Chapter 123: Lady, It’s 2075

Daemus jogged up the staircase, a fresh pitcher of cold water gripped in his hand. He turned the corner of the hallway and immediately paused.

A flash of dark blue hair disappeared right through the doorway of Jack’s private study.

Daemus furrowed his brows, staring at the slightly ajar door. What was his mother up to? Jack was very territorial about his workspace. Absolutely no one was allowed inside the professor’s office without permission, and his mother certainly didn’t have a VIP pass.

Inside the study, Clarice was the definition of frantic.

She darted behind the desk, her eyes scanning the perfectly aligned rows of books and the surface of the wood. A cold sweat broke out across her forehead. Her phone was gone. It was definitely not in the spot where she had so carefully tucked it away earlier that morning.

She bit her nails, a spike of panic making her pulse race. Did Jack find it?

"No way," Clarice muttered to herself, shaking her head. "I hid it so well. He couldn’t have seen it."

She dropped to her knees, carefully sliding open the bottom desk drawer. She gingerly lifted files and shifted pens, desperately trying not to make a mess. She knew Jack’s sharp memory meant he would notice even a single misplaced pen. But the longer she lingered, the higher the risk grew that the Crow would suddenly walk in and catch her snooping.

"What are you doing?"

Clarice let out a loud gasp, her shoulders jumping in shock. Her head snapped up.

Daemus was leaning casually against the doorframe, watching her with a thoroughly unimpressed expression.

Clarice scrambled to her feet, her hands flying over the desk until she snatched up a random brass paperweight. She clutched it to her chest, letting out a high-pitched, nervous chuckle.

"Oh! Daemus!" Clarice laughed, waving the brass object awkwardly in the air. "I was just... looking for this!"

Daemus stared at her, his expression entirely deadpan. He didn’t buy it for a second. "Mom, I know you’re lying," he stated flatly. "Why are you searching through Jack’s office?"

Clarice’s nervous smile vanished. She instantly went on the defensive, her chin tilting up as her silver eyes narrowed into a sharp glare.

"You should focus less on what I am up to," Clarice snapped, crossing her arms, "and focus a lot more on what your little girlfriend is doing."

Daemus let out a long, exhausted sigh and rolled his eyes. He was so tired of playing this game.

"You really need to give this up," Daemus told her, his voice firm and unwavering. "I am not breaking up with Blair. And I am definitely not getting back together with Kyana. It’s over."

A wicked, triumphant smirk slowly spread across Clarice’s lips. She had been waiting for this exact moment.

"Is that so?" Clarice purred, tilting her head. "Even if I told you your precious Blair had sex with your godfather?"

Daemus still only stood there looking at her, unimpressed.

Clarice frowned slightly, confused by his lack of reaction. She pushed harder, wanting to see the devastation she had anticipated. "If you don’t believe me, I have a video. I just need to find my phone first."

Daemus raised an eyebrow. He tilted his head, thinking over her words with irritating calmness.

"You have a video?" Daemus questioned, his voice cool. "Sounds to me like you knew it was going to happen, since you specifically left your phone in here to record them."

Clarice’s jaw dropped. A furious red flushed her cheeks. She threw her hands up in the air, absolutely baffled.

"Why is that what you are focused on?!" Clarice shrieked, her voice echoing in the quiet study. "Blair and Jack had sex! Right here on this desk! I heard it with my own ears! If you want proof so badly, you should be helping me find my phone!"

Daemus hummed. "Sounds to me like you set them up."

"I didn’t!" Clarice stuttered out, taking a step back.

But under her son’s unwavering, knowing gaze, her resolve crumbled. She let out an angry huff, the truth tumbling out of her mouth. "Fine! I tried to drug them! But they didn’t even take it! They had sex on their own accord!"

She expected an explosion. She expected the ferocious, possessive rage of an alpha wolf discovering his mate had been touched by another man.

Instead, Daemus just watched her.

"Why are you not upset?!" Clarice yelled, pacing in front of the desk. She waved her arms wildly, gesturing to the air. "She is supposed to be yours! This is about the sacred bond! What about your fated mate? What about the will of the Moon Goddess?!"

Daemus let out a short, cynical laugh.

"Mom, please, it’s 2075," Daemus stated dryly. "Literally no one gives a fuck about the Moon Goddess and the stupid mate thing anymore. It’s a myth made up to control people."

Clarice gasped, her hands flying to her chest. She stared at him with wide, horrified eyes, unable to believe her ears. What was wrong with her son? Was this even her son standing in front of her?

"Besides," Daemus added smoothly. "It’s normal in our world for a female to have multiple mates. What’s the big deal?"

Clarice opened her mouth to argue, but no sound came out. She closed it, then opened it again, her brain short-circuiting. Her son was insane.

Finally, grasping blindly for any valid point to win the argument, Clarice screamed, "What about the fact that she didn’t tell you?!"

Daemus simply shrugged his broad shoulders.

"She’ll tell me when she’s ready," Daemus reasoned, his tone too casual for Clarice’s rising blood pressure. "Blair probably just thought I was going to be hurt or something if she said it right away." He frowned slightly. "Honestly, I’m more surprised that Jack didn’t say anything to me."

Clarice stared at him, her chest heaving. She still felt like he was just putting up a brave front, that deep down he simply didn’t believe her without the visual evidence.

"I will find that phone!" Clarice vowed fiercely, her silver eyes burning with determination. "I will find it and I will show you the truth!"

"Have fun with that," Daemus dismissed.

He turned his back on her and walked out of the study, leaving Clarice throwing a fit and screaming his name in the middle of the room.

Daemus strolled down the corridor, the ice clinking softly in the water pitcher. He reached Jack’s bedroom door and pushed it open, stepping inside.

"Hey, I got the wa—"

Daemus froze dead in his tracks.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Jack was leaning forward, kissing Blair.