Chapter 3

“This is so fucked,” West growled, glaring at Lake from the end of the couch. He remained standing, but the chaotic energy practically buzzed off of him like electricity.

Nix was starting to get used to his temperament—to all of theirs. After only a couple of weeks, he felt like he understood their dynamic a little bit better and knew when to avoid each of them because of their mood.

He leaned in closer to Yejun, who was seated next to him on top of the coffee table, tending to the tear in his neck.

The same table the three of them had pinned him over and stripped him on at the start of the semester. Ironic, that now one of them was using it to take care of him instead of humiliate him.

Although, even this was sort of another way they could put him in his place, was it not?

Nix’s eyes trailed over to Lake who was lounging in the armchair, clearly trying to block out West’s complaining. He’d only arrived a few minutes ago, and his clothes and platinum blond hair were soaked from the rain. It didn’t seem to bother him that he was going to ruin the leather by sitting on it sopping wet.

“The wound is deep,” Yejun announced. He was dabbing at the bite mark with an alcohol swab, his expression no less furious than West’s. “You didn’t have to injure him this badly.”

“It got the point across,” Lake drawled.

West’s fists tightened at his sides but he held himself back. “Asshole, this wasn’t part of the plan!”

“What do you care?” Almost lazily, his green eyes blinked open and he rolled his head on the headrest to face West. “You didn’t even want him, remember?”

“That was before.”

“Before?” Lake lifted a thin, pale brow. “Before what, exactly? Before I wanted him badly enough to—”

“Cut the shit,” Yejun stopped them. “This isn’t the time or place for one of your guys’ pissing contests. We should take him to the hospital.”

“No!” Nix pulled away, but since there wasn’t anywhere to go, only ended up sliding a couple of inches on the table before pausing. Out of the three of them, Yejun was the one he felt the most comfortable with. “The hospital will have to report it.”

“An official statement will be made eventually anyway,” Lake said. “Don’t tell me you’re hoping you’ll get infected and be spared a lifetime by my side, Songbird?”

Nix scowled, but West jumped to his defense.

“Can’t blame him for not wanting to announce to the whole damn planet you’ve abused him and treated him like property.” West ran a hand over his shaved head and then rested them on his hips, pensive for a moment before asking, “Why’d you do it? This is extreme even for you.”

“I’d like an answer to that as well,” Yejun stated. Then he gently placed a palm over Nix’s thigh and coaxed him back over to his side. “I’m almost done cleaning this up. Let me finish.”

“I solved part of our problem, didn’t I?” Lake sat up, watching as Yejun lightly pressed at Nix’ neck. His expression was unreadable. “Someone was threatening him, now hopefully they’ll think twice.”

West rolled his eyes. “A claiming mark isn’t going to stop the threats, not if this person is involved with whoever is trying to take us down. If anything, you’ve only managed to paint a bigger target on Nixie’s back.”

“He’s right,” Yejun agreed. “This was hasty. That’s unlike you.”

“Whatever.” Lake stood with a flourish. “What’s done is done.”

“The council isn’t going to like this.”

“Screw them.”

“Yeah, except we need them, asshole,” West reminded. “Or have you forgotten your bid for the throne?”

The whole reason Nix was here, going through all of this at the hands of these Demons, was because of that damn throne.

After the untimely deaths of the Emperor and her Royal Consort, Lake was now next in line for the crown. Of course, power never changed hands that easily, and there were those on the council against him taking control. His age and the fact he was still in university were constantly brought up as reasons. As much as he hated to admit it, Nix could kind of see how adding mating with a nobody such as himself would equate to yet another red mark to be brandished against Lake.

But how was that his fault? He hadn’t asked to be bitten. In fact, he’d been wholeheartedly against it.

“You wanted to use me to lure out the hacker you’re after,” Nix boldly said as Yejun carefully secured a bandage over the injury. “What moron would come to me now?”

“A true mating bite ties you for life,” Yejun nodded, understanding where he was going with this. “No one would risk asking Nix to turn on us now that he’s been claimed like this.”

West swore and very clearly wanted to hit something.

“Does he look like he was taken by choice?” Lake disagreed steadily. “There are still tears in his eyes, and his cheeks are all red. Enough people saw us at his dorm to spread the word. Come morning, the whole campus will be abuzz about how the tyrant future emperor forced him into an unwanted life of servitude.”

Nix bristled. “A mate is not a slave .”

“Only an hour ago you were claiming the bite doesn’t count, now you’re eager to classify it?”

“Fuck you, Lake.” Nix slapped Yejun’s hands off of him and got to his feet, moving to distance himself from the lot of them. It effectively put him in the corner of the room, but it wasn’t like there was any chance of escape for him anyway.

Mating marks were outdated and hardly ever practiced in modern society, but they’d once been the most important aspect of a relationship. A physical signifier that someone was claimed and coupled. If anyone else had pulled this stunt on him, Nix could have them arrested and thrown into prison. But Lake was far above the law. Bringing attention to this would only bury Nix deeper.

He'd be the only one expected to abide by the old ways, which meant, even if he did somehow manage to escape, he couldn’t return home. That would be the first place searched, and if he was found, he’d be returned to Lake like a lost pet would.

Forget giving up his dream of working for Star Eye Holding, that would be nothing.

If he wanted out, he’d have to give up his entire life.

“If you insist.” Lake’s fingers started undoing his belt, but before Nix could start to worry, his best friends stopped him.

“You’ve done enough to traumatize him for one day,” Yejun said.

“Cut the shit,” West joined in. “At this point, you’ll break him before I even get the chance to fuck him properly. We had a deal, the three of us, and you’ve stepped out of bounds. This is permanent, and it affects us all.”

“How so?” Lake tipped his head stubbornly. “You’re not the one who marked him. Therefore, you bear no lifetime responsibility.”

“He’s ours ,” West growled. “Not yours. Ours .”

“Relax, he can be my mate and still be your plaything.”

“I hate you,” it was out of Nix’s mouth before he could help it, but as soon as it was, he felt an inkling of relief. At least he was being honest. It might be the only freedom he now had. The right to express himself. No matter the consequences. “I hate all three of you.”

Lake for dragging him into this in the first place.

West for treating him like an object they could fight over.

And Yejun…Well. Admittedly, Nix disliked him least of all, but that didn’t change the fact that the major reason Lake had bitten him at all was out of some misguided attempt to ensure Nix’s safety from his artist friend.

And as much as Nix hated and disagreed with that, a part of him actually understood. Even though Yejun had been nothing but nice to him, he’d heard the stories and knew that was only one side of the Demon. He’d also heard all about how angry and bitter he still was over Iris’s betrayal…

Iris, who was actually Branwen.

If Yejun found out that the person he hated the most on the entire planet was related to Nix, what would he do?

Lake seemed to think it would be something awful.

Nix wasn’t so sure, only because it was hard to picture Yejun treating him differently, but he also wasn’t willing to bet his life on it. At the end of the day, sure, he’d started to read their tells, but that didn’t mean he knew them.

Hell, he didn’t even know his cousin.

If he had, he never would have come to this hellhole of a school in the first place.

“I hate you,” he repeated, voice breathy and shaking as emotion started to override him now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off. “I hate everyone.”

“Your cousin—” Yejun began, obviously trying to help comfort him but not knowing any better.

“Screw my cousin!” Nix exploded. “Fuck her, too!”

West let out a low whistle. “You tell them, Nixie.”

“He’s cursing you too, moron,” Yejun pointed out.

“How much blood do you think he had to lose to get like this?” West tipped his head. “The hospital—”

“I said no,” Nix almost stomped his foot like a child, but the second he tried, he wobbled and ended up braced against the wall instead. “The room is spinning.”

West sighed. “I don’t think he lost enough for us to really worry, but he should rest. I’ll make some xuj tea. June, you help him upstairs.”

“He’s staying with me,” Lake interjected, only for all three of them to shake their heads at him.

“No way.” Nix didn’t want to be anywhere near him right now. “You’re the reason I’m like this in the first place.”

“Your cousin is the reason, actually,” he corrected, and while that might be cryptic to the others, Nix heard the underlying threat loud and clear.

His eyes narrowed. “You said you did this to protect me.”

Lake shrugged. “Since the protection is already in place, I don’t see why I need to keep qui—”

“Fine.” He inhaled deeply and then pushed off the wall, relieved a little when at least he didn’t topple over and could stand straight once more. “I’ll go to your room.”

West glanced between the two of them suspiciously. “Why does it feel like there’s a secret? Care to share with the rest of the class?”

“Later,” Lake said, motioning to Yejun. “Help him. I doubt he’ll let me near him at the moment.”

“I won’t,” Nix stated, allowing Yejun to take his arm and slowly walk with him toward the wooden steps that led up to the second level where all the bedrooms were.

The Roost, where the Demons of Foxglove lived, was located just on the edge of campus, at the base of Munin Mountain. There were three stories, but Nix had only ever been up to the second floor. The entire building had a dark, mysterious vibe, and it was decorated in metal, wood, and glass, with the side of the rocky mountain set as a background seen out the south windows.

It wasn’t the sort of place regular college students would live, and that alone set them apart from the rest. Nix had known from the very first time he’d stepped foot in here he’d gotten himself mixed up in something he shouldn’t have. By then, however, it’d been too late to turn back.

He could hear West and Lake talking as he was led away, but their voices were hushed all of a sudden, and he couldn’t make out anything they were saying. It irked him—because he knew that meant he was the topic—but not enough to turn back.

“How do you feel?” Yejun asked as he helped him up the stairs slowly.

“Dizzy,” he confessed. “And my neck is killing me.”

“I’ll bring you some pain meds with the tea.”

Nix hesitated but then ended up saying, “Thanks.”

“Did you mean it?” Yejun waited until they’d made it to the landing and started down the hallway. The second level was set up with a large room at the very center, and a hall that branched off in either direction and met in the middle on the other side. He went left, heading in the direction of Lake’s room. “When you said you hated us?”

“Yes.” He considered lying but…Why? “But…you less so, if that means anything.”

Yejun chuckled. “You don’t have to try and soothe my ego, Firebird. I’m under no illusions. I know what we are.”

“Monsters?”

“That’s definitely on the list.” He sighed. “Lake took things too far. He should never have done something like this to you. He’s never even shown an interest in the old ways before, I’m honestly as shocked as you are.”

“I doubt that.” It’d be smarter to hold his breath, keep conversation to a minimum and then safely separate from the Demon to ensure his cousin’s secret was kept but…This could be a chance, and after everything he’d already been through, Nix would be a fool to pass up any opportunity for answers. “Have you ever thought about it?”

“About what?”

“Claiming someone?”

Yejun snorted. “Me? Are you hearing yourself? I can’t even commit to the same person for a day.”

“Oh.” On some level, he’d of course known that, but still. “So then—No, never mind.”

“No, it’s okay.” Yejun stopped at Lake’s room and pushed open the door before leading Nix over to the bed. “What is it? I’ll give you a pass today. Ask me anything, I promise not to get angry.”

He wrung his hands in his lap. “You never thought about maybe trying things out with that friend you were so close to? Before she betrayed you, I mean.”

“Iris?” Yejun crossed his arms, but even though the spot between his brow furrowed in distaste, he didn’t seem to be upset at having her brought up. “Not really. I thought we would be friends for a long time, even considered making her Essential.”

“Really?” Shit. That meant they’d been really, really close. Nix had known Yejun had connected with his cousin, that she’d hurt him deeply, but a part of him had still hoped Yejun wouldn’t take it out on him if he found out.

When he did.

Secrets like that never stayed hidden forever, and the fact Lake had taken things as far as biting him was proof he thought the same. Eventually, it was going to get out that Nix was Iris’s cousin, and when that happened…

“Maybe she had a good reason and you just don’t know about it yet?” he dared to suggest, glancing away when Yejun’s eyes sparkled.

“Why would you say something like that?”

“I don’t know, sorry, it was dumb. I just figured there’s always the chance you don’t have the whole story. Wouldn’t that be better? Wouldn’t you prefer to think it wasn’t anything personal she had against you? It always hurts more when the betrayal comes from someone we like.”

“I’d prefer to think a lot of things,” Yejun drawled. “I’d like to think my parents are satisfied with my work, and that one day West and Lake will stop constantly being at each other’s throats. That we’ll all wake up tomorrow happy, on the same page, and Lake will be summoned and handed the crown and we can call it day. But reality doesn’t always line up with our wishes, Nix.”

He nodded, because there was no arguing there.

“I bet you wish you’d never met any of us, don’t you?” Yejun asked.

“More than that,” he said. “I wish I never bothered transferring at all.”

He frowned. “You regret following your cousin's advice that much? Did something happen with your family? This morning, you ran out of here like—”

“Yeah,” Nix cut him off. He couldn’t exactly admit he’d left this morning because he’d realized Yejun and Branwen’s connection. “I found something out about her that makes me question everything I thought I knew about what type of person she was. Sorry I left without telling you. I was just…scared.”

Yejun settled down onto the edge of the bed next to him. “Scared of what?”

“My cousin…hurt people.” A lie that stuck closest to the truth was always the most believable, and the easiest to remember.

“So? We hurt people all the time.”

“She also didn’t like you guys very much.”

Yejun grunted. “Weren’t you just screaming about how much you hate us? Lots of people dislike us, some because, as mentioned, we hurt people, and others because they’re jealous we have power. You can’t please everyone, Firebird. Focus on making those that matter like you instead of worrying about the rest.”

“Matter?” Nix gave him a droll stare. “Don’t tell me you mean you?”

He rested back on his hands and hummed. “Wouldn’t it be easier for you if you at least tried to like us?” His gaze trailed down pointedly, landing in Nix’s lap. “There are certainly parts of us you…enjoy.”

“That’s different.”

“How so?”

“You’re all going to have sex with me whether I want it or not.”

“We’re going to keep you with us whether you want it or not as well,” he said, some of his playfulness draining away. “Especially now that Lake has claimed you. It may seem like he made a spur-of-the-moment mistake, but I’ve known him all our lives, Nix. He doesn’t lose his head like that. Even if he’d made the decision quickly, he would have weighed the pros and cons before sinking his teeth into your neck. You’re his. Which means,” he leaned in and pressed a light kiss to Nix’s cheek, “you’re also mine.”

He couldn’t go there. If he even started to think about that, he would spiral. Nix was barely holding it together as it was. There was no one here he could trust. No one who would put him first. The Demons had each other and Grady…He’d need to get to the bottom of that later.

But not now. Right now…He was tired and confused. Somehow, he’d ended the day with more questions than when he’d started it, and he hated that.

“Can you promise that you’ll never hurt me?” Nix was making himself far too vulnerable, but he was afraid. If what Yejun was saying was true, that meant Lake had considered all the ways he could protect Nix from his best friend's wrath, and marking him had been the best solution.

That was a shitty, desperate solution.

And if even Lake was desperate…

Yejun thought it over. “I can promise not to physically harm you—outside of the bedroom, in any case. But that’s it. Is that good enough?”

“If I say it isn’t?”

“It’s more than I’ve willingly given anyone else,” he said. “Anyone other than West and Lake, at least. I know you’re not ready to face the fact you’ve gone from being with us for a few weeks to with us forever—”

“No, I’m not.”

“—but that’s your reality now, Firebird. And that means you and I are going to be together through thick and thin. I would prefer it if we trusted one another, so if my promise not to physically hurt you can help there, I’ll give it. But don’t ask too much of me too soon. I may seem cool about all of this, but I’m actually just as upset as you are.”

“Stop making it sound like you understand how I feel,” he demanded. “You still have your freedom.”

“That’s true.” He nodded and then stood. “Let’s talk about this again later, after you’ve had some rest and I’ve come to terms myself. Okay?”

There was no other option but to agree.

“I’ll go get that tea,” he offered. “West should be done with it by now.”