Chapter Text
alastor kept an eye on you - he had to. the desire to know for sure if you were his clawed at his brain in a way that made it almost impossible to focus on anything else when you were around. which is to say as often as possible. he didn’t neglect his duties as the radio demon or an overlord, but it was obvious that he spent more time around the hotel than before. thankfully, no one was stupid enough to question him. it’d be so bothersome to have to clean the hotel again after eviscerating someone. again.
ever since your last interaction, you seemed to shy away from everyone in the hotel. you tried so hard to not stand out, wary of anyone that came too close. he knew that he might be the reason why. he can still almost taste the fear you radiated upon first laying eyes on him and his antlers. so, in the interest of luring you out after your few weeks here, he more often than not kept to the shadows to keep his eye on you. no reason to get mad if you didn’t know, right? and, with luck, it wouldn’t take so long as to verify if your hidden soulmark was a match to his own.
today, however, he sat in his chair in the lounge, staring down at the confounded television over his newspaper, his second favorite form of media after radio. why charlie kept the thing after he made his dislike clear, he didn’t care to know. even on the off chance of it giving him useful news (unlikely, he had his shadows and souls in his service for such things), he reluctantly left it alone. with husk absent from his normal position at the bar, the lounge was almost completely silent until soft footsteps headed in his direction.
he looked up from his paper to see you standing in the room. you froze in your spot and for a moment, he was reminded of a fainting goat - a pitiful thing he saw during his human life. your eyes fixed on him, flickering with fear and alarm as his grin stretched across his face. “ah, i see our little goat has decided to come out of hiding.”
eyes still on him, you nearly tripped over your own feet as you tried to move to the couch. your staring finally ended as sat down on the end furthest from him, still not saying a single word. alastor’s eyes slid down to your bare forearm. a set of identical, twisted antlers were there and his smile stretched even more. so, you were his soulmate. you seemed to realize where he was staring and tried to cover the mark but it was too late. he saw and knew; nothing could draw his attention way now.
“come, my dear. clearly you have something to say to me.” alastor closed his newspaper with a flourish and set it to the side before leaning forward. “it seems you have a special… aversion to me,” he taunted as his grin threatened to widen even more.
“i…” your voice cracked. “you’re the radio demon, i don’t think i have anything to say to you.” your defiance was… refreshing and rather adorable as you turned your head away from him. He toyed with the idea of playing with you, toying with your emotions before striking. the idea appealed to his inner hunter, making his pulse race a little. what a strange little feeling.
“oh, but i think you do, darling.” he stood and took the few steps to loom over you on the couch. “like perhaps your arm?” he watched as the words shook you to the core; your eyes went wide and your mouth opened in an attempt to protest but words failed you. “perhaps another day.”
all you could do was stare at him as he quickly tugged his own sleeve up to show you the match. “it really is rather on the nose, isn’t it?”