Lucian was glad to be back home. It had been torture to be away from his people, from his bondmate, but he’d done it. It was honestly the first time that he’d ever felt like going back to his true den had felt like torture.
He never wanted to experience that again.
But still, coming back home had come with a different kind of torture. His lovely, sweet, adorable little soon-to-be bondmate was trying to work themselves into a grave while still managing a shifting body. Lucian was going to lose his damn mind.
He knew that he didn’t know Cass as well as he wanted. He knew that some things just took time. He didn’t have to like it though. Lucian adored that the man had such a big heart. He appreciated that he came off rough and like he didn’t care but that at his core, Cass was a better person then all of them combined. His hardships had made it so that he was a good person.
Lucian’s hardships meant that he often ate first, then asked questions of those who remained after.
Lucian was grateful that Edgar seemed so competent because Lucian couldn’t do what he was doing. Lucian didn’t know the new version of the human language well. He could get by, but he didn’t have a vested interest in getting to know it better. Why should he? Everyone else could read what was going on, and he could just ask someone else to read it to him if he wanted. It was fairly simple to him what needed to be done.
He wouldn’t ask Cass though. Lucian was too worried about him
Lucian knew that his worry didn’t come from anywhere good. It came from his desires. Being alone without Cass by his side during his last shed and heat had been awful. Truly, unspeakably awful. Lucian had done it alone countless times before, or he’d asked a fellow dragon for help. He’d never had to do it while he had someone that he wanted to be his bondmate but hadn’t been able to fulfil it.
Of course he hadn’t. He hadn’t met Cass before now, in a different body or otherwise. This was his first time, and by the gods, he wished that he’d met him sooner just so that he’d have longer with him in the future.
Lucian knew that he had left a little early from his true den. He shouldn’t have, but he couldn’t handle not being near Cass for a moment longer. It would explain his insatiable desire to be near him and in him. Lucian could barely control himself and he sometimes caught his hands trembling if he went too long without touching Cass. It was anxiety of some sort and it had been a long, long time since Lucian had this kind of sinking feeling in his stomach.
He tried his best to not let it show in front of Cass. His little sweet lover already had enough on his plate. He’d taken over Fiona’s duties without a complaint outside of her organisational abilities, handling the pressures of the fairies and their own issues, and the problems that he had with his own family. Lucian didn’t want to add more to his plate. He just...hovered around him a bit more than usual. That seemed to be enough to satiate him for the time being.
It also helped that Cass never turned him away when he came for affection. He might complain about it not being the right time, but Cass would willingly open his arms for Lucian to nuzzle in. He didn’t get frustrated with him, didn’t push him away. The only time Lucian received any kind of talking down to was when he rubbed his beard against his delicate skin too much and caused a slight red rash on his pretty skin.
Those were within the acceptable parameters, and selfishly, Lucian liked when Cass was marked by him. His urges to bite him and mate him were strong, but when Cass looked at him with those pretty, heart-shaped red eyes, Lucian forced that desire down. Cass wasn’t rejecting him. Lucian needed to remind himself of that, and also repent for how he’d bitten him in the first place.
Lucian wasn’t that regretful that he’d done it. He’d never tell Cass that, but there was a good reason for it. If Lucian had never bit Cass, he would have never shaken off his own stupidity and realised that Cass was it for him. He was the person that Lucian wanted by his side, forever. Lucian would have remained ignorant and foolish if he hadn’t done that.
Was he regretful for how it happened? Absolutely. He was deeply, deeply regretful that it happened against his will. that was something that Lucian would have to live with for the rest of his life. That was also something that Cass had given him.
Cass had helped him attune to his feelings once more. He’d been falling too deep into his animalistic side and Fiona hadn’t cared to pull him out. Not really. She had let Lucian get away with pretty much anything. Cass had gotten angry at him and pushed him, telling him that he needed to behave more humanlike. At first Lucian had taken that as an insult, but as he watched and learned, he realised that Cass didn’t care that he wasn’t a human.
He cared that Lucian acted without thought or consideration of others, but especially Cass. Learning that and realising what Cass was actually asking of him had settled the possessiveness inside of Lucian and had helped another side of Lucian bloom.
The side that allowed Cass to do what he wanted, and allowed Lucian to care for others outside of Cass.
It was a surprising thing that Lucian had developed. He didn’t think dragons were capable of it, honestly. He thought all dragons were bonded for life and then...that was it. He did not know that he could find enjoyment in others outside of Cass, but maybe it was because Cass was so generous with his affections and didn’t make any of them feel lesser than the others.
Lucian had never thought that he would look at Edgar and Gideon and think either of them were as attractive as Cass. Never in his life. He liked teasing them and getting a rise out of them. Lucian could sleep with anyone and anything without much thought, but it was Cass that made everything much more sweeter and forged the bond between them.
Lucian was really going to miss them when their lifetimes were over, and pairing those thoughts with how he was feeling anxious after his latest shed, Lucian was having a really hard time remaining positive and himself. He knew that Cass could sense something wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t tell what it was.
Lucian hated that he couldn’t just tell him with his mouth, or that Cass couldn’t pick up on what was wrong because they weren’t bonded. He desperately missed the bond that he’d forged with Cass as well. Knowing what the quiet, sweet man was thinking or feeling had been a great help, especially in times of danger.
However, if he wanted that bond again, that would mean that he wouldn’t be able to be intimate with Cass for a while. That was not something he was willing to give up. He’d rather just cut off his dicks entirely then allow that, so Lucian dealt with his own issues.
Probably not well, given the way that Cass was always watching him with that perturbed look that ruffled the spot between his eyebrows. It was so cute when he did it, like he was scowling but not quite. That had been a signature of the old Cass. He was a scowler, but Lucian now wondered if he was just hiding behind his scowl.
He’d been cute then too, but harder to approach. All Lucian could convince him to do with him was fight, and seeing those dark red eyes light up and glow as they had thrown magic at each other had been...good. They had been good. Lucian wondered when he would be able to do that with Cass again.
Glancing over at the man bent over his desk, scribbling furiously, Lucian sighed. It would be a while yet. The man wasn’t allowing himself time for himself. He was beholden to the damn schedule of his heat. Lucian wondered if it would never end? Was there a time where Cass would be free from the hardships that had plagued him since he was a child? He didn’t think it was common for other demons, sex ones or otherwise, where their body was so greatly impacted by their bloodline like Cass was.
Annoyed, he knew it probably had to do with the contract that his shitty mother had made on Cass’ behalf. That part still made his blood boil. If she wasn’t actually Cass’ birth mother Lucian would eat her in a heartbeat. He knew that there were some lines that couldn’t be crossed. Plus, that was disgusting.
He didn’t want to eat Cass’ mother in any capacity. Even if she was rumoured to be as pretty as Cass was. Cass was his, and he didn’t want Cass to worry for even a second that he chose him for his looks.
He did, but that part had just intrigued him, not kept him interested in him. It was everything else that made up Cass that had kept him interested. His little mannerisms, the strange way he spoke, the curious way he used magic.
The way he looked at him when he was sucking his cock.
All of those things were equally important to Lucian.
Despite his own feelings of anxiety and need to be near Cass at all times, Lucian was glad that things seemed relatively peaceful. From what he had heard from the others, the time that they were supposed to spend at the capital was extended due to the fact that no one would leave Cass alone. Lucian had felt bad for everyone involved so he guessed this was...better? He certainly hoped so.
Everyone in the hero party deserved a break. Cass, Edgar and Gideon. That poor knight was going to run himself ragged, and Edgar was no better. After he’d gotten put in his place by his bondmate, Lucian realised how tired everyone looked. He’d been in the wrong for using Edgar to help relieve himself when he’d been afraid to touch Cass too much.
Edgar was but a man. A vampire, but still a man who had the least amount of stamina between all of them. Cass wasn’t passing out because he was tired. He was passing out because he was full. Edgar was sleeping on a schedule that was against what his body demanded of him, and Gideon? Gideon was barely sleeping at all.
Lucian was going to have to gather all of them up and force them to spend a day in bed, and soon at that. He was going to have to ask Sam to help him, and Lucian would have to do it soon.
Byron was looking worse by the day.
He was keeping it together because he knew that any time away from Cass’ side was not good for Sam, but Byron had found a way to feed his bondmate. It turned out Sam was similar to Edgar and Cass in a certain regard and Byron also was full of magic. He had a will, and he had a way.
Of course, Cass’ magic that was inherent to him was better for Sam to consume. It was probably the ’healthier’ option, but for his heat, that was exactly what Byron needed to hear. He didn’t want to hurt Sam, and Lucian appreciated that.
So, Lucian was already plotting that sometime next week, early next week he would get Sam’s help to seclude the men inside of the bedroom and they were going to refuse all visitors and just...relax. Sam was already procuring some books from Cass’ favourite store. Books he hadn’t read yet, and Lucian was getting some wines that Edgar hadn’t tried and also finding some books that Gideon would appreciate as well.
He had also gotten a new design for the bathroom approved by Cass and Sam that wouldn’t remove Cass’ favourite tub. Cass didn’t know it would be done by next week with Lucian’s help, but Sam did.
Lucian was going to make sure that his people were taken care of, especially since he’d been gone long enough. He’d also procured a special product for Byron and Sam as well. Something his broodmother had suggested he get for when he spent his first heat with his bondmate. He knew that Sam and Byron were going to love it.