Chapter 3
Demon Pussy
Drew hadn’t thought his situation could get any freakier, but the soft purr coming from his backpack said otherwise.
He’d gone from thinking the world was a rather normal place to knowing that demons were real, magic was real, and not only was he now bound to a demon, but apparently magic ran in his family and he might have the ability too.
He could barely concentrate as he sat in his lecture, his eyes constantly darting down to his backpack, then around to the people sitting near him when Zach began purring louder.
What the hell was he doing? Was he trying to draw attention to himself?
The lecture finally ended and the noise of forty people getting to their feet and leaving the lecture hall deafened any noises Zach made.
Drew slowly packed away his book, tucking it carefully to the side of the backpack so he didn’t crush the demon, when he suddenly became aware of someone standing over him.
He looked up and saw that it was Gwen, one of the girls who was in his study group.
“Hi, Drew,” she said brightly. Her long blonde hair was loose around her shoulders today, and she was wearing jeans and a VIU Mariners tee, looking every inch the stereotypical student.
“Um, hi, Gwen.”
She looked between Drew and his backpack and said, “So, I couldn’t help but notice some funny noises coming from your bag. Whatcha got in there?”
“Nothing! Nothing at all!” he cried.
“Uh-huh. Sure.” Her hand darted down to grab his bag, and Drew lunged to stop her, but he wasn’t fast enough. She dragged the backpack over to herself in triumph and went to open the zipper. “You know, I’m pretty sure it sounded like a cat.”
Before Drew could reply, a white and brown paw shot out of the bag, claws extended, and took a swipe at Gwen.
She shrieked and pulled away from the bag, sucking her finger into her mouth where a drop of blood was welling up from the scratch she’d received.
“What the hell, Drew? Do you have some kind of demon kitty in there?”
Wanting to laugh hysterically, as that was exactly what he had in there, Drew bit his lip hard to contain it.
“He’s not good with people, okay, and you probably scared him by yanking my bag around.
” He opened the zipper and looked inside.
Zach jumped out of the bag and into his arms and then turned to glare at Gwen.
“I didn’t know you had a cat.”
“I only got him yesterday,” Drew explained. “He kind of followed me home. Didn’t give me much choice if I’m honest.” In his arms, Zach purred loudly and rubbed his face against Drew’s chest.
“He’s very cute,” Gwen said. “I love the brown patches of fur. And these two tufts almost make it look like he has horns!” She reached out. “Can I pet him?”
Zach hissed and waved a claw threateningly at her. “Um, I think that’s a no,” Drew told her.
She lowered her hand. “Oh well, maybe another time, when he’s more used to people.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “So, uh, what are you up to now? Did you wanna maybe grab a coffee at Starbucks?”
“Oh, no, I think I’ll give it a miss,” Drew said, as he always did when anyone suggested they grab a coffee from somewhere on campus.
He normally brought a thermos from home with instant coffee in it to get him through the day, but today he’d been in such a rush that he’d forgotten.
As much as he’d love to get a coffee, he couldn’t justify spending four dollars for a cup of overpriced coffee from the Starbucks on campus when that would get him enough pasta and sauce from the dollar store to feed him for a week.
“Oh, well, maybe next time,” Gwen said.
“Yeah, maybe.”
“I guess I’ll see you later then. Bye, Drew.”
“See ya.” He watched her walk off, leaving him alone in the lecture hall. “What the hell, Zach?” he hissed once she was gone. “You almost took her finger off!”
Zach sniffed and began to wash his paw. She had no right to try and look in your bag, he said silently within Drew’s mind.
“True, but it was still harsh. You made her bleed.”
And yet you broke her heart.
“What? I did not!”
You certainly did. She asked you on a date and you declined.
“She asked me along to get a coffee, that’s all. It wasn’t a date!”
Zach sighed, a warm huff in his mind. She was definitely asking you out, Drew. It’s obvious she’s interested in you.
Drew frowned, then shook his head. “Whatever. I’m not interested in her, so it’s a moot point.”
Alright then.
Drew paused . . . Zach had almost sounded smug about that, but that couldn’t be right, could it?
He must simply be smug about the fact he’d gotten to torture Gwen with his sharp claws.
That definitely sounded like something a demon would enjoy.
It couldn’t mean he was happy that Drew wasn’t interested in her. That would be crazy.
Looking at his phone, he realised he needed to get a move on to make his next class on time.
He held open the backpack so Zach could jump back in and then headed off across to the building where his next lecture was, stopping along the way to take a long drink of water from one of the drinking fountains and fill his water bottle.
His stomach grumbled, empty since the meal Zach had bought for him last night, but he tried to ignore it.
He would have to wait until he got home, so he drank deeply again, hoping a belly full of water would ease his hunger pains just a little.
After his lecture—in which Zach’s purring caused several people to crowd around and coo over him—Drew headed to the library as everyone else headed off to get lunch.
He knew keeping busy would distract him from feeling hungry, and he had several assignments he needed to work on.
He found an empty table at the very back of the library, away from everyone else, where he pulled out his books and laptop and left the backpack open so Zach could get out if he needed to.
Are you not having any lunch? Zach asked as Drew got down to work.
“I’m not hungry,” Drew murmured, the well-practised lie slipping easily from his lips.
You didn’t have breakfast.
“Yes, I’m aware of that.”
Then you must be hungry.
“I’m really not.”
I think you’re lying, Drew.
“Good for you. What are you going to do? Put me in the naughty corner?”
Don’t be ridiculous. I’d much rather put you over my knee.
“Whatever, Zach. Can you please just drop it? I have work to do.”
Drew could feel the demon watching him, but he ignored him and got on with his work.
He had his pride, and so far he’d managed to hide from everyone how much he was struggling, so there was no way he was going to break down in front of a damn demon.
Drew had gone days before with very little sustenance, and he’d survived just fine.
Forgetting to eat breakfast and pack something for lunch was far from the worst he’d endured.
He’d swallowed his pride enough last night when he’d allowed Zach to buy him dinner, but he wasn’t going to make a habit of it.
Zach made his displeasure with Drew known for the rest of the day, ignoring him completely, hissing at him whenever he had to open his backpack, and one time even taking a swipe at his arm when he reached inside.
It put Drew in a bad mood, and they were both furious when they finally got back to the apartment that evening and Zach transformed back into his humanoid self.
“What the fuck is your problem?” Drew snapped, holding up his arm to display the three long scratches along his pale forearm.
“My problem?” Zach snarled. “You’re my problem!”
“How do you figure that?”
“Because you’re a stubborn child who refuses to take care of himself!”
“And why exactly do you think that’s your problem?” Drew demanded, breathing hard, too angry to even argue about being called a child when he was only a few months shy of twenty.
“Because if you haven’t noticed, I’m bound to you, you moron!
” Zach shouted. “If you pass out from malnutrition, there’s very little I can do about it unless there’s something within ten feet to help you!
What part of we’re stuck with one another did you not understand?
You need to take care of yourself, at least for my sake while I’m here, and that means eating during the day! ”
“And what part of ‘not everyone is rolling in money and can afford to eat at the overpriced university cafeteria’ do you not understand?” Drew shouted back. He’d be lucky if his neighbours didn’t complain about the noise.
Zach whipped his credit card out of his pocket and threw it down on the small table. “That was in your backpack the entire day. There’s more than enough credit on it to buy a damn sandwich!”
“I don’t need your charity or your pity!”
“Then what is it you need, Drew? Hmmm?” Zach stalked forward and with one sharp yank, he ripped the shirt off Drew’s chest, leaving him exposed to the room.
Drew gulped as his nipples immediately tightened and his cock twitched. Zach ripping his shirt off was way hotter than it had any right to be, especially since he didn’t have many shirts to spare. Dammit. He’d have to go to the thrift store to find another.
Zach’s eyes gentled as he placed a hand against Drew’s prominent ribs and sternum. “You’re skin and bone, Drew, and you’re on the verge of collapse. Please let me help you.”
“Why?” Drew whispered, his voice close to breaking. “Why does a demon care about what happens to me?”
Zach looked conflicted, like he wanted to answer but he couldn’t. He opened and closed his mouth several times and then finally managed to say, “I just do, okay.”
“I don’t understand,” Drew confessed. “You seem to be invested in my health, saying that it’s because you’re bound to me, but then you don’t seem at all interested in helping me find a way to send you back? It doesn’t make sense, Zach.”
“I’m a demon, kid. I’m not supposed to make sense.”