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GRAY

I chuckle at the sound of Charlie's light snores as I peek my head through the bathroom door into her room. She's buried beneath layers of blankets, her entire body hidden except for a tuft of messy brown hair resting on her pillow.

Drawing my attention away from her sleeping form, I take a look at the television I ordered the shadows to place in her room, a smirk growing on my face as I note that she turned it on.

The pamphlet I received from the auction house appears to have been accurate in its statement that Human females enjoy watching it. Some Human news channel I've never watched before plays quietly to the room, the men on the screen chatting about some useless drama that holds no meaning.

Those males know nothing of what is happening among our realms. They latch on to the tiny crumbs we give them, obsessing over arguments and restrictions that have no importance to us.

I rest my shoulder against the doorframe as I continue searching around Charlie's room, a muffled sigh falling from my lips as I take in the sterility of it. Besides the few articles of clothing that I managed to scrounge up from our rooms, she has nothing.

My lips flatten as I think about her sad expression at dinner, unhappy with her unenjoyment of our home. I suppose it makes sense that she would miss her family and belongings, and I hate that I didn't think of supplying her with those comforts before bringing her here.

Silas would have remembered to take such care of her. The thought makes me angry, jealousy coursing through me as I remember how kindly he spoke to her when they were alone earlier.

I should have been the one to explain those things to her, and am frustrated that I am already failing my female.

I can't help but fear that Charlie will find me to be a lousy caretaker and reject my offerings of partnership. Incubi aren't exactly known to be maternal creatures, our interests typically revolving more around pleasure and desire. I've never cared for a female before, and I hope that she will allow me to learn before crossing me off the list.

Charlie lets out a particularly loud snort before shifting and rolling over, her face emerging from the blankets as she turns to face me in her sleep. I stare at her upturned nose and light smattering of freckles for a long moment before retreating into the bathroom and closing her bedroom door.

She locked them earlier when she took her nap, and I am taking it as a good sign that she has not decided not to do so now. I'm unsure what changed her mind, but the optimistic side of me wants to believe that it's because she knows that nobody will hurt her here.

Glancing at myself in the bathroom mirror, I turn left and right to evaluate my appearance. My cheeks have filled back out since feeding off her, making me look better than I have in weeks. It's shocking how much essense she was able to share with me through just her dreams, making the thought of taking her in person so much more enticing.

I hold back a groan at the idea of finally getting to feel my skin on hers, my cock hardening at just the thought. She is the perfect female for me, and I know that Alexander and Silas will grow on her over time. It's clear that they are both attracted to her, and despite their best attempts at hiding it, I could feel their arousal when I told them about Charlie's dreams.

Alexander is too old to be continuing to hold out on taking a mate, and Silas is growing angsty with each passing year. It's clear that we are all desperate for some genuine intimacy, and with the shortage of females it's not as if we have the opportunity to be picky.

I bite my bottom lip and turn away from the mirror as I feel myself start to want Charlie once more, the inner desires of my Incubi coming to light and urging me to seep either into her bedroom or dreams.

My hands clench into fists by my sides as I hurry into my room and fight my impulses to do either of those things. I promised her that I would stay out of her mind tonight, and I'll be damned if I turn back on that promise so quickly.

Marching over to paperwork I tossed on my dresser earlier, I search through the auction house's documentation on Charlie. My eyes skim over the pages until I find the information I'm searching for, a cheerful grunt emerging from my chest as I spot it.

Focusing on the words, I relax my body and shift myself to her home. My muscles go taut and my skin aches at the effort, but within seconds I am standing in what appears to be her living room.

For a quick moment I'm unable to get my bearings, my mind discombobulated by the intra-realm shift to a place I have never been before. I don't need my eyes to know that there is a decomposing corpse in here, though, the smell of rotting flesh enough to give that away.

Stepping to my left, I glance around until I spot the body in question. Some man lays on his stomach in the center of the room, his arm outstretched and face buried into the yellowed carpet. He's wearing pajamas, but it's hard to tell much more beyond that.

From the looks of it he has been here for a while, his body already beginning to liquify into the floor below. As much as I'd like to pretend that I never saw him and move on with my day, I'd have to be a fool not to realize that this is likely Charlie's father.

The Seekers don't take kindly to men who hide away their daughters, and I wouldn't put it past them to leave him here to rot.

I groan as I reach up and pinch at the bridge of my nose, angry that they left my female's father here. She will be crushed when I share the bad news with her. A small part of me debates not saying anything at all, but as I turn and look over the photos of them together I know that I cannot do such a thing.

My lips purse as I try to remember the Human tradition for death, my shoulders rounding as I remember that they like burials. This would be so much easier if I could burn him as the Demons do.

Figuring that I will work on her father later, I step over his body and walk down the narrow hallway that leads to the bedrooms. Peeking in the first door on the left, I take one look at the floral curtains and gray bedsheets before turning and continuing my journey.

I may not know Charlie very well, but I sure do know that there's no way she would decorate her space so poorly.

Continuing forward, I discover a small bathroom before reaching the last, cracked open door. My eyes widen as I peek inside, surprise taking over my features as I take note of the messy chaos happening inside this space.

Safe to say that Charlie is a bit of a hoarder. She has done a good job of keeping the space relatively clean, but the clutter is unreal. It will take me all night to shift this junk back into our house.

My chest expands as I take a deep breath, the exhaustion I'm sure to feel at the end of this already settling inside of me. Alexander will kill me for using up all of the essense I have stored, but I figure this is a good enough cause that he won't get too mad.

I'm doing it for my female.

Groaning, I head over to her closet and pull out two large suitcases. They are old and dusty, probably having sat here since before she was born, but will do. I plop both of them on the bed before pulling them open and beginning to shove anything of Charlie's that looks to be of importance inside. They are filled within minutes, and with excitement I zip them up and shift back to my bedroom.

It takes a moment for the room to materialize around me, but once it does I'm dumping the contents onto my bedroom floor and shifting back to the Human realm. I figure that I'll store all her things in my space while Charlie is sleeping and then help her move them into hers tomorrow morning.

I hope it will put her in high spirits for the day and show that I am not such a bad guy.

Rolling my shoulders back, I lay out the suitcases once more and repeat the process. It grows tiring quickly, and before I begin my fourth round I'm hunched over her bed panting.

My hands shake where they rest on the mattress, and I stare down at them in anger. An Incubus my age should be able to make these shifts easily, and the knowledge that I am unable to fills me with rage.

If it weren't for the constant state of starvation I have forced myself to endure these past hundred years or so, I would be stronger. Alex feeds me so well when I'm able to sneak into his dreams, but I only try to enter in dire situations.

A better Incubus would have taken what he needed and grown strong. I know that my kind shames me for my inability to rent the females as they do. It's not as if I haven't tried, but the women always cry and beg me not to, and even when they don't I leave feeling dirty.

Glancing around Charlie's room, I know that without a doubt I'm not going to be able to make the last shift home. I can hardly stand at the moment, let alone pack another bag, bury her father, and shift back.

With a huff, I tuck away my pride and seek out Alex's essense.

Humiliation warms my cheeks as I reach through the bond Alex accidentally created between us, my mind traveling through our realms before brushing up along his. My jaw clenches shut as I poke at him, begging for entry.

I thought that forcing him to cum when he found me in the woods and igniting his bonding curse was such an exciting thing at first. Me, a young, untrained Incubus, somehow managing to compel the mind of one of the strongest beings in existence and forcing him to tie his life to mine.

It was exhilarating having that source of power, and made me practically untouchable.

While I still pride myself on bringing him to his knees, the thought of asking him to share his essense with me willingly is shameful. He's told me before that he's happy to feed me through the bond connection, but I have always refused.

When I seep into his dreams and steal it it's one thing, but to have to beg him for it like a child is below me. The Incubus in me is more than happy to feed on him through sex, but to take a handout is apparently where it draws the line.

Alex's mind pushes back against my own before opening up, his endless reserve there for my taking. My eyes roll back as I brush against it, the desire to fill myself up to the brim overwhelming.

I'm sure that it would hardly even affect him if I did. My age prohibits how much essence I can physically hold, and that level is nothing compared to what Alex has stored inside of him. He probably wouldn't stop me if I tried and, if anything, would encourage my greed and shove more into me until I'm drunk off it.

Still, I resist.

He won't be getting the satisfaction of feeding me like an infant, and I'll be damned if I allow him to think this is going to be a regular thing. I'm doing this one time and one time only, and only for my female.

If I grow hungry in the future, I'll seep into his dreams like the good Incubus that I am.

My mouth falls open in a silent moan as I begin to absorb Alex's essence, pleasure coursing through me as I fill myself with him. The bond between us pulses at the connection, and despite my body screaming at me take more, I sever it once I have just enough to see me through one more intra-realm shift.

I can feel Alex trying to reach out as I end our connection, his soul brushing up against mine and begging me to open up so he can give me more. I push him away with a huff, annoyed that he is making such a big deal out of this.

If he tries to have a conversation about this with me when I get back I'm going to punch him in the throat, and if he dares tell Silas it will be his precious testicles that meet my fist.

Growing irate, I stomp my way around Charlie's house and pull picture frames off the wall before entering the bathroom and grabbing all the beauty products that hold her scent. Shoving everything in the suitcases, I zip them up before returning to the body in the living room.

My body aches and an unbearable headache is already beginning to form behind my eyes as I head to the backyard in search of a shovel. I worry that Charlie will be mad at me for burying him before she has the opportunity to say goodbye, but considering that this dude is pretty much jelly at this point I'm willing to take that risk.

She doesn't need to ever see this.

There's a small shed in the far corner of the yard, and I march up to it before ripping open the door and locking eyes immediately with the tool I desire. Grabbing the shovel, I turn and evaluate the yard for the best spot.

There's a small garden near the back door that looks like it was well-loved at one point, so with a shrug I head over there and begin digging my hole in the area right next to it. My exhaustion makes the task harder than it should have been, but I've gotten something decent enough to fit a full-grown man in after an hour.

My nose crinkles as I head inside and grab ahold of his body. I hold my breath as I drag him by his shoes through the back door and into the hold I've created. He fits in perfectly, and with a triumphant smile I begin to cover him with dirt.

"I know that the afterlife world your kind believes in does not exist, but I will honor the Human tradition for Charlie and speak a couple of words to your corpse." I say to the man's bloated, unrecognizable face as I work to cover him.

"Who you were is unknown to me, but from the images around the house and love your daughter holds for you, I assume that you were a good man. I do not know what happened to your wife, but I promise that I will take good care of your daughter. She will see a life that is full and lacks nothing."

My vision blurs as I continue to shovel him in, regret coursing through me that I did not take more from Alex earlier. A small part of me debates reaching out to him again, but I refuse.

If I need to spend the night here and sneak into some random Human's dream, then so be it.

I blink slowly before continuing with my words to Charlie's father.

"I have purchased her along with two other Demons. We have no interest in sharing her, and she will also not be forced to bear us any children." I promise the corpse that I know cannot hear me. "I will also lie and tell her that your death was quick."

After a couple more minutes of idle rambling, the man has vanished underneath the dirt and I'm patting the loose bits on the top to flatten the pile to the ground. Looks good if I do say so myself.

I don't bother putting the shovel away as I drop it on the ground and drag myself back to Charlie's bedroom. My shoulder smacks painfully against the doorway as I barrel inside, but I hardly pay any attention to it as I grab the last bags and force myself to shift back.

The transition is excruciating, feeling more like I'm walking through lava than the usual warm heat the intra-realm space emits. I'm burning from the inside as I reach my bedroom, but I manage to make it back in one piece.

I don't need to look in a mirror to know that I'm looking more like a Nightmare than an Incubus at the moment, my body gaunt and weak.

Dropping the bags to the ground, I take the few steps towards my bed and collapse face-first onto the mattress.

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