Katelyn.

  "Oh shit..." the monster whispered, her eyes narrowing at him suspiciously, "You've got it—so much worse than I even thought you did!"

  "I don't like monsters!"

  "But you like me…" She countered, clicking her tongue as she regarded him… "You want my trim monster tail! And you want it bad…"

  "Okay, maybe I do! M-maybe, I'm—worried not just about the city b-but you as well… It's not—that weird, is it? That I don't want you to hurt someone because that means you'll be captured?"

  "I dunno… I'm not really the best person to help you here... And, while I'm definitely not a human... don't guys fall for succubi and the sort?"

  "Y-yes…" Markus admitted, furrowing his brow as he spoke, "But demons have a tendency to eat their mates after copution…"

  "And, do you want me to…"

  "No! No, I do not want to be eaten… Obviously…”

  "But you do want to have your hips caved in by a hob-goblin three times your weight as she bounces on you?"

  When the man didn't—immediately reply, Katelyn couldn't help but ugh!

  It was absurd!

  But—hey, it wasn't like she hadn't seen some fucked up shit online regarding men who had certain—fantasies about rger women… or monster women for that matter…

  Porn was so very hard to avoid, even if one was careful about opening random links...

  The human race really was as depraved as it could be xenophobic. Though Katelyn did admit that if the illegals in the phrase 'illegal aliens' were sexy fantasy monsters, there would be a lot fewer people up in arms about it…

  Still, her problem wasn't exactly resolved by the young man's admission; in fact, it may have even gotten more complicated… Though she thought of Markus as—cute, in the same way, small animals could be rather adorable, she wasn't looking for any sort of serious retionship, or—you know what, scratch that, she wasn't looking for any retionship outside the potential odd fling.

  And even then, she was pretty sure she could find an appropriately rge and dumb male specimen actually up to the task of knocking her out via head smming against the bed frame as they did their best to break it.

  A quick and hard fuck over love and companionship was more or less what she felt she needed.

  Yet… the miserable and borderline pleading desperation in the kid's gaze was—annoyingly plucking at her lingering maternal instincts… they hadn't ever been the strongest of things, but—again, Markus was more like a stray cat in her eyes than a snotty child… and she did like cute animals…

  Worse, this felt like the Brandon situation all over again... god, what was with her and wanting to adopt strays?

  "Firstly." She eventually stated, taking in a deep breath and fixing him with a stare, "You need to get it through your thick skull that I'm not pnning on hurting anyone out here. Obviously, when I go back to the dungeon, all bets are off, and it's a free game, but I'm not going to go on a killing spree, understood?"

  Markus looked like he wanted to protest her cims but withered under her stare and meekly nodded while looking at his feet…

  "Second, I'm not going to touch you just because you ask nicely. That's not how this works. Or, how any woman really works unless she already likes you or is expecting money. Either way, you're going to have to earn it."

  This time, when the mage looked at her, there was a definite glimmer of excitement...

  The fucker was loving every moment she scolded him.

  The nerve!

  Enjoying what was meant to be chastisement! Good lord but she'd have her hands full with this one...

  Lucky for him, she actually did have something of a dominant streak that hadn't ever really had much time in the light… Brandon was a lot of things, but pushing him too far in bed to explore her own interests had never really gone too far...

  Yeah, there was that one time she'd pegged one of her ex-best friend's brothers, but that had been little more than a bit of healthy revenge, something that she'd brutally shared online so all could see the princess's beloved big bro taking it from behind while loving every moment of it…

  Okay, maybe she'd been pretty into it as well… The more she thought about it, the more the idea seemed—fun… something that, while not new, was definitely rare enough to be interesting…

  And, having someone around that actually knew what was going on out here would be—useful in its own special kind of way…

  After another thought on the matter, she outright pivoted, a decision coming on the fly for little more reason than the prospect of it all sounding like it was actually a rather good deal for her.

  "Okay—you know what? Fine, you win! You've successfully run down a monster girlfriend for yourself! Good job. Now, here's your reward…"

  So saying, Katelyn grabbed the man's wedding tackle and squeezed until the young man let out a yelp and hunched in on himself, cowering in her grip as his startled eyes watched her with open concern.

  "You're mine now…" She whispered, biting at the lobe of his ear and feeling the shiver that ran through his entire body, "You do what I want you to when I want you to, how I want you to do it, and if ever you disobey me, I will seek out the nearest and cutest baby and feast upon its flesh while its mother cools in a pile of her own blood… Then, I'll tell you all about it...

  How it tasted.

  How its mother begged for mercy as her guts spilled across the floor.

  Of how wonderful the screams sounded in my ears as I gnawed upon each limb in turn.

  All while jerking you off, so you get to feel extra horrible knowing you were the one who made me do it!"

  She felt him stiffen, both in muscle and arousal, as she once more offered him the boon that was his perceived ability to protect the city through the bizarre means he'd just been given.

  She knew his type.

  He had heroic ideals but was too smart for his own good to act rather than simply think.

  He'd eat this up…

  "Conversely." She added with a whimsical thought, "If you're a good boy for me, I'll let you suck the dirt from my filthy goblin toes the next time we meet… inside the dungeon."

  Markus.

  Markus found himself suddenly stumbling forwards as the body that had held him aloft abruptly disappeared without a trace, his eyes shooting wide as saucers while he desperately fought for a return to bance!

  He lurched, just managing to reach out and take hold of a nearby tree, his mind exploding from the haze of mental stimution that had enraptured him like he'd felt only once before…

  Yet, by the time he realized what had happened, the monster was nowhere to be found!

  He looked around himself, gaze wild and desperate as if he'd somehow managed to catch a glimpse of her long braid as it dashed away around a corner!

  Yet, no matter where he looked, no matter how desperate his eyes were, she was simply nowhere to be seen…

  A shocked murmur arose from somewhere to his left and brought Markus right back to reality as his head shifted slightly to eye the two older and matronly women walking through the paths. Both, while staring at his lower half and about the business of whispering to each other with fervent tones.

  Markus's gaze slipped to see what he already knew to be present, poking through the outline of his robe and causing him to groan with exasperation. Truly, even when gone, the monster seemed ever dutiful in embarrassing him…

  He returned to his parent's home shortly thereafter, finding a sufficiently rge obstruction so he might tuck himself and once more return to society in as presentable fashion as he could manage.

  Again, when he knocked upon the hideously vibrant door, the sound of patches, his sister supposed 'hound,' began braying at the door like some wild beast absent two thoughts between its stubby ears… And again, the door was opened by Rewawn, his raised and questioning brow accented by the beast-man's clearly bemused expression.

  He'd never liked his parent's man-servant who had, at every turn in his life, existed as if to propagate the endless rhetoric of his 'parents' as though two mouths hadn't been enough already!

  He was ever eager to make an attempt at sitting Markus down for a heart-to-heart just so he could prod and push his parental unit's agenda like it would somehow make infinitely more sense if it arrived via himself rather than his masters.

  Yet, just because he felt an aversion for him didn't mean Markus had to make an ass of himself… His mood and prior disgruntlement over needing to return home—receding in light of more recent and discombobuting events…

  "Good morning, Renown… are my—parents home?"

  "They are indeed, sir." The butler affirmed, faking a sort of pained smile in the way he so often did to emute the opinions of those nearest to him. "Are you by chance—here for a visit?"

  "...No…" Markus eventually supplied, straightening his spine as he recalled the monster's challenge. She had thrown the gauntlet at him and demanded he prove himself.

  And, given what she'd said, he could only assume the challenge was meant for him to meet her alone in the dungeon...

  That would not come to pass if he allowed himself to nguish and sit around with mopping despair.

  Rather, he needed to get stronger! Strong enough that he was worthy in her cold gaze! For her to know he was not so weak-willed as to simply quit when the slightest bump in the road deterred him.

  It was strange to feel this way about himself, for someone else's sake, but—darn it, he'd hated the way her gaze had watched him as though he were some creature to be pitied!

  It was infuriating!

  Yes, that was the reason! Not because he wanted to lick her feet...

  Oh no! It was to prove her wrong. To see her smug face as it fell while Markus did what she assumed to be the impossible!

  It was not the feet... o-or, as she'd implied, her juicy green ass...

  "I am here to collect some of my belongings." He stated, eyes hard and resolved as he met the butler's curious stare. "I won't be staying for tea, or biscuits or dinner or cake. I am here to retrieve something and leave."

  "Of course! Well, far be it from me to stand in your way, sir," Rewawn snarked, stepping aside with an entertained little smile as Markus was assaulted by a tiny creature that scrambled at his robes.

  "Get down, Patches; I'm not here to py with you."

  "Is that Markus I hear?" Arrived a miserably pitched and excitable voice whose owner suddenly manifested from behind the living room archway, the horrid creature of fxen pigtails and cunning blue eyes, poking its head around the corner like some story-book critter of the fay...

  She grinned at him before disappearing in a swirl of skirts and screaming at the top of her lungs that her 'big brother' had arrived for a visit!

  Markus inwardly groaned as he pushed himself through the door, marching straight to his room as Niomi made sure that every single one of their neighbors knew of his arrival.

  Somehow, she was even more obnoxious than her stupid dog. Both the little creatures an utter match for each other's limitless energy and ability to spark his ire with but the faintest of applications.

  It didn't take long for Markus to retrieve one of his spare sets of gsses, along with his old backpack and a few spare changes of clothes from his academy days. All of it was stuffed into his bag in as expeditious and quick a manner as he was able.

  Still, by the time he'd finished and marched back down the stairs, his father and stepmother were both waiting for him in the foyer… His father, a tall and reedy man nearly twice the age of his new wife, stared at his prior heir with the calcuting gaze of a man already trying to decide just how disappointed he was in his only son.

  While, just slightly behind him and to the side, Freeda stood with colpsed hands and a soft smile that just rankled him in all the wrong ways…

  Just the sight of her face, be it upon her own shoulders or in the hateful mix of Niomi's own, was enough for Markus to nearly want to wretch…

  "Son…" His father intoned, looking him up and down, gaze notably nding on his old staff and broken gsses before a slight scowl of dismay curled at the corners of his mustached lip.

  "It's been—what? Four months since you st deigned to visit? I'd, of course, ask if you were doing well, but I suppose your appearance speaks wonders absent spoken questions."

  "I was attacked, actually." Markus sneered, gring at his old man while dropping down the final steps of his old home without offering his stepmother the time of day. "By the killer that's been murdering everyone in the dungeon. I survived by the way, the first one to get away alive."

  "Pfft! Obviously, you survived, boy; who else would be responsible for smming on my door and causing this much chaos?"

  "Rest assured, I shan't be present long, good day," Then, without another word, Markus turned on his heel and headed for the door.

  "Hold!" His father called after him, the man's voice causing him to freeze but an arm's length from freedom... Though he despised the man, something within him forced Markus to turn around and return his father's gaze.

  "Are you so absent manners as to not at least share a word with your family after so many months? Did I not raise you better than a common beggar on the street who pilfers his own home and skulks away like a burgr in the night?"

  "Family…" Markus hissed through his teeth, his gaze drifting to the familiar, attractive woman who stood sheepishly at his father's side. Oh, he knew this—family all too well… He Had known Freeda since his earliest memories when she'd bounced him on her knee while babysitting him.

  She'd been his father's secretary, once, after graduating from school and, afterward, his secret lover, though, as to whether that had really transpired after she'd finished college, it was anyone's guess.

  His mother hadn't been two weeks in the ground after suffering a strange mady before Freeda had appeared in their home, a child already in her arms and his father welcoming them both with his wide open...

  Oh yes… He knew who his family was…

  Beg pardon, Father, I've been rude. Your mistress is doubtlessly very offended by my candor, and no doubt deserves my utmost apologies. "Good morning, homewrecker; how is living in my house after suppnting those already there? Have you been comfortable these past months since we st shared our previous two words with one another?"

  Freeda flinched yet didn't say a word; she didn't even glower at him or so much as appear angry with his outburst… It made his pse of control that much worse, the reality that he was losing his temper making his indignation feel—small and foolish…

  He'd assured himself that he'd gotten over these people… and yet, here he still was, raising his voice and acting like an utter buffoon!

  His father, meanwhile, had begun to shake with fury. His reddened face was nearly ready to burst with his anger, which did tickle Markus's fancy, but not enough that he wasn't ashamed of himself regardless…

  Still, his thoughts dunked his hatred in a pool of frigid water that stifled his fury in moments…

  “Sorry Freeda… you didn't deserve that…”

  Surprisingly, the woman nodded at him with the faintest of smiles, though his sudden pivot wasn't at all shared by the infuriated man doing his best to burn a hole through his head with his eyes alone.

  "You are not welcome here, Markus. It is time to leave and not return for some longer span that st, if ever. Perhaps write the next time you decide it's a good idea to drop in to make sure the door will actually open for you."

  "Don't ftter yourself, old man; you're not worth the ink."

  With that, Markus departed, his steps calm and collected despite the furious gre he could still feel at his back. He didn't explode through the gate in a dispy of tantrum and anger but instead passed through it as though nothing in the world were the matter.

  Never looking back behind him or hearing the door sm until he was long out of sight.

  For the rest of the day, the young man's temper simmered at a cold resentment, even as he moved through the motions of his preparations. He applied for several teams, not with the suppression division, bartered and traded with what meager possessions he still had to scrape together a modest delvers kit, and ate his guild-purchased meal in the quiet sanctuary of his room.

  Pnning, meditating, and patiently waiting for the coming morning when, accompanying allies or otherwise, he would be returning to the dungeon with renewed purpose, his sights set upon a goal that he'd never envisioned himself to desire…

  Yet, one that burned within himself as a bzing need for the first sembnce of love he'd felt for a long—long time…