Hawk’s pupils immediately narrowed into slits and his mouth began to water as he stared at the cat, his golden eyes glowing, two marks beginning to creep up his neck. “Don’t you dare be fucking with me, Toji.”

“I promise, I’m not messing with you, Hawk.” Toji said, sitting up, his tail wrapping around his paws. “You’ve been touchy lately so I put in a request. She approved it just this morning and said it will be ready for you when you get off work.”

“What do I have to do?”

The cat shook his head. “Continue following the conditions of your contract with Sumi as you have been. Now, calm yourself down before you drool all over the carpet.”

Before he could allow himself to lose himself even more to his starvation, Hawk forced himself to wrest back his control. The marks receded and his eyes and teeth returned to normal.

“I know it’s been hard, but you’ve been doing a good job controlling your urges.”

Hawk sat down heavily on the bed, leaning forward, one hand going through his wet hair. “Yeah, well, you’d think after a thousand years I would have had this down by now.”

“You’re a special case, Hawk, not all demons are as strong as you or have done the things you have. You have to remember, you were the strongest amongst us once, even stronger than the Devil Kings.”

“Not Lucifer,” Hawk pointed out.

“That’s up for debate and even he knows that.”

Hawk lowered his head, staring at the floor, his hands dangling between his knees. He had once been the most powerful, the deadliest, the cruelest demon in all of divinity. He had taken out archangels, devils, and nearly killed God Himself.

He turned his hands palms up and stared at them. See how well that all turned out? Now he was in permanent, irrevocable exile, doomed to watch everyone else around him live their lives while he remained stagnant forever. He knew of other demons who had been able to adapt and acclimate to their fate fairly easily. For him, however, it was more difficult. No matter how hard he tried, he still couldn’t keep a tight lid on his power and control. It was a constant battle not to change, to take on his original form and rampage through the world.

If not for Toji, and Sumi’s contract, he would be out there now, causing chaos and destruction. His other handler was more like his jailer, constantly reminding him of his place and threatening him every chance she got. The problem he had with her was that she was far too powerful and had far too much control over him and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it while he was under Sumi’s contract. Once it ended, however…

He closed his fists and raised his head. “I need to hurry and get to work,” he said. “Text me the details in a few hours.” 

Toji cocked his head. “Really?” he asked in near disbelief. 

Hawk pulled his hoodie on and grabbed his keys off the dresser. “You’re a shifter, Toji. Shift you some thumbs.”

“I’ll shift you a finger if you don’t start showing me more respect.” 

Hawk shot him the finger in question as he rounded the corner and down the stairs.

-*-

Alerik Albright led the new hires through the store, showing them the break room, the bathrooms, where to clock in and put their belongings, and finally through the main floor. There were three of them; a young woman with long dyed pink and blue hair who would be working in dairy, a man in his thirties who would be handling bulk items, and a younger man in his mid-twenties who would be working in the packaged meat section near the freezer. 

The young man had thick, wavy blonde hair that hung about his ears and stood out on the sides, one lock of which hung in his face no matter how hard he tried to brush it aside. His piercing ruby red eyes stood out in his pale, elfin face, taking in his surroundings with mild interest. His hands remained in his pockets as he walked, a wallet chain dangling from his back pocket to a front belt loop of his dark jeans. His zip-up hoodie was open halfway, revealing a dark tee with an anime character printed on the front. He had three earrings in his left ear, two in his right, and his nose was also pierced. 

As he walked past the freezer aisles, his eyes lit on a man who was reaching up to the top shelf, his hoodie and shirt pulled up just enough to reveal some tanned skin, a large bright white scar visible above his waistband wrapping around to his back. He had dark red hair and amber eyes, and when he turned to toss his empty box to the ground, those eyes landed on him and he froze. 

For a few seconds, it felt to Hero Grace that time had stopped as their eyes met. His heart jumped into his throat and his breath caught. 

He’s gorgeous…

More than that, he looked almost…dangerous. 

Those eyes didn’t release him, holding him captive as Hero slowly walked past, taking in every inch of him. He suddenly felt naked under those eyes, exposed and open to the whole world. His heart began to race and he folded his lower lip under his teeth, the sharp tip of his tongue protruding for an instant as he did so. All that did was make those strange eyes widen.

Still, Hero couldn’t look away. 

The man stood up straight, continuing to stare, reading him. Hero could feel his face get hot and he clenched his fists in his pockets as he tried to steady his breathing.

Right then, another young man appeared behind him and threw an arm around the redhead’s neck, laughing, forcing the connection to finally break.

Taking in a soft gasp, Hero turned his attention back forward just as the group was rounding a corner to the back room.

“Hero?” the girl with the dyed hair nudged him. Elaine Moore was his best friend, a girl he’d grown up with since they were very young. “Are you okay?”

He nodded. “I’m fine,” he said, his voice smooth and even. 

“Looked like you spotted something interesting,” she teased, her eyebrow ticking.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, dipping his head, hoping she didn’t notice the flush in his cheeks.

“Nah,” she agreed. “You’re right. That tall drink of poison definitely looked boring to me, too.”

He shot her a look through his hair and she laughed. 

“That’s Hawk Helman,” Alerik said, his voice deep and strong, not bothering to look back at them but hearing every word they said. The other new guy, Pierce, glanced back at them and chuckled.

“If you were trying to be discreet,” he said gently, “it didn’t work. That man had his eyes stuck to you like super glue.”

It didn’t take a genius to know he was talking directly to Hero who jolted, his eyes wide with embarrassment. He tried to respond, but only managed a broken stutter of nonsense. Elaine and Pierce laughed and Alerik shook his head.

“Elaine, you’ll be training with Felicia tonight,” he said once they made it back to the office where they had begun their short journey. “She’s knowledgeable and patient and will be able to help answer any questions you may have. Pierce, you’re with me, and Hero, I’ll take you to meet Charlotte. She’s the freezer department lead but she’s also responsible for the packaged meat section as well. Listen to her well and do as she says.”

He directed Elaine to the dairy and pointed out Felicia to her. The young girl skipped away, ready to begin her job. Charlotte Graves walked up to take Hero to the packaged meat room to begin his training while Alerik walked off with Pierce.

“Ready for this?” she asked brightly.

Hero nodded, doing his best to calm his nerves and put those intense amber eyes out of his mind.

“Trust me, hon, this job is easy as hell once you get the hang of it. You seem like a smart kid, so hopefully this won’t take long to teach, but I’ll still work with you the whole shift just in case. Sound good?”

“Sounds great, thanks.”

“Alright then, let’s get started!”

-*-