Page 14 of The Chosen Son

“I have another task for you, Zeek. More recon. And this time, let’s get really specific about the instructions. I want you to take pictures of this man.” I speared my finger into Cameron’s face. “If he leaves the house, I want you to follow him. Be discreet.”

“But, my lord—”

“I want to know everything about him. Where he goes, who he talks to. Pictures from every angle. If he sneezes, I want you to bring back his used tissue.” My heart began to race in my chest, my skin tingling with anticipation. This was it, the answer to all my problems. My brother’s little sidekick was going to give me the jump start I needed.

I wasn’t just curious about the man anymore. No, this was fascination, crossing steadily over the line into obsession. I wanted toownhim.

And as I pictured the way he’d tilted his chin up in defiance of my power, I knew he could handle anything I threw at him, and that thought excited me more than I’d felt in a long time. Heat filled me, and my cock engorged at the promiseof—

“My apologies, my lord!” Zeek wheezed out behind me. He had his stubby fingers tangled in his hair, tugging it viciously. “I cannot! The camera!”

All my plans came to a screeching halt. I turned and examined the bits and pieces of the camera still lying where I’d left them. “Ah. Right. Well, clean up this mess, then you can go fetch a new one. Put it on my card.”

“Yes, sir, thank you. You are most benevolent.” Zeek bowed, then bowed again while backing out of the room, content to be given a purpose.

How was he the best Valleywood had to offer? Maybe I should just lure Cameron away from my brother instead, using money and charm. Then I could have his powerandhis services as my minion.

And the next day, when Zeek returned with pictures of my newest fixation, I became even more convinced of what a great idea this was.

I pinned up a particularly juicy picture of Cameron wearing his tights. “Mm, yes, thank you, Zeek.” I couldn’t help stroking my finger along the curve of his ass. “Well done, indeed.”

Zeek squeaked like a chew toy. “Y-You’ve never thanked me before.”

“And don’t expect it again,” I snapped. I found it best to use praise sparingly; it left him striving to be his best. “Now, off with you. I want to be alone.” Alone with Cameron, that is. “Go call the Faywood Hunters’ Guild to snatch me some more tasty shifters to siphon. Looks like I’m back to square one.”

Even as Zeek retreated from the room, I didn’t look away from Cameron’s picture. There was something about him, something… special. I grabbed a handful of the pictures I hadn’t yet pinned to my wall, and I flopped back in my chair, humming to myself as I flipped through them. I thought my favorite picture was a closeup of his face, and with that zoom lens, I could see the light spatter of freckles overthe bridge of his nose, the flecks of gold in his eyes. He looked so innocent, almost angelic.

“What’s that, Cameron? You want to work for me? Very well, if you insist,” I purred, unzipping my pants. I turned the picture over and wrapped it around my erection. “Just… like… that…” I groaned, stroking myself with his face, the paper crinkling in my fist.

It didn’t take long before the pressure built up, and I unloaded myself on his picture, imagining it was the real Cameron. I chuckled at the mess I made of him. “Oops, you got a little something, right there. Here, let me get that for you.” I swiped my finger through my seed and brought it to my lips, sucking it clean, but the familiar taste lost something along the way, without the blush from Cameron’s skin.

Oh, Cam, we could have so much fun together.

Sated for the time being, I set the ruined picture aside and went back to the stack I hadn’t looked at yet. “A suit, blue tights, jeans, sweats—the man looks good in everything!” But then I paused on one picture in particular, frowning.

Cameron was standing on the sidewalk, propping himself up against a building with one hand. His eyes were closed, and he looked like he was in pain. The image made my stomach dip, and I sat up, glaring at the picture. The way his spine was curved, his face withdrawn.

Something was wrong, and I was surprised to find I didn’t like it one bit.

Chapter 7

Cameron

I woke up thismorning, chasing the tendrils of a prophetic dream. It had been a happy one, for once, of a child with violet eyes, but too quickly, it slipped from my fingers, leaving me feel a kind of grief at its loss.

Sighing, I checked in with myself. I felt borderline okay lying in bed. I didn’t feel groggy or lightheaded, walked down the stairs without feeling like I was going to fall, and I even had enough of an appetite to eat a real breakfast. It’d been two weeks without my suppressants, so I let myself believe that just maybe things were starting to balance out. At last, I could go back to my… well, almost-normal life. Being a god’s sidekick probably wasn’t normal by most people’s standards.

And it was because of the little glimmer of hope that I didn’t immediately turn Phobos down when he suggested we could get some training in.

Stupid hope, I should’ve known better.

He had this whole reinforced bunker in the basement for a little discreet workout. It had an obstacle course, shooting gallery, obscenely heavy weights I couldn’t imagine anyone human being able to lift. It was these weights that Phobos was currently using for biceps curls.

“So… roomie,” he said, a touch coyly as he glanced at me from the corner of his eye, checking to see that I was watching him. “I was thinking we could go out for dinner tonight. There’s this Italian restaurant, La Trattoria del Cuore. Have you heard of it?”

I shook my head, setting down my significantly lighter weights before I could drop them. “No, I don’t get out much.” I stared down at my hands, opening and closing my fists. It felt like I couldn’t hold my bottle of water, let alone those weights, but not because they were too heavy; it was more like I didn’t have complete control over my reflexes.

Not knowing what was going on was the worst part. If I knew what was causing all my issues, I could at least decide what to do about it. I’d tried googling my symptoms, but the answers were anywhere from iron deficiency to brain tumor. My symptoms were too broad, too random. Nothing made sense.

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