Alex was visibly furious. He glared at the blonde, blue-eyed guy pinning Anna against the wall, one hand pressing hard on her wrist.
Tears welled at the corners of her eyes, but pure anger kept them from falling. She clenched her teeth and twisted hard, trying to wrench free.
'This is the perfect chance to play the hero. Go save her and she'll let you bed her,' the succubus purred, never one to let an opportunity slide.
Alex ignored her. He was getting used to Liza's running commentary by now. Still, he took the advice.
He moved forward without a sound, closing the distance from behind.
Jake had Anna locked against the wall, phone held up like a weapon. On the screen was a nude photo of her: full, large breasts, face half-cropped, but that unmistakable navy-blue hair left no doubt.
"You disgusting piece of shit," Anna spat. "You got me drunk, took photos without my permission, and now you think I'm going to crawl for you? Delete them!"
She had considered going to the police. Jake's money and his father's connections made that pointless. Any attempt to expose him would only turn her into the problem. She had tried talking him down at first. After a few rejections he simply changed approach.
He knew she was struggling for cash. He offered to pay for a date. She had laughed at the idea in her head and accepted anyway.
She needed the money. What she missed was the calculation behind those black glasses and that constant little smirk.
He kept the drinks coming until she was gone. But at least he hadn't touched her beyond the photos.
His real plan was uglier: break her down until she bent over for him on her own, until she obeyed every order.
And right now she was trapped inside that plan.
Anna still hadn't noticed Alex. She shoved Jake hard in pure disgust. He didn't budge.
"Hahaha. No one's going to believe that story, bitch. I've got the screenshots. You sent me the photo yourself." Jake laughed at the raw hatred in her eyes.
"You sent it from my phone, you bastard!" Anna swung. He caught her arm mid-strike and slammed it back against the wall.
"Let go of me! I'll call the cops!"
He squeezed harder and drove his knee into her thigh, pinning her completely. Then he leaned in close to her ear.
"Playing hard to get? Need a few more reasons to listen?"
Jake raised the phone, ready to crack it across her face. She flinched hard and squeezed her eyes shut.
"Listen carefully. Either you do what I want, or the whole campus sees a lot more bruises on that face and those weird tits of yours tomorrow…"
Alex moved.
In one clean motion the phone left Jake's hand and landed in his. He had closed the last few steps without a sound and taken it before the other man even registered the presence.
Jake lunged. "Ah?!" He spun and found a tall guy staring down at him with cold crimson eyes.
"Who the hell are you? Give it back!"
Alex caught the incoming wrist and twisted just enough. Jake dropped to his knees with a strangled sound. It was fast and almost effortless.
'How's that strength buff? You can overpower any normal human with my help,' Liza noted. She had pushed his physical power and endurance to roughly ten times an average man's.
Alex's attention stayed on the phone. He scrolled through the deleted gallery, gave a small nod, and a faint smirk touched the corner of his mouth.
"Nice tits," he murmured under his breath.
The quiet voice made Anna open her teary green eyes. She stared at the guy she had always written off as a weird nerd. She usually avoided looking at him. Right now she couldn't look away from those crimson eyes.
When the soft comment registered and she caught the brief flicker of appreciation on his face, a faint heat rose in her cheeks. Still, her eyes kept darting toward the man on his knees, half expecting him to scramble up and attack.
Alex wasn't concerned. One hand was more than enough to keep Jake in place.
"Hmm. Quite a collection."
His thumb moved across the screen. Gallery. Select all. Delete. Empty recently deleted. Disable cloud backups. Wipe the chats. Factory reset. Confirm.
Twenty-three seconds.
Done.
He dropped the blank phone. It hit the ground with a soft clatter. Then he raised his foot and brought it down hard.
Thud.
Glass and metal scattered. The battery began to smoke.
'So you went through all that just to crush the phone at the end?' Liza asked, sounding amused.
Jake stared, mouth open, frozen.
Alex finally met his eyes. The crimson gaze was flat and cold. Every scrap of Jake's earlier swagger had drained away, leaving only raw fear.
"Touch her again," Alex said, voice even, "and next time I won't stop at the phone."
He released the wrist. Jake scrambled back, grabbed his backpack, and ran. Pain pulsed up his arm in sharp waves. The wrist was broken.
Silence settled over the narrow space.
Anna stood shaking, arms wrapped tight around herself as the tears finally spilled.
Alex turned to her. His expression softened.
"You okay?"
She broke. Her knees gave out and she sank down, quiet sobs muffled against her hands while he stood in front of her.
'Go hug her, idiot. You're hopeless with women,' Liza pushed.
He stepped closer, knelt, and pulled her into a firm, silent embrace.
"I owe you for this," she whispered against him.
"You don't owe me anything," Alex answered quietly. "Just be more careful next time."
Anna managed a weak, watery laugh and straightened her shoulders. The hug lasted a few more minutes until the worst of the shaking passed. Then she pulled away and went to wash her face.
Alex looked down at his hands, feeling the full weight of what Liza had changed in him. Both body and mind were sharper than they had ever been. He could do things he never would have believed possible. The succubus queen hadn't lied, even if her only real interest was watching him sleep with women.
His phone buzzed. He pulled it out.
**18:51 – Alice ✨**
Where are you??
I thought we agreed on going home together! Let me hold your hands (✿ ♡‿♡)
The serious look faded. A small smile took its place as he stared at the screen.
Alice was a total cutie. Funny how freely she poured everything into texts, yet could barely get a full sentence out face to face. He pocketed the phone and started walking, wondering what the future was going to look like now.