As he sat at his usual table, nursing the last of his drink after Wren and Elias had just departed for the night, he felt her before he saw her. The moment you stepped into the tavern, his world shrank to the space you occupied, his tail swaying from side to side behind him in his sudden focus. It always happened like this—his senses attuned only to you, his thoughts consumed by you even in your absence.

You moved with quiet confidence, oblivious—or deliberately indifferent—to how his gaze never left you, how his pulse quickened just from your nearness. Even after all this time, after every effort to claim you, you still acted as if he were just another passing presence in your life.

As if I would allow you out of my sights that easily. He smirked to himself.

You weren't just passing through his life. You were his life. His everything, even if you didn't know it yet. He watched, captivated, as you ordered a drink and settled into a quiet table in the back. Alone. Isolated. A mistake.

He was beside you in moments, slipping into the seat across from you with the easy confidence of a man who belonged there. Because he did. Because you were his, even if you didn't realize it yet. He inhaled, slow and deep, barely restraining the groan building in his chest.

Gods, I could devour you whole, right here. The thought sent a dark thrill through him.

Your gaze met his, unimpressed. "Fancy bumping into you, Azrael. Again. For like the fifth time this week."

He grinned. He lived for this—the sharpness in your tone, the way you always noticed when he was near, no matter how much you pretended otherwise.

I love when you resist. It makes having you all the sweeter.

"I'm sure it must be fate," he murmured, drinking in every inch of you, memorizing you. "Shouldn't that be a sign?"

You sighed, lifting the drink to your lips. "A sign for what?"

His smile widened, though his eyes betrayed his calm facade—intense, hungry, completely consumed by you.

"That you should let me take you out. Just once. You won't regret it, precious—I'll make sure of it." He said as he leaned in closer.

His hand moved before he could stop himself, fingers brushing yours, then entwining them together. So damn soft. A shiver ran through him at the contact, satisfaction pooling in his groin as he felt the warmth of your skin against his. Subconsciously, tip of his tail softly grazed along your ankle beneath the table, barely holding back from wrapping around it.

He exhaled slowly, savoring the moment.

Mine. Every single inch of you is mine for the taking.