The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon (3 page)

you won’t. You have no idea how sorry I am for all this, Rhys. I

would leave if I thought it would help, but as it is, I’m worried it

might just make things worse.”

Rhys clutched Noah’s shoulders tightly. “No, don’t leave. Look,

I’m sorry, all right? This isn’t your fault at all. Just don’t think about

it. I’ll find a way to fix it.”

Noah looked pained. “How can I not think about it, Rhys? You

mean so much to me. You’re my dear friend, and you’re hurting, all

because of me.” He leaned closer to Rhys, invading Rhys’s personal

space. “We can always figure out a temporary solution. I don’t want

you to go without what you need anymore.”

Rhys stepped away from Noah, for once unable to look at the

man. It was too painful, and he felt too humiliated. “I appreciate the

thought,” he said bitingly, “but I don’t want your pity. You’re not the

only guy in the world. I’m sure I’ll run into someone who’ll want to

fuck me.”

The words weighed heavily between them and tasted bitterly on

Rhys’s lips. Suppressing his nausea, Rhys turned his back on Noah

and stalked out of the room. He might not have any intention in

getting into anyone’s bed, but he did need to feed, one way or

another. If masturbation was the only possible way for now, so be it.

He wouldn’t push Noah, or himself, into something that would tear

them both apart. Their friendship was already strained by Rhys’s

nature, and if Rhys wasn’t careful, he’d lose Noah altogether.

* * * *

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17

Noah watched Rhys go and cursed himself.
Well, that could have

gone much better.
He’d never meant to insult Rhys, but it seemed that

no matter what he did around the incubus, he ended up making things

worse than they already were.

When Noah had met Rhys, he had not meant to allow their

friendship to grow into something more. He simply couldn’t afford to

have a relationship right now, especially not one of love. He had tried

to steel himself against Rhys’s obvious need for him, and the incubus

hadn’t pushed him after Noah had made it clear he wasn’t interested

in pursuing anything beyond a pure platonic bond.

In truth, Noah should have probably run into the other direction

that first time when Rhys had tried to seduce him. But whether he

wanted to accept it or not, Rhys had lodged himself deep within

Noah, in his heart, in his body, all the way to his bones even.

Noah could still remember it now, the way Rhys had looked that

day, when he’d told Noah just what he wanted from him. It had been

shortly after Rhys had recovered from Tyrell Hall’s attack. Rhys had

caught him alone, brought their bodies together, and brushed a light

kiss against Noah’s lips.

“I hunger for you, Noah,” he had whispered. “I’ve wanted you

more than anyone in the world before I even knew your name. Will

you be mine?”

It had been the hardest thing Noah had ever done to push Rhys

away. He’d extracted himself from the incubus’s embrace and shaken

his head. “You misunderstand, Rhys,” he’d said to the incubus. “I

care about you as a friend, but nothing more. That kiss was only

because I knew you needed it.”

The crushed expression on Rhys’s face haunted Noah to this day.

He had been cruel to Rhys then, just like he’d been this time around.

But Noah was stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he accepted

Rhys’s affection, it would only hurt the incubus more once Noah had

to abandon him. If he continued to refuse, Rhys might hurt himself

with his inability to feed off anyone else.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

It was beyond frustrating, and if not for Noah’s own selfishness,

he’d have long ago left, trusting Rhys would recover in his absence.

But he simply couldn’t make himself do it, not until he absolutely had

to. He always told himself one more day, just another day and he

would go. He never did. He truly had no resistance where Rhys was

concerned.

In the end, for the moment, there was nothing he could do about it

except persuade Rhys to feed. It irked Noah to no end that he had to

force Rhys into someone else’s arms, but what choice did he have?

With that in mind, Noah left the room and decided to go in search

of his friend. He knew Rhys well, and while Noah would never dream

of taking him for granted, he realized Rhys would never do what he’d

promised. Noah had to take things into his own hands.

As it turned out, before he could find Rhys, he found the

incubus’s stepmother, or rather, she found him. Olympia Whitaker

was Alexis Cunningham’s mother, but she had no blood bond with

Rhys. As far as Rhys had been able to tell, she held no jealousy

toward Rhys’s sire, Romaine. They weren’t close as a family, but she

didn’t begrudge her husband’s son for it.

Under these circumstances, it came as no surprise for Noah when

the succubus stopped him. “Mr. Hall, I wanted to have a word with

you.”

“I’m ever at your disposal,” Noah replied politely. “What is it,

Mrs. Whitaker?”

She grabbed his hand in a strikingly strong grip for someone so

dainty. “I think you know exactly what I mean to say. I’m not sure

why you’re playing games with Rhys, but I don’t like it.”

“I’m not playing games.” Noah snatched his arm away, all

pretense of manners forgotten. “You couldn’t possibly understand my

relationship with Rhys.”

Olympia smiled tightly. “No, I do not. But then, neither do you.

Rhys sees you as his mate. Do you realize what that means? Can you

The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon

19

grasp the depth of his emotions for you? He’ll wither away and die

because you are incapable of surpassing your idiotic prejudice.”

“That’s not it,” Noah replied defensively. “I don’t care that Rhys

is a demon.”

“Then why won’t you touch him?” She looked ready to pounce on

him. “Don’t think we don’t realize that you’re attracted to him. He

feels it also. You want him, and yet you refuse him. The natural

conclusion is that you’re disgusted with him.”

Out of the shadows, two more figures emerged. “Leave the boy

be, Olympia,” Romaine Arceneau said. He sounded tired, something

unsurprising given that he was still recovering from a serious attack

that had nearly killed both him and his wife. “He has powerful

reasons for the way he’s acting.”

Olympia glared at the incubus. “Don’t you care about your son?

Don’t you care what this warlock does to him?”

Romaine didn’t look away from Noah as he answered. “I do care,

which is why I have to ask Noah to take into account the situation and

stop it before it grows worse.”

Noah felt like he’d been slapped. There, in Romaine’s eyes that

looked so much like Rhys’s, he saw the knowledge of what he’d been

trying to hide. “Have you told him?” he asked softly.

Romaine shook his head. “I figured you don’t want him to know.

My mate caught a glimpse of it, and having you here during our stay

solidified her guess. You have to let him go, Noah, for both your

sakes.”

“I know.” A mix of gratitude and despair filled Noah. “I’m trying,

but I just can’t come up with a solution.”

“Have you spoken with the Sidhe? They might be able to help

you.”

Noah clenched his fists, struggling not to fall further into his

misery. He had dared to dream for the same thing, but his hopes had

been relentlessly shattered. “This is beyond their power,” he

answered.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

“Very well,” Romaine answered. “I won’t ask anything else. But

please, Noah, if you care for my son, you have to break free from

him. Continuing like this just brings pointless suffering.”

Noah nodded briskly. “I’ll speak to him. Just…I need some time.”

“You’ve had all the time in the world,” Olympia spoke again, “but

okay. After all, Rhys has too much to deal with right now without

having to process your abandonment.”

“The issue with the demons,” Noah guessed. “I’ll help him with

that, Mrs. Whitaker, then I’ll leave. I promise.”

Olympia’s only answer was a glower, but at least she didn’t make

any further comment. Noah said his good-byes and fled, throwing one

final glance toward Romaine as he went. He hoped the incubus

wouldn’t reveal what he knew to Rhys, because if he did, all the

secrecy Noah had managed to maintain would be for naught.

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21

“I apologize if I’m interrupting anything, but I think I might have

some information for you.”

Rhys forced himself to calm down as he looked at the figure of the

elder vampire. Kaname Yamamoto arched an elegant brow. “Oh?

What is it?”

How should he put this? He truly wasn’t certain his father was

correct about what he’d learned, but the real problem right now

wasn’t even Rhys’s uncertainty regarding their attackers. He couldn’t

keep his mind off Noah, and it hurt his concentration.

Shaking himself, Rhys focused on the conversation. “The clue

I’ve found is not a certain thing, but if I’m right, the consequences

could be dire.”

That earned him a frown from Kaname. “Who attacked my

people, Whitaker-san?” the elder vampire asked without preamble.

Rhys didn’t even try to suppress the glumness he felt deep inside.

“Demons,” he answered.

“Demons?” Kaname repeated. “What do you mean, Whitaker-

san? Why would demons want to get involve with vampires at all?

We’ve stayed away from each other for centuries.”

Rhys felt relieved he didn’t have to explain to Kaname how the

demon world worked, but at the same time, he was acutely aware of

how little they actually knew. “We’re not certain. We’ll be starting an

expedition to find more clues, but until then, we wanted to notify you

so that you’ll be ready.”

“I appreciate that, Whitaker-san. Any assistance you should

require is at your disposal. I want these people caught.”

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Scarlet Hyacinth

“I can definitely understand that, Yamamoto-sama, but right now,

it would be more prudent for an approach only on our side.” The

Whitakers still had a lot of connections with other demon species, but

Rhys wasn’t about to give the vampire elder all the details.

Just as he offered this reply, Rhys sensed Noah’s familiar

presence nearby. Before he knew it, Noah stepped inside the office,

keeping silent to respect the conversation. Rhys was pissed that Noah

had just burst in like that, but then, he could understand why Noah

had done it, especially after their little exchange earlier.

On the cell phone screen, Kaname narrowed his eyes at him, as if

able to tell Rhys’s mind wasn’t fully on the mission. “Very well. I can

understand the virtues of patience. Keep me posted.”

“I shall,” Rhys promised. “Good-bye, Yamamoto-sama.”

“Until we speak again, Whitaker-san, farewell.”

Rhys ended the call with much relief. “What are you doing here,

Noah?” he asked the warlock. “Do you want me to completely

embarrass myself in front of the vampire elder?”

“I trust you to handle yourself in front of him under worse

circumstances,” Noah replied without missing a beat. “And I came to

apologize. I have no excuse for treating you the way I did. I don’t

ever want you to think that I pity you or am disgusted by you.”

A struggle seemed to be going on inside Noah, so intense it

echoed deeply within Rhys. Rhys could tell there was something

Noah didn’t want to explain to him. Perhaps Noah had someone else

he was in love with. That made sense. Even if Rhys felt deep inside

that Noah was his other half, warlocks didn’t think like incubi. Noah

might lust for Rhys, but he could love some other person, perhaps one

he’d left behind when he’d abandoned his coven.

The thought pained Rhys deeply. He didn’t even know what he

wanted anymore, what evil he preferred. In the end, Noah giving his

heart to someone else seemed nearly as bad as the warlock refusing

Rhys on account of Rhys’s demon nature.

The Warlock Who Hungered for a Demon

23

All his speculations were useless, though, and would not bring

Rhys any closer to the answer. In the end, there was one clear fact that

Rhys could not deny. No matter the reason, Noah didn’t want him.