He felt a surge of relief run through Cooper as the human smiled. “Of course you’re not. You’re a powerful, fascinating demon.”
Chaos liked the sound of that. It was a simple truth, of course, but it was nice to know Cooper was aware of the facts. Chaosdidhave a sense he was being played, however.
But Chaos didn’t mind a game or two.
Cooper popped a french fry into his mouth, this time keeping it inside to chew. Apparently they weren’t too hot anymore. “We can, um, work together to find you someone else.”
Chaos narrowed his eyes, little hot licks of fire running through his veins. “I’ll choose my own mate, summoner.”
Cooper missed a beat before he resumed chewing. “Of course. I wouldn’t—I’ll just…keep an eye out. You’re in a city of millions. You’ll find someone better in no time.”
Chaos peered around the diner. It was mostly full, with lots of humans eating their various nonsense, but none that drew him in the way Cooper did.Theywere boring, he could already tell, these strangers that weren’t his puppy. “I don’t see anyone better here,” he pointed out, tightening his grip on Cooper’s fingers.
That little thrill of anxiety pulsed from Cooper’s soul piece again. “Well, yeah, maybe not right this second.”
Chaos plopped his chin onto his free hand, studying his puppy. “I’m not known for my patience,” he warned. He didn’t usually give warnings. Why let an enemy know his next steps? But Cooper had been so polite up until now. He’d earned it.
“Right.” Cooper swallowed hard, the acrid scent of nervousness wafting off him again. Hewasa fearful creature, wasn’t he? “We’ll…find you someone soon, then.”
Chaos let it go for the moment, gesturing for Cooper to try more of the strange plates they’d been given. Why make meat into the shape of a loaf when one could rip it straight from the haunch of the animal in question? But maybe humans didn’t have the strength for haunch-ripping anymore, in these modern times. Or had they ever? Chaos couldn’t remember.
Anyway, it was displeasing that Cooper was not eager to mate with him. But his puppy had already told Chaos he was easily frightened. And Chaos could be…intimidating; it was true. Cooper had been right to say Chaos was a powerful and fascinating demon.
And while Chaos wasn’t patient, he didn’t really have to be. Cooper was right here in front of him, bound to him for the moment by their contract. He was even still holding Chaos’s hand, working his way around his meal one-handed so as not to let go.
So accommodating. It pleased Chaos. Immensely.
Just like the way Cooper had said, “If you like,” when Chaos had requested he order pancakes.
It had never been about what Chaos liked before, when he was summoned to this realm. It was all about what the summoner wanted, with Chaos having to find a way around his orders to explore the delights the world had to offer.
It could be fun, the sneakiness, make no mistake. But it was occasionally…tiring.
Yet sweet Cooper wanted to please Chaos, not the other way around.
Possibly because Cooper was afraidof Chaos, but still.
Chaos swung his feet happily under the booth, pleased with the general state of things. This might prove to be his best summoning yet, even without blood and mayhem to attend to. Although, who knew? Blood and mayhem could still make their way onto his plate, like a half-eaten french fry dropped from Cooper’s mouth.
Wouldn’t that be lovely?
“Why are you frightened of people?” Chaos asked, poking his finger into the meatloaf now that Cooper had taken a bite. It was…squishy. Very strange. “You said you were, but people are generally inconsequential. Did you not know that?”
“Oh.” Cooper swallowed, his gaze darting around the diner again. “Um…I don’t know. It’s not exactly logical, most of the time.”
Chaos nodded. That was good. Logic was boring.
“My dad was…erratic, growing up. He tried, but he was an alcoholic, and he wasn’t…in control, a lot of the time. I had to be on top of things if I didn’t want to get taken away from him. I just got used to a certain hypervigilance after a while. It’s so ingrained it’s hard to shake off, even if it’s…inconsequential.”
“You’renot inconsequential,” Chaos told him with a frown. Had Cooper misunderstood him? “Peopleare.”
“Well, thank you.”
“Your father didn’t take good care of you,” Chaos surmised. He wasn’t very familiar with the concepts of parents or family—demons didn’t stay with their young, and those humans inclined to summon a chaos demon tended not to be family men—but he had a general idea parents were supposed to protect their young, not the other way around.
“He tried,” Cooper protested, a certain bite to his words. “He loved me. He just…well, he was already prone to depression, and then my mom died, and I think he was just…self-medicating for most of his adult life. Alcoholism is a disease,” he said, like it was a mantra he’d repeated before. “I can’t blame him for succumbing to it.”
“But you were a child,” Chaos countered. “Children should be protected.”
