I was like… okay… and left it at that. It completely slipped my mind.”

“Naevys seems to talk in riddles,” Ilsa said as he took the envelope.

“My only question is if I need to worry about anything regarding that package,” Cassian said, making Ilsa shake his head.

“It’s just my brother’s side of what happened…” Ilsa murmured, running his fingers over the package. “It’s nothing to worry about.” Ilsa promised, taking it back to his seat. Ilsa sat down in front of the window again, pulling his feet up onto the sill and crossing his legs. Ilsa carefully opened the envelope and pulled the book out of it, running his fingers over the cover of it gently. It was thick, black leather with symbols pressed into the cover, a band of leather with a strange symbol pressed into it secured it closed.

Ilsa pulled the band out of the little pocket it went into and opened the book. Ilsa sucked in a deep breath and flipped to the first page, running his eyes over it.

 ┏━━━━━━━⚜°♛°⚜━━━━━━━┓

   ︳                                                                                       ︳

   ︳      

ĪSᎾĿᎾSƐS ΛMĪŔ SᎾĿSĪSSᎾŦĤᎾZ         

︳

   ︳ ĪИŦᎾ ŦĤƐ DΛŔҠИƐSS ᎾИƐ DƐSƇƐИŦS     ︳

   ︳             ΛИD

ŦĤƐ

ᎾŦĤƐŔ

ΛSƇƐИDS                  ︳

   ︳                         MƖƖƖ - ҲҲҲ - ƔƖƖƖ                              ︳

   ︳                                                                                       ︳  ┗━━━━━━━⚜°♛°⚜━━━━━━━┛

Oh good gravies, Ilsa thought, rolling his eyes on instinct. Isoloses did the same thing that Naevys did, talking in half riddles. Ilsa wasn’t quite looking forward to reading this, if he kept the riddles up. It wasn’t clear what he could mean, but Ilsa wasn’t sure he wanted to dive too deeply into that question without the promise of alcohol. He was not prepared for Isoloses to reveal that he was also on his deathbed. Of course that was only Ilsa’s luck, truthfully, but he still wasn’t prepared for it. He wasn’t really sure what else it could mean unless it was referring to his father ‘descending to darkness’ and Ilsa ‘ascending from the darkness’ and that raised even more questions in Ilsa’s mind.

He already had a headache. Perhaps it insinuated that his father taking a dirt nap would be triggered from him leaving Caelestes. It made sense on a few levels. Arguably, ‘darkness’ could refer to death, or it could refer to Caelestes itself. Maybe it referred to both. Ilsa shook his head. He was going to move on before he began obsessing over the very first page. He’d never finish the book if he did that.

𝓜𝓘𝓘𝓘/𝓧𝓧𝓧/𝓥𝓘𝓘𝓘

   𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒶 𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒹𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝓎 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓂. 𝐼’𝓂 𝓊𝓃𝓈𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼 𝒷𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒹𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼 𝒷𝑒𝑔𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀: 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝒶𝓉𝒽 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝑒? 𝒜𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉 𝒹𝒾𝒹 𝐼 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝓅𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑒’𝓈 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹? 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝒶𝓃𝑔𝓇𝓎 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝒶 𝓅𝒾𝑒𝒸𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝑒𝓁𝓈𝑒’𝓈 𝑔𝒶𝓂𝑒. 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓃𝓉 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝒶𝓂 𝐼 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝑜𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃 𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔? 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓋𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝓋𝒶𝓁𝓊𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒸 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒶 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓊𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝒶𝒾𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒸 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝒷𝒶𝓈𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝒸𝒾𝓉𝓎.

   𝐼𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝒻𝒾𝓇𝓈𝓉 𝓈𝑜𝓁𝑜 𝓂𝒾𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃, 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝐼𝓈𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑜. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝓊𝒾𝓁𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔, 𝓉𝑜𝓊𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒸 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒸𝒽𝒾𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝒶𝓁𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝓊𝓅 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝑒. 𝐼 𝒾𝓂𝓂𝑒𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼𝓈𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑜 𝓌𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒹𝑜 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝒾𝓉𝓊𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃. 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃’𝓉. 𝐼 𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒶 𝓇𝑒𝓅𝓁𝒾𝒸𝒶 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒸 𝓊𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝓂𝓊𝓉𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝒾𝓅𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝑔𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝑜𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒸 𝓈𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒾𝓉’𝒹 𝓂𝒾𝓂𝒾𝒸 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝓁𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓁 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝑒𝓍𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓉. 𝐼𝓉’𝓁𝓁 𝒷𝑒 𝓁𝑜𝒸𝓀𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓋𝒶𝓊𝓁𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉, 𝒶𝓃𝓎𝓌𝒶𝓎.

   𝐼 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝑒𝓃𝑒𝒹, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓈𝓅𝑒𝒸𝓉𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝓇 𝒶𝓈 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓁. 𝐼𝒻 𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝐼𝓈𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑜 𝓉𝑜 𝒸𝒽𝑒𝒸𝓀 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓂𝑒, 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝒷𝑒 𝒶 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓂, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝓇 𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓂 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝑒. 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒶𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓌𝒶𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒶𝓃 𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝒸𝒾𝓋𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓏𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃. 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝒹𝑜 𝒾𝓉, 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔.

   𝐼 𝒹𝑜 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒻𝓎 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇. 𝐻𝑒’𝓈 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒸𝑒𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝒹𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈, 𝓌𝒶𝑔𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓇𝓊𝒸𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃. 𝒜𝓈 𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓇 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝑒𝒶𝓀𝑒𝓇, 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝒽𝑜𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓌𝒶𝓇 𝑜𝓃𝓁𝓎 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇. 𝐻𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝑔𝓇𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓂𝓅𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒶𝓃𝑜𝒾𝒹, 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓂𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝒶𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝑔𝓎 𝓁𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒.

   𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝑔𝓎 𝒹𝑒𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝑒, 𝒽𝑒’𝓈 𝒹𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝒾𝑔𝓃𝒾𝒻𝒾𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒶𝓂𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝑒𝓃𝑒𝓇𝑔𝓎 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝐼𝓁𝓈𝒶. 𝐼𝓉’𝓈 𝒷𝑒𝑔𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒. 𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓉𝒾𝒶𝓁 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒻𝒶𝒾𝓇 𝓉𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓉𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓂𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓂𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓉𝑒𝓁𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑔𝑜𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝑒 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓃𝓊𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐼𝓁𝓈𝒶’𝓈 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎. 𝐼 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓇𝓎 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈𝓈𝓊𝑒𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝐼𝓁𝓈𝒶’𝓈 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝒸𝑒𝓅𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝒾𝓉𝓎. 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝓈𝑒𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼𝓁𝓈𝒶 𝓈𝑒𝑒𝓈, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓈𝒸𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓂𝓎 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓂𝒷𝑒𝓇𝓈 𝒶𝓉 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉.

   𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓅𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝐼 𝒹𝑜? 𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝒶𝓈 𝒹𝑒𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓈 𝒽𝑒 𝒾𝓈, 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒾𝓈 𝓈𝓉𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃 𝐼 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝑜𝓌𝑒𝓇 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝒽𝒾𝓂. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝒸𝒶𝓃 𝒹𝑜 𝒶𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒶𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓅𝑜𝒾𝓃𝓉. 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝐼𝓁𝓈𝒶, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝒻 𝐼 𝒹𝑜 𝓈𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒻𝓇𝑜𝓂 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝒹𝑜𝓌𝓃, 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝑜𝒻𝒻 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓂 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒸𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝒾𝒻 𝓃𝑒𝒸𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒶𝓇𝓎. 𝐼 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝒶 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒷𝑒 𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝑒𝓇𝓈𝑜𝓃𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓋𝑒𝓁 𝓉𝑜. 𝐼𝓈𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑜 𝒾𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇’𝓈 𝑔𝓊𝒶𝓇𝒹𝒾𝒶𝓃, 𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒷𝑒 𝓈𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝑒𝒶𝓇𝒸𝒽 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝐼 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁. 𝒜𝓈 𝒻𝒶𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝒽𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑜 𝒾𝒹𝑒𝒶 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝒶𝓂 𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒽𝒾𝓂, 𝓂𝓎 𝓅𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝓀 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝑒𝓁𝓅 𝐼𝓁𝓈𝒶.

   𝐼𝓉 𝒾𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝓆𝓊𝒾𝒸𝓀, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝐼’𝓂 𝒽𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝑜𝓃 𝒶𝓈 𝓅𝑜𝓈𝓈𝒾𝒷𝓁𝑒. 𝐼 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑜 𝒷𝑒𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓆𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉𝓈. 𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓅𝒶𝓇𝒶𝓉𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓃 𝒾𝓃𝓋𝒶𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝓃 𝒶 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓂 𝓌𝑒’𝓋𝑒 𝓅𝓇𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑜𝓊𝓈𝓁𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝓈𝒾𝓉𝒶𝓉𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓊𝓇𝓈𝓊𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝒸𝒶𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓎 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝒸𝒶𝓅𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝑜𝒻 𝒻𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝑒𝒻𝒻𝑒𝒸𝓉𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓁𝓎. 𝐼𝓉 𝒾𝓈𝓃’𝓉 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝐼𝓈𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑜 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝓈 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒶𝓈 𝓌𝑒𝓁𝓁. 𝐻𝑒’𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒶 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓈𝑒𝓈𝓈𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝑜𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝑜 𝓅𝓇𝒶𝒸𝓉𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝒽𝑜𝓌 𝓌𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝒾𝓃𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒶𝓉𝓉𝒶𝒸𝓀.

~

𝐼𝓈𝑜𝓁𝑜𝓈𝑒𝓈

Ilsa ran his fingers over the page and frowned. This seemed more like a journal than a storybook in Ilsa’s opinion. He supposed that made sense, Isoloses wasn’t exactly planning out an entire novel, he’d suppose. It was just more… intimate with this being Isoloses personal journal. While it was his right to know what was going on, this felt so… uncomfortable for him. He wasn’t sure he wanted into Isoloses mind this way, he wasn’t sure he felt comfortable reading this when he knew that Isoloses wasn’t there. It was silly, admittedly, Isoloses hadn’t done anything to deserve having his privacy invaded but he also hadn’t done anything to deserve Ilsa’s respect either.

His intention was for Ilsa to read it, so Ilsa would read it. That didn’t mean Ilsa had to feel right about reading it. He didn’t really have much of a choice, unfortunately, he couldn’t get his questions answered any other way. It wasn’t his first choice, admittedly. But if he didn’t, then he would have to fill in the blanks on his own and that hardly seemed fair. He couldn’t judge Isoloses for his actions if he didn’t know his motivations and he already lived in a glass castle himself, what could he really judge Isoloses for?

It was wrong of him to look away when he was being abused, but on the same hand, Isoloses was also his fathers son. There was a level of question behind Isoloses treatment, and it wasn’t above his father to imprison Isoloses as well if he stepped out of favor. There was so much Ilsa didn’t know, too much for him to be comfortable. He wanted to know what kind of reality mind games his father was playing on him, he didn’t know if Isoloses even knew though. For all he knew, he couldn’t trust a single memory to be exact–to be untampered. He had to assume everything was a lie until proven otherwise.

Ilsa sighed deeply and shut the book. Regardless of if he should read it sooner rather than later, he was just… nervous . With Cassian’s worry eating away at him as well, even with him just across the room, he didn’t feel capable of reading it without becoming emotional. He needed to let Cassian calm down before he went on any long, possibly tiring emotional journeys.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

𝒞 𝒜 𝒮 𝒮 𝐼 𝒜 𝒩

• ⊱───{✦❅✦}───⊰ •

Cassian had tried relaxing into doing some paperwork, and had managed to… well, look at the paperwork. Consider doing the paperwork, but that hasn’t happened yet. Cassian couldn’t help the sinking pit in his stomach and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. He was unfocused and drained, there was little he could do to keep his mind from wandering away from him. Regardless, he kept pushing through, flipping through his paperwork almost mechanically, his other hand only moving when necessary for him to sign a document. The words seemed to overlap, though, jumbled in his mind.

Cassian sighed deeply and sat his pen down, reaching over to grab his coffee cup off of his desk. After taking a sip, he let out a sigh. It was bitter, but that was just how he liked it, and extra efficient thanks to Shadow’s elixir. While Ilsa was asleep, Cassian hadn’t managed to sleep at all. He’d spent the entire time just trying to distract himself while still remaining close to Ilsa. He’d taken his work into his chambers, had done paperwork at the desk in the room with Ilsa… well, he hadn’t really left his room much. He had been too worried, even with Isoloses promises of him being fine, it hadn’t quelled the worry at all. He’d called for shadow the second night, requesting elixirs to help him feel awake despite his inability to sleep.

Ilsa, Cassian thought to himself, his eyes roaming over the wedding ring on his finger. Ilsa was very pretty , attractive, undeniably so. Cassian wasn’t naïve to the looks Ilsa was given by even his own guards, and he’d honestly found it a little difficult to trust Isoloses not to kidnap him and sell him off. The laws of marriage were only binding in the realm of marriage, and it wasn’t like Caelestes was really against breaking laws anyway.

Ilsa was entrancing, attractive in a way that seemed almost too perfect, as if whoever created him was trying to make the perfect human, but had never seen what humans actually look like. He was slight in stature, with small shoulders and a curvy waist, his black hair forever falling into his eyes. Cassian had no idea how Ilsa could ignore it, he would go mad. Ilsa’s pretty dark blue eyes had places where the color almost appeared purple in hue, and when he was happy, it looked like he had stars littered in the iris’s of them. They were almost scrutinizing, at times, his face naturally falling into an almost pout whenever he wasn’t actively being spoken to.

Ilsa was adorable, but there were many things about Ilsa that irked him. He was too cute, too enticing. The rasp of his voice drew Cassian in, lulled him nearly to complaisance, his dark blue eyes seemed to hit Cassian in the chest like freezing water. Everything about Ilsa was inviting, and Cassian was like a fly trapped inside of his web, struggling to get free but unwilling to actually put in the effort necessary.

It was fine when Cassian didn’t spend every waking moment of his life consumed with thoughts of him, but now… whenever Ilsa wasn’t with him, he felt worry crawling through him. It started out slow, just a mild annoyance that he could ignore. The longer Ilsa was out of eyesight, the more his mind started racing. He hadn’t sensed that anything was wrong before Ilsa had frozen time– anything could’ve happened and he would’ve been unprepared to deal with it. Cassian felt more unsettled than he had in centuries, and it was distracting him when he wanted it to just go away.

He felt like he was spinning in circles, unsure, trying to decide which path is the right path. Only, the only ending that his mind can seem to focus on is which path would lead him to Ilsa soonest. It was made worse by a scent that seemed to linger on Ilsa whenever he stayed away from him. Cassian was sure something was different, off. He could smell himself, unmistakably, but there was another scent that seemed to overpower his own. He couldn’t even place the scent, it had to be someone’s scent. Whoever it was, was lingering far too close to Ilsa for Cassian’s taste.

Ilsa wasn’t doing anything wrong, and he’d not noticed any of his guards lingering near him. It was easy for a little of a scent to catch, so it was no big deal… but at this point it was driving him nuts. A knock on his office door startled him, and Cassian sighed. I’m way more distracted than usual, Cassian noted as he was pulled away from his thoughts.

“Come in,” Cassian called, setting his pen down. The door to his office slid open and Naevys’s mail elf stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Hello, King Cassian. I apologize for dropping in unannounced, however I have paperwork that Lord Naevys’s asked me to give you.” He said kindly, placing a large stack of papers on the desk in front of him that suspiciously looked like Naevys’s paperwork from the school again. Cassian sighed, adding it to the already thick stack of paperwork he was attempting but failing to focus on.

“Thank you, Laiex.” Cassian said tightly, taking a sip of his coffee. “I appreciate it.” Laiex nodded and bowed respectfully, tipping his head before exiting the room. Leaving Cassian, once again, alone with his thoughts. Cassian let out another sigh and tried to refocus his mind on his paperwork, but now the stack seemed to loom in front of him like an ever growing mountain. Cassian sighed deeply.

He was stressed enough that he couldn’t help but want to throw up his hands and say enough. Ilsa flashed through Cassian’s mind and he sighed again, resisting the urge to call out to him through their mind link. He couldn’t remember the last time that he checked on him, but admittedly, he probably didn’t need to. He could tell based on Ilsa’s emotions that wherever he was and whatever he was doing, he was content and comfortable. Which should’ve been enough for him to soothe his worries, it always had been before.

He was content during his sleep, his mind hissed, making Cassian frown and shift in his chair. He was going to drive himself mad. Cassian wasn’t like this, he had relationships that worked despite the distance of residing on different realms, he wasn’t clingy and as a vampire not seeing someone for a month was the equivalent of not seeing someone for a week. He had been single for over two hundred years at this point, sure, but being a king took away from his personal time.

He had initially dated in his realm, but it was complicated because he was a prince. He was meant to marry royalty, but he’d watched all of his options dwindle as his friends fell in love and started families of their own. The one remaining was a girl who he considered to be his sister, and the idea of marrying her seemed improper. They’d even been born on the same day, to different parents, but his mother had begun pressuring him about marriage, heirs and the like around fifty years ago. Initially he’d avoided the topic, but it had only increased over the years, until Cassian was forced to agree.

He wasn’t against marriage, but he was against marrying the wrong person because of royal obligation. Arguably, marrying Ilsa had been a… split second decision. A last attempt before his marriage to Lithia, one which neither of them were particularly interested in entering. Between their parents, however, there hadn’t been much room for their own negotiation. Things got out of hand and everything was planned before either of them had even been able to blink. He’d been returning from the discussion where she expressed her discomfort at the speed and the wedding in general, citing him as a brother–something that was very relieving for him.

Lithia was quiet and introverted, she was a pureblood vampire, descending from royalty as his mother had desired… She didn’t vocalize her agreement or disagreement once, had never put forth any concerns or anything until the impromptu meeting she’d requested. He had a renewed sense of desperation to end the whole thing once she vocalized that she also didn’t want to marry him, it wouldn’t be a happy marriage either way, it wouldn’t be fair to her, or to him either one. She deserved actual love, not marriage for the sake of political bindings.

Ilsa had been a true blessing, one that saved him and Lithia from a lot of discomfort and unease, and while he was aware that he’d left one ill advised marriage for another, probably even more ill-advised marriage… but there had been something about Ilsa that just… called to him. Maybe it was his sapphire eyes, or the scent of his blood perhaps. It was odd, not something he usually experienced. Blood smelled appetizing, but this was just different. He’d been almost afraid to bite him at first, because he couldn’t help but worry about accidentally taking things too far. Something he’d honestly never struggled with once. It was a baseless worry, he now knew, because Ilsa’s blood affected him so much he physically couldn’t do so.

That was due to the potency and the magical properties of his blood. Naevys’s blood made him feel nauseated, he’d had to drink from him before when they were on an infiltration mission trying to take women and children through a portal. He’d been injured, and had no choice other than to feed on him to be able to keep the portal opened. The same feeling of nausea was filling him currently, and he wasn’t focusing any better with this train of thought.

Time seemed to pass by at the pace of a snail, the incessant tick-tock of the grandfather clock was filling him with more annoyance than usual as it filled the room. It chimed every hour on the hour and it was so nerve-wrecking tonight he was fighting from throwing something through it. It was literally built into the wall. It’d been there so long, but suddenly he wanted to rip the thing right out of the wall.

Maybe I should look for Ilsa… Cassian thought, but shook his head and stood up, walking over to his liquor collection. He scanned through his options, letting out a quiet huff as he selected light caramel daze, a dark alcoholic beverage he tended to favor when he was in the mood for a drink. He sighed as he poured himself a glass, taking the bottle and sitting it down on his desk. It took a lot of alcohol for it to have any kind of effect on him, so one glass wouldn’t do much but allow him a taste of it.

Cassian chanced a glance at the clock, thinking it must be mocking him with how slowly it seemed to be moving. He was painfully aware of the lack of Ilsa’s presence, even if he was somewhere in the castle–possibly out in the gardens, Cassian would have to listen to see, and he was trying to respect Ilsa’s private time. He could only imagine he’d been a major nuisance since Ilsa woke up. He knew it was just the mating bond, but even so, it was almost a little embarrassing.

Cassian had been aware of his secondary gender, all purebloods had them–only, theirs were more repressed thanks to only being half demon. Cassian had only ever ‘activated’ when he was with someone else who’s heat cycle hit. It didn’t hit him in the balls like it’d probably hit someone with more demon in them than him, but his senses were strong enough along with the strength of the hormones they released that it affected him. None like Ilsa’s had, but thanks to his ability not to breathe he’d been able to stave off some of the effects of it.

A knock on the door of his office drew him from his thoughts, his nose immediately caught Ilsa’s scent and a wave of relief washed over him.

“Come in, Lovebird,” Cassian called out without a second thought, watching as Ilsa pushed open the door of his office with his hip. Cassian couldn’t help the smile that washed over his face, his eyes following Ilsa’s movements as he walked over to his desk, offering him a cup of coffee.

“I made coffee!” Ilsa said as Cassian sat the glass of liquor down on his desk and took the cup from Ilsa.

“It smells wonderful,” Cassian said, taking a sip of it as he turned his chair towards Ilsa. Ilsa leaned back against the edge of his desk, his hands clasping a cup of his own. It was different from the one he’d given Cassian, thicker, rounder, maybe even deeper. Cassian typically drank out of tea cups–he didn’t need to drink, so he didn’t drink a lot at one time. It wasn’t necessary, but it was always nice to try something new once in a while. Ilsa blew into his drink, his sapphire blue eyes watching little white puffs float around in his cup. His eyes were so reflective, almost as if he were constantly on the brink of tears, even when he was smiling happily.

“Where’d you get that cup?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa shrug.

“Seraphina let me use it, I believe it’s hers,” Ilsa admitted, a worried look crossing his face. “Is that okay?” Cassian was quick to nod, he didn’t care what Ilsa used from his kitchen as long as whoever it belonged to didn’t care. “Does it taste okay? I know it’s probably not as good as Seraphina’s…” Ilsa peeked over the rim of his cup to look over Cassian’s face with a scrutinizing expression.

“It’s good. What’s that? It smells…” Cassian didn’t know quite what it smelled like. Chocolate, perhaps? It looked odd, a little too light to have been coffee, but too… milky to be tea. If it was tea, Cassian would be hard pressed to believe it tasted like tea. He’d never seen anything like it before.

“It’s a human realm thing I read about before we met,” Ilsa admitted as he tilted his head to the side a little. “I’ve never had it before, but I knew the recipe and Seraphina helped me make it. She had to use fresh ingredients because she didn’t have any of the human realm instant stuff. It tastes pretty good. Do you wanna try it?” Ilsa blinked down at Cassian, sapphire blue eyes sparkling brightly, innocently.

Cassian acknowledged the cup for a moment before his hand wrapped around Ilsa’s wrist gently, tugging him forward into his lap. Ilsa settled easily, making a show of rolling his eyes as he did so.

“I offered a taste of my cocoa not my ass,” Ilsa giggled, making Cassian chuckle as he put his hand on Ilsa’s lower back, relief flooding through him at the close proximity. “Don’t tell me indirect kissing turns you on,” Ilsa teased, making Cassian laugh and shake his head, leaning forward a little to look into the cup.

“Not quite,” Cassian murmured, “But I do want to try the… cocoa. If for no other reason than to share the occasion.” Ilsa giggled, his eyes lighting up with something that made Cassian’s heart skip a beat. Ilsa smirked mischievously, and it immediately had Cassian’s length growing in his pants.

“Say pretty please,” Ilsa said, his voice dropping a little as he leaned back, his body shifting closer to his chest, so close to his length. Cassian couldn’t help the little spark of excitement that went through him at the words. Cassian was a little taken aback, honestly, Ilsa had never said something like that before. Something that sounded so obvious… Cassian cleared his throat a little.

“Pardon me?” He teased, putting his gloved hand on the back of Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa giggled a little, something sparking in his eyes that made Cassian’s excitement sky rocket and his erection hardened even more. “And just who do you think you are, telling me to say pretty please.” Ilsa flushed, his heart rate spiking a little.

“Well, I am your queen.” Ilsa teased, poking out his bottom lip playfully, his cheeks darkening more as Cassian’s gaze roamed over him.

“Isn’t someone being a little sassy this evening,” Cassian hummed, lust running through him as he ran his eyes over Ilsa. “I’d swear you wanted me to turn you over my knee.” It was pure teasing, he had no intention of actually doing so–well, not without discussions. Lots of discussions.

“All I want is you to say pretty please,” Ilsa said, smirking playfully as he shifted a little, sliding closer to Cassian’s erection. Cassian’s breath caught as he ran his hand along Ilsa’s spine, his hand settled on Ilsa’s lower back. Cassian hummed a little and nodded his head.

“Pretty please,” Cassian murmured, watching the blush deepen on Ilsa’s cheeks as his eyes widened in surprise. He’d been the one to ask, why was he surprised? Ilsa giggled a little, his heart beat spiking up again, happiness flooding through the mating bond.

“Yes your majesty,” Ilsa murmured, arousal darkening his eyes as Cassian met them, a mischievous smile on his face. Cassian smirked back at him, running his eyes over the cup Ilsa was holding out for him to take. Ilsa was the cutest thing Cassian had ever seen, hands down.

“I said please, so I decide how I taste it.” Cassian said, pushing the cup towards Ilsa. “You take a drink.” Cassian commanded, and Ilsa immediately did so, a teasing smile pulling up the corners of his lips. As soon as he swallowed, Cassian leaned down and captured his lips in a kiss. Ilsa moaned, immediately sinking into the kiss as Cassian slipped his tongue inside of Ilsa’s mouth. Ilsa whimpered, rubbing his erection against Cassian’s chest. Cassian pulled away from the kiss, smirking down at him.

“It tastes pretty good. I think you taste better, though,” Cassian murmured. Ilsa giggled, his face flushing brightly as he looked up at Cassian from under his bangs.

“I think you need to taste more of it to really be able to decide that fully,” Ilsa said in a playful voice, once again offering him the cup. Cassian couldn’t help but smirk, looking over Ilsa with lustful eyes.

“Well I suppose you’ll just have to let me taste it,” Cassian said, licking his lips. Ilsa smirked at him, a mischievous look crossing his face. Ilsa shifted up a bit and held his cup up.

“Yes your majesty,” Ilsa said teasingly. Cassian pressed his lips to the rim of the cup and smirked at Ilsa, making him roll his eyes. “I have to hold your cup for you as well? What would you do if I weren’t here?” Ilsa asked, a laugh falling off of his lips as he tipped the cup and let Cassian take a drink.

“Hold the cup for myself, but since you are here, may I please have another sip?” Cassian asked in a playful tone. Ilsa smiled and gave him another drink of his drink. “It’s actually pretty good.” Cassian agreed.

“Isn’t it? It’s a drink for cold weather, and given that it’s been getting colder at night, I thought it was appropriate.” Ilsa mused, taking a sip of his cocoa. “I read that it’s best with peppermint but we couldn’t figure out what the ‘peppermint’ equivalent was here.” Ilsa admitted, trailing his finger along the rim of his cup halfway. Cassian nodded, unable to help running his eyes over Ilsa. He felt surprisingly comfortable with Ilsa on top of him like this. “You want another drink?” Ilsa asked, offering him the cup.

Cassian honestly was enjoying the time spent with Ilsa enough that it wasn’t hard for him to nod his head and take another sip. He didn’t need another drink, but Ilsa was offering and Cassian couldn’t deny Ilsa anything. He didn’t know why, but Ilsa made him genuinely happy. Something he truly had thought he’d lost the ability to feel over the centuries.

𓊈𒆜 ＦФＵＲＴＥＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Ilsa had gone to bed, Cassian was in his office working desperately on a stack of papers that seemed to only grow and never diminished no matter how much work Cassian actually did on it. Ilsa had sat with him for a few hours, giving him a break from the constant worry nagging at him. Ilsa had been able to feel it through the mating bond, and it made him feel… emotional. Not in a bad way either. He was used to being disregarded and unwanted, so feeling someone actually wanted him was more exciting than he’d like to admit.

He had never imagined that he’d have someone want him around. He never knew that anyone could want him. He had spent his entire life feeling subpar because of his secondary gender that he never once took a moment to consider that he might not be quite as subpar as he was led to believe. His secondary gender had nothing to do with it, logically speaking. That alone did not make him subpar and he knew that. In his mind, however, none of that actually mattered because all he could hear was his fathers words echoing over the logical part of his brain.

As such, once he grew familiar with Cassian wanting him around more, it became less weird and more exciting. He was comfortable around Cassian all the time, and it allowed their mating bond to strengthen which was an added bonus that Ilsa hadn’t really considered. Spending time with Cassian was nice, Ilsa loved it. Cassian was all over him whenever he had the chance to be and it made Ilsa’s heart pound in his chest. He loved it, secretly, and had always wanted someone to want him.

That being said, when Ilsa woke up to the feeling of a cool set of fingers gripping into one of his thighs, cool and determined, his sleep fogged mind had a moment of weariness. When he’d gone to bed, he’d been alone, and Cassian was working. He had been alone, and suddenly he wasn’t anymore. His hand immediately shot to the blankets and pulled them up, peeking into them nervously, feeling a set of cool lips brushing against his inner thigh.

Cassian’s eyes turned a bit, looking up at him for a second out of the corner of his eyes, his orchid eyes glowing in the darkness as he trailed his lips along Ilsa’s thigh. Ilsa sighed at the feeling, pleasure coursing through him in combination with the relief of realizing it was only Cassian in the bed with him.

“What are you doing?” Ilsa asked tiredly, his cock jumping to attention as Cassian’s lips moved up his thigh. Tingles spread through his leg wherever Cassian’s lips touched, his boxers getting into the way and keeping Cassian’s lips from getting where he desperately wanted them.

“Shh, I’m just having breakfast,” Cassian purred into his skin, vibrations echoing through his body. Ilsa could’ve come just from his words, even if he had no idea why the idea of Cassian referring to him as breakfast was arousing. Before he had a chance to really think about it, Cassian bit down into his thigh, and it sent a wave of pleasure rolling through him. Ilsa cried out softly, his hand dropping down to the bed, the blanket still in his hand.

Cassian pushed the blanket out of the way and hooked Ilsa’s knee over his shoulder, venom flowing through Ilsahis bite. Ilsa moaned as tingles traced through him, echoing out from the bite and made his mind fog over with pleasure. His erection pulsed in his boxers, drawing a whine from his lips. Cassian pulled away from the bite and licked it, his eyes darkening as they looked up at Ilsa. Cassian seemed to be thinking for a moment, his eyes looking over his face before he moved his lips over a bit and sunk his fangs back into his leg. Ilsa moaned, his head tipping back as his hips jerked forward. Cassian hummed a bit, one of his hand’s moving to Ilsa’s hip, stilling him.

𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, Cassian’s voice echoed through his head as he moaned, his fingers tangling in Cassian’s hair, pulling the band in his hair out so that his fingers could slip into his hair. Cassian pulled his fangs out of his leg and shifted again before biting back into him. Ilsa shuddered, his free hand reaching for his erection absentmindedly before he caught himself and gripped into the blanket instead. 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑. 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ?

Ilsa loved the way it felt, it made his insides burn as if he were being cooked. He was sure slick was covering the bed, but he felt too good to even muster any embarrassment. It was incredibly intimate to his tired, lust-fried mind. He loved that Cassian came to him for blood now, no matter what the circumstances were. He loved that Cassian needed him as much as he had begun to need him. Knowing that Cassian craved for his blood, and only his blood, made his heart race. Cassian had explained that vampires often feed solely on their mates, it limited crime and it fueled intimacy… Ilsa agreed, wholeheartedly. And it wasn’t just because it felt good.

“Ah, it’s not that,” Ilsa managed, but it was

precisely that. It felt good, but, also to a vampire, a mate is the be all and the end all, it was more than just a marriage, their souls were combined. Somehow, he had a soul to combine with Cassian’s. There was no scent more alluring than the scent of their mate, and there was also no one else that a vampire wouldn’t kill during bloodlust. A vampire, even during bloodlust, could sense and respond to their mate. The connection between a vampire and their mate was something that felt unbreakable, and it made Ilsa feel satisfied somehow. He never had to worry about whether or not Cassian was his. He was, and there was no one who could take him away from him.

Another bite, closer to the hem of his boxer’s leg, and he cried out, pleasure rushing over him, making him moan again as the ground fell from beneath him. He found himself losing himself to an orgasm, his length pulsing out line after line of cum into his boxers. He could barely think through the fog of his pleasure and the world was beginning to blur around him from it. Cassian pulled away from the bite, taking care to lick the bite marks so they’d heal. Ilsa flushed, panting as Cassian crawled over him, settling between his legs, Ilsa’s knee still hooked over his shoulder.

“How cute, did you cum for me, Lovebird?” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa’s flush deepen. Ilsa let out a shaky breath and blinked up at Cassian as he shifted and rubbed against Cassian’s erection.

“I want you,” Ilsa whispered shyly, his fingers messily scrambling in an attempt to undo the buttons of his shirt. Cassian hummed gently, the back of his cool hand running along his cheek gently. “I n-need you, please.” Ilsa pleaded. “I know you want me to, I-I can feel it, so please?”

“Aren’t you so pretty as you plead for me,” Cassian murmured, brushing his lips along Ilsa’s forehead softly. Ilsa couldn’t help the warmth that flooded through him at the words, his heart speeding up. He loved hearing Cassian praise him, it never failed to make him desperate for more, but the look in his eyes tonight had Ilsa practically drooling, his omega hissing in his ear that he should roll over onto his stomach and present while begging. Cassian wouldn’t be able to resist, his omega urged. Ilsa wasn’t sold.

It sounded embarrassing. When he was in heat, doing debauched things didn’t affect him, but it was embarrassing to think about the fact that Cassian might be able to resist. His omega sounded sure, but Ilsa wasn’t. What if Cassian didn’t want him to? Or what if Cassian didn’t like it when he looked desperate and debauched? On one hand, it really was obvious that Cassian wanted him, but on the other, it was so embarrassing to think about doing something like that.

“C-Cass…” Ilsa pleaded, his arms looping around Cassian’s neck as he moved his body against Cassian’s, rubbing against him as much as he could. Ilsa let out a whimper when Cassian pulled away from him, his hands reaching out for him.

“There’s so much I wish to do to you and so little time in a day,” Cassian mused as his hands clasped around Ilsa’s wrists gently, Cassian’s lips brushing over the back of his hand for a second. Excitement coursed through Ilsa, his heart speeding up as he felt Cassian’s cool fingers holding him still. Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder what Cassian wished to do to him, what he held back, because it seemed obvious to Ilsa that Cassian held himself back a fair amount with him. Was it simply because he was more breakable than Cassian, or was Cassian reigning himself in because he felt uncomfortable asking for him to do certain things?

“Anything you wish to do, you can do,” Ilsa murmured shyly, his heart speeding up. Cassian huffed out a laugh as he pressed Ilsa’s wrists to the bed above his head, applying pressure before he released them, and it made Ilsa whimper. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew he wasn’t supposed to move them.

“I wish to devour you,” Cassian responded as his hands carefully pulled Ilsa’s boxers off of him.

“Have me however you want me, I’ll give you anything you want.” Ilsa murmured shyly, his eyes slipping shut as Cassian’s cool hand wrapped around his length. Cassian hummed, pressing his lips against Ilsa’s pulse point gently as he started moving his hand. Ilsa keened, canting his hips forward into Cassian’s hand desperately.

“Always saying such dangerous things when in the heat of passion,” Cassian responded breathily, his orchid eyes shining as they captured Ilsa’s eyes and held them as his hand sped up its movement, twisting a little towards the head of his erection. Ilsa shuddered and used the knee he suddenly realized was hooked over Cassian’s shoulder to pull him down closer to him. “You do realize what you’re offering, hmm? That’s a mighty strong statement. Anything I want…” Ilsa nodded his head.

“Anything you want, you can take from me,” Ilsa responded without an ounce of hesitation. His arms itched to reach up and wrap around Cassian’s neck, but he made a show of leaving them where Cassian had put them. “Any time, any place…” Ilsa broke off with a moan as Cassian let out a noise, startled perhaps, or maybe something else that Ilsa just couldn’t interpret. Ilsa flushed brightly, embarrassment coursing through him.

He must’ve sounded so needy and eager to please, he must sound ridiculous.

“Be grateful that I have some semblance of self-control,” Cassian murmured, his hand releasing Ilsa’s length to pull back more, letting Ilsa’s leg fall off his shoulder. “You are very hard to resist as it is, and here you are, telling me I can use you any time I wish.”

“Am I?” Ilsa blinked up at him, warmth flooding through him. Cassian smiled a little and nodded as he started undressing himself. He’d already partially undressed before having crawled into bed, but he still had enough clothes on that Ilsa felt a little breathless. He was unsure how to explain it, but he really liked when Cassian kept his clothes on when he fucked him. Regardless of that, he didn’t vocalize it, mainly out of embarrassment.

As soon as Cassian was out of his clothes, he was slipping back between his legs, one of his cool hands gripping into Ilsa’s inner thigh as he lined his length up with his hole. Ilsa shuddered, fighting the urge to squirm around desperately as he curled his legs around Cassian’s waist.

“Shit,” Cassian groaned, his eyes darkening as he pressed his length inside of Ilsa slowly. Ilsa gasped, his eyes rolling back, arms twitching away from the bed before he forced them still again. “So wet, aren’t you, beautiful? I love how desperate you are for me.”

“Yeah,” Ilsa keened, pushing himself down into Cassian’s length. He wanted his length buried inside of him, wanted Cassian buried inside of him where he belonged. “Hurry, please, I wanna be full, wanna take all of you–!” Ilsa cut off with a moan as Cassian leaned forward, buried his face in Ilsa’s neck, and sank into place inside of him. Cassian pulled his leg back up so that his knee was over Cassian’s shoulder again, shifting himself simultaneously deeper and closer. Ilsa shuddered, his toes clenching as his leg was pushed up more, his other leg curling around Cassian’s waist.

“Mm, better now?” Ilsa nodded his head, a pleased moan falling off of his lips as Cassian started thrusting his hips. Gone was the hazy pleasure that kept Ilsa docile against the bed, replaced with ground breaking pleasure that had Ilsa desperate to cling onto him. “Such a good boy, hmm?” Ilsa nodded desperately, his hands gripping into the sheets over his head, arching his back up.

“I’m a good boy,” Ilsa whimpered, squeezing the sheets in his hands. “Please, faster,” Ilsa pleaded, widening his eyes a little. Cassian hummed quietly and nodded his head, his eyes roaming over Ilsa’s face as he sped up the pace gradually, until Ilsa was crying out from the pleasure washing over him. Every thrust sent jolts of pleasure through him that had him seeing stars. He couldn’t focus on anything other than the drag of Cassian’s length inside of him. He was consumed, entrapped by Cassian, and this was all that mattered to him in the moment. Cassian seemed to know just what to do to drive him up the walls, and he took pride in watching Ilsa fall apart below him.

With Cassian over him, bending and holding him, their eyes connected in a heated gaze, Ilsa felt remarkably close to him. Ilsa moaned louder, pleasure coursing through him at the sensation of his fangs scraping his neck. Ilsa couldn’t help but shudder, his entire body sensitive and desperate.

“C-Can I touch myself? Please? Ca-Can I?” Ilsa pleaded breathlessly, his erection pulsing and pleading between his legs as Cassian moved inside of him. He didn’t necessarily need to touch himself to orgasm–he definitely could and had before without touching himself. His length was throbbing angrily though, desperate for relief and he couldn’t ignore it as simply as usual tonight. He didn’t really understand why, but he just couldn’t ignore it. He was too sensitive, his body felt like it had electric currents running through it, Cassian’s touch was like water, sending shocks of pleasure and tingles of stimulation through every inch of him. He couldn’t think, not enough to do much other than pant and moan, but he just wanted to be good, wanted Cassian’s praise.

At his words, Cassian’s eyes darkened, his orchid eyes roaming over Ilsa with an unreadable expression on his face. Ilsa whined, trying to push himself down against Cassian’s erection without moving his hands, trying to writhe his way closer to him. Cassian stilled his movements, his hand gripping into him.

“Cassian?” Ilsa whined, poking out his lip a little. Cassian seemed to make a decision then, his eyes softening somehow.

“My little Lovebird. Allow me,” Cassian murmured softly, his hand wrapping around Ilsa’s erection. Ilsa cried out, his hips pushing up into Cassian’s hand. Cassian knew just how to touch him, where each of his sensitive spots were, his hands were cool enough to send a slight chill through Ilsa. Even so, he preferred Cassian’s hand to his own. While it was cool, it felt absolutely fantastic on his hard and aching erection. With the addition of Cassian’s thrusts picking back up again, it was enough for him to be right at the ledge of the abyss. He wanted to fall into it, welcome it inside of him, and be consumed. He knew the abyss as well as he knew himself at this point. It was safe and secure, and Cassian was the only one who could put him there, and Cassian was the only person he ever wanted to see when he came down.

“A-Alpha, please!” Ilsa sobbed, Cassian’s erection hitting his prostate, sending shocks of pleasure coursing through him. He was desperate even still, his entire body burning in desire. Cassian hummed, burying his face back in Ilsa’s neck, running his lips along Ilsa’s shoulder softly. Ilsa whimpered, his toes curling as Cassian moved them. His hands gripped at the sheets, trembling under the weight of his pleasure, his body burning and pleading silently for release.

Ilsa felt so good, it was honestly dangerous how fantastic Cassian was at making Ilsa fall apart in his arms. Ilsa couldn’t care less, though. Every movement of Cassian’s erection inside of him made him feel like he might just burst into flames. While Cassian’s body started out cool to the touch, his length warmed up inside of him, and it was bittersweet to him now. Initially he’d liked it when Cassian warmed up, but he found that he greatly preferred the temperature difference between them.

Cassian being cool allowed Ilsa to really feel him. His length was perfect for him, he had no real basis for the normal size of cocks or anything, but Cassian’s length was larger than his and he felt big. Cassian’s length never hurt him though, which definitely could’ve just been his demon anatomy, but it always felt amazing inside of him.

“Alphaaaaa,” Ilsa sobbed, working his body desperately in time with his thrusts, Cassian’s free set of cool fingers tugging at one of his nipples while Cassian’s mouth clasped the other and sucked. His other hand moved relentlessly on Ilsa’s length, his hips never slowing down and Ilsa was drowning. All the stimulation was overwhelming in the best way, and all he could think was more , it was all he wanted. Ilsa could feel his hair matted to his forehead, but Cassian still looked flawless and unaffected–by the pace, the heat–despite the desire burning in his eyes. It made Ilsa tremble a little, sure that he had the best alpha.

“You’re so gorgeous when you’re being fucked,” Cassian murmured, his hushed voice hitting Ilsa’s ears as his breath washed over his spit dampened nipple. Ilsa whimpered, gooseflesh racing across his skin at the feeling of Cassian’s breath brushing his skin. Cassian smirked and pulled his nipple back into his mouth, his tongue laving it as he thrust deeper inside of Ilsa, harder, making a louder more desperate moan fall off of his lips.

The cool fingers circling his erection moved in time with his thrusts, edging him closer and closer to an orgasm, his leg pulling Cassian down closer to him to keep from moving his hands. He could feel his muscles pull a little as his thigh pressed against his stomach, but the position made sparks of pleasure jolt through him. Ilsa was tingling, burning, desire coursing through his veins and making him lightheaded. He loved this, loved the release that only Cassian could provide him. He wanted to fall into it, sink and settle below Cassian where he didn’t have to think.

Cassian growled a little, his pace speeding up even more somehow. Ilsa broke out into a moan, his body tensing–oh, this position was good for multiple reasons. Cassian was going so deep inside of him that he couldn’t help the loud noises echoing off the stone walls.

“It feels so good,” Ilsa said desperately, arching his back as his hands scrambled against the sheets. Cassian hissed, his eyes slipping shut as his vampire speed slipped out a little on accident, his pace getting rougher. Ilsa cried out, his hands gripping even harder on the sheets as pleasure took him over. Every rough, hard, deep thrust had the head of Cassian’s length ramming into his prostate mercilessly, his pace speeding up more, knocking Ilsa completely thoughtless, maybe a little breathless.

The pleasure coursing through him was strong and intense, ecstasy leaving him unable to think. The roughness was making everything feel so good, the harder he went, the stronger the waves of pleasure were that washed over him, and he was weak as he trembled and clung on to the bed as if the sheets were the only thing holding him steady. He couldn’t let go, he didn’t have permission, and in some weird way it made him feel tingly and excited. He was eager to show Cassian that he could be good, which was weird, right?

He had never been considered good before, he’d never been praised before. Hearing the compliments and praise from Cassian was amazing , something he had never quite felt like he deserved, so he supposed he wanted to ‘earn’ the praise somehow? He didn’t even think his lust-fried mind was able to comprehend it himself, so he wasn’t sure anyone else could either.

Cassian let out a growl, his pace bordering on ruthless, but the pleasure coursing through Ilsa left him hard pressed to form a complaint. He kind of liked it, liked watching as Cassian finally gave in a bit to his desires and pleased himself. Cassian pressed a kiss to his lips, and Ilsa tried so hard to focus on moving his lips but all he could do was let out whimpers and moans as Cassian’s length moved within him.

He was too consumed with pleasure, his body shuddering as Cassian thrusted into him. It was so hard and so fast he was sure he’d be crashing into the headboard of the bed–if not through the wall –if Cassian hadn’t been holding him still. Cassian pulled away from his lips with a hum, a smirk crossing his handsome face as his eyes scanned him.

“What’s wrong, Lovebird? You were so talkative just a little bit ago,” Cassian teased, making Ilsa let out a choked sound, his hands pulling against the sheets.

“I-It’s di-difficult to taalk w-with you–Ahh,” Ilsa broke off his panted statement with a cry of pleasure, his eyes fluttering shut as his body seized below Cassian, his orgasm crashing into him and making him a little breathless. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t breathe, the only thing he could register was pleasure. Cum painted his chest “Y-You’re aah… you’re… Alphaa!” Ilsa faltered his words, breaking off mid sentence and pulling a soft noise from Cassian’s throat.

“I’m what?” Cassian snapped his hips into him harder, his thumb pressing into the slit of his erection as he circled his hips. Ilsa let out a moan, his hands tugging at the sheets again, the urge to cling onto him so strong that it made him breathless. Ilsa arched his back, pushing his length up into Cassian’s hand, pleasure coursing through him in waves as Cassian just kept moving.

“Alphaaaa!” Ilsa whined, his eyes opening so that he could pout up at him. He could either use his brain or take Cassian’s cock, he absolutely couldn’t do both. Cassian let out a hum, his eyes darkening as he smirked down at him.

“Aw Lovebird, you can’t think and take my cock at the same time?” Cassian teased, slowing his movements a bit. Ilsa whined in distress, displeased with Cassian’s pace shift. He didn’t want the pace to change, and he planned to make that very obvious.

“H-Haa-Harder!” Ilsa managed to pant out, “F-Fhh–Faster!” Cassian responded by snapping his hips forward, burying himself inside of him quickly and roughly, punching a pleased cry of pleasure from Ilsa’s lips. Cassian ground his length against his prostate, stars dancing behind Ilsa’s eyes as Cassian put his hand on his stomach and pushed. Ilsa choked out a moan as the pressure against his prostate was increased.

“My beautiful little omega,” Cassian murmured into his ear, pushing up so that he wasn’t on top of him anymore. Ilsa let out a whimper, far too embarrassed to admit he wanted him closer. “Look at you, taking me so well, Lovebird. My perfect little Lovebird. Such a good boy for me,” Ilsa flushed, his eyes following Cassian’s to where they were connected, fixated on where Cassian’s cock disappeared inside of his body.

“A-Alpha,” Ilsa moaned, his voice cutting off into a string of moans as Cassian thrusted into him harder.

“My poor, precious little Lovebird,” Cassian teased, his eyes darkening as they roamed over Ilsa, “So crammed with cock that he can barely even speak. It’s okay, I’ll do you a favor and stuff you nice and full. Rest that pretty little mouth of yours.” Before Ilsa could attempt to point out he wouldn’t really be ‘resting his mouth’ if he couldn’t do anything other than moan and plead, but his thoughts were cut off by Cassian thrusting into him harder.

A second orgasm tore through him like a tornado, tears forming in his eyes as oversensitivity led to him shuddering. The orgasm was so strong it sent ripples of pleasure through his entire body, pain and pleasure coiling inside of him and combining, making him lightheaded. He didn’t even think he released anything, he didn’t feel it covering him. The stimulation was so good, too good.

It hurt so much, his length was aching and hard, he was sure he couldn’t bear a third orgasm even as he felt it creeping up on him. He had just come, but it didn’t even matter, because the intensity of the pleasure was just so much that it was inevitable, and with how sensitive he was from his previous orgasms, he knew it wouldn’t take much. He was already curling his toes and fighting the urge to cling onto Cassian and cry out. He just wanted his cum inside of him. He wanted to be full, he needed it, he wanted to be bred and full and to be good for Cassian and everything just felt so good he couldn’t quite keep a straight thought in his head.

Cassian dropped down over him again, blocking the sight of his length moving inside of Ilsa. Ilsa let out a groan and wrapped his hands around the edge of the mattress, his eyes rolling back as Cassian’s fangs sank into his neck. Ilsa cried out, the world shattering around him when he felt Cassian’s cum filling him up. It’s all that it takes for him to lose himself to his orgasm as well, his body shuddering as stars danced behind his eyes again.

As Cassian’s fangs pulled out of Ilsa’s neck, he let out a whimper. He couldn’t muster the energy to plead with Cassian not to pull out, but Cassian seemed to already know he didn’t want him to as he laid himself on top of Ilsa, burying his face in Ilsa’s neck and letting out a quiet hum.

“Come here, precious,” Cassian murmured soothingly as he curled his arms around Ilsa. Ilsa whimpered and finally moved his arms, curling them around Cassian’s neck. Cassian shifted them so that Ilsa was on top of him, keeping his length buried inside and it made Ilsa feel so warm and understood.

It was just a part of his biology, as an omega, even when he wasn’t in heat he wanted a knot, now that he’d experienced it. Cassian seemed to only be able to provide it when he was in heat and that was honestly fine with him because despite what his biology wanted, he definitely didn’t want to be knotted all the time. He loved it when he was in heat, but that was the only time he needed it, he wanted it. Even so, he enjoyed the side effect of knotting–Cassian staying locked inside of him until his knot went down.

“You’re such a good boy, Ilsa. Rest for me, okay, Lovebird? I’ll wake you up and give you a bath in the morning.” Cassian murmured into his neck. Ilsa hummed his agreement, not quite sure how to get his tongue to work enough to form words. As for the rest thing–well, he was already beginning to doze off by the end of Cassian’s sentence.

𓊈𒆜 ＦＩＦＴＥＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

When Ilsa woke up the next morning, he felt refreshed and happy. Cassian, true to his word, woke him up early to bathe him before he went to his office to do work. Cassian reminded him that they had plans that evening, and about his meeting with Shadow that morning–Ilsa couldn’t remember what the plans were, but it didn’t really matter because Cassian knew, so he would just go along with it.

Ilsa had a lot of fun studying magic with Shadow, and she’d let him off the hook for the one spell he’d not managed to decode because he’d been asleep for three days and hadn’t been able to work on it. He supposed that was one bright side of freezing the entire realm–getting out of uncomfortable homework assignments. Or rather, getting an extension on them. Once his meeting with Shadow was over, he quickly found himself curling up in Cassian’s office window again, leaning against the wall as he looked out over the sweeping grounds of the castle, he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

He had never considered this would be his life, where he was treated almost as a house-cat. He was petted and praised, fed, Cassian even bathed him on occasion. Helix and Felix usually helped him get dressed, which he personally found a little extra, but he wasn’t sure if that was just a difference between realms or not. Some realms have customs that are vastly different from other realms, it is just a part of a ‘world’ setting.

Caelestes had plenty of cultural differences from Cassian’s realm–honestly, Ilsa couldn’t pronounce the name of it. He had tried when he was alone, mainly because attempting to pronounce it and failing in front of one of the residents of the realm was embarrassing. It’d be humiliating for him to pronounce it incorrectly with them looking at him. He knew that likely plenty of them had heard him attempting to pronounce it and failing, so that was embarrassing enough as is.

Ilsa sighed and stood up, placing the book he was reading on the table in front of the couch in the library. He supposed it wouldn’t hurt for him to check in on Cassian. It seemed like the constant worry was beginning to cease, it’d been a while since Cassian had felt worried. He figured it wouldn’t be a long term problem, given the circumstances of how it began.

Ilsa found himself walking along the halls of the castle, not even realizing that he didn’t have to pay much attention to get around anymore. It was a large castle, but he’d explored most of it during his rather short stay. He knew there were parts he couldn’t get into–for instance, the dungeon area. It always had two guards stationed outside, and while Cassian hadn’t told him not to go into it, he kind of knew it was nothing he wanted to witness. Caelestes dungeon was terrifying, and when he was being punished, his father would lock him in the smallest cell in the dungeon and leave him there. He wasn’t willingly walking into a dungeon ever .

The servants and guards quarters were another part of the castle that Ilsa hadn’t explored, though it did take up a significant portion of the castle’s vacant rooms. Cassian had requested him not to go there, simply because it can be quite confusing to navigate. He explained that as Vampires can teleport, they rarely have to walk to their rooms, so when they needed to expand living quarters, they’d do so using magic. It seemed like an odd idea, surely you can only fit so much in any one space, so how could he expand that without rebuilding?

The answer was, every room was magically altered, enlarged, and then separated off into apartments. Cassian said each doorway was four apartments, and there were a lot of doors. On top of that, the hallway is strangely shaped into a spiral towards the middle with other subsections broken off–so it is essentially a labyrinth.

Ilsa raised his hand and knocked quietly on Cassian’s office door. Cassian called out for him to enter immediately, and Ilsa smiled a little as he walked into the office. Ilsa gasped and covered his eyes as he took in the extremely bright lights. Cassian quickly walked around his desk and stood in front of the lamp, casting a shadow over Ilsa. Ilsa glanced up and took in the sight of Cassian’s face, tinted glasses covering his eyes.

“Sorry Lovebird, I knew the light was bright to me, but all light is bright to my vampire vision so I didn’t think it’d be too bright for you as well.” Cassian murmured. “Are you okay? You didn’t look into it, right?” Ilsa was hard pressed to know anyone who could look into that bright ass light.

“No, I covered my eyes as soon as the light hit them.” Ilsa said, frowning a little. “What is it?”

“Ah, it’s a science experiment.” Cassian said softly, a happy smile taking over his face. “The human realm is having some global warming issues, and we occasionally dabble in attempting to help dissuade the natural disasters we can. Using magic, one of my witches managed to replicate the action which caused the earth’s sun to form–albeit on a much smaller scale. Though that does not discredit the amount of work he put into it.”

“I-Wow. So it’s… like the sun?” Ilsa asked, and Cassian nodded.

“We are attempting to find a way to block some of the heat without blocking all of it.” Cassian explained. “Humans could never live without a great deal of the heat from the sun, so it’s essential we find a way to allow some of the heat through, while minimizing extra heat seeping through.”

“I didn’t realize other realms look out for each other that way,” Ilsa admitted, making Cassian shrug.

“All the realms started as one,” Cassian murmured. “In the very beginning, when the first realm was formed, all races lived on one realm, though there were obviously problems with that. Vampires are more drawn to human blood than to vampire blood, werewolves were hunted for sport, elves were deemed demons, witches were burned at the stake. Dragons were hunted to near extinction. Gods were worshipped or murdered, celestials were imprisoned. Demons were discriminated against.” Cassian paused for a moment.

“They separated into the original eight realms. Humans occupied the human realm, and the seven kings were gathered together to create the additional seven realms using their abilities. The witches used the vampire and the god to draw power, while the elf drew power from the werewolf.” Cassian tilted his head a bit, “The king of the Fae and the Demon King worked together to form Caelestes and the Realm of Epiria, and all the species separated. The dragons were gifted their realm, as… well, I can’t imagine a conversation with a fire-breathing dragon could amount to much.”

“That is much different from the story I was told.” Ilsa said, making Cassian hum.

“Well, that is the story I grew up believing to be true.” Cassian murmured, and Ilsa nodded his head. He didn’t not believe it, either. It’s not like his parents had been honest about anything else, so why would this be any different? His father and all of the royals in Caelestes liked to pretend that Caelestes is constantly the victim, so of course they’d want a story to corroborate that they were victims of something.

Hell, they might’ve been, Ilsa certainly wasn’t there to see that.

“What do the glasses do?” Ilsa asked, instead of asking more about the creation of the realms. He didn’t care all that much, and he was much more interested in the experiment that Cassian was working on than anything else.

“They protect my eyes so I can look at it.” Cassian explained, “I have a second pair if you’d like to wear them.” Ilsa nodded his head in response. “Okay, turn around so you don’t get blinded.” Cassian murmured, and Ilsa did so quickly. Ilsa listened to the sound of Cassian’s footsteps as he walked around the room, before Ilsa felt his cool body behind him. Ilsa let out a shuddery breath and giggled as Cassian put his hand on his hip and pressed a kiss to the back of his neck.

“Cassian,” Ilsa whimpered, fighting the urge to push himself back into Cassian’s body. Cassian’s hand moved from his hip to his wrist, and led his hand to the glasses. Ilsa took them quickly and put them on his face. The blindingly bright light was suddenly much less annoying to his eyes. It was almost too dark, now, but he guessed that did make sense. They were meant to dim the light for someone with vampire senses, so it probably was just working a little too well because Ilsa’s eyes weren’t as strong as Cassian’s.

“Alright, now you can turn around.” Cassian said. Ilsa moved without even thinking, turning to face him. “Come, let me show you. Perhaps you’ll get to watch nightfall.” Cassian said, leading Ilsa over to his desk. With the glasses on, Ilsa could see the clear box it was contained in. The ball of light was only about the size of a ping pong ball, in the center of it. It floated, seemingly perfectly in the center as if it were held there by bars, though Ilsa could see nothing. And all around it, were other little floating orbs as well, seemingly frozen in place.

“Wow,” Ilsa murmured, his eyes widening as he peered into the box. It was so pretty, nothing but empty blackness with little dots of light–and that was when Ilsa realized, they’d not just replicated the sun, they’d replicated the entire solar system.

“It’s quite beautiful isn’t it?” Cassian asked.

“It’s beautiful,” Ilsa agreed, his eyes widening as he looked over it, noting the attention to detail. He could tell exactly what planets were intended to be each planet, could even see them moving, just the tiniest bit. It was so slow that one would have missed it if they hadn’t been watching intensely. Ilsa shifted closer, watching it as it moved, almost entranced with the beauty of it.

“Be careful, it’s very hot to the touch,” Cassian murmured, wrapping his hand around Ilsa’s wrist. “The witch has to freeze it to transport it, because it’ll burn skin in a nanosecond,” Cassian said, making Ilsa take a cautious step back. Whether or not the box was very hot, it was still pretty to look at, even if he was a little far away from it.

“Where are we going later?” Ilsa asked curiously, making Cassian hum.

“To Naevys’s birthday ball. It’s tonight, remember?” Ilsa shook his head, his cheeks flushing. He’d forgotten all about it, sorta. He remembered it, but not when it was. He still hadn’t gotten the hang of the months in this realm, things were a lot different and it was an adjustment getting the time down. “If you’re not up to going, I can tell Naevys as much,” Cassian offered.

Ilsa shook his head and smiled.

“No, that’s fine, I can’t wait to wear the gown you got me.” Ilsa murmured shyly, his face burning hotter under the admission. “It’s very pretty,” He defended before Cassian could even open his mouth to form a response.

“You don’t have to justify wanting to wear it, nor wanting to go to the party,” Cassian murmured into his ear. Shivers traced Ilsa’s spine, his heart jumping a little in excitement. “I wanted you to enjoy it, and I’m glad that you’re going to.” Ilsa couldn’t have gotten redder if he were held at gunpoint. Ilsa was admittedly a little speechless, he never knew how to respond to Cassian when he said things like that–things meant to encourage him.

It wasn’t like he had a ton of experience with being encouraged, so he had no idea how to respond or even accept the encouragement. Ilsa looked away from the box as he felt tears flooding his eyes.

“Is it okay if I take a nap before the ball?” Ilsa asked. Cassian hummed, his orchid eyes swirling behind the tinted glasses as they roamed over him.

“Are you okay?” Cassian asked instead of answering, making Ilsa nod. He didn’t think he could control his voice, and he didn’t even know what the damn problem was. All Cassian had done was told him he didn’t have to justify anything, why the hell was he getting so emotional? “Yes, you can go take a nap, Lovebird.” Cassian pressed his lips to Ilsa’s forehead.

Ilsa couldn’t help the smile that tugged up the corners of his lips, Cassian made him feel so many different ways Ilsa didn’t know how to process them all.

“Will you wake me up?” Ilsa asked softly. Cassian nodded his head.

“Of course, lovely,” Another kiss, this time to his temple. It seemed almost absentminded, and it tugged at Ilsa’s heartstrings a little. “I will wake you up before Helix and Felix come to take you to the boudoir to get dressed. Rest well. Keep the glasses on until you make it to the hallway, lovely.” Ilsa nodded and raised up to his tip toes, and pressed his lips against Cassian’s cheek. Cassian smiled as Ilsa pulled away and scurried out of Cassian’s office.

As soon as Ilsa was in their bedroom, he laid down on the bed, buried his face in Cassian’s pillow, and took a deep breath, Cassian’s scent washing over him. It set his mind to rest and it didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa woke up to the feeling of Cassian’s gloved fingers lightly running up and down his lower arm, while his lips ghosted along his shoulder and neck. Ilsa sighed softly and shifted a little, prompting Cassian to pull him back against his chest, his face nestling into the back of Ilsa’s neck as he fell silent for a moment, seeming to think Ilsa was still asleep. Ilsa couldn’t lie, he wasn’t, he hadn’t been since the moment he felt Cassian blink into their bed. When Cassian got into bed beside him, he couldn’t even tell, but when he blinked it was almost like he’d managed to run and jump straight into the bed on his side somehow.

“You’re really too beautiful ,” Cassian mused quietly. “It’s distracting.” Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder if he was meant to hear it, so he didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure how to. How does one tell someone who thinks they’re beautiful that they’re the one that is beautiful? If he pointed that out, would Cassian realize it too, and leave him? When had he begun worrying about such silly things?

Cassian shifted behind him, his fingers moving from his arm to trace lightly along Ilsa’s abdomen. Even through the clothes he’d fallen asleep in, Cassian’s touch had pleasure creeping through him. Ilsa whimpered and turned his head towards the pillow as Cassian began pressing kisses to his ear. Cassian let out an inquisitive hum, before nibbling at his earlobe, flicking his tongue over it.

“Cassian,” Ilsa shuddered, his lips parting on a moan as a wave of pleasure washed over him.

“I love it when you moan my name like that.” Cassian murmured, his breath washing over Ilsa’s ear. Ilsa trembled lightly as he turned his head to look up at Cassian over his shoulder with wide, drowsy eyes, biting into his lip as he felt Cassian’s hand slipping beneath him on the bed. Cassian curled his arms around Ilsa’s waist, trapping him against his chest. “Are you awake precious?”

“Yes,” Ilsa murmured, his hands wrapping around one of Cassian’s forearms.

“Well, good morning sleeping beauty,” Cassian mused, pressing a kiss to his neck softly. “Are you feeling alright?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa nod.

“I feel fine, fantastic actually,” Ilsa murmured, “I suppose a nap was just what I needed. Is it time to get ready to go to the party?” Ilsa queried, secretly hoping that for once, Cassian had disregarded his request and had woken him up with enough time to squeeze in an afternoon round before they left for the party.

“Mhm,” Cassian hummed, running his nose along Ilsa’s neck. “Well, just about. Not precisely,” Cassian murmured. “I have something I wish to talk to you about, though.” Cassian said. Ilsa hummed, worry flooding through him. Had he done something? Crossed a boundary he hadn’t realized he had crossed? “I’m sure you remember the necklace that Helix and Felix put on you when you tried out your gown.” Cassian murmured.

“Of course,” Ilsa murmured, worry seeping through him. Was it missing? Did Cassian think he had stolen it?

“It’s okay, nothing’s wrong, per se. I just… neglected to inform you of the necklace’s use, and I felt a bit guilty, honestly.” Cassian murmured, one of gloved hands moved up to Ilsa’s neck, his fingertips brushing along it gently. Ilsa sucked in a deep breath, arousal washing through him. “The necklace is actually a collar, it’s magic bound, meaning that while you are wearing it, no one will be able to penetrate it.”

“A-Are people going to be wanting to penetrate my neck?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian sigh softly.

“No, probably not.” Cassian amended, chuckling quietly. “It’s merely a precaution, as I’m a public figure there are people who happen to dislike me, merely because of the monarchy remaining in my family’s hands for generations.”

“People have a problem with that here?” Ilsa questioned. He kind of assumed it was just like that. Some were born royals, others were not–and the royals were the kings and queens.

“Some do, but that’s just a part of being in the public’s eyes. I’ve grown up learning to deal with it, so it doesn’t bother me anymore,” Cassian admitted. “I can’t really see the issue, but I suppose I wouldn’t. I do make it a habit to keep things fair and equal here. All schooling is free, most land is owned by the residents save for government offices. This is considered a government office, technically.” Cassian murmured.

“How do you profit from anything?” Ilsa asked, astounded. “You told me you funded business expansions and the like. How can you afford that?”

“Monetarily, I don’t generally. I break even yearly, but as people don’t charge me at shops, it all evens out in the end.” Cassian murmured. “I don’t need more money, I just want my realm happy and flourishing.”

“That doesn’t seem fair to you ,” Ilsa murmured worriedly. Cassian shrugged.

“If the mere idea that I am sitting at a desk minding the metaphorical fence prevents wars between species, keeps the peace of my realm, and the happiness and safety of my people is guaranteed, who am I to complain about underpayment of wages?”

“You should be happy too,” Ilsa pointed out, frowning a little.

“Contrary to popular belief, I’m happier than I’ve been in centuries. Don’t worry your pretty little head about me. I’ll be fine.” Cassian murmured comfortingly, his nose running along Ilsa’s neck. “It’s sweet of you to worry though, and I do appreciate the sentiment.” Ilsa smiled, trying to come up with a response when a knock sounded on the quarters room door. “Ah, that’s Helix and Felix.”

“Rats,” Ilsa giggled as Cassian pressed a kiss to his neck. “I was hoping we could…” Ilsa trailed off, his cheeks heating up. Cassian tsked playfully.

“What a naughty, naughty boy you are. Don’t worry, I’ll have my way with you later.” Cassian murmured, ignoring the second round of knocking on the door. Ilsa knew that he wasn’t the best at being quiet when Cassian was… having his way with him … so it didn’t really phase him to know that someone could hear them talking– however , it was a little embarrassing for Cassian to be so forward when he knew that Helix and Felix could definitely hear them.

Granted , it also turned Ilsa on. So there’s always that. Despite coming from a realm that was lawless, there were a lot of things that Caelestes didn’t have, and that was ‘sexual education’. He had always just assumed that sex was meant to be kept quiet, but it was impossible for him to do so when Cassian could fuck him into oblivion.

His stamina alone was impressive. He’d been able to keep up with Ilsa’s heat easily, hell, better than Ilsa could keep up with his heat honestly. Aside from that though, Cassian knew how to touch him, to make him melt, and how to bring him to the heights of his pleasure in what felt like no time at all. There was zero refractory periods with him, and when they had sex it felt like the flood gates opened and all of Cassian’s emotions and physical reactions seemed to echo through him somehow.

Cassian’s pleasure and his pleasure intertwined, he supposed, and it made it so hard to actually call it quits. It never stopped feeling good, no matter how overstimulated he got, it all leveled out into pleasure. He would be lying if he said he didn’t want to practically live on Cassian’s length. He’d love to sit on his lap while he did paperwork and all through meetings. When Ilsa was reading he often found himself missing Cassian’s length as well, the times Cassian had read to him while he was buried inside of him during his heat came to mind whenever he tried to read now. He’d never tried oral before, but he wouldn’t mind trying it if Cassian was interested. It was one of those things he could take or leave, because it didn’t pleasure him any, but the idea of pleasuring Cassian… That made it sound appealing.

It was humiliating on one hand, to have such silly little hang-ups. He was supposed to be a queen, or–well, yeah, he couldn’t be a king because Cassian was the king. He wasn’t meant to run about behaving like a succubus–no offense to the succubus’s, but things were different in Cassian’s realm, utopian, almost like a fairy tale world. On the other hand, however, Cassian was his husband. As long as Cassian wanted him, did it really matter where he fucked him?

The fascination had begun when Ilsa was in heat and Cassian had let him stay on his length a lot . It helped appease his heat during the not so strong waves towards the end, and kept his head clear enough for him to eat every morning while he was in heat. His fondest memory was when Cassian had knotted him and then fed him. Whenever he’d tried to grind down on it, seeking stimulation, Cassian had tsked softly and pinched his hip… oh that had driven him crazy. He didn’t really know why, but the pinches just made him want to move because the sting felt really good, especially when they ventured towards his ass or his thighs.

“When?” Ilsa couldn’t help but whine, making Cassian chuckle quietly. The knocking increased on the door and Cassian huffed quietly, calling out ‘just a moment.’ Ilsa sighed, accepting his fate. He wasn’t getting Cassian inside of him before they left.

“I’ll reward you for your troubles, Lovebird,” Cassian murmured. Ilsa nodded his agreement. Another knock echoed and Cassian let out a sigh of defeat and pulled away from Ilsa. Ilsa followed suit and sat up, stretching his back with a yawn. “Come in,” Cassian called. Helix poked his head into the room and his eyes swept over both of them with what could only be described as judgment. Ilsa scratched the back of his head but Cassian waved his hand and chuckled.

“My lord, please go to your boudoir at once!” Helix said, crossing his arms over his chest with an unimpressed look on his face. “You’re already twenty minutes behind schedule. Hurry! Hurry,” Helix urged, motioning for Cassian to get a move on.

“You were a lot more fun when I was a kid,” Cassian hummed, tossing Ilsa a grin. “He used to let me put makeup on him when I was little.” Helix winced.

“Indeed, that was a titillating activity. We don’t have time to reminisce on how long we’ve been your family’s butlers. Another time, perhaps over tea.” Felix said, tossing Helix a frown.

“Ah yes, I’ll be on my way. Have fun playing dress up, Ilsa.” Cassian murmured, waving his hand before he blinked out of the room. Before Ilsa had much time to do anything he was being shuffled into his boudoir, something he never thought he’d have. His life had drastically changed since Caelestes, he almost couldn’t wrap his mind around it.

He’d always been somewhat disconsolate, melancholic, having been kept in such a small space it wasn’t really surprising. The thing was, he had almost expected to be afraid to go outside even though he was no longer in Caelestes. He still didn’t know how much of his reality had been warped by his fathers magic, but one thing was certain: He had feared for his life every heat he had, feared every guard meant to protect him, even his own brothers.

He had no idea if those fears were baseless or not, but… he wanted to know more about what happened. He just couldn’t stand to sit down and look at Isoloses journal. He didn’t want to read it, he wanted Isoloses to explain it to him. He didn’t have any anger or resentment towards him, what happened happened, and frankly with a seemingly endless future ahead of him, he just wanted to move on from the past. His fathers death will help, which he was aware probably made him sound like a patricidal maniac, but the old bastard was dying anyway–he wasn’t going to lose any sleep over it. He didn’t care for his father, didn’t even miss him. He never thought of home in a pleasant way, he never would either.

Ilsa would never step foot in Caelestes again, even after his father died. He’d stay happily right where he was in the realm he couldn’t even pronounce the name of. At least there, someone actually gave two shits about him.

𓊈𒆜 ＳＩＸＴＥＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Cassian said that Naevys knew how to throw a party, he had not been exaggerating. Ilsa was honestly a little overwhelmed by it all. There were people everywhere, different species all crammed together into one wooden castle. The floor was vibrating as music played, there was a live band somewhere in the castle, though Ilsa had yet to be taken there. Ilsa could tell why without even wondering, Cassian’s ears.

Cassian’s ears were more sensitive because Ilsa’s blood seemed to heighten Cassian’s already very heightened senses, so Ilsa could only imagine he must be in agony. Ilsa had grown pretty used to the quiet, or the soft lulling of classical music, occasionally Cassian would put on Jazz records, symphonies, ballads, anything soft and melodic he enjoyed, anything that was relaxing. Whatever kind of music was currently playing was not soft nor melodic, and if the lead singer wasn’t gravely ill, Ilsa had some questions.

With a voice like that, Ilsa would never sing in public. Granted, Ilsa was no music critic as he’d never heard music outside of a ballroom setting. While this was intended to be a ball, it seemed more like a party everyone decided to wear designer gowns to.

Another thing Ilsa wasn’t used to was the lack of guards surrounding him. He was used to having six or more around him at all times when in this setting, so having none other than the guards who were attending the party made him a little nervous. As did the hundreds of eyes that’d been on him since the moment he walked in with Cassian.

He had never felt so nervous in his life. He had left the castle feeling beautiful, but now he felt like he was dressed immodestly, which he was, but usually everyone else was too. That didn’t necessarily mean that everyone was dressed in clothing that covered them, it just wasn’t… mesh like his. The orchid colored diamonds kept glittering whenever the light hit them and when he’d been at the castle he’d loved it, but now it felt like everyone was judging him.

“Lovebird,” Cassian murmured softly, his hand settling on Ilsa’s stomach. Ilsa flushed, lowering his eyes before he looked up over his shoulder at Cassian. “Are you okay?” Ilsa nodded his head. Physically, yes, he was okay. Rather, the problem was coming from his inability to quit focusing on the anxiety creeping through him. “You are lying to me,” Cassian murmured quietly, making Ilsa mentally curse.

“I-I look ridiculous.” Ilsa muttered, flushing more as Cassian walked around him and came to a stop in front of him, effectively blocking his sightline of the crowd.

“You don’t, you look absolutely exquisite.” Cassian said, putting his hand on Ilsa’s lower back. “Don’t be ashamed of your culture, you are who you are. This realm has refugees from many different realms and no one looks down on another for their cultural differences.”

“But… this isn’t just any realm’s culture,” Ilsa protested quietly, barely above a whisper.

“Ilsa, look at me,” Ilsa moved his head before he really even thought about it, raising his eyes to meet Cassian’s, whimpering a bit at the look in his eyes. Ilsa couldn’t tell what he was feeling at that moment, his eyes were so expressive but Ilsa had no idea what that expression was supposed to mean. “You didn’t have anything to do with the wars that your father waged,” It was the first direct acknowledgement of his heritage Cassian had ever let slip and it made his heart speed up. “Your culture has nothing to do with that either. You aren’t the only demon from Caelestes to come to this realm and find sanctuary. It is okay for you to be proud of who you are and where you come from.”

“Isn’t this immodest?” Ilsa queried weakly, not really having an opposing argument that Cassian couldn’t blast through.

“As long as this,” Ilsa sucked in a quick breath as Cassian’s fingers ran over his length teasingly, “And this are covered,” Ilsa bit his lip as Cassian’s hand slid down on his back a little, slipping down to brush along the swell of his ass. “It’s fine. Maybe your nipples too, they’re really cute.” Ilsa flushed and waved his hand at Cassian, making him laugh a little. “That’s more to appease my possessiveness than morality or nobility, I admit.”

“Everyone’s looking at me,” Ilsa worried aloud, making Cassian chuckle as he shook his head, orchid eyes darkening as they looked down into his. “It’s not funny, they’re all secretly laughing at me.”

“They aren’t,” Cassian assured him. “Everyone is looking at you because you outshine everyone else, I mean just look at you,” As if he were proving his point, Cassian’s eyes roamed over him hungrily. “But if you’re still having trouble, I can always pull you off to one of the rooms and show you just how beautiful you look.”

His anxiety vanished like it was just a mirage as his mind flooded with images of exactly that scenario. Ilsa melted into Cassian’s arms, warmth flooding through him.

“Cassian,” Ilsa moaned softly as Cassian pulled him closer.

“I’d swear you’re trying to seduce me,” Cassian murmured, amusement crossing his face as Ilsa looked innocently up at him. He was horny before he’d even been put into the gown, and now… well, he wasn’t fairing much better with an anxiety free mind.

“Am I? If so, it’s unintentional,” Ilsa responded softly, looking up into Cassian’s orchid eyes with a smile pulling up the corners of his lips. Perhaps he was being a tad reckless, maybe a bit debauched, but he needed Cassian so much. He was sober, hadn’t touched a drink the entire night–he wasn’t dim, he knew if he were intoxicated there was no way Cassian would have sex with him when they returned home.

“All I know is that it is taking everything in me not to fuck you right here, right now.” Cassian said. Ilsa flushed and looked up at Cassian through hooded eyes, arousal burning beneath his skin as he tried to keep from begging him right there. Ilsa was feeling rather shameless at the moment, whether that was the lust or adrenaline talking he had no idea.

“Why hold back?” Ilsa muttered, making Cassian hum quietly.

“A wonderful point, let’s go,” Cassian muttered quietly, wrapping his hand around Ilsa’s wrist, tugging him towards a hallway to the right of the ballroom. Ilsa moved with the kind of care that he imagined models had to move with in an attempt to keep his erection from tenting the flimsy material of the dress. He was not ready for the world to see his erection, it wasn’t even all that impressive anyway. Gravity would thankfully take care of keeping the dress from getting slick all in it, but Ilsa wasn’t so sure, the barely there underwear Helix had provided him with wasn’t going to fare well.

Cassian pulled him down the hallway quickly, and Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder why he wasn’t blinking them. Perhaps it was just because sneaking off was much more subtle than blinking and with the number of vampires in the room, it was sure one of them would notice. Granted they’d probably hear them anyway.

Ilsa followed behind Cassian until he found himself being pushed into a room. Ilsa almost stumbled over his own feet, but Cassian managed to shut the door and then grab him in half a second, effectively preventing him from making a fool of himself. Cassian was always rescuing him from embarrassment. He really needed to learn to watch where he was going. Ilsa glanced around the dimly lit office he was standing in, his eyes widening a little.

It was interesting, much more modern than Ilsa had expected, with a giant mahogany desk, bookshelves lined one wall while shelves of different shiny and nature based collectibles laid. Amongst the shinnies, Ilsa caught sight of something he recognized.

Isoloses shining silver pocket-watch, on a chain that suspiciously looked like the chains that Ilsa’s mother wore around her neck. Ilsa almost immediately wanted to pick it up off of the shelf, certain that it couldn’t have been a gift. Isoloses pocket-watch was his birth-gift, a weird tradition the royal families of Caelestes all practiced. The royal families believed that children were sacred, funnily enough, and at each royal child’s birth, they are presented with an object of equal value to their life–well, that sounds dark. Not precisely how it was intended.

The gifts varied from family to family, and none of the gifts were really anything children would use–but it’s the idea behind it that Ilsa had always liked. Ilsa had been given a magical story book. Which might sound lame , but it had sparked Ilsa’s love for literature. The magical story book was written on black paper, and was written in a metallic silver script which shined and caught the light in the most beautiful ways, with moving magical pictures. The magical energy inside of it was enough to literally create a demon, which sounds odd because it’s a story book–but that’s besides the point.

Was it a… courting gift? Yet another of the royal families traditions–Alpha’s give courting gifts, usually something that means a lot to them, which Ilsa could only imagine what the pocket watch meant to Isoloses considering he’d carried it with him every day for as long as Ilsa could remember–until he just suddenly never saw it again. Ilsa was quickly distracted from his thoughts as Cassian put his hands on his waist, tugging him closer. This wasn’t the location he’d been expecting, but he was in far too deep now to be having misgivings.

Ilsa grabbed his tie, pulling him forward as he leaned up, connecting their lips. Cassian groaned quietly, his hands gripping around his waist for a moment. It brought a moan to his lips in a second, his entire body burning with the need to be closer, to have Cassian inside of him. He could feel Cassian’s cool hands through the diamond shaped fishnet fabric of his gown, and all he could focus on was his touch.

“Please,” Ilsa pleaded, breaking the kiss long enough to beg–and to shift closer to his chest. There was no longer a question of if he were tenting the extremely soft, flowy fabric of the dress. He definitely was, but at this point, he was beyond caring. Everything be damned. He just needed Cassian, nothing else really mattered anymore.

Every inch of Ilsa’s body was burning, burning so much that all he could think about was Cassian’s lips on his, and all he wanted was Cassian’s length inside of him. His blood was practically simmering in his veins, his entire body craving Cassian. Nothing sounded more appealing in that moment than being fucked, he wanted to be fucked until he was a sobbing, cum covered mess. He was past the point of desperateness, he was aching, and he would do anything just to have Cassian inside of him.

“Fuck me,” Ilsa pleaded, “Please, I-I need you,” Ilsa whined, his voice shaking a bit. At his words, in a blur of motions, Ilsa crashed back against the wall, Cassian’s fingers tugging up the skirt of his dress. When Cassian caught sight of his underwear, he sucked in a deep breath.

“Hold this.” Cassian instructed, nodding his head towards the bunched up dress around Ilsa’s waist. Ilsa flushed and nodded, his hands clasping around the fabric. Cassian wrapped one of his gloved hands around Ilsa’s length through the underwear, prompting Ilsa to gasp and sink back against the wall as Cassian’s hand massaged his length gently. Cassian’s lips trailed down Ilsa’s cheek as he did so, his eyes parted a little, the heat behind his gaze left Ilsa trembling against the wall. His lips moved, lower and lower until they were running along the edge of the collar around his neck, Ilsa couldn’t help but moan and tilt his head to the side, a show of his submission and a desire to be bitten.

“Don’t have long,” Cassian murmured, prompting a sigh from Ilsa’s lips. He just wanted to be fucked, he didn’t care if it was quick. His erection was throbbing and angry, slick coating his underwear, and when Cassian’s hand slipped inside of them and gripped his length, Ilsa shuddered and squeezed his hands around the fabric of his gown. Cassian’s glove was cool and smooth, slippery almost, and the way it felt running along his length was absolutely… euphoric.

The slide of it along his length had him choking back moans and looking up at Cassian, his hips pushing into Cassian’s hand desperately. Ilsa was putty in his hands, and all he could do was breathlessly sag against the wall, convulsions running through him as Cassian’s hand moved along the length of his cock. When his fingers brushed the head of his length, Ilsa moaned loudly, his hands loosening enough for some of his skirt to fall. He quickly re-bunched it up in his hands, letting out a whine.

“Well well, you are sensitive tonight, Lovebird,” Cassian hummed. Ilsa swore he could feel the vibrations through his skin. Cassian’s hand left his length, drawing a pleading, slightly pitchy whine of annoyance, and Ilsa couldn’t quite figure out how to voice that he wanted Cassian to stop playing with him. “Shall we see what happens when I fuck you, beautiful?” Ilsa nodded his head, choking out a please as his hands tensed around the bunched up dress circling his waist.

The hand that’d been around his length wrapped around Ilsa’s gloved wrist. Ilsa released the dress, the other hand following it as Cassian gripped into his other wrist. Ilsa couldn’t help but look at Cassian’s one gloved hand encircling both of his wrists, a shudder running through him. The orchid glove that matched his eyes contrasted against Ilsa’s tanned skin in a way that left him breathless.

What was it about Cassian being bigger and stronger than him that turned him on? He had no idea, it frankly seemed a little silly to him, but… well, it did.

“It’s a pity I can’t take my time with you,” Cassian sighed, almost mournfully as he pulled Ilsa forward away from the wall by his wrists, before sliding his grip on his wrists until he got a grasp on him. Ilsa gasped as he spun, his hands being pinned to the wall over his head as Cassian pressed his chest against Ilsa’s back, his nose running along Ilsa’s shoulder. Ilsa bit into his lip to stifle a moan, fighting the urge to push himself back into Cassian’s erection.

The gown and Cassian’s suit pants did little to disguise Cassian’s erection and it had Ilsa shivering in anticipation.

“I’ve never wanted to be fucked this much before, please, don’t tease me,” Ilsa pleaded, pushing back into Cassian’s erection, a moan falling off of his lips. Cassian growled quietly, his hand pulling away from Ilsa’s wrists. He stepped away from him, and Ilsa almost made his displeasure known–this was supposed to be quick, why was Cassian taking so loooooong?

Cassian let out a quiet chuckle as he wrapped one of his arms around Ilsa’s waist and tugged him back a little more. Cassian pulled Ilsa’s gown up with one hand, bunching it around his waist again before tugging Ilsa’s underwear down over his ass. Cassian’s hand settled on his ass, spreading his ass cheeks apart. Ilsa whimpered as the cool air of the room washed over his slick hole, shivers tracing through him.

Before he could even think about complaining, Cassian was leading his length inside of his slick opening. Ilsa moaned, his eyes rolling back as Cassian slipped into place inside of him, stretching him and filling him completely. His hands clenched into fists, his teeth sinking down into his lip as he tried desperately not to push back into Cassian. He could feel the bumpy texture of the woven wall in front of him digging into his fingers and palms but he couldn’t be bothered with saying anything because Cassian started thrusting into him.

The arm that was around his waist moved up to his wrists again, holding them in place–only now his fingers were forming a cushion, making him comfortable and left him unable to do much more than just choke back his noises as much as possible. The sounds of the party were slightly audible through the walls of Naevys’s office, but that only meant that if he did slip and let a noise out, it probably would be heard if it was too loud–though he did have some lee-way. It took some of the annoyance that Ilsa had been feeling before and melted it, leaving him swimming in his own pleasure instead.

Every thrust pounded into his prostate, the strength behind them had Ilsa letting out choked moans. The pleasure was prominent, and Ilsa was quickly becoming desperate. He loved the way Cassian’s body was firm and solid behind him, pressing against his back and it was dizzying how amazing it felt. Cassian made him feel so small, but instead of it scaring him like it would’ve if he were in Caelestes, it made him feel so safe and protected.

“Look at you Lovebird, so naughty.” Cassian tsked into his ear. “You’d better quiet down, Ilsa. Wouldn’t want someone to hear you, hm?” Ilsa bit into his arm in an attempt to stifle his moan, his hips pushing back into Cassian’s thrust. Each thrust brought a choked sound from his throat. The noises from the party were easily able to drown them out at the volume they were at but he couldn’t necessarily prevent any louder moans from escaping his lips.

He was powerless against his pleasure, something most demons struggle with. Self-pleasure was one of the many vices that plagued demons–a real issue amongst them. They just can’t deny themselves something they want, and Ilsa didn’t seem to be faring much better.

“F-Fuck, I can’t be–” Ilsa choked, his eyes squeezing shut. Cassian seemed to be doing everything he could to bring his moans to the surface, his thrusts speeding up, his hand reaching around to wrap around his length, tugging him off in time with his thrusts. Ilsa moaned, slightly louder than before. He was going to lose his mind, it just felt too fucking good and the adrenaline running through him had him shaking and shivering.

Every inch of his body was alive with sensation and he couldn’t breathe, but he could still somehow. It made little sense, even to himself, but he couldn’t describe it any other way. Cassian affected him so deeply, he just couldn’t.

“Listen to you, I’d swear you want someone to walk in and see you taking my cock,” Cassian teased, thrusting into him harder. A shock of pleasure, arousal, and excitement shot through Ilsa at the words. The thrust punched an especially loud moan from Ilsa’s lips which he managed to catch about half-way through and stifled into a squeaky noise he would’ve been embarrassed to admit came from him but even so… it didn’t matter because Cassian thrusted deeper inside of him. Ilsa squirmed, his teeth biting harder into his lips to prevent another moan from escaping his lips.

Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder what he’d look like in that moment if someone were to walk in on them. No doubt he looked completely debauched, the already immodest dress pushed up around his waist, bent and pinned to a wall of someone’s office–and while he knew the person that almost made it worse somehow. He could only imagine the embarrassment that’d flood through him if someone were to see him.

“Mm that excites you doesn’t it? The thought of someone walking in and seeing you filled with my cock,” Cassian mused, a chuckle falling off his lips. “They could see how indecorous my little trophy wife is for me,” Ilsa flushed, a moan falling off his lips as he peeked back over his shoulder at Cassian.

Fuck, Ilsa couldn’t help but moan at the statement, his heart speeding up.

“They’d be unable to tear their eyes away from you, your pretty flushed face, lips parted, body on display…” Ilsa let a moan slip out, unstifled, a wave of nervous pleasure washing through him. “As pretty a sight as you are, they could look from afar, but your body belongs to me, and only me.” Cassian’s eyes seemed to glow for a moment, his hand squeezing around Ilsa’s wrists tightly.

“Y-Yes! My body is yours, only you can touch it, Alpha.” Ilsa managed to pant out, his hands clenched into fists as he pushed back into Cassian’s thrusts. “A-Alpha,” Ilsa moaned, his eyes searching for Cassian’s helplessly. “I-I’m so c-close, please, fuck.” Cassian inhaled sharply, his hand moving on his length faster as his thrusts sped up more. The truly embarrassing part of them being caught would be the fact that Ilsa couldn’t help but push back into each thrust, his face screwed up in pleasure as he pleaded. Ilsa couldn’t control himself when it came to Cassian, he just wanted him so much.

Cassian smirked and thrusted into him harder, deeper, drawing a loud moan from Ilsa’s throat. Ilsa cried out, barely managing to stifle the end of a moan into the crook of his arm. He bit down in an attempt to keep any more noises from slipping free, but he felt it might’ve been a bit redundant at this point. Cassian didn’t seem to care either way, he was still fucking him no matter how loud he got, so he was far from worried about it.

Every thrust hit his prostate, pleasure surging through him in strong waves as he desperately grasped onto the string inside of him that was holding him together. He knew if he let go of that string, his noises would only get louder, and as hot as being caught might’ve been, he knew if they got caught they’d have to stop. That seemed worse than actually being caught to Ilsa’s lust-fogged brain.

Somewhere in the waves of pleasure, however, he had lost the string holding him together and no amount of grappling could save him then. His entire body tensed and spasmed, his eyes rolling back as a sob echoed off the walls of the office. Oh he was too high to care anymore. The whole world can be damned for all he cared. He was so full, each drag of Cassian’s length inside of him had him moaning and pushing back into him as much as he could to meet Cassian halfway.

Cassian started picking up his pace, his hand jerking him off in time with each thrust of his hips. A string of curses and moans fell from Ilsa’s mouth, unhindered and unhidden as a wave of possessiveness and pride washed through the mating bond.

“You wanna cum for me, beautiful?” Ilsa moaned his agreement, prompting Cassian to tuck his length into the front of his underwear, a smirk crossing his face. “Go ahead, cum for me,” Cassian punctuated the sentence with a bite to his shoulder, and Ilsa practically choked on his tongue, a flood of pleasure crashing down onto him.

Pleasure consumed him, and almost as soon as the words left Cassian’s mouth, Ilsa’s release rushed through him, knocking him momentarily senseless as he felt his erection pulsing out line after line of cum into his underwear.

“Look at you, absolutely filthy,” Cassian tsked, amusement sparkling in his eyes, his teeth nipping at Ilsa’s ear. Ilsa moaned in response, his eyes venturing down to where his underwear was, almost as if he could see through the fabric somehow. He couldn’t help but whimper, pleasure buzzing beneath his skin as Cassian kept chasing his pleasure inside of his body.

After his release, everything felt calm. The pain from overstimulation was basically nonexistent, all he could feel was pleasure, and there was just so much of it that he couldn’t quite breathe. It was amazing, the way Cassian was using his body–oh he could’ve melted right into the wall and stayed for eternity, if only for no other reason than everything was great. The party didn’t matter, nothing but this did, being Cassian’s, serving him, pleasuring him. Admittedly, it was a bit intoxicating in a way.

Every cell in his body was vibrating just beneath the surface of his skin, and everything in body just wanted to keep drowning in pleasure until Cassian was done with him. Perhaps it was degrading for him to think of it that way, as if he were a toy, but in some way it made him happy. He wasn’t just anyone’s toy, he was Cassian’s toy. His being belonged to Cassian, and truthfully he couldn’t really think of anyone better to trust with it.

Cassian groaned into his ear, burying himself deeper inside of Ilsa as Ilsa felt Cassian’s cum flooding into him. He tensed, a moan falling off of his lips as he shuddered his way through a second half-orgasm that left him breathless. It definitely wasn’t as intense as the first, he barely came at all, but fuck, it knocked him senseless for a moment. Cassian kept thrusting into him as he rode out his high. For a few seconds, Cassian was still, his forehead pressing down on the base of Ilsa’s neck.

Ilsa just closed his eyes, sinking against the wall as Cassian pulled his half-hard erection out of his hole and slid his panties up over his ass. Ilsa let out a whine as Cassian straightened him, his face heating up a little as he felt all of the cum rubbing against his sensitive erection. It surprisingly didn’t feel bad .

He expected to feel dirty or something, and to some extent he did, but… It wasn’t the worst feeling in the world. Cassian’s cum he would never complain about. The longer his cum stayed inside of him, the better. His own was what made him feel embarrassed. Sometimes he could orgasm without cumming, why couldn’t this have been one of those times? Ilsa could’ve laughed at himself for a moment, but that’d bring attention to his thoughts and he didn’t want that. Such an embarrassing thought… was he losing it? Maybe. On the bright side, he no longer felt ready to pounce on Cassian, so he was counting it as a win.

Cassian let the hem of his dress fall down to where it was lightly kissing the floor, before spinning him around. Ilsa looked up at Cassian, his cheeks tinting with color as Cassian trailed his gloved finger tips along his cheek softly.

“You’ve made such a pretty mess of yourself for me, hm?” Cassian teased, his eyes roaming over him hungrily. Ilsa sucked in a deep breath, his head bobbing as he nodded, his length twitching in his underwear. “If only I had a mirror so I could show you what you look like. So debauched. I love it,” Cassian hummed as he pulled Ilsa closer to him.

“Thank you, Alpha,” Ilsa managed to get out as he rested his head down on Cassian’s chest. Cassian hummed, nuzzling into his shoulder. “I feel much better now.” Ilsa admitted, unsure if he were embarrassed, or just felt like he should be embarrassed. Cassian ran his nose along Ilsa’s shoulder, inhaling quietly. “Are you… sniffing me?” Ilsa asked.

To his surprise, Cassian seemed to be capable of flushing. It was barely visible, just a slightly different color, so close to his pale skin-tone that it barely even registered.

“…Perhaps I did.” Cassian murmured, “Ah, it’s just… Helix and Felix’s scents were all over you before. They dressed you, this is a very thin fabric, and their scent happened to stick to you a bit. It happens, but I admit it was driving me a bit insane.” Cassian had a strange tone in his voice, his hand running along Ilsa’s lower back. “I didn’t like it at all. Now you smell of me. Everyone will know who you belong to.”

“People can smell it?!” Ilsa gasped, his cheeks heating up as his hand covered his face. “Oh sweet mother of Oriosis.” Cassian chuckled as he worked the fastenings of his pants.

“Yeah, I assumed you knew. Even humans can smell the scent of sex.” Cassian pointed out, making Ilsa flush. Okay, Ilsa could concede he had a point, but Ilsa had never thought of it himself. The scent usually disappeared after like fifteen to thirty minutes anyway, save for when he was in heat. It wasn’t really all that dissimilar to being in heat now that he thought about it. He nodded his head.

“We need to return to the ball, soon, Naevys is going to be looking for me,” Cassian murmured as he tugged off his gloves and stuffed them in the inside pocket of his jacket.

“Okay,” Ilsa agreed, reaching out to wrap his arms around Cassian’s right arm. “I’m ready. Just don’t let go of me?” Cassian hummed his agreement.

“Never.” Cassian agreed, making Ilsa smile a little. He’d never get used to Cassian humoring him so much. Cassian pressed a kiss to his temple before he led him back out into the hallway and towards the ballroom. As they were walking Cassian’s head turned, looking down one of the hallways of the castle that they were walking past. Ilsa’s head tilted a bit, curiosity piqued. Cassian held up his finger, a clear symbol for him to be quiet as Cassian tugged him down the hallway quietly, maneuvering Ilsa so that he was behind Cassian.

𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑒𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑚𝑒, L𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑. 𝐼 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝐼 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔… As they walked silently down the hallway, Ilsa began picking up on the sound of someone grunting. It sounded to Ilsa like someone was being beaten or something, frankly. It sent a shock of worry through him and couldn’t help the urge to hide behind Cassian more.

Cassian stopped outside of a door, silently grasping the knob before pushing it open. The dim light of the hallway flooded into the room and Ilsa let out a surprised squeak as he took in the sight of Isoloses sitting on his heels in front of Naevys. Naevys’s boot was pushing down on his crotch rather roughly, while Isoloses squirmed and groaned, but didn’t move away from him.

Naevys paused then, noticing their presence, his eyes glancing back over his shoulder to look at them with an amused grin.

“Oh look who it is, Iso. Your baby brother and his hubby have come to visit. And at such an inopportune moment, as well.” At Naevys’s words, Isoloses eyes popped open and he choked out a sound, his face heating up.

“ILSA!” Isoloses gasped, his face heating up as Naevys pulled his foot off of his crotch and turned his head to look at Cassian and Ilsa.

“I didn’t interrupt your fun,” Naevys drawled, pursing his lips a little.

“In my defense, all I could smell was…” Cassian’s eyes darted to Isoloses, “That aside, it sounded like someone was being tortured. I admit, this isn’t what I was imagining when I opened the door.” Isoloses seemed to realize what Cassian had assumed was going on, and he lowered his eyes. “I do apologize for assuming the worst of you,” Cassian said, directing his words to Isoloses. Isoloses shook his head. “However, I’m admittedly a little surprised. Why…” Cassian trailed off.

“It’s kind of to be expected,” Isoloses said, not moving out of the position that he was in where he was sitting on the floor, not even turning to face him. Instead, his head was turned towards them. It didn’t look comfortable, Ilsa didn’t think. Why wasn’t he moving?

“Well, no torture here. Isoloses, didn’t you bring some things for Ilsa?” Naevys questioned, seeming to change the subject. Isoloses’ head turned to him and he nodded his head. “Go get them.” Naevys said, prompting Isoloses to stand up and walk grab a jacket that was thrown over the end of the wooden bedframe.

He reached into the pocket of it and pulled out a little bag, waving his hand over it. It grew in his hand until it was about the size of a backpack, his other hand moving quickly to support the size before it toppled onto the floor.

“I… couldn’t get much,” Isoloses muttered as he stepped forward, offering it to Ilsa. Ilsa hesitated, looking at Cassian. Cassian nodded, prompting him to step forward and reach out and grab onto the handle. “I just thought you might like some of your stuff from…” He scratched at the back of his head as Ilsa took the bag and peeked inside.

Right at the top of the bag was his stuffed hellhound, which admittedly made Ilsa a little happy. He’d regretted leaving it behind in Caelestes, but he didn’t want to have too much stuff to carry, and he was an adult so he’d never even considered it to be something he’d want. He peered down into the bag, taking in the sight of some of the stuff he’d left in his room in Caelestes before his eyes went back up to Isoloses.

“I really didn’t know what you used the most, so sorry if I brought you stuff you didn’t use at home.” Isoloses uttered, looking over Ilsa’s face almost worriedly and apologetically. Ilsa shook his head, hesitating. He realized he didn’t really know how to express what he was feeling vocally as he struggled to find the right words to say.

“No, no, I-I–” Ilsa cut off, stumbling over his words a little. He wanted to respond, to say something to express that he was grateful, shocked, confused–just so many different emotions all swirling through him and they were so strong that it was overwhelming him. Tears sprung to his eyes, stress flooding through him.

He had to respond with something, Isoloses had gone through probably a lot of effort to retrieve the items he’d brought him. Regardless of his past actions, he genuinely seemed remorseful of his inaction with their father and he was putting in effort, even risking his own life to bring him a bag of silly belongings that he could’ve lived without.

“Did I bring something I shouldn’t have?!” Isoloses seemed a little panicked, and Ilsa shook his head again, his hands wiping at his eyes a little.

“Lovebird, breathe for me, it’s okay,” Cassian murmured softly into his ear, pressing a kiss to the tip of it. Ilsa shook his head, no it wasn’t okay. He was an emotional wreck and had no idea how to even properly vocalize what was wrong with him. “I think he’s just surprised and happy,” Cassian cut in, tossing Isoloses a smile. “It’s not you or anything you did.” Cassian assured him. Isoloses sighed in relief, his features softening.

“Well, I assume you’re likely to call it a night, hm?” Naevys asked, making Cassian hum.

“Perhaps that’d be best, given how late it has gotten.” Cassian murmured, his eyes flashing down to Ilsa, who was still trying to reign in the tears trekking down his cheeks. “I’m rather tired, would you like to go, Ilsa?” Cassian asked him, making him hesitate before nodding. “I’ll blink us home, do you mind telling Helix and Felix that they’re taking the carriage alone tonight?” Cassian asked, directing the first half at Ilsa and the second half at Naevys.

“That’s fine. Do as you wish.” Naevys said, waving his hand. “I’ll let them know.”

“It was nice seeing you again Isoloses.” Cassian said. Ilsa suddenly pulled away from Cassian, dropping the bag of stuff from Caelestes before he jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Isoloses neck. Isoloses tensed for a moment, seeming not to know really how to react before he wrapped his arm around Ilsa’s lower back. Ilsa was careful not to get too close–he didn’t want to get cum on him. Gross.

“When are you coming back?” Ilsa questioned as he pulled back from the hug and grabbed the bag he’d dropped. Isoloses paused, uncertainty crossing his face.

“He’s staying tonight.” Naevys offered, smirking a bit as he ran his eyes over Ilsa.

“Can you stop by the castle before you leave?” Ilsa asked hesitantly as he wrapped his arm around Cassian’s again.

“I, uh, maybe, yeah. Why?” Isoloses questioned hesitantly.

“I want to talk to you.” Ilsa said, his hand tightening around the handle of the bag. Isoloses’s eyes shot to Cassian, who raised his hands, the arm that Ilsa was holding moving more carefully so as not to disrupt his grip.

“I’m not going to prevent Ilsa from seeing you so long as you do not intend to harm him in any way,” Cassian said, his eyes roaming over Isoloses. Isoloses nodded his head and looked at Ilsa, nodding.

“I have to leave early in the morning. Around Five.” Isoloses said. Ilsa nodded.

“I’ll be awake.” Ilsa said, positive and suddenly glad that he’d taken a nap before the party. He’d be really tired at five AM, otherwise. After that, Ilsa and Cassian both wished Naevys a happy birthday and Cassian blinked them home. Before they went to bed they had to shower, and it made Ilsa a little grumpy. He just wanted to cuddle, but Cassian wanted to clean, mainly him, up. Which he understood because he did feel gross with all the cum on him. That didn’t mean he had to enjoy it, or be happy about it.

By the time his bath was over, Ilsa was more than ready to curl into bed with Cassian and his hellhound stuffed animal than he was anything else. He was clean and warm and the soap in this realm smelled a lot better than what he had in Caelestes. To be fair, when he was in Caelestes, he’d actually not disliked his soap–but it was a simple fact, the soap Cassian got him smelled good, and it felt so soft. Silky, kind of, runny maybe? Much different from the bar soap he was provided in Caelestes.

“Cassian,” Ilsa murmured as Cassian stood beside the bed, putting on his pajamas. Cassian’s head turned and he quirked up an eyebrow, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

“Are you feeling alright?” Cassian queried, his eyebrows pulling together. “I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to discourage you from expressing your emotions, but you’ve seemed emotional today. If you’re feeling unwell, I can have a physician come and give you a check up.” Ilsa shook his head.

“I think I’m okay.” He felt fine physically, he wasn’t sad or unhappy, he really wasn’t sure what the problem was. He had been crying a lot today, but he was pretty sure it was fine. Emotions are fickle, and he had little experience with most of them so he was sure that’d come with some growing pains. “I’m just sleepy.”

“What if it’s an effect of Isoloses energy draining? You should see a physician,” Cassian worried, making Ilsa flush a little. He really didn’t know how to take someone being worried for him, not the way Cassian did. It was… different.

“If you want me to see a physician, I will.” Ilsa murmured as he squeezed his arms around his stuffed animal. He just wanted Cassian to get into bed and hold him. He didn’t care who he had to agree to see, a physician, a clown with a creepy blood stained costume, a possessed doll–he’d face it if it meant Cassian was going to move quicker.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay, Ilsa.” Cassian murmured as he shifted closer to Ilsa and put his hand on Ilsa’s arm. “If you’re not comfortable, I won’t set anything up but I want you to think about it, okay?” Ilsa shook his head.

“No, I’ll see one. It’ll make you happy.” Cassian smiled faintly.

“What about you being happy?” Cassian questioned, making Ilsa raise an eyebrow.

“I am happy,” Ilsa murmured.

“Hmm…” Cassian hummed as he laid down and got under the blankets beside him. Ilsa lifted his head expectedly. Cassian slipped his arm under Ilsa’s head and curled his arm around Ilsa’s shoulder and down his back. Ilsa shifted closer to Cassian and rested his head on Cassian’s chest, sighing deeply. He was so close to Cassian that it made his heart race. He loved this closeness so much, being so close, warm, and comfortable.

He loved being with Cassian. He made him feel so safe and cared about. He was always so nice to him, always proud of him. At the party, it’d been him who’d been second guessing his outfit not Cassian. Cassian supported him on his arm the entire time, save for when he’d gotten them punch. Ilsa’s own mind had been the problem. He couldn’t help it, though.

He was much less pretty than most of the vampires he’d seen, and the ones wearing gowns just… didn’t look like him. He was just… normal and all of them were like, physical perfection. It was odd because it was the demonic genes that made them so beautiful, but Ilsa had apparently gotten none of those genes at all. His was so revealing and he couldn’t help but feel self-conscious about it. It wasn’t like the other dresses were covering every inch of their skin, but his was literally fishnet and while Cassian altered the design to cover his… areas … there still was a lot of skin showing.

“I can’t stop thinking. It’s preventing me from sleeping.” Ilsa muttered, making Cassian hum quietly and run his hand along Ilsa’s side soothingly. After a few minutes of quiet, Ilsa let out a sigh, comfortable as he closed his eyes. It wouldn’t take long if Cassian kept that up, Ilsa was embarrassed to admit. He was so tired, Cassian smelled so good, and there was this calming feeling seeming to flow through the mating bond that was making his mind slow down, thus making everything feel hazy and unfocused.

“Goodnight, Lovebird. Sleep well,” Cassian murmured softly, kissing his forehead. Ilsa managed a sleepy smile and a quiet ‘you too,’ before he fell asleep.

𓊈𒆜 ＳＥＶＥＮＴＥＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

Ilsa woke up the next morning before five am just to be sure he was awake for Isoloses to come. He sat out in the garden, watching as the light moon began peeking over the trees that lined the tall stone walls that outlined the grounds of the castle. The lights were casting their soft blue light all over the gazebo and the accompanying table. The air was still, and it felt remarkably peaceful as he looked down at his book. He was absently sipping on a cup of coffee as he read, occasionally peeking up at the window he knew was Cassian’s office window.

Cassian had gotten up with him, claiming he had extra work to do in his office. Ilsa had a feeling he just wanted to be within earshot of them so if Ilsa called him vocally he could hear him. Ilsa could use the mind link, but it was difficult and he couldn’t really imagine trying to go through what he considered to be a process in order to call Cassian for help when it was urgent. Ilsa definitely wouldn’t remember he was supposed to in the heat of the moment, and while he was able to do it when his mind was clear, it wasn’t so easy when his mind wasn’t clear.

He was still learning, and thus, he knew Cassian wouldn’t rely solely on his ability to use the mind link to notify him that something was wrong. He was still staying just far enough that he wouldn’t be eavesdropping, Ilsa assumed, because he kept the window shut instead of opening it like usual when he was outside.

The thoughtfulness and the protectiveness were both things that Ilsa found himself enjoying quite a bit. It made him feel good, like someone was actually trying to protect him instead of just playing pretend.

“Ilsa,” Isoloses voice came from beside him, and Ilsa jerked, his hand jerking to his chest where his heart was rapidly beating. “Shit, sorry, I thought calling your name was better than anything else.” Isoloses said, raising his hands a little.

“No, it’s fine,” Ilsa murmured, sitting his book down on the table after glancing at the page to catch the number. “I got zoned out in a book,” Ilsa admitted.

“You always were bad about that,” Isoloses said, smiling a little as he walked forward. “So… What did you want from me? What did you want to talk about?” Isoloses sounded unsure, maybe nervous.

“Do you like tea?” Ilsa asked conversationally, momentarily sidestepping his question. He’d rather do this comfortably and, ideally, he’d achieve something from this. Closure, perhaps, or maybe he just wanted to hear his brother’s side of things. What his thoughts were, or something. Ilsa couldn’t really be sure honestly. But this felt more real than reading his diary somehow.

“Yes,” Isoloses answered. Ilsa immediately motioned for Isoloses to sit down across from him and called for Seraphina. Seraphina appeared beside him, picking the tea pot up off of the stand it was sitting on, going to top off Ilsa’s cup.

“Can you get Isoloses a cup as well, please?” Ilsa requested, trying to keep his voice soft. Seraphina bowed her head respectfully, murmuring a soft ‘yes, my lord,’ before grabbing a teacup and poured Isoloses a cup of tea. She sat it down in front of him and he nodded his head in thanks. She stepped away and disappeared, leaving them alone again. Ilsa sucked in a deep breath, sipping on his tea a bit. “I want to know what happened back in Caelestes from your lips.” Ilsa said, crossing his arms. “I don’t want to have to spend a lot of time reading through your journal. It’s… awkward. So just tell me. What happened in Caelestes? Or rather, what happened to me in Caelestes?”

“Ah, father was just sick, Ilsa. He convinced himself that you were the reason he was weakening, not his age. He deteriorated before you were even born, he just didn’t acknowledge it.” Isoloses said. “I noticed the change a hundred years before you were even a thought or consideration. Father didn’t notice, and neither did Isandro at first. He was very adamant that he was fine. I think he was just in denial.”

“What changed? How was he before?” Ilsa asked, watching as Isoloses sniffed the tea curiously, making a funny face.

“Well, he was still a hot-headed, loud, over-ambitious tyrant who drove everyone insane. He was just less… sporadic, I suppose. Everything he did had a purpose of some kind, that always seemed to make sense when he explained them.” Isoloses explained, taking a sip of his tea after a moment’s consideration. “He just had the sense back then to know when to turn away from a fight.”

“Lovely.” Ilsa drawled, honestly not surprised. He hadn’t been expecting his father to secretly be a good guy, so it wasn’t like he had many expectations anyway. “What parts of my reality were altered?”

“I don’t know that,” Isoloses said, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter though, when father dies the magic will wear off and everything will come back to you.”

“That sounds absolutely horrific. What if what actually happened was worse than what he made me think was happening?” Ilsa asked, making Isoloses sigh a little as he peered down into his tea cup before glancing around the garden.

“I don’t think it will be.” Isoloses said, scratching at the back of his head. “Some of it I was there for. He was just playing with your reality while standing there. Nothing really happened in front of me, is what I’m saying. That doesn’t mean your memories of what happened aren’t real. Fabricated or not, in those moments, it was your reality.”

“I don’t know if that helps or not.” Ilsa muttered, taking a sip of his drink in an attempt to decide what to ask next. Once he’d decided, he sat his cup down on the saucer and looked at Isoloses. “I want to know why you didn’t try to at least be nice to me. I had no one else, and… we could’ve been there for each other. We didn’t have to be alone. So… Why’d you decide not to?”

“Because, if father knew I sympathized with you, when you did come up missing, he’d assume I had something to do with it.” Isoloses said. “He’d go into my memories, and he’d hunt through every last one of them to find you if he had to. Getting you back would be worth the excess usage of power because you’re basically his magical battery.” Isoloses paused for a moment. “I didn’t feel like it’d be worth the risk of you getting caught once you were out. Besides, if I had made life easier on you, befriended you and shared with you my plights, you would’ve decided that you couldn’t leave because you’d think it wasn’t fair.”

“It’s not fair.” Ilsa muttered.

“You talk so quietly, it’s like you’re one of the vampires.” Isoloses laughed, making Ilsa shoot him a look. “Regardless, I think it’d have been counterproductive for me to have gotten to be your friend. You had to be more than willing to turn your back on everything and run.”

“So, you truly believe that?” Ilsa asked, making Isoloses nod his head.

“I do. If you had hesitated for a second at the doorway, someone would’ve caught you. You would have been taken back to your room, punished for trying to escape.” Isoloses said, taking a cautious sip of his tea. “I knew the punishment for that would be real, and very painful because I know what father told me he planned to do to you if were to attempt to flee.”

“Why are you so sure I would’ve hesitated to leave you?” Ilsa asked, raising an eyebrow. Isoloses gave him a bored look.

“Ilsa, you feel like you’d leave me behind now because you didn’t have a bond of any kind with me. If you had had a relationship of any kind with me, you could have decided to stay and endure anything just because of moral obligation to me. I couldn’t risk that.” Isoloses said evenly, sincerity wringing in his voice. Regardless of if Ilsa found his actions wrong, he could tell that Isoloses genuinely seemed to think that it was the right decision for him to have made.

What could Ilsa really say? Ilsa could say it absolutely wasn’t true, but he… honestly didn’t know. He wanted to say he’d put himself first, but he only put himself first because he had no one else to put in front of him. Ilsa couldn’t say it was true though, either. He didn’t know, because it wasn’t his reality. It wasn’t what happened, and he couldn’t go back and change any of it now anyway. He didn’t want to. He had Cassian, and Cassian was… well, was the best thing that’s ever happened to him.

“I understand.” Ilsa murmured, running his fingertips along the rim of the cup gently. “Were you afraid of father?” Isoloses paused, looking surprised.

“I… can’t say I’m not.” Isoloses admitted. “Even in his weakened state, he is still more powerful than I am. Death is quicker and less painful than the punishment that’d follow father finding out that I betrayed him.” Isoloses looked away from him. “It doesn’t matter, though. He suspects nothing because everything played out according to plan,” Isoloses said, looking at Ilsa once again. Ilsa swallowed down a ball of emotions in his throat, unsure what to say now. “It’s not like he’s going to make it through the week anyway. If he does find out, it’ll be too late to save him at this point. All he could do is siphon all of your energy to give him a few more hours.”

“Is he suffering?” Ilsa asked evenly. Part of him desperately wanted to hear the word ‘yes’ falling out of Isoloses mouth. He might find it in himself to forgive Isoloses, but he’d never forgive his father.

“I can’t imagine it’s comfortable to die slowly,” Isoloses answered. “I… Yeah, he is suffering. He doesn’t want to die, but it’s time. He’s outrun his welcome in our realm.”

“Is Isandro…” Anything like you, he wanted to know, but he didn’t know how to ask that question when he had no reason to think as much.

“Isandro is… I don’t know.” Isoloses said. “He doesn’t give a rat’s ass about taking you back anymore, though.” Ilsa nodded. That was good enough for him, at least. He didn’t want to be dragged back into Caelestes, he’d rather drink sulfuric acid. He had no desire to ever return to that wretched place.

“That’s relieving.” Ilsa said.

“I know he wants to meet with Cassian the day after fathers death, and that he plans to renegotiate the peace agreement father and him came to, to be more peaceful. I’m unsure of his motives behind this move,” Isoloses admitted. Ilsa nodded. Good to know. He’d have to pass that information along to Cassian later. “There’s so much uncertainty because Isandro… was close with father from what I could tell. But Isandro is older than me… I don’t know what he went through growing up so I have no idea…” No idea what he’s planning, thinking, or idealizing. Ilsa nodded his head in understanding as Isoloses trailed off.

“I’ll let Cassian know.” Ilsa said.

“Is life here… happy for you? Or are you settling because it’s just better than home?” Isoloses asked. Ilsa nodded.

“Life is… pretty great for me now.” Ilsa admitted, not exactly ashamed, but saying it when he knew his brother was still suffering felt a little impertinent. “I admit, in the beginning it was just my best option. I wasn’t even in the realm I requested to go to, so I didn’t know a thing about the local currencies, didn’t have any idea about what housing was necessary, and I didn’t really have a game plan for what to do.”

“And now?” Isoloses asked. Ilsa paused for a moment.

“There’s no place I’d rather be.” Ilsa admitted shyly. “Cassian is…”

“Honorable,” Isoloses filled in when he trailed off. “He’s kind and honorable.” Ilsa nodded. “I’m glad that he treats you well. You deserve that,” Isoloses said, before he sat his tea cup down and pushed it away from him. “I have to go before they realize I’m missing. I’ll visit next time I stop in to see Naevys.”

“Are… you and Naevys…” Ilsa trailed off.

“Naevys is my master.” Isoloses answered as he stood up, pulling up the hem of his shirt, letting Ilsa see the inky black mark on his side, multiple stars overlain on top of each other at different rotations, inside of multiple circles, which intersected and met at the top and bottom, giving the appearance of a hastily drawn, messy circle Ilsa would use when sketching–only intentionally. The largest star broke outside the circles barrier with all five points, the top three had upside down stars inside of circles, with dots on three of the five ends. The bottom two points had a line–it was curved from one point to another, with a moon and a star on it, almost as if it were a necklaces pendant. There were lines all throughout it, some thicker and others thinner, seeming to connect the star to the circle.

There were fully colored stars at the top to the right side of the circle, with one star on the circle down towards the lowest left point of the thickest star, and on one edge of the circle there were three bars. Two of the bars had what looked like chains, while the bottom most one connected from the inside of the circle to the outside, with three circles touching at the end, a star inside of the largest of the three. In the direct center, there were more overlapping circles with another star arrangement, much less of a headache to look at. in the center, there was a diamond, with a red outlined ‘x’ shape through the center.

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/eaeea45585cdcd6cfa4745899e228a683f346f2a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f56776447777577784f774e3671413d3d2d313234303536343432342e313730343564663534653361326464613635323532303130363537352e706e67)

“What is that?” Ilsa asked, making Isoloses hum.

“I guess you don’t know much about making pacts, hm? Well, this mark is what ties me to Naevys. Making a pact is a big deal,” Isoloses explained, running his fingers over it carefully. “Because of it, whatever Naevys commands of me, I have no choice but to follow.” Ilsa tilted his head to the side, his eyebrows drawing together.

“Doesn’t that frighten you?” Ilsa asked. Isoloses laughed and shook his head.

“Nah,” Isoloses admitted. “I have always been more of a follower than a leader, and Naevys… well, you know Naevys.” Ilsa really didn’t, at least not well, but he didn’t point that out. “It’s freeing honestly. Originally, it was my only option to rescue you, and I was admittedly a little nervous. But, despite Naevys seeming like a weird, nature obsessed weirdo, he’s actually really nice.” Ilsa wasn’t going to go that far, he just didn’t know how to take Naevys, honestly. He was a little… intimidating.

“I wasn’t going to say any of that,” Ilsa said, making Isoloses shrug. “How does it… like, how do you make a pact?”

“It’s kind of true. He controls everything nature. It’s weird. When he’s sad, anxious, or depressed, vines crawl the walls of the room he’s in.” Isoloses shrugged. “I spend as much time with Naevys as I can. He gets lonely easy.” Ilsa nodded, unsure whether he should prod further. “And, you make a pact by… well… making a pact? It kinda just came to me, if that makes sense? When I needed to make one, I just knew how.”

“Are you going to… like, court him or something?” Ilsa asked curiously.

“I can’t ask him to move to Caelestes, and up until this point, moving out of Caelestes wasn’t really possible without compromising the plan.” Isoloses shrugged. “I can’t ask Naevys to be celibate while I’m gone for months on end, with no certain time I could return, and on top of that… if I bonded with him, I’d have to spend every moment worried that father would find out and use it against me.”

“If Naevys loves you, wouldn’t he be okay with that?” Ilsa asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Yeah, and he would do it if I really wanted him to.” Isoloses said, shrugging. “He told me a long time ago that he’d stop, but I’m not around as much as you might think I am. It could be years between my visits, depending on what father had me doing. Now it’s a little easier because most of my work has been cut off thanks to him being on his deathbed. Can’t wage any pointless wars with non-existent power.”

“Did helping me out of Caelestes help you indirectly?” Ilsa asked, and Isoloses contemplated for a moment before nodding.

“To be honest, the old bastard dying benefits all of Caelestes, as well as me.” Isoloses shrugged. “Anyway, I’ve gotta be on the way home before Isandro and father get suspicious of my whereabouts. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Things were never as bad for me as they were for you anyway.”

“Okay,” Ilsa agreed, standing up out of his chair and pausing for a moment. “Isoloses… Thank you.” Ilsa muttered, Isoloses smiled and nodded his head.

“It’s no problem, princess. I’ll stop in again sometime.” Isoloses said, smiling at him before he stood too. Ilsa followed him down off of the Gazebo, watching as he went through the motions to open his portal. “I’d rather you go inside before I finish, just because I’ve been gone a while and they may already know I’m missing. If I’m here, I can play it off as reconnaissance, but if you’re beside me…” Ilsa nodded and stepped back.

“Safe travels. Don’t get lost.” Ilsa said, making Isoloses laugh.

“Can’t get lost, there’s one path to everything. Stay safe here, too.” Isoloses said, and Ilsa nodded, turning on his heels and walking back towards the castle without a second glance over his shoulder. He’d taken enough of Isoloses time for now. He’d definitely think of more questions later, but… honestly, with just what he knew now, he felt relieved. Relieved because at the least, he knew now what Isoloses was thinking. It was also a little relieving that he’d soon know how much of his reality had actually been misrepresented.

Either way, he just wanted to go cuddle back up into bed. It was still early, and tea time with Cassian wasn’t for a few more hours. He also didn’t want to go to bed alone–so he made the split second decision to go to Cassian’s office. He didn’t really feel that great this morning. He was sleepy, he went to bed late and he got up before the bats started chirping–okay, echolocating. It sounded like a chirp to him, so that’s what he’d call it.

It seemed odd to consider ‘bats’ when considering how early he’d woken up, but honestly, at this point he was fine with endless nights–at least it wasn’t hot and muggy. The air here felt cleaner, clearer, less… gross. It didn’t coat his skin in black stuff, either, so he assumed that was another health benefit of having left Caelestes behind.

The place was basically on fire, what could he say?

Ilsa raised his hand and knocked on Cassian’s office door, waiting until he heard Cassian’s voice calling out for him to enter. Ilsa turned the knob and pushed the door open, poking his head inside of Cassian’s office shyly.

“Hey you,” Cassian said, his orchid eyes shining brightly as they looked over Ilsa from where he sat behind his desk, his hand still moving expertly along the paper without even looking. Ilsa wondered if it was possible to be too perfect, and if it was, Cassian had to be a shoo in. He had on a simple orchid purple button-down shirt and he’d left it unbuttoned at the top for a more casual look–something surprising for Ilsa. On top of the shirt he was wearing a sleek vest with 5 buttons, it has a fairly deep v-line, it’s just narrow enough for the top to remain visible, adding another layer to the overall look of the outfit. His jacket was thrown over the back of his chair, and his tie was lying on his desk, seemingly forgotten.

His hair was in the messiest bun Ilsa had ever seen it in, strands of hair falling down around the back of his neck and all in his face–some connected to his band, other’s holding on for dear life. His hands were even ungloved, pale skin shining brightly underneath the blue-white light of the candle on his desk. Ilsa frowned.

“Are you okay?” Ilsa asked, immediately worried. Cassian was not the kind of person who did casualty… Ilsa had been floored when he’d pulled out a pair of sweatpants during his heat. He genuinely hadn’t even considered that Cassian had clothes other than suits. Well, aside from pajamas, but that was something else entirely.

“Are you referring to my suit? I just didn’t wait on my staff to dress me this morning. I’m a mess, hm?” Ilsa didn’t think he looked like a mess–though he definitely did not have the same… Ilsa didn’t know how to describe it. He always looked so put together, his hair perfectly styled, almost as if the man had never been told he didn’t have to dress to the nines and look as if he was a statue, without a single wrinkle in his shirt or hair out of place, every single day. Today he just… looked hot. Ilsa flushed and shook his head.

“No, I just…” Ilsa cleared his throat after trailing off, his eyes meeting Cassian’s. “I just have never seen you look so casual while working.” Ilsa explained, his face flushing a little.

“Ah, well, I have no meetings today.” Cassian explained, smiling faintly. “Paperwork catchup day, so I’m not leaving and no one is expected to come by today other than the physician I scheduled for you.” Cassian said, sitting his pen down. “Did you need something, Lovebird?” Ilsa nodded, biting his lip as he stepped closer to Cassian, shutting the door to his office.

“I wanted to know if it’d be possible for me to take a nap…” Ilsa asked, stepping forward. Cassian raised an eyebrow.

“Sweetheart you don’t have to ask me to do something like that,” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa nod. He knew that he didn’t have to but he kind of liked checking with Cassian first. Besides, he hadn’t wanted to just ‘take a nap’ in the bed anyway. He wanted to take a nap in Cassian’s lap while he worked. He didn’t want to get in the way of Cassian’s job because he was being weird. No, he just wanted to sit in his lap and take a nap. Which did actually require permission.

“Well… Can I get in your lap and take a nap?” Ilsa asked, shifting around shyly. Cassian looked up at him and nodded, scooting his chair back and patting his lap a little. Ilsa moved quickly, circling the desk and straddled Cassian’s legs, wiggling around until he got comfortable, burying his face in Cassian’s neck, enjoying the feeling of the coolness of his temperature. It was relaxing, in an odd sort of way, familiar and comforting.

Cassian pressed a kiss to Ilsa’s head before he slid his chair up closer to the desk, going back to his work. Ilsa let out a sigh, nuzzling into Cassian’s neck. He was becoming spoiled and clingy. He couldn’t help but love being around Cassian. He made him feel good, and not just in a sexual way, either.

The sex was great, he was shamelessly addicted. Cassian knew exactly what to do to bring him to the heights of his pleasure seemingly easily. It wasn’t something he’d fully expected. Cassian was so skilled and his touch just felt so pleasing. It was like his body reacted to Cassian’s touch. He was so weak to Cassian’s touch was just… oh. It just felt electric.

Ilsa shifted closer to Cassian and wrapped his arms around Cassian’s neck, letting his eyes slip closed as he focused in on the feeling of his body touching Cassian. Cassian had the softest suits and he loved to rub his face against his clothes. Cassian also smelled really good. What the scents were, were admittedly lost on him, but it was the best scent that he had ever smelled before. He could douse himself in that scent forever and never grow tired of it.

Cassian’s body beneath him was cool and still, comforting. It was comfortable. Life with Cassian was comfortable. He could have never imagined that when he escaped Caelestes that this would be his life.

Ilsa let out a quiet hum as he fell asleep, his left hand falling down from Cassian’s shoulder to ball into a fist in Cassian’s vest. Cassian let out a quiet hum and put his hand on Ilsa’s back, shifting him closer. Ilsa sighed happily and purred absently, his mind surrendering to sleep, comfortably, safely. He felt cared for, and warm despite the temperature of Cassian’s body.

𓊈𒆜 ＥＩＧＨＴＥＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

Ilsa was brought out of his peaceful sleep by Cassian murmuring that it was time for his checkup. Ilsa wasn’t sure he’d ever had an official checkup, so he didn’t really know what to expect, and he was nervous. He was currently sitting with Cassian in the room where Seraphina was going to lead the doctor in, but he just felt anxious.

He obviously had to disclose his heritage to the doctor, so that was going to be uncomfortable. He didn’t really know how to do this. He was scared and he didn’t think Cassian would be with him. Cassian hadn’t said so, but he’d promised him privacy when they talked on their way to the room so it made Ilsa venture to think that Cassian didn’t intend to stay with him through the examination. What was he going to have done to him? The only doctors he’d ever seen were the ones in Caelestes and they were all his fathers hand selected doctoral staff, sworn to secrecy about his care. He didn’t know what a doctor trained somewhere else would do, and his father had never left him with one of the doctors from home alone before.

Ilsa let out a shaky breath as he looked at the door and then back to Cassian, wrapping his arms around his stomach nervously. He was so nervous, he didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want Cassian to leave him alone with the doctor. He couldn’t trust the doctor, not if Cassian wasn’t there, right? His father had accompanied him to every one of the ‘checkups’ he’d scarcely had. He didn’t really trust anyone but Cassian.

Helix and Felix were around enough that he knew if he needed something he could call them and they were both alright. He wouldn’t really say Seraphina was frightening, and Naevys… well he was just… uncanny in some way that Ilsa couldn’t really identify. That didn’t mean he trusted any of them.

He trusted that Cassian trusted them. An admittedly odd specification, one he felt weird even making because it sounded so invalidating to his previous claim to himself. Cassian’s trust in them made him slightly less uncomfortable about letting them near him. This was just a physician–was that different from a doctor? He had no idea. He was so confused and nervous, and he didn’t want to be a burden and ask a bunch of unnecessary questions. Cassian hummed quietly and reached his hand out, putting it on Ilsa’s lower back.

Ilsa let out a huff, not out of any desire to be bratty or anything like that, just because the motion had startled him a bit. He was so caught up in his head he hadn’t even noticed Cassian’s movement at first. He was so uneasy, he couldn’t focus..

“Lovebird, is something the matter?” Cassian asked him. Ilsa shook his head as he let out a deep breath, his heart racing a little. He needed to breathe, Cassian would begin to feel his panic if he didn’t relax, but it was so hard. Everything felt like it was closing in on him, and he just wanted to run. Why did he have to see a physician? Surely there had to be some better way to have a check up! “Ilsa, sweetheart,” Cassian prodded.

Ilsa looked up at him, unsure what to say. He was already more emotional than usual, more clingy, he didn’t want to be a massive burden on Cassian. Cassian let out a soft hum and rubbed his hand in soothing circles. Ilsa couldn’t help the breath that escaped him, less fueled by his anxiety and more fueled by Cassian’s touch. It was embarrassingly easy for Cassian to calm him down.

“Ilsa, what’s the matter?” Cassian asked soothingly, making Ilsa bite his lip and shake his head. He couldn’t keep being so much of a burden, Cassian was going to want to get rid of him and he didn’t want that. Against his will, tears flooded his eyes at the thought, his heart aching a little. Cassian frowned and gripped onto his chin, tilting his head back so that Ilsa couldn’t avoid his eyes. “Ilsa, tell me what is bothering you.” Cassian said firmly, his thumb rubbing along his cheek. Ilsa hesitated but nodded his agreement.

“I just… am scared.” Ilsa admitted, lowering his eyes enough to avert them from Cassian’s gaze nervously. “I… I don’t know what to expect, and I don’t want to do it alone.” Ilsa said, his eyes widening a little as he looked back up at Cassian, desperately trying to keep from allowing more tears to slide down his face. “I don’t want you to leave,” Cassian hummed quietly, shifting closer to him, pulling him closer in the process.

“You have nothing to be scared of,” Cassian murmured as he settled Ilsa in his lap, his arms wrapping around his lower back. By all rights, Ilsa didn’t really understand why the position made him feel so relaxed, but even when he wasn’t sleepy this position made him feel so calm and safe. “The doctor isn’t going to hurt you. They’ll talk to you, and perform the examination. That’s all it is. If you want me there, I won’t say no,” Cassian paused, “but if you don’t want me there, I won’t be angry. I want to give you all the privacy that you desire.”

“I want you there,” Ilsa said immediately, his hand balling up in Cassian’s shirtsleeve.

“If you want me there, then I’ll stay with you. If you wish for me to exit, just let me know and I will.” Cassian said softly, leaning down to connect their lips. Ilsa sank into the kiss, his hand clenching in Cassian’s shirt more. He wanted to be closer. He couldn’t be, but he wanted to be. He was already in the man’s lap, what more could he really ask for at this point? He hated not understanding things, not understanding his emotions–it stressed him out. He just wanted to not think about what he was feeling. It was so hard to process the feelings, to understand and make sense of them.

He didn’t understand. Himself, his body, his reactions–he always thought he had, and to some degree he was right. Everything was different now, though. He wasn’t locked away and forced to feel basically nothing all the time. He had thought that he

was only able to feel certain emotions, it made sense. He spent many millennia never even considering himself to be capable of the feelings that Cassian incited in him, and now he thought he might be feeling them, but he didn’t even know what those feelings were.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” Ilsa grumbled, pouting. “It’s not normal. The way I feel.” Ilsa paused, looking away from Cassian shyly, his fingers going to play with one of the buttons of his vest in an attempt to distract himself.

“What do you mean?” Cassian questioned, and Ilsa could practically feel those orchid eyes taking him apart. He didn’t dislike it, feeling bared and exposed, as long as Cassian was the one he was being bared and exposed to.

“I-I mean I–” Ilsa took a deep breath, his fingers going to mindlessly tangle together nervously. “I don’t think it’s normal to feel so… devoted to you? You’re all I think about, you’re the only one I trust, you make me feel warm even though you aren’t warm yourself, and my heart feels weird when you’re around.” Cassian hummed, a little smile pulling up the corners of his mouth.

“Isn’t it?” Cassian murmured. “I do the same things as you. I think of you all the time, I trust you, you make me feel warm,” Cassian paused, his head tilting forward to rest their foreheads together. “Ilsa, you don’t have to be afraid here. If you feel something you don’t–” Before Cassian could finish, there was a knock on the door of the room. Ilsa tensed a little, nerves flooding him.

“It’s okay, Ilsa, I won’t leave you.” Cassian promised. Ilsa nodded, burying his face in Cassian’s neck. He didn’t want to leave Cassian’s lap yet. He felt so safe and… he just wasn’t ready. His hope was that Cassian would let him stay there if he made himself small enough. “Come in,” Cassian called, and the door pushed open, the sound of shoes walking across the stone floor followed, as well as the heavy wooden door closing. Most of the doors in the castle seemed to close themselves, while others had to be manually closed. Ilsa was hopelessly curious about the difference–it didn’t seem magical. Perhaps he was overthinking it, but he suddenly wanted to research door hinges.

What a weird thing to research. It seemed like he knew the basic way that it worked, but come to think of it, he’d never thought about door hinges before this point. At least not seriously.

“Hello King Cassian, it’s a lovely night,” Ilsa’s eyes peeked out at the doctor as she spoke, taking in her appearance. She was Elven, with long light turquoise hair and black eyes, a soft smile etched into her face.

“Indeed, it’s a pleasure seeing you again, Eirina.” Cassian murmured, his voice vibrating through Ilsa’s body as he spoke. It sent a delightful wave of something, Ilsa couldn’t quite figure out what it was, washing through him.

“The pleasure’s mine, my lord.” Eirina bowed her head respectfully.

“None of that, we went to school together,” Cassian laughed, making her raise her head and give him a look.

“Don’t remind me. You were not easy to sit in front of.” Eirina crossed her arms, and smiled fondly. Ilsa at least felt some relief knowing that Cassian knew the person, his… physician–doctor? He still hadn’t quite figured out what the difference was.

“Probably a good point,” Cassian laughed, waving his hand. “Ilsa, this is Eirina, she is a doctor and she’s the one who’s going to perform your examination,” Cassian murmured to Ilsa, making him nod. “Eirina, this is Ilsa. He is my wife, and he’s the one who actually needs a check up.” Cassian said. Eirina laughed and nodded.

“Hello it is wonderful to meet you, my lord,” Eirina said, bowing her head respectfully towards him, setting something that Ilsa couldn’t quite see on the bedside table. By the sound it made, he assumed it was a bag, though. “My name is, as Cassian said, Eirina. Eirina Mirakian, but everyone just calls me Eirina.”

“Hello, I’m Ilsa,” Ilsa murmured shyly, fighting the urge to push closer to Cassian.

“There’s just some basic information I need from you, so let’s start with that. Where are you from?” Eirina said, making Ilsa tense and frown. He knew this was coming. What if she freaked out? Cassian claimed there were other demons from Caelestes in his realm, but Ilsa hadn’t really noticed any of them, so he didn’t know for sure if Eirina was going to freak out when she found out and oust him.

“It’s okay,” Cassian murmured softly into his ear, making Ilsa nod.

“I-I’m from Caelestes,” Ilsa admitted, looking down at his hands nervously.

“Alright,” She said, picking up a clipboard. “From my understanding, most beings from Caelestes have secondary genders. Have you found yours out yet?” She asked, making Ilsa nod.

“Omega,” Ilsa muttered, making her nod her head.

“When was your last heat cycle?” She asked. Ilsa looked up at Cassian, unsure.

“Ah, I’d say about a month and a half ago,” Cassian chimed in, making Eirina nod her head. That meant it was close to time for his next heat cycle, Ilsa thought , but he really couldn’t make sense of time here. While there were more calendar months, time passed by Ilsa so fast now. He didn’t know if his heat would line up the same here. He just couldn’t really be sure.

“Alright then. Have you been taking any oral contraceptives and any heat suppressants?” Ilsa frowned.

“What?” He had no idea what either of those things were.

“An oral contraceptive will prevent pregnancy, and heat suppressants help manage your symptoms of heat.” Eirina elaborated, and Ilsa frowned. He was taking neither of those things. He must’ve let his confusion show because Eirina cleared her throat. “Ah, so you have no idea what I’m talking about?” Ilsa shook his head, flushing a little.

“Ilsa are you sure you haven’t been taking suppressants?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa nod.

“I’ve never taken either. At least not with knowledge that I was doing so?” Ilsa asked, suddenly feeling a little worried.

“Is there something that you’d like to elaborate on?” Eirina asked, directing her attention to Cassian.

“I-No, it’s just Ilsa smelled different before, and during his heat which I expected–but his scent changed afterwards as well. It’s driving me nuts.” Cassian admitted, rubbing at the back of his head. “I keep thinking that it’s different scents catching on him.” Eirina raised an eyebrow, her eyes sliding from Cassian to Ilsa and back again. “His scent just smells… diluted or something.”

“Okay,” Eirina said. “So, what I’m hearing is that Cassian is convinced that Ilsa must’ve been taking, at least, suppressants or possibly amplifiers in the beginning. That is a possibility, if you received an injection and not pills.” Ilsa frowned.

“That doesn’t make sense, though.” Ilsa said, “My heats have always been unbearable. I’ve never had anything to suppress them. And while my heats were unbearable, I…” He wanted to say ‘I would remember,’ but it didn’t feel like it held much merit considering that he’d had his reality played with by his father for so long. He could’ve really been on them, Cassian could’ve been right, and he’d not even know.

“Well, there’s also the option that you’re nose blind to yourself.” Eirina said, looking at Cassian. “You’ve not had a partner for some time, is it possible that you’ve…” Cassian shook his head as Eirina trailed off.

“No, this is different.” Cassian assured, “I can smell myself on him when we’ve copulated, when he’s around me a lot, when he wears my clothes.”

“Okay. This is an interesting development.” Eirina said. “Let’s backburner this for a moment. What was your reasoning for scheduling an at-home visit today?” Her attention was aimed at Ilsa, but he didn’t really know how to answer. He couldn’t really just say he was a horny, emotional disaster, that sounded so wrong. Saying he was tired was an oversimplification. He wasn’t just tired, he was drained. He was constantly hungry, never felt ‘quite right’ despite being fine.

Instead of trying to piece together the reasoning himself, he looked to Cassian. Cassian seemed to understand, his hand rubbed gently at his back as he cleared his throat.

“Ilsa has been feeling abnormally tired and drained, he’s been a bit…” Cassian trailed off.

“Emotional.” She filled in. Cassian nodded.

“I feel weird,” Ilsa muttered.

“And this all began after his heat, correct?” Eirina asked. “You aren’t on contraceptives, you said earlier. I just want to ask, because it honestly seems like the most obvious question to ask in this scenario, is it possible that you have conceived?” Cassian paused for a moment, before nodding slowly. “Okay. So the most obvious course of action at this moment is a pregnancy test.”

“How does all of that equate to pregnancy?” Ilsa prodded.

“Well, just Cassian’s words alone made me consider the possibility.” Eirina said, pausing for a moment. “You said he smelled different before, during and after. Ilsa’s scent is smelling diluted to you, a foreign scent you can’t identify.” Cassian nodded. “If Ilsa isn’t pregnant, then truthfully, I’m unsure what it could be.”

Ilsa put his hand on his stomach, his heart jumping to his throat. He was nervous, but there was a tiny part of him–that admittedly wasn’t as tiny as he wanted to pretend it to be–that was excited. Excited for what could be, what might be. Ilsa hadn’t dreamed that he’d ever actually achieve having a child with Cassian, but it was something he wanted as an Omega. His body desired it, during heat it was all he could think about.

“That doesn’t make sense. If Ilsa had just conceived during his heat, his scent wouldn’t change so much over night.” Cassian said, making her shake her head.

“Hear me out, okay?” Eirina said, making Cassian nod. “Ilsa is a demon, you are a vampire. Both species grow at substantially accelerated rates. There has never been a case of precisely this, but there are cases of Elves and Witches having children in the city and they tend to grow at substantially accelerated rates as opposed to Elven and Witches children when the parentage are both Elves or Witches.”

“So… I could be… pregnant,” Ilsa mumbled, making Eirina nod.

“Of course, there is enough demon in a pureblood vampire that, technically, they are a subspecies of demon themselves, though distant.” Eirina explained. “I could describe the complex reasoning behind these classifications, but frankly it doesn’t matter anyway. What is most important at this moment is that we figure out exactly what is going on, okay?” Eirina said, stepping forward.

“Will everything be okay?” Ilsa asked, worriedly.

“Well, we haven’t tested anything yet so don’t worry. But, if you are pregnant, there are much lower risks of complications when a fetus is half vampire.” Eirina said, making Ilsa nod. “If you are pregnant, you have been for a month now, if Cassian’s estimation was correct. At this point, you should test positive with an at home urine test because of the baby being half vampire. If not, we can run a backup blood test. There’s less studies here on demonic pregnancies than on vampire pregnancies, because there’s less demons here than vampires.” She explained. “I can consult a doctor in Caelestes if that is necessary–”

“No,” Cassian said immediately. “That is not possible at the moment. We have to try everything else first, before we even consider that as a possibility.”

“Okay.” Eirina said, pausing. “Let’s start with a urine test, and I’ll give you a basic check up. We’ll start there and see where that leads us, okay?” Ilsa nodded and took a deep breath, shifting in Cassian’s lap so that he was facing her. Eirina stepped towards her bag and pulled out a little plastic wrapped object. Ilsa couldn’t see through it, but he could assume it must’ve been whatever was going to test for pregnancy.

“What you want to do, Ilsa, is take it and urinate onto it. Just a little is necessary. If you don’t think that you can measure accurately, I also have a cup you can pee into.” Ilsa frowned and nodded. He better take the cup because he didn’t want to pee too much onto it. He was not confident in his abilities to start and stop midway through.

“May I have the cup please?” Ilsa asked nervously, albeit a bit shyly. He felt so shy. He knew logically speak as he was married to Cassian and it wasn’t at all surprising that he’d had sex with him because that just made sense. They were married. He shouldn’t feel shy about something that was natural, but it felt like he was being exposed.

“Sure thing,” She said, reaching into the bag. She pulled out a little cup that was in a little package with a white paper back thing. “All you have to do is urinate into the cup and put the cap back onto it.” Ilsa nodded.

“The closest bathroom is right around the corner, Lovebird.” Cassian murmured as Ilsa stood up. Ilsa nodded and headed towards the door, quickly searching out the bathroom and finding it surprisingly easy. Ilsa couldn’t recall having ever seen Cassian use a bathroom before, so he was curious if Cassian even went to the bathroom. It seemed logical, he had to right? All living beings went to the bathroom. But he was

technically… not alive?

Ilsa shook off the thought and walked into the bathroom, pulling open the packaging, setting it down on the back of the toilet. He unbuttoned the fastenings on his pants and pulled his length out. He grabbed the cup and quickly peed into it, putting the cap onto it before he sat it down. He tucked himself back into his pants, rinsed off the outside of the cup and washed his hands quickly.

As he walked back into the bedroom, he handed the cup to the physician and flushed a little. He was so embarrassed and he didn’t even know why. She took it and nodded her head smiling.

“Alright, just sit down and I’ll take care of this for you.” She said with a comforting smile, making him nod. Ilsa quickly moved back to Cassian, his hand going to rest on his stomach. He felt so nervous and jittery, he didn’t know how to feel. On one hand, he wanted this. He had really wanted a child, Cassian’s child. On the other hand, he felt somewhat like he was ill-prepared.

He felt a little like crying. He was already an adult, had been for eons, but he had always had someone handling everything for him. He knew how to do a lot of stuff in theory, he’d read a lot and studied constantly, but as far as experience went he had absolutely none. He didn’t know if he would do it right. Parenting, he meant. What if he was a terrible parent? What if he sucked so much that his child hated him and never wanted to see him again like he was with his father?

Ilsa had absolutely no doubt that Cassian would be an outstanding father. He was fantastic at taking care of Ilsa, he took care of an entire realm, he was humble and kind… he had everything going for him. Ilsa could definitely see Cassian fit almost anywhere in the princess books as a father figure. Only because he was a king already, so he wasn’t a prince. Right? Or did princesses also marry kings? Ilsa had married Cassian and he was already a king, but Ilsa held no royal status in this realm like the one he had in Caelestes so he wasn’t sure his case wasn’t just a special case scenario.

What if Ilsa was so terrible with children that Cassian didn’t want his help at all?

Ilsa had never even held a child before, he had never been anywhere with children present, and he’d never been so nervous in his life. He had wanted to have a family with Cassian, he still wanted to. He didn’t even know why he was nervous. Perhaps it was just because he didn’t want to screw up his child as much as his father had screwed him up.

“Alright,” Eirina said after a couple minutes had passed in silence. “You have a positive test here,” She said, making Ilsa suck in a deep breath. Positive.

He was… he was having a baby.

He couldn’t help but stare at her for a moment, his jaw kind of slack, before an odd sort of peace seemed to envelope him as Cassian’s arms looped his waist and pulled him closer.

“The scent you are smelling is probably coming from your child. I’d say given your reaction to the scent, it is probably a male baby, but I have no way of knowing without performing a few tests in the obstetrician’s office. I see clients there every other week, so I can make an appointment for you two if you’d like.”

“As soon as possible.” Cassian said, making her nod.

“Of course.” She agreed. “Let’s get on with your examination, it won’t take long.” Ilsa nodded. He just wanted to get this appointment done and over with. He was in desperate need of cuddles. He felt so… settled all of the sudden. He didn’t care about the rest of the check up. His initial issue had already been settled, and Ilsa was surprisingly relaxed now that he knew for sure. He was happy, admittedly, it was exactly what he’d wanted.

He just wanted Cassian to be happy about it too. Genuinely, not just for his benefit. Would Cassian even express it if he wasn’t happy about it? Ilsa wanted to make Cassian as happy as Cassian made him. He felt so happy, and it was all because of Cassian. Ilsa barely even paid attention to the rest of the check up, his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of Cassian. Everything was moving at a weird pace, to him, almost like it was both moving way too fast but still too slow.

He just wanted to be alone with Cassian. By the time that Eirina was finally leaving, Ilsa was so ready. He had the beginnings of a headache, he felt a little hungry, and all he wanted was to curl up in Cassian’s lap and take a nap.

“We’re having a baby,” Ilsa murmured in a tiny voice. Cassian nodded, a smile slipping across his face. Before Ilsa had a chance to process much of anything, he found himself being lifted and tossed back onto the bed, Cassian’s fingers running over a place on his side that sent Ilsa into a giggling fit as he moved over top of him.

“We’re having a baby.” Cassian said softly, a smile pulling up the corners of his lips. “I can’t believe it.” Ilsa didn’t know if that was a happy ‘I can’t believe it’ or not. He wanted to think it was, Cassian’s eyes seemed to be glowing with an unfamiliar emotion shining in his eyes.

“Me either. Are you happy about it?” Ilsa asked, trying to disguise his worry as curiosity. Cassian looked down at him with this soft look in his eyes that made Ilsa feel, frankly, a little fluttery.

“Of course, Ilsa.” Cassian leaned down and pressed a kiss to his lips. “I love you.” Before Ilsa could form some sort of a response, or even restart his heart which he was sure had ceased beating from the surge of feelings that rushed through him at the words, Cassian was kissing him again, his hands gripping into Ilsa’s hips. Ilsa moaned into the kiss, his legs parting as Cassian slipped between him. Cassian’s length brushed against his in his pants, and it made Ilsa shudder as pleasure washed through him.

He suddenly found himself unable to think enough to form a response to Cassian’s words though he wanted to. He wanted to say that he thought he loved him too, that he wasn’t sure how else to explain the feelings Cassian gave him. He had no idea what love was supposed to feel like, he’d never felt love before. How else was he supposed to explain the things Cassian made him feel?

Cassian was happy for him. His touch was ecstasy. He was safety, security. Ilsa knew Cassian wanted him, he valued his words and thoughts, and the way he felt. He took care of him, made him feel like he mattered, like he was worth something.

If that wasn’t love then Ilsa wasn’t sure what love could possibly be.

𓊈𒆜 ＮＩＮＥＴＥＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa was standing in front of one of the long mirrors in Cassian’s bathroom, waiting for him to get back from an impromptu meeting with ‘The Board of Trustees’ from a place in the city of Ilyenasera. Cassian hadn’t explained to Ilsa what a ‘Board of Trustees’ was, but it seemed important because Cassian had jumped out of bed like it was on fire in his haste to make it to his office. Ilsa didn’t need to know what it was to know better than to go hunt him down and interrupt his meeting, so he had decided to take a shower and pull on one of Cassian’s shirts afterwards in an attempt to abate the urge to be close to him.

He had taken to examining himself in the mirror, his fingers tracing lightly along the scarred bite marks on his neck, a shiver tracing through him. During Ilsa’s heat, Cassian had bitten him a lot. Most of the time he’d healed the bites almost immediately, but some of them had been forgotten in the midst of pleasure and it truthfully made him feel emotional.

Not in a bad way, either. Whenever he caught sight of them in a mirror, a window, any reflective surfaces, it sent a jolt of excitement through him. They’d been married a while now, Ilsa had admittedly lost track of time–the dates were so different here he had no idea how to tell what day it really was so it was an easy accident to make. These marks felt different than even his wedding ring.

Sure, he got a thrill every time he caught sight of his wedding ring, but this was different all together. He could only assume it was because it was a sign of Cassian being his alpha, it stood to reason that the omega part of him was the part that preferred the bites to the ring. In Caelestes it was different. His omega was reacting to what it deemed a sign of his alpha’s claim on him. It made sense. Ilsa tilted his head to the side, running his fingers along the edge of it.

The way Cassian had treated him, from even the very start of their relationship, had been better than expected. He was a smooth-talker, charming, charismatic. Cassian was an absolutely amazing partner. They were engaged before they really got to know each other, but over time it had gradually begun to feel like more than just an arrangement they made to benefit each other. Cassian had never made him feel like anything less than a lover, even from the very first time…

The remembrance drew a blush to his face and Ilsa’s eyes roamed over his reflection in the mirror. He turned to the side, putting his hand on his stomach. He felt like he was gaining weight. That was normal, right? He was going to have a baby, so that made sense.

Ilsa sighed a little, raising the hem of the shirt to run his hand over his stomach. It felt like it might be growing at least a little.

“There’s a wet kitten in my room, whatever will I do?” Cassian purred, his arms wrapping around Ilsa’s waist, pulling him back towards his chest. Ilsa jumped, letting the hem of the shirt fall down over Cassian’s arms. Ilsa sank back into his arms as soon as he recollected himself, tilting his head back and up so that he could meet Cassian’s eyes. He made a clawing motion with his hand teasing towards Cassian’s arm. Cassian chuckled, the action sending shivers through Ilsa.

“I’m mostly dry now.” Ilsa pointed out, making it a point to shake his head a little so that a couple drops of water would fall onto Cassian. Cassian leaned forward, burying his face in Ilsa’s neck, by the marks Ilsa had been examining a few minutes before. Cassian was pretty careful with the side of his neck that his marks were on. He seemed to like them a lot, and it made him feel extra warm and fuzzy whenever he saw them because he knew that Cassian also loved them.

Cassian didn’t exclusively bite him on his neck, he also bit him on the shoulders, his wrists, his thighs… Ilsa loved it when Cassian bit his thighs. It was strange, he admitted, but it felt so good. Ilsa loved the way the venom made his body tingle, but when it was close to his cock, it felt so good. The tingles just… oh. Oh.

He was wet. Oh sweet mother of Oriosis.

“What are you thinking about?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa flush as he lowered his eyes and met them in the mirror instead.

“Truthfully, you,” Ilsa murmured, making Cassian smile softly.

“What about me?” Cassian questioned, one of his hands trailing along Ilsa’s abdomen in a way that had Ilsa’s member piquing interest.

“How amazing you are,” Ilsa responded. Cassian laughed, his eyes seeming to sparkle a little.

“I’m not nearly as amazing as you,” Cassian murmured softly, his lips brushing against the scarred bite marks gently. It sent a wave of tingles out, the bites responding to Cassian’s touch.

“You’re just flattering me,” Ilsa murmured. Even if he felt that way, hearing those words come out of Cassian’s mouth made his heart speed up. Cassian was so complimentary of him, he never knew how to take it. Cassian’s lips began trailing along his neck, sending waves of pleasure washing through him.

“I’m not,” Cassian murmured. “You’re by far the most amazing being I’ve ever met. I love to see my marks on you,” Cassian admitted, seeming a bit sheepish as he said it.

“I wish I could mark you,” Ilsa admitted shyly, seemingly in a daze as Cassian’s lips kept peppering little kisses on the scarred bite marks. Each touch of his cool skin against the exposed skin of his neck sent shivers racing through Ilsa, laced with arousal.

“Can you?” Cassian murmured softly. Ilsa shrugged, a curious expression overtaking his features. He knew of a way, yes. He could make a pact with him. Like Isoloses had done with Naevys. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it since finding out about Isoloses having a pact with Naevys.

Ilsa wanted to be subservient to Cassian, and Isoloses explanation of his pact with Naevys had him understanding pacts a bit better. In the beginning, he’d thought that just giving Cassian his full name was giving him uncontestable power over him, but now that he was thinking about it… that didn’t make sense at all. Well, with the information he had now, it didn’t. He had researched what little information was available in this realm about pacts and none of the stories mentioned ‘full names’ playing any part in it.

He was initially afraid of Cassian–but that wasn’t surprising because he’d been trained to fear everyone. He had been trained more specifically, to fear men. Anyone bigger, stronger, more powerful–he was weak in comparison, his father had told him. He stood no chance against them. With Cassian, there was an imbalance of strength, Cassian was much faster and stronger than him, but it didn’t come with the same sense of fear it would’ve if he had met someone like Cassian in Caelestes.

Since marrying Cassian, and sharing his heat with him, they’d grown closer than he’d ever been able to hope for. Cassian, while he was talkative and charismatic, was also incredibly hard to see through because he didn’t express a lot of emotions. Okay, that’s not entirely an accurate statement. He expressed plenty of emotions, but most all of them were… more erring on the side of perpetual happiness than anything. He didn’t get angry, he didn’t lose his cool or composure. He was either as bright as the sun or dead-eyed and emotionless.

Cassian kept his inner turmoil to himself, but after having spent a full week doing mostly nothing but having Cassian’s dick inside of him, almost continuously, it’d been pretty hard to hide anything . After a while, their walls had fallen down and Ilsa had gotten a full picture of Cassian. While he couldn’t distinctly remember some of his heat, that was normal. He usually forgot the last part because his orgasms took the energy right out of him and he was always so just… fucked out that he couldn’t even think. Ilsa did remember one thing. He’d been sore, his hormones raging on for a couple of days, and Cassian had just been so… loving .

The only emotions he felt–that he remembered at least, but he had a strong basis for his belief in Cassian’s trustworthiness–were fulfillment, contentedness, satiation, and happiness. Despite Cassian not being a demon himself, he’d taken care of Ilsa and had been exactly what Ilsa needed in what he considered one of his most vulnerable states. He was essentially powerless and unable to think enough to decline much, but Cassian always put his needs first. He could’ve taken advantage of the situation, but he’d consistently proved that Ilsa could trust him. Ilsa hadn’t even been worried for a moment about being unsafe during his heat with Cassian.

“In theory,” Ilsa murmured. “If we made a pact, you’d have my pact mark on you.” Ilsa blushed, looking away from Cassian shyly. He’d obviously thought about making a pact with Cassian, but this was his first time mentioning pacts to Cassian.

“That’s an interesting thought,” Cassian agreed, his hand going to rest on Ilsa’s lower abdomen.

“Do… Do you want to… make a pact with me?” Ilsa asked. Cassian paused for a moment, his eyes peering into Ilsa’s. Ilsa met his eyes and flushed, embarrassed.

“That was sudden,” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa frown a little, more color flooding his cheeks.

“Do you not want to?” Ilsa asked, and Cassian hummed and raised an eyebrow. Ilsa had… never once considered the possibility that he’d look like he was considering it.

“Don’t put words in my mouth,” Cassian said, pulling back and looking down at him. “I just wasn’t expecting you to offer that to me.” Cassian’s orchid colored eyes seemed to stare into him, and Ilsa suddenly felt a little shy under his gaze. Ilsa wanted Cassian to have control of him, he wanted to be below him, more than he already was. Ilsa was Cassian’s, he trusted Cassian… and he wanted Cassian for eternity.

It was more than that though, Ilsa was connected to Cassian through their mating bond, he was marked as Cassian’s but… Ilsa wanted his mark on Cassian too. Cassian was his mate. He wanted to be intertwined with him, which was essentially what mating to a vampire already was–exchanging blood and in turn, your minds, bodies, and life-sources intertwine into two halves of a whole. But this was different. Ilsa wanted to stake his claim and mark Cassian as his. It felt like saying ‘hey, this is my forever person and I will not hesitate to rip out hearts.’

He absolutely wouldn’t. Cassian was his mate.

“I trust you.” Ilsa said, breathless. Cassian hummed, spinning Ilsa around to face him suddenly. Ilsa couldn’t help but giggle as he gripped into Cassian’s shirt, flushing brightly. Cassian smiled before tugging him into their bedroom. Cassian sat down on the edge of the bed once they reached it and wrapped his arms around Ilsa’s waist, resting his face on Ilsa’s chest. Ilsa’s heart sped up as Cassian shifted him closer still, holding him and standing between his legs.

𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑒, 𝐼’𝑑 𝑟𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑤𝑎𝑦. Cassian’s thoughts bled into his head, making him frown a little. For a moment, they were silent. Ilsa didn’t really have an eloquent response to such a statement, so he desperately was searching for something to express the odd combination of feelings swirling through him. Ilsa couldn’t help but notice, Cassian seemed stressed.

“Did the meeting go alright?” Ilsa asked worriedly. Cassian let out a deep, long sigh that was muffled by Ilsa’s chest.

“During one of the potion brewing classes for Elves–something that sounds easy in practice but is much harder in reality–one of the Elves’ cauldrons exploded and caught fire to the drapes, which then spread to their potion ingredients cupboard.” Cassian sounded frustrated, but like he was trying to disguise his frustration as nothing. “It is just inconvenient because a lot of those ingredients are rather difficult to come by, and I vocalized concerns of this exact thing happening about twelve or so years ago. I reasoned, put the herbs in fire-safe containers, not glass. Or, put them in a metal cabinet instead of a wooden cupboard. But no.”

“That does seem like a rather upsetting turn of events,” Ilsa admitted. “You warned, but they didn’t heed the warning at all. It seems like this is more on them than on you.” Cassian sighed and nodded. Cassian fell silent again, for a moment, before suddenly gripping into Ilsa’s hips and lifting him up off of his feet as he stood, before laying him down on the bed gently. Ilsa’s breath caught in his throat as Cassian crawled over him, settling between his legs which parted on instinct.

“I was serious, Ilsa.” Cassian murmured, looking down into Ilsa’s eyes.

“What do you mean?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian chuckle quietly.

“I want you to have my soul, my essence, whatever the fuck is inside of me that is like a soul, what makes me… me.” Cassian murmured. “It’s already yours. You just have to take it.” Cassian’s fingers brushed the hair out of his eyes, making Ilsa flush brighter, his heart speeding up.

“That’s not fair,” Ilsa moaned when Cassian’s lips brushed his. “I have nothing to give you in return.” Ilsa murmured as his fingers tangled in Cassian’s shirt. “I can’t really benefit you anyway, not in a meaningful way.”

“You can give me you.” Cassian responded, his lips brushing Ilsa’s again. “Stay by my side always, I’ll protect you from any enemy we might face, and in the event of my untimely demise, my life essence is yours.”

“That…” Ilsa trailed off, not sure suddenly. On one hand, by nature it was Ilsa’s urge to make the deal. It was tempting, admittedly. On the other hand, if something were to happen to Cassian, he didn’t know if just having his soul would be enough to fill the void left behind. He didn’t truthfully think anything could ever fill that void for him, and he didn’t even like thinking about it. “I want something different than your soul.” Ilsa murmured.

“I’m unsure if that’s how it works, Lovebird.” Cassian chuckled. Ilsa bit his lip and frowned. He wanted that to be how it worked.

“Offer me anything but your soul,” Ilsa pleaded, wrapping his arms around Cassian’s neck. “I can’t say no, so please, don’t even offer that. Offer something else.”

“Like what?” Ilsa shook his head.

“I just want to be yours. Make it so I’m yours, wholly, unquestionably. I want to be your possession.” Ilsa pleaded.

“Listen,” Cassian murmured, pulling away from his lips a bit. “Listen well. You won’t be my possession, I value you far above any material possession I could ever acquire. Frankly, I believe that you deserve much better than to be considered a possession.” Ilsa’s eyes widened a little, his breath catching. “I think I understand what you’re asking for, however. So I’ve formed another offer. Serve me, stay at my side, and in return, I will take care of you, protect you, and ensure that every need you have will be taken care of.”

“I’ll belong to you?” Ilsa double checked. “And you to me?”

“We will belong to each other, now and forever. “ Cassian promised. Ilsa nodded.

“I accept your offer, and agree to the terms of the agreement.” Ilsa agreed breathlessly. Cassian nodded, his eyes locking with Ilsa’s. Ilsa laced his fingers with Cassian’s. “I pledge myself to you, so that we may be bound by an unbreakable pact,” Ilsa said, “I swear to you on both my name, Ilsa Caoimhe Solsissothoz, and the very blood that runs through my veins that I will serve you and stay at your side forever.” The words seemed to fall out of his mouth without him even thinking about it. As he finished the words, he found his hand glowing the same blue as his eyes where Cassian’s hand was clasped in his.

Ilsa suddenly felt something, a searing sort of sensation with little traces of pain in it. It felt like there was fire burning inside of him, beneath the surface of his skin, on his hip. Ilsa shifted, trying to move off of the bed away from it, the touch of Cassian’s shirt against it made it sting a little. Cassian shifted away from him, and Ilsa immediately pulled the hem of Cassian’s shirt up over his hip, peeking down at it. A mark, one somewhat similar to the one Isoloses had on his hip. Cassian raised an eyebrow curiously, his fingers going to work the buttons of his vest, and then his shirt buttons.

As Cassian pulled his shirt over his shoulder, Ilsa caught sight of his mark. In between three or four circles that were touching, there were two five pointed stars, one shifted slightly around so the points were sticking out in between the points of the downwards star, with more layered circles inside the center. There was another arrangement of downwards pointed stars in the very center, with a blue circle with black rims on either side of the circles. There was a diamond in the center of the circle, with a blue ‘x’ shape in the center. Following the edges of the stars inside of the three biggest circles had two more stars outlining the center stars. At the points of the biggest stars, the darker of the two had tinted balls at the tips of each point with a thin band of blue, and the thinner star had empty balls at the tips.

There was an arrangement of bars on the edge of the largest circle, one short, stubby bar with a empty but thickly lined circle at the end, with a crescent moon shape with a light blue outline. There was a slightly longer, thinner bar with a ball at the end, a light blue circle inside of it. And the final one, was a long straight bar with a light blue empty circle at the end of it. And then layered over that, there was black stars on either side of the circle, one smaller than the other, with thin, light blue stars offset on top of them.

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/72606e04fe98d742ed4be0268abfe5b626c132fc/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7059304d645a743453725f5356513d3d2d313234313339343834352e313730343565353565316331396265343833353034313230363039322e706e67)

The black of the pact mark stood out against Cassian’s pale skin, and the blue was slightly lighter than he’d expected but it was beautiful. Cassian was his now. He was Cassian’s. Fully, completely. Even if pacts weren’t meant to be used this way, Ilsa personally thought there wasn’t a better usage for them.

“I love you, Ilsa,” Cassian murmured softly, his eyes shooting down to look at him.

“I love you, too, Cassian,” Ilsa said, sticking out his tongue at Cassian playfully. He just felt so shy and awkward that the only way he could handle meeting his eyes was to make it into something less… serious. Cassian chuckled, reaching up and grabbed his tongue playfully.

“What now, hm?” Cassian hummed, shifting over him more. Cassian suddenly hissed as Ilsa’s shirt brushed his side. Ilsa frowned, peeking down to look at the mark on Cassian’s side more. Cassian pulled back a bit and Ilsa shifted so that he could look closer at the mark. Just around the very edges, Cassian had a heat burn. Ilsa had noticed the burning sensation, but he hadn’t considered the temperature to Cassian, because of how cool his skin was. Ilsa frowned, running his fingers gently running over it.

“Does it hurt,” Ilsa questioned. Cassian shrugged.

“It’s not painful, just shocking because I didn’t notice it until it touched your shirt,” Cassian explained, a smile running across his face.

“I can get a herb to–” Ilsa started, but Cassian shook his head.

“It isn’t bad enough for that.” Cassian murmured, shifting back down so that he was on top of him again. “It’s already healing,” and then Cassian was kissing him again.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

By the time Ilsa’s appointment with Eirina at the obstetrician’s office came around, Ilsa had to have gained… fuck, ten pounds, maybe. He’d been reading books about pregnancy in male omegas, and some didn’t gain weight, other’s gained a massive amount of weight at the very end. He had no idea what the hell was happening with him, because at first he’d not even known , but he was farther along than he had been so… gaining weight made sense.

There was a significant amount of guessing involved with his pregnancy. Cassian had allowed him access to basic information about the other demon residents of his realm–nothing personal, that wasn’t published in the Ilyenasera newspaper–but there were six other demons in total aside from him, and only two of those demons ended up with vampires as partners. Even if both of them had children with their partners, Ilsa still couldn’t gather enough information to form any sort of proper statistics or to form any ideas on what he should expect.

Ilsa was just so unnecessarily nervous, but Cassian seemed relaxed as ever as he led him through the office of the obstetrician towards a seat after checking him in.

“Are you excited?” Ilsa asked quietly, taking the seat Cassian motioned him to. Cassian sat down beside him, wrapping his arm around Ilsa’s shoulders. “Do you want a boy or a girl?”

“I’m excited, yes, and either way, it doesn’t matter to me.” Cassian murmured gently, brushing a kiss against his temple. Ilsa giggled in response as Cassian put his other hand on Ilsa’s stomach. Cassian smiled lightly, Ilsa could feel his lips upturned against his forehead.

“I don’t care either,” Ilsa admitted, biting his lip. “I am just so curious. How far along am I? I’m only like a month and a couple weeks pregnant, right?” Cassian hummed and nodded. “It seems like this is moving way faster than I’ve read about in literature, and even in comparison to most of the public studies on the pregnancies of other species…”

“In a normal, human pregnancy, perhaps.” Cassian murmured. “Even in an Elven pregnancy, there’s more time elapsing. But, vampires develop quickly, and so do demons.”

“It hasn’t moved, either. Shouldn’t I feel that?” Ilsa worried. “Can you hear its heartbeat?” Cassian shook his head.

“You may or may not feel it move, it depends. And, typically you cannot. They use magic to view vampire embryos, because the amniotic sac is too thick. It is like lead, blocking out all external threats, essentially.”

“I’m confused, what’s that got to do with the baby’s heartbeat?” Ilsa asked. Cassian looked at him with a soft smile, orchid eyes swirling as they roamed over his face.

“The sac is too thick,” Cassian repeated dutifully, the hand resting on his shoulder moved up to Ilsa’s hair, ruffling it gently. “You’re worrying too much. It’s half indestructible vampire.”

“Only half. “ Ilsa complained, making Cassian chuckle.

“Ilsa, everything is fine, Sweetheart. Please relax.” Cassian murmured. Ilsa nodded, nuzzling into Cassian’s neck, closing his eyes. Cassian let out a little hum and pressed a kiss to his head. “Perhaps we should stop in town for a sweet treat on our way home.” Cassian murmured. Ilsa’s head raised and his eyes open, looking up at him pleadingly.

Sweets sounded yummy, admittedly. Despite gaining weight, he always felt hungry. He ate ALL the time. Literally. He’d eaten a stack of pancakes that day the size of a mountain. Okay, perhaps that was a bit of an exaggeration, he was being dramatic, but it was HUGE.

When they finally called Ilsa back for his appointment, Cassian walked behind him, opening the door for him before following him through the doors. Ilsa was jittery because he wasn’t particularly familiar with physicians in general, there were just… doctors in Caelestes. They didn’t really have special doctors like this so he didn’t know what to expect. He wanted everything to be fine.

After some Elves that Ilsa didn’t catch the names of did some stuff to him that he didn’t really… get or understand, but Ilsa trusted that whatever they were doing was fine because Cassian was with him. None of it felt particularly painful or intrusive, and it didn’t seem inaccurate to what he’d read in literature, so he was just going to go with it.

He felt like if he did know what was going on, he’d just be more nervous than while he didn’t know. At least he couldn’t pick apart their every move and obsess over what might be wrong or incorrect. Once that was done, they were led to a room that was small, and left to their own devices. For a few minutes, Cassian just quietly murmured into his ear, talking about random stuff to keep him from worrying.

Ilsa was nervous, but excited enough that he didn’t have much to contribute to the conversation. He was too busy thinking. Cassian kept doing small things to calm him down. They seemed absentminded, his thumb running along the back of Ilsa’s hand, his lips brushing Ilsa’s temple and cheek. The constant touching left him feeling happy and relaxed.

When Eirina walked in, she greeted them kindly before sitting down on a stool in front of them.

“Everything looks fine, your iron levels are normal, blood pressure is normal, but you are much farther along now than I’d expected. Are you sure about the timing of your heat?” Cassian nodded his head.

“I remember it,” Cassian said. She nodded.

“Okay, well, just because the baby is progressing quickly doesn’t mean anything is wrong. It depends on the kind of demon Ilsa is, and even how many babies you’re carrying.” Eirina said, motioning for Ilsa to get up onto the table. Ilsa tried, he tried his hardest. But, the table was tall enough that he was struggling an embarrassing amount. Cassian let out a quiet huff, amusement sparkling in his eyes before he stood up and sat him down on the table. Ilsa let out a huff, crossing his arms over his chest indignantly.

He was not that short. Everyone else was just tall! That had to be it.

Cassian chuckled and ruffled his hair, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Ilsa couldn’t help but smile. Eirina motioned for him to lay back and then pulled his shirt up over his stomach. She ran her hands over it for a moment or two and nodded.

“Okay, you might feel pressure, but please do not move.” Ilsa nodded. Eirina placed her hand over Ilsa’s stomach and closed her eyes. Ilsa watched, curious, as her fingers began to glow brightly. Ilsa’s eyes widened as he watched something that looked faintly like a bubble appear.

It floated above his stomach, and stopped moving when her hand stopped. A small thumping noise filled the room, and Ilsa’s heart started pounding in his chest. Our baby… Tears slipped over and down his cheeks.

“Are you interested in finding out the gender?” She asked, making Ilsa nod his head.

“I’d like to know, please,” Ilsa requested shyly. She nodded and pulled her hand up higher, something separating from the bubble. It looked like a hologram of a baby, it didn’t have a bunch of fine details or anything, but it was a baby, their baby. Ilsa’s eyes widened, tears flowing quicker. Eirina reached her free hand out and seemed to stretch the hologram, effectively making it larger. She circled something on the baby, a glowing white line following her fingertips.

“It’s a little baby boy,” she said with a smile. Ilsa nodded, a smile crossing his face. Of course it was. His mother had always wanted a girl, but instead she’d gotten three sons. After three sons, Ilsa assumed she just gave up. “The baby is big, all things considered. But from what I can tell, you’re already around what would be twenty one weeks based on the size of the fetus, compared to a typical vampire fetus or elf fetus. As Cassian is a pureblood vampire, the speed of growth isn’t all that surprising… His heart rate is normal,” Everything kind of faded away at the words ‘twenty one weeks’ however.

THAT WAS ALMOST HALFWAY THROUGH PREGNANCY! He wasn’t ready. He’d only just found out like a week ago that he was even pregnant. He hadn’t made any preparations yet. He needed to make a nursery, right? There were so many things they hadn’t even started yet because they–he specifically–didn’t know they needed to start on! He had so many things to prepare, and he was already halfway to delivery! This wasn’t good.

Cassian’s hand gripped into his, and Ilsa turned his head to look over at him. Cassian met his gaze with a soft smile, his hand squeezing Ilsa’s gently. Ilsa smiled a little, unable to help himself, before his eyes turned back to the magical hologram of the baby. Ilsa sort of spaced out, his eyes lingering on the hologram of the baby that seemed to be moving around in front of him.

He had so much to do and so little time. He just wanted this appointment to be over so that he could get started working on the stuff for the baby.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

Ilsa had been alone for the longest time, and as such, he’d often fantasized about what his life would be like if he weren’t alone. He, locked in his room for hours on end with no company but a book, had formed an image in his mind of what his ideal scenario was. He just wanted someone to want him. He’d been a burden on everyone around him for so long, been ridiculed and never received any positive feedback, that all he wanted was to not be a burden any longer. He wanted to exist freely and without shame, guilt, or abuse. He had little to no social skills, and he had no friends. He wasn’t allowed to do most things in Caelestes, so even though Cassian allowed him total freedom Ilsa was admittedly hard pressed to actually use that freedom.

He went out to the garden, read in the library, messed about in Cassian’s office–but he never really ventured out past the gates of Cassian’s castle. It was still, somehow, different to him than when he lived in Caelestes. He knew that no one would stop him from asking the driver, Gerald or Geralt or whatever his name is, to take him into town. He just didn’t want to go without Cassian. Initially he’d just been uncomfortable asking, but he found comfort simply in knowing he could leave if he desired to.

It came with a certain level of… excitement, because even with their mating bond and the pact, Ilsa was still free. He could come and go wherever he pleased whenever he wanted, and as someone who had been imprisoned–okay, that sounded like an exaggeration considering he had a bed and belongings and wasn’t shackled to any walls… but he was still imprisoned. Rather by the threat, because his life was already miserable, he’d been absolutely terrified of stepping out of line and having it be made worse by punishment.

His punishments happened occasionally, if he ever made the mistake of looking as if he might be planning to escape or even just speaking out of turn. His father was a raging psycho, Ilsa knew. Nothing he ever did would be enough to convince his father of his worth, and frankly at this point in his life that was fine with him. He hated his father more than anything and would love to inflict even a fraction of the suffering Ilsa had endured at his hands, on him. He couldn’t even be sure that his punishments were real, but he felt like regardless, his father had put him through the mental anguish of it, even if he didn’t do it.

He had also thought about the prospects of marriage, and whom he might end up married to, if he were to be allowed one day. When he lived in Caelestes, his options were limited to just the high-status demons there, and none of them had appealed to his omega at all. The only time Ilsa was allowed to socialize with anyone outside of his family was at a particular dinner event his father hosted once every five hundred years. He’d met about a handful of the high-status demons while being surrounded by the terrifying guards he couldn’t move without, and each of them frightened him. Some of them just reminded him too much of his family–particularly his father.

Ilsa never feared punishment with Cassian, unlike when he was home. He was genuinely free. He didn’t have to be perfect for Cassian to love him and he knew that logically. That being said, Ilsa was ready to cry, angry tears glistening in his eyes, already tired of trying to pull his pants up over his hips. Ilsa sighed, swearing under his breath as he tried to button his pants once he finally got them up into a place that was somewhat correct.

He tried to suck in his stomach to pull the material together–they’d literally JUST been buttoned! What the fuck?! He had to pee a thousand times a day now, and he’d just been wearing these pants. He failed to even manage to halfway succeed, and sighed impatiently. And then his stomach growled.

Ilsa sighed loudly, his eyes filled with tears as he sat down on the toilet, trying to stifle his sobs. He’d already eaten breakfast, and he’d even had a snack just a few hours ago. He was getting fat. Cassian was going to–

“Lovebird,” Cassian’s voice came from beside him, and Ilsa looked up, tears trekking down his cheeks. Cassian must’ve felt him beginning to freak out, Ilsa realized, and felt embarrassment coursing through him. He was such a nuisance. “It’s okay,” Cassian murmured.

“It’s not! I’m getting fat!” Ilsa whined, standing up and trying to work the button again. “I am, aren’t I? I have eaten so much over the past–I can’t even exaggerate the time period because I don’t even know it myself! I gained weight just between using the bathroom and–”

“Sweetheart, you’re not going to be able to button them.” Cassian murmured, putting his hands on his hips. “You’re pregnant, baby, you’re not fat.” Cassian soothed, looking over him with a smile. Ilsa frowned and looked up at him.

“I am, “ Ilsa replied.

“No, you aren’t ,” Cassian said firmly, meeting his eyes. “You have gained a very miniscule amount of weight, I’d say maybe five pounds, which compared to human and Elven pregnancies is much less than you would expect.”

“I feel like I am.” Ilsa continued, pulling at the end of his vest in an attempt to cover the opened button. “I fucking hate my body–”

“Ilsa, Sweetheart, you are beautiful, and I love every inch of you.” Cassian said, pressing a kiss to Ilsa’s lips, curling his arms around him. Everything disappeared, and then Ilsa found himself in their bedroom. Cassian pulled back and dropped to his knees gracefully, tugging the pants over his hips and down to his knees. “I love your thighs,” Cassian murmured as he pressed a kiss to Ilsa’s left thigh, then his right. “Your hips are perfect,” his lips pressed against one of Ilsa’s hips before his gloved hands moved along the skin of his thighs.

It sent arousal flooding through him, his body burning deliciously as Cassian’s hands caressed the soft skin of his thighs, before he leaned down and started trailing kisses along it. Ilsa moaned, his knees trembling a little. He wanted to part his legs, and give Cassian more space but his pants kept him basically unable to do it.

“C-Cassian,” Ilsa whined, shivering a little as Cassian began to lightly scrape his teeth against the sensitive skin of his leg. Ilsa tried to part his legs more, his length hardening in his boxers.

“Your body is precious,” Cassian said, “I love every inch of it, it’s perfect just how it is.” Ilsa whimpered, his cheeks flushing. “Listen to me, and repeat. It’s perfect.” Ilsa whined.

“It-Its perfect,” Ilsa agreed thoughtlessly, his hands gripping into the shoulders of Cassian’s shirt. “P-Please, Cassian,” Ilsa pleaded, tugging at his shirt as Cassian’s hands cupped his ass and squeezed. “A-Alpha, it feels good–” Ilsa whined, his eyes rolling back as he shifted a little bit in an attempt to get Cassian’s fangs to bite into his thigh.

Ilsa’s stomach growling caused Cassian to stop his movements, those Orchid eyes looking up at him with an amused gleam. Ilsa flushed, letting out an annoyed huff as Cassian moved away from him.

“We should feed you.” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa bite his lip and nod his head. He was hungry. But what about Cassian? Ilsa couldn’t remember the last time Cassian had bitten him. He had to be hungry, right? Why wasn’t he feeding on him?

“W-What about…” Ilsa whined, making Cassian chuckle.

“I’ll take care of your sexual appetite once you’ve eaten Sweetheart.” Cassian murmured. Ilsa frowned.

“That’s not… what I meant,” Ilsa flushed, averting his eyes as he felt something in his stomach. He thought it was another growl, but then it happened again. “I-CASSIAN, I think I felt the baby move!” Ilsa gasped, completely losing his thought process. Ilsa felt it again, and quickly grabbed one of Cassian’s hands, putting it over the spot that he’d felt it. After a couple of moments, he felt the baby move again, beneath Cassian’s hand. Cassian smiled, and then stood up, wrapping his arms around Ilsa, pressing his face into his neck.

“You’re so cute.” Cassian muttered into his skin, making Ilsa flush and curl his arms around Cassian’s shoulders. Cassian straightened, pulling Ilsa’s feet off the ground. “Kick off your pants, then let’s go get you something yummy to munch on. What’re you feeling up to?” Cassian asked. Ilsa was easily able to kick the pants off before he curled his legs around Cassian’s waist and rested his head down on Cassian’s shoulder.

“…I don’t know. Sugar?” Ilsa asked. Cassian blinked.

“You want sugar? As in… pure cane sugar? The white powder stuff that is used to sweeten coffee and tea?” Cassian asked. “I don’t think that’s going to suffice as a meal, Lovebird. You’ll get nauseated if you eat something like that alone. What about something like… cinnamon toast?” Cassian asked.

“Is there sugar in it?” Ilsa asked. Cassian chuckled.

“It’s cinnamon, bread, and sugar butter. So, indeed, sugar is in it.” Cassian said.

“Ooh, can it be in little sticks?” Ilsa asked. Cassian raised an eyebrow but nodded his head. “Maple syrup too. Oh, and blueberries sound good. Do you have blueberries here? Caelestes has a singular blueberry tree, and on my birthday I used to receive blueberries–” Ilsa rambled for a moment before realizing he was rambling and quieted himself with a flush.

“We do not have blueberries in the castle, but we do have blueberry syrup.” Cassian said, making Ilsa tilt his head to the side curiously.

“How does that even happen?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“I have some of my employees go to the human world occasionally, and they often bring back groceries.” Cassian hummed. Ilsa pouted for a moment before nodding his head.

“That works, I’ll just dip it in both then.” Ilsa muttered, burying his face in Cassian’s neck again. Cassian chuckled and nodded.

“Sure thing. Want to get a book on the way to the dining hall?” Ilsa nodded quickly and giggled as one of Cassian’s fingers ran over the back of his thigh.

“Love you,” Ilsa whispered, knowing Cassian could hear him. Cassian pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“I love you too, Precious.” Cassian murmured as he started walking him towards the library so he could pick out a book to read while he waited on his toast. It was disorienting to have walked into the bathroom by where Cassian’s office was, only to come out somewhere else. Which was silly, he had known Cassian blinked him to his room first, but it still had him a little turned around. “What’re you feeling up to reading today?” Ilsa shrugged a little, biting at his thumb nail.

“Something informative.” Ilsa muttered. “Something… parenting books.” If Cassian was surprised he didn’t say anything, so Ilsa supposed that it was whatever. He just wanted to learn, prepare as much as he could. He didn’t really know what he was doing and it made him anxious and unsettled. He needed to get as much knowledge into his head as the amount of food he was consuming. He had to learn everything he could as quickly as he could because everything was proceeding so quickly.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Time was speeding by Ilsa much faster than he realized, initially. The days in Cassian’s realm seemed so short, when Ilsa had so much to do in such a short amount of time. Logic and reasoning told him he had a set list of things he needed to attend to. He felt as if he had so much to do, and absolutely zero time, which of course was an exaggeration, but everything

he felt was exaggerated by his messy hormones. The list of things he had to do was really rather simple, in theory, and shouldn’t have been nearly as hard as it actually was.

All he needed to do was set up the nursery. Cassian had people moving a bunch of stuff into the nursery while he worked–Ilsa thought they might’ve been his guards in normal clothing, but truthfully, Ilsa had never paid enough attention to them to notice. He was used to being surrounded by guards, so to some extent, they had never even registered to him because they were not right around him like the guards in Caelestes were whenever he wasn’t in his room.

It had not even been necessary to announce the pregnancy as it was fairly obvious once he left the obstetricians office. After his appointment, they’d began getting gifts from the residents of the realm–tons of really nice, interesting stuff. Bottles, diapers, wipes, clothing for both male and female babies because they hadn’t publicized anything so no one knew specifically what gender items to give to them. Ilsa was fine with that, preferred it even.

Everything was moving so fast, and it’d been surprising to both of them when the gifts started arriving. He was grateful for them, he was really tired, and shopping was a real pain anywhere, more so when you’ve never been to a store before and have no idea what the currency was. Cassian talked about funding stuff, but he’d never seen any form of physical currency, and in Caelestes that’s all they had. He’d never seen any currency and he couldn’t recall seeing prices anywhere! He didn’t know what anything cost, so shopping would be… best left to someone who knew what the hell was going on anyway.

Some of it was handmade stuff–he could tell what the Elves had donated, versus the other residents. But to be fair, he was pretty sure he had an inkling which came from which species anyway. All of the stuff the Elves donated were wooden, for one thing–but that wasn’t really the determining factor. No, the indicating factor was the way the wood was formed and set. For instance, there was a rattle–possibly his favorite thing ever -that was formed and looked almost like a tree. The handle was formed of what looked, seriously, like a bunch of twigs had been tightly coiled together, leading up to where it branched off into four separate coiled bits of twig that wrapped around a clear sphere that had little gemstones inside of it. At the top, the four bits of twig were coiled together almost microscopically, and then shaped to form a circle around a smaller, multicolored stone. At the end of the handle were two branches that were coiled together and formed a circle at the end.

Ilsa’s first thought was that it looked like a choking hazard. After performing multiple tests to assure that the sphere with the gems inside of it was unbreakable and that the stone at the top wasn’t moving, and assessing the wood for any places that might have led to splinters, he felt sure it was safe. He’d checked with Cassian to ensure it, and Cassian had agreed. He said that the Elves are the biggest toy makers in the realm, and that they used their magic to form them so they are completely safe.

After having literally thrown the damn thing out of a window onto concrete, Ilsa could attest, it was safer than any toy he’d ever played with as a child. He knew that was extreme, and if he had actually broken it he probably would’ve cried for hours. He was paranoid, though, and had no one to talk to about what he was feeling.

And… he was feeling… chaotic. Well, his mind felt chaotic. Nothing was working. He’d had the guards arranging the room–Cassian instructed him not to push or pull on anything, and while he hadn’t used his pact to command him, it still was an instruction from Cassian and thus, was law in Ilsa’s mind–and it just wasn’t working. Nothing felt right.

The bed seemed so big, and while he’d be in a bassinet–another beautiful piece given to them by the Elven community–it made him feel a little lonely to look at it. Which he knew was silly, and immature. The baby wouldn’t even use it at first–though with how fast his pregnancy was progressing, he could only imagine that the child will age similarly as fast. Which came with its own set of confusing and disorienting emotions, as well.

He was trying to stay focused on what he was doing, but it was frustrating because nothing felt right. The room was perfect, right beside their room. Ilsa had picked it out. Cassian even went through the trouble of having contractors build a doorway connecting the two rooms together so they’d have even easier access to the room. It was perfect. But… it wasn’t.

He’d rearranged the room every way imaginable, but he kept finding things wrong. Things that really weren’t a big deal suddenly were a big deal, and he was overwhelmed. He had a list to help him stay organized and on task but even that was failing him.

His list was pretty simple.

▸Arrange the furniture ▸Decide where the clothes go    ▸Fold and put away clothes ▸Decide where the toys are going to go.    ▸Put away the toys where they belong ▸Set up the changing table station ▸Set up the bottle making station

Even so, with a list that was only seven things long–two of which were just secondary tasks that go along with other tasks–he was struggling. The bed wasn’t in the right place, the changing table was high, and what the hell was the matter with the fucking walls? Why did they have to be so… stony and dingy? Ilsa knew it was irrational, but he was stressed and wasn’t coping well with it, obviously.

“I would like to find paint. Is there any?” Ilsa found himself asking. One of the guys nodded.

“There’s a warehouse out back with the paint we used during renovations to the school, I think,” One of them suggested, making another of them stand up and nod.

“I’ll get it.” He said. The other nodded, waving him off. It didn’t really matter, though, because he’d disappeared before the guy even moved. Ilsa sighed. He was being a nuisance. He could just do it all himself, and maybe that’d be for the best. Pregnant or not, he was keeping at least two of the guards busy on what he could only assume was their off day because they obviously weren’t working currently.

Well, working their usual jobs, as Ilsa was surely going to work both of the vampires into the ground. If he had the emotional bandwidth to handle anything else, he might have felt bad.

“So… First baby?” The guy offered humorously, a smile on his face. Ilsa nodded, barely turning to glance over his shoulder from where he sat on the floor, sorting through clothes. He needed to put the smallest sizes in one stack, up to the largest.

“Yes,” Ilsa responded, cautiously.

“Want help?” He offered, motioning towards the clothes. Ilsa looked up at him, uncertainty written all over him. He stepped forward and sat down a safe distance from Ilsa, across the mountain of clothes. “When my little brother was born, my papa acted the same way.”

“Was he his first?” The vampire nodded his head.

“Yup, old man’s second marriage.” He explained, crossing his legs as he carefully picked up a onesie and checked the sizes. “O-3,” He muttered, running his eyes over the stacks before picking out the one with the matching clothes sizes in it and setting it down.

“Thanks,” Ilsa murmured shyly, averting his eyes. The guy seemed… well, he didn’t seem young . He looked like an adult, definitely, but there was something youthful about him. It was different from the ‘youthful’ look of Cassian, who while looking young, he still acted older. This guy didn’t have the same… finesse.

“No problem,” He said, flashing a toothy grin before he started helping sort through the clothes more confidently. “What color do you want the room?” He asked curiously. Ilsa shrugged.

“It’s dingy in here,” Ilsa complained, making him nod.

“I get it, it’s not for everyone,” He said, glancing around. “All things considered though, it’s nice enough.” Ilsa nodded a little. It was nice, but it wasn’t good enough. He just… didn’t like it. The thought of the baby being in there made him feel antsy. He felt antsy. A couple more minutes of conversation and the vampire was back, four cans of paint in his hands.

“We’ve got purple, blue, white, and green.” He said. Ilsa nodded. He stood up from where he was sitting and went to look over them quickly. After a few long moments of deliberation he looked around the room and looked back at the paint again.

“…One of each.” Ilsa muttered, shamefully. He’d repaint it when he settled on a color, but he couldn’t decide right now. He hated being so difficult, but he also was blinded enough by whatever the fuck was going on in his head right now that he didn’t have the power to change it. He was just… something. He didn’t know what was wrong but it just wasn’t right. Ilsa let out a sigh and looked around.

He wasn’t even sure what the problem was. It just wasn’t right. The pair of them went to work as if it was no problem, moving all of the furniture to the center of the room. Ilsa let out an overwhelmed sigh. He was just… ugh. It was so annoying.

Ilsa sat back down to finish sorting the clothes, his head spinning. There were just so many thoughts swarming through him. He needed everything done, he needed it done and perfect . He didn’t know how quickly he’d be delivering and that just made it all the more imperative for him to finish quickly. It just wasn’t happening though.

It seemed to take forever for him to finish sorting the clothes, but by the time he was done, they were ready to start painting the wall that he was sitting by. Ilsa stood up out of the floor and went to start carrying the sorted clothes out of their way but the one who’d helped with them waved him off.

“It’s fine. I’ll put them somewhere safe.” He said, making Ilsa worry his lip with his teeth for a moment before he nodded. Cassian said not to lift anything, anyway, Ilsa rationalized, despite his uncertainty. He knew logically it was a stack of clothes, if nothing else he could just resort them later, but everything felt so monumental. Everything felt significant and way more important than he knew it logically was.

“I… I will go lay down and get out of your hair.” Ilsa murmured. The one moving clothes nodded his agreement and tossed him a smile before continuing on. Ilsa nodded and turned on his heels, walking into his and Cassian’s room and shutting the door between them. Ilsa glanced around the room and sighed. Cassian’s room was comfortable and bright, he wished that the nursery would fit in their room.

Ilsa walked over to the bed and laid down, gripping into the blanket as he curled up on the bed for a moment. Ilsa didn’t know how long he laid there, feeling uncertain. Uneasy. He just couldn’t settle himself down. After a few minutes, though, some of the uneasiness edged away and Ilsa opened his eyes and glanced around the room, catching sight of Cassian’s pillow. Ilsa shifted until he put his head down on Cassian’s pillow, taking in a deep breath. It smelled like him, which wasn’t surprising, he slept there all the time. Ilsa shifted around and pulled his pants down over his legs before slipping into the bed under Cassian’s side of the blankets, letting his scent wash over him.

It immediately set him to ease, at least for a moment. Ilsa sighed deeply and shut his eyes, pulling the blanket up to his face before inhaling again. All Ilsa wanted was for everything to be perfect, which he knew was an unreasonable request, but he was feeling irrational at the moment. Ilsa suddenly sat up, gripping into the blanket and tugging it. It pulled off the edge of the bed and Ilsa shifted around, trying to bunch it up as much as possible in the center of the bed. Ilsa’s eyes found the closet door, and then the drawers where Cassian’s clothes were.

Ilsa didn’t know why, but suddenly he felt jittery and uneasy again. His eyes darted between the bunched up blanket and then the dresser, before he stood up and made his way over to the dresser, pulling open the drawer and peeking inside. He felt as if he was doing something naughty, just opening Cassian’s drawer. Ilsa shook his head and looked down into it, catching sight of his pajama shirts. They were all soft and silky, and looked oddly inviting.

Ilsa reached down and picked up one of them, pulling it up into his face. It, too, smelled like Cassian. Ilsa felt like scolding himself for only realizing the obvious things. Ilsa contemplated for a moment as he held it, looking over it as if he were checking it for poison or something, before he let out a huffy breath. Ilsa carried it over to the blanket and laid it down there, before peeking his head into the closet. Cassian had a whole room he always got dressed in, Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder what he kept in the closet. Ilsa caught sight of his button downs and vests, hanging up neatly, organized by color. Ilsa looked at them, running his eyes along them.

His eyes settled on one, and he reached out and grabbed it, tugging it off of the hanger. He couldn’t help but feel a little bad about disrupting what looked like the closet of one of the most organized people in the universe. There were shoes lining the wall, different kinds of dress shoes and even what looked like a pair of walking shoes. Ilsa put the shirt up to his nose and sniffed it, feeling silly. He couldn’t wear more than one shirt, he was too hot.

Ilsa glanced around the room, catching sight of a couple folded blankets on one of the chairs in the corner. Ilsa walked over to it and picked them up, carrying them over to the bed with the shirt and laid them down. Ilsa walked back to the drawers, peeking into the other drawers until he found a drawer full of undershirts.

Ilsa reached into the drawer and grabbed one of them, taking a quick, embarrassed inhale. Perfect, his omega hissed, and he grabbed a couple more before he carried them over to the bed and sat them down. Ilsa looked around the room, unsure what he was looking for. He needed more of Cassian’s clothes but he just didn’t have many that Ilsa could use. His dress shirts were important for his work, and as irrational as Ilsa felt, he still didn’t want to inconvenience Cassian. His undershirts were perfect, but he didn’t want to take too many of them.

He didn’t even understand why he wanted them. He didn’t know what he was doing. Ilsa looked around the room, letting out a pitiful sigh. He just wanted to be comfortable. What the hell was going on with him. Ilsa sighed and got up onto the bed, taking the few things he had gathered and started trying to fit everything together somehow.

He felt so silly as he rolled the blankets and tried to form a higher rim around the circular edge of the blanket that he’d put in the center of the bed, and then crawled onto the blanket and grabbed at Cassian’s pillow, placing it at the head of the circle on the edge of the rolled up blanket, propping it up.

He took the shirts and positioned some of them around the edges, trying to hunt down the right spaces for them. He looked over it and sighed a little, feeling at least a little more comfortable than he had before. Ilsa pulled up a little and tugged the shirt he was wearing over his head, grabbing the final shirt he couldn’t find a place to put and pulled it over his head, letting the soft fabric of the undershirt fall over down to his shoulders and down over his stomach. Ilsa pulled the collar of the shirt up over his nose and laid down, nuzzling into the pillow.

He was so tired.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ФＮＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝒞 𝒜 𝒮 𝒮 𝐼 𝒜 𝒩

•

⊱───{

✦

❅

✦

}───⊰

•

Cassian sighed as he ran his eyes over what had to be the five-hundredth renovation application for neighborhood houses. Cassian reached out thoughtlessly towards his coffee cup, clasping it in his hand before taking a sip of it. He had to finish as many of these applications as he could so that he could allow himself the time off of work to help Ilsa with the baby. Vampire embryos can take a lot out of a non-vampire host, he was bound to be tired.

Cassian had to prioritize his paperwork now more than ever, because if he didn’t have it all done then it’d really back the entire economy up. Cassian had to have everything in a state that he could drop it and go when it was time for delivery. It was important to him to ensure he was there with Ilsa as much as he wanted him to be. Ilsa’s omega’s instincts were strong and Cassian didn’t know how much Ilsa would truly want him around when the time came.

Some omegas didn’t like it, others loved it, it just depended on their headspace. From the way Ilsa was currently behaving, it seemed pretty likely that he’d want to have him nearby at the least. Cassian sighed deeply, looking up at the clock. He needed to go check on Ilsa.

Cassian stood up from his desk, downed the little bit of coffee left in his cup, and then walked out of his office, stopping to order Ilsa’s dinner on his way. Usually he’d just blink, but he was limiting his energy usage so that when Ilsa started feeling drained, some of Cassian’s built up energy would flow into him.

Cassian was trying to help Ilsa as much as he could, he knew how uncomfortable pregnancy could be just from seeing his friends going through it. He hadn’t expected Ilsa’s first heat to result in pregnancy, it’s usually much more difficult than that, but he wouldn’t complain. Ilsa was happy, and it wasn’t like he wasn’t already old enough to have forgotten his age entirely. He wasn’t in an uncomfortable financial situation, things were comfortable and both he and Ilsa had settled into married life swiftly.

Children do add a bit of tension, but as their child was part vampire, it wouldn’t be as stressful. Vampire children develop quickly at first, reaching the age of eighteen usually within the first nine years of their life. Most of the speediest of the growing was the very beginning, when they’re infants. It slowly tapered off until they reached around the physical age of twenty seven. The next seven years were normal years, the only time that their birthday actually means something.

After that, they didn’t even bother keeping track of them. They were pointless when you have no foreseeable end to the time you exist. When a year is nothing but a drop in the bucket, what was the point? Of course, one could argue having a one-thousandth birthday blowout might be pretty entertaining , if he were being honest. His opposing argument held more weight than that, however, because while it’d be entertaining, someone would have to mark off their birthday every single year for a thousand years. Which doesn’t sound hard, it’s one day a year–but that’s what made it hard.

Doing something like that was just too tedious and time consuming for something that doesn’t matter. Once Cassian settled Ilsa’s dinner with his kitchen staff, he headed up towards the nursery where Ilsa was supposed to be. Cassian walked into the nursery and fought the urge to cough immediately. Ilsa had obviously been cleaning at one point during the morning because there was an incredibly artificial clean smell, almost as if he’d used every pregnancy-safe chemical in his cleaner closet.

That sounded a lot worse than it was. It wasn’t actually a closet in which he kept his cleaning staff, it just had cleaning chemicals and mixtures in it. Ilsa had requested the pregnancy safe cleaning supplies before he’d gotten started working on the nursery, but Cassian expected the scent to have faded. He must’ve tried fifteen different air freshener scents, and it had Cassian’s nose irritated and he couldn’t help but sneeze a little. It also made him anxious because he no longer could smell Ilsa’s scent.

The walls were painted four different colors, which Cassian thought was actually pretty interesting in concept. He didn’t mind it, and he’d told the pair of his guards to do whatever Ilsa had asked of them without interrupting him, unless it was something serious.

Cassian quickly turned on his heels and walked towards the door that connected their room to the nursery and pulled open the door. As Cassian caught sight of Ilsa, relief flooded through him. They’re fine, Cassian sighed mentally as Ilsa’s steady heartbeat filled his ears. He was going to have to replace that door, it was too thick and he couldn’t hear Ilsa’s heart through it.

Cassian’s eyes roamed over Ilsa, suddenly taking in the sight of him in his entirety instead of just his sleeping face. He was curled up in the center of an arrangement of blankets, shivering a little bit. His nose and mouth were buried beneath the collar of one of his shirts, head resting on a pillow. All around him on the blankets were Cassian’s shirts. It was surprising, but it was endearing and definitely cute.

Cassian stepped forward, fighting the urge to reach out and put his hand on Ilsa’s cheek. He didn’t want to startle him when he was in his nest. Cassian had less experience with nesting than anything, and he would rather err on the edge of caution, rather than invade Ilsa’s space. He knew what nests meant–it was an attempt to feel comfortable and safe.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise, Ilsa was a demon, who was an omega, and he was pregnant. Cassian should’ve known this was probably more where Ilsa’s instincts were leading him. The stories Cassian had told to him over the years painted a picture of something much less… industrial than Caelestes actually was. Cassian knew that was probably due to the passage of time, but still. Omegas in Caelestes often cared for their infants in nests. Not every demon is assigned a secondary gender, either. It usually happened more with the royal families, an effort to prolong the bloodline. They don’t really care whom or how heirs are gained, they just want them. An odd concept to Cassian, who had grown up with only one brother who barely left his room until he moved to the human world to help with their science experiments.

“Lovebird,” Cassian called, trying to keep from raising his voice too loudly. Ilsa’s eyebrows bunched together and he let out a whine, shifting onto his back as his eyes fluttered open. Ilsa looked over him with a sleepy, momentarily confused expression before he smiled brightly. And then his eyes widened and panic crossed his face. “Ilsa,” Cassian murmured softly.

Ilsa whined at the sound of his voice, so Cassian prodded further.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Cassian asked gently, making Ilsa sit up and look around the bed, and then back to him.

“Alpha,” Ilsa gasped, shifting suddenly and trying to straighten out the edges of the nest messily. “It’s not right, it’s all wrong.” Ilsa whined. “Don’t look!”

“What’s wrong, Precious? It looks just fine to me.” Cassian was being honest, he didn’t quite have any level of expertise, but it seemed to function as intended.

“I can’t get it right,” Ilsa said, suddenly stopping. “You can’t see it. It’s not right. Don’t look, please, it’s not right.” Ilsa said, tears trekking down his cheeks. Cassian paused for a moment, thinking, before he closed his eyes. “I need more.”

“More what, Precious?” Cassian murmured. Ilsa whined.

“I just…” Ilsa trailed off before letting out an annoyed noise. “Gah, you wouldn’t understand.” Ilsa huffed.

“Try me,” Cassian answered, making Ilsa whine.

“Clothes.” Ilsa huffed.

“Can I open my eyes? I’ll get you more clothes.” Cassian bartered. Ilsa was silent for a moment.

“Yeah,” Ilsa agreed after a moment. “Don’t look.” He said immediately after, making Cassian nod and opened his eyes. He wasn’t about to push Ilsa’s buttons when he could tell it wasn’t a good time. Cassian turned and immediately walked to his closet, walking into the back of it to where the little chest of drawers with his comfortable clothes sat, and grabbed out all of the shirts. Ilsa seemed to favor shirts, so that’s what Cassian would give him.

Cassian carried them into the bedroom and put them carefully on the end of the bed out of Ilsa’s nest’s way. Ilsa went through them quickly, sniffing each one. Some of them he tossed into the floor and the others were thrown into the center of his nest.

“More.” Ilsa said, making Cassian nod. He had sweaters, too. It snowed frequently, so he wore them occasionally around the castle when he was at home. It was just more comfortable than suits. Cassian immediately walked over to his dresser and opened the bottom drawer, pulling all of the sweaters out and carrying them to Ilsa. This time, over half of them Ilsa accepted.

Ilsa was full scale nesting, and Cassian couldn’t help but find him adorable. He knew that Ilsa was distressed, which made him feel a bit of guilt for finding his actions cute, but he was usually so docile. To some degree, Cassian knew omega behaviors, but as he was rather uncertain what his limits should be so he was going to proceed with caution.

Ilsa was choosy about what he wanted around him, and Cassian couldn’t detect a rhyme or reason to indicate what was allowed to stay and what was discarded mindlessly into the floor in disgust from Ilsa. It didn’t really matter, Ilsa could have anything he wanted, so long as Cassian still had clothes to wear to his office. Despite doing his best, Cassian couldn’t help but watch Ilsa, interested, as Ilsa tried to arrange the clothes in the nest with diligence. Ilsa paid little attention to him as he tried to sort everything out, letting out little annoyed noises.

“Lovebird, Ilsa,” Cassian murmured softly.

“Hm?” Ilsa hummed without looking away from where he was arranging stuff in his nest.

“Do you want help?” Ilsa’s head popped up and his eyes filled with tears. Cassian was about to retract his statement, but Ilsa was up and curling his slim arms around Cassian’s waist, pressing his face into his chest and letting out a sob before he could even try to form a retracting statement. Cassian immediately curled his arms around Ilsa’s waist, tugging him towards his chest.

“Please Alpha, I-I can’t do it,” Ilsa cried, pressing himself closer to Cassian. “It has to be perfect.” Cassian hushed him gently and nodded.

“We’ll figure it out together, okay?” Cassian said, pressing a kiss to Ilsa’s temple. Ilsa whined his agreement and nodded. Cassian nodded and led him carefully over to the bed. Ilsa turned towards it, his eyes down-casted a bit as his cheeks tinted.

“I don’t get why it’s so hard,” Ilsa whined, his eyes running over the nest.

“You’re nesting, it’s a part of pregnancy when you’re an omega,” Cassian offered dutifully. “It’s meant to help prepare you to take care of the baby and keep him warm. We’ll sort your nest out so that it’s perfect, okay, Lovebird?” Ilsa nodded and bit his lip.

“Has to smell like you.” Ilsa said, pulling the collar of his shirt back up over his nose. Cassian nodded.

“It will, Precious.” Cassian promised, making Ilsa smile brightly up at him. The light in his sapphire blue eyes while he was looking up at him was the sweetest thing Cassian had ever seen. “What if we see about getting you a nesting bed?” Cassian offered. Ilsa hesitated for a moment. “I’ll still help with your nest now too,” Cassian promised. Cassian highly doubted Ilsa would want to sleep in the nest every single night until the baby came, and Cassian knew that if Ilsa was nesting, he might not be welcome in the nest when he got closer, so if his bed was the nest, he’d have nowhere close to Ilsa to sleep other than the floor.

He could do it, but he was ashamed to admit he didn’t think he’d actually sleep if he were to be on the floor. It wasn’t comfortable, and he was a bit spoiled by his soft bed.

“W-Will you stay in it with me?” Ilsa questioned. Cassian nodded his head.

“Unless you ask me not to.” Cassian promised, making Ilsa nod. “Can I touch it so that I can help arrange it for you?” Cassian asked. Ilsa hesitated for a moment, his hand gripping into the hem of Cassian’s shirt.

“Y-You’re going to fix it?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian nod. He could tell the general shape Ilsa was going for, and he wouldn’t mind changing it if Ilsa protested on the way he made it. “It has to be… it has to be perfect.” Cassian nodded his head and crawled up onto the edge of the bed, carefully taking apart Ilsa’s nest. He kept his eyes on Ilsa the whole time, so that if he did something Ilsa didn’t like, he could put it back immediately.

Cassian took the blanket from the bottom of the nest and laid it off to the side, positioning the two rolled up blankets into a large oval shape before he paused. Something bigger might be better, but at the same time, he didn’t know what Ilsa was basing his choices on so he couldn’t make that decision. Some omegas went so far as to hide their nests in closets and under tables, so Cassian didn’t want to upset what he sure was a delicate thing for Ilsa.

Cassian took the pillows Ilsa had left out of the nest and positioned them carefully around the rolled up blankets.

“May I put another blanket?” Cassian asked. Ilsa nodded after a moment of consideration.

“…But I have to approve it,” Ilsa mumbled, his teeth biting down into his lip. Cassian nodded his agreement and walked over to his closet, reaching up onto the shelf above the rack and pulled down one of his old comforters, running his fingers over it. He’d used this blanket for years, before he had switched to something less fluffy.

Cassian carried the blanket over to him, and Ilsa’s eyes ran over it and widened, he grabbed at it and ran his fingers over it, brought it up to his nose, and took a deep inhale. Ilsa paused for a moment before nodding his approval. Cassian smiled at him and carried it over to the bed, unfolding the square until it was the size of the bottom of Ilsa’s nest, so that the pillows wouldn’t form a noticeable dip. He wanted Ilsa to be as comfortable as possible, so it was well worth the time spent as long as Ilsa was happy in the end.

“Wait!” Ilsa said suddenly, making Cassian pause. Ilsa walked forward and stopped at the foot of the bed, his eyes locked onto the unfinished nest for a moment. Ilsa watched him for a moment, before he crawled on the bed and went to where all the clothes were stacked, and started sorting through them. Once he had everything sorted, he crawled into the center of the nest and started shoving the clothes into any hole he could possibly find, effectively filling each one. He seemed unsure, still, but at the least, much more relaxed than when he’d initially woken up.

Cassian observed Ilsa from the edge of the bed, admittedly somewhat fascinated. Ilsa seemed to know what he was aiming for, while still not knowing how to achieve it. Cassian was going to have to speed read through all the nesting books he could find in the library. He might have to pull out a ladder, and the castle’s blueprints. His ancestors had built two layers to the library, intending to make a safe place for their more ‘secret’ information–something that both worked and failed miserably. On the one hand, it was pretty damn safe up there, because they’d charmed the area to have an anti-magic field. Meaning, they couldn’t blink there. So, onto the other hand: accessing the area was a nuisance and a half. At this point, all of the information had been transferred out of the room, just for ease of access, and the less relevant books had been put in the room because he had no use for them.

He was certain that there had to be at least something on nesting up there because he was sure that he had some at one point. Cassian couldn’t help but wonder if Ilsa knew what he was doing–more in a ‘does he know what these actions are’ kind of way, rather than a critiquing of his abilities. Cassian himself had mentioned nesting to Ilsa a bit ago, but he couldn’t be certain Ilsa was listening entirely to him.

Ilsa managed to find a spot he wanted all of the shirts and sweaters before he carefully maneuvered his way out of the nest and then turned those enchanting sapphire eyes up at him.

“It looks perfect. Now we’ll just put this over it, so nothing gets misplaced, okay?” Cassian found himself saying, motioning towards the comforter Ilsa had been using as the bottom of the nest originally. Ilsa nodded, his hands worrying over the bottom of it, trying to straighten out the wrinkles in the fluffy blanket. An impossibility, Cassian already knew, because he’d tried everything short of steam rolling.

Once Ilsa deemed it was good enough, Cassian took the comforter that was normally on the bed and tossed it over the top, pushing it down in the center so that it was flat and then tucked the remaining edges underneath it. Cassian took the pillow Ilsa had been using to rest his head on and placed it at the top of the nest, so that he could crawl right into the center of it and be cocooned–which is what Cassian believed was the intention. The safety behind it, the warmth.

Ilsa’s eyes scrutinized it for a few minutes, his hands working over the outer blanket until he got it how he wanted it and then he stepped away from it and walked towards Cassian, wrapping his arms around him.

“It’s empty,” Ilsa said, pulling at him. Cassian nodded and turned towards him, putting his hands on his waist.

“That’s because it’s missing you. It’s perfect, thank you for letting me help,” Cassian murmured. Ilsa’s eyes darkened and his cheeks tinted.

“You think so?” Ilsa asked, uncertainly, making Cassian hum.

“I do happen to think so.” Cassian said. A wave of happiness washed over the mating bond, pulling a smile to Cassian’s lips. “Don’t you think so?”

“It’s too empty. I want…” Ilsa abruptly stopped, his eyes narrowing in on him. “Lay down.”

“Huh?” Cassian hadn’t intended it to be a correction, more an expression of his surprise than anything, but the look that washed over Ilsa’s face made Cassian regret that.

“In it,” Ilsa gestured in the direction of the nest, not taking his eyes off of Cassian for a moment. “ Please, “ Ilsa tacked in quickly. Cassian nodded and got onto the bed, carefully positioning himself in the center of Ilsa’s nest, half upright against the pillows, trying not to disturb the nest too much. Ilsa scrutinized him for a moment, before satisfaction washed through the mating bond.

“Come here, my little Lovebird,” Cassian said. Ilsa immediately climbed into the nest and then his lap, not half as careful with his nest as Cassian had been. Ilsa immediately wrapped his arms and legs around him, settling with a quiet purr.

“Like it,” Ilsa murmured, nuzzling into his neck. “Smells like you.” He sighed happily. Cassian wasn’t about to point out the fact that he was currently inside of it, and thus if it didn’t smell like him, something would probably be amiss. He was just glad that Ilsa was finally comfortable after what felt like months of uncomfortableness–a grossly negligent exaggeration on Cassian’s part, but with Ilsa’s constant unease, it was also impossible for Cassian to relax which made every moment feel thrice as long, if not more.

Cassian might not get the whole… nesting thing in its entirety, but he wanted Ilsa to be comfortable above all. He loved him, truly, he made Cassian’s time feel as if it actually meant something. Cassian had fallen into a rut of doing nothing but his work for a long time, but with Ilsa around his life was… frankly more enjoyable. He had an unlimited amount of time to live, but after a while, life grew boring. Existence on such a long term scale was just… never-ending. He ran out of new things to do, and new places to visit a long time ago.

Boredom is a curse to anyone, but as an immortal, boredom was one of the worst feelings you can have. It’s unending, and once you’ve done everything you can’t just reverse, undo it, and redo it again. That left Cassian feeling a little helpless, if he were being honest. He still had done everything, but now he could take Ilsa everywhere… well, once the baby was big enough. It wouldn’t take long, maybe a year at most, by then their child would probably be around three, maybe four.

After a few minutes of silence, Cassian glanced down and caught sight of Ilsa’s sleeping face. Ilsa seemed to gravitate towards places Cassian himself frequented–his office, their room, the garden, with the addition of the library but more often than not now, Ilsa just brought books wherever Cassian was.

He lounged in his lap a lot, napping usually, but it wasn’t lost on him that all the sleep Ilsa was getting was through the naps. Ilsa went to the bathroom frequently, and it woke Cassian up every time, which he wouldn’t dare complain about–or even acknowledge if something didn’t sound wrong because he didn’t want to make Ilsa feel bad. Ilsa couldn’t help it, and Cassian’s ears were just–an annoyance. He didn’t particularly mind waking up every time Ilsa went to the bathroom, but he knew Ilsa would worry about it.

Ilsa worried more about him, his work, and his sleep than Ilsa worried about himself. If Ilsa knew he was keeping him awake, he’d feel bad and Cassian would move mountains to prevent that. His hormones were running on overdrive, he was hungry all the time, and if all it took to make him happy was sleeping in a blanket nest full of his shirts, Cassian would do so. Perhaps Ilsa might actually sleep for a meaningful amount of time.

Cassian couldn’t help but wonder if he should get a nesting bed for his office. It might seem like an extravagant purchase for something that Ilsa might not even take to, but given Ilsa liked to be close to him, it was a high possibility that Ilsa would use it. Considering Ilsa worried constantly about Cassian’s work even before his pregnancy, Cassian knew that if he stopped working too soon, he would risk upsetting him. Cassian couldn’t stop working yet anyways, so if he could make Ilsa comfortable and happy by clearing the corner by his desk and putting a nest beside him he’d do as much. Ilsa deserved to be comfortable.

Cassian would have to get up eventually, but… he was going to try to take a nap with Ilsa right now. It was much more inviting than retreating to his office alone, especially when he knew Ilsa was feeling vulnerable.

• ⊱───{✦❅✦}───⊰ •

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa finally managed to get the nursery acceptable enough for the baby’s arrival with the help of the two vampire guards Cassian had lent him, and he was curled up on his blankets on the bed, just letting the warmth and comfort surround him. He felt so at ease when nestled in… whatever this was. He wasn’t sure what it was, admittedly. He just knew that it was warm and safe, and it smelled like Cassian. No one could bother him there.

Aside from when he was working on the nursery, he’d basically lived inside of it for the past few days. It was just so comfortable. When Cassian wasn’t there it didn’t feel the same, though. He disliked how empty it felt around him without Cassian beside him. He couldn’t be a baby and demand all of Cassian’s time right now, so he was trying his best not to fuss about being alone. It wasn’t Cassian’s fault and he’d been invited into his office but… he didn’t want to leave the bed. He wasn’t all that emotional anymore. He felt… mellow when he was inside of the arrangement of blankets. Comforted.

He never wanted to leave it again. He’d never felt so satiated in his life. It’d been a couple of days already and he had just given up on clothes entirely after finishing the nursery. He hated it, but at the same time, he didn’t. He could walk around wearing Cassian’s button downs and boxers all day long and no one looked at him as if he were insane. The boxers were so comfortable as well, soft and… just heavenly.

He felt like a slob, but it was so much more comfortable than standing up while Helix and Felix took measurements for his clothes. He did not want to stand up that long, given his feet swell a lot and he just genuinely didn’t want to. He liked his clothes, and he knew he’d lose the weight as soon as the baby was born anyway. He didn’t need his clothes altered, he needed to sit on his lazy bum, so that was what he was gonna do–

𝐼𝑙𝑠𝑎, S𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, Cassian’s thought echoed through his head for a moment, and Ilsa hummed. He didn’t want to get up, but at the same time, Cassian wanted him to and he wanted to see Cassian anyway. Ilsa carefully pulled himself up and then crawled out of the hole–what he’d taken to calling it to himself–and walked over to the door, pulling it open. He walked down the hallway and towards Cassian’s office, not even bothering with knocking because Cassian called him . He was feeling sassy, today, he supposed.

When he walked into the office, he stopped short as his eyes landed on something. He didn’t quite know what it was. It was almost the same size as the crib, the same dark wood as most everything else in the castle that was wooden. It had something, a curtain, that pulled open on either side of the entrance of it, and… It looked like a cave, or a hiding spot. It appealed to something in Ilsa that made his entire body vibrate. He needed the blankets.

“What’s that?” Ilsa asked breathlessly.

“That is your nesting bed,” Cassian said. Ilsa’s eyebrows draw together.

“What’s that?” He repeated, making Cassian raise an eyebrow.

“It’s for you to make a nest in.” Cassian explained. “It’s meant for it, there’s a mattress, I’ve got you some more blankets, clothes, and even some of my childhood teddy bears…” Cassian continued.

“I can use it?” Ilsa asked excitedly, before he paused for a moment, unsure. “Wait, what’s a nest?” Ilsa asked.

“The thing we’ve been sleeping in?” Cassian questioned.

“That’s… Oh .” Ilsa said, realization hitting him. “That makes more sense. I can use it?” He asked again. Cassian nodded.

“Go ahead, check it out.” Cassian said, motioning towards it. Ilsa cautiously walked forward and around his desk, peeking inside of it. The curtain was supported by two posts that curved from one corner to the opposite one, and the posts had little lights curling around them, putting off a soft blue light. The curtain was black on the outside, blocking the light, but the inside had a galaxy print, that was shimmery and beautiful. There was a shelf with a back crossing from the two posts that pressed against the wall, that rounded the corner post and led across the back wall to the other post against the wall.

There was a soft, fluffy mattress with a black sheet over it that fit perfectly in front of the shelf, and Ilsa honestly thought he might be crying again. His head turned and he looked at Cassian.

“You want the stuff? I can put the bag out on the floor. This thing is built to be sturdy, so you can sit on the shelf if you need more space to build your nest.” Cassian explained. Ilsa nodded, crawling inside of it. “I put the whole thing together, so no one else’s scent caught to it,” Cassian said, making Ilsa flush as he poked his head out and looked over the bag of stuff Cassian had sat down on the floor outside of it.

“It’s so cozy,” Ilsa murmured, making Cassian nod as he sat down at the desk. Ilsa could reach him from where he was, now. He wasn’t super far away from him anymore. The bag was organized, he could tell what Cassian intended for each blanket he pulled out so he used it all in order, and when he reached the clothes, it was easy for him to find places for them. It was neater, more meticulous, this time around. He had a goal in sight, he knew what Cassian had done the last time and it’d turned out perfect then, so he just replicated what Cassian had done. When he finished, he was ready to curl up amongst Cassian’s stuff and read a book.

Everything Cassian had provided smelled just like him, and Ilsa was curious about how far into the storage room Cassian had dug for the stuff, but he was too comfortable to even question it.

But he needed a book, and he needed his hellhound, so he set out to grab both. It took about five minutes to get it all, and when he returned, there was a bottle of juice sitting on his shelf, along with a plate of food. Crixiamelo bread, mashed avudarin, and fire-roasted awataya with honey-smoked uyiadilla. There was a small saucer with triple layered cake. It looked and smelled delicious, and crawling into the nest this time felt better.

Ilsa settled into the center of the nest and laid back against the fluffy arrangement of pillows, placing his book down on the shelf and his stuffed hellhound beside one of Cassian’s stuffed animals. He then grabbed his food and started eating, peeking out of the opening at Cassian, who was buried in paperwork as per usual.

It was comfortable, and Ilsa felt settled completely. He couldn’t wait for the baby to be born. This was perfect, he could take care of the baby, there was shelf space to put diapers and bottles and books. He could be with Cassian while he worked, he could take care of the baby and be right there, beside him. It was perfect.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ＴＷФ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

Ilsa was miserable, but he knew that the end was nearing. It could only last so long, and he was halfway there at his last appointment, and today’s appointment he’d been told as much. He was ready, and was more than thankful that Cassian’s vampire genes made the baby grow exceptionally fast, because… gross . It was hard to move properly because he was just sore all the time, even so, he couldn’t seem to stay still. He couldn’t relax because he was always uncomfortable, and even when he was horny as hell he couldn’t get relief because the only place he felt safe anymore was inside of his nests. Which he knew he could have sex in, but… they had to be perfect, and washing the blankets and stuff would mess up the scent of them.

He felt like he was losing his mind, because he kept getting the weirdest urges. He wanted to change stuff–he had changed the knobs in the kitchen from the ones with the points to rounded ones even though he never even went into the kitchen, and he had been cleaning things even after the housekeepers had finished. He was just… ready to be not pregnant again.

He wanted sex, and he wanted to be comfortable. He also wanted to hold his and Cassian’s baby. He just wanted this to be over. Cassian had been doting on him for like two days now, bringing him his food, drinks, and everything he wanted so that his nests didn’t start smelling like other vampires. Ilsa was staying mostly in his nest in Cassian’s office. It was his favorite thing ever. The seclusion in combination with Cassian being near him was amazing. He could always see Cassian no matter what. He liked that.

He also liked how quiet Cassian’s office was. Cassian scarcely made noise save for when he was talking to Ilsa, so it was just… nice. It was the spot, it felt right. It was up high enough that he had to crawl into it, which felt way more important than he wanted to acknowledge. It was secluded, no one bothered Cassian when he was in his office except for emergencies, in which case it wouldn’t really matter where they were, because it was an emergency. The soft blue string lights lit the area up in the most amazing, relaxing way. The curtain added another layer of comfort because while he was still with Cassian, it felt like he was hidden away.

The space was cramped, which just made it feel less empty and lonely, but still big enough for Ilsa, Cassian, and the baby. There were no paintings, no noise, just blissful peace and Cassian. It didn’t smell of anything but Cassian, which mattered more than Ilsa could really explain. It put his nerves to ease, and he was feeling so relieved that he felt as if he could melt.

It had air-flow, and the nest itself was soft and it smelled wonderful. It wasn’t just nice, it wasn’t just great, it was actually perfect. He’d brought bottles and diapers and wipes down to his nest in Cassian’s office, and had even brought down clothes. Cassian had put a fridge beneath it so that he could pre-make bottles and keep them chilled.

He’d spent the whole afternoon just organizing the nest as if he planned to keep the baby in there instead of his nursery. At this point, Ilsa was pretty sure that was what his omega was planning, and he didn’t have the energy to deny it. He wouldn’t mind Cassian squeezing into the nest with him and the baby, if he wanted to… and Ilsa would put the baby in his crib at night anyway… so Cassian would still be able to sleep with him.

It was tidy, elaborate, somewhat impractical, too far from the bathroom, and the walkway behind Cassian’s chair was thin enough that it was a struggle to get by sometimes, but that didn’t matter. Ilsa felt a sense of pride and relief when he finally managed to get everything he wanted organized just how he wanted it for when the baby got there.

Ilsa collapsed down onto his nest, curling up as much as he could, wrapping his arms around his stuffed hellhound. He was finally safe, finally comfortable, finally feeling just a little less crazy. The only thing missing was the baby, but he’d be there soon enough. Cassian was nearby, which made everything feel so much better. He not only was surrounded by Cassian’s scent, Cassian was right with him… and that made all the difference to Ilsa. It seemed odd, him wanting Cassian’s scent all around him, but Cassian seemed to understand his motivations more than Ilsa did, sometimes.

He was just ready for this half-vampire, half-demon baby to be out of his insides. The kicking was never ending. It was annoying, but it wasn’t like Ilsa could stop him. At first, he’d never noticed it, but once he did notice it, it was all he could feel. He even got worried when the baby didn’t move a lot but that seemed pretty understandable. He was somewhere between perpetual starvation and exhaustion, and sleep was difficult to come by.

His body hurt, none of his clothes fit him right anymore, but he was officially on the last leg of this pregnancy which was a huge relief. Ilsa just wanted to sleep. He felt as if he’d used the entirety of his own battery power and now was just somehow powering on still. Whatever energy it was that he was using was stronger than what he was used to. It had to be Cassian, because the energy felt foreign, and so different from his own.

He knew it wasn’t the baby’s energy, because he was used to feeling it radiate through him. Ilsa just felt so in sync with Cassian right now. He felt… understood on a level that he didn’t think was possible. Cassian was just being so thoughtful, constantly checking in on him. He didn’t mind Ilsa being a whiny, bitchy nuisance. When Ilsa started whining about something, Cassian was almost immediately at his side, trying to fix everything. He held him at his desk if Ilsa couldn’t get comfortable in his nest, and Cassian brought him food, books, blankets when he was chilly…

Hell, Cassian’s clothes had practically become his. Despite having a lot of clothes, Cassian seemed to have particular tastes, and preferred a select few of his dress shirts… and the ones that Ilsa liked were the ones he wore all the time. They smelled like him the most, which was something Ilsa was finding meant something to him now that it hadn’t before. All of his clothes were new, he could tell now, and he didn’t like that they smelled like… laundry soap. It made him feel nauseated.

He had never noticed before recently, but now everything had to be Cassian’s.

Ilsa sighed and sat his book down in the nest, poked his head out of his curtain, and took in the sight of Cassian hunched over his desk. Ilsa tilted his head to the side, curious. Ilsa called Cassian’s name, and he didn’t move. Ilsa stood up out of his nest and quietly padded over to Cassian and looked down at him. He was asleep.

Like knocked out, asleep. Ilsa frowned a little and pulled his hair down, so that the band wouldn’t get tangled in his lengthy hair. Ilsa didn’t want to wake him if he were tired enough to actually fall asleep sitting at his desk, and he couldn’t move him on his own… but he couldn’t stay hunched over his desk.

“Cassian,” Ilsa murmured. Cassian’s head popped up, his eyes looking over him worriedly, seeming to not even realize he’d been asleep.

“Ilsa, baby, it’s late, you should be sleeping,” Cassian said, making Ilsa shake his head.

“It’s only eight in the afternoon,” Ilsa protested, tugging at Cassian’s hand. “Come cuddle…” Ilsa pleaded. Cassian glanced over his paperwork and then back to him before nodding.

“I suppose a short break wouldn’t hurt.” Cassian agreed, standing up. Cassian started around his desk but Ilsa shook his head and gripped into Cassian’s hand, causing Cassian to pause. “Is something the matter, Lovebird?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa bite his lip before he nodded.

“I-I don’t wanna leave…” Ilsa’s eyes jumped to his nest behind him, tugging Cassian forward. “It’s… It’s big enough.” Ilsa said, poking out his bottom lip in the way that he knew Cassian liked. Cassian let him tug him over, but he paused when they reached the little entranceway.

“I don’t know if this is made to fit someone of my stature, it’s quite short,” Cassian said, making Ilsa shake his head. “Let’s see, here,” Cassian murmured quietly, slipping into the entrance and up into the nest carefully. Ilsa watched as Cassian moved around, finding the exact place Ilsa had made for him. His side of the nest had teddy bears stacked at the end on the edge, but Ilsa had purposefully altered the space inside of the nest so that it was bigger than it appeared on the outside. The book of spells Shadow gave him came in handy on occasion, when he managed to clear his head enough to see the spells inside.

It was easier when he had a goal in sight, admittedly, and he was coming to realize that there truly was nothing more powerful than his own stubbornness right now. He’d sat down with his intentions clear and known, and even though it took him an hour or two to locate a spell to help him, he had still succeeded.

“This is surprisingly roomy,” Cassian muttered, stretching one of his arms out as he turned on his side some, making space for Ilsa to crawl in beside him. Ilsa got in beside him and pulled the curtain closed before he nestled himself up beside Cassian, resting his head on the arm Cassian had outstretched for him. Cassian immediately curled his arms around him, his cool hands soothing to the muscles in his back. Ilsa let out a hum and nuzzled closer to Cassian’s chest.

“D-Do you like it?” Ilsa asked nervously. If Cassian didn’t like it too, he’d have to redo it so he would like it. Ilsa wanted him to like it, wanted it to be comfortable for both of them. If it wasn’t then it wasn’t perfect after all.

“It’s surprisingly quaint.” Cassian murmured into Ilsa’s ear, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I think it’s nice. You’ve really turned this into something cozy, I’m impressed.” Ilsa felt pride flood through him as he looked up at Cassian. “It’ll work quite nice for the baby, hm? It’s soft, and warm, you’ve got plenty of space, and it gets quite dark in here.” Ilsa nodded happily.

“The lights turn off, and I learned a silencing spell so that if you’re having a meeting, the baby won’t be able to disturb you!” Ilsa said, making Cassian hum quietly. He mumbled something incoherently, but Ilsa was hard pressed to believe Cassian had any idea what he was responding to–or what he was responding with for that matter. Ilsa reached his arm over to where the button was to turn off the lights, blanketing the little area with darkness.

Ilsa was quick to follow Cassian to sleep, a happy purr falling off of his lips as he shifted closer to him. Everything was perfect .

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa sighed quietly, rolling over onto his side. He was remarkably uncomfortable tonight. Cassian was asleep, Ilsa had convinced Cassian to let him put him to sleep with his magic, so for once Ilsa was certain Cassian wasn’t being disturbed. Cassian was tired, and cat-napping with Ilsa wasn’t agreeing with him. He didn’t need a lot of sleep, but Ilsa had noticed he’d been working a lot more than usual which was probably what was causing his drowsiness. He only took breaks when Ilsa prompted him, and he only left at night to cuddle him from behind while they attempted to sleep.

The reality was that, despite being exhausted , he rarely could sleep. He was just uncomfortable. His hips hurt. His pelvis hurt. He couldn’t even give birth, he had to have a c-section, so why were his FUCKING pelvic bones shifting to make room for something that was NOT happening? Ilsa pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes with a whine, and then ran his fingers over his stomach, feeling the baby shift a little.

“Let me sleeeeeeeeeeeep, “ Ilsa moaned quietly, which he knew would have no effect, but Ilsa found comfort just in expressing his frustration in some way. He knew it wasn’t really the baby’s fault. Babies were more active at night because walking puts them to sleep. “Please,” Ilsa whined.

Ilsa burst into tears when the baby shifted again. The movements were fun at first, he really loved it, too… but he was just so tired. The baby kicked the ever loving hell out of him on a near constant basis, and Ilsa could tell that he was going to be strong. The amniotic sack must’ve blocked most of the force, because despite being able to feel the strength of the kick, they never really… hurt . It did sometimes, admittedly, mainly when the baby seemed to focus all of his attention on kicking around his organs, but Ilsa digressed. It was beautiful, even if it sucked. He could do without the constant pressure on his bladder, but overall, he wasn’t complaining.

He wasn’t. Even if he was tired. Ilsa sniffled, jerking a little when the baby decided to kick him in the… fuck, at this point, Ilsa had no idea what the baby was kicking, but it was uncomfortable. All he wanted to do was sleep. After a few weeks of getting in and out of bed numerous times a night for either the bathroom or to pace a bit, Ilsa just wanted to sleep. The constant ups and downs were killing him.

Ilsa felt a cramp radiating up his back and sighed. Kill me, he mentally moaned. He didn’t really mean it, he was just tired and wanted to get a few decent hours of sleep. Everything felt so much harder right now, and he knew he was being a baby, but he couldn’t really help it at this point. He was a baby, and he wasn’t ashamed. Mainly because his brain was probably not capable of functioning at that level of consciousness currently, Ilsa would wager.

Ilsa shifted again, finding a position that wasn’t as infuriatingly uncomfortable, and settling there for a moment as he pulled Cassian’s blanket up to his face and buried his nose in it. He could feel the effects of his scent so well right now, which was one thing Ilsa was not complaining about. Cassian was like a mood elevator, stabilizer, and comforter, all Ilsa had to do was smell him and it set him to ease. Usually at least.

Not tonight, when he wanted it to work.

Ilsa found himself shifting again, pain radiating through him. He sighed deeply and carefully maneuvered his way off of the bed, attempting to stay quiet. Magic or not, if Ilsa was too loud he’d still wake Cassian up if he wasn’t careful. Ilsa found himself pacing back and forth beside the bed, in an attempt to settle the baby down.

It wasn’t working. Nothing was. He hadn’t felt like this since his last heat in Caelestes, when he was going through pre-heat. His heat had come on suddenly here, more than likely an effect of the differing time… brackets? Ilsa had no idea, really, but his thought had been that his heat was confused because Caelestes day and night cycles were drastically different from the night cycles in Cassian’s realm. Ilsa’s other explanation made more sense to him, honestly, now that he thought about it. He’d always been so nervous when he was about to go into heat in Caelestes, that he’d always been unable to sleep through the pre-event. He’d woken up in the middle of his heat here, the two experiences were not at all similar–though he was not using enough data to form his conclusions, so he’d have to revisit it when he didn’t feel as though he was going through a heat cycle when he was ALREADY FUCKING PREGNANT–

“Ilsa?” Cassian’s voice broke through the quiet room and Ilsa jumped, stumbling a little in surprise. His hands immediately shot out and he grabbed the dresser, steadying himself. Cassian was behind him in half a second, his cool palm pressing into Ilsa’s lower back, while his other hand went to Ilsa’s arm.

“C-Cass,” Ilsa whimpered, sniffling a bit as he lifted his head and looked at Cassian. “I didn’t mean to wake you,” Ilsa apologized.

“I don’t care about that, Lovebird. What’s wrong,” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa flush.

“My back hurts,” Ilsa complained. “I just wanted to walk a bit. It’s hot in here, though.”

“Well, how about I blink you down to the garden, and we can walk around there?” Ilsa paused for a moment, considering. That did sound nice, probably way more relaxing than pacing back and forth at the foot of Cassian’s bed.

“O-Okay. Let’s go.” Ilsa said, turning towards him. Cassian wrapped his arms around him and murmured to close his eyes. Ilsa followed his directions, slipping his eyes shut. Ilsa was too preoccupied with a cramp to notice when Cassian blinked them, but when Cassian stepped back a bit, Ilsa’s eyes popped open.

“Are you alright?” Cassian murmured. Ilsa nodded.

“Just cramping.” Ilsa complained.

“Cramping?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa nod.

“Just want to walk,” Ilsa said shortly. These cramps mimicked his first few heats, the building pain, brief relief, more pain–an endless cycle that’d been misery during pre-heat. Now he knew there was something, somehow, more miserable than that. Cassian nodded, wrapping his arm around Ilsa’s waist, an attempt to help support him. Ilsa barely paid him an ounce of attention, though, more focused on just walking and breathing. He hurt.

Ilsa lost track of all the places he was walking at this point, just trying to get the pain to recede. It didn’t even seem like the baby was moving anymore, at least not like he was before, but he was just so uncomfortable still. Nothing was making it better and Ilsa just wanted to cry.

“Ilsa, perhaps we should call Eirina,” Cassian suggested. Ilsa shook his head.

“I’m fine, “ Ilsa protested.

“Fine? You have tears in your eyes and we’ve been walking for an hour. The stabs of pain echoing through the mating bond are beginning to affect me as well. We should head to the maternity facility, you might be going into labor.” Cassian said.

“I-Is it time for that?!” Ilsa exclaimed worriedly. Cassian nodded.

“It’s been a while, precious. As the pregnancy nears the end, it speeds up because the baby begins to use it’s own power as well, which speeds the growth process–to be honest, I don’t know how, I didn’t think about researching it,” Cassian said, making Ilsa suck in a deep breath and nod his head.

“Not yet.” Ilsa said, his eyes watering a little. It couldn’t be time yet, right? He’d only just found out! It wasn’t supposed to speed up this much, surely? It wasn’t time. He wasn’t ready. This wasn’t happening. He wasn’t letting it.

“Lovebird, I know you are scared, but it’s okay. I’m right here, and everything is okay.” Cassian murmured.

“Yes, I see you.” Ilsa snapped as pain radiated through him. “I’m not scared, this isn’t happening.” Ilsa denied, shaking his head as he gripped into Cassian’s shirt and cursed under his breath.

“Ilsa,” Cassian murmured, “I know that you don’t want to…” Ilsa sucked in a deep breath and shook his head. No, no, no this was bad, he didn’t… it was so soon he’d only just found out. He’d known the end was coming, sure, but it had just… felt like he should’ve had more time. He hadn’t even picked out a name.

“OH SWEET MOTHER OF ORIOSIS!” Ilsa exclaimed, putting his hand on his back. “I-I haven’t even thought of a name yet. Oh no, I’m already a terrible parent and they’re not even here yet. No, no,” Ilsa sobbed, making Cassian shift and wrap his arms around him.

“Lovebird, it’s okay,” Cassian murmured. “There’ll be time. Take a deep breath. Come on,” Cassian made a show of taking a deep breath, prompting Ilsa to replicate the action. “That’s it, keep going.” Ilsa took another deep breath, his heart slowing down a little bit. Cassian nodded his head.

“It hurts.” Ilsa cried, pressing his face into Cassian’s shoulder. “I wanna go lay down. I’m tired,” Ilsa moaned.

“We’ve gotta get you to the maternity ward and then you can lay down, my Love.” Cassian said, brushing Ilsa’s bangs out of his eyes before gently pressing a kiss to Ilsa’s forehead. “I’m going to blink you, okay?” Ilsa shook his head frantically.

“I-I can’t leave! Th-The…” Ilsa stopped short and gripped tighter onto Cassian.

“I know baby, you don’t wanna leave your nests, but we’ll be back before you know it.” Cassian assured him, wrapping his arms tighter around him. “I know, it’s gonna be okay.” Ilsa sank into Cassian’s arms as a soothing feeling started echoing through the mating bond, overpowering his own emotions. “Are you ready now?” Cassian asked.

Ilsa hesitated. He had, at this point, pretty much accepted his fate. The pangs were speeding up in frequency, and he just wanted not to hurt anymore. Cassian hummed softly, his cool hand settling on Ilsa’s lower back.

“I-I wanna come home after,” Ilsa pleaded.

“As soon as Eirina says you’re safe to leave, I’ll bring you home.” Cassian murmured. Ilsa frowned. He knew that was the best he was going to get. “If it’s any consolation, with the elves’ healing abilities, in addition to your demon regeneration, it really shouldn’t take long at all.”

“It’s really not. I don’t wanna go,” Ilsa said, “Can’t you just… tell the baby no?” Cassian, to his credit, did a pretty decent job hiding his surprised chuckle behind a cough.

“I’m afraid that isn’t exactly an option, Lovebird.” Ilsa sighed, defeated, and nodded. It was truly for the best, and the rational side of him knew that. That didn’t change the fact that he was scared. He knew that the best idea was to go to the maternity ward where he could deliver safely. So he nodded his head again, and wrapped his arms around Cassian more firmly.

“Don’t leave me alone, I’m scared,” Ilsa admitted quietly.

“I told you I would stand by you until the end of my time, Lovebird. There’s no reason to be afraid. I’ll take care of you, Sweetheart. You know that, right?” Ilsa nodded his head and sighed deeply, unable to help the tears running down his cheeks. He was calm, but it was still painful and he didn’t like it. “It’s gonna be alright, close your eyes, okay?” Ilsa did so and clung onto Cassian, holding his breath for a moment as a pang hit him.

Before he knew it, Cassian had shifted him into his arms and was cradling him to his chest, making Ilsa’s eyes pop open. Ilsa glanced around the room he was in nervously. It had chairs, but there were no pregnant people around, only what Ilsa assumed were family members not allowed in the rooms. Ilsa bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut. He just wanted to get this part over with. He knew once this part was over, he’d be fine, but until then, he wasn’t happy at all.

In fact, the only thing he wasn’t mad about at the moment was that the baby was getting ready to make its way out of him. Well, Eirina was going to surgically do it–Ilsa had the whole procedure explained during their first initial visit, but that didn’t change that the baby was coming out of him soon. He just wanted to hold him.

This whole thing was a whirlwind of emotions that Ilsa couldn’t really process because he just hurt too much to even think. He hated everything right now, and all he really wanted was to just be at home with Cassian, curled up in his nest.

Cassian was still with him so he supposed it was okay, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. Not even a little bit. Ilsa could hear Cassian talking, but frankly he was much too distracted to have the faintest of ideas as to what was being said. After a few minutes though, Cassian began carrying him down a hallway with a lady leading them. He just had to make it until they put him to sleep.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ＴＨＲＥＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

When Ilsa woke up, he felt… lighter. Empty. He had a distinct lack of pain that stuck out to him, and when his eyes shot open, his heart stalled in his chest for a moment. He wasn’t at home. His hand ventured down to his abdomen, an attempt to greet the baby, but then he realized it wasn’t there. Ilsa shot up out of the bed at a speed that made his head spin and his stomach churn.

“Good morning, Lovebird,” Cassian’s voice came from beside him, and Ilsa jumped, suddenly taking in his surroundings more clearly. He turned his head, taking in the sight of Cassian beside him, dressed in a button up shirt and a tie, his hair sloppily tied up on top of his head. He was free of a vest and jacket, his sleeves rolled up a bit, a baby cradled in his arms. The baby had… the brightest hair Ilsa had ever seen. The roots were a deep blue, fading into a light lavender, that further faded into a gray, ashy white color. His eyes were absolutely beautiful, one dark blue, the other a shining orchid. His skin was halfway between Cassian’s pale, almost blue-tinted skin and Ilsa’s darker skin

“Mn… I wanna–” Ilsa reached out for the baby, and Cassian nodded quickly, moving forward and sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. “He’s so little…” Ilsa murmured as Cassian handed him the baby. He was little, but his skin was glowing and he was awake and all but giggling in his arms.

“He’s normal sized,” Cassian assured him, smiling at Ilsa. Ilsa nodded and looked down at him, happiness flooding through him. Fuck, Ilsa thought to himself, his eyes watering a little, I actually did it! Ilsa brushed the hair off of the baby’s forehead. “He looks like you.” Ilsa shook his head.

“He looks like you. I’m like nine hundred percent sure he was pulled from you instead,” Ilsa giggled. Cassian laughed, shaking his head a little. “He’s so cute. Hi there, you were so difficult at the end, there. Did I eat something you didn’t like?” While the baby didn’t speak to him, his eyes blinked up at him innocently, a smile crossing his face.

“C-Can we go home now?” Ilsa asked, desperately wanting to curl up in the nest in Cassian’s office for a nap. It’d be so warm, and the baby was close to him now and he could take care of him–

“You have a couple of checks they want to do. Are you sore? Can you feel the incision spots still?” Ilsa shook his head as he bounced the baby up and down in his arms. “That’s good. They performed a healing spell on you, so the incision is healed, but sometimes the area can remain sensitive,” Cassian explained. Ilsa nodded gratefully, his heart speeding up in his chest.

“I appreciate that bit of information. If it starts to hurt, I’ll tell you.” Cassian nodded.

“They gave me a healing serum for you to apply once a day for a week that’ll take care of the small scar left behind.” Ilsa nodded his head. He didn’t really care about a scar, honestly, but he guessed since he had it there was no reason not to use the serum.

“I just want to go home,” Ilsa parroted, making Cassian chuckle fondly.

“I know, Love. We haven’t named him yet, though. So we should do that.” Ilsa nodded, looking down over the baby. He was so beautiful and tiny. Perfect . “Have you thought of any names?” Ilsa shook his head. He hadn’t, but… he felt like he might think of one. He had read a lot of books, had fallen in love with a lot of names, and without pain causing his brain to just… not function properly, he could think clearly enough to come up with a name.

He wanted an I name, he knew. Something short. As adorable as the baby’s cute little face.

“What kind of parameters are you looking for?” Cassian asked.

“Something short and cute. Something with an I,” Ilsa said, making Cassian raise his eyebrow.

“Hmm… Isa?” Ilsa shook his head, it was way too close to his own name. “Ivan?” Ilsa shook his head again. “How long is too long?” Cassian asked. “There are a lot of somewhat medium length names that are lovely.”

“I don’t know… I just want it to be perfect.” Ilsa worried. “What if he hates it in the future?”

“Then he can change it, Darling, but I’m sure whatever you pick will be beautiful, and he’ll love it.” Cassian murmured soothingly. Ilsa sucked in a deep breath and nodded his head, looking down at the baby. He pulled one of his arms away from where he was cradling him, Ilsa reached his hand up to clasp his little hand in his own. His little hand was so tiny in comparison to his and he’d always felt like a shrimp in comparison to everyone else.

Ilsa looked over the baby’s chubby little cheeks, his sparkling mix-matched eyes, the fading hair that hung down over his forehead and tickled at his eyebrows. Ilsa hummed quietly, smiling down at him happily. The elves’ magic really did wonders on him, he felt as if nothing had even happened. Something he knew was uncommon–in Caelestes, the whole thing was shown to be… almost terrifying. They didn’t have the same procedures in place there that Cassian seemed to have in place here. It was much less of a smooth process, he knew, just from the materials he’d gained access to about omegas.

His fear of something happening during his heat had, initially, led to him studying obsessively in an attempt to know what the consequences of that could be. It had only served to terrify him more because of how… painful it all looked. After having been in labor, he knew at the very least, it hurt, badly. He couldn’t imagine having been awake during delivery, that sounded… terrifying.

Ilsa shook off the thought and focused more on names. He just started mentally running through every name that began with the letter I he knew, filtering out the longer names, as well as the names he didn’t care for. His hope was that if he liked it, so too, would the baby. It had to be the perfect name, because the baby was presumably immortal, given both Ilsa and Cassian were. When you live forever, having a name you dislike was… just horrible.

Before Ilsa could voice any of his potential ideas, Eirina came in to do his check up. Despite Eirina talking, Ilsa didn’t really pay a bit of attention to her, though he knew he should be. He couldn’t think about anything but the baby. He didn’t even seem to need anything, he was quiet, his eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling, his fingers curled around one of Ilsa’s. He was much stiller now that he wasn’t inside of him, Ilsa noted.

“Okay, how about you give Cassian the baby and let me check you out so you can go home!” Eirina said happily. Ilsa frowned a little, his arm tightening a slight bit around the baby, not really wanting to hand him over yet. He was his baby too, and he’d only just woken up and gotten to hold him. He had no idea how long it’d been since he was born and it felt unfair. He’d literally grown the baby himself, right? He was like, the last person to even hold him! Obviously, he knew that someone had to care for the baby, and the fact that it’d been Cassian was amazing because there was no one in the twenty seven realms that Ilsa trusted more… but Ilsa wanted to hold him right now.

I just want to go home, not deal with this nonsense, Ilsa thought, I feel fine. He knew that Cassian probably wouldn’t let him out of the bed without his check up, and as all he wanted to do was head home and get in his nest with the baby. He knew he could refuse, but that’d only make the whole thing take longer than necessary. Instead, he begrudgingly handed off the baby and turned around to face Eirina.

“How are you feeling?” Eirina asked, prompting him to answer with a quick short fine . He wasn’t trying to be rude, but he just wanted to be at home. He didn’t feel comfortable when his nests weren’t around before he’d given birth, and now it was actually worse. He just wanted to be there, where he felt safe. Not in this room where he could smell the scents of the staff lingering in the air. While he knew they weren’t a threat, his omega didn’t like it. His omega was clawing at him, attempting to urge him home by any means necessary, and it wasn’t helping him keep his temper in check.

She chuckled a little, nodding her head. She continued with her check up, asking questions occasionally that Ilsa would answer as kindly as possible. He was trying to be courteous, but he was running out of patience. He just had to make it through this and she’d said he could go home. So he calmed himself down as much as possible and focused his mind on names. Ivy. Ilias. Isley. Iden.

Iden. Ilsa liked that. It ended like Cassian’s–with an N, and it started with an I. It was perfect. Now he just needed a middle name. Vie. It would be cute.

“I… Iden. Iden Vie.” Ilsa murmured. Cassian hummed beside him, catching his attention. Ilsa turned his head and peeked over his shoulder, taking in the sight of Cassian holding the baby with his back to him.

“Iden Vie, hm? It’s adorable. Just like you.” Cassian murmured softly to the baby, making faces at him. Ilsa could only see a little of his face’s side profile, but he looked like he was happy. Ilsa didn’t know if Cassian intended for him to hear him, but regardless, he knew now that Cassian liked it. Perfect. He could get the hell out of here soon.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

By the time that Ilsa was finally crawling into his nest with the baby, he felt as if he’d been away for days instead of just over twelve hours. It seemed like such a long time, and Ilsa was exhausted. He knew it was close to time to feed Iden again, so as soon as he and Iden were both settled, Ilsa started with tugging off the onesie that Cassian had put on him, tossing it out of the nest quickly to keep from letting the scent stick. He did not like the way the elves’ scents clung onto the baby’s clothes. His own were fresh from home, Felix had brought them when they brought Cassian and the baby clothes, so they didn’t have any scents on them because he’d not been wearing them, they’d been in a bag.

Iden giggled a little as Ilsa grabbed his hand, turning his hand over. Ilsa caught sight of the mark on his middle finger, one like the mark on his own finger, bringing a smile to his face. Iden was so adorable, with such big, beautiful eyes. Ilsa quickly changed Iden’s diaper, and picked out a onesie that was clean and smelled like Cassian, redressing him.

Once Iden was dressed again, Ilsa carefully laid him down and got him settled, before he grabbed a bottle and reached under the bed to where there was a refrigerator, pulling out some of the milk. It was a pre-made formula for the baby. He’d taken care of cleaning everything when he sorted their nursery, so everything was ready to be used–and the formula was from when Seraphina had prepared the fridge. Everything was perfectly in place, and was working exceptionally.

Once Ilsa poured out the right amount of milk into the bottle, he picked Iden back up and held him in his arms, popping the bottle into his mouth. Iden immediately started sucking, his eyes hooding a bit.

“Lovebird?” Cassian called quietly, his voice wringing through his office. Ilsa leaned over enough that Cassian could see him inside of his nest. Relief washed over Cassian’s face and he quickly walked over to where Ilsa was, kneeled down, and stuck his head inside of the nest with a smile. “You snuck away from me, little one. When did you get so quiet?” Ilsa giggled quietly, shrugging a little.

“I don’t know. I’ve grown accustomed to the quiet myself,” Ilsa defended, poking out his bottom lip a little. “It’s better for you, isn’t it? It doesn’t hurt your ears.”

“Well, I suppose one could say it was easier for me, simply because of my amplified hearing. However, all that’s really necessary is for you to be mindful of raising your voice, you don’t have to speak so quietly, nor do you have to make your footsteps disappear.” Cassian said, as if he were worried over Ilsa more so than being angry or upset at him for having disappeared. It seemed, to Ilsa based on the emotions Cassian was feeling, that Cassian was worried about him , but he didn’t really understand why.

He was fine. Eirina had said so.

“I… I do it because I want to.” Ilsa muttered, biting his lip shyly. “I don’t have amplified hearing like yours, but I can hear better than humans, and it doesn’t hurt anything for me to simply speak quieter. As for walking off quietly, I didn’t even think about it. I just moved. So… I wasn’t doing anything for your benefit, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Ilsa assured quietly.

Cassian nodded for a moment, and then his eyes moved down to Iden. Ilsa’s eyes followed, and he found Iden sleeping soundly in his arms, drinking away at his bottle happily.

“You did so well, Ilsa,” Cassian murmured softly. “I’m so proud of you.” Ilsa flushed, his heart speeding up.

“Thank you,” Ilsa murmured shyly, unsure of a better way to respond. It wasn’t like he had any other option, in the moment, and he’d definitely had a little bit of a hard time in the beginning. He hadn’t wanted to go to the maternity ward, he hadn’t wanted to go into labor, and he hadn’t wanted it to be time for Iden’s arrival. He’d just kind of panicked and been forced to do it because once you’re in labor there really isn’t a viable way to stop it–at least that he knew of. And with how far along he was–full term, Eirina had chattered off during his check up–it wouldn’t have made sense for them to stop it.

“You are so amazing, and I just want you to know that. I love you so much, Sweetheart. I don’t want you to… to feel as though you have to be silent to make me happy, or… because you’re afraid to be louder.” Ilsa frowned at his words and shook his head.

“No, I’m not afraid. I do it to respect you.” Ilsa said, biting his lip. “I know your ears are sensitive, and I take that into account. If I didn’t want to, I wouldn’t. It’s such a small adjustment to make, besides,” Ilsa paused for a moment. “The only reasons for raising a speaking tone is being heard and to express anger–you can hear anything I say, and I never feel anger.”

“I suppose if you’re genuinely okay with it, then I have no qualms with it either,” Cassian amended after a moment, making Ilsa flush and nod. “Your comfort is immensely important to me, so if there’s something I can do to make you more comfortable, just tell me, okay?”

“I know that already,” Ilsa waved his hand. “You’ve always made me comfortable. What are you worrying about?” Ilsa asked. “I can tell something has to be bothering you.”

“I… Well, I just… I was researching nests, and I guess I let some of it get to my head,” Cassian admitted. “Some of it said rather positive things, like that they were a good sign in pregnancy, others said it was because the omega was uncomfortable. As Caelestes isn’t exactly open about their information, finding completely unbiased studying material isn’t easy and I had to read some for different races of beings, and… I just wanted to make sure you are comfortable.”

“Cassian, I appreciate the concern, but… the entire nest is composed of your belongings, save for a singular stuffed animal, which was from my childhood. It’s not… like that. I just…” Ilsa paused for a moment. “Being surrounded by stuff that smells like you makes me feel safe.” Ilsa admitted shyly.

Cassian shifted up into the nest cautiously, making Ilsa smile happily. He liked it being just him, Cassian, and the baby in his nest. It was his, with Cassian, and their baby. Their family. He had a family. An actual family of his own. He wasn’t just his fathers son anymore. He had accomplished something–something that felt monumental, considering he’d never really had any hope for this outcome. He’d not even thought Cassian could get him pregnant, truthfully.

“I’m glad that I make you feel safe,” Cassian murmured, bringing a smile to Ilsa’s face.

“Iden feels safe too, see,” Ilsa said quietly, motioning towards him gently. Cassian smiled fondly, his orchid eyes seeming to shine a little under the faint lighting. Cassian nodded his head, silently, his eyes roaming over Ilsa and the baby. “Are you hungry?” Ilsa asked bluntly after a moment, suddenly recalling that Cassian hadn’t eaten in… fuck he couldn’t really remember at this point. Cassian had to be going insane, or drinking from somewhere else. Ilsa didn’t like either possibility, though he couldn’t really blame Cassian either way.

“I’m fine,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “Even if you feel fine, you just went through a lot, physically speaking. Now isn’t really the time.”

“When is the time?” Ilsa asked, shifting his arms around and placing Iden down in the nest, carefully minding his neck. Ilsa placed his hand down on Iden’s chest gently, so that he couldn’t roll over for the moment.

“Ilsa,” Cassian murmured, frowning at him.

“Cassian, you have to eat.” Ilsa reasoned evenly, “I know even if you’ve been getting blood from somewhere else, it probably hasn’t appeased you entirely.” Cassian let out a quiet sigh and shook his head. He seemed to be unable to find a rebuttal, and settled for just not answering at all. Ilsa let out a sigh and reached his hand out, grabbing Cassian and pulling at him.

Cassian, for once, didn’t let him pull him forward.

“Let me get Iden’s bassinet, I’ll take the removable base off of it, and you can set it up in the corner where your bears are,” Cassian said, pulling himself out of the nest. Ilsa sighed deeply, narrowing his eyes at Cassian’s retreating form.

Cassian could avoid his words, yes, but Ilsa could read him like a book. How much of it was the mating bond and how much of it was just because he knew Cassian now, he didn’t know. But Cassian often tried to hide his feelings from Ilsa. He could be as stubborn as he wanted to be, Ilsa didn’t care one bit. But… he was sure he knew Cassian was hungry. He seemed… unanimated. He usually had this glow that was just missing. Ilsa couldn’t really explain it, because describing someone who was already as pale as a ghost as… lacking color… seemed odd, but fitting.

He had such a youthful appearance usually, so alive, bright. Now he seemed just… dead. His eyes had dark circles, and his hair was more… messy. Even his clothes seemed to be untidy, as if he was too out of sorts to even focus on it. Ilsa had thought initially that it was because Cassian had been awake all night, but this wasn’t… tiredness. It was different. Ilsa could tell.

He had to help him, even if it meant making Cassian angry with him. When Cassian returned, he moved the bears over and set the bassinet up at the foot of the nest, moving the bears out of the way before he took Iden and laid him down in it. Ilsa had, admittedly, not thought of this as an option. He’d been prepared to move Iden into his nursery, because he had to breathe and sleeping in a nest of blankets wouldn’t really be best. It was instinct, but that didn’t mean he should listen to it, exactly.

“Wait,” Ilsa said, when Cassian went to get out of the nest so he could reorganize the bears. “Sit… wait.” Ilsa said quietly, more a plea than an order. Cassian nodded and leaned back against the pillows, looking over at Ilsa as he sorted the bears out to be in a stack where they wouldn’t fall onto Iden before he turned to face Cassian.

Ilsa immediately crawled into Cassian’s lap, straddling his waist. Cassian’s hands fell to his hips, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“Well, hello there, you. It’s been a while,” Cassian murmured teasingly, making Ilsa giggle quietly and shift forward, wrapping his arms around Cassian’s neck.

“Too long,” Ilsa agreed, sucking in a deep breath. He had to figure out how to get Cassian to bite him, and it seemed like, to him, the easiest way to do that was through sex. Cassian always bit him when they had sex, regardless of when he had bitten him with the intention of feeding on him. They hadn’t had sex in forever , too. Ilsa felt like he was going to die. He’d had sex so much just before finding out he was pregnant, and then the pregnancy consumed his mind and kept him preoccupied–and acted as a cock block because it was hard to want to have sex when you are uncomfortable as hell.

He could live without the sex, he was a little tired, really, but he had to do something because it looked like Cassian was going to whither away in front of him.

“I want you,” Ilsa purred, making Cassian raise an eyebrow.

“Ilsa, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but it’s incredibly hard for you to use sex in order to gain something you want when I can literally read your emotions. You don’t have to resort to such measures.” Cassian said softly, his hand sliding around to run along his lower back.

“I already asked for what I wanted.” Ilsa said stubbornly. Cassian tensed beneath him, his eyes narrowing a little. “The mating bond is precisely why I know you need this,” Ilsa protested, making Cassian sigh. “I know that you are trying to protect me, but I’m fine , Eirina said I was good as new. I’m sleepy, yeah, but my body is… well, it’s recovered. You don’t have to worry about hurting me now.”

“Ilsa, this isn’t a good idea,” Cassian tried, making Ilsa shake his head. “I… am rather famished and I fear that I won’t be able to stop. This isn’t a good idea.” Cassian murmured. Ilsa could understand Cassian’s worries, but at this point, he had made his mind up. He knew Cassian would be able to stop, he was just being over-paranoid. It made sense, but Ilsa wasn’t going to let him starve because he wanted to obsessively worry about something that was impossible with their mating bond.

Ilsa knew Cassian was prone to worrying already, obviously, and Ilsa couldn’t change that fact about him–but he could show him that it was baseless.

“Please. It’s been a long time,” Ilsa pleaded, tilting his head to the side and letting his hair fall out of the way so his neck was visible. Cassian’s eyes ran over his neck, his eyes darkening, breath catching. Well, that won’t work, Ilsa thought as he realized that Cassian was holding his breath. “It feels good, Alpha, I want it,” Cassian pulled him closer, shaking his head.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” Cassian repeated.

“Alpha,” Ilsa pleaded, his hands gripping onto either side of Cassian’s face. Cassian’s eyes narrowed, jolting a little. Ilsa led him up to his neck, shifting forward when Cassian stopped allowing him to pull him. Cassian inhaled sharply, tensing as his hands gripped into Ilsa’s hips. His fingers tightened to a point that it made Ilsa whimper a little, but he didn’t complain. He loved seeing the composed and unaffected vampire lose himself to his desire for him, for every part of him.

“Ilsa, it’s nearly impossible to resist you normally, and now it’s almost killing me.” Cassian groaned, his face pressing into his neck. “Are you enjoying purposefully dangling yourself like bait in front of me?” Ilsa let out a hum and nodded his head.

“Of course,” Ilsa answered, flushing. “Seeing you give in is kind of fun.”

“You aren’t being very well behaved tonight,” Cassian noted tightly. Ilsa shrugged.

“You can punish me for it, later?” Ilsa offered, wrapping his arms around Cassian’s neck as he shifted his head to the side to give him more space.

“Ilsa,” Cassian choked, but Ilsa was determined. He refused to let him move away. He could tell Cassian was hungry, and wasn’t being fully satisfied. It ate at him, he had this need right now to take care of everything–Iden, Cassian, right now he didn’t care, he just wanted them both to be okay. He could feel the hunger through the mating bond, it felt terrible, and he wanted Cassian to be full too.

“I know you’re scared,” Ilsa murmured quietly into Cassian’s ear, “but it’s okay. Go ahead,” Ilsa controlled his tone to avoid letting his breath hitch. He got a significant amount of enjoyment out of Cassian biting him, but he knew that sometimes certain sounds can sound differently if you’re in the wrong headspace. A whimper of pleasure could be confused as one of fear easily enough if Cassian were deep enough in his own head–which it seemed like that was the case. Ilsa wanted Cassian to feel comfortable, satiated, and to trust him.

Cassian let out a sigh, and then his fangs sank down into Ilsa neck, sending tingles echoing out through Ilsa. Ilsa couldn’t help but tremble, pleasure coursing through him as heat pooled in his stomach. Cassian’s hands relaxed on his hips, one of his arms slid around his waist and pulled him closer. Ilsa felt his erection brush against Cassian’s chest and let out a quiet moan, his hips canting forward as pleasure zinged through him. Cassian groaned, applying more pressure to the bite.

Ilsa shuddered, his eyes rolling back a bit as he rubbed against Cassian’s chest more. Ilsa whimpered in excitement when Cassian’s hand slowly moved across his hip and to the button of his pants, skillfully undoing it without even looking. Cassian’s cool hand slipped inside of his pants and into his boxers, wrapping around his erection.

“ Oh, “ Ilsa gasped, his teeth biting down into his lip as he pushed his hips forward into Cassian’s hand.

“Who made you like this?” Cassian almost growled as he pulled away from his neck, his orchid eyes heated as he dragged his gaze down Ilsa’s body. “I’ve never seen a beauty like yours, nor have I tasted anything as delightful,” Ilsa flushed, his heart speeding up as he sucked in a deep breath.

“That seems like a falsity,” Ilsa managed, his eyebrows furrowing together as Cassian’s fangs sank down into his neck again, sending tingles echoing through his body once again. “I’ve little doubt that you’ve entertained plenty of beautiful lovers in your time,” Cassian hummed into the bite, sending vibrations through Ilsa that made him press closer to Cassian. Fuck, it feels so good, Ilsa’s mind moaned, his eyes rolling back as his fingers tugged at Cassian’s hair.

“Perhaps,” Cassian acknowledged, flipping them suddenly so Ilsa was pressed to the bottom of his nest, Cassian’s body pressing firmly against his. Ilsa gasped, his legs curling around Cassian’s waist desperately, his body burning in his grasp. “But not a single one captured me like you did.” Cassian murmured, pressing a kiss to his neck as his hand tightened around his erection.

Ilsa felt euphoric as Cassian leaned down and sank his teeth into his shoulder, letting out a moan as his eyes rolled back. His cock was hard between his trembling thighs as Cassian’s hand moved around it, his thumb brushing over the tip of his erection. Ilsa moaned, arching his back up in an attempt to press into Cassian’s hand more, his orgasm washing over him beneath Cassian’s hands.

“Oh, fuck, Cassian, fuck ,” Ilsa whispered heatedly, his fingernails biting down into Cassian’s skin as his release knocked him senseless. When Ilsa gained his bearings, shaky from his orgasm, he let out a sigh of pleasure.

“I love you, Ilsa.” Cassian said, nuzzling into his neck gently. “I definitely do not deserve you, but all I want is you, always.” Ilsa’s breath caught in his chest.

“I want you always, too, Cassian.” Ilsa admitted. “Forever, and ever.”

“You’re so cute. You need to rest. If the baby cries, I’ll get him.” Cassian murmured.

“I’m covered in cum,” Ilsa protested quietly. Cassian chuckled.

“Mhm,” Cassian hummed as he shifted around, curling his arm around Ilsa’s shoulders. “Even if I’m grateful that you convinced me, I still said no and you disobeyed me. Consider this your punishment.” Ilsa giggled quietly, unable to help himself. “Rest, Lovebird.”

“Fine,” Ilsa agreed, trying to play annoyed but failing miserably as he shifted closer to Cassian and nuzzled into his neck. “Love you, Cass.”

“I love you, too, Precious.” Cassian murmured.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ＦФＵＲ 𒆜𓊉

𝒞 𝒜 𝒮 𝒮 𝐼 𝒜 𝒩

•

⊱───{

✦

❅

✦

}───⊰

•

When Cassian woke up to the sound of Iden beginning to stir in his bassinet at their feet, he let out a sigh and tiredly pulled his eyes open. Cassian’s eyes ran over to where Ilsa was curled up asleep, fighting the urge to sigh again. He was worried, more so than he wanted to be. Ilsa was trying to hide his lack of sleep, but Cassian had noticed it more and more over the past week or so that Iden had been born.

Ilsa was already physically wiped out from the pregnancy, he’d barely rested towards the end except in cat naps, and it seemed worse now somehow. Ilsa scarcely left his nest, unless it was to do something for Iden, which he supposed was the purpose of his nest, but… Ilsa also wasn’t sleeping. It might’ve sounded like a baseless worry, given he was presently sleeping but that was the thing… it didn’t last any time at all. Cassian had grown used to Ilsa’s restlessness during his pregnancy but this was different, worrisome, and he couldn’t put his finger on what his troubles were. He wanted to make everything better, he wanted to see the light come back into his pretty sapphire blue eyes, but he was rather helpless.

Unless he were to use the spell they used to induce sleep, but he’d never forcibly do something like that to Ilsa. He knew that while it might solve the present problem, his lack of sleep, it would only serve to create future problems… like Ilsa not trusting him anymore. Something that Cassian could not allow to happen.

Iden began stirring more, quiet little unhappy noises falling off of his lips as he squirmed around. Cassian carefully rose up out of the nest, fighting the urge to groan. Ilsa could curl up in a ball, but Cassian was left in a strange position that had his legs and back at an odd angle, leading to minor back pain. It’d fade as soon as he sat up completely and rearranged himself, so he wasn’t worried. Cassian picked Iden up out of his crib and settled him against his shoulder.

“Good morning little one,” Cassian murmured softly as Iden began squirming and whimpering almost immediately. Ah, yes, he’s rather partial to Ilsa at night, Cassian remembered as he quietly shushed him. Iden loved Cassian in the day time, but when it was night time, he would cry and cry for hours if Ilsa wasn’t the one getting him. Iden let out a little noise and smacked his hand down on Cassian’s shoulder, tears forming in his eyes as he blinked up at him.

“I know who you want,” Cassian murmured, bouncing him the same way Ilsa always did as he leaned over slightly and grabbed Iden’s bottle from the fridge. Cassian shifted Iden around, cradling his head in his arm as he popped the bottle into Iden’s mouth before he could start screaming his anger.

Iden seemed to be agreeing with him for the moment, at least until he smacked his hand against the bottle and it went flying. Cassian managed to catch it with the hand that he’d been holding it with, just before the bottle managed to hit Ilsa in the ribs. Cassian winced a little, his eyes roaming over Ilsa who was still asleep, oblivious.

“Iden, that wasn’t very nice,” Cassian murmured, sighing a little. “Let’s change your diaper first, then, hm?” Iden’s eyes watered and his lips parted as if he was going to start wailing any moment, so Cassian quickly grabbed the binky out of his bassinet and popped it into his mouth. Iden seemed effectively silenced, at least for the moment.

Ilsa and Iden being close was adorable, but it made things harder for Ilsa. It seemed more like a… biology thing, to Cassian. Ilsa seemed to have the urge to spend every moment… hovering . He seemed worried, almost as if he felt it were his job to care for Iden, and any mis-step would be punished, something that worried Cassian immensely. For one, Cassian tried to take care of Iden but Iden wanted Ilsa.

Iden wouldn’t take anyone else at night. It was only at night, when Ilsa needed to rest. He had been laying down for micro-naps, but they seemed to be doing nothing for him. Ilsa needed a full night to rest, without any interruptions. Even so, Iden was only appeased with him when it was anything other than night time. Iden took the binky into his hand and chucked it at Cassian, letting out a wail while Cassian was in the middle of changing his diaper. Cassian quickly pushed the binky back into his mouth, willing him to just let Ilsa sleep a few more minutes.

Rest, Eirina had directed Ilsa, but Cassian wasn’t sure how Ilsa was meant to do that when Iden would cry for Ilsa and only Ilsa for hours on end. He had, on several occasions, tried blinking Iden to his nursery, where Cassian had attempted to feed him, shush him, he’d even gotten Helix and Felix in case he was just an incompetent bastard, and they’d been unable to calm him as well. Helix and Felix had pretty much raised him, and they’d been at a loss as to what to do about it.

The logical solution was for Ilsa to sleep in the daytime, but Ilsa wouldn’t sleep for longer than a few minutes. He just woke up after barely any time had passed. Cassian had no idea how Ilsa was even functioning at this point. Eirina’s only explanation had been unhelpful and vague, with little context: That is just the way the wind blows.

Cassian loved Eirina, but he wasn’t in the mood for vague and useless remarks that gave him no fucking answer. Cassian however, knew the reason behind her vagueness. She had no idea. If they had more information on Ilsa’s background, they might have figured something out about it, but it was likely Ilsa didn’t know the kind of information they’d need anyway. From Cassian’s understanding the records were kept pretty tightly sealed in Caelestes, so Ilsa probably wouldn’t have had access.

Even if he did, though, there was no guarantee that the documents contained the information they needed because of how specific it was. He’d need to know the kind of demon Ilsa was, what generation he was… It was a long and frankly grueling list that Cassian didn’t know off the top of his head. Once Iden had his diaper and clothes changed, Cassian went back to trying to feed Iden for a few minutes, until Iden tried to throw the bottle at Ilsa again in an attempt to wake him up. He’s just as stubborn as Ilsa, Cassian noted.

Cassian sighed deeply and shifted closer to Ilsa, holding Iden in one arm as he ran his fingers through Ilsa’s hair. Cassian would never startle Ilsa awake, because he’d seen Ilsa have nightmares, and frankly his ears wouldn’t survive another of Ilsa’s loud, piercing screams. Ilsa barely even stirred as Cassian moved his hand to rub the back of his neck gently.

“Lovebird,” Cassian murmured quietly. Ilsa tensed, then began shifting. “Good boy, that’s it, just need you for a minute, Iden won’t eat for me baby.” Ilsa rolled over and sat up, not even bothering to open his eyes at first. When his pretty dark blue eyes opened, he looked up at Cassian and reached out for Iden, taking him and shifting him in his arms until he was settled. Iden let out a giggle and reached his hand up, pulling at Ilsa’s hair. Ilsa let out a quiet, tired squeak and took the bottle from Cassian, popping it into Iden’s mouth.

This time, Iden accepted the bottle, his hand moving from Ilsa’s hair to pull at Cassian’s instead. Cassian winced a bit, carefully working Iden’s hand open with his thumb so his fingers loosened in his hair. Cassian quickly moved back a bit and tugged at the band in his hair, letting his hair fall before he sloppily pulled it back up into a bun.

He hadn’t the slightest idea how his father had managed to have his hair this long for so long, Cassian was ready to chop it all off and he’d been a father for approximately two weeks now. It’d been like this the entire time–every few hours Iden would wake up wanting attention, food, cuddles–hell, he was one of the most active babies Cassian had ever seen. It was honestly a little miserable for all the parties involved at this point, because Ilsa was miserable and exhausted, Cassian was just exhausted, and Iden was active and playful and unbothered.

Cassian had accidentally fallen back asleep more than once after Ilsa had taken the baby, and Ilsa refused to keep him awake. Cassian wanted to help Ilsa , and wanted Iden to be comfortable. He felt as if he were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

“You can go back to sleep, Cass, he won’t cry now.” Ilsa murmured tiredly. Cassian shook his head.

“I’m staying up with you.” Cassian insisted, offering a warm, albeit tired, smile to Ilsa. Cassian was trying to alter things to make it easier on Ilsa–if he could just get Iden to accept a bottle from him at night, all of their lives would be so much easier. Ilsa was tired enough that if Cassian could keep Iden quiet, he’d sleep through the night, and then the next morning Cassian could sleep a bit and things would even out somehow. It had yet to work.

All Cassian wanted to do was let Ilsa rest. He had gone through pregnancy, and now he was still exhausted and drained. Ilsa didn’t reply. He had busied himself with shifting around to settle the baby in his arms. Cassian smiled and moved closer to Ilsa, wrapping his arm around Ilsa’s shoulder and rested his chin on Ilsa’s shoulder. Ilsa with the baby was a sight that Cassian found absolutely… beautiful .

Despite being exhausted and drained, the soft and loving look on Ilsa’s face never failed to melt Cassian a little. Ilsa was way better with Iden than Cassian ever dreamed of being. He never even looked as though he was put out, despite being exhausted. After a few minutes, Ilsa shifted over onto his side, so that Iden was close to Cassian too, Ilsa’s head falling over onto Cassian’s shoulder.

“Lovebird, are you awake?” Cassian asked after a handful of minutes had passed. “Ilsa?” Cassian murmured again, when he got no response. Cassian leaned his head forward, running his eyes over Ilsa, smiling faintly. He seemed to be fast asleep on his shoulder now. Even so, Iden was nestled close to him and Ilsa was still managing to hold the bottle and Iden without issue–even so, Cassian would stay up and ensure Iden made it back to his bassinet for Ilsa.

Cassian shifted back on the nest a bit, allowing Ilsa to get more comfortable and for him to help Ilsa hold Iden, just to be careful. Ilsa let out a hum, his face pressing into Cassian’s shoulder for a moment, his eyes fluttering open with a sleepy smile.

“I love you,” Ilsa murmured tiredly. Cassian hummed, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“I love you too.” Cassian murmured, his eyes running over Ilsa’s face. He still seemed to be asleep, but even so, Cassian didn’t want to ignore his words. Cassian’s eyes moved to Iden, who was still sucking happily on his bottle, his mix-matched eyes hooded, but even so he showed no signs of being full. At this rate, he was going to have to have Shadow put a spell on Iden’s bottle so it never ran out of formula.

“Ilsa, we have a perfect family,” Cassian whispered, and while Ilsa didn’t respond, Cassian hadn’t expected him to. He was out cold. Still, Cassian couldn’t help it.

His life hadn’t been like this, his mother hadn’t ever really cared for him. Helix and Felix had taken care of him, his mother was preoccupied with her duties, she had always said when asked. As he grew older, the only way he managed to impress her was to do everything she said without question–and he’d done so for a while. When his father died, once Cassian was crowned, his mother had moved out of the castle and straight to the other side of the realm, as far away as possible.

Initially, it had bothered him, but to some degree he could understand… more now than he ever had before. His mother was mated to his father, and if Ilsa just sleeping for three days had driven him insane he could only imagine what kind of anguish she had been in when he passed.

It wasn’t often that vampires died, but when they did die, it was… never expected. Arguably, that made it worse, because everyone just assumed everything would be fine… and then it wasn’t.

His fathers death, an assumed assassination, had never really been solved. They had no idea who or how someone managed to get into a private office in the attic with no exterior access points. It was back when every portal in the realm had to be approved, as per an effort to prevent other realms from… well, assassinating the king.

It obviously hadn’t worked, but that was the attempt, at least. Cassian had been deeply affected by the loss of his father, more than his mother. Their bond was closer, Cassian was in close proximity to him most of the time while he was training to take over for his father. He’d even considered the possibility that his fathers death might have been planned, because of how… perfect everything had gone down. He had only just finished training as the king when his father was assassinated… which brought forth many questions to Cassian’s mind.

Had his father planned the whole thing? Was that why Cassian’s mother disliked him? He didn’t know, and as his father was currently rotting in a hole in the ground, he didn’t quite feel as though he would ever find out for certain what happened, truthfully… but the past is the past, and he’d lived multiple lifetimes since his father had passed. The pain was all but a distant memory at this point, and he preferred to leave it like that.

None of that mattered anymore, because he had something better to focus his mind on. His family, his son… his partner. When Iden finished eating, Cassian went to take him from Ilsa to put him to bed, but before he could, Ilsa sat up and did it himself. He didn’t even seem to be fully awake, his eyes barely opened as he settled Iden down. Within seconds, Iden was all but snoring in his bassinet, and Ilsa was smiling down at him as if he didn’t even notice Cassian was awake behind him. After a moment or two, Ilsa shifted back into his arms and pressed his face into Cassian’s neck, letting out a yawn before he was out once again for another little micro-nap. Cassian smiled, despite himself.

Ilsa was too cute, but he needed a solution to Ilsa’s sleeping problem, hopefully soon.

• ⊱───{✦❅✦}───⊰ •

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa had thought that time sped by before Iden got there, but it seemed as though he grew as Ilsa blinked. Within the first three weeks, he’d sat up on his own, and he was already grabbing at things he wanted. Iden was perfect, so intelligent and beautiful that it made Ilsa’s heart squeeze in his chest. His nest in Cassian’s office was practically the only place he stayed, save for when it was bath time. Cassian had been sleeping with him while the baby slept in his bassinet at their feet. It was perfect, warm, cozy and Ilsa loved it.

He had his first meeting with Shadow since his pregnancy had left him unable to meet with her–he’d been too tired and drained, it wouldn’t have been worth it for him to attempt to use his magic for much. Plus, he had learned plenty on his own, without her help. More probably, because he wasn’t holding himself back to follow her guides. He hadn’t really attempted anything that’d be draining for him, but there were some spells that didn’t take a lot of energy because they were short in duration with lasting effects.

That being said, more didn’t necessarily mean what he learned was correct. There were multiple ways to do anything, but that didn’t necessarily mean they were the efficient ways of doing things. Shadow would be able to teach him how to do things efficiently and easily, which was well worth the amount of time spent on each thing.

That being said, he was struggling to learn how to read tarot cards. It didn’t seem that hard, in theory, but Ilsa was struggling. After about thirty minutes, he wasn’t able to focus anymore on it even with Shadow beside him, explaining everything to him. He couldn’t quit thinking about Iden. Cassian had him, he was in the nest with Iden when Ilsa left, but he was unsettled being so far away from both of them.

But at the same time, Ilsa was exhausted. Cassian had been urging him to rest for a month now, and Ilsa had barely done so. It wasn’t purposeful, he didn’t intend not to sleep, but Iden grew so quickly that there was always something to do for him. Though he was a month old, he was already wearing clothes intended for children between three and six months, and he just kept growing. Ilsa worried sometimes that if he blinked, he’d miss some crucial point in his development because he just grew so quickly. Iden’s checkups had been consistently positive, he was growing at what Eirina described as ‘normal for a vampire with demon blood’ which wasn’t exactly… clear to Ilsa.

What rate was normal for a vampire child, and what rate was normal for a demon child and where was Iden falling on the scale? Ilsa would venture more towards the vampire side than the demon side. He’d grown up slowly, every year felt like a century and a half. Iden was growing practically before his own eyes, and he just… couldn’t wait for him to hit two years old so there would be a little bit of a refractory period between his growth spurts.

“You aren’t paying any attention to me, hm?” Shadow hummed, crossing her arms over her chest. Ilsa blinked a couple of times, sheepishly smiling.

“I apologize,” Ilsa said sincerely, biting his lip. “I know it’s probably frustrating. I just can’t keep my mind off of Iden.” Ilsa said, making Shadow smile faintly.

“Beautiful name.” Shadow murmured, an amused smile crossing her face.

“Thank you. I hope he feels the same.” Ilsa said worriedly, shifting a little in his seat at the table under the gazebo.

“I’m sure he will,” Shadow said, looking away from him for a moment, before her eyes turned back to his, something glimmering in her eyes. “How are you feeling after having him?” She asked. Ilsa shrugged.

“I’m feeling fine,” Ilsa said.

“I have held back from saying anything because you’re the queen of this realm, and I don’t want to offend you, but you look exhausted. When’s the last time you’ve slept?” Shadow asked, making Ilsa shrug again and tug at the ends of his hair nervously. He should’ve seen this coming, honestly, his magic was suffering from his depleted energy, his eyes were sunken in, and he looked closer to a vampire than he ever had before–even if he was significantly tanner than all of them.

“I slept last night?” Ilsa tried to make it come out confidently, but truthfully he had no idea. It seemed correct, he had cat-napped, he was sure. Which is really all he had done for a while, it was his normal. Cassian had been telling him over and over to sleep, but he just couldn’t. It felt like he was wasting valuable time with Iden.

“It’s no wonder you’re zoning out on me and failing everything you attempt.” Shadow said, crossing her arms with a frown. Ilsa frowned, flushing.

“I’m trying ,” Ilsa said, unable to help putting emphasis on the word trying. He was doing the best he could, why didn’t anyone understand that? Cassian wanting him to sleep didn’t make him able to sleep, and Shadow chewing him out because his head wasn’t into a magic lesson wasn’t going to put him to sleep.

“Ilsa, I’m saying this because I care about you.” Shadow snapped her fingers and then laid her palm out flat, and a little vial formed in her hand. It glowed, faintly, like the potions Cassian had used when he was in heat to soothe his skin. “Take this. Curl up somewhere comfortable. Sleep until the potion wears off.”

“I-I cant! Do you know how much I’ll miss if I–” Ilsa broke off, flushing as he realized he had raised his voice a bit and he didn’t want Cassian to hear his senseless worries.

“Ah, so that’s what it is, then.” Shadow said, putting her hand on Ilsa’s shoulder. “Ilsa, Iden is going to grow, whether you look at him or not. Wouldn’t you rather sleep so that you can function properly? As Iden’s mother, if you’re not sleeping how can you be there for him efficiently?” Ilsa didn’t really have an argument to go against that statement, so he fell silent. “Think of it like this. He’s asleep anyway, so what if you don’t watch him grow half an inch in his sleep. I couldn’t do so, my children grew at the rate of humans, in comparison that’s slowly. I didn’t even realize my children were growing until they’d grown.”

“I’ll… try the potion.” Ilsa agreed. “But, if something goes wrong, I’m suing you.”

“For my cabbages? Oh no.” Shadow giggled, handing him the vial. “Just drink and sleep.” Shadow said. Ilsa nodded as he took it, looking over it. “Go sleep, I’ll schedule our next meeting with Cassian and then be on my way.” Ilsa nodded and stood up, turning to the castle and heading straight to his nest in Cassian’s office.

He’d said he’d go to sleep, but peeking in on the baby… well, that was too much of a temptation for him to resist. When he got to Cassian’s office, he found it empty and let out an annoyed huff. He didn’t like not being able to locate him, either. Reason number… six thousand seven hundred and eighty nine… why he didn’t want to leave Iden’s side until he was big enough to take care of himself.

“Lovebird,” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa turn around quickly.

“Where is Iden?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian raise his hand.

“Helix is watching him in his nursery until I return. Shadow caught me, we made your next appointment.” Cassian said. Ilsa nodded, biting his lip.

“I’ll go check on him.” Ilsa said, making Cassian frown.

“Ilsa hold on, lets talk for a moment.” Ilsa nodded, crossing his arms over his chest and shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “I want you to sleep, Love. I can tell you’re tired, and I’m worried for you.”

“It’s so easy for everyone else to tell me to sleep,” Ilsa griped, rolling his eyes. “It’s not so simple, I’m not doing it intentionally. I just… whenever I lay down, I think about how much I’m missing and it makes me unable to actually sleep.” Ilsa admitted, squeezing his eyes shut.

“I understand, Love.” Cassian murmured, pulling Ilsa close to his chest. “Let’s go check on Iden, and then I’ll bring you back here and let you rest near all of Iden and your things so you feel closer to him. Okay?” Ilsa nodded after a moment. He was already planning on doing it for Shadow, and Cassian was way more important than Shadow to him. He might have been grumpy, but he still wanted nothing more than to cuddle with Cassian and sleep.

“I wish you could cuddle with me in my nest and…” Ilsa flushed a little, fluttering his lashes a bit. They’d been busy enough, and he was tired enough that sex hadn’t really been a thought in his mind honestly. He missed being intertwined with Cassian though.

“You’ll be going into heat in a couple of weeks, so just hold out until then, Lovely,” Cassian murmured, pressing his lips to Ilsa’s forehead. “I’ll take care of you real nice then. Okay?” Ilsa nodded and huffed. He knew it was for the best for them to wait, he was tired, but even so, he missed Cassian.

“Okay,” Ilsa agreed quietly. Cassian hummed, tipping his head back gently as those orchid eyes pierced into his very being, and Ilsa knew Cassian would figure out he was disappointed. He didn’t want that, truthfully, but it was hard to hide something when he had a mating bond that allowed Cassian to read him like an open book.

“Lovebird, how about… we let Helix and Felix watch the baby, and you and I get in the nest together?” Cassian murmured softly, pulling Ilsa even closer to him. “Just you and I, we’ll cuddle, let you rest… and then perhaps this upcoming weekend, we can take a short trip to a different city and stay the night. It’s snowing in Névé right now, perhaps we should go visit and I’ll show you what winter has to offer here.”

“I don’t even know where that is, but… Iden…” Ilsa murmured worriedly. Cassian smiled.

“Of course we’ll bring Iden with us, Darling.” Cassian said softly. “We’ll take the carriage, so we can bring everything you and the baby need for a weekend trip. And we will bring Helix and Felix, because I want to take you ice skating.”

“Ice skating? That sounds… remarkably dangerous with a baby?” Ilsa said.

“That’s why I’m bringing Helix and Felix.” Cassian said, making Ilsa hum and nod before he paused.

“What even is their job title?” Ilsa ventured curiously. Cassian shrugged.

“I don’t know. They were originally hired as my caretakers when I was Iden’s size.” Cassian said, shrugging. “Their job has changed over the years, many times. At this point, all I know is, I sign their checks and give them raises and bonuses whenever it is requested.” Cassian explained.

“How long ago was that?” Ilsa asked.

“When was the black death?” Cassian asked.

“T-The what?” Ilsa stammered, confused. Cassian raised an eyebrow.

“An outbreak of the Plague ravaged the human realm, it was called the Black Death. Am I mistaken?” Cassian asked, looking genuinely concerned for a moment.

“I apologize, Cassian, but I must not have read about it.” Ilsa said apologetically, his head tilting a bit.

“Ah… a gross estimate would probably be about mid thirteen hundreds.” Cassian said, making Ilsa’s eyebrows raise.

He might actually be older than me, somehow, Ilsa thought, flushing a little. He wasn’t really sure as he had no idea what that translated to in Caelestes time. The years are weird, there, confusing even. The one’s here were… different. Not any less confusing to Ilsa, who couldn’t quite tell what the date was on any given day. He didn’t even know Iden’s birthday, honestly–something that was shameful, he was sure, but it wasn’t like he’d had a calendar here. He was sure Cassian would provide one, but Ilsa didn’t want to ask because it felt weird.

“That… might be nice.” Ilsa agreed after a moment. Cassian smiled brightly.

“Névé is beautiful this time of year, you’ll love it.” Cassian said, wrapping his arm around Ilsa’s shoulders. “Now, let’s go say goodnight to Iden, and then let you get some rest.” Ilsa nodded. He didn’t have much to say, honestly, he was tired, and Cassian… well, Cassian was his pillow. He just needed to take the potion and get some much needed rest so he could actually focus.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ＦＩＶＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

The morning after Ilsa took the potion to sleep, he woke up feeling magnificent for the first time in what seemed like forever. Everything just felt lighter, the world felt brighter, the bats chirping happily outside were more relaxing, the moon overhead was more beautiful. Basically, Ilsa was just in a foul mood before because he was fucking exhausted, and even he could tell the difference between the before and after. Ilsa was up and out of his nest almost immediately upon realizing that it was actually morning and Iden had been away from him the entire night, heading straight towards his nursery.

Ilsa expected chaos, honestly.

Which was the exact opposite of what he found. Ilsa peeked into the nursery to find Felix, the more quiet of the two twins, bouncing Iden in his arms, a soft smile pulled across his face. Iden, to his surprise, was giggling happily and pulling at the chain on his lapel that connected to the collar of his shirt, making it make a soft clinking noise with each movement. Felix seemed to be talking, but Ilsa couldn’t quite hear him because he talked so quietly.

Ilsa wandered into the room quietly, assuming that Felix already knew he was in the room because… well, he’s a vampire and they all seemed hyper aware of his presence. Felix suddenly turned, his eyes landing on Ilsa as relief covered his face.

“Did I startle you?” Ilsa asked.

“Admittedly so.” Felix said, looking down at Iden for a moment before he stepped forward. Ilsa couldn’t help but be surprised, he wasn’t used to Vampires not realizing he was there before he even realized they were there.

“Was Iden difficult for you?” Ilsa asked as Felix handed him Iden gently. Felix shook his head.

“Iden and I have an agreement,” Felix said, smiling a little as he ran his eyes over him. “He behaves for me, and I send him images through telepathy.” Felix laughed a little, shaking his head. “I used to do the same for Cassian when he was a baby.”

“I thought your ability only worked in combination with Helix,” Ilsa admittedly, scratching at the back of his head.

“It works best in combination with Helix,” Felix admitted, “My abilities are significantly weaker when Helix isn’t around, which is part of why I need his ability to fuel my own. However, I don’t have to be able to read his mind to manipulate his thoughts.” Felix paused for a moment, tilting his head. “Helix had the idea, actually, because he could read Iden’s thoughts. He was bored, and kept throwing his rattle at Helix. Helix reminded me that I used to manifest pictures for Cassian when he was a baby to keep him entertained–sort of like a picture book. I have been all over the twenty seven realms, and there are many very beautiful places in them.” Felix murmured.

“Speaking of Helix, where is he?” Ilsa asked curiously. It wasn’t often that he’d seen the pair not together, honestly.

“Helix went to town.” Felix explained. “Cassian requested he bring back something special for dinner tonight.” Ilsa nodded, not really caring enough to question what it was. He didn’t care that much, the food was always good, and hearing the names honestly made him more hesitant to try things because they didn’t sound nearly as appetizing as they actually were.

“Fun,” Ilsa said, putting Iden on his hip and smiling.

“You look much better than you did the last time I saw you,” Felix said, his white eyes sparkling a little as he tilted his head. It was strange to look into his eyes, the lines around his irises were barely visible, leading to an odd sort of… blending that made him look not quite as human as his brother. His eyes looked much more akin to how Naevys’s looked, flat… empty, almost, save for the dark black pupil. It was different, uncanny, because his irises were littered with silver in the depths of them, but towards the edges it blurred or something.

Ilsa wasn’t sure how else to describe it really. His scleras were white, his pupils were white, so it just meshed strangely, he supposed.

“I feel much better,” Ilsa admitted, pressing a kiss to Iden’s forehead as Iden reached up and grabbed at the collar of the shirt he was wearing. He loved sleeping in Cassian’s button up shirts, and he’d live and die on that hill. He loved them, they smelled like Cassian, made him feel warm, and like Cassian was right with him.

“I’m glad. It was no trouble. If you ever need a break, don’t hesitate to ask. Parenting is a tiring job, sometimes thankless. Helix and I are here to ensure your comfort,” Felix said, bowing his head kindly.

“I know,” Ilsa said, flushing a bit under the attention. “I would feel bad though, asking…” Ilsa trailed off, his eyes lowering a bit.

“Cassian pays us handsomely for our work,” Felix interjected, smiling comfortingly. “You don’t have to feel bad, we are paid to take care of your needs. It was dreadfully boring before you arrived, we had little work to do.” Felix sighed. “Anyway, I will begin breakfast for you, my lord.” Felix stepped back and disappeared before Ilsa could say anything in response, which was honestly for the best because he had no idea how to respond to his words.

Ilsa glanced down at Iden and giggled, shifting him in front of him as he moved over to the changing table, gently laying him down.

“Let’s get you ready for your day, Iden. What are you feeling today, hm? Something cute or something comfy?” Iden didn’t respond, but it wasn’t like Ilsa was expecting him to. He just liked talking to Iden, he never wanted Iden to feel like he did as a child–like a burden, like he was being ignored. Ilsa had never felt important, like he hadn’t any worth at all, so he would never make Iden feel the same way.

“Let’s go with comfy. I’ll take you out to the garden, we’ll play on the blanket together!” Ilsa said, grabbing a pair of warm pants, long sleeves, and a pair of warm socks. He quickly changed Iden’s diaper and pulled his onesie down his shoulders and off of him, tossing it into the bin at the end of the changing table for dirty clothes.

Ilsa spent the next few minutes dressing Iden, before he slipped him into a sweater vest and zipped it. Iden immediately began grabbing at the zipper and tugging on it with a giggle, his eyes brightening as he did so. Ilsa smiled and picked him up, settling him back on his hip before heading to Cassian’s room. Iden made a loud giggling noise and jerked one of his arms, making Ilsa giggle.

He would’ve usually been dressed by Helix and Felix, but Helix was gone and Felix was cooking, leaving him to locate his own clothing. A task which felt like it should’ve been simple, but he didn’t have any idea where his clothes were kept. He’d always been dressed in the boudoir, so… he didn’t know if he had clothes in their bedroom. After peeking into multiple different drawers, he realized he couldn’t really be sure.

So, instead of trying to figure out where his clothes were, he sat Iden down on the floor and gave him his rattle and his pacifier, before walking into the closet and digging through Cassian’s sweatpants drawer. He found a pair that looked like it was smaller than the others, by very little and quickly hurried back out to Iden.

Ilsa pulled the pants on, keeping his eyes on Iden carefully, watching as he shook the rattle around with excited giggles, a smile lighting up his face. They were still too big for him, so he used the strings on the inside of them to tie them so they didn’t fall off. Ilsa grabbed one of Cassian’s sweaters out of the top of the closet and slipped out of the button up, before pulling the sweater over his head. Ilsa pulled on a pair of socks, before picking Iden up, heading down to Cassian’s office. He just wanted to see if Cassian was up.

To Ilsa’s surprise, a voice he’d never wanted to hear again was leaking through the wood of the door. Isandro, Ilsa realized, suddenly remembering that Isoloses had told him: He wants to meet with Cassian on the day of fathers death. Ilsa suddenly felt a little nauseated. Iden let out an unhappy noise, tugging at the sleeve of Cassian’s sweater as if he could sense his discomfort.

Ilsa quickly turned and walked away from the office without even knocking, a pit sinking in his stomach.

Nest. His nest was in Cassian’s office, though, at least the one he liked and the one that made him feel safest. Ilsa walked into Cassian’s room and locked the door, using the chair at the desk to jam the door shut. Ilsa quickly walked into Iden’s room, shutting the outside door. He grabbed a bottle and some diapers before he pushed the baby’s changing table in front of his door. Ilsa quickly grabbed his bottle and grabbed the formula from the fridge, preparing him a bottle. Ilsa replaced the formula in the fridge and grabbed the diapers before running into Cassian’s room.

Ilsa shut the door that separated the two rooms and quickly locked it, hoping desperately that Isandro wouldn’t try to snoop around because he didn’t have anything else to block the door. Ilsa sighed and crawled into his nest, wrapping himself around Iden carefully, keeping his eyes on the door of the room, unable to help trembling a little.

Ilsa hadn’t really had time to think about Isandro and his father because of the baby, but… fuck, he was dead. That was what he was thinking at least, and it filled him with an odd sense of relief. He never had to see that wretched man’s face again, never had to worry about Iden meeting him. With his death came release.

It was over. He was finally free. Ironic, considering he was trembling with Iden curled up in a nest, but once Isandro was gone… he was home free.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa could’ve cried his relief when Cassian blinked into their room three hours later, a calm and relaxed expression on his face. Ilsa was sitting up from when Felix had brought his breakfast to him, Iden had fallen asleep lying beside him on the bed, one of his tiny little hands curled in the fabric of the sweater Ilsa was wearing, so Ilsa hadn’t moved since. Ilsa gently pulled Iden’s fingers away from the sweater and carefully moved away from him, watching Iden settle on his back in the center of the nest.

“Is everything okay?” Ilsa immediately asked, barely taking a moment to breathe before he was jumping into conversation. Cassian paused for a moment, hesitancy crossing his face.

“The king of Caelestes has passed,” Cassian said, making Ilsa nod his head. “I just got done negotiating the first forty nine pages of a six-hundred and eighty-seven page peace treaty with Isandro.”

“A… A peace treaty?” Ilsa asked nervously. He was hard pressed to believe Isandro was anything more than a monster. He’d tortured him for years. Ilsa shivered a little, unable to help himself, as some of the more frightening memories he had of Isandro rose to the surface of his mind. Only… they were different, and it brought a frown to his face. Despite the terror he was feeling in the memories, he was sitting alone in his bedroom. No one was with him. He could remember the memories… but it was like he was remembering duplicating timelines simultaneously. Two to be specific.

Isoloses had told me nothing happened in front of him, Ilsa thought, but what if he just made me imagine everything? What if he couldn’t even trust a single memory in his head?

“Indeed, a peace treaty. With hopes of an exchange program in the foreseeable future, given things go well for a ten year minimum.” Cassian said, crossing his arms as he stepped in front of Ilsa.

“That’s… good.” It was good, and Ilsa wasn’t so sure he understood why he wasn’t happier about the news. It meant, if nothing else, change was upon the horizon. The past would never be erased and Ilsa knew that, but at the least there was a step in the right direction… but he felt uncertain. Unsure.

He couldn’t quite tell if he should fully believe it, honestly.

“I know it’s probably shocking to you,” Cassian said, putting his hand on Ilsa’s shoulder, “I can’t say it didn’t surprise the hell out of me when Naevys showed up and brought a message to me from Isoloses.”

“I did tell you it was coming.” Ilsa pointed out sheepishly. Cassian nodded.

“It was still surprising.” Cassian said, shrugging a bit. For the first time since Cassian had blinked into their room, Ilsa took into account what he was wearing with appreciation.

He was dressed in a classic cut black shirt with an elegant, tapered fit. It had pleated black ribbon trim down the front, and at the cuffs with black pearl snaps. His vest was made in black brocade fabric with a gray etched design on it. The vest had a flattering tapered fit, fastened in the front with six antique white-gold buttons, and had a notched collar. The jacket had gray brocade trims and detailing, a fold over collar and black lapels with brocade trims, complete with matching buttoned tabs around the cuffs and split tails to the lower back. His pants were gray brocade, classic cut straight legged pants, made in lightweight black fabric.

The buttons of his tailcoat weren’t buttoned, and he had white gold chains littering his clothes–at his waist, connecting from one of the buttons of his vest to some place hidden inside of his coat. He had a black tie on, with a bat wing connected to either side of his shirt collar, a white gold chain connecting the two and crossing the top of his black tie.

He looked… absolutely stunning, and Ilsa wanted to jump him then and there.

“Lovebird, are you listening to me?” Cassian questioned as he pulled his hair out of the bun it was pulled up into and ran his fingers through it. Ilsa shook his head to clear his thoughts, biting into his lip. Cassian was not helping his train of thought, as he proceeded to shrug out of the coat and turn around, exposing the back of the vest to Ilsa. It had black satin on the back, and it was a very flattering fit, tied in the back with satin belting.

“I-Uh, yeah, listening. I am.” Ilsa said, making Cassian chuckle.

“I was just saying, Isoloses is going to be moving to Tenebris Regni, with Naevys,” Cassian said, turning back to face him and leaning against the edge of his dresser. Ilsa’s eyes roamed over him hungrily, his body heating up a bit as he did so. Ilsa nodded, much more preoccupied with the thoughts of Cassian holding him down to the bed than anything spewing from his mouth. “Perhaps you should put Iden in his bed for a nap, Lovely.” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa peek back at Iden, who hadn’t even moved an inch.

“Wouldn’t that wake him?” Ilsa asked worriedly.

“Possibly, but he can’t stay there,” Cassian said, smirking a bit as his eyes ran over Ilsa. Ilsa couldn’t help but tilt his head to the side, curiosity filling him.

“Why?” Ilsa asked, confusion marring his tone. “He’s asleep,” Ilsa reaffirmed, his eyes moving back to Iden. He understood that he couldn’t be left unattended on the bed for many, many reasons, but he was right there and watching him closely, even if his mind was split in multiple directions.

“I’m aware. But I had a long, stressful morning negotiating peace between realms,” Cassian paused, his orchid eyes seemingly roaming over Ilsa as they darkened. Ilsa felt like he just wasn’t getting what Cassian was saying, and maybe Cassian realized that, because he chuckled quietly and stepped closer, putting his hand on Ilsa’s lower back. “I would like to make you cum, Ilsa. Perhaps even have a taste of you.”

Ilsa flushed, nodding his head. He turned and carefully picked up Iden, moving as slowly as he could to keep from rousing him from his slumber. Ilsa paused in front of the door to unlock it, and pushed it open, walking into the baby’s nursery. Ilsa carefully laid him down in his crib and turned his light down so it was faint and wouldn’t bother him. Ilsa briefly worried about him getting cold, but his clothes prevented the worry from taking root, so he turned and walked towards the bedroom and left Iden’s door cracked open.

When he returned to the room, Cassian was sitting on the bed, and the doorknob was no longer being stopped by the chair he’d put in front of it. With Cassian there, he didn’t even think about it, though. He wasn’t afraid of Isandro finding him if Cassian was with him, only if he were alone. However much of his history had been fabricated, he might not ever know. With how long of a lifetime he’d had, there were many, many memories he’d have to sift through. Too many for him to reasonably do so when in distress, and he really wasn’t all that keen on remembering his life before he’d left Caelestes honestly.

At this point, what did it really matter, anyway? Whatever had happened, whatever he thought happened, at this point weren’t the two really one in the same anyway? Even if every terrifying thing that happened to him was a lie, he was still made to believe it was reality. It almost made it worse, honestly, that his memories couldn’t be trusted. At least when he thought it was reality he felt like his fear was substantiated. Now… he just felt a little like he was over-dramatic.

Ilsa shivered when Cassian appeared behind him, his cool hand settling on Ilsa’s stomach. Arousal danced under Ilsa’s skin, his body heating up with just a single touch of Cassian’s hand. Oh he was so ready for this. He’d been missing Cassian’s hands on his body, he wanted to feel him holding him again. He wanted to feel connected to Cassian once again, when Cassian was inside of him he just felt so close and there was nothing he needed more than that right now.

He wanted to feel his bond with Cassian again. It’d been so, so long and he felt like he was going to lose his mind. He needed him.

“Please,” Ilsa pleaded, his hands running down the soft fabric of his vest. “I want you . Now. I don’t want to wait for my heat,” Ilsa looked up into Cassian’s eyes, hoping that’d be enough to persuade him because he didn’t really know how to put it into words more eloquently.

“What if you get hurt?” Cassian murmured, which Ilsa was pleased with. It wasn’t a no , which meant it was a maybe. He could work with maybe.

“The elves healed me, I have demonic healing and it’s already been a month. Please. I… I miss it.” Ilsa admitted. Cassian hummed a bit.

“Let’s see how you feel when you cum once,” Cassian murmured.

“I’ll feel the same,” Ilsa said, positive it was true. Cassian was so attractive that Ilsa could go practically whenever he looked at him if he were being honest. He was… appealing to look at to put it lightly, and Ilsa was practically drooling with how good he was currently looking. “If that’s the case then… Can… you keep the suit?” Ilsa wagered, flushing a little as he averted his eyes shyly.

“Keep the suit?” Cassian asked, raising an eyebrow. “As in, while I make you cum?” Cassian questioned, the bluntness of his words causing Ilsa’s cheeks to heat up.

“Yes, please.” Ilsa said, flushing brightly.

“You’re adorable, are these mine?” Cassian asked as he ran his fingers along the waistband of the sweatpants Ilsa had slipped into earlier that morning. Ilsa flushed and nodded his head, shivering a little as Cassian’s fingers dipped into the band of the pants, digging into his hips.

“I couldn’t find mine,” Ilsa defended, even though he knew it wasn’t necessary. Cassian didn’t judge him, he knew that, but even so it was more instinct than anything–a need to justify his actions even when it wasn’t necessary. Cassian’s hands slid down, easily slipping the oversized pants down off of his body before lifting him. Ilsa went to grasp at Cassian, but he quickly found himself being tossed back on the bed. He landed in the center of his nest, Ilsa bounced a bit, his breath catching in his throat as he parted his legs, looking pleadingly at Cassian.

Cassian was between his legs before he could blink, his cool hands slipping beneath the sweater and running along his abdomen, sending shivers of pleasure through Ilsa’s body. Ilsa let out a moan when the tips of his fingers brushed over his nipple, his nipple hardening immediately from the temperature of his fingers.

“You’re so precious, Ilsa, look at you,” Ilsa was too breathless to point out he couldn’t see himself. Cassian seemed to already know that, though, because he let out a quiet chuckle and leaned down, pressing his lips against his lower abdomen. “Your skins all flushed, your hearts racing, your pretty eyes are darkened with lust…” Ilsa shuddered as Cassian’s lips moved down lower, closer to his tented boxers.

Ilsa let out a moan as Cassian’s lips brushed over his length through his boxers, flushing brightly as he brought his hand up to cover his face. The feeling of being beneath Cassian was euphoric, like being lighter than air. He felt free when he was all wrapped up and intertwined with Cassian. He loved it, loved feeling like he was an irreplaceable piece of something– someone . He didn’t fear, he didn’t hurt, it was all… perfect .

“Alpha, I want to…” Ilsa reached his hand out, gripping into Cassian’s hair, tugging him up. He wasn’t strong enough to move him if Cassian didn’t allow it, but whenever Cassian humored his whims it made him a little breathless. Ilsa took his hands and put them on Cassian’s shoulders, biting into his lip as he ran his eyes over Cassian’s face curiously.

He wanted to make Cassian feel good, like Cassian always made him feel. He didn’t know how to do so. Ilsa slid his hands down the soft fabric of the vest, his fingers running along his abdomen, feeling the rippling of his muscles beneath the fabric. His hand continued down, following the same path down until his fingers were running along the waistband of Cassian’s pants. He could feel the leather of his belt beneath his fingertips.

Ilsa shyly ran his fingers over Cassian’s tented pants, letting out a shuddery breath as his cheeks deepened in color. His fingers moved back up to his belt buckle, hesitating just a bit.

“I-Is this okay?” Ilsa breathed, his eyes lowering shyly. He didn’t want to overstep, he knew it was ridiculous at this point, they had a child together… but he didn’t want to do anything without permission.

“Mhm,” Cassian hummed, his lips beginning to trail along Ilsa’s cheek as he held himself up over him. Ilsa fumbled with the belt buckle, managing to get it after his second attempt, and then the annoyingly difficult fastenings were his next battle. It didn’t take but a second or two, and then he slipped his hand inside of his pants. Ilsa’s fingers moved along Cassian’s erection, finding the line of it inside the tight boxers he was wearing.

Ilsa sucked in a deep breath, arousal washing through him as he felt his length in his hand. Long, hard, and all Ilsa’s. Ilsa grasped his length in his hand through the soft satiny material, stroking it. Cassian hummed, somewhere between a groan and a moan, and it made Ilsa shudder in response. Cassian’s hand slipped inside of the band of his boxers, cool hand curling around his erection.

Ilsa gasped, his hips pushing forward into Cassian’s hand accidentally as his hand momentarily paused. Cassian’s touch left him momentarily unable to think, the contrast between Cassian’s temperature and Ilsa’s left him shivering in pleasure. He didn’t know what it was about the coolness of his hand that made his entire body tremble, but it did. He knew Cassian would eventually heat up, but Ilsa was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Cassian’s lips captured his as Ilsa slipped his hand into the boxers separating his hand from Cassian’s length. Ilsa moaned into Cassian’s mouth as his hand started tugging him off leisurely, as if they had all the time in the world.

“Your scent is intoxicating,” Cassian murmured, his voice thick with desire and it had Ilsa shuddering. He could feel the slick coating his underwear, his hole practically twitching in annoyance at being ignored. All he wanted was Cassian inside of him. “I just can’t ever get enough of you.”

“I’ll never have enough,” Ilsa admitted breathlessly. Cassian let out a hum, his hand speeding up and Ilsa let out a moan, his lips moving against Cassian’s hungrily. He needed him so much, he couldn’t let go if he wanted to. The pleasure doubled inside of him thanks to the mating bond, and it made his entire body pulse with desire. He needed more.

“C-Cassian,” Ilsa pleaded, squeezing his hand around Cassian’s length. Cassian’s cock was so hard in Ilsa’s hand it had to be painful, precum coated his hand, and it made Ilsa’s entire body want him. He needed his length, he needed him, his entire body longed to be filled with Cassian and this just wasn’t enough. He was overwhelmed with desire, and no amount of time with Cassian inside of him would ever quell it. Cassian’s scent was all Ilsa could smell and it just made his entire body long for him.

He needed Cassian inside of him, under his skin, he needed more . His hole was dripping slick, aching, desperate to be filled. Ilsa moved his palm up and down the length of Cassian’s erection, matching the speed of Cassian’s breath, barely managing to focus enough to continue because Cassian was driving him to the point of senselessness with just his touch. Cassian’s pleasure was literally his pleasure, at the moment, just one big pleasure filled feedback loop of desire and need.

Cassian’s fingers moved, slipping from Ilsa’s erection, running along his perineum until the tips of two fingers poked their way inside of Ilsa. Ilsa’s head fell back with a moan, his hips pushing down into Cassian’s hand. He was so hot and wet with slick that his fingers pushed right inside of him, not even a tiny sting registering. Cassian’s fingers moved with precision inside of him, every movement of his fingers making it harder to think. It had pleasure dancing below the surface of Ilsa’s skin, stars dancing behind his eyes.

Ilsa shuffled in the nest, careful not to dislodge Cassian’s finger before he threw his leg around Cassian’s waist and pulled him down on top of him. The weight of his body on top of him made him dizzy, and his pleasure was heightened as Cassian slipped a third finger inside of him.

“Please,” Ilsa pleaded, trying to arch back into his fingers. He needed more.

“What do you need, Lovebird?” Cassian hummed, a teasing lilt in his tone. Ilsa let out a huff and looked up at him with his bottom lip poking out a little. Cassian knew what he needed, he had his fingers buried inside of him, it was obvious.

“I need you, “ Ilsa pleaded, too desperate to have any shame at all. He didn’t care what he had to do, he’d do what Cassian asked of him. He just wanted him. He wanted to be good, but he didn’t have the willpower not to plead anymore. Cassian caring about him was sweet, but he had felt fine since the first day he had Iden, and while he wasn’t ready then, he had more than enough time to heal at this point with the healing spell. With the addition of his demonic healing, this wait time was so unnecessary.

“Cum for me, first,” Cassian insisted, drawing a disgruntled but pleasured moan from Ilsa’s throat. Annoyingly stubborn, over-cautious king– Ilsa moaned as his fingers pressed in farther, rubbing against his prostate. “Mm, what’s that, Precious?” Ilsa pouted more, caught, his eyes rolling back as the pressure against his prostate increased. Pleasure crashed down over him, drawing a moan from his throat, his thighs trembling a little as he tried to pull Cassian down closer to him. Ilsa’s hand pulled away from his length, going up to wrap around his shoulders desperately.

“I want you inside of me,” Ilsa pleaded, “Fuck me, I-I can’t cum like this,” Ilsa moaned, his fingernails biting down into Cassian’s clothes.

“Can’t?” Cassian hummed, his eyes darkening a bit as they ran over him. “I bet I know a way that you could.” Cassian teased, sparking arousal and excitement in Ilsa’s stomach. He just had to cum and Cassian would fuck him, so he was down for anything that’d pull his release from him quickly and effectively.

“H-How?” Ilsa panted, his hands gripping into the fabric of Cassian’s vest. “Please,” Ilsa pleaded.

“Cum, now. “ The words sent a shockwave through his body, the tone in his voice alone made his entire body heat up, it felt different than any other instruction he’d ever been given. It was all it took to trigger his orgasm, oddly enough. Ilsa sank back against the bed, tremors coursing through his body as he lost himself to the pleasure, cum coating the inside of his boxers and Cassian’s hand. His heart sped up, body buzzing with pleasure, but it just wasn’t enough. He’d known it wouldn’t be, he could’ve had the most earth shattering orgasm in the history of orgasms and it’d never be enough if he wasn’t full when it happened.

“More,” Ilsa pleaded, “You said you’d fuck me when I orgasmed if I still wanted more. I do. Please. “ Ilsa’s pleas were silenced as Cassian pressed his lips against his, drawing a breathless moan from Ilsa’s lips into the kiss.

“If I go too hard and you are uncomfortable, will you stop me?” Cassian asked. Ilsa nodded his head. He’d never had that happen before with Cassian, but he would tell him. He was a little bit of a masochist, but actual pain was different from… sexual pain? Ilsa didn’t know how to put it to words, he didn’t like being punched in the face, but the idea of Cassian bending him over his knee and spanking him plagued his mind frequently enough it was honestly humiliating… he supposed was an analogy that worked okay.

“I would tell you,” Ilsa confirmed. “Plus… if I were in pain, you’d feel it. You felt it when I was in labor.” Ilsa pointed out.

“You were in severe pain then.” Cassian rationalized, pulling his fingers out of Ilsa’s hole, leaving him empty. Ilsa moaned his displeasure, biting into his lip as he fought the urge to push into his hand. He wouldn’t mind begging, at this point he was beyond ready to surrender to his desire. There were few thoughts managing to linger in his mind, and all of the thoughts that lingered were about Cassian.

“I swear. I… Cassian, I can’t put it into words. I know… you worry about hurting me a lot.” Ilsa said, lifting himself up a little as Cassian shifted some, following him up. “The fact that you worry about it proves to me you won’t.” Ilsa said, looking up into Cassian’s eyes. “If you wanted to, you could,” Ilsa couldn’t really deny that, Cassian was physically strong, he couldn’t make Cassian feel better if he was obviously lying. “I know that you won’t because you care about me. Just the fact that you worry shows you won’t, because you’re always thinking about me. Honestly…” Ilsa paused, more because he was shy than anything else, “You don’t have to hold back so much. I like it when there’s marks left behind, I like you biting me, I like… I like it when you’re rough with me.”

“Then you’re going to have to promise me you’ll tell me to stop if you need me to stop.” Cassian said.

“Such a gentleman.” Ilsa teased, wanting to lighten the heavy mood a bit. “If I want you to stop I’ll just… I’ll say srimi.” Ilsa giggled, making Cassian laugh.

“Srimi?” Cassian asked.

“It’s… well it’s Ieruin, one of the main languages in Caelestes, and means that something’s heading in the wrong direction.” Ilsa said, flushing a little. “I can’t imagine stopping intercourse if everything is moving in the right direction, right?” Cassian nodded his head.

“Okay. Srimi means things are going in the wrong direction and you want to stop.” Cassian agreed. Ilsa nodded, and pulled Cassian down on top of him.

“This means you’re going to fuck me, then?” Ilsa asked, hopefully. Cassian nodded his head and smiled down at him, making him giggle a little. “Good, I need you. Now, please , Alpha,” Ilsa tilted his head to the side, bearing his neck to Cassian. Cassian let out a hum, and pulled Ilsa’s underwear down, tossing them out of the nest and over onto the bed beside it. Ilsa flushed brightly as his slick hole was brought into Cassian’s line of sight as he pushed his legs up towards his stomach.

Ilsa couldn’t help but put his hand over his face, an attempt to hide his heated cheeks. He was so easily affected, and that embarrassed him. The warmth of the nest surrounding them had Cassian just as warm as Ilsa, and it had him trembling, a little dizzied. Cassian pulled back, going to take off his pants. Ilsa bit his lip.

“C-Can… you leave them on?” Ilsa asked, flushing brightly. Cassian chuckled, amusement flickering in his orchid eyes before he nodded and pulled his length out of his boxers. Ilsa reached down immediately, gripping into the length of it and led it to his hole, whimpering a little as the head of it brushed against his hole.

Ilsa felt a shiver of anticipation run down his spine as Cassian began pushing inside of him. It was agonizingly slow, and Ilsa’s eyes fluttered shut, letting the feeling of Cassian working his way inside of him wash over him. His body was aching and desperate, his soft and slick hole eagerly taking every inch of Cassian’s length as he worked it inside of him.

“A-Alpha,” Ilsa whimpered, his chest heaving as he gripped into the blankets beside him while arching his back. He had never been more grateful for having been born an omega, because Cassian’s entry inside of him came with no pain, only pleasure. Ilsa loved the way it felt when Cassian’s larger body held him down like this. He was in love with the fullness of it, the connection more than anything, but definitely the fullness as well. Cassian had practically molded his body to fit his, carving out his place inside of Ilsa, and whenever he wasn’t inside of him Ilsa just… didn’t feel the same.

Ilsa hated it, honestly, wished he could just live in Cassian’s lap with his length inside of him where it belonged. Whenever he was empty, it felt like there was an itch spreading through him, urging him to find Cassian. To find his alpha, so he could be full and connected.

“Fuck you feel so good,” Cassian murmured into his ear, pressing a kiss on his forehead. Ilsa moaned, his eyes opening a bit as he gripped at Cassian’s biceps, leaning his head over to press his face against the bottom of the nest. Cassian smiled down at him, pressed another kiss to his forehead, and pressed further inside of him. Ilsa let out a huff, impatience getting the better of him. He didn’t want to complain because Cassian had been so hesitant in the first place, but fuck he didn’t want it to go slowly. He wanted Cassian to fuck him into the soft fluffy blankets surrounding them until he was an incoherent and blithering fool.

He didn’t care if it would hurt, if it could hurt, given it never had before.

“You’re so beautiful all spread out like this… just for me, all mine.” Cassian murmured into his ear, trailing kisses along the shell of his ear before he pressed a kiss to his neck at the bottom of his ear. Ilsa whimpered and nodded, lowering his eyes as Cassian pulled back to look over his face. “Look at me… look me in the eye.” Ilsa flushed and met his eyes, arousal washing through him. “What do you want, Lovebird? Hm?”

“More, I want all of you.” Ilsa pleaded.

“Beg for it, then.” Cassian said, making Ilsa shudder. Oh, he didn’t know why that turned him on so much. He truly didn’t.

“Please,” Ilsa pleaded, “I need you, please, I’ll be good. I just want you to be inside of me, I-I feel so empty.” It was rambling, mainly, Ilsa just needed to get results–and indulge himself in feeling helpless. This was possibly the best way to be helpless, in his opinion, beneath Cassian where he knew he was always safe. When more of Cassian’s length pressed inside of him, Ilsa moaned, his back arching again as Cassian’s erection pressed against his prostate.

“All the way, please, please Alpha, I-I want yo-AH!” Ilsa cried out, his eyes rolling back as Cassian slid into place inside of him. Immediately, Ilsa was aware of the fullness that echoed through him, combining with the pleasure thrumming through his veins. Cassian’s arms wrapped around him, holding him somehow both tightly and gently at the same time, and it made his head spin. The inviolable bond between them seemed even more present like this, when he was intertwined with Cassian.

For a moment, Ilsa couldn’t breathe, the intensity of his pleasure hitting him right in the chest. Ilsa found himself tensing, cum painting his stomach and some on his sweater, a sob falling off of his lips. Fuck, Ilsa thought, his mind blanking out for a moment as he let the pleasure consume him. As he came down from his orgasm, his body felt fuzzy and warm, desperate for more and more.

“Fuck,” Ilsa muttered, his eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. “Please, don’t stop. Move,” Ilsa pleaded, his eyes staring up into Cassian’s desperately. Cassian rolled his hips in response, a quick and precise movement that sent a shock of pleasure crashing down over him.

Ilsa found himself sinking happily into a pit of overstimulation, feeling each drag of Cassian’s length inside of him. It was driving him to a point of delirium. He couldn’t think of anything other than his length, stretching him, filling him–Ilsa was shamelessly addicted at this point.

It was raw and intense, each movement of Cassian’s body sent electric currents of pleasure coursing through Ilsa’s veins. Cassian grinded his erection against Ilsa’s prostate, and he couldn’t help the trembles that raced through his body, or his eyes rolling back as the sensations sent shockwaves of pleasure through him.

“What, does that feel good?” Cassian mused, making Ilsa flush brightly and nod his head. Yes, yes, it felt amazing. This is what he wanted, what he craved for what seemed like forever. Each movement had pleasure crashing over him and it didn’t take him long to start moving his hips in time with Cassian’s movements. He just lost track of time, everything faded away as the feeling of Cassian buried inside of him filled him. Pleasure consumed him, his mind shut off, and all Ilsa could think about was Cassian.

“My pretty little omega, you submit so beautifully, don’t you?” Cassian cooed. At the praise, Ilsa moaned, his body jolting in Cassian’s arms. He didn’t know how to respond, because ‘yes’ felt insincere, needy, eager to please… but on the same hand, he wanted it to be true. He loved this, loved the floating sensation and the euphoria rushing through him. The weight of Cassian’s length inside of him left him breathless and desperate.

“Do you like this, baby? Like taking cock like you’re meant to?” Cassian’s words sent a wave of arousal over Ilsa, his body tensing a bit as he felt pleasure ricocheting through him. “You’re meant to take my cock, sweet boy.” Ilsa moaned his agreement, his cheeks heating up. He was fighting the urge to hide his face from the intense heat in Cassian’s eyes as they roamed over him.

Cassian’s fingers gripped into Ilsa’s hair, pulling it roughly. Ilsa cried out, his eyes rolling back as tingles raced through his head. Oh, that felt just wonderful.

“A-Again, harder,” Ilsa pleaded, making Cassian chuckle quietly, his fingers tugging at Ilsa’s hair again. Ilsa shuddered, his lips parting on a moan, his hands gripped into Cassian’s arms. The fabric of the shirt beneath his fingertips made him feel a little shaky. Even with the clothes on, he could feel Cassian’s muscles beneath the flimsy fabric. Cassian was so handsome, and in his suits… oh it was just so much more. More what, Ilsa didn’t really know.

Cassian just looked so sexy when he was in his suits, he looked so sophisticated and expensive. Powerful. Cassian’s normal clothes were about on par with everyone else’s here quality wise, but today… he looked just so handsome. His hair cascaded over his shoulders, hanging down and contrasting against the gray brocade vest at his hairs darkest point. His pale skin was flawless and seemed to glow under the lights in the room, completely unmarred by the heat surrounding them. He looked so composed, in control, and it made Ilsa weak in the knees.

“Oh, you’re doing so well, baby. Look at you… so beautiful.” Ilsa cried out as Cassian thrusted into him harder. The thrust made him momentarily blind as pleasure sparked like fireworks behind his eyes. He was breathless, but somehow managed to gasp and whine out his pleasured noises and Cassian trailed his lips along his neck, his thrusts never slowing and pausing.

“Tell me who you belong to,” Cassian commanded, his orchid eyes darkened from arousal as they roamed over Ilsa.

“I-I belong to you, Master,” Ilsa moaned thoughtlessly, the command echoing through the pact made his brain fuzzy and light. It came out more as instinct than anything else, usually it would’ve been Alpha, but when Cassian used that voice to command him… he was more than that. He was Master. The be-all and the end-all, the one who Ilsa had granted uncontested control of his body to, the only being he’d ever fully trusted before.

“My beautiful little omega wife. You sound so beautiful, and you smell even better. I bet half of my guards are catching your scent and hearing your pleasured moans right now.” Ilsa felt a wave of arousal wash over him as he let out a whimper, gasping as Cassian’s hips sped up in response, his body bending over Ilsa’s more. “Perhaps I should fuck you against one of the windows, let all of them see how beautiful your face looks as it contorts in pleasure.” Ilsa could’ve come simply from the look in Cassian’s eyes as he stared into him, but the words coming out of his mouth… they made his entire body burn with desire.

He really didn’t mind being on display for Cassian, he did belong to Cassian in his mind and he trusted Cassian wouldn’t let things head in a direction he wasn’t comfortable with. If Cassian was fine with fucking him against a window, who was he to complain? He was being fucked by the most powerful being in this realm, there was little shame in belonging to someone who was so strong and powerful. His alpha was strong, able, capable… he was proud to belong to him. Frankly, with Cassian being as handsome as he was, Ilsa didn’t really think many would blame him for allowing the king to do with him as he pleased, wherever he pleased…

“Mmm, there’s also the throne room, as well.” Cassian suggested, a teasing lilt in his voice. Ilsa gasped, his cheeks heating up as pleasure coursed through him, washing over him in waves. Cassian’s pleasure was echoing through the mating bond, leaving Ilsa insatiable and desperate. “I could have you ride me while I sat there. I could even sit my crown on your head. Wouldn’t that be lovely?” Cassian sank his fangs down into Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa moaned and convulsed, the pleasure from Cassian’s cock hitting his prostate with each deep, hard thrust mingled with the pleasure from the venom and he was flying.

Cassian moved his body in a way that left him breathless, each movement seemed perfectly timed and with just the right amount of momentum behind each thrust to send him into a pleasure induced euphoria. The thrusts were aimed at his prostate, and all Ilsa could do was let out broken moans, his eyes clamping shut. Ilsa was sensitive and each brush of his erection hitting against his abdomen had him moaning and tensing.

He felt so good that he couldn’t think, his nails biting down harder into Cassian as he thrusted into him, pulling his fangs out of Ilsa’s neck only to sink them back into his neck in a slightly different spot. Ilsa moaned loudly, his back arching as Cassian’s hands slid down from his hips to his thighs roughly. Each touch stroked the fire inside of Ilsa, pleasure lighting up his entire body as it encompassed him again, moans fell out of his mouth at a steady pace.

“Y-Yes, yes,” Ilsa sobbed, his eyes rolling back he clung onto Cassian desperately. “Harder, Master, please,” Ilsa pleaded breathlessly. A smirk crossed Cassian’s face and he put his hands on Ilsa’s shoulders, holding him still before he sped up his thrusts. Each thrust sent waves of pleasure through Ilsa’s body and he couldn’t hope to silence himself. He couldn’t focus his mind on anything other than the sensations running through his body. He’d wanted harder, and he got it–Ilsa loved it. Loved how whenever the word Master fell off of his lips Cassian’s eyes darkened and his thrusts went a little harder. Ilsa pressed his face into Cassian’s neck, letting out a moan, his hands tangling in Cassian’s long hair.

“Fuck, I love the way you moan that,” Cassian groaned into his ear, running his tongue along the shell of his ear before sinking his fangs down into the skin just behind Ilsa’s ear. Ilsa convulsed, unable to silence himself as a rush of pleasure washed over him, an orgasm washing through him as Cassian grinded his length inside of him.

“Master, oh my Oriosis, please,” Ilsa moaned in response to Cassian’s words, shuddering as he felt pleasure zinging through every inch of him. Ilsa couldn’t focus his eyes on anything other than Cassian, he was acutely aware of his own noises and the sound of their skin slapping together but he was too encompassed to care. “Master, Master, fuuuck,” fell off of Ilsa’s lips in a broken sob, tears slipping down his cheeks as the pleasure intensified. He couldn’t recover from it, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to sink into the endless abyss of completely inescapable pleasure.

“What a beautiful mess you’re making of yourself. How many is that, hm? I haven’t even touched your cock,” Cassian murmured as his movements slowed to a near halt, making Ilsa moan in frustration and nod, forcing his eyes open to meet Cassian’s.

“I dunno,” Ilsa answered, he’d lost count, his brain was melting into a pit of nothingness. “Don’t stop. I-I’m so sensitive, but it feels so good. Please. “ Ilsa pleaded, tossing his head back, wrapping his legs tightly around Cassian’s waist as his hands fell down to grip into the bottom of his nest, squirming around in an attempt to get Cassian deeper, to get him to move again.

“You take me so well, beautiful, just look at yourself,” Cassian praised, his eyes roaming over Ilsa. Ilsa peeked between their bodies, his cheeks heating up as he ran his eyes over himself. Cum covered his abdomen and the hem of his sweater was resting in a puddle of it, his legs stretched around Cassian’s waist. His cock hypersensitive and a bright angry red, laying against his lower abdomen, precum pooling at the head of it. “Making such a pretty mess of yourself, aren’t you, Lovebird?”

“Move, please,” Ilsa begged, his head resting back against the nest he was positioned in. “More, I need… I need more,” Ilsa managed to get out breathlessly, his hands gripping into Cassian’s broad shoulders desperately.

“You’re so loud. Only I can make you moan like that, right Lovebird?” Ilsa nodded his head, unashamed as he wiggled around desperately, trying to work himself up and down the length of Cassian’s erection. “I’ll keep going… for now. Give me one more, baby. I want to watch your pretty face as you cum one more time.” Cassian pulled one of his arms from beneath Ilsa’s neck to push the sweater up over his chest, his slightly cool fingers tweaking his nipple.

Ilsa gasped, tingles racing through him. He could melt into a puddle beneath Cassian right now. Cassian leaned down and pulled his other nipple into his mouth, laving it with his tongue as he started to thrust into him again. Ilsa let out a sharp gasp, a shiver racing through his body as he arched his chest into Cassian’s mouth, fingers tugging at Cassian’s hair desperately.

Cassian pulled his body back, smirking down at him as he scooped a bit of the cum puddled on his stomach on his fingers and brought his fingers up to Ilsa’s lips. Ilsa parted his lips on instinct, his face flooding with color as he wrapped his lips around Cassian’s fingers and sucked.

“Don’t you taste lovely?” Ilsa moaned, running his tongue along the pads of his fingers. “Do you feel better now that you finally have me filling up your cute little hole?” Cassian mused, making Ilsa nod his head.

“M-Much better,” It was all Ilsa could manage with Cassian’s fingers in his mouth, but actions speak louder than words anyway, so he arched his back and clenched his walls around Cassian’s length. Cassian chuckled quietly and pulled out slowly until only the head of his erection was left inside of Ilsa. Ilsa let out a desperate moan, his body aching to be filled once again. His hips pushed down desperately to chase his length, but Cassian brought one of his hands down to rest on Ilsa’s lower abdomen.

Ilsa paused for a moment, blinking up at him hazily in confusion, before Cassian snapped his hips forward as he applied pressure to his abdomen. A shock of pleasure crashed through Ilsa’s body like shattering glass, his eyes rolling back, a loud moan being punched from his throat. Ilsa’s entire body was pulsing, rippling with pleasure as every nerve in his body burned. Cassian’s cock fills him up so well, and it easily sends him into mindless rapture every time it is buried inside of him. He wanted so much more, but he wasn’t sure there’d ever reach a day he’d truly had enough of Cassian.

Ilsa heard the sound of voices carrying through the hallway, there really was a terrible echo in the castle, and it made Ilsa shudder as a blush raced his cheeks. Ilsa immediately bit into his lip and tried to stifle the noises falling off of his lips as Cassian’s speed seemed to increase, and he went harder .

“Aw, don’t be shy, beautiful, let everyone know who’s making you feel so good,” Cassian’s voice was like a husky aphrodisiac, it hit his brain and made everything melt. It wasn’t a command–there was something different about those that made them undeniable thanks to the pact… but… This was different. He just didn’t want to deny it. He could’ve, the tone in Cassian’s voice was carefully measured, he knew the difference Ilsa thought, but Ilsa didn’t really care enough at the moment to try to figure it out.

Not when he was clenching his hole in time with the pulsing pleasure echoing through him, and each thrust left his body trembling. It was so good, so much, but he just loved it. Cassian’s taunting words, the pace, Ilsa was too captivated and entranced by how Cassian could fuck his mind right into a delicious state of mental emptiness. He loved the release, after such a long time of living, so many memories that haunted him and evaded him in equal measure–the emptiness was welcome in brief bursts.

“M-Master, C-Cassian,” Ilsa cried out as pleasure coiled through him, radiating through every inch of his body from where Cassian’s cock was battering his prostate. Ilsa parted his lips, his eyes widening as a line of drool slipped down his chin as each thrust hit his prostate until he let out a shuddery cry, his entire body buzzing. His length twitched between his legs as Cassian thrusted into him, deeper, harder, until Ilsa was certain he’d never feel the same again.

Cassian groaned, his fangs sinking down into Ilsa’s shoulder, his hand wrapping around Ilsa’s throat as he thrusted into Ilsa hard enough that it jolted Ilsa up a little in the nest. Ilsa shuddered as euphoria washed over him, the feeling of a sudden rush of coolness flooding his body made his entire body tense as he screamed breathlessly, losing himself to an orgasm that knocked his vision out of focus.

Ilsa sank back against the nest as he came down from his high, unable to help twitching slightly from the aftershocks of his orgasm. Cassian drew his hips back, tugging his cock out of Ilsa’s hole. Ilsa let out a whine, his hole twitching desperately in protest at being empty but he was too satiated to complain. Instead, he found himself sinking into an abyss of featherlight softness, the only sound he could focus on was Cassian’s voice murmuring soft words of praise in his ear.

Safe, warm, connected, and filled with Cassian–even if his length wasn’t filling him up he could feel the cum inside of him. That was enough, at this point, to appease him.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ＳＩＸ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• 

Over the next few days while Ilsa was preparing to head to Névé he had several occurrences where memories had been brought to the front of his mind where things were not as he’d been led to believe. It was upsetting, but after it happened a couple of times, he’d stopped even being angry over it. He was just done with it. At this point he didn’t give a shit what happened anymore. His past was the past at this point, his father was rotting in a hole in the ground and Ilsa just couldn’t bring himself to keep thinking about it.

When it happened, he had just started rolling his eyes. He wasn’t surprised, he couldn’t really be when he’d literally been told as much by Isoloses. It seemed as though there were two certainties he could trust in the current situation–regardless of the past, Isoloses had not betrayed him yet. He wouldn’t expect much, honestly, because he still didn’t trust him, but… it made him happy that he had at least one person from his earlier life that he could see even if it was only occasionally.

Iden’s things were packed and waiting in the nursery, where he’d been sleeping the past few days. Ilsa had finally moved back to the bed with Cassian… though he was keeping the nest in Cassian’s office. It was like his own little cubby, where he could be safe and warm and surrounded by Cassian. Iden was sitting up and rolling over on his own already, so Ilsa could bring him into the nest and play with him, read books to him, let him take naps–and as he grew, he could do the same thing with him only without the bassinet at the end. It was perfect, blissful.

He was, in essence, experiencing his first real taste of freedom and he’d never been happier. Cassian had been engulfed in meetings with Isandro for the entirety of the week–he’d finished his final one earlier and he was finalizing the treaty or whatever with Naevys, Shadow, a werewolf that Ilsa had never met before–but when his eyes had landed on him, he’d almost staggered back.

He was attractive, Ilsa wasn’t blind to that, but with the army uniform, deep set frown and the terrifying look in his eye Ilsa had struggled not to react like he was terrified. Even though he was a little terrified. It wasn’t that he was a werewolf, it was more the… just intimidating aura around him. If he didn’t look like he was on the brink of snapping at any moment, Ilsa probably wouldn’t have even glanced twice at him. Turned out, however, they all held positions in the ‘government’ system the realm operated under.

Werewolf dude, otherwise known as Arnet, the Lieutenant General of the royal army–which was a subsection of the royal guard. Ilsa had gotten a whole history lesson from Felix, who helped Ilsa carry a blanket and toys outside for Iden to sit under the moonlight. It was a nice, calm night… which was actually afternoon, but the two moon phases made Ilsa unsure what to even refer to as ‘morning’ anymore, much less early afternoon.

Cassian is the Supreme General of the royal army of Tenebris Regni, the highest rank in their army’s hierarchy. He apparently has a room full of medals, hidden deep in the basement–Felix had explained Cassian didn’t look fondly upon his time on the battlefield, so he’d locked the medals away in an attempt to not think about it. Ilsa couldn’t really imagine looking fondly back on something like… that so he couldn’t blame Cassian. Naevys is the Grand General, which is only one rank below Cassian.

Felix explained that Naevys was essentially his second in command. Shadow and Caedmon were the witch and warlock were the heads of security–they took care of the wards around the realm and managed all of the imports and exports. Each position of power was held by one of each species–save for demons, but Ilsa was the only one and he had no interest in battlefields and blood… he just wanted to read his books and cuddle up to Cassian.

Naevys represented the elves, Arnet represented the werewolves, Shadow and Caedmon represented the witches and warlocks… they were discussing the treaty. Felix said that everyone was probably going to agree to it, because they just wanted to feel safe again. It was sad to hear that, but it was good that the treaty was happening. He felt somewhat ashamed, knowing his father was the cause of the many horrible memories that the residents of this realm had acquired over the years.

Felix had finished talking about the meeting with a singular statement: If the treaty is signed, it means Caelestes is offering a ceasefire… for the first time in over four millennia. Ilsa had never known it’d been going on for so long. He was horrified. Felix left soon after, heading off to do work around the Castle. He hadn’t specified, and Ilsa hadn’t had a chance to ask.

For about two hours now, Ilsa had been sitting outside with Iden, just enjoying the silence and Iden’s loud giggling. Iden was giggling and shaking his rattle, and he kept crawling just a little on the blanket. It was adorable, and Ilsa was just as giggly as Iden.

He’d brought Iden a bottle–it was on ice, so he didn’t have to go inside yet. He was planning on staying out until the end of Cassian’s meeting because he was enjoying himself, perhaps a little too much. He loved being outside, it was a luxury that meant so much to him because he’d always been kept inside. It was nice, calming… he loved it.

“What? You like the light up bugs?” Ilsa asked, watching as Iden reached out and grabbed at one that flew in front of him. He missed, the bug was too quick–it was just a light-bug, nothing dangerous from Ilsa’s research, so he wasn’t worried even if he had grabbed it. He just would’ve hated for something to happen to the bug, because Iden wasn’t really capable of managing his strength. His kicks often left small bruises on Ilsa because he was just so strong, but they were always accidental, mainly just him kicking his feet while Ilsa changed his diaper or when Ilsa had him on his hip.

Cassian had assured him once Iden hit about two he’d be able to control it better, and he’d be about two within the first year of his life–the aging was so strange.

“Dadadadadadada…” Iden rambled, reaching his hand out again in search of another light-bug as it flew past him.

“Holy shit.” Isoloses voice cut through the air and made Ilsa’s heart jump into his throat. Ilsa’s head turned, and he caught sight of Isoloses standing just out of where his peripheral vision had ended before he turned his head, his mouth hanging open a little as his eyes ran over Ilsa and Iden. Ilsa grabbed Iden quickly, curling his arms around him protectively as he looked up at Isoloses skeptically. “Oh, hey, hey, no, it’s good, I’m not gonna hurt you guys.” Isoloses assured, taking a cautious step forward.

“I know.” Ilsa said, I wouldn’t let you. He didn’t say it, but he felt confident enough in his ability to put Isoloses to sleep if he tried to harm him or Iden in any way. Isoloses took another step, and then another one, slow and steady before he sat down on the edge of the blanket, giving Ilsa plenty of space between them. Ilsa took a moment to look over him, taking in the sight of his clothes.

It was typical Caelestes fashion, a long sleeved t-shirt made in distressed double layered black fabric, the top layer had been showered with acid rain for a shredded effect, and it had a large hood which was hanging down Isoloses back. His pants were covered in zippers and straps, buckles and d-rings. There were three adjustable buckles on the left leg of his pants, and five on the right, and there were chains that connected in a couple different places from the d-rings on his pants to the d-rings below a couple of different belt loops. He probably stood out like a sore thumb, with his tanned, darker skin, deep black hair and burgundy eyes, he looked nothing like any of the residents of Tenebris Regni. (Ilsa finally caved and asked Felix how to pronounce it.)

“I was just a little surprised. Last I saw you, you didn’t look…” Isoloses trailed off for a moment before his eyes ran over Iden. “Hi. You look like your momma.” Isoloses said. Iden paused and looked up at him as if he could understand him for a moment, and then he let out a loud squeal and started bouncing a little in Ilsa’s arms, his hands reaching out towards Isoloses. “What’s his name?” Isoloses asked curiously.

“Iden.” Ilsa said. “Iden Vie,” Isoloses nodded and poked one of his fingers out. Iden fearlessly reached out and wrapped his hand around Isoloses finger and started pulling it.

“Hi, Iden.” Isoloses said, smiling a little and wiggling his finger up and down as if he was shaking Iden’s hand. “I’m Isoloses. Wanna see something cool?” Iden let out a giggle in response, his fingers loosening around Isoloses finger. Isoloses pulled it back and held one of his palms up and did a weird, quick motion with his fingers and something formed in his hand–a beautiful, glowing three dimensional line that floated and weaved into a flower. It glowed the same burgundy as his eyes, and Iden was entranced by it as it began floating above Isoloses palm.

Iden reached his hand out to touch it, and Ilsa almost yanked him away from it but his hand flowed through it and turned it to smoke before he could even move. Iden giggled and made grabby hands at Isoloses, kicking his feet as he began squirming around.

Iden managed to weasel his way free of Ilsa’s arms and launched himself forward, his hands grasping onto Isoloses shirt sleeve. Ilsa caught him before he could fall, holding his waist so that he was standing up in front of Isoloses, his hand curled into the soft fabric of Isoloses shirt. Iden made a giggling noise and shook the hand that wasn’t holding the shirt, reaching towards Isoloses.

“U-Uh, do… you want to hold him?” Ilsa asked, slightly apprehensive but not completely against it. “You… you’ll have to take off the necklace under your shirt, it’s silver, isn’t it?” Ilsa asked. Isoloses nodded quickly and pulled the chain over his head and tossed it over onto the grass beside the blanket.

“Right, half vampire.” Isoloses said as Ilsa lifted Iden and placed him in Isoloses arms. He hovered close by, his eyes roaming over Isoloses’ every move as he bounced Iden carefully in his arms. Iden reached his hand up and started tugging at one of the holes in Isoloses shirt, poking at it a bit experimentally. “My shirts cool, huh? I like em, it’s hotter than holy hell everywhere,” Isoloses complained.

“Language,” Ilsa said instinctively, making Isoloses nod his head.

“My bad. I’m not used to babies.” Isoloses said, pulling his hand away from Iden as he started trying to suck on his finger. “Nah, you don’t wanna do that. There might still be ash on me, I don’t want you to eat it.” Isoloses denied, smiling a little. “You hungry? Want a baba?” Isoloses asked him. Iden grabbed at his hand again, trying to pull it down to his mouth.

“I brought a bottle,” Ilsa said, preparing for Isoloses to hand him Iden.

“I… can do it, if ya want me to.” Isoloses offered, then hesitated. “I just did this for you when you were little.” Isoloses admitted. “You were smaller than this, when you were his age.” Ilsa grabbed the bottle and hesitated for a moment before handing Isoloses the bottle.

“Please be careful,” Ilsa said. Isoloses nodded.

“I will.” Isoloses promised as he took the bottle and led it down to Iden’s mouth. For a moment, he looked at it and it looked like he might push it away, before he took it into his mouth and started sucking on it happily, his hand going back to curl in Isoloses shirt.

“What’re you doing here?” Ilsa asked curiously.

“I moved here,” Isoloses admitted, his cheeks tinting a little. “I… stepped down from my position in the Royal Army of Caelestes and decided to… come stay with Naevys.” Isoloses admitted, lowering his eyes to look over Iden.

“Oh.” Ilsa suddenly remembered Cassian saying something about that, but at the time his lust fogged brain just hadn’t picked up on it.

“Yeah,” Isoloses said, biting his lip as his eyes darted over to Ilsa. “I will be staying at Naevys’s castle… I’m going to be his uh… he said assistant, but honestly, I don’t know what it really is.” Isoloses admitted, shrugging a bit. “His slave, I guess. Consensually.”

“Are you… courting him now?” Ilsa asked curiously, unable to help himself.

“Well, that isn’t really necessary at this stage.” Isoloses said, glancing down at Iden before looking back up to Ilsa. “Naevys made space for me in his room–he said in that annoyingly hot, condescending voice of his: ‘I can’t simply let my untamed mutt run loose without a leash’ so…”

“That’s so mean,” Ilsa gasped, his eyes widening. Isoloses smirked a little and shook his head.

“Naaah, that’s Naevys for ‘I want to cuddle at night, but I’m emotionally backwards and my idea of romance is bad enough that it makes a demon look like Casanova’,” Isoloses laughed, waving his hand. “Plus, I like when he says stuff like that to me.” Ilsa shrugged, his eyes roaming over Iden, who’d fallen asleep in Isoloses arms.

Ilsa could kind of understand that, he supposed. Cassian had never said anything so cruel to him, but Ilsa did kind of enjoy it when he said things that… well Cassian wouldn’t typically say to him… like that he was meant to take his cock, and it always made Ilsa’s entire body burn. He couldn’t really judge Isoloses. He could be into whatever he wanted to be into.

“Well, if you’re happy, I suppose that’s all that matters,” Ilsa said, making Isoloses smirk a little and nod his head.

“I am. So don’t worry about me, I am the one who made this decision, not Naevys.” Isoloses said, letting out a deep breath. “I wanted outta there, you know? It’s better with Isandro there, truthfully, because the dudes not doing a bad job at getting things reformed. I wanted to wash my hands of it, and Naevys was here. My only reason for staying there in the first place was protecting you. There’s no need to do that anymore.” Isoloses shrugged a bit and pulled the bottle out of Iden’s mouth.

Iden let out a quiet huff and shifted closer to him and went back to sleep, lips parted and little dimples poking in on his cheeks. Adorable.

“Father’s gone, and for the first night in many millennia, I can go to sleep tonight knowing that the remaining of the twenty seven realms are at peace.” Isoloses said, his eyes seeming to glint a little like he was going to cry, but it faded almost as quickly as it came so Ilsa couldn’t be sure it wasn’t just a trick of the light.

Ilsa didn’t really know how to respond, but to some degree, he understood. It was relieving, it took away a microscopic bit of the guilt that Ilsa was feeling, though he was sure it did little to quell the guilt that Isoloses would always be haunted by. He couldn’t really lessen that burden, nor could he relate on that level. Instead of responding, he just reached out and patted Isoloses hand before pulling back. It didn’t seem like enough, but then, he really didn’t know what else to do other than just let the silence hang.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Ilsa woke up the next morning to Cassian’s lips moving along his thigh, he didn’t hesitate to pull his leg up to give Cassian space. The pace of his lips was deliberate, soothing, but so arousing. They were cool and sent tingles racing through Ilsa’s skin. It felt so mind-numbingly good, and the sleep clinging to him left him in a state of hazy euphoria. Ilsa shuddered when Cassian’s fangs sank into his thigh, a moan falling off of his lips.

𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔, L𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, Cassian’s thoughts echoed through his head, making Ilsa whimper out a soft, quiet ‘morning’ in response. 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑔𝑜 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡. 𝐼’𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝐼𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑁é𝑣é 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔. Ilsa shook his head, his hand sleepily creeping down to his newly tented boxer briefs. He had no idea how Cassian thought he could sleep while he was feeding on him. He was not that strong, nor was he able to resist the pleasure tugging at the corners of his senses.

“Can I… touch …” Ilsa murmured quietly, his fingers running along the line of his boxers. Cassian hummed into the bite before he pulled his fangs out and made a little clicking noise with his tongue, before shaking his head. “I-I can’t?” Ilsa asked breathlessly.

“It’s so cute when you cum untouched. You make such a pretty mess.” Ilsa gripped his hands in the blankets of the bed, nodding his head. He wouldn’t touch himself then. It wasn’t like he needed to, anyway. Cassian’s fangs were enough to push him over the edge pretty quickly, especially if he bit him over and over. “The way your body tenses, your heart races, your blood rushes… oh the cocktail of chemicals you release makes you taste so sweet.”

Ilsa flushed and moaned as Cassian’s fangs sank back down into his thigh, tingles tracing through Ilsa’s body. He shuddered, his hips twitching upwards a bit as his hands clenched in the blanket. His length was aching in the confines of his boxers–but that was a feeling he was becoming used to. Cassian seemed to enjoy making a mess of his underwear, and he liked it a fair bit as well. It made him feel… something that Ilsa didn’t really have a word for, at least not one that really described the feeling correctly. It was just good.

Cassian’s fingers ran over the inside of his thigh softly, cool and firm in their journey, pushing the leg of his boxers up more. Ilsa whined as Cassian’s fangs left his skin, but he replaced the sound quickly with a happy, blissed out moan as he sank them down closer to the crease of his leg. Ilsa let out a breathy sigh, his eyes rolling back. He was lingering in this half-awake state, pleasure pulsing through him, his brain lagging a bit.

His body was burning, slick leaking down into his boxers and he felt lightheaded . He was so close, he was just edging closer and closer to an orgasm, pleasure wreaking havoc as it coursed through his veins. It pulled at the corners of his mind, hazing everything over deliciously. All that existed was Cassian and him, the world around them was nothing of importance right now while pleasure was destroying him. It was beautiful, abysmal, earthshaking, and it left Ilsa teetering so close to the edge it wasn’t even laughable.

He wasn’t quite ready for the haze of pleasure to recede, the drowsy, lightness that surrounded him right now was calming and he was enjoying it. Ilsa pulled his eyes open and looked down at Cassian, who was beautiful as ever, face relaxed, and eyes closed. It made Ilsa’s blood pump a little harder as he fought the urge to grasp his erection. It was leaking probably more than his hole, an embarrassing realization but it barely even registered at the current moment.

“Oh my Oriosis,” Ilsa moaned, his free hand going up to grip into Cassian’s hair loosely. It was still hanging in a loose sleep-ruined bun, and it was so soft beneath Ilsa’s fingers it almost didn’t feel real, but it didn’t feel fake, either. Absurd, his mind pointed out, but he was too lust-fogged for his brain to put any effort into correcting the absurdity of his sentence.

Every inch of his body was tingling, burning, buzzing with electric currents of pleasure as Cassian continued feeding on him. He could remember, vaguely, a time when he’d been wanting silently for this because he was curious about it. Now, he just loved it. He didn’t need it, not in a literal sense, but he wanted it.

“Please,” Ilsa moaned, opening his leg more. Cassian chuckled, his fingers poking into the leg of his boxers, fingers brushing over Ilsa’s slick-dampened hole. Ilsa let out a loud moan, his body seizing as the slight stimulation sent him over the edge into an orgasm that sent him flying. The world fizzled away from him, and he was left with nothing but echoing pleasure as Cassian groaned into the bite. Tingles. Everything was tingling and warm and Ilsa was certain he was melting from the pleasure, but it felt so good that he didn’t have a word of complaints.

𝑂ℎ ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑, Cassian’s thoughts echoed through Ilsa’s head as he moved away from the spot he’d previously been biting before biting into him again. Ilsa moaned and shuddered, the pleasure seemingly never-ending. His length pulsed in his boxers, pulsing out a string of cum onto his pelvis where his cock was nestled. 𝐷𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢’𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑚, Ilsa let out a moan, his eyes rolling back as pleasure burst through his veins.

Cassian pulled away from his thigh after a moment, his tongue running over the new bite marks marring Ilsa’s skin. Ilsa shuddered, his teeth biting down into his bottom lip as he looked up at Cassian through hooded eyes.

“Thank you, beloved,” Cassian murmured, leaning down to press a kiss against his lips. “You go back to sleep, Sweetheart, I’ll get you when it’s time for you to bathe before we head off for Névé.” Cassian murmured.

“Mnn… But I just woke up,” Ilsa protested, breathlessly, his heart slowly beginning to beat at a normal pace again as he sank back into the bed. Cassian chuckled quietly, his cool fingers trailing along Ilsa’s cheek gently.

“Perhaps, but that doesn’t mean you can’t sleep more if you can. Just rest here, lovely. I’ll take care of getting Iden ready to go, and will draw a bath for you when I finish. Sound good?” Ilsa hummed his agreement. He could’ve protested, and gone to take care of Iden himself, but honestly at this point he was just floating. The tingles had faded from the venom, he wasn’t intoxicated–Cassian’s venom didn’t cause intoxication, even in high amounts. It caused euphoria. And, euphoria was exhausting, especially when he’d been up every three hours feeding Iden.

Whenever Cassian tried to feed him at night, Cassian was pelted with bottles, and occasionally kicked. Iden was picky, and the only person aside from Ilsa that Iden would accept at night was, strangely enough, Felix. Iden would only settle if Ilsa or Felix fed him at night. Cassian could cuddle him and play with him all he wanted, but when he got tired… Cassian was shit out of luck. Ilsa got a little bit of a kick out of it, just because Cassian’s pouty face was adorable every time Iden threw bottles at him.

Any other time, Iden was well behaved, he rarely cried otherwise. He giggled basically all the time, and he’d started rambling out noises when he wanted stuff, though none of it was discernable or understandable. It was still remarkably quick development, and it left Ilsa a little dizzy. He’d only been born for a little while, but… he was so big.

Okay, Ilsa was being dramatic, he wasn’t huge or anything. However, in just a week, Iden had taught himself how to almost crawl. Ilsa couldn’t even be sure two full months had passed yet. From his research, Iden was already ahead of demon babies–babies don’t start crawling until nine months, for demons, whereas Iden was already trying to crawl and sometimes he succeeded. It wasn’t foolproof, like every single time he managed it, but it was decent progress and it left Ilsa a little staggered.

Ilsa heard the water turn on in the bathroom, and he lifted his head a little off of the pillow and sighed. He was so warm, the idea of getting up into the rather chilly room was daunting. It’s going to be colder in Névé, Ilsa’s mind pointed out, making him sigh. He was admittedly excited about ice skating, though he had no idea what it was. It sounded fun, in theory.

Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder when his heat was going to hit next, because he really couldn’t be sure. He was honestly… excited for it this time.

Before he was cleared to leave the maternity ward, Eirina had given him a cliff-notes sex education class in his room. It was honestly a little humiliating, and at several points he’d hidden his face in Cassian’s chest because honestly… he was so dumb. Rather, uneducated, was probably a better word. Naïve, even.

Ilsa was taught about heat suppressants, and prescribed them. As they couldn’t pinpoint when his heat would start, he was instructed to take them the first day of his heat the first couple of times, and record the dates so that they could monitor when they happened so that he could start taking them a week in advance. Ilsa’s heats would eventually sync to Tenebris Regni’s calendar months, but until then, it was unpredictable. Ilsa wasn’t rightfully sure how that worked, but he obviously wasn’t educated in the matter at all.

Eirina had dealt with two other omega’s that were demons, and both of their heat cycles had been affected. Eirina had explained something about adjusting to the shorter night and day cycles, but Ilsa didn’t really know what that meant. He couldn’t trust his own memories anymore so he couldn’t even recall if the days in Caelestes were as short as the ones here. The time did seem to move faster, to Ilsa, at least.

He couldn’t keep track. There were so many days. So many months. He was confused. Regardless of that, though, Ilsa had even gotten a contraceptive shot before he left the maternity ward. Eirina had brought up the fact that he didn’t know what they were and she explained them to him in detail, and told him she highly suggested that he get at least a six month shot, to protect him from getting pregnant too soon.

As Ilsa’s first heat with Cassian resulted in Iden, he was able to understand why it’d be a good idea. Eirina had given him time to think and talk it over with Cassian upon his request–he hadn’t been certain he understood what Eirina was explaining to him. All the omega in him heard was ‘pregnancy prevention’ and then it’d gone into like… not exactly panic mode, but something close to it. The temporary hadn’t really registered, at first.

He’d had questions, because he couldn’t be sure he fully understood what Eirina was saying and he just wanted to make sure that he was understanding everything correctly. Cassian had been so kind and patient with him as he explained everything to him, and didn’t get annoyed at all when Ilsa asked question after question… He’d been absolutely wonderful. Ilsa had to have been absolutely insufferable, but Cassian had paid him little mind, and had been focused on relaxing him instead.

He hadn’t put any pressure on him to get the shot, but he’d explained everything in a way that set his worries to ease… and he’d even told him that he could think about whether or not he wanted a second shot when the six months was up. It’d been reassuring to Ilsa, in a way, because he trusted that Cassian would leave it up to him. He’d already pretty much decided he didn’t want to have another child right now–or any time soon. He wanted to enjoy the time he had with Iden currently, and then reassess later… a luxury he was granted because he was immortal.

When the water in the bathroom shut off, Cassian appeared beside him, a soft smile pulling up the corners of his lips.

“Are you awake, Lovebird?” Cassian murmured softly, sitting down on the edge of the bed and gently carding his fingers through Ilsa’s hair. Ilsa whimpered, his eyes opening fully to peer up at Cassian. Cassian let out a quiet chuckle. “Ready for your bath, Precious?” Ilsa nodded, a flush spreading across his cheeks. “Alright, come here, I’ll carry you.” Cassian said, making Ilsa giggle as he shifted up in the bed and Cassian’s arms circled his waist.

“You smell good,” Ilsa murmured tiredly as he nestled into Cassian’s neck. Cassian chuckled as he straightened, pulling Ilsa up off of the bed. Ilsa’s flush deepened, but Cassian either didn’t notice or didn’t acknowledge it. It was all the same to Ilsa, it was preferable for Cassian to not acknowledge it because Ilsa was embarrassed… even so, he didn’t pull away from Cassian’s neck until Cassian sat him down in his bath a few minutes later, once Cassian had pulled his boxers and shirt off.

He’d expected Cassian to leave him to wash himself, but he didn’t, and who was Ilsa to complain? He was being babied, and honestly, Ilsa had found that he might just love it… a lot.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ＳＥＶＥＮ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

The carriage ride to Névé took only a little over an hour, though Ilsa watched it go from being… well, not summer by any means, but… when they’d crossed into Névé Ilsa had immediately known. Snow. Everywhere. It almost looked as if there was an invisible wall preventing the massive piles of snow on either side of pavement from falling over onto the street or even crossing the border into Ilyenasera.

Névé was situated on a plateau on the other side of the mountain that was the center of Ilyenasera, and one would think this city would be built around nature as well because of its… assumed proximity. However, that wasn’t the case. There were few shops and businesses–Cassian explained that this was a tourist spot, for realm visitors. Ilsa was a little curious how anyone in another realm would know it existed. Did they like, advertise in other realms? How would that even work? Ilsa was admittedly taken with the little town.

It was slow and steady, and while all the residents appeared to be either children, or young adults, it was obvious to Ilsa which ones were older. Their clothing gave them away, they wore more… modest clothing? Ilsa wasn’t sure what the correct terminology was. But in comparison to the obviously more… modern clothing the younger beings were wearing, Ilsa felt like that could be an appropriate description.

The town itself was very cozy, with every building being shaped somewhat like houses, and the wood used to construct the buildings was dark colored, but not the same kind of wood that Cassian used in his Castle. Balsam Fir trees littered the entire perimeter, coated heavily in snow. The largest building in the entire city was the Inn, where they were staying for three whole nights. It was beautiful, in an antique sort of way. The whole place smelled of ginger and chocolate, the furniture had an antique feel to it, the artwork hanging on the walls looked like what Ilsa thought belonged in a museum. It was quaint and lovely, relaxing just as Cassian had insinuated.

However… Cassian had neglected to inform him of a few key parts of ice skating. Which in hindsight, were obvious. The inclusion of ice, which is frozen water, and skates , which have sharp things on the bottom that looked sharp enough to commit murder with.

“You mean… you intend for me, “ Ilsa said, his eyes roaming over the frozen lake in front of him with a look of scrutiny, “To get onto this lake which may or may not be frozen all the way through. With blades on my feet.” Ilsa’s hesitancy was clear in his tone, and Cassian let out a chuckle.

“That is basically the entire activity,” Cassian said, his arms tightening around Ilsa’s waist where he was holding him steady. Ilsa’s hand clutched into Cassian’s jacket, looking up at him worriedly.

“What if I fall through? Will I die? Will I become hypothermic? Can demon’s die from hypothermia? Is that what it’s called, or is that something else? Perhaps the word was–” Ilsa broke off as Cassian let out an amused sigh, and Ilsa felt a soothing feeling begin to seep through the mating bond.

“The ice is very thick.” Cassian said, loosening his grip on Ilsa to grasp his hand instead, stepping out fearlessly onto the ice. “See? I’m not falling through.”

“That gives me absolutely zero confidence,” Ilsa said, pouting a little as he took a hesitant step towards Cassian. “There’s blades underneath my feet ,” Ilsa said, putting emphasis on the part of the activity that Cassian seemed to be blissfully unaware of, his hands flailing around a little as he tried to steady himself without Cassian’s grip on him. His hand provided some stability, admittedly, but not nearly as much as the embrace he’d previously been in.

“Technically, yes, but they aren’t going to cut through the ice.” Cassian said, urging him closer to the ice, reaching his other hand out to offer it to Ilsa. Ilsa couldn’t help but take his hand, moving just a little closer to the ice. “Trust me,” Cassian murmured. Ilsa flushed, momentarily thanking the brisk and freezing temperature for disguising it. His cheeks were already red from the practically freezing temperature, which served him well for once.

“What if I fall,” Ilsa worried, making Cassian shake his head.

“It’s okay, I won’t let you fall. Just hold onto me, okay?” Cassian murmured, tugging him just a bit. Ilsa nodded breathlessly and let Cassian pull him carefully onto the Ice. As soon as the ice was under his feet, Ilsa started sliding a little, his heart leapt to his throat and he grappled at Cassian desperately. Cassian steadied him immediately, his hands moving from Ilsa’s hands to his waist. Ilsa let out a shuddery breath, his heart slowing a bit as he wrapped his arms around Cassian’s shoulders.

Cassian started moving his legs, pulling Ilsa along on the ice. Ilsa felt unsteady, his legs shaking a little, his hands clasping at Cassian’s winter coat as if his life depended on it. Ilsa couldn’t help but be grateful that Cassian hadn’t taken him to the overpopulated lake in the city to learn, because he would’ve been really embarrassed if everyone in the town saw him this uncertain and scared… but Cassian took his time, moving them slowly, keeping his hands firmly planted on Ilsa’s hips.

Ilsa couldn’t be certain how long it took, but after a while, he became less unsteady. With a little bit of prodding from Cassian, Ilsa’s hands loosened in his coat and Cassian weaved their fingers together tightly. Cassian pushed off, making Ilsa slide backwards. It wasn’t all that fast, but Ilsa’s heart leapt again, nervous vertigo making him momentarily unsteady. Cassian’s hands provided stability though.

“I won’t let you get hurt, Lovebird, I promise.” Cassian murmured. Ilsa let out a shaky breath and nodded his head.

“I… I know. “ Ilsa murmured. “It’s just scary. What if I do fall, and you can’t catch me for some reason, and then I fall through the ice? Could I get sick, or even die?” Ilsa asked nervously. Cassian’s hands tightened around Ilsa’s comfortingly.

Ilsa hated being afraid. It was embarrassing, but he knew that there was no way to hide it from Cassian because of their mating bond. It took the struggle out of admitting his fears, because he knew that Cassian already knew them.

“Ilsa, I can move really fast,” Cassian said pointedly, a smirk pulling up the corners of his lips. “I’d catch you. However, if for some reason, you do fall through, I’ll jump in and save you. Just focus on steadying yourself.” Cassian said, his voice so calming that it made Ilsa nod his head. Ilsa knew logically that he was being a little ridiculous, he was fine as long as Cassian was with him. He wasn’t good at this, though. He’d never done it before, and it was nerve wracking.

The entire time, the mating bond was pulsing out a soothing sort of feeling, one that made it hard for the worry to continue to eat at him. Cassian smiled down at him gently and pulled him along the ice, speeding up gradually as he led Ilsa around the frozen lake. Ilsa’s hands squeezed around Cassian’s at first, but the longer that Cassian led him around, the more confident he grew. It took a little bit, but he managed to relax entirely. It was fun as long as Cassian didn’t let go of him.

Ilsa was more than a little confident that he’d just fall through the ice if Cassian let go. But with the pulsing feeling echoing through the mating bond, he wasn’t all that worried. Cassian made it doable, actually… Ilsa only fully trusted Cassian, he made everything okay, and Ilsa couldn’t help but feel happy when he was around him.

Ilsa wouldn’t complain, either, because it gave him an excuse to hang on to Cassian. He was happy as long as Cassian was with him and he could be close to him. He didn’t care what they did, as long as Cassian was with him, he would enjoy himself.

“Having fun?” Cassian asked playfully as he spun Ilsa around before pulling him back against his chest. Ilsa felt momentarily unsteady, but it faded away when Cassian’s chest pressed against his back. Ilsa couldn’t help but shiver a bit.

The air wasn’t so bad, really, he was a demon and demons typically ran higher body temperatures so he wasn’t freezing. Cassian, however, was as cold as the ice under their feet. He could feel the chill even through Cassian’s jacket, and it made him momentarily blink. He’d known Cassian couldn’t regulate his own body temperature, but holy mother of Oriosis. Ilsa worried he might actually begin to frost over.

“Yeah, but don’t let go of me,” Ilsa said, sinking back against his chest, smiling softly. Cassian let out a quiet hum and nodded, resting his chin on Ilsa’s head. Ilsa giggled as Cassian squeezed his arms around him before pushing them forward slowly.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Lovebird.” Cassian murmured, pressing a kiss to his head softly. Ilsa let out another giggle, unable to help himself as he sank into Cassian’s arms. He felt so oddly warm considering the fact that everything in eyesight was blanketed heavily in snow. Cassian was even cold, but Ilsa was warm enough for both of them so he was going to share some of his warmth with Cassian.

Cassian was holding him so close that he could smell his body wash and cologne, and he could feel Cassian’s breath on his neck. It left him trembling a little, arousal coursing through him.

“Not now,” Cassian hummed playfully, putting his hand on Ilsa’s lower abdomen. Ilsa shook his head.

“It’s too cold here,” Ilsa said, poking out his bottom lip a little as he looked up at Cassian over his shoulder. “You might actually freeze.”

“Hmm… well, we could head back to the Inn, let me get nice and warmed up, and then we’ll see what we can do about handling your insatiable sexual appetite.” Cassian offered, ghosting nose along Ilsa’s cheek. Ilsa shivered a little, anticipation running through his veins. inn.

“I agree. Get… well, warmer… and then I’ll warm you up the rest of the way,” Ilsa murmured playfully, flushing a little. Cassian chuckled and nodded, leading him to the edge of the ice, before helping him to walk across the snowy ground to the tree where Cassian had left their shoes. It’d fallen over at some point, and was now devoid of leaves unlike the rest of the fir trees surrounding them. Cassian lifted him up and sat him on the trunk of the tree, kneeling down.

“What are you doing?” Ilsa asked, raising an eyebrow as Cassian began unlacing the tie of the right skate. Ilsa couldn’t fight back the flush on his cheeks. If someone were to see Cassian kneeling at his feet, what would they think? Surely, they’d think that he could unlace his own skate.

“I’m taking care of you,” Cassian said, making Ilsa shake his head.

“This is highly inappropriate. What if someone were to see you kneeling in the snow at my feet?” Cassian shrugged and looked up at him incredulously.

“Why would I care?” Cassian asked, his orchid eyes twinkling a little with curiosity.

“You’re getting dirty to take off my shoes.” Ilsa grumbled, his cheeks heating up more. “You’re a king. You shouldn’t…”

“I’m unashamed of kneeling in front of you.” Cassian said, raising his eyebrow. “There is not a rule in any rule book I’ve ever read that says I cannot kneel in front of my life partner and take their shoes off. Hm?”

“W-Well,” Ilsa flushed, “It’s more a matter of honor, isn’t it?”

“What is?” Cassian asked. Ilsa shivered a little as the skate came off of his foot. It’s so fucking cold here, Ilsa mentally groaned, squirming for a second until Cassian slid his snow boot onto his foot. They were kind of cute, Ilsa really liked them. They had fur inside of them, and they were made of leather or something resembling leather, with buckles up the side, where it wrapped around his ankle.

“You, kneeling at my feet.” Ilsa said, making Cassian hum.

“I’m not so sure why kneeling at your feet is a matter of honor,” Cassian murmured.

“Caassian,” Ilsa whined. Cassian chuckled a little and tilted his head back a bit, a teasing smirk crossing his face.

“You’re precious,” Cassian purred as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to the top of his shoe. Ilsa gasped, his face heating up.

“Cassian, nooo!” Ilsa whisper yelled, reaching up to cover his face shyly. “You are not meant to kiss my boots!” Ilsa exclaimed. Cassian smirked up at him smugly, a teasing glint in his eyes.

“I can kiss whatever part of your body I want to, can’t I?” Cassian pointed out, drawing a flush to Ilsa’s cheeks. Ilsa did suppose he agreed with that, but… really ? His foot? He realized he was the one who was making a big deal out of it, and no one could see them anyway, but Ilsa was so worried. What would people think if they saw the king of their realm kissing his foot?

“Well… yes but… why?” Ilsa whined. Cassian chuckled and pulled away from his foot, moving to do the left quickly.

“If I’m being honest, I just like to see you squirm.” Cassian admitted, smirking. “Watching the blush spread across your cheeks, hearing your heart rate spike, the resulting rush of blood through your veins, the scent of your arousal, even the little whines and whimpers you let out…” Cassian said, so casually, as if he were talking about the weather forecast for the week. “All of your reactions are absolutely magnificent.”

Ilsa flushed brightly. He had no idea how to respond to that statement. He couldn’t even begin to unpack it, either. All he really cared about was that Cassian thought something he did was magnificent. It made his heart speed and his body heat up.

“You’re so precious.” Cassian repeated when he finished changing Ilsa’s shoes. Ilsa shook his head, the color on his cheeks deepening as he looked down at Cassian. Cassian smirked and leaned up, capturing his lips in a kiss. Ilsa sank into the kiss, trying to wait patiently for Cassian to deepen the kiss. Cassian pulled away from his lips to smirk down at him. “Let’s go, beautiful. It’ll take me a bit to warm up.” Cassian murmured.

Ilsa nodded his head, his teeth biting down into his lip. Cassian nodded and quickly changed out of his skates, before he pulled Ilsa up off of the tree trunk and wrapped his arm around his waist. Ilsa shivered a little. Cassian might actually have to defrost when they got back to the hotel, Ilsa thought. Cassian chuckled a little, pressing his lips to his forehead. Ilsa slipped his eyes shut, and then he felt the ground drop from beneath him.

Blinking felt weird , but it was easier than walking, so Ilsa wasn’t going to complain. Especially given that all he wanted was to be back at the Inn, wrapped in Cassian’s arms.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

It was taking Cassian a long time to warm up after their ice skating adventure, and Ilsa had been right. He’d had to defrost. That was fine, Ilsa hadn’t minded the wait, because he’d had to give Iden a bottle, change his diaper, and he’d settled down to read him a storybook. By the end of the story, Iden was snoozing in his arms, completely oblivious. Ilsa had gotten Iden settled into his bassinet for the night, and had proceeded to curl up on the bed and read a book while he waited on Cassian, however… he was getting impatient waiting on him.

Ilsa was a little tired now and all he wanted was to be fucked, but Cassian was still too cold he claimed. Ilsa could honestly kind of understand, even through all of the clothes Cassian had peeled himself out of, Ilsa could feel how cold he was. When he’d sat down on the bed beside Ilsa to take off his shoes, Ilsa had to fight the urge to cover himself and Iden with a blanket. Cassian hadn’t lingered on the bed long because he knew he was too cold to sit close to them both, but Ilsa had wanted to cuddle closer to him.

Ilsa’s eyes wandered to the bathroom door, where Cassian had disappeared what seemed like hours ago. Ilsa couldn’t tell how long it’d been, but it seemed like a while. He could hear the water running through the wall, he’d been turning it off and on sporadically, but it’d been on for the longest time now without interruption. Ilsa couldn’t help but worry, even though there was no sign of distress through the mating bond. Cassian had been so cold , it couldn’t be wrong for him to check on him, right?

Ilsa stood up off of the bed as he pulled his lip between his teeth nervously, walking down to where Iden was sleeping in his bassinet. Iden didn’t move as he looked down at him, his chest rising and falling slowly and peacefully. Ilsa smiled a little and continued on to the bathroom door. Ilsa took a deep breath and knocked on the door quietly. As long as Cassian was okay, he’d hear him. If he didn’t respond immediately, Ilsa would panic then.

“Come in, Lovebird,” Cassian’s voice called. Ilsa opened the door, a wave of steam hitting him in the face as soon as it was opened. “Hurry and shut the door,” Cassian requested softly, making Ilsa nod and quickly rush inside, closing the door behind him carefully. Ilsa walked closer to the bathtub, wishing he could see through the shower curtain. Cassian usually didn’t use one, at least not at the castle, where there wasn’t even a place for a curtain.

“Are you okay?” Ilsa asked worriedly, taking a quick step towards the bathtub. “You looked really cold. You were like, actually blue. I’m worried.” Ilsa admitted, a blush staining his cheeks. Cassian pulled the curtain back so that he was visible.

“I’m alright, see?” Cassian said, making Ilsa hum as his eyes roamed over him. He really didn’t look alright. He was sitting in the tub, submerged in water, but with the shower running and pelting his skin. And his pale skin wasn’t pale, so much as pink and it looked painful, almost like he was burning himself. His face was still pale, a little too pale, for him to be normal.

Ilsa was surprised, momentarily, about his newly acquired ability to detect the differences between Cassian’s normal skin-tone and a much paler one, when Cassian was already so pale he was almost blue.

“It doesn’t look…” Ilsa murmured, biting his lip as he sat down on the edge of the tub.

“I just have to melt,” Cassian laughed a little, resting his head back against the wall of the shower as he looked up at Ilsa, his orchid eyes full of warmth. “It doesn’t hurt, I’m fine.” Cassian waved it off, reaching one of his hands out for Ilsa to touch it. Ilsa took Cassian’s hand in his, running his fingers over the back of it, a shiver coursing through him.

“You still look really cold, even with your skin tinted red,” Ilsa murmured, “It seems to be burning your skin?” Ilsa questioned, his eyes roaming over Cassian’s hand and then his arms.

“It’s not that bad,” Cassian said, making Ilsa frown.

“Is it possible for me to warm you up instead of this?” Ilsa asked, wanting to get the water off of him immediately. “You’re already warmer, with some blankets…” Ilsa murmured. Cassian hesitated.

“Ilsa it’s best this way,” Cassian said, “The only way your body heat would sink into me enough is if we were naked and curled up with blankets on top of us. You could have a heat stroke before it works.”

“Cassian,” Ilsa murmured. “With your temperature, it’ll mediate the heat and I won’t have a heat stroke. But, you can’t keep sitting here, it’s been forever and it’s still not working well.” Cassian let out a sigh.

“Ilsa,” Cassian said, giving him a look that made Ilsa tremble a little. Even so, Ilsa pulled his hand a little.

“ Please . If it doesn’t work, you can come back…“ Ilsa said, making Cassian sigh.

“And if you fall ill because you cuddled with a block of ice?” Cassian asked, making Ilsa shrug.

“I feel as though if the elves can heal up a c-section scar with nothing but water and a spell, a simple illness will be no problem.” Ilsa said, stubbornly pulling on Cassian’s arm.

“You’re not going to stop hen-pecking if I don’t cooperate, hm?” Cassian murmured, leaning forward. Ilsa flushed and shook his head. Cassian sighed and leaned forward, turning off the water before standing up. Ilsa’s eyes landed on his cock and his cheeks heated up. Cassian glanced down at him and smirked a little, his orchid eyes trailing over him in a way that made arousal course through him. “May I have a towel please?” Cassian asked, motioning towards the towels sitting on a table Ilsa had not even noticed from his haste to check on Cassian.

“Sure.” Ilsa said, grabbing one of the towels before passing it off to Cassian with a flush on his cheeks. Ilsa tried to look away, but his eyes kept wandering a little too far downwards. Cassian chuckled and smirked, amusement crossing his face.

“You don’t have to be shy,” Cassian said. Ilsa bit his lip, his eyes roaming over Cassian’s firm abdomen. Cassian was ripped, obviously a perk of being supernatural, because he’d never seen Cassian do anything that’d warrant such a fit body. Ilsa tried his best to keep his eyes from roaming down, and when that failed, he just full on turned his head, busying himself with admiring the odd shapes on the wallpaper instead.

“C’mon,” Cassian said as he stepped up to Ilsa. Ilsa turned his head quickly, letting out a squeak when he found himself looking right at Cassian’s cock. His face flamed red and he quickly, and clumsily stood up, letting Cassian lead him to the bedroom. He took a half second to check on Iden while Cassian crawled into the bed, before grabbing a spare blanket off of the chair in the room. Ilsa tossed it over the top of the blankets messily, and then took a minute to pull off his clothes.

He crawled into the bed with Cassian and curled up beside him, unable to help shivering a little. Ilsa felt a pang of something that made his heart ache, a little echo through the mating bond. Ilsa shifted closer to Cassian, resting his face down on his chest. Ilsa pulled the blankets around them, managing to wrap and cocoon them somehow, while still leaving enough room for their arms to move around some. It didn’t take long for Ilsa to get uncomfortable, but it wasn’t because Cassian was too cold for him to handle.

He was chilly, but he’d been unthawing for a while so he wasn’t freezing to the touch anymore. He was just a little more chilly than usual, nothing that was bad enough for Ilsa to really be affected on any sort of level. What brought the discomfort was that Cassian wasn’t touching him like usual.

“Cassian,” Ilsa whined, “I want you to touch me. You aren’t cold enough to freeze me to death. I’m a demon . Please, just stop being so stubborn and let me help you, you stupid, stubborn vampire.”

“It’s kind of hot when you’re sassy.” Cassian murmured, shifting around a bit. Cassian’s hand landed on his lower back, and Ilsa fought the urge to shiver again. It wouldn’t take long if Cassian was touching him like this, he knew. Cassian always warmed up quickly when he was close to Ilsa, probably due to his warm temperature.

“Come on,” Ilsa said, tugging at Cassian in an attempt to bring him closer to his body. Cassian let out a sigh and shifted, prompting Ilsa to raise his head. Cassian rolled closer to him, with a significant amount of difficulty thanks to the blankets surrounding them. Ilsa cuddled closer to Cassian, letting out a happy sigh as he pressed his face into Cassian’s chest. Honestly, Ilsa liked the way Cassian’s cool skin felt against his. It was just soothing, because he was warm usually, even when he was cold , which didn’t really make sense, but nothing else about him made sense either… he didn’t really know how to tackle that.

“Mm, I have to admit this is much more enjoyable than what I was doing,” Cassian murmured, pressing his lips against Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa giggled and nodded his head.

“I like doing this,” Ilsa admitted, hiding his face in Cassian’s chest as it tried to heat up. “Being held by you is nice.” Ilsa quieted himself as he said it, even though he knew Cassian would hear it anyway.

“I like holding you like this.” Cassian agreed, shifting closer to him, so that he was on his back with Cassian’s weight resting on top of him.

“How do vampires even live here?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian shrug.

“Well, most of this town is just normal vampires, not purebloods.” Cassian said, trailing kisses along his neck. “Humans that are turned into vampires have a significantly easier time with extreme weather conditions like this–their bodies were born human, and while mine has no way to regulate temperature, their bodies know how to.”

“So… You’re weaker than like… a human turned into a vampire?” Ilsa asked, confused. That didn’t really seem right, honestly.

“Well, no, that’s not quite how it works.” Cassian said. “It’s more or less the lack of evolutionary time.” Cassian said. “With say, humans, they have had many millennia for evolution to step in and correct inadequacies.”

“But…” Ilsa was still confused. He supposed he understood that less death meant less opportunities for them to evolve but that seemed like such a silly limitation. Sure Cassian wasn’t dead or anything, but he was so cold at first… That seemed like something that’d be acknowledged way before this point. Elves didn’t have that problem, neither did demons, so why was it specific to vampires? Was it because of their bodies being half shut down? They didn’t eat, which meant that there was nothing for their bodies to use as fuel to circulate blood, which Ilsa supposed could play a part in it.

Demons, humans, basically all beings similar to them, are endotherms. They create their own internal heat, hence how they maintain a safe body temperature, separate from the temperature of their environment. The hypothalamus in their brains controls thermoregulation. It sends signals to the nervous system, muscles, organs, and glands when there is a rise or fall in body temperature. There are multiple thermoregulation mechanisms employed by endotherms that serve to regulate their body temperature.

Vasoconstriction, vasodilation, the metabolism, mechanisms of the glands and hormones, contraction and relaxation of muscles, and even sweat regulation are a part of it. Without Vasoconstriction and vasodilation, which Ilsa thought was a safe assumption given the bluish tint to his skin, his skin remained cool–pretty much just a little below the temperature of whatever room he was in. In theory that could be good, because it means that little heat should escape him. However, Cassian doesn’t have internal heat.

In theory, his inability to sweat could play into his favor, however if he were in a hot temperature, it’d be a curse. In warm temperatures, sweat evaporating off of the skin cools it down, however, without the ability to sweat, Cassian was basically fucked. He had hair on his head, but had minimal hair elsewhere, and Ilsa had never seen him shave anything but his dick and face. Hair traps air next to the skin, preventing heat from escaping… his muscles worked, which was good. The contraction and relaxation of muscles produces heat, which helps heat the body greatly. Cassian was unaffected by temperature and did not shiver, though.

Assuming Cassian didn’t have a metabolism, because he didn’t eat, that’d impact his ability to regulate his body temperature as well. Perhaps he had a metabolism, though, because he did drink blood… but it wasn’t serving to heat him up either way…

“Ilsa, you’re worrying.” Cassian murmured softly, pressing a kiss to his neck. “I’m alright. I could literally freeze and ice over and be fine.” Ilsa wrapped his arms around Cassian’s neck and shifted closer to him.

“You were so cold! We’re here for an entire weekend, what are we going to do?” Ilsa said, pouting a little.

“We can go shopping in town, going into shops will prevent me from getting so cold,” Cassian said, shrugging. “It’s really not painful.”

“But Iden could be affected by it if you are this much!” Ilsa said worriedly.

“If you’d rather, we can just relax in the hotel room.” Cassian said, smiling a bit. “We already did what I wanted to do here, so we can just stay in and curl up under the blankets.”

“…Is cuddling all we’ll do?” Ilsa murmured, his cheeks heating up.

“Well, I suppose not. You can read, we can light a fire in the fireplace and sit in front of it. Drink some wine, order a meal from the kitchen,” Cassian murmured, pressing his lips against Ilsa’s pulse point. Ilsa let out a shuddery breath, shifting closer to Cassian. Ilsa let out a quiet whimper when he felt Cassian’s length pressing against him.

His length was still pretty cool, but it was half hard, even so. Ilsa’s flush deepened, his eyes peering up at Cassian shyly. Did he want to have sex? Was he going to ask? Should Ilsa ask? He wanted Cassian, he had since he’d woken up to the feeling of Cassian’s lips against his skin. Asking was embarrassing though, and Cassian already knew he could use him how he pleased so wouldn’t he just… do it when he wanted to?

“That sounds nice.” Ilsa murmured, fighting the urge to hide his face again. He was unsure he would ever grow familiar with the way Cassian made his tongue tie into knots just from being close to him. Ilsa just wanted to be fucked . The sleepy atmosphere didn’t really lead him to the impression it was going to happen, and he just… ugh .

He wanted to be in heat, honestly. Cassian during his heat had been so amazing. He’d been rough with him at points, but still so gentle at other times. He’d held him and fucked him, and it’d felt so good that he hadn’t been able to separate sensations. He’d been so full of Cassian… oh it’d been something else. The words Cassian said to him had made him melt, his touch soothed him, his length filled him… Ilsa loved every moment of it, even the moments when he was overwhelmed.

The constant need was overwhelming, regardless of everything else. Now that he had Cassian to participate in his heat with him, though, that overwhelming need was not as overwhelming. The pleasure was just so much, and Ilsa didn’t mind being occasionally overwhelmed, because Cassian made it feel less… overwhelming.

“What are you thinking about?” Cassian murmured playfully, nuzzling into his neck. Ilsa giggled a little, unable to help himself. “Naughty, naughty. I can smell your hormones spiking as you grow aroused.” Ilsa flushed, his eyes lowering a bit.

“I was just…” Ilsa trailed off, not really having an explanation other than, every thought I have about you is improper. It was too embarrassing to say it, and the fact that Cassian might overhear his thoughts was enough to make him not linger on it.

“If you wish to, we can sleep intertwined.” Cassian murmured, his fingers trailing along Ilsa’s ass. Ilsa giggled a little, it tickled a little, he couldn’t help it.

“Please,” Ilsa murmured happily, squirming around in an attempt to get into position for Cassian. He didn’t really know how to position himself, but he could make assumptions. Cassian usually got him into positions–Cassian on top of him, him on top of Cassian, Cassian behind him… so he could imagine Cassian wanted him either to open his legs or to roll over onto his stomach, one.

“On your side, precious. It’ll be easier for one of us to get up if the baby wakes.” Cassian murmured softly, pulling himself off of Ilsa so he could easily roll. Ilsa rolled, probably a little too quickly but he was eager. Sleeping with Cassian inside of him just made him feel so… good. Ilsa let out a whimper and moaned as he felt Cassian’s length brush against his ass. Ilsa waited for a moment to see if Cassian was going to enter him, before he shifted a bit, growing impatient.

“I want you,” Ilsa whimpered, rubbing back against him. Cassian hummed quietly and pressed his lips against the back of Ilsa’s neck. “Please,” Ilsa pleaded.

“So impatient. Well, don’t whine if I’m a little cool then,” Cassian teased, pressing the head of his cock against Ilsa’s hole. Ilsa nodded his head and looked over his shoulder, biting down into his lip. He didn’t care if Cassian was cool, he just wanted him inside of him. He was wet, not as wet as if Cassian had been touching him in a more arousing way–Ilsa supposed that was the best way to put it. Cassian’s proximity and touch, even though it was erring more intimate than sexual, was enough to have him aroused.

He just loved being close , intertwined, being touched by him, Ilsa thought. He loved Cassian.

Cassian pushing inside of him made Ilsa whimper and push his leg up a little, trying to push back into his length quicker. Cassian chuckled quietly and leaned forward, nipping at him lightly in reprimand. It didn’t really work that well, Ilsa liked being bitten so it wasn’t enough to dissuade him. Even so, he stilled himself, because Cassian wanted him to. Ilsa tilted his head, exposing his neck as much as he could to Cassian in a sign of his submission.

Cassian rewarded him with a kiss to his neck, sending a wave of pleasure through Ilsa as Cassian pushed deeper inside of him. Ilsa let out a whispered moan, his eyes falling shut. Cassian was so slow when he entered him, it drove him insane sometimes, but other times it felt satisfying.

Feeling him pressing inside of him slowly allowed him to really feel it, feel the stretch and the connection slowly deepening. It felt somewhat meditative, the way his body was simultaneously heating and relaxing in Cassian’s arms, how free and clear his mind was. Ilsa laid his arm in line with Cassian’s so that he could touch him, wanting to melt into his arms. Cassian felt warmer already, much warmer, and Ilsa couldn’t help but be happy about it. He was being useful, something that made him feel fulfilled.

When Cassian’s length was nestled inside of him all the way, Ilsa sank back into Cassian’s chest, making a show of tilting his head to the side. Inviting Cassian to bite him. Cassian had just fed on him earlier in the day so he didn’t want to ask him to bite him… but if Cassian took the silent invitation, that meant that he wanted to.

“Master,” Ilsa found himself whispering when he felt Cassian’s fangs ghosting over his skin. Since he knew Cassian had a reaction to him calling him master the last time, he would use it again. It felt different, really, in some way. Cassian was his alpha, that was unquestionable–but… calling him alpha was more of an instinct thing. When his omega took over, everything was just instinct, but his omega wanted to please Cassian as much as he did so shifting from Alpha to Master wasn’t really a difficult thing.

In his mind, both of them meant the same thing. Alpha felt more appropriate when things were soft and fluffy, like when they were cuddling in his nest. Master fit into the bedroom more, where Ilsa didn’t have to do anything other than listen and obey. Having a differentiation between the two was… somewhat nice.

“Such a sweet, sweet little omega,” Cassian murmured, before sinking his fangs into Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa moaned, rocking his hips a bit by accident, pleasure thrumming through his body. Cassian’s hand settled on his lower abdomen, stilling his hips movements, causing Ilsa to whine. Ilsa couldn’t help but giggle as Cassian’s fingers ghosted down lower, tickling him a slight bit on their journey to circle his cock. The giggling was quickly silenced however, because Cassian’s hand began moving on his length.

Ilsa moaned and melted back into Cassian, his head falling back against Cassian’s chest as he looked up at the ceiling, just letting the pleasure wash through him. It was delicious and slow, nothing really felt so intense that he couldn’t think, but it still felt so good.

Cassian’s hand moved over his length slowly, his thumb running along the slit of his erection occasionally, and it was just enough to keep him on the edge of an orgasm. He was floating, the gentle pleasure all-consuming to his senses. He was beginning to err closer to an orgasm, though he knew there was no way that Cassian was getting anything out of this. Ilsa squirmed a bit, trying to return the favor to Cassian somehow.

𝐵𝑒 𝑎 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒, Ilsa whimpered and nodded his head, stilling himself once again. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡. Ilsa bit his lip and nodded his head. Cassian’s touch was so soothing and left him feeling blissed out. He loved this life, he loved being Cassian’s. He never wanted anyone else to touch him, he was spoiled by Cassian, and frankly no one else would ever measure up.

The echoing pleasure through the mating bond was enough to keep him sedated, at least Cassian got a little bit of something out of it, Ilsa supposed. Ilsa let out a quiet moan and tilted his head back, his teeth sinking into his lip as Cassian’s hand sped up its movements on his length, drawing him closer and closer to an orgasm. Pleasure danced beneath his skin, Cassian’s cock buried inside of him left him full and pleasantly warm.

It was just so pleasant, the kind of pleasant that made him want to linger in the abyss of pleasure for longer, and longer.

Even so, it didn’t take long for him to bury his face in the pillow beside him, a moan falling off of his lips as he lost himself to his orgasm. His eyes rolled back as pleasure crashed down over him, his body shuddering and his hips jerking forward into Cassian’s hand just the slightest bit. Cassian’s hand quickly shot in front of his cock to catch the cum, effectively protecting their bedsheets and Ilsa’s pride as well.

As Ilsa came down from his orgasm, he slowly blinked open his eyes, peering up over his shoulder at Cassian. Cassian met his eyes with a soft, albeit smug look on his handsome face. Cassian shifted down and captured his lips in a kiss, soft, chaste, but so full of warmth that it made Ilsa’s cheeks heat up. He felt so floaty and light as Cassian’s fingers moved towards Ilsa’s face. Ilsa immediately moved his head, taking Cassian’s hand and pulling it up to his mouth quickly.

Ilsa started with the palm of his hand, licking the cum off of it, before he pulled Cassian’s fingers into his mouth and started licking them too. When Cassian went to pull his fingers from his mouth, Ilsa bit down a bit, before letting Cassian pull his fingers out of his mouth.

“Good boy, rest now, morning will come early.” Ilsa nodded his head, slipping his eyes closed. This was better than anything the Celestial realm could ever hope to offer, Ilsa couldn’t help but follow orders and be good. Being empty and thoughtless like this… he couldn’t help but sink into sleep easier when he was like this.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ＥＩＧＨＴ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa found himself back at Cassian’s castle after their weekend getaway, and admittedly, he was glad to be home. Cassian, true to his word, had allowed them to stay in for the remaining two days of their getaway… which was fine, but honestly he could’ve just done it at the castle. Not that Ilsa could really complain, not with how lovely Cassian had been. He’d kept him entertained, playing board games and reading to him, and the last night Iden had gone to stay in Helix and Felix’s room for them to have a lovely dinner and some private time.

They’d shared wine and Cassian had fed him, it was lovely. Just spending the time with Cassian was enough to keep Ilsa entertained, though. Cassian had told him stories, which Ilsa had to say, was probably his favorite part. He loved fables, and the ones from the vampire realm were much different from the ones in Caelestes. Also, Cassian’s voice was nice to listen to, smooth and low, it hit his ears and just made him want to listen and listen.

When they returned home, however, things settled quickly back into normalcy. Ilsa had his next session with Shadow today, which brought him to what he was currently doing. Sitting in the garden, under the moonlight, trying to read tarot cards once again… only without an audience, because Shadow hadn’t shown up yet.

Ilsa still had about twenty minutes to play with, so he wanted to practice a bit. He’d been slacking a significant amount, and while he was growing settled in Tenebris Regni, he still wanted to be able to protect him and Cassian. Death with immortals was permanent, yes, but there was still one person Ilsa had no way of understanding.

Isandro. He was a mystery. With more and more of Ilsa’s memories being proven untrue, it raised the question in his mind: Was Isandro the same as Isoloses? Had he felt just as trapped as Ilsa had, or maybe more so because he was close with their father? It also raised the question of how much of Isandro and Isoloses’s memories had been fabricated as well. While Ilsa knew the wars they fought in were real, he did wonder if his father had coerced them… magically.

It was possible, albeit rare. Vampires are typically depicted as having the power of compulsion, but they don’t. The power of compulsion comes from dark magic that even demons hesitate to use because it can have some… shitty effects.

Compulsion was arguably worse than altering one’s reality, because while the compulsion makes them believe something, it doesn’t change their memories of said event. It just means they don’t believe them. With having your reality played with, it’s horrible, and Ilsa agreed with neither frankly, but at least he truly believed what was happening.

Compulsion often manifests symptoms of schizophrenia, and it involves a range of problems with cognition, behavior and emotions. Symptoms of compulsion sickness are the same. Delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and reflect an impaired ability to function. Compulsing a belief into someone’s head is basically what starts it–it’s a delusion, a false belief not based in reality.

Then the hallucinations start, and they serve to solidify the fact that the compulsion is fact and not just compulsion. Messing with Ilsa’s reality was different, because while none of what happened actually happened to him, it was similar almost to a dream that he could remember… at least now that he knew they weren’t real. But before, they had been real, there was no question in his mind that what happened was what happened.

Because the compulsion cannot change the active memory, it means that while the person truly believes that they remember incorrectly, that they were seeing things–just any rationality that is plausible in their situation, whatever it might be–they still remember fully what happened. For instance, a compulsion spell could make someone believe that instead of seeing a demon, they saw a human. But they still saw what they saw, and the compulsion cannot change that.

In a purely hypothetical situation, a man could see a demon doing something, it doesn’t really matter what, and sees their demon form. If the demon used compulsion, the man would believe wholeheartedly that he’d seen a human even though his memory said otherwise. The hallucinations would kick in, in some circumstances, where they begin to picture said demon as if it was haunting them. Hence the existence of ‘demons’ in the human realm. They’re not real, but as they’re magical hallucinations they can cause real damage. The hallucination serves to solidify that they imagined what they saw, which Ilsa thought was a little hilarious honestly because how , but somehow it actually tricks the brain into thinking that something is wrong with it rather than memory.

They begin sleeping less because they have a magical hallucination creeping around them, which starts to bring in symptoms of sleep deprivation. While the hallucination isn’t able to cast spells or anything, it can and will attack. That obviously begins to lead to the fear of one’s life, because they can’t escape a hallucination, no matter where they go. Their thinking begins to become disorganized and chaotic, effective communication would become impaired and their answers to questions would slowly become more and more unrelated, until they begin to speak in nothing but meaningless words that can’t be understood.

Depending on the way the man’s body reacted, he would become extremely disorganized, and display abnormal motor behavior. On one end of the spectrum, he might be childlike, on the other he might become agitated and violent. As the compulsion sickness progresses, daily tasks and goals become harder to accomplish, which leads to an inability to function. Things continue spiraling from there, which is truly sad.

That being said, not every case of schizophrenia is a case of a demon being spotted, the two were different and schizophrenia was a mental illness, compulsion sickness was something different. Compulsion sickness was just similar, which is how the whole confusion between the two began. While no exorcism is going to cure compulsion sickness anyway, it was way closer to a treatment than medication would be. In the case of actual schizophrenia, different treatment options are available. In the case of compulsion sickness, the only way to release the illness is to kill the demon responsible.

Killing the demon responsible usually takes summoning said demon, which is possible. There was an interesting story about one case Ilsa read in a book back in Caelestes where a man managed to summon the demon who compulsed his memories and killed him. Ilsa couldn’t help but find it a little funny that he used a ceremonial dagger to do it. He was horrible, perhaps, but at least he was rooting for the good guy in the scenario, right? Anyway, compulsion was one of the spells that’d been safeguarded to prevent said events from transpiring.

It helped, truly, and for the most part, it’d fallen out of use even though compulsion sickness wasn’t something that happened every time. It was overall just a pretty useless spell, because it wasn’t even capable of changing the memory. If it could, compulsion sickness wouldn’t be a side effect.

Ilsa’s father however, was not a kind man. He didn’t care how much suffering he caused, as long as things progressed how he wanted them to. In theory, however, if his father had compelled Isandro, when he died, the compulsion sickness could be lifted. There is no rule that says the infected person has to be the one to kill the demon. The demon just has to die. Isandro could be a totally different person. He still didn’t want to go see, though, no matter how curious he was.

Really, all he wanted was assurance that Isandro was okay too, that he found happiness. With the steps he was making with the peace treaty, it sparked hope that perhaps his father really was the root of all evil.

Ilsa shook his head and looked down at the deck of cards he’d been idly shuffling in his hand and sat them down before he drew out four cards from the stack and turned them over, casting a quick glance over them.

  ![](https://img.wattpad.com/864e6311472b8347535fbb9e60bffcb4bcafb9fc/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f7255494e5272524e4d72636a46513d3d2d313234363630353830352e313730343630643235353633363236343236353034333033323234322e706e67)

Ilsa grabbed the notebook he had all of the tarot card meanings written in, and quickly hunted down the first card. Death, it sounded pretty ominous, so Ilsa was a little hasty. Given his reading actually worked somehow, he really didn’t want to let that go without further explanation. Hunting it down was actually pretty easy, because it was on one of the first few pages of the book.

𝙳𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑

𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐

𝚄𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

: 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚢𝚌𝚕𝚎, 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜, 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎, 𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚙𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚒𝚜,

𝚁𝚎v𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚍

: 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎, 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚗, 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗, 𝚍𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚢.

After quickly checking to see whether or not the card was upright, he let out a sigh of relief. No actual death was impending, he just really read too much into the titles of things. He was curious though, what the card could be referring to. End of cycle kind of made sense for Ilsa, he supposed. He was out of the cycle of abuse in Caelestes, so that was definitely the end of a cycle. Beginnings… he’d had many beginnings lately. His relationship with Cassian, though that was a bit far back at this point. Ilsa’s relationship with Isoloses. Iden’s birth was the beginning of a life. The beginning of the peace treaty with Caelestes and Tenebris Regni. Change could be referring to his life changing, the changing of Caelestes, the ending of war meant change as well… Metamorphosis insinuates an alteration of appearance, character or circumstance…

Perhaps it was referring to something else, or nothing at all, because Ilsa sucked at this.

Ilsa sighed a bit and checked the second card before looking it up too. The upright meaning was cause and effect, clarity, and truth. Okay, so cause and effect then if it were referring to him, he’d suppose the cause was him leaving Caelestes, the effect was everything that happened afterwards. Clarity as well as truth could be referring to his memories. If it were about Cassian, he supposed that the cause could be him coming to Tenebris Regni, and the effect was their marriage, Iden, perhaps the peace treaty because his father wouldn’t be dead if he hadn’t left. Clarity and truth neither one made sense, unless it was referring to Cassian bringing him both of those things. Perhaps it was referring to Isoloses, who had been the one who’d set all the pieces to play. He had made the deal with Naevys that started the whole thing in the beginning… Clarity and truth could be Isoloses decision to betray their father, and coming to the realization that his father was wrong?

It could be referring to Isandro, as well, because he was the ringleader behind the peace treaty. The cause would be their father’s death, and the effect would be the treaty. Clarity could be clarity from the effects of fathers influence, and truth could the realization that father was a monster?

The Wheel of fortune was also upright, and a third major arcana card, which Ilsa found somewhat amusing. He’d shuffled that deck a thousand times, how did all of the major arcana cards end up at the top? He quickly looked up the meaning of it, and sighed. Change, cycles, and inevitable fate.

Some much had changed, it was hard to pinpoint what it could be pointing to, but the biggest changes in Ilsa’s life was Iden, and Cassian. His newfound comfort. The treatment he received from Cassian was a huge change in his life. Uhhhh… The treaty was a huge change in everyone’s lives. Cycles… Ilsa couldn’t really be sure about that one either. Inevitable fate, that was harder for him to conceive. He wasn’t sure what could be an inevitable fate right now. He’d probably have to revisit later, if he thought of something.

The lovers card was also upright, four upright cards so far–he seemed to be doing really well. Partnership, duality and union. Partnership sounds like it could relate to multiple aspects of his situation, and the situations around him. Ilsa and Cassian together were a partnership, Naevys and Isoloses were a partnership. In theory, it could even be referring to Cassian and Isandro in some weird way. Ilsa wasn’t sure about duality, really, but union could refer to his marriage to Cassian, or the peace treaty–

Everything could have multiple meanings. What the hell am I supposed to do with all of this now? I know less than I did before, Ilsa let out a huff and ran his eyes over the cards. A giant mess, that’s what this was. He had no idea how to tell what the cards were referencing, but he supposed it was good either way.

“Ilsa, you’re looking much better!” Shadow called, drawing Ilsa’s attention away from his cards to look up at Shadow, a smile crossing his face.

“I feel so much better! That potion you gave me worked wonders.” Ilsa said, making Shadow smile and nod her head. She sat down in front of him and ran her eyes over his cards. “I’ve been practicing, but I fear I’ve made little progress.”

“Any progress is better than no progress, so we’re just going to praise the small victories.” Shadow said, smiling as she settled herself down onto her heels and rested her hands on her thighs, tilting her head to the side. “You had little experience going in, any step you make is one towards success. So just keep your mind focused on what you want to do and make small improvements and be proud of those improvements because any improvement is good.”

“Yeah, I guess you have a point.” Ilsa agreed. “As long as I’m not going backwards, and I’m not staying in the same place, I suppose that’s all that matters.”

“Correct,” Shadow said, smiling a bit. “Are you ready to begin your next session?” Ilsa nodded. “Well then, shall we get started?” Another nod from Ilsa prompted Shadow to begin speaking, and once she started, Ilsa had the suspicion, it might take a while for her to finish.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Once Ilsa’s meeting with Shadow ended, Ilsa went and found Iden with Cassian in his office. Cassian had Iden sat on one of his knees, holding him up so he was sitting. Iden had his rattle in his hand and was shaking it around wildly, making it rattle loudly. Cassian was signing documents with one hand, a paperweight resting atop the stack of papers so they didn’t move when Iden bumped them with his rattle occasionally.

“Oh, come here you,” Ilsa murmured when he reached Cassian’s desk. Cassian passed him a thankful look, his eyes roaming over Ilsa’s face as he pulled Iden into his arms and positioned him on his hip. Iden giggled happily and gripped onto the back of Ilsa’s suit jacket as the hand holding the rattle jerked around a couple times, making noise. “If you needed my help, I could’ve left my session with Shadow,” Ilsa said, poking out his bottom lip.

“I didn’t need help with Iden, but the help is

greatly appreciated,“ Cassian said, smiling as he looked up at Ilsa from his seat. “Did you finish your session with no issues this time?” Cassian asked worriedly. Ilsa nodded.

“Seems as though I really was just exhausted.” Ilsa amended, stepping a little closer to him. “I feel much better though. And… the vacation was lovely.” Ilsa said, making Cassian smile brightly. Cassian reached one of his hands out and put it on Ilsa’s waist, gently tugging him forward so that he was in front of him. Ilsa rested his hip against the edge of Cassian’s desk and shifted Iden on his other side, so that Iden didn’t accidentally bash Cassian in the face.

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” Cassian mused, leaning forward to press his face into Ilsa’s stomach. “Your heat is getting close.” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa flush deeply.

“How do you know?” Ilsa asked, making Cassian hum.

“X-ray vision,” Cassian murmured, smirking a bit.

“What? No way!” Ilsa said, smacking him on the shoulder a little.

“Seriously though, I can smell it. So you should take one of your heat suppressants, if you haven’t already.” Cassian murmured, pressing his face closer to him. Ilsa’s flush deepened, relieved that Shadow had human senses and not enhanced senses. Ilsa put his free hand on Cassian’s shoulder, suppressing a shiver as Cassian’s fingers brushed along the waistband of his pants. Even with the button up and a vest, Ilsa could feel his fingertips chill tickling the corners of his senses. It was pleasant, and made him feel just… so fuzzy.

“What are you doing?” Ilsa asked, flushing a bit as Cassian ran his nose along his abdomen.

“You just smell amazing.” Cassian murmured heatedly. “Sorry,” Cassian pulled away from him, blinking a couple of times. “It’s fine, sorry, seriously. You should probably get those suppressants quickly.” Cassian said. Ilsa nodded, stepping back from him a bit. Part of him desperately wanted to tease him, but the other part of him knew it wasn’t a good time.

“I’ll get them right away,” Ilsa murmured, averting his eyes shyly as excitement sparked under his skin. He was excited–his last heat had been so much better with Cassian, and this time he had suppressants so he had high hopes he would enjoy this time even more than the last one. Cassian was so amazing at taking him down to the barest, most raw parts of himself. It could be embarrassing at times, but Ilsa loved it.

“Alright. Holler if you need me, okay,” Cassian said, making Ilsa nod and start towards the door. “Be careful, straight to the room where your suppressants are.” Ilsa nodded again and pulled open the door of the office, hurrying down the hall and up to Cassian’s room. Ilsa laid Iden down on his tummy on the floor, quickly running into the bathroom to grab his suppressants and a cup of water. Ilsa returned to Iden and took the dose Eirina told him to take, before putting them on the dresser.

Ilsa sat down on the floor by Iden and sat him up, clapping his hands in front of him. Iden blinked at him a couple of times and then giggled, replicating the action with his hands messily. Ilsa let out an excited squeak, clapping more. Iden giggled and shook his arms a bit, before copying his clap again. It wasn’t perfect, but Ilsa was still proud nonetheless.

“Someone is growing way too quickly!” Ilsa said, reaching forward to pull him into his arms. “I want to hit a pause button on you, I feel cheated. You’re going to be going to college when I wake up in the morning.” Iden just smiled at him, making Ilsa smile back at him.

“My lord,” Helix’s voice came from behind him, and Ilsa jumped, looking up over his shoulder. “King Cassian sent me to check on you, and to take Iden so you could rest.” Helix said as he set down a box, with a basket on top of it.

“What’s all that?” Ilsa asked, frowning a bit. It looked heavy.

“Gifts, from King Cassian, my lord,” Helix said politely, making Ilsa nod and stand up from the floor. Helix stepped forward and took Iden, prompting Ilsa to move over to the bed to examine the box that Helix had placed there. “Seraphina will be bringing you dinner soon,” Helix offered, making Ilsa nod.

“Okay, thank you, Helix.” Ilsa said.

“No problem, enjoy!” Helix said, before blinking away. Ilsa heard movement through the door leading to Iden’s room and had to fight the urge to laugh. He’d just blinked literally twenty feet, Ilsa couldn’t help but find it amusing how the vampires never walked unless it was a situation when they needed to. Ilsa glanced into the basket and found a note, so he pulled it out and read it quickly.

Ilsa,

   I prepared this gift for you to enjoy before we found out you were pregnant, in preparation for your second heat, and it’s finally come. I hope that with it, you find resting and relaxing to be a pleasurable and calming experience for you.

   Inside of the basket is everything you’ll need for a nice bath, complete with potions and elixirs that’ll help you prepare for your heat. They’ll relax and refresh you. In the bathroom awaiting you, you’ll find a bottle of cold wine, an assortment of fruits from the human world (blueberries included) and a wine glass, enjoy yourself. Each bottle is labeled so you should have no problem detecting which potion is which.

   Inside of the box you will find an array of outfits–pick whichever makes

you

feel sexy. There are multiple styles of underwear, and pajamas, for both male identifying individuals and female identifying individuals respectively, as I wasn’t sure what your preference was. Feel free to use whatever you like, please don’t worry about what my preference is… I’m saying this because I know you will if I don’t. I want this heat to be about you, and what you want.

   Your heat has been a burden on you for a long time, but it doesn’t have to be anymore. Now that we are mated, no other being (aside from myself) will be affected by your heat, so you have nothing to fear. Enjoy your preheat, take some time to just… be by yourself and relax. When you’re ready for me, simply call me through the mind link, and I’ll come to you immediately. If you happen to fall asleep, I’ll still come to bed when I usually do, so don’t rush if you’re tired. Take your time and enjoy yourself, even when I come to bed I will do my best not to wake you.

   You have been working so hard lately, with the baby, and sessions with Shadow… I know you’re probably beyond exhausted, and I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your hard work. I’m very

proud

to call you my mate. You have given me more than I could have ever asked for.

  With love, Cassian.

Ilsa couldn’t help the tears that sprung to his eyes when he finished reading the note. Cassian was always so thoughtful, he always made sure Ilsa was pampered, well fed, and taken care of. He was so lucky to have Cassian, who always catered to his emotional and physical needs. Ilsa couldn’t help but pick up the basket and sit it over to the side, his eyes roaming over the box. Or rather an odd sized chest. Ilsa had initially thought it was a wooden box, but it seemed more like a chest. Though it was much smaller than any chest Ilsa had seen… so he couldn’t be sure.

Ilsa opened the latch on the chest and pulled the lid up, peeking into the box. His eyes widened as he took in the first layer of clothing. It was silk pajamas, reminiscent of the very ones Cassian wore, only with the addition of lace around the cuffs of the shirt, giving it a slightly more cute feel than if it was just like Cassian’s. The collar and the trim line where the buttons latched were also lace, and it was just so beautiful that Ilsa kind of wanted to wear it immediately. Ilsa lifted up the shirt, peeking at the pants that matched it, before sitting it to the side and picking up the next outfit.

This time it was just a shirt, or rather, a nightgown, but it looked like a shirt, and had a matching robe. While it was a night gown, it was still obviously male, though it was erring closer to feminine than masculine. It too was silky and had lace on it, and it was so soft when he picked it up that it glided through his fingers and it was just soft. Beneath it was a pair of boxers, with possibly the shortest leg hole Ilsa had ever seen. Ilsa flushed,

and sat it to the side before he continued on into the box.

The next thing he pulled out was a women’s pajama set, similar to the first, only with short sleeves and shorts. It was silky, with lace, and pretty. Ilsa really liked it, it looked so soft and adorable, he honestly kind of preferred it to the first set. It looked softer, and between the two, it just looked more appealing. Maybe he was seeing through pink goggles or something, but he really just… thought they were pretty .

Something which he wasn’t sure why it felt important, but it did. He liked being pretty, and Cassian was always heavy on the compliments…

Ilsa shook his head and picked up the outfit and sat it on top of the other two, before his eyes fell onto the final outfit. A negligee. It was beautiful , in every sense of the word. The chest had been altered, so it’d lay flat against his skin, it was black and all things considered, was more modest. It didn’t dip down, instead it was straight across the top and fashioned in layered sheer fabric, with black lace. Directly beneath the chest part, was a piece of ribbon, about three inches wide, and so deeply black that it made the sheer black fabric look almost gray, in comparison. There also was a small but beautiful bow fashioned in the center, with little tails on either side.

The skirt of it was a little longer than expected, looking like it’d probably reach the top of his thighs, maybe a little lower. It was layered as well, making it so that while the fabric was sheer, it also

covered him well. The straps were made of the same ribbon like fabric, and it was stunning.

Ilsa picked it up, running his fingers over the fabric carefully. It was so soft, Ilsa could’ve moaned. It felt almost as if the sheer fabric would melt between his fingertips, smooth as oil. It was the one he wanted to wear. Indefinitely.

Ilsa laid it out on the bed carefully, and caught sight of the matching underwear. Oh holy mother of Oriosis. Ilsa’s face flamed red, picking them up and examining them quickly. They were made of the same sheer material as the negligee, only much fewer layers, and they had a small black heart shaped stone sewn into the center of the waistband, which was the same ribbon that circled the waist of the negligee.

The final piece to the set was a beautiful robe that matched the negligee perfectly, the same sheer fabric composing it, though much more thinly layered than the rest of it, obviously more for show than anything. It was not going to keep him warm in any way, it wouldn’t even conceal his skin in any way… but it looked elegant. The wrists of it were loose and cinched with the same ribbon like black fabric, and the whole thing flowed down to his ankles, nearly. It looked like a veil or something, but it was beautiful. The belt of it was the same black fabric as the rest of the belting on the outfit, and… he was speechless. It was beautiful, absolutely stunning,

and made Ilsa feel like he might just combust.

Cassian bought them for him. He actually liked all of them. He’d wear them all, though he knew immediately which one was his favorite. The negligee. Hands down, the others stood no chance. Ilsa could tell what Cassian was aiming for with the clothes–giving him multiple styles of sleepwear to choose from. He gave him two gendered pajama outfits, and two that were intended to be more neutral.

Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder which outfit Cassian liked, even though Cassian had told him not to. Ilsa flushed a little and put the outfits back into the chest, save for the negligee. Ilsa took the negligee and carefully placed it into the basket before he moved the chest down into the floor. Ilsa grabbed the basket and carried it into the bathroom and sat it down on the edge of the tub.

Ilsa plugged the drain of the tub and started the water before he reached into the basket and pulled out the negligee. Once he set it where it wouldn’t get wet, he began going through the vials in the basket, his eyes roaming over them. There were so many. Ilsa picked up the first one and read the description.

ᴾᵒᵗᶦᵒⁿ ᵒᶠ ᴱⁿᵈᵘʳᵃⁿᶜᵉ. ᴾˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵘˢᵉ ¹/ ⁴ ᵒᶠ ᵃ ᵇᵒᵗᵗˡᵉ

Ilsa ran his eyes over the delicate glass vial and pulled open the lid, carefully pouring out exactly a fourth of the cyan potion into the water. Ilsa watched as the water turned a cyan color, before fading back to clear as it mixed in, and then grabbed the next vial.

ᴾᵒᵗᶦᵒⁿ ᵒᶠ ˢᵗʳᵉⁿᵍᵗʰ. ᴾˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵘˢᵉ ¹/ ⁸ ᵒᶠ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵒᵗᵗˡᵉ.

Ilsa was overly cautious about how much he poured in, because he couldn’t really tell what an eighth of the container was strictly by eyeballing it. As the red translucent tinted liquid mixed into the water, it too turned faded into a clear color. It made the water a little shimmery, but it didn’t look like there was anything floating in the water, either. It was interesting, and Ilsa was a little entranced as he watched it. After a moment, though, he continued on with the vials.

ᴾᵒᵗᶦᵒⁿ ᵒᶠ ᴿᵉˡᵃˣᵃᵗᶦᵒⁿ. ᴾˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵘˢᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᵉⁿᵗᶦʳᵉ ᵇᵒᵗᵗˡᵉ.

Ilsa opened the vial and poured the entire bottle into the water, watching the creamy white mixture mix into the water. Instead of dispersing and turning clear, it didn’t. The water took on a milky appearance, but it smelled like nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, and maybe a little like cedarwood. Its scent smelled relaxing. Ilsa continued on through the bottles until he was down to the final few, and his water was bubbly and steaming.

By the time Ilsa had his wine and the fruit on the edge of the tub, he stripped out of his suit and slipped down into the water. Ilsa moaned when the water hit his skin. It was cool and refreshing, and it made his skin tingle pleasantly. Ilsa sighed happily as he poured himself a glass of wine and took a blueberry into his mouth and moaned. Delicious .

Ilsa took a sip of his wine and sank down into the water more, letting out a sigh. Cassian really knew how to pamper someone. Ilsa took another blueberry into his mouth and moaned. There was a bunch of them, along with an array of other human world fruits that Ilsa had always wanted to try. He really needed to thank Cassian, because he was amazing.

Ilsa hummed a bit and grabbed a strawberry, running his eyes over it curiously. He’d never seen one in person before, only through pictures and paintings in books, so Ilsa was a little interested. He wasn’t so sure about the seeds covering it, but he supposed if humans ate them and were fine he’d also be fine. Ilsa took a bite of it and moaned. Fuck nothing tasted like this in Caelestes.

It was incredible. Leaving Caelestes was the best decision he’d ever made, and Cassian was the best thing to ever happen to him, he was sure.

𓊈𒆜 ＴＷＥＮＴＹ- ＮＩＮＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa found himself reclined back in the bed, heat coiling through him. He’d taken his heat suppressants already, so he’d been wading smoothly into his heat. He had a fair bit of clarity, in comparison to the past, admittedly. He wasn’t very far in, admittedly, but he felt much better than usual. He wasn’t tired or achy, and he was surprisingly calm. Not unaffected, just calm. Perhaps it was because he knew that at any moment, he could call Cassian to his side, so the beginnings weren’t as disconcerting. He didn’t have to scurry around and prepare, he didn’t have to stock up on water and barricade his bedroom door, he didn’t have to be afraid.

He was still a little jittery, more just out of habit than anything, though. Inside of Cassian’s Castle, Cassian can hear almost everything–save for the living quarters of the staff, which had a sound blocker, and only certain people had the capability to turn it off in case of emergencies. He was fine, because he knew that Cassian was listening in on him to make sure he was okay. He was aware that it might sound intrusive, but the reality was much different in his case.

Cassian went out of his way to give Ilsa privacy. Cassian was so respectful of him, it was an adjustment for Ilsa–albeit a good  one. Cassian didn’t snoop in his head all the time, he didn’t push him to talk about things he didn’t want to, he never even questioned him about Caelestes, because in the beginning he’d vowed not to. Ilsa was sure that while Cassian could hear him, he could also hear every other being in the castle. Which was a significant number of people. Ilsa never really paid much attention, honestly, because no one ever really acknowledged him. Ilsa thought perhaps that was an order from Cassian, or maybe it was just more respectful in their culture to leave him be unless something was amiss.

Ilsa didn’t really care, to be honest. He’d rather not intrude on Cassian’s rule, and it didn’t really seem like he had a job, really. Cassian let him help with his paperwork, yeah, but it wasn’t an obligation. Ilsa shifted, and it brought a wave of arousal washing over him as he felt the fabric of the panties he was wearing shifted against his cock. Fuck they’re so soft, Ilsa thought, squirming around a bit.

He was getting close to his heat, he could tell. He was just about there, really. He could feel the heat beginning to grow, it was slow but noticeable. Ilsa stood up off of the bed and put on his robe, before he walked into the bathroom and looked in the mirror shyly. The negligee fit so well, and the fabric brushing against his skin was absolutely fantastic. The fabric seemed to subtly stimulate his skin, making it tingle or… or something that was just absolutely so pleasant.  It caused goosebumps to raise every once in a while, because it was just that soft.

Ilsa turned to the side a bit, and then switched sides as he took in his appearance. His hair was beginning to grow out, reaching almost to his chin, and his bright blue eyes were sparkling a little. His cheeks were slowly beginning to tint a bit from the arousal, just a bit , and he couldn’t help but smile a little. He was excited. 

He loved his life with Cassian, and the safety, the comfort it brings. He’s never been allowed something so safe and happy. It was nice to have someone love him, to have someone that he  loved. Waking up in Cassian’s arms was one of the best things he’d ever experienced. He’d been pampered more in ways than one, completely spoiled rotten by Cassian. 

Ilsa let out a happy hum as he ran his hand down his negligee before biting into his lip. No one would be affected by his heat, Cassian had said. Cassian hadn’t told him he couldn’t leave their room, and if he hurried over to Cassian’s office now while he still had a bit of composure, he could help Cassian with his paperwork before he went into heat. Cassian had a never ending pile of it, and Ilsa wanted to help him if he could. From his understanding, the heat suppressants would help him avoid smelling as  strongly, so in theory, he might not affect Cassian yet…

Ilsa really made up his decision the moment he got out of bed, if he was being honest. He really just wanted to look over his appearance before he left–looking nice for Cassian was something he enjoyed. He just loved the way Cassian’s eyes practically devoured every inch of his body when he was aroused.

Ilsa quickly walked through the bedroom, stopping at Iden’s door to listen in. He was pretty sure he was asleep at this point, the light moon had long since fallen, and all Ilsa heard was slight movements. When Helix was in Iden’s room, Ilsa could hear him faintly talking, but when it was just Felix all he could hear was movement, which meant that Helix and Felix were either in the process or finished with putting Iden to bed. Ilsa smiled a little and then walked to the door of their room and pulled the door open, peeking out.

No one, Ilsa realized, before stepping out into the hallway. Ilsa didn’t linger, because despite Cassian’s assurances he’d be fine, he wouldn’t push his luck too much. Ilsa quietly knocked on the door of Cassian’s office, waiting until he heard Cassian’s voice calling out for him to enter. Ilsa stepped inside of his office and shut the door behind him. 

“Do you need any help?” Ilsa asked softly, a coy smile playing on the corner of his lips. Cassian sighed quietly as he rubbed at his temples, before shaking his head. “Cassian,” Ilsa pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Aren’t you supposed to be resting and relaxing?” Cassian asked pointedly, ignoring his question instead of lying. Ilsa had been resting and relaxing. If he rested, or relaxed anymore, he feared he might relax himself into limbo. Instead, he’d rather spend his time with Cassian and bring in his heat in a more enjoyable way. Ilsa was clingy, he’d already came to terms with that inside of himself, and Cassian didn’t seem to mind at all… so he was fine.

“I got bored , and now I want to come visit my darling husband. Is there anything wrong with that?” Ilsa asked innocently, smiling at him as he walked closer, leaning his hip against the edge of the side of Cassian’s desk. Cassian’s eyes raked down his body, making his heart speed a little, just enough to have him shifting his weight as a wave of arousal washed over him. 

“Oh, is that so?” Cassian asked, a smirk pulling up the corners of his lips.

“Yes, this was a completely innocent visit.” Ilsa said, making Cassian nod his head. “Would you care for any assistance?” Ilsa asked, the words coming out way more teasing than Ilsa had intended for them to, a coy smile still playing on his lips. While he was offering to assist Cassian with his paperwork, Ilsa couldn’t lie… He’d not mind a much less professional sort of assistance, as well.

“Hmm… You should sit in my lap,” Cassian suggested, his smirk widening. Ilsa couldn’t keep the blush from racing across his cheeks, arousal pooling in his stomach. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as if he were pondering the idea, though. 

“Is that so?” Ilsa asked. Cassian nodded, grabbing his wrist gently and captured Ilsa’s arm in his hand. Ilsa let Cassian pull him around his desk, not even a little surprised when Cassian pushed him back so that his ass was resting against the edge of the desk. Cassian’s arms wrapped around his waist beneath the robe and he pressed his face back into his abdomen, letting out a happy sigh. “This hardly feels proper,” Ilsa said, but made absolutely no effort to stop him. Instead, he reached his hands up and placed them on Cassian’s shoulders. 

“Every thought I’ve had about you today has involved me doing something  improper to you,” Cassian murmured, orchid eyes looking up into Ilsa’s as he raised his head to look up at him. “I could scarcely focus on my work, because I kept being barraged with thoughts of you bent over my desk.” Ilsa blushed a little under his gaze, his heart speeding up in his chest. Cassian being distracted by thoughts of him , on top of the fact that Cassian had a way with words, made Ilsa’s insides quiver with need. 

“Oh?” Ilsa mused shyly, his eyes roaming over Cassian’s face. “Who am I to judge your improprieties? In fact, I’ll indulge them.” Ilsa murmured. Cassian hummed, his hand roaming down over Ilsa’s ass, to the back of his thighs where the negligee was skimming over his skin. Ilsa moaned, his head falling back a bit. Oriosis, there was something  about this fabric that was just driving him insane. His skin was gaining sensitivity as the minutes passed by, and it in combination with Cassian’s hands on him… well, he was a mess. Quickly.

“You smell divine , lovebird. Absolutely intoxicating.” Cassian murmured, making heat flood through Ilsa. “Your scents been stuck in my head all evening, I could smell you all the way from the bedroom.” Ilsa whimpered as Cassian’s hands gripped into the backs of his legs, squeezing his thighs in his hands. Ilsa moaned, letting Cassian lift him up and sit him in his lap. Ilsa parted his legs, scooting as close to Cassian’s chest as he slipped his hands into the lapel of Cassian’s jacket. “This is beautiful,” Cassian said, running his eyes over the outfit Ilsa was wearing.

“It probably cost a fortune, so I’d hope so,” Ilsa said, beginning to tug at the knot in Cassian’s tie absently, slick leaking down into his panties. 

“That it did,” Cassian admitted shamelessly, leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips. Ilsa shivered, arching forward into his chest as his mind blanked from the arousal, and he momentarily forgot his mission. Getting Cassian’s skin beneath his fingertips. “I have expensive taste,” Cassian murmured, ghosting his lips down Ilsa’s cheek, making Ilsa let out a shaky breath and shift forward. Heat. He was officially in heat. He could feel the difference, immediately. A merely satisfying touch to him before was now sending waves of arousal washing over him. He could feel slick beginning to leak out of him quicker and he let out a little whine, pulling back a bit.

“I-I should take this off,” Ilsa moaned as Cassian ran one of his hands up the inside of Ilsa’s thigh. Cassian shook his head, and smirked a bit, running his eyes over Ilsa’s face. “You just said it costed a fortune,” Ilsa whimpered as Cassian’s hands wrapped around his length through the panties Ilsa was wearing, his other hand slipping beneath the skirt of the negligee to run over the curve of his ass, Cassian’s fingertips teasing the line of Ilsa’s panties.

“Indeed it did, however, feel free to cum all over it if you please. This outfit is meant for heats, all of them were, so they’re meant to be durable, resistant to moisture,” Cassia smirked down at him, a devious look in his eyes. “Do they feel nice, precious?” Ilsa nodded his head breathlessly, leaning forward onto Cassian’s chest.

“Alpha, it feels so good, please,” Ilsa pleaded breathlessly.

“Pleading so soon? Did you come find me just in time, my sweet little lovebird?” Ilsa nodded his head and shifted closer, his body burning deliciously. Cassian smiled, just a little, and cupped Ilsa’s cheek in his hand, leading his face up. Ilsa moaned when Cassian’s lips hit his, sinking into it easily. Cassian took his time kissing him, exploring the shape of Ilsa’s mouth with his tongue, before delving deeper. Ilsa immediately reached up and tangled his fingers through Cassian’s hair, spreading his legs wider.

Ilsa wanted Cassian’s weight on top of him, the weight of his length filling him up. His entire body was buzzing with arousal, the air around them felt thick and heated, it sat on his chest and made his breath catch occasionally. Ilsa gasped when he found himself being lifted from Cassian’s lap, a whine slipping off of his lips almost immediately afterwards. After a second of only the sound of papers being shifted, Cassian sat him down on his desk.

“Heeey,” Ilsa whined, poking out his bottom lip a bit. Cassian looked for a moment like he was going to stand up, but it was just him shifting forward in his seat and slipping closer between his thighs. “That’s no– ah !” Ilsa broke of with a gasp as two fingers slipped into the leg of his panties and dipped into his already slick hole. “Alpha,” Ilsa gasped, his eyes rolling back a little as as Cassian’s fangs sank into his inner thigh.

Ilsa moaned, squirming a bit in an attempt to take Cassian’s fingers deeper as tingles spread through his body in combination with the pleasure from having something inside of him. He was so desperate, it was like a haze had set in, and all he could think was closer.  He wanted to be full of Cassian, to feel the connection between them pulse out mirroring pleasure, to be sinking into the pleasure and satiation and fullness.

𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘, Ilsa flushed brightly, pleasure coursing through him at the words. 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑓𝑢𝑙, the word echoed through Ilsa’s head for a moment, shuddering a bit as Cassian’s fingers poked at his prostate. Cassian’s ability to make Ilsa fall apart in his hands was embarrassing, but ultimately was all to the benefit of Ilsa, truly. 𝐷𝑒𝑙𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒, Ilsa moaned as Cassian’s fangs sank deeper into him, his eyes rolling back and his hips pushing down into Cassian’s fingers desperately. More, he wanted to plead, but he currently was too distracted to even try to think. He needed Cassian inside of him, his fingers just weren’t enough. 𝐼𝑛𝑡𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔, Ilsa shook his head, a moan falling out of his mouth as a third finger slipped inside of him. 

“K-Knot,” Ilsa pleaded, his  head tilting down to look at Cassian. Cassian looked up at him from where he was biting him, a smirk pulling up the corners of his lips before he pulled his fangs out of Ilsa’s thigh and ran his tongue over the mark left behind. Ilsa bit into his lips, meeting his eyes as desire burst through his veins. Cassian’s eyes were glowing as if they were almost on fire because of how bright they were, almost mimicking the way Ilsa’s looks when he’s in his demon form.

Ah, Ilsa realized in a random moment of brief clarity, Cassian’s demon DNA must be affected by my blood even more when I’m in heat. That could explain Cassian’s ability to knot he supposed, though he truthfully couldn’t remember if Cassian had knotted him before or after biting him the last time. He didn’t really get the chance to think much deeper into it because Cassian’s mouth wrapped around the head of his cock. Ilsa sank back against the desk, not even paying attention to everything that clattered off into the floor, a moan falling off of his tongue before he could help it.

The inside of Cassian’s mouth right now was cool, and wet, and fucking hell it was all Ilsa could do not to collapse into a pile of moaning, writhing bones right there. Another moan was pulled from him as Cassian’s fingers applied pressure to his prostate as he sank down and took Ilsa’s length into his mouth. Ilsa shuddered and stared blindly up at the ceiling, his eyes rolling back again. 𝑆𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦, 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, Cassian’s voice echoed through his head, making him nod his head. It did feel lovely, but he couldn’t help the whine of annoyance that left his lips.

He wanted more and Cassian was just going so torturously slow. Ilsa knew why, logically speaking. His first wave of heat will not be his most intense, and Cassian’s trying to limit his pain and discomfort overall, which means taking more time to prep him between sessions. Ilsa should’ve done this himself, he would’ve if he were not so embarrassed. The idea of sneakily fingering himself in Cassian’s bed before trekking into his office to beg for attention and sex was way more humiliating. Cassian moaned around his length as he tugged on Cassian’s hair desperately. Ilsa’s thigh trembled a bit as he put his leg up on Cassian’s shoulder and pulled him downward more desperately, squirming around.

Cassian allowed it, but took his mouth off of his erection. Ilsa whined, wiggling around desperately. 

“Pull your legs up, wrap your arms under your knees, beautiful.” Cassian murmured. Ilsa felt a shiver trail through his entire body, a wave of pleasure following closely behind it as Ilsa immediately moved into position, excitement coursing through him. He was at perfect height for Cassian to fuck him now, and he-

“O hhhhmm… “ Ilsa moaned, feeling Cassian’s tongue moving over his hole. For a moment, the thought of being knotted disappeared, pleasure completely overruling it. It wouldn’t last long, but it was enough for him to make it through the rest of the foreplay… he hoped. Ilsa felt boneless as he tugged at Cassian’s hair, mindless pleas beginning to fall off of his tongue as Cassian’s tongue pushed inside of him with his fingers. 

Ilsa shuddered, another noise he didn’t even have a name for slipping out of his mouth as Cassian’s fingers still found a way to play with his prostate, even when he had his tongue inside of him. If he weren’t so heat drunk, Ilsa would whine about it, because Cassian’s tongue was inside of him but like this… all he could do is just enjoy the pleasure. 

Cassian’s teeth scraped deliberately over the rim of his hole, fangs teasing at him but nothing more, and Ilsa’s head tipped back and he let out a cry of pleasure. Shudders ran through his body as he squirmed a bit. Ilsa whimpered, lifting his head up to peek over his legs, a blush spreading across his cheeks. He’s ready, open, this is enough. Surely.

“A-Alpha,” Ilsa pleaded, on the verge of insanity or maybe just tears, he couldn’t tell. He wanted so much more, and he just couldn’t help but cry if he knew Cassian liked it. “Knot me, breed me, I-I’m yours, please, I-I’ll be good,” Ilsa pleaded, making a show of how he was holding the position Cassian had told him to by pulling his legs up a little closer to his chest. 

“Ilsa,” Cassian murmured, standing up in front of his desk. Thanks to the lighting behind him, Cassian’s form casted a shadow over him, and it made Ilsa feel so small and helpless. It turned him on so much he couldn’t help the way his hole leaked slick freely, especially with the position holding him open like this. “Your reactions to erotic stimulation are magnificent. You are very lovely,” Before Ilsa could form any sort of coherent thought, Cassian had already pulled himself out of his pants and Cassian was rolling him over onto his side. Cassian’s length brushed against his hole and Ilsa shuddered, wanting to push down into his length.

“I-I-” Ilsa wanted to say something in response, but honestly the only thing he could think about was Cassian inside of him. He was dripping wet, and it was all he could do to keep from acting completely debauched. “Knot,” Ilsa breathed pleadingly, his eyes staring up at Cassian desperately. He couldn’t think of anything else. 

“Anything for my little lovebird,” Cassian murmured teasingly, pressing the head of his erection against Ilsa’s soaking wet entrance before pushing inside of him. Usually it was slow, this time, it seemed as if Cassian’s teasing might have gotten to him as well, because in a half second flat, Cassian was buried inside of him.

“Ha, hah, ah,” Ilsa had meant for something to come out, words, something intelligible, but all he managed was noises, because fuck . He was so full, so full, and Cassian was right there behind him, just as desperate as he was. How was he meant to think beyond the feeling of Cassian’s length buried inside of him? He’d never understand.

“You’re so gorgeous, precious, so good. Look at you, taking me so well. Such a good little omega wife hm? Always coming to alpha when you’re ready to be bred,” Ilsa moaned and nodded his head, feeling as light as air when Cassian began thrusting inside of him. Slowly, at first, but it didn’t take him but a second to lose all pretense and begin moving relentlessly, precisely, in what seemed like perfectly timed thrusts. 

Cassian was dedicated to rendering him a sloppy, pleasure-drunken, cum-filled mess. He memorized every inch of his body, and used that to his advantage. Ilsa was helpless against the pleasure, and the position held him so open, Cassian was so deep inside of him he couldn’t even think. Ilsa moaned, feeling like he was melting around Cassian’s cock. His hands wrapped around his elbows, letting out another moan, tears pooling in his eyes from the pleasure hitting him full force. 

His hole was molded around Cassian’s length perfectly, opening eagerly to accept him as Cassian’s hips moved. The feeling of the super soft panties against his cock was almost suffocating in it’s perfection. It felt so good, too good, they were so soft, and made his cock tingle and pulse out precum. They, true to Cassian’s words, didn’t get stuck to his skin when they were met, and instead continued to feel dry. It was odd, but mostly it was just pleasurable. 

“Breed me, please,” Ilsa pleaded, his eyes rolling back as pleasure coursed through him. “Breed me, knot me, I-I wan-want it!” Ilsa cried out, his head turning to look up over his shoulder at Cassian, watching his face as he thrusted inside of him. Every deep and strong thrust sent a jolt of pleasure zinging through him, and adrenaline coursed through him when he thought about Cassian filling him again. Breeding him again. That’s what this is all about, Cassian filling him to the brim with his cum. He wanted it so much, and he couldn’t help but tighten his hole around Cassian in an attempt to bring him off faster. 

“You just had my baby, but yet you want another one already? So greedy hm? Wanna be stuffed full all the time, constantly full of my cock and cum, carrying my babies like a good little mate?” Cassian teased, his voice deep and so powerful it made Ilsa shudder. All he could hope to offer in response was a moan.

He couldn’t breathe, but yet he could. It felt so good, too good, and Cassian felt so warm inside of him thanks to Ilsa’s raised body temperature impacting Cassian’s. He was so deep and so warm, and Ilsa was certain he was going to melt from the inside out. It felt so good, too good. His insides were spasming around Cassian’s length as it moved in and out of him, and it had him whimpering and moaning in pleasure, his eyes rolling back. Cassian’s pace sped up a bit, his movements erring rougher, and this time, Ilsa became aware of the quiet sound of the wooden desk scraping against the wooden floor.

“You look so desperate and cute, Ilsa, such a little doll,” Cassian teased, a huskiness in his tone that it had Ilsa practically vibrating under the attention. “You’re even drooling, baby. Does my cock feel that good?” 

“Y-Yeah-aah,” Ilsa managed to get out in a whiny tone, his toes clenching a little. He couldn’t really say he was surprised, his cock was leaking into his panties, his hole was dripping wet, and his eyes were watery–everything else was wet, why the hell not just throw drool into the mix at this point. To hell with shame, he was debauched, it was fine with him now. Cassian’s words were said with a kind of softness that made Ilsa feel even warmer than the cock stuffing him full did, anyway. All of Cassian’s teasing was lighthearted and meant to turn him on.

It worked. Every time. Ilsa was weak, but he didn’t have the brain functionality to be contemplating it further. He couldn’t think about anything other than the movements of Cassian’s length inside of him. Cassian’s hand gripped into his knee and tugged at it, so Ilsa quickly pulled his arm from around it and let Cassian tug his leg up. Cassian leaned over him a bit and hooked it over his shoulder, his fangs immediately finding a spot to bite down into.

Ilsa’s thighs trembled and his eyes rolled back, a moan falling off of his lips as he felt tingles echoing through him. With the bite, Cassian sped up his thrusts, fucking him harder. It was hard and insistent, but was met with no resistance at all as pleasure crashed down over Ilsa. The desk’s hardness wasn’t registering, the sound of the desk scraping just faded into nothing , the world completely disappeared around him. Cassian’s cock buried inside of him was all that he was registering, and fuck, it just felt so good.

Slick had to be covering his pretty negligee, but Cassian looked so strong and powerful, and Ilsa felt so small and helpless and it was combining in his head nicely in his head. He could be small and helpless if he had someone strong and powerful, like Cassian, to protect him, right? It made sense to his absolutely heat wracked mind. Cassian’s cock was filling him to the brim with each thrust, owning him inside and out. He was Cassian’s , and the intoxication that came from it left Ilsa clenching around Cassian’s length. 

“You feel so amazing, you’re so warm and soft,” Cassian groaned as he pulled away from the bite on Ilsa’s leg, moving his hips faster. Ilsa cried out, pleasure coursing through him in waves that left him lightheaded, his orgasm hitting him suddenly. Cum covered his leg and his chest, probably even Cassian’s desk too, but it was lost on him, because the pleasure from his orgasm mixed with the pleasure from the feeling of Cassian’s knot beginning to enlarge inside of him. 

Ilsa moaned and wriggled a bit, his hole tightening around Cassian’s length. 

“Please,” Ilsa managed, breathless as Cassian kept fucking him, moving in short, tight thrusts, his firm, still clothed abdomen hitting against the back of Ilsa’s thigh. 

“Shhh, just be a good boy and take it,” Cassian murmured soothingly, making Ilsa whimper and nod, his hand going to clutch at Cassian’s arm. He just needed to hold him. “There you go, baby boy,” Cassian murmured, pressing a kiss to his knee softly. Ilsa moaned, tears flowing down his cheeks as he felt the knot enlarging right where he wanted it, and everything settled as it filled him.

“Alpha,” Ilsa mewled at the feeling. All he could do is sink down against the desk and suck in a deep breath, pressing his face down onto the surface of it, staring out at the window, taking in the sight of the dark moon peeking through the clouds overhead. Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder how something so dark produced any light at all, but frankly it was one of the only thoughts Ilsa could manage at the moment. Cassian’s length felt so nice nestled inside of him, and the knot provided bursts of pleasurable pressure all throughout his body.

Cassian grinded his length, just barely tugging at his rim with the knot, before he pressed in deep inside of him. Cassian rolled his hips slow, but each slight movement had him hitting heavy and deep inside of Ilsa, pleasure bursting through him more intensely. Oh it was indescribable, and his body was just a shaking pile beneath Cassian. Ilsa inhaled deeply, letting the scent of Cassian’s arousal wash over his senses.

Cassian smelled divine and Ilsa couldn’t help but wonder how long he’d be able to smell that now that he wasn’t pregnant. He hoped forever. It was so much, Ilsa was certain he was ascending. Could demons ascend? He wanted to, if this is what it felt like. 

“Such a good little omega, such a good boy,” Cassian murmured, his hips pausing as he let out a deep groan. Ilsa whimpered, his eyes rolling back as he felt Cassian’s cum flooding inside of him. Finally, his omega moaned as Ilsa’s eyes shut and he just enjoyed it. Enjoyed the fullness, the connection, the scent of Cassian all over him, but most of all, was Cassian’s praise.

While his mind wasn’t really processing what Cassian was saying, he knew the tone of voice he was using. It was the same one he always used when praising him, one full of love and adoration, two things Ilsa had never had directed at him. He was so good, beyond good. Cassian inside of him removed the pain that came with heat, to some extent. Sure, being fucked repeatedly all day long can become painful even for him, but this  was the payoff. Total and complete serenity. 

Ilsa’s eyes didn’t open until he felt Cassian lifting him as gently as possible off of his desk. They were still locked together, so Ilsa thought he couldn’t have been blissed out for long. Cassian moved slower than Ilsa thought would be humanly possible, though he wasn’t a human so that kind of tracked honestly. Within a few minutes however, Ilsa found himself curled up in Cassian’s lap, a bit awkwardly because of the knot and the positioning they’d been in when he was knotted. Even with the awkward positioning he was comfortable and found himself nuzzling into Cassian’s shirt, Cassian’s arm curled around his back.

“I love you, little lovebird.” Cassian murmured into his forehead. Ilsa nodded and nuzzled into his shirt a bit more.

“I love you, too, Alpha.” Ilsa murmured tiredly. “Can I take a nap?” Cassian let out a quiet chuckle and nodded. Ilsa shifted a bit and put his legs over the arm of Cassian’s desk chair and cuddled closer to Cassian.

“I’m going to finish the stack of paperwork I was working on. I’ll take you to bed as soon as the knot goes down, and we’ll cuddle until it’s time for round two. Alright?” Ilsa nodded and let out a quiet yawn, his eyes fluttering closed as one of his hands settled over his abdomen. So full, Ilsa thought, and a quiet chuckle fell off Cassian’s lips. Ilsa was already dozing off though, blissfully sedated and pleased, thoroughly.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa woke up with a whimper as he shifted in Cassian’s arms, Cassian’s cock ramming against his prostate. His hole twitched around the base of his length, a wave of arousal washing over him. He couldn’t really remember how long it’d been since Cassian had fallen asleep, but Cassian had slept through him waking up and that usually didn’t happen so Ilsa knew he was tired. Ilsa contemplated, for a brief moment, whether or not he should wake Cassian.

Cassian had been fucking him silly for almost seventeen hours, out of a twenty four hour period. While Cassian didn’t require much sleep, he still required some. Ilsa’s heat had been annoyingly persistent, and it was rapidly increasing, but that meant it’d end sooner. Eirina had explained to him what each possible outcome could be when he started the heat suppressants, so Ilsa hadn’t been surprised  that it was fast, but he felt bad. Cassian was able to handle his heat before the suppressants, so did that mean the suppressants weren’t good for him? Not that they were bad necessarily, just that maybe they weren’t agreeing with him the way they needed to be? Or was he just oversensitive because all of his hormones were surging and he felt so emotional?

He didn’t know, but it wasn’t really possible for him to figure it out at the moment. Not with the feeling of Cassian buried inside of him. The combination of slick and cum kept his body soft and pliant, his hole leaking around the base of Cassian’s cock and it brought a whimper to Ilsa’s throat. No, no, inside me, his omega whined, and Ilsa whimpered, silently this time, but again nonetheless. Fuck .

He could handle this on his own. He could do it. Ilsa shifted ever so carefully out of Cassian’s arms, managing to wriggle away from him without waking him. It took so long, Ilsa felt sure he was going to go insane just trying to move away from him because if he moved too quickly or shifted things around too much he knew he’d wake Cassian and he didn’t want to do that. Cassian had been so attentive to him and had even bathed him and fed him before they settled in for the final round before Cassian had fallen asleep.

Ilsa rolled over onto his stomach when he was free and shakily reached his hand up for his pillow, pulling it down to him. He shifted much less carefully than he should’ve but he was much less coherent without Cassian’s length inside of him, jamming the pillow down under his abdomen, in an attempt to if nothing else slow down the rate of Cassian’s cum leaving him. It was warm, something that had his omega unhappy. Ilsa reached behind himself, his fingers searching out his hole.

The position wasn’t much for fingering himself, admittedly, he could barely reach, but it would have to suffice until Cassian roused from sleep. He was being much less quiet, so it was logical that he could assume Cassian would eventually wake up and use him like he was supposed to. Ilsa knew he could speed the process up by just calling Cassian’s name, not burying his face in the bed when he moaned to muffle the sound, but his omega was pulling him in different directions than his mind was.

His logical brain said Cassian needs sleep, his omega brain said Cassian needs to fuck me. He couldn’t think straight enough to make a logical decision at the moment, and he felt overwhelmed because he could think, kind of at least, so he felt like he should be able to take care of himself right now. But it felt so hard. He’d done this before, it wasn’t impossible.

Ilsa whimpered, determined despite being overwhelmed, and started rocking his hips against the pillow, shifting around enough for him to slip three of his fingers inside of himself. The stimulation to his erection was somewhat satisfying, though his fingers had nothing on Cassian’s and even less on Cassian’s cock. It wasn’t enough, and that made him want to cry.

He just wanted to be a good omega, but he couldn’t even handle himself when his heat wasn’t so intense. All he had to do was make it until Cassian woke up, it wasn’t so long. Why did it feel like it’d been forever, when in reality it’d probably been only a few minutes? 

“Lovebird,” Cassian murmured, and Ilsa swore he’d never jerked his head around to look at someone faster. Tears pooled in his eyes, and Cassian let out a soft whine, poking his bottom lip out a little. “You should’ve woken me, darling. Has it been long?” Cassian asked, shifting closer to him, his fingers roaming soothingly over his ass. Ilsa whimpered, grabbing the hand that Cassian wasn’t touching him with to pull it to his face. Ilsa nuzzled into Cassian’s hand, wide eyed and flushing brightly.

“N-No,” Ilsa denied, even though he was truthfully unsure. It could’ve been five minutes, Ilsa was so worked up at the moment he didn’t truthfully know. “I-I wanted… I wanted to let you sleep. Or at the least, wake you up with my voice… instead.” Ilsa flushed brightly and looked away from him, his heart speeding up.

“How sweet of you, but it was unnecessary,” Cassian murmured, getting up on his knees behind him. Cassian’s hands gripped into his hips, stilling his hips idle movements. He wasn’t even getting anything from them anymore, he’d been so focused on Cassian he’d forgotten about the whole arrangement he’d been in when Cassian awoke. He couldn’t help the little bit of embarrassment that colored his cheeks. Every inch of his body was sensitive and burning with desire, his hole achingly empty, but Cassian’s presence behind him provided hope  that his torture was over.

“P-Please,” Ilsa managed to pant out, pushing his ass up more, pressing his face into the bed. He was hyper aware, oversensitive from the heat, his body felt so tender and soft that just light touches had him squirming around. He felt so achingly empty that he craved more. Cassian was intoxicating. The power that Cassian emanated when Ilsa was in heat made him feel somewhat drunk. He loved how strong and powerful Cassian was, but more so, he felt special because Cassian was his . Cassian picked him. Cassian loved  him.

“Oh, wait, “ Ilsa blinked a couple of times, suddenly realizing he’d slipped into his demon form. He only realized because his tail curled around Cassian’s thigh. Distress immediately flooded through him, his eyes filling with tears. Why? Why did he feel so shy? “I-I’m in…” He couldn’t even say it, because he was crying too hard, all of a sudden. 

“Heat?” Cassian asked, as if he didn’t quite understand, even so his hands paused where they were caressing his thighs. “Is something the matter?” Ilsa willed his demon form away, but he was overwhelmed with emotions–probably what’d triggered his switch, honestly. He couldn’t unswitch unless he calmed down and he couldn’t calm down because he couldn’t switch back. So it was a negative feedback loop that he was trapped in. “Baby,” Cassian murmured softly, pressing a kiss to his shoulder gently as he leaned over his back. It wasn’t a sexual move, though it could easily be perceived that way. Ilsa knew he was attempting to comfort him without moving him from the position he’d put himself in.

It made warmth flood through him. It was impossible to ignore his erection though, and it made hope flutter through him for a brief moment. His switch wasn’t severe, where he looked ugly or anything, but he had horns and a tail, and Cassian was literal perfection and all he was is a demon. 

“You want to fuck me in my demon form?” Ilsa asked hesitantly, his eyes widening a little in surprise. He couldn’t lie, he was a little afraid of the answer and wished desperately he had of had the foresight to avoid asking such a silly question. He shouldn’t ask because he shouldn’t care but he does. To demons it was probably normal to have sex like this, but Ilsa hadn’t ever stayed in his demon form before. He didn’t feel comfortable in his own skin, felt ashamed because of what he was and what it meant about him to others. 

“I always want to fuck you, lovebird,” Cassian murmured into his ear, pressing a kiss to his neck. “You’re beautiful, startlingly so.” Ilsa whimpered and flushed, covering his face. 

“I’m just…” Ilsa broke off, unable to use words, unable to think. He wanted Cassian inside of him, but he also felt so off about being in his demon form that he couldn’t push aside the intrusive thoughts about his form. 

“Just what, baby boy?” Cassian murmured gently, nuzzling at his neck gently. Ilsa couldn’t lie, with Cassian over him like this, it felt good. Ilsa’s cheek was pressed against the bed, Cassian’s chest against his back, his hips in line with his. He was trapped, utterly immobile, and despite being overwhelmed, the feeling of being trapped kind of relieved a slight bit of his discomfort.

“I’m ugly like this,” Ilsa grumbled, his face heating up as he turned his face to press it into the bed when he felt his hand was no longer doing an adequate job of hiding him. “I’m not pretty, not like you.”

“You’re beautiful.” Cassian murmured, his arm curling around Ilsa’s abdomen between the pillow and his skin. Ilsa gasped as Cassian’s hand circled the base of his cock. “You look so cute like this, baby,” Ilsa flushed and moaned, turning his head to peek over his shoulder at Cassian, whimpering. He wanted to believe it, believe that Cassian believed it… “My beautiful little omega, do you really think some horns and a tail with a little bit of fur at the end of it can scare me away from you?” It really sounded funny when Cassian put it that way, but the humor was lost on him at the moment.

“I’m… bad,” Ilsa muttered, curling in on himself more. Cassian shook his head and nuzzled into the back of his neck.

“You’re good, Ilsa,” Cassian murmured. “You’re a good mommy, and a good mate.” Cassian murmured, making Ilsa nod his head as much as the bed allowed. Cassian was right. He tried his best, at the very least, to be both of those things. “You’re wonderful, Ilsa, and there is nothing I want more right now than to fuck you.” Ilsa was aware, at any other time, that probably would not have been the right thing to say.  However…  it hit his heat wrecked brain and made everything feel better. 

“R-Really?” Ilsa asked, whimpering a little, hopefully. Anyone else, Ilsa wouldn’t really have cared if they thought he was gross or ugly–everyone has preferences. But Cassian was his Alpha, the only person in the world he did  care about the opinion of. Cassian nodded his head, nuzzling into his neck. “Y-You want to?” 

“Yeah. It sounds nice, doesn’t it?” Cassian mused gently, his fingers moving around Ilsa’s cock a bit, making a sliver of pleasure break through the overwhelming mess that was his brain, relieving him of his plights. “Me holding you down and fucking you, making you lose yourself to orgasm over and over,” Ilsa outright moaned as Cassian’s fingers cupped his balls in his hand. “Until you are completely spent and can’t take it anymore.” Ilsa nodded his approval, warmth radiating through him. 

“P-Please, touch me more,” Ilsa pleaded quietly, his hands moving to grip into the blankets below him. “Alpha I’m ready.” Cassian could’ve honestly just fucked him and it probably would’ve made his mind stop thinking about what was going on in his head, but Cassian had taken the time to actually make him feel better. Something about that made him feel even needier than he had before. 

“Allow me,” Cassian murmured, pulling back from his body to run his fingers over Ilsa’s hole. “Such a good, sweet boy. You’re beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous.” Ilsa purred, his eyes slipping closed as he nodded he head. “Mm, soaking we for me, hm? I love that, baby. You’re perfect.” Ilsa moaned when Cassian pushed two of his fingers inside of him, expertly locating his prostate and grinding against it. Ilsa let out a relieved noise, his eyebrows creasing as he looked up at Cassian over his shoulder.

He was so wet, and even if Cassian’s fingers weren’t bit enough to fill him completely, the pleasure from the stimulation momentarily overtook his senses and it made Ilsa moan and shift, pushing his ass up and back into his hand eagerly, desperately. His teeth bit down into his lip as Cassian’s fingers prodded his prostate again. 

“Open your pretty little legs more. Let Alpha between them.” Ilsa complied quickly, spreading his legs and making as much room as he could between them. “Nice and comfortable, lovebird?” Cassian asked, meeting Ilsa’s eyes as his fingertips grazed one of his horns gently while combing his hair. Ilsa shuddered and moaned, his eyes fluttering shut as his hole twitched.

“Comfortable!” Ilsa echoed, his voice coming out a little whiny on accident. He really, really just wanted Cassian inside of him right now. With the absence of his self-consciousness, all that was left was heat . It wrapped around him and consumed him entirely as soon as he was unbothered. “I want you,” Ilsa pleaded, his breathing labored as Cassian cupped his ass in one hand, squeezing the swell of it before dragging the palm of his hand up to his hip and gripped into it. Ilsa whimpered and pushed back against Cassian’s length when he felt the head of it teasing the entrance of his hole.

Ilsa grabbed Cassian’s pillow and buried his face in it for a moment as he crossed his arms beneath it, making a mental note to try to remember to ask for a massage in the foreseeable future. 

“ Plea-“ Before Ilsa can even finish his plea, Cassian was pushing the head of his erection into Ilsa’s hole. Ilsa let out a relieved move as it slipped inside of him. In seconds, Cassian was buried completely inside of Ilsa, who moaned and sank down into the fluffy pillows, inhaling Cassian’s scent as much as he could. Cassian slowly began rocking his hips, and though Ilsa’s cock screamed at him for ignoring it, he didn’t even bother grinding into the pillow beneath him as initially was planned.

Ilsa just sank down into Cassian’s pillow, his hips propped up so he was perfectly in place to be fucked and bred, his cock nestled comfortably against the pillow he was propped up on. Minimal effort required, truthfully. Ilsa knew Cassian would handle his orgasms, if he didn’t feel like doing it himself, he always did. Cassian grinded forward, applying pressure of Ilsa’s prostate.

“Fuck,” Ilsa moaned, his eyes rolling back. Cassian’s other hand curled around his hip, and then he held him steady so he couldn’t  move, and then just kept grinding deep and hard into him. Ilsa trembled, his lips parting on a gasp as he sank down into the pillows. “A-Alpha, please,” Ilsa pleaded, looking up at Cassian over his shoulder. 

In response, Cassian pulled back and then thrusted into him, ramming straight into his prostate. The immediate wave of pleasure pushed a noise out of Ilsa’s throat that was somewhere between a moan and a cry.

“A-Again,” Ilsa pleaded before he even gave Cassian a chance to replicate the motion. “Again, I want more,” Ilsa continued, his words coming out panted and pitchy. Cassian smirked down at him, curling his fingers into the hair at the back of his head, and then he strengthened his thrusts. “O-Oh,” Ilsa cried out, pain and pleasure coiling through him as he pushed back eagerly into Cassian’s movements, desperation guiding him. Cassian chuckled a bit and tightened the grip in his hair, pulling his head back, using the grip for leverage, immediately going harder and faster. 

“Fuuuck,” Ilsa moaned, tightening his arms around the pillow as he desperately rocked his hips in time with Cassian’s movements. He couldn’t be still, even if he wanted to. He was too desperate and it felt too good. He had to have more, he needed Cassian to breed him, to knot him. The pleasure coursing through him had his length pulsing between his abdomen and the pillow and at this point, he was basically just humping it. The pillow was so soft and plush against his erection, he couldn’t help but rub against it.

Cassian kept the pace steady, but hard enough to punch noises from Ilsa’s mouth, every thrust aimed perfectly for his prostate. Ilsa whimpered when Cassian knees pushed his farther apart, pushing his balls against the pillow. Ilsa shuddered, losing himself to an orgasm that had him pulling Cassian’s pillow up to his face in an attempt to quiet down his cry of pleasure, his eyes rolling back. Ilsa’s tail curled tighter around Cassian’s leg, the world disappearing from around him. He came and came, his orgasm seeming to be endless as he whimpered and whined, rubbing his erection against the pillow, his own release having lubricated his dick so each rub against it made him shudder in delight.

Cassian kept thrusting through his orgasm, and the constant stimulation kept him teetering on the brink of overstimulation. He was so sensitive, it felt so good , and everything felt so good. Ilsa swore to Oriosis, he could hear hallelujah faintly echoing inside of his head with each throb of Cassian’s length inside him. His thrusts were strong and he just kept burying himself inside of Ilsa as deep as possible. Cassian’s hand tugged his hair roughly, thrusting into him harder. Ilsa cried out, thighs trembling as he rocked himself down into the pillow.

There was so much stimulation, he was so hot, it felt so good. Ilsa’s tail coiled tighter around Cassian’s leg as his hands gripped down into the pillow beneath him, pulling it up to chest. The one between his legs remained, but this one was Cassian’s and it smelled good. Like Cassian. Ilsa moaned as Cassian bent over his back, his nose gently running along the back of one of his horns. Ilsa was surprised when he started purring almost immediately, his eyes slipping shut. It felt good, his horns, all demons horns are sensitive to touch–if they have them, at least–and Ilsa’s heat riddled brain was eating it up. 

“You’re so precious, Ilsa. I’ll love you in every form you take, forever .” Cassian murmured, his lips lightly brushing against the horn. Ilsa whimpered, desperation washing through him. “I’ll fuck you like this every night if that’s what it takes to make you realize it.” Cassian growled, and Ilsa shuddered as he felt the vibrations running through the horn Cassian was nosing at.

“Y-Yes, please, I-I-” Ilsa panted out, his sentence breaking off as he felt Cassian’s hand tug his hair roughly. I’m close , he’d intended to say, but his entire brain shut off midway through the sentence as Cassian’s cock rammed into his prostate and pleasure crashed down over him. Ilsa sobbed, his hips pushing down into the pillow beneath him desperately, shuddering. Oh it was so good, he was so close and all he needed was Cassian’s knot and everything would be completely  right with the world. 

He was so close, he could speak to warn Cassian, but his tongue and brain weren’t cooperating with him. He was burning from the inside out, the pleasure all consuming. It was intense and made his entire body shake, pleasure zinging through him. Every inch of his body was alive with sensation–the pillows beneath him, Cassian’s length buried inside of him, fuck he seriously thought he could even feel each individual strand of hair clasped between Cassian’s fingers if he focused hard enough.

It was overstimulating in the best way, and all Ilsa could truly consider at the moment was the stars dancing behind his eyes and the pleasure coursing through him. It just kept building, even as close as he was, and he didn’t even know if he could cum again so quickly but he felt so good it felt impossible not to at the same time. 

Cassian shifted his position slightly behind him, and the next thrust was deeper than Ilsa thought possible. Ilsa jolted, a sharp cry falling out of his mouth as his body tensed, and he felt Cassian’s knot beginning to swell. Pleasure wrung through him and it was all he could do to push his hips back into Cassian, more, more, he wanted to plead, but his tongue seemed non-functional at the moment. 

The base of Cassian’s cock caught at the rim of his hole, and Ilsa let out a squeak, his eyes rolling back as he felt Cassian begin grinding his hips. Ilsa moaned, thankful for the pillow beneath him holding his position because he just couldn’t anymore himself. He melted down onto the bed, letting out a desperate little whimper, his orgasm smacking into him and momentarily caused everything to fade away as pleasure sent trembles racing through his body.

“Oh, oh,” Ilsa managed to sigh, feeling just so full and so wonderful, and just so much all at once. Cassian kept grinding his hips, working himself off slowly. Each motion kept the pleasure building and building, Ilsa couldn’t escape it. The pleasure was just… it was constant, and it kept him in a state of slightly overstimulated bliss. He’d cum twice–maybe thrice, he really couldn’t remember–and he was beginning to feel another orgasm approaching him. 

Cassian released his hair, hands gripping into his hips and holding him still as he grinded inside of him, knot tugging at the rim of Ilsa’s hole with each movement. It made him whimper a little, his body seeming to melt even more as he felt Cassian’s off-temperature cum flooding inside of him. 

Cassian grinded into Ilsa through his orgasm, and each grind of his hips had Ilsa crying out. Oh he loved this. He could live every moment like this, if it were possible. Full of Cassian, of his Alpha. Ilsa’s hips rocked into the pillow beneath him, his achy, overstimulated erection slightly painful but so pleasurable even with the sharp edge to it. Cassian bent over his back, nuzzling into his ear with his nose, fangs brushing against Ilsa’s skin. Ilsa whimpered, his eyes rolling back.

“ Cum, Ilsa.“ Cassian growled into his ear and Ilsa whimpered as he lost himself to his orgasm. It shocked through his entire system, zinging with intensity and overwhelming pleasure. Every inch of his body felt it, and he couldn’t even be sure he’d actually let anything out. At this point, he really wouldn’t be surprised if he was having dry orgasms. It didn’t really matter, because he just felt so good , and there was a delicious haze around him that made everything feel muted and comfortable.

“Good boy,” Cassian murmured into his ear, his arms curling around Ilsa’s waist. Ilsa pulled his eyes opened, his lips parting a bit as Cassian maneuvered them over onto the bed on their sides. Ilsa whimpered his eyes peeking up over his shoulder at Cassian, a content smile on his face as he nestled closer to him. Cassian’s arms wrapping around him made him so comfortable. He felt warm, Ilsa’s raised body temperature having raised his, and it was just… blissful. 

He closed his eyes again, not sleeping, just enjoying  the fullness Cassian provided. Cassian’s hands moved along his abdomen, his arms, his thighs, just petting him. Comforting him. Soothing him. How was he meant to do anything other than just settle in his arms?

“I love you.” Ilsa murmured, thoughtlessly. He’d already said it before, it wasn’t something new. Saying it now  felt different, with the heat wrecking him and his instincts basically taking over. What was different, he didn’t really know. Maybe because everything felt so close, quiet, and intimate? 

“I love you too, Lovebird,” Cassian murmured softly, pressing a kiss to his shoulder softly. Ilsa shifted his hips, just to feel Cassian’s knot tugging against his rim a little. Ilsa’s heat was  abated for a moment, it was just a pleasant reminder of how full he was. Also…  whenever he shifted, Cassian let out a quiet noise that Ilsa thought was half-way between a hiss and a sigh. The mating bond had a subtle lingering pleasure pulsing through it. Sleepy,  he thought, forcing his eyes open once again.

He didn’t want to sleep. He wanted to talk to Cassian, while everything felt so light and he felt so full and nice. 

“I-I like this.” Ilsa murmured as Cassian’s hand ran over his hip, up his side, fingertips moving so softly against Ilsa’s skin. Ilsa giggled, one of his hands moving to run over the muscles of Cassian’s forearm, feeling the most blissful sense of blankness echoing through him. Everything was Cassian and he loved that. “D-Do you like it?” Ilsa asked, flushing a little as he felt his tail curling tighter around Cassian’s thigh. 

“Ostensibly so,” Cassian murmured teasingly, pressing a kiss to Ilsa’s head. Ilsa flushed a little, purring as he pushed back against Cassian’s chest more, despite already being as close to him as physically possible. “You rest, Lovebird. I’ll feed you in the morning, and then we’ll shower you. Do you want to try to visit the library, or Iden?” Ilsa nodded immediately.

“Iden,” Ilsa said immediately. Cassian chuckled and nodded.

“We’ll visit Iden once you’ve had your bath. Sound like a plan?” Ilsa nodded his head and shut his eyes. As soon as he’d decided to fall asleep, it wasn’t half a second before he was beginning to snooze happily, wrapped up in Cassian’s arms comfortably.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

When Cassian had off-handedly mentioned the throne room when fucking him randomly one time, he’d never even paid it a second thought. He had been sure it was just something said in a moment of passion and that he shouldn’t really put too much thought into it. But now here he was, in the throne room. To Cassian’s credit, it was bigger than his fathers, and was probably creepier somehow, just because of how dark it was. 

It was open, and bright in it’s own very odd, weird way, with ten stone columns down the center to support the completely stone ceiling. Each of the columns had candles with glowing purple flames putting of a soft lilac kind of tint to the white grey stone it was bouncing it off of. Along the columns, there were portraits of warriors and kings and queens– important people, and they were lit up by the candles above and below them. Countless gems were mounted into the walls, catching the faint purple light and reflecting it some, and there were memorials and sculptures positioned along the edges of the room. 

An orchid rug split the entire room in half, leading up to the throne, made entirely out of stone and white gold, with a massive stained glass window behind it, mosaics lit up by a faint, flickering purple light from behind it–almost as if there were candles lit behind it. There were curtains colored the same orchid as the rug hanging down on either side of it, with decorated tips and white gold assets. 

The throne itself sat far enough away from the stained glass window that the window looked giant behind it, though its own size was nothing to laugh at. On one side of it was a slightly smaller throne, one obviously meant for a queen with the same design, just smaller, more delicate looking. The throne was covered in complicated inscriptions in languages that Ilsa hadn’t ever seen before and above the backs of the thrones was a gem encrusted with a symbol overtop it. The gems were glowing orchid, just like Cassian’s eyes. The pillows matched the orchid colored curtains, silken and soft. 

He wasn’t just in the throne room, however–that’d be no reason for him to be embarrassed, aroused, surprised and frankly, probably about to cum all over the beautiful orchid pillows, and the stone floor that probably cost more than his entire realm was worth .

Cassian didn’t seem to share his worried contemplations at all. Cassian hadn’t hesitated at all when he blinked them in here after they visited with Iden until Ilsa was hit by a heat wave. Now, he was facing the entrance to the throne room, it was empty and  still , with Ilsa sat entirely naked in Cassian’s lap–aside from Cassian’s crown, which rested on top of his head. The crown didn’t fit him well, but he couldn’t really say he was surprised. 

Perhaps the most embarrassing part of it all was the mirror Cassian had put in front of them, so that he could see himself and everything that Cassian did to him. Truthfully however, he’d been shut-eyed and bouncing on Cassian’s length, purposefully avoiding looking. It felt good, too good to stop, and Ilsa couldn’t lie, the embarrassment was kind of playing into his arousal more than he’d like to admit.

Ilsa tipped his head backwards to rest it on Cassian’s chest, a moan falling off of his lips as Cassian thrusted upwards into him roughly. One of Cassian’s hands tightened on his hip and the other moved up to grip his chin, pulling his face down.

“Just take a look at you, beautiful,” Cassian prodded playfully, thrusting up into him again while holding his face so he couldn’t move it. Ilsa gasped, his cheeks flushing with color as his eyes parted and he looked over the mirror, his cheeks color only deepening as arousal and pleasure coursed through him. 

Ilsa can slightly appreciate the eroticism of the image reflected back at him. The crown on his head is askew, his hair is mussed and his body was flushed and covered with marks, slick and precum clinging to his thighs, balls, and cock. There was precum on his stomach, from his rigorous bouncing before Cassian had stopped him. Marks littered his chest, shoulders and thighs, bites and hickies and bruises alike. His eyes were watering, cheeks flushed and hair stuck to his forehead, the slightest bit of drool running down his chin. He looked more than just a little debauched, he looked wrecked . 

In contrast, Cassian was practically fully dressed in a suit he’d claimed was just a throw-away–whatever the hell that meant, Ilsa had no idea–but he looked impeccable. The only indication of their improprieties was the dark color of his eyes and them glowing, really. Even with the crown on his head, it was clear who was in control. Cassian chuckled a bit as his eyes ran over him.

“Like what you see, Lovebird?” Cassian teased, making Ilsa flush. He just wanted to be fucked, knotted and bred, but he couldn’t lie… this added a layer of excitement to it.

“…It doesn’t displease me,” Ilsa responded breathlessly, his eyes lowering to run over where Cassian’s cock was buried inside of him. He flushed when he caught sight of the dampness of his pants, and the puddle of precum that was beginning to collect while Cassian was holding him still. Cassian hummed thoughtfully, rolling his hips in small circles, his cock bumping against Ilsa’s prostate. Ilsa moaned, pushing his hips back into it. Cassian’s hand moved from Ilsa’s chin to his neck, wrapping his hand around it. 

“ More ,“ Ilsa threw shame out of the window, shifting forward to move his hips on his own again, hands on Cassian’s thighs. Cassian chuckled and pressed a kiss to his shoulder, adjusting their position a bit, pushing his cock even deeper inside of him. Ilsa cried out, his eyes rolling back as he trembled. The pressure on his prostate felt so good, his mind staggered a bit as he grinded back into his length desperately.

“How loud can you scream I love you?” Cassian teased, imploration in his voice, colored with amusement and affection. Cassian , his omega practically sighed under his affection. It was obvious , he could hear it underlying in every honeyed word that fell out of Cassian’s mouth. He has grown so attached to Cassian, him, and his omega. It was lovely, admittedly, felt better than he had ever thought possible. Ilsa whimpered and turned his head to catch Cassian’s lips in a kiss. Cassian smirked a little, pushing his tongue into Ilsa’s mouth–kissing him exactly how he was currently fucking him. Mercilessly, but still sweetly, in it’s own way.

Ilsa gasped when a fang sank down into his bottom lip, tingles echoing through it just the faintest bit before Cassian pulled back, realizing he’d bitten him on accident. Ilsa whimpered as Cassian’s length twitch inside of him, pleasure consuming him for a brief moment. Ilsa blinked open his eyes after a second, and found Cassian’s gaze fixed on his reflection, lust clear in his eyes.

“How loud,” Cassian paused, his hand squeezing around his throat a bit. Ilsa moaned, sinking back against his chest weakly, rocking his hips desperately. “Can you scream I love you?” Cassian asked teasingly. Ilsa flushed, wiggling his hips a bit.

“W-We’re in… the throne room,” Ilsa managed to get out, trying to work himself up and down Cassian’s length in an attempt to get his knot to swell so he could have it where he wanted it. Cassian had to be close, and he was so wet and everything was so good. He just wanted to be knotted, right there, where everyone communed to pay tributes to past kings and even Cassian himself.

“And you’re on the kings lap, what can anyone say about it?” Cassian asked, amusement flickering through his eyes. “I’m unashamed, let everyone hear you screaming your love for me while I breed you, hm?” Cassian lifted him up, until just the tip of his cock was still inside of him, and then he dropped him down and thrusted upwards. Ilsa’s breath caught in his throat, and he moaned, pleasure coursing through him, his head lulling forward. The crown began to shift and slide, Cassian caught it before it could fall from his head, stroking his hair teasingly before returning it into place. “Careful there, my Queen,” Cassian purred teasingly.

“A-Ah, sorry,” Ilsa managed breathlessly, his cheeks flooding with color. Cassian was enjoying this way too much, playing with him and making him a complete and total mess. He couldn’t lie, he loved it. His heat prevented him from being completely embarrassed, and all that really remained was the pleasure. 

“I’m not hearing those I love you’s.” Cassian taunted. “Want me to start you out? Hmm? I love you.” Ilsa whined and nodded his head, trying to focus. With the pleasure making him a little delirious, speaking felt like a battle, but he was going to do it. 

“A-And I love you,” Ilsa couldn’t help the moan that followed his words as Cassian sank his fangs down into his neck, tingles echoing through his body as he tensed under the pleasure. It didn’t last long, however, and Cassian pulled back much too quickly for Ilsa’s pleasure. Ilsa gasped when Cassian hooked his hands under his knees and pulled him up towards his chest. Ilsa flushed brightly as the image registered to his mind, and left him burning desperately inside. Knot, knot, knot, his inner omega seemed to be chanting it, but oh  Ilsa could barely even focus on that with the sight in front of him.

He’d thought he was fully on display before, but could he time travel, he’d go back and correct himself. He could see his thighs quivering and his rim stretched round Cassian’s cock, leaking slick. Cassian’s balls were still tucked into his pants, but the front of his pants was damp from all of his slick, and there was a part of Ilsa that felt triumphant. Cassian was his. Ilsa couldn’t fill Cassian with cum to make him smell like him, but… but. Just but, because he was too embarrassed to finish that thought. The implication behind the thought itself was telling enough as is.

In a way, it was humiliating. His hole was red and stretched around Cassian’s cock, his own cock twitching with precum leaking from the head of it all over the thrones pillow and Cassian and himself. Ilsa’s blue eyes were reflected to him, so dark and desperate, his lower lip trembling and drool slipping down his cheeks. Tears leaked down his cheeks–just a symptom of the immense and nearly constant pleasure he’d been receiving for well over forty-eight hours. He’d been fucked so many time he was surprised Cassian wasn’t done with creating new ways to keep it from getting boring and repetitive. Cassian’s eyes on him made him shy, but oh it felt… amazing , honestly. They were practically devouring him, and it made his omega squirm and wiggle arounds desperately.

“K-Knot.” Ilsa pleaded needily, but Cassian tsked a little, smirking at him.

“I’m not giving it to you that  easy, precious.” Cassian teased. Ilsa knew, without a shadow of a doubt if he pushed, Cassian wouldn’t keep teasing him. He could say stop, he could plead for him to just knot him. However… his heat was beginning to thin a bit, today. He wasn’t consumed like usual, though still very affected. It was just less severe. He still was feeling shameless and desperate, though, and that benefitted him a lot, now. Instead, he would settle for screaming out I love you. 

“I love you!” Ilsa pleaded, making Cassian chuckle and Ilsa was almost dazed when Cassian began pistoning his hips, pulling Ilsa down to meet his thrusts. Ilsa let his head fall back onto Cassian’s chest, Cassian’s hand coming up to wrap around his throat as he bounced him up and down.

Cassian’s grip on his throat tightened and loosened in time with his thrusts, and Ilsa moaned, his erection throbbing as it bounced with each of Cassian’s thrusts up into him. Cassian’s thrusts had pleasure bursting through his body, each one aimed perfectly at his prostate, and Ilsa couldn’t quite breathe. Cassian’s fingers bit into his neck just a bit more, and the pace of his thrusts sped up, making Ilsa cry out.

“I love you! I love you! I love you–!” Ilsa’s voice raised with each rough thrust. As a demon, Cassian would have to squeeze a lot harder than he was to actually hinder his breathing–demons were not as indestructible as vampires, but they had their own heightened abilities that made it difficult  to injure, or kill them. They weren’t indestructible, but death alluded them cleverly enough. 

“Louder, Lovebird, let the entire castle hear you,” Cassian practically growled into his ear, his grip tightening more, and though he’s embarrassed to admit it, Ilsa cried out from the lightheadedness that began to creep into him. It felt good, and he could tell based on the quiet curse that Cassian let out that his bodies reaction to the effect had Cassian equally affected. He couldn’t help but let out a whimper and smile hazily at Cassian in the mirror as his eyes roamed over their reflection hungrily.

Though he loathed to admit it, this was… driving him insane. He wanted to be bred right there, as shameful as the admission might’ve been. He was the queen and yet here he was, being fucked on Cassian’s throne. He wasn’t even mad about it. He wasn’t even upset. He was enjoying it. The pressure around his throat increased and decreased rhythmically, and he couldn’t fight back the wave of trembles.

“I love you!” Ilsa called, his voice coming out squeaky and high-pitched from the amount of effort he was putting into calling it out. He just wanted to be bred  and knotted. 

“You’re so cute, Ilsa, keep going. Louder.” Cassian thrusted into him harder, prompting a louder, more exaggerated calling of I love you. “You’re so tight and wet around me, Lovebird. Does this feel that good?” 

“YES! I love you! I love you, more, please,” Ilsa pleaded, his eyes rolling back as trembles coursed through his body. He was so desperate, he didn’t care. He’d scream his love for Cassian in front of anyone who’d listen if he just knot and breed him soon. Cassian seemed to be in the mood to play with him, though, and Ilsa was oddly aroused by it.

“ Fuck.“ Cassian practically growled, standing up suddenly enough that Ilsa startled in his arms, his feet scrambling for purchase as his vision tilted. Cassian pulled him off of his length and turned him around, lifting him off of his feet before he could even process his feet hitting the ground. Ilsa flushed brightly as he found himself clinging onto the back of Cassian’s throne as Cassian manhandled him into a position where he was kneeling in the seat of the throne. And then Cassian was inside of him again.

Ilsa was now draped over Cassian’s throne, ass high in the air. He could only imagine what would be said if someone were to catch a peek of him. Somehow this felt more undignified than just having him lounge on the throne while fucking him. His cock was definitely leaking down onto the cushion now, and the ample amount of slick that was accumulating on his thighs was definitely more able to reach the cushion and–

“This is v-very undignified,” Ilsa murmured, sucking in a deep breath as Cassian thrusted into him harder, bashing into his prostate. Stars danced behind his eyes and it took all the effort he could muster not to cry out I love you again, because as undignified as it might be, he was erring painfully close to an orgasm. He wanted to cum.

“I could not  care less about dignity right now,” Cassian laughed, his hand reaching down to grasp his cock in his hand. Ilsa cried out, his head jolting forward and almost bumping into the back of the throne before he caught himself. “Now, now, Lovebird. I love you.” Cassian put emphasis on the words as he began moving his hips in a steady pace.

“I love you–!” Ilsa cried out, easily following Cassian’s lead while pushing his hips back into the thrusts and grappling at the back of the throne desperately. “I love you, I love you!” Louder, this time, more desperate, he was so close. Cassian’s fingers threaded through his hair, pulling his head back. It wasn’t all that rough, but the crown went toppling off of Ilsa’s head, hitting the stone floor with a loud noise that echoed through the throne hall. 

If Ilsa weren’t in heat, or he wasn’t currently being fucked, either one, he might’ve been in a rush to pick it up. Cassian’s crown on the dirty floor was more demeaning than Ilsa being fucked and bred on Cassian’s throne, right? It was a shame, for Cassian’s crown, that he was so careless with it–but Ilsa didn’t really have the brain capacity to care because Cassian just felt so good inside of him.

“Love you, love you, love you…” Ilsa rattled mindlessly as Cassian’s hand gripped harder into his hair, using the grip to pull him back to meet his thrusts. Ilsa couldn’t help but let out a gasp, his eyes rolling back as pain and pleasure mingled in his veins. Cassian slammed his hips forward, again and again, drawing short gasps from Ilsa’s mouth. Pleasure zinged through him and he couldn’t help it. He felt so achingly close, but he needed his knot .

Even so, the position kept him complaisant, passive, and in place, at Cassian mercy. He was aware, were it anyone else, he’d be terrified. This was Cassian, though. Being at Cassian’s mercy wasn’t terrifying, it was pleasurable, and while it could be a lot , it always felt fantastic. 

“I love you, Alpha, I love youu!” Ilsa cried out, writhing around as he felt his orgasm grasping onto him. He could feel the tug of Cassian’s fingers in his hair, every follicle of his hair that was being tugged ached just the slightest bit and it sent pleasured pain coursing through his blood, edging him just a bit closer. Cassian’s cock just kept pounding into him, over and over, deeper, harder, faster, until the delicious friction had him trembling.

His heat was increasing, he was slowly getting more and more desperate to be knotted, and the harder that Cassian went the more it indicated he was close. Ilsa wanted to help him get there, wanted to feel his knot filling him up. It was not the best place, admittedly, but it was soooooo worth it. He’d never felt so good in his entire lengthy lifetime.

Ilsa opened his mouth to tell Cassian that he was close, but Cassian’s hand gripped into his hip while the other tugged his hair harder, speeding up his thrusts faster than Ilsa though possible. Each thrust echoed through Ilsa’s entire body, striking his prostate, and sending wave after wave of pleasure washing over him. He felt his orgasm burning through him with the kind of explosive intensity he felt like a firework would have, his entire body seizing as his vision blanked and the world faded to nothing, I love you, Alpha , echoing loudly off of the throne room walls. 

“There we go, baby,” Ilsa whimpered as he felt Cassian pull out of him, lifting him up off of his knees. Ilsa pressed his face into Cassian’s neck as he dropped down onto the cushion of his throne, slipping his cock back inside of Ilsa carefully. Ilsa let out a content moan, rocking his hips down against Cassian’s length desperately. “You look so beautiful like this, it’s truly a sight to behold.” 

The minutes blur together as Cassian rocked up into him, his cock pulsing, Ilsa’s rim contracting around it with each movement in an attempt to bring his orgasm closer. When Ilsa felt the base of his cock swelling finally, a desperate, loud keen fell off of his lips as he began working his hips back desperately. More, more, knot– his omega was practically clawing at him at this point. He wanted more. Wanted to be so full of Cassian that there was no room left for anything else. He wanted to be connected.

“Almost there, lovely, fuck, Ilsa, you’re so precious.” Cassian’s voice was deepened from arousal and it sent shivers down Ilsa’s spine as his knot swelled and filled him up. Ilsa nodded with tears pooling in his eyes, watching Cassian as his hand curled around Ilsa’s erection, tugging him off in time with his hips rocking movements. 

Ilsa eyesight glazed over, a cry of pleasure falling off his lips as his hands clutched at Cassian’s suit jacket. He felt completely ravished, pleasure echoing through his body but it wasn’t enough, and all he could do was rock his hips down into Cassian’s desperately. Cassian’s fingers gripped around the base of his cock, squeezing, before they slipped down more, clasping his balls in his hand. Ilsa gasped, his eyes rolling back.

Cassian’s hand moved back up to circle his erection and Ilsa started just rocking against Cassian’s hips, his cock pulsing in Cassian’s hand, having the time of his life as he chased his and Cassian’s orgasm.

“There we go, Lovebird, just like that…” Cassian murmured into Ilsa’s ear, pressing a kiss to it softly. It didn’t take put a couple movements from Cassian before his full knot was tugging at Ilsa’s entrance as he rocked up into Ilsa. Ilsa cried out, his eyes rolling back. He filled him up just right, left him feeling deliciously stretched and full. He needed it, needed Cassian’s knot, more than anything in the world.

“Alpha,” Ilsa sighed, his head lulling forward to rest on Cassian’s shoulder as he moved his hips desperately. “Feels so good,” He managed to get out, his hands curling into Cassian’s jacket.

“Mm? Does it?” Cassian asked, more a hum than anything. Ilsa nodded his head as he paused his hips slight rocking to let out a pleased moan. Everything suddenly slowed down, and it had his brain lagging behind a bit. It made sense, Cassian knotted him so he couldn’t thrust into him like he usually would. It was all slow grinds and delicious heat and his body felt like it was just an open nerve, every touch echoing through him, Cassian’s knot holding them together.

“It feels so big,” Ilsa murmured, “Thick and long, it fills me so well. I want to feel your cum inside of me, I want you to breed me,” Cassian let out a groan and leaned forward, brushing a kiss over his lips softly. Ilsa would’ve been embarrassed about what he said, if it wasn’t true. He was too desperate to really think.

“Maybe I should keep you on my cock like this forever,” Cassian said, brushing a kiss over Ilsa’s nose as he rolled his hips up into Ilsa. Ilsa cried out, shuddering as his hands clutched at Cassian’s jacket desperately. “I’m keeping you forever, anyway. I could just keep you stuffed full of my cock. Every day, all day, forever .” Ilsa moaned, his eyelids fluttering shut as he leaned forward, purring as he melted into Cassian’s arms, nodding his head. Cassian’s hands gripped down into Ilsa’s hips and started rocking his hips while holding Ilsa in place.

“Pleeease,” Ilsa pleaded, his teeth sinking down into Cassian’s neck. Cassian nuzzled into his neck and nipped at it lightly, letting out a quiet hum, his thumb gently running along Ilsa’s hip bone softly. Cassian’s hips rocked up into Ilsa in a steady motion, and all Ilsa could focus on then was the pleasure. 

“Do you like the sound of that? Just spreading your legs for me forever?” Cassian prodded teasingly, almost sounding a little choked, and it made pride bloom in Ilsa’s chest. Even if he had no idea how to really pleasure Cassian, he seemed to achieve it decently enough.

“Yes, please, I love you, Alpha,” Ilsa managed, breaking off as he sobbed out a moan, Cassian’s hands grip tightened on Ilsa’s hips and he ground his hips into Ilsa, his eyes darkening as his length pulsed and Cassian’s cum flooded inside of him. Ilsa gasped, his eyes rolling back as he felt his orgasm wash over him, shaking him to the core. For a moment, the entire world around him whited out. All he could hear was the sound of his pleas, loud and repetitive, echoing off the stone walls of the throne room. Vaguely, he felt a little bit of cum pulse out between his and Cassian’s bodies. 

Ilsa purred, nuzzling into Cassian’s neck, curling closer to him. The haze surrounding him made him feel just so warm and fuzzy and happy. He didn’t know what the effect was, what Cassian caused him to feel after sex. But it was fantastic. He felt so empty and soft like this, like the world was going to fizzle away and leave him behind. But, it wasn’t frightening like Ilsa thought it should’ve been. It felt like he were being protected by something, something he couldn’t see.

“I love you, too, Ilsa.” Cassian murmured, pressing his lips to Ilsa’s forehead. Ilsa blinked open his eyes,  smiling up at Cassian dazedly. “Are you comfortable, Lovebird?” Ilsa nodded his head.

“More than,” Ilsa managed to get out around his heavy tongue, his lips brushing against Cassian’s neck. “You’re comfortable. Surprisingly soft,” He murmured thoughtlessly. “Smell good, too.” Cassian chuckled quietly.

“You’re warm, it’s quite nice,” Cassian murmured.

“Does it hurt to be cold?” Ilsa murmured curiously, too hazy to really have a filter or any kind of hesitation.

“No, not particularly. However…” Cassian murmured considerately, his face remarkably soft as he brushed his fingers over his hair gently. “I have admittedly gotten a bit used to having you near me, warming me. I never noticed before, but now when I’m not warm, I do have the ability to tell the difference to some extent.” 

“You can?” Ilsa asked excitedly, warmth flooding through him. He really liked being useful.

“I can.” Cassian confirmed making Ilsa nod his head happily and he shifted forward, wrapping his arms around Cassian’s neck.

“Then I’ll just say close to you, then.” Cassian smiled down at him and shifted, wrapping his arms around Ilsa’s waist, nosing at his neck. Ilsa giggled, his heart speeding up a bit.

“You’re being extra affectionate tonight. Did you enjoy yourself?” Cassian asked, his hand settling on Ilsa’s cheek, lightly running his thumb along the line of his cheekbone gently. Ilsa nodded his head. “Good, I wanted you to have fun this time around, given you seemed more yourself this time around.” Ilsa nodded.

“You’ve definitely kept me entertained this time around,” Ilsa admitted, cheeks flushing. “Oriosis, I can’t believe you fucked me on your throne.”

“I told you I would,” Cassian pointed out, raising an eyebrow teasingly. 

“I didn’t think you were serious ,” Ilsa murmured, shifting a bit to feel Cassian’s knot teasing at his rim. He let out a happy moan, pleasure washing through him slightly. He wasn’t able to cum again, not so soon, but even so it felt nice. 

“You’re still enjoying yourself,” Cassian teased. Ilsa nodded.

“It feels so good.” Ilsa sighed happily. Cassian chuckled.

“You’re adorable. Keep feeling good, try to rest if you can.” Cassian murmured, pressing a kiss to his lip. “Then we’ll feed you.” Ilsa nodded his head and cuddled closer, just letting himself sink into Cassian’s chest and sigh deeply. Rest… he could do.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa was lingering in a half-awake state, his body burning desperately, albeit vaguely. He could’ve ignored it, something that made him a little annoyed. He wanted enjoy his time with Cassian while he was still lingering in the throes of his heat, even if it was beginning to fade away. He was acutely aware of the fact that he couldn’t remember the last time–his heat had been so much more intense the last time, and he’d gotten so overwhelmed in some spots, but Cassian had made it feel better that time…

Though… this time had been better.

Last time, he’d been really… not out of his head, exactly, but he was significantly affected, in a very intense way. His heat-waves had been frequent, and by the end of it, he couldn’t even remember this part of his heat from the last time. He had gotten overwhelmed towards the end, because it had been so frequent because he actually had someone with him, he supposed. He didn’t really know. Perhaps it was just because it was his first heat since mating. It had just been so intense and he’d not been really at himself. Cassian had handled him the entire time with such gentleness and care, his concern had been so obvious in the memories he had leading up to when his memory cut off. It was a little relieving, honestly.

He had known going into it that there was a chance that he’d black out, because it wasn’t something new to his heats. He wasn’t naïve to the danger he’d put himself in, truthfully. He could’ve ended up in a lot of danger, and he knew that. He had no idea what happened and Cassian could’ve done anything to him, but he just knew that wasn’t the case. He couldn’t really explain it, maybe it was just because he had the mating bond and full access to Cassian’s thoughts… maybe it was just because he trusted him more than he’d ever trusted anyone before. The physical signs of Cassian’s gentleness had also been present. He’d been clean, Cassian’s shirt on him, his arms around his waist, when he woke up. He didn’t feel the same afterwards, he’d felt better actually.

He had purposefully avoided mentioning that he couldn’t remember the end of his last heat, if he were being honest. He knew that if Cassian knew he couldn’t remember it, he’d feel as though he’d taken advantage of him. He didn’t feel that was the case, he was honestly relieved because waking up afterwards and actually  feeling good was a new experience.

This time, however, with the aid of the suppressants Cassian had been giving him with his breakfast each morning, and his dinner each night… he was present to remember the last of his heat for the first time. 

He was horny, still, a little desperate. His entire body pleaded to be fucked and knotted, though his hormones were not  surging like usual on day four for him. The need circulating through him was enough to keep him restless and on edge, but not enough to be overwhelming. His cock was half hard, a testament to the sheer number of times he’d orgasmed in the past four days. He had lost track of how many times Cassian had taken him, knotted him, filled him… he loved it.

His body was slightly achy, annoyed at having been fucked so much, but instead of it being an overwhelming sense of desperation for the end, there was a distinct desire for it to continue. He couldn’t lie, he loved being knotted by  Cassian , and his heat was the only time he got to experience it. 

Which is how he found himself on his stomach on the bed, one knee pulled up towards his arm. Naked, panting and moaning, with his face buried in Cassian’s pillow. Cassian’s fingers were moving in and out of him, gentle and slow, and Ilsa was probably going to melt  before Cassian deemed him prepared enough for him to enter. He was tired, his entire body was trying to collapse into sleep but Ilsa was solely determined on one thing.

His final knot. He was getting it, whether he had to stay awake all night long. Even if everything was bleeding together and his eyes were struggling to stay open. He just wanted one more, while Cassian still could–once his hormones receded completely, Cassian would no longer be able to knot him.

“Lovebird, how are you feeling?” Cassian murmured, pressing a kiss to his ass gently. Ilsa’s face flamed red and he let out a quiet moan to vocalize his sleepy answer. Cassian paused his fingers ministrations, drawing a disgruntled whine from Ilsa’s mouth, his head turning to look back over his shoulder pleadingly.

“ Good ,“ Ilsa managed to get out, completely relaxed against the pillows and the soft bed he was laying on. He was not as awake as he wanted to be, so Ilsa shifted so that he was holding his head up a bit with one arm, keeping his eyes on Cassian as he began moving his fingers again. 

Ilsa let out a sigh of pleasure, his head lulling forward again as Cassian’s fingers prodded his prostate gently. It felt so  good, he’d been fucked so much that his hole was open and gave little resistance, his entire body was melting into the stimulation with excitement. His eyes slipped shut, just enjoying the feeling of Cassian’s fingers pushing inside of him. He hadn’t even noticed he fell asleep until he felt Cassian’s fingers beginning to pull out of him. 

Ilsa’s eyes shot open, and his hand scrambled around for Cassian’s wrist, letting out a whimper as he pouted a bit.

“ Alpha, “ Ilsa mumbled, sounding almost a little upset on accident, maybe even betrayed. Cassian let out a hum and kissed his nose softly, his hands moving to grasp Ilsa’s hips. “Alpha,” Ilsa complained, his eyes darting down to Cassian’s length.

“Did you want me to keep going?” Cassian asked, surprise coating his tone as he looked down at him.

“I thought you were going to knot me.” Ilsa said, poking out his bottom lip a little more. Cassian smiled a little at him, amusement flickering through his eyes. 

“You were asleep, Lovebird,” Cassian murmured, nuzzling into his neck as he rested his weight against Ilsa’s back. Ilsa’s breath caught, his heart rate soaring as he felt Cassian’s body pin him down.

“So?” Ilsa grumbled, making Cassian chuckle a bit. Cassian shifted up a bit, raising his chest, cool fingers going to tease the rim of his hole teasingly. Ilsa let out a whimper, his eyes fighting to stay open as he looked over his shoulder at Cassian. “Please,” Ilsa pleaded.

“You want me to knot you,” Cassian murmured, “While you are falling asleep?” Ilsa nodded his head petulantly.

“Please,” Ilsa murmured, his hips pushing up into Cassian’s hand as he let his eyes slip shut. He was so tired, but he needed more. Just one more and he’d be fine. He could take it and sleep, and when he woke up his heat would be over. His body healed from all minor injuries in a matter of hours–depending on severity, it’d take longer or shorter amounts of time. In other words, he wasn’t injured, he was just sore. He wasn’t physically putting himself in harms way, and Cassian was honestly overall a very gentle lover all things considered. 

He could really be anything, in bed, Ilsa had realized. He was all over over the charts with his sexual behavior but one thing was always certain, Ilsa would not come out of it being hurt or displeased. 

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Cassian laughed quietly, rocking his fingers in and out of him. Ilsa shook his head, too asleep to really even process the words he said. He just melted down against the pillows, pushing his hips back into Cassian’s fingers with an impatient noise. Cassian chuckled and withdrew his fingers, shifting. 

This time, the tip of Cassian’s cock caught against the rim of Ilsa’s hole. Ilsa whimpered, pulling his leg up more as his hips tried to push back into Cassian’s length. Cassian took his time, though, even as slick and open as Ilsa already was. Ilsa whimpered, his eyes rolling back a bit as he huffed out a breath.

He felt like he was asleep, but he really wasn’t sure. Perhaps he was just dazed, he didn’t know. What he did know, was that Cassian’s length inside of him fully punched the breath right out of his chest. Cassian’s fingers gripped into his hip, thumb gently running along the bone of it as his nose ran along the back of his neck.

“Shit,” Cassian murmured, his cool breath brushing Ilsa’s skin gently. Ilsa let out a whimper, rocking his hips a bit. Cassian felt so good inside of him. Cassian was his , and in some way, this felt special because Cassian couldn’t knot everyone. But he could knot him.

My alpha, Ilsa’s omega pushed, a spark of possessiveness sparking through him. It proved to him, for whatever reason, that Cassian was meant to be his. Even sleepy as hell, half asleep, in limbo–Ilsa wasn’t sure, but whatever he was, he loved it–he got a lot of pride out of that. His. Cassian was his . Of course he knew logically Cassian had seen others through their heats, and possibly even knotted them, it didn’t matter.

Cassian was his now, and all of that was in the past. And he was  a demon, and while he didn’t particularly like to get his hands dirty… if it was over Cassian… well… there’s always curses. 

Cassian began rocking his hips, and it brought Ilsa out of his weird hazy thoughts. It was slow and gentle, his hips moving carefully so as not to disturb him he could tell. Ilsa could’ve asked for more, but he really couldn’t figure out the proper way to use his tongue with the sleepy haze invading his mind. Instead, he just relaxed into the pillows. There’s not really a need to go fast, with Cassian touching him, his hormones would stay elevated–just because of his normal body responses to pleasure, and it’d prevent his heat from receding before he wanted it to.

He’d rather drag it out as long as he could anyway. He wanted to drown in the feeling of Cassian behind him, in the way he was even being so respectful to him while he was fucking asleep. Or whatever he was. He was sure he was at least half asleep. His mind still felt pretty active. He was aware, but he was just tired . So tired and hazy, that his mind was probably melting or something. He had no idea. At this point, he is just surprised he has maintained an erection, given that his sperm count had to be in the negatives. 

“Oh,” Ilsa sighed, a little awed as he pushed back into Cassian with sleepy movements. Cassian smiled into his neck, wrapping his hand around his abdomen, rocking his hips. So slowly. Ilsa let out a moan, his eyes staying closed as he squirmed around a bit. He felt like he was in a dream or something, everything felt so foggy and distant though it was happening to him. Ilsa whimpered as Cassian started moving in long, languid thrusts.

“What are you dreaming of, Lovebird? So precious,” Cassian murmured quietly, his lips brushing against Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa let out a moan as Cassian’s fingertips trailed along his abdomen, a giggle echoing off his lips as they brushed a ticklish spot. When Cassian’s hand curled around his cock, Ilsa couldn’t help pushing down into his hand a bit.

𝑌𝑜𝑢 , Ilsa pushed the thought to Cassian as best as he could. Cassian’s quiet chuckle let him know it worked.

“Ah,” Cassian mused, his fingers trailing over Ilsa’s length. “There’s even slick here,” His hands cupped Ilsa’s balls, fingers brushing against the rim of his hole. Ilsa whimpered and tightened his hole around Cassian’s length, a huffy breath falling off his lips as his leg tried to pull up even farther. 

𝐶𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑟, 𝑑𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑟

,

 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑡…. Ilsa pushed the thought to Cassian again, more confident this time. Cassian hummed.

𝑆𝑜 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟, Cassian’s thought echoed through Ilsa’s head, his hips movements speeding up just a bit, his angle shifting. Ilsa choked out a cry of pleasure as Cassian’s cock rammed into his prostate, the delicious haze of sleep clinging to him. Oh it felt like everything good, so sleepy and soft and distant. Even the waves of pleasure felt distant, though distinct. 𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, Ilsa whimpered a wave of emotions hitting him. It was so good. He was so close. Cassian was literally in his head. He couldn’t get any closer than this and it was delicious and hazy and fantastic.

𝐼 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢, 𝑡𝑜𝑜, 𝐶𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑛, Ilsa thought in response. Cassian’s hips rolled, driving his length in and out of him slowly, but deeply, so deeply that it made Ilsa tremble and purr quietly. A wave of pride washed through the wide open mating bond, and Ilsa’s purr increased, his hips idly moving towards Cassian. 

Ilsa let Cassian move as slowly as he wanted, staying still and just purring his contentment. It was a blur, admittedly, a delicious hazy blur of pleasure and fullness and connection where every thought he had was shared with Cassian, and vise versa. It was deep and Ilsa was sure at more than one point he’d completely drifted off into sleep. Time had passed, he was feeling every little sliver of pleasure Cassian graced him with–but he just had no concept of time passing by him. He could feel Cassian inside of him–in more ways than one, though, and it kept rousing him just enough to keep the sleep from deepening too much. 

“Alpha,” Ilsa murmured, half asleep, as he felt Cassian’s hips roll a bit more against him. He couldn’t really describe it any other way, other than just more . Humiliating, as he’s had millennia to perfect language, and he should be able to describe it. 

“I’m here, my sweet little omega,” Cassian whispered, pressing a kiss to the back of his ear. Ilsa’s hole tightened around his length as Cassian exhaled against his neck. Ilsa moaned, pleasure washing through him more intensely as he felt the base of Cassian’s cock beginning to swell. Ilsa let out a pleased moan, his ass pushing back into Cassian enthusiastically, albeit sloppily and not very helpfully. 

Cassian groaned against Ilsa’s shoulder as his knot grew, his hips beginning to slow even more as he grinded inside of him, just letting the knot fill him. Ilsa let out a pleased whimper, his body vibrating from the pleasure. He loved this, the way sleep was clinging to him and making him lag behind. The pleasure echoing through the mating bond seemed so much more intense this time, as opposed to literally every other time where it just feels like an echo. 

This time, it was a whole ass experience . He could feel the pleasure Cassian was feeling as if it were his own, like this, more, deeper, just fully . He was beginning to feel like he were being pushed towards the edge of his orgasm, his entire body hitting this point where the pleasure was just building and building–an endless inferno that burned him from the inside out. 

With the building pressure of Cassian’s knot grinding against his walls, the pleasure of Cassian’s cock rubbing his prostate, the feeling of Cassian’s hand around his length–it was all combining in his mind. When Cassian’s rhythm grew in pace, Ilsa felt his entire body beginning to burn pleasantly. He could feel through the mating bond how close he was, even, and he couldn’t help the way his body tensed and prepared for Cassian’s orgasm, for the all too familiar feeling of his cum flooding inside of him.

Cassian let out a groan, his hips grinding deep and holding. Ilsa couldn’t help the moan that fell off of his lips as he felt Cassian’s cum flooding into him. That was all it took to trigger Ilsa’s orgasm, his entire body shuddering as he weakly pushed back into Cassian’s length. Everything felt fuzzy, his blood boiling beneath his veins–the world was already a delicious haze of sleep so there wasn’t really anything other than the pleasure and Cassian’s body and his touch.

It was euphoric.

“I’m so full ,” Ilsa sighed, sounding blissed out and dreamy even to his own ears as Cassian’s hand moved along his arm gently.

“Are you awake?” Cassian murmured, and Ilsa let out a sound of agreement. It wasn’t quite words, but… it was as close as he could manage. His brain felt just–like mush . Everything felt so good. He was sure that he could melt, could spend every moment of the rest of eternity wrapped up in Cassian’s sheets and never have a regret. 

“Come here, Lovebird,” Cassian murmured fondly, gently maneuvering them around until they were on their sides, Ilsa’s back pressed against Cassian’s chest. Ilsa let out a tired sigh, his hands clutching at Cassian’s arm. Ilsa felt Cassian recede from his mind way too quickly for his liking, but he was lingering right on the edge of sinking into the abyss of sleep. Truly, he just wanted to string out every little bit of enjoyment he could out of this. 

“You are a treasure, Ilsa, one that I will spend forever cherishing. Thank you for trusting me, and for allowing me to be this close to you.” It occurred to Ilsa then, that Cassian thought him to be asleep. Ilsa snuggled back a little closer to him, his body feeling so fuzzy and warm as he sank into Cassian’s arms that he’d swear Cassian was the source of heat and not him.

Ilsa really didn’t know how to make his tongue work at the moment to respond, anything he’d said previously had just been falling out of his mouth–he wasn’t intending to say anything. Instead of vocally responding, he just started purring.

It didn’t feel like enough, but when did Ilsa ever know how to respond to affection anyway? He was asleep before he could put further thought into it.

𓊈𒆜 ＥＰＩＬФＧＵＥ 𒆜𓊉

𝐼 𝐿 𝒮 𝒜

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

[𝑆𝑖𝑥 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟…]

Ilsa was in the middle of wrangling the twins, Ignatius and Iridessa into clean diapers and dinner clothes when he heard the chilling sound of Ilan and Iden’s giggles. Nothing good ever followed the sound of Ilan and Iden’s giggles. Iden was an astonishing twelve years old now–vampire aging years, not demon years. Ilsa still had no idea how it worked, but by the time nine years was up, Iden would be an adult. It was astounding, but if Ilsa were being truthful he was beyond ready for that.

Iden was brilliant. He was excelling in all of his classes at the school in Ilyenasera, and was a lot  like Ilsa. He read more than anything, and when he wasn’t reading, he was studying for classes, or practicing the harp. However… Ilan was literally chaos, and when combined, Iden’s intelligence and Ilan’s penchant for creating trouble, things went from alright to whew  in moments. 

Ilan was almost an exact replica of Cassian–only red . Not just red, though, neon red. He constantly dressed so his hair matched his clothes, just like Cassian. It was a habit he was glad hadn’t rubbed off on Iden. Iden’s hair color was– odd.  They’d have to invent an entire color chart to match Iden’s hair to his clothing. Ilan was intelligent as well, but… well, he was too focused on causing trouble to really use any of his intelligence. 

Ignatius and Iridessa were the youngest two, twins, and one of them had light blue hair that faded to white at the tips–Ignatius–with very  light  pink and blue eyes, faded and glassy. The other, Iridessa, had faded light green hair that further faded into a white at the tips, with light green and purple eyes. They both were two, and Ilsa couldn’t lie, they’d been a bit of a surprise–though not unwelcome.  He’d just been taking contraceptive shots since Ilan. 

Ilan had been planned, they had timed everything so that Iden would turn two around the same time that Ilan was born. However, after two, they’d been settled. After having Iden, Ilsa had recognized immediately when he got pregnant–Ilan also was just an active baby. He’d been even more mobile than Iden had been, and Ilsa’s sleep had suffered greatly with him. After that, Ilsa had been done,  officially. 

However, forever is a long time, and Ilsa wasn’t aging any, same as Cassian. He could feel like having children a hundred years from now. So he’d settled for just contraceptives. He still couldn’t convince himself to have something more permanent done to prevent it. Maybe in another few years, he might reconsider and be like oh absolutely not … but right now… he just wanted to not  think about it.

After getting Ignatius and Iridessa into their clothes, Ilsa quickly put one of them on each of his hips and quickly scurried out of their nursery. Ilsa quickly followed the scent of mischief down the hallway, letting the sound of giggles guide him towards his two trouble makers. Ilsa found them out in the garden. Chasing a poor helpless little gopher looking creature Ilsa couldn’t remember the name of.

With four children, Ilsa did well to remember his own name some days.

“Iden, Ilan!” Ilsa called, prompting Iden to immediately stop his running, and Ilan to plough right into his back shoving him down into the grass. Iden let out a groan and raised up off of the ground, turning to glare at his brother heatedly. “What are you two doing?” Ilsa asked.

“Chasing the Voveailae,” Ilan supplied, tilting his head to the side while snapping his fingers as if he’d just had a brilliant idea. “Whoever catches it first gets to have all the others desert with dinner!” He explained.

“Down!” Iridessa immediately squirmed, as Ignatius let out a similar plea: “I wan Volveai!” Ilsa could already tell he was going to need a drink or two by the end of the night.

“No one is getting the Voveailae, come on, away from the woods,” Ilsa said, ushering the two rambunctious children towards the castles and far, far away from the poor animal they probably just traumatized. “Into the castle. Go wash your hands and Iden, clean the grass off of your shirt. You look like you’ve been rolling in the dirt.” 

“Why do we have to wash our hands?” Ilan asked.

“Because if you don’t, your hands will be dirty, and everything you touch will be dirty.” Ilsa explained easily, trying to bounce both of the twins on his hips. 

“What if I wanna make things dirty?” Ilsa could’ve choked on his own tongue, but thankfully, Cassian came out of his office right as they were approaching it, his eyes immediately falling on Iden and Ilan.

“Daddy!” Iridessa cried, her arms reaching out for Cassian. 

“Allow me, Lovebird,” Cassian said, pulling Iridessa out of Ilsa’s arms. “What were Iden and Ilan doing?” Cassian asked curiously, making Ilsa sigh.

“Chasing an animal, they had a bet  over who could catch it first.” Ilsa said.

“Who won?” Cassian said. 

“Cassian!” Ilsa cried, making Cassian chuckle a little and turn his gaze to the two guilty looking half-demon, half-vampire children in front of him.

“Stop torturing animals.” Cassian said firmly, and Iden stiffened a little and poked out his lip, putting on a face that Ilsa knew well. The face that Iden could effortlessly use to get away with murder with Ilsa. It didn’t work with Cassian, though. 

“I was just going to catch it, and see what happened.” Iden said. 

“And what if it bit you?” Ilsa asked. “What if you killed it? You guys haven’t mastered the ability to control your strength yet! You have to be more careful than that.”

“Your mother is right.” Cassian said. “While you won’t get sick, I assure you, it will hurt for an animal to bite you. And not every animal in this realm has bitten before, we don’t know if they’re venomous and just haven’t been provoked to biting. Now, Iden, why don’t you take Ilan up to the bathroom and wash your hands, Sera has dinner ready.” Cassian said. 

“Okay, dad,” Iden said, motioning for Ilan to go ahead of him, before quickly following behind him as he scurried off towards the bathroom. Ilsa sighed as he watched the two of them disappear and then turned to Cassian.

“Thank you,” Ilsa said, reaching around to  grab Ignatius and pull him around to the front of his body.

“No problem, beautiful,” Cassian murmured, stepping forward to put his his free hand on Ilsa’s lower back. “Let’s get Iridessa and Ignatius to the table, yeah?” Ilsa nodded his head and let Cassian guide him there on instinct. “How are you feeling? Do you need me to-” 

“I don’t want you to hire someone else to help with the kids,” Ilsa said immediately, smiling a little. “I appreciate the concern, but I do enjoy this. They just listen to you better because you sound  like you mean business,” Ilsa teased. “As long as you occasionally offer your stern voice to me to borrow, I can definitely do it myself.” 

“Without overworking yourself?” Ilsa nodded. 

He honestly liked it. Cassian worked, and Ilsa just… was there when the kids were all with friends or Helix and Felix. While Iden and Ilan were handfuls, and definitely love mischief, Iden behaved well when he was being told to do something. Ilan always had a thousand questions, but overall he would follow instructions. Especially when Ilsa was serious with him. Iden knew  what he was doing was wrong, often, so all Ilsa really had to do is inform him he had to stop doing something and he would. 

“Well, after dinner, I’ll get the boys ready for bed, and Helix and Felix will take Iridessa and Ignatius. Take some time for you, okay? Just rest for a bit.” Cassian said, opening the dining room door and ushering Ilsa inside. Ilsa walked into the dining hall and headed straight towards Ignatius’s seat. Ilsa pulled it off of the edge of the table and sat it down in the chair, sitting Ignatius into it. Ignatius squirmed around a little as Ilsa buckled him into it, and then turned around to get Cassian.

The seats they used for the little kids were heavy , and Ilsa was not to proud to admit, he’d probably hurt his back. They had to be strong, obviously, to hold onto the edge of the table but that didn’t mean Ilsa could lift  it.

“Gotcha, baby,” Cassian said before Ilsa got the chance to ask for him to lift Ignatius into place. Ilsa went over to play with Iridessa’s hair. Iridessa looked absolutely adorable tonight, dressed in what Ilsa could only explain as a doll dress with light green frills and a bow tie around the collar. Her light green hair was pulled up into water-fountain pigtails with little green bows clipped to both of them, and on her feet were black and white saddle oxfords. She looked absolutely adorable. Ilsa couldn’t resist giving her cheek a quick poke. Iridessa looked up at him and let out a giggle. 

Ignatius was dressed in a suit that was intended to match Iridessa’s dress, with very small frills around the cuffs–only the color of his hair. Ilsa really thought all of the color coding was just because they could , honestly. He still had one child who didn’t do so–Iden. Perhaps it was just inaccessibility, but at least one of their children had something  in common with him, given all the rest looked distinctly more vampire than demon.

Granted none of them had his hair or the same skin tone. They were darker like him, but still looked… pale  even with the addition of his skin tone. Cassian’s pureblood vampire genes, Ilsa swore  they just overtook everything. 

Even so, it didn’t really matter. As long as the kids were happy, he didn’t care.

Plus, it wasn’t like all of the vampires weren’t just born with whatever hair color, anyway. Seraphina had bright pink hair, Helix’s hair was gold and Felix’s hair was white  and they were twins. Identical in every other way. Ilsa hadn’t met Seraphina’s mother, however he had met Helix and Felix’s and they looked nothing like her. And she had pictures of their father… they didn’t look like him either. It sort of explained the fact that Iridessa and Ignatius were born with such strange hair and eye colors.

“Back!” Ilan said excitedly as the door slammed open and banged against the wall. Ilsa watched, somewhere between amusement at his own luck and exasperation that Ilan still hadn’t learned not to slam the doors as the wall shook, and a couple of Cassian’s expensive tea cups fell off of the shelf they were displayed on. Before Ilsa could even really register what happened, Iden disappeared, and reappeared in front of them, catching them just before they hit the ground. 

“Saved,” Iden said proudly, sitting the cups back up onto the shelf. 

“Thank you, Iden,” Cassian said, his orchid eyes full of relief as his eyes ran over his cups. “Ilan, please refrain from slamming  doors. You have no ability to control your strength. Save door slamming for when you’re feeling rebellious in your teen years and have control .” Cassian said, his voice quiet. Ilan sighed and poked out his lip.

“Okaaaaaay,” Ilan agreed, stepping up to his seat at the table and taking his seat. Ilsa’s eyes ran over his clothes in relief. For once, he seemed to have miraculously not  dug in a single mud puddle because the cuffs of his neon red sweater wasn’t covered in dried dirt.

“No problem dad,” Iden said, taking his seat beside Ilan. As if on cue, Seraphina appeared with a tray in her arms that looked too big, but Ilsa knew she’d designed the tray herself. She was strong, perks of being a vampire, and she did not  like having other people in her space while she was cooking. They’d offered a thousand times to get her at least one person to assist with her kitchen work, and she declines every time. 

Cassian had other people who worked in the kitchen already, for the guards and staff, and Sera was the ‘private’ cook now. She had been just working with the other kitchen staff when Ilsa arrived–though much closer to Cassian than some of the others–but Ilsa, and the subsequent children that arrived after him provided a need for more meals.

Ilsa could cook in Caelestes… but NOTHING was the fucking same here. He knew it was essentially beating a dead horse at this point, but the two places share absolutely none  of the ingredients shared names between Caelestes and Tenebris Regni. He had tried  to have Seraphina teach him, but she wasn’t exactly known for her patience, and she wanted to cook for them she claimed.

After a significant amount of worry on Ilsa’s end, he’d just given in. It didn’t do anything but make his life easier, anyway. He still felt bad when she looked as if she should  be struggling, even if she didn’t. Ilsa was quick to grab his plate from her, offering her a kind thank you and a smile. It didn’t take him but a minute to realize that Iden and Ilan both were eating vastly different things from them and Ilsa mentally cringed. 

Seraphina always asked them if they wanted something special for dinner, and Iden and Ilan were always eager to offer their suggestions. He didn’t mind them eating something different from them, but it was more about the principal. He was going to suggest to Cassian that they give Sera a raise, in light of the fact that she’d prepared three different meals tonight, only one in higher quantity to accommodate Iridessa and Ignatius. They just ate whatever Ilsa ate, usually. He rarely ate something he wouldn’t allow them to have, and when he did, he tried to eat it only when they were elsewhere and entertained. He didn’t feel flaunting his ability to do things in front of them that they couldn’t would do anything other than make them want it more.

Cassian came to sit beside him and Ilsa smiled when he felt Cassian’s hand wrap around his hip gently. Cassian didn’t eat, but he always made it a point to come to dinner with them. He’d occasionally nibble on something on Ilsa’s plate if he thought something smelled interesting, but overall, Cassian just came to spend time with them. It was nice. 

“I missed you.” Cassian murmured into his ear before grabbing his fork. “Go ahead and feed the kids. I’ll feed you.” Another common thing Cassian did. Cassian would  feed the kids, but they resisted him. All of them did at this age, honestly. He was good as a cuddle buddy, could change diapers and give baths, but when it came time to food time in the evening, none of the kids would let him feed them. At this point, Ilsa thought it might be a demon thing, honestly, like nesting.

Iden had outgrown it when he’d started feeding himself and Ilan had as well, however, Iridessa and Ignatius weren’t quite to the point where they could completely and seamlessly feed themselves yet. It was close enough that Ilsa didn’t have to feed them, but Cassian liked to feed him  for some reason. Ilsa was comfortable enough to admit, he didn’t really mind it. Cassian’s doting was something he was unashamed of enjoying.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

After dinner, Cassian took Iden and Ilan to get them ready for bed, and Helix and Felix took off with Iridessa and Ignatius to get them ready for bed. That left Ilsa, for the first time all day, completely without children clinging onto him in some way or another. He could’ve gone to the library, but honestly, he’d built an even better one somewhere he liked a lot more than the giant library. His nest.

Ilsa hadn’t been able to part with it once he had it, and Cassian had just let him keep it in his office and build on it. Thanks to magic, he had a lot of things that made it even better. Bookshelves, for instance, installed around the edges using magic. Of course, that made it a little complicated because at what point does the magic begin to manifest in the outside world versus in his nest. He’d made it like it’s own little pocket of the realm, where he could stretch it out to make it bigger as needed–four kids and Cassian take up space. His nest had to accommodate. And it had to be in Cassian’s office, because Ilsa said so.

That’s really why, Cassian had seen him working with spells while he was pregnant with Iridessa and Ignatius–when he’d created the whole weird pocket in the nesting bed Cassian had gotten him when he was pregnant with Iden. He loved  the nesting bed, and while he’d had to enlarge it over the years, he’d had little problem doing so.

Now it was nice and open, spacious and while Iden and Ilan didn’t often hang around in it, it had room for them if they wanted to. Ilsa brought Ilan and Iridessa in here for naps while Cassian worked and Ilan and Iden were both at school. Now, it was just him, and felt remarkably more empty than he liked it. 

Ilsa didn’t really put much thought into it, however, because he did quite enjoy the break. Ilsa grabbed a book off of the bookshelves that wound around where he was laying, resting himself back against a pillow and opened it up, beginning with the first page. Time passed by him so quickly after that, because he got lost in the book. Well, at least until the edge of the curtain surrounding his nest was pulled open and Iden poked his head in.

“Mama?” Iden asked, tilting his head to the side. Ilsa closed the book, letting his finger mark the page as he looked over Iden. “Can I cuddle with you?” Ilsa nodded and smiled, shifting over enough to make room for him. Iden crawled in beside him and cuddled up beside him, resting his head over on Ilsa’s shoulder.

“Is something wrong?” Ilsa asked worriedly, and Iden shrugged.

“Ilan went to bed already. I’m just bored. Will you read to me?” Iden said, widening his eyes as he looked up at Ilsa with puppy dog eyes. Ilsa nodded his head and picked up a different book, one more Iden’s age, and began reading to him, easily sinking back into mother mode.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Ilsa was sitting in front of his vanities mirror, brushing through his hair. He was wearing the most beautiful nightgown he’d ever seen, and it had more layers of sheer material than he was sure he could count, with a little gem on the neckline. It was long, too, kissing the floor when he walked. Cassian seemed to like when Ilsa wore negligees and nightgowns that were more modest in nature, and Ilsa just liked the way his eyes roamed over him hungrily. Also, all of them are so soft and have matching robes and some have stockings and panties, others had matching gloves… basically , the more layers of clothes Cassian had to peel off of him before he could have his way with him, and the more artificial layers that were too much of a hassle to remove, the more fun Cassian had.

Which is how he found himself wearing more layers of clothing than preferable for bedtime… though  how long that’d last, Ilsa had little idea. Cassian would appear shortly, no doubt, and Ilsa was excited, as usual.

Kids made things hectic, but they were blessed with children who actually sleep when put to bed–vampire genetics, honestly. They have unlimited power but using that power in high-quantities easily tires them all out. They can’t fully control it yet, so their bodies required rest, and once it was time, putting them all to bed was easy.

Iden generally was the last to bed in the way of children, and Ilsa had tucked him in a bit before he’d taken his shower. Ignatius and Iridessa were both in bed already, as well as Ilan, so all that Ilsa had left to do was prepare for Cassian to come back from his office. Cassian would show up sooner or later, Ilsa knew, so he just went through his nightly ritual while he waited.

Every minute he wasn’t with Cassian was a minute he spent missing him, and while Ilsa appreciated everything else they had to do, he wanted his time at night. Ilsa didn’t feel that was unfair in any way, given all the kids were asleep, and Cassian had been working most of the day, and even continued after dinner most nights–even if he helped with the kids. So Ilsa felt it was a much needed break for both  of them.

Honestly, Ilsa rarely had  to do anything. If he complained, Cassian would immediately do everything he could to relieve any stress Ilsa experienced. Ilsa didn’t really need things quite as easy as he had them, admittedly, but it was how Cassian showed his affection– well… one of the ways. Cassian’s love language was all over the maps, as well. He pampered him with baths and feeding him, gave him gifts–suits, dresses, negligees and nightgowns, books, jewelry, pens, journals, art supplies– anything he could ever want. He had a two-hundred and a half thousand Crescents–the highest currency that exists in Tenebris Regni–fabroge egg that was just ridiculous  because Cassian saw it and he claimed it matched Ilsa’s eye color exactly. Ilsa had no idea, because he couldn’t see his eyes like Cassian could see his eyes. However… it was pretty . Ilsa couldn’t lie about that.

“Lovebird,” Cassian murmured, his hands landing on Ilsa’s shoulders. Ilsa tilted his head up, sitting the brush down on the vanity while looking up at Cassian. Cassian smiled down at him, gloved thumbs gently rubbing circles at the muscle where his shoulders met the back of his neck.

“I missed you.” Ilsa said immediately, smiling up at him. He still had that insanely long, beautiful hair, and the iris’s of his eyes seemed to glow orchid now, thanks to Ilsa’s blood. Ah yes, the true cause of Cassian’s super genes. Ilsa’s blood impacted Cassian in a way that heightened the demon parts of him–so his eyes glowed with the excess magic, he was stronger than he already was, he could move even faster, hear even better. Were Cassian to refrain from feeding on him, he’d go back to usual, however Ilsa seriously would sue him. He didn’t know how , but he would figure it out. 

“I missed you too, Ilsa.” Cassian murmured, brushing a kiss to Ilsa’s temple. Ilsa flushed and turned around, parting his legs. Cassian smirked down at him and stepped forward and tilted Ilsa’s head back with a caring, gentle hand leaning down to capture his lips in a kiss. Ilsa sank into it immediately, his lips parting so that Cassian’s tongue could slip into his mouth. Ilsa let out a whimper as pleasure sent heat flooding through him.

Cassian’s tongue moved against his in a way that had his entire body heating up, and felt slick beginning to leak from him. Cassian kissed him so deeply, that it made everything inside of Ilsa vibrate with need. 

“Master,” Ilsa gasped as he pulled away from the kiss, his eyes pulling open to look pleadingly look up at Cassian. Cassian smiled down at him, tugging him up from where he was seated, his hand landing on Ilsa’s lower back. 

“Yes, beautiful?” Cassian murmured, brushing his lips against Ilsa’s lips before trailing his lips along Ilsa’s cheek. 

“I want you, please,” Ilsa murmured breathlessly, his fingers gripping into Cassian’s tie. Cassian smirked a little against his skin. “However you’ll take me,” Ilsa murmured, tugging on the knot of it.

“Does my pretty little wife want me inside him?” Cassian questioned, his fingers running along the knobs of Ilsa’s spine. Ilsa nodded his head.

“Yes.” Ilsa said it much too eagerly, but he was  eager. His eyes roamed over Cassian’s chest, taking in the neatly pressed suit and vest he was wearing before his eyes settled onto the tent in Cassian’s dress plants. “Please,” Ilsa pleaded, licking hips lips a little as his eyes ran over Cassian’s length, hidden just behind the fabric of his pants. 

Oh , how he wants, in whatever way he can get him soonest. He didn’t care what Cassian did to him as long as he just touched  him. Cassian smirked a bit as he unbuckled his belt and then undid the fastenings on his dress pants. Ilsa let out a whimper and brought his hands down, tugging at the hem of Cassian’s shirt until it was out of his pants.  

Cassian’s hands reached up and brushed the shoulders of the robe he was wearing off of him, letting it fall down to the floor, before his hands gripped Ilsa’s hips. Cassian suddenly lifted him off of his feet and tossed him over onto the bed. Ilsa, very much used to Cassian tossing him around as if he were weightless at this point, didn’t even squeak, letting himself bounce up and down for a moment as the bed stopped moving from the impact. Ilsa watched on bated breath as Cassian worked the buttons of his vest and then his shirt, shrugging out of all three in one smooth motion, before pulling his pants off of himself, and then he was crawling up onto the bed with Ilsa.

Ilsa parted his legs on instinct, and Cassian graced him with a beautiful smile that made Ilsa shiver in excitement. Cassian crawled between his legs, silken gloves pushing up the hem of Ilsa’s nightgown until it was over his knees, letting it fall down to rest over his abdomen and cock. Ilsa let out a whimper as Cassian’s fingers trailed along the hem of the stockings he was wearing, silken gloves teasing Ilsa’s inner thighs.

Ilsa’s breath caught in his throat as Cassian’s fingertips grazed the strap holding the thigh highs in place. 

“All dressed up tonight, hm?” Cassian teased, leaning down to trail his lips along Ilsa’s inner thigh. Ilsa nodded his head, lifting his head off the pillow to peek down at Cassian between his legs. Glowing orchid eyes met Ilsa’s, the dimness of the room allowing the light to paint his skin in a faint purple tint. Cassian gave him a sideways glance, his lips pulling up into a smirk as he pressed another kiss lower down his thigh, closer to the lacy top of the stockings he was wearing.

“I wanted you to ravish me,” Ilsa admitted, his words pulling a quiet chuckle out of Cassian’s mouth as he nodded, fangs sinking down into Ilsa’s inner thigh. Tingles of pleasure echoed through Ilsa’s body as a flood of heat and arousal washed through him. Ilsa moaned, his head fell down onto the pillow as his eyes rolled back, hooking his leg over Cassian’s shoulder.

𝑌𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑠ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑏𝑖𝑟𝑑, Cassian’s thought entered his head like flowing water, making Ilsa part his legs more, his fingers tugging at the hem of his nightgown with a quiet whimper. After a moment, Cassian pulled away from the bite and ran his tongue over it, drawing a moan from Ilsa’s mouth. Cassian’s head turned to run his eyes over him, arousal heavy in his eyes as they trailed over him.

Ilsa could’ve gotten shy, but instead, he spread his legs wider, pushing his hips up a little. Cassian’s eyes landed on his cock, hard and leaking precum already where it was hidden inside of his panties. Cassian leaned over him, his lips trailing over his length through the thin fabric of Ilsa’s panties. He shuddered, a moan falling off of his lips as Cassian’s fangs ghosted over the fabric. Cassian always used his fangs to tease him now, no matter where it was. Ilsa always melted like a puddle, because just the idea of him biting him anywhere made him a little arousal drunken, admittedly.

He might’ve been embarrassed, but it was intended to feel good. 

Cassian’s fingers hooked into the band of his panties and tugged them down just enough to free his cock, before he dipped his head. Ilsa shuddered as he felt Cassian’s lips moving along his lips. Kissing, licking, teasing him with his teeth and fangs. Logically, he knew Cassian wasn’t going to bite his cock, but he was sick enough to be curious about how it’d feel if he were to, given it being a pleasurable experience. It kept him trembling in anticipation and excitement, because Cassian always managed to keep him thinking maybe he would. 

While it was improbable, when he was like this, Ilsa’s body didn’t consider it as so. It was slow and Cassian’s mouth was cool, cool enough to have Ilsa’s entire body shivering in excitement. Ilsa wiggled a bit, a pleading whine falling out of his mouth as he rocked his hips up into Cassian’s mouth. He’d take about anything at this point, honestly.

“ Ilsa ,“ Cassian murmured into his skin, his hands settling against the sharp jut of his hips, pressing him still to the bed. Cassian leaned down to nuzzle into his abdomen with his nose, nipping at the skin there, before pressing kisses back down towards his cock. 

“Fuck, please ,” Ilsa pleaded. He didn’t mean to sound desperate, but honestly, he was. He wanted Cassian buried inside of him, wanted to feel ever inch of their bodies touch as Cassian rocked into him–Cassian’s hand curled around the base of Ilsa’s cock, gloves still in place. “Oriosis,” Ilsa whimpered, feeling Cassian kiss the tip of his erection, before licking the underside. 

“So hard,” Cassian murmured playfully, his breath washing against the head of Ilsa’s erection. Ilsa shuddered, his lips parting on a moan as Cassian’s grip tightened slightly, sending a wave of pleasure over him. Cassian’s lips wrapped around the head of his erection before he had the ability to even think about a proper response, and Ilsa’s eyes slammed shut as his back arched, his fingers curling into the blanket on the bed.

Ilsa was putty in his hands from the moment Cassian touched him admittedly, but when Cassian did this… oh… it was enough to nearly edge him right into his orgasm. Ilsa was weak to Cassian, it always took so little for him to be a panting, pleading mess and it was no different this time.

Ilsa’s hips pushed up, his cock sliding deeper into Cassian’s mouth. Ilsa could literally feel Cassian’s fangs on either side of his erection, and it drove him a little mental, honestly. There was the edge of danger, perhaps he was just self-destructive, perhaps it was more a testament to the amount of trust he placed in Cassian. He wasn’t sure , but he was finding that was okay as long as Cassian was the one behind the actions. 

Cassian dipped his head, letting it fall down until his nose was pressed into Ilsa’s groin and it brought a surprised gasp from Ilsa’s mouth as he felt pleasure swirling through him. 

“ Oh, “ Ilsa breathed, his fingers threading through Cassian’s hair desperately, tugging a bit. Cassian’s eyes darkened, and hummed. The vibrations echoed through Ilsa’s body, and he shuddered, a moan falling off of his lips as his toes curled. Cassian’s mouth was slightly cool, but in a way that heightened the pleasure, and he wasn’t really sure why. It didn’t really matter, because he was oh so close to an orgasm.

Cassian’s head began moving, and Ilsa rocked his hips up a bit, more accidentally than on purpose however , Ilsa would be lying if he said it didn’t feel good. Cassian, however, knew exactly what he was doing, and his fingers squeezed around the base of Ilsa’s cock, before pulling up off of his length, a smirk tugging up the corner of his lips as his simmering Orchid eyes roamed over Ilsa’s body hungrily. 

“You cannot cum yet ,” Cassian murmured, turning his attention to Ilsa’s balls instead of his cock. His hand cradled them, before he nuzzled into them. Ilsa whimpered, slightly scandalized–not in any serious  way, more just surprised. Cassian rarely told him no to anything, and he couldn’t help the arousal the denial always gave him. It was only intensified by the fact that Cassian was the one controlling it. 

All thought processes suddenly shut down when Cassian’s thumb pressed against the smooth skin just underneath his cock, where his balls met it, and Ilsa keened loudly, his back arching as pleasure flooded through him and his cock jerked.

“M-Master, are you intending to make me beg?” Ilsa asked breathlessly, his eyes forcing their way open to meet Cassian’s eyes. Amusement sparkled in Cassian’s eyes as they caught Ilsa’s gaze, heated and desire filled.

“You usually do without me having to make  you,” Cassian mused, pushing back a bit, and shifting forward. His fingers ran over Ilsa’s slick hole, “Go ahead, you plead so  beautifully, I love to hear the way your breath hitches and you choke around your words.” Ilsa shuddered as Cassian ran his fingers along his ass cheeks gently, ghosting so close to his hole.

“Your gloves!” Ilsa gasped, “Your gloves, take them off, don’t get slick on them–” Ilsa was cut off by Cassian chuckling quietly, his gloved fingertips brushing over Ilsa’s hole. 

“Too late now, hm?” The words were teasing, and sent shocks of pleasure through him. He flushed brightly, biting down into his lip as his cheeks flamed red. He was definitely going to flush the next time someone came to collect the laundry. “Besides, what is it you said? The silk feels sooooo good,” Cassian teased further. Ilsa whimpered and nodded.

It does. That doesn’t mean Cassian has  to humor him. 

“B-But the–” Ilsa broke off as two of Cassian’s fingers teasingly pushed against his rim. Ilsa whined, poking out his bottom lip a little as he looked up at Cassian. “They’re going to get dirty ,” Ilsa grumbled, his cheeks heating up. Cassian chuckled and pulled his fingers away, tugging one of his gloves off. 

“Now, now,” Cassian smirked, running his eyes over him as his thumb ran over Ilsa’s hole, just barely pushing into it. Ilsa tugged on Cassian’s hair, his teeth sinking into his lip as a moan fell out of his lips.

“Please, Master,” Ilsa pleaded, “Please!” 

“Such a good little omega for me, hmm?” Cassian hummed. Ilsa nodded his head, sucking in a deep breath as Cassian nuzzled into the crook of his leg, his eyes slipping closed. Ilsa purred quietly, his head tipping back. “I love you, Lovebird,” Cassian murmured into his skin, and before Ilsa managed to get out any words of a response, Cassian had shifted him slightly. 

Ilsa truthfully forgot how to respond when Cassian’s tongue licked across his hole. Ilsa let out a shuddering sigh as Cassian’s tongue poked and prodded at his hole, before plunging it in and out in a way that made it obvious to Ilsa that he was enjoying his slick. Though Cassian never vocalized it, he did this to Ilsa frequently enough he wasn’t used  to it, in the way that it stopped feeling good, but he was used to it in the way that it no longer brought a flush to his cheeks and shame flooding through him.

Ilsa might’ve been a little shy sometimes, but he knew Cassian well enough. And Cassian knew him. Ilsa was aware that Cassian got off on making him delirious with pleasure, and Ilsa… well both of them were well aware that Ilsa loved being pampered. Specifically by Cassian. Whom was the one who initially spoiled him, and subsequently, was the cause of his love of being pampered.

Cassian’s thumb circled his entranced while his tongue pressed against it harder, and Ilsa choked out a moan as it slipped inside of him. Cassian’s fingers were quick to follow, tugging at Ilsa’s rim. Cassian’s tongue didn’t leave either, it just kept running over his skin, coaxing him into a puddle of pleasure as he tipped his head back and whined quietly.

Ilsa gasped, unable to hold back the sound as he fought back his orgasm, shuddering. He couldn’t cum yet, not without permission– but  Cassian’s tongue and fingers were just so perfect. His fingers were massaging his prostate, and the pleasure washing through him in waves had his head swimming and his body clenching in anticipation.

“Master,” Ilsa moaned, his voice sounded desperate and needy even to his own ears, which brought the faintest etching of a blush to his cheeks. Cassian growled , the feeling of vibrations echoing through Ilsa’s body. That was it, all it took for him to completely lose control. 

Ilsa cried out, his back arching as his thighs trembled, squeezing around Cassian’s head as much as they could in an attempt to keep the pleasure steady. This time, Cassian didn’t stop him, instead, his fingers delved deeper, and his lips came back up to his cock, lips brushing over the head of it as the gloved hand curled around the base of it. And then he was buried in Cassian’s throat, pleasure bursting through his body in waves. His orgasm hit him with the weight of a train car, and the world shattered around him.

“Master,” Ilsa sobbed, his back arching as he ground his hips into Cassian’s fingers desperately, only vaguely aware of the feeling of Cassian’s sucking around his cock. He felt so good, he was sure this was the time that he was going to melt out of his own mind from the pleasure. Every inch of his body was tingling, need still filling up his insides because Cassian hadn’t entered him.

“Oh Lovebird, “ Cassian sighed, “You taste amazing. Are you falling asleep, precious?” Cassian murmured as he pulled away from his cock a couple minutes later. Ilsa forced his eyes open and shook his head. 

“I’m wide awake. Floating, currently.” Ilsa didn’t know what the feeling of emptiness–and subsequent fullness Cassian caused, didn’t have the perfect word to describe it–but he felt like he was floating. So that’s what he’d decided to call it. He had tried, putting the exact feeling into words. It was like he couldn’t do anything other than settle and float, and let Cassian ravish him with love, affection, and attention, it’s wonderful and he still didn’t fully know how to process it but it felt so fucking good. 

His heart thrummed in his chest, his cock laying half-erect on his abdomen as his skin burned and his breath caught. Everything felt settled. Perhaps that was it. The delicious settled feeling that came with the floating feeling. Ilsa knew he should be patient, Cassian never left him aching and desperate long … if Cassian wanted to drag this out until he was sobbing his eyes out he’d be okay with it. 

He knew regardless of how long it took Cassian to fuck him, he’d still fuck him. That didn’t change the fact that his entire body was begging for him, and Ilsa let out a whimper. 

“What does my good little omega want, hm?” Cassian mused softly, nuzzling into his neck, placing a kiss over the mate mark on Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa shuddered, his eyes fluttering open.

“I want you to fuck me,” Ilsa said bluntly, tugging Cassian’s hair a bit. Cassian moved swiftly, pulling his fingers from Ilsa’s hole. Ilsa let out a whimper, his body feeling the loss more than he liked to admit. Cassian reached down and pulled his cock out of his boxers, and Ilsa felt a sliver of excitement burst through him. He could’ve cried. Hallelujah, praise Oriosis. Hell, at this point, Ilsa– a demon –was willing to pray  if it got Cassian’s cock inside of him faster.

“Look at you, so deliciously needy. Are you going to beg for me some more, pretty?” Ilsa whined and nodded his head, putting on the most pleading, desperate face he could muster.

“Master, please , I need you so much,” Ilsa pleaded, “I want to feel you buried inside of me, want you to fuck me and breed me again.” Cassian’s hands gripped into Ilsa’s thighs, teasingly slipping beneath the strap holding the front of his stockings up, one gloved, the other not. The contrast in feelings was… odd,  but admittedly, the thought fled Ilsa’s mind as soon as Cassian led his thighs up towards his chest, and then lightly ran the head of his erection against Ilsa’s hole.

Ilsa let out a shuddery breath, letting his hand fall from Cassian’s hair to run down his chest and abdomen, feeling the firmness of his muscles beneath the coolness of skin. Cassian’s eyes roamed over him heatedly, orchid eyes burning brightly as they took him in. Ilsa couldn’t help it, when Cassian looked at him like that, it felt like he was the only thing in the world other than Cassian. 

Ilsa loves him. His body, his heart, everything in his being longed for Cassian. 

“Ilsa? Lovebird, are you okay?” Ilsa nodded his head.

“I love you,” Ilsa murmured heatedly, pressing his fingertips to the mate mark on Cassian’s neck. It was just a scar, barely even visible after so many years, and yet when his fingers brushed it, Cassian let out a quiet moan, his head tipping forward. 

“I love you too,” Cassian murmured fondly. “Are you okay?” 

“Yes, I’m fine.” Ilsa assured him, brushing the mark again, just to watch Cassian shudder in pleasure. Ilsa then brought his hand down between them, taking Cassian cock in his hand. “Come on,” Ilsa practically moaned, “Fuck me, please.” Ilsa made a show of pulling his length, squeezing it just a bit. Cassian let out a sigh, his eyes watching Ilsa’s hand as he tugged him off. 

Cassian nodded his agreement, a pretty look overtaking his face as he looked down at Ilsa. Ilsa pulled Cassian forward, letting the head of his cock press against his soaking wet entrance. Cassian paused for a moment, his fingers gripping into Ilsa’s thighs tighter, before he sank into him in a slow, gentle glide.

Ilsa swore the immediate rush of pleasure that coursed through him was strong enough to knock down a dam. Ilsa’s hands moved to grip desperately at Cassian’s sides, urging him forward. Even so, Cassian was patient, pushing into him deeper and deeper with slow rolls of his hips until he bottomed out.

“Thank you,” Ilsa managed to get out, feeling a little snarky after having been teased for so long. Cassian looked over him with an amused expression.

“And who gave you permission to be so impertinent?” Cassian mused, and Ilsa shook his head. He was so full, deliciously complete. Cassian was inside of him, fully, deeply, and honestly, snarky or not, he was pleased. However, Ilsa knew Cassian liked when he was a wee bit snarky. 

“No one, you’re just teasing me too much,” Ilsa whined, making Cassian chuckle.

“Well, please allow me,” Cassian paused to pin him with a look that made Ilsa’s entire body heat up in excitement. Cassian leaned over him, his hands releasing Ilsa’s thighs and instead moved to bracket his head, before Cassian pressed his forehead to Ilsa’s. Ilsa shifted, moving his hands up to rest on Cassian’s shoulders, letting his fingertips press against Cassian’s half of the mate mark. 

Cassian tucked his head into Ilsa’s neck, letting out a quiet sigh of pleasure as he began moving his hips. Cassian pulled his hips back and rolled them into Ilsa in a languid, leisurely pace, sending waves of pleasure washing through Ilsa’s body.

“You feel so good, you’re so perfect, my sweet little omega,” Cassian murmured, pressing a kiss to Ilsa’s collar bone. His lips trailed over Ilsa’s skin, murmuring his pleasure while rocking into him. Ilsa sank back against the bed, curling his legs around Cassian’s waist, arching up a bit as a moan fell out of his mouth. The drag of Cassian’s length inside of him made every nerve in his body burn , like he was on fire. 

“I’m–oh, sweet Mother of–” Ilsa cried out, rocking his hips into Cassian’s thrusts desperately. Cassian chuckled, leaning back a bit, running his eyes over him. Ilsa met Cassian’s eyes, Ilsa’s heart rate jumping as he took in the hunger in his eyes. Cassian looked ready to ravish him, and frankly, that’s all Ilsa wants. He wanted Cassian to lose control, to handle him with roughness. He so rarely actually lost himself to his pleasure, because he constantly feared hurting him. Ilsa was much more brave than he had been, honestly.

He craved it, wants it, relished in the way he’d ache as he pulled himself out of bed in the morning. He wanted this memory carved into his brain for the entire day, feeling the reminder of Cassian’s touch, each little slip of Cassian’s composure leaving behind fingerprint shaped bruises that’d fade by the end of the day… Ilsa loathed his healing ability. Sometimes it was useful–after multiple c-sections he still was completely as if he’d never even had a child. Great, in that case. However,  Ilsa longed for Cassian’s marks to litter his skin, painting his body in a mirage of bruises and bites. 

“Ilsa,” Cassian groaned, his fangs and lips brushing against Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa moaned, Cassian’s voice sending shudders through his body. He couldn’t help it, Cassian’s voice, deep and heavy with arousal, how pleasured he sounded… because of him… that made Ilsa feel better than any orgasm he’d ever had. That was saying something, given how great Cassian was at making his entire body sing with pleasure. 

“Master, please,” Ilsa pleaded, his eyes rolling back in his head as Cassian nipped at his neck, “So, so full,” he managed, but not full enough. Not until Cassian came inside of him. Cassian needed to fuck him harder, he needed more, until he was full- er. Fuller. Cassian pinned him with a look that sent a shiver down Ilsa’s spine. Cassian knew him way too well.

“Oh, again so soon, baby?” Cassian teased, making Ilsa moan and nod. “Go ahead, give me a second. Let me feel you cum from taking my cock. It’s so cute.” Cassian bit down into Ilsa’s neck, sending a wave of tingles and pleasure crashing down into Ilsa.

“T-Thank you!” Ilsa gasped, his vision whiting out as his body clenched around Cassian’s length, his fingernails digging into Cassian’s skin harshly as he clung onto Cassian for stability. His cock pulsed out line after line of cum onto his nightgown. Cassian groaned, his fangs sinking deeper into him as he bit harder. Ilsa cried out, his back arching up as pleasure waged a war within the confines of his body.

It was so good, he could feel each movement of Cassian as he thrusted into him. Each thrust seemed to echo through his body in the wake of his orgasm, the pleasure tinging with a bit of overstimulation. It had an edge to it, one that Ilsa loved . Cassian’s erection bashed against Ilsa’s prostate with each jolting thrust, and it had stars dancing behind Ilsa’s eyelids as the world around him faded away. He couldn’t hold his voice back, moans of pleasure punching out of his lips steadily with each connection of Cassian’s cock against Ilsa’s prostate.

“Good boy, just like that,” Cassian murmured into his skin as his fangs retracted from Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa whined as Cassian edged back a bit, his hands moving back down to Ilsa’s thighs, pushing them forward before using one of his forearms to hold them into place. Ilsa choked out a moan as he felt Cassian’s fingertips brush over where his rim was spread around his cock. 

“Please,” Ilsa pleaded quietly, unsure what he was even begging for at this point. Cassian leaned forward and brushed his lips against Ilsa’s, before deepening it. Ilsa let out a moan into his mouth, feeling Cassian’s tongue moving against his. When Cassian pulled back he looked down at Ilsa, affection and desire swirling in his eyes, making heat flood through Ilsa. “Please,” He repeated, his eyes wide and desperate as he pleaded. 

Cassian smirked a little, bringing his fingers up to Ilsa’s mouth, pressing two of them inside of his mouth. Ilsa flushed, feeling Cassian’s fingers hold his tongue down. Ilsa immediately closed his lips around them, sucking on them.

“Good boy, I’m close already, there’s no need to plead beautiful. Ill give you what you want.” Cassian mused. Ilsa moaned his agreement, prompting Cassian to pull his fingers out of Ilsa’s mouth, his forefinger brushing over his bottom lip teasingly.

“Master,” Ilsa moaned as Cassian began moving faster and harder, staying pressed close against him. Ilsa’s arms went back up to curl around his neck, “Yes, yes, I want it,” Ilsa pleaded. Cassian brushed the hair on his forehead away before kissing his forehead, giving Ilsa a look that made his entire being shudder in need. Ilsa was so full, full of Cassian, his cock, his love… Oriosis, Cassian looked at him as if he were the be all and the end all. 

“Fuck, you take me so well, precious,” Cassian murmured, his fangs nipping at Ilsa’s neck. Ilsa felt so good, he couldn’t think. Ilsa could feel something deliciously warm trickling through him as Cassian’s fangs sunk down into Ilsa’s neck again, his hands gripping onto Ilsa’s hips tightly as he thrusted in and out of him faster, harder, his vampire speed leaking out a bit. Ilsa gasped, his hips rocking down into Cassian’s desperately as he arched his back. 

The pleasure was incredibly intense, waves of it crashing over him had him lingering dangerously close to an orgasm he hadn’t even managed to process  before it hit him, the heat in his body immediately rising as he arched up, his fingernails clawing into Cassian’s neck desperately. Cum pulsed out of his length, rather underwhelming in comparison to the intensity of his orgasm.

“Oh fuck , Ilsa, you smell so fucking good ,” Cassian groaned into his skin, his fangs sinking down into him again. Cassian suddenly stilled and pulled his fangs out of Ilsa’s neck, running his nose along Ilsa’s neck. “You smell.. .” Cassian murmured, “Are you in heat?” Ilsa managed a moan, blinking a couple of times, confusion flittering through him. He wasn’t meant to be in heat for another two and a half weeks, so he shouldn’t be. 

But, honestly, it was hard to tell from the inside of his own body when he was already being pleasured. The lack of movement made Ilsa whine desperately, his tongue desperately trying to piece together the words to plead for him to just breed him already.

“M-More,” Ilsa managed, pleading desperately. Cassian smiled down at him, and while there was affection behind it, it really just looked like he was about to be mauled… in probably the best way possible. “Breed me!” Ilsa demanded, squirming a little as he huffed out a moan, nailing his own prostate.

“Watch your pretty little mouth,” Cassian growled. “I might just take you up on that offer.” Ilsa moaned and melted. Oh he really hoped so. 

“Please,” Ilsa pleaded, prompting Cassian to let out a groan.

“Can’t believe you went into heat, so desperate to be bred over and over again,” Ilsa moaned as Cassian’s grip on him tightened, and then he was thrusting in and out of him with an urgency that Ilsa had never felt before. His movements steadily got harder, and Ilsa moaned, melting back into the bed and spreading his legs as much as he could. Each thrust was rough and relentless, but it sent shocks of pleasure through Ilsa’s body, trembles coursing through him as he felt Cassian’s knot beginning to swell.

Oh, Ilsa’s omega practically sobbed as Cassian’s knot began tugging against the rim of his hole, preventing him from thrusting. Cassian wasn’t picky, however, and he immediately switched to deep, grinding movements that had sparks of pleasure echoing through Ilsa’s body.

“Master!” Ilsa choked, his eyes widening when he felt Cassian’s cum filling his hole. Tears leaked down Ilsa’s cheeks, fullness and serenity filling him as his entire body spasmed, his orgasm tearing through him and leaving him a breathless, moaning mess. It hit him hard enough that the world blanked and he was only vaguely aware of Cassian moving them because of the slight tugs of the knot in his hole.

“Good boy, it’s okay, shhh,” Cassian’s voice broke through the cloud in his mind, soothing, cool hands running through his hair and over his back, and Ilsa pulled his eyes open, fighting off the haze enough to let out a moan.

“I’m okay,” Ilsa murmured a couple seconds later, once he’d managed to convince himself to somewhat come back himself. “I definitely went into heat,” Ilsa murmured. 

“The knot indicated that,” Cassian teased, his fingers ghosting along Ilsa’s spine gently.

“Oh it feels so good though,” Ilsa sighed, letting his face nuzzle into Cassian’s neck.

“I have meetings all day tomorrow,” Cassian murmured softly. Ilsa felt excitement flooding through him. Over the past six years, admittedly Cassian had knotted him in between meetings and kept him still in his lap, carefully covered so no one could see. Most species understood heats–Elves and Werewolves more than others, so often no one even acknowledged his presence. Something Ilsa preferred.

He was nothing but a figment of their imagination in his own mind. He wasn’t listening, and he genuinely didn’t care. Ilsa was not interested in anything other than Cassian’s knot inside of him when he was in heat, and he didn’t want to hear. They had spells for it, now, Ilsa had developed them himself. Ilsa could cast spells to keep noise from escaping a room, and  to keep from hearing what Cassian was talking about.

He only used it when in heat and Cassian had meetings–it was rare, very rare, because with the help of suppressants Ilsa’s heat had regulated and he knew exactly when it’d be coming. This did occasionally happen, and catch them off guard. Cassian usually would’ve cancelled, but when one was important, he often didn’t. 

“Can’t wait,” Ilsa purred sleepily, nuzzling into Cassian’s neck. Cassian chuckled.

“Good to know,” Cassian brushed his lips over Ilsa’s forehead. “Get some rest, Lovebird.” Ilsa nodded his head easily, nuzzling into Cassian’s neck more, inhaling his scent deeply. It was faint to his demon senses, but registerable enough to make Ilsa melt a little. “I love you, precious.”

“I love you too, Cassian.” Ilsa said, smiling sleepily. It wouldn’t take long for him to fall asleep, but until then, he’d just rest his eyes and let the feeling of fullness and connection echo through his body. He floated mindlessly around on the sensation of fullness as the fullness chased away any lingering lust he might’ve felt, everything coming into a distant focus.

Ilsa was cocooned in warmth, and Cassian was equally as warm, making a different kind of warmth spread through Ilsa. Cassian was his favorite cuddle buddy, even if he swore to the kids that they were. Like this, Ilsa was warm enough to melt into a little puddle in Cassian’s arms.

Ilsa didn’t know that he could ever feel so utterly satisfied, and he isn’t even talking about how delightfully full and connected he was.

It was Cassian, Cassian made him feel satisfied. He had a home, a real home, with a family, and a husband who pampered him way too much. Ilsa never had to be afraid again, not because his father was gone, but because even if the old bastard rose from his grave Ilsa knew he’d be safe. Cassian would always take care of him, make time for him, and love him. No matter what else was going on, Ilsa knew he could rely on Cassian.

Ilsa would always do the same for him. His heart, his being, everything that made him who he was belonged to Cassian. Ilsa would kneel at his feet, fight at his side, and protect Cassian just as fervently as Cassian protected him.

Cassian was his . His mate, his alpha, his home,  and suddenly…

𝐹𝑜𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑠𝑛’𝑡 𝑛𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑙𝑦 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ.

𓊈𒆜 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 Ⅱ 𒆜𓊉

Once Fate Became Twisted:

Isoloses’s life as the second prince of Caelestes was misery. He hated himself, but most of all he hated his father. The guilt that rested on his shoulders was suffocating, and the mere fact that he was alive made it worse because he felt he deserved to die for the things he had done under his father’s command. For centuries there was nothing he could do to stop what was happening–until he met the High Elf, Naevys.

Though it was a strange arrangement from the very beginning, Isoloses found comfort and relief in being Naevys’s pawn and the lack of control it granted. Whenever Caelestes was too much for him, he’d run away and lose himself in Naevys, and the comfort he provided.

However, with the old king on his deathbed after Ilsa’s escape, things suddenly look a whole lot brighter for him. With his father being so close to death, there was only one thing he could think about: 𝙉𝙖𝙚𝙫𝙮𝙨.

He wanted to leave Caelestes and run straight to Naevys, the only person not too afraid of him to put him on his knees and give him something to believe in. [𝑂𝑚𝑒𝑔𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒, 𝐴𝑙𝑝ℎ𝑎/𝑂𝑚𝑒𝑔𝑎 𝐷𝑦𝑛𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑐𝑠] (Kind of)

Link in comments here:

𓊈𒆜 ＰＨФＴФＢФФＫ𒆜𓊉

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The art for the picture backgrounds came from an AI Art Generator, and the 3D models were made using VRoid Studios. Some of the clothing, accessories, and hairstyles are free for use from VRoid Studios , such as Cassian’s outfit, Iden’s outfit, Ilan’s outfit, and Iridessa’s outfits were all provided by VRoid Studios and I edited them to suit the needs of my characters. I keep everything organized by what it is (For example, all of the hair textures are in one folder labeled hair textures, all of the eye textures are kept in a folder labeled eye textures etc) so I have no idea who to credit for the individual items that I’ve used on the models from other people. If you see something you made and would like to be credited, or if you know who made the texture, please feel free to reach out to me and give me the Boothe account.

Any textures I used were found on Boothe by searching: VRoid Textures > Filtering price low to high. Because I don’t want to be giving credit to the wrong person, I’d prefer to see the listing. I know how hard it is to make VRoid textures, and I would hate to give the wrong person credit for something that took hours and hours of hard work.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoy the pictures of Cassian, Ilsa, and the kids. For reference, the kids in the pictures are; Iden - 8, Ilan - 7, Ignatius - 4, and Iridessa - 4. I know the characters might look a bit mature for their age, but the program isn’t really meant to make ‘children’ models, so I kinda just had to work with what I had. I do plan to age up these models for future parts of this series, so this will not be the only time you see them… just next time they’ll be older. I’ve considered doing like, a photo sequence to show them aging, also, I just kind of thought it’d be interesting. If anyone’s interested in that, let me know.