Elias tried to sleep.
Tried.
But his body refused to settle. Magic hummed under his skin, making his sheets cling to him like static. Sweat slicked his back, and the heat between his thighs wouldn't go away.
It was worse tonight.
He tossed and turned, groaning softly, trying to push the hunger down. But it wasn't hunger for food. It was a gaping need, a yearning that throbbed under every inch of his skin.
He pulled the covers over his head, panting.
"Please," he whispered into the dark, not sure what he was begging for.
Magic bloomed around him in curling tendrils—violet and gold, wild and alive. His pillow floated. His desk rattled. Books thudded to the floor one by one.
His walls creaked, groaning under the pressure.
This was it. He was going to explode.
A hand slid into his hair.
Warm. Steady. Real.
Elias gasped, tearing the blanket down.
Rael sat on the edge of his bed, blonde hair a soft halo in the moonlight, blue eyes burning with worry and something tender. His skin glowed faintly, like he was more spirit than flesh.
"Shhh," Rael murmured, stroking his hair back from his clammy forehead. "You're overheating, sweetheart. Let me help you."
Elias whimpered, too overwhelmed to protest.
Rael crawled in beside him, gathering Elias into his arms like he was something precious. His body was large, hot, solid—a wall against the chaos.
Elias buried his face against Rael's bare chest, breathing in the demon's rich scent: dark spice, rain, and something purely him.
His trembling slowed. His magic steadied.
"I've got you," Rael said softly, pressing a kiss to the top of Elias's head. "You're not alone."
Elias clung to him shamelessly, legs tangling with Rael's thicker ones. Every part of him buzzed where their skin touched, but the wildness in him quieted under Rael's steady hands.
Strong fingers stroked his back in slow, soothing circles.
Rael shifted slightly, tilting Elias's chin up.
"Let me take care of you," he murmured.
Their mouths met, soft and slow at first—a kiss full of promises, not demands. Elias whimpered into it, desperate and greedy, but Rael was patient, drinking him in like he had all the time in the world.
Their bodies pressed closer. Elias could feel every hard line of Rael's massive form: the curve of his thick arms, the broad expanse of his chest, the way his hips pinned Elias's smaller frame perfectly.
When Rael's hands wandered lower, palming Elias's hips, it wasn't rushed. It wasn't cruel. It was... loving.
Claiming.
And Elias melted into it, giving himself up to the sensation.
Hours later, tangled together, Elias drifted into sleep against Rael's chest, feeling safer than he had in years.
Rael watched him, fingers idly combing through his messy hair, a rare softness in his expression.
"Mine," Rael whispered to the sleeping boy. "Every inch of you."