KaizerWolf

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Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf

Originally Published: November 22, 2020

Submitted on Scribblehub: July 26, 2021

 

Innocent Devil's Harem | Chapter 20-1: Was she Forced to Love me?

After reading my biological father’s message, I stared at the page for a long minute even after I was finished, just trying to comprehend everything, feeling completely stunned by everything this message said and implied.

For one, I wasn’t a devil like I thought. Or at least, not the kind I originally imagined.

I was the son of an Incubus.

Which I felt like made everything suddenly make complete sense.

No wonder my gold eyes were hypnotic when I was transformed.

No wonder I seemed to have women drawn to me. Granted, I was objectively good-looking, just as much as Serenity was, but being attractive didn’t necessarily mean a guy was going to have women deciding they belonged to him, ‘just because.’ Like what Avery said earlier at the hospital…

Fuck.

It also implied that their behavior might not be natural.

And it implied a certain level of mind-control, whether it was intentional or not.

Furthermore, it also indicated that my biological father lived in a world where women were objects to be possessed and played with, rather than people. After all, it almost sounded like the woman who breastfed me as an infant was actually taken from another family, from another baby, so that I was provided for, while my real dad – the man who raised me – remained reluctant to accept me into his family.

And who could blame him?

It sounded like my dad was fully aware that I could take everything from him when I grew up, including his own wife, and that knowledge suddenly made me suspect that his awareness of the situation was the reason why he was distant when I was younger.

Because I had plenty of fond memories of my mom spending time with me, as well as Serenity, but it wasn’t until I was about seven or eight that my dad started acting like he actually cared about me.

Until then, it was more like he was just the father-figure in the house, though he never had to punish me, since I always listened and obeyed. But it never felt like he was a real dad to me until I was a bit older. And in those handful of years before he and mom passed away in a car accident, we grew close enough that I sincerely missed him after he died.

It was like he was finally able to see me, for me, rather than seeing my biological father in me.

But fuck, this was messed up.

Part of me didn’t want to believe that any of this was true, but it just made too much sense. It explained far too much.

It was also kind of scary to think about the fact that, if my biological father had been a different incubus, then he might be showing up one day to take all my women away from me. Or at least, to use them for his own pleasure before eventually returning them, whether they were willing or not.

After all, I had no doubt a full-blooded incubus would be stronger than me in every way.

Not to mention, it sounded like he’d been alive for a long time.

Or rather, it sounded almost as if my biological father was immortal, indicating he’d been around a while and was very experienced in handling ‘delinquent’ children, who might not have been a fan of him stealing what he believed to be his.

After all, in this guy’s mind, there were plenty of women in the world to be obtained. I could even imagine an incubus doing this to his kid just so the poor soul didn’t grow too attached to individual females. Sort of like teaching them a lesson to view women as property.

And I had no doubt that I wouldn’t be able to stop him from making Serenity or Gabriella do whatever he wanted.

Fuck.

Taking a deep breath, it wasn’t until Serenity sniffled that I focused on her again, beginning to consider how this might be affecting her. Clearly, she was still stunned and upset, unable to look at me now as she stared down at the bed in front of her.

Focusing on the letter again, I reread the part that mentioned her, assuming it must be the rough spot where she just gave up and stopped reading.

‘I have already prepared for you a gift: the young girl you will come to know as your close friend.

She is yours to have.’

I shook my head, unexpectedly irritated and frustrated by the implications. By the realization of how my biological father viewed her.

Serenity wasn’t property.

She was a person.

And I sincerely loved her, as a person.

“No,” I said firmly out loud, rejecting the idea as I dropped the black stone back in the chest, only to crumble up the letter and toss it across the room.

Serenity looked up at me in alarm, but I ignored her, climbing out of bed and heading for the door.

“K-Kai!” she said in shock. “Where are you going?”

“To my room,” I snapped, sincerely pissed now, growing more angry the more I thought about it. “And forget about the agreement we made earlier,” I continued, feeling almost irate at this point. “There’s nothing to talk about now. We’ll go back to how things were before.”

I was so angry, I almost just wanted to break up with Gabriella too, just because I felt livid at the idea that no one wanted to be with me out of a natural desire for it. They all wanted me because they were compelled to want me. Or charmed, or whatever.

“Kai, wait!” she pleaded when I opened the door. “Just stop for a second. Please, just talk to me.”

I froze with my hand still on the handle, the door opened up halfway. “What’s there to talk about?” I asked seriously.

“W-Why are you so upset?” she stammered. “I didn’t finish reading it. What else did it say?”

I shook my head, unable to look at her. “It’s not what it said, it’s what it implied.” I then sighed, staring down at the hallway floor, my expression pained. “Ren, I love you. And I don’t want you to feel like you are property. Because you’re not. And this is the only way I can prove that to you. We’ll just go back to how things were.” I grimaced, lowering my voice. “And you can be with whoever you want,” I added somberly.

“Kai,” she said, her tone pleading. “I don’t want to go back to how things were. Please, just wait. Let’s just talk about this for a minute, okay?”

“But is that really what you want?” I asked seriously, finally looking at her over my shoulder. “How do we know I haven’t just charmed you, or whatever? How do we know this is what you truly desire?”

Serenity grimaced and looked away, seeming to consider it. “Kai, I’ve always loved you,” she finally whispered. “And the letter said he didn’t make me love you.” She looked up at me again. “And I said I feel uneasy when I think about dating other guys, but I’ve never really considered dating anyone else.”

“Exactly,” I nearly spat out. “Because he made you feel that way.”

“No,” she said seriously, sitting up straighter, only to reach up to wipe her eyes. “What I mean is, he didn’t make me revolve my life around you. I chose that. And the only reason why I’ve ever thought about dating someone else is because I’ve had friends in high school, and in the academy, bring the subject up. And when they did, I was against it, but not because this man made me against it. The uneasy feeling only came when I thought about a guy being potential marriage material, but I wasn’t actually considering a relationship.”

I sighed heavily. “I’m not sure I see the difference,” I said seriously.

“That’s fine. But the point is, I know the difference. I chose to stay focused on you. No one made me. And the uneasy feeling I’ve experienced before felt unique. It felt different to me.”

I took a deep breath, deciding to turn back around and cross my arms, my expression somber. “And how do we know I wasn’t the one making you do those things?” I asked seriously.

Her brow furrowed as she glanced away again, only to give me a serious look. “Kai, you made me kiss you earlier this morning.”

I grimaced and looked away.

“But the thing is,” she continued gently. “I wanted to kiss you before it happened. If anything, your gaze only lowered my resistance to it.” She sighed. “And that experience was unique. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt compelled to do something for you.”

“But what about Avery being obsessed with me?” I retorted. “How do we know I don’t have a passive influence?”

She shook her head. “Kai, of course she’s obsessed. What’s not to like about you? You’re handsome, kind, respect others, value women, and fundamentally have all the qualities most girls desire. You don’t need some supernatural influence to make women fall for you.”

I shook my head at that, but didn’t respond, unable to argue with her.

After all, I’d grown up eager to please all the women in my life, especially my mom and Serenity, and likewise enthusiastic to be who they wanted me to be. I wanted to be a good boy for them, partly because I wanted their approval and love. And just like with Gabriella in the beginning, I couldn’t deny that Avery’s obsession might also be grounded in facts, since she didn’t grow attached until we’d spent some time together on that group project. Like, it wasn’t as if her obsession was completely random.

Or at least, I assumed that’s when she became obsessed…

Plus, people became infatuated with attractive people all the time, without the assistance of any kind of supernatural influence. It might be different if I was ugly or something, but I knew I wasn’t.

 

Copyright © 2020 Kaizer Wolf