Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

Ozen dreaded the choice he made the minute he stepped into his family home. If he wasn’t so desperate for answers, he wouldn’t be here. But his obsession with Avery was getting worse, and he needed to know if he had to break the contract early. The thought was abhorrent, but if there was some kind of magic involved that he was unfamiliar with pushing this kind of reaction, then he needed to know about it and end it before it affected Avery negatively. He couldn’t keep pretending everything was fine. Not after the other night.

He had never planned on returning here after he left the first time. Ozen and his family… didn’t see eye to eye. They were very traditional in that they didn’t believe in hiding their true forms. They believed glamouring them was an affront to the creators. While at home, that never bothered him, but they refused to mask it even out in public, and the way people would actually stop what they were doing to follow around his father, especially, always made Ozen’s hackles go up. Those people didn’t consent to feeling that way.

Finding his father was always easy. He just had to follow the sounds of sex throughout the house. It led him to the den, where bodies writhed on the floor together while his father watched on with a smirk. He had a pretty male in his lap being tended to by a female with curly red hair on her knees in front of them both. The entire room reeked of sex, and yet Ozen’s magic didn't even twitch. He had no urge to siphon any of the desire in the room, despite having gone a few days without feeding. He only wanted Avery.

When his father noticed him standing in the open doorway, he straightened and an enormous smile spread across his face. “Ozen, my son! This is a surprise!”

Ozen fought back a scowl. He was here for answers. Once he had those, he would leave. He purposely bit his tongue to avoid asking his father how many of the people in the room followed him home without giving their express consent first. It only ever led to an argument.

“Korath,” Ozen replied blandly.

Korath patted the hip of the male in his lap, moving him out of the way so he could stand. Ozen rolled his eyes and looked away, waiting for his father to cover up. He’d lost count of the number of times he’d seen his father naked, incubi weren’t shy about nudity, but it wasn’t something he looked forward to. Korath knew this and was polite enough to pull on a robe before joining him.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”

At the word pleasure, several of the bodies moaned, and Korath shivered with a grin. “Are you hungry? This is a good batch.”

Ozen shot him a dry look. Even if he didn’t face his current problem, he wouldn’t share with his father. His cousins always called him a stick in the mud for preferring his privacy with his feeders.

“Is there somewhere we can talk?”

Korath’s eyebrows drew together tightly, and his smile faded into a more serious expression. It was rare for him, Korath wasn’t known to be serious, but he must’ve heard the severity of the situation in Ozen’s tone because he didn’t argue.

“Let’s go to my office.” He glanced over his shoulder and a surge of magic washed over the room. The moans dialed up a few levels as Korath shut the door behind them. “That should keep them busy for a while. Come, come. Do you want a drink? Your cousin Sandy brought me that good liquor from the kraken city beneath the ocean. I still don’t know how they do it.”

Ozen accepted a glass, mostly to be polite. When he tipped it back and swallowed it in one gulp, Korath looked surprised.

“It must be serious if you’re indulging like this. So tell me. What draws my wayward son home?”

He ignored the barb, sitting in the chair in front of his father’s desk. When Korath took his seat across from him, Ozen could almost pretend the man had pants on.

“I am having an unusual reaction to my newest feeder. I thought at first it was because of his inexperience, he was a virgin before meeting me, but–”

“That doesn’t have any effect, magic wise,” Korath interrupted. “It is great fun to introduce newbies to pleasure and watch their reactions, but it wouldn’t cause any unusual reactions.”

“I figured as much,” Ozen replied with a nod. “I can’t remember every feeder I’ve ever been with, but I doubted Avery was my first experience with a virgin.”

That made Korath chuckle. “Can you imagine remembering every single one of them? That would be exhausting.” He shook his head. “So it’s nothing to do with that. What is the unusual reaction you’re having, then?”

Ozen hesitated to continue. Korath was one of the oldest incubi that he knew. If anyone had any knowledge about this, it would be him. But not only was he uncomfortable talking to his father about any part of his private life, he was also incredibly reluctant to share information about Avery with anyone.

Korath leaned forward with a frown. “Son, whatever it is, you can tell me. I’ll do what I can to help you. You know this.”

Ozen sighed. He did know that. He didn’t see eye to eye with his family and preferred to avoid them, but Korath was always a family man first and foremost. He doted on his children, all twelve of them, and was the first to offer help when someone needed it. He offered to back Ozen’s company before it got off the ground, but Ozen had refused him, citing a need to do it on his own. Korath knew Ozen’s feelings on their lifestyle and, unlike his siblings, kept his comments on the way Ozen lived to himself. He didn’t do anything to change his ways, but neither did Ozen. They kept their distance to avoid arguments, but Korath wasn’t being facetious when he said he’d do anything to help.

“My newest feeder is an… anomaly. I’ve never reacted this way with anyone else. He’s potent, and I feel stronger after I’ve fed from him than I ever had in the past. I also don’t need to do as much to feed. He’s been my feeder for almost a month now, and we still haven’t explored full penetration. But I also can’t go very long without feeding again. Not only because of genuine hunger, but also because I crave being close to him. I saw a physician, thinking maybe it was linked to my two weeks' starvation, but–”

The lights in the room flickered and Korath looked furious when he demanded, “Say that again.”

He sighed heavily. “It’s hardly relevant. The only part of it that’s relevant is that Avery saved me when I was close to feral. I’ve been feeding from him since. The physician says there are no physical explanations for my reactions to my feeder, and that it’s most likely a mental block, but it’s gotten to where I can’t go a day without needing to feed again.”

There was more, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to mention what happened the other night with Avery. He was still reeling from it. And he wasn’t sure it was pertinent, since he didn't actually feed that night.

“So let me get this straight. You were starved, which we will be discussing in a moment, then you met this new feeder, who feels more potent than usual. There’s no magic involved?”

“None. I checked, and the physician agreed he saw no evidence of magic use.”

Korath nodded. “Alright. What is his species? This feeder.”

“He’s human. No magic that I’ve noticed, and none in his family line, according to Dorian’s research.”

Yes, Dorian had looked up Avery’s family line just to be certain, but there was nothing to indicate any dormant powers in Avery’s past. Dorian told him about this information when Ozen called in a panic after the incident the other night. It was Dorian who told him to come see Korath. They needed the insight of an incubus.

Korath hummed, his expression thoughtful and a little clouded as he processed the information. “Well… a few things come to mind, but before I make any guesses, I want to know what drove you to come to me.”

Ozen’s head jerked back in surprise, and he frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you avoid coming home like the plague. Having a potent feeder sounds like a gift, and aside from being a curiosity, it wouldn’t have chased you here seeking more information. Something happened to push you this far. I need to know what it was that did it.”

Ozen ground his teeth together, his lip twitching against a scowl. “I hardly think that’s necessary. You said you had ideas. You could just share those.”

“I could,” Korath agreed. “But until I know the full picture, I won’t be able to tell you for sure. You didn’t come all the way here for a guess.” He gestured with his hand in an urge to continue. “Tell me what happened.”

With a growl, Ozen shoved out of his seat and stormed for the door, only to spin around and pace back. His mind was at war between admitting his shame in front of his father and leaving without the information he needed. He’d avoided Avery for days already. Any longer and his hunger would drive him insane.

“I engaged in intimacy without feeding. I didn’t even think of it. And I have no desire to feed from anyone but him,” he finally admitted as he sat back down.

Shock made Korath’s jaw drop, and his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. “No one? Not even that delicious orgy in the other room? I mean, I figured you wouldn’t indulge, since you prefer your privacy, but you weren’t even slightly tempted?”

“No. And it’s not a contract that’s holding me back. Avery made sure to put fail safes in before signing, so I could feed if we were apart. It turned out to be irrelevant because the only one I want to feed from is him.”

Korath huffed his surprise, his palms resting on his desk as his eyes darted back and forth. “I just… I’ve never heard of such a thing. I didn’t even think it was possible for us to engage in sex acts without feeding. It happens naturally. You’re sure you just didn’t notice? Sometimes, if things are really intense–”

“I’m sure. I didn’t feed that night. It’s been days, and I’m hungry, but I don’t have any urge to go to anyone else.”

“Huh.” Korath sat back in his chair, his expression matching the confusion in Ozen’s gut. It made no sense to him either. Ozen had been banking on his father having the answers he needed, but he was just as stumped. Ozen’s hope vanished, and he slumped a little in his chair. He wasn’t sure what his next steps were, or if he could even break the hold Avery had on him. There was a literal orgy down the hall, and he felt absolutely nothing.

“I don’t have any answers for you, son. None of my first assumptions fit after that revelation. But if you’re willing to wait a few days, I know someone who might. In the meantime, you can use this as an opportunity to test your control. Maybe your mind is unwilling, but your body should be able to tolerate feeding from someone else, even just temporarily. Perhaps some time apart from your feeder will help.”

“Perhaps.” But he doubted it. Still, it was better than nothing. He would wait and see who his father was so sure would have some answers and make an attempt to feed from somewhere else. It was better than blindly continuing whatever was happening between him and Avery. He didn’t want things to get worse.