Demon and the Mage (Jeongcheol)

Jeonghan

I didn't remember the journey from Seungcheol's place to mine.

One second I'd been storming out of his flat, blood pounding in my ears, and the next, I was waking up and staring at my ceiling.

How had the night gone from him sucking my soul out through my cock to ending things before they'd even begun? Had I misread the situation so badly?

I rubbed my chest. I'd had a strange ache there since I'd left Seungcheol's. It'd been so painful overnight that, if I were human, I would've been down at the hospital requesting an ECG.

Since it couldn't be an actual heart issue, it was somehow connected to the bullshit mating bond. I thought about the joy I'd felt when I'd learned Seungcheol was my mate. Even with him keeping me at a distance, I'd still had hope for us. For every fantasy I'd had of us in bed together, I'd had just as many about our future. Going on trips together. Hanging with his family. Hiding shitty jokes on Post-its, knowing how much he'd groan and then laugh when he found them. Helping him behind his bar because neither of us could bear to spend time apart. Going to sleep wrapped around him every night, knowing he'd still be there when I woke up.

But it was all bollocks. I'd been a fool to dream.

Seungcheol had rejected me, and I'd promised not to continue chasing him. So now I was lumbered with a bond to a demon who didn't want me for the rest of my days.

I sighed, pulling myself into a sitting position and pinching the bridge of my nose. This was ridiculous. I had no right to be this cut up over a guy I barely knew.

I needed to work off some excess energy before I did something stupid. Like hammering on Seungcheol's door less than twelve hours after he'd forced me out of it.

That'd go down like a lead balloon.

It was either that or book a flight to a far-flung destination. I couldn't do that while Blaise was still recovering.

As soon as he was well enough, that's exactly what I'd be doing. I wasn't about to hang around here desperately hoping Seungcheol would change his mind.

Throwing some workout clothes on, I Googled the location of the nearest gym. Normally I'd use Blaise's equipment, but the last thing I needed right now was to rehash everything that had happened. I wanted to avoid anyone and anything even remotely connected with Seungcheol.

Google informed me there was a new gym called Fitness on Fire less than half a mile away, and even better, they had a boxing ring. Maybe there'd be some beefed-up human I could persuade to go a few rounds with me. I wouldn't be able to use more than a fraction of my usual strength and speed, but it might be enough to work this frustration off.

My relief at finding the gym faded the second I crossed the threshold and my gaze fell on a familiar smirking face.

"Fuck."

Joshua's smirk grew wider. "Not the first time I've been greeted that way."

Nope. Absolutely not. The last thing I needed this morning was dealing with Seungcheol's meddlesome sibling.

I spun on my heel to leave, but a large hand wrapped gently around my arm. I glared over my shoulder to see Joshua's mate. He was dressed in loose basketball shorts and a shirt emblazoned with Fitness on Fire, a warm smile on his face. "Hello. I hope you aren't going to let Joshua scare you off?"

"He doesn't scare me," I muttered, ignoring Joshua's snort of derision.

"Ignore him," Seokmin advised. "Now, let's get you inside, and I'll show you around."

"Actually, I was thinking..." My voice trailed off when Seokmin fixed me with a hard stare, making me cringe internally. "You know what, sure. Let's do that."