We were about to leave the house for our arranged training with Cassia when Sage entered. “I came to apologize to Zoe,” she said immediately, gncing at the succubus with a warm smile. Just looking at her, I knew she had arrived to cause trouble.

  “For what?” Zoe asked.

  “For taking your food from you,” Sage said, gesturing toward me. “And pushing it into the arms of another vampire.”

  Zoe snapped her eyes to me - pink and wide open. “I-I… You are not my food, Master!” she gasped.

  “Didn’t you call him that yesterday?” Sage asked. “You told me that if I hurt your food, you were going to kill me.”

  “I let you drink my blood…” I murmured.

  Zoe stepped closer, pressing herself against me, her hands on my chest as she clutched my shirt. “I don’t think of you like that, Master,” she said, looking worried and vulnerable. “I just wanted to scare her, so you wouldn’t get hurt. But I promise, I don’t think of you as food. I wanted you to stop me yesterday… You offered it… I… Master,” she whimpered, her voice breaking as she started to cry.

  “It’s normal for vampires and succubi to think of those they feed on as food,” Sage added.

  The thought of being nothing more than food to Zoe felt like a betrayal after all her confessions of love and devotion. But I knew it wasn’t true, that she really didn’t see me that way.

  “Zoe, look at me,” I said, brushing my fingers through her long white hair.

  She sniffled and lifted her pink eyes to my face. That wasn’t the look of someone staring at their food, it was the look of someone gazing at the person they loved. I saw affection and devotion in her eyes, and even as doubt crept into my mind, reminding me that I had trusted a woman before and been betrayed, I decided I wasn’t going to let that bitch ruin any more of my life, or any future retionship.

  “I know I’m not just food to you,” I said.

  Zoe hugged me tightly. “You’re my Master,” she said. “And the love of my life,” she added in a whisper so quiet I doubted even Sage or Azura could hear it.

  “I love you,” I murmured, my hands wandering over her back.

  I shifted my gaze to Sage, who was watching it all with an amused smile. When our eyes met, she spoke again. “I also have an apology gift for you, Zoe.”

  “I don’t want anything from you,” Zoe replied into my chest, flicking her tail toward Sage.

  “You don’t even know what it is,” Sage said. “And I’m sure you’ll be happy to accept it. Especially since it will help make your food safer.”

  “Stop calling him that!” Zoe hissed, turning to gre at Sage.

  “I’m extending the deal I have with Tobias, and as part of the apology, I will train both of you. You’ll be stronger and better prepared to defend your food. From other vampires, for example. And you can always try to kick my ass to let out some of that anger,” Sage expined.

  “Sage,” I said sharply. I didn’t believe Zoe would stand a chance against her. The so-called gift would probably end with Sage kicking Zoe’s ass instead.

  “I accept,” Zoe said, as if she were accepting a challenge, not an offer of training.

  “Zoe,” I said, worried she might get hurt, as Sage was clearly provoking her.

  “Master, I need to get stronger,” Zoe replied. “It's the same situation as you and Cassia.” She had a point, and it was hard to argue with that.

  “Are we good now?” Sage asked, looking at the succubus. “Or are you going to run to your mom compining about me?”

  Zoe visibly saddened at the mention of her family and turned around, hugging me again without answering.

  “Leave her alone, Sage,” I said.

  Sage smirked before changing the topic. “I freed all the sves and brought Whitney to Gemma. You did a great job fucking her, you probably left quite an impression.”

  “Do you actually want something, or did you just come here to stir trouble?” I asked.

  “The first lesson is tomorrow evening,” Sage replied. “Get ready for a beating.”

  “Sure,” I said with a sigh.

  “Okay then, see you tomorrow,” Sage said. But before she could reach the door, I had one more question for her.

  “You were part of the Bck Lotus?” I asked.

  She turned around to look at me. “And how the fuck do you know that?”

  “The bck costumes you use,” I replied.

  “What did Gemma tell you?” Sage asked.

  “How do you know it was Gemma?” I asked back.

  “Whitney mentioned it, you asked Gemma about it, and she told you I was part of it,” Sage said, quickly piecing together what had happened. “But what else did she tell you?”

  “She didn’t really tell me much, saying it’s your story to tell.”

  “And it’s none of your business,” Sage replied. “And remember, you still owe me fifty ryns,” she added, before walking out of the house, leaving me without any answers. Which, in itself, meant that whatever had happened back then was a sensitive topic for her.

  “I-I really don’t think of you as my food,” Zoe said quietly once the door closed.

  “Even though you take my mana all the time, and you drank my blood?” I asked.

  “You’re giving it to me,” Zoe replied. “You’re my… provider. But if you want, I’ll stop taking it.”

  “I didn’t say you should stop,” I said. “Just… you really do feed on me.”

  “But… but with love!” Zoe gasped.

  “Would you still love me if I stopped feeding you mana?” I asked.

  “Would you still love me if, for whatever reason, I couldn’t have sex with you ever again?” Zoe asked in return.

  “That…” I wanted to say it was different, but then I realized that maybe it wasn’t that different after all. In both cases, we would stop fulfilling each other’s needs. Could I imagine living without sex again? No. Would I still love Zoe? Yes. Would I still want to be with her? Yes, but I wasn’t sure if the answer would be the same if she wanted me to stop having sex with other women as well.

  “I don’t understand,” Azura suddenly spoke.

  Both Zoe and I turned to look at her at the same time.

  “It’s not going to happen,” Azura added. “You love her,” she said, looking at me. “You love him,” she added, turning to Zoe. “You make each other happy. Don’t listen to Sage. She’s good at messing with a head.” Azura tapped herself on the forehead with a finger.

  It was a big oversimplification of the whole thing, but maybe there was no reason to complicate it more than necessary. I was in love with Zoe, and my life was amazing, rgely thanks to her. Maybe even completely thanks to her. And it was probably the same for her when she thought about me.

  “You are both amazing,” I said, grabbing Azura and Zoe and pulling them into a three-way hug. Their arms wrapped around me, and we just stood there for a moment. I kissed both of them before speaking again. “We really have to go, or Cassia is going to get pissed and beat me again during training.”

  “I love you,” Zoe said, her pink eyes clearly searching for me to say the same words.

  “I love you too, Zoe,” I replied, then shifted my gaze to Azura. I hesitated for a second, but avoiding the truth wouldn’t make it disappear, and I didn’t want that anyway. “And I love you, Azura.”

  She just hummed in acknowledgment.

  “That’s all?” I asked, a little taken aback. “Aren’t you happy? Or excited?”

  “I already knew,” Azura replied, surprising me. When had she become observant enough to realize my feelings before I was even ready to admit them?

  “You want to have babies with me,” she added.

  I sighed and pulled her into another hug. She misunderstood our talk about kids, but in the end, I had fallen for her, so I didn’t see a reason to correct her. Especially since she preferred things to be simple, and I didn’t want to complicate them.

  “Okay, that’s really enough talking and expressing emotions. Let’s go do that training,” I said.

  We left the house and made our way quickly to the arena, where Cassia was already waiting.

  As before, she trained with me first, then with Zoe, while Azura sat to the side, just watching. Around three hours ter, and with a few new bruises, we were done. As Zoe and I sat next to Azura, catching our breath, Cassia went back to her own training, not bothering to sit with us even for five minutes.

  It seemed she really wasn’t interested in me at all, and I wondered why, until something occurred to me.

  “Zoe, is Cassia gay?”

  “How should I know?” she asked with a giggle.

  “Can’t you sense what she likes?”

  “Master, you know I don’t have a skill like that,” Zoe replied with a smile.

  “You also don’t have a skill that makes your vampiric saliva healing, yet it works. And you seem pretty good at knowing what people want.”

  “I know she’s attracted to me,” Zoe replied. “But pretty much everyone is.”

  “Oh, someone’s getting arrogant,” I said with a smirk.

  “No, I didn’t mean it like that…”

  “I was joking. Can’t you tell if she would want me there when you have sex with her? You’re good at sensing what someone desires.”

  “Yeah, but I usually need to do something with them first, and then I just… know. But maybe if I imagine doing something with her,” Zoe said, shifting her gaze toward Cassia.

  She frowned slightly, tilting her head, before her expression turned into a smile - one I’d seen many times before sex, during it, or after.

  “It’s not like something screams gay when I look at her,” Zoe said. “But I think she would prefer it more… slow, sensual, and soft. I’d pull her on top of me, kiss her for a long time, our thighs brushing softly against our pussies, as we slowly… very slowly brought each other to orgasm, whispering sweet things between gentle kisses.”

  “Are you sure you’re talking about the same person who just beat me during training?” I asked with an amused snort.

  “Yeah,” Zoe replied with a nod.

  “So… it’s very possible she’s gay.”

  Zoe smacked her lips. “Or that’s what she wants from women, but from a man she’d want to be fucked rough. I don’t know that.”

  I hummed, watching Cassia train.

  “Master,” Zoe said with a giggle, shifting closer to me. “Maybe you should just ask her out. Not every woman must immediately notice how amazing you are. Or I could seduce her for you, get her into bed with me, and then you could join us.”

  “There’s no need for that,” I replied. “I’m not exactly suffering from a ck of women in my bed,” I added with a smile. “Actually, you remember I’m meeting Julia ter today?”

  “I must go with you!” Zoe gasped. “Please don't leave me again. I can be like a shadow, standing away, but please…” she whimpered, looking at me pleadingly.

  “It’s okay, you can go with me,” I replied. “I’m pretty sure Julia won’t mind. Azura, do you want to join?”

  “Yes,” she replied with a soft smile.

  “Okay then. We should head back home, wash up, get dressed, and go pick up Julia.”

  We gathered our things, waved to Cassia as we left, and walked back to Sage’s house. We were just passing through the corridor toward the stairs when Azura’s mother stepped out of her room.

  “Do you have a moment to talk?” Hannah asked, looking at me.

  “Sure, but I should take a bath first,” I replied.

  “Okay. I’ll be waiting in the dining room.”

  “Did something happen? Is it important?” I asked, wondering if we should talk immediately.

  “It is important, but it can wait half an hour. Or even a day, if you don’t have time,” Hannah replied.

  “After the bath, then,” I said, heading upstairs.

  “Do you know what your mom wants to talk about?” I asked Azura when we were far away so she couldn't hear us.

  “No,” Azura replied, looking worried, as we stepped into the bathroom.

  This time, the succubus pushed Azura to sit between my legs, while she sat on the opposite side of the bath. But she had one big advantage - her long tail, which slid along my leg and wrapped around my cock between me and Azura.

  I washed Azura’s body, caressing her breasts and stomach, then moving lower, my hand slipping between her legs. As Zoe stroked my hard cock with her tail, I rubbed Azura’s pussy. But it didn’t take long before my shaft was surrounded by Azura’s tight, hot insides.

  It wasn’t the easiest position to have sex in, but Azura was light enough that I could lift her up and down on my shaft, giving both of us enough pleasure to reach orgasm. And even if that hadn’t been enough, Zoe’s tail kept rubbing and teasing both of us, pushing us toward release even faster.

  At the same time, Zoe was pying with herself as she watched, and despite the fact that I didn't really touch her, the three of us came almost at the same time. After that, we rexed in the hot bath for a moment, before I would have to talk to Azura’s mother and head out to meet Julia.