Chapter 33

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Ozen sat in his father’s office, his face buried in his hands. His attempt at feeding from another source backfired so spectacularly, he basically attacked Avery in the middle of the night. Trying to feed from one of Korath’s guests, who assured Ozen several times he was there of his own volition, ended up making Ozen physically ill. He couldn’t touch the man, and his magic stubbornly refused to latch on. Not only that, but that feeling like he was going feral hit him so hard, he panicked and went straight to Avery’s apartment to combat it. In his rush, he bypassed every rule he had set in place to protect himself and Avery from getting attached.

The feel of Avery’s lips, though…

Ozen used to kiss when he was with his first feeders. He was young and foolish, and didn’t worry about feeders getting attached. He didn’t have the same issues he had now, since no feeder wanted to stick around a young incubus with nothing more to offer than a good time. These days, with the amount of money they were given and the cushy lifestyle, feeders wanted to nail down a relationship to keep what they earned ongoing, even if they had to fake feelings to do it.

Avery didn’t fake his reactions to Ozen. His kisses were eager and needy, like he was with every session. Ozen could taste his confusion in the air, he knew Avery had questions, but his desperation made him reckless and he didn't give Avery a chance to talk before riding him ruthlessly. Ozen nearly came when Avery did the first time, his pleasure and desire so thick that Ozen felt like he was drowning in it. It was physically painful to hold back. The feeding was rushed as it was. If it was too rushed, he risked actually hurting Avery. So he dragged it out a few more minutes to protect Avery, and he called his friends to ensure Avery was taken care of once Ozen was finally clear headed enough to realize what he’d done.

He hadn’t called since. He itched to check in and see how Avery was doing, but he couldn’t risk it. He didn’t want to give himself another reason to go after Avery again. The feeding had been so intense, Avery passed out afterward. Ozen didn’t trust himself near Avery right now.

“Where is he?”

Ozen lifted his head and straightened his back. It took a while for him to get his father to admit who he was inviting to talk to him. In all honesty, Ozen hadn’t realized his grandfather was still alive. He disappeared when Ozen was just barely of age, and Ozen had heard no one talk about him since. Korath said it was hard to track him down since he was always on the move, which meant Ozen was stuck here for days, waiting for him to show up.

The office doors opened and Korath strode in, actually dressed this time. Apparently there were limits, even for him. He wouldn’t greet his father in nothing but a robe. Ozen just wished he’d afford the same courtesy to his son.

Ozen’s grandfather followed behind him. His hair was fully white now, and he had wrinkles around his eyes, but that was the extent of his aging. Incubi aged incredibly slowly. In human standards, his grandfather looked barely sixty, even though he’d been alive for nearly six thousand years.

“Ozen, my child.”

“Grandfather,” Ozen replied, pushing to his feet. He clasped hands with his grandfather, bowing to rest his forehead against their hands, which was customary when greeting elders. Korath didn’t bother with those traditions, but Grandfather Sylix was a formal man when Ozen last knew him, and the proud smile on Sylix’s face when Ozen straightened again told him he’d gotten this tradition right.

“At least someone knows how to greet their elders. How are you, my boy? You look tired.”

Ozen hummed, joining his grandfather on the couch. “I’ve been better. I’m assuming Korath didn’t tell you why you were asked to come?”

“Not much. Only that something was wrong with you and you needed an expert. Have you taken ill? Do you need a transfusion?”

Blood from the ancients, like Sylix, could cure all sorts of illnesses, but it wasn’t a pleasant process for either party. Ozen hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

“I’m not sure. I’ve asked around, but no one can tell me what’s happening.”

Sylix gripped Ozen’s shoulder a little roughly, but his smile was reassuring. “Tell me. We’ll figure it out together.”

With a sigh, he started from the beginning. It was a slow process. He didn’t want to leave anything out. He even included his reaction to the feeders from Korath’s little party, just to be safe. When he finished, he felt defeated. Nothing about this looked like it had a good outcome. Being dependent on a feeder was difficult enough. Only being able to use one feeder for the foreseeable future was daunting. It removed Avery’s ability to break the contract or move on when the contract was done. Ozen knew he’d never do it if he knew the consequences. Ozen didn’t want him to feel obligated to stay if he was unhappy. And with the way he’d been treated lately, Ozen was sure that was the case.

“Well, that’s easy enough,” Sylix commented after a moment.

Ozen whipped his head up, searching his grandfather’s face. There wasn’t a hint of teasing. He was completely serious.

“So you know what’s wrong with him, then?” Korath demanded. He was sitting on the armchair beside Ozen, trying to be supportive. It might’ve helped if he wasn’t making comments the whole way through until Sylix glared at him to make him stop.

“There’s nothing wrong with him,” Sylix answered. “He’s found his mate.”

Ozen and Korath both gaped at the older man. Korath found his voice first, stammering as he tried to get the words out.

“His– But– Incubi don’t have mates!”

Sylix gave his son a bland look. “No. You don’t have one. Yet. That isn’t to say that you won’t find one or more than one in the future. You’re still young, after all. But all supernaturals have a mate or mates. It’s the way of our world. And it’s not a bad thing.” He gave his attention fully to Ozen. “You are describing what’s happening with an air of defeat. You’re failing to see the positives. When you feed from your mate, he strengthens you. He reminded you of the pleasure of the action, and your feedings are more potent when you share pleasure together. These are good things.”

“But… What about the fact that I can’t go a day without? It’s difficult for him when I’m busy and in a hurry.”

Sylix rolled his eyes, which looked odd on such a formal man. “For one thing, if you bit your mate like you should have, you wouldn’t need daily feedings. Blood sharing will take away that demanding urge to feed. It won’t take away the need to be near him. That will actually grow with time. But that’s normal for mates. And if you were living together like you should be, you wouldn’t need to resort to quick feeds. You’d be able to go home together and take your time after the work day was over. I’ve watched your company grow, and I know you must be busy, but you’ll need to make time for your mate. It will help, I promise.”

Ozen sat with that for a moment. Avery was… his mate? He’d never even considered it. He valued Avery, both as his feeder and his assistant, and he wanted to make him happy, but he thought that was just to keep Avery in his position longer. He didn’t think he was destined for a mate. He’d been alive for thousands of years. A mate was a nice idea when he was young, but he’d long since given up the fanciful idea.

“You’re not serious. So you’re saying he’ll never be able to feed from anyone else again? I saw his attempt the other night. It made him ill!” Korath screeched.

“Why in the world would he try to do that?” Sylix demanded.

“I thought it’d help! You didn’t see him! He looked gaunt and pale!”

“Much like he does right now?” Sylix asked blandly. “No. He won’t be able to feed from anyone else. He won’t want to, either. A mate is a great blessing. His mate will give him everything he needs. Feeding from someone else won’t even cross his mind.”

Based on Korath’s expression, the idea of feeding from only one person for the rest of his life sounded like the worst thing that could happen. To Ozen, it sounded like heaven. He’d never have to search for a feeder again, or wonder if he’d be starved by a petulant feeder’s tantrums. Avery was dedicated and cared about his well being. He wouldn’t let Ozen suffer.

His grandfather’s explanation cleared up a lot of Ozen’s confusion. It all made sense. His increasing need to be close to Avery. The itch under his skin when he hadn’t seen him in a while. The struggles he had finding Avery a new place to live. Nothing was ever good enough. Probably because he never considered asking Avery to move in with him.

But… Avery never agreed to that. He was professional, and he enjoyed their sessions, but he’d given no indication that he’d be interested in something more. It was one of Ozen’s favorite things about him. He didn’t cross that boundary. Instead, it was Ozen who continued to cross it time and time again. There was no telling if Avery would be interested in mating with him. To his knowledge, humans didn't have mates. And even if he had been interested, after the way Ozen had acted recently, he’d probably scared Avery away from the idea entirely.

Ozen’s hopes rose and sank in quick succession. His emotions felt turbulent because of it. Sylix picked up on it and put his hand on Ozen’s forearm, drawing his attention.

“What’s wrong?”

Ozen shook his head slowly. “I know Avery. He’ll agree to a mating just to make sure I’m taken care of. But he never signed on to be my mate. I don’t want him to feel obligated to be with me. And with the way I’ve treated him as of late…”

Sylix smiled indulgently. “Let me guess. You panicked and pushed him away, only to need to feed so badly you basically mauled him.”

Ozen’s eyes widened. “How did you–” He studied his grandfather carefully. “You too?”

Sylix dipped his chin once. “Yes. My mating was… chaotic, for lack of a better word. They are both so very young compared to me. It felt wrong. But they are both adults, and once they had a grip on me, they refused to let go. I needed that. My mates needed a strong will to keep me in line.” He chuckled to himself. “They still do from time to time. I’ll introduce you to them one day. After you fix things with your own mate.”

Korath made a spluttering noise. “You’re mated?” he asked incredulously.

Sylix made a face at Ozen, rolling his eyes at his son’s dramatics before answering. “Yes. You’d know that if you contacted your father every once in a while. Don’t pretend you don’t know how. I gave you the tools to do it the day I left. Now, perhaps we should discuss my other grandchildren. I’ve been informed by your brother that one of them is in jail.”

Ozen snorted. That wouldn’t surprise him in the slightest. He left his father to explain his messy family life to Sylix. Ozen had better things to do. Namely, apologizing to his mate.