Chapter 124: Cat’s Out the Bag

Daemus froze dead in his tracks in the doorway.

Jack was leaning over the edge of the mattress, pressing a soft kiss to Blair’s forehead.

Daemus furrowed his brows, his grip tightening on the water pitcher in his hand. "Didn’t you just say taking advantage of a drugged girl is wrong?"

On the bed, Blair squirmed. She puckered her soft lips, leaning forward blindly and offering them up for his next kiss.

Jack easily sidestepped her reaching hands. He glanced back at Daemus, his expression entirely unbothered. "She promised to tell me what she is if I kissed her. It’s not like it was on the lips."

Daemus walked into the room and set the pitcher down on the nightstand, pouring the cold water into a glass. "Why are you so hung up on that?" Daemus asked, genuinely confused. "She is human. An experimented-on human, sure, but still human. You heard her tell the truth, too."

Jack let out a dry, cynical scoff. "Do you really think the experiment was testing hair and eye colors on boring human girls?" Jack challenged, his red eyes narrowing. "Wake up, Daemus. Even you must know she’s hiding something much bigger."

Daemus didn’t argue. He sat down on the other side of Blair.

Blair looked back and forth between Daemus and Jack, her glassy pink eyes wide and sparkling like a kid standing in the middle of a toy store. Daemus smiled softly at her. He raised his hand, gently running his thumb along her bottom lip, slowly coaxing her to open her mouth so he could tip the water glass against her lips.

"Whatever else is there, she’ll tell me when she’s ready," Daemus stated calmly, watching Blair swallow the water.

"And what if she never is ready?" Jack countered.

Daemus looked over at the professor. "You’d be surprised how much someone reveals to someone they trust," Daemus reasoned, his voice smooth and patient. "I just have to be patient." He narrowed his silver eyes at Jack, adding a sharp edge to his tone. "Bombarding someone with questions and accusations won’t work."

A quiet realization clicked into place inside Jack’s mind. Daemus was also curious about Blair Willows. Jack had mistakenly assumed the Wolf Prince was naive when it came to Blair and the secrets she was shrouded in.

A dark smirk slowly touched the corner of Jack’s lips. "You surprised me, Daemus," Jack admitted smoothly. "I guess all those years at the academy weren’t entirely wasted on you."

Daemus set the empty glass down. He met Jack’s gaze, a spark of challenge lighting up his silver eyes. "Let’s make it interesting, then. A competition."

Jack raised a brow. "A competition?"

"Whoever finds out her secret first wins," Daemus proposed.

Jack let out a low chuckle, crossing his arms over his chest. "And what is the prize?"

Daemus looked down at Blair, who was currently giggling at a loose thread on the duvet, and then looked right back at Jack.

"Her."

Jack stared at Daemus for a long moment, the silence stretching taut across the room.

Daemus stood up from the bed, gesturing for Jack to step away into the corner of the room to talk privately. Once they were out of earshot, Daemus dropped his casual demeanor.

"I know you had sex with my girlfriend," Daemus stated bluntly.

Jack didn’t try to defend himself. He said nothing in response. His face was a blank, unreadable mask. The tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Daemus let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head. "I take it you’re not sorry."

"Why would I be?" Jack asked effortlessly.

Daemus rubbed the center of his chest, letting out a sarcastic sigh. "You’re one cold godfather. What kind of godfather fucks his godson’s girlfriend?"

Jack’s eyes narrowed into sharp, crimson slits. "You’ve been in the human world for too long. You think stupid, loose titles like ’girlfriend’ and ’godfather’ matter? The female was in heat and offered herself to me. I’m as horny as any other beast, why would I refuse her?"

"I thought you hated her," Daemus argued, crossing his arms.

"What is your point?" Jack dismissed coldly. "If you are so cut up about it, you should take it up with your ’girlfriend’."

"I’m not cut up about it," Daemus corrected, his jaw ticking slightly. "I just wish I got a heads up."

Jack raised his brows, looking genuinely amused by the ridiculous concept. "Was I supposed to say..." Jack paused, a mocking smirk touching his lips as he perfectly mimicked Daemus’s casual tone, "Yo bro, Imma fuck your girl?"

Daemus scowled. "First of all, I don’t talk like that. And second, I asked you if you were into Blair, and you said no."

Neither beastman was paying any attention to the bed. While they argued in the corner, Blair had managed to wriggle her wrists completely out of the silk ties. Driven entirely by the burning fever of the drug, she was busy stripping her clothes off, tossing her shirt and shorts onto the carpet.

Jack ignored Daemus’s complaint. "So what now?" Jack asked. "Do you want to fight me?"

Daemus rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated breath. "Don’t be ridiculous."

Daemus leaned against the wall, dropping his voice lower. "I won’t tell Blair that I know about it, because I believe she’ll tell me on her own when she’s ready to. But as an apology for lying to me, I want you to not tell Blair that I know."

"But I’m not sorry," Jack argued.

Daemus groaned, rubbing his temples. "Just do it, please."

"Fine," Jack agreed. "I won’t tell her."

"Thank you," Daemus said, letting his arms drop to his sides. "So, do you agree to the terms of our competition? Whoever finds out the truth about her first gets her."

Despite Daemus fully knowing and acknowledging that it was completely normal for beastmen to share a female, that didn’t mean he actually wanted to share her. He wanted to win.

"Very well," Jack agreed.

They shook on it.