Demon and the Mage (Jeongcheol)

Seungcheol

"So what was all that about with Joshua last night?"

Jeonghan's question had me freezing, butter knife half in the marmite jar. Shit. I should've known better than to think he'd forgotten about it. I busied myself with spreading the marmite over my toast. Something told me I needed fuel for this conversation. "What was what?"

He waited until I'd finished making my toast and taken my seat opposite him at the kitchen table. The remnants of his breakfast were discarded on his plate, his hands wrapped around his mug of tea. I needed caffeine in my system before hitting breakfast, but apparently, Jeonghan liked to eat the moment he woke up. It had satisfied some long-dormant part of my psyche to provide my mate with what he needed—even if that happened to be something as simple as a ham and cheese omelette.

How many times since Doyoon's death had I yearned for simple domestic moments like this? Going to sleep with them. Waking up wrapped around someone. Making them coffee and food.

I'd been on cloud nine since we'd entered the kitchen.

And then, Jeonghan's question dropped me screaming back to Earth.

"You know what I'm talking about," Jeonghan drummed his fingers on his mug, eyeing me thoughtfully. "Why does Joshua care about how long I'm making you wait?"

"He's an interfering git," I muttered.

"He is," Jeonghan agreed thoughtfully, "but I think there's something you're not telling me."

I sighed. "I'm not hiding anything from you, honestly. You know what happened with Seokmin last year?"

Jeonghan's face paled, his lips thin as he nodded.

"Well, he'd asked Joshua to mark him. But Joshua decided to wait."

"Wait? But Seokmin's human. Surely he wanted to give him as much protection as possible."

"He wanted to make it a special moment for Seokmin. He hasn't had much romance in his life, and Joshua wanted to give him some."

I took a sip of my tea, knowing we were walking on dangerous ground. "And he wasn't expecting your brother to go after Seokmin directly. He had every area Seokmin frequented warded. One of us tailed him constantly. He was never alone. Not until your brother tricked us into heading downstairs while he lured Seokmin outside of the wards."

The colour raced back into Jeonghan's face as fury stormed his features. He jumped up from the table, and I tensed, preparing myself for whatever he was about to throw my way.

"Fucking stupid idiot," he said, pacing the kitchen and shoving his hands through his hair. "I knew I should never have left him. I should've made Anya send someone else to find out about the ghasts."

"Wait, what?" Now I was on my feet, alarm coursing through me. "You were hunting ghasts?"

Jeonghan stopped his pacing to face me. "What? You don't seriously think I'd leave the fate of my kind in the hands of Anya and Blaise, do you?"

I tugged on my beard, my gut roiling at the thought of the danger Jeonghan could've been in. "What if you'd been caught?"

Even as he rolled his eyes, Jeonghan slid his arms around my waist. "You remember what I did in the woods, right? I'm pretty badass."

"Humph." I pulled him tighter, burying my face in his neck. "Still don't like it."

Jeonghan sighed. "It's not like I'm searching for them now. You and your brothers took care of them, and now we can relax."

I tensed as my thought from the night before returned. "What if we didn't though?"

Jeonghan pulled back, his brows drawn together. "What, do you think there are more?"