Chapter 43 Marked and claimed
Nyxara
The walk back to my apartment felt longer than crossing the entire dominion.
Every step chafed—thighs sore, body still humming with echoes I didn’t want to name, his scent clinging to my skin like smoke I couldn’t air out. I kept my head down, tail coiled tight, horns dimmed low. Just another shadow moving through the corridors. Invisible. Untouchable.
That’s what I told myself.
I shoved my key into the lock and shouldered the door open, letting it bang against the wall. The sound echoed too loud in the quiet.
Lira jumped on the couch, clutching the blanket to her chest. Her eyes were wide, but they softened when she saw it was me.
“Nyx! You’re okay.”
I forced the tension out of my shoulders, painted on a crooked grin. “Told you I’d be back, kid. Takes more than a grumpy wolf to keep me down.”
She relaxed a fraction, tucking hair behind her ear. “Did… did it work? Is everything fixed?”
“Yeah. Curse broken. Bad guy in chains. World saved for today.” I dropped my jacket on the hook, toed off my boots. “You good? Eat anything? Anyone come sniffing around?”
She shook her head. “I stayed inside. Made toast. Watched those old movies you left on the drive.” A small smile. “The one with the dancing cats was weird.”
I snorted. “All the best ones are.”
I ruffled her hair as I passed—quick, light, the only affection I knew how to give. “Good job holding the fort. I’m gonna clean up. Then we’ll eat real food and figure out tomorrow.”
I headed for the hallway.
And froze.
The bedroom door was ajar.
Leaning against the frame, arms crossed, leather jacket open, dark hair falling into his eyes—Azrael.
Smirking like he’d been waiting for hours.
Double shit.
My tail snapped once, sharp. “What the hell are you doing here?”
Lira’s gaze darted between us, confused. “Um… is he…?”
“Old acquaintance,” I said quickly, voice flat. “Hey, kid—why don’t you head upstairs? Take the tablet. Pick whatever you want for dinner—I’ll order it up in a bit.”
She hesitated, sensing the shift in the air, but nodded. “Okay.” She grabbed the tablet and slipped past Azrael, giving him a wide berth as she climbed the stairs to the loft.
The door clicked shut softly overhead.
Only then did I turn on him.
“How the fuck did you get in here?”
He pushed off the frame, stepping into the light. “Window. Same as always.”
“This isn’t a drop-in zone, Az. You don’t get to waltz in whenever you feel like playing house.”
His eyes flicked over me—slow, deliberate—taking in the rumpled clothes, the faint marks on my throat, the scent that wasn’t his.
“Interesting cologne you’re wearing, love,” he said, voice silky. “Northern pine. Musk. Someone big.”
I didn’t flinch. “None of your business.”
He moved closer. “It is when you disappear for days, leave a scared kid here alone, and come back smelling like you’ve been claimed.”
“I didn’t leave her alone. I was working.”
“Working,” he echoed, stepping into my space. “Or working someone?”
I laughed—cold and sharp. “You taught me the rules, remember? No strings. No jealousy. Fuck who I want, when I want. You don’t get to change them now because your nose is out of joint.”
His jaw tightened. “I taught you that because I thought it’s what you needed. Not because it’s what I wanted.”
“Bullshit.” I shoved at his chest. “You’ve never wanted more than a convenient feed. Don’t pretend this is about feelings.”
He caught my wrists, held them. “Maybe it wasn’t. Then. But things change.”
I yanked free. “Not for me.”
He didn’t back off. “You think I break into apartments and wait around for just anyone?”
“You shouldn’t have waited at all.”
Silence stretched—thick, charged.
Then, quieter: “I thought something happened to you.”
The words landed heavy.
I didn’t want them to.
“Get out,” I said.
“Nyx—”
“Out.”
He looked at me for a long beat.
Then turned, walked to the window, paused on the sill.
“This isn’t over,” he said, without looking back.
And vanished.
I stood there, fists clenched, tail lashing.
Two males in one day.
Both thinking they had some claim.
Both wrong.
I dragged a hand over my face and headed for the shower.
Time to wash it all off.
All of it.
Even the parts I couldn’t quite scrub away.
But as I reached the bathroom door, a shadow moved in the corner of my eye. I spun, horns flaring, ready to lash out.
Azrael.
Back .
“What the—” I snarled. “I told you to get out.”
“And I ignored it,” he said, voice low and tight. “We’re not done.”
I stalked toward him, tail whipping behind me. “Oh, we’re done. You don’t get to decide that.”
He straightened, meeting me halfway. The air between us crackled—incubus power clashing with my own, lust and anger twisting into something volatile. “You’re pushing me away. Why? Because of him? Whoever left those marks on your neck?”
I got right in his face, horns nearly brushing his forehead. “Because I can. Because I don’t owe you an explanation. Because you’ve never once stuck around long enough to earn one.”
His hands shot out, grabbing my upper arms—not hard, but firm enough to hold me in place. “I’ve stuck around for centuries, Nyx. Taught you everything. Watched your back when no one else would. And now you’re throwing it away for some wolf’s knot?”
I twisted, breaking his grip. “You taught me to survive. To feed without remorse. To never let anyone clip my wings. And now you’re the one trying to cage me? Hypocrite.”
He laughed—bitter, sharp. “Cage you? Is that what you think this is? I’m trying to protect you!”
“Protect me?” I shoved him again, harder this time, sending him back a step. “From what? From living? From choosing who I fuck without your approval?”
“From throwing yourself away on someone who doesn’t see you!” he shouted, voice cracking for the first time. His eyes flashed crimson, horns curling tighter. “You think that wolf cares? You’re just a fix to him. A succubus snack.”
“You don’t know shit about him,” I snapped, even as doubt flickered in my chest. I pushed it down. “And even if you did, it’s not your call.”
He stepped forward again, crowding me against the counter. His hand came up, cupping my jaw—thumb stroking my cheek in a way that used to melt me. “Come on, Nyx. Stop this. Come home with me. Like old times. You and me, every day, every night. No complications. No wolves.”
I froze, his touch sending unwanted sparks through my skin. For a second—just one—I remembered those early days: tangled sheets, laughter in the dark, him teaching me to wield my power like a weapon. It had felt like freedom then.
But it wasn’t.
I slapped his hand away. “Old times? You mean when I was your little student, hanging on your every word? When I didn’t know better?”
His face twisted—hurt flashing before anger masked it. “It wasn’t like that.”
“It was exactly like that!” I yelled, voice echoing off the walls. I hoped Lira had the volume up high upstairs. “You shaped me, Az. Taught me to fuck without feeling, to take what I need and leave. And now you’re mad because I learned too well?”
He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me close. “I don’t want you this way!!”
The words exploded out of him—raw, desperate.
I shoved him back, chest heaving. “You made me this way!! Az! You fuck with people you want to! Why can’t I?!”
“Because I love you!!” he screamed, the confession ripping through the room like thunder. His face crumpled, eyes wide and vulnerable for the first time I’d ever seen. “Gods! Is it that hidden? I love you… and no, I don’t fuck with everyone. It’s you, Nyx! Please, can you come home with me… just like we used to be… together every day and night…”
The words hung there, heavy and broken.
Love.
From Azrael.
The incubus who’d always been the king of detachment, the master of casual feeds and quick exits.
I stared at him, heart pounding, a storm of emotions crashing through me—anger, confusion, a twisted ache I didn’t want to name.
“But that wasn’t me!!” I shot back, voice shaking despite my best efforts. “That was the old me, and now I’m free! For fuck’s sake, we are sex lust demons—we feed on them!”
He lunged forward, hands cupping my face, trying to pull me into a kiss. His lips brushed mine—desperate, pleading—and for a split second, I almost let him. Almost fell back into the familiar heat, the easy escape.
But I pushed him away—hard—palms slamming into his chest. “No!”
He staggered back, breathing ragged, eyes wild. “Nyx—”
“Who is it!!” he screamed suddenly, voice cracking with fury. “Who the hell fucked you last night!!!”
The slap came before I could think—my hand cracking across his cheek with a sharp sting that echoed. His head snapped to the side, a red mark blooming on his skin.
He touched it slowly, eyes meeting mine—hurt and rage swirling.
I didn’t back down. “You don’t get to ask that. You don’t own me.”
He stepped closer again, not touching this time, but close enough I could feel his heat. “Tell me. Please.”
I laughed—bitter, exhausted. “Why? So you can go after him? Play the jealous hero?”
“Because it’s killing me,” he whispered, voice breaking. “Picturing you with someone else. Gods, Nyx, I’ve tried to play it cool, give you space, but I can’t anymore.”
The vulnerability in his eyes cracked something in me. I hated it. Hated how it made me want to explain, to soften the blow.
But I didn’t owe him that.
Or did I?
I sighed, leaning back against the counter, arms crossed tight like armor. “Fine. You want the truth? Sit down.”
He didn’t sit. Just watched me, tense as a bowstring.
I started pacing—the small kitchen suddenly feeling too confined. “It started with the Voss mess. You know about Jenkins—the innocent guy I framed. Guilt’s been eating me alive. Lira showed up, scared out of her mind, and I couldn’t just send her away. I needed help. Real help. From someone with pull.”
Azrael’s eyes narrowed. “The beta. Eryx.”
I nodded, ignoring the way his fists clenched. “Yeah. Him. But he wasn’t biting. Dismissed me like I was just some succubus stirring trouble. So I… improvised.”
“Improvised how?”
I stopped pacing, met his gaze. “Dream-walked him. Slipped in while he was asleep. Thought I could convince him—show him the proof, make him see Voss is the real monster.”
Azrael’s face darkened. “You went into his head? Nyx, that’s dangerous. Wolves don’t play nice with our kind.”
“I know. But it worked. Sort of.” I rubbed my arms, remembering the dream—the way it had shifted from negotiation to something hotter, wilder. “Things got… intense. The bond hooked. Drained him. He got sick. Fever. Nearly died.”
Azrael stepped forward. “And you…?”
“Fixed it,” I said flatly. “Went to him. Broke the curse the only way that works.”
His breath hissed out. “You slept with Eryx!!!???”
“Yes!!!” I exploded, throwing my hands up. “Yes, Az!! I slept with him!! I’ve slept with many more!! Guards, princesses!! Princes!! Kings, queens!! I’ve slept with you too!! What is it?!”
He recoiled like I’d slapped him again, face paling. “You’re supposed to be mine!!”