Monday morning at OmniCorp was a spiritual minefield. Chase walked in feeling surgically clean, thanks to Rixsa's emergency application of several bottles of esoteric, demon-grade cleansing products. He was wearing a fresh suit, his Essence was regulated back down to a strong, stable level, and he wore an expression of utterly professional detachment.
But the office knew.
Demons and monsters, keenly attuned to spiritual shifts, registered the fundamental change in the atmosphere surrounding the Lore division. Lilith's Alpha scent, previously a commanding wave, was now laced with an unmistakable undertone of deep, satisfied submission. And Chase's signature, once a brilliant, chaotic flare, now radiated a heavy, anchored ownership. He wasn't just valuable; he was claimed, and the Alpha was the one who had been conquered.
Chase walked past the cubicles, nodding curtly to Marcus and Elara. He carefully ignored Seraphina. The vampire, usually a vision of cool detachment, was a bundle of barely contained nerves. She smelled the change instantly—the absence of her own lingering venom scent, replaced by the profound essence of Lilith's possession. Seraphina realized her attempt to drain Chase had been utterly erased, and she now faced the full wrath of an Alpha who had not only reclaimed her territory but had done so with devastating, intimate finality.
Chase reached his desk. He hadn't even opened his laptop when the internal company comms pinged: Incoming Video Call: Lilith Thorne. He knew this could only mean trouble but as long as it was chaos he could control it was fine he could live through it
He accepted the call. Lilith's face filled the screen. She was impeccably dressed, but the usual harshness in her eyes was replaced by a soft, lingering warmth that was deeply unprofessional and intensely unsettling.
"Good morning, Chase," she purred, her voice a low, throaty sound that was meant only for him. "Did you enjoy your recovery time this weekend?"
"It was adequate, Lilith," Chase replied, maintaining eye contact, keeping his face perfectly neutral. "The Essence is stable and ready for maximized output this week."
"Excellent," she replied, her eyes tracing the line of his jaw. "I reviewed your proposal for the expansion of the Essence regulation clause. The contractual addendum has been finalized. It states that all future Essence transfers will be handled exclusively by the Alpha, using the method deemed most efficient at the time of required maintenance, and that any attempts by unauthorized personnel to breach this protocol will be deemed an act of corporate espionage and result in immediate termination and spiritual eradication."
She didn't need to specify what "most efficient" meant; they both knew it meant the Fourth Method, now their permanent, devastating norm.
"Understood. I will review and sign the documents immediately," Chase confirmed.
"Good. Now, I require you to be in my office at 10:00 AM. We have a rather pressing issue regarding resource allocation that requires your presence. Do not be late." She terminated the call without another word.
Chase sighed. The "pressing issue" was likely a display of ownership for any observer who happened to be nearby.
At 10:00 AM, Chase entered Lilith's massive executive office. Lilith was seated at her desk, but she wasn't alone.
Seraphina, the vampire, stood stiffly before the desk, her elegant suit looking entirely too fragile for the powerful tension in the room. The air was thick with Lilith's proprietary musk and the vampire's nervous, sweet scent of fear.
"Chase, take a seat," Lilith commanded, indicating a chair directly beside her. Chase sat. This was a deliberate power play: placing him in the co-pilot seat.
"Seraphina has requested an amendment to your workload, Chase," Lilith explained, her eyes fixed on the vampire. "Seraphina, explain your proposal."
Seraphina swallowed hard, acutely aware that she was addressing the Alpha who, three days ago, had been sexually and spiritually conquered by the man sitting next to her. The vampire spoke in a rush, desperate to sound professional.
"Lilith, as you know, the Essence physics we developed in the Lore project—specifically, the concept of Essence Resonance—is vital to our new core mechanics," Seraphina began. "My work requires constant, immediate input to ensure those formulas are correctly integrated into the core coding of the game world."
She cast a quick, pleading glance at Chase, then back to Lilith.
"Currently, Mr. Vance is only available during the Lore team's scheduled meeting times. I propose that, to accelerate the integration and prevent catastrophic errors in the game's physics engine, I be granted specific, controlled access to Mr. Vance's time—and his Essence—for focused developmental sessions."
Lilith leaned back, a slow, predatory smile spreading across her face. "And what exactly does 'controlled access' entail, Seraphina? Be specific."
Seraphina's voice dropped to a near whisper. "I propose that I be allowed to borrow Mr. Vance for approximately two hours, three afternoons a week—Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. During these sessions, I require sustained, uninterrupted proximity to his Essence, as his unique spiritual signature allows for immediate, empirical testing of my theories. This would necessitate isolated, soundproof environments, and a level of contact that ensures maximum resonant efficiency."
It was a barely veiled request for a weekly Essence feeding, dressed up in corporate jargon. Seraphina was openly requesting Chase's spiritual resources, and she was doing so in front of the dominant who had just definitively claimed him.
Lilith turned her head slowly, her chin dipping, and looked directly at Chase. The look was intensely possessive, possessive, and flirtatious.
"Chase," Lilith purred, resting her hand on his thigh under the desk, a blatant, silent reminder of their dynamic. "What is your professional assessment of this request? Can you spare two hours, three times a week, for sustained, uninterrupted proximity to a subordinate predator?"
Chase felt the heat of Lilith's hand through the wool of his suit trousers. He met Seraphina's desperate gaze. The vampire's eyes weren't just hungry; they were terrified, knowing that her survival depended on this access, but that her request was a profound insult to the Alpha.
Chase chose his words carefully, asserting his dominance over Seraphina while reinforcing his contractual bond with Lilith.
"Seraphina's need for Essence Resonance is mathematically sound," Chase conceded, his voice firm. "The flaw in the Khazarian texts she cited previously, however, indicates she is struggling with core translation principles. The time would be better spent ensuring her stability, not testing formulas she barely understands."
He looked straight at Lilith, his eyes gleaming with the lingering shadow of the warrior. "My Essence is a resource, Lilith. And as my Alpha and exclusive partner, your job is to manage its deployment. If a subordinate requires stabilization to perform her duties, then the time must be managed by me, and the transfer must be controlled—not through messy, unprofessional methods that leave the resource scarred and diminished."
Lilith understood the layered message: Seraphina is weak; her previous attack was unprofessional; I own the Essence transfer; but if you want her working, she needs a stable meal.
Lilith smiled, the expression glacial and utterly satisfied.
"Seraphina," Lilith stated, her hand squeezing Chase's thigh briefly before withdrawing. "The answer is no. You may not 'borrow' my partner for three days a week. His Essence is reserved for strategic deployment and Alpha maintenance."
Seraphina's face went pale. She was facing starvation, or worse, termination.
"However," Lilith continued, throwing Seraphina a calculated bone, "I will allow one hour, every Wednesday, at the close of business. It must take place in an observation room with non-transferring monitors. Mr. Vance will be present, and his Essence will be channeled through an Essence Regulator I will personally install. The output will be minimal—enough for your 'Resonance'—and non-invasive. You will not touch him. If you deviate, the contract is terminated, and the consequences will be immediate and catastrophic."
Lilith stood, concluding the meeting. "Is that clear, Seraphina?"
"Perfectly clear, Lilith," Seraphina managed to stammer out, bowing deeply, relief and lingering terror warring in her face.
As Seraphina scurried out of the room, Chase looked at Lilith. "An Essence Regulator? That sounds overly complicated."
Lilith walked around the desk, stopping right in front of him. She slipped her arms around his waist, pulling him close, her eyes burning with possessive love.
"It's not complicated, darling," she purred, pressing her body against his. "It's necessary. I don't want the scent of her weakness on you. And I want her to know that even the smallest droplet of Essence she receives comes directly from my permission." She paused, tracing the faint marks on his jawline with her thumb. "Now, about this new clause I just signed... I believe we can schedule the next maintenance session earlier than Friday. My office, 7:00 PM?"
Chase swallowed, accepting the terms of his magnificent, terrible victory. "I'll bring the paperwork."
"Why are there so many perverts in my life all of a sudden, life was better when it was just me, " Chase thought, wondering how he managed to get himself into all these problems within less than a full month.