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The spring sky had been bright for days, a vibrant blue with thick clouds, the most perfect tufts of white. It had brought ample sunshine, which had forced every budded flower to bloom and had lured people out of their houses. The afternoons, spent drinking tea out in the streets with groups of villagers basking in the warmth of the sun, had instilled a liveliness in the people that had been absent since the ghastly murder, committed weeks earlier. The dark days of winter had isolated society, and the discovery of a dead girl near the woodland border in late March had struck terror into the hearts of those too weak to protect themselves. Thus, it was a joyful occurrence seeing people reconnect, and the vivaciousness that hung in the air was so infectious that Baekhyun felt his heart grow bigger with each passing day.  The twenty-year-old had made the very most of the fair weather, delightfully promenading up and down the pathway along the river on the daily. Sometimes he would watch the village from atop the hills, while other days he would wander through crowded streets and waste money on local produce. And once a week, he would travel even farther, towards the woodlands, to find his grandmother’s farm. His visits to her had been just as warm and nostalgic as the heat of the sun, and they had made him miss his younger years. Each time he would see the little cottage come into view, he was reminded of when he still used to live with her. Of waking up early to feed the chickens and fetch their eggs, getting sunburnt while frolicking around in the maize field, and picking wild berries until the sugar rush would leave him a giggling mess. Life had been much simpler back then than it was now, with him hidden away in some desolate hanok miles away from the village he had grown up in.  Leaving the palace was never easy; he had to travel long and far to reach civilization, let alone make the journey to his grandmother’s, yet Baekhyun did not regret leaving behind his old life. Despite the imperfections, he knew he had made the wisest decision he could have made. He was content with living this way.  The spring sky had been bright for days, but April was known to be defiant, and conditions could change quickly. Baekhyun sensed it in the air that day, had this unremitting premonition that the weather would shift, and so he reluctantly headed home instead of continuing down the hill.  And he was right.  That late afternoon, the clouds grew dark and angry with the sun, seizing power over the sky, and Baekhyun returned home the moment the first gleam-drops of silver had found the dry earth. He rushed inside, throwing open the windows to let in the fresh air and welcome the sound of rain trickling down the roof rafters. He undressed to the rhythmic melody, working on the tied strings of his durumagi as he dallied around the room and let the crisp air caress his skin. By the time he had changed into different robes, lighter and thinner than the ones he had worn before, the earth had turned from a soft burnt orange to a bright terracotta, and the floodgates of heaven had opened.  The rain was incessant, striking the ground like arrows being shot from a chongtong, and Baekhyun watched it come down from the safety of his spot at the window, his side resting against the wall and knees pulled up to his chest.  The roof was protecting him from the curtain of shimmering water that was falling from the sky, and a gentle breeze played with his hair, bringing some relief to the heat that still lingered in his room. As he inhaled deeply, the smell of rain filled his nose, reminding him of mud fights and dancing under the falling leaves of a gingko tree. If he tried hard enough, maybe he would be able to recall the face of the former friend he used to do those things with. Maybe.  At that moment, Baekhyun only saw the beauty of the natural world. He breathed in that distinct smell of baked-earth and soil, got lost in that glittering splendour of a downpour, and felt the power of mother nature thrumming inside of him.  Crackling electricity was palpable in the air, as if awaiting the right time to strike. It acted like a forewarning of something dark to come, whatever that may be. However, despite his gut feeling, Baekhyun had a sneaky suspicion it would actually bring him fortune.  He would be arriving soon.  Their meetings were never prearranged. Nonetheless, there was a pattern to them that Baekhyun had come to know in the six months he had lived there. He would be visited every Wednesday without fail, after the meeting of the six ministries, and sometimes on Sundays too. But beyond that, Baekhyun would always, always , be called on after bad news.  He did not understand why he felt it today, this gloomy downheartedness, but something told him the rain bore a message. Some unfortunate revelation that had sent the sun into hiding, spilling its tears from the heavens.  It was why the knock on his door, interrupting his daydreaming, was wholly expected. He had been awaiting it, perhaps all day, and when he got to his feet to bid welcome to his company, he slipped into a role so familiar he did not even need to think. He was no stranger to the commotion that ensued when multiple guards entered his room at once and took their rightful places along the walls. He was so acquainted with their exact ritual, knowing exactly what they were looking for, that he simply cooperated. The friendliest guard of all, Kyungsoo, sent him a small smile before he started his thorough inspection of the room, needing to ensure there were no possible weapons concealed anywhere.  Baekhyun stretched out his arms when Kyungsoo reached him, allowing the guard’s hands to run down his body to confirm he was unarmed as well. The man did not linger anywhere, only lightly tapping him down to look for any bulky objects, and once he had approved everything and cleared the room, the guards all took a step back and straightened their positions.  “Enter his royal highness, the crown prince,”  Kyungsoo called out, using his most noble tone, and the doors opened precisely a second later. The crown prince, or Yi Geum as Baekhyun was allowed to call him, had been stripped of his coat and boots in the entrance hall. But even without them, he was completely drenched from head to toe, dripping water onto the floor.  The uncharacteristic sight caused Baekhyun to gasp, and he knew with one look that misfortune was indeed the reason for Yi Geum’s impromptu visit.  Dressed in riding gear, and with a frown marring his otherwise handsome face, the prince stepped inside the bedroom. He looked troubled, like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, and Baekhyun had to fight the urge to take a step back. He blinked, feeling sorrow settle deep in his gut, but he knew right now was not the place to reveal it. It was his job to serve the crown prince, to prioritise his happiness and improve his mental and physical wellbeing. Without it, the country would suffer a loss of prosperity, and he would have to live with that being his fault.  As was expected of him, Baekhyun fell to his knees to address the man by his full title. “Your royal highness, it is an honour to receive you.”  He bowed with all the respect he held for his future monarch, honouring the customs of the palace in front of the crown prince and his guard. They were purely formalities by now, but Baekhyun upheld them because he wanted to. Because his grandmother had taught him that good manners would get you far in life, even though Yi Geum always reminded him there was no need. The man had a weakness for the pretty boy at his feet, and so in spite of the evident distress that had carried him there, a small smile tugged at the prince’s lips the moment he stepped deeper inside Baekhyun’s chambers.  For half a year now, the younger had been the crown prince’s concubine. One of three, Baekhyun knew, the other two being beautiful, more distinguished women that he could never surpass. They lived closer to the prince’s quarters than he did, but he knew they were not visited nearly as often.  The prince enjoyed sex with men as much as with women, but he only had one male concubine. Naturally, it meant Baekhyun got bedded more than any of the women, though jealousy prevented them from seeing reason. They excluded the youngest from their private gatherings, stating he was not welcome at a women’s affair, while in reality, they rejected him because they envied him.  Rivalry among consorts was a significant factor in his overall lack of friendships within the palace, but Baekhyun could not find it in himself to care. He was not here to drink tea with Yi Geum’s other concubines, nor to live a lavish royal life. He was here to serve his country and his future king, and through it, keep his grandmother alive.  “My dearest, get up,” the crown prince was extending a hand to him, and Baekhyun took it so he could gracefully get to his feet.  “Thank you, my prince,” he murmured, keeping his gaze as low as it had been that very first day they had met. Yi Geum had picked him out of the crowd that fall, when all the farmers of the nearby villages had travelled to the palace to present their harvest to the king. The young man’s beauty had made him stand out, and he had been brought back a week later and offered a place among the prince’s ranks.  That was how it had started. After that day, Baekhyun had left behind his grandmother and moved into a hanok on palace grounds, all because the crown prince desired it. He took lessons on etiquette, learnt everything there was to know about sex and pleasing a man, and then welcomed Yi Geum into his bed. He let the crown prince take his virginity, let his inexperienced body grow used to the shape of another man’s, and allowed lust to guide their every shared moment.  “You are dismissed,” Yi Geum’s heavy voice was low, but loud enough for his guard to perceive. They all bowed to him, even though the prince’s back was turned towards them, and then filed out of the room without another word.  For a moment, silence lingered between the two of them. A silence in which anguish returned to haunt the prince’s beautiful face, and Baekhyun wanted so desperately to reach out and touch him, but he had not been given consent.  It came only a second after, as a soft sigh escaped his lover’s lips, and Yi Geum took his hand and brought it to his mouth to kiss it, “Baekhyun-ah, please care for me.” It was the permission he had been waiting for, the words he had needed to hear to press closer and engage in a welcoming kiss that had him shiver with longing. His hands found the soaked fabric hanging off Yi Geum’s frame, expertly undoing clasp after clasp and button after button while he allowed the prince to explore his mouth with his tongue. He helped Yi Geum step out of his robes, revealing the second-most sacred body in the land, and Baekhyun let his hands rest on a damp chest while he waited for further instructions. His eyes roamed across the prince’s face, searching for answers to what he desired from his lover, and he felt himself grin as the taller pressed their noses together and uttered a simple request.  “Undress for me.”  Baekhyun knew what that meant. He knew it was different from the ‘get naked ’ the crown prince used on other occasions. These words, they told the concubine he was supposed to slowly reveal his body to the heir expectant, provoking him so as to awaken that fire; that lechery, that would lead to their bodies connecting in a passionate act of sensuality.  It caused goosebumps to rise on his arms; the startling realisation that his every movement would be observed by the prince. Yi Geum would be staring at him with the same dark, lustful eyes until he could behold all of Baekhyun’s body, soak up its loveliness and indulge in it until he was satiated.  Slowly, the younger undid the ties of his robes, grateful he was dressed in nothing but one layer of fabric. It allowed him to slip the soft white cotton down an arm, exposing a broad yet smooth shoulder that had never been kissed by the sun the way it had been kissed by the prince.  He forced himself not to think, for he could get lost in his mind easily, and instead he let the robe slide down even further. It bared his lean chest and soft belly for Yi Geum to drink in, and only once the tingle in his stomach had dissipated somewhat, did he allow his gown to fully fall to the floor. Outside the hanok, the wind seemed to pick up, as if it was howling at his nakedness. The rain accompanied it, thrumming against the roof a little louder, and when Yi Geum gently led him to the bed, Baekhyun inadvertently noticed how it was pouring outside.  It did not matter if the windows were open, no one would wander this corner of the palace grounds, let alone be out in a downpour this heavy. But if, by a quirk of fate, anyone were to see them there, they would be welcome to watch.  The two kissed while their bodies slow danced across the room before sinking down onto the floor, finding home on the silk mat. The sheets were a soft yellow, as lovely as the forsythia in bloom outside Baekhyun’s window, and decorated with beautiful golden flowers. It was one of the perks of being a concubine; always sleeping in sheets fitting for royalty.  Easing into them was like slipping into a soft cloud, one that hid them away from the raging storm outside, and Baekhyun exhaled happily as he settled against Yi Geum’s body. The prince’s hand was wrapped around his waist, palm pressed to his back, and they kissed some more before the air grew heavy with expectation.  Hot arousal pooled in Baekhyun’s gut as the crown prince’s cock grazed his hip, and his fingers moved between their bodies to brush along the shaft while he asked, “what do you want from me today, my prince?”  It was his task to ask, to seduce the future monarch and make him feel as special as the gods had crowned him to be. He would worship at the man’s cock, suck it or allow it to penetrate him however often Yi Geum pleased, but only after being told to. It was not up to him to want anything in return. His lover watched him, how demurely he had asked when they both knew he was anything but, and his answer was meant to expose exactly that fact. “Want to put a baby in you.” The crown prince’s words, as scandalous as they were, did not come as a shock. He had been trying to get Baekhyun pregnant for weeks, knowing that to ensure the future of his bloodline he would need to father many children, and the sooner he would start the better.  The spot of bother was that, being a male, Baekhyun’s womb was not as amenable to making babies as a female’s. It had not been broken into yet, despite various attempts by the prince, and even once it would be, there were still many complications that could terminate a pregnancy early on. It was the reason why women were predominantly the ones giving birth, even though the current king, Yi Geum’s father, encouraged male pregnancies equally as much. Baekhyun intended to carry the future king’s baby, he desired it, and he hoped being patient enough would be the key to success.  He knew his life could change at any given moment, just like it had that day when Yi Geum had spotted him in a room full of commoners exactly like him. He had to have been chosen, picked out from the crowd, for some fated reason. There had to be a purpose for him to fulfil, and he was certain it had to do with pregnancy. There was not a doubt in his mind that this was destined to happen, so why put off the inevitable?  “Please, do it, your highness.”  Baekhyun kissed his lover’s jaw, breathing in his scent mixed with the smell of the rain. He thought of the implications of their words, of what was necessary to try and open his womb, and he smiled because he did not at all mind.  “Does that mean you wish for me to be on top?”  His flirtatious comment got the prince to huff, and with one wild, assertive move, the younger was hauled on top of the man’s strong body.  “I will take that as a yes, then.” Baekhyun came to rest there, against a sturdy torso while he caught his breath and hid his reddened face against the prince’s neck. Yi Geum held him close, caressing him like he was a most treasured possession, and growling as if he could hardly contain himself.  It made Baekhyun feel so incredibly desired, as if he was the one with the royal title instead of the man underneath him. But it was Yi Geum who wore the crown, holding power even while he was being straddled like this.  “Don’t act so smug, my dear,” the prince told him, squeezing the younger’s hips hard enough to bruise.  Realising their position, Baekhyun allowed his knees to firmly dig into the mat for stability. His hands found the silk on both sides of the prince’s head, but he stayed motionless a little longer, waiting for his senses to return to him before he gently sat himself up. He could feel the prince’s cock against his ass, the hardened length reminding him of what the man had come for, and the thought was enough for Baekhyun to turn off everything else and focus solely on getting his body ready for sex.  There was no love between him and Yi Geum, only an incredible fondness and far too much sexual desire, which was why he managed to get wet for the crown prince even without the emotional attraction. It helped that the man was handsome, far more so than any of his brothers. In that matter, Baekhyun had truly come out on top.  The crown prince was charming, and his smile would get any eligible person to swoon for him. Baekhyun had no doubt he would end up with more concubines in the future, and that he would become a good king once he’d come to power, better than his despicable father, because he ruled with his heart above anything else.  If he would have been able to choose who to love, he would have picked Yi Geum. It would make all the sense in the world to love him: a king to be remembered for all eternity, a man humble and kind. Yet one could not force the heart to hold someone dear, no matter how much they wished for it to.  He told himself it did not matter he would spend his life not knowing love. Perhaps it would come with time, and if not, then at least he could find love in different forms. He could find it in a child, raising a prince or princess that one day might follow in their father’s footsteps. After all, that too would be love. Yi Geum’s hand found his belly, palm pressing against the skin, and he sighed longingly as he looked up at Baekhyun with intense eyes, “I cannot wait for your womb to allow me in. You’ll look so pretty carrying my child.” The touch, along with those words, acted like a catalyst. They made him throb with neediness, whimpering softly as he ground his hips down against Yi Geum’s pelvis. The prince could not wait, wanted him knocked up, and that made two of them.  A few more kisses and the friction of a hand around his cock got him so wet that he could not hold back any longer. He moved up the crown prince’s body so he could reach for the oil, and he whined when the man kissed his hip while he leaned over him.  Yi Geum adored the sounds he made, and he grinned when Baekhyun crawled backwards, sitting down on his thighs this time. It gave the younger space to worship his cock, to oil it well so penetration would be easier to endure.  Baekhyun did not know whether the crown prince was gifted, had never seen another cock in his life, but he was bigger than the concubine himself. It made sense, for the younger was gifted with a womb when the prince was not. “I am just as eager to carry, my prince.”  Baekhyun knew he was able to, royal physician Oh Sehun had confirmed it the day he had shown up to the palace and promised himself to Yi Geum: he had a womb and therefore able to produce an heir. The issue was that, with the entrance of his womb being far up in the anal canal, it was incredibly difficult to locate, let alone open. They had tried, multiple times over the past two months, but it had brought a lot of frustration for the both of them. They knew it was a matter of time, and that luck had to be on their side, yet Baekhyun felt like his body was deficient. He should be fertile, being so young and healthy, and the fact that after all this time Yi Geum had not even been able to locate his womb with his cock, it was stressful.  And yet he dispelled those unfavourable thoughts as he sank down on the crown prince’s length, feeling his belly swell with how full he was. He was not going to let this break his spirit, and so until a baby would find home in his body, a cock would have to suffice.  “You feel warm,” Baekhyun whispered as he brought their noses together, gently rocking his hips back and forth to get used to the feeling of being stretched open.  Yi Geum pecked his lips, his hands on the younger’s curvy hips, because he knew how uncomfortable those first moments of penetration were for his lover. Regardless of how often they had intercourse, which truthfully was not all that often, Baekhyun would always be as tight as a virgin. It was partly what the prince loved about having sex with him, and he revealed as much in his next command.  “Squeeze around me, my dear, let me feel you.”  Yi Geum broke away from their kiss to help Baekhyun place his shaky hands onto muscular pecs. It allowed him to hold on somewhere while he sheathed himself on the man’s cock, clenching down on the twitching length inside of him and feeling its pulse in response.  “Good. Perfect. Now ride me .” Baekhyun breathed deeply, gradually bringing his weight forward as he leaned on his hands and lifted his hips. He waited for that delightful moment where he would feel the crown catch on his rim, too big to pop out, and then he slammed his body back down at one fell swoop.  A sudden flash of bright white illuminated the pleasure on the prince’s face, and Baekhyun held his breath in the seconds that passed between the light and the deafening thunder that followed. The crackling sound shook the earth, and after a breathless gasp, the younger lifted his hips a second time.  The crown prince groaned when he came back down, gripping Baekhyun’s waist as he began to ride Yi Geum’s cock with more intent. His hands on his ankles, the concubine leaned back on each thrust so the man’s cock would graze the wall where he knew Sehun had felt the opening to his womb. He was hoping, praying, for that moment where the force would be enough for the prince to enter his most treasured place. Another flash of lightning and wave of rumbling thunder sounded, this time closer than before. It felt as if it was warning Baekhyun, trying to scare off the thoughts in his mind and prevent his body from relaxing the way he needed to in order to get pregnant. He clenched once again, the crown prince’s cock nearly slipping out, and when he drove it home this time, the angle was completely off.  Whimpering, Baekhyun felt hot tears burning behind his eyes, wanting to spill down his cheeks, but he refused to show Yi Geum his frustration. He wanted so badly to be perfect, to start a family so he would not be so alone anymore in this icy, secluded castle. Why were the gods against it? The concubine continued to ride the crown prince’s cock, a mix of pleasure and disappointment falling from his lips like broken moans. Lightning struck every minute, the thunder getting increasingly louder, and Baekhyun knew he should feel at home there in the prince’s arms, but he did not. He was cold, shivers rushing along his spine, and when the hands on his hips tightened, he knew it would be over soon. They still had not breached his womb, still had not found that sweet spot where his body would give, and Baekhyun cried when the prince’s fingers curled around his erection.  It was a non-verbal sign, telling the younger to surge towards bliss alongside the royal. Because Yi Geum liked the feeling of Baekhyun’s hole contracting around him as he came, spilling his seed in his warmth, even though it was not his womb he got to fill.  Today too, that was exactly what happened. Baekhyun’s legs were burning with exertion, his lungs begging for oxygen and his fingers trembling with a dozen unwanted emotions. But he kept going, taking the prince’s cock until he heard the man’s drawn-out moan and felt the first spurt of cum hit his walls.  Baekhyun slowed his body while his hand covered Yi Geum’s to speed up his own release. It caused his hips to stutter, and the sensitivity around his cock got the prince’s touch to falter, but the younger kept their joined hands going.  His heart was in his throat, as loud as the storm outside, and the vein in his neck was about to pop. He chased it, chased that glorious feeling of an orgasm, and when he finally got there, he welcomed it bitterly.  The moment was brief, mere seconds where he was floating on those perfect white clouds of that morning before he ultimately came crashing back down, passing through a cloudburst and hitting the earth with a booming strike of thunder. He fell against Yi Geum’s chest, out of breath and close to tears, because although he could feel the cum leaking from his rim, he knew it would not get him pregnant. They both knew.  The crown prince wrapped him in his arms, as if to soothe him, and as he helped Baekhyun slide off of him, he whispered quietly, “it’s okay, my dear. It’s okay.” Baekhyun truly cried then, letting the tears spill as he felt all of the prince’s potent seed running down his inner thigh. He was hit by feelings of loneliness, reminded of how Yi Geum would leave again once the morning would come, forgetting about his existence for the next few days. Just like the rest of the world. If only there was a chance he could be pregnant.  A hand brushed through his hair, lips finding his forehead, and Baekhyun allowed himself that moment of sadness as he clung to the man underneath him. He was supposed to take care of Yi Geum, not the other way around, and yet the crown prince did not scold him for his tears.  “Do not cry, Baekhyun-ah. There will come a day where your womb will open. And once it does, you will get pregnant on the very first night, I know it.” Feeling a little more reassured, the younger wiped at his eyes while snuggling closer, mumbling his reply against the prince’s skin. “I just wish I could give you an heir. I’m sorry it’s taking so long. I understand if you wish to replace me.” Yi Geum tilted his head up, forcing Baekhyun to look at his face, and he stared at the concubine with a mix of sorrow and relief in his eyes.  “My dear, I am happy you are mine. Speaking frankly, my mind is not on children. Today, it is grateful to see you alive,” he swore as he touched Baekhyun’s cheek most tenderly. “I wish to keep you safe, to have you healthy, so that I may find solace in your arms. That is all which matters.”  Through it all, the younger had forgotten that the prince’s visit today had been in some way unexpected. This was not routine, not part of the schedule, even if Baekhyun had felt something in the air that day to make him suspect things.  Yi Geum was here because of bad news. He needed his concubine because something had made him anxious. Anxious and in need of an escape, a release, to bring back the calmness needed to make well-founded decisions.  As luck would have it, in his post-orgasmic bliss, the crown prince was always far more loose-lipped than he was otherwise. Baekhyun loved hearing him speak about the kingdom and all its challenges, and Yi Geum loved sharing them because sometimes wording it out loud brought him new and useful insights.  Baekhyun knew that what had been said to him was a silent request for him to ask, and so he put aside his own emotions and focused on his lover.  “Tell me, your highness, what plagues you?” he whispered, feeling muscles tense underneath his fingertips at the question. “Unburden yourself, so I may carry the weight for you.”  The sigh that escaped the crown prince was loud and leaden. It reflected his troubled thoughts, told of the seriousness of everything, and Baekhyun was dying to hear more. Was it political warfare between the ministries? Or had the king fathered another child and threatened to replace Yi Geum? Either were possible and had been causes of past outbursts, yet neither were what had really happened.  “They found another body this morning,” the prince revealed. “Same end of the woodlands, identical injuries.” Suddenly, the room felt too cold to be naked. The wind blowing in through the open windows was chilling, the thunder and rain a dark score accompanying the horrifying news of another murder, and Baekhyun wanted to hide under the blankets and brush aside this reality. Instead, he stayed glued to Yi Geum’s side, knowing that he was as safe as he could be in the prince’s arms.  “What injuries?” he asked, his voice almost too soft in the loudness of the storm. He wasn’t sure he really wanted to know.  The crown prince’s hold on him tightened, like it was something he wished Baekhyun would never have to see, it was that awful to think about. Still he described it, because he needed to tell someone what he was trying to grapple with.  “It is- both bodies had multiple bite wounds in the neck, and wrecked genitalia…”  The shivers on Baekhyun’s body only got worse, the idea of ending up like that being so harrowing that he had to banish it from his thoughts.  “Their wombs were leaking a thick fluid that might have been semen, and their walls were torn so wide a human fist could enter. It was unbearable .” Baekhyun could feel his soul cry, imagining how cruel their deaths must have been. No one deserved to die in such an inhumane way, their body mutilated so brutally. It had to have been the work of the devil. “Who would do such a thing? And why?” It was obvious that this was the question Yi Geum had yet to answer. He did not have all the puzzle pieces, because if he had, he would not have shown up at Baekhyun’s door today. Nevertheless, he had an inkling as to what had happened, and the younger was about to hear it. “This is undoubtedly the work of the same creature that left the first body, weeks ago,” he explained, his fingers dipping into Baekhyun’s flesh in anger. “The victims both disappeared at dusk one night, and the forest spat them back out at dawn two days later, their souls stolen from life.” “Maybe this thing has children and the victims came too close, or maybe they were deliberately taken. It is impossible to say. But based on what we have found it is pretty clear there is only one creature that fits the description.”  “What is it?” Baekhyun asked, holding his breath while he waited for an answer.  “The kind we thought we exterminated over a decade ago,” Yi Geum admitted with obvious perplexity. “The kind who eats souls every spring…” He did not have to finish his sentence. Baekhyun knew the kind of creature the prince was talking about. He remembered his grandmother’s stories, the horrifying depictions of the monster that were hung up in every village as a warning sign. “A Deimos.” “Yes.” Yi Geum’s reply was instant, his sigh one of relief now Baekhyun seemed to understand him. Maybe he had been doubted by others, maybe his ideas had been ridiculed, but Baekhyun was not from the palace. He had seen things and heard things that he knew were linked to creatures others would deem mythical. There was more out there than human and animal.   “I remember the stories. But if this is true, the king will have a lot of scared villagers on his hands,” Baekhyun tried to recall exactly what life had been like ten years before, when the last sighting of a Deimos had happened. “People will try to flee or stop their work to hide in the safety of their homes. Does his majesty know about this all?” The question caused Yi Geum to tense up again, and the younger instantly knew that this was a sore spot. The king did not love his son the way a father should, and every action was judged through the lens of a monarch. Yi Geum was only twenty-three, he had a lot to learn, yet the king expected perfection even at this age.  “He does, but he is refusing to believe it is true,” the crown prince spoke, his voice dark and emotionless. The way it often was when he talked about his father.  “He said he killed the very last Deimos himself all those years ago and that there is no chance for this to be real. He thinks it is a trap, believes an enemy is killing villagers and making it seem like it is a Deimos so fear will rise in the kingdom. He expects they will take advantage of the chaos that will follow, and so he does not want to send his men to investigate.” “What about you?” Baekhyun asked quietly, focusing on his lover, even though he was expected to always be on the king’s side. “Yi Geum, do you believe it is real?” A silence fell in the room, bringing back their attention to the world outside and the resounding spell of rain still hitting the earth as loud as arrows. The quiet only lasted a minute, a minute in which the prince mulled over the question and Baekhyun wished to receive a reassuring answer.  He did not get it.  “I do.”  Yi Geum breathed a shaky exhale against Baekhyun’s forehead, dropping a kiss to his chilled skin. “I saw the body with my own two eyes. That… that was not done by a human.”  Even his voice revealed how rattled he had been by the sight. It was proof he was not lying, that there truly was a creature out there looking to murder. A decade after the king had claimed to have killed the last remaining Deimos, it had somehow returned.  “Why is it back?” he questioned out loud. “It was gone for ten years, why come back now?”  Yi Geum hummed, gently brushing his hand through Baekhyun’s hair again. Talking about it had helped him to unwind some, as he got to unleash every thought without being mocked. The younger had shown him he did not judge, and now he felt comfortable enough to be an open book.  “We are not certain, but we think it might be a young Deimos having returned to its homeland now it has come of age.”  Baekhyun thought of what this meant. It was an accusation, stating the king had failed all those years ago, and that at least one of these creatures had gotten away. And if one of them had, who was to say there were not more? This truly could lead to panic throughout the kingdom, and that would be a disaster. It would taint the king’s legacy.  “What are you going to do about it? Will you kill it?”  He knew Yi Geum would not give up on this. He would feel the need to interfere, to personally see to it that this creature would not kill another person. His answer proved so.  “We have to. If not, more people will die.” It brought on a sudden fear that the prince would go after the Deimos by himself, wanting to be a hero and save the kingdom without carefully thinking through how dangerous it would be. Which was why he asked, “Are you going out there yourself?” “Don’t know yet,” Yi Geum threw back. “I cannot go against my father, so I will have to find a way to gain his trust. Make him put me in charge of taking care of the problem.” Baekhyun could only think of the consequences of the prince taking on such a daunting task. The risks of him ending up hurt and dying, leaving behind not just Baekhyun, but his other concubines too. More importantly, he would leave his future queen, the woman who was giving him a family; a possible heir.  She was pregnant with their first child, a few weeks away from labour, and adored not only by her husband, but by Baekhyun too. He occasionally drank tea with her, and if he were honest with himself, he would say she was his best friend within the palace. One of the few who did not look down on him simply for being a man. He knew it was not his place to share these worries, but he could not stop himself. There was too much on the line for him to stay quiet.  “I hope he will give you permission, my prince,” he said first, to soften the blow of the words that followed, “But please promise me that you will not put yourself in danger unnecessarily. Think of your wife, your child that is about to be born…” To add weight to his words, Baekhyun turned his head and looked into Yi Geum’s eyes. What he saw there was gratitude and understanding, as if the fact that he was looking out for the prince was more than he could have asked for. As if it made him more precious than anyone else.  “And you…” The declaration shook Baekhyun in a way he had not expected. It was such a blatant profession of affection, and the crown prince had never before made it so clear how much he wished to have him in his life.  “And me.” The concubine felt his cheeks heat as he moved in for a kiss, not sure if he was giving off the wrong message by doing so, but he wanted to. “Be careful, okay?” He tried to show how serious he was through the fire in his eyes, and Yi Geum smiled as if he was not at all impressed by it. Still, he made the promise, which was all that mattered anyway.  “I will.” Satisfied with the answer, Baekhyun dropped back against the prince’s chest, snuggling just a tiny bit closer. He let his fingers travel, featherlight touches swiftly moving across sweat covered skin, and he grinned.  As they slowed down, their heartbeats returning back to normal and their limbs growing heavy with fatigue, he realised the storm outside was moving away too. The lightning was still there from time to time, but the rumbling noise of thunder was growing fainter, and he knew the worst of it was over.  They were silent, simply existing side by side, and Baekhyun could tell the prince was fighting sleep. He must have been so devoted to this case that it had taken all his energy, not a second to be wasted, and so the younger hummed a quiet rhyme under his breath to lull him to sleep.  Yi Geum may have wanted to stay awake, but his body was betraying him and forcing him to surrender to his drowsiness. He took a final deep breath, and then his head lolled to the side, fast asleep.  Baekhyun stayed with him for a little while, enjoying the closeness of their bodies and satiating his hunger for skin. He knew it would be days before they would lie like this again, perhaps even longer if the Deimos continued to murder innocent human beings. But the knowledge he now possessed still made him feel so shaken up, and the more he thought of it, the more troubled he became.  Restless and on edge, he unwrapped himself from around the crown prince’s body, and slowly he rolled over and got to his feet. More cum trickled down his inner thigh, dripping all the way to his knee, and Baekhyun ignored it as he wandered over to the window. On his way there, he grabbed a rag from the cabinet and wiped it past his skin, cleaning up the mess they had made before he plopped down on the pillow at his window.  The air was much cooler now the downpour had made the temperature drop, and though the clouds were still a gravel-grey, the curtain of rain had passed over. Pearls of shimmering water still dropped from the rafters, but they no longer formed an entire orchestra of sound. Now, each tone could be heard, making for a light spring harmony, as if meant to bring hope.  Baekhyun watched the plants outside the hanok, stretching as far as the palace walls, and beyond that were large trees that waved their branches back and forth. It was a captivating sight, the leaves rustling gently as they danced in the wind, and somehow, he felt it calling his name.  Something was there, deep inside of him, spurring him on. A sense of wonder or a quest for knowledge, that made him want to go beyond those walls. His gut was telling him there was danger, something to be afraid of, yet his inquiring mind thought differently.  Those trees, their leaves, they were singing his name. They were begging for him to answer, to leave the safety of his hanok and give in to the temptation of the unknown.  Baekhyun did not understand why, but he had always been fascinated with the woodlands. As a young boy he had watched it from the farm, and it had called out to him the same way it was doing now, bringing him some of the most wonderful memories of his life. And just like he had been back in those days, he was absolutely spellbound.  Something along the borders was trying to lure him in, as if inviting him to come home, but he knew he had to resist its powers. Even now, as he longed to feel that freedom of being entirely surrounded by nature, he thought of where he truly belonged. It was here, in this room with the crown prince of Great Joseon, and with his grandmother in the countryside.  No matter how the forest seemed to summon him, wishing for him to set foot beyond the borders, he had to defy its plea. He had to. 
⁂
 As expected, the kingdom broke into chaos the moment word of a second body began to travel. It spread like wildfire, even within the palace walls, and the next days were filled with quietly whispered speculations about the details of the murder, some of which were incredulous and completely baseless.  Baekhyun would hear the servants gossiping with one another as he walked across palace grounds, their heads bowed together so no one would see the shock on their faces as they talked. They hoped to find some answers from whichever royal they served, but it seemed impossible to get any useful information.  Those in power were clearly trying their hardest to pretend nothing had happened at all. At least, everyone except the crown prince. Maybe because they truly did not know a thing, or maybe because the king had sworn them to secrecy.  So, although no news made it outside the palace walls, it did make it back in. Stories of worried villagers who kept their children locked away, who no longer cared for the community and carelessly looted shops to have as much food in storage as possible. It was a warzone, and Baekhyun got to see it with his own eyes when he travelled to town a week  after the body was found. He had received a letter from the crown prince, telling Baekhyun how he had been ordered to form an army and plan an attack, and that he would not be visiting until the situation had been taken care of. It gave Baekhyun the freedom to take some time off, which he would certainly not be spending by himself in his desolated hanok. Instead he was on his way to see his grandmother. She lived some miles away from the village, and though she was cautious enough of the woodlands not to get caught wandering places she should not, that did not mean she was strong enough to defend herself in case anything were to happen. Baekhyun feared her safety, and so he would go there to protect her for as long as the Deimos remained a threat. Or until the crown prince would call him back to the palace. Travelling through streets that would usually be bustling with life, with excitement and friendliness, was a strange experience. There were still people idling around, but they stuck to the walls, sending suspicious glares to everyone they did not know. As if no one could be trusted.  Multiple doors were covered with large, petrifying posters, ones that Baekhyun remembered seeing in his childhood, and upon spotting the first one, he stopped to observe it. The Deimos was depicted as a huge monster, tall and fat, with bright red skin and black hair. It had a tail long enough to reach the crown of its head, and wings spanning as wide as the merchant carts that would usually line the streets. Its eyes were bulging and spitting fire, and its grin was devilish and unkind. Baekhyun felt uneasy looking at it, his mind providing a film of vile and abominable scenes where the monster played the villain. He thought of the two unfortunate victims, of how they must have met their ends, and he closed his eyes and shook off the unsettling emotions that were trying to creep up on him. He decided to avert his gaze and carry on his way, restlessly lifting his bag up over his shoulder as he stepped away from the door. The sack was heavy, but he did not know how long he would be gone for, and he had needed to bring some essentials. Apart from a change of clothes, he had brought his grandmother some new books, a dose of vitamins that Sehun had managed to smuggle into the palace, as well as the money he had made being Yi Geum’s concubine. Most of what he earned he sent to his grandmother, and whenever she needed medicine, Sehun had ways of getting them to her much cheaper.  Baekhyun knew how vital it was to have access to these kinds of resources, and it was because he could care for his grandmother so well that he did not regret leaving his old life behind. She was truly the most important person in the world to him, and he would do anything to keep her safe, including giving up his freedom. But she was getting older now, which made the heavy, physical labour on the farm far more arduous. As a consequence, illness struck more often than it used to, even if Baekhyun was capable of getting her the treatment she needed.  It made him proud to know he could finally pay her back for all the years in which she had taken him under her wing instead of thrown him out on the streets. After the fateful death of his parents, she had become his guardian angel, and now, now he would be hers.  Baekhyun could not help but heave a sigh of relief the moment he left the village behind him, the dark, sombre aura having been too much to bear. It felt good to escape it, to take a breath of fresh air and momentarily forget all about the Deimos, even though he was actually moving closer to its territory. It did not change how it felt like coming home. The path towards his grandmother’s farm had exploded with greenery. It seemed the violent storm that had terrorised the country had done the land a favour. He got to watch the bees buzzing around some flowers, and birds chirpily tweeting in the nearby trees. It always reminded him of his birthday, of yet another year having passed, but they were not quite there yet.  Baekhyun paused a few times, sitting down in the shade of a tree to catch his breath and shelter from the sun, which had returned to scorch the earth at full force. He was dressed in too many layers, keeping his skin out of direct sunlight, and he refused to take anything off in fear he’d lose his perfectly light complexion.  Before he had left for the palace, he had spent most of his days outside. His skin would soak up every ray of sunshine, ending up deliciously tan by the time the harvest would come, but now he hardly set foot outside anymore.  Pale skin was a sign of wealth, and it made him more desirable, which as a concubine, he needed to be. And so whenever he did go out, he would carefully wrap himself in fabric to protect his skin from the sun, even if that meant enduring the excruciating heat, like today.  Far too sweaty and a little lightheaded, he eventually continued onwards. There was not much left to go, so while he waited for the fields to come into view, Baekhyun picked up his pace as much as he could.  He was feeling the same kind of excitement he always did, knowing he was so close to home, but today he was more animated than ever: his grandmother did not know he was coming. It had been too last minute to send a letter, as it would have arrived after he did, and he was thrilled about getting to surprise her like this. He could already imagine her stunned smile, could already feel her warm arms around him, and he thought of this the entire final stretch of his journey.  Baekhyun had to keep himself from running the second he fully saw the homely farm come into view. His gleeful smile grew twice its size, tired feet scurrying across the gravel to reach the gates, and he was calling out before he even reached them. “Halmoni! I’m back!” He dropped his bag after passing through the entryway, bursting out with another cry of her name, and only a second later her head popped out from around the back.  “Baekhyunnie?” Baekhyun did not wait for her to make sense of things. He rushed towards her because he could, and with more warmth and love than he held for anyone, he threw his arms around her shoulders. “Yes, it is me.” She held onto her grandson with a tight grip, as if he had been on a most dangerous quest and had at last returned home safely, and Baekhyun loved hearing her worried tone as she complained, “my boy, you should have let me know you were coming. I would have come to get you. It is not safe out there now.” “I know. I know about everything, halmoni,” he reassured her, “that is why I had the time to come see you. The prince is working on it.” She stepped away, her fingers still firmly holding onto her grandson’s arm, and her eyes were a little less bright than they had been upon first seeing him. “Right, of course he is. Come on in, son, you must be hungry after such a trip.”  As if on cue, Baekhyun’s stomach made a gurgling noise of agreement, and his grandmother laughed knowingly as she let go of him, “I am happy to see you have not changed.”  While she made her way inside, clearly expecting her grandson to follow, Baekhyun thought of how good it felt to be back. To breathe in the cleanest air, watch his grandmother move around the kitchen, and hear the sounds of nature right outside every window. The beauty of it all, the splendour of the countryside, was what he missed most about living here. Finally, he joined his grandmother inside, taking it upon himself to set the table while she worked on the food. It was easy, habitual, the product of years of living together, and it made him wish he could take her along with him to the palace so he could always feel this at home.  But he knew he would not make his grandmother happy living such a life, taking her away from the place that held her heart, and he would never be able to make such a selfish decision when it came to her.  “Had I known you would be coming, I would have prepared something special. Now all I have is some stew, and it is not even the best stew I have ever made.”  Baekhyun watched as a bowl of steaming meat and vegetables was put in front of him, and his stomach growled again, desperate for a taste.  “Halmoni, if all you had was dry bread I would still think it was the most delicious meal ever, okay? Usually I eat in the village before heading this way, but the town is truly deserted right now, so I have not eaten in hours,” he explained, waiting for his grandmother to sit before they both dug into their food.  “Goodness, then eat, son. There is more if you want it.” Baekhyun slurped up the first spoonful of stew, the taste exploding on his tongue, and he instantly felt its warmth course through his body. With his eyes closed, he let a sound of appreciation escape him, and it got his grandmother to laugh, “that's my boy.”  He could not help it, he wanted to talk to her more than anything, but he was so hungry and the food was simply too good to even breathe between bites. He finished his entire bowl before even looking up again, and did not put it down until every drop had been swallowed. Then he slumped back into his seat, hands on his stomach as he waited quietly for his grandmother to finish too. She had not poured herself as much as she had given him, but rather than wolfing it down like Baekhyun had, she savoured every mouthful by patiently chewing on the meat.  Watching her made him think of his mom, of how much she had looked like halmoni. He wondered what she would have looked like had she been alive today. Would he still have ended up as the prince’s concubine then? Or would fate have ruined his life in a different way? It did not matter, because the past could not be changed. Casting off pointless thoughts about a life of ‘what if’s, Baekhyun eventually cleared his throat and dared to break the silence.  “How have you been, halmoni?” He asked, quickly summing up a hundred questions at once. “How is your health? And what about the farm? Did you manage to sow all the seeds in time?”  His grandmother waved her hand at him to tell him to slow down, and she shook her head before she got to her feet, putting away their empty bowls before doing anything else.  “Do not worry so much about me, son,” she said. “I can take care of myself.” Baekhyun watched her grab two smaller cups, the ones meant for drinks, and then snatch a bottle off the shelf. It was one of her homemade soju recipes, the one that had become an absolute hit in town, and she took both to the table before she sat down with her grandson.  “I know you can. I just want to hear how things have been.” Pouring them both a glass of the intense liquor, she clearly pondered over how much she wanted to share with her grandson, and Baekhyun tried to win her over by reminding her, “please, I’m not a child anymore…” The way he downed the soju in one go was proof of that, and his grandmother smiled fondly, almost as if memories of her daughter and son in law were on her mind too. Whatever it was that she was thinking, it made her cave. “Well, business has taken a hit,” she admitted while filling Baekhyun’s glass a second time. Then she took a small sip of her own. “We have not been able to go to the market all week.” Instantly, Baekhyun’s body filled with dread, his mind coming up with all these negative thoughts and fears that he could not suppress. Was it all because of the Deimos, or was there more to it? Would she have enough medicine to last through these difficult times? Would she be able to survive on Baekhyun’s income without the money made at the market? Would she be able to buy all she needed to live if the world were to shut down? “Does Junmyeon still help you take your cart there?” He asked, wanting to make sure at least his best friend had not left, that he was helping where he could and looking out for his grandmother the way he had promised Baekhyun before he left.  “He does,” she assured him, knowing of the two boys’ agreement. “Such a lovely young man... He misses you, Baekhyunnie.” “I miss him too,” Baekhyun admitted, smiling warmly, “but I will visit him tomorrow. Today is about you.” His grandmother shook her head at that, “Silly boy…” He decided to let it be, knowing defending himself would change nothing about it. Instead he focused on what she loved talking about most, her pride and joy: the garden.  “Were you happy to get the rain? The storm made everything so green outside.” Her eyes lit up the way they always did when discussing the farm and everything that came with it. It had been her husband’s back in the day, but grandpa had passed away before Baekhyun had been born and the place had been left to her. She continued to put all her love and care into the soil, even after two decades of doing it alone.  “It was desperately needed, yes,” she mused, staring out towards the courtyard and taking in how dry the ground was, still. “But the crops have started growing, so you can do your little inspection round later if you want.” “I will,” he smiled, “I have missed the smell.” At this, his grandmother’s face turned serious again, and a flash of guilt passed across her features too. Baekhyun already knew what she was about to say before she spoke, he had heard it a hundred times before. “You know you can always come back home, right? You do not have to stay at the palace for me.”  “I know,” Baekhyun swore, wishing she would stop blaming herself for the life her grandson had chosen to live. “But it allows me to take care of you, and the crown prince takes good care of me in return, I promise.” She did not seem convinced, and Baekhyun watched her lift the soju to her lips so she could down it. “He better, or I will make sure to get him and all his future children cursed.” It was said merely because she was looking out for her grandson the way he was looking out for her, and so Baekhyun pointedly did not share how the prince had tried to get him pregnant. She would surely have an opinion on that, or perhaps even get him cursed.  “Have some faith in him, please. He will kill the Deimos.” She huffed at his words as if she believed this even less than Baekhyun’s previous statement. “I wish him luck on that. You do not find a Deimos. No, no, it finds you instead.” The way she said it, so convincingly, reminded Baekhyun of how much she believed in all the stories she had told her grandson throughout his life. Tales as old as time, warning of the dangers lurking in the forest. She was always the best at telling them, too, using a scary voice on him to truly get him frightened.  He remembered how, for a while, he had been too scared to go back into the forest to look for berries, but eventually he had concluded that until he would actually come across any mythical creatures, he would not let it hold him back. “Halmoni?” he asked. “I do remember most of your stories, but could you tell this one again? So I can make sure I did not miss anything important?” Maybe he had forgotten crucial details, ones that could clear up everything and offer the solution all of them had been looking for. He wanted to be that lending hand, hoping to find an answer to this predicament so he could get Yi Geum home in time to watch his child be born.  “Of course,” his grandmother seized the opportunity easily, never giving up on a chance to share her knowledge with those wishing to receive it.   “The forest is home to a multitude of mythical creatures, though you know not everyone believes so. Deimos were among the earliest sighted by humans, and they have roamed these woodlands for centuries. I grew up with the stories, as did my mother before me, and her mother before too.” Baekhyun took the bottle of soju and filled both his grandmother’s glass as well as his own, all the while listening to her paint a picture of the creature that had come back to haunt the kingdom.  “They are half human, half demon, and live and feed off the forest for most of the year. Not much is known about what they hunt for exactly, nor do we know how they live, but once a year they come out to feed on the souls of innocent humans, taking as many as needed to survive.”  “Why would such creatures exist, though?” Baekhyun asked, remembering how he had never come to find an answer to this question, “if they just kill and kill, then should we not want them dead? And how could they even be half human?” “In many ways they are like us, except they are much bigger and stronger, and absolutely fearless. However, their hearts are as vulnerable as ours, and an easy target for those that have the weapons to fight it. When the king killed the last Deimos, or so he claimed, he cut out its heart and took it with him. It was an exact copy of a human heart, but twice the size.” Baekhyun felt himself getting sucked into his grandma’s storytelling, loving the way she lowered her voice as if she was sharing a secret. Like there was someone lurking outside, listening in on this tale while they were not allowed to hear her words.  “I would say it is more demon than human, considering these brutal murders…” he mumbled back, toying with his drink, and his grandmother hummed thoughtfully. “I understand you think so. They are known to move closer to the woodland borders once spring arrives, and each year without fail, humans would end up dead because of them. Until the king took care of it, that is.” Baekhyun nodded, vividly remembering the celebrations across the kingdom after the Deimos had been defeated. A week of celebrations, of feasting and drinking and dancing. He had been so young back then, but it had left an impression all the same, and not just because it had happened so shortly after his parents’ death. But a decade had passed and now a Deimos was back, meaning people were being murdered again. Not just murdered either, but raped and mangled, robbed of their honour and sent to an early grave.   “It must be such a horrible way to die.” “I am certain it is,” his grandmother agreed. “That is why I always told you to stay away from the forest, and why you would get your ass beat whenever you did wander there. You were such a curious child… Only once she was no longer on this earth did I come to understand why you always gave my daughter headaches.” “Hey, apart from me sneaking away I was a good kid!” Baekhyun felt himself pout, and he sat back so he could cross his arms in front of his chest. “If mom were still here she would agree with me.” “I never said you weren’t, sweetheart. She would be so proud of you.” His grandmother’s gentle smile was filled with a sorrow he only saw there occasionally, a pain she kept hidden in a little chest inside her heart. It was the same one Baekhyun carried with him, and it was brimming with the same kind of grief. They had gone through it all together, and knew exactly how the other felt.  A silence fell over them as they remembered the two warm personalities missing in the room. A daughter, a mother, and her husband, a father. Still, with time it had become less difficult to move past the hurt, and pushing those feelings away was not as painful now. It was what Baekhyun did in that moment, knowing there were more important things for them to discuss.  He cleared his throat, keeping his gaze on the table as he changed the topic back to the Deimos. “Okay, so what should Yi Geum do to kill this monster then? Is carving out its heart the only option?” “Well, with its size and strength, it will be hard to kill. It took the king months to hunt them down, and it will not give up easily. Especially not if this Deimos is in any way related to the ones the king killed. It will be out for blood.” Through this all, Baekhyun had not once thought about this. If any had survived back then, why would they have waited ten years to return? No, this had to be a different Deimos, one that had wandered here without knowing a murderous king would come for it. Right? “Do you think more people will die?” he asked, fearing the answer to his question.  His grandmother’s eyebrows furrowed, as if she was not sure of this herself. But as she did, she reached for the soju again, and Baekhyun knew her next words would not be reassuring.  “Usually, a Deimos only makes one or two victims a year,” she explained, “but if it is looking for a partner then yes, more will follow. It will continue to kill until it finds a match.” This was news to Baekhyun. A match? What kind of match? Was his grandmother saying what he thought she was saying?  “Wait, you never told me about this…” he argued, and she interrupted him, as if she could not believe he was shocked by this.  “Baekhyun, you were a child. Of course I did not tell you about this.” Taking another sip of his drink, Baekhyun let the mix of confusing questions run through his mind. He stared out at the courtyard, trying to make sense of everything before he would speak again. Because he had never considered how these creatures produced their offspring, and even if he would have, he would not have expected it to be this.   “A partner? Is it looking for a partner? Is that why it is killing people?” His grandmother did not have all the answers in the world, as much as he wished for her to know everything. This seemed to be one of those things she could not say with certainty.  “It could be. Only time will tell if this Deimos is looking to mate or not, but the past has shown it seeks a human partner, and it will kill until it has found the most perfect one.” Baekhyun’s mind was whirring with thoughts and ideas, each crazier than the last. “So, you think the killing could stop once it finds a partner?” His grandmother could hear the conniving tone to his voice and she instantly shook her head, pointing a warning finger his way. “Oh no, don’t you dare interfere… It is not our problem, Baekhyunnie. If we stay away, we should be safe.” With a huff, the boy held up both hands, as if she was wrong to make any kind of assumptions like that. “I know, I just want to help put an end to this. I am worried about you not being able to go to the market and sell your produce. I am only looking out for you.” “You are a sweetheart, really, but I can take care of myself, darling,” his grandmother reached out to grab one of his hands, giving it a kind squeeze to assure him she was perfectly fine. “You already do too much for me as it is.” Watching her disregard the issue so easily was not unusual. She had always shown herself to be a strong-willed woman, even through the loss of her only child, but Baekhyun knew she was worried too. He could see it in the lines of her face, in the nervous tremor in her hand. She was only pretending to be strong.  “You are the only one I have left,” he whispered as he looked at the one family member he could still count on. What would he do if she were to get murdered by a Deimos? He would die of heartbreak and never forgive himself for not taking action. “How could I not?” “You know that is not true, my boy,” she pushed herself up from her seat, clearly not comfortable enough talking about this, and yet Baekhyun pushed.  “It is. Yi Geum and Junmyeon cannot come close to the space you hold in my heart. You are family .”  “You can find family with others too, dear,” she replied, putting the soju away again so she had an excuse to turn her back to her grandson. “I need to go check up on my seedlings. Some still need to be planted…”  Baekhyun watched her run away from the conversation, ignoring the completely reasonable arguments her grandson had offered. He had every reason to worry about her, and yet she would not let him express it. Even after all these years, she was still a stubborn old lady. With a sigh, the boy got to his feet too, deciding to fetch his belongings and get them to his room. He could try to convince his grandmother again later today. For now he would use the silence in the house to come up with a plan to keep the most important people in his life out of harm’s way.  Whatever it would take.  
⁂
 Leading someone to believe a fact they considered indisputable was tough, especially when it came to the existence of mythical creatures. But it was not nearly as difficult as convincing his grandmother she was worthy of being taken care of.  Baekhyun had tried once more that night before, repeatedly telling her that family was solely bound by blood and would never come to him in other ways, yet she had ignored his every argument. He had hoped to show her just how important she was by bringing out the pills he had managed to get his hands on; however, somehow that had only made the situation worse.  She had violently thrown the glass bottle across the room, shattering it against the floor while yelling about being perfectly capable of living without them. It had been like trying to talk to an angry toddler, and though he recognised this bullheadedness better than anyone, he wished there was an off button for it.  Utterly forlorn and desperate for her to understand, Baekhyun had fallen to his knees, gathering as many pills as he could without cutting himself on the razor-sharp shards of glass. He had been wise enough not to say another word, and that had been the end of the conversation, or rather an intermission in a never-ending discussion that neither would ever win. Halmoni did not like feeling out of control, and as it was, life seemed to be pushing her to a place where that happened more and more. Yet, it did not mean she would surrender to it willingly; she would not go down without a fight. Baekhyun simply had to make sure he would be the last man standing once her energy would eventually be depleted.  He had gone to bed licking his wounds, having abandoned his quest for the time being, but at least every last valuable pill was now safely stored in one of their soup bowls.  Sleep had taken him quickly, but kept him in that daunting space between deep slumber and consciousness where the most fantastical dreams would plague the mind. It had painted him pictures of absolute carnage, of mutilated bodies everywhere, and his grandmother’s scream had sounded so harrowingly real that he had needed to check up on her the moment he awoke.  Thankfully, his dreams truly proved themselves to be nothing but illusions, as his halmoni had been peeling beans for what seemed like a while. She had smiled at Baekhyun, as if their fight the night before had not happened at all, and then told him to go fetch the eggs.  And so now, in the early morning dew, he was breathing in the smell of wet grass while he made his usual morning rounds; check on the animals, water the seedlings, and cut out any dead sprouts from the flowerbeds. It was easy, predictable, and soothing all at the same time.  He could stop to watch the flock of chicken while they pecked the ground for food, merrily tuck-tuck-tucking like there was nothing that made them happier. Having said that, he knew the goats would be screaming bloody murder if he took too long fetching the eggs, which was why he did not linger for too long. “Alright, alright, relax,” Baekhyun grumbled when he could hear some weak bleating already coming from the next pen over. He put the basket with eggs down on the workbench and fetched a heavy bucket with feed before he turned to their enclosure. However, the moment he laid eyes on the small patch of field where the goats always roamed, his light smile died down and a look of pure horror replaced it. The hefty bucket fell from his grip, pellets of food scattering around his feet, and a hand made it up to his mouth to cover his ‘O’-shaped lips as he cried out in anguish. There, near the stone walls at the back of the enclosure, lay one of their youngest goats. It was drowned in blood, its head severed from the romp and all its intestines gone. The sight was brutal, so terribly gruesome that he could not move. His fingers were trembling against his lips, brain completely disconnected from his body, and for a moment he feared he would not be able to breathe.  A gentle nudge against his leg from one of their goats got him to jump, and his heart seemed to crash to the ground, where he caught it just in time for it not to shatter to a thousand pieces. The poor thing at his feet delighted in the food he had spilled all over the place, as if it was entirely unaware of the nightmare Baekhyun had laid his eyes on.  “Oh, goodness…” The words were barely audible, but they allowed him to suck air into his lungs, and slowly the blood returned to his head and his thoughts made him act. “Halmoni!”  He called for his grandmother, crying out her name multiple times while he tried to beckon the other goats to his side. They had to get away from the carcass and be brought to safety, at least until it was clear what had killed this poor animal in such a cruel manner. Had this been the work of the Deimos too? Was it leaving the woods now and targeting not just humans but animals as well?“What is it? What is going on?” His grandmother came out of the house holding nothing other than the biggest cooking knife she owned, and she looked panic-stricken until she laid eyes on her grandson and saw he was completely fine. Then her eyes flitted to the spot behind him, finding the reason he had called for her, and she sighed as she slowly lowered the knife until it almost fell from her grip. Her shoulders came down too, while her face grimaced and her mouth went droopy. “Oh,” she finally said, sounding entirely void of any emotion, “another one…”  Baekhyun could not believe what he was hearing. “Another one?” he raised his voice and stomped his foot, scaring one of the goats away from him, “what do you mean another one?!”  His grandmother walked closer, motioning for him to lower his voice, and she sighed again, as if the scene her grandson was causing had taken another year off her life.  “I mean, this is not the first animal to die,” she admitted, her eyes still on the goat instead of Baekhyun. Understandably so, because the boy was enraged by this fact, and she knew it.  “Why did you not tell me before? Halmoni, this is serious… if the Deimos can get this close, you could be in danger.” Her frown deepened at her grandson’s words, and at last she turned away to put down the knife next to the basket of eggs. “I highly doubt I am its target, my boy… But even if I were, I would rather die here than leave.”  Baekhyun hated how much it hurt to hear those words being spoken into existence. They did not surprise him in any way, but he wished his grandmother would not think so little of her own life. She should want to live, not give up like this.  “Even then, you could have shared this with me…” he threw back while taking a tiny step closer to her, hoping she would look into his troubled eyes, but he was being ignored all the same. “And worry you even more? No, my boy.” She chuckled, as if he should have figured this out himself. After all, he was made of the same wood as her.  “Well, did you at least tell Junmyeon?” Baekhyun begged, hoping it was just him that she would not talk to about these things. Just like she was the one he would not talk to about whatever went on at the palace. As long as someone knew, he would be able to let it go.  “I did,” she assured him, finally sparing him a glance. “I told you, he is a wonderful young man and he takes good care of me when you are at the palace.”  Baekhyun released the air he had been holding in his lungs, feeling some of the fear that had been building slowly seep out of him. At least Junmyeon knew what went on the farm when he was not around. “Good. Okay. Yeah.” His grandmother turned to him then, giving him a thorough once over. Her eyes were narrowed, and Baekhyun could see the discontentment in her face when she warned him, “I do not like this, though. You are far too invested. Not to mention, you are young and fertile, which makes you a desirable prey for this creature. It would be best for you to return to the palace, Baekhyunnie.” Baekhyun silently stared at her, knowing fully well that she was right. He was invested, and he did fit the description of the previous victims, but his grandmother seemed to forget she had raised him. Her stubbornness had been passed down to him, and her willingness to sacrifice herself for her loved ones burned just as brightly in his heart. “I am not leaving you, halmoni,” he told her, not an ounce of doubt in his voice. “I would rather die here than leave.” He echoed the same words his grandmother had spoken, and she rolled her eyes at him as if she could not believe he had pulled the same trick. But she could, because she knew him better than that. “Tenacious boy…” she mumbled, shaking her head in disapproval, though she did not argue with him.  “Guess I take after you,” he replied with a grin, the light finally reaching his eyes again. “Right,” she waved him off, signalling she was done with the conversation. “Go get Junmyeon then, he knows how to skin the carcass. The least we can do to honour this animal is make good use of its remains” Baekhyun pulled a face, disgusted by the idea of actually touching the dead animal with his bare hands. In all his time on the farm, he had never been one to get involved in that kind of task. He was too big of a softie for it, and so he would gladly find his best friend so he could take care of the problem.  “Only if you promise me you will wait inside until I get back, though,” he tried to bribe his grandmother before he gave in, already knowing she was not going to comply.  “Byun Baekhyun…” she rumbled, and Baekhyun caved easily.  “Fine,” he pouted, feeling like a scolded child as he turned around and marched towards the gates.  Junmyeon better side with him, or he would throw a fit and call for his palace guards to put the entire farm on lockdown. His grandmother could tell him off for caring, but she would not be able to dismiss a royal decree.  If Baekhyun truly felt the need, he could have the upper hand. Because he would not lose the most important person in his life to some mythical creature spawned by the devil. He simply refused to let it happen.  
⁂
 Three goats and five chickens. That is how many animals had been murdered since the first girl had disappeared two months before.  Junmyeon would have preferred not to tell him, but Baekhyun had pinched the sensitive skin of his waist until he had unwillingly spilled every secret he had been forced to keep. From how many animals had been killed to just how little halmoni had been able to sell the past weeks, and how her health was badly affected by the anxiety that came with all of it. It had made Baekhyun’s heart ache so much that he had spilled a few tears, leaning his head on Junmyeon’s shoulder as they talked about it, a safe distance away from the house.  “I wish there was something I could do to fix things,” he had dejectedly whispered to his best friend, who had taken his hand and assured him, “you already do everything that lies within your power, Baekhyun. I hope you learn not to be so hard on yourself.” It had brought him some relief, hearing those words being spoken by someone like Junmyeon, but they had not superseded the worries that had settled like a burdensome stone in the pit of Baekhyun’s stomach. And so he was glad to be alone again, completely alone this time, as he could finally let his thoughts roam freely.  After a rather peaceful dinner with both his grandmother and best friend, Baekhyun had excused himself to his room. He had not lingered, did not even need to think before he snuck up the old, creaky ladder in his room to find his most favourite spot on the roof.  His grandmother would always scold him for going up there, afraid he would stumble off the roof and fall to his death, but the view was simply too breathtaking for him to heed her warning.  Baekhyun sat on the narrow, flat ledge underneath the ridge of the house, his slender arms wrapped around tired legs as he stared ahead over the wall at the woodlands. It looked so incredibly peaceful, the leaves calmly fluttering in the wind with various shades of green mixing together. It was as if they were enchanted; able to sense one another and dance to the same tune, creating this lovely display of greenery.  The warmth of the setting sun was on his back, casting an orange and pink glow on the trees, and for a while Baekhyun thought of how deceiving the forest was. It looked so beautiful, yet there was a darkness lurking behind that façade of serenity that he would never understand.  It was threatening everyone he loved. Every person he held dear was affected by the creature hidden behind that line of trees, and this distress would remain until the threat was no longer present. There were only two ways that could happen: either the Deimos would have to die, or it would have to find a mate.  Baekhyun knew the crown prince was planning on following in his father’s footsteps by ending the life of this monster, and yet he had a feeling this would not be as easy as it sounded. He feared more people would die before then, feared Yi Geum would be foolish enough to let his pride lead him, and that simply would not do. Baekhyun had to find a way to help.  In the distance, one of the goats was bleating, as if calling for its dead mate, and a feeling of sudden loss hit Baekhyun square in the chest. He thought of a world where he was crying for his grandmother, for Junmyeon and Yi Geum. A world where the Deimos was far too powerful to be killed, and the murders would not end. Resting his cheek on his knees, Baekhyun felt such sadness in his bones that he had to close his eyes or else he would cry. However, even though he was not watching, the world still continued to turn. The wind never paused its song, while the sun disappeared a little more every minute that he sat there, bringing on an icy chill that had not been present during the day. He thought of all the people in his life that had kept him warm. They were feeling the same kind of cold that he had felt for most of his life, were in his shoes for once, and he wanted to be the one keeping them warm this time around.  His grandmother had explicitly told him to stay out of it, but how could he? The woodlands had been calling for him since his childhood. It was beckoning him to come closer, perhaps because he was meant to enter, and the call was getting harder to ignore with each passing day. What if he had the power to end all of this and save the people he loved? The kingdom could be freed, his grandmother would go back to selling her produce at the local market, and Yi Geum would honour him by taking care of her until her death.  The crown prince would mourn him, Baekhyun knew he would, but he had his wife and a handful of other concubines. In the grand scheme of things, he was replaceable, and in time he would be easily forgotten. He knew it was ridiculous, knew it was possible he would die in vain, but Baekhyun also knew every day of his life was a gift anyway. He could have died along with his parents, perhaps he should have, but he had been given another decade to experience everything the world had to offer. To die for the ones he loved, it would be an honour. As the sun fully set, stealing the last bit of warmth from his aching bones, Baekhyun watched the green of the leaves turn to solemn darkness. It brought the same gloominess that had fallen in the entire kingdom, and he blankly stared ahead as the twilight created dark shadows between the tree trunks that looked like tall figures.  A chilling feeling crept up on him then, as if he was being watched, but no matter how closely he searched for a pair of red eyes in the night, he could not discover them. Baekhyun sat with his fear for a while, trying to find comfort in the discomfort, but it was impossible to shake the uneasiness he felt. No matter how long he marvelled at the forest, all he saw were the swaying branches and rustling leaves, and the unfamiliar darkness that lay beyond the border.  Eventually, he sighed and stretched out his tired limbs. He needed sleep, enough of it to regain his strength, and then he would need to form a plan. Leaving without any sort of strategy would most certainly lead to a wasteful death, if he would not cower in fear before entering the forest to begin with. His grandmother could not know about any of it, or she would surely stop him. He had to write her a letter, Yi Geum too, to hold them back from recklessly following him once they would realise he had gone missing. Tell them everything he had always wanted them to know. Baekhyun thought of goodbyes, of everything he would be leaving behind, and for a moment he felt like a complete and utter fool. He had so much to live for, and yet here he sat, considering giving all of that up. Would he be brave enough to trade his future for peace in the kingdom? Was it worth giving up everything?  No matter how often he considered it, he knew it would be. No selfish wish he had could come close to how badly he wanted his loved ones to be safe. And so he was filled with an unbreakable confidence, an unshakable belief that this was fate’s calling.  As he climbed down the stairs, returning to the safety of his bedroom, Baekhyun paused once more. His eyes went back to the eerily quiet forest, and as he felt his determination flow to the tips of his fingers and the soles of his feet, he grinned at the darkness. “I’ll be coming for you, wretched evil.”  Then he disappeared inside, hell bound on coming up with a master plan in the limited hours before the next sunset. Because time was of the essence, and every minute would count.  
⁂
 Baekhyun wrote four letters. One to his grandmother, one to Yi Geum, one to Junmyeon, and one to Sehun. Each held words of gratitude along with careful instructions on what he wished from them after his leaving. Whether that be to live in happiness, or to ensure the safety of the ones Baekhyun held dear, he wrote down everything he would never be able to say.  He kept them hidden in the single drawer in his desk while he went about his day, making his usual rounds in the morning and helping with the cooking in the afternoon. But unlike yesterday, there was a heaviness incessantly weighing down on him. A constant awareness that this was the last time he would feed the animals, the last time he would water the flowerbeds, and the last time he would taste his grandmother’s cooking.  It made him more emotional than he had expected, thinking of his possible death, but no matter how choked up he got, he still forced himself to eat. He could neither let his grandmother get suspicious, nor would he survive for long on an empty stomach, and so he ate until he felt like he would explode if he were to take another bite.  “Thankfully I made enough,” his grandmother smiled at him, “since you are acting like a starving man.” Baekhyun’s heart squeezed painfully in his chest at the thought of never seeing her smile like that again, but he pushed the idea away the second it entered his brain.  “I cannot help it, halmoni. Homegrown food just tastes so much better than what they serve at the palace.” Her chuckle was bright as she began to put away the empty dishes, looking perfectly content. It was as if there was nothing she worried about, as if the threat of a Deimos was something she was blissfully unaware of, and Baekhyun was reminded of why he would be following through on his insane plan. It was so she could look this happy for the rest of her days, even if it was Junmyeon who would be sitting across from her instead of him.  Baekhyun watched his grandmother as she followed a routine that had not changed since he had been a child. For as long as she would live, she would continue to repeat the same tasks in the same sequence without ever getting bored. It did not matter whether her grandson was here, at the palace, or if he were dead.  It was a small consolation that gave him some peace of mind, knowing that his absence would not turn her life upside-down. It meant his time at the palace had been good for more than just his grandmother’s health, and he could not help but be thankful for the decisions he had made all those months ago. They had led him here, to the point where he was willing to sacrifice his own life for hers.  “Halmoni,” he called out, feeling a sudden nostalgia wash over him. The way she hummed to let him know she was listening reminded him of when he had been young, and he felt the warmth and affection of his childhood when she turned to look at him. He could almost see the ghost of her younger self, standing right beside her; the smiles on their faces were exactly the same, even though time had left its mark in other ways.  It convinced Baekhyun even more that he was doing the right thing. He would be paying his debt in full, and regardless of how much his grandmother would disapprove of his scheme if she were to find out about it, it was his decision to make. “I am so grateful for you, you know that right?” Baekhyun finally finished his sentence, hoping his sincerity was visible in his gaze.  Judging by the way a look of weariness passed on his grandmother’s face, it showed more than that. Her eyes narrowed, smile faltering slightly, and for a second Baekhyun was afraid she could see right through him. Did she know about his plan? Had he given it away by saying such a sentimental thing? He was about to take it all back, to try and patch up the situation, but then his grandmother actually offered up an escape that he would gladly take advantage of.  “Oh son, do not tell me you are feeling guilty about your parents again… I know things are not perfect right now, but I do not regret raising you at all. I am doing okay, and so are you. We will be fine, I promise.” Baekhyun hoped she was right. He hoped both of them would be at ease once everything had unfolded the way it was destined to. Whether dead or alive, he had faith that he would be able to make a difference.  “Of course, but I wanted to make sure you know. Just in case…”  Walking over to him, she leaned down to hug Baekhyun against her chest, and her reassurance was all he needed to come to terms with his choice. “I know, my boy. Of course I know. I am thankful for you, too.”  Maybe both of them had instinctively known everything was about to change. Maybe, deep down, his grandmother knew Baekhyun was up to no good, but if she did, she did not stop him. Destiny had determined he was meant to put his plan into action, to spare no effort in his attempt to return harmony to the kingdom. And so he would. Once she let him go, Baekhyun excused himself with an exaggerated yawn, “I am going to rest a little bit before my evening rounds. Call for me if you need me, okay?”  With an agreeing hum, she let him slip away, and only once he was alone in his bedroom did he let any kind of sadness slip through the cracks in his countenance. Baekhyun leaned against a pillar, closing his eyes as he fought the tears caused by the aching of his heart, and then he released a heavy exhale.  “Goodness…” he mumbled to himself, hands squeezed into fists at his sides as a single tear rolled down his cheek.  Baekhyun’s next inhale was shaky, almost turning him into a sobbing mess, but he held it together solely because of his unwavering faith. He had not changed his mind at any point during the day; he would be leaving soon. Steadfast and with little time to spare, Baekhyun began to undress. He stripped down completely, folding his robes and turning to the weapons he had readied in the early hours of the morning. He began with the smallest dagger, attached to a leather band that he fastened around his upper thigh. He had sharpened it himself, and the casing was decorated with a faded drawing of his father’s initials. It was the dagger he always used whenever he went to pick berries or gather flowers, and if he were to die tonight, at least he would have something he owned to take to the afterlife with him.  Then Baekhyun brushed his hair, taking the time to get every little knot out of his shoulder-length locks before he braided the sections right behind his bangs, wanting to make sure they would stay out of his face. The intricate task calmed him down, keeping his attention on his hair instead of the near future, and for a while he just made braid after braid, until a handful of them helped tie back the loose hair on either side.  One glance outside told him the sun had begun to sink from its highest spot in the sky, marking the beginning of the end. Life was sifting through his fingers like sand in an hourglass, and the sun was counting down with him to the very last grain.  With his hair done, Baekhyun donned himself in a pure white overcoat, specifically chosen to draw attention to himself. He hid another dagger in the waistband, buttoned up the front, tied the ribbons, and then reached for his sword.  He may not be as skilled a swordsman as Yi Geum, but he had watched plenty of guards practise their craftsmanship to know how to yield it. He would need his dagger for precision if he aimed to kill the Deimos, but he did not need precision to wound the enemy, and so he would be bringing his sword along.  To avoid suspicion, he hid the weapon outside his window, ensuring he would pass by his grandmother empty handed, and before he left his room, he checked every precaution he had put in place one final time.  The letters and all his leftover money were neatly placed on top of his desk alongside the pills he had saved the night before. They were all there, and they were his only worthy possessions. It was a bit pitiful that this was all he would be leaving behind, but he did not own anything other than this. Nothing but the love he held for others, and he intended to carry that with him until the very end. With all his preparations out of the way, Baekhyun slowly let his gaze wander around the room. He wondered if he would ever set foot in it again, or if this was the last he would see of the farm, maybe even the world…  “Enough.”  He turned his back to everything and promptly stepped outside his room. His wildly-beating heart slammed against his ribcage, the heavy thumping sound loud and present in his ears. Baekhyun had to do it now, rip off the bandage and just go, or else he would lose all his courage. If he did not reach the forest before dusk, he doubted he would be brave enough to enter.  “Halmoni, I will be going for my final round now,” he said once he spotted his grandmother in the front garden, checking her bean sprouts in one of the vegetable beds. She looked up at him, taking in the way he was dressed, but before she could splutter anything about his choice of wardrobe, Baekhyun had turned away. He knew that if he were to pause and really look at her now, he would give himself away. The tears he had swallowed back in his bedroom were still very much at the forefront, and one wrong move could make him spill everything.  It was why he grabbed his most favourite basket and walked away, as if this was any other day and he would be back soon. Though the moment he turned the corner, he dropped the hamper and faced the wall, biting down on his lower lip so hard that he swore he could taste blood.  Walking away was so much harder than he had thought it would be, and he actively had to hold himself back from turning around to catch one more glimpse of his grandmother. He told himself it would not ease his ailing heart in any way. In fact, it could easily make him give up on his mission, and he had come too far to back down now.   ‘Toughen up ’ he told himself, harshly slamming a fist against the wall. The sudden pain was all it took for his mind to clear, and every reason for his decision struck him at once like a bolt of lightning in an otherwise clear sky. It instilled in him a bout of bravery. A resolution that had him stalk towards the other side of the house, where his sword was hidden right outside his bedroom window. It was in that moment, when he grabbed it and felt its weight in the palm of his hand, that the realisation of what he was about to do dawned on him.  No matter what would happen tonight, he was acutely aware of how he would be giving up his life the second he would cross the woodland border. Whether the Deimos would kill him for his soul, or if it would find in him what it had been looking for in a mate, Baekhyun knew he would never again return to the life he had lived here.  Coming to terms with the loss of that part of him had been the least complex element of his plan. After all, other than the people he loved, there was not much that he would miss about his past. It made it so much simpler to leave, to say his goodbyes to the house he had lived in half his life, and start down the path leading to the gates at the back of their estate.  Baekhyun felt the wispy grass caressing his legs as he walked down the trail, the feathered reeds leaving behind little specks of colour on the white fabric of his overcoat. He smiled as he let the fingers of his left hand gently sweep along their plumes, and for a second he managed to forget everything but the natural world.  This part of their grounds was covered in the most beautiful wild foliage. From powder-blue mounds to tall grasses with blades in bold shades of purple and red. They were most beautiful in the fall, once all the flowers had lost their charms, but Baekhyun would not be around to appreciate them then. He had to enjoy their beauty now, while he still could. In the distance, he spied his first hurdle: a heavy iron gate, hidden by a waterfall of verdant green ivy. It had not been used in years, but it opened to the fields behind it, leading to the forest.  It had been closed and locked since the last time Baekhyun had roamed the forest, but some simple digging had led him to the rusty old key without any trouble. It helped that his grandmother did not expect him to ever need it again, and so the thing had been kept in plain sight. Now it hung around his neck, tied to a thin leather string and ready to be used.  Upon his arrival at the iron door, he found that though the ivy had touched it, the layer of vines was not too thick to cut through. And thankfully, it was the side that had the keyhole in it which was left mostly unaffected. Baekhyun stopped, dropping his sword so he could pull the key from around his neck, and he stared at it for one long moment before he made up his mind and inserted the metal shank inside the lock. It turned with far too little effort to make sense, but the boy was not about to question his good fortune in any way.  The gate unlocked without any difficulty, though the thick ivy on the other end of the wall was preventing it from falling open. Baekhyun had to pick up his sword and cut through thick stems, pulling at roots until they broke away from the stone wall they had attached themselves to. Sweat beaded on his brow, his pulse picking up the longer it took, and he prayed that his grandmother would not come looking for him yet or else everything would fail. After another surge of energy, finally the vines came down, allowing the gate to swing open with a pained creaking noise. The wind gushed through the opening, blowing up the dust that had broken away from the ivy roots, and Baekhyun held a hand in front of his face while he stepped through it.  In front of him, a whole new world stretched out as far as the eye could see, like a sea of green beginning at his feet. The grass was not too tall, no higher than his ankles, but its vibrant colours were not what caught Baekhyun’s eye anyway.  Instead, the stunning orange hue that lit up the trees in the distance was what captured his attention. The grass along the woodland border looked like it had been lit on fire, and its flames were licking up the trunks of the trees. It was even more spectacular up close than it had been from the rooftop, and Baekhyun inhaled deeply while he took in the glowing amber.  Somehow it felt thrilling to be standing there, giving in to the unknown. To heed the calling he had felt in his bones for so long. He believed it would lead him to something better, even if something better entailed death.  To feel the wind whip around him, playing with his braids, made him realise how it had been a long time since he had last felt so alive. As he stood there at the gate, his heart soaring and hand tightly gripping his sword, an inexplicable excitement filled him from head to toe. It reminded him of his youth, of friendship and puppy love, and a boy with the brightest laugh and most beautiful tan skin. The memories were like a breath of fresh air, encouraging him to seek new adventures, and so he turned at once, pushing the gate shut without even bothering to take out the key. He would not be needing it again, anyway.  “Goodbye, old life.” Before he knew it, his legs were carrying him, down the hill towards the forest. He ran away from familiarity and towards uncertainty, feeling like a bird set free.  The world was still but for the sound of his feet touching the grass and his own incredulous laughter, which was drowned out by the vastness of the open space. Baekhyun ran until his lungs were burning and he had completely exhausted himself, and then he came to a stop.  The distance between the gate and the woodlands was too big to cross at once, but he had made it far enough that he no longer worried about being caught. If his grandmother were to find him now, he would be able to outrun her, and that meant his plan had been successful. He laughed to himself, tilting his head back and spreading his arms out next to him as he took in the impressive size of the trees. They stood tall like guards, ten times Baekhyun’s height, and the closer he came, the smaller he felt.  It took him a good five minutes to reach the border, and as he ambled towards it, he watched the clouds in the sky follow his direction. It was as if they were guiding him, or perhaps sending him off on his journey, and Baekhyun briefly wondered if they had knowledge of what fate had in store for him.  He noted how the bright orange of the sun had turned to a burnt shade of scarlet in the minutes that had passed, making it clear there was no time left to lose. Soon the world would lose its warmth, snuffed out like a candle, and perhaps his life would too.  Dusk was upon them.  It was a surreal sensation, standing so close to the forest for the first time in forever. Baekhyun remembered how often he had come there as a young boy, flitting between tree trunks to chase the squirrels, or gathering the wild berries that grew in the area. Tonight, however, he was roaming far deeper into the woods, ignoring his grandmother’s advice to always remain in sight and never go out past sunset. “I’m sorry, halmoni,” he whispered against the darkness, never taking his eyes away from the sight in front of him. “I hope you forgive me.” The first line of trees looked like a portal to another dimension, painted a warm carmine and luring him in with false promises of beauty. After one more deep inhale, Baekhyun attached his sword to the belt around his waist, and he looked back over his shoulder one final time. The sun had almost fully sunk behind the farm, and the stone walls around the land looked dark and looming from down here.  It was with that last glance of the closed iron gate, the dying rays of light shining from behind it, that Baekhyun closed one chapter of his life and began writing the next. The sound of dry branches snapping under his feet warned the forest of an intruder, but the narrow path that lay ahead of him welcomed him like an old friend. Baekhyun took careful steps, keeping his eyes and ears open at all times, as slowly he trudged deeper into the unfamiliar wilderness. He had no light with him whatsoever, no torch to illuminate the way. Once darkness would truly fall, he would be subjected to the horrors of the night, and so he begged with every step he took for the Deimos to find him before the world would turn pitch black.  For a while he walked, hoping to detect any kind of movement from the corner of his eyes, but apart from a single bird here and there, Baekhyun saw nothing remarkable. Nothing but the shifting colours around him as they lost their warmth and left behind only tints of green, brown, and blue. With the forest growing darker, he almost stumbled over the roots of a massive tree, ending up slamming his hand on the trunk before flinging himself against it. His heart jumped to his throat, and Baekhyun wrapped his arm around the wood as he rested his forehead against the bark, taking a second to breathe.  “Such a fool,” he mumbled to himself, quietly laughing under his breath, but he remained standing there until his heart had calmed down completely. “Okay, focus.” He was about to push himself away from the trunk and continue on his way, having regained his footing, when he first heard the mysterious noise: a hollow tapping sound coming from far above him. Something appeared to be travelling through the treetops, and the sharp thumping it caused was being transmitted through the thick bark underneath his fingertips. The second he straightened himself, head tipping back to find the source of the sound, a loud, persistent rustling was heard on his left. Baekhyun dropped his gaze again just as quickly, hoping to find whatever it was that was undoubtedly inching closer to him, but it was clearly more comfortable hiding in the shadows. When there was a lull in sound, the strange noises having died down for a moment, Baekhyun had this eerie feeling creeping up on him. As if he was being cornered by something alien, and whatever had surrounded him was now in a position to strike at any point.   A chill shot up his spine, his own breathing as quiet as a mouse’s while he tried to identify the other presence in the space around him. But when nothing happened and the sinister feeling did not leave him, his body launched itself from its spot at the tree, and his legs thrust themselves ahead.  He was running, unaware of where to, but all he knew was that he had to get away. Something was wrong, and the moment he darted off, the rustling sound followed him. Whatever was trailing him picked up speed whenever Baekhyun did too, and that was all it took for him to believe he was being tracked. He bolted, sprinting as quickly as his legs would carry him while his fingers tightly curled around the sword at his hip. He had to find a clearing, somewhere the last light would be able to illuminate the forest, and he would keep going for as long as he had to in order to find it.  For a minute or so it seemed like he was able to outrun whatever was nipping at his heels, but then the sounds were not just coming from behind or above, but also from ahead of him. They were closing in, driving him into a corner, and Baekhyun knew by then that he was trapped.  The brightness that managed to make it through the branches above, threw light on the patch of grass in front of him, and what he saw there made him come to a halt immediately.  “Oh no .” He saw eight, long, skeletal legs as dark as the night, crawling across the grass towards him. A spine-like tail swung around in the air, hovering over a creature the size of his head, and a pair of bright white eyes stared at him hungrily.  As he gasped at the sight, a shrill shrieking could be heard from above, and Baekhyun realised with horror that there was more than one of these creatures coming for him. There were at least ten, all advancing towards him now, and they were moving fast.  The spindly monsters leapt from the trees to pounce on him, attempting to grip his limbs with their tails, and Baekhyun grunted dejectedly as he kicked the first away from him. This was not what he had planned, this was not the Deimos who had come for him, and as stubborn as he was, he refused to surrender his life to these ugly monsters.  Dardanos.  Baekhyun reached for his sword while he recalled everything his grandmother had told him about these creatures. Their skulls were impenetrable, their tails strong enough to strangle a horse, and they would pursue any living being suitable to host their brood. He knew that in order to kill, he would have to strike the soft underside of the creature’s body, which was easier said than done, especially when multiple were coming at him at once.  After barely managing to slice the delicate flesh of one Dardanos, Baekhyun felt another slam into his shoulder, using its tail to rip the fabric of his coat before trying to curl around his neck and choke him.  “ No ,” he yelled, swiftly grabbing a hold of the bones and tugging until the tail came loose. “It’s not- supposed- to go- like this.” Baekhyun kicked a second Dardanos away while stabbing a third with his sword, and though everything seemed completely hopeless with how many there were left to chase him, he tried to escape by running for it.  “No, no ,” he kept shouting when yet another monster jumped at him, trying to smother him once and for all, “I am not here for you!”  The Dardanos scurried after him when Baekhyun bolted away, zipping between the trees with nimble steps. He managed to avoid every bush or plant in his way and jump across every visible root on the path; however, although he was good at dodging their attacks, he lacked the speed he needed to stay ahead. He felt a bony tail twist itself around his ankle, right when he wanted to lift his foot, and that was the biggest mistake he could have made. The suspension of his leg in the air made it easy for the Dardanos to tug, flooring him in one fell swoop, and the moment his body slammed against the ground, Baekhyun knew he was done for. The tail around his leg tightened its grip, and fighting back was futile.  For some reason, it did not stop him from trying. Filled with a burning determination, he swung his arm around in the hopes his sword would meet a target to somehow get him out of this mess.  “Get off me!” He hollered, clawing at the creatures’ skeletal shell with the desperation of a mad man, and the monster screeched loudly before trying to attack a second time.  Baekhyun crawled away, attempting to get back to his feet so he could fight properly, but before he could get anywhere, the Dardanos had clamped down his leg and was trying to clamber up his thigh. Behind it, others were rushing over to join, all trying to conquer him as their host, and sooner or later one of them would come out victorious. This was it. This was how he was going to die, and his death would be even more meaningless than he had expected it to be. What a sad way to go, all his effort having been in vain. He could hardly believe it.  “Please,” Baekhyun begged, his voice but barely a whisper that was drowned out by the shrill screeches of the monsters attacking him. He crossed his arms in front of his face, closing his eyes to the world as he shut himself out and prayed for the forgiveness of all the people he had so recklessly left behind. He expected the Dardanos to squeeze shut his windpipe any second now, ending his miserable life without a hitch. But the moment he felt those scrawny legs touch his arm, the creature shrieked with such a high-pitched noise that Baekhyun’s eyes flew open. The Dardanos was fleeing, leaping away from him as quickly as its legs would allow it to move, and Baekhyun sat there absolutely bewildered, wondering what had made it run so abruptly.  He did not want to celebrate his win too soon, but he could not help but heave a sigh of relief that he had escaped death for now. It was not until he had turned over, trying to get up on his hands and knees, that he realised the monsters trying to kill him had fled for the exact same reason. There was a tall shadow looming over him, and Baekhyun felt its presence before he actually saw it. It caused him to cower, and when he finally dared to let his eyes travel upwards to take it in, his heart surged up and up, settling as high in his throat as it could.  His shoulders went up too, body folding in on itself in response to the sheer force of the man in front of him. Because the Deimos that had terrorised the kingdom… it was there.  Its skin was a deep blood red, a shade far darker than portrayed on the posters hung up in every village, and its size was just as disproportionate. Though the man towering over him was taller than any human he had ever seen, he was no giant, nor was he fat in any way. His body was lean, sharp muscles and chiselled chest on display, though more than that Baekhyun did not get to take in.  A gust of wind made the leaves around him rustle and the grass tremble in fear as impressive wings unfolded behind the Deimos’s back. They stretched tall, reaching far above the man’s head, and Baekhyun could not hide his amazement as raven-black feathers were ruffled by the movement.  The light they caught reflected the deep red sheen that covered each quill, and its blazing shimmer caused the Dardanos to scream again.  Baekhyun feared another attack, this time on the creature he had been wanting to find, but he could not have been more wrong. One courageous Dardanos tried to leap at the Deimos, aiming for its shoulder, but it stood no chance. A supple and strong tail cracked through the air like a whip, the end gracefully coiling around the creature before hurling it against a nearby tree. Baekhyun’s heart was back in his throat, his eyes wide as he took in the magnificent power of the Deimos. It did not have to exert any energy to get the spidery monsters away from him. Its tail did all the work, brushing aside a second Dardanos as it tried to come at him.  Realising they would be unable to fight the tall half-human, half-demon, the creatures effortlessly redirected their energy toward a more suitable target. Before he knew it, Baekhyun was being charged again. A Dardanos was crawling up his leg at a maddingly fast pace, and he screamed in pure fear as death played the fiddle once again. Yet, against all predictions, it did not reach the finale of its sonata. A large, human-like hand found the monster before Baekhyun had been able to defend himself. The demon’s palm was big enough to cover the Dardanos’s entire shell, and large, blackened nails dug into the impenetrable skeleton until the immense pressure cracked every bone like they were nothing but twigs. Once the creature was dead, it was cast aside easily, and Baekhyun wanted to cry because he had never in his life been this scared. Everything was happening so quickly that sound hardly registered in his mind, and his body was completely frozen, rendered useless. The Deimos battled every last Dardanos that had not fled, breaking them in half like fortune cooking or throwing them against trees like it loved hearing the sound of snapping bones. Baekhyun wondered if he would be next, if his body would crack the same way, but it seemed the demon had different plans for him.  As another Dardanos targeted him, scurrying towards Baekhyun across the ground, suddenly that red, slender tail curled around his ankle and pulled him up in the air. With a yelp, Baekhyun felt the blood rush to his head, his sword clattering to the ground when the world turned upside down, but it kept him beyond the Dardanos’s reach.  The Deimos kept him still, even though the demon continued to kill every last monster in sight, and Baekhyun watched the man strike with extreme precision time and time again.  His blood-red skin seemed to glow in the golden twilight, as magnificent as the setting sun when it cast its light on the very forest this creature roamed. Baekhyun could not help but see its beauty and admire its strength as he began to feel more and more lightheaded the longer he was suspended in the air.  Eyelids flickering shut, he heard the final shrill cry of a Dardanos, and then a sudden, profound silence. A stillness so peaceful that Baekhyun could do nothing but surrender to it.  Right before he succumbed to the enthralling darkness, he felt the warmth of two arms around him and the softness of a voice in his ear as it whispered to him with the voice of an angel.  “ Finally .”

⁂

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

When Baekhyun awoke, he could tell he was not back at the farm, rousing at the first sound of the rooster crowing at the break of dawn. It was not a dream he found himself in either, the events of earlier coming back at once, but neither was it the afterlife. Reality was something different, and Baekhyun did not quite dare open his eyes to it.  Behind closed lids, the world did not seem so frightening. He was lying on something incredibly soft, softer than any blanket he had ever touched. Softer than the mat he had slept on at the palace. It was warm like a hug and gentle as a parent’s touch, and the only reason he knew this was not heaven was because he was not alone.  In the distance, he could hear the sound of a quill frenziedly dancing across paper. It was impossible to tell what words it was trying to form, but there was an excitement to every other brush stroke that hung heavy in the air.  Baekhyun breathed in slowly, inhaling the scent of dry earth and warm cedarwood, and he fought the urge to snuggle a little deeper into the softness surrounding him and let sleep claim him again. Because he knew that by doing so, he would only fall deeper into this false sense of security.  Opening his eyes confirmed what he had already known: the Deimos had taken him to its lair, and that meant any minute he spent asleep was a minute in which death could be creeping up on him. Still, the sight that greeted him was nothing like what he had expected the Deimos’s nest to be like. They appeared to be underground, in a carved out burrow that was bigger than Baekhyun could fathom. There were multiple pieces of solid, wooden furniture scattered around, making it look like any human house, and a small, smouldering fire was burning in a corner.  Baekhyun’s attention only stayed on the room for a few seconds, though, because that was when he laid eyes on the figure hunched over a massive desk, seated on a chair that looked far too small for its tall form. The sound of the quill suddenly made sense, and yet the realisation that the Deimos was writing did not hit Baekhyun the way it should have. More than anything, he was taken aback by the numerous, intricate details in the demon’s appearance that he had missed before.  The magnificence of the legendary creature which had saved him, and would be his inevitable downfall, was far greater than any story could ever encapsulate. Those raven wings were folded in, making them appear so much smaller than Baekhyun knew they were, and the man’s skin looked more bronze and rusty now, in the warm glow of the fire. And while the human himself had long hair, longer than most men he knew, the Deimos easily beat him. Long, midnight black locks hung down the creature’s back, loose strands kept together by a thick fishtail braid in the centre. Two smaller braids adorned either side, and Baekhyun briefly thought of how he had never seen a hairstyle this elaborate on anyone. It hid the base of the Deimos’s wings, along with the impressive muscles of his back, and made him look more human-like.  However, there were also those things that told Baekhyun the creature was anything but human. From the bright colour of his skin, which was inked with indecipherable but elaborate paths of black, to the horns that spawned from his head. There was so much he had missed upon first sight, so much he had yet to discover now too, but he tried to pull his thoughts away from the man at the desk and towards finding an exit.  With the way he was lying, curled up on his side, it was impossible to see the entirety of the space. He had no clue what would be waiting for him behind his back, but just past his feet he could make out a large, stone boulder. It was just big enough to block an entrance, and definitely too heavy for any human to move, which meant that to escape, Baekhyun would have to be smart rather than strong. When his gaze finally returned to the Deimos, he remembered how escaping had not been part of his plan at all. He had come here to settle the score, to end the suffering of the kingdom, not to run back to the safety of the farm if given the chance. And still , it was human nature to look for ways out, in case an opportunity would ever arise.  Baekhyun’s mind was on his grandmother, and he was wondering what time of day it was and whether she had realised what he had done yet, when the Deimos stopped writing.  A beautiful, incredibly low voice filled the space then, bouncing off the walls despite how quiet the words had been. “You’re awake.” The comment sucked all the oxygen out of the room, making Baekhyun hold his breath. Because either he had lost his marbles, or the demon had just spoken to him. Spoken as in used actual words, words in the same language Baekhyun used every day. Who could have possibly taught him that? When he did not reply, the Deimos turned around to face him, and there was nowhere else to look. There was no way around how majestic and grand the creature was, its muscles were bigger than even Yi Geum’s, and the perplexing blend of human characteristics with demonic features was imposing.  Baekhyun found himself looking at the Deimos’s dramatically-shaped horns, not just one pair of them but two, instead of answering in any way. They reminded him of the goats at the farm, as one pair was elegantly curled in an enchanting corkscrew shape, while the other, smaller horns were simple and straight. None of the stories he had read about this creature had mentioned anything like them, and he realised just how little they actually got right. As he beheld the man’s magnificence, he felt not a grain of fear. Maybe because there was no overt hostility in the demon’s eyes, only a burning curiosity, and for a moment the world felt perfectly calm like that.  The serenity lasted until the creature got to its feet, standing at once and showing off its impressive stature, and Baekhyun curled in on himself when he realised the man was about to close the distance between them. He waited with bated breath, his heart rate kicking up with every step the Deimos took towards him. He was too restless to close his eyes, too anxious to move away, and so he remained completely frozen when the man sat down at his feet as if they had known each other for years. Baekhyun whimpered quietly, not having meant to peep but failing to stay quiet, and he watched as surprise flashed across the demon’s features. His cherry-red lips parted, and it was only in that moment that the human realised how lovely the Deimos’s eyes were. The myths about the demon stated that its eyes were as red as the blood of its victims, but they were not like that at all. They were far more human than any other part of him. More familiar than the creature’s height, or the colour of its skin, those eyes were big and doe-like, and as brown as the richest chocolate. Baekhyun was taken aback by them, utterly thunderstruck by their warmth, and he lay there a little stunned and entirely speechless. “Do you not speak?” the Deimos asked, clearly confused by Baekhyun’s silence, while the human could only think about why on earth they were having a conversation to begin with. Had the demon talked to his other victims too? Had he pretended to be kind only to abuse them after and leave them for dead at the woodland borders? Spat out like they were not good enough, was the same fate awaiting him?  Clearing his throat, Baekhyun decided the best he could do was play along. Give the Deimos what he wanted, appease him so he would perhaps live another day. It would not hurt to try, right?  “I do. But I do not know what to say.” He felt far too vulnerable while lying down, and so he gently pushed himself up until he was sitting face to face with the Deimos. It was arduous, as he was trying not to make any unexpected movements while he came closer. The wrong thing could set the demon off, and the last thing Baekhyun wanted was to give rise to his death, which was why it was important he played this right. Those chocolate-brown eyes studied him whenever he moved, taking in every bit of him from his face to his posture, and they lingered briefly on Baekhyun’s chest. It made the boy aware of how he had been undressed while he had been unconscious; his torn overcoat having been removed, but the pants he had worn underneath had stayed on.  It was not until the human brought one hand up to his shoulder, seeking to shield his body from view, that the Deimos spoke again. He had not moved an inch, but somehow it felt like he was far closer than he had been before.  “Tell me your name.” Baekhyun contemplated lying, or sharing a fake name, but what purpose would it serve? If he were to die, he wanted to die like himself, and so he shared that part of him with the man who held his life in his hands. “Baekhyun… I’m Baekhyun.” The Deimos seemed enthralled by his name, or maybe his voice, for he leaned closer with one large hand floating in the air between them. It showed off the strange black charcoal lines running across the man’s arm, like vines growing up a tree, and Baekhyun tried not to flinch, but he failed miserably.  Nevertheless, the Deimos did not let that stop him. The back of his hand delicately brushed along Baekhyun’s cheek, smooth knuckles against his jaw, and the human swallowed hard as it happened. His lashes fluttered at the tender touch, and the heat radiating off the demon’s skin made his cheek bloom with warmth. Baekhyun’s heart responded to the caress as well, going wild behind his sternum, and his confused brain went haywire trying to make sense of it. “Baekhyun,” his name sounded like a breath of air coming from the Deimos’s lips, and a shiver ran up his spine in response to it.  Inexplicably, it was not fear that filled his chest. It was something else, a burst of adrenaline that he could not explain, and it pushed him to ask a question of his own.  “What about you? Do you have a name?” The demon gave a nod, a gentle smile blossoming on his face, and Baekhyun was startled by how sweet it was. He had expected a snarl, or a smirk, but nothing like this. Nothing this… compassionate. “My name is Chanyeol.” Baekhyun was not sure what kind of name he had envisioned the demon to have, but for some reason a name this ordinary had not crossed his mind. He did not know why, but for the Deimos, a creature feared by all of humankind, to have such an everyday name felt peculiar.  “Chanyeol,” he tried the name on his tongue, noting how the demon’s eyes flashed with something dark upon hearing it.  Back was that hand, though this time the palm was turned inwards, and Baekhyun watched as the demon gave another small nod right before he cupped the human’s cheek. “Baekhyun,” he repeated, his gaze having dropped from the boy’s eyes to his lips, his neck, his torso. “You are very beautiful.” Chanyeol’s hand was big enough to cup half his face, and as the man’s touch moved downwards, he realised how easy it would be for those fingers to curl around his throat and rob him of his breath. At the same time, the demon’s other hand found his knee, the heavy palm resting halfway across his upper thigh; an unquestionably-intentional action. It made Baekhyun hold still, his body rigid, and his mind was in a million different places at once. The implications of that touch, the reason for his life having been spared, they burned as much as the heat of that palm. Chanyeol was touching him with purpose, had been courteous enough to make small talk, and Baekhyun should not be surprised by things progressing the way they were, but he was.  His heart lodged itself in his throat, and now it went berserk at every indulgent caress, causing a delightful elevation of his pulse that tripled the moment he felt those fingers travel up his thigh.  For a brief space of time, Baekhyun felt breathless and enraptured; however, the spell broke when Chanyeol’s fingers bumped against the hidden leather strap around his upper leg. The room turned icy cold immediately, and when the Deimos’s hand fell away from his face, Baekhyun was already sputtering out an unintelligible remark to explain himself.  But he was not given the chance to speak, for the demon growled low and deep, nails digging into the human’s skin like they were looking to draw blood.  “What is this?”  The way Baekhyun’s heart dropped left him unable to reply, but Chanyeol was not really looking for an answer anyway. Rather than wait for words, he curled his fingers into the fabric of the boy’s pants and violently yanked on it until the seams ripped. Baekhyun heard them tear and felt the cotton loosening before giving away completely, and he yelped when he fell back from the sheer force of the action.  His cheeks were bright red, and hot tears formed in the corners of his eyes as he tried to cover up his naked body. But his nudity was not what Chanyeol was interested in. No, his gaze went to the object he had uncovered, the concealed dagger around Baekhyun’s plump thigh, and one sharp cut with his nail made the leather band snap. “No, no, please,” Baekhyun begged desperately, his state of undress instantly forgotten once Chanyeol got to his feet with the dagger in hand. “You think I am stupid?” The demon walked over to the fire, taking slow but deliberate steps while he observed the weapon in his hand.  Baekhyun was shaking his head, climbing off what he now realised was an immensely big pillow. He assured the demon, hoping to appease him with his explanation, “not at all. I wore it just in case, but I never meant to use it. It is my only worthy possession. Please, I-“ Chanyeol did not seem convinced. He had grabbed the end of the leather strip and carried the dagger like that, slowly raising his arm so he could outstretch it towards the fireplace. And Baekhyun panicked.  “Please, I am begging you. Keep it, have it, but do not destroy it,” he was speaking so fast now the words were blurring together, and so was his sight, muddled with tears, “my dad gave it to me. It is the only thing I have left of him, I- please, I will do anything you want.”  The demon paused, the dagger still dangling from the string, but it had not yet reached the smouldering embers. Chanyeol was contemplating his offer, considering whether he was feeling compassionate enough to grant such a wish. They both knew that Baekhyun was not in a position to bargain. The Deimos could take what it pleased, he held all the power in the room, and still…  Baekhyun’s crying was loud in the absolute silence, and he was about to fall to his knees and pray again when Chanyeol agreed and showed him mercy. The demon drew in the dagger, bringing it away from the fire, and after another moment of doubt the man took it to his desk and put it down there.  Then he turned back to face Baekhyun, expectantly locking eyes with him, and his pupils were dark and strong as he implored, “You know what I want from you, do you not?” The sudden tension in the room could be cut with a knife, and the friendly atmosphere from before had completely melted away. Baekhyun wiped at his tears, swallowing down his distress, and slowly he nodded his head. He indeed knew, and satisfying the demon’s needs would lead to the end of his life being near.  “I do.” Chanyeol began closing the distance between them, finally allowing his eyes to rove across Baekhyun’s nude body. It got a rush of blood to flush the boy’s neck, but he actively fought the wish to hide himself from view. Hiding would not change what would be happening once the space between them would have dissolved into nothing.  The room seemed to shrink with every deafening step the Deimos took, while the man’s massive frame only appeared to be growing taller. Though perhaps Baekhyun was simply hunching in on himself, wishing to disappear from the room. Either way, the imposing aura of the man approaching him made him feel so much smaller than he actually was. His hands balled into fists at his side, his gaze dropping to the floor, and even before Chanyeol had reached him, he was holding his breath. He expected to be touched, for the demon to turn into a monster and defile him on the spot, but reality was a little different.  The Deimos came to a halt, as if he was waiting for Baekhyun to look up, and when the human did not do so, he brought the boy’s chin up with the tip of his index finger. He forced their eyes to meet, wordlessly drawing in Baekhyun’s attention, and the human shivered at the pertinacity that shone from them. It lit them up to a brightly burning auburn, expressive and dazzlingly alive, and a shiver ran down his entire body at the intensity.  Baekhyun exhaled gradually, feeling his lungs empty and his muscles unclench. His posture softened by dint of the overpowering passion that was being emitted by those beautiful, soulful irises, and had Chanyeol not moved then, he would have surely slid to his knees.  In one sharp move, the boy was spun around to face the bed he had laid on. He barely managed to make out how the thing was made up of multiple sheets sewn together, and tiny little feathers were sticking out between the rough stitches, because soon enough a gentle push against his back caused him to lose his balance. He fell over, dropping to his hands and knees on the enormous pillow, where he remained as unmoving as a rock.  It took some time for anything else to happen. Baekhyun expected more aggressive behaviour, like a hand around his throat forcing him to stay down or a heavy body pinning him down, but none of that became reality. Instead, he listened to the soft sounds of leather coming undone and thudding to the floor; but the realisation that the Deimos had been undressing only came to him later. He only registered the care with which the creature climbed on behind him, and finally, how his lungs filled with oxygen once hands found his hips. Chanyeol slowly guided him forward, making clear how he wanted the human to lie down fully. Baekhyun could not do anything but obey, his chest coming to touch the sheets with his arms pressed along his torso and cheek turned to the side. His ass stuck up in the air a little, like an open invitation to be taken, and yet the demon still did not rush things.  Rather, Chanyeol slowed down every move as he lowered himself against the boy’s back, the heat of his skin warming the human’s cool flesh. His body aligned with Baekhyun’s, giving the human a first taste of him; of strong quad muscles pressed against his hamstrings, and the Deimos’s chest touching along his entire back and neck.  But none of that mattered. None of it stood out quite as much as the demon’s cock that kissed his cleft.  He did not need to see it to conclude everything about the man was huge. Because the tip of the demon’s cock touched the dip in Baekhyun’s spine, and yet the man’s balls only lightly touched his own. Not to mention, it was thick, so thick that Baekhyun could not help but release a whimper at the thought of it splitting him open. He would die on this cock.  All of it was somehow too sweet to match the demon’s cruel nature. The way Chanyeol was behaving left too much space for Baekhyun to object to his advances, while the boy knew he did not truly have a say in any of this. He could only pray for his life to be saved, wishing the demon would be benevolent and spare him. He would gladly stay here all his life, as long as it meant his heart would not stop beating tonight.  “Please,” his voice was shaky, the fear that was sweltering inside of him so evident from the way he trembled all over, “I don’t want to die.” Chanyeol did not still. His touch travelled up one of Baekhyun’s arms, finding a loose strand of hair, which he brushed behind the boy’s ear almost too lovingly.  “Good, because I do not want you to die either.” The words rattled him, making him question if the Deimos had been deceiving him all along or whether this was the first time he was lying. Because the proof was in the dead bodies that had been left at the woodland border, and the truth did not lie.  “But you are going to kill me, are you not?”  His voice was a little more steady, his wish to call out the demon who had now fully moulded himself along Baekhyun’s back stronger than his fear. So, he ignored the wild beating of his heart as something wet leaked down his behind, spreading across his skin, and focused on the conversation at hand.  “I do not plan on it,” Chanyeol spoke calmly, not an ounce of nervousness in his body. “You are far too valuable, dear human.”  Valuable? If his humanity made him so, then why had people died? Why did the man’s search for a partner have to lead to death? He simply could not piece everything together, and so he spat out, a little more hostile than he had meant for it to sound, “Then why did you kill those two women? Were they not valuable?” There was a beat where the world was silent, a split second where the demon considered his words, and then the man’s touch retreated. Chanyeol sat back on his heels, leaving Baekhyun’s skin cold with only the human’s legs still trapped underneath him.  “My sweet Baekhyun, I did not kill them,” the demon admitted solemnly, as if being accused of such a thing was the most abominable thing he had ever been chastised for.  It made the human want to face him, desperately needing to see the look in the demon’s eyes while he confronted him with the knowledge he held. It was why he pushed himself away, rolling over and tugging his legs out from between Chanyeol’s so he could shield his body from view.  The demon did not look upset about this. In fact, there was real incredulousness to his posture, as if he did not understand what Baekhyun was upset about. But he was a demon, and maybe he simply considered these murders to be insignificant. Would that be such a shock? “You did,” Baekhyun explained, revealing just how much he knew about the man in front of him. “We found them with bite marks in their necks, leaking semen from their privates. Those were caused by you .” Chanyeol blinked with those deceitfully gorgeous eyes, their brightness only dimming slightly by the memory of the events Baekhyun had described. But there was no look of guilt, no remorse, only disappointment.  “I was not to blame for their deaths,” the demon reasoned, going on to clarify his statement. “I had to breed and their bodies were unwilling and weak. That is what killed them, their lack of resilience, not my power.” Curling his arms around his legs a little tighter, Baekhyun felt a heaviness weighing down on his heart. To hear the demon speak so indifferently of those two young women that had come before him, it saddened him. And to know he would be next, it petrified him.  This had been a mistake. He should not have come looking for trouble. His grandmother had been right, he was too stubborn for his own good and now he would be paying for it with his life.  “You cannot do that,” he brought out, unconsciously trying to get more distance between them, and that was when Chanyeol’s patience ran out and he finally snapped. “That is-“ “I had to breed .” Before the human could try to escape, he had been pinned to the bed. His hands were on either side of his head, fixed there by two strong palms, and the demon kept him in place as he leaned over him. “I am the last of my kind. I need to reproduce, and any host will have to do. I had no choice in breeding them, as I have no choice in breeding you.” Baekhyun found himself trembling, his heart hammering away in his chest as he saw the fire in the Deimos’s eyes.  The realisation that he was entirely unable to move only enhanced how, despite Chanyeol’s earlier kindness, he was still a demon, and as a human, Baekhyun did not have any free will. He had thought that he could resolve this problem, that maybe there would be a way for him to save the kingdom without having to sacrifice his life, but it was clear to him now there was no such thing. The Deimos would breed him, and he would die the same death as the young women before him.   ‘I told you not to get involved. Why did you not listen to me, my boy? ’ He could hear his grandmother’s voice inside his head, and he wished he had heeded her warning. He could have continued to care for her and find happiness in being a concubine. Why had he listened to the crazy calling of his heart? “Please… I cannot die. I cannot.” Tears sprung to his eyes, those melancholic feelings making it impossible for him to keep his composure, and so Baekhyun was willing to beg again. Beg, in the hopes he would make it to sunrise.  The demon seemed to remember something as he watched Baekhyun this upset, crying his eyes out, and the human only caught part of the words he mumbled under his breath, “- not supposed to-. ” Then the man met his eyes again, his gaze filled with a newfound purpose, and he questioned Baekhyun like he had come to a sudden realisation. “Why exactly did you come here, if you are this desperate not to die?” The demon lowered his face, hovering only centimetres above the human. “I watched you wander into the woodlands of your own accord. If you know what happened to those women, if you were aware it was dangerous, why did you enter?” Baekhyun completely lost his tongue when the Deimos asked exactly the question that he himself had trouble answering. Why had he been foolish enough to think he could change everything? What had possessed him to believe that he was any different from the other victims?  There was only one clear explanation to it all, but what would the demon tell him if he were to mention the gravitational pull of the forest that had always been with him? He could not even begin to describe it without sounding like he was not sound of mind, and so he stayed silent.  “Have they stopped telling stories about my kind?” Chanyeol implored next, wondering if maybe lack of knowledge had made the human behave this recklessly. But it was not that either. “No…” Baekhyun mumbled softly, meekly.  “So you came here despite knowing the tales?” The Deimos asked, and this time a hint of surprise laced his voice.  Baekhyun did not want to admit it, he did not want to give Chanyeol the satisfaction of being right, but there was no point in lying. He had already said as much anyway, and so he simply nodded his head to affirm it. A bright chuckle left the demon’s throat, and one corner of his mouth curled up into a devious smirk over the next few seconds. The hands around Baekhyun’s wrists tightened their hold, while Chanyeol slowly lowered his face until his nose could dance along the human’s cheekbone.  “I see…” he murmured innocently. “Were you curious?”  With a hot exhale against Baekhyun’s ear, the demon continued his teasing. Lips brushed the human’s neck with the lightest of touches, and Chanyeol’s voice became more mischievous with every question he asked. “Did you want to find out whether the stories were true? Or were you looking for the night of your life under the wings of a demon?”  Baekhyun’s breathing was so shallow, each question like a blow to his system, and when he felt the demon’s lips part along the base of his throat, he fully lost the ability to speak. There was nothing up there in that skull of his, his body had entirely taken over, and it was aroused by the closeness of the creature that had him firmly pinned against the mattress.  After a final moment spent against the crook of his neck, Chanyeol pulled back just enough for Baekhyun to see his wicked grin as he told him, “curiosity killed the cat.” As soon as the words had left his lips, a switch flipped and Chanyeol transformed into something that could only be described as the true depiction of a demon. There was not an ounce of compassion to him, only sweet, sultry seduction at play, and Baekhyun heard himself gasp as a wet tongue lapped at his rapid pulse.  The Deimos proceeded to lick at his skin, down his neck to his chest, where curious lips skimmed past the human’s pink, hardened nipples. It was far too brief, and still the bold stroke stirred something in him that Baekhyun did not dare name. All he knew was that going through with this would be risky, and there would be absolutely no coming back from it.  “For fate to have brought me such a beautiful, fertile boy...”  Chanyeol exhaled slowly, considering carrying on his advances, but he paused for a moment to look at the spectacle Baekhyun made. At his bare body, the softness of his curves, and the delicate swell of his tummy which housed his womb. He looked like a feast to any ruttish creature, and the demon between his parted legs was nothing less than famished.  With his thumbs delicately rubbing along the human’s palms, Chanyeol allowed that overwhelming lust to possess him. He hurriedly kissed his way down to Baekhyun’s stomach, feeling the human suck it in at the sudden, unsolicited touch, and a disgruntled whimper followed it.  “Please, let me go…” The boy struggled against the strain, pressing his wrists up against Chanyeol’s palms, but the Deimos only chuckled amusedly. Baekhyun’s weak attempt at an escape was almost too comical, as he was not truly putting up a fight at all. Even his words lacked conviction, as if he did not believe the authenticity of his own request even though he had been the one to utter it.  No, his feeble endeavour led him nowhere, and his spirit drained from him quicker than the devil can fly. But it was not until the demon let go of his hands to touch him elsewhere that Baekhyun laid down arms and fully surrendered.  The Deimos found his quivering knees, and they were forcibly pushed up to Baekhyun’s chest before the boy was rolled over onto his stomach and restrained against the bed. His cock got trapped between his body and the sheets like that, his arms awkwardly confined to the bed, and Chanyeol had lowered himself against Baekhyun’s back before the human was able to register what had happened.  Mouthing at Baekhyun’s ear, he growled deep and ominously, all of the previous pleasantries gone, “I need to breed.” While the human tried to make sense of his predicament, the Deimos traced an invisible line down his waist to his hips. Then, thick fingers wantonly followed the roundness of his ass, and though Baekhyun felt violated by the touch, something inside of him awakened at the unfamiliar stimulation. He pressed his embarrassed face into the fabric under his cheek, and his eyes were squeezed shut while Chanyeol gracelessly lifted him up by his pelvis. He forced the boy to settle on his knees, like he was nothing but a lifeless puppet, until he was obscenely presenting himself to the demon that was hankering for a taste. “I’m not ready. I’m not…” Baekhyun breathed labouredly, the tips of his fingers digging into the sheets underneath him as he aimed to maintain his balance. The apples of his cheeks were a bright shade of red, feverish with heat, and his heart was running a marathon in his chest that it would never complete.  Chanyeol ignored his stuttering, simply continued to touch the human he kept held down to the bed, caged in by his tall form. His thumbs unabashedly parted Baekhyun’s asscheeks, revealing the boy’s pretty, pink hole to the room, and the demon purred contentedly at the alluring sight.  “But your body is,” Chanyeol argued easily, fully convinced of his justness. “You are in your prime, perfect to carry.” Baekhyun hissed when the rough pad of a finger brushed along his cleft, lingering on the smoothest part of him, where it lightly pressed down. Yi Geum had never put him on display like this, nor had he ever been rough with Baekhyun, and the boy’s chest ached with sheer humiliation now he got to experience it for the first time. It was mortifying, the way Chanyeol played with him, and he wished the ground would swallow him whole so he did not have to think of what they were about to do.  “No one has penetrated my womb before,” he warned the demon, staring woefully at the smouldering embers in the fireplace. “It is not easy breeding a male.” He tried to distract the man with his words, hoping to lower his hips back down to the bed while he spoke, but Chanyeol had an iron-tight grip on him. Not just with his hands, but with his tail, too. The slick, flexible thing curled around Baekhyun’s slender waist, giving the Deimos space to let his hands wander without having to worry the human would try to get away.  The man was unquestionably convinced of his desires, and countered each of the human’s arguments with one of his own. “Your sex does not matter.” “But-“ Baekhyun found himself trying again, too determined to give up so soon, but before he could finish his sentence, a slicked up finger suddenly breached his rim and slipped inside his body without warning.  His jaw dropped instantly, his breathing stocking in his throat, and had he had any strength left in his muscles, he would have slid against the sheets that very moment. Because goodness, were Chanyeol’s fingers thick . So thick and so long , reaching deep inside of him, that Baekhyun lost all thought and could only come to grips with the way his body readily allowed the demon in.  
“I need to breed.”
 The words entered his brain, but Baekhyun could not reply at all. His tongue had gone numb, all his brain’s energy focused on getting his lungs to work, and he had no choice but to submit to the wonderful sensations he was suddenly being subjected to. However, the moment did not last. That finger, as quick as it had been to enter him, disappeared again, and Chanyeol retreated both hands, leaving the boy’s lower body up in the air with only the strength of his tail to hold him. The human hardly noticed any of it, too busy drowning in his mind to truly understand what the demon’s absence entailed. But he would learn soon enough. Chanyeol moved around behind him, though Baekhyun sensed his presence at all times, and he wondered if he was about to be split in half by the creature’s cock. He had not even seen it yet, been too panicked to take in what hung between the demon’s legs, and when he tried to look over his shoulder now, his view was far too restricted to make out anything below the waist.  The one thing he did notice in that final second of tranquillity, was that the Deimos was no longer towering over him. Instead, the glowing red marks on the demon’s horns were the last thing Baekhyun truly saw before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his mouth gaped open wide. “ Oh, my .”  His entire body trembled as a broad, flattened tongue licked a hot stripe along his hole, wetting the area with its spit and tasting him for the very first time. It was slow and filthy, so much more intense than Baekhyun could have imagined it to be. No matter how he tried to compare it to any other sexual act he had experienced, it was entirely unlike anything he had ever felt before and made him feel so debauched that a cry tumbled from his lips right after.  He could not believe how degrading it was for the demon to want to taste him there . It was indecent and obscene, and Baekhyun wanted to command him to stop and get his face away from such a shameful place. But then Chanyeol did it again, applying the lightest bit of pressure this time around, and the boy completely lost his train of thought. As abominable as the act was in his mind, Baekhyun’s body was betraying his brain, appearing indifferent to his thoughts. His cock was throbbing, desire exploding in his belly like fireworks, and he bit back a moan as he tried to desperately pull it together.  It was impossible to deny that the demon’s touch felt good, and though it did not come as a surprise how the flames of sin were trying to burn Baekhyun and take him to hell, he had never thought it would feel this pleasurable.  Chanyeol’s tongue had barely pushed past his rim, yet Baekhyun was already going delirious. He wriggled his hips, feeling the Deimos’s tail tighten around him whenever he moved, which tickled his skin and only heightened the arousal he felt rushing down south. It was soft and wet, much more so than a cock, and Baekhyun briefly wondered how different Chanyeol would feel inside of him.  “Please…” he begged, unsure of what, but his voice lacked all the power it used to have. He was utterly helpless, paralysed by unwanted euphoria while his body was entrapped by a man much bigger than him. After all, a mouse was easy quarry for a hawk, and the hungry predator did not care for its squeaking. However, instead of recognising it as a plea for mercy, the demon took it as a request for more, and so he gripped Baekhyun’s cheeks with both palms and parted them even further. And Baekhyun cried out like a wolf howling at the full moon, his elbows buckling as the demon went back to eating him out like both their lives were at stake.  The Deimos’s tongue was much longer than a human’s, and much thicker too. It reached places in Baekhyun’s body he knew no tongue should be able to reach, and right now it was grazing his prostate like it wanted to make him orgasm in seconds. His vision was swimming, that delicious coarseness making him babble like a madman, and he shuddered all over while another drawn-out moan left him.  Chanyeol, in turn, hummed to acknowledge his pleasure, and the tremors shot through Baekhyun’s body and made him shiver even harder. “I cannot-“ he whimpered breathlessly, helplessly panting against the sheets. His hips were trying to buck, cock mindlessly searching for any kind of friction, but with how good he felt he doubted he needed it to come.  The words were a warning to Chanyeol, who honoured his title of demon by retreating his touch once he noticed Baekhyun was getting close. He pulled back, tongue leaving the boy’s hole, and finally he could breathe again.  Baekhyun slumped over as much as he could, inhaling like he had been stuck under water until his lungs had shrivelled up like raisins, but there was no relief. Chanyeol rubbed his hips, massaging the fullness of his ass, and he chuckled at how out of it he seemed.  “Already feeling good, my little human?” the Deimos snickered.  Isolated words were floating around in his head like puzzle pieces, but he lacked the capacity to put them into full sentences. Everything was too hazy, and he worried even trying to get up would make the world tumble and leave him even more disoriented. He was trapped in that place, defenceless against the demon’s advances, and Chanyeol laughed knowingly. His nails lightly raked along the back of Baekhyun’s thighs, watching the tremor in his muscles while he hummed. “Let’s find that impenetrable womb then…”  Before the human had filled his lungs with air, that tongue was back, pushing past his rim like it knew exactly where to look. Baekhyun could not hold back his moans, could not stop the twitching of his hips as the demon’s tongue curled inside of him, slithering wetly against his walls. The tip was searching now, pressing wherever it might expect an opening, and all the while the human felt his heart slamming against his ribcage.  He remembered Sehun’s touch and how violently he had spasmed when the physician had found his womb. The opening had been welded shut, protected by a firm membrane that had remained in place after the simple inspection. Sehun had not broken it, knowing that duty was assigned to the crown prince. Yet against all hopes, it would not be Yi Geum who would get to breach it.  While his brain took him through the memory, Chanyeol’s tail snaked around Baekhyun’s cock, squeezing off the crown as if it did not want him to come. He belatedly realised it was a precaution, lacked the foresight to know the demon had located his womb long ago, and he was only building up to the moment so it would not startle the human.  Still, despite it all, Baekhyun’s body abruptly malfunctioned as that tongue prodded at the thin layer of skin that protected his womb. He fell over, becoming a dead weight that was difficult to keep up, but Chanyeol’s hands only squeezed his flesh harder as he dug his tongue deeper. Baekhyun sobbed, his fists slamming against the sheets and his tears falling to the soft cotton under his cheek. Every sound he made died an untimely death, cut off by tiny gasps that he had no control over, and the humiliation that was burning inside of him made him want to die.  “Oh, oh ,” he warbled between moans, feeling his senses come back to him as slowly his body adapted to the intense feeling. Chanyeol kept a steady rhythm of slow flicks of tongue, and though his heart was still beating out of his chest, the world stopped turning as quickly.  The demon dragged it out, waiting for Baekhyun’s breathing to level before he dug his tongue in the opening, hoping the membrane would tear. He had Baekhyun writhing against the sheets like a wanton whore, and like before, his throat just opened and the most messy string of noise came out without him even realising.  He only fell silent again when Chanyeol’s tongue left his womb alone, retreating bit by bit until the human was left empty and untouched.  A hand traced his spine, down to his ass, and then the man praised him in the dirtiest way possible. “Such a beautiful voice you have. I cannot wait to hear it sing for me while I breed you.” The demon suddenly pulled him backwards, the creature’s tail easily forcing Baekhyun’s body up with him, and he gasped wildly as their lower halves collided and then stayed connected. With his hips pushed back against Chanyeol’s crotch, he could make out the hardness of the demon’s cock even better than before. It idly slid along his cleft, the head poking his lower back, and Baekhyun could tell it was massive. At once, Chanyeol’s tail abruptly uncurled from around the human, leaving him weakened and unprepared, and he toppled over with a quiet yelp that made the demon laugh. The sound bounced off the walls like a chant, repeatedly echoing around the room while Baekhyun remained still, knowing there was no way to escape this.  The Deimos’s large hands soon reclaimed his motionless body, shamelessly manhandling Baekhyun onto his back and forcefully spreading his legs so Chanyeol could sit between them. Only then did he come to a stop, giving both of them a second to breathe. He admired the human’s beauty, while Baekhyun got to properly view the demon’s nude form for the very first time as it towered over him. His eyes widened the lower they dropped, his mouth already dry from the sight of those chiselled muscles and that glorious, glowing skin. Yet it could not hold a candle to the magnificence of the man’s cock.  In many ways, the demon’s manhood resembled that of a human, but the sheer size of it was out of this world. Baekhyun’s heart was slamming against his ribcage, its beating much louder due to the fear that had struck it, because the sight of the creature’s cock had heightened every emotion and made him far more distraught.  He simply could not believe his eyes. The thought that this would never fit inside a human body was at the forefront of his mind, but Chanyeol seemed completely oblivious to his worries. The demon stroked his length, fingers curling around its thick base to show off how the shaft was even bigger than the crown. It was absolutely insane how heavy it was, and yet it was not even the girthiest part of him. The ring that Chanyeol’s finger and thumb made slid down a few inches before it broke, the fatness of the knot at the very base of his cock too big to circle. It shook him to his core, the obscenity of the image in front of him causing him to blush a bright red, and Baekhyun’s hole throbbed just thinking about taking the man’s cock, let alone his knot, up his pussy.  The pain would be immeasurable, absolutely break him in half, and suddenly he could make sense of Yi Geum’s horrified look when he had described the bodies that had been found. How could a cock this big not ruin whichever hole it would try to penetrate? Male or female, it would not make a difference. No amount of oil would prevent it from happening.  Catching him watching, the Deimos showed off a little more, grinning as his hand moved back up his length torturously slowly. He thumbed at the deep-red slit, smearing a thick, creamy drop of precum across the bulbous crown until it glistened in the light of the fire. The view was so captivating, yet incredibly disconcerting too. “Curious little human, indeed,” Chanyeol taunted him, a sinister smile on his lips while his hand, drenched in semen, travelled to the human’s chest. It fell to the boy’s sternum, after which it traced a wet path down to Beakhyun’s belly button, leaving behind a slight gloss of milky-white.  Baekhyun gasped, shaking his head as his hands balled into fists at his side. He was afraid of moving in any other way, worried the wrong thing could tick off the Deimos and cause him to fly off the handle. But his staring had nothing to do with curiosity.  “It will not fit,” he argued, desperation leaking into his voice now, “you are too big, I will die on your cock.” “My cock?” Chanyeol raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, evidently confused by the human’s words. His gaze dropped to his hardened length, taking in the way it was resting in his palm while a thin string of cum was trickling down to Baekhyun’s hips. Upon seeing his seed dribbling down the human’s skin, like icing on a cake, he understood exactly what the boy had meant. The demon growled, and one of Baekhyun’s knees was pushed upward to his chest so he could grind his erection against the boy’s ass. It was almost animalistic, every move so rough and dirty, and Baekhyun tensed, thinking surely the Deimos would take him apart now.  Except he did not.  The man slowly leaned over the boy’s body, diminishing the distance between their faces little by little. He stared at Baekhyun with a blazing fire in his eyes, a burning need that would not melt away any time soon, and yet his words held an inconceivable reassurance. “My penis will find a way inside your body, and it will not hurt.” Lips grazed Baekhyun’s cheek, brushing along his heated skin. “I promise I will make you feel good.” He did not, could not, believe those words. More than anything, he knew his body and his limits, and Chanyeol’s cock went far beyond those. It would be incredibly painful, and he could only hope to lose consciousness before long. “How could it-“ the human began to retort, right as the Deimos lowered its face to his neck, pressing those scalding lips to the boy’s pulse. It was soft and warm, and a burst of fire shot through his veins originating from the spot where that mouth met his throat.  The kiss was too sweet, too human, for him to think about what the demon had just said. It shut him up easily, and for a moment it was as if time stood still and the world had stopped turning. For a moment, desire held him captive.  And then, just as he noticed himself relaxing in response to the touch, Chanyeol’s teeth grazed his skin.  In a surge of panic, he recalled the dead girls with mysterious bite marks in their necks, and realised far too late how he would meet the same fate. Chanyeol had not kissed him there to show affection. It was not an act of courtship, and only one thought lingered in that final second before the Deimos inevitably bit down. ‘ I should have known better ’. The feeling of teeth sinking into his flesh was excruciating, and Baekhyun cried out so loudly he swore the entire forest should have heard him. The pain burned like the cold and stung like nettle, but it lasted only a heartbeat, ebbing away almost inexplicably. A mellow feeling overtook his body instead, flowing through his bloodstream like a river of melted caramel. It did not slow his racing thoughts or his beating heart, but it made it seem like his body was composed of molten lava and he was leaking everywhere.  Chanyeol soon moved away from his neck, inquisitively locking eyes with Baekhyun to check up on him, and whatever he saw in them made him smile elatedly. “Perfect. You are ready.” Big hands found Baekhyun’s plush thighs, the touch as smooth as butter, and the demon parted them even wider so he could gain better access. His cock rubbed along Baekhyun’s asscheeks, smearing them with copious amounts of his precum, and then he shamelessly aligned his length with the human’s entrance.  That crown found his hole, kissing his rim, and Baekhyun waited for that moment his body would tense up completely, knowing something wanted to enter it. It never came, that mellow feeling in his bones kept him fully placated as Chanyeol leisurely teased him with the tip of his cock.  The man’s lust-filled gaze never moved from the human’s face, taking in how beautifully pliant he laid under him, and the demon’s tongue swept along his bottom lip before he uttered, “Do not pass out on me, Baekhyun-ah…” It was the final - and only - warning the human got before the head of Chanyeol’s penis breached him and entered his warmth.  Baekhyun did not know how it was possible he was not dying already. With hardly any preparation, no oil to help him take it, and a cock much bigger than the one he was used t, he should be begging for death. He should be coming apart at the seams, but he was not because Chanyeol had prepared him.  That bite had done something, whatever it had been, to soothe his body, and the abundance of precum made him slicker than any oil would. Both left him entirely unable to resist the demon’s advances, but also made it so he was not experiencing any unbearable pain that had him plead for the end of his life. Nonetheless, his lips parted at the stretch, at the throbbing sensation of his rim, and he looked up at the Deimos with wide eyes and a choked up moan in the back of his throat. It stayed there, suspended in time as his body remained still, legs dangling in the air and arms outstretched on either side. Baekhyun listened to his heartbeat in his ears as he waited, watching Chanyeol observe him carefully with his hands still holding onto the human’s knees. He was assessing the situation, determining how much the human was hurting and when he would be able to take more, and soon enough he reached a verdict. Chanyeol let go of his knees, allowing Baekhyun’s legs to hook around his thighs, and big, heavy palms travelled to his hips with clear intent.  “Breathe,” the Deimos told him as he cupped the human’s waist and then squeezed, the pressure making Baekhyun actually suck air into his lungs.  A hint of a smile passed on Chanyeol’s lips at the sight, but it was quickly overtaken by pleasure as the grip he had on the boy’s hips narrowed again before he pulled. In one rough move, the demon dragged Baekhyun down on his cock and slammed home, everything but his thick knot disappearing inside the boy’s pussy.  This was it. This was the moment Baekhyun had feared, where the pain would wreck him and leave him broken. Where he would disintegrate and shatter into a million pieces that could never be glued back together again. The world went fuzzy along the edges, the lights blurring as his eyes rolled shut and his head lolled to the side. His consciousness was sucked to the back of his brain at high velocity, leaving him dead to the world. It was a moment of transient weightlessness; the most peaceful darkness he had ever experienced.  Was this the afterlife? An invisible sling catapulted him back forwards at full force, and his eyes flew open as mind and body reconnected in the snap of a finger. His hands came up to desperately clutch at Chanyeol’s arms, and as he inhaled sharply, his voice returned and a strangled, high-pitched sound left him. It left the Deimos unfazed, as he was far too absorbed in the quick snapping of his hips to notice the weak pinching sensation that were Baekhyun’s hands on his biceps. He was being fucked into at a steady pace now, with Chanyeol bringing him down on his cock on every thrust of his hips. His back was off the bed, held up by the demon’s large hands, and though he was being used as nothing but a toy, it was not hard to tell how careful the creature was being with him.  Baekhyun moaned hoarsely at the incessant stimulation of his prostate, the pressure inside of him so big that the touch was almost too much to bear. He felt his muscles trembling at the pleasure building in his gut, and there was nothing he could do to slow it down or make it stop. Chanyeol was fucking him, and he would continue doing so until he had bred him. Perhaps both their minds had been on this, because the second the human thought as much, the demon adjusted his approach. His hips stilled, cock buried deep inside Baekhyun’s cunt, and he slowly lowered the human back down on the bed. The boy’s legs, which had been hooked around his hips, were pulled away, and no matter how Baekhyun tried to move them, he could not. “You feel so good,” Chanyeol growled, his chest heaving slightly, “I can only imagine how spectacular your womb will be around me, my sweet little human.” Baekhyun’s cock twitched at the praise, leaking against his stomach, and Chanyeol exposed it to the room when he pushed the human’s legs up towards his chest, knees to his shoulders and ankles up towards the ceiling.  A flush of embarrassment rushed to the boy’s face when he caught the demon staring down at where he disappeared inside of him, stretching his pussy in ways it had never been stretched before. It only became worse when the demon dragged out his cock and then pushed back in, agonisingly slowly too, while watching closely as he did.  He repeated the move, once, then twice, and Baekhyun realised with a startle that he was not just watching the lewd view he had, he was feeling .  Cock curved upwards, the tip was searching for that membrane covering the entrance to his womb. It was looking for its way in, and Baekhyun knew he had to brace himself for the moment Chanyeol would find it.  His world had already tilted its axis, and he was certain getting his womb penetrated would redefine his existence much the same. It would fundamentally change him, and though he had not been in pain so far, he knew this would be an entirely different story. It was a miracle he was not bleeding out yet from the sheer size of the Deimos’s cock stretching his rim, but his birth canal would be even tighter and harder to enter. And so, again, he feared what would happen to him once Chanyeol would undoubtedly breach it. “Finally someone will fill your womb, give it the brood it is destined to carry,” the demon visualised, clearly already fantasising about it. “Are you ready for it, Baekhyun-ah?” He knew he did not have a choice, that Chanyeol would breed him even if he said no, but the words were enough to make him unconsciously clench down on the man’s shaft. Baekhyun felt it throb, noticed how the demon’s hips stuttered in reply, and he exhaled a voiceless laugh as he realised he held some power in this. There was something about finally getting his womb filled that made him ache with desire. He had been waiting for Yi Geum to do this for so long, and yet he had ended up with disappointment each time. The Deimos would not fail, that much was apparent, and so he confessed, still scared out of his wits. “Yes.” Chanyeol grabbed his dainty ankles, allowing his tail to curl around the human’s thighs to keep him spread open, and then he smiled. A smile so wicked, as if he could see Baekhyun’s dirty side residing under the surface and he could not wait to bring it out, that the human’s breathing stocked for the hundredth time that night. The cock inside of him moved, slipping back in gradually, leisurely, but not going nearly as deep as it had done before. It brushed against his walls, rubbing back and forth along the exact spot that got Baekhyun to mewl, and Chanyeol waited for the boy to look up into his eyes before he thrust in hard .  Something gave, like a bubble bursting under water, and Baekhyun cried in agony while the Deimos’s expression contorted into one of bliss. The human arched off the bed, trying to wriggle away from the extreme stretch that made it feel like he was being ripped apart from the inside out, but every breath he took felt more shallow than the last and his ability to fight weakened significantly. Chanyeol’s moan, as he forced his shaft inside the human’s birth canal, was the last thing Baekhyun heard before he blacked out a second time, falling back against the soft, feathery pillow like it was a cloud willingly catching him before he would plummet to his death. He was as light as a feather, floating inside his skull and bouncing off the walls, while a flickering flame danced around him almost mockingly. He tried to chase it, to touch it and feel its heat, but the moment he did, he was ripped from the blackout and was back in Chanyeol’s arms.  The demon’s lips were on his neck again, and he was whimpering deliriously as he frantically rutted up into the boy’s tight cunt. Baekhyun sucked in a breath of air, noting how his lungs burned painfully as they expanded, but a soothing wave of serenity washed over him when Chanyeol licked at the puncture wounds his teeth had left behind.  “You are phenomenal,” the Deimos growled when he realised the boy had returned to him, and he pulled back so Baekhyun could observe the delirium in his eyes. “The perfect carrier… bearer of my future children.”  The human was fighting back tears, choked up with emotion and heart swelling with a feeling he was unfamiliar with. There was no doubt in his mind that he would either end up pregnant or dead, and though both felt like punishments right now, deep down he was wishing for only one thing. Even if that thing was absolutely frightening.  Right as Baekhyun’s legs began to strain, Chanyeol released them, no longer needing to fold the boy in half now his cock was snuggly secured in his birth canal. He leaned on his hands, placed on either side of the human’s head, and then gyrated his hips with the utmost caution.  Baekhyun stretched out his arms, clutching whatever fabric he could reach while he leaked drops of precum against his stomach. The sensation of a hot and heavy, pulsating length sliding along his walls and nearing his womb made him almost pass out a third time, but he carefully exhaled through it until the worst of it had passed.  He briefly wondered if the wetness he felt trickling down his ass was blood or sperm, or maybe even both, but the excruciating pain of getting his womb broken into had ebbed away like it had been nothing at all. Baekhyun was certain that placing his hand on his tummy would allow him to feel just how deep Chanyeol’s cock reached, but he was unable to get his muscles to move. All he could do was lie there and take it, allowing himself to be wrecked while he attempted to convince himself the thrill he felt throughout his body held no pleasure.  The Deimos was feasting on him, exploiting his pussy like he owned it, and with each thrust of his hips the demon’s cock penetrated his birth canal a little deeper. The crown nudged his womb, grazing the cervix, and the gush of precum that spurted out in response to the caress was unmistakable.  Baekhyun moaned obscenely, his pussy contracting around the thick shaft of Chanyeol’s penis, and from then on all of his composure was out the window.  Urged on by the boy’s physical reactions, the Deimos began to fuck him earnestly. The tip of his length continuously bumped into the human’s uterus, and with every thrust Chanyeol drew another whine from Baekhyun’s lips. He was staring at the boy, holding himself up with one hand so he could touch the human while he drove his cock home time and time again. His fingers brushed along Baekhyun’s cheek, his thumb at the boy’s lips, and while he trashed around on the bed, the demon splayed one palm against the human’s chest to keep him in place. “This,” the Deimos spoke, not nearly half as out of breath as Baekhyun was, “is only the beginning of our story. You are mine now.” That palm that had been pressed to his ribcage travelled south, brazenly curling around his cock and engulfing it in warmth. Baekhyun threw his head back as he howled, the intensely euphoric sensation causing him to writhe around on the sheets like his entire soul had been set on fire.  Chanyeol’s hand jerked in time with his thrusts, tightening its grip whenever the man withdrew his hips, only to release the pressure once he would plunge into Baekhyun’s tight heat again. It did not last too long, as he surged towards an orgasm so quickly that his head was spinning with it, and he clamped down on the massive demon cock inside of him the moment spurts of white hit his chest.  Penetrating his birth canal was near impossible with the way he was squeezing around Chanyeol’s length, but the man drove himself past that membrane even now, forcing Baekhyun’s pussy to suck him in. The demon stayed there, his hardness throbbing violently against the tight walls of the boy’s hole, until Baekhyun’s orgasm had subsided enough for him to bury as deep as he could and let go.  The release of the Deimos’s seed was unforgettable, the feeling exceptionally warm and wet, and Baekhyun could tell how his tummy swelled with the amount of sperm that was being pumped into him. It filled out his womb until he was overflowing, the sticky semen gushing from his hole.  Chanyeol remained still for some time, until every last drop of cum had poured from him, and only then did he pull out. Drawing back his hips, inch by inch his cock left Baekhyun’s pussy, until his rim was no longer holding on to anything at all. The emptiness that he was left with was unlike anything he had ever experienced before, and the sudden void he felt inside of him stunned him more than he had expected.  His cunt was gaping, and a flood of cum leaked down his ass, dirtying his inner thighs. He was clenching around nothing, spread open so wide that he could not keep the demon’s semen inside of him even if he wanted to. It would make getting pregnant so much harder, so he desperately tried to close his legs and draw them up to his chest in the hopes he could hold in the man’s cum, but he failed miserably.  He could not move, too tired to do anything, and so he finally gave up and looked at the creature who had defiled him, taken what it desired and sullied his womb. The man sat on his haunches, cock still hard between his legs and white fluid oozing from the very tip. His skin was glistening with a layer of sweat, his chest calmly rising and falling with every breath he took, and Baekhyun quietly observed him. From the inky feathers that poked out from behind the demon’s back, to the man’s raven hair, which had fallen across his shoulders. The smallest of numerous braids dangled across muscular pecs and came down past the demon’s nipples, while other stray hairs had stuck to clammy skin. He looked sinful, a creature so unholy; however, Baekhyun found himself only seeing beauty.  Those distinctive, coiled horns that emerged from the demon’s skull added such a dramatic and surreal element to his appearance. The tightly wound spirals of the corkscrews were a testament to strength and power, and an intriguing display of how nature and humanity had come together to create him.  A closer observation revealed how each horn bore the scars of numerous encounters with the unforgiving evils of the forest, telling stories of resilience and conflict. Not just that, but they displayed a kaleidoscope of colours, from the darkest black at the root to a softer grey at the ends, as if the passage of time had left its mark in more ways than one. They looked both dangerous and awe-inspiring at the same time, though Baekhyun was not concerned about the damage they could do. He would not add to the etched marks in that bone, would not leave blood stains that would taint their colour. Knowing the demon wanted to impregnate him meant that he was safer here than he would be anywhere else, and that kept him calm.  Unless he would prove worthless, the Deimos would move heaven and earth to protect him from harm, including from his own immorality, and that was enough for Baekhyun not to want to run.  While slowly but surely, the endless trickly of cum came to an end, Baekhyun admired the canvas that was Chanyeol’s skin. A labyrinth of intricately designed patterns swirled across his chest, dipping at his hips and returning at the top of his thigh. It was as if the very essence of the forest had manifested in him, as though the trees and flowers had engraved themselves in his flesh and made it their home.  The streaks of black curved around each muscle, like vines around a tree trunk, and Baekhyun wished to trail each line with his finger, but he was still too spineless to move. His gaze would have to do, and evidently his admiration did not go unnoticed, for Chanyeol’s smile grew as he pushed out his chest, trying to impress. “Does it please you? My appearance?” He asked Baekhyun, watching the human’s cheeks flush with blood in response. “Because your body pleases me. Watching you makes me want to be inside you, and I want to stay there forever.”  The human’s heart answered by beating insanely fast, as if satisfied with the words of flattery. He felt a flurry of nervous jitters explode in his tummy, right above his cum-filled womb, and they made him inhale deeply so he would not succumb to insanity. Chanyeol touched him again, his hand starting out at the human’s waist before it trailed towards his spent cock. It was so tiny in comparison to the creature’s own erection, but there was something about how his entire palm wrapped around Baekhyun’s length that made him lose it. “As I stated before, this was only the beginning of our story,” Chanyeol uttered as he stroked the boy’s cock, trying to bring it back to full hardness. “Would you like to know what comes next?” Baekhyun could not believe he was being asked such a thing, when clearly he had no choice but to partake in it. Still, it would help knowing what he would be subjected to, not to mention he was burning with curiosity, and so he reluctantly nodded his head.  Letting go of the boy’s cock, Chanyeol’s wicked grin returned, and he lowered himself over Baekhyun’s body so he could kiss his neck with the most gentle touch of lips. For a moment the human expected teeth to pierce his skin again, but instead the demon’s mouth dipped lower, until it reached a clavicle. “My semen cannot get you pregnant,” was the first thing Chanyeol told him, surprising the boy with this piece of information. Because for humans, that was how new life was created; a womb produced the egg, and a sperm cell was needed to fertilise it; yet, the Deimos claimed this was not how Baekhyun would be getting pregnant with its baby.  “It cannot?”  Chanyeol hummed, slowly kissing his way to the other side of the boy’s scrawny chest. His fingers prodded at Baekhyun’s soiled pussy, gingerly feeling him up and getting the digits coated in his own cum. When he retreated them, they were glazed in a creamy gloss, and the demon held them up for the boy to behold. “No. It merely prepares the womb by lining it with a sticky coat perfect for nestling, primed and ready for my eggs.”  An unexpected whimper left the boy’s lips as the Deimos said that final word, and a tremor shot through him that ended in a gentle throbbing of his cock against his tummy.   Eggs .  The idea was obscene and, quite frankly, should scare him, but instead his body betrayed him by inadvertently liking the thought. The tiniest gasp exposed him, revealing just how much this knowledge affected him, and embarrassment filled him to the very crown of his head.  Chanyeol seemed to sense his bewilderment, because he chuckled brightly against the boy’s neck and then sat back to assertively take the reins and claim Baekhyun’s body. His fingers pushed past the human’s rim without any shame, sinking deep inside the hole he had broken into, and Baekhyun moaned when the lightest touch grazed the entrance to his birth canal.  “Look at you, so ready to take my brood. It excites me beyond reason…” Chanyeol shook his head, as if he could not believe he had just stumbled upon this foolish, witless mortal roaming around the woods.  Baekhyun could not believe it either. Could not comprehend how he had willingly left his home in quest of the creature looming over him. That world, his old life, seemed so far away now, his every heroic thought forgotten and his courage vanished like a wisp of smoke. Now, he was reduced to nothing but a plaything, a hostage in this confined space, and he had brought it on himself.  Overcome by the will to regain some control, Baekhyun immersed himself in the senses. He focused on the smell of sweat, on the sound of the Deimos’s breathing, and the taste of the earth and soil in the air. But far more distinguishable was touch; the sweet brush of a hand along his knee, of fingers crooking inside of him, and the way his hips twitched unexpectedly at the sensitive touch of his prostate. His cock was growing hard again, ready for round two, and Chanyeol was considerate enough to share with him what that would entail. “Now your womb is ready, I will enter it again and please you until your body begs for my release,” the demon whispered as he kissed down the boy’s sternum, his fingers massaging Baekhyun’s prostate until he was whining in dissatisfaction.  “And then, I will fill you with my eggs, hoping one will stick and make you pregnant,” the demon groaned, as if he could not wait for this moment to happen, and Baekhyun felt the world spin at the idea. Faster and faster, he was losing control of himself, the fine line between virtue and vice thinning the more he submitted to lust.   “And if it does not take?” He found the words leaving his lips without him being aware, his mouth moving faster than his mind, and he went quiet the moment he finished speaking. Chanyeol did not scold him for asking. If anything, he cherished the way Baekhyun was warming up to him, blooming like the bud of a flower after soaking up the first springtime sunshine. He smiled, nothing but desire in his voice when he answered, plainly, “then I will breed you time and again, fill you up until your body has no other choice than to get pregnant.” Baekhyun shivered at the words, trying to swallow around the sudden tightness in his throat. It all seemed beyond the bounds of possibility; the notion of a half demon possessing the ability to produce ova, and yet Chanyeol was suggesting that he bore eggs that would implant themselves in a human uterus.  None of the tales had mentioned anything like it, and the concept was inconceivable, but to call the Deimos a liar would be a lie in itself. From the very moment Baekhyun had been captured, the man had been brutally candid with him, which, though unconventional for a demon, showed the gravity of the situation. Chanyeol was at his wits’ end, dying to reproduce, and Baekhyun was his glimmer of hope. He was the silver lining, perhaps the light at the end of the tunnel, and honesty and consideration had been the demon’s offerings in exchange for the human’s innocence.  The longer Baekhyun thought about it, the harder it became to see Chanyeol as a monster. Despite his wickedness, the immorality of his previous behaviour, he saw the same hopelessness he had felt as a human. Like a lion killing its prey to survive, this too was part of the natural cycle of life.  There was a tenderness in Chanyeol, a love no one would have ever guessed the demon to possess, but Baekhyun felt it clear as day as the man moved his hand so he could caress his belly.  “But once it does take…” a hushed gasp left him as he traced the human’s abdomen with the very tips of his fingers, the touch as light as a feather. “You will grow the most beautiful little bump.” The lips that had remained near his collarbone now dipped, kissing down his chest until they found a nipple. Chanyeol mouthed at it, then closed his lips around the nub and suckled, like a babe looking to nurse. “The most lovely, voluptuous breasts… firm and sweet, swollen with milk for our little one.”  It was too overwhelming. From the Deimos’s touch to the emotion in his words, all of it left him completely mum. Baekhyun thought he might cry at the affectionate-sounding ‘ our little one’ , which painted the picture that they would end up becoming a family, because he could not imagine it for the life of him. And yet… yet Chanyeol kissed his chest, biting at his tits as if he was already envisioning them plump and full. He touched Baekhyun’s skin, tightly gripping the flesh of the boy’s thighs until he was certain they would leave bruises in the shape of his fingerprints. A dire need to merge their bodies and become one hung in the air, stealing every last bit of oxygen, and the human produced a forlorn sound that died in the space between them.  The tension continued to brew when the Deimos flicked his tongue against the stiffened bud in his mouth, and soon the air was too static. Soon Chanyeol could not contain himself any longer, and Baekhyun knew it was the conclusion to their brief intermission when the demon sat back against his heels and rolled him over.  With one sharp move, Baekhyun was flipped onto his stomach, his body trapped and cheek pressed to the patchwork sheets. For a second he felt cold, not a single touch anywhere on his naked body, but then his legs were pushed open wide and the bed dipped between them. The demon forced him to stretch out his arms too, gently taking Baekhyun’s hands and guiding them to where he wanted them, flaring out on either side.  Then, Chanyeol aligned himself with his body exactly how he had done previously, allowing the human to feel the warmth radiating off him. It was peculiar; the Deimos’s core temperature had to be at least a few degrees higher now than it had been before the sex, because it was as if a heater had directly pressed to his back, threatening to burn him. Still, his skin would not catch fire no matter how scalding the touch.  “Tell me,” the demon whispered to him, those first words near his ear before he moved away, further south, “are you comfortable, lying like this?” Right when Baekhyun opened his mouth to speak, Chanyeol’s hands fondled his ass, following the curve of his cheeks before they gripped the two globes and squeezed. A moan ripped from his throat, causing the demon to knead his flesh even harder, after which he brazenly spread him open to expose his messy, cum-stained cunt to the air.  A low growl resounded in the room, and Baekhyun did not even jerk in surprise when he felt a thumb trace his rim. He had anticipated it, expected it to be replaced with the man’s cock any second now, and he was tired of feeling ashamed of the pleasure it brought him.  “I asked you a question, Baekhyun-ah,” Chanyeol reminded him, his voice as deep as the Yellow Sea. Yet for someone expecting an answer, he sure behaved foolishly. He should have known that sliding his length along Baekhyun’s ass was not going to get the boy’s head out of the gutter, that it would only make it harder to speak, and still he did exactly that. He painted the mess that was his own cum across the human’s skin, using the head of his cock to do so, and Baekhyun had to grit his teeth to form any clear thought at all. “Nggh,” he brought out, knowing it was not enough, but as the sound left him, he forced his vocal cords to close just enough for a warbled, “yuh,” to leave him.  The Deimos deemed it enough, for he acted the moment it was uttered, promptly grabbing the human’s hips and hauling them up in the air. Chanyeol’s tail found its most favourite spot again, wrapped around Baekhyun’s waist, and it helped elevate his bottom half so his hole was on display, readily accessible. As a result, the boy’s back was arched beautifully, his body laid bare like a prettily wrapped up present, and the demon traced his spine down to his tailbone before he whispered in relief, a word Baekhyun only then realised he had heard before. “ Finally .” This time, when the crown of Chanyeol’s cock pushed past his rim, the human thankfully did not pass out. There was a similar, dull pain and a slight soreness, but he was aware of every inch of the demon’s hardness as it drove home. It filled him out, his body perfectly shaping itself to the hard, pulsating length that was penetrating him, and for a while everything was perfectly serene as their bodies slotted together.  The persistent rocking of the Deimos’s hips was intensely gratifying, jolting him with a bout of ecstasy each time the man grazed his prostate upon entering and circled his hips while deep inside of him. It made Baekhyun so very loose-lipped, his jaw going more slack with every passing minute, until eventually he did not even try to cover up his elation any longer. Something about the position, of him being on his stomach with his hips up in the air, made Chanyeol slip in that much deeper, made him feel that much bigger, and it was absolutely impossible to stay silent. A jumbled mess of sound was born in the back of his throat, his tongue warbling each note into a disorderly mix of nothingness that made no sense once it left his mouth. However, his vocality only encouraged the Deimos to go faster, to fuck Baekhyun harder and pin him to the bed with the weight of his thighs.  He ruthlessly teased the entrance to the human’s womb, brashly pressing against it before changing the angle and inevitably sliding along it. Nonetheless, it evoked such a wanton feeling inside Baekhyun’s abdomen, rousing a dire need to be violated in the most immoral sense of the word. It was torture, thinking of how dishonourable the merging of their bodies was after having been made aware of how phenomenal Chanyeol was at pleasing him. Baekhyun should not want to be in his bed at all, but he was being sent to paradise, drugged with euphoria, while he was meant to hate it.  The world had made him believe the Deimos was nothing but an abomination, a malevolent evil out to cause death and destruction, but here he was, in seventh heaven and blissed out of his mind getting ravished by the creature’s cock. “It is time,” Baekhyun heard from above, right as Chanyeol’s tail tightened its grip around his waist. It made his breathing more shallow, nothing but soft little pants hitting the sheets as he waited, unmovingly, for what would come next.  He attempted to mentally prepare himself for the profound experience that was getting his womb fucked, but even those mere few minutes of emptiness had been enough for him to forget just how violently all-consuming it was. Because the second the demon’s cockhead found its way back inside his birth canal, he wailed as loudly as he had done that very first time.  A high, animal-like crow was wrenched from him, hopeless and distraught, as the demon helped himself to his body. Chanyeol slowly sank deeper, the shaft of his cock slipping inside the boy’s fertile hole, making him gasp and whimper while squirming on the bed, body shaking uncontrollably. Unlike before, Baekhyun was fully conscious and held some power over his own limbs, which allowed him to drag himself up with his hands. Palms pressed against the bed, the human tried to get away from the overwhelming pressure in his pussy, but he was reminded of how little authority he actually had when Chanyeol dragged him back down on his cock with no effort whatsoever.  “Stay still,” there was no exasperation or anger in the words, but it was an order nonetheless. The demon was telling him to remain submissive, to know his position was underneath, and to quit fighting it. Baekhyun truly wished he could. He wished he could surrender and be the meek little lamb the Deimos wanted him to be, wished for the trembling to stop and for the intensity of his touch to die down, but the torturously-slow movement of Chanyeol’s hips only made him shudder more.  “I am holding back, you know?” the demon suddenly said, still sliding in and out of Baekhyun’s birth canal at such a leisurely pace that it drove the boy up the wall. It was absolutely maddening, the pace so taunting that he had to dig his teeth into his lower lip to hold back from crying out in anguish.  Chanyeol was holding back, keeping his movements slow and controlled for Baekhyun’s sake when he must have wanted to unleash his deepest, darkest desires. His eagerness to breed was there, and still he managed to hold back just so the human would not unravel and draw his last breath. The monster he had been painted out to be was either hidden underneath layer upon layer of humanity, or did not exist outside of the folk tales.  Realising this, Baekhyun decided then and there to brush aside every deceitful belief he had ever had.  To hell with it.  Getting fucked like this had reshaped his idea of morality, and if others considered this sin, then call him a sinner. Because he finally truly conceded, succumbing to the thrilling exhilaration of sexuality, without a pang of conscience.  “I wish you would not,” he replied breathlessly, grateful he was no longer facing the demon so he felt not a hint of shame when he begged for it. “Just take me. Please.” As envisioned, his words were the catalyst, waking something much darker in the demon that had been dormant until that very moment. A wantonness that had been carefully suppressed, reined in as if not to scare the human to death, but it flourished gloriously once Baekhyun himself called on it with his plea. The boy inhaled in the fleeting calm before the storm; a final breath before taking the plunge in ice cold water. His lungs filled and his body tensed, but his preparation ended up being pathetically and utterly futile. Because the second Chanyeol gave in to his request and slammed home, that air left his lungs in one swift exhale while his body was utterly debilitated.  As if his every synapse malfunctioned simultaneously, either sending no signal at all or transmitting too many electric impulses at once, he well and truly lost himself.  He was coming undone in the Deimos’s arms in the most beautiful way, completely overpowered by desire and hypnotised by lust. It was as though his soul was only barely tied to the vessel that was his body, as if his heart was being purged until every black condemning thought had been cleansed from his mind.  But it was all to no avail, as even more indecent and vulgar thoughts replaced them now the man that was fucking him had yielded to his demonic nature. It had been set free, liberated from the shackles Chanyeol had kept it in, and at long last Baekhyun got a taste of what the tales had forewarned him of. The demon went rough on him, his thrusting so violent that the sheets were chafing Baekhyun’s chest and stomach. His entire body shifted on the bed, only being kept in place by the Deimos’s tail, while the pace he settled on was unearthly. The sounds leaving his mouth had turned significantly more animalistic, dropped at least an octave and lost any sense of humanity, yet Baekhyun learned it only aroused him more.  Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the speed with which Chanyeol drove his cock inside him was unattainable for any human being, but the boy endured it eagerly. He did not know how or why, but there was something about the ferocity of the unleashed demon that was so provocative. It had brought to light an unrestrained mania, a crazed rage with the conception of new life as the ultimate desire. Baekhyun could feel Chanyeol’s longing burning in his veins, in every carefully deliberate touch of his body, and as pleasure progressed, the same yearning filled his chest tenfold.  The heavenly slide of the man’s cock inside his birth canal made tears well up in his eyes, as if he were nothing but a virgin experiencing carnal pleasures for the first time in his life. They spilled on the sheets whenever the glans nudged his cervix, too big to enter it despite how much it wanted to. Though it made no difference, for Baekhyun was walking on air just from this, his bones having turned to liquid, and every rough push and pull of his body only added to it. He cried a string of broken noises, babbling his head off like a lunatic, and Chanyeol seemed to understand each sound, because he ceaselessly repeated the movement that got Baekhyun to lose it completely. “I will never-,” the demon grunted, dragging the boy onto his cock until its knot could be felt against his rim, threateningly big, “get enough of you. You take me- so well…” Something fluttered in Baekhyun’s stomach, got his dick to throb and his womb to contract, and the Deimos hissed at how much tighter that made him. Those hips faltered, length slipping out of the boy’s birth canal, and Chanyeol grunted under his breath as he reached for one of Baekhyun’s hands to grip atop the sheets. Feeling the demon’s fingers needily curling around his own, as if holding on for dear life, it got Baekhyun to sob even harder. His womb was being penetrated so well, filled to the brim with cock, and soon it would be stuffed full with the Deimos’s eggs. Eggs that could end up making him pregnant, and most likely would. It would be a life-changing moment for the both of them.  He could tell how Chanyeol was nearing his release from his laboured breathing and erratic thrusting, and Baekhyun felt compelled to help him reach it. Not just to show him how responsive he was to his advances, but also to convey how he consented to what the Deimos was destined to do. Fighting it was no use, and by now he had lost any sense of what was virtuous, to the point that he wanted this to happen. “Do not hold back,” he brought out, stuttering embarrassingly on every other word. “I want you to get me pregnant, Chanyeol. Get me pregnant.”   The Deimos was quick to respond. Baekhyun felt him pick up the pace, slamming in hard and so deep that his rim was forced to stretch even wider around the bulging knot trying to penetrate it. He got lightheaded at the idea that it would force its way inside of him, keeping in Chanyeol’s brood, because he knew it would be happening. And it would be happening soon.  The fingers that had wrapped around his left hand remained there, while the demon’s right tangled in Baekhyun’s hair with a despairing intensity that made the boy mewl loudly. Chanyeol twirled his hand, tightening his grip on the strands, and then pulled on them to reveal the boy’s profile.  The demon was staring, taking in Baekhyun’s pained frown before it slowly went lax, eyes slipping shut right as spit-slick lips parted in a gasp for air. He was certain he looked like a needy whore, a wretched sinner falling apart while getting his womb fucked by the devil, yet he could not find it in himself to care. “Look at you, asking for it,” Chanyeol growled, still fucking Baekhyun while he did. He seemed enraptured by the boy’s sudden lewdness, wanting to disappear even deeper within him, because the human could feel that thick knot pushing against his rim with more force than before. He whimpered, eyes squeezed shut tightly as the jabbing pain of his hair being yanked on made him feel incredibly alive. He knew it was disgraceful for him to want it, to enjoy getting his hole pounded so hard he could barely stay still, but every last bit of his shame had been replaced with unveiled promiscuity.  Baekhyun was breathing heavily, squeezing Chanyeol’s fingers until his own hurt, but the demon did not seem dismayed. He let Baekhyun eagerly push back on him however he could, enjoying how the boy tried to take the initiative even if he failed miserably, and he laughed hollowly when the human had to surrender yet again.  Nipping at the boy’s ear, licking wetly along the shell, he released a warm gush of air that got Baekhyun to shiver all over. “Humans… such frail bodies you have.”  Chanyeol’s unhinged pace slowed, that fleshly hunger changed into something more tender, more affectionate. The Deimos’s body pressed even closer, the heat along Baekhyun’s back rising exponentially, and like that he slowly moved in and out of the boy’s pussy. The rhythm was erotic and dreamy, the scene suddenly so astonishingly poetic, and Baekhyun swore it only made it harder to breathe. Because Chanyeol was set on speaking, defiling the human with his words as opposed to his touch, and goodness, was he good at it.  “I can barely enter you without you squeezing me back out,” the demon said, utter wonder to his tone. “You want me inside of you, want to take my penis even deeper, but you cannot match my energy. You let me take and take, and take some more. But I want to give. I want you to feel euphoric. I want you to want me.” Baekhyun did not know whether the man was speaking about him or about humans in general, but it did not change a damn thing. The words hit him the way they were meant to, the despair in Chanyeol’s voice so painful that it felt like a hand had squeezed around Baekhyun’s heart, nails digging in the beating organ, and he folded all his cards without delay. “I want you,” he declared, fighting his conscience as he said it. “Want your cock, want your eggs, want it all.” His tongue curled around each syllable, voicing sentences without him being aware of them. He knew what he was doing, knew he had joined the other side and was beyond saving now, which was why he felt no shame at his own vulgarity. “So breed me. Despite my faults, my weakness, take it all and make me yours.” Throughout his confessions, the Deimos had nuzzled his jaw, lips occasionally pressing to warm, sweaty skin, while the grip on his hair had gradually loosened until it disappeared. It returned to grasp the boy’s right hand, identical to the way he was holding Baekhyun’s left, which elicited a sense of closeness that he had not experienced before.  The way their flesh had glued together, hearts beating in sync, would suggest they were more than strangers. As if this was not the very first time their bodies had interlocked, limbs entangled in a delightful mess. But it was. It was the first time they were intimate, the first time Baekhyun had ever gotten his womb fucked, and in the moments that followed, the human ascended to heaven, attaining spiritual enlightenment.  “ Thank you ,” was whispered against his skin as Chanyeol shifted his weight, pinning the human down against the bed until he was incapable of moving at all. He slipped as deep into Baekhyun’s birth canal as he could, rutting wildly like a man at the limits of his patience, and just when the human thought nothing could make him feel any more claimed than this, that thought too went up in flames.  The demon’s wings unfolded from behind his back, a draft of cool air washing over the both of them when they opened and extended fully. They did not stay like that for long, soon bending with immense grace to cage Baekhyun’s body in, as if to protect him from anything that was not Chanyeol. The flurry of black and grey feathers entering his peripheral vision were all it took for him to be pushed into overdrive, static electricity shooting from every nerve ending. His body had been winded like a toy, and the coil spring was drawn so tight there was only one thing that could happen next; with one final push of the demon’s cock against his cervix, Baekhyun was coming, his body shuddering violently at the sudden release of energy.  His orgasm had a rippling effect, making his hole clench time and time again and milking Chanyeol’s hot, pulsating cock through the aftershocks. It was exactly what got the demon to lose himself too, his growl so deep and sensual that Baekhyun moaned at it, and right when he did, the most indescribable sensation of his life overcame him.  Like that, with their hands intertwined, skin burning against skin, and powerful wings shielding him from view, Baekhyun first got to experience the marvellous miracle that was oviposition. In the tightness of his birth canal, he could feel a foreign intrusion, a distinct pressure that grew with the expulsion of the Deimos’s brood. Chanyeol was mumbling a string of intangible sounds, burying so deep inside Baekhyun that he was everywhere , and the human realised then how sacred the moment was to the creature mating with him. His words like a prayer, the Deimos worshipped at his body, his release a plea to nature, a wish upon a shooting star for the universe to grant him the offspring he sought to have.  With the smallest, most delicious rotation of his hips, the demon bred him, laying egg after egg until Baekhyun physically felt himself bulge. His stomach grew harder, bigger, expanding with the insane volume of eggs, and though the human had tried to count how many had filled him out, he lost track a while ago.  There must have been twenty at least, each as big as a glass bead, and Baekhyun could feel them trying to escape his birth canal, being kept in only by the demon’s cock. Chanyeol’s knot had not entered him, even though it probably should have, but the Deimos showed no signs of wanting to force it in now. He went soft, glorifying the body he may have impregnated, as if Baekhyun were a deity worthy of his adoration.  Breathing against the human’s shoulder, Chanyeol kissed his skin again and again. His right hand left Baekhyun’s, untangling their hold and leaving the boy to stretch out his clenched, stiff fingers. It was then he realised just how sore he was, how rough the sex had been, and he refrained from moving any more because he knew it would hurt. Instead, he lay motionless, allowing the demon’s palm to slip between their bodies and press to his swollen stomach. Chanyeol groaned into the boy’s ear when his palm slipped across heated skin, a mix of cum and sweat causing it to slide away, and Baekhyun inhaled deeply so he would not lose his mind. “So beautiful,” the demon whispered, his fingers grazing along the human’s softening cock before he cupped the spot where his womb had expanded, “you ejaculated…”  Breathing was hard enough by itself, let alone when he was trying to speak, but Baekhyun wanted to. He had to convey his thoughts somehow, even if he would pass out after.  “I did,” he closed his tired eyes, relieved to have Chanyeol carry his weight with both hands. “You made me. You feel good - they feel good - inside.” The Deimos pulled on Baekhyun’s upper body enough to lift him off the bed, allowing both of his arms to come around the human’s form to hold him. His left hand was still clutching Baekhyun’s, now pressed to his chest, and for one long minute he was still closer than close.  And then every touch was revoked. Like a house of cards folding in on itself, everything came crashing down. Chanyeol lowered him back down against the bed, retreating his tail as well as his hands, and separating their upper bodies before he allowed his cock to slip from the human’s hole.  It was cold instantly, without the closeness of fiery skin all over him, which made Baekhyun shiver and his teeth clatter. However, the Deimos did not notice it whatsoever. He crawled down the bed right when Baekhyun first began to feel the eggs shift, slowly escaping his birth canal now nothing was holding them back. He said nothing, not even when the human whined and tried to clench his muscles, attempting to stop his body from excreting the demon’s brood. But it was impossible to stop, and Baekhyun felt absolutely mortified by how little he could do to keep the eggs inside of him. They came out one by one, quickly leaving him feeling unwantedly empty, and it was a confusing sensation. Unexpected and unpleasant in a way he had never experienced before.  “Chanyeol…” he begged, wishing the demon would plug him again so the eggs would not go to waste, but the man still did not move an inch. He watched Baekhyun’s cunt pass his offspring, as if it did not want any of it, and only once the steady flow had come to a stop did his touch return. Affectionately sliding his hand down the boy’s behind, Chanyeol caressed a buttock before one of his thick fingers unceremoniously found its way back inside his hole. It entered his birth canal without any difficulty, making Baekhyun choke on air at how sensitive it was, how intense. “ Ah .”  He trembled all over, muscles unsure whether they should grip onto the single digit or relax around it, but then Chanyeol finally responded to his pleading.  “It is okay,” the Deimos said, sounding like he was not at all upset about the loss of his brood. Then he explained, plain and simple, and Baekhyun understood. “I did not enter your womb, and neither did I knot you. None of these would have stuck, but it is a start. It is more than I got before.” Chanyeol was fumbling, his index finger corrupting Baekhyun’s walls as he made sure none of his eggs had remained inside. The human tried his best not to grit his teeth and pass out, exhaustion taking over now that the heated pleasure had ebbed away, but the Deimos seemed far from done with him.  By the time his finger disappeared, Baekhyun had noticed how the man’s cock was half-hard again. It rubbed along his cleft for a brief second, though it wasted no time there before it found his precious hole and easily slipped back home.  The human was not any more used to the fullness the third time around, and he did not react any less than when he had first been forced open. The room was spinning much the same, his lungs burning painfully, and he tried to stop it all by closing his eyes.  “Chanyeol, please, no more,” he begged, his nails digging into the sheets like he would lose it if he were to let go. It was the first time he had truly objected, the first time he felt his entire body protest the intrusion of Chanyeol’s cock, but the demon was intent on ignoring him.  “Need to. Need it to stick,” he argued, unapologetically fucking himself back to full hardness using the tight, wet walls of the human’s pussy.  It was too much, the ache of his body and fatigue depleting him so much that Baekhyun could not even fight it, but he used up all his energy to speak. “I am tired, you need to let me rest. I cannot-”  He was aware of the dire need Chanyeol was experiencing; the deeply innate want to mate in the face of extinction. He did not judge the demon for the way his blood boiled with a desire he would never understand, nor did he regret what had happened. But he knew that in order to stay alive, he had to make the demon see that humans could only be bent so far before they would break.  “I do not care if it takes all night,” Chanyeol argued heatedly, still not getting it. “I will get you pregnant.”  It was not about him not wanting to get pregnant. In fact, he wished he already were. Wished he could rest assured knowing one of Chanyeol’s eggs had buried itself in his warmth, because at least then he would not have to fear for his life. He would not have to die, because dying now would mean everything he had done had been in vain. Leaving behind his sense of normality and the people he loved, it would have all been for nothing, and that was what kept him fighting.  “Enough!” He kicked back his leg, showing resilience for the first time since he had been captured, and it startled the Deimos enough to halt every movement as he watched the writhing boy underneath him.  Experiencing a sudden rush of strength, Baekhyun swung back an elbow, hitting the demon square in the chest, and he heard a little, “oomph,” while he flailed his body around as much as possible.  There was a helpless desperation to his every action, a graveness so unfamiliar, but he knew the severity of the situation. Those girls had died for a reason. Chanyeol had worn them out, fucked them until their bodies were overused and their lungs unable to draw in any more oxygen. Exerted to a point where their heart gave up, and the same fate awaited him if he would fail to convince the Deimos.  “ Please . Just like you said… such frail bodies we have,” he reasoned, hoping that repeating the demon’s own words would help him see reason. “Chanyeol, I cannot- I cannot take any more. I will die if you do not stop. You have to stop.” Chanyeol did not say anything, though he did not completely ignore the human’s plea, either. He was not yet too far gone on lust to think rationally, and Baekhyun’s crying had pierced through the fog and hit him where it mattered.  “You have got me,” the human promised, quite literally swearing on his life. “I will not run away. All I am asking is for you to let me rest. Let me rest and once I have replenished we can try again. Please .” The Deimos remained still for so long that an unfathomable fear began to grow in Baekhyun’s stomach. Right there, above his womb, it settled and swelled, growing and growing into a heavy ball of darkness that was threatening to paralyse him. He had put his life in the balance, and now he was waiting for the scales to tip; for a choice to be made. For a choice to be made for him .  “Baekhyun-ah…”  Chanyeol’s voice was soft, shockingly so, and it caused a shiver to run down the boy’s spine right down to where they were connected. It cut right to the bone, rattling him in an inexpressible way, and Baekhyun knew then what would happen. He knew, and he exhaled at the same moment the demon’s cock slipped out of him.  Within a second, his entire body went lax, the relief so overwhelming that he could cry. But the demon would not let go of him. He fell down next to Baekhyun, curling around him and extending one wing to cloak him from view. The human was caged in, Chanyeol’s cock nudging the back of his thighs, but the rashness of it all had melted away.  He was lying there, huddled up on his side with one of the Deimos’s arms slung across his torso. It was surreal, something he could not have predicted just a short twelve hours ago, and he hated himself for how contented he felt imprisoned within Chanyeol’s arms. It should feel like a cage, not a place of shelter.  But it did.  With eyelids heavy as lead, he softened, easing into the bed and Chanyeol’s hold. The darkness that had been looming in the back of his mind stepped forward, swallowing him whole once he let down his guard, but right before he slipped away he whispered, almost too quietly to make out. “Thank you.” 
⁂

Waking up was disorienting.  Baekhyun opened his eyes to blood-red skin and intricate, coal-black drawings which emerged from underneath his cheek. He woke with a palm pressed to sculptured muscles, and his shin touching a warm, warm thigh. Hair tickled his shoulder, a braid having come undone, but he refused to move so as to get it out of the way. It took a minute for everything to come back to him. For Baekhyun to realise why he was there and why his ass was quite literally throbbing, his legs achy and restless. But once it did, he was surprised to find there was no panic in his heart. There was nothing on his mind telling him to run, to find a way out, and instead his gut twisted with the memory of his own moans as the demon took him apart and made him his whore. His fingers twitched at the thought, a small gasp leaving his lips, and he tensed as he waited for the Deimos to stir in his sleep. To wake up and abruptly take Baekhyun with that same burning urge that had been ignited in him before. However, he did not rouse.   Chanyeol had at some point uncurled from around him, rolled onto his back, and Baekhyun was resting half on top of him. He twisted his cheek so he could take things in more clearly, observing the way one of the Deimos’s vast wings was still unfolded, lying by his side almost as if he was a fallen angel that had crashed to the earth. Yet the colour of his skin, his long tail and those pointed horns all proved he was anything but.  The demon’s chest rose and fell slowly, naturally, showing how he was still deep asleep, and Baekhyun finally allowed himself to lift his head and tilt it so he could take in the creature’s face. There was a peacefulness to his countenance that the human had not seen there before. It had replaced the constant worry, the rush, the distress, and Baekhyun could not help but think he was even more beautiful like this. Dark eyelashes stood out against the cherry red of his cheeks, and plump lips were slightly parted to exhale with the most quiet of sounds. Baekhyun felt the overwhelming need to lean in and kiss them, but he held himself back. He was not the kind to steal one without permission, and they did not have the type of relationship where he was simply allowed to cross the gap between them. Perhaps one day they would be. Chanyeol looked so much younger than he had done with lust-filled eyes, and Baekhyun had to swallow down the pity that blossomed in his chest. The pictures of cruel monsters, with big, bulging eyes and teeth sharper than knives, they were nothing like the real thing. The Deimos was far more human, far more stunning than any of the stories could have warned him of, and in a sense that was worse. It was worse because it caused him to feel things he should not be feeling for a creature only half human.  Confused by his own thoughts, and with his mouth having gone bone-dry, Baekhyun began to pry himself away from Chanyeol’s body. With every inch that he moved, he paused for a moment, waiting and holding his breath while he assessed whether the demon had woken up and the spell had been broken. It was like dancing around a minefield, knowing one wrong step could lead to disaster, even if it was unclear what exactly would happen to him once Chanyeol would awaken.  He was playing with fire, he knew so, but getting up was easier than expected; with the demon fast asleep, or maybe pretending to be. Baekhyun could not tell if there had been a change in the rate of his breathing or a twitch of his tail, but it did not matter either. His objective was not to escape, and as long as Chanyeol would not move, he should be safe.  He got to his feet, almost exposing himself by whimpering uncomfortably as his knees buckled and gave way. It was only because a shot of pain ran up his back at the same time, killing the sound that had tried to leave his throat, that his cover was not blown instantly.  The ordeal left him dazed, his head spinning while he inhaled raggedly. Never before had he been so well-fucked that he could hardly walk, his entire body malfunctioning hours after it had happened, and it felt ridiculous and a little unimaginable. Yet it was real, his body responding to every painful move before his brain could.  “Huh,” he whispered to himself as he tried to take another step and failed just as bad, knees locking a second time. Stupefied by the sudden ache, Baekhyun barely managed to catch himself before he collapsed to the ground, and he stilled immediately to keep his composure. Sweat was beading on his forehead and his hole was throbbing severely, but at least he was prepared for the pain when he got to his feet a third time. Baekhyun held out his hands on either side as he steadied himself, waiting until he had gotten used to the pulsating sensation of his walls clenching around nothing. It subdued to a dull pain rather quickly, enough for him to begin taking steps away from the bed with less difficulty than before. He still stumbled on his way towards the fireplace, and clung onto the shelf there like it was a crutch. The fire had died down during the night, the deep orange embers having turned black, and there was no heat radiating off it any longer. It made Baekhyun aware of how chilly the place was, and just how warm Chanyeol’s skin had been.   Chanyeol .  Baekhyun looked over his shoulder, seeing the demon still fast asleep on the bed. His outstretched wing was sweeping the ground, the feathers shimmering even without the light of the fire to illuminate them, and he was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.  A few lit candles stood on the desk, or were hidden in little alcoves carved into the walls on either side of the bed, and they cast the room in a pale shade of yellow. It was a much cooler tone than the orange glow of the fire, but it did not make the demon any less attractive. His skin appeared less villainous now, and the lines of his stomach seemed softer as it rose on and fell peacefully, the rhythm calm and steady. His cock was hard against his hip, though not achingly so, and Baekhyun wondered how something meant to be so abominable could be so astonishingly beautiful.  With light steps he moved along the wall, gripping the windowsill next so he could cross the short distance to the desk. He recalled how Chanyeol had been writing or drawing something when he had first woken up, however-long ago, and he was burning with a curiosity he wished to satisfy.  The massive, wooden desk was made from an oak tree that had to be older than Joseon itself, and Baekhyun ran his fingers along it gently, caressing the wood as if it held all the wisdom of the world. Maybe it did. An assortment of items was scattered across the worktop; piles of paper, a jar of black ink, a few porcelain cups, and Baekhyun’s dagger. He picked it up, feeling the familiarity of its weight and the softness of the leather, and he slipped the weapon from its sheath to take in the sharp, silver blade.  With the cold metal pressed to his palm, he glanced back at the bed, at the sleeping man he had left there. Just for a moment, he considered gripping the dagger in his hold and aiming for the Deimos’s heart, going in for the kill that would make him the hero of the kingdom. They would celebrate him across the land, and Yi Geum would give him more luxury and love than any commoner could wish for.  It all sounded so thrilling, like the ending to a fairy tale: ‘ The monster was defeated, and the prince and his lover lived happily ever after’ . But truthfully, even if he wanted that to be his ending, Baekhyun gave himself little chance of even reaching the bed without waking Chanyeol. It would take more than courage to defeat a Deimos, and his chances of succeeding were so slim that it would undoubtedly be a suicide mission. Not to mention, he no longer saw the man as a monster, anyway.  The point though, now the dagger was resting in his palm again, was that he actually had a choice. His life was back in his own hands, and if he wished to do so, he could choose his own fate. He could tightly clasp his weapon and change his mind. He could .  But a flash of pleasure shot behind Baekhyun’s eyes; him on his stomach, Chanyeol’s cock buried deep while he experienced the ethereal feeling of eggs filling him up. And a promise, made in the heat of the moment, yet ever as sincere.  
You have got me.
 The ornate dagger slid back inside its sleeve, and Baekhyun squeezed it in his hold once more before putting it back down on the desk. Maybe he would come to regret this later, once all had unfolded the way it was meant to, but right now he knew there was no other choice he could have made.  With his mind made up, he moved away from the dagger, lifting up a piece of paper instead. The one on top; the one Chanyeol had evidently been working on before he had gone over to fuck Baekhyun on his bed. It was a letter, actual words on the page, but no sooner had he registered this than his eyes fell on something hidden underneath the letter. It was a drawn portrait of a young woman who looked to be in her twenties, and she was stunning.  There was something familiar in her expression, making Baekhyun wonder where he had seen her before, but the question of who she was to Chanyeol, was by far more important to him. Could she be a lover, someone precious enough for the demon to carry around her portrait? It did not make sense for her to be, because if she were, why was she not the one carrying the Deimos’s offspring? Why was Chanyeol trying to impregnate him instead? Unless… unless the demon had tried to do so and failed, killing her much like the girls that had been found over the past weeks. Maybe she was one of those girls, and that was why she seemed so familiar to him. Had Chanyeol lost the woman he loved to lust? Had his true nature led to her death? The questions in his head multiplied with each new one that popped up, as he found himself genuinely wanting to put together all the pieces so he could understand things better. He was driven by that same inexplicable wonder that had always drawn him to the forest, wanting to find out its every secret, and that now included the mystery that was Chanyeol.  He was about to pick up the letter a second time, hoping to find some answers there, when a sudden noise drew his attention. His first thought was that the Deimos must have woken up, but it was coming from his left, not from behind; a slow dripping that increased in sound the longer he listened to it.  Baekhyun turned his head to look at the other end of the room, the side he had yet to explore. A weathered timber chair stood near the wall, and an uneven row of pins had haphazardly been nailed in the clay above it. Sheets of fabric hung from them, different colours and different sizes, and Baekhyun wondered what they were for, but felt no desire to get his question answered. Because his eyes trailed on, finding the origin of the sound that had startled him, and any other thoughts faded to the background.  Water. Trickling down into a wooden bucket, placed upon a plinth tall enough to reach his hips. Water. Coming in through a tap jammed deep inside the wall, allowing only a narrow stream to drip from it. Water. Carefully collected and within his reach, hours after last having had anything to drink.  A disbelieving gasp left his lips, after which he dropped the paper he had been holding, the words and portrait long forgotten. He reached for one of the cups on the desk without looking, not even caring whether they were meant to be drunk from, because he needed water. Anything would do.  His legs carried him over quickly, every bit of discomfort brushed aside now, and he even briefly forgot about the sleeping Deimos only a few feet away. Baekhyun’s eyes were solely fixed on the stream of water pouring into the half-empty bucket below. It seemed almost surreal, merely an illusion of his scattered mind, but the illusion broke once he dipped in the cup and his fingers touched the cool liquid.  With a hollow laugh he retreated it, the cup now full to the brim, and he brought it up to his face, smelling it to see if it truly was water. His grandmother had taught him to be wary of any liquid he did not know the source of, and Baekhyun usually would heed her warning, but right now he did not exactly have the luxury of looking for anything better. That pattern, of him following his grandmother’s advice, had been broken the moment he had run away, and now he lived by his own rules and decisions. An earthy smell filled his nose, not telling him much of anything, and right as he pondered over whether he should take the plunge and drink a mouthful, his ears picked up on a foreign, pitter-patter sound coming from above him.  Rain. It was such a strange sound while underground, somehow much louder than it was above it. But the thrumming was unmistakably the sound of a downpour hitting the soil, battering against the earth.  The last time it had rained, the crown prince had visited him. He had bedded Baekhyun while a thunderstorm had been raging outside his hanok. That seemed forever ago now, and any memories of Yi Geum were at the very ends of his mind. Still, there was something comforting about the sound, and not just because it proved how the liquid running from the tap was rainwater. No, it was more than that.  It reminded him of how, despite his entire world having changed after dusk, there would always be a new dawn. Regardless of what would happen to him, and regardless of what would happen to Chanyeol, the world would keep on turning. The sun would rise, the rain would fall, and life and death would carry on.  Now at ease with his fate, Baekhyun put his trust in the universe to lead him where he was meant to be. What was destined to happen was destined to happen, be it trifling or significant, and so he brought the cup up to his lips and gulped down the cold liquid all at once. The water tasted like rain and earth, but it was so refreshing that he could not get enough. It ran down his throat, behind his lungs down to his stomach, and it made him beyond greedy.  He filled the cup a second time, drinking it just as eagerly, and only once it was empty did he breathe again. Baekhyun then dipped the cup a third time, filling it up only halfway, and used some of the water to clean up his face: the salty streaks where tears had dried, every trace of emotion being wiped away. The dried cum on his abdomen was next, followed by the blood and semen left on his inner thighs. His hands were last, fingers sinking into the remaining water in his cup in the hopes of washing off any traces of their sex. He should have known that was impossible.  Without any fabric nearby to dry his wet hands, Baekhyun matted his messy hair, running his damp fingers along the braids and pulling out a tiny twig here and there. It was surprisingly calming, and he could almost imagine he was in his room at the palace, fixing his appearance after a visit from Yi Geum. When he turned around, he almost expected to see the crown prince there. For it all to have been a crazy dream. But it was not. The room was not his own, and the creature on the bed looked nothing like the future king of Joseon. This was not a dream.  Baekhyun watched Chanyeol sleep, or pretend to, because the longer he stared now, the clearer it became that the Deimos was in fact no longer dead to the world. Maybe he had been awake all this time, who would say, but there was no denying he was only pretending. For one, his wing had moved in the time Baekhyun had been facing the wall, the feathers now lying more comfortably by his side. But what gave it away more was his breathing, which was noticeably quicker than before.  Carefully, the human began to cross the distance to the enormous, round pillow that was the Deimos’s bed. He did not bother being quiet, tiptoeing around the room like he had done before. Instead he chuckled, letting a smile grow on his lips as he neared the foot of it, cautiously stepping around Chanyeol’s wing. “How long have you been awake for?” he asked, staring down at the man’s body while he spoke. From Chanyeol’s strong, muscular pecs and thick thighs, to his prominent erection, already leaking against his hip bone.  Baekhyun had to look away, swallowing hard, and he did so right in time to watch the Deimos open his eyes. A smile, small and fit for a demon, welcomed him, though the brown of Chanyeol’s eyes was pleasantly warm. He pulled up a knee to the side, which unconsciously - or perhaps very consciously - drew Baekhyun’s eye back to his hardened cock. It twitched lightly, as if to greet him, and the human felt his throat close up even before the man replied. “Was it that hard to walk?”  Baekhyun blinked, taking a second to let it register that Chanyeol had been awake all this time, and then he huffed. “ That long?” There was not even a hint of guilt or remorse in the demon’s gaze. No apologetic tilt to his smile. Instead, he shamelessly let his tail reach for Baekhyun’s thigh, grazing past the skin like it wanted to lure him in.  “From the moment you first stirred, my darling human.”  It did something stupid to his heart, being addressed so sweetly while the Deimos’s tail was trying to curl around his knee. He was still a little too far away for it to grip him, but Baekhyun knew it was not needed anyway. He would go willingly.  Chanyeol had been awake as long as he had been, yet he had let the human get up and wander around, pretending to have a moment to himself. “Why?” he asked, suddenly confused. Why had the demon let him slip away when he could have bred him again, finally getting to do what he had been born to do. “Why did you let me get up?” The Deimos’s tail stopped bothering Baekhyun’s leg, and instead the creature’s energy was spent on moving his wing into a more comfortable position closer to his body. It caused a light breeze to tousle the human’s hair, fanning cold air against his damp face, and the feeling was surprisingly rejuvenating but made him shiver all the same.  “To see if you would try to leave,” Chanyeol admitted, no shame even in that. “Not that you would have gotten far, but I had to see if you would make good on your promise.”  
I will not run away. 
 What would the demon do if he would admit he had considered it? Did it even make a difference? Because he was still here, and he kept glancing at Chanyeol’s cock and thinking about how good it had felt, moving inside of him. How being fucked open by the fat shaft was so outrageously incredible that he could not think of anything else even as he stood there trying to find words to reply with.  Giving up, Baekhyun finally lowered himself on the bed, crawling right between the demon’s partly-spread legs. He touched Chanyeol’s knee, felt the man’s tail finally curl around his wrist, and he gulped as his eyes glassed over for a second.  The sudden want that was ignited within him was like a bolt from the blue, startling Baekhyun as much as it must have startled the Deimos. But Baekhyun did not fight the feeling like he had tried to do for so long when Chanyeol had first fucked him. There was a rush in his ears, a static noise that made him lightheaded, though it passed quickly and made place for a darker desire. His breathing was laboured, his entire body suddenly thrumming, and as he watched the creature laid out in front of him, he realised how alive he felt. Being the one hanging over the demon, the sense of control it gave him, was like a rush of blood to the head where any rationality was gone.  “Well,” Baekhyun started as he traced his fingers along the inside of Chanyeol’s thigh, leading up to his balls, which hung heavy between his legs. “Did I pass your little test?”  There was something in his voice that the demon understood, something he recognised, and the man said his name in such a breathless way that electricity danced up and down the human’s spine. “Baekhyun…”  The demon looked at him as if he could not believe what he was seeing. As if Baekhyun had not begged for the man to breed him hours before. Though maybe this was, in fact, different.  Different because right now he was not getting fucked out of his mind, babbling things as a result of the intense pleasure he was experiencing. Different because he was sore beyond belief, in need of far more rest than he had gotten, and yet he was still there, on the bed, cupping the demon’s balls in the palm of his hand like he did not care about recovering.  They were big, so much bigger than Yi Geum’s, spilling over his fingers. The skin was already getting drawn taut at the lightest touch, and Chanyeol’s tail only wound itself higher around Baekhyun’s arm, as if that would make it any less overwhelming. It made him proud, how aroused he could get a man who was only half human. How it was his touch that got the Deimos to grow even harder than he had already been.  “At least you remembered my name,” Baekhyun finally replied, taunting the demon even more by releasing his hold and sitting back. Or rather, attempting to. Because Chanyeol’s tail dragged him forward again, bringing his hand back down on his cock, and he whined in a way almost too pathetic for someone with such power. Had he not been so intrigued, Baekhyun would have mocked him for it.  “Of course I did. I have already memorised every inch of you, mapped you inside and out,” the demon groaned as fingers grazed his cock, guided there by his tail but travelling across skin of their own accord.  Baekhyun understood the effects of his touch, and he revelled in the fact he had the upper hand now. Chanyeol thought he knew him, that he had the human figured out, but he did not know a thing. If he was expecting a meek little lamb simply because Baekhyun had taken on that role the first time they had mated, he was in for the shock of his life.  He knew what Yi Geum had liked, had months of experience pleasing a man, and he considered it a challenge to figure out how Chanyeol stood apart from the prince. Where did he like getting touched? What would make his eyes roll back into their sockets? What would send him over the edge when he was really close? He wished to find the answers to all these questions and more, not to mention learn about his own pleasure as well. Which position would allow the demon’s cock to enter his birth canal the easiest? Would he be able to take the creature’s knot up his pussy? Would he love it? Could he actually get his womb fucked open?  Inhaling shakily, Baekhyun wrapped his fingers around the Deimos’s length, feeling it pulse against his hand. He realised with a startle it was the first time he was touching the man’s cock like this. Certainly, his womb knew the shape better than his hand, but there was plenty of time to change that predicament. Right now, he wanted to get acquainted with its weight, its girth and taste, in an entirely different way.  “Memorised every inch? Are you sure?” Baekhyun asked while he lowered himself further, bringing his body down against the bed until he was lying between Chanyeol’s spread legs.  He could see the demon’s eyes darken, understanding flickering in his gaze, but Baekhyun did not give him the satisfaction of answering. He licked a hot trail up the length of the man’s cock, from his balls to the very crown, inhaling the musky scent as he did. The poignant, bitter flavour of Chanyeol’s precum hit his tongue when he lapped at the slit, and his own cock twitched between his legs in response.  
Bad, Baekhyun. So bad. 
 The condemning thoughts did nothing to change his actions. He still pressed his tongue to the ridge of the crown, sliding it back and forth until Chanyeol whimpered and bucked his hips. His cock brushed against Baekhyun’s uvula, trying to slip past, but it was gone before the human could take him deeper.  The touch was entirely lost for a second when Chanyeol wriggled underneath him, the demon’s impatience hard to contain, but Baekhyun would not give up so soon. He had to act fast, make the Deimos forget how easily he could take back power and make Baekhyun submit to him. Blow him so nicely that his mind would be muddled, completely and utterly discombobulated by the feeling of the human’s mouth on him.  “Baekhyun-ah, you- ahh ,” Chanyeol’s broken sentence turned into a high pitched gasp when he licked across the tip, tonguing at the slit to lap up more of that deliciously-tangy precum. The taste alone was not enough, though, and so Baekhyun closed his lips around the fat head, lips stretched wide to take it. The demon’s cock was so girthy that he could only swallow down one third of it before he was gagging, and tears were instantly brimming in his eyes in a natural reaction to the intrusion. He backed off for a moment, breathing slowly until the feeling had passed and the water in his eyes had been blinked away.  All the while he leisurely stroked the man’s length, fisting his cock even though it was so thick that his index finger did not even meet his thumb. Baekhyun could barely believe he had actually taken this up his pussy, that something so big had fit inside of him, but it turned him on beyond belief. And so, fuelled by the desire to take it down his throat, too, he licked his lips and lowered his head back down.  This time he kept his hand in place, using his touch to guide the demon’s cock to his lips as well as cover any length he was unable to take into his mouth. The tip nudged the back of his throat each time he bobbed his head, and it sparked a quiet noise from deep within Chanyeol’s chest again and again.  It was breathtaking to see the demon be thrown off balance like this, searching for answers to how to behave. He ended up dropping his palm atop Baekhyun’s head, faintly pushing him down without being rough about it, and left it at that. “This is not-” the Deimos growled, pausing when the human hollowed his cheeks, and those hips tried to buck like before, but Baekhyun had been ready for it. He relaxed his throat, felt the crown slip just that tiny bit deeper, though the moment was gone before he could truly savour it. He pulled off, smiling up at the demon like he was far more innocent than he was proving himself to be. “Not what?”  His hand remained on Chanyeol’s cock, caressing it with intent strokes as he stared at the man who had quickly become more than just his captor. It did not bother him how little he knew about him. Baekhyun had abandoned a life where everything made sense, where things were meant to be a certain way, and had found himself in a realm so opposing that way of life that it seemed to be an alternative universe.  The Deimos was not looking for love, and there had been no period of courtship that had led to their mating. Baekhyun was allowed to let his physical desires win, and unlike before, he wasted no time thinking of how sinful it was for him to want this. His index finger traced the vein along the shaft of the demon’s cock, down towards his balls, which he then cupped.  Chanyeol pushed himself up on his elbows, and he glanced down his body to where the human was resting between his legs. His eyes were glassy, unfocused, and his lips looked a little fuller from having been bitten. He looked almost human like that, if Baekhyun could ever ignore those menacing horns and the unearthly colour of his skin. “I am supposed to be the demon here, not you,” the Deimos told him breathily, already strung out.  The words made Baekhyun laugh, and he dropped his head again so he could nuzzle the man’s hip, breathing in the pacifying scent of his pubic hair. His hand squeezed around the demon’s cock, tightening on the upstroke, and his warm breath caused it to twitch.  “You must know nothing about humans,” Baekhyun warned before he flattened his tongue and licked around the Deimos’s balls. They were too big to take into his mouth, even though he desperately wanted to, and so instead he kissed his way up until he could suckle the head between his lips again. But Chanyeol hauled him off.  His fingers tangled in Baekhyun’s hair, and he pulled on it until the human was whimpering, his face contorting in discomfort. When their eyes met, it became clear how the words had cut through far deeper than Baekhyun had expected them to. Something about his remark had rubbed the Deimos the wrong way, and although the hold on his hair loosened almost instantly, Chanyeol’s gaze remained hard. “I know everything about humans,” he declared assertively, leaving no room for discussion. “I know about their greed, about the evil that blackens their hearts. Some are more malevolent and vile than any of my kind will ever be, but that is not you. It is not.” The air suddenly turned serious, and Baekhyun found himself feeling something akin to concern as he saw the sudden panic in Chanyeol’s face. The Deimos let go of his hair the second he realised how rough he was being, but he did not apologise, nor did he shy away from Baekhyun. He simply eyed him, unsure of what the human would do now, and well, what was there to do?  He crawled up Chanyeol’s body, until his ass brushed along the creature’s still-hardened cock, and then he lowered himself. His smooth, pale skin painted a stark contrast against the vibrant red of the demon’s, but he loved the juxtaposition. Where the demon was mighty and authoritative, he was small and docile. It worked in ways he would never be able to explain.  “You are right,” he told the Deimos, acknowledging the pain which had flashed on the creature’s face before. “Humans have eradicated your kind. They have done wicked things, and will continue doing so, but I am not here to kill you. I am here to gift you life.”  Baekhyun rolled his hips, creating delicious friction that caused Chanyeol to pant quietly. The demon’s hands found his hips, tightly squeezing his skin and keeping him down, which only made the human feel more ecstatic. He repeated the same move, loving how it felt to ride the demon’s cock even without feeling it inside of him.  “Chanyeol…” he choked out, head tipped back a little. The Deimos’s nails were lightly digging into his flesh as he helped the human grind against him, their bodies rubbing together wildly with a sudden deprivation that was overpowering. It made his heart beat so much faster, his skin crawling with want, and no touch was enough.   But the frantic movements of his lower half made Baekhyun aware of how sore he was and reminded him of how he should be trying to hold off any sex. The wise choice would be to give his body the time it needed to heal, to not submit to his desires just because the feeling was addictive. However, that ship had sailed long ago, because he had given himself away the moment he had first touched Chanyeol’s cock. Perhaps even before that, when he had climbed between the demon’s spread legs with the unmistakable intention of sucking him off. “Patience, my pretty boy,” the Deimos told him, halting every movement so Baekhyun was forced to stay still. Oxygen filled his starved lungs, and his fingers dug into the demon’s stomach while his world slowly rearranged itself in front of his eyes.   It was incredible, how quickly he could give free rein to the undisclosed desires in his heart. More than that, it was embarrassing, because he certainly did not get this hard for Yi Geum, and he had never felt this desirous either. There was something about Chanyeol that drove him mad, starving for a kind of passion that had been unfamiliar to him up until now. When the Deimos allowed him to move again, controlling the pace so Baekhyun would not get carried away like before, something shifted once more. The tangled mess in his skull slowly unravelled while his ass rubbed along the demon’s cock, the leaking tip grazing his balls. His head became clear, every nerve ending passing on the message that he was feeling good, and his chest rose and fell on steady breaths that kept him focused.  Chanyeol was looking at him with wide, open eyes still filled with disbelief and a whole lot of admiration. Baekhyun loved how he occasionally sucked his bottom lip between his teeth, groaning blissfully because he just could not keep it in. Those hands remained on his body, one keeping pressure on his hip while the other travelled up the human’s chest to rub and pinch a nipple. It was absolutely glorious.  “How are you real?” The Deimos asked, his eyes roving across Baekhyun’s body like he still could not grasp how he had the boy in his lap, needily humping him like this.  It was not hard to discern why. Chanyeol was used to being the one in charge, always the one to pounce his victim and call the shots throughout, but Baekhyun had taken over now.  He moaned sultrily, sticking his chest out so Chanyeol would get the hint and keep his fingers there. The demon did, twisting the hardened nub so violently that he caused the boy to moan again, and he slumped over, movements stalling suddenly. A thumb circled his areola, fingers resting against his ribs, and Baekhyun blinked dazedly at the gentle touch, so light it could have been an illusion. “You move like you want me.”  Chanyeol was stating the obvious, making the human huff out a half-laugh, but to the Deimos there was nothing to joke about. Baekhyun’s willingness was a mystery to him, and once the boy realised this, his cheeks turned a soft pink and he averted his eyes.  “Would it be bad if I did?” He asked, his voice small and heavy with lust while he stared at ruffled feathers. The sudden thought of Chanyeol not wanting him anymore now he was this eager and responsive flashed behind his mind’s eye, but he rejected the idea instantly. The Deimos had let him take control, had made appreciative noises at the feeling of Baekhyun’s mouth on his cock as he blew him. It would not make sense for him to suddenly lose interest.  “Not at all,” Chanyeol confirmed, his fingers dipping lower, until they brushed over the boy’s stomach. Right there, against his empty womb, a warm palm pressed to the skin, “I guess I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you are really here, and you aren’t just letting me take you… you want me to.” Baekhyun inhaled shakily, feeling his resolve weaken again, and his gaze travelled to Chanyeol’s lips while he willed his heart to slow down. But it was futile, because the organ was hammering against his ribcage, banging wildly to make its presence known. Like it did not care about the laws of love, marching to the beat of its own drum and fluttering around like a butterfly.  A tiny whimper left him, and in turn the corner of the demon’s mouth curled just a little. It pleased him, seeing Baekhyun come undone this way, wanting him so badly that he could not even speak properly. And who could blame him? The human was behaving like a downright whore, riding the Deimos more frantically than before, and the only thing giving away he was abashed were his warm, cherry blossom cheeks.  “Chanyeol,” he whined, dragging out the second syllable while his hips tilted far enough for their cocks to brush together. The friction was beautiful, so perfect with the pace he had set, and Baekhyun’s jaw went a little slack, his eyes falling shut. He could do this for hours, chasing euphoria while it was always just a little too far out of reach, but his partner seemed to have different plans. “Want to be inside you,” Chanyeol confessed with a deep growl, clearly having run out of patience, and it showed in how rough he suddenly became. An unbelievably loud moan escaped Baekhyun when the demon’s hands found his ass and spread him open, letting the cool air hit his hole. There was a dull ache, his soreness becoming evident as he clenched around nothing, but it was overpowered by the pleasant pain of getting his cheeks groped. Chanyeol bucked his hips, rocking up against the human’s ass to suit his actions to his words, and that got Baekhyun to easily lose the little control he had had. “Just be careful with me,” he traced his fingers along Chanyeol’s jawline when the demon took a second to decide his next move. His words seemed to penetrate the dark cloud of desire that had overtaken them, and a flicker of tenderness flashed as he nodded his head in silent agreement.  It was enough for Baekhyun to surrender, to let Chanyeol grind up against him and slide his thick, hard cock along his aching hole. He leaned back, taking his hands off the demon’s chest so he could hold onto his ankles, and this made the press of skin against skin far more blissful.  “Ahh,” he gasped, feeling Chanyeol’s cock against him absolutely everywhere while the Deimos gripped his ass so harshly he could not even squeeze his rim shut when he tried. He was gaping, and the fat crown of the demon’s penis caught on his hole instantly.  “ Oh .” Precum was being smeared along his rim, wetting it until the head was smoothly slipping along it, and Chanyeol did not make a sound while Baekhyun could not seem to shut up. The Deimos was being cautious, careful not to hurt the human, and the only sounds of his pleasure were little panted puffs of air.  Baekhyun rolled his hips while he leaned back, watching his stomach move each time he did, and he wondered how much he would be bulging once the demon’s cock would be back inside of him. The idea alone drove him crazy, and he snapped so easily that he did not allow himself any time to think about it.  Pushing himself up until his weight was back on his knees, he got one hand between their bodies. Chanyeol did not ask what he was doing, and did not stop him from going against what Baekhyun himself had requested. He simply hissed at the touch of the human’s hand on his cock, moaned in the back of his throat when it pressed to the hole it had made sloppy, and cried out his name when the boy pushed back against it. The crown split him open, his muscles giving way until the thick mushroom head had breached him. He paused once it was in, the burn far stronger than he had expected, and his lungs were completely and utterly malfunctioning no matter how much he tried to suck in a gasp of air. He could not breathe, his entire nervous system too focused on every other sensation running through him, and it was fine until it was not. “Breathe, my light. Breathe,” Chanyeol shook him, sounding so turned on though there was a hint of panic to his voice. He looked stunning even in his worry, and Baekhyun exhaled further before finally his instincts kicked in and his lungs filled with oxygen.  He clenched hard around the Deimos’s cock, his entire body tensing up as he heaved, and it was enough for the demon to lose himself, his orgasm washing over him suddenly and inevitably.  A surprised little gasp filled the air as Chanyeol shot streaks of hot semen up his pussy, sooner than either of them would have expected. The feeling was not any less spectacular than it had been the night before, for it made him feel so claimed , but it was still a far cry from the wonder that was getting his womb filled with eggs.  Baekhyun puffed tiredly, his hands back on the demon’s stomach so he could hold himself up, “not even all the way in yet…”  The demon’s eyes flashed with something dangerous, and the human could tell he wanted to slam home in one go, yet he held back for Baekhyun’s sake. “Do not tempt me, human. I can only take so much.” He knew what that meant, had witnessed it first hand only hours ago, and though he wished he could let that side of Chanyeol back out, he knew his body would not be able to take it. Without royal physician Sehun near in case anything were to go wrong, he did not trust he would survive going through that a second time so soon. And so he decided to tease the demon no longer.  The load of cum up his ass made everything more slippery. It served as a lubricant, making it easier for Baekhyun to take in another inch of the demon’s cock before he had to pause and catch his breath again. There was no hiding how much it hurt, and the pain must have been vividly portrayed on his face, because Chanyeol grabbed his hips and hauled him up without any delicacy.   Instinctively, the human clenched so hard that the crown could not leave his pussy, and the demon growled at the intense sensation that he suffered as a consequence of his empathy.  “ Baekhyun-ah …” Baekhyun’s arms were wobbly, threatening to collapse now the room seemed to be spinning, but he refused to give up. His pride was on the line, and though he had never been a vain person, he would be mortified if Chanyeol were to see him as a delicate little human. His determination was stronger than that, and greater than the pain. He just needed a little help, that was all.  “Chanyeol- I need you to do-“ he trailed off, hoping the demon would understand what he was asking for without him having to word it. But the Deimos was staring at him with worried eyes and furrowed brows, obviously not grasping what Baekhyun was referring to, and so he had no choice but to say it. “That thing you did- where you bit me.” “Oh,” immediate realisation settled in his gaze, and the beginning of a smile tugged on his mouth, the corner of his eyes. He liked how Baekhyun was asking for it, or maybe it was the act of biting his lover that was a turn on, because he was all too willing now he knew what the human desired.  “Come here,” his voice was so soft, so sweet and loving, that more butterflies awoke in Baekhyun’s stomach at the sound of it.  He leaned in slowly, turning his face so Chanyeol had access to the side of his neck where he had bitten down before. The demon kissed the exact spot he had marked back then, his nose pressing right below the human’s jaw, tickling him in a way that got sparks to fly, and then he uttered. “I will be careful not to give too much. I quite like you this keen.” Baekhyun did not pretend to understand the specifics, but he had no time to think about it all, either way. The moment he was done talking, Chanyeol bit down on the tender flesh of his neck, and he felt a different kind of pain rush to the surface. It was more unpleasant than he remembered it being, at least the first few seconds were, because after that the fire died down and he felt mellow, mellow, mellow.  Right as he was beginning to relax into it, Chanyeol already broke away, teeth leaving Baekhyun’s neck far too soon for his liking. The demon did not stray far, briefly nuzzling the human’s jaw up to his ear before he licked at the skin he had pierced, and Baekhyun whined like a spoiled child. “How does that feel?” The Deimos asked, blatantly ignoring the human’s lamenting by encouraging him to try again. To see if he could move without having to endure any pain. Baekhyun missed the addictive sharpness of the demon’s fangs right away, but upon being asked the question he still quit his complaining and steadied his grip on Chanyeol’s stomach. He locked eyes with the man as he pushed his hips back, wanting the demon to see for himself how it felt to sink down on his cock, and funnily enough Baekhyun did not need to exaggerate anything once he did.  His body was relaxed, muscles having eased up, and Chanyeol slipped home almost too effortlessly like that. Baekhyun took him to the hilt, feeling him deeper than when the demon had fucked him, and his thighs were trembling uncontrollably by the time his ass met balls and hips. His chapped lips were parted, short, shallow breaths passing through them while he focused on the throbbing sensation against his walls, and it was too much. Far too much. “You feel good inside,” he admitted readily, a good kind of light-headedness commanding him now rather than the excruciating pain from before. He knew it did not mean his body was not being pushed past its limits, only that he was too drugged up to notice it. And frankly, that was all he cared about.  Chanyeol traced an index finger up the boy’s thigh, following his hipbone before continuing on to Baekhyun’s cock. It was hard, unsurprisingly, and curved up to his belly. Sparks of fire erupted wherever the demon touched him, heating the pool of liquid lust in his gut, and he was too enamoured by the touch to move.  “Do I?” The Deimos asked wonderingly, an infuriating smugness to his tone that made Baekhyun want to punch him.  Instead, he decided to shut up the demon in a different way, leaning his weight back on his heels until he quivered at the sudden jolt of pure bliss. Chanyeol’s cock had slipped in deeper, stretching his delicate walls, and that was not even the hottest part of it all. No, because when he grabbed his ankles like before, sticking out his belly as far as he could, he actually saw him.  Chanyeol moaned at the sight, a hand reaching out towards Baekhyun, but the human swatted it away. “You do,” he brought out with heated cheeks, his eyes nailed to his own abdomen. He watched the demon’s cock move beneath his skin while he gyrated his hips, circling them slowly, intentionally. “You look good inside, too.”  When he glanced up, he saw how Chanyeol was desperately fighting himself, his mouth wide open and eyes fluttering shut from time to time. His hands had landed on Baekhyun’s knees, and sharp, black nails were digging into honey skin, leaving behind little crescent marks as bloody as the colour of the demon’s skin. Baekhyun took one of the man’s hands, bringing it to where his stomach had swollen, bulging with cock. He pressed it close, feeling Chanyeol even deeper inside him, and he smiled incredulously as he told the Deimos, “look at me. Look at how you’re making me feel.” Those bright eyes found him, complying willingly, and when Baekhyun was certain the demon would keep his hand where he had placed it, he let go and leaned his weight on his ankles again. There was a pause then, while their gazes were locked, and an unspoken question formed on Chanyeol’s face. But Baekhyun did not spell it out for him, what he was about to do. He’d see soon enough.  Arching his back, the boy began to sensually roll his body. The movement was fluid and smooth, starting at his chest and running down his stomach like a wave, until eventually his hips pushed back against Chanyeol’s. He moved without lifting his hips, focused on the demon’s cock as it shifted within him in the most heavenly way. Each ripple of his body felt more gratifying, bringing dazzling desire to the forefront of his mind, and Baekhyun was enthralled by the demon’s pleasure-stricken expression. His big, chestnut eyes were wide and unfocused, his lips so shiny that Baekhyun could hardly look away from them, and the little sounds that left him whenever the boy would take him in completely…  Baekhyun was not ashamed to admit he was losing his patience, growing evermore restless with the need to have his womb fucked open, and so he leaned forwards until his hands on Chanyeol’s chest caught his weight. The position got the demon’s palm to fall from his belly and the bulge to become lost to view, but it was worth it. He got to ride the man’s cock with more fervour, setting a pace much faster, and the pleasure doubled.  He was leaking copiously against Chanyeol’s stomach, a thin rope of precum between the very tip of his dick and the demon’s chiselled abs. It was spilling into his belly button, leaving behind a shimmering trail that reflected the warm candlelight, and it was such a turn on that Baekhyun blinked drowsily. “Huh.”  The Deimos allowed him to lift his hips and slam them down time and time again, and the longer he did, the more semen was fucked back out of his cunt. Baekhyun could feel it against his ass while he unceremoniously bounced on the man’s cock, the sopping wetness that had soiled the demon’s pubes, but this too was a turn on. Knowing it was for him and because of him that Chanyeol was like this, it made him feel like a king. And the demon’s cock was his throne. “Oh, sweet heavens.” A hoarse cry, a deep growl following it, and Baekhyun could tell how Chanyeol was struggling to hold back now. His hips jerked, his palms squeezing the human’s thighs so hard they would surely bruise, and the noises escaping him grew louder and louder with every passing heartbeat.  Baekhyun knew it was time he slowed things down, giving them both a moment to breathe before he would ultimately devote himself to taking the Deimos’s brood up his womb. He knew it would be tiring, knew it would be overwhelming and far too intense, yet he mostly worried about his birth canal not opening or his womb not allowing penetration. It had refused to let Chanyeol in during their first mating, and who was to say it would be any different now?  “How can I-“ he began timidly, pausing to inhale and calm his rapidly-beating heart, “-ensure you will fill out my womb this time?” Chanyeol was rubbing soothing circles into Baekhyun’s skin with the palms of his hands, somehow looking far more composed - no wonder, he was a demon - than the one on top of him. He was smiling warmly, laughing at his own words before he had even uttered them, and the boy’s cheeks heated in mild frustration.  “It is so simple, my little lamb…” The Deimos touched him, aimlessly jerking Baekhyun’s rock-hard cock, which was completely engulfed by his big, big hand. “You just need to want it bad enough.”  “Think of carrying my child. Of being stuffed to the brim with my eggs, all wishing to make your womb their home. I need you in that way. The forest needs you. The earth, the universe and every universe beyond it. They are all holding their breaths.” Something hot simmered in his veins, blood ringing in his ears as Chanyeol managed to make it sound like impregnating him was of tremendous importance to the existence of every living organism in the cosmos. It certainly affected him, pulled at his heartstrings and heightened confusing emotions that Baekhyun was too afraid to shed light on. Because the demon was bombing him with words of adoration, devotion in his touch, and their thunderous blast melted into an uncontrollable passion that had him losing his mind.  “Do you want that?” The Deimos asked curiously, having noticed the way the human’s hole was pulsating and his cock had twitched at his depiction. He looked proud, a boastful glint to his eyes, as if he already knew he had Baekhyun fully wrapped around his finger; hypnotised by the sensuality in his tone, drugged and aroused, and beyond saving. He had fallen into the hands of this creature, and was giving him exactly what he desired; a human desperate enough to want to carry his offspring, blissfully unaware of the potential consequences for humanity.  “I do,” he admitted meekly. “I want it, badly.”  Chanyeol let go of his cock the second he had confessed as much, his hand falling back against the human’s thigh, and he lightly bucked his hips upwards to drive Baekhyun a little more insane. The boy panted heavily, startled by the sudden intensity of their bodies moving together, and his placidity only dissolved more when the demon growled.  He sounded so obviously turned on when he breathed out an order, full of unrestrained exhilaration, “then show me, Baekhyun-ah.” The demon was boldly demanding him to cast aside every last bit of his modesty and prove just how badly he wanted to be impregnated. He knew full well what he was asking for, and maybe it was a final test to see whether Baekhyun would truly keep his promise.  
Let me rest and once I have replenished we can try again.
 But where he had been a passive lover the first time they had tried, now it was up to him to run the show; taking the Deimos’s cock up his birth canal, letting him into his womb, then fuck him to completion. If he wanted it so bad, he would have to work to get it.  “Ahh,” he closed his eyes, not wanting to see the look on Chanyeol’s face as he did this; picking back up the rolling of his body. It was far less graceful now, his movements more rugged and erratic, yet just as wonderful as it had been before.  The demon’s cock felt impossibly bigger, as if he had grown since Baekhyun had compelled him to envision his heavily pregnant form, and had it not been for the fact that he had already taken it up his birth canal, he would have worried about it being too tight of a fit. But because he had, there was a rush to it all, an insatiable eagerness that he allowed to exist in that moment in time, and he chased the thrill with trembling fingers and shaking hips.  Holding himself up, he changed the angle at which he sank down, aiming for the crown of Chanyeol’s dick to slip past where he knew that membrane was closing off his womb. He was too tense to penetrate it on the first try, still familiarising himself with being on top, but he felt that thick cockhead gingerly rubbing the right spot all the same.  “Ease up, love,” the demon uttered, sounding far too enthralled by the extreme tightness of Baekhyun’s pussy. His thumbs were digging into the boy’s skin so hard that they were creating dimples, and the thought of them turning into bruises the shape of fingerprints only made Baekhyun clench down harder.  He tried to loosen his muscles to allow the creature’s cock in on his second attempt, but again it slid past the opening to his womb like it was far too big to enter it. Baekhyun whined, outright frustrated by the emptiness inside of him, but his exasperation was exactly what made him succeed on his third try.  Slamming down his hips more resolutely than he had previously done, the protective film which kept his birth canal closed was finally pierced. Just like that, the demon’s cock entered it, and Baekhyun felt fuller than full, as bewildered by the intensity of it all as the first time he had lived through it. Because there was nothing that could ever prepare him for the sensation of being stretched beyond his limits, of swelling so much he would grow too big for his own skin, and yet he endured it. They moaned in unison, their bodies stilling as the intrusion overwhelmed their senses in a way that left them both unable to move. Baekhyun opened his eyes, taking in how Chanyeol had his face wrought to the side; an angry vein had popped in his neck, and his dark hair lay splayed against even darker wings. It was a sight Baekhyun could have never dreamt up, not in his most perverse fantasies, but seeing it once was enough to effectively ruin him for life. Gasping for air, he stared at the creature underneath him, waiting for Chanyeol’s eyes to flutter back open and turn to him, revealing the wanton hunger burning under his skin. His body was thrumming, his vision turning fuzzy for a split second, but unlike last night, he did not lose consciousness. “Tight,” the demon made an animal-like sound, speaking through gritted teeth. “So tight.”  The human’s heart swelled proudly in his chest, delight filling him down to his toes, and he mewled as he purposely clenched around the pulsating length filling out his pussy. The crown was nudging his cervix, courting it with an intimate caress, and Baekhyun’s head lolled sideways when it got him to lose focus. It was hard to describe, but each time Chanyeol’s cock touched the most delicate places within him, it was as if he blacked out momentarily. A light would dim and leave him paralysed, his body losing complete control of itself, after which a shock of electric currents switched him back on again. Baekhyun allowed himself a minute to get used to the stretch, to fight off the darkness that occasionally showed up on the edges of his awareness, and then he threw caution to the wind and began riding the Deimos’s cock in earnest.  With quivering thighs and his palms heavy against the demon’s stomach, Baekhyun prepared himself for the feeling of that thick cock splitting him open again. He inhaled on the way up, knowing how his breath would leave him the moment he would drop his hips, while Chanyeol took the moment of clarity to let his tail snake up the human’s leg.  Baekhyun felt it brush the ticklish curve of his ass, after which it continued up the small of his back, tracing his spine and winding around his shoulders. His name was bellowed hoarsely, but the boy cut him off with a strangled cry as he sank down at once, “Baekhyun-”  Chanyeol’s penis penetrated him so deep that he saw stars, and from then on his jaw remained slack and his lips forevermore parted. Moan after moan slipped from his spit-slick mouth, the delicious sensation of being taken apart infinitely spreading throughout his body on every thrust, and bit by bit he felt the stitches holding him together become unstitched. “ There you are,” the demon laughed breathlessly at the unfiltered obscenities that filled the air, but it went completely over Baekhyun’s head as he bounced up and down, having become addicted to getting his cervix prodded.  Chanyeol touched him while he fucked himself, stroking his thighs and groping his cheeks as if he was desperate for their bodies to become inextricably entwined. It was filthy in the best way possible, and this time something far deeper in his belly throbbed with a fiery passion. It was his womb, he realised as he took the demon’s cock in all the way again, the crown jabbing his entrance. The sensation was different, the cervical os having widened, which made it more sloppy and obscene. So, so obscene.  “Nnngh,” Baekhyun mewled, his face and neck on fire with the heat of his yearning. He continued to push and pull, loving the way the Deimos’s eyes glazed over whenever he took him in deep, and revelled in the urgency of the demon’s burning touches on his skin. Knowing his body was finally comfortable enough to allow Chanyeol’s cock inside his most treasured place, it turned him into a debauched whore unable to fight his promiscuity. With every roll of his body, he chipped away at his dignity and another shred of his reservedness withered away. All of it was replaced by a dark pleasure that flowed through his veins like liquid gold, and it was far more desirable than blood, even if too much of it would end up killing him.  With pain barely on the periphery, there was nothing holding him back from riding the demon’s cock, and so he did. He rode him as if the world was ending, falling apart around the two of them, and taking the man’s eggs up his womb was the only thing that could stop the apocalypse. “I can feel you opening up,” Chanyeol whispered in the air between them, his hands firmly wrapped around the human’s hips. He looked far gone, his gaze black as the night and fierce like a feline, and Baekhyun only throbbed harder for him.  “Yeol,” he cried, his nails raking across the demon’s chest while he felt overwhelmed by the many emotions swirling inside of him. Hot tears were dripping down his cheeks, his jawline, but Baekhyun was far too delirious to notice them. All that he truly grasped was how his hips kept moving, and how his womb was opening up with every delicious touch of his cervix.  Chanyeol’s fingers travelled north, one hand remaining on the human’s hip while the other danced up Baekhyun’s chest. The demon had witnessed how much he liked getting his nipples touched, and so his hand found its way back there now that it mattered. He continually praised the human, his voice as sultry and merciless as the sun on a hot, summer’s day, “Such a good boy.” The nail of his index finger traced an areola, involuntarily causing Baekhyun’s hips to convulse and falter their his way down. A strung out moan left him, his chest pushed out to silently beg for more, but the demon waited for him to lift his hips again before he pinched the hardened bud. This time, the human needed a helping hand to draw his lower half back down, and he clenched so hard around the demon’s cock that his pussy only sucked him in deeper.  “Oh, oh -“ with his head thrown back, Baekhyun realised how close he was to welcoming Chanyeol inside his womb. The man’s cockhead was just a little too big to slip in, but maybe with a bit more force… “keep doing that.” The Deimos had realised it too, how he was about to achieve what he had set out to achieve, and so he growled with excitement and did as Baekhyun had asked. His fingers pinched harder, twisting the rosy nub of the human’s other nipple, and the result was instantaneous.  The human trembled all over, a string of insensible sounds leaving his lips, and once it died down the demon simply twisted it again.  “Come on, my light, let me in,” his voice was so dark, so full of unclouded lust, “welcome our child into its home.” Baekhyun could not take it. The sharp pinching of his nipples, the dirty words swimming around in his head, and the strong grip of his hip. He sank down, and the demon dug his ankles in the bed and bucked up , and-  In his head he was screaming lustily, loud enough for the nearest stars to hear, but in reality his voice came out as a misshapen whisper on a quiet breath, “Chanyeol.” The demon’s cock felt bigger, harder, hotter, and he was everywhere. Absolutely everywhere. Baekhyun could not breathe, only heard the wild beating of his heart in his ears, because his legs were numb, his arms were numb, his brain was numb. A pleasure as white as fresh snow lit up like a ball of light in his tummy, and for a second he was certain Chanyeol had come the moment he had entered the human’s womb.  But then he moved.  That dazzling white shot up and down Baekhyun’s spine, passed on by nerve endings until it had consumed him entirely, even blinding his vision. He was suddenly glad for the tail around his shoulders, for his arms had lost their strength, just like every other part of him. Chanyeol caught him when his body gave out, gallantly helping him lie against his chest before taking over the work now Baekhyun had lost all feeling in his limbs.  “It is okay, my dear. I’m in.” The thick cockhead had lodged itself inside his womb, and the tiniest rocking motion caused it to rub along Baekhyun’s walls, bringing the Deimos closer to an orgasm. The human could sense it in the erratic stuttering of his loins, but what confirmed it was the way the demon’s wings unfolded from behind him, coming around them to shield him from the world.  “Mine,” the word was uttered in such a sinful way, sounding absolutely demonic, and Baekhyun sighed against Chanyeol’s chest. “Finally mine.”  The human’s fingers tried to tighten their grip on strong muscles, holding onto his lover while he waited to reach nirvana, and as if the Deimos could read his thoughts, he wrapped his arms around Baekhyun and pulled him closer. He was enveloped in warmth, could hear Chanyeol’s heartbeat under his cheek, and saw the iridescent feathers of the demon’s wings no matter where he looked.  He wanted to speak, wanted to call out Chanyeol’s name to let him know how wonderful it felt and how he could let go now, but every attempt at producing any sound at all was fruitless. He was rendered lifeless, unable to do anything but let pleasure engulf him, and so he closed his eyes and devoted his undivided attention to the knot pressing against his rim, and his bulging womb that was being fucked so well.  “Baekhyun-ah,” the demon was panting, his arms so tightly wound around the human’s body that they could hardly breathe, and all the boy could do was smile and dig his nails into Chanyeol’s heated skin. Wordless consent and encouragement, and all that was needed for the demon to give in.  A few hard, unforgiving thrusts shook Baekhyun’s entire body as the demon pounded into him with purpose, and successfully so. Because a splendid kaleidoscope of colours exploded behind his closed eyes when Chanyeol finally forced his swollen knot past the boy’s rim, rutting upward until the muscle clenched around him.  It drew a feeble wail from the human’s throat, one that was entirely insignificant considering how ecstatically blissful the moment was. His body continued to quiver, the stretch of his pussy so astonishing that it sent him into overdrive, and the thick knot pushed against his prostate so vigorously that his orgasm washed over him entirely unexpectedly. He spilled his seed against both their stomachs, his cum slick and warm, and if he had not been stunned already, he would certainly be now. “Heavens,” Chanyeol whispered brokenly, pushed beyond his limits too, and Baekhyun knew he was going to come before he felt it happening.  The pressure was even bigger than it had been the first time, his womb considerably smaller than his birth canal had been, and still his body accommodated to fit the overwhelming number of eggs that was being laid in the warmth of his uterus.  He could feel Chanyeol’s breath against the crown of his head as his cock slowly stirred up Baekhyun’s pussy. His arms remained looped around the human’s lithe frame, wings protecting him from the outside world, as if no one was allowed to behold him while the demon impregnated him.  Because Beakhyun realised with a startle that that was what was happening to him. The Deimos had breached his womb, gotten it wet and pliant for him before releasing his brood in its barren warmth. He had knotted him to ensure this time it would stick, and beyond the shadow of a doubt, it would.  One of these many eggs would attach to the lining of his womb, unwilling to leave… Chanyeol’s descendant. His baby. Their baby.  It would grow and grow, force his uterus to expand and his belly to swell, and then… Baekhyun could barely fathom the idea, and so he did not think too far ahead. Instead, he focused on the palms pressed to the small of his back, his shoulder blade. On the lips pressing to his hair, the nose breathing him in, and the air filling his lungs.  It took a few long minutes for both of them to come down from their climax, and though he had been out of it for the longest, Baekhyun was the first to piece himself back together. He laughed mirthfully as he slowly descended back into his body, wiggling his toes and curling his fingers inward to assess his capacity of movement.  “That was…”  There was no word strong enough to encompass the feeling inside of him. It had yet to be invented, and so Baekhyun did not try. His inability to word it was meaningful enough, because the Deimos laughed along with him, as if to say he felt the same.  With the world no longer spinning and his limbs gradually gaining back their strength, he managed to move his head to Chanyeol’s shoulder. It allowed him to look at the demon’s profile, his closed eyes, his sharp nose and plump lips, and he wondered if their child would look the same.  “Do you think-” he paused, swallowing when Chanyeol turned his gaze to him. The brown of his eyes was light and tender, filled with pure affection, and Baekhyun forgot how to speak again. “- I am pregnant now?” The Deimos raised a hand, using it to softly brush some unkempt hair out of the human’s face. He stared at Baekhyun like that, as if his eyes held the answers to life, and once he had revelled in their wisdom, he dropped his lips to the human’s forehead and kissed it chastely.  “I hope it with all my heart.” The words were whispered against his skin, and only then did Chanyeol pull back enough to look at the human again. “But if you are not, we will just have to try again.” A secretive smile tugged on Baekhyun’s lips, and he watched the demon’s eyes sparkle when he noticed. “I doubt I would mind that,” he confessed demurely, his candour earning him the wonderfully ravishing touch of a palm sliding down his back to cup his ass.  “I am pleased to hear it,” Chanyeol smiled at him warmly, contented now he had filled up Baekhyun’s womb with his eggs, and it was almost surreal how soft hearted the demon’s behaviour suddenly became.  Something had shifted between them, Baekhyun realised, because it felt as if they had laid together like this a million times before. It felt normal, familiar in a way it could not be, and his heart was not left unaffected by it. The longer he stared at Chanyeol, the more he wanted to kiss him. He was lying there knotted and stuffed with the man’s brood, but their lips had not yet touched and he longed for it.  “Are you hurt?” the Deimos asked then, rudely breaking the spell that had held the human captive. There was nothing but sincerity in his face and genuine worry to his voice, except Baekhyun wished it could have waited a little longer. Maybe then they would have found their way to one another.  He averted his eyes, his mouth a little dry, and he cleared his throat before he replied. “No, not at all. I mean, not right now, though I am sure that will change… once the endorphins will wear off.” “Hmm,” Chanyeol hummed thoughtfully, his fingers dipping between Baekhyun’s cheeks to trace his rim. The demon was feeling him up, examining the size of his knot, and the human could have told him he had not shrunk even a little in the time that had passed since his release. His cock was still hard, still keeping him spread open wide, and Baekhyun knew he would be gaping long after the man’s knot would leave him.  His eyes rolled shut, blunt puffs of air leaving him as the demon’s touch continued to tease his pussy. There was only so much he could take, and Chanyeol soon realised he was pushing it. His fingers disappeared, his heavy palm coming to rest on the human’s upper back, and he coaxed him with his words. “Sleep now. I will keep you warm while you rest.”  Baekhyun hated how tired he felt the second the Deimos told him it was okay to unwind. He tried to stifle a sudden yawn, but failed pathetically, much to the amusement of the demon holding him close. The man snickered, causing the human to shake atop of him, and Baekhyun could not hold back his own smile although he surely tried.  “Do not worry about me getting up again,” he told Chanyeol as settled comfortably, gently resting his cheek against the softest part of his lover’s chest, “I doubt I will be able to walk at all after the way you wrecked me.”  Another soft kiss was pressed to his head, his hair pushed back even more, “maybe. Though I am sure you will get better at taking me over time.” The demon’s straightforwardness was baffling. The way he so blatantly stated this would not be the last time he would be fucking Baekhyun should affront him, and yet he could not find it in himself to be upset. It would make him a hypocrite, taking offence of the words when they were the kind of promise he had been hoping to hear. That this was not the last time he would have Chanyeol’s knot inside of him.  “Don’t make promises you cannot keep,” he mumbled, pinching the demon’s skin between his thumb and index finger. Chanyeol was entirely unfazed by it, did not jump even a little, and Baekhyun pouted at the lack of a response.  “Just sleep, my dear. You can fight me all you want once you wake again.”  He wanted to retort with something clever so badly, but there was absolutely nothing in his brain. Too drowsy to do much of anything, Baekhyun easily surrendered to untroubled dreams. Dreams where he was happy, four hands tenderly cradling his rounded belly, and life was unbelievably perfect.  
⁂

The world was vibrant and alive, the air filled with a symphony of sound that pulled his consciousness left and right or up and down, never in one place and at times all around.  Above him, a chorus of chirps echoed in every direction. From the delicate thrill of songbirds to the cawing of ravens, an ensemble of timbre reverberated through the sky. The breathtaking whistle of a thrush, flitting about and creating the sweetest melody, led the choir of winged creatures, producing a colourful cacophony that gradually brought Baekhyun out of his deep slumber.  The rustle of leaves underfoot accompanied it, interrupted by an occasional snap of a twig, and an earthy smell rose from the soil as foliage was ploughed with every step. The branches of nearby trees danced in a soft breeze, a sigh of wind weaving through their newly-sprouted greenery, and the gentle murmur of a nearby brook transported him even farther away. A pair of feet moved at a natural cadence, creating a soothing rhythm at which Baekhyun’s body rocked side to side, like he was a baby being cradled. The chest he was resting against was hot like a furnace, burning his cheek, and the arms holding him up were just as-  “Ngh,” Baekhyun startled awake, entire body jerking convulsively, and Chanyeol’s hold on him tightened as if he had expected as much to happen. The human’s eyes moved behind closed lids, trying to blink open wide, but they only fluttered feebly, barely allowing any light to pass through the cornea and send their signals to his brain.  Whenever he did get a glimpse of the world around him, flashes of bright and lush evergreen filled his vision, brilliantly golden sunlight scattering through massive tree trunks. Their textured bark was weathered, bearing intricate patterns of knots and grooves that reminded Baekhyun of the ink on his lover’s skin. Chanyeol. He was carrying the human through the woodlands, one arm in the hollow of Baekhyun’s knees and the other sturdy and solid around his shoulders. All this time he had not made a sound, had not said a word, but even without it there was no question it was him. He already recognised the demon’s familiar, musky scent.  “Ngh,” Baekhyun could hear himself making these puppy-like noises each time sleep tried to pull him under, even if he stubbornly fought against it time and time again. Because why would he want to sleep when he could be savouring the magnificence of this moment? Where nature’s splendour was presenting itself to him, every fragment of dazzling beauty converging in the creature who was carrying him. Slowly but surely he came to, his eyes blinking open for a few seconds before they would inevitably slip shut and he had to try all over again. Chanyeol chuckled, his chest rising and falling a little quicker than before, and a second later his dark voice drifted through the air.  “Don’t fight it, Baekhyun-ah. I will wake you once we’re there.” He wanted to ask; ‘where?’, but his body ruled sleep was more important. His head lolled forward, eyelids as heavy as lead, and the world slipped from view, the choir of birds fading out imperceptibly. The next moment he came to it was because of a tickling sensation against his legs and a faint buzzing near his ear. Jolting awake, Baekhyun shot upwards, coming to rest on his elbows when he finally woke up at once. It helped that fresh air had chilled his entire body, his personal oven nowhere in sight, and the light of day was bright but welcomed after so much time spent in the dark.  Baekhyun was lying on a patch of grass in a secluded clearing, completely nude and alone, kept company only by the flora and fauna around him. His body was anything but the untainted canvas it had been when he had left home, his thighs marked with imprints of hands, his cock still a deep shade of red even though he was not hard any longer. Chanyeol had done that to him, had touched him so desperately while he had bred the human that it remained visible even now. Yet Baekhyun could only admire the traces of their pleasure, because they reminded him of how real it had been.  It begged the question of why he was alone now, the Deimos gone missing. Had he been left here to die? Had his body failed in taking the demon’s brood, leading to the man getting bored of him and moving on to his next victim? It did not make sense, not with the words Chanyeol had uttered to him when he had first stirred from his sleep. No, this had to be their intended destination; however, the demon had failed to follow up on his promise of waking Baekhyun upon arrival. Convinced there had to be good reason for Chanyeol’s absence, the human let his curious eyes trail past his own body to take in more of his surroundings. He realised soon how the clearing was actually a meadow, an almost perfectly circular plot of land lined with densely dispersed trees. He was the only person there, his naked form catching some of the sunlight seeping in from above, but he was not the only form of life present.  The grass around him was a patchwork quilt of dainty blossoms that were home to an abundance of life. Butterflies flitted from petal to petal, bees dancing joyously around the fragrant buds, while a rabbit hopped away when Baekhyun released a quiet sound of marvel. It had been such a long time since he had last seen a place this heavenly, and for a second he thought that perhaps he truly had died. The world could not really be this beautiful, could it? Nestled within the embrace of the beautiful meadow, a pond unveiled itself like a secret gem amidst a kaleidoscope of wildflowers. The water mirrored the clear, spring sky, reflecting hues of blue and white that were peaking through the canopy of trees above him, with its branches expanding far and wide on all sides. Thick cattails gracefully swayed along the water’s edge, accompanied by tall grasses that hid most of the bank from view. From a distance, Baekhyun could see a small, green frog, perched on a water lily leaf almost the exact colour of its skin, its beady eyes blinking languidly. But more stunning than that, was how the pond seemed to be a sanctuary for many a dragonfly, their iridescent wings creating a shimmering celebration of light that illuminated everything.  In this place, no evil appeared to exist. Life was calm and the sun was warm, and Baekhyun almost lay back down to savour it. Except for, no matter how much he tried to ignore it, there was this nagging thought in his brain, this fear that the Deimos had left him, that prevented him from settling down again. “Chanyeol?” He called out, his voice a little feeble. He did not want to be too loud and attract any unwanted creatures, nor did he wish to scare away any of the animals around him, but he could not keep quiet.  The panic he felt in his chest was audible in his voice, and it grew by the second, destructive thoughts stacking atop of each other alarmingly quickly. His breathing came fast, too fast, and he could hear himself as he lost it, so close to hyperventilating that the world was being pulled out of focus.  The moment he whimpered, the noisy rustling of fern leaves sounded on his left, and a flurry of red drifted into his field of vision. The Deimos promptly fell to his knees in front of him, hands grabbing Baekhyun’s arms in order to shake him from his fit of terror, and he sounded distraught as he pleaded, “my dearest, are you okay?”  A pained wail left him as he clawed at Chanyeol’s arms, attempting to pull the demon closer, because his skin felt like it was melting off wherever he was not being touched. It was a tidal wave of heat, raw emotion hitting him upon feeling his lover’s hands on him, and he only barely managed to croak out a reply. “I thought you’d left.” He observed how the Deimos’s brows furrowed, how a puzzled expression settled on his features and a plump lower lip jutted out in a thoughtful pout. His thoughts led to a flash of bewilderment to blow out the demon’s pupils, and it was followed by the revelation of what it meant, something of which the meaning went beyond Baekhyun’s comprehension. “ Oh ,” he breathed, eyes widening perceptibly, “you-” A second later, Chanyeol was pulling him up and into his arms, causing them to stumble back awkwardly, and even though the demon was so much bigger than him, the embrace still somehow worked. Baekhyun got squished in the creature’s arms, protesting inaudibly while the Deimos laughed, “I am right here, my little lamb. I only left to ensure we are entirely alone. I was never more than a hundred feet away from you.”  It was difficult not to feel reassured now the creature’s warmth was seeping into his limbs, and for a fleeting moment he winced with embarrassment at his excessive display of emotion. He did not understand why his reaction had been so powerful and overwhelming, only knew that the demon’s return had made everything bad melt away, but he decided not to attempt to solve the riddle. Why would he, when his worries had disappeared?  “Oh,” he mumbled against Chanyeol’s chest, his nose pressed to the man’s sternum and his eyes squeezed shut so he could breathe him in. “Are we? Alone?” The Deimos kissed the top of Baekhyun’s head, the press of his lips lingering there for a while as his arms loosely wrapped around the human’s shoulders. “We are,” he murmured, “not counting the occasional squirrel or mouse, of course.”  The amusement in Chanyeol’s voice rubbed off on the human, who felt the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile as he imagined these little critters darting around, taking in the flaunting of affection in the middle of this lush meadow. But it was much needed, brought them down to a tranquil state of mind where the world slowed so much it almost seemed to be at a standstill.  They acted at their leisure, taking the time to familiarise themselves with one another in a way they had not done before, as Baekhyun let his fingers run down the demon’s back inch by inch. He touched the junction between the man’s human form and its unearthly appendages, a remarkable fusion of two worlds. It was deeply personal, and Baekhyun felt the profound intimacy of their bodies as they intertwined.  He kissed Chanyeol’s skin, sweetly and with more fondness than he had ever held for anyone before, and then he whispered, “why did you take me here, then?”  The Deimos let go of him, hands coming up behind himself to reach for Baekhyun’s, and their palms slipped together and fingers locked as Chanyeol brought them down and he stepped away. His smile was warm and happy, making Baekhyun’s foolish heart skip a beat, which was entirely too much for him to bear.  “The pond,” the demon explained as he cautiously began to lead the human towards the water, taking small steps without ever looking away from him. “Our grimed bodies have earned a bath.” Chanyeol’s kind smile turned into something far more playful and demonic, and his eyes sparkled with mischief as he neared the bank. Baekhyun almost expected them to plunge into the pond together, tipping over the edge hand in hand, but the Deimos let go of him right before his feet found the last strip of soil. He turned within the blink of an eye, and Baekhyun watched in amazement as he raised his arms, left hand folded over his right, and he dove into the crystal clear waters below.  Cold drops splashed everywhere, making Baekhyun giggle as he jumped away from them, and he glanced back right in time to watch his lover break the surface. Chanyeol’s skin looked even more unholy now it was wet, the sharp contrast of his sleek hair and soaked feathers against the fiery colour of his skin making him appear absolutely wicked, yet Baekhyun was not afraid of him.  He smiled, feeling a rush of exhilaration coursing through his veins when he took a few steps backwards, and he could see the brief flicker of confusion in Chanyeol’s gaze, right up until realisation dawned. It was too late, though. Baekhyun had already come running, and he leapt off the bank and into the air before he ultimately plunged into the pond.  The first impact was sharp and stinging, the water’s embrace creating a cocoon of prickling cold that instantly alerted all his senses. It triggered the immediate need for air, and he floated upwards to resurface, gasping for breath as he blinked the water out of his eyes. Chanyeol was there in an instant, keeping him afloat like a buoy, and Baekhyun clung onto him as he kicked his feet under water.  “Goodness, you scared me,” the demon admitted with a hollow laugh, but there was no fear in his eyes anymore. Rather, he stared at Baekhyun with such adoration that the human caught himself wanting to kiss him for what felt like the millionth time by now.  “I guess that makes us even,” he retorted, uncurling one hand from around Chanyeol’s wrist to splash some water in his face. The demon let him, using the distraction to tug Baekhyun towards him. “Come here, you.”  Weightless in the cool depths of the pond, the boy went easily and without a fight, allowing the Deimos to pull their bodies flush. His legs wrapped around Chanyeol’s waist, ankles digging into his lower back, and it was the first time he got to be almost face to face with the man. They stared at one another, filled with life as the cold had become invigorating, waking up their minds and sparking a rush of energy.  The exchange of body heat added a layer of restless desire that neither acted on, too engrossed in the look in the other’s eyes to move. Still, Chanyeol’s fingers dug into bruised skin, touching him until the palm of his hand could press against the dip below the human’s spine. It was oddly sensual, sending shocks of pleasure through Baekhyun’s veins, although there was no need for it to lead anywhere. He felt satiated, and judging by Chanyeol’s unhurried touches, he did too.  “Are you going to wash me now?” The human asked as his lover’s free hand traced each vertebrae, up to the back of his neck where it emerged from the water. Droplets trickled down his hand, adding a soft melody to the sweet touches, and Baekhyun felt like he was right where he belonged. “Mmh,” Chanyeol hummed in agreement, rubbing at the skin of the boy’s neck. “Do you mind?”  “No.” The word came out as a breath of air, the wonderful sensation of the demon’s coarse palm sliding along his flesh making him a little lightheaded. “I’m just surprised that a creature whose name means ‘terror’ is capable of such a tender thing.” The Deimos was taking small steps in the pond, carrying Baekhyun while he moved towards the water’s edge, where he reached for the shrubs of mountain lilacs that grew there. He did not speak until after he had plucked a handful of blossoms from the delicate purple bloom, soaking them in water and pressing them to the human’s skin.  “I am only terror to all that is evil,” Chanyeol clarified as the flowers against Baekhyun’s neck produced the most beautiful smelling suds, “and we are capable of so much love when it concerns our mate.” Something dropped in his gut, something heavy that exploded into a million pieces, like fireflies dancing around in his belly.  “Mate?” he asked, the word almost foreign to his own ears. But he knew what it meant, knew the implications. “Yes, Baekhyun… mate.” Chanyeol continued to scrub his back with the sweetly smelling blossoms, lifting dirt and sweat off the human’s back. His mate’s back. “I bred you, you are carrying my child, yet you did not think-?”  The air escaped him, his lungs drawing up short, and he stared at the Deimos while the man lathered up his arm, dipping into the sensitive pit. He looked so unbothered, as if he had not just changed Baekhyun’s entire life with his words. As if it was completely normal for them to be here, an unbreakable bond having formed through the brood Chanyeol had filled him with.  “I am carrying your child? Are you certain? How could you know?” He fired out the questions at once, his nails digging into the Deimos’s shoulders, and the man only smiled at him as he transferred the soapy flowers to his other hand. “Pretty certain,” he declared, tiny bubbles covering Baekhyun’s chest, from one shoulder to another. “The way you were yearning for me just now when I was absent, that was pretty telling. You will only grow clingier over time, my dear.” The words caused him to flush a soft pink, cheeks heating from the idea of always being attached to the Deimos and the unexpectedly erotic feeling of the demon’s fingers caressing his armpit. Yet he was not convinced, could not believe it had been so easy after months of failed attempts with the crown prince.  “But how can you be certain? It has only been, what, a few hours since you knotted me?”  Chanyeol chuckled knowingly, a quick shake of his head following it as he began to explain, “this is nothing like a human pregnancy, Baekhyun-ah. You will carry much, much shorter than nine months, and so the symptoms present themselves much quicker.” The demon’s voice turned a little more sheepish, abashed even, and Baekhyun was so astonished by it that he forgot to think clearly. “You could let me check, though, whether you truly are pregnant. If you want.” “Check how?” he asked, his brain still trying to catch on, but as he looked into the Deimos’s dark, suggestive eyes, it quickly dawned on him. “ Oh .” The blossoms of mountain lilacs were pushed under water, and Chanyeol’s eyes followed them as they rubbed along the human’s soft stomach, his bony hips. The world grew a little quieter, his sense of sound being dialled down in favour of heightening touch. He was acutely aware of every brush of the demon’s fingers, of the proximity of their lower halves, his ass so close to Chanyeol’s cock. The moment seemed to last forever, and Baekhyun held his breath while he waited for everything to blow up. Because he knew it was coming, knew it was only a matter of time, which was all the more reason for him to let it all happen.  Chanyeol pushed him against the shoreline, making the human realise the pond had an incredibly steep bank slope, and though he felt the rugged earthy clay digging into his back, the Deimos was not being rough on him. He used the support to firmly grab a hold of Baekhyun’s thighs, caressing him affectionately.  “May I touch you?” The human laughed noiselessly at the rather pointless request, one eyebrow quirked in mock disbelief. The right corner of his mouth curled up too, and his amusement laced the words with which he retorted, “Isn’t it a little too late to ask that now?” He was referring to the way the demon was gripping onto him at that very moment, and how his legs were tightly wound around the man’s waist, locked behind his back. Baekhyun had thought that was what the demon had been talking about; however, apparently Chanyeol was thinking of the bigger picture, because he dropped his gaze in something Baekhyun recognised as shame.  “I swear on my life I am not a vile lover,” the Deimos reasoned, alluding to the previous night rather than their current situation, which surprised Baekhyun slightly. “Nor do I lack manners. I was at the mercy of my biological instincts, but I am not anymore, so let me ask you again… May I touch you?” A sudden rush of warmth spread through Baekhyun’s body, the sincerity in the demon’s eyes so remarkable that he could barely believe he was experiencing it. The choice was entirely his, the power in his hands only, and the exhilaration was addictive. “Yeah,” he mumbled with a reassuring smile. “Yes, you may.” Chanyeol exhaled shakily, eyes glowing so brightly that it felt like the human had given him the world. His shame dissolved, and Baekhyun felt shivers run up his spine as he realised the demon was looking at him as if he wanted to kiss him. He could not explain why it felt that way, but there was something - a spark - and for a fleeting moment Baekhyun was certain… Holding his breath, he waited for the Deimos to give in, his mind screaming ‘yes, finally, please’. And Chanyeol was narrowing the gap between them, leaning in closer and making Baekhyun’s eyes fall shut in anticipation. Any second now, their lips would finally meet. Any second, this thing between them would evolve into something entirely new. The demon’s hands slyly inched up his back, his breath washing over the human’s face, and then he hoisted him up and- “What-“ Baekhyun yelped loudly, his eyes flying open right as Chanyeol lifted him out of the water and sat him down on the shore. Lips had moved away from lips, and there was more space between them than there had been for minutes. It had been at his fingertips, close enough to taste, and yet…  Disappointment settled heavy in his gut, brought on not just by the absence of lips against his, but also by the sudden coldness. The air was nipping at his skin, tiny pinpricks of ice getting his teeth to chatter, and the warm hands still on his knees did nothing to stop it.  The Deimos did not leave it at that. He rose from the water too, surging up so he could gently push against the human’s chest, and it was clear what he wished to happen. Baekhyun landed with his back on the ground, the grass soft enough to ensure he was not uncomfortable. His calves slipped around Chanyeol’s shoulders almost by nature, resting on either side of his soaked wings like it was normal for them to be, and the world came to a stop like that, even though the Deimos did not halt his movements. It took a second for Baekhyun to realise he had grabbed another handful of mountain lilacs from the shrub nearby, his eyes never leaving the human’s face. “Do you realise how in awe I am of your beauty?” He dipped the flowers in the water, drenching them completely before bringing them up to Baekhyun’s soft stomach. “Your bright eyes and smooth, tanned skin…” The purple blooms lathered up his thighs, and Chanyeol’s lips found the inside of his knee to kiss it. The demon stayed there, leaving tiny pecks to the human’s bruised flesh while he washed the sweat and cum off his body.  Baekhyun was absolutely stunned, his voice having left him, and he simply lay there resting on his elbows, staring down his own body to where Chanyeol was worshipping him. Where small foam bubbles decorated his skin and his cock was lying against his hip, intrigued by the demon’s touch without the characteristic rush of arousal. “You must not have seen many humans in your life then, because I am nothing special,” he finally muttered while the Deimos reached for his ankle, lifting up Baekhyun’s leg so he could wash his foot.  He heard the hollow sound of a chuckle, fleeting and empty, followed by a disagreeing, “I have seen plenty, and you are anything but ordinary.”  Chanyeol gentle kissed the inside of his ankle, the touch so much more loving than it should be, and he whispered his next words against the boy’s skin. “I feel like you came to me before in a dream, a deity setting me on the course of my life, and now you are here. With me.” Baekhyun could not stop the butterflies that erupted at the comment, but his body’s response in no way meant he did not object to the statement. He had already started to counter it, saying, “I am really n-“ when he was cut off by such an obscene act on Chanyeol’s end that every single thought on his mind vanished at once.  The demon pushed up both his knees, revealing the back of Baekhyun’s thighs and his sore pussy, and he kept them up with one hand while the other allowed the soapy flowers to dance across the most bruised parts of his body.  “Do not bother, little lamb,” Chanyeol told him plainly, his fingers feeling so perfect against the human’s flesh, “you will not change my mind.”  Baekhyun felt cool water against his heated stomach, his legs and ass, and he watched as the Deimos cast aside the used up flowers without any regard for them. They were no longer needed, had served their purpose only to be discarded afterwards, but Baekhyun knew that the same fate would not befall him.  The water rippled as Chanyeol moved closer, forcing the human’s legs to spread open wide, and it caused Baekhyun to gasp and clench his hole in a way that most definitely hurt. They stared at one another, the human’s eyes filled with curiosity while the demon’s flashed with worry, and Chanyeol implored, “Have you changed yours?” Baekhyun had to blink and really compel his brain to recall what their conversation had been about, but once he realised what Chanyeol was asking him, he shook his head. “No. No, I haven’t. Just… be gentle?” The words had barely left his mouth when the demon sealed them with a promise, the tip of his nose tracing the softest part of the human’s inner thigh. It was wordless reassurance, a display of compassion and awareness, and it ended with Baekhyun fully on his back, his feet on Chanyeol’s shoulders, and the man’s face between his legs.  Hot air hit his hole, teasing him mercilessly, and the human sucked his lower lip between his teeth as he stared up at the canopy of branches stretching out above him. He tried to focus on the way they swayed in the lightest breeze, but his thoughts were back on the night before, when he had felt Chanyeol’s tongue on him that first time.  He thought he remembered the sensation well enough; the way it had been so provocatively arousing, how deep the demon’s tongue had penetrated him, and how the coarse muscle had gingerly rubbed his prostate. But it turned out his mind lacked the powers needed to remember it as vividly as he should, because the second Chanyeol kissed his rim, his entire body jolted in surprise.  A quiet whimper left him as a flattened tongue lapped at his hole, the feeling somehow soothing despite his soreness, and Baekhyun breathed along with the wind rustling the leaves of the trees. “Ahh.” Chanyeol dragged him a little closer, close enough to the water’s edge that Baekhyun could feel it against his asscheeks, and curled his hands around the human’s thighs. It was such a possessive move, as if the man had not already laid his claim by impregnating him. Chanyeol should know by now that he would always surrender his body to him, yet Baekhyun could hardly believe the greediness with which he was being touched. As if he could disappear any second if he was not being held down with some degree of force.  The Deimos did not waste time before he breached the boy’s rim, licking inside Baekhyun’s cunt like he craved it more than the human did. He wondered whether Chanyeol would be able to taste himself there, or if his own sudden wetness was too overpowering.  “Chanyeol,” Baekhyun exhaled weakly, his arms falling down next to his head in submission. His fingers clutched the grass, holding on pathetically as the tip of the demon’s tongue grazed his walls. It ran along the membrane that closed off his birth canal, and this time a much louder sound escaped his throat at the divine sensation. It echoed around the meadow, revealing to every form of life around them how his body was being subjected to unbounded pleasure, yet neither of them seemed ashamed of it.  Chanyeol easily found his prostate, almost too easily, and the human trembled with pure ecstasy as that tongue grazed it again and again. His cock twitched, blood running south so quickly that it left him witless, but the demon did not show him any mercy even when he cried. He continued to rim Baekhyun like there was nothing as sweet as the taste of him, and for a minute or two, the human lay there, blissed out of his mind. Sounds kept bleeding out, drifting off along the wind, and the sun warmed his already-heated cheeks until they had to be flushed with blood and even more sun kissed than before.  “Chanyeol,” he whined again, finally looking down his body to where he could see the Deimos between his thighs, and what he saw there was enough for his brain to short-circuit. Whatever else he had wanted to say dissolved, any thought disappearing as he beheld what had to be the most breathtaking view of his life.  The way the demon was gripping his thighs, like a starved animal feasting on its first meal in days, was obscene, and yet it had nothing on the spectacle that was Chanyeol’s face. The sweetness of his closed eyes and the soft lines of his nose were juxtaposed by the harsh silhouette of his horns, which shimmered in the sunlight. The darkness of his wet hair added to the contrast, making him appear so much more illusive. Like a haunted daydream, a fairytale where the fiend came out victorious. A creature this beautiful had to be fictitious, and yet there he was, snuggly nestled between the human’s spread legs like there was no place he would rather be. Baekhyun only throbbed harder at it all, his cock growing on his belly, and Chanyeol must have felt it against his tongue because his eyes flew open and fixated on Baekhyun’s pleasure-struck face; his parted lips, the fuzzy look in his eyes, and the breathy gasps leaving his mouth.  The demon took them in with pride, continuing to eat out the human’s cunt, and Baekhyun endured the delectable feeling until his lover took it a step further and pressed his tongue against the film that protected his birth canal. Like before, it caused his body to jolt, his feet digging into Chanyeol’s shoulders and knees trying to press together to get away from the intensity.  “Nngh,” he breathed, his hands leaving the grass in search of something bigger, better, bulkier. But before he could, the Deimos had pulled away from his pussy.  Chanyeol licked his lips, brushing his thumb past the boy’s messy hole, and his eyes had darkened to a point where he looked absolutely devilish.  “You are so wet.” There was incredulity in his voice, even though he had made Baekhyun come thrice and had gotten him to cry on his cock until his throat had gone dry from moaning. Despite it all, he was puzzled by the state of arousal the human was in now, which was just as baffling as Baekhyun’s pathetic response.  “Please,” he croaked, one of his hands tracing a path up his own hip to curl around his hardening cock, and his palm squeezed the shaft to suppress the lust seeking to consume him. Chanyeol watched him do so, either completely oblivious to what the human was asking for or merely pestering him by pretending to be. “Please what, my dear?”  “Please, I need your cock,” he blabbered, wondering what in the world had happened to him to make him this lecherous, like an oversexed whore with the most insatiable libido. Was it the sex that had woken up a side to him that had been hibernating all his life? Because it had gotten so bad that he was begging for it every waking moment, and the Deimos actually had to tell him: “no.” To say Baekhyun was taken aback by the rejection was an understatement. He was at a loss for words, his mouth opening and closing like a fish on land, and for a second anxiety blossomed in his chest. Chanyeol had told him no, had wantonly eaten his pussy only to refuse him now, and it was horrible how much it upset him.  His confusion forced him to speak, a hostility to his words that he did not mean to be there but that bled through regardless, “Why not? I can handle it.” Fortunately, Chanyeol did not take it to heart. In fact, he smiled knowingly before pressing a delicate kiss far up the human’s thigh, tickling the skin there. “Oh, I do not doubt it, love. But I’m not risking this pregnancy so early on.” Hearing how the refusal had nothing to do with Baekhyun and everything with the life growing inside of him made him more compassionate, yet he did not give up so easily. He was still hard, still feeling so incredibly horny, that he groaned and pouted while spreading his legs even wider. “Then just don’t enter my womb?” He suggested, his voice breathy and sensual, an attempt to weaken the demon’s resolve. But he failed, again. “It is not that simple, Baekhyun-ah,” Chanyeol explained almost apologetically. “If I am right, one of my eggs will have consumed one of yours by now, meaning our cells will have merged, but it may not have burrowed itself into the lining of your uterus yet. And even if it has, it surely has not nestled enough to form its own protective sack, and I am not playing with fire until it does.” Baekhyun felt his lower lip jut out in a pout, his eyes growing wide and innocent, and he sounded like a whiny child when he mentioned, “I thought you could check. Whether I am pregnant or not.” Chanyeol smiled at him with fondness, as if he loved seeing the human this needy, disappointed by the lack of intimacy between them. He replied with the patience of a saint, his hands tenderly squeezing the flesh of Baekhyun’s thighs as if it would make him feel any less crestfallen. “I can check whether your body has accepted my egg, not at what stage of the fertilisation process you are.” The pout on his lips only grew, and Baekhyun lowered his gaze, trying to hide the oncoming tears as he whined, “but I need you.” The demon’s laugh danced across the pond like pebbles skirting the water, and Baekhyun gasped involuntarily at the sound. Lips returned to his skin, kissing their way up his thigh until they reached his loins, where they lingered briefly. Chanyeol’s breath was warm against his erection, his eyes filled with fire, and his smirk was so perfect that Baekhyun’s eyes were instantly drawn to it.  “I know more than one way of pleasing you, my sweet human.”  Chanyeol’s nails dug into the human’s hips as his mouth opened, his long tongue flattening before he rolled it, creating tiny wave-like motions that were otherworldly. Baekhyun had never seen anyone switch this smoothly; from caring to sexy within a split second. It left him so enraptured, completely dazed by the lewd display, that he missed the instant where the demon made up his mind.  He ducked his head, lips still parted wide, and swallowed Baekhyun’s aching cock down his throat all at once. No choking, no getting used to the girth of it, just taking him like it was nothing.  The human moaned, head tipping back as heat enveloped his entire length. His back arched, legs squeezing together around Chanyeol’s neck, and the demon let him. He let him without any regard for his own comfort.  “Oh, Yeol .”  The man hummed around him, causing Baekhyun to make more sound, and distracted as he was, he was utterly unaware of the press of a wet finger against his hole. It only struck him once it slipped inside, the slight burn of his rim making him choke on his next inhale, and his eyes shot open, bright sunlight filling his vision.  He did not know if it was that which blinded him, or if the surge of white was caused by the demon hollowing his cheeks whilst locating Baekhyun’s prostate. Either way, his entire body shook, his hands falling to the grass and fingers digging in the earth, but none of it helped.  His own wetness made the slide so much slicker, easier for a second finger to be added, and Baekhyun felt that much dizzier when it teased him. “Ahh, ahh .” He fell back down against the ground, fingers snapping off blades of grass, and cast his eyes up at the sky. It was as if every sense was heightened, the air fresher and the light brighter, and Baekhyun was mesmerised by the most beautiful kingfisher that flew within his field of vision.  With its coat a bejewelled cyan plumage and breast a warm orange, it was a living gem created by nature itself. A jewel that flitted through the trees with enviable agility before plunging in the far end of the pond, its dive regal and precise. Baekhyun felt as light, as free as that kingfisher, and it was all because of the one who was devotedly worshipping every last inch of him.  It was all because of Chanyeol.  “Please,” he gasped for the umpteenth time, his hands uncontrollable as they dragged along the ground, trembled against his thighs, and then curled around the demon’s horns. He did it without realising, merely needing something to hold on to, but the second his hands touched the cool, ridged sheaths, he pulled them back like he had been burnt.  Chanyeol let his cock slip from his lips, taking a moment to kiss the leaking red crown, and then he peered up at the human’s body while he waited for their eyes to meet. When they did, the demon grabbed one of Baekhyun’s wavering hands and tugged it back towards him. “It’s okay. Touch me.” He waited for the human’s fingers to find their place again, delicately wrapping around the strong, bone-like protrusions that sprouted from his skull. Once they had, apprehensively finding their home, Chanyeol delicately kissed his way back up the shaft of Baekhyun’s cock.  “Absolutely perfect.” Baekhyun’s grip tightened, his breath held high in his chest, and barely a second passed between then and the moment Chanyeol swallowed him down again. The wet heat of his mouth was heavenly, the softness of his throat like velvet, and Baekhyun trashed his head back against the grass as he surrendered to the sensation.  The fingers inside of him crooked, sending bolts of pleasure flying everywhere, and Baekhyun whimpered and clutched onto the demon’s horns like his life depended on it. The touch allowed him to feel how Chanyeol was bobbing his head, cock disappearing and reappearing from between the demon’s lips every few seconds. It was a little surreal, being conscious of every motion, knowing what was coming before it did, but it was mesmerising at the same time. It held him captive for a while, as if he had left his own body and was floating above, and once he descended back down, he began to apply the tiniest bit of pressure. Filled with fierce courage, he went ahead and took the initiative, guiding Chanyeol down on his cock before hauling him back off.  The Deimos noticed what he was doing, how he was trying to determine the pace, and he groaned in such a heated way that Baekhyun felt his toes go blissfully numb. The human had been given wordless permission, maybe even encouragement, and his vision went a little blurry at the vibrations which the sound sent through him.  “Nggh,” Baekhyun continued to stroke the two thinnest horns whenever he pulled the demon off his cock, enjoying the brief moment of clarity it brought him before he would tighten his grasp and push them back down. The ebb and flow of pleasure was steady, and it allowed him to truly focus on the way Chanyeol looked while he went down on the human. Those lips stretched around his length, not as wide as his own had spread around the Deimos’s length, but still. It was utterly obscene, the view he had, and with his gaze cast down his body and jaw slackened, he let moan after moan rip from his throat. Chanyeol looked out of this world whenever he hollowed his cheeks, or when he pulled back to let his tongue swirl around the throbbing cockhead, and all the while his fingers continued to rub small circles against the boy’s prostate.  Baekhyun’s mind was muddled, had been for some time, but watching the Deimos blow him so eagerly got one thought to pierce through the fog: how could it be possible for people to be afraid of a creature this astounding? How could they feel fear in their hearts instead of longing? How could they consider this to be sin?  It had taken Baekhyun less than an hour in the Deimos’s presence for him to completely change his perspective, and perhaps the likelihood of a pregnancy had altered his brain chemistry in a sense, but he simply could not understand how vastly different the half-demon was from the image that had been painted of him.  Feeling overwhelmed by the sudden surge of affection, Baekhyun let one hand fall from the demon’s horns, down the back of Chanyeol’s head. He traced the outline of the braids there, heavy with water, after which he dipped his hand underneath them so he could curl his palm around his lover’s neck.  “Chanyeol,” he brought out with a foreign emotion on his tongue, and he felt how fast his heart was beating in his chest when the demon responded by breaking away. He licked his lips, Baekhyun watched him do so, and he sent up a questioning look with his soulful brown eyes. A question to determine whether they were on the same page. And they were.  “Do it,” was all the human said, nodding his head to show he truly meant it, and Chanyeol blinked once before he dropped a long kiss to Baekhyun’s hipbone. “Alright.” Another kiss to his stomach, and the Deimos’s fingers were travelling, leaving his prostate in pursuit of his birth canal. Baekhyun’s legs slipped from the man’s shoulders, feet dipping into the water again, and he appreciated the cold because it distracted him from the slight discomfort he felt at getting his birth canal probed. His hole was wet enough for the rim to properly stretch, but the slightest press against the membrane protecting his womb told him that this would not be as painless.  Chanyeol was gentle, kept kissing his belly like he wished to reassure their baby that he was not out to hurt it, and that was strange. All of this was. “Slowly,” Baekhyun brought out a little breathlessly, one hand on the back of the demon’s neck while the other caressed his face. Chanyeol looked up at him, pausing his kisses so he could monitor the expressions on the human’s face when he breached the protective film.  “Ahh, yes, just like that.” He moaned, eyes squeezed shut as the intense feeling of penetration spread through him. Two fingers sank deep inside, and it immediately became obvious how he was much more sensitive than before. The way his body was shuddering madly and his vocal chords were continuously producing sound were signs, the kind of confirmation Chanyeol seemed to be looking for in order to proceed.  “Good,” he quietly whispered to the human, “you are doing so good.” Baekhyun arched his back, felt his cock grow impossibly harder, and for a while the world around him ceased to exist. The sound of birds faded away, the grass under his back could not be felt, and even the warmth of the sun was overruled by the euphoric sensation of the Deimos’s fingers grazing his womb. The touch was barely there, so cautious that Baekhyun tried to grind down against it to experience more, but Chanyeol was prepared for him to act so lewdly. He made sure nothing would come of it, even if the human were acting like the most beautiful, debauched whore he had ever laid eyes on. He did not cave, and truly, his resilience was admirable.  “Please, I need you,” Baekhyun begged again, regardless of how unaffected Chanyeol was behaving. His body was burning with the most dire need to be close to him, and it was almost impossible to take. “I’m going to die.” The Deimos ignored his pleas, the only mercy he showed Baekhyun being in his lips as they parted and took the boy’s cockhead back inside his mouth. It only made things worse, desire now at its boiling point, and Baekhyun’s hand left Chanyeol’s jaw to claw at the grass like a madman. He felt the earth cling to his fingernails, grounding him only a little, but it was futile. Because as quickly as it had come to him, it disappeared again.  The fingers rubbing the entrance to his womb turned slightly less gentle, pressing harder to see whether it would open, but Chanyeol was met with resistance. Far more resistance than should be normal for someone who was this wet and wanton for him.  The Deimos pulled off his cock, let their inquisitive eyes meet, and then a careful smile grew on his features. “Goodness,” he spoke, trying once more to enter Baekhyun’s uterus, but he reached the exact same conclusion this time too. “Your womb… it has accepted my brood.” The world slowed, and Baekhyun watched as the Deimos kissed around his tummy, his hips, his thighs, every move appearing to be in slow motion. His eyes were wide, understanding slowly coming to him, but it was not at all real until Chanyeol told him so.  “You are pregnant, Baekhyun-ah.” Nothing could have properly prepared him for how it felt. Absolutely nothing. He had imagined this moment about a thousand times, thinking he would smile and cradle his non-existent belly while a sense of purpose bled through him. But reality was nothing like that. Instead, hot tears were brimming in his eyes, and he felt even more desperate to have his lover’s skin against his now.  “Chanyeol,” he begged, sounding like he was suffocating, and his hands pulled on anything they could touch: his face, the braids of his hair, the majestically coiled horns. “Come here, please come here.” The confirmation of his pregnancy must have broken the Deimos’s resolve, because he did not fight the human this time. He simply pushed Baekhyun’s body further up on the bank, until his heels were digging in the grass, and then he climbed out of the pond and crawled between his partner’s welcoming legs.  He was dripping water everywhere, drops of it pooling on Baekhyun’s stomach and rolling down his thighs, but none of it mattered, for he lowered himself against the human until skin was glued to skin. Baekhyun’s arms came up around him, pulling the demon into a tight embrace, and though he felt the overwhelming urge to kiss Chanyeol again, he was unable to.  They were pressed cheek to cheek, incredulous laughter spilling from both their lips as they shared a moment of pure happiness that neither could have predicted to exist a mere day ago. Baekhyun shed more tears, releasing every pent up emotion he had carried with him since leaving his grandmother’s farm, and Chanyeol held him through it like he knew this was his place now. They had united, created new life together, and that meant something. “Guess you are stuck with me now,” Baekhyun joked eventually, once the heaviness of the moment had passed and his body relaxed and turned soft. He was still hard, and passion was still hot like liquid gold in his gut, but they were no longer in a hurry.  Chanyeol broke away from him, turning his face so he could look at the human’s kind smile and warm eyes, and he stared back with such emotion that Baekhyun choked up. There was no other word to use for it than love, which was something he found hard to understand, and so he did not try to figure out whether it was truly there.  “I guess I am.”  The demon moved then, just the slightest bit, but it led to the most delicious friction that got Baekhyun to gasp in the space between them. He had felt Chanyeol’s hardened cock against his ass, and his own was aching as it was trapped between their stomachs. It made him arch his back, yearning for more gratification, and he tightly gripped the Deimos’s arms in the hopes his silent wish would be picked up on.  “Chanyeol,” he cried when the demon did not move again, his fist frantically pounding against the man’s bicep. “Pleasepleaseplease… I feel like I will die if you refuse to touch me.” There was another moment of hesitation, it was perceptible in the air, but then Chanyeol dropped a soothing kiss to the human’s forehead and caved. He caved, moving his hips so his cock aligned with Baekhyun’s, and his tail snaked between their bodies to curl around the both of them.  Baekhyun moaned instantly, hips bucking up hard, and the demon groaned brokenly as he stilled for a second. With his nose pressed to the human’s cheekbone, Chanyeol’s hands steadied on the grass, and Baekhyun’s ankles hooked around the demon’s thighs to hold on to him. “Heavens,” Chanyeol heaved, his hips rutting into his lover’s, and Baekhyun nodded frantically.  “Yeah. Yeah.” The physical closeness only heightened the emotional intimacy that had grown between them. It was like a toxic concoction, the two things combined, and Baekhyun could not speak for he had never felt this good. Chanyeol lowered his body against him as much as possible, hovering right above the human so he could ride him. Their hips rubbed together, the demon’s tail adding to the pleasure, and Baekhyun’s head lolled to the side as he submitted to the completely powerless state he had been reduced to. He had expected for the Deimos’s wings to unfold like they had before, extending in order to shield them from view in such a public place, but they did not. The demon generously allowed the forest to attend their desperate chase for release, as if he was inviting it to watch closely as a human came apart under his touch. A display of power, a claim of possession, for all the world to see.  And maybe the birds were perched on branches, watching his glossy lips part and sing a string of moans. And maybe a rabbit had paused its hopping to watch as he rolled his hips, always in search of more. Baekhyun did not mind, could not mind when he felt so high there was not an ounce of shame to be found within him.  Chanyeol touched him then, one hand leaving the grass to thumb at a nipple, and Baekhyun’s hands flew up to clutch at the demon’s shoulders. His widened eyes focused on the man’s smirk as he leisurely pinched the hardening bud, acting so aloof that it was difficult to believe he was getting his cock touched.  “You are so beautiful,” the Deimos praised him, relentlessly grinding his hips down against Baekhyun’s. “Want the world to see your face when I make you climax.” As if on cue, the demon’s tail tightened around their lengths, pressing them closer together. Baekhyun could feel the way Chanyeol was throbbing, noticed the stickiness of both their precum that had trickled down his shaft, and it made him exhale dryly. “ Chanyeol .” The Deimos pinched his nipple a second time, causing Baekhyun’s body to wiggle underneath him. He hummed at the human, enjoying the way he was squirming so much, and sounded far too arrogant when he faked ignorance and replied, “yes, my little lamb?” Baekhyun’s hands fell away, spread out wide on either side of him, and he tried with all his might not to lose his sanity. Perhaps the only thing preventing him from truly going insane was the fact that his pussy was empty, Chanyeol’s cock refusing to penetrate him. It was too much, yet not enough at once, and the feeling had become so normal to him that he had no doubt that sex with the demon would always be like this. This life-altering experience where every piece of him was rearranged to create a newer, better version of him.  “I feel so hot,” he admitted, aware of his feverish cheeks and the heat travelling up his neck. “So empty, too.”  Part of him expected the Deimos to make fun of him for his debauchery, but he held his tongue. Only humming in understanding, Chanyeol nuzzled along Baekhyun’s temple before pressing another kiss to his forehead. “I know, dear. Close will never be close enough.”  He was right about that. The human would have been just as unhinged had the demon actually penetrated him, and he probably would not be satisfied even if their bodies were to melt together. There would always be too much distance between them for the longing to truly disappear, and he could only try to accept as much.  Baekhyun knew begging was not going to get him anything, and yet he could not help but claw at Chanyeol’s skin and repeat a quiet mantra of ‘please’ that the Deimos all but ignored. With his lips constantly pressed to Baekhyun’s temple, he increased the speed with which he jerked them off. The hand that had been on the human’s chest crept lower, wrapping around their cocks to enhance the already-intense sensation in his abdomen.  “Let go, Baekhyun-ah,” Chanyeol whispered, quietly shushing him. “Let go.”  Baekhyun did not realise he was gasping for air, his eyes wet and body convulsing erratically. It was the constant overstimulation, the tightness of Chanyeol’s tail and his hand around him, which made him fall apart and lose every single piece of himself, and fighting it was no use. His orgasm was right there, on the edges of his consciousness, ready to remorselessly engulf him with pleasure. He fought it for as long as he could, not wanting to lose the beautiful feeling within him, but eventually there was nothing to be done.  Electricity started in his toes, his fingers, and shot through his veins until they reached the place where every emotion met at once, and then he was coming, coming, coming. White vision, white ecstasy, and warmth all over. It lasted forever, and throughout it all Baekhyun could not breathe. He felt the oxygen leave his lungs bit by bit, shrivelling until he was sure he would die, and then it flowed back in.  Chanyeol bit at his skin, his cheekbone, his jaw, and growled deep in his chest when Baekhyun’s hands touched him a little shakily. It seemed to set him off, for he let his tail release them from its hold, his hand fisting his massive cock and pumping it to chase his own bliss. “Baek-”  He rocked against his lover’s motionless body, the human too worn out to move along with him, but it was not needed for him to reach nirvana. The Deimos’s movements soon turned inconsistent, faltering occasionally, until streaks of white spurted from the tip of the bulbous cockhead. Baekhyun watched as Chanyeol shot it against his stomach, thick ribbons painting his flesh, and he cried at the sight.  His hole clenched, feeling so left out, and he unconsciously spread his legs even wider. Presenting himself, there for the taking. “Goodness, my love,” Chanyeol mewled, and Baekhyun swore the demon must have read his mind, because he pushed up the human’s legs and moved his hardness between them.  He had sworn not to fuck him, had told Baekhyun he would not risk this pregnancy, but something must have changed. Because why else would he be pressing the head of his cock to the human’s hole, still madly jerking his own length as cum gushed down the boy’s ass.  There was only one answer, and that was that it simply was not enough, so far from enough that nothing else could truly satisfy them, and Chanyeol knew it.  “Forgive me, darling,” he brought out, applying just the tiniest bit of pressure, but Baekhyun relaxed instead of tensing. It was all that was needed for his rim to loosen, an unmistakable invitation for the demon to plunge the crown of his cock into his warmth, and Chanyeol was still coming, hot spurts of seed painting Baekhyun’s walls as he lodged it inside. Baekhyun smiled, feeling exhilarated and victorious, and he continued to feel so long after the Deimos had pulled away, leaving him a little less empty now he was brimming with cum.  “Do not dare apologise for such a thing ever again,” was all he said, far too boneless to do more than that. Chanyeol was still breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he hung over the human’s form. He did not respond, not before he had sat back on his heels and was looking down at Baekhyun’s freshly dirtied body. But rather than replying, he commented on something entirely different.  “Now I will have to clean you again.”  Blinking at the ridiculous remark, Baekhyun paused for a long second. Long enough for the Deimos to fall back into the water, disappearing below the surface with unbelievable grace. The human sat on the bank, eyes on the countless ripples of the pond that slowly faded and created a smooth mirror once more.  “Chanyeol?” he called out, his heartbeat picking up the longer that mirror remained calm and still. There was no answer, which only made him worry more, and he scooted over to the water’s edge, his feet already in by the time his lover finally broke the surface. The Deimos laughed brightly, openly, and pulled on Baekhyun’s legs until he slipped in the pond with him.  They splashed water, Chanyeol’s laughter and Baekhyun’s whines echoing around the meadow and merging with the songbirds that had resumed their melodies. The world seemed a little brighter, all the colours a little sharper, and the human felt so unbelievably content that he would stay there forever as long as it would be with Chanyeol.  However, soon enough he tired, and the Deimos noticed it before he did. He helped Baekhyun out of the pond and laid him down on the grass, choosing a patch of luscious greenery that was cast in a beam of light.  “Do not move,” Chanyeol told him once he had splayed out the human’s hair like a crown above his head, hoping for it to dry in the warmth of the weak spring sun. “I will get you something to eat. You and baby.” Baekhyun’s heart swelled with pride and excitement, and a lopsided grin grew on his lips as he let his eyes slip shut, giving in to the drowsiness that had overtaken him. “Okay. I will be right here.”  Time ceased to exist as he soaked up the warmth of the sun, deliciously floating between reality and the land of dreams. Occasionally he heard the sounds of an animal nearby, making his ears perk up to try and determine what species it was, but he never feared for his safety. He knew Chanyeol could not be far away, and with his pregnancy now confirmed, he would protect the human even more fiercely than before.  Feeling at peace, Baekhyun carefully ran his fingers along individual blades of grass, feeling their shape and texture and dreaming up the exact colour they would be: a deep forest green that appeared lighter in the sun. He felt for their edges too, assessing whether they were perfectly rounded or if perhaps an animal had nibbled on them. It was relaxing, and he passed the time like that, until he heard snapping twigs and the unmistakable sound of Chanyeol’s footsteps coming nearer.  He opened his eyes, turning his chin just slightly so he could witness the sight that was his lover walking up to him from the border of the meadow. He looked regal, his wings slightly spread out to dry them to the air, and his nudity did not cause the human to blush at all. He merely felt a surprising pride at the knowledge that the creature was his, that his body was Baekhyun’s to touch, and that he was carrying their child in his womb at that very moment.  Chanyeol walked over, one hand forming a delicate cup against his chest. It was clearly spilling over, blobs of pink falling to the grass, but the demon did not stop to pick them up. He continued on towards Baekhyun, heedfully falling to his knees beside him, and only once he had gotten comfortable like that did he pick up one of the berries that he had brought in abundance.  “I hope you like raspberries.” Bringing one to the human’s lips, he waited for Baekhyun to open up for him, which he did almost instantly. The sour, sugary taste hit his tongue before he had even bitten down, but when he did he became acutely aware of just how hungry he was. As he swallowed the first berry, his stomach growled, as if to thank the demon for his offering, and Chanyeol giggled when he fed him another one.  “Poor you, you must be starving after so much sex,” the Deimos teased him, popping in two raspberries at once, and Baekhyun’s lips briefly sucked on his lover’s fingers as they closed around them.  Chanyeol cleared his throat and retreated his fingers, which were now stained a pretty shade of pink, to gather a few more. “I- uh- I will make us a proper meal once we return. Catch some fish, or check the snares for meat.” Baekhyun listened to Chanyeol talk as he let berry after berry explode on his tongue, the mushed seeds sloshing around in his mouth. He swallowed each time, the fruit not enough to satiate his hunger but the sugar giving him an instant kick that made him feel a little more awake.  “I will pluck you all the berries you wish to eat, be at your beck and call at all times. I will show you how good I can be.” Chanyeol promised him, his expression one of sincerity, and Baekhyun did not doubt his words to be genuine.  He knew the demon cared, and that he would treat Baekhyun with more kindness than any creature in the world. Which made it all the harder for him to understand why the man had not kissed him yet.  The universe had presented them with a handful of opportunities already, hinting at the locking of their lips countless of times, but the Deimos had not picked up on its signs. Even now, as Chanyeol was brushing along the human’s lower lip with his thumb, to catch some of the raspberry juice that had spilled from the corner of his mouth, he did not grasp the longing look in Baekhyun’s eyes.  “The cave is not the only sanctuary I have nearby,” he said, completely oblivious to the turmoil inside Baekhyun’s head, “though the best place of all is-“  “Chanyeol?” The demon paused immediately, his lover’s interruption causing him to go quiet, and Baekhyun briefly wondered if the Deimos’s hearing was good enough to pick up on his increased heart rate and his heavy breathing.  He instantly regretted the way he had brought attention to himself, but he knew that if he would not ask now, he would never. So he took a deep breath, forced himself to keep looking at Chanyeol despite his nervousness, and finally spilled: “Are you ever going to kiss me?” Shock. That was the only way to describe the emotion on the demon’s face. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, after which his lips rounded and his gaze dropped to the ground. He gathered the remainder of the raspberries in the palm of his hand, gently bringing them down and placing them on the grass so his hands were free.  It was only then that he met Baekhyun’s gaze again, and shock had been replaced with something the human could not name. Was it disbelief? Repulsion? Or something else entirely? Chanyeol’s eyes were dark and closed off, and it made Baekhyun ache in a completely unfamiliar way.  “Nevermi-“ Baekhyun began, trying to brush it off in fear of rejection, but the Deimos interrupted him before he could finish.  “You want me to kiss you?” The question was loaded, the demon’s voice sceptic and soft enough to be laced with vulnerability. Chanyeol was struggling to wrap his head around what the human had asked for, could not believe he was being sincere, and it explained the reservedness in his gaze. He feared rejection just as much as Baekhyun did, for whatever insane reason. It made the human that bit more courageous, nudging his hand against Chanyeol’s thigh to keep a certain lightness to his tone. “Is that so hard to believe?” When there came no reply, no change in the demon’s demeanour either, Baekhyun worried he had misinterpreted the Deimos's silence after all. Could he be wrong? Could it be that…? “Do you not want to kiss me?” Chanyeol flinched, as if those words were hard to hear, and he snapped out of it so fast that Baekhyun almost missed the shift in his posture. The demon reached for the hand that had been touching his knee, and he grasped it with both of his own, pulling it up to his chest to hold it there. The human watched as his palm was flattened, coming up over the left side of Chanyeol’s chest, and a few seconds of complete silence lapsed in which he felt the strong beat of a heart against it.  “Do you feel that?” The Deimos asked him, pressing Baekhyun’s hand down even harder just in case he did not. “How wildly it beats for you?” He did. There was a quick, heavy thudding in a rhythm close to his own, and it got him emotional in a way he did not want to be. Tears burned behind his eyes, but he blinked them away frantically, hoping Chanyeol would not see. However, he could not prevent the way his voice broke when he spoke, and could only stop talking once it had. “Then why haven’t you-“ His lover did not allow him to think bad thoughts at all. He tenderly held onto Baekhyun’s fingers, brought them up to his face to cradle them against his cheek, and he smiled this sad smile that did not fit the happiness they had shared up until the moment the human had asked this question. “I did not think you would want me to,” Chanyeol clarified honestly, his eyes never leaving Baekhyun’s face. “I captured you without your consent, held you hostage with an immoral motive, and I know that is not the way you- not how humans do things.” Baekhyun did not know what to say to this, because they both knew what Chanyeol had said was not a lie. It was how they had been brought together, even if the human had entered the woodlands of his own accord. Their union had not been a conventional one, which meant nothing about them was. Not even the order of their courting.  “I am not human, and though my devotion to you is immeasurable, I felt I had already taken enough to be considered acceptable.” Chanyeol added, a mix of guilt and passion in his expression. Baekhyun let it all simmer, seep into the crevices of his mind where it formed connections and found the answers to everything. Which was when he concluded with more certainty than before: “So you do want to kiss me.” The joyless laugh that escaped from Chanyeol’s throat was answer enough, yet he indulged Baekhyun with even sweeter words. “My beloved, I have come close innumerable times. I ache having to hold back from giving my all to you, but I respect you far too much to-“ Words were so unnecessary, Baekhyun realised the longer the Deimos went on. A simple ‘yes’ would have sufficed, but the human remained civil for as long as he could before, ultimately, he lost to the blood pounding in his ears.  “Do it.” He ordered, wriggling his hand in the demon’s hold so he could properly caress his face. “Kiss me.” The world went quiet, exactly like it had done when their bodies had indulged in each other by the pond. Mother nature had a front-row seat yet again and seemed to be waiting with bated breath for the joining of their lips. Baekhyun could sense it. He felt exactly the same.  Chanyeol was staring at him, not with apprehension but with clarity, and he drew the human’s palm away from his face so he could lace their fingers together. The tender brush of his thumb against Baekhyun’s knuckles and the warmth that enveloped his much smaller hand awoke the butterflies in his stomach. They went wild the second the demon began leaning down, closing the distance between their faces with every rapid inhale of air that was sucked into his lungs.  It was slow, so agonisingly slow, and Baekhyun bit back a whimper when finally the Deimos came to a stop with the tip of his nose pressed to the human’s. He stayed there, as if he wanted to take everything in: from the sunlight that had formed a halo around them, to the way Baekhyun was breathing, his heartbeat as fast as it was when he was coming down from an orgasm.  Their breaths mixed, sending shivers down Baekhyun’s spine, and he wanted so badly to pull Chanyeol into him and finally take what he had been dying to take. But he was paralysed, afraid that moving now would break the spell and shy the demon away, and so he waited. He waited for what felt like eternity, hoping with all his heart that he would be rewarded for his patience.  “You truly have no idea, Baekhyun-ah,” Chanyeol whispered to him, lovingly nuzzling his nose along the human’s, which caused his breath to hitch. “No idea…” It was at that moment, where he was caught off guard by the demon’s confession, that Chanyeol finally yielded. He cast aside his armour and bent to Baekhyun’s will by tilting his head and tipping his chin until their mouths slotted together. The touch was featherlight, searching, but all that was needed to propel them forward was that heartbeat of contact.  An inferno swept through him, raging and desperate, and it burnt Chanyeol just as much. The demon hissed against his mouth before he pressed closer, chasing the fire, and Baekhyun’s eyes rolled back as he sank into it.  His hands flew up, aimlessly wandering his lover’s body, while Chanyeol kissed him with ardour. The demon did not waver, not even a hint of his previous uncertainty left in the way with which he moved his lips against Baekhyun’s. There was only unveiled devotion, a sense of prolonged deprivation that had been suffered for too long, and they both discarded every last bit of hopelessness they possessed in order to find solace in each other.  Baekhyun kissed back with a yearning he had never felt, not with any of the people he had kissed before, and Chanyeol swallowed every single sound he murmured against his lips. It was frenzied, the way they were pulling on each other, as if constantly searching for ways to be closer, but neither would have changed a thing.  It was an exposition of the uncontrollable passion coursing through their veins, a confession greater than any spoken word could be. Because where his lips failed to speak, they managed to convey a far more meaningful message by parting for Chanyeol, allowing him to taste the words right on his tongue. In a sense it was oddly familiar, significantly easier than it was ought to be, but Baekhyun did not even question it. He knew there was something there, something that made him feel so at home with Chanyeol, and he did not need to understand why it was there to give in to it.  Baekhyun continued to let his hands roam, stroking his lover’s hair, pressing into strong shoulder blades and sliding along his waist. Their kisses turned mellow and slow while he did, the rush ebbing away once they realised the other was not running. They could do this for as long as they wanted, whenever they wanted, and that left behind a warmth that not even the sun could rival. And so they shared sweet, chaste pecks, soft presses of lips to lips, until eventually Chanyeol broke away and only his nose remained pressed to Baekhyun’s. “That was lovely,” the Deimos mused, which - in all honesty - was a gross understatement. But the human only smiled and traced his fingers along the demon’s spine, feeling the spot where his tail began and nudging his nose against Chanyeol’s. Only when his lover pulled away, gazing into Baekhyun’s eyes and making him blush, did the human speak under hushed breath. “ You are lovely. Far more so than you should be.” “Than I should be?” Chanyeol huffed incredulously, as if he did not agree. “You humans have such wild ideas about anything non-human. Such prideful beings you are.” Baekhyun felt some sense of duty to defend his kind, even though he knew fully well that they would not accept how he felt about Chanyeol. He would be branded a lunatic, or the poor victim of a monster, when he was neither. “I guess so. We fear those with more power than us.” The Deimos dropped a kiss to Baekhyun’s cheek, his jaw, and then he rolled onto his side so he could remain close to his lover without needing to keep hovering above him. The human watched him pick up another raspberry, absentmindedly brushing it off before he held it out for Baekhyun to take between his lips.  “Frankly, there are a hundred different creatures roaming the forest that are deserving of your fear, but I am so far from the top of that list that it is laughable,” Chanyeol finally said, his gaze averted to where he had begun plucking at the grass. As if he was afraid of what he would see in Baekhyun’s eyes if he were to look at him. The human merely hummed, his fingers finding the demon’s knee so he could draw patterns on his skin as he assured him. “I believe you. After all, you saved me from those Dardanos. I would be dead without you.”  “I would not call that saving you,” Chanyeol retorted with a laugh that sounded far too empty. “I took you to my nest to breed you, and I may not have killed you, but was that really me saving you?”  Baekhyun did not answer him, but he could tell from the saddened look on the Deimos’s face that he could not stand the memory of his own behaviour. It made him ashamed, now that he was no longer consumed by unadulterated lust and the urgent need to reproduce, just how forcefully he had acted. Baekhyun did not blame him for it, held no aversion in his heart at all, yet it still felt good to hear Chanyeol speak with such purity. The human in him had come out of the shadows, pushing aside its demonic other half, and Baekhyun appreciated it more than he could put into words. “I know I am anything but innocent,” Chanyeol went on, blades of grass snapping between his fingers while he confessed, “but at least I only take what I must in order to live. Not like your kings, who murder for their own fortune. Not like rapists and thieves who hold no remorse in their hearts for any of their victims.”  “No, my nature is both a curse and a blessing. I am programmed to kill, this demonic entity within me surfacing whenever the world is out of balance, but any unrighteous death I mourn. And funnily enough, I believe I have a more compassionate soul than half of humanity ever will.” Baekhyun listened silently, his fingers trembling the slightest bit as they drew gentle shapes on the demon’s thigh. Chanyeol barely seemed to notice, so lost in his story that nothing else could penetrate his thoughts.  “I was raised properly, you know. My mother, who is human, made sure I was taught empathy and respect, the manners needed to one day court a mate and keep them close to me. Just like my father had with her. I am sure you know just how significant a parent is in the life of a child.”  Where up until then he had been listening intently, hoping to uncover more of Chanyeol’s life, the mentioning of his parents caused him to lose sight of that. He froze, and the Deimos must have noticed, for he turned his head to observe him right as Baekhyun looked away and retreated his hand.  “Did I say something wrong?” Chanyeol asked, a sudden nervous tone to his voice.  Baekhyun shook his head, “no, not at all. But… My parents died when I was younger. I know my father was a scholar, one with controversial views of the world, which I found out only once I was older. He fought for change in the kingdom, but the king was offended that he even dared to think change was necessary. And so my father had to go.”  Swallowing around the sudden lump in his throat, Baekhyun pressed his nails into his own palm, fighting to keep the tears at bay. “Both he and my mother were killed by the king’s men, purged like their lives were worth nothing, and I was left in my grandmother’s care. Without her, I would have been an orphan on the streets, destined to die of smallpox.” Chanyeol reached for his hands, unfolded his fingers, and brought them up to press them to his lips. He mumbled against the boy’s skin, eyes deep and soulful as he apologised, “I am sorry, Baekhyun-ah. You did not deserve to live through such a thing.”  It had been a long time since he had heard anyone tell him this, and it was surprisingly healing. Sometimes he forgot how deep of a cut it had left in him, the loss of his parents. The guilt he still carried with him would never disappear, but it reminded him of his mortality and how he had to live his life to the fullest whenever he could. It also reminded him of how sometimes sacrificing yourself for the greater good was the bravest thing you could do.  “Maybe not,” he agreed, the words barely a whisper, though he found the courage to meet Chanyeol’s eyes, “but without it, I might not have ended up here, with you.” The Deimos did not understand. Of course he did not, he did not know the full story, but he did not need to in order to feel Baekhyun’s emotions. He could sense the candour in the human’s statement, and to comfort him he pressed what felt like a million kisses to his lover’s skin. “I think you will make a wonderful parent,” Chanyeol admitted cautiously, as if he was not certain Baekhyun would appreciate him saying something this personal. But the soft smile he received from the human assured him that he had not said anything out of line.  Relieved by this, the demon placed Baekhyun’s hands on his chest before he shifted his weight, rolling over almost comically with his clumsy, long limbs all over the place. He came to rest on his stomach, propped up on his elbows next to the human’s hip, with his body stretched out and facing Baekhyun’s lower half.  “I mean it,” he continued, dropping a kiss to his mate’s  belly that had the boy suck in his stomach in a gasp for air. “I could not be any happier knowing it is you I get to do this with.”  “ Chanyeol .”  The Deimos kissed him there a second time, lingering a little longer now, and Baekhyun gradually got used to the ticklish sensation of the demon’s mouth moving along his abdomen. Chanyeol eased off occasionally, a few seconds at a time, and it took a while for the human to realise that he was gathering sprigs of baby breath from the grass around them whenever his lips were not pressed to Baekhyun’s skin.  By the time he caught on, the demon was already backing away to proceed with the next phase of what he had planned, his gaze on Baekhyun’s lower body while he took each individual twig between his fingers and twirled it to find its prettiest side. He worked with a precision that was admirable, and Baekhyun watched with curiosity and speechless wonder as Chanyeol stuck the stems through the dark, coarse curls covering his pubic bone.  Piece by piece, the flowers found a home, adorning his loins with pretty splotches of white. The lustrous bush of black hair was decorated with a wealth of the budding gypsophila, turning his groin into a sanctum to be revered.   Baekhyun’s stomach did a strange somersault at the sight, it being such an intimate and sensual moment that he could barely breathe. The Deimos was creating a sanctuary where life was growing inside of him, and when he was finished embellishing his lover’s loins, he kissed his way around the human’s hipbones.  Releasing a shaky whimper, Baekhyun’s hand found Chanyeol’s hair, tangling in the messy braids because words had escaped him. There was nothing he could say to convey how he felt being there, with a man who looked nothing like a human but was kinder than even a prince could be. His womb was no longer empty but impregnated, and he was adored for it. So adored.  The Deimos stroked his thigh, nuzzled his nose along Baekhyun’s pelvis, and he seemed to breathe him in. Breathe in his scent, the remnant of sex and sweat heavy and poignant, but Chanyeol loved it. He smiled, showing Baekhyun nothing but warmth as he pressed his cheek to the human’s belly, contented and proud.  And as the demon whispered words to their unborn child, he saw that first glimpse of what parenthood would be like. Him and Chanyeol, together, cradling a baby and chasing a curious toddler who had bounded after a poor, defenceless bunny.  “Grow well, little one. Grow well.”  Yes. He agreed, his heart filled with an uncontrollable desire. Grow well.   
⁂
 Chanyeol’s words of encouragement had done the trick, for their child did appear to grow well, and fast too.  The demon had not lied when he had said this pregnancy would not last nine months, because on the third day, Baekhyun was already noticing some symptoms when there should be none. His body ached all over, though it was mostly his chest which was sore, and a heightened sense of smell made him perpetually nauseous. The fish that had been cooked for him on day two had left him the same way it had gone in, and from then on Baekhyun had sworn he would not eat any seafood for the remainder of his pregnancy. Truly, he would stick to berries only if he had to.  Chanyeol worried about him constantly, always hovering over his pregnant mate whenever he was there, but there were also times when he would leave, if only briefly. He would often seize the opportunity to hunt whenever Baekhyun was taking a nap, but occasionally he would bring the human along with him. Let him wander the forest while he scavenged the area, never far away enough to lose sight of him or risk an attack while still giving him some much-needed space. Today, however, Baekhyun had asked to join him, wishing to soak up some sunlight and breathe in the scent of nature in the hopes it would help with his nausea. Chanyeol had agreed, helped him get dressed and led him out of the cave, but, sadly, upon entering the woodlands it became clear quite quickly how Baekhyun would be getting only got half of what he had asked for.  The sun was hidden behind a blanket of clouds, the forest cast in a rather gloomy tint that weighed heavy on his mood, but the cold air did him well. He was wearing one of the few robes Chanyeol owned, a simple grey dress that hung loosely on him, with its edges frayed and fabric thinned. The Deimos, however, was still naked, and he seemed completely unbothered by both the cold and his state of dress. Darting between the trees in full nudity, with his glorious blood-red skin a warning sign for anything evil to flee, Chanyeol paved the way for his mate, securing their safety at all times.  Baekhyun loved watching him move with a speed and agility no human could possess. Loved thinking of how one day their child would be taught to do the same. He knew he was getting ahead of himself, but Baekhyun could not stop how every thought, every waking moment, he was thinking of their future. Perhaps that too was a side effect of his pregnancy. Once they had reached a clearing, a different one than the one with the pond, Chanyeol told him to take a seat and wait. Baekhyun obediently slid down the trunk of the nearby beech tree, leaning back against the sturdy bark that felt much like a rugged, wooden chair, and did just that.  Pulling up his knees underneath his dress to keep himself warm, the human’s arms came to rest on top of them, forming a little table for his head to rest on. He came to a stop then, allowing himself to conserve all his energy by taking on the role of the submissive partner. The only thing he could do was take care of their unborn child, keep himself safe and healthy for their rapidly growing baby.  Meek as he was, he stayed completely still. Only his eyes moved, following his lover as he scanned their surroundings, looking serious and focused while his eyes darted left and right. His shoulders relaxed soon after, and Baekhyun knew he was safe even before Chanyeol uttered it. Then, with his guard lowered, the demon got to work; checking the snares, looking for footprints or other marks of dangerous creatures, and always foraging for food. He occasionally disappeared between the trees, alerted by some distant sound, but mostly he stayed in Baekhyun’s field of vision, plucking ripe berries.  He returned to his lover each time his hands were full, dropping the fruit in the basket the human had carried along with him on their trip. Each time he would come over, he would lean down to feed his pregnant mate part of his harvest, spoiling him with the riches of the forest before he would be off again to fetch more.  For some time they merely coexisted like this, with the human wordlessly watching his partner do what he always did, but Baekhyun knew it was only a matter of time before the Deimos would begin another incessant round of questioning.  Ever since the moment by the pond, where they had first opened up to one another, it had become a thing to ask every question that popped up in their heads. And Chanyeol had been asking a good deal of them. From the bigger things that mattered, like his grandmother and her farm, to the smaller things, like what his favourite season was. Nothing was left unasked, and it would always be a surprise what kind of topic he would bring up next. Right now, the demon was standing a short distance away from him, picking the first heads of elderflower blooms that had blossomed on the scarce, stately elder trees around. He stuck them between his fingers, observing the beauty of the flower, and then turned his head to find his lover staring.  Surprise flashed on the demon’s features, but the fleeting bewilderment bled into a loving smile. Chanyeol stared back at him in a way Baekhyun had gotten used to by now, and he knew it was pure adoration which prompted that warmth in his eyes. A sense of disbelief at how he had managed to capture someone so beautiful, and a definite awareness of how there was a child in his womb that would one day produce even more descendants, saving his kind. And finally, after days of tiptoeing around the topic, Chanyeol seemed ready to ask him a question that went much deeper than anything he had asked so far. A question that must have been burning since the moment Baekhyun had admitted to knowing what he was getting himself into when he had left the farm. A moment which, quite honestly, felt like a lifetime ago.  “Tell me why you entered the woodlands,” the demon stated, his eyes remaining on Baekhyun as his fingers twirled around a flower, “despite being fully aware that I was out here, looking for a mate.” Baekhyun would be lying if he said he had not been expecting this question to come up. He had been waiting for it for quite some time now, yet he somehow felt no more prepared for it. The answer to it was a complex one, intertwining numerous events that spanned half his life, and they were like a rolled up ball of yarn without a sign of the loose thread that would get it all to unravel.  “Goodness, I don’t even know where to begin answering that question,” he confessed honestly. “There are probably at least ten things that played a part in that.” Chanyeol walked over to him, kneeling down to put the elderflower blossoms in their basket, and he locked eyes with Baekhyun from where he was seated. “We have time… you can start wherever you please?” “Okay, uhm.” It was harder to speak with the demon observing him so closely, and Chanyeol apparently understood this because soon after he got to his feet and returned to the tree to gather more flowers.  It gave Baekhyun the space needed to allow his thoughts to wander, as if he had to visualise it all to make sense of everything, and when he started with what felt like the most significant reason, it was almost as if he was telling the story to mother nature instead.  “I guess what was most important was my grandmother. As I’ve told you, she is the only family I have left. I owe her so much that I could never repay her, but I will do anything I can to better her life. So, when the kingdom got more and more panicked about… well, you , I came home to protect her.” Chanyeol paused and turned his head, making sure Baekhyun was listening to him when he assured him, “I would never hurt your grandmother, Baekhyun-ah.”  The human gave a nod, offering a smile in the Deimos’s direction. “I know. I know now you were looking for a mate, but I wasn’t aware of that until halmoni told me so, the day before I came here.” He remembered the conversation with his grandmother. How she had said a Deimos would kill until it had found the perfect mate to breed. He understood now it had nothing to do with being perfect, but everything with surviving the violent, passionate sex, yet he could not exactly tell her that. “Either way,” he went on, shaking off his wandering thoughts. “Halmoni is dependent on the sale of her produce, which she sells at the local market; however, business had been rough since the death of the first girl, two months ago. I found out how halmoni had been unable to sell enough to make do, and that she was hiding this from me because she did not want me to worry. Combine that with her dwindling health, and you might understand why I was in a constant state of nerves.” Chanyeol was back at the basket, gently placing more flowers on top of their other goods, and he kept his voice soft and free of judgement as he tried to piece everything together.  “So you took the risk in the hopes that giving yourself to me would bring peace to the kingdom, so that ultimately she would be able to pick up her life again. Did I get that right?”  “Yes, mostly,” Baekhyun admitted, thinking of his grandmother and what she would be doing now. He could only hope his disappearance had fixed everything right away, that she was back to taking care of the animals and travelling to the market with Junmyeon, but he knew that was wishful thinking. The kingdom would not come out of hiding for some time, until it was clear the Deimos was no longer a threat, and until then his grandmother would be going out of her mind with worry for him. Worry and anger.   ‘I told you not to get involved in this. I told you to stay away ’ he could almost hear her argue, that stern look on her face that she had whenever she would scold him. He had seen it often enough to picture it quite clearly, and the image made him miss her a little more.  “I know she has probably cursed me for leaving,” he chuckled joylessly, “but if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would still choose this.” Chanyeol was there, seated not too far away from him, and he had this quizzical tone to his voice when he asked the human: “You would? Why?”  Why? Because he could not have lived with his sorrow any longer, could not ignore the pangs of his conscience and the feeling of responsibility now there was no one else to take care of his halmoni. It had been time for him to repent, and so here he was.  “I have carried this… guilt with me for over ten years,” he hesitantly declared, realising he was about to reveal the truth and put it in words for the first time in his life. To accept the blame he had been trying to free himself of for half his life.  “It has shaped me, and it is ingrained in every fibre of my being. By offering myself to you, I have paid my debt in full, because it was me... “ he choked up, felt his eyebrows come together in a pained frown, and his lower lip trembled as he all but forced the words past his lips. “I was the reason her daughter and son-in-law were taken away from her, I was the cause of my parents’ death, and I will never be able to make that right, no matter what.” The tears came then, rolling down his cheeks like thick drops of rain, and he gritted his teeth as his vision went blurry, though not blurry enough that he could not see how Chanyeol was moving closer to him. The demon was shushing him quietly, tugging on Baekhyun’s body until he fell into his lover’s embrace, and once he felt the warmth of it, he started to sob even louder.  Chanyeol kissed the top of his head, tugged the boy’s dress up so he could move his legs, and then he pulled Baekhyun into his lap, chest to chest and the human’s face hidden against his neck. He let him cry like that, wetness trickling down his skin, and Baekhyun slowly felt himself become grounded because Chanyeol was so grounded.  “I do not believe that,” the Deimos said once the smaller had finally quieted down, the tears no longer loud enough to overpower his voice. He traced a hand up and down Baekhyun’s spine, trying to be a source of comfort and consolation, even though the human felt he deserved neither. “How could you be to blame? You were not part of the king’s army, were you?”  “No,” Baekhyun admitted feebly, his cheek pressed to Chanyeol’s collarbone as he sniffed from time to time. He stared ahead blankly, recalling the week before that tragic day, and though it made his heart feel heavy, he still managed to speak. “But my father felt it coming. He knew something was up and he suggested we flee, for our safety rather than his own. He managed to convince my mother, who had been reluctant because of halmoni, but he could not convince me. I did not want to leave. I had my friends, I had Junmyeon and- and the forest.” His heavy heart sank even deeper under the burdensome memories of that fateful day; his disobedience, his selfish ignorance. They hurt even now.  “On the day they were killed, my father had packed up our things and told me there was nothing he could do: we had to leave.” Baekhyun whispered his confession against the demon’s flesh, feeling there was no better place to admit to his failure than with a creature who had committed heinous crimes himself. “But instead of listening to him and being a good son, I ran away like the brat I was. I escaped to the forest, where I felt most at home, and while I was gone, my parents…”  He did not finish, did not need to for Chanyeol to understand how the story ended. It was the worst decision he had made in his life, and the one thing he wished he could redo. If only he had listened, then his life would have turned out so very differently.  “But how could you have known?” his lover countered, trying to absolve Baekhyun of the blame, something he had gotten quite good at himself at some point in time. “You were so young? You must have been what… twelve?”  “Ten,” Baekhyun corrected.  “Ten,” Chanyeol repeated, clearly even more convinced now. “How could a ten-year-old child have known what was about to happen? How could you have known?”  “I couldn’t have, I know that, but I should have listened. I should not have thrown a tantrum, should not have run off just to see some boy whose name I didn't even know. A boy who disappeared all the same. I had lost my parents, and then I lost him too, gone without a trace, without any goodbye… No, I should have listened.” At some point during his story, Chanyeol had gone rigid, perfectly quiet except for the shaky exhale of air that made it past his lips, and Baekhyun was about to ask about it when the demon breathed, “What did you just say?”  It was impossible to make out what part of his story the Deimos had been referring to, and so he stammered out an unsure, “What?” that made Chanyeol push him away from him.  He moved Baekhyun back enough to meet his gaze, ignoring the sudden fright in the human’s questioning eyes, and he let his eyes roam so he could take in every inch of his lover’s face. It was as if he was seeing him in a new light, as if something had changed, and Baekhyun knew he should have understood from the question that followed, but he was still completely in the dark.  “You ran off to the forest to see a boy?” the Deimos’s voice was sharp, much higher than his usual tone of voice, and his eyes were so bright and sparkly that the human only felt his confusion grow. Was that not what he had said? Had he made a mistake that Chanyeol was pointing out now?  “Yes? Why?”  “That day…” Chanyeol was cupping his face now, his breath washing over Baekhyun’s lips as he leaned in close enough that the human could see the specks of gold in chocolate brown irises. “Were you crying? Did you cry in his arms until he made you smile by chasing a butterfly for you?” The question was so specific, too detailed to make sense, not to mention it was remarkably accurate. “How do you-” Baekhyun started bewilderedly, only for Chanyeol to floor him by interrupting him with a young, “Hyunnie?” This could not be real. It could not possibly be.  The way the Deimos had used this nickname, the way he had known the story, it was impossible, and yet it sparked a reaction so overwhelmingly emotional that Baekhyun could barely breathe.  “You- you- but how ?” It was an important question, because although the human surely did not remember all from that time, he was absolutely certain that the boy he had met with all those years ago had had skin as sun kissed as his. He had worn commoner’s clothes, and there had been no horns, no wings, no tail. It could not have been Chanyeol, could it? “You did not think I was born this way, right?” the demon asked with a bright chuckle, as stunned by Baekhyun’s mistaken ideas of his kind as he was by the fact that they had reunited. Had they truly reunited?  “You were not?” the human heard himself ask, completely detached from reality as he tried to find any familiarity in Chanyeol’s features that would make him realise that, yes, this was the boy he had spent his childhood days with. He could not find any. “No, and neither will you give birth to a child with skin like mine. It took time to grow into my final form, and the same will go for our baby,” the Deimos explained briefly, not at all interested in elaborating on the particulars. “I cannot believe it though, that it is you . I thought I would never see you again.” “I thought I would never see you again,” Baekhyun countered, emotion back in his voice as new unshed tears burned behind his eyes. “I looked up to you so much, and then you just disappeared and left me all alone. You had not even given me a name, always making me call you hyung, so when I tried to ask around… nothing.”  Chanyeol’s thumbs stroked his cheekbones, regret and pain shining through his gaze as he tried to reveal the essence of his story, wishing to make Baekhyun understand. “I did not give you a name because my mom always told me not to share it with others. And my leaving was not up to me. Just like your family was threatened, so was mine. That was the year the king killed every Deimos he could get his hands on, marking the downfall of my kind, and the last day we spoke, he murdered my father, my siblings too.” "Only my mother got away, and they let her because she was human, but they had slaughtered everyone she loved. Or so they thought. Because you… you saved me, Hyunnie,” Chanyeol’s voice was filled with passion, and his eyes were bright and pleading for Baekhyun to understand him.  “We were out there playing in the fields when it happened, and my skin had not yet betrayed my true nature, unlike my siblings, who had matured before me. On my way home, my mother found me, and she took me away from here. Away from those who wished to harm me, to the home where I have stayed ever since, only returning now to fulfil my duty of continuing the bloodline.” Baekhyun could see it now, the young boy who had made him laugh more than anyone, being forced to run because of what he was. Growing up in a place where no royalty would look for him, but feeling that inevitable pull of home once it became time to create offspring.  Their stories were eerily similar, filling him with a heartache he had last felt long ago. They had been pushed apart by irreparable loss, torn up by unspeakable grief at the hands of their mighty king, but had found their way back through ardent hope that had to have been the work of fate. How else could one explain everything that had led them here, back into each other’s arms? “I thought I had gone crazy,” Baekhyun finally said, so overwhelmed by the strength of his feelings that he could barely put them into words. “I thought I had imagined you all that time, because no matter where I looked, you were nowhere to be found.” “You looked for me?” Chanyeol asked, clearly perplexed by this. Which begged the question of whether he even knew how important he had been to Baekhyun back in those days. “Of course I did,” he tried not to sound insulted. “I missed you. Even as I got older, I always felt this pull to the forest. Always thought that, if I were to run out the back gate like I used to, you would be there waiting for me. Even after years had passed without any sign of you, I still missed your laughter, the warm hugs and the fun we had.”  “Baekhyun-ah…” Chanyeol’s voice was breathy, and he shook his head as he pulled the boy’s face to him without hesitation, swiftly smashing their lips together. The demon kissed him demandingly, as if the loss was fresh and raw as he suddenly remembered what it had been like to miss one another. It felt that way for both of them.  “When you wandered into the woodlands, coming to find me,” the demon whispered once he broke away, keeping their foreheads closely pressed together, “I thought of how I used to wait for Hyunnie like that. How he would come running much the same, but I never thought…”  Baekhyun found himself smiling, bringing up his hands to cup his lover’s face as lovingly as the man was holding his, and he uttered, fully in awe: “The world works in mysterious ways.” The demon laughed, the sound crystal clear, and there it was. There, a flicker of recognition that suddenly made it impossible not to see the truth in front of his eyes. How he had missed it all this time he did not know, but now that he had heard it, he could not unhear it. This was the boy his younger self had set his eyes on, the object of his first, innocent infatuation, which had now somehow blossomed into something much deeper. And truly, the world did work in mysterious ways. “You have grown even prettier than you already were back then,” Chanyeol stated, having already disregarded the disbelief that was still somewhat present in Baekhyun’s mind. He accepted it easily, how fortune had smiled upon them, and now spent his time reminiscing about the past, comparing it to the present. “I remember your long hair, remember thinking you were so very beautiful, and now…”  “Now we are here,” Baekhyun smiled, feeling a light blush settle on his cheeks at the compliments. “You, grown into a man, and me, pregnant with your child.” Chanyeol kissed him again, something he had been unable to stop ever since he had first done it two days ago. Whenever they got close, they would end up with their lips locked, quickly losing themselves to the fierceness of newborn love. Baekhyun felt this heady exhilaration rushing through his veins whenever their mouths met, this burning knowledge that this was his new life, and realising they were more deeply connected than he had thought only made it worse. “Every time you say it, I feel these butterflies in my stomach. Is that foolish?” The Deimos admitted elatedly as he wrapped his arms loosely around Baekhyun’s waist, pulling him in again. “No,” the human nuzzled his nose against Chanyeol’s, the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. “I feel them too.”  He could barely believe they were really there, in each other’s arms after a decade of having been apart, unknowingly having been brought together again by a fate neither of them could have foretold all those years ago.  “Maybe this was always meant to happen. Would that be so inconceivable?” Chanyeol voiced the exact thoughts that had occupied Baekhyun’s mind, and it was all the more proof that maybe he was right. Maybe every choice in life had led them here and they had not had a say in it whatsoever, regardless of how they thought they had had.  “No, not at all.”  He was the one to kiss his lover this time, hungrily pushing his tongue past Chanyeol’s lips so he could taste him. His hands slipped into unbraided hair, tangling in the messy mane until he managed to grip the locks at the base of the demon’s skull.  Lightly pulling on them, Baekhyun angled their faces to his liking, tenderly sliding their tongues together, and that sparked a fire in his abdomen he knew would lead to nothing but trouble.  Chanyeol groaned, his hands suddenly gripping the human’s hips, and though Baekhyun knew it was an implied warning, he did not heed it one bit. He kissed the demon harder, moaning into his mouth, and only when he gasped for air did he breathe out a hoarse, “Maybe I have always been yours.” Dark irises and even darker pupils fixed on Baekhyun’s mouth, his plump, well-kissed lips, and he could spot the exact moment where Chanyeol lost his patience. Something snapped within him, got the demon to grab him more tightly before he smoothly got to his feet and pushed the human up against the tree.  Baekhyun whimpered as the trunk scratched his back, though the dress protected him from the rough structure of its bark. Still he gasped for air, arching into Chanyeol’s hold, and he loved how animalistic the demon got when he came on this strongly. “Are you aware of what you are doing to me, Baekhyun-ah?” The demon’s jaw was tense, his breathing loud as he dug the nails of his right hand in the bark of the tree next to Baekhyun’s head. The human could make out the sound of bits crumbling off and falling to the ground, reminding him of the strength the Deimos possessed, and he swallowed dryly before he answered.  “Very much so, I’m afraid.” He had barely said the words before Chanyeol was dropping him, unwinding the human’s legs from around his waist and forcing him to stand on his own two feet. Baekhyun stumbled like that, feeling himself falling backwards, but then the demon spun him around to face the tree trunk. His hand caught his fall, making him lean over slightly, and his back was perfectly arched for Chanyeol to hoist his dress up and allow the fabric to bunch on his lower back.  With his ass exposed to the cool air, Baekhyun felt an uncontrollable shiver run through him. A shiver that worsened when the Deimos traced the smooth curve of his buttocks, sweetly squeezing one cheek before he let it go again. It jiggled slightly, Baekhyun could feel it bounce, and his hole responded by clenching pathetically as if the touch was far more obscene than it truly was.  “Is this what you were hoping would happen?” The demon asked, his tail curling upward around the human’s left leg to make him stand with his feet somewhat apart, his slutty cunt visible to the world.  It made the human gasp, everything going out of focus as a sudden explosion of lust erupted within him. He felt his pussy throb wildly, his breathing coming fast, and he whined long and deep while he hung his head between his arms. “Yes.” For a brief moment his mind brought him back to a lifetime ago, when he had first met Chanyeol and they had skipped through the forest playing tag. Back to where he had felt this exciting shock of electricity whenever his friend would touch him, a hand on his back or arms around his shoulder, and where cute puppy love had been all there was to it. Oh, how young and innocent they had been, so unaware of the ways in which their bodies would one day yearn to be one, over and over again.  “What was that?” The demon asked, his tail high up around Baekhyun’s thigh, the end of it firmly pressed against the boy’s balls and the base of his hardening cock. The human swayed on his feet, yelping when he felt the touch of a hand between his cheeks, and it was not nearly as hesitant as it had been that very first time, days ago.  No, now Chanyeol unceremoniously rubbed at his rim with the pads of his middle and ring finger, the dry touch soon becoming wet as Baekhyun’s arousal was spread around his hole with little compassion for how quickly it was driving him up the wall. “Please, Chanyeol,” he clarified, hoping his request would be good enough to charm the demon into fucking him. “Touch me. Mark me. Take me .” He doggedly pushed his hips back, trying to get more of his lover’s fingers, and as he cried loud enough for the sound to reverberate, he knew he had pressed exactly the right buttons. Chanyeol’s protectiveness took over, the line between wanting others to hear and not wishing to attract any unwanted attention so fine that he gave in much quicker than predicted.  “Goodness, Hyunnie, I never anticipated for you to be this… wanton.” Chanyeol sounded incredibly affected by the human’s actions, and Baekhyun filled it in for himself, the word that should have been used: whore.  If the prince could see him now, begging for the Deimos’s cock three days after first having taken it, he would absolutely lose his mind. After all, Baekhyun had never been this libidinous around him, had never moaned his head off like he was doing now, and Yi Geum would surely throw him out like the tainted slut he was if he were to find out. For some reason, it only made Baekhyun harder, his balls taut and cunt sodden, sopping wet with arousal.  “I never anticipated for you to feel so good inside of me,” he threw back, his cheek resting against his own shoulder so his head would not loll between his arms again. His face was warm, eyelids fluttering as the chilly air attacked his heated skin, but he did not worry about the cold. Chanyeol was hot as a furnace, and as he breached the human’s ring of muscle with his middle finger, Baekhyun knew it was only a matter of time before it would feel like the sun had enveloped him. The Deimos’s finger penetrated him effortlessly, locating his prostate almost instantly, and the jolt of pleasure that shocked him was perfectly glorious. It made his jaw go slack, his eyes finally falling shut, and he furiously gyrated his hips to chase the feeling. “There, again.” He had half a mind to worry about being out of line, bossing around a demon like this, but Chanyeol obliged without a word. Massaging the tight bundle of nerves, he gripped Baekhyun’s waist with his free hand, pushing him forward until his back was flat and level. “I am trying to be a gentleman, to take the time to properly court you, and yet you keep luring me into your trap,” the Deimos told him while he leisurely dragged his finger along the entrance to Baekhyun’s birth canal, merely checking to see whether it was still protecting the place where his baby was growing bigger by the day. “It is almost as if you are the demon instead of me. How much patience do you think a creature like me possesses?” The human’s legs were trembling, overwhelmed by pleasure, and he was gripping the tree as tightly as he could but his hands were close to slipping. His cheeks were undoubtedly a pretty shade of pink by now, blood rushing to his head absurdly fast, and yet there was still only one of Chanyeol’s fingers sliding along his walls.  “Far too much, it appears,” Baekhyun brought out wistfully, not realising how bratty he sounded until the words had left him. And well, that sure sped things up a lot.  It all happened so quickly, Chanyeol’s tail uncurling from around his leg and his finger disappearing promptly, and the speed with which he countered Baekhyun’s defiance reminded the human of how little he would have on the Deimos if he were to try and fight him. Because before he knew it, his arms were above his head, wrists bound together, and his entire body was pressed up against the innocent beech tree.  His dress had slipped down, but Chanyeol was quick to jack it back up, his left hand landing on the boy’s naked hip. “Alright then. Playtime is over.” His voice had lowered an octave, which made Baekhyun’s gut drop too, and he swallowed hard the moment the Deimos drew his hip back just enough for eager fingers to find their way back between perfectly-rounded cheeks. It was far less graceful this time as two thick digits roughly shoved up his cunt at once, and Baekhyun got pushed onto the balls of his feet as they drove deep inside his pussy. He hissed fiercely at the roughness of the bark, chafing his chest through the fabric of his dress, but the demon did not release his hold on him even a little. It was far more pleasurable than it should be, and the embarrassment he felt for being taken this harshly only made him more aroused, like a dog in heat. “My little lamb,” Chanyeol growled against the shell of his ear, spreading his fingers to stretch his lover’s hole and get him ready for the girth of his cock. “Always acting so innocent and pure, until the wolf comes a little too close, and then you’re bleating in despair, crying for my… what did you call it again?”  Baekhyun’s head was spinning, delicious humiliation holding him captive, but he still croaked out the word because Chanyeol had asked. “Cock. Your cock.” He could feel the demon’s breath against the nape of his neck, his braids having fallen over his shoulders, and the fingers in his pussy retreated for a moment only to push back in with the addition of a third, widening his rim even more.  “ Ahh .” His whimper was evidently laced with the fresh pain of being stretched after two days of no intercourse, but he welcomed it in spite of the ache. It would be worth it. “My cock, right,” Chanyeol mused, the word sounding so chaste coming from him, but Baekhyun knew better than to trust the language of a demon who had little connection to the human world. His actions spoke far louder than words ever could, which he proved that instant by removing his fingers and aligning his body with his lover’s.  The demon’s length rubbed along the cleft of the boy’s ass, teasing without being even close to entering him, and he was even harder than Baekhyun was, dripping precum against his lower back. It made the human feel so small, so damned needy too, and he wished he could properly convey just how much he wanted Chanyeol, but there was no way he could describe this desire. Not a chance. “Do you think you can take me?” The Deimos asked boldly, not a shred of abashment in his voice. It was a valid question, considering just how big he was, but he should have known Baekhyun was no longer fazed by his size. His sopping wet hole should have made it quite clear he was waiting to take it, but apparently it was deemed necessary to beg, and in response to it, the human’s bratty side resurfaced.  “I thought we had just established I was made for you?” He retorted, daring to turn his head to the side so he could glance at Chanyeol.  The Deimos’s eyes were dark, raging even, and Baekhyun loved how it caused a tremendous excitement that was like a drug to his system. It went without saying, with the prideful demon having been rendered speechless, that he was about to get another dose. “Well then,” was all his lover said, the hand on Baekhyun’s hip tightening almost painfully. “Let nature bear witness.” Chanyeol began riding his ass, slicking himself up with the precum which had dripped on the small of Baekhyun’s back, and the human arched it further to accommodate. His chest pressed to the bark a little firmer, his hips tilting backwards, and he waited like that; his body at the Deimos’s disposal.  A maze of trees were all he could see, their trunks as sturdy as the one he was resting against, and he dazedly stared at all the greenery until something else caught his eye. Something big and majestic, something that got him to gasp under his breath as his gaze fixed on it. A male deer was stepping through the foliage, eyes alert but calm, and Baekhyun took in its elegant and strong physique, its sleek fur and regal antlers that were so very different from Chanyeol’s horns. The stag had not yet noticed them, was merely enjoying the splendour of the forest it called home, but soon the tranquil moment was broken. For it was then that the demon parted his cheeks and nudged the human’s rim with his cockhead, and Baekhyun moaned loud enough for the deer’s head to snap their way in awareness.  Big brown eyes found him, locking in for a split second in which Baekhyun felt utterly humiliated at getting exposed. It may not have been a human who had caught him giving his body to a creature distinctly nonhuman, but it did not change the fact how he was being watched as the demon delved in, slamming home in one, rough thrust.  This time when he cried out, the deer was startled enough to dart away, and Baekhyun felt secretly relieved by it. It allowed him to let go, to dismiss all but their entangled bodies, and tuning into his emotions magnified everything. He was being pushed up on his toes, his body leaning fully against the tree, and he felt so full he thought he might split in half. Chanyeol wrapped an arm around his waist, rocking up into his pussy as much as he could with the little space at hand, but the impact of his thrusts was far from satisfying.  Before long, Baekhyun was mewling the demon’s name, showing his discontentedness, and the man reluctantly pulled out of him with a tortured groan. Twirling the boy around, he used the strength of his tail as well as the grip he had on Baekhyun’s waist to lift him up. His back was forced against the tree like that, and his legs knew what to do once they came off the ground, wrapping themselves around Chanyeol’s waist in a heartbeat. It made it easy for the demon to enter him again, his fat cock slipping so much deeper, keeping the human impaled on his length.  Once he was, Chanyeol’s tail released its hold on him, allowing Baekhyun to drop his hands to his lover’s shoulders, and he clutched them ravenously to keep himself from falling. He was certain his skin would end up full of scratches with how his back was being grated against the wood bark on every thrust, but he could not find it in himself to care. Not when he felt this good.  “You are so big,” he breathed thickly, looking at Chanyeol through hooded eyes, his lips parted and tiny gasps leaving him on every exhale.  He could tell how the demon approved of his words, how much they stroked his ego, because he went that tiny bit more feral in response to it. Forcing Baekhyun down on his cock each time he bucked his hips up, his chest puffed in a way that made him appear bigger, more masculine. “And you are so tight.” The human traced a hand up the side of Chanyeol’s neck, curving his fingers around the back, and he applied as much force as he could with how wildly he was being jostled around. It was a silent demand, one the demon had no trouble understanding, and so he leaned in to fulfil Baekhyun’s unspoken wish of being kissed. Full, parted lips pressed to an eager mouth, not for the first time ever but for the first time while they were connected, and somehow it altered his entire universe. Because Baekhyun could not breathe, could not speak, could not do anything but kiss back the man who was fucking him the way lovers were intended to fuck. Without inhibition, erotic and primal, blissfully unaware of the world around them.  Their tongues met in a playful duel, both trying to prove their lust was superlative, but neither would be reduced to beggary. In the game of love, they were both victorious, having bonded in a way that was almost unfathomable. “You taste good,” Baekhyun smiled against Chanyeol’s lips when the kiss broke momentarily, and it was followed by a faint whimper when the demon thrust in hard and hit his mark. “Ahh, so good.” The Deimos continued to lick into his mouth, swallowing every single sound he made, until his patience had run thin and Baekhyun could feel his thick cock throbbing warmly from within. That was when they truly broke apart, focusing on the overwhelming pleasure coming from where their bodies were connected.  “Need you,” Chanyeol grunted, his movements shallow but so erratic that he was like a dog in rut. He was clearly trying to be gentle, knowing his mate was not only human but pregnant too and that came with limitations, but he was hopelessly failing at it. Much to Baekhyun’s liking.  He wanted Chanyeol to let go, to not constantly worry about hurting him, because he could take this now. There was only the slight sting of being stretched and the feeling of the demon’s cock being too big to fit, but there was nothing driving him to tears or pushing him towards unconsciousness. And so he imploringly begged, spilling his words into the man’s willing mouth. “Then take me. Take what you deserve.” Chanyeol kissed him hard, harder, pressed him up against the tree and captured the boy’s bottom lip between his teeth. He sucked on it while he made sure their bodies were steady, and Baekhyun mewled wantonly as shocks of excitement numbed him. The demon released his lip at the sound, focused on stilling his hips and raising his hands to grip onto Baekhyun’s wrists. He brought them together before his imposing tail swept in and wrapped around them like a rope, and once it had tied them up, the human’s arms were raised high above his head, pushing out his chest.  “So pretty,” Chanyeol attentively eyed him, slowly letting his gaze roam from the boy’s clad upper body to where the dress was pooling at his waist, his leaking cock only just visible. “Tell me if it hurts, my dear. Alright?” Baekhyun nodded his head, his bound hands making it hard for him to do so, but then the Deimos released some of the tension on his arms. For a brief moment in time, Baekhyun felt like he was free falling, and he yelped loudly while tightening his legs around the man’s hips, right as the sensation dissolved again.  His pulse slowed, the fear in his heart now gone, and once his mind was clear again, he realised the demon had made him lean backwards. He was hanging at a slight incline, which apparently allowed for easier access, as Baekhyun got to see where the man’s cock disappeared between his legs much clearer now. Having stepped away from the tree, Chanyeol had more space to move, while Baekhyun had nothing to rely on but his trust. If the demon’s tail would loosen too much, he would certainly crash to the ground, and yet he knew the likelihood of that happening was zero.  Chanyeol’s hands pushed up the boy’s dress, his palms finding the naked skin of his mate’s hips, and it revealed the cute, little swell of Baekhyun’s lower abdomen. It was such a turn on to think of what had caused it, and he loved the way his partner groaned as if it was simply too much existing like this. He tightened his hold, lifted Baekhyun off his cock, and then he slammed him back down without any finesse.  The result was instantaneous: Baekhyun dropped his head back and gave in to the slump of his body, while Chanyeol lost grip on his sanity. He slammed home again, setting a pace so wild and inexhaustible that the human worried his pussy would be gaping for eternity.  “Yeol,” he crooned, completely paralysed by the blinding pleasure that was being fired at him from all sides. He could not move, could neither meet the demon’s thrusts nor shy away from them, and the onslaught on his prostate made him so weak in the legs that they were close to losing strength.  Chanyeol moaned incessantly, steadily wrecking the boy’s cunt while he brought him down on his cock time and time again. His touch was bruising, his desire so allconsuming that Baekhyun was nothing but a toy that he used for his own satisfaction, and that just made it hotter. The urgency with which the demon fucked him was maddening, and both of them were loud, loud enough for their voices to echo through the forest, but there was no one there to hold back for. Only the world could hear the fleshly deeds they were partaking in, and let no one but mother nature be the judge of their sins.  “My dear, you feel divine,” Chanyeol praised him breathily, still fucking Baekhyun at a speed which he could not even comprehend, and the human was so close to orgasm they could both sense it. The way his stomach rose and fell a little too irregularly, his pussy clenching so tightly, and then the high pitched little puppy whines that turned into one long winded mewling sound. The loud smacking of skin against skin drowned out anything else, and Baekhyun swore he was falling even though the hands on his waist were as strong as could be. He was plummeting towards something far more perilous than the ground; something so addictive he already could not go without.  “Kiss me,” he begged through the fog, needing the physical touch more than anything. “ Please , kiss me.” Chanyeol’s tail pulled him up, and then his large palms were on the human’s back, dragging him closer. Their foreheads touched first, bringing on a moment of clarity, and then Baekhyun tipped up his chin right as the Deimos surged down to meet him.  The kiss was bruising, heightening evere sense and forcing pleasure to every crevice of his soul, and Baekhyun had never before reached an orgasm this quickly. The swipe of a tongue along his bottom lip, the strain of his arms and curve of his back; those were what set him off.  With his body rendered completely useless, only his mouth able to partake in the union of their bodies, he all but disintegrated. Like a wave crashing onto shore and dying a swift death. Chanyeol was not even touching him, his pitiful cock begging for more friction, for anything other than the way it pathetically brushed against his own stomach on every thrust. It should not have been enough, but it was, for he was spurting white against his own hip, his belly, his chest. His reddened cockhead twitched with every shock, and he wailed when the demon slammed him back down on his cock, hitting his prostate dead on.  Had it not been for his lover’s tail holding him up at the wrist, he would have surely collapsed now, every nerve ending in his body malfunctioning and turning him into a disjointed marionette. He sagged deeper, his body heavier than ever, and still Chanyeol managed to fuck him with the same intensity he had been doing until then. “So pretty,” the Deimos, his lover, his mate groaned huskily. One hand left Baekhyun’s back to steady itself against the tree, and it was the only sign giving away how Chanyeol could not hold it together anymore either. His hips stuttered, his cock barely leaving Baekhyun’s pussy anymore, and the human kissed him through the haze, through the breathlessness he was experiencing, to lure him over the edge.  With their lips melted together, a delicate press that left room to gasp for air, Chanyeol buried deep in the human’s warmth and came. Shuddering so violently that Baekhyun could feel it in his thighs, he emptied his seed in the boy’s cunt, reclaiming territory that was rightfully his. “Chanyeol,” the human whispered brokenly, his breathing hitching as the demon’s release seemed to just go on and on. His belly felt incredibly full, satiated and hot now it was bulging with cum, and he revelled in the glory of it while he could. Because soon Chanyeol would pull out his softening length, leaving Baekhyun so painfully empty, and all his seed would come gushing out.  The Deimos kissed his lips, which had gone dry and chapped from how much he had been panting for air, and then dropped tiny pecks to his nose and forehead. He licked away the sheen of sweat which had beaded on the human’s brow, ending his trail of kisses at the boy’s temple, where his mouth lingered while they came down from their highs. Baekhyun felt a sense of pride knowing he had been able to take Chanyeol’s girth without needing whatever pain relief the demon could provide, even if he was certain it would have been different had the man penetrated his birth canal. He had still managed to be a good mate, been the kind of partner he had always wanted to be, and best of all: he had been rewarded for it in ways far too unholy.  When he clenched down, still lost in how good he was feeling, Chanyeol hissed and gently stepped closer to the tree. Baekhyun’s bruised, sore back came in contact with it, but he was grateful he would be able to give his strained thighs a break at last. The press of his body against the trunk was firmer now, no painful scraping of his skin along the bark, and he sighed in relief and tipped his head back.  “You bastard,” he laughed, the sound wobbly and a little too giggly, and the demon leaned in to kiss the profanity off his lips. He smiled, the silent question of ‘why?’ visible in his eyes, but Baekhyun would have answered it even if he had not seen it there.  He let himself drown in the familiarity of Chanyeol’s eyes, which was impossible not to now that he knew, and it stole him of his breath the same way it used to all those years ago. “I have been waiting for you for so long. How dare you keep me waiting like that?”  Baekhyun’s arms were brought down to his abdomen before they were finally released, and they fell limply to his sides. He truly felt like a puppet whose strings had gotten all tied up, and now he was waiting for his master to disentangle them. Chanyeol, however, made no haste to tend to them, instead he simply stared at his mate as Baekhyun tried to ignore the pins and needles rushing to his fingers. “Hyunnie,” he started then, waiting for Baekhyun’s gaze to meet his. When their eyes inevitably locked, a hand found its way to the human’s face, cupping it sweetly with a thumb against a cheekbone.  In that moment, both of them were aware of their shared pasts, and both were living in the present, but far more important than that was the brightness of their future. Chanyeol’s hand found his belly, pressed down to where he could feel himself still deep inside Baekhyun’s warmth, and he searched for where the product of their mating was already growing.  “You were then - and are now - the sun my world revolves around. You have consumed my heart, my body, and my soul. And the world may not have been on our side before, but it is now. We are here, together, the three of us.” Baekhyun’s strings were being untied one by one with every word that dripped from Chanyeol’s lips. His world was slowly rearranging itself, and blessed with a moment of clarity, he saw his life in a new light. It flashed behind his closed eyes, the image of a boy slightly taller than him running ahead, his hair bouncing up and down in the wind as the laughter of two young boys mixed in the air.  The memory filled him with a profound kind of love, and reminded him of the inevitability of fate. Because the vision changed, morphing just slightly until he could see his current self running through the trees with the same laughter in his ears and the same carefree feeling in his chest. He could see himself a few years down the line, living the kind of life he used to have as a young boy, but this time he would take on the role of the parent. With Chanyeol by his side and their children running around their legs. It was all at the tips of his fingers, right there within reach, and it seemed to be part of a bigger plan that had been written just for him. Nonetheless, nothing was set in stone, and Baekhyun knew he had been the writer of his own story. He could have made a million different decisions along the way, could choose differently even now, but he did not want to. He felt at home right where he was, with Chanyeol’s grip on his body strong and desirous, immensely aware of how the demon could have made a million different decisions along the way as well. Everything they had done, every version of themselves they had been, had led to this. To being each other’s destiny, their dream upon a wishing star, and who would run from that? Who could even consider it an option? “The three of us,” Baekhyun repeated, one hand finding its way between their bodies to where Chanyeol was touching him, and he curled his fingers in the gaps between the demon’s, entwining them until they had weaved together the same way their souls had; an inseparable entity fuelled by love.

⁂

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The next two days were spent in a bubble of happiness, where the world ceased to exist and nothing but the three of them mattered.  Chanyeol showed him the location of a nest, which was perched high up in the trees and would be the place where he would give birth to their child. The Deimos had clarified how it would be safer up there once he would near the end of his pregnancy, as most of their enemies did not possess the ability to fly, but with the cold of early spring still reigning every April night, they would remain huddled in the demon’s cave until milder days lay ahead.  It was where Baekhyun spent most of his time, even though he was allowed to leave as he pleased, albeit under strict supervision. He was simply too nauseous to move, hated how much the world would spin whenever he would walk around, and he decided it would be better to wait for this phase of the pregnancy to pass before he would use his opportunity to explore the forest.  More often than not, he would sit by the fireplace, warming himself up in the hopes it would soothe his aching bones. Or he would lie curled up on their bed, often with the body of his concerned lover pressed against his back. But the heat of the flames and intimacy of skinship could only alleviate his symptoms to some extent, and so his sickness never truly went away. He was seated near the fire now, while the Deimos had gone out, running off with a sense of urgency after his mate had broken a sweat that left him clammy and faint. Baekhyun knew the demon was foraging herbs for his tea and gathering fruits to feed him, and though it was necessary, he struggled being without Chanyeol. He imagined the Deimos scouring the forest for more ginger roots, filled with a constant dread and worry of what the carrier of his child would be going through as he pondered over new remedies to try. Baekhyun had been downing ginger tea for the past twenty four hours, had remembered how the crown princess used to drink it in the early stages of her pregnancy, and it had certainly helped with the dizziness. But each time Chanyeol would return from his hunt, he would bring something new, something he believed might help, even if most of his hypotheses were rejected.  As he stared into the fire, the remnants of his tea left in the mug, Baekhyun felt the least poorly he had done since the first bout of nausea had hit him. It was strange to think only six days had passed since Chanyeol had found him. Six days since the moment of conception that had changed everything. It felt like he had experienced months worth of life in such a short time, and the next few weeks would be no different. His belly was a little bloated. Baekhyun had one hand pressed to it, as if he could already feel their child, although it was far too early for that. Still, the slight protrusion of his womb made his heart swell, reminding him of how he was in fact pregnant even if he could not physically see it yet. Five more weeks, give or take, and he would be holding their baby, but until then, his body would be changing radically by the day. The tiny bulge was one of the strongest telltale signs of his carrying, though perhaps all the more obvious was the way his chest was already developing. Chanyeol had told him he would start producing milk early on, since his body had far smaller ducts than a female. It meant that five days in, which was comparable to a month and a half in a normal human pregnancy, he had already grown a dainty cleavage. He filled out the very palm of his hand, and it was something he had observed in wonder; how his body was changing so rapidly.  Sitting there near the fire, he closed his eyes and let his fingers wander. First up his torso, to feel the softness of his growing chest and the soreness of his nipples, and then back down his belly, dropping lower until they could dig into his pubes and brush along the base of his cock.  He thought back to that morning, when he had woken up a whimpering mess and Chanyeol had been the perfect mate by tending to his needs without having to be asked. Baekhyun envisioned the demon’s hand around him now as he leisurely touched himself, stroking his length the way Chanyeol had done hours ago, light and excruciatingly slowly.  It was harder to visualise the mouth on his chest, mostly because he always lost the ability to think whenever the demon sucked on a hardened bud, but the idea alone was erotic. Chanyeol had licked around the areola first before he had parted his plump lips and drawn the teat into his mouth, all the while his free hand had massaged the other side of Baekhyun’s chest.  The sucking had made the soreness worse at first, something the human recalled with great clarity, but his pained whimpers had turned into breathless moans not long after. Now it was one of his favourite things; the instant relief of the demon nursing a few drops of milk from his growing tits.  There was something so intimate about waking up to find his lover already resting his head on his chest, waiting for Baekhyun to rouse from his sleep to feed him. It had led to things far less innocent, hands wandering to burning skin, wishing to make up for what felt like lost time.  That morning, the demon had kissed him after, licking into his mouth to make Baekhyun taste himself on his tongue, and his hand had curled around the human’s half-hard cock to jerk him to completion. They had kissed, devouringly, lips crushed together until the demon’s ravenous mouth had returned to his red, perky nipples to taunt him. But it had been Chanyeol’s, “you taste so sweet, my dear,” which had made him shudder through his release. In the solitude of the Deimos’s burrow, Baekhyun threw his head back and shut his eyes, allowing the vivid film of his memories to play out on the back of his lids. He thought of the demon’s mouth on his neck, of the large, rough palm cupping his balls, and he tightened his fingers around his cock as he jerked himself faster. “ Yeol .” It was not his fault he was this desperate, that his libido had skyrocketed since Chanyeol had impregnated him, and he felt no shame for it anymore either. He wished his mate were here to kiss him, to lean his body into as he lost strength in his limbs, but all he had were his thoughts and the disappointment that was his own touch.  His mug almost crashed to the ground as he put it away, the need to caress himself becoming too overwhelming for only one hand to suffice, but he did not pause to put it someplace safe. Instead, he focused on his fingers as they inched up his chest to pinch a nipple, and the heat in his cheeks rivalled that of the fire at his feet.  “Nnghh.” His other hand fastened its pace, fingers forming a tight ring that the head of his cock kept slipping through, and he was sure the vein in his neck was popping with how desperate he was to get rid of the incessant buzzing sensation under his skin.  With his heart racing behind his ribcage, Baekhyun reached his second dry orgasm of the day. It washed over him peacefully, the way stepping into the sun would gradually bring in the warmth, and he exhaled for as long as it lasted. His body went slack, his hand faltering on the way up, and he leaned on his knee with one elbow as he caught his breath.  It was the fact that Chanyeol was away from him that made him feel this restless longing, he was aware of that. The Deimos had warned him he would turn even clingier once pregnant, and the farther apart they were, the more insatiable his hunger for his mate’s touch would get. It was torture, knowing the demon had left not even that long ago and it would be some time before his return, but there was nothing Baekhyun could do to change it.  For a moment, he contemplated sitting down at the desk to finally write the letter he had been thinking of writing. To put down on paper everything that had happened over the past week, to tell his grandmother how much he missed her and how she need not worry. But what would be the point of doing so if he would never get to give it to her? She was better off thinking he had died, as Baekhyun had more than his own life to think of now.  He got up and walked back to their bed instead, climbing on the immense cushion and curling into the spot that had become his. He could smell Chanyeol there, which was strangely comforting and helped subdue the ache he felt at having to miss him. Closing his eyes, Baekhyun tried to become as small of a ball as possible, and then he pressed his nose to the place where his mate’s scent was the strongest. “You better come back soon, you hear me?” he mumbled with a pout, fully aware there was not a chance Chanyeol was able to hear him, but he could imagine the trees passing along his message for him.  He fell asleep soon after, his arms wrapped around himself and his face turned into the sheets. He had the most peaceful dark dreams, keeping him in this wonderful slumber up to the moment a warm hand landed on his hip and the bed dipped, and Baekhyun instantly moved to fit himself against Chanyeol’s body as it lowered itself next to him.  The demon allowed him to wake up like that, holding his mate close and tracing each vertebrae of his spine, but there was something off about it all. Chanyeol’s silence was haunting, the tension in his muscles impossible to ignore, and it caused Baekhyun to blink away the sleep in his eyes much faster than he usually would have. “What’s wrong?” he mumbled, breaking free from the demon’s hold so he could look at Chanyeol’s face, and there was a mix of emotions swirling in his chocolate brown eyes. Baekhyun could see anger and fear most clearly, though there was worry and guilt there too, and it caused his heart to drop to the floor as he waited for an answer. “Chanyeol?”  The Deimos was reluctant to share what he had found out, but the touch of Baekhyun’s hand on his cheek was all it took for him to blurt it out.  “I saw your grandmother.” The world went quiet all of a sudden, reality pricking their bubble and letting in the bitter cold till he had gone completely numb. His fingers froze against Chanyeol’s heated skin, his eyes going dry as he was unable to blink, and his heart was being crushed by feelings of loss too powerful to push away.  “What? Where?” Chanyeol sat up at once, his shoulders slumped and his wings looking solemn as he sat facing away from Baekhyun. There was an overwhelming guilt in his posture, it was clear as day, but the human forced him to continue despite the dreary emotion that was growing like a weed in his stomach. “Chanyeol, please, tell me.” “She was on the very edge of the woodlands, far too close for her safety,” the Deimos shared at last, his voice growing softer on every word until they were barely a whisper as they left him, “and she was on her knees, crying for you.” It went silent then, as the severity of the situation got to Baekhyun. His halmoni, throwing caution to the wind to mourn her lost grandson, fully aware of what he had so foolishly decided on all those days ago.  He had run off knowing he would either die or become the Deimos’s mate, but he had never considered that the latter option meant he could still hear from the only family member he had left behind. Cutting ties had been difficult, but he had decided it should be doable if he were to never see the consequences of his own actions, yet here Chanyeol was, telling him how his grandmother was hurting for him, giving him a detailed description of just how much her grandson had broken her. “She kept begging for your body to be returned to her,” the Deimos added as the silence lingered, not sure how he should interpret Baekhyun’s lack of a response, “so she can mourn you properly, the way she deserves to.” It hit him hard, the words Chanyeol had chosen to use, even though they should not. To be fair, he had played into it himself, had left a goodbye letter with a purpose, but it still hurt how quickly his halmoni had come to accept his passing.  “She thinks I am dead.” He stated it with shock and disbelief in his voice, and his lover did not deny it.  “Not just her,” he said, suggesting he saw more than just Baekhyun’s grandmother, which managed to pique his interest slightly. “There was a young man who came to get her. He was very gentle in his persuasion, and she was unwilling to leave but let herself be led away regardless.” “Junmyeon…” Baekhyun mumbled, realising there was no one else the demon could be talking about. It had to be Junmyeon. Halmoni would not listen to anyone else. “He looked as upset as her, glancing back over his shoulder every once in a while when he was steering her back up the hill,” Chanyeol described, and sure, Junmyeon would worry about him too. He was Baekhyun’s best friend. Of course he would.  “But your halmoni,” the Deimos laughed joylessly, and he looked at his mate, who had not moved even an inch. “I can tell she has this fire in her soul, and I do not think she will let go quite so easily.” Baekhyun did not know what to make of that comment, but Chanyeol made it sound like a bad thing, and that got the human to panic. He held onto what the Deimos had said a few days before, when he had opened up about his parents and the demon had sworn he would not hurt Baekhyun’s grandmother, but at the same time he could not help but worry for her safety.  “It’s okay, if we just wait it out, she will give up. I promise she does not pose a threat-“ “A threat?” Chanyeol blinked in confusion, turning his upper body far enough to reach for one of Baekhyun’s hands, “I am not afraid of her interfering in any way, my dear. I am afraid she will not give up and will end up entering the forest in search of you. At her age, entirely unaccompanied, she would be an easy prey for plenty of wicked creatures.”  A sudden rush of relief flooded him, and he choked up realising Chanyeol was in fact thinking of protecting the person Baekhyun cared about most in this world, rather than wishing to hurt her. He should have trusted his gut to begin with, but his lover was still a half-demon, and he had killed before. It would not be such a weird thing to think. Anything to protect his pregnant mate, right?  “Oh,” he brought out, sounding as dumbfounded as he felt, but once he was jolted back to reality he shook his head to clear his thoughts, “she would not go that far, I believe. She raised me, told me everything about the creatures in the forest there is to know. She would not risk it.” His words got Chanyeol to chuckle, and Baekhyun felt the beginning of annoyance boiling in his veins. But that fire died quickly as the demon retorted with an explanation full of honesty, no bite to his words at all. “Exactly. She raised you, gave you a hundred different warnings, and you entered the forest in spite of those. Am I supposed to believe she would not do the same for her family? You are cut from the same wood, Baekhyun-ah. Who is to say she is not as stubborn as you were?”  She was. Baekhyun knew she was. It was why she had not told him about how much she was struggling to make a living, and why she always refused to take whatever her grandson was offering her. She was just like Baekhyun, or rather, Baekhyun was just like her, and that meant that Chanyeol’s worries might not be as unfounded as he had thought them to be.  It caused him to panic, sheer terror clutching his heart and squeezing it painfully until he could barely breathe anymore, and the demon felt it through the deadlock grip he had on his hand. Chanyeol shushed him, lifting Baekhyun’s hands to his lip to chase away some of the fog in his brain with tender lips pressed to his skin. “Hyunnie, it is alright, please breathe for me.”  A high-pitched squeal left Baekhyun’s throat as he tried to exhale, and his eyes were wide and would not close. All he could think of was his halmoni, being foolish enough to enter the woodlands seeking to find him, not caring if it would cost her her life because her reason for living had been taken away from her. And he realised then, she absolutely would. It was a miracle she had not done it yet, despite almost a week having passed, and Baekhyun figured it was probably the last bits of faith she was holding onto. He could still be alive, could still make it out back to her, but once hopelessness would swallow the last speck of light in her heart… “You need to-,” Baekhyun began, finally managing to get oxygen into his lungs again now he realised what he had to do, “to let me speak to her. Chanyeol, she needs to see me.”  The Deimos suddenly tensed up, his jaw clenching and his hand pulling from Baekhyun’s a little begrudgingly. He turned away from his mate and even got to his feet before he responded, and his answer was a resolute and indisputable, “no.” “Why not?” Baekhyun had thrown it out there without thinking, but he did not regret his defiance. He got to his feet too, deciding to face Chanyeol properly because his grandmother’s life may be on the line, and he would not simply accept defeat when it came to that.  “Because having her know is a tremendous risk. She might tell others, and they could come look for me. They could hurt us, murder us in cold blood, and I did not go through everything I have gone through to die like that,” the Deimos said unwaveringly, remaining persistent in his decision.  Baekhyun fought the fresh bout of nausea which hit him, pushing through it so he could walk up to the demon while he argued with him. “Because the entire kingdom does not already know you are out here, right? Chanyeol, I have given up everything I had to save my grandmother. Based on what you just said, you should know I will do anything to prevent her from dying in vain, too.”  It was clear he had struck a nerve when the Deimos remained silent and unmoving, though he did allow Baekhyun to close the distance between them. The human stepped closer, looping his arms around Chanyeol’s waist and pressing a kiss to his sternum, and he tried to appease him with sweet promises.  “It is not like I would leave you. All I am asking is to visit her once, to talk to her about my decision and what it means, and then I will come back to you. I swear I will. I would sign any oath you’d want me to bind myself to you.” The demon sighed, both his hands coming up to Baekhyun’s head, and he dropped one palm on the human’s hair while the other cradled his neck, keeping him close like that. “I know you would. And even if you were to break my trust, I would find you and drag you back myself, but still… isn’t there another way? Something less fraught with danger? Like a letter, maybe?”  Baekhyun had thought of this himself, but how convincing would a letter be when she was this certain of his death? Could a written message do much at all? Perhaps it would only do more damage, confirming he was alive but being held captive, and maybe it would make her think the letter was written against his will. She could reach the wrong conclusion, and that would only make her come running faster.  And so, knowing he needed to find an argument valid enough for the Deimos to comply, Baekhyun thought about the one thing that was at the centre of each of Chanyeol’s: their child. It was his sole reason for existing, the motivation behind every choice, and the human knew that to win him over, he would have to include the wellbeing of their baby.  “Chanyeol, think of the benefits of her knowing for a second, okay? Not only has she birthed her own child, she was there when I was born, too. She knows what to do to make this less burdensome, what to look out for, and I could really do with some support of that kind.” It did not have the desired effect at all, for the Deimos only focused on the latter part of his argument. “Well if support is what you are looking for, we could travel to see my mother-”  “Your mother?” Baekhyun blinked, unable to hold back his surprise.  For some reason he had thought she was dead. Maybe because she was not there with Chanyeol, or maybe because he had not mentioned her aside from the brief reference to her role in the story of his past. But here the Deimos was, mentioning her as if she was alive and well while he reached for his desk with his tail.  He transferred a piece of paper from the workbench to his hand, allowing Baekhyun to turn his head so he could take in the portrait he had seen on his first morning with Chanyeol. The beautiful woman he had thought to be an old lover was actually his mate’s mother, and he felt a little stupid suddenly for not having seen the resemblance until now. It appeared he was not very good at detecting these sorts of things.  “Yes,” Chanyeol explained, “she is back home, the place where I will bring you once you have given birth. This might be my homeland, but it is not a safe place for us to live, as you may understand. But if you need support, we could make the trip. She has been waiting for me to bring home my family for a long time.” Baekhyun felt a deep sorrow once he thought of Chanyeol and his mother, both being ecstatic over his pregnancy. He could envision her, taking care of him and providing the assistance needed through each phase, and he could not contain the immense sadness it brought on. It caused tears to well up in his eyes, which blurred the image of the lovely woman that was Chanyeol’s mother, and the demon picked up on the shift within him instantly.  “Baekhyun?” he asked, putting the picture away again so he could focus all his attention on his lover. He tipped the human’s chin up right as the first tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, and though the demon brushed them away, his touch could not undo them. Chanyeol tried to kiss him, hoping the love on his lips would stop his mate from crying, but Baekhyun was unresponsive in his arms. His heart was aching bitterly, and he tried to push himself away from the Deimos’s chest, though the man refused to let him go. “Do not run, my dear,” the demon begged him. “Talk to me.”  “I am trying,” the human cried, stomping his foot in frustration, “I am trying, but you will not listen to me. I told you already, I have given up everything, and I know you have too. I know you have, but you have your mother, and you have your future child, and I have nothing.”  It was not entirely true. Baekhyun realised he was exaggerating, that he had Chanyeol and their baby too, but it was not even close to being the same. “Look at how excited you are to share my pregnancy with your mother. Of course you are, it only makes sense. But who do I get to share it with? Who do I get to involve in this phase of my life? No one. It might even cost me the person I was trying to save in the first place. How is that fair?”  This time, Chanyeol had nothing to say, and Baekhyun used the opportunity to get everything off his chest that he needed to. “All I am asking for is one meeting, one visit to make her see I am happy with you here and there is no reason for her to do anything reckless. Give me the chance to share with her the happy news of my pregnancy. I vouch for her. She would never put me in danger.”  He was begging the Deimos with his eyes, praying for him to recognise how important this moment was to Baekhyun, and the moment he sighed resignedly, the human knew he had succeeded.  “Alright,” the demon agreed, albeit reluctantly, “I will let you go see her. But you have to promise me you will not share anything about our whereabouts, or share the story of my kind. No one is to know I am, in fact, the last Deimos out there. And if you do not return before dusk falls, I will find you and I will keep you locked up like a prisoner for the rest of your life.”  His final words were a threat, Baekhyun did not pretend they were not, but by now he was conscious of how much was on the line for Chanyeol, and so he understood.  “I accept those terms. Wholeheartedly.”  Chanyeol looked as though he had lost a part of himself, as if he had to give up on Baekhyun for all eternity, which was why the human got up on his toes and dragged his mate in for a kiss. It was soft but demanding, intended to reassure the demon of his love, and once the man had finally relaxed into it, Baekhyun broke away to whisper.  “Thank you, Yeol. Thank you .”

⁂

At the crack of dawn the next day, the two of them made the trip to the border of the woodlands.  Baekhyun let himself be carried by his mate, who had offered to hold him because he was feeling nauseous again, and he would enjoy the closeness of the embrace for as long as it would last. It would be another mile or two at least, but time passed quickly as the demon took long strides along the moss-covered paths. Resting his head against Chanyeol’s chest, Baekhyun absentmindedly played with some of the man’s braids, which had fallen over his shoulders. He was purposely not looking around at where they were going, did not want to make it seem like he was trying to recall the way so as to reassure Chanyeol he would not betray his trust. “You could always come with me,” the human suggested, trying to break the slight tension in the air that was attributable to the demon’s nerves. He had been quiet from the moment they had woken up, had not taken the time to kiss his mate awake today, nor had he relieved the boy’s chest from its soreness. Instead, Baekhyun had gotten dressed in silence, without Chanyeol sneaking looks or peeking at him with a glint of happiness in his eyes.  “I really cannot,” he told the human, finally sparing him a quick glance before his eyes were back on the trees ahead of them. “I should use this moment to attend to some matters. I have not been able to do as much as I should now that I am always taking care of you.” Baekhyun could not fathom what that meant to a Deimos, but right now was not the time to ask. He could tell from how tensely Chanyeol was gripping him that they were nearing the border, and so he let himself look around at last. The morning sun was coming in through the trees, still hanging low enough for the warm orange light to hit their trunks rather than their crowns. It made it feel like they were walking through a fire, flames all around, and Baekhyun wondered if it was a warning of some sort. If mother nature was telling them not to go through with this.  But then they had reached their destination, and Chanyeol stopped a few trees away from the border, staying just out of sight. Baekhyun recognised the area, could see himself stepping around the few fallen trees and wading through the field of wildflowers. Beyond them awaited a grassy hill, leading to the back gate of his grandmother’s farm, which would grant him entrance to a life he had willingly left behind. He could make it all out from where they were standing, and he took in the tranquillity of the scene with conflicting emotions. The farm looked as it had done when he had left it, as if nothing bad had happened since, and he wondered how much had truly changed following his departure. Maybe it would be like stepping into a memory, the clock having rewinded to easier times, or maybe he would find it completely unchanged, his grandmother still living in despair.  “Oh,” he blinked, suddenly remembering what he had found the morning before his leaving, when he had gone to feed the animals. He turned to the Deimos, giving him a slightly apologetic smile, and he dropped his gaze to the man’s chest as he implored, “now that you know she lives here, could you maybe… leave my grandmother’s animals alone?” There was clear confusion in Chanyeol’s gaze when Baekhyun met it, and his eyes searched for answers on the human’s face, finding none. “What do you mean, my dear?” The human felt awkward putting it in words, and he did so with a carefree shrug of his shoulders, pretending as if this was not a big deal at all. “You know… don’t kill her chickens or goats?”  Chanyeol snorted a little too loudly, he seemed unable to help himself, and Baekhyun blinked as the demon burst into a fit of full-blown laughter. It was the most he had gotten out of him all morning, and though Baekhyun was a little offended that the demon was making fun of him for this, he welcomed the warmth that resulted from the bright sound.  “You- my little lamb, you truly are so innocent,” the Deimos chuckled more softly and dropped a kiss to the very crown of Baekhyun’s head, “you think that was me? That is adorable, Hyunnie. Whatever creature killed your chickens, I hunt for breakfast.” The human felt himself pout, his hands landing on his lover’s stomach, where he kept them as he complained, “well, is it my fault for not knowing this when it is you who has not told me anything about your life?”  Chanyeol was still smiling as he tipped Baekhyun's chin up with nothing but his index finger, and there it was, that tenderness in his eyes that the human had been waiting to see, “come back to me and I will tell you all about it.” His fingers could not touch enough of him, and so Baekhyun moved his hands, sliding them around the Deimos’s back until he was hugging his waist with both arms. He kept his head tilted back, their eyes remaining locked as he promised, “of course I will come back. I belong with you.” It was only natural, the way they moved to meet each other halfway, lips finding lips in a kiss that sealed his promise. Baekhyun felt it everywhere, liquid lust pooling in his gut, but he ignored it for now. Chanyeol could fuck him once he would return, bed him all night if he wished it, but the both of them had other things to focus on first. “Thank you, Yeol,” he whispered once they broke apart, letting his sincerity shine through as he pressed another lone kiss to the demon’s sternum before turning his cheek against it. He held on tightly, squeezing Chanyeol in his arms and savouring every last bit of skin against skin before he would have to go without for a few hours. “I will be forever grateful.” Chanyeol touched his hair, his back, and once Baekhyun stepped away he fell to his knees in front of his mate. For a second the human thought he would beg him not to leave, but then he felt strong palms on his hips, bringing him in closer, and he smiled knowingly. Lovingly cupping the demon’s head with both his hands, Baekhyun looked down to where Chanyeol was kissing his belly through his dress, taking a moment to say goodbye to their baby as well. “Promise me you will be careful,” he was addressing Baekhyun, even if his eyes were on the human’s tummy, “and that you will do anything to protect the life inside of you.” It was the easiest promise he had ever had to make, “I will. Of course I will.” Chanyeol rose from the ground then, and by now all the playfulness from before had dissipated again. He was staring at Baekhyun with sadness in his beautiful brown eyes, as if he did not want to part with his mate for anything. It was a feeling Baekhyun experienced each time the demon would leave him, too, and so he knew what had to be done to console him. “I will be here once dusk falls,” he swore as he took one of Chanyeol’s hands, holding it between his own, “I will come running, the same way I always have, and you will be here, waiting to take me home.” The Deimos gave a nod, his gaze having hardened for Baekhyun’s sake, emotions locked away. He tried to let go of the hand clutching his, pulling it out to show his mate he was free to leave, but Baekhyun gripped it once more. He brought it up to his lips, pressing a kiss to Chanyeol’s knuckles that lingered for minutes. Not another word was said, not even when they ultimately parted and Baekhyun turned away, facing the farm that had been home for half his life.  He lifted up the hem of his dress as he walked, stepping across branches and trying not to trample any flowers, and only once he had reached the grass border did he look back over his shoulder. Chanyeol was standing right where he had been left behind, not having moved an inch, and his eyes were on the human, expression unreadable.  Baekhyun raised his arm in greeting, not a wave because this was not a goodbye, but an acknowledgement of sorts. A ‘take care’ or ‘see you later’. Chanyeol raised his own in return, but it was brief and dropped at once when the demon turned away and bolted. He was fast enough that Baekhyun could not make out what direction he had run off in, but the demon had disappeared, back inside the forest. It made his heart ache, knowing how much Chanyeol was suffering, but it meant more than anything that he had cast his own apprehensions aside to make Baekhyun happy. He let it fill him with courage, and when he turned back to face the farm, he treaded onwards with more confidence than he had held before. His nausea may have progressed into nervousness, and the thought of coming face to face with his halmoni again made him anxious, but at the same time he could not wait to hear her voice, even if it meant she would be scolding him. Unsurprisingly, he was out of breath by the time he reached the gate, and he needed a moment to ground himself before he would try to open it. Maybe his grandmother would have locked it, or else Junmyeon might have, and that surely would have been the wise thing to do. Yet he was hoping they had not, that they would have clung onto a sliver of hope and kept it open, just in case he would return. When his hand found the handle, he recalled that moment a week ago, when he had been on the other end of the slab of iron, making the decision to leave. Now he was back, making the decision to pass through the gate once more. He pressed down on the handle, hoping with all his heart it would open, and the door creaked as it gave way, revealing his past. Baekhyun saw his grandmother’s cottage come into view, still a long distance away, but close enough to have it really hit him how he was about to waltz in like nothing had happened. It caused his throat to close up as he stepped across the invisible threshold, his feet leading him back into the garden, though he was entirely unaware of everything around him at this point.  The only thing on his mind was his grandmother, and he wondered what she was doing as he came closer and closer to the house. Maybe she was making breakfast, or preparing her cart to leave for the market. Or maybe she was doing neither, completely struck by grief and unable to proceed with life. What state had he left her in? How would she respond to seeing him back, alive and well?  His heart was beating so fast that he could not hear anything other than the sound of his blood pounding in his ears, but as he neared the house, he saw the first tufts of smoke that were carried along by the wind. They were coming from the courtyard, and once they wafted Baekhyun’s way, the scent of food drifted into his nose. It made his stomach growl almost immediately, but he ignored it because after the long journey there, he could finally see . From where he was standing, he could peek into the yard, his frame hidden behind a pillar, and he watched as his grandmother stirred the contents of one of her pots. She looked older than she had a week ago, her hair somehow a little greyer and the wrinkles in her face a little deeper. There was exhaustion etched into her features, it had settled in her shoulders too, and Baekhyun felt a pang of guilt as he observed the lifelessness in her movement.  His disappearance seemed to have affected her health more than he had hoped for, and he wondered if her stubbornness and worry for him had stopped her from taking her medication. Or maybe his goodbye letter to Sehun had never reached the royal physician, and so he had not been around to drop off more medicine now Baekhyun was not around to order him to.  It was difficult, dealing with all these thoughts simultaneously, and he wanted to make sense of them so badly, but he knew he was living on borrowed time. Once he would be alone again he could think of this as much as he pleased, but right now he had to push aside his emotions and step out into the light. Baekhyun waited for his grandmother to have stepped away from the fire before he rounded his pillar and emerged from the shadows, somehow finding his voice to call out a childlike, “halmoni?” that instantly captured her attention.  For a second, as her eyes found him there, on the other end of the courtyard, Baekhyun was afraid she was going to collapse to the ground then and there. For halmoni clutched her chest as if her heart was going to give out, her entire upper body slouching, and Baekhyun jumped into action.  But by the time he had reached her, she had steadied herself with a hand on the wall, and her emotions were pouring out through the loud wailing coming from her mouth and the tears welling up in her eyes. Baekhyun touched her arm, breaking a spell by confirming he was really there, and it caused his grandmother’s eyes to widen before it all became too much.  She lost all her strength, sagging against her grandson, and Baekhyun was quick to catch her in his arms before she could slip to the ground. She lost consciousness then, her crying stopping at once as the shock was too big to cope with, and Baekhyun felt fear blossom in his chest as he held her close.  He was not strong enough to carry her in his arms, which was why he fell to his knees while keeping her against him in a protective embrace. Panicked, he thought of what to do, how to bring her back to him, and he gently tapped his fingers against her cheek while calling out, “halmoni? Halmoni, wake up, please.”  It did not last long, she came to soon after, and the moment her eyes opened, that wild, stunned look was back, too. It remained there until her gaze settled on her grandson, taking in his gentle smile and warm eyes, and then they filled with water again just as quickly as before. “ Baekhyunnie .”  “I’m here, halmoni,” he confirmed, nodding to show her this was real, and he found himself getting pulled into the most bone-crushing hug he had experienced in over a decade. The only time she had held him like this before had been when he had lost his parents and been left in her care. Back then, her hug had been fuelled by the same overpowering love as it held now, but this one made him ache as he was acutely aware of the fact he was not here to stay.  “Oh, my son, I thought you were dead. I thought you-” she was beginning to breathe irregularly, losing it again as the emotions of the past days were trying to catch up with her.  Baekhyun only shook his head, patting her back as he told her, “let’s get you to your feet first, okay? Then we can talk.” Halmoni agreed compliantly, and she let her grandson help her back up, taking it step by step until the both of them were standing. She looked at him then, really took him in from his face down to his feet, and Baekhyun wondered if she was able to tell he was pregnant just from that.  If she did, she did not let him know. Instead, she scurried away, motioning for Baekhyun to follow her, “sit down, dear. I will fetch you some food. You look like you have lost half your weight.”  And just like that, it was as if nothing had happened. As if he had come over from the palace for a brief visit, and she was fussing over him the way she always would.  This time, it was him who burst into tears, his shoulders shaking while he tried to keep his sobbing quiet so as to not alarm his grandmother. He watched her bustle about through his tears, feeling a certain kind of homesickness that he had never felt when he had visited from the palace. It was the finality of it all, knowing he was meant to leave this life behind again after today, to give it all up for love and his family.  It was worth it, there was not an ounce of doubt in his mind that it would be, but that did not make this any easier. He would have to say goodbye a second time, and this time his grandmother would be aware of it being a goodbye. It would be a million times harder.  “I cannot believe my eyes. After your letter, I was sure that- Baekhyun?” she had started to speak, but had turned around in the middle of her sentence and found him crying. Instantly, she put down the food she had been carrying and made her way around the table, sitting down right next to her grandson and taking his hand, “oh, son, do not cry. You are back now, there is no need to cry any longer.”  Baekhyun shook his head, gasping for air so loudly he hiccuped, and he rubbed at his eyes to get the tears away before he focused his gaze on the woman who had raised him. “Halmoni, I am not here to stay.”  This made her go silent, her eyes searching and mind racing to come up with an explanation, and Baekhyun swore he would give it to her, but it was too difficult to speak right now. He reached for the cup of water she had put on the table, needing to swallow down the bile in his throat, and he downed it completely before he even took another breath. “Baekhyunnie, what do you mean you are not here to stay?” His grandmother asked, her voice dangerously void of emotion. He could tell she was beginning to understand, or at least have an inkling of what was happening, and he figured there was no reason to put it off any longer.  He looked at his hands as he spoke, unable to face the most important woman in his life as he told her the news, “I mean I will have to go back. To my new home, and to the Deimos who has made me his own.”  Her reaction was one he had imagined all along. The quiet gasp, the strong grip of her hand on his arm, and her stern words, “like hell you will, Baekhyun-ah. I am not giving you up again. You belong here, with me and Junmyeon, not with some monster .”  It was like a dagger had sliced open his heart, the sharpness of the word leaving a jagged cut in his flesh, but he could not blame her for it. Up until a week ago he had felt the exact same, had known nothing about Chanyeol and his story, and he could not expect her to have changed her mind the way he had, but he could try to make her see.  “Halmoni, he is not what you think he is,” he told her, the tone of his voice imploring her to listen. “He is so much more than what the world makes him out to be. Everyone is acting like he is the most abominable creature in the forest, when there are far worse. He is taking care of me more than Yi Geum ever has, and I am happy when I am with him.”  His grandmother was staring at him as if he had lost his mind, as if she could not believe how he had been brainwashed to say such things, and she pulled back her hand and got to her feet. “I need a moment.”  Baekhyun felt utterly discouraged as she returned to her pots, grabbing another bowl to fill with food. He did not say a thing while she quietly set the table, clearly pretending none of this was happening, while Baekhyun searched for the right words to explain himself. What could he possibly tell her to make her change her mind? He was not sure it was even feasible, and yet he knew he had to try. “Would you like some tea, Baekhyunnie?” his grandmother asked once she had put down the final dish, a variety of cups and plates now filling the table. She still did not look at him, not even when she had addressed him, and Baekhyun realised the only way to draw her attention would be to shock her even more.  “Yes, please, do you have any ginger?” he asked a little timidly. Both of them knew fully well he would usually request green tea, and so Baekhyun held his breath as he waited for his grandmother to realise why he had asked for ginger instead.  She was facing away from him, already working on boiling the water for their drinks, but she paused when she realised what her grandson had implied. Baekhyun could tell her mind was consumed with thoughts, and when she turned around there was disbelief in her parted lips.  Her gaze quickly dropped from her grandson’s face to his body, which was partly hidden by the table, and she stated, incredulity audible in her voice, “You are not… Baekhyunnie, you are not. ”  Feeling a fresh wave of tears come to his eyes, the boy pressed his hand to his lower stomach, feeling the clear bloating of his belly that was caused by the rapidly developing embryo in his womb. “I am.”  It was impossible to ignore the truth any longer, and halmoni came to this conclusion too as she left behind everything she was working on to finally join Baekhyun at the table. Sitting down across from him with her legs folded and her hands on top of the wood, she looked at him in defeat. As if she realised at that moment that she had lost her grandson completely.  “Tell me everything, son. I am ready to hear it.”  Baekhyun swallowed dryly before he took a final, long inhale, and then he told her everything. From his decision to leave in order to protect her, Junmyeon, and Yi Geum, to the point where the Deimos had saved him from the hungry Dardanos who had first discovered his presence in the forest.  “Dardanos? But they are rare, and I have never heard of them working in such large groups. They come in pairs…” his grandmother’s frown had grown the more he had revealed, as if she did not understand just how different reality was from the stories humans had told one another.  “They do not,” Baekhyun disputed her story with a shake of his head. “There was a pack of them, and without Chanyeol I would have died then and there. It was horrible, thinking I would meet my end like that, so I could only be relieved when he found me.” His grandmother blinked at him, taken aback by everything she was hearing, but there was only one thing she commented on. “Chanyeol, you say? It is strange to hear a name like that for such a creature. I do not know what I had expected, but it was not this.”  It caused laughter to bubble up in Baekhyun, and for a second he could imagine her accepting Chanyeol as his partner. If this was what she chose to highlight out of everything that he had told her, was that idea so far off?  “Halmoni, he is far more human than portrayed in your stories,” he told his grandmother, all but gushing about his mate now that he finally had the chance to. “I mean, yes, he is taller, bigger, and definitely stronger, but… his heart beats like mine, and his eyes are a beautifully burnt amber filled with specks of light.” “And his skin, the colour of it, is not nearly as gaudy as they make it out to be. It is this beautiful warm red, like a glass of wine. His wings are grand and regal, his horns like a bony wreath adorning his head, and his body a true testament to the power of the natural world. I watch him move and it just… makes sense.”  “My son,” she watched him with wonder in her eyes, a hesitant smile curling at the corners of her mouth as she confessed, “you sound like a man in love.”  It hit him harder than it should have, the suggestion that he loved Chanyeol. Was it really that eye-opening? With everything that had passed, the speed with which their souls had bonded?  It was not. Which was why it was not at all difficult to admit it, not even to someone who might never truly understand it. “I am.”  His confession did not startle his grandmother. She could tell from the way he was smiling when he talked about Chanyeol, and so the revelation was entirely his own. “I was afraid at first, of course I was,” he divulged, trying to explain himself when there was no reason for it. “I remembered everything you told me, and I believed my life would be miserable with him, but instead I found happiness. I have never felt this way around anyone, and I am not just saying that because I am pregnant.” “He was looking for a mate then,” Halmoni hummed a little absentmindedly, before she leaned in to grab Baekhyun’s hand on top of the table. She squeezed it supportively, marvelling at the sight of her healthy, contented grandson, “and you lived to tell the tale. You are his perfect match… I cannot believe it.”  “I can,” Baekhyun declared, an elated little sound leaving him. “I am not expecting you to understand because the me of seven days ago would not have either, but I am asking for your acceptance. Because I have made the decision to spend my life with Chanyeol, and nothing will hold me back from doing so.”  “I see,” his grandmother said, carefully assessing whether she could spot any signs of him lying. She found none because there were none, and when she came to this conclusion, she asked him. “You are truly happy then?”  Baekhyun did not even need to think of his answer. It came out naturally. “I am.”  The hand holding his squeezed again, and a pained but proud smile painted halmoni’s face as she said, “that is all I ask for, my son.”  The fact she pulled away so soon showed Baekhyun it was not as easy on her as she was leading him to believe, but he would not call out her pretence. It would be hypocritical of him to think his grandmother would let him go without a fight, or that she would take this news lightly. How could she, when simply thinking about leaving made Baekhyun’s heart bleed? He had always known the news would be difficult to break, and frankly, he should consider himself lucky she was taking it so well. Halmoni made him tea and gathered her thoughts in silence, all while Baekhyun decided to make the most of the time they still had together. He slurped on the soup which had been placed on the table, still lukewarm despite how long they had talked for, and he made a pleased noise as the food reached his stomach. That first taste was all he needed to fully give in, devouring the contents of half the bowls on the table without as much as a full breath between each bite. He wiped his mouth once his grandmother returned carrying the tea tray, and he stopped his bingeing to look at her, mildly embarrassed by his inappropriate behaviour. She looked happier than before, though, as if seeing him eat well made her proud, and she nudged another bowl his way with a sly grin, “go on, fill your belly. You need to take good care of yourself now.”  Baekhyun did not wait for her to press it, simply grabbed the bowl with both hands and lifted it to his lips, letting the food pour into his mouth. Only once he had chewed it up properly and swallowed it down, a red blossom having grown on his cheeks, did he apologise for his gluttony. “I am sorry. There is just nothing better than halmoni’s cooking.”  He took the cup of tea his grandmother was offering, placing it in front of himself with more poise than he had shown the past minute, but she looked entirely unfazed - and actually a little pleased - by his lack of manners. “Do not apologise. It is nice to see you are still my Baekhyunnie.”  The world slowed for a moment, and the two of them stared at each other, remembering a lifetime worth of memories. It caused a feeling of melancholy to fill him to the crown of his head, and he swallowed around the lump in his throat to promise her, “of course I am. I always will be.”  His hands found the cup of tea, curling around the warm mug as his eyes took in the swirling steam coming from the hot liquid, and his grandmother sighed resignedly as she picked up her own, too. The mood turned a little more serious again, the silence giving them space to think, and finally she went to lecture him in the way he had expected her to.  “I was so mad at you for leaving,” halmoni opened up, sharing her thoughts for the first time since his arrival. “I thought ‘this boy will be the death of me. Never listening to what I say, always being so damn reckless and making the most idiotic decisions.’” Baekhyun did not go against her scolding, knowing very well that she was right to berate him. “I cannot say I am happy now, but that is merely because you will be out of my life and always at risk of being killed. I will always have to worry about you, and I wish I would not have to,” she sighed a second time, hissing as if she could not believe herself for what she was about to say, “but seeing you happy does me well. It is all I want for you: happiness at last. Love.” Even if she was struggling to come to terms with his decision, he appreciated her trying. And so he bowed his head, showing her the respect she deserved. “Thank you, halmoni.” She sniffed, suddenly overcome by emotions, and Baekhyun wished there was more he could do more than hold her hand in his to reassure her.  “Can you at least come visit from time to time?” she asked, fresh hope in her words. “Allow me to cook for you and buy you new clothes, make some for my grandchild?”  They were not even saying goodbye yet and already it was too much. Baekhyun felt her pain from the treble of her voice, and he made the mistake of making a promise he knew he could not keep. “I will try to convince Chanyeol. I will, but we have a baby to keep safe.” Halmoni was nodding as if she got this, but her reply showed her reluctance to accept a truth where she would never see either him or her grandchild again. “I will still leave you food near the border, and bring you presents, just in case. And do not tell me not to because you know stubbornness runs in the family.” They laughed together, and apparently that was the end of it. They turned to tea after that, and Baekhyun made her talk about Junmyeon, about the events in the neighbourhood, and they skillfully stayed clear of any topics that could lead to more painful conversations. After tea, she helped him wash up and change into different clothes, and she silently took in the starting bulge of his belly, her hand feeling for it as if to confirm it was really there. She did not say a thing throughout the entire process, and once he had finished getting dressed, she made him sit down so she could do his hair.  “I will braid it the same way I did for your mother on the morning of her wedding,” she told him with her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them warmly. “It might be the only chance I get at doing this for you.” Baekhyun could not speak even if he had wished to, too drained by his emotions to find the words for it, and so he sat with his hands folded in his lap as his grandmother got to work on his tangled locks. He listened to the sounds of the farm while she did, feeling like he was back to being a child, waiting for his hair to get done so he could rush to find Junmyeon. A time where he had played without a care in the world, not thinking about the future at all. Where doubt had never been on his mind. “Do you think she would be proud of me?”  He did not realise he had spoken until his grandmother’s hands stopped moving to take it in. It was crystal clear who he was referring to, there could only be one person he was thinking about at that moment, and Baekhyun knew it was a loaded question. Halmoni was in the dark when it came to the guilt Baekhyun was carrying with him, did not know he was to blame for her daughter’s death, and it made him all the more relieved she was unable to see his face right now. “Oh, Baekhyunnie, of course she would be proud of you…” There was more compassion in her voice than he deserved, but he was desperate enough to pretend he did.  “Even though I am choosing a life no sane person would choose?” He asked, breaking his own rule by bringing up his imminent departure, sucking the warmth out of the moment they had shared. However, halmoni would not allow Baekhyun to talk himself down, not when it came to her daughter and her boundless love for her son.  “You are choosing love, are you not?” It was a rhetorical question, and so she did not even wait for him to agree before she went on, “how could she not be proud of that?” Baekhyun shrugged listlessly, incapable of wording the thoughts in his head, and he let silence lapse as his grandmother went back to braiding the last strands of his hair. She was creating an elaborate updo fit for the most splendid wedding, and he lightly touched it once halmoni declared she was done.  She forced him to turn once he got up, taking in her handiwork and giving him a pleased smile, “there. Perfect.” He felt like she was seeing him off into this new phase in life, reminding him of how she always had. They had stood there much the same the day Baekhyun had left for the palace, and like he had known back then, it was clear that now too, things would never be the same again.  “Halmoni-“ he started, but he never got to finish. The sound of the front gate being thrown open interrupted him, and when he turned he saw a wide-eyed Junmyeon running into the courtyard.  “Halmoni! Come quickly! They are- Baekhyun ,” his best friend halted, looking completely thunderstruck, like he had suddenly forgotten what he had come to say, and next thing he knew, the older boy had reached him and thrown his arms around his best friend’s frame. “You are alive!”  Baekhyun hugged him back tightly, trying not to worry about the complications of Junmyeon knowing too, but before he could properly greet his friend, the boy flipped his entire world upside down by telling him, “oh, this is perfect. The prince is on his way right now, he will be so relieved to see you.” Both Baekhyun and his grandmother went still at once, bodies freezing because of what the announcement meant: it was time for him to leave.  Slowly, Junmyeon’s smile slipped from his face, being replaced with a frown as he fumbled to ask, “what is going on? Why are you looking-” Halmoni moved first, turning away from them to gather all the items she had packed for her grandson. Baekhyun, though, concentrated on making his best friend look at him, forcing Junmyeon to see the urgency in his eyes. “Junmyeon, you need to delay them. They cannot find me here, and if they ask, you tell them you never saw me, okay?” There was not enough time to explain, and of course Junmyeon had questions. His confusion was written all over his face, and his lips were parted in shock, “what do you mean I never-“  “Junmyeon! Please, halmoni can explain it to you later,” he all but yelled, pushing at his best friend’s shoulders, “now go, please!” The older boy took one final look at Baekhyun, as if he somehow knew it would be the last time he would get to, and then he turned and ran back out the gate, proving himself a better friend than Baekhyun yet again.  When he turned to his grandmother, panic now getting to him, he found her already waiting. She was holding a strung-together pile of fabric, clothes and blankets meant to keep him warm through the cold days, and Baekhyun took it before he pulled his grandmother in his arms for one final hug. It was familiar and made him want to stay there a little longer, but he knew his time had run out.  “I will try to visit, I promise , but in case I do not…” he told her when he stepped away, fighting the tears so he could get out the words he would regret not saying to her if he would let them win. “Thank you, halmoni, for raising me how you did, and for allowing me to go my own way.”  She was staring at him with pure sorrow in every fibre of her being, and Baekhyun felt it too. He felt the significance of their goodbye as it turned into yet another burden he would carry for the rest of his life, but he had no choice. For certainly death would await him if he were to stay.  “My son,” his grandmother touched his arms, bringing him back to reality, and her eyes were assuring him she was being completely genuine when she told him, “my sadness may overshadow it now, but I too am proud of you. So proud.”  Her voice was barely a whisper on those final words, and her hands fell to her sides when the last bits of her resolve crumbled. Baekhyun watched the tears well up in her eyes, and he felt them burning just as fiercely behind his own, but he could not break down now. He could not.  “I love you, halmoni. Please, take care of yourself,” he dropped a loving kiss to her forehead, eyes closed as his entire body ached. It was as if a piece of his heart was being broken off to stay behind with her, and he was left with a gaping wound where it used to be. But there was nothing that could fix it, nothing that could soften the blow, and so he did not linger.  Knowing Junmyeon could hold back the prince and his men only so long, he lifted the hem of his overcoat and held onto the package as tightly as he could before he made a run for it. He skirted around the yard, leaping across flower beds and freshly sown soil, all to get to the back gate as quickly as he could.  It felt like forever before he reached it, and by the time he came to a stop, his cheeks were wet from all the tears he had shed. And though it would have been far less painful to carry on without looking back over his shoulder, he would have never forgiven himself had he not. With his heart beating wildly in his chest, he turned one final time to see his grandmother holding onto one of the pillars of her farm. She was watching him from afar, waiting for the moment he would disappear from view, and Baekhyun wished she could hear him when he said his final farewell. “Goodbye, halmoni.” Then the eye contact broke, and Baekhyun stepped through the gate while his grandmother spun around to get rid of any evidence of his visit. As he closed the heavy iron door, she got ready to undo every last trace of him, as if he had never lived there at all, and it would be better that way. Easier to accept his chosen fate. Wind flying through his hair, Baekhyun continued to sprint down the hill and into the woodlands, easily dodging the fallen trees in his haste to find his mate. “Chanyeol!”  He was trying to locate the demon’s presence, eyes searching for the familiar redness of his skin, but he seemed to be entirely alone here, which only made the panic in his chest worsen. “Chanyeol! Please. Please. ”  They had to leave, had to hide now before the prince would be on their heels, and yet it seemed his mate had fallen off the edge of the earth. No matter how he called for the Deimos, he remained completely by himself, running through the maze of trees in search of the one he needed.  He stopped to listen, hoping maybe he could hear something moving through the vegetation, but there was nothing. Chanyeol must have travelled farther away, not expecting Baekhyun to return for another few hours, and now the human felt stupid for not having looked where they were going, because he would be unable to find his way back to their home by himself. Waiting for dusk near the woodland borders was too dangerous, and he was afraid of crying out Chanyeol’s name again in case his voice would resonate all the way to the farm.  Then again, there was danger on all sides, and he could be completely surrounded by it without even realising. It left him at a loss for what to do, stranded all by himself in a forest full of creatures who might be out to hurt him, and he felt as lonely as a single, dying star in the night sky, lightyears away from the nearest source of light.  He collapsed into a bed of ferns, suddenly finding himself sobbing like a child who had gotten lost in a street full of strangers, but he let every emotion wash over him instead of trying to suppress it. Everything came out, like a dam had burst and now all the thoughts he had worked so hard to push to the back of his mind came rushing in at once. He knew he had lost his old life the moment he had made the decision to leave, but somehow it had felt like something he could return to if he wished to. The lack of finality had made him believe in a fairytale, and life with Chanyeol had kept him in a bubble for too long, because now reality had proven there was no way for him to go back.  If anything, though, it made him understand his mate’s pain that much better, remembering how he had needed to flee the same way the human was doing right now. It was about to happen again, the hunt on the last living Deimos, as history was repeating itself for the second time in their short lives.  Baekhyun would be lying if he said he was not afraid of being found out, be it by Yi Geum or some evil monster, but he would not go down without a fight. He would rather die protecting his unborn child and the man he loved than give up, even if it was frightening how the probability of that actually happening seemed so much higher now.  “Chanyeol,” he whispered, clutching the package his grandmother had made to his chest, hoping it would comfort him some. He longed for his mate, missed him dearly, and pretending to have him there seemed to work for a minute or two, until Baekhyun closed his eyes and saw his lover’s lifeless face flash like a vision in front of him. It got him back to his feet within seconds, the unnerving image enough to fill him with newfound determination.  He refused to surrender now he had gotten this far, and he would search every corner of the forest if he had to in order to find the man who would walk through fire for him. So he stumbled through dense greenery, his trousers getting wet from the dewy grass, and he did not let anything stop him.  “Chanyeol,” he called out time after time, voice subdued but strong as always. He walked for what felt like hours, but he never gave up hope, never stopped to take a rest, even though his entire body was aching. “Chanyeol.” “ Baekhyun ?”  The voice made him jump, and he twirled around with his heart in his throat, taking in the handsome face of the man he had been praying to find. Chanyeol looked puzzled, a hint of suspicion in his otherwise warm eyes, and only when he saw how his mate had been crying did he break. “My dear, what happened? Why are you back so soon? And why did you wander so far off the beaten track?” Baekhyun crossed the distance between them, needing to feel the Deimos’s skin under his fingertips to make sure he was real, and though it brought him the assurance he had been looking for, it did nothing to shake his uneasiness, nor did it inform Chanyeol of the danger that lay ahead. “The prince- he- we-“ he stuttered, not sure where to start, and in the end he merely settled on a straightforward, “we need to leave, before they come find us.” Finally, the Deimos could make out what he was trying to tell him, and he tensed the same way Baekhyun had done when he had first heard of Yi Geum’s arrival. The threat was real now, their time of peace coming to an end rather abruptly, and the gravity of it became evident when their hands found one another and entwined almost painfully. “Ah,” Chanyeol whispered, looking down at his mate with restrained tenderness, his characteristic smile failing to light up his eyes the way it usually did. “I see.” Baekhyun felt the demon’s tail sneak around his legs, sweeping him off his feet, and before he knew it, the human had ended up in his lover’s arms. Chanyeol held him even more tightly than he had done that morning, keeping his mate pressed to his strong chest, and Baekhyun watched his wings unfurl like two giant kites sprouting from both shoulders. His eyes widened at the sight, one hand coming up to grab a hold of his lover’s neck, and he was about to call out Chanyeol’s name again when the demon beat him to it. He flapped his wings to shake out every feather, but his eyes were stern and focused as they stared at the trees ahead, carefully assessing the space between them. “And thus it begins,” he stated, his head turning until unyielding brown eyes found Baekhyun’s. “Brace yourself, Hyunnie. A storm is brewing, and we will have to weather it together.” Without waiting for an answer, Chanyeol beat his wings back and forth in an explosion of otherworldly power. They slashed the air at every rustling of feathers, and the haunting sound reverberated around them as the Deimos rose from the ground, drawing his mate closer to his body before he soared up with unholy grace and vanished into the depths of the forest. It was evident there were trying times ahead of them, a period of hardship on their horizon, but Baekhyun had been given the choice to escape, and he had decided against it. He could have stayed with his grandmother, could have waited for Yi Geum to come and let the prince protect him, but his first instinct had been to run right back to Chanyeol.  Because this was his fate. This was destiny. And no matter what journey his soul decided to embark on, Baekhyun would follow him anywhere. Even into the dark.

⁂
 
End of volume 1.