Everyone stood frozen under Jules’s cold gaze, not even daring to breathe for fear of being too loud and incurring his wrath. Bastien didn’t dare to move harshly either, though he didn’t shy away from Jules’s gaze and stared straight back at him. He never lowered his head, nor did he avert his eyes.

Silence stretched, and only the sound of blood dripping on the floor could be heard. For a moment, it was as if time itself had come to a halt—a standstill that seemed to last forever.

Was the hunter still sane, or had his mind already been corroded beyond salvation? It was hard to say. ‘Well,’ Bastien thought, ‘as long as he hasn’t attacked us, not all hope is lost.’ He’d start worrying the moment Jules pounced on them. Until then…

“Jules?” Bastien asked in a careful voice, breaking the silence as he took a step forward. Once he spoke, time seemed to tick again. “Are you…?”

“Don’t come near. Stay back.”

“Great, you’re still sane.”

Bastien smiled, and Jules glared at him. The hunter’s murderous aura was palpable, but the demon didn’t flinch, and his smile didn’t falter either. Instead, he walked up to Jules, shortening the distance until there was but an inch left between them. He then lowered his eyes to look at the hunter’s clenched fists, which were trembling.

“You’re holding in your bloodlust well. I’m impressed, honestly.”

A scoff was his answer, but the incubus didn’t take it to heart. He was all too aware of what Jules was going through, and a simple scoff was something to smile at. Others, who were less strong-willed, would have already pounced on him, going straight for the jugular. 

Now that Jules’s bloodlust had been freed after years of suppression, every fiber of his being was reclaiming blood. That is to say; he’d need to slaughter an entire city to quench his newfound bloodlust. And if he didn’t, said bloodlust would slowly erode his mind, leaving in its wake nothing but the raging desire to shed blood. No matter how much Jules resisted, he’d lose it in due time and slaughter whoever was in the vicinity regardless of who they were, whether they were friends or family. Such was the fate awaiting him. 

“But well,” Bastien continued, “I wonder how long you can hang on.”.

“Not long,” Jules snarled. “Get away from me!”

“No, I won’t.”

“Then kill me.”

The demon responded with silence.

“You swore you’d take care of it if I were to lose control,” Jules was angered into laughing. “Now, don’t you dare go back on your word!”

“I said I’d handle it,” Bastien smiled yet again, leaning closer to whisper in his ear, “but I didn’t say how.”

Jules’s eyes grew wider as the words sank in. Disbelief flashed across his face, though only for an instant. It was soon replaced by fury, and perhaps a bit of madness.  

“You played me!”

“Not really. To be fair, if you had lost your mind right after the seal shattered, I’d have had to kill you regardless of how I felt,” Bastien admitted with a self-mocking sneer. “But thankfully, you’re one hell of a stubborn man. Ah, really, it’s at times like these that I’m grateful to have been born an incubus. Ain’t I the perfect being to dispel that overflowing energy of yours?”

“And what if you overfeed?! Your body won’t be able to handle it, not in that state!”

“Ah, that… Well, we’ll see once it comes to it.”

“You’re out of your mind.”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

The two men stared at each other, unsaid words lingering between them. There was so much to say, yet neither of them spoke.

Incubi had the particularity to feed on both life force and spiritual energy, but there was a limit to how much they could feed off the latter. Spiritual energy, unlike life force, became harmful to the body after a certain threshold. There was only so much one’s vessel could contain, and incubi weren’t an exception. Though they usually had a higher threshold than most, they still had one.  

Among hunters, it was common knowledge that heavenly beings’ spiritual energy was like a drug to demons, something they craved as much as they feared. It was one of the main reasons these two species didn’t get along. Being seen as some exquisite food didn’t settle well with the citizens of the upper realm, while demons weren’t ones to suppress their desires. It was bound to create friction and lead to conflicts.

Anyhow, when incubi fed on heavenly beings, they tended to forget themselves and drown in pleasure. They would often overfeed, meaning that too much spiritual energy would flow in their bodies and tear them off from the inside out. Some couldn’t handle it and died on the spot, while others survived the agonizing pain only to end crippled. Nevertheless, most incubi couldn’t resist the temptation. They thought they could stop feeding whenever they wanted, unaware that one bite was all it took to send their mind in a drunk-like daze.

For incubi, feeding on heavenly beings was basically playing with fire while being coated in oil: a truly foolish thing to do.

Last time, Bastien already had difficulty stopping himself, and he only fed on his life force. Moreover, the taste of Jules’s spiritual energy at the time was a far cry from what it was now. After breaking the seal, the hunter’s spiritual energy mixed with the one contained in his soul, and it had become closer to a heavenly being’s. It wasn’t a perfect replica, but it had the addictive taste. To put it bluntly, Jules was now akin to a walking feast but also a sweet, deadly poison.  

Hence, what if, after taking a taste, Bastien couldn’t hold back? It certainly wasn’t Jules who would stop him. The instant he let out his carnal desire, which had become almost as strong as his bloodlust, he wouldn’t be able to control himself anymore. He’d become a mindless beast. Of course, Bastien was aware of this. And yet, he still wanted to feed on the hunter’s spiritual energy.

“You should just kill me,” Jules growled through gritted teeth, knowing he didn’t have much time left. “That’s far less dangerous, and it’d be safer for everyone.”

“But that’s not what I want,” Bastien chuckled, gently kissing the hunter’s cheek. “Trust me. I’ll be fine—we will be fine.”

Jules wasn’t convinced. If he could, he’d have straight out killed himself instead of asking Bastien to do it. But he couldn’t. The moment he turned his murderous intent toward himself, his spiritual energy would feel it and then proceed to devour his mind in the name of survival. Thus, he could only depend on Bastien… who refused to end him. For a demon, he was pretty sentimental, maybe even too human-like. And stubborn.

“You better not regret it,” Jules snarled lowly after a moment, aware that he couldn’t change Bastien’s mind. “Well, even if you do, it’s going to be too late.”

That being said, he grabbed Bastien’s wrist, then yanked him to the bathroom. Though he had thrown his sister and the teenagers at the back of his mind, he wasn’t shameless enough to get at it in front of them. That was probably the only shred of reason he had left.

***

The door was slammed shut. The mirror on the wall shook, almost falling off, but Jules didn’t pay it any heed. Instead, he pinned the incubus against the wall, his hands holding onto his hips as he sank his teeth into his shoulder. The sweet, iron taste of blood invaded his mouth, drawing out a sigh of delight. But it wasn’t enough, of course it wasn’t. The next thing he knew, he was greedily licking the bite mark and nibbling on the torn skin, just like a dog chewing on a bone.

It made Bastien hiss, but he didn’t shove the man away. Rather, he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. One hand held onto the back of his head, the other left on his back; he pressed their bodies together, not even leaving an inch between them. 

“Are you planning to literally devour me?” Bastien chuckled, unfazed as always. “That’s not what I had in mind.”

At these words, Jules lifted his eyes to meet Bastien’s. Their calmness and the amusement lurking in their depths ticked him off, stirring up the urge to make him cry and beg. Then so be it. That was what he’d do.

“Whether I devour you or not, that’s my business. You allowed it.” With a growl, he added, “Turn around and lift your butt.”

Bastien narrowed his eyes at Jules, staring for a second before doing as told, letting go of his shoulders. However, he didn’t lean on the wall and instead moved to the side to grab the sink. That done, he glanced over his shoulder at the hunter standing behind him.

“I prefer the other way around, though,” the demon said in a teasing tone. “How about switching positions?”

“Not this time.”

“Next time then?”

“…If there’s a next time. Now, shut up.”

The words had barely left his mouth that Jules pressed his lips against Bastien’s, holding onto his jaw. In that way, he forced him to twist his upper body and neck so that he could deepen the kiss. He thus devoured his mouth like a starved beast, forcefully pushing his tongue inside. Saliva dripped, but neither of them minded.

Meanwhile, Jules’s free hand slid on Bastien’s waist, then his hip, before hastily pulling down his pants. He unfastened his own belt a second later and let his member free, pressing it against Bastien’s naked buttock. When he felt the warm skin against his, his hips instinctively moved upward, making the moist, hard shaft grind between the two cheeks. The incubus jerked under him, most likely surprised by the sudden movement—it only served to arouse Jules more, his mind turning hazier.

Oh goodness, he wanted to thrust in now, ram in up to the hill, but he couldn’t. Not just yet.

Jules let go of the demon’s lips to breathe. However, he didn’t allow Bastien to do the same; his fingers climbed from his jaw to his mouth and forced their way inside. They gripped his tongue, mingling with it until they were covered in saliva. Once he deemed his fingers wet enough, Jules brought his hand down to Bastien’s backside. Then, without so much as a warning, he slid a finger inside and pushed through up to his knuckle.

“You’re still collected enough to prepare me?” Bastien laughed as he arched his back, looking at Jules through the mirror that hung above the sink. “But that’s not necessary. I’m not human, remember?”

The words made Jules’s mouth twitch. Indeed, Bastien wasn’t. His backside was dripping wet, something human males didn’t experience. Still, ramming in without loosening the entrance first was bound to hurt. That was why Jules held back, a bit of his conscience still remaining. Whatever he said earlier, he didn’t want to hurt the incubus in any way. But well, if his consideration was met with mockery…..

“Fine, then.”

“Ang—ah!”

Bastien was interrupted mid-sentence, the air knocked out of his lungs as Jules plunged in. The hunter gripped his thighs to keep him close, his short nail digging in the toned flesh. Deep cuts and scratches quickly blemished the demon’s skin, blood trailing down his legs. And again, Jules bit the demon’s shoulder, then nibbled and sucked on the nape of his neck. His mouth left red marks wherever it went, and small bruises and hickeys soon littered Bastien’s tanned skin. It was a sight that pleased the hunter greatly.

Still, it felt like there wasn’t enough. He wanted to mark him more, oh so much more. And why not do it? He ripped what was left of the torn shirt with one hand, and his mouth trailed down on the demon’s back. He had to let everyone know that this prey was his.    

While kissing and biting, the rhythm at which Jules moved his hips didn’t slow down. It was fast, and whenever he thrust in, he went up to the hill, not allowing Bastien to catch his breath. However, the demon didn’t moan; he bit his lower lip, silencing his voice. His fangs had grown bigger because of the excitement, easily cutting through his lips and bloodying his chin. Yet, he did not let go. As such, all that echoed within the bathroom was the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Jules’s heavy breathing soon accompanied it as he started to move even faster, parting the demon’s legs a bit more so that he could reach deeper.

Finally, the demon let out a yelp, and a wicked smile bloomed on Jules’s usually aloof face. He repeated the same movement, moving his hips as he did a moment earlier. It was followed by a muffled cry, a beautiful sound to his ears. He wanted to hear it more, many times more. So, he hit the same spot, over and over again until Bastien could do nothing but whimper, his legs so weak they had given in. If he hadn’t been holding onto the sink, he’d be sprawled onto the floor by now.  

Regardless, Jules didn’t stop moving and kept hitting that spot, holding onto his hips to keep his body up. Even if the incubus were to beg for mercy, he wouldn’t grant him any rest, not until he was a crying mess.

With this in mind, Jules glanced at the mirror and then saw Bastien’s face. His eyes were shut tight, an expression of pain and pleasure twisting his features. Jules could not help but slow down, as if entranced by the sight. And when Bastien half-opened his eyes, he stopped moving altogether, even forgetting to breathe.

Golden flickers shimmered in the demon’s crystal blue eyes, swirling like a storm behind a veil of pleasure. Welling tears glistened at the corner of his eyes, adding a delicate, fragile touch to the otherwise ethereal look. It was the kind of gaze that melted the heart but also brought out people’s predatory instincts and cruelest desires. To Jules, it had a devastating effect.

Beautiful. That was the hunter’s last thought before he finally snapped. All that remained afterward was the desire to make Bastien his and devour him whole. 

---

Edited by Clozed! 

By the way, I made my very own server on discord today! And I shared the smexy illustration I commissioned an artist I adore from this chapter! ♥