DOUBLE UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!🥳🤩🧨

THIS HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING, BUT YOU HERE YOU GUYS GO!!!! TWO CHAPTERS OF CONTROL, BOTH OVER 6000+ WORDS LONG, AND I PROMISE YOU, YOU WILL FINISH MORE THAN SATISFIED

My only request, please comment! I read them all, so please, please comment your thoughts as you usually would!

Now, enjoyyyyyyyy

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Hagen's P.O.V

Everyone thought I was obsessed with food— that I saw something edible and forgot all sense in the blind pursuit to eat it. I mean, they weren't wrong, but if that were true, then for the first time in my life, the food in front of me was the last thing on my mind.

All I could think about was Nikola.

Nikola, my infuriating mate who I was forgetting how to resist. The one that had basically tied me up in knots upstairs and then left me alone to try and figure out how to undo them. Earlier, I just thought he was upset and I wanted to help him, and then somehow, I'd ended up back against his wall.

Blessings. Goddess keeps bestowing us blessings — Zyair groans with pure delight. Did you feel him, Hagen? He's so—

I cut Zyair off before he could fill my mind with what Nikola had looked like upstairs. I did not need to think of Nikola and those piercing grey eyes, or how his firm body felt pressed against mine, and I definitely didn't need to think of those rough hands claiming my skin– claiming me, just like he did with his tongue and his teeth. He'd bitten me. Actually, he'd bitten me after he'd licked me and made me—

"Something wrong?" I jolt, looking up hastily to find Apollos' worried gaze focused on me. "Not enough?"

"If this isn't enough, I'm going to have to check you for a tapeworm again, Hagen," Aunt K mutters from her side of the kitchen where she was making tea.

"I–"

"He doesn't have a tapeworm," Nikola snaps before I can reply, sounding unreasonably offended. "Hagen is very healthy."

"Well–"

"I was kidding," she groans, turning just enough to make sure we see the way she rolls her eyes. "Nobody's doubting your ability to take care of your mate. Relax, your mutt is showing, Storm."

"I just zoned out," I say as quickly as I can, cutting Nik off before he and his mom can fall into another argument. I look at Apollos, the only sane Amorenia present, "Nothing is wrong, I promise. This is more than enough."

Apollos grins widely, his worries evaporating as he proudly surveys the feast he'd somehow put together in the time it took Nik and me to shower and dress.

You did a lot more than that - Zyair sings, sounding way too proud. I am proud. I am so so so proud of you! I can not wait for tonightttt!!!

I ignore him just like I ignore the way heat engulfs me at the mere thought of what was supposed to happen tonight. I'd agreed to a kiss, which was already a lot considering what Nikola's kisses did to me, but if it were just that, a kiss, then I'd be fine. But it wasn't just a kiss. When Nikola had coaxed the promise out of me, the look in his eyes said that there would be more than a kiss.

I should've been terrified. I was, but terror wasn't all I felt.

"Everyone grab as much as you can carry and take it out," Apollos instructs with a clap of his hands. Nik and I pick up what's closest to us, while Aunt K tries to sneak off. "You too, Princess."

Groaning, Aunt K makes a show of lifting her pot of tea before she stomps out, leaving behind three food bowls that suddenly lift from the counter to trail behind her like an entourage. Without a lick of magic to my name, I use my hands to pick up a plate stacked with toasts and another brimming with eggs before I follow her out.

Turns out, we were having breakfast on their back deck, a place I'd spotted in the corner of my eye over the years, but I'd never gotten the chance to see up close. It was undeniably gorgeous, and I didn't just mean the home decor shit. The deck led out into the yard slightly so the table at the end of it could be amongst parts of the small garden, but to keep from the cold, it was surrounded by clear glass doors that trapped the heat inside.

Awed, I set my dishes down and peer around, forgetting that I'm not alone until Aunty K says, "Apollos built it."

I fix my wide gaze on her, "He built this? By himself?!"

She nods, smiling a little, "Yeah," then she scowls, "without permission."

"Yeah, but you love it so it doesn't matter," Apollos dismisses as he joins us on the back deck with a grin. Aunty K grumbles something but doesn't deny it, which makes her mate snicker before he explains, "When we were just starting out, she used to complain every time I tried to get her outside— 'it's too hot, Apollos', 'I'm going to freeze to death, Apollos', 'some of us don't have fur, Apollos'."

"I don't," Aunt K protests before she adds, "Thank the Gods."

Apollos ignores her in favour of gesturing to the patio, "This way, I got her to spend time outside with me, without her being able to make excuses."

"I could," she protests lazily. "It just was less stress to go along with you at that point."

"Hmm," Apollos hums while he pulls a chair out for his mate, his gaze on her practically worshipping.

My heart warms at the sight, or maybe that's just all of Zyair's cooing, but I find myself smiling all the same as I reach for my own chair. Except Nikola's already there and pulling it back for me.

"This is the last of it," Nikola reports as his magic sets down the remaining dishes onto the table, but his eyes never part for mine.

I still for a moment, wanting to protest even as butterflies start attacking my insides. I didn't need my chair pulled out for me and I wanted to tell him as much, but a second spent in his hopeful greys is enough to make me swallow my objections and sit down.

I try not to frown too hard as he scoots me in. I knew Nik liked doing shit like that for me, but it was still weird as hell. Usually, I fought him on it, but we weren't alone. Plus, I had agreed to do more stuff like this, hadn't I? Stuff like hand holding and more touching and....

What happened upstairs! — Zyair supplies in a squeal — We agreed to stuff like that!

I ignore Zyair, too annoyed to do anything but frown until a familiar hand passes over my neck, squeezing just a little before it's gone. Digging my fingers into the arms of the chair, I try to keep myself from reacting, from showing just how fucking good that felt as the asshole pulls out the chair beside me and sits down with all his usual elegance.

When Nik glances my way, he looks like he always did: slightly bored, begrudgingly present, but fine. Like he hadn't just done what he'd done. I glare at him and his lips twitch just a little. This son of a bitc—

"Okay, it's all here," Apollos confirms before he finally sits down. "Everyone help yourselves!"

Dragging my gaze back to the table, I force myself to forget about the devil beside me and focus on the task at hand. Apollos was already reaching for the sausages, his eyes hungry. Shit. I grab a plate and try to catch up. Normal people weren't a threat, but I was up against a former warrior here, and I'd seen Apollos fill his plate enough times to know if I wasn't careful, I'd find myself left in the dust.

"So, Hagen," he starts, bright grey eyes focused on me while he claims several pancakes for himself. "How's the human world been treating you?"

I blink, mind suddenly blank, "Uh, it's fine. I've got no complaints."

"You're living amongst humans and you have no complaints?" Aunt K quips while she sips her tea, leaving her magic to pick her food for her.

"They're less trouble than people think," I promise, earning the same look from her I got from anyone supernatural whenever I said that. "They mostly mind their business."

Apollos hums as he looks to his son, "And how's it been for you, trouble?"

"It's fine," Nikola reports as he picks two pieces of toast for himself.

"Come on," Apollos prods. "It's your first time living in a city and it's just 'fine'?"

Nikola wrinkles his nose, considering it for a moment, "It's loud. The humans and all their possessions are loud. You can't see the stars at night and they don't follow their own rules. It's lawless."

"Lawless?" I snort, unable to help it, "It is not lawless."

"The traffic lights."

My smile falls, "Don't even start, Nikola."

My warning falls on deaf ears as Nik abandons the watermelon slices he was reaching for to look at me, "What is the point of having a traffic system if people like you are going to ignore it?"

"Oh. Hagen, you breaking laws out there?" Aunty K asks with sudden interest.

"No, I'm not," I protest but then Nik makes a sound. "I'm not! I just don't wait until the light turns green to cross the road if there are no cars coming."

"Then what's the point of the system?" Nik counters quickly.

"There were no cars coming!" I protest for what has to be the millionth time.

Nik looks back at his father, "Lawlessness."

"I see that," Apollos replies even while he and his mate laugh, clearly amused.

"It's fine," I say with a defeated sigh as I grab some bread for myself. "He makes it sound crazy, but the only real trouble is navigating supernatural territories out there."

Since the human cities were technically human territory, the supernatural creatures that settled there had no real jurisdiction. But people travelled and they were bound to be some number of supernatural that settled there. I heard other cities were different, but for mine, when a certain number of a species ended up in the same area, it became an unofficial zone for them. Most species weren't that strict about it, but I avoided witch territory with a ten-foot pole.

Aunty K hums as she shifts her gaze onto her son, "And how has our Storm been dealing with that?"

"I've had no issues," Nikola reports before I can.

"Well, I asked Hagen, not you," she retorts before she looks my way, raising a brow. "So?"

"He's been good," I promise with an assessing glance at Nik. "He's good with pretty much everything. Surprisingly so, actually."

He scowls, "Surprisingly?"

"Not in a bad way. I just thought maybe something small might mess you up," I tell him with a shrug. "Most wolves leave the pack and the little stuff out there, like elevators, freak them out. I thought that would happen with you."

"Why does it sound like you were disappointed it didn't?" he asks, eyes narrowed.

I have to bite back my smile, "Maybe I was." He scowls dramatically and I laugh. "I'm not going to apologise for that."

Nikola huffs a breath that makes my smile grow even wider, something I don't notice until I look back up and find two amused pairs of eyes focused on us. Shit.

"What about you guys?" I ask hastily. "What's been going on in the pack?"

The pair share a glance, "Same ol', same ol'. If anything big happened, we wouldn't know."

Apollos nods, "You know we spend most of our days here. Nothing has changed. Well, except for a single outing that I had to negotiate for."

"Yeah, yeah," Aunty K mocks while flipping off her grinning mate.

"You guys didn't have a celebration? Take a vacation?" I ask, baffled, but they just stare back at me confused. "Nikola moved out." I remind them. "Every time one of us moves out, the old man throws a party."

"Yeah, if I had five kids, I'd do the same," Aunty K states and her mate nods readily. "But we only have the one." When she looks at Nik, her gaze softens considerably, "Just our Nik."

Nik stops eating to look up, freezing when he spots us all looking at him as though he hadn't been following the conversation. Chewing slowly, he looks between his parents, as if surveying their moods.

"I've missed you," he states a little awkwardly. "I miss your company every day."

The pair stare at Nik with what I could tell is barely-contained joy, but they manage to keep it under the surface.

"We've missed you too, trouble," Apollos replies, voice a little thick.

Nik makes a face, "That is obvious."

Again, they laugh between themselves, and I can't help but join in. Nik just blinks at us before he shakes his head and goes back to eating. It's a reminder that I strangely hadn't taken more than a bite of my food yet.

Ducking my head, I get to work. Apollos had made a bit of everything: pancakes, eggs, toast, some kind of yogurt bowl, a fruit platter, sausages, bacon, and even little sandwiches, and I was determined to have as much as I could.

"What's it been like? Living together?" I hear Aunty K say, making me freeze.

"Fine," Nikola replies smoothly.

I should've stayed looking at my plate, cause the second we make eye contact, Aunty K pounces on me. "Hagen?"

"Yeah?" Maybe playing dumb would work.

Playing dumb only works for me cause I'm cute — Zyair supplies unhelpfully.

"How has living with Nik been?" she asks, but it's not like how my dads ask it, wiggling their brows and snickering like idiots. It's just a question.

"Uh-" I think of the rules and then the subsequent breaking of said rules, me practically humping Nik's side of the bed to get more of his scent, and then our meltdown on the counter. "Fine."

"Fine," Aunt K repeats as she eyes me. "You've been living with Nikola and his routines for weeks, and it's just been fine."

"Yeah," I shrug. "All I really have to do is put things back when I'm done using them."

"And you manage to put back every fork where you found it?" she challenges. "Every single fork, Hagen?"

I can't help but snort and Nikola glares at me as if I'd betrayed him, "You said I wasn't troubling you."

"You're not," I promise before he could stress himself out. "I honestly don't mind the evening checklist." Nikola eyes me just like his mom, like he doesn't believe me. Then he looks down at his plate with a frown that does stupid things to my heart. "He's honestly fine. My place is in top shape because of him. Nikola's easy to live with."

"So are you," Nik supplies earnestly before he focuses his attention on his parents to give an unfiltered report. "Hagen is easy to live with. He's conscious of his actions, he's kind and understanding, and he makes me look forward to waking up every day."

My face fucking burns while Nik's parents stare pointedly at me instead of their son who'd just sprouted the sweetest shit, and was acting like it was nothing. I didn't know how he did that– how he just said things without any nervousness or second thoughts, but every time he did, it unwound some part of me, and made my body ache to be closer to him.

"Um," I clear my throat, trying to remember how to put words together to form proper sentences. "I- thanks, and y-you're easy to live with too, like I said. It's fine. We're fine."

I swear, I could fry an egg on my fucking face.

"Alright. That's good. That's... very good," Aunty Kat says firmly, her body relaxing enough for me to realise it was tense before.

I'd thought she was just prodding to find info she could report back to her bestie, a.k.a. my annoying ass old man, but maybe she'd really been worried that Nik hadn't been adjusting well with me.

It wasn't that hard to imagine. Nik did have some odd habits, but they weren't anything that bothered me. Maybe that was the bond or maybe we just worked like that, but living with Nikola hadn't made my life any harder in that respect.

"And how've things been since you put a pause on university?" Apollos asks with the same easy smile he'd been sporting since he answered the door. "You're taking a year to try new things, right?"

I freeze, the food on my tongue suddenly heavy. I glance at Nikola but he shakes his head before I can ask.

"Oh, you're old man mentioned it," Apollos fills in, looking a little sheepish. "He only mentioned you were taking some time to try new things."

I feel myself relax quickly. I hadn't exactly gone about sharing that I was taking time off. It was embarrassing enough that I was still technically a first-year student when I should've been graduating. Added to that, the fact that most wolves thought I should just stay in the pack, and it just wasn't a subject I liked talking about.

I force a nod, "Uh yeah. I mean, I tried to university route, but it hasn't really been working out for me, so taking a step back seemed like the best move. I finalised my notice for leave last week, so now, I guess I just have to start actually trying shit."

Apollos laughs and it's one of those laughs that scream 'I know exactly what you mean'. I must've reacted in some way because he doesn't hesitate to explain, "I tried the university route too. It wasn't as common for wolves to do then as it is nowadays, but I thought that some kind of extra knowledge or skill might come in handy before starting my duties as a pack warrior."

"And it didn't?"

"Well, I mean, I lasted a month so," he grins and I can't help but return it. "It just wasn't for me. But I tried at least. Sometimes that's all you can do– give it a shot so you never have to wonder what would've happened if you had?"

"Yeah," I mumble, but it's not nearly as sure as his words.

"I think it's impressive that you're doing the same– trying," he supplies with nothing but sincerity when I meet his eyes. "And not just that– you're not giving up. It's one thing to try, it's another thing to not give up. That's a skill in itself."

It's embarrassing as hell, but his words leave me swallowing down the lump that suddenly forms in my throat.

Usually, when people heard of my constant trials and errors at university, they just told me to 'give up' or 'stop wasting my time'. Barely anyone told me to keep going, or even realised how hard it was to keep trying, but Apollos had, and it felt good to not feel like an idiot for still trying.

"Thanks, " I manage, my gaze down on my food as I hastily stuff my mouth with what's left so I don't have to speak.

I feel Nik's gaze on me, but I don't meet it. If I looked at him now and he was being nice and shit, I would react, and I didn't need my first breakfast with his parents to become a Hagen breakdown session.

If he noticed how hard his words hit me, Apollos ignores it completely, "What do you plan to try first?"

I chew quickly, trying desperately to think of some of the stuff I had talked about with Nik, but my mind goes completely blank.

"We have a tapestry class this week," Nikola reveals to his parents, and to me.

"We do?" I ask, trying to catch his gaze so he could see the 'what the fuck' in my eyes, but Nikola's attention remains fixed on the sausages he was cutting into pieces.

"We do," he confirms. "It's called 'Zen Weaving'. It'll be a chance to learn a new skill, but also relax— that's what the class description said. I thought you'd appreciate the skill aspect and some cultural insight since the instructor is Japanese."

I did. I wasn't one hundred per cent sure what 'tapestry' was, but we'd be weaving it apparently, so that sounded cool. Plus anything paired with 'relaxing' was enough for me.

"Zen weaving," Aunty K repeats with a shudder and a shake of her head. "The name alone pisses me off."

"That's because anything remotely nice irks you, Princess," Apollos replies with a kind smile. "But that sounds interesting, Nikola. I hope you both have a good time. I want pictures of what you make after."

"Sure," Nik replies, his attention still on his plate.

"Make sure to set a Google Alert," Aunty K quips, making her son freeze long enough to glare up at her. She beams, "I'm just teasing, trouble."

Nikola hums and goes back to his food.

"Maybe we should do zen tapestry," Apollos comments thoughtfully, looking genuinely intrigued.

"I'd literally kill myself, Apollos."

"Well, okay," Apollos says before he looks over at me. "I hope it's a success for you two, but—" he hesitates for a moment, "if you're still looking for something to try after that, what about being a pack warrior?"

I look pointedly between his and Nikola's builds, "Yeah, I don't really think I'm cut out for that."

"It's not all manual labour," he dismisses quickly, with the type of tone that said it wasn't the first time he'd had to say that. "Yeah, you got to do the training to make sure you can face any situation you're put in, but that's just a part of it. Most of my time as a pack warrior was spent in different pockets of the supernatural world, sorting out things for the pack and our species as a whole."

"He speaks over fifteen languages, and he is annoyingly informed about everything," Aunt K supplies as she stabs a chunk of pineapple with her fork. "Good at shit the most random things too," she says with a gesture towards the deck.

Fuck the deck. "Fifteen?" I baulk, eyes widening. I had two under my belt not including English, but not fifteen!

"Most of them are daughter languages of another, " Apollos says with a shrug as if it were nothing, when it very much was something.

"Still," I insist. "Fifteen?"

Another shrug, "I spent a lot of time out there trying to understand how different people and species as a whole worked. I just picked it up as I went, like you do with knowledge and skills. So, if you are interested, don't let the other stuff scare you off."

"Okay," I agree, glancing at Nik who only looks up to give me a little nod. I turn back to Apollos with a wide grin, "Do you think the pack would let me try it out at some point?"

"Probably not. They take that shit seriously," I slump. "But... I can give you a 'day in the life of a pack warrior' test run if you want. It could be a like a day or a week, but it would give you a taste of it."

"Holy shit, really?" I ask, perking up quickly.

"Yeah. You won't find any current warriors with the time, and I'm retired and living happily off of my mate," he supplies with a wink to said mate who just keeps eating. "I don't have shit to do."

"Okay, yeah," I agree quickly, my smile impossibly wide now.

I hadn't really sat down and planned out anything since I'd take the time off, but now I apparently had two things to start with, and that was better than nothing.

We finish off breakfast with small talk about the little things we've done, like our breakfasts and trips out, things that make them smile and relax as they realise that their son isn't in any danger.

It was sweet, really, the way they fretted over him while trying to act like they weren't. Nikola didn't notice it, or didn't care, but that was just Nikola. He's always been infuriatingly independent and confident, but that didn't change the fact that he had two parents who'd worry over him for the rest of their days.

When all the dishes are scraped clean, and everyone's so full that exhaustion starts to creep in, Apollos stands as if to clear up, but I beat him to it.

"Hagen, you don't have to do that," he tries, but I swat his hands away.

"It's fine," I promise as I start stacking the dishes. "You guys relax. Nik and I will handle it."

Nikola, who had sunken back in his chair enough that his limbs were hanging over the edges, looks up at me in protest, but when I shoot him a glare, he sighs and starts gathering them as well.

While Aunt K and Apollos stay happily seated, Nik and I make trips to and from the kitchen until all the dishes are stacked beside the sink.

I grab a sponge and soap, causing Nik to release a slightly horrified sound, "We are not washing the dishes."

I open my mouth, ready to argue, but then he pops open a hidden dishwasher, "Oh." He smiles a little too widely and I pretend my skin doesn't heat slightly. "Thanks."

Nik hums as he props a hip against the counter, silently watching as I load the dishes in one by one. "Did you enjoy breakfast?"

"Yeah, it was fun," I reply truthfully. "But now, I'm so full, I feel like I could pass out."

"They probably will," he replies, shaking his head as he looks out to the patio. "They always eat too much, and then they're useless for the rest of the day."

"You make it sound like a bad thing," it sounded like the fucking dream to me.

"It's not," he admits as he draws his gaze back to me. "Especially not today."

The plate in my hand slips through my fingers but I manage to catch it before it could fall. Nik had only said a few words, but somehow they were enough to shift something in the space between us, returning it to the heated thing it'd been in his room.

"Hmm," I hum as nonchalantly as I can manage while I keep stacking the dishes, refusing to meet his gaze, "Why do you say that?"

"You know why," Nikola replies, voice dropping into the strained thing that made my skin suddenly feel too tight for my body.

I don't reply, choosing to simply get the dishes in since that's what I came here to do. In fact, Nik wasn't even here. He was just a mirage. A very tempting mirage that was calling to me like I was really thirsting in some desert, but nope.

Not today, Satan.

My efforts don't matter though, because soon enough, Nik pushes off the counter and moves towards me. I act like I don't notice, but when he slips into the space beside me, I stop breathing. His heat surrounds me like a second skin, pouring over me until it's all I can feel. I bite my lip, determined not to react, but then he's leaning in close and my brain forgets how to function.

"Stop it," I warn, but I can barely hear myself.

"Stop what?" he asks as his hand slides over my hip.

Turning, I slap it away, "That!" I say, pointing at the offending hand. "And this," I say, gesturing to the little space left between us. "Stop it."

If Nik hears me, he doesn't show it, because his gaze remains fixed on his hand. Maybe I'd hit him too hard, but he didn't look upset. If anything, his grey eyes were darkening in a way that was anything but angry.

"We should leave," he states, voice like gravel as he finally looks back up at me.

Hagen! — Zyair all but screams as he runs circles in my head— Say thank you, Goddess, because he's going to fucking destroy you!

I wanted to say he was ove- exaggerating, as per usual, or seeing what his horny eyes wanted to see, but he wasn't. The look in Nik's eyes said the moment he got me alone, whatever wall he was currently keeping his desires behind would break, and there would be no holding him back.

"I'm doing the dishes," I reply, reaching for the next plate, but magic snatches it from my fingers. In a smooth rotation, all the pans, bowls and plates lift, filling into the dishwasher one after the other. A tab of soap is the last to join before the door shuts with a click.

"They're done," Nikola grunts as the machine starts rumbling. I glare at him, but he doesn't even flinch, "Let's go, Hagen."

"No. I want to stay longer."

I didn't. In fact, I think I wanted to get back to my place to see what happened when Nikola wasn't holding back, which was weird as fuck, but that wasn't the point right now. The point was, I was saying no because... well, I didn't even know why.

"Hagen." It's a warning in the form of a low rumble that makes a shiver race up my spine so quickly, my toes curl.

"I want to stay," I repeat, pushing past him to head back outside.

My breaths are barely there as I walk, and they get even shorter as Nikola's magic follows after me, just an inch away, as if it was going to wrap around me and drag me back to him. I feel dizzy at the thought, waiting for the moment it would catch me, but it retracts when Apollos suddenly appears in the hallway in front of me.

"Oh, sorry, Hagen" he steps back with a laugh. "I was going to make sure you didn't try to wash everything, but I can hear the dishwasher."

"Yeah, Nik helped me with it," that was one way to put it. "I was just coming back out."

"Well, we were going to move into the Athenaeum– want to join?" Apollos asks with a thumb over his shoulder.

My eyes bulge, "Wait, seriously?"

The Amorenia Library was literally the biggest personal collection of grimoires in the world. Their worth alone made them possibly the wealthiest supernatural family, but they never traded them. In fact, they rarely let outsiders inside. The only people with a pass were Mekhi and Jacob, and Damon and Will said they'd been there once, when Aunty K had been helping out Mekhi, but I didn't believe them.

"Seriously," Apollos confirms eagerly. "I can give you a tour. That is if you guys aren't planning to run off yet."

"We aren't," I reply just as a voice behind me says, "We are."

I turn, meeting Nikola's fixed gaze and the fire still blazing in them that makes my mouth dry.

"No?" Apollos asks, looking between us with a confused expression.

"No."
"Yes."

I glare at Nik, but he glares right back, his body tensing like he's a second from dragging me to his side.

"Alright, alright," Apollos breathes as if to subdue the flames roaring between us. "You guys have a little talk about your plan for the day. Nik, your mom and I are in the Athenaeum. You guys are invited to join, but if you don't come, we'll know you left."

With that, Apollos turns and leaves the way he came. Nik doesn't move at first, but the second Apollos is out of earshot, he's right in front of me. Any distance that had been between us is gone now as he takes hold of my hips and pulls me to him.

I suck in a breath, eyes going wide as his nails dig into my skin. Shuddering, I grip his hands to push them away, but I can't; my fingers suddenly too weak to do anything other than cling to his.

"What are you doing?" he asks in clipped bites rather than words. "You don't want to stay," he states firmly like it's a fact, which it was, but I wasn't about to admit that.

"I do," I reply stubbornly despite the way our bond burns between us, sparkling like it was about to explode.

Nikola groans, the sound like something tortured, "Why are you doing this, Hagen?"

"I am not doing anything," I protest as I cling to his hold on me, the only thing keeping me standing. "I'm just trying to spend the day with your parents, like we agreed."

"We weren't ever going to spend the entire day," Nikola declares like that's another fact. "We were going to have breakfast, and then I was going to take you back to your apartment and—"

Nik doesn't finish, his words forgotten as his attention drops to the way I was biting my lip. His jaw clenches before he reaches up to pull my lip free from my teeth.

"Stop that," he mumbles, sounding drunk.

The second his fingers slip away, my teeth are digging back in. I don't do it on purpose, but it's like my body wants to revolt in all the little ways it can.

Nikola growls, pulling it free again and my body vibrates with need, leaning into him as though I'm the one that's drunk. Our breaths are short as he swipes his fingers over my lips, watching closely as if hypnotized.

"Let me take you back," Nik whispers, voice a gravelled mess that makes my knees weak.

"No," I reply in the same whisper.

Nikola's gaze flicks back up to mine, but this time, it's full of irritation that makes lust surge inside of me as his finger tightens on my lips.

"You want me, too," he says slowly and quietly, as if he was trying to convince me of what we both already knew. I don't reply. "You want to leave with me, so why are you being so difficult?" I don't say a word, and for a moment, we're just staring at one another before Nik tilts his head slightly, something flashing. "Oh."

I frown, "Oh, what?"

Nikola doesn't reply, his gaze travelling all over my face as if he's seeing something new.

"Oh, what?" I repeat, pulling back enough that his fingers are no longer pushing against my lips.

He looks at me as though deciding whether or not to tell me a secret, "You like being stubborn. You want to drag this out."

I pause, staring at him blankly before I laugh, "I don't— I don't want... that."

"No?" he asks, gaze assessing. "You don't?"

"I don't," I confirm, but that only makes Nikola smile.

"I think you do, Hagen," Nikola says as if that were the only possible truth. "I think you do because you know how much I want you right now— how hard it has been to hold back with you already... to not just—" his magic flares around me, digging its claws into my inner thighs, like a cruel touch that makes me squeak.

I try to pull back but Nikola doesn't let me. He keeps me tight against him while he studies me calmly, like a puzzle, "What I don't understand is whether you're doing this because you're afraid of me—"

"I'm not afraid of you," I cut in a little defensively and a little desperately, too. I wasn't afraid of Nik, not anymore, and I didn't want him thinking even for a second that I might be. "I am not afraid of you, Nikola."

Nik pauses, his body perfectly still before his smile grows even wider, "Or... if you simply want to resist me— if you like it."

"I do not—" I take a deep breath. "I don't like it. I just don't want to leave right now."

"Hmm," he hums, his thumb swiping over my lips with care. "I thought you wanted to take things slow."

"I do," I snap, pushing from him but I only make it a step back before he's driving me against the wall and snatching the air from my lungs. My heart lurches, "Nik-"

"The library is spelled and I put a barrier around us– they won't hear a thing," he reassures me quickly. I relax in an instant, all the panic gushing out of me, when I should've been doing the opposite. "Now, look at me," my eyes are on his immediately, and his darkens with satisfaction. "The longer this goes on, the more I want you, Hagen."

"O-Okay, that's not my fault," I reply, trying to move back, but there is nowhere else to go. There's no way to escape Nik's thigh as he pushes it between my legs, driving it up until I'm breathless. "Nik."

"Do you want me desperate for you, Hagen?" he whispers against my ear, and my eyes roll.

"I never said that!" I protest, forcing my hands up so I can shove him back, but he catches my wrists and keeps them caged at my sides.

"Then let's leave, now," he growls, eyes focused on mine. "Let's leave so I can kiss you until you're all I can taste on my tongue for days."

I close my eyes and swallow, trying to get a handle on myself, but it's impossible with Nik right here and everywhere.

"I-" Breathe, Hagen. I force my eyes open, "I just said I wanted to stay a little longer, and you went off the fucking rails. I never said I wanted you d-desperate."

"We stay any longer and I will be, Hagen," Nikola warns, his voice strained as his eyes flash, going from grey to purple. My body vibrates at the site, lighting up with foreign excitement as Nikola stares at me.

Fuck, was he right?!! Did I want him desperate?!?!?

I didn't think so, but now he looked like he was balancing on the fine line of perfection he always seemed to manage. Eyes blazing, jaw clenched. He was fraying and I... liked it. Holy fuck.

I hear my heart pounding in my ears, feel my dick aching between my legs, but I don't dare move an inch other than to take a deep breath.

"I don't want you desperate. I don't want to resist you or be stubborn," I say slowly, my eyes never leaving his, as if I wasn't blatantly harbouring a mouth full of lies. "I just thought it'd be nice to stay a little longer."

Nikola's gaze flares again and I feel the threat of his magic— of him, like something barely contained that was about to turn me inside out, until there was nothing left but him and all the ways he'd change me. That shouldn't excite me as much as it does. It really shouldn't.

For a moment, I don't know what he's about to do. If he'll keep arguing or if he might get angry and blame me some more, but then he smiles.

Nikola smiles. It's not one of his sweet smiles he shows me in the mornings, the nervous ones like he thinks he'll get in trouble for being there. It's one of his other smiles, the knowing ones he reserved for when he knew he had me, when he'd gained something new between us.

Nikola smiles as he looks me up and down very slowly, his eyes glowing grey now instead of their purple hue, the weight of his lust unmistakable. "Very well. My mistake."

—---------------------

I feel like I'm supposed to say 'let the games behind' but they've already started with these two bitches ahhhhhhhhhhh

Thoughts?!?!?!?!?

Thoughts on the Amorenia breakfast?? On Hagen being a little brat?? On Nik slowly losing it.

Ugh God, y'all aint ready for the next chapter. It's been a long time coming but fuck YOU AINT READY!!!

Please remember to comment, vote if you enjoyed and let me know your thoughts as you carry on