Darius stumbled against a wall, pressing into it for support. His whole body ached. Normally he’d begin healing right away, but he hadn’t fed tonight.

Gods, he had been such a fool to attack Tane. Now he’d never have a chance with Kat. She clearly favored warriors; fighters.

No matter how much you wish it to be true, you are not a warrior. You will never be able to defeat Tane in combat. This hostility between you two must cease. Your actions reflect poorly on my household, poorly on me. Do not risk your high standing over something so frivolous.

Those were the Lord General’s words the last time they fought. And no doubt he’d be hearing something similar soon. That is if the general didn’t kick him from the house right away.

Darius’ soavik cramped inside him and his cock throbbed with the desire to feed. He ignored it and pounded on one of the many doors that lined the otherwise empty hallway. No guards patrolled this particular area to give the illusion of discretion. Of course, the guards would be here in a fraction of a second if they were needed.

The door crept open.

A gaunt male incubus’ eyes widened when he saw Darius, and he fell to his left knee and bowed his head. “My lord, how may I serve you?”

“Get up.” Darius stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. “I need some curb.”

The thin incubus said nothing for a moment, seemingly still shocked. Darius himself had never gone to the dealer before; he always sent a servant if a guest was in need of some drug.

“I’m not sure what you think—”

Darius’ eyes flared from brown to blue. “If you deny what you do here, I’ll have you tossed out of Ashwood and make sure no other house takes you in.”

The dealer swallowed and nodded. “You need some vamp blood too? You look like…you should drink some, my lord.”

“No.” Vamp blood would aid his healing, but Darius refused to touch anything that came from a vampire. Once he got some rest, he’d be strong enough to throw on a glamor and hide his wounds.

The dealer went to a dresser and pulled out a locked box. Opening it, he grabbed three syringes and handed them to Darius, who pocketed the drugs and left without saying another word.

When he got to his room, Darius sat on his bed. His body ached; Tane hadn’t held back delivering iron hard blows.

Removing a single syringe from his suit pocket, he let it grow heavy in his hand. He always thought less of those who turned to drugs, but now here he was…

This wasn’t quite the same though. Curb wouldn’t give him an unnatural high. It simply suppressed his desire to feed and prevented him from broadcasting his hunger. And it would let him think about someone besides Kat. He had to do something. Whenever he closed his eyes, he only saw her. When he took a breath in, her scent crossed his nose. When he heard a sound, he expected it to be her fiery voice and disappointment racked him when it wasn’t.

This wasn’t normal. He had never felt such strong desire before.

His hands shook as he rolled up his sleeve and plunged the needle into a vein.

The drug hit faster than he expected, clearing his mind and taking away his insatiable hunger. The late hour and lost fight caught up to him, and his movements slowed. He barely yanked off his clothes before the overwhelming urge to sleep overcame him.

* * *

When Darius woke, his hunger had returned in force. He couldn’t afford it either, not with the dozens of tasks he had today. The general was hosting some sort of exhibition and Darius had to ensure each of the visiting incubi were taken care of. New artwork was set to be delivered and he had to inspect it, there were measurements to gather, a budget to approve…the list was endless. And yet he wanted nothing more than to skip the day and find Kat.

Had they moved her over to the academy? Was she already training? Would she like her new team? What would she look like naked on his bed, moaning his name as he kissed and licked the soft flesh of her inner thigh?

He couldn’t stand it. Leaning over, he dug through his discarded clothes, pulled out another syringe, and took the drug.

Before he went about fulfilling his duties, he looked at himself in the mirror. Gods, he looked terrible. Even after a full night’s rest, deep purple bruises littered his skin, and there were black bags under his eyes. He forced his body to change, to glamor, hiding the imperfections behind flawless skin. It took some effort to keep it up all day, but he couldn’t risk anyone seeing him as anything less than perfect. He was, after all, the social face of House Tarrick.

For the first time in his life, he resented the pressures of duty.

The day dragged, and when Darius finally made it back to his room, he collapsed fully-clothed onto his bed.

Despite the drug, his dreams were filled with the woman he desired, and when he woke the next day, he didn’t bother to open his eyes as he felt around his nightstand for the last dose of curb.

But he never found it.

“Miss’n’ something?”

Darius’ eyes shot open. Commander Lock stood by his bed, syringe in hand. “Entering my room without my permission is an extreme breach of protocol.”

Lock shrugged. “Indeed it is.”

“I will report this.”

“Ya sure? It’ll force me to submit my own report,” Lock said and looked over at the two empty syringes. “I don’t think you’ll like what’ll be in it.”

Darius pressed his lips together as he shifted to a sitting position at the edge of his bed.

“Don’t be so sour, my lord, I ain’t here to harass ya about this shit.” Lock set the full syringe down with the empty ones.

“Then why are you here? In my room. Uninvited.”

“I’m here to help ya.”

“I don’t need any help.”

Lock chuckled. “You’re about to craze.”

Darius shot up. “I’m not.”

“Ya are.”

“No. No.” He couldn’t be. The calsanic only triggered during extreme situations, when primal urges took over. To have it happen was shameful.

Lock set a hand on Darius’ arm. “Have you fed since meeting Kat?”

“I tried.”

“And it made ya sick?”

Darius nodded.

“And you feel unreasonably possessive of her?”

He didn’t nod this time. Lock already knew the answer.

“You’re gonna craze. You’re too young to shake this off. Your options are to feed on her or starve to death.”

Darius pressed his eyes closed. “She doesn’t want me.”

“'Cause you’re a ninny.”

Opening his eyes, Darius scowled.

“Oh, right, that term ain’t used anymore. You’re an idiot, a fool, a simpleton, a—”

“Do you have a point or did you invite yourself over to call me names?”

“You been trying to fuck her and she don’t want that. Girl like her wants flowers, sonnets…you know, romance. Not a damned one-night stand.”

“But she’s fierce, a fighter…strong, independent.”

Lock laughed and shook his head. “Women ain’t so simple. She can be all those things and still want romance. How is it that you’ve gotten to your seventies without actually dating someone?”

“I’ve dated.” Darius squirmed under Lock’s harsh gaze. “Well, gone on dates. I—it’s not any of your business, Commander.”

“Well, if you want her, you’ll have to prove you want her for more than one quick fuck.”

“It would hardly be quick.” Lock didn’t bother responding. Darius sighed. “She’s too new to our world. I doubt she’ll ever accept the fact I can’t feed solely from her.”

“Why don’t ya give her that chance to decide for herself? There’s the exhibition tonight, and cadets have the night off. Ask her out. Avoid being a dick. Also, take the curb if you don’t want to end up raping her.”

“I would never—”

“When the calsanic happens, ya don’t have any choice. You’ll feed on her.”

Lock was right. Darius knew he’d be okay tonight, maybe even for a week, but after, his instincts would take over. When that happened, he’d seek her out in his incubus form and feed no matter what she wanted. The incubus—who was part of him and yet sometimes felt like something different—wouldn’t let him feed on anyone else until it took her. Darius didn’t have many choices here. He wouldn’t allow himself to rape her. No, he’d ask to be put in a cage before that happened. But he didn’t want to die either.

He had to convince her to let him feed from her.

He had to win her over.

It was literally life and death for him.