Chapter 700: The last heat before it begins

Lucian beamed as he got to add both his and Cass’ stickers to the bathroom. Even as Edgar glared at him, arms crossed, as he chewed Lucian out for ambushing Cass so soon to his heat.

Edgar was pissed, his foot tapping, his eyes narrowed, and Cass was sure that he wasn’t the only one who found him hot, even as he was chewing Lucian out. Cass knew he’d be next, and in a secret moment when Edgar pressed his hand against his face in frustration, Lucian and Cass shared a look.

Cass had to look away to hide his smirk, but it was a moment that Cass hadn’t had before. A shared moment of understanding, of a shared experience, and with Lucian as well.

As soon as Edgar was done with Lucian, Cass took his lashings as well. Edgar was thorough, listing all the reasons why it was a bad idea to do what he’d done, how he had a lot of work to do, etc. all of which was valid, and it was a little funny to hear Edgar chew Cass out about it.

Cass didn’t smile though, taking his lashings, even as Edgar adjusted Cass’ clothes so that he didn’t look disheveled. He was cute, like Cass thought, and after that they got back to work.

However, something kept circling in Cass’ mind. Something that Lucian had said that Cass couldn’t dismiss. Alone time. He’d been complaining about alone time.

Honestly, it wasn’t something Cass had considered but when he thought about it, none of them spent time alone together. Not really.

Cass wouldn’t dare to consider what he and Edgar did as alone time. It was too professional, and while Cass had never been one to date, he knew better. He’d read a lot of romance novels, and he’d gone one dates during his time living here. He hadn’t realised that this was something he was neglecting until now.

It wasn’t something he could repair now, but it was something he could hopefully remedy once he was better.

In anticipation of that, he sent letters to his Aunt in the city, Mr. Collins, and Taniora. He would need all of their help to achieve what he would want if he wanted peace to date his...husbands? Boyfriends? Lovers? Cass wasn’t sure what to call them, but lovers seemed the least confusing while not putting them in a box.

They could all be each other’s lovers.

He made sure Ember sent off the letters without Edgar noticing. What good were surprises, and fun ones, if the ones involved knew?

Cass didn’t know how suspicious he was, grinning and chuckling to himself, his tail curling and uncurling into a heart shape with his eyes curled. The poor man had no idea that he was making it pretty damn obvious that he was plotting something, but that the people who he called his lovers had caught on and were being nice about not poking into it.

He was being pretty obvious about it, even if he wasn’t aware. Even Ember, who had been standing over his shoulder while he asked for help and laid out some of his plans in his letters, had to look away as he chuckled in delight.

Cass, in love, was too damn cute for his own good.

~

The nobles had responded, several in the positive, but still quite a few in the negative. Even some of the ones that he’d sent a bribe to had been against helping him. Some of it was some bullshit about ’going against temple beliefs’. Ha! What fools.

He had two people on his team who knew the scripture well, and given that Gideon was nearby, Cass just summoned him to ask for his help to debunk the idiots who were saying such bullshit.

Of course, he’d also send bigger bribes, and offer things that the non-bribed nobles might want. Nothing too offensive. He wouldn’t get to blackmail territory until after the second rejection.

He wasn’t his grandfather.

He just wanted to ruin his plans, get rights for his people and himself, and be allowed to walk around town holding his partner’s hand without having to be a very powerful mage who could blow your head off if you fucked with him. Was Cass projecting a bit? Yeah. He was thinking about Mr. Collins and Christopher and how they were living in hiding. He was thinking of all of the people who had to live in fear.

He was feeling guilty for all the time that Cassian had to turn a blind eye to stay alive while he built his secret empire. How he’d had to repress everything, far more than Cass ever had, just to stay alive. It was a bit concerning that his grandfather considered Cassian being a demon less bad then Cassian being gay.

It spoke volumes to the kind of man he was. While Cass knew that, knew that it mostly reflected poorly on the older man, there was a bit of shame involved in how Cass had just been avoiding facing him head on. He hadn’t faced him, and it probably would have been easier if he had done it when he was mostly Cass, not a blend of him and Cassian.

Cass wasn’t afraid of Cassian’s grandfather, but now that they were combined...there was a bit of fear. It was a small frustration, but...Cass was preparing. He needed to have faith in himself. In what he was doing.

The others did. They trusted Cass, they believed in him, and Gideon and Edgar didn’t ask a second question beyond what Cass needed from them as they sat down to write response letters.

That kind of trust did make Cass feel more guilty, but also determined. He didn’t feel as bad or worried about what had happened. He might still feel nervous about his changing body, but he pushed those worries to the side.

It was actually strange that he was considering himself more. He should be focusing on the others instead. Gideon and the doctor had gotten everything ready so that Cass wouldn’t have to worry about pregnancy. Anything that would speed up his transformation into the thing that he had feared before he had lovers that cared for him was good. He needed to change. He had to change.

He had to finally end this war.

~

Cass ended up asking Gideon to help write letters and start him on the no baby medication. Gideon’s eyes had bulged when Cass had called it that, since he’d forgotten the word for contraception, and the name had stuck.

Lucian especially liked the name, tickled by it, and referred to Cass’ daily dose of pills and the no baby supply. Cass didn’t understand why, but didn’t push it either. If it worked, it worked.

Gideon was a bit worried that Cass was starting so early, but Cass figured it was better to be careful. He knew that they wouldn’t do anything he wasn’t comfortable with, but he also knew from his time in his world that you didn’t just take it when you wanted to prevent pregnancy. He’d seen his sister take it.

He wasn’t sure if it was the same here, he just asked Gideon to help him since he was the one paying attention when the doctor explained everything.

As time ticked on, the heat got closer and closer. Cass was sweating, his vision hazy hut he kept fighting his symptoms. He had letters to get done, plans to put in place, things to tell Sir Forsythe to be aware of.

He had work to do, even if the boys watched him with concern. Lucian in particular was a dark stormcloud, watching over Cass as Cass pushed himself. If it had been Cass only two months ago he wouldn’t have been able to last as long as he did. It was easier than it had ever been to fight against his heat.

Was it due to how much he was being fed? Cass blushed as he considered it, but it was a very real possibility. He was under the impression that his heats were because he was starved, and if that meant there was a point in time where Cass was free of them?

Oh, Cass would gladly kiss a god on the mouth if that happened. The suffering, not fully being in control of your body, all of it gone? Cass would simply be over the moon if that happened.

He was pushing his luck though. Each minute, each hour that ticked by only made things harder for Cass. His body ached, his tail throbbed. His ass and vagina clenched an unclenched at inconvenient times and he swore that the men smelled...delicious.

Cass felt like he was reaching his limit just as he finished his last pile of letters and bribes, and that was when Lucian slammed down his foot.

"Enough, Cass. You’re barely able to stay upright. You can’t do this anymore. You need to ride out your heat." Lucian growled. His arms were crossed, his chest on display, and his bright orange eyes were a great contrast to his darker hair and lighter skin.

Cass gulped, staring at him, only able to imagine him naked. The clothes were just simply in the way. Lucian growled again, deeper, with a more threatening tone behind it.

"Cass? Baby, can you hear us?" Edgar’s voice was softer, coaxing and Cass turned his head towards him. Just like Lucian, Cass could only picture him naked. His soft, sweet skin revealed under all of that protective fabric.

"I needed to get the letters done." Cass rasped, swallowing. "I’m done now." Cass said. Lucian growled again, but he sounded pleased this time.

"Then everyone else, take the damn letters and get out of here. He needs his rest." Lucian said, but Cass was doubtful ’rest’ was what he had in mind. Cass certainly didn’t have it in his.

Cass breathed out, his hands shaking as he pushed his chair back from the table, his eyes unfocused as he glanced around the room. Ember and Sage were running around the room, aware that things were urgent. Cass could tell that Edgar was helping. Gideon was doing the same while Cass turned his head, in a daze, to glance around the room.

"Did I take the no baby pills today?" Cass asked and Lucian moved towards him. He placed a warm, heavy hand against his shoulder.

"You did." Lucian’s voice, while soft, still had a bit of a rumble to it. "You asked Gideon three times today already if you did." Cass swallowed, unaware.

"Oh. Okay." Cass said softly. Lucian growled.

"You pushed yourself too hard again, Cass." Lucian didn’t sound pleased. Cass gave a soft chuckle.

"You should just get used to it at this point. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop. It’s part of who I am." Lucian didn’t have anything to say to that, only a deep, displeased rumble that had Cass laughing more. He leaned his head against the warmth of Lucian’s body, his head making contact with Lucian’s side. "You’re warm." Cass murmured.

"And you’re close to the edge." Lucian countered. Cass had nothing to say because it was true.