The Succubus Awakening: Claimed by the Ice King

The exact second my succubus blood woke up, my boyfriend dumped me. I crouched by the curb, tears burning down my face. It wasn’t heartbreak.

I just felt this unbearable, restless ache inside. Gage groaned. He snatched his roommate by the jacket, shoving him in my direction. "Deal with her.

I’ve got a date." Kade let out a low grunt and gave a sharp nod.

He stepped right into my space. "Clea," he murmured. "What’s it going to take to get you to stop crying?" I carefully covered my skirt, afraid he would see my bunny tail.

Oh no, my ears were about to pop out too. The ears were next. I bit down on my lip until I tasted copper. "Kiss me." Kade’s dark brow arched.

The air between us turned heavy, electric. "How?" I slammed my hands on top of my head, desperately flattening the twitching ears beneath my hair. "The kind that makes me feel really, really good." Chapter 1 The newly sprouted bunny tail made me feel very uncomfortable.

But that was nothing compared to the molten fever pooling in my center. A wild, desperate craving hollowed out my chest. I needed Gage’s hands on me. His mouth. His heat.

I needed him to push me over the edge. Except, five minutes ago, he had ended things. I was completely blindsided. Then I spotted her. It was Sloane.

The toxic ex he never truly got over, back for more. She snapped her fingers, and he came running back. "Look, Clea, I spelled it out for you.

We’re done." Gage shifted his weight, his gaze darting back to Sloane. "I dragged this out for six months. I'm just not into the whole innocent, cute aesthetic. My bad.

Dating you feels like babysitting. You’re pretty, sure, but the chemistry? It’s completely dead. I need someone who actually feels like a woman.

Like Sloane." He wasn't completely wrong. My body had been trapped in a holding pattern. Succubi didn't hit true physical maturity until their twentieth birthday.

We stayed dormant until the awakening. I had planned to surprise him that night. To tell him the wait was over.

My body was finally waking up, pushing out curves meant for slip dresses and tangled sheets. But I hadn't even had the chance to tell him before he said those hurtful words.

A hot tear slipped down my cheek. My eyes burned, flushing that signature, unnatural pink. Gage’s face twisted in disgust. "Here we go again. The constant waterworks.

You always act like I’m the bad guy." My chest tightened. I couldn't help the eye color. It was my literal genetics. I was a bunny hybrid. Red eyes were part of the DNA. "Whatever.

I’m out. Go back to your dorm." He pivoted on his heel, ready to walk away. My knees buckled. I hit the concrete, a desperate gasp tearing from my throat.

It wasn't about losing him. It wasn't about his toxic words. My blood felt like it was boiling. My mouth went bonedry, and my heart hammered against my ribs.

Mom warned me about this. Once a succubus matured, lust became our oxygen. Innocent kisses wouldn't cut it anymore. We operated on a hunger ten times deadlier than any human.

Her golden rule? Keep a stable rotation of boyfriends. Built, athletic, and strictly highstamina. Gage fit the physical profile. Mom and I vetted him thoroughly.

Only yesterday, she slid a stack of explicit paperbacks across the kitchen counter, telling me to take notes. I studied them like I was prepping for finals.

The resulting fever dreams wrecked me. I woke up drenched in sweat, my thighs trembling, completely hollowed out. Now, my safety net was gone.

Where the hell was I supposed to find a willing, capable replacement on five minutes' notice? Gage stared down at my trembling frame. No sympathy, just pure irritation.

Sloane groaned from the sidewalk, her patience snapping. "Gage, are we doing this or what? Stop babying her! Cut the cord already." Gage hardened his jaw.

His voice dropped ten degrees. "Seriously, Clea. The crying is pathetic. It’s not working." I chewed the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.

I forced my burning eyes up to meet his. "Gage, can we just… pause this until tomorrow?" I just needed a warm body for one night.

If I didn't feed the fever, the ears would break through the skin.

If Mercer and his government blackops freaks caught a fully transformed hybrid on a college campus, I’d end up dissected in a lab.

Gage let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "Jesus, Clea. Tone down the obsession." Chapter 2 Honestly, my affection came cheap.

I was a total sucker for a sharp jawline and a defined Vcut. Seconds bled into minutes.

I felt like I was burning up, and my mind was getting a bit hazy. "Gage, please." "Not happening." Gage scowled, his patience entirely shredded.

Then he spotted a familiar silhouette cutting through the campus quad.

An idea visibly struck him. "Kade." Gage closed the distance in three long strides, grabbing his roommate by the shoulder and dragging him over.

Kade wore a black hoodie, earbuds firmly in place. He had a gorgeous face, but his expression was absolute ice. He towered over Gage. Broad shoulders. Legs for days. And his body.

My hazy mind drifted to that one afternoon at Gage's offcampus apartment. Kade had just returned from a run. Shirtless. Lowslung grey sweatpants. His muscle definition was insane.

And the way those sweatpants hung… I swallowed hard past the dry lump in my throat. Maybe it was just the fabric playing tricks. Kade yanked out an earbud.

He stared down at me, his gaze heavy and assessing. My eyes instantly snagged on his fingers. I couldn't look away. Long. Thick. I meant his fingers. Strong, too.

Still talking about the fingers. That day at the apartment, I completely missed the edge of the couch. Kade snatched me midair with a single hand.

Sure, I hadn't hit my succubus growth spurt yet, but I was still fivefootthree. "Forget it. I know you hate the drama," Gage muttered, already turning away.

Kade let out a low, rough grunt. "You'll do it?" Gage stared at him. Kade gave a stiff nod. His face remained a beautifully blank mask.

Gage's brow furrowed, genuine confusion flashing across his features. Sloane snapped. "Gage, I'm leaving." "Fine. Thanks man.

Just keep her from having a total meltdown," Gage rushed out. He threw one last glance over his shoulder. I didn't even register him leaving. My eyes were glued to Kade.

Kade shoved the earbuds into his pocket. He stepped into my space. I stayed curled up on the ground, making myself as small as possible.

My hands clamped firmly behind my back, fighting the furious twitch of the fluffy tail bunching against the lace of my underwear. The proximity hit me like a physical blow.

He didn't smell like Gage. His masculine scent was incredibly strong. A heavy, dark scent of cedar and clean sweat. It hit my succubus biology like a raw, unfiltered aphrodisiac.

My vision literally blurred. Kade tilted his head, his dark eyes locking onto mine. "Clea. What’s it going to take to get you to stop crying?" God, his voice.

The deep, rough gravel of it vibrated straight down my spine. How had I never noticed how good his voice sounded before? My feveraddled brain spun.

I loved the way my name sounded rolling off his tongue. Would it sound raspier during a kiss? More desperate? A sharp tingle erupted on my scalp.

The ears were pushing through the skin. Panic seized my chest. I slammed both hands on top of my head, desperately pressing down. I was losing the battle against my own anatomy.

I bit down hard on my lower lip. "Kiss me." "How?" My teeth sank deeper into the plush flesh of my lip. I thought about Gage's sloppy, rushed kisses.

I thought about Mom's graphic paperbacks. The only way to suppress the violent physical shift was pure, mindnumbing pleasure.

I wasn't human, but a hot flush still crawled up my neck. Keeping my hands clamped over my twitching ears, I whispered. "The kind that makes me feel really, really good.

Please?" A dark, dangerous smirk tipped the corner of Kade's mouth. He leaned in slowly. His chest dipped low, his sharp jaw lining up with mine until our noses practically brushed.

The heat radiating off his skin was suffocating. "Clea." "Yeah." "Do you even know what that means?" Chapter 3 I blinked my burning eyes. My brain completely flatlined.

He was standing dangerously close. His scorching breath brushed right across the tip of my nose. His intoxicating scent completely enveloped me.

My blood hit a boiling point, threatening to shatter my veins. But more than anything, Kade was dangerously gorgeous up close.

He was so handsome that my heart fluttered, and I couldn't hold back at all. I tilted my face up and crashed my lips against his. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Gage always complained about my eyes during kisses. He said they were too wide, too innocent. It gave him a massive guilt trip.

He strictly trained me to keep them closed, and the habit stuck. Kade didn’t shove me away. A splitsecond pause hung in the heavy air.

Then his hands seized me, hauling me violently off the concrete. He slammed my back against the rough bark of a nearby oak tree, instantly seizing total control. Our teeth clashed.

A sharp nip caught my lip. I whimpered, breaking the kiss to warn him. "Kade, stop biting.

Do you even know how to do this?" I mumbled against his jaw. "Have you never kissed a girl before? Forget it.

Just part your lips—" "Clea." Kade’s palm, brandingiron hot, clamped around the nape of my neck.

He was panting softly against my ear, his breathing a little ragged. "Again." This time, the kiss was punishing. Deep and utterly devouring.

He swallowed my gasps, his mouth moving with a feral, demanding rhythm that left my tongue completely numb. My brain shortcircuited.

My legs turned to jelly, and I slumped against him.

Until his massive hand slid down and clamped right over the fluffy tail at the base of my spine. "Clea?" Kade pulled back a fraction.

The dark, hazy lust in his eyes fractured with a flash of genuine shock. I swallowed a scream. For once, my brain actually kept up. "It’s a… a toy.

Please don’t touch it." His grip violently tightened. A heavy, dangerous energy radiated off him.

Pure displeasure. "Clea." He let out a low, dark sound. "Kinky." His teeth sank into my lower lip, a deliberate, punishing nip. "Guess you aren't that innocent after all." I desperately hooked my arms around his neck, dragging him back down.

I kissed his mouth, the sharp line of his jaw, the hard dip of his Adam's apple. I needed to drag him so deep into the haze that he completely forgot about the tail.

Kade took the bait. His arms banded around my waist, pulling me tight against his torso as he kissed me back with a fierce, overwhelming intensity.

Twenty minutes later. "Kade… no more." I broke the kiss, gasping for air. "Enough. The world is spinning. I'm done. I got what I needed.

Seriously, stop." The frantic twitching in my scalp faded, and my tail finally tucked away. I planted my trembling hands on his chest, shoving at the solid wall of muscle.

I needed to sprint back to my dorm. Hit the showers. Strip off every single layer of clothing. My body felt impossibly tight.

My clothes were suffocating, stretched to the breaking point as the physical curves of my awakening finally pushed through. "Um, seriously, thank you for that." I covered my slightly aching chest and gave him a stiff, awkward nod. "It's late.

I've got an early lecture tomorrow. I should head up." I spun around, fully prepared to bolt.

Kade’s fingers locked around my wrist like a steel vice. "You're just walking away?" I blinked, genuinely confused. "Do you need something else?" "You got off on that," Kade rasped, the rough, gravelly pitch of his voice practically vibrating against my skin. "I didn't." "So what are we supposed to do?" "You tell me." I forced my hazy brain to process.

Mom's warning echoed in my head. The first six months after a succubus awakening were brutal. The fever hits four days a week.

A stable, highstamina partner wasn't a luxury; it was a strict biological requirement.

I chewed on my swollen bottom lip, my gaze dragging slowly over Kade’s imposing, broadshouldered frame. There was absolutely no man better for the job. Chapter 4 "So… tomorrow?

Same time?" Kade stared at me for a heavy second before giving a single, sharp nod. "Tomorrow night. Don't ghost me." Mom already stocked my closet with a completely new size.

Before heading out the next day, I showered and slipped into a dress that fit like a second skin, highlighting curves I barely recognized.

I stared at the mirror, a hot flush creeping up my neck. Brooke grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around. Her eyes dropped to my chest. "Holy shit. When did those happen?

What the hell have you been eating to get suddenly stacked?" I stammered out some random excuse about a new pushup bra. "And your face?" Brooke stepped closer, inspecting me. "What shade is that blush?

You look… insane. Like, illegally seductive." "I'll text you the link!" I shouted, already bolting for the door. Truth was, I wasn't wearing a drop of makeup.

The succubus awakening came with a literal, biological glowup. Especially after tasting the edge of real lust. It only escalated from here.

But the second my foot hit the stairs, a vicious wave of heat slammed into my spine. It was too early. Why was the physical reaction hitting so hard right now?

Mom's warning flashed in my mind. A newly matured succubus fed entirely on raw desire. During the first three months, the craving multiplied daily.

If the hunger went unfed, the physical mutation would trigger. The ears and tail would tear right through my clothes. The only survival strategy?

Lock down a stable partner and fasttrack straight to a home run. Panic choked me. I scrambled down the dorm steps. It was early. Kade wasn't there yet.

I paced the concrete, my vision swimming with a heavy, suffocating heat, until I slammed hard into a solid chest. "Clea?" Gage’s voice dripped with genuine shock. "Sorry." "Looking for me?" Gage’s eyes dragged slowly over my new dress, raw hunger flashing in his gaze. "You clean up nice." "No.

I'm not looking for you." In my panic, my eyes started to turn red again. Gage let out a dry, condescending laugh. He shook his head. "Clea, I despise clingy girls.

Drop the act." "I'm literally waiting for someone." "Right.

Keep telling yourself that." He pulled his buzzing phone from his pocket—Sloane’s name flashing on the screen—and his lips curled into a smug smirk. "Stubborn as always." He walked away.

My knees instantly gave out.

I hit the concrete, curling into a tight ball, fighting the agonizing burn tearing through my veins. "Clea." The heavy, dark scent of cedar and clean sweat hit the air.

Kade. "You made it," I gasped, forcing myself up. But my trembling legs completely snapped. I pitched forward, faceplanting directly into the hard, rigid line of his waistband. Oh.

It definitely wasn't just the grey sweatpants doing the heavy lifting.

A hot flush crept up my neck, and my eyes glazed over with raw need. "Clea, you good?" "Kade." I dug my fingers fiercely into his bicep. My palms were slick with sweat.

My nails bit into his skin. "I need it." He froze. I didn't give him a single second to process. I lunged, flattening my entire body against his.

Our bodies fitted together perfectly, flush against each other without any gaps. Every muscle in Kade’s massive frame locked down hard. A harsh, ragged swallow tore at his throat.

The sharp line of his jaw clenched tight enough to snap bone. "Clea." His voice was a dark, destroyed rasp.

His massive hands clamped onto my hips, gripping hard enough to bruise. "Be good. Not out here." I tipped my chin up, pressing flush against his chest.

The fever made my brain slow, hazy. "Why not?" The quad had trees. Soft grass. The sun was almost gone. It was literally perfect. Kade let out a jagged breath.

His long, calloused fingers brushed against my jaw, slowly tracing the line of my tangled hair. Chapter 5 But his fingers were so much cooler than my burning skin.

The contrast was pure heaven. Plus, his scent was entirely intoxicating.

Crisp, clean cedar mixed with something dark and wild—the exact scent profile that hijacked my bunny genetics. I couldn't hold back. My biology completely overrode my brain.

I turned my face and lightly bit his finger.

A slow drag of my tongue against the rough texture of his skin confirmed it—he tasted even better than the fever promised. "Clea." Kade’s voice dropped into a dangerous, vibrating rasp.

He frowned slightly. He tried to yank his hand away, but I locked my grip, sinking my teeth just a fraction deeper into the fleshy pad of his finger. His breathing shattered.

A harsh, ragged sound tore loose from his throat. "You're a girl." He ground out the words, his chest violently rising and falling against mine. "You don't just do things like this." He steadied himself and withdrew his fingers.

A faint, crescentshaped bite mark flushed red against his knuckle. He only glanced at it for a second before looking away.

But his Adam’s apple bobbed hard, a desperate, audible swallow echoing in the heavy air.

And his body, pressed tightly against mine, grew increasingly tense and hot. "You're burning up.

I'm taking you to the ER." He cleared the dark roughness from his throat, slamming his broad palm flat against my forehead. "Kade, I'm not sick." I wrapped my feverslick fingers around his thick wrist, my voice melting into a hazy, breathless whisper. "What aren't girls supposed to do?" He stared down at me, a dark storm of emotions swirling in his eyes. "Throw yourself at random guys." He gritted his teeth. "Beg them to kiss you.

And you definitely don't press yourself against them like this." "Why not?" Animal instincts are simple. When you're starving, you eat. When you're exhausted, you sleep.

When the awakening fever hits, you find a mate to burn it out. Anytime. Anywhere.

Why did humans overcomplicate every single physical need? "Clea, you're a girl—" The heavy scowl returned.

I shoved both hands hard against his chest, breaking the contact. "I get it." "Get what?" "You aren't into me." I stumbled back, the sudden loss of his body heat leaving me violently cold. "Just like Gage.

You aren't into me, so you don't want to touch me." Frustration and a raw, bitter disappointment clogged my throat. I completely despised my useless bunny genetics.

I wasn't like Juliet. My sister was a white fox—pure, concentrated seduction. Guys literally dropped to their knees the second she walked into a room.

Too bad Juliet was a onceinacentury genetic freak.

A completely obsessed, hopeless romantic who threw her entire life away for love. "If you aren't into this, I'm not going to force it." My eyes dragged over Kade's sharp jawline and the heavy shift of his shoulders.

It felt like such a shame looking at Kade. He really looked so delicious. But I couldn't beg him. The fever didn't negotiate, and my time was up.

I had to secure a backup target immediately. Dylan. A younger guy in Gage's frat. The guy practically swallowed his tongue every time I walked past his frat house.

He definitely wouldn't push me away if I threw myself at him. Plus, he ran track. The stamina was guaranteed for a home run.

The logic clicked, snapping me into pure survival mode. "I'll go find someone else. I'm sorry about yesterday.

And today." I gave a stiff, polite little nod, pivoting on my heel to sprint toward frat row. Kade moved faster.

His massive hand snatched my wrist out of the air, locking down like a steel trap. "Clea." He towered over me. His perfectly carved lips pressed into a brutal, unforgiving line.

Chapter 6 Why the hell was he suddenly so pissed?

I stared up at him, completely lost. "Kade, do you need something else?" "Who are you going to find?" The dark storm in his eyes deepened. "Or what?

If Gage dragged some other random guy over yesterday, would you let him kiss you until you got off?" I frantically shook my head. "No way." Kade's expression seemed to soften suddenly. "They'd have to be insanely tall and gorgeous, at least.

I'm incredibly shallow." "Clea!" His tone instantly turned icecold again. I shrank back in fear. Then, my body betrayed me. The fluffy tail snapped free, totally out of my control.

Pure panic spiked my adrenaline. I wore a skintight dress. There was absolutely zero fabric to hide it. Hot tears flooded my eyes. Logic completely dissolved.

I lunged, crashing right back into Kade's solid chest. "Kade, I'm completely out of time." I bit my lip, looking up at him with eyes full of desire. "I need to ask you one thing.

Do you want to take me all the way?" My veins threatened to physically rupture. Please. Don't push me away. Honestly, the thought of finding another guy physically repulsed me.

Kade slowly lifted his hands. His long fingers held my burning cheeks.

His handsome face looked flawless and cool in the dark night. "I only do that with my future wife." "Then let me be yours." The words bypassed my brain completely, ripping straight from my throat.

Kade stared at me. A heavy, suffocating beat of silence stretched between us.

Then, a dark, devastating smirk tipped the corner of his mouth. "Done." The fiveminute walk to his building was pure, agonizing torture.

Terrified someone would spot the tail, I pretended to shiver. Kade instantly stripped off his black hoodie and dropped it over my shoulders.

Anticipating the ears next, I yanked the heavy hood up, drowning my upper half in the dark fabric. The elevator dinged.

Kade braced his arm against the sliding doors, waiting for me to step inside.

The adjacent elevator instantly chimed open. "Kade?" Gage’s voice echoed across the lobby. "Back so early? Let's go grab a drink." "Pass.

I'm busy." Kade fired back, his voice an absolute wall of ice as he stepped inside. Gage’s gaze naturally drifted over. I plastered myself flush against Kade’s side.

The oversized hoodie swallowed my frame, the thick hood completely masking my face. Gage didn't recognize me. A smug, knowing laugh erupted from him. "Hell freezing over?

First time I've ever seen you bring a girl back." Kade’s arm locked seamlessly around my waist, pulling me flush against his ribs. "Going up.

Catch you later." The metal doors started sliding shut. Gage lunged, shoving his hand between the panels to jam the sensor. "Hold up.

Since I caught you, introduce us." He leaned closer. "Let me see which absolute goddess finally dragged the untouchable Kade off his pedestal." The panic didn't even register.

The fever completely took over. Violent tremors wrecked my spine. My palms burned like whitehot coals against Kade's shirt.

The sheer, suffocating heat threatened to literally evaporate the blood in my veins. I clung to Kade, my fingers digging desperately into the hard, rigid muscle of his waist.

He felt too good. Too solid. The agony hit a breaking point. I refused to fight it anymore.

I dragged my body flush against his hip, a soft, fractured moan tearing loose from my throat. "Kade…" I had zero idea how raw, dark, and utterly devastating that single whispered sound was.

Chapter 7 "Fuck, get a room." Gage dragged a hand down his face, stepping back. He wasn't entirely clueless. The explosive, desperate tension rolling off them was obvious.

He'd be a total asshole to block the doors any longer. The metal doors began to glide shut. Gage shot one last look through the narrowing gap.

Kade’s head was already bowed, completely devouring the girl's mouth. Tangled dark hair, the sharp curve of a jawline, and a flash of bruised, red lips.

It was an intoxicating sight, enough to make any guy's mouth go dry. Too bad the heavy hood swallowed her face. I slammed him backward against his apartment door.

I scrambled onto my toes, crashing my mouth against his. "Clea, shower first—" "Kiss me." I locked my arms around his neck, sinking my teeth into the hard line of his jaw.

The fever was suffocating. "Kade. Open for me." He stared down at me. A dark, predatory heat completely swallowed his gaze.

He surrendered, kissing me back, but within a fraction of a second, he seized total control. It was only our second kiss, yet he moved with a brutal, devastating expertise.

I kicked off my heels, planting my bare feet directly on top of his sneakers. I rubbed my calf lightly against his through the thin fabric of his sweatpants. I needed more.

Kisses wouldn't cut it. I wanted to stop the itch that seeped into my bones. I needed to consume every ounce of his heat just to survive.

Kade’s massive hands clamped onto my waist, crushing my hips flush against his. His heavy, ragged breathing against my ear sent a shiver straight to my core.

Hot, physiological tears completely blurred my vision. "Kade." I let out a fractured, wet sob. "It burns…" I slipped my hands under the hem of his tshirt to feel his hot, firm abs.

I dragged my open mouth up the thick column of his throat, my tongue tasting the frantic, heavy pulse jumping beneath his skin. The massive hand branding my waist slowly slid lower.

Through the thin barrier of my dress, his calloused fingers brushed against the fluffy tail. Blinded by the fever, I completely missed the shift in his movements.

Until he curled his fingers around the base of my "toy" and gave a firm, deliberate tug. "Mmph… that hurts!" A sharp flare of pain shot down my lower back.

I instinctively bit down on his shoulder. "Clea." Kade barely breathed the word. He gave the tail another minuscule, experimental pull.

His dark eyes locked onto mine, a violent shock fracturing the heavy lust in his gaze. His voice carried a hoarse tremor. "So it's a real tail, not a toy." His free hand shot up.

His thick fingers captured the long, soft rabbit ears that had completely broken through my hair. "Want to try lying to me again?" The breath totally left my lungs