Demon and the Mage (Jeongcheol)

Seungcheol

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

It was the day after I'd made a deal with the nervous human to help him track down his brother. Honestly, I wasn't sure why I'd agreed to it. Deals like that hadn't been a normal part of my routine for a long time. I don't know what it was about that hot but terrified human, but he'd gotten under my skin and had me extending the terms before I'd even realised what I was getting myself into. Determined to get it over and done with as fast as possible, I'd told him to meet me here this morning.

My bar manager, a vampire called Toby who'd worked with me for over four decades now, simply rolled his eyes. "Trust me. I'm quite used to you fucking off on a whim by now."

"It's not a whim," I protested half-heartedly.

"Hmm," he said, reaching under the bar to grab more of the top-shelf liquor to replace the empty bottles in the holder on the wall. Several inches shorter than my six-three, he had to stand on a small stool to reach. I used to mock him for it, but after he cut my tongue out for the third time, I decided it wasn't worth it. "You say that, but I can't remember the last time you made a deal, especially with a human."

I grunted. Fortunately, that was enough of a response for Toby. He was used to my lack of communication skills. It wasn't that I didn't have the words needed, but I wasn't someone who needed to interject their opinion into every conversation.

Given that I'd grown up with Joshua and Soonyoung, both of whom could talk for Britain, could you blame me?

I'd always been the same. Even with Doyoon, it'd taken me a while to open up. Growing up, my mouth had landed me in trouble with Father more often than not. I'd learned fast that it was better to keep quiet and let people think there wasn't much going on under the surface.

Which was funny, given that I was a swirling vortex of chaotic energy on the best days. I just hid it well. And when that didn't work, I channeled it into tracking, fighting, or fucking.

Not that I'd done much of the latter recently.

I'd always known demons could have mates. Hell, I'd tried to give Doyoon my mark to bond him to me on so many occasions...but it'd never worked. I assumed something must be wrong with me or that, as Lucifer's son, perhaps it was a gift I wasn't entitled to.

Seeing what happened with Vernon and Seungkwan and then Joshua and Seokmin, I realised it ran far deeper than that. The belief we'd been fed that it would be our choice who we bonded with turned out to be complete fiction. Our mates were fated, destined to be ours by some unknown power.

That knowledge both increased and decreased the feelings of guilt I still carried around Doyoon's death. Doyoon was never meant to be mine, but I'd loved him anyway. But I hadn't been able to save him, and love was still a possibility for me.

The possibility of having a fated mate had terrified Joshua...until he met Seokmin and immediately fell head over heels for the gentle Welshman. Similarly, Vernon took to his mate instantly, marking him without even thinking it through.

And Soonyoung? Well, he was still mooning over an archangel called Jihoon. Not that he'd admit it. And given how he was fucking his way through the supernatural community, it was something he was trying to forget.

Me though? I was here for this shit. I wanted nothing more than to have someone to come home to. Someone to wake up beside. Someone who was mine and mine alone. Someone who I could care for.

Just like with Doyoon.

The guilt I still carried over Doyoon's death was huge. There were days when I found it difficult to get out of bed. To remember that I had a life I was expected to continue living when his was long over.