Work was the last place Levi wanted to go. He didn't trust those psychopaths to leave him alone and work was an open facility where anyone could come and go, so he was tense as he started his early shift.

"Do you feel okay, Levi?" the shift manager, Fredi, asked in his thick Italian accent.

"Yes," Levi said in a stiff tone, going back to making a hot chocolate and ignoring Fredi's follow up questions.

He didn't mind his manager, but Fredi had a bad habit of talking and going on when he didn't need to, and his accent sometimes made it hard to understand him, so Levi felt bad whenever Fredi waited for him to answer and Levi had no clue what he said.

Fredi handed him another cup with the order scribbled on the side. "Are you sure?" he pestered, making change for the lady at the desk. "You seem like a board."

"A board?"

"You are uptight like a board."

"Stiff? Tense?" Levi tried, searching for the word that Fredi was trying to use.

Fredi smiled. "Yes! Stiff! You are as stiff as a board!" he exclaimed.

Levi couldn't hold in a small laugh over Fredi's excitement. "I've had a bad weekend," he said, and Fredi gave him a sorrowful look.

"You need the spa," Fredi said, poking Levi's tense back and wincing. "No, you need a massage. To get the stiffness out of your back."

"Maybe I'll look into it when I have enough money for a massage and to pay rent," he muttered, handing a lady her iced coffee, only for her to push it back.

"I said I wanted it with almond milk," she spat, glaring at Levi.

Levi glanced at the milk he used, which was still sitting on the counter. "I did use almond milk, ma'am," he said, trying to convince his mind not to roll his eyes.

"No! I saw you use whole milk!" she screeched, and Levi was about to fight back, but he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"This hag does this every week," Fredi mumbled, grabbing the drink and holding it out to the lady. "You take the drink or you don't shop here anymore!"

The lady glared at Fredi. "Now I know why it's messed up!" she exclaimed. "You shouldn't work here unless you speak English, idiot! Remake my drink!"

Levi picked up the almond milk from behind the counter and opened it. "One almond milk special, coming up," he said, pouring it in a sixteen ounce cup and splashing it on her face.

"Let's hope this is not that TV show," Fredi said, scared of Levi's sudden and impulsive reaction.

"What show?" Levi asked, as the lady wiped off the almond milk in horror.

"Hidden leader," Fredi said. "Where the leader of the company hides and later shows themself."

Levi felt a smile tugging at his lips. "Undercover Boss?" he asked and Fredi nodded excitedly.

The lady finally got over her shock and tried to grab the cup of coffee, but Levi took it away. "Give me that, now! It's the least you can do!" she yelled, now drawing the attention of other customers seated at tables.

"No, you're harassing workers in attempts to get free coffee and being culturally insensitive. You can feel free to get out and never come back," Levi said, holding the coffee in his hand. "Get out or I'll give you round two of your almond milk special."

The lady stomped away.

"Feel free to complain to your hag friends on Facenovel!" Fredi complained.

"Facebook," Levi corrected, but Fredi just shrugged and took a rag to clean up the almond milk spill.

That meant Levi was left in charge of the register. He looked up at his customer and immediately felt a strange wave of want for the man.

The man was tall and simply beautiful. He had pale skin, cotton candy pink hair, and a smile that made Levi's chest warm. His eyes seemed to be glowing, and Levi felt as if he had to obey whatever this man wanted.

"Quite a show you put on there," the man drawled, a small grin on his face. "I'm Lexi, and I've got a request."

Levi nodded, unable to do much else.

"After you finish work, meet me outside," Lexi said, his glowing eyes making Levi feel dazed and wanting. "I want to take you somewhere."

"Okay," Levi said without hesitation, and Lexi disappeared without saying another word or ordering a drink.

•••

After his shift finished, Levi left the cafe and saw Lexi leaning against the wall, applying a thin layer of chapstick to his lips.

Levi didn't know why he was obeying the man who'd only said a few simple words, but he did and here he was, standing in his presence.

"Come with me," Lexi said, tossing Levi a bag. "There are clothes for you in there."

Levi, still under the influence of Lexi's power, followed eagerly, climbing into a car behind him. He opened the bag of clothes and found a sheer, black shirt and tight leather pants.

"Where are we going?" Levi asked, feeling no fear because he was under Lexi's influence.

Lexi smiled and started the car. "To go let loose," he said, pulling onto the road and driving well above the speed limit. "I have some friends that miss you, and we're going to make them jealous."

"Friends?" Levi asked, but he was cut off by a wave of desire and want when Lexi grabbed his arm. "A-Alright."

Still smiling, Lexi drove up to a club coincidentally called 'Lust.' It was a club for gay men, and Lexi was once of the strippers and dancers because he loved to show himself off, especially since he made a lot in tips from poor suckers falling under his spell.

"Let's get changed," Lexi said, pulling Levi in the club and skipping the line. "My dance is in an hour, but we can mingle on the floor for now."

It was only ten o'clock, so Levi decided there was no harm in following the strange man who made him feel completely at ease. He changed in a bathroom, and usually the clothes would've made him blush and change back out of embarrassment, but with Lexi's aura surrounding him, he felt more confident than ever.

"You're going to be breaking some hearts tonight," Lexi purred when Levi joined him on the dance floor, handing him a drink. "Let loose! I'm sure you'll be seeing some familiar faces here!"

Levi took a sip of the beverage and marveled at how good it tasted. "Is there alcohol in here?" he asked, not knowing how that liquid poison could possibly taste good.

"No, of course not!" Lexi said, rolling his eyes. "I'd be surprised if Greyson and Elijah ever let you drink again!"

Levi froze in his tracks. "What?" he asked, fear creeping through his body. "H-How do you know about them?"

Giggling, Lexi wrapped his arms around Levi's waist and rubbed his body against him. "I'm one of their friends. Trust me, they're broken without their soulmate."

Levi tried to pull away from Lexi, but the pink-haired man gripped his hips and he had the sudden feeling of longing and desperation, and it didn't matter who it was, he just needed to be wanted.

"Wh-What are you doing to me?" Levi asked, realizing that, even in his haze, Lexi was doing something to him to make him act different. "Did you put something in my drink?"

Lexi turned Levi around so they were facing each other and cupped his face in one of his hands, smiling at the dazed, dark haired man. "I'm making you feel sinful," he drawled out. "You didn't believe Elijah when he said that you were soulmates, but now I'm proving there's something supernatural going on here."

Shaking his head, Levi tried to shove the man away, but Lexi had a firm grip on him and Levi felt too dazed and under whatever influence that Lexi had on him to fight.

That was, until he heard a shout echo through the club, directed at Lexi.

Levi felt the grip on his hips cease, but he felt too dazed to stand and fell to the ground. A pang of fear slammed into his gut when he saw Elijah run straight at Lexi, his eyes glowing green.

Hands lifted him up, and Levi found Greyson holding him, his eyes also illuminated.

"Elijah, don't!" Lexi said, jumping away from the angry man. "I was helping you!"

Levi fell out of his trance and began to panic. With Lexi's influence over him, Levi didn't realize that his arms were revealed by the sheer shirt he was wearing, so his ugly cuts were obvious to anyone who looked.

He began to hyperventilate, not listening to Greyson's attempts to calm him down. He grabbed his forearms with the opposite hand and tried to cover the cuts, the booming music and Elijah screaming at Lexi doing nothing to calm him down.

Greyson cursed under his breath and scooped Levi up, running outside to his car and opening the car door with his free hand, setting Levi inside. He then shrugged off his jacket and handed it to Levi, waiting for him to put it on.

"Wait here," Greyson said, but his tone didn't sound like he was asking; he was ordering Levi to stay and the latter was too scared to try to run.

Greyson vanished and reappeared minutes later with Elijah in tow.

Elijah looked livid; his skin was strangely green and his usually light blue eyes were also bright green as he tried to pull away from Greyson's grip.

"Let me go!" Elijah yelled, sounding more intimidating to Levi than he ever had before. "I'm going to murder that whore and send him right back to Hell where he belongs!"

Greyson set Elijah in the passenger seat, his gaze daring Elijah to try to run and get back into the club.

"Where are we going?" Levi squeaked, terrified that the two in the front seat would take their anger out on him.

"We're taking you home..." He paused and shot Elijah a glare when he started protesting. "And then we're going to pick you up tomorrow for breakfast so we can talk, because I don't think trying for force you to listen against your will is going to do any good."

Levi was surprised to hear that he was going home, but he didn't mind. As soon as Greyson pulled up to his apartment complex, he took off and shut the door behind him.

It was only then that he realized he never told Greyson where he lived.