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"And your brother does? Conize utter hatred when I see it"
"Did you know this was going to happen?" he asked, deflecting the subject
She narrowed her eyes, but allowed it "I knew so was off inside o"
"That's cos"
"I told er, but didn't tell ain, wouldn't tell me what kind"
"A trigger? It must have been when you and Will had sex"
She whipped her head up "We didn't Not all the way We just fooled around"
Differently than they had yesterday? Oh Munro could deduce what the trigger had been She'dfed for the first time
Judging by Chloe's blushing, she'd deduced it as well "Your father dinna tell you no' to be withto keep you fro"
"He probably didn't think he had anything to worry about I never had uys"
"I see It's no' unheard of for a halfling's powers orappetites to be dor beco strike"
"I had no idea about any of that Dad just plopped the Book of Lore in my lap and took off on a business trip He told me we'd talk when he returned Hehe never did His phone was disconnected" Her voice wavered, which clearly aggravated her "The next thing I know, I've got Lore creatures inkidnapped"
"I'ine her confusion and fear Again that protectiveness surged within hi his hatred of immortals, your father probably believed his actions merciful"
She shrugged, feigning indifference "So spill about succubae Give it to irl"
He only had vague reports from others to draw from, and his brother's bitter recollections of Ruelle "You're a ca, which makes you part of the Ubus Peoples They hail from the Ubus Realm, located on a hidden plane Males are incubi, females are succubae No' much is known about your kind Some say males can fly and females can turn invisible All we know for certain is that your species draws nourishment from a partner's sexual release"
"So when MacRieve called me a seed-feeder, was thatliteral?"
Munro pulled at his collar, as unco the birds and the bees-to his brother's y with release, and your species can convert it to a life force" Could this be any more aard? "In that case, seed could be just an attractant of sorts, kind of the icing on the" He trailed off "Anyto sound perverted"
Her cheeks flushed even brighter red "I get it"
"Others say, well, that the physical, uh, result is what gets converted" He coughed into his fist "I do know it can be froh Ruelle could feed both ways, she'd never deigned to perform orl sx and had no interest in it herself
"How often do I have to do that? Months? Weeks?"
"Since you're young, you'll need it uess every day Mayhap every other"
Her face paled "That much?" she cried "What happens if I don't?"
"For a caer she goes, the rows By a certain point, she becomes mindless and animalistic with need" Like the succubae who'd stalked Will, intent on raping him
Gods, mayhap this was far too much to ask of him
"Great Anything else?"
"If you have intercourse with the same malehim-"
"Like venohast
"No, no, it's a mystical bond Once that tie is for in his bed, covered in sweat "I understand that it's like hern withdrawal, but it never gets better"
She gave him an incredulous look "Then ould anyone have sex with a succubus in the first place?"
"You're bonny And you can e"
"How do I emit them?"
"From what I understand, it comes from your verra breath It's scentless, so it's impossible to detect until the result is felt Even an unwilling male would find it difficult to resist, if no' iht to be immune"
She stopped "So et the back to the dealer? That's just messed up"
He couldn't disagree He reles
"I'uys, really dependent on them, for the rest of my life?" She looked like she was about to be sick More to herself, she said, "I was roup passed the at?" she snapped
Munro told her, "News spreads fast around here, I'm afraid"
"Well, they need to keep their eyes in their heads"
Before, she'd appeared woeful With each second that she grew accustorew more mutinous
Succubae were known to be fawning They coaxed and beguiled e of head-butting unsuspecting bystanders
Munro tilted his head, a flare of hope rising This fe as a professional athlete, about the least likely career Munro could iine for a succubus
His own innate wariness toward her was fading Just because she was a halfling succubus didn'tlike Ruelle
There was a spark in Chloe's eyes, a toughness in her demeanor that was so radically different from Munro's memories of that other creature, so different fro life
Whichmatch for Will
"What about pregnancy?" she asked
"Full succubae have a few cycles of fertility in a year I doona knoill happen with you There's a soothsayer we can contact to determine more, but it will likely take time"
"I' to wake up, and this will all be a bad dream" She rubbed her temples "Is there any upside here?"
"You're immortal now You could live forever"
"Live forever as an out-of-work, roofie-dispensing, drug-dealing skank? If that's my upside"
"You'll be stronger You'll regenerate from any wound Other than decapitation, of course"
She perked up "Stronger?"
"Take a swing at me" He patted his upper arm
She shrugged, then launched her good fist