The ball or gala or whatever the hell it was continued without much of a hitch. Asema, shimmering in her red dress, had rebuffed any and all advances from the lycan male prospects; of which there were many. They had clearly seen her as an oddity of some sort, and he shuddered to think of what they would have done if they had managed to get her alone. Vekrem had been oddly protective of her, keeping the loudest of the drunkards away from her. Was it out of self-preservation? Did he simply fear how she would react if someone got a little too handsy? Or was it something more?

  No time to dwell on that now; I had my own problems to deal with.

  As the party died down, Saise was sent back down to the cells with the explicit promise that the gag was to be removed… if I simply joined Lucretia in her quarters. I had accepted, but almost every part of me but one wanted to go screaming in the opposite direction.

  … you can guess the lone detractor.

  “You can go,” Lucretia ordered the two guards stationed outside her room.

  “But ma’am—”

  Lucretia’s claws were against the man’s throat in a flash, and a single red drop dripped off the guard’s gray fur.

  “I won’t ask again,” Lucretia growled, her teeth flashing, her mouth flaring outwards.

  The guard’s tail tucked between his legs, and he wordlessly saluted; then the two dashed away, their greaves clattering against the pristine white floor.

  “Do come in,” Lucretia said sweetly… and I could tell that she was not asking—she was telling.

  Every hair stood on end as I walked inside.

  It was a modest chamber, with the same white flooring and a large bay window shrouded with frilly red shades and silver trim. There were wooden dressers of deep brown, and, in the center of the room, a circular bed of various colors and styles. Ornate… quite the commodity for a military lady.

  “Undress and go to the bed,” Lucretia said.

  “I really think this is moving too fast—”

  Like the guard, Lucretia’s claws were suddenly near my throat…

  Why had I not dodged?

  Dragon, likely listening to my thoughts, said, “Because Lucretia is not a danger to you. Not yet, at least. You sensed no malice, and thus you do not dodge. But I am sensing something else. Something is building inside you. Something… primal.”

  Despite his rational self, I couldn’t help the feeling that my pants were shrinking.

  “Yeah,” I replied. “I’m sensing it all right.”

  Lucretia seemed to notice my discomfort as she shot me a wolfish grin, stepping back.

  “Ah, so you are a man,” she mused. “Come now, don’t be shy…”

  With that, Lucretia, in one elegant movement, removed her dress to reveal that, despite her outwardly wolfish form, she had very human-like… breasts. She laid upon the bed, reached out and motioned me forward as she whispered, “Join me.”

  I put my hand on my heart, begging it to still…

  It did not listen.

  Slowly, I did as she asked. First the shoes, socks, shirt… and then pants; leaving me in nothing but my boxers, which did very little to hide much of anything.

  Lucretia eyed me as if I were being served at a banquet. Perhaps I was reading the situation wrong? Perhaps she actually meant to eat me? Then I saw the look in her eyes, and there could be no mistaking it…

  Lust.

  “Everything,” she said.

  Well… this was it. Holding my breath, I removed the last barrier.

  Lucretia breathed out slowly, making a slight, ah… sound.

  I dared to open my eyes, and she had moved towards the back of the bed. She still bade me forward, no longer with her hand, but with the manner of her body itself.

  “For Saise,” I told myself. “For Saise, for Saise, for Saise.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Fascinating!” Dragon roared in my mind, tempering my blood just a bit. “Exhilarating!”

  I did not relish the thought of my otherworldly passenger watching what was about to happen.

  I went to the bed, slowly laid on it, and pressed my body against the side of her.

  Lucretia was warm… boiling even. Her fur tickled me as my arm slightly nudged the edge of her breast.

  Lucretia laid still, breathing heavily, staring up at the ceiling. “You know,” she said, “there are those of my kind that do not think that humans have any use.”

  “That so,” I replied, trying, and failing, to keep my manhood in check.

  Lucretia turned to face me and smiled at my failed attempt.

  “Yes, others of my kind often lack vision. They see themselves at the top of the food chain, but I’ve seen differently. I know the horrors that lie out in the dark; which is why times such as these need to be… treasured.”

  Lucretia’s hand lightly touched my thigh. I swallowed hard.

  Lucretia breathed in. “Ah, I do so love the smell. That nervous sweat in the air. All of you men are alike. So bravado… yet all of that confidence disappears as soon as you are… exposed.”

  I dared not say a word as I knew my voice would betray me, proving her exactly right.

  “As I said, my kind lacks vision—but not I. You see, I’ve found that humans have an odd sort of gift. One that is beneficial to me in particular. Do you know what it is?”

  I shook my head.

  “... Dexterous hands.”

  My heart stilled as I replied, “... Excuse me?”

  Excitedly, Lucretia turned away, pushing her body into me with such force that I thought I would fly off the edge of the bed.

  “Your hands…” she explained. “While you humans lack the strength of us hybrids, your fingers are particularly soothing. So I want you… to scratch.”

  “Scratch?” I asked. “Like what? Scratch your back?”

  “No,” Lucretia explained. “Behind the ears to start. I’ll let you know. Use those fingers the way only you humans can.”

  Lucretia shifted again, and her ears fluttered as my breath touched them when I turned to face her. She cooed slightly as I reached forward, touching her ear—and then the other.

  “Harder,” she said, breathless.

  I followed her lead, pressing harder and harder until her entire body was pressed against mine. Feeling more confident, I massaged the best I could around the ear and onto parts of her neck.

  “There!” Lucretia moaned. “That’s the spot.”

  Dragon rumbled in my mind. “This confuses me, human. This is not what I expected mating to be, considering other such memories you have—”

  “We’re not mating,” I replied.

  I cursed myself… I had said it out loud.

  Lucretia’s ears fluttered, and she turned a curious eye on me. “Mate?” she said. Then, slowly, she laughed. “Did you think?” … Her laugh became a howl. “As if I would debase myself to lie with a human in such a way. Why I would never hear the end of it. No, no, no… you’ve misunderstood your purpose, human.”

  I will admit, her laughter stung my pride.

  Lucretia resettled. “Now enough nonsense,” she said. “I liked what you were doing with my neck. Continue.”

  ***

  Small beams of light fluttered through the window, glancing off Lucretia’s white fur and cascading about the room in scattering rays. She had made me stay for the entire evening, despite my insistence that I return to my cell to be with the others. I felt guilty about that. Sleeping in a comfortable bed next to a woman who may or may not be our enemy… and yet her body had been comfortable in an indescribable way. Still, I had kept my dignity intact… not that anyone was likely to believe me.

  “That exchange was… interesting,” Dragon said.

  “You can say that again.”

  Lucretia was already awake, lightly running a single black nail up and down his chest. My manhood had not diminished in the slightest, and she seemed to take great pleasure in that.

  “I suppose it is about that time,” she said. “Any longer, and others will think I took an actual liking to you.”

  “You haven’t?”

  Lucretia smiled softly. “Perhaps. Your fingers were… adequate.”

  I coughed. “I’ll take it, I suppose. So that’s it then, you’ll let us continue on with our… quest?”

  “If you agree to some terms… and answer me but a single question.”

  Lucretia’s nail dug just a bit harder into my skin. “What are you?” she asked. “You appear human, and yet you move with the grace of a cat… and that power you demonstrated. The ability to strike from afar with no weapon at all. Glorious. Beautiful. I’ve never seen the like… nor heard of it. And so… why should I not end you now? Right here? Ensure that power can never be used against us lycans?”

  Dragon smoldered with worry in the back of my head.

  “I…” I tensed up and willed myself to stand firm… despite lying down. “I am not against you. None of us are. But if you kill me, then you will have gained one pissed off enemy, and he plays with fire. As for my powers, I don’t understand them myself. I’m not evading… I just don’t know.”

  Lucretia continued to run her nail up and down my chest… and then she just stopped. She rolled off the other side of the bed, stood, and simply sighed.

  “Then you will be allowed to live… for now. But in exchange for such mercy, I want you to do something for me.”

  I had rolled off the bed, and I was already pulling my pants back on.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Perhaps everyone in your little party should hear this conversation.” Lucretia, fully dressed in simple leather garments, threw my shirt at me. “Finish up and meet me in the hall. Just ask a guard if you get lost.”

  Without another word, she disappeared out the front door, leaving me alone in the room. As I went to put on my shirt, something glittering fell to the floor. I reached down and picked it up… it was a necklace. Intricate. Silver. And with a red gem. The same necklace that she had used to torture Vekrem. Thinking about that, I felt shame about what had happened the previous night. More shame than before. I pulled on my shirt and stepped outside, heading towards the meeting hall.