Incubus [malexmale]

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Two (Killian)

"What did you say to him?" Mallurak demanded, cornering Mikhail the moment he came into the kitchen. Gracie was right beside her husband, almost two feet shorter, hands on her hips, blue eyes flaring, and somehow every bit as threatening. Mikhail held his hands up in surrender, laughing nervously.

"I'm sorry. It was my fault. I was pushing him to open up. No one told me he was like a can of hairspray... You know, expose him to heat and he'll explode." He admitted with a shrug. Mallurak rolled his eyes and leaned back on a counter, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Fantastic. Now he might not even come back, knowing him." He sighed in frustration, dropping his arm to rest on his leg. Gracie glanced at him, then at Mikhail with a frown before wagging a finger in his face.

"You're grounded. Stay away from the incubus." She scolded, making Mikhail grin and shrug a little as he twirled a blade of grass from outside around his finger.

"It's gonna be kinda hard. He's really cute." He admitted. That sent a flare of jealousy sparking in me and Mikhail picked up on it quickly. He cast me a daring grin before he went toward Gracie's flan that was sitting out on the counter. He went to poke a finger into it, but Gracie slapped his hand away and scowled at him. Mallurak frowned, pushing off the counter and approaching me.

"You need to get him back, Killian." He told me. I grimaced, averting my eyes to watch Gracie try and shoo Mikhail from the kitchen, then let my eyes drift toward the front door where Alexius had disappeared to.

"I can't," I answered at last, defeated for the first time in ages, "He hates me, Mal. If he even sees me, he'll just be driven further away." Mallurak scowled, folding his arms over his chest.

"Since when have you ever given up on something? You've completed all your missions in the past."

"This isn't just another mission, Mallurak," I hesitated, watching Mallurak stare at me intently before I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair in frustration, "It's so much harder than all of that. Alexius didn't have what you and the other cambions had. He didn't even have a family to protect him. That's why he was so easily to manipulate before. People offered him what he wanted most and he kept hoping that maybe once, just once, someone would be able to give it to him, but they kept pulling it out of his reach just when his fingertips touched it. And it certainly didn't help that I turned out to be one of those people."

"Did you?" Mallurak asked sternly, making me frown and glance at him as he folded his arms over his chest, searching my face with piercing silver eyes.

"You said those people just dangled his dreams above his head, but you never did that, did you?"

"What're you talking about--"

"You gave Alexius what he wanted. You didn't take it away. You just tossed the scrap of meat at him, then ran away to watch him sit there and stare it. Don't be a coward, Killian. I know you're not. Alexius isn't the only one who's suffered. You've suffered too. You need to remind him of that." Mallurak explained firmly, glancing toward the front door, then back at me. I paused, looking toward the door, then back at Mallurak, who was watching me with an intense stare.

Mallurak was right. He was always right. He was wise as well as overprotective and territorial, but wise nonetheless and it had saved thousands of people before. I don't see why his wisdom wouldn't save my relationship with Alexius.

So I nodded slowly, then withdrew to head to the door just as Keltzu and Zen were coming down the stairs. I stopped to greet them, seeing how odd they looked in regular clothing as compared to their loinclothes from before. Keltzu wore a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt while Zen had taken the khakis and the sweatshirt, which was far too big on him and almost hung down to his knees, but he didn't seem to notice. He was cuddled his face against the sleeves.