CHAPTER 127: CHAPTER 127: BE DEMANDING

The elevator doors slid open, carrying them down in silence. Ashwin remained a steady shadow at his side, but Victor’s focus had already shifted, the threads of obligation falling away one by one until only a single vow held taut inside his chest.

By the time the car pulled up to the curb, the city’s lights stretched wide across the glass, spilling neon and shadow across Victor’s face.

The ride cut through the veins of the capital, but Victor barely registered the blur of steel and light beyond the windows. He could feel the bond pulsing faintly in the back of his mind, the steady rhythm of Elias’s presence tugging at him like gravity.

Ashwin broke the silence once. "Will you require me inside, sir?"

Victor’s gaze didn’t shift from the dark glass. "No. I want only him."

The car rolled through the gates minutes later, gravel crunching under the tires as the manor rose into view, stone and shadow, sprawling, impenetrable. Here, every guard, every lock, and every wall bent to Victor’s will. Here, Elias was safe.

Safe, and his.

Victor stepped out first, the night air cool against his skin, and dismissed Ashwin with a single glance. The man inclined his head, falling back without question.

The manor doors opened soundlessly before him, servants vanishing into silence as soon as his shadow passed.

Victor’s stride was leisurely, certain, each step an answer to the pull of the bond. He already knew where Elias would be, buried in work he should have left behind hours ago, hunched stubbornly over a screen as if sheer will could force a dissertation into perfection.

The door gave beneath his hand, hinges soft.

The glow of a laptop cut sharp against the dim room. Elias sat at the desk, shoulders slightly slouched, glasses perched crooked on his nose. The screen was cluttered with windows: research graphs, draft Chapters half-written, and references lined like a fortress wall on one side. A half-empty coffee mug sat forgotten at the corner.

He didn’t look up right away. "You’re late."

Victor stepped inside, closing the door behind him with a muted click. He left his blazer and tie with a servant, leaving only the sharp lines of a white shirt, cuffs undone and sleeves carelessly shoved against his forearms. Black slacks, slippers soundless on the rug. On his hand, the ring Elias had chosen gleamed, the black stone catching the lamplight like a secret only they shared.

"Later than I intended," Victor corrected, his voice low, velvet-dark, carrying more weight than the words themselves. "But I said tonight. And I keep my promises."

Elias typed one last line, fingers pausing over the keys, before finally glancing up. His gaze swept over him once, at the undone shirt, the glint of the ring, and Victor felt the bond tug, warm as breath against skin.

The silence stretched, broken only by the soft hum of the laptop fan. Elias leaned back, pushing his glasses higher with the back of his hand. He looked tired, the kind of exhaustion carved into the bones of someone juggling too many deadlines and too much expectation.

Victor moved closer. He came to stand at the edge of the desk, crimson eyes fixed on him, the heat of his presence bending toward Elias.

"Shut it down," Victor said, nodding faintly at the laptop. "None of it matters more than me being here."

Elias’s mouth twitched, caught somewhere between exasperation and reluctant amusement. "You’d like that, wouldn’t you?"

Victor didn’t miss a beat. "I want. There’s a difference."

Elias exhaled, dragging a hand down his face, and the bond pulsed warm at his throat, as if it agreed with Victor’s demand.

Victor didn’t wait for a reply. He reached forward, closing the laptop lid with the press of his palm. The screen blinked to black, the last flicker of Elias’s graphs vanishing in the reflection of his crimson eyes.

"Victor..." Elias started, sharp, but Victor’s hand was already on the arm of his chair, turning him with steady pressure.

"You’ve been here long enough." His tone was calm, with a wicked smile on his face.

Elias braced his palms against the edge of the chair as if to resist, but Victor was already leaning down, close enough that his scent threaded through the air, clean linen, faint leather, and the darker undercurrent that Elias could never quite name. The weight of it softened the fight in his muscles before he realized it.

"Possessive tyrant," Elias muttered, but his voice lacked its usual bite. "I will blame you for any delayed deadlines."

Victor’s smile deepened, slow and certain. "Blame me. I’ll take it."

Elias huffed, but it came out more like a laugh, tired and unwillingly warm. His shoulders sagged as Victor drew him to his feet, steady hands guiding him up with an ease that brooked no argument. His glasses slipped, and Victor caught them between two fingers before they could fall, setting them carefully on the desk beside the closed laptop.

"You’ve been waiting for me," Victor murmured, thumb brushing over Elias’s wrist before lacing their hands together.

Elias didn’t bother denying it. His gaze flicked up, sharp but softened by exhaustion, by the bond pulsing steady between them. "You were late," he repeated, quieter now.

Victor bent closer, his breath warm against Elias’s temple. "Call me next time," he said, velvet-dark amusement curling through the words, "and I will make sure to get back to my demanding mate."

Elias’s lips twitched, the smallest of smiles breaking through, wry and tired. "That makes me sound unreasonable."

"Hmm... You aren’t," Victor’s tone was wicked, but the way his fingers tightened around Elias’s hand betrayed the weight behind it. "But I would like if you would be."

Elias arched a brow at that, amusement flickering in his eyes despite the shadows under them. "You want me to be unreasonable?"

Victor leaned in, the sharpness of his grin tempered by the warmth threading beneath it. "I want you to demand. To claim. To expect me at your side without compromise." His thumb brushed over the inside of Elias’s wrist, lingering at the flutter of his pulse. "You forget, everything I am, I already gave to you. I’d rather you use it than pretend restraint."

The words sank in, heavier than Elias wanted to admit. He exhaled softly and let his head tip against Victor’s shoulder, the faintest laugh caught in his throat. "Careful what you ask for."

Victor turned slightly, pressing his lips against Elias’s hair, the smile still tugging at his mouth. "I never ask," he murmured, velvet-dark. "I take. But with you, I’d welcome the opposite."

The bond pulsed warm at Elias’s throat, steady and sure, and for the first time that night, the weight in his chest eased.