To Love an Incubus

Chapter 46; Working Together Once Again

I woke up in Dorrian's bed in a cold sweat. My whole body felt as if it had been shoved in a bucket of ice water, my shirt was slick with sweat.

The dream had been reoccurring; the same cold hand reaching out for me, telling me-promising me-that it would have me. I shuddered and slipped out of Dorrian's embrace, immediately he grabs for me. I take my pillow and put it in his arms; he settles.

I tip-toe to the upstairs bathroom, just a door down from Dorrian's and go to slip inside when someone's hand encases my own, I jump and pin the attacker to the wall. I am able to easily recognize Victoria in the darkness. I release my grip and step away, clearing my throat and hoping to clear the awkwardness away as well.

"Sorry, didn't know you were there." She only nods and examines me, squinting as she picked at my brain.

"You've been having visions. Someone's reaching out to you," she says, her eyes dazed.

"News to me," I try, shrugging to seem nonchalant.

"Brush me off, Auric, you'll wish you had listened to me. Trouble follows you and your silence will be what kills you and your mate," I try to disguise the way my heart beat raced and hammered against my rib cage, but I'm sure she knew. It always happened when there was a threat to Dorrian, even the smallest things. My body immediately reacted to the threat and pumped adrenaline through me.

"I only want to know what it means, if it means anything, before making a big deal out of it," I explain. Victoria clicks her tongue and shakes her head, the darkness making her look dangerous. Witches seemed by far the most dangerous species I've encountered. They were cunning and direct. While everyone else fought for survival, they fought for knowledge and power. I'll play.

"You want to see Melik," I stated rather than questioned. She looked pleased with my direction of conversation.

"I do," she said. I leaned against the doorframe and she stood still, observing me, always observing.

"Then why don't you? I'm sure you know where he is, maybe even why he's here, what he's doing," I ranted. Her fingered twitched, maybe she didn't know. Maybe the witch's knowledge had finally come up short.

"He has someone blocking his location. Something's going on, I can feel it," she says. I know what she wants.

"Last time we worked together, Dorrian got mad, like really mad," I gestured to the mark. Victoria bit her lip.

"Only because you told him," Victoria said, bordering on a whine.

"You let him come," I argued. Even though it didn't feel like a real argument, hot anger still bubbled inside of me. My demon didn't like Victoria, with good reason. She was the one who suppressed him.

"It will be different this time. You won't end up in Hell and you'll stay in the same dimension as your wolf, I don't see the problem," she chides. I shrugged, eyeing the floor for a few silent moments.

"We will check it out, that's it. We will look into where he's staying, why he's here, and what's going on," I told her, only because I had already agreed to do just that with Dorrian.

"Yes. And I'll look into who is trying to reach you and why. I can't tell, they're strong and have their presence in your head extremely closed off and hidden. We will need to do sessions," Victoria informs me, her tone lighter.

"Session?" I asked, but she was already shutting her door behind her. I shook my head as if to shake off the conversation before walking into the bathroom and taking a shower.

"You're up early," Dorrian observes from his spot in the bed. I continue my search through his dresser.

"I need to leave clothes here," I mumbled.

"You do," he agrees. He shuffles out of bed and stands behind me, reaching around to grab a shirt and a pair of pants. He kisses my neck before putting the clothes on. "Don't forget training starts soon," he reminds me. I nod.

"Great. Yep. Torture your mate with extreme physical exertion," I tease, finally landing on a plain black t-shirt and black joggers. Dorrian snorts at my commentary, but his humor dissipates as I put on his clothes, a different look takes its place.

"I love when you wear my clothes," he murmurs, only giving me enough time to finish dressing before engulfing me in his arms.

"Your wolf is showing, babe," I replied. Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I was sure that there would be a soft glow to them. I don't miss the way his arms tighten around me at my use of the pet-name.

Dorrian's neck comes into my view as he pulls away, an urge to bite the soft skin takes root. I sink my teeth into my lip instead, drawing blood and focusing on the small twinge of pain.

"You're bleeding," Dorrian says, scowling and giving me a once over before landing on my mouth. He reaches up and lightly tugs my lip out of my teeth. I can tell by the way he examines me that my fangs are out.

"It will never not be weird that you can smell my blood," I say, only partly joking. Dorrian frowns.

"What's wrong?" He asks, and I hate that he does because I don't want to tell him, but I know that I also can't not tell him that I want to bite him to the point where my teeth ache. Even though I was on good terms with my demon, I still hated this part of myself. These moments made me feel more like a demon than any others.

Dorrian awaits my response, his arms still circling my waist and his eyes still watching my own. I don't know how to respond.

"You know I won't ever judge you, right?" He asks, running his hand through my tangly mess of hair, smoothing it. I nod, but how do you really know these things? Sure, people can always tell you what you want to hear, but who's to say it's what they feel?

"It's just a demon thing, I guess," I try to dismiss. I avoid his eyes and neck at all costs, focusing on the wall behind him instead.

"What kind of demon thing?" He asks.

"It's stupid," I said, trying to deter him. "We should get ready for training. I have to go home after and stop by Willow's. I want to catch up and ask about Vincent."

"We have a few minutes, yet. I'm sure it's not stupid, especially if it has you this worked up, just tell me." I groan and throw my head back, frustrated that he wouldn't just drop it.

Dorrian cups the side of my face and nudges me to look at him, which also makes me catch a glimpse of his neck. The urge to bite strengthening causing my teeth to throb painfully. I feel sweat prickle my skin as I try to resist. I grind my teeth together. The space where his skin touched my own warmed and tingled slightly.

"It's hard to explain, I just have this-fuck," I close my eyes to try to block everything out. It doesn't work. I close them tighter.

"Auric, tell me what's going on," Dorrian says, a little more demanding than the previous attempts. I bite my lip again and rest my forehead on Dorrian's chest, inhaling his scent to try to calm my demon. I take deep breaths and my nerves calm, but only slightly.

"My demon wants to bite you, but it's different than just feeding that way. It's possessive and intense," I tell him. Dorrian's hands rub circles on the small of my back.

"Okay? It might be a mark thing. I'm not sure if demons have the same marking system and us, but I mean, how different can it be? I marked you, it would be wrong of me not to let you mark me."

I shake my head, "no, it's weird and degrading." Dorrian chuckles.

"It's not degrading, Auric. It's what we do. In fact, I would love it if you marked me, lets me know that you feel the same way." I glance up to only see reassurance and care in Dorrian's eyes. I cover his lips with my own and allow myself to get carried away with his affections, but when I move down and start kissing his neck, I pull away. Dorrian groans.

"No. I won't do it," I state, making my words seem final. "Let's go to training. I want to get going," I tell him. He sighs in response, but follows me out the door, not commenting on my refusal to mark him.