After that... Well, 'revelation,' I left the bathroom with my head spinning and my legs feeling like jelly. The corridor outside seemed to stretch forever, the polished obsidian floor reflecting the dim crimson light in dizzying patterns. My body ached in ways I didn't know were possible, a deep, pleasant soreness that served as a constant reminder of Beatrice's claim. And damn, she fucked me one more time before I was allowed to leave the bathroom.
"Wife or not, you must earn your keep, no favoritism," she said with that infuriatingly calm smile. A brothel runs on services, after all, and her services... are in high demand.
By the time I stumbled out into the hall, my hair still damp and sticking to my skin, I felt like I had been chewed up and spat out by a divine beast. Every step sent tiny aftershocks through my legs. I could still feel her mark thrumming under my skin like an ember refusing to die.
"Took you long enough, Aza." Eva's voice snapped me out of my daze.
She was there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, her tail twitching with a mix of impatience and... something else. She wasn't looking at my face. Her eyes were scanning my body, her nostrils flared as if she could smell Beatrice all over me. Then she dashed toward me and mounted my shoulder, her eyes locked to my neck, where Beatrice's mark was.
"THAT... BITCH!!!" she snarled, her voice a low growl of pure, unadulterated fury. She didn't touch it, but the look in her eyes was enough to make the spot throb in response. "She couldn't wait for a few more days to mark you!"
"Eva, calm down—"
"Calm down?!" she snapped, her voice cutting through the corridor like a whip. "Do you even know what that mark means?"
Her tail lashed the air behind her, sharp and fast. I could almost feel the heat rolling off her body—fury mixed with jealousy, maybe even heartbreak. Her eyes glowed faintly purple, and for a second, I thought she might actually attack me just to erase the damn thing from my skin.
"I… have no idea." I swallowed hard. Lying, of course.
"..." She kept staring at me, clearly not buying my dumb lie.
"You're a shitty liar, Aza," she growled, her voice low and dangerous. Her gaze flicked back to the mark on my neck, and her lips curled into a sneer.
"You reek of her. You think I can't smell it? Can't feel it? That mark isn't just some cute little love bite. It's a fucking claim. A chain. And now you're hers in ways I can't even—" She cut herself off, her voice cracking with something raw, something I hadn't expected from her. Pain.
"Sigh..." I shifted uncomfortably, the ache in my body still pulsing with every word she spoke. The corridor felt tighter now, the crimson light casting harsh shadows across her face. "Eva, I didn't ask for this, okay? It just… happened."
"Happened?!" She barked out a bitter laugh, stepping even closer until I could feel the heat of her breath on my skin. Her hands shot out, grabbing my shoulders, her grip tight enough to make me wince.
"Mother Beatrice doesn't do accidents, Aza. She's a royal succubus. Everything she does is calculated. That mark? It means you're not just her plaything. You're her property. Her mate. And I—" Her voice faltered again, her claws digging into my skin just shy of breaking it. "I thought I had a chance."
Her words hit harder than I expected, a weird pang twisting in my chest. I didn't know what to say. Hell, I barely understood what was happening to me, let alone how to navigate Eva's feelings. My arms instinctively wrapped around her, pulling her closer. Her body was rigid, trembling with a fury that was barely contained.
For a moment, she didn't move. Just… breathed. Hot, uneven breaths against my neck. Her claws relaxed slightly, sliding down my shoulders until her fingers pressed against my chest, her pulse syncing with mine.
"You don't get it," she whispered, her voice shaking. "You weren't supposed to be hers. You were supposed to be mine."
"!!!" Her words hit like a blade between my ribs. I froze, my mind spinning.
"Eva…"
She pulled back just enough to look at me, her violet eyes shimmering with emotion she was trying—and failing—to hide.
"You think I wanted you just for one night?! Or wanted to play house?! Do you think that I was joking when I said that I love you?"
"I…" I opened my mouth, but no words came out. All I could do was stare at her—at the raw, desperate look in her eyes, at the way her lower lip trembled just slightly, at the anger warring with something far more vulnerable.
"I love you, Azariel," she said again, her voice cracking. "All I wanted was for you to be mine... all mine."
"And now that… bitch… took that from me." She swallowed hard, her gaze dropping to my neck again, to the mark that blazed like a brand on my skin. "She goes and shoves her way between us."
Her voice broke near the end, that hard edge of anger crumbling into something painfully human. Her hands, which had been clutching my chest, trembled.
"She always does this… takes what she wants and leaves the rest of us picking up the pieces."
"Eva…" I started, my throat tightening.
I realized that I didn't like this side of Eva. The weak, vulnerable side. I preferred the smug, teasing little vixen who drove me crazy with her smirk and smart mouth—the one who always had the upper hand. Seeing her like this… it made something twist inside me. Guilt, maybe. Or pity. I wasn't sure which, but I hated both.
"Eva…" I said softly, trying to pull her closer, but she shoved me back—not hard, just enough to make her point. Her purple eyes shimmered under the crimson glow, glistening with unshed tears she refused to let fall.
"Don't," she said sharply. "Don't look at me like that. Like I'm some wounded little beast you need to comfort. I don't need your pity, Aza."
"I'm not pitying you," I said quietly. "I just—"
"Just what?" she interrupted, her tail snapping behind her, the tip coiling like a serpent ready to strike. "Are you going to tell me it wasn't your fault? That she forced you? That you had no choice?"
I hesitated, my mouth opening, but no words coming out.
That was all the answer she needed.
"That's what I thought." She turned her head away, biting her lip until I saw a faint glint of blood. "You could've said no, Aza. You should've said no... Now I have to share you with her."
Her voice was raw, stripped of its usual teasing confidence. And damn it, she was right. I could've fought back harder, could've resisted. The truth was, I hadn't wanted to. Not really. A part of me had craved it—craved the power, the pleasure, the sheer overwhelming dominance Beatrice offered. And admitting that, even to myself, made me feel like a traitor.
'How should I fix this?' I wondered, my mind racing, and surprisingly, I received a reply from an unexpected source.
Ding!
[Just express your true feelings, Azariel]
My system, that long-forgotten thing, actually took the initiative to respond to me. I was surprised by that and wanted to say something like 'where were you for the past weeks,' but I let it slide.
"Eva, look at me," I said, my voice firm but soft.
I reached out, gently cupping her chin and turning her face back toward mine. Her violet eyes were wide, shimmering with unshed tears she refused to let fall. The mark on my neck throbbed, a reminder of the mess we were in, but I forced myself to focus on her—on the girl who had claimed me first, who had seen me not just as a body, but as something more.
A partner for life. A wife.
"I'm not going to lie to you," I said, my thumb brushing away a stray tear that finally escaped. "What happened with Beatrice… It was intense. Overwhelming. A part of me got lost in it, got swept away by her power and… by the pleasure."
I paused, letting the admission hang between us. The corridor was silent except for the faint hum of magic touches and our ragged breaths.
"But," I continued, my voice dropping to a near-whisper, "that's all it was. Pleasure. Power. A physical connection that blotted out everything else. What I have with you… That's different. That's real."
Eva's breath hitched, her body tensing under my touch.
"I was alone before you, Eva. Truly alone. I had no one. I was a ghost, just existing. Then I met you, and for the first time… I felt seen. I felt wanted. Not just for my body or my power, but for… me. The mess, the confusion, the fucked-up honesty… You took all of it and didn't run."
My heart hammered in my chest, each word feeling like a risk, a leap of faith into the darkness between us.
"..." Eva stared at me, silent. Her pupils trembled, shrinking and expanding like twin stars flickering underwater. Her tail, which had been twitching restlessly a moment ago, went still.
"You really mean that?" she whispered.
"Every word," I said. My thumb lingered on her cheek, tracing the faint warmth of her skin. "I know it's hard to believe, especially after what just happened… but what I feel for you isn't something that can be erased by one glorious sex, no matter how powerful she is."
Her eyes widened, and for the first time since I stepped out of that damn bathroom, she looked genuinely unsure. It was almost funny—the same succubus girl who once shoved a whole damn corpse up my pussy without hesitation now looked like she was afraid to breathe wrong.
"I love you, Evangeline," I leaned closer, pressing my forehead against hers. "You're fire, Eva. Wild, unpredictable, and way too much for me sometimes. But you're mine, just like I'm yours. That's the truth."
"Aza~....You idiot." She inhaled sharply, her tail flicking once before it wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer. "Why must you be so damn... honest."
She was still shaking, but the anger was gone, replaced by something soft and trembling. Something vulnerable. Something that made me want to hold her and never let go.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "For acting like a… like a child. For losing control. I just… when I saw that mark… I thought I'd lost you."
"So… you're not going to bite me, right?" I smiled faintly. "Because I think I've had enough of that for one day."
"Hehehe." Eva let out a watery laugh, her shoulders shaking as she buried her face in my chest. "Maybe just a little."