Chase waited for another hour before Rixsa finally stirred. She woke with a startling groan, uncoiling her tail and blinking her red eyes. She looked down at Chase, realized the compromising position, and immediately flushed, a rare sight on her pale demonic skin.
"Oh, damn it," she muttered, scrambling back towards the headboard. "I meant to leave. My bad, Warrior."
Chase sat up, running a hand through his hair. The stiffness in his body was gone, replaced by vibrant, balanced energy. "You didn't just breach a boundary, Rixsa. You performed an emergency Essence transplant and then took advantage of my unconscious state for your 'smut research.' Explain yourself."
Rixsa avoided his gaze, realizing he found out about last night's incident, picking nervously at a stray thread on the duvet. "Look, after the draining, you passed out cold. If I moved, you might have woken up confused and unstable. And… and the Essence infusion worked best with maximum surface area contact. As for the rest… It was an uncontrolled impulse! Demons are chaotic! I was just checking the physical response! Purely for, um, clinical research!"
"Clinical research resulted in a climax while I was unconscious," Chase stated flatly. "You are lucky that I feel fully restored and that my life is currently more complicated than finding a new roommate."
Rixsa looked relieved, then immediately tried to pivot. "So, are we good? Did Rixsa save the day?"
"You stabilized my Essence, Rixsa. For that, you get a temporary stay of eviction. However, your services are now required again. I have a problem that cannot be solved by silence or a new PC."
He explained the threat: Seraphina's attack had left a scent that Lilith would instantly recognize as a violation of her territory. He had to counteract the perception of weakness and the taint of another predator's Essence.
"Lilith wants me 'fully charged' by Monday. She expects me to be a passive, available resource. I'm going to give her a full charge, but I'm going to make her regret approaching me."
Rixsa's eyes lit up. "Oh, I like the sound of this. Revenge on the corporate wolf-demon."
"It's not revenge. It's strategic dominance," Chase corrected. "I need to assert that my Essence, my value, is mine to control. Lilith tried to use me as bait last night, expecting my overflow to make me reckless. Now, I will use my stabilized Essence to draw her in and then repel her."
His plan was risky.
Chase needed Rixsa to use the method of prolonged physical contact to build his Essence back up to dangerous, overflowing levels throughout Sunday. But this time, he wouldn't be weak or unconscious; he would be awake, in control, and using the transfer to anchor his stability.
"It has to be the tub again, Rixsa. Full immersion. All day tomorrow. No funny business," Chase instructed. "I need to be dangerously potent by Monday morning. Can you handle that much contact without losing control?"
Rixsa smirked, a wicked glint returning to her eyes. "Are you challenging Rixsa's professional capacity, Warrior? I can stabilize an overflowing reactor and document every muscle fiber simultaneously. Just try to keep up."
Chase nodded, ignoring the double entendre. The Essence transference over the weekend was now a calculated, intense ritual to reestablish his status.
Monday morning, Chase walked into OmniCorp feeling almost painfully vibrant. His spiritual energy was not just full; it was surging, an undeniable, palpable hum of power that radiated from his new body. He moved with the quiet focus of the ancient warrior, now fully anchored and operating under the guise of an exhausted office worker.
He barely made it to his cubicle before Lilith appeared. She wasn't wearing a suit; she was in a tailored black dress that looked expensive and deadly. Her expression was one of profound shock, quickly masked by predatory hunger.
"Chase," she said, her voice husky, a tremor running through the Alpha command. "You are… radiant. I can feel your essence from the executive suite. What happened over the weekend? I thought you were experiencing a 'drought'?"
Chase stood, meeting her gaze evenly. He smelled her instantly—the faint, lingering scent of Seraphina's venom and blood on his pillow was now completely overwhelmed by the tsunami of his own power. He knew she could smell the difference.
"I managed to find the supplements and regimen that stabilized the flow," Chase lied smoothly. "I apologize for the inconsistency last week. My Essence is now completely restored, and I am ready to commit to maximizing my output for OmniCorp."
Lilith approached him slowly, her eyes wide and glittering. This was more than she had bargained for. He was a feast—too potent, too close. She circled his desk, her gaze fixed on his neck, searching for the tell-tale scent of another predator. She smelled nothing but him.
"I scheduled a private meeting for noon, Chase," Lilith whispered, her voice a low, rough purr of pure hunger. "My office. We need to discuss the Essence regulation policy and your newfound consistency. We need to run some… tests."
"I look forward to it, Lilith," Chase replied, a small, dangerous smile touching his lips. He finally felt his inner warrior resurface, not as a panicked victim, but as a dominant player. He had accepted the role of bait. Now, he intended to spring the trap.
"Just try to keep up," he added softly, throwing her own words from their first meeting back at her.
Lilith paused, her breath catching. The sheer audacity, the palpable shift in dominance, caused her pupils to dilate. This wasn't the intimidated resource she thought she had protected. This was a challenge.
She gave a slow, hungry, utterly confident smile. "Oh, I always enjoy a challenge, Chase. See you at noon."
She turned and stalked back to her office, leaving Chase standing amidst the terrified silence of the Lore team. He knew exactly what was coming, and for the first time in his new life, he felt ready for the fight.