Warwitch 2 preview! ch. 1-3

Ch. 1

You learn a lot of things in the army. Like how girls named Bambi you met at the gentlemen’s club just off base probably weren’t actually marriage material. Or that when supplies ran out and you were ass deep in winter, you really could eat a leather shoe. And the big one, especially when you were a living weapon capable of magically manipulating blood, was that superior officers couldn’t wait to hurl you into the next meat grinder.

But one other thing I learned was that the only thing more treacherous than navigating a minefield was dealing with the media.

And not just because they were intrusive, nosey, and generally made it their business to be annoying, but because they always found ways to twist whatever I said. Sadly, the army used to like shoving ‘The Bloodletter’ in front of their cameras so I could be blinded by their flashes for some propaganda-friendly snapshots. And yeah, I understood the idea; I was a walking piece of ra-ra national pride for the Free States of Caldia. Great for getting the recruiting drive into high gear, and get all the witches wet for warlocks (an actual slogan. Never let it be said the propaganda divisions weren’t creative). 

Fortunately, I figured out pretty quickly how to avoid that, and that was by being honest.

See, as it turned out, the brass really didn’t like it when questions like, “How did it feel to defend the Merric Pass on your own for three days straight?” got answers like, “Well, Jim, it felt fucking awful because everyone else was dead on day one thanks to General Osgood’s lack of preparation, as he couldn’t get dragged out of the whorehouse to review some actual tactics and do some recon.”

That got me treated as more of a ‘secret weapon’ after a bit. Which worked for me. So, yeah, I didn’t exactly like the media, and I’d hoped that the war being over might put some healthy distance between me and them.

More the fool me.

“Are they still out there?” I asked from the couch.

Kensington Killmaiden, my roommate, witch, wolf-girl, and until recently my would-be assassin, peeked out the window to the front of the dorm. “Looks like it. The headmistress is talking to them, but I think there are more of them now.”

I groaned, massaging my forehead. Fuck. I mean, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Stoneway Academy had been playing host to a bunch of VIPs for the recent Wargames, and naturally that dragged along a gaggle of reporters. And they’d gotten a story, alright. Something quite a bit juicier than an illicit photo of a general with a new lover.

“Don’t they have anything better to do?” I asked.

“I mean,” Kensie said, looking away from the window, “you did stop a warp bomb from going off under the arena, killing hundreds, and potentially restarting the war with Auropa.”

“Pleeeease don’t remind me,” I sighed. The memory was still achingly fresh, along with the wounds. Even a week in the medical ward hadn’t gotten rid of them all. But the real wound had been who I’d had to kill.

Poor Rodney Graves.

I grimaced. I didn’t regret killing him, really. He’d forced my hand with his would-be terrorist attack. But all the same, I wasn’t exactly thrilled it had come to that. He’d been a good man, but the war had left deep scars that even his wyldcraft couldn’t heal. And it had been a brutal fight. I’m sure the headmistress had tried to keep a lid on things, but there was only so much you could hide after something like that.

“Poor master,” a spunky voice said as a pair of small hands began massaging my forehead. “Want me to make it better?”

My eyes opened, and I peered up at the tiny woman leaning over me, her fingers deftly working my brow. A pair of demonic horns poked from her bouncy curls, and a mocking smirk hovered on the imp’s lips. She leaned forward, her breasts in their tight leather bra pressing into my face and almost covering my eyes.

“And how, exactly, would you make it better, Hexie?” I asked my familiar. As a familiar, which any classically educated witch or warlock worth his or her salt possessed, she wasn’t around all that much during day-to-day affairs, but she always seemed to be present at the right moment to offer lewd commentary.

“Well, in my opinion, a thorough blowjob is just what the doctor ordered for mental distress,” she noted with a flutter of her bat-like wings.

“Is that a professional medical opinion?”

“Alternative medicine. All the rage these days I hear,” she noted.

“I think I’ll pass,” I grunted.

Hexie’s smirk turned into a pout. “But whyyyy?” she whined, slapping her hands on my cheeks, squeezing them together. “I’ve been patient, master, but a girl’s got needs. And mine have you stuffing me full of that thick, throbbing manmeat!”

“Because I still need to deal with this,” I said, batting her hands away and gesturing out the window. “I’m pretty sure the university is going to start losing patience soon, and I’d rather not deal with that.”

“Plus,” Kensie said from the window, “classes start tomorrow, so you’ll probably have to deal with them by then. You got dispensation for medical reasons so far, but I doubt you’ll get a pass for the whole year. Not to mention it might make it hard for Erina and Tanya to see you.”

Damn. I hadn’t thought of that. The pair had been kind enough to walk with me when I was discharged from the medical ward, but the cat-girl and felborn had gone back to their own dorms to grab some things to ‘nurse me back to health.’ Sadly, that was before the media circus rolled out the clowns, so the odds were good they were stuck out there. And even the fact they were now in my actual harem probably wasn’t going to get them through the scrum.

Kensie padded over and sat down on the couch beside me, shyly resting her hand on my leg. “I’ll go with you,” she said. “You know, as moral support.”

That offer was actually touching. Not too long ago she’d been ready to stab a stake into my heart. “You don’t have to,” I told her.

“W-well,” she said, her canine tail thwapping my side with eager wags as she brushed a lock of raven hair back behind her wolfish ear. “I should. I am in your harem now, right?”

And no one was more surprised about that than me. Kensie had spent the entire time I’d been at school trying to out me as a vampire, which I obviously wasn’t, but in the end, she had come around and was even the key to stopping Rodney. I looked her over, admiring her again. She was extremely cute with her tight build, triangular wolf ears and tail, and the way her tight body filled out her even tighter uniform was more than a little sexy.

“Fair enough,” I said, sitting up and looping my arm around her, tugging her against my side.

She stiffened in surprise, then relaxed, leaning against me and nuzzling my shoulder a bit. “...Alister?” she said, looking up with her deep, shining eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Why won’t you admit to being a vampire?”

Goddammit.

“I’m not a vampire,” I sighed.

“It really doesn’t bother me anymore,” she assured me, resting her hand on my chest. “Really. I don’t mind. Sure, my family is dedicated to slaying your kind and destroying their vile presence upon this world, but you’re not like the others. And I have to admit it’s maybe a bit… um, well…”

“Hot?” Hexie asked smugly from above me. “Naughty? Unbelievably sexy and so wrong yet so right to think of him bending you over, biting your neck as he pounds his meat into your precious little pussy, filling you with his unholy baby batter as you feel his fangs pierce your skin and suck that sweet, innocent blood from you?”

“Hexie,” I groaned. Not that she was wrong, judging by the deepening blush on Kensie’s face. “Kensie, look,” I explained. “I’m not a vampire.”

“But your eyes turn that deep red when you use your magic. And your skin is silky, smooth, and pale as fresh fallen snow.”

“My eyes do that because of my wyldcraft,” I informed her. “And my skin gets… well, refreshed when I take in blood using my magic. Plus, moisturizer.”

“Seriously?” Hexie snickered.

“I’m allowed to enjoy decent skin care after my years of service in the war,” I grumbled.

“I did notice you drink those blood packs now and then…” Kensie added in a clearly unconvinced tone.

“Because I use up a lot of my own when I use my wyldcraft and need to replenish it.”

Kensie gave me another long look before she smiled softly. “It’s okay,” she said, patting my chest again. “I know we’re not that close yet. But sometime soon, I hope you’ll feel comfortable being truly honest with me, Alister.”

Ughhhh. I buried my face in my hand, though I couldn’t exactly blame Kensie for her suspicions. Hopefully, she’d get over them eventually. But if only to escape this conversation, I supposed it was time I dealt with the vultures outside. The last thing I wanted was to be stalked by them for the rest of the term. That would not help my mission to have a normal life after the war.

Standing, I ran my fingers through my dark hair, re-tousling it and knocking Hexie off with a squawk of indignation. “Alright,” I said, straightening my dark warlock coat firmly. “Let’s deal with the reporters.”

Kensie bounded to her feet and hurried after me as I purposefully marched to the door, opening it and heading downstairs. More than a few other doors were open, with various student witches lingering in the hall, whispering and quickly falling silent as I walked past, though I could feel their eyes follow me.

I made my way down to the ground floor, hearing Headmistress Elegantra Templeton’s voice raised in patient but firm tones over the clamour of the reporters just beyond the door.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I remind you that Mister Blackwood is still recovering. And once he has, a statement will be issued to your papers.”

Boos met this along with various demands about ‘freedom of the press’. Well, they wouldn’t need to wait any longer. Steeling myself, I pushed the door open and stepped outside.

The headmistress turned as I exited. An older witch, her wrinkled face was nearly hidden under a hat that looked more like a deflating mushroom than anything else. Her cloak and robe were practically a carpet of moss and flowers, and one of her arms was wooden, like a branch was growing out of her sleeve.

She wasn’t alone though. Several other teachers were there, including a certain serpentine one. Professor Maleficia glared at me, her reptilian pupils narrow, her human half perched atop serpentine coils. She’d made no secret of the fact she hated me, but I barely got a glimpse of her face before a flurry of flashing bulbs blinded me, forcing me to squint to see over the sea of reporters suddenly pressing forward.

“Mister Blackwood! Is it true you stopped a warp bomb?”

“Mister Blackwood! Did you really fight off a dozen witches on your own?”

“Mister Blackwood! Mister Blackwood! Who are you wearing?”

“Mister Blackwood! Are you in fact the lost prince of the Fabrau dynasty, come to reclaim your throne and damn us all to the infernal realms?”

The absolute onslaught of noise made me lean back. Gods, it was almost as bad as being at ground zero of an artillery barrage. One thing, however, made it a bit more tolerable, and that was when I spotted Erina and Tanya pushing their way through the mob, past a couple of uniformed campus security witches, and making their way to my side.

The presence of the pair of beauties caused an abrupt switch in the mood of the media, and another blistering round of photo bulbs burst as Erina tucked herself in close to my side, drawing herself up with the sort of grave dignity I’d expect from a princess. Her blonde cat tail twitched with annoyance and her ears flattened.

Tanya, by contrast, simply wound her fingers with mine, squeezing my hand and reassuringly and shooting me a soft smile. The almost ludicrously busty witch would make a hell of a photo op, that much was for sure. Having a demon in her ancestry, her horns curled out of her hair, but unlike those beings of pure malevolence, I’d yet to meet someone more caring and sweet. Little lights like bursts of starlight orbited her head, flashing now and then with her emotions, and given their current flickering, I knew she was worried about me.

Buoyed by the presence of the pair and Kensie as she slipped out beside me, I turned to face the reporters. “There have been certain rumours going around,” I said, projecting my voice with practiced ease, a sudden silence sweeping the crowd aside from the frantic scratching of pencils on pads. “And I want to clear some things up. Yes, there was an incident involving a teacher attempting to attack the Wargames. A number of us put a stop to it. I have no more information concerning it.”

No sooner had the last sentence left my lips than the questions began again. One, a woman with distinctively mousey attributes, pushed forward. “Mister Blackwood! Elly Ferrit! Caldian Federation News! Are you confirming there was an attempted terrorist attack on the Wargames led by a teacher?”

“I am,” I said.

Conversation flitted through the crowd, and I saw several people in the back race away, presumably to get to a telephone and relay that.

“Mister Blackwood!” another reporter, a woman with low catgirl mutations, including leonian ears, called out. “Becky Barnes! Ostin Bugle! Are these ladies the ones who assisted you? And are they in your harem?”

“They are,” I confirmed.

“To both points,” Erina added crisply, squeezing my arm and glaring defiantly outward.

“Even her?” Becky asked, pointing a pen at Kensie.

The wolf-girl flushed a little but nodded.

That got a hell of a reaction and earned another barrage of photo flashes. “Then Princess Erina Harper, future Duchess Tanya Tormentia, and the heiress of the esteemed Killmaiden monster hunter lineage are all in your harem? Is that correct?” someone shouted.

Duchess? And esteemed monster hunters? I turned to Tanya, then Kensie, and lifted a questioning eyebrow, but the latter avoided my gaze and nodded firmly. “That’s correct,” the wolf-girl said, her voice breaking a little with nerves.

It was like every person there took a deep, amazed breath, then suddenly surged in again, only for Headmistress Templeton to step forward with a sound like creaking timber. “And there will be further details given in the coming days,” she said in a tone that didn’t invite further conversation. “For now…”

Elegantra gestured with her wooden limb. There was a creaking sound as a number of the trees growing around the path suddenly quivered, their branches bending down to rapidly stretch and grow. The reporters yelped and practically fought each other to retreat as the branches knit into a wall before the dorm, and I spotted several of the security witches on their brooms descending to help their companions usher the reporters away.

Exhaling in relief, I promptly sucked a breath back in as the Headmistress turned to me, looking none too pleased. “That was quite the stunt, Mister Blackwood,” she noted with grandmotherly disapproval, backed up by the ability to throw a literal forest of death at you.

“I didn’t really mean for it to be a stunt,” I said.

“Intentions mean little compared to results,” Maleficia hissed, crossing her arms and glaring at me.

I winced, and Elegantra’s expression didn’t strike me as particularly sympathetic either. “Quite so. Nonetheless,” she said, her shoulders losing some of her earlier tension. “I suppose what’s done is done. You’ve given them some meat to chew on, at any rate. And enough that we can probably keep them off campus for a while. Though,” she added with a warning look, “I can’t imagine it will keep the less scrupulous of them from trying to sneak in. If you see such, I recommend you report them to campus security rather than try and deal with them yourself.”

“Then, I’m not in trouble?” I asked.

Her face grew kinder, and she let out a gentle laugh. “Hardly. After what you did for this school and everyone in it, it would be churlish of me to punish you. For now, I suppose you’d best rest up. You have the rest of the day off, naturally. And I should inform you that, obviously, Professor Graves’s classes are cancelled until a… replacement instructor is found.”

I nodded, trying to keep my expression neutral. “Got it.”

The headmistress nodded. “Good. For now, get some proper rest. Though how much you will get,” she added with a knowing look at the three women clinging to me, “will remain to be seen, won’t it?”

I felt my face warm and cleared my throat, but Headmistress Elegantra merely chuckled and turned, shuffling away back onto the path. Watching her go, I shook my head. I just couldn’t get a read on what she was thinking.

The same couldn’t be said for Maleficia, who just glared before slithering after the headmistress, leaving me and the girls alone. I sighed in relief, then looked at the trio around me. “So,” I said. “Shall we head upstairs? I imagine we have a bit to… talk about.”

Ch. 2

I genuinely never thought I’d see the day where I’d get to spend some quality time with my own harem. Especially since I never expected to have one.

Then again, I never expected to see the end of the war given how often I got sent to the front. But if this was my reward, I’d almost say it was worth it.

After our little adventure with the media, we went upstairs, and though the girls were more than eager to try and look after me, they might have gone a little far with it. I really didn’t need to be fed, though they insisted. All the same, it was a fun few hours, so much so that it got dark faster than expected, leading both Erina and Tanya to stay with me, just in case I needed something during the night.

Ironic, then, that Kensie, Erina, and Tanya all ended up cuddling on my bed, fast asleep while I was wide awake. Even Hexie was snoozing, albeit draped on my head like a hat.

I enjoyed the sight of the witchy trio from my desk. Then, careful not to dislodge Hexie, I turned back to the blank page in front of me. I’d had enough resting and could get by on little sleep. Besides, being with those three had given me plenty of inspiration for work on my book.

That said, writing was a bit difficult. I didn’t have writer’s block or anything, but I wasn’t too sure where to go with my story, if anywhere. I hadn’t been at Stoneway long, but already I felt like a completely different person from when I started out here. I wasn’t shy about having an actual relationship with women. I’d earnestly fallen in love with three gorgeous girls (and, possibly, one snarky imp). Which left the adventures of the vampire lord and his lady lover I’d been working on in a bit of a quandary.

“I’m just not the man who wrote this thing anymore,” I mused aloud.

“Hrm? Whazzat?” Hexie grumbled from atop my head.

I glanced up just in time to see the imp’s upside-down face peer into my own, her eyes squinting down at me.

“Didn’t mean to wake you,” I told her. “Though you did choose to sleep on my head.”

She yawned, showing off her fangs. “Mmm. Coulda let me sleep in your pants in that case.”

“That sounds uncomfortable.”

“Lay off,” she groaned. “I’m tired. But Master is still up doing… something. Writing again?”

“I am,” I said as I put pen to paper. “I’m finishing my book.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, this draft,” I amended. “The story’s bones are good. I just need to revise a bit. Well, a lot, add some new characters, plot points, that kind of thing.”

“Oh? Like an amazingly gorgeous little demon girl that everyone instantly falls in love with? And whose rocking tits can bend the minds of the unwary to become her obedient slaves?”

“No.”

“Lame.”

I shook my head, almost dislodging her. “Actually, I was thinking of adding in a tiger girl, a succubus, and possibly a miniature succubus who all have a thing for the vampire lord.”

“Yeah? You think so?” Hexie snorted. “Real creative there, Master. Never would’ve guessed.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing. Only you better give the sex scenes a bit more oomph.”

“Oomph?”

“Yeah. Oomph. Shakka shakka unn!” Hexie grunted, grinding herself against the back of my head, practically humping me. “Throw in some leather, some edible panties, some super degrading stuff! Ooh, have the catgirl be forced to lick his ass while the demon girl sucks him off and the succubus gets tied up, spanked, and unable to masturbate to completion thanks to a curse!”

I lifted the pen and shot the grinning upside-down face a glare. “Not helpful.”

“Sure it is! Every successful book has a strong F to P ratio.”

“I know I’m going to regret asking, but what’s an F to P ratio?”

“Fucks to Plot! You gotta have a good balance of plot points to fuck scenes; otherwise, you’ll never sell your book, Master. It’ll be consigned to the bin reserved for countless other authors who fail to understand this vital mechanism of story structure.”

“Made a study of it, have you?”

“Pfft, it’s just common sense. You need a dick insertion at least every forty pages, tits out every twenty, and sprinkle in some generous girl masturbation for a real solid seller. Seriously! Every great novel of the last century has at minimum a girl getting off by humping the corner of a table.”

“You’re shockingly well-read,” I noted drily.

“I’m shockingly awesome is what you mean.”

I scoffed but found a smile fighting to break through. Though Hexie and I may have gotten off on a, shall we say, awkward footing, I was really coming around to her presence. If nothing else, she made life more interesting.

“Hey! You should throw in a bunch more fight scenes too,” Hexie added eagerly.

“I have a few in there.”

“Yeah, but more! And more gruesome. Make it so he can, like, turn into mist, enter people, and make them explode. Or that he can rip the blood out of his enemies remotely and turn them into withered husks! That’d be awesome!”

My pen froze, my jaw clenched, and my stomach twisted with distaste. I closed my eyes tightly, trying to banish the scenes her eager words had conjured. Scenes I’d seen too many times and performed variations of with my own hands more than once.

I put down the pen with a sigh and stood.

“Hey! What’s goin’ on? Gotta piss?” Hexie asked.

“No. I think… I think I’ve done enough writing for now. Gonna go for a walk.”

“Cool! Where are we going?”

“I’m going alone.”

“Huh?”

“I just…” I gestured vaguely. “I need some alone time for a little bit. Okay?”

“Really?” Hexie asked, front flipping off my head, a beat of her wings suspending her in the air as she pirouetted to face me. “I thought it was some kind of code for taking me onto the roof to mating press me under the stars.”

“No. I just need a chance to wander a little. That’s all.”

“You sure?” she asked with a suspicious look.

“I’m sure. Stay with those three.”

“Nah,” Hexie snorted. “Just banish me and resummon me when you want me back. Need to give you the chance to bring me out to clap some cheeks when you inevitably realize how horny you are.”

“Not everything is about sex,” I told her. “But fine.” I snapped my fingers. “Deal.”

“Ey,” Hexie said, finger pistols aimed my way before she dissipated with a puff of purple smoke.

With her gone, I felt a bit more relaxed and crept out of the room, careful not to make a sound and wake anyone else. I opened the main door of my dorm room and slipped into the hall, which was mercifully quiet and lit with the glow of arcane lamps. The quiet was understandable. Anyone sane would be asleep at 2 a.m., even with all the craziness going on at Stoneway lately.

Too bad I couldn’t head out for a walk in the quad, thanks to curfew. And for damn sure it’d be enforced heavily now. Between the reporters and any potential fallout from Rodney’s plot, no one was taking chances. However, I could stay out until proper curfew again. My punishment had been dismissed, seeing as it turned out the whole business with me blowing up the botany lab was justified, but I still couldn’t walk around whenever I liked. I could probably elude the campus guards, but I wasn’t risking getting caught for nothing. Besides, the dorm had a nice common room I could go to, and the roof might be a nice place to grab some fresh air too.

I sighed, hands going into my pockets as I walked. I really did need to clear my head. Yeah, the war was over, but what happened with Rodney was evidence enough that its scars lingered. And that included mine. I still had nightmares about some of the battles I’d been in. A lot of them just blended together over the years, but many stood out starkly despite it all. Would I ever feel comfortable in peace? I honestly didn’t know. Though, thinking about the three women in my bed, I found myself smiling. Maybe I would, eventually.

Unfortunately, I was so caught up in that musing that I didn’t hear the running footsteps until I reached the corner, and not even my reflexes could save me from the girl who barreled full blast around it. I had a brief impression of a pair of golden eyes widening in shock, then she collided full force with me. I grunted, thrown off my feet and onto my ass, and then further onto my back as she landed on me.

Which meant I found a pair of pillowy soft breasts mashed against my face.

For a second, I was too stunned to react. Then my hand reflexively moved up and touched the shoulder of whoever was on me.

With a start and a shriek, the woman jolted upright and off me, a beat of draconic wings spurring her upright even faster than I expected. For my part, I finally got a good look at the one who’d fallen on me.

Aw, fuck.

Ashlyn Withers stood over me, feet straddling me as she reared back, her normally pale face bright red. Scales accented her cheekbones, and draconic horns curled from a mane of long, poofy hair. Her uniform was fitted perfectly to her figure, which further emphasized her chest, and her pupils were reptilian slits of shock and horror.

“Hello there,” I said lamely. “Fancy seeing you up at this hour—and in full uniform.”

“You… you pervert!” she yelped, crossing her arms over her chest.

Hoo boy. I already knew this was going to be a headache. And not just because Ashlyn fucking hated me. She already assumed I was some playboy, and to be fair, a lot of warlocks were. When the witch-to-warlock ratio was around ten to one, you got a lot of unscrupulous types. Sadly, despite my best efforts, she lumped me into the ‘fuck ‘em and forget ‘em’ kind of warlock. And this probably wasn’t going to help things.

Especially given how she was standing over me and wearing a very baggy skirt.

Doing my damndest not to look (at least, not twice. I mean, c’mon, it was right there), I met her furious eyes.

“How dare you lay your… your filthy hands on me!” she spat, little flickers of flame erupting from her mouth.

“Come on now. You were the one who came around the corner like a war broom firing on all cylinders,” I protested. “If anything, I should be offended.”

“You groped me! Put your hands on me and your eyes are… are…”

She suddenly realized just what I could see and squealed, crossing her legs and slapping her hands down on her thighs, pressing her skirt flat. “Where do you think you’re looking?!” she snapped.

“Uh, nowhere.”

“Did you see?”

“See? See what?” I said innocently, though by the look on her face, I knew immediately that she wasn’t buying it. Damn.

“Don’t lie to me,” she growled as she backed off me. “I know what you’re about. You warlocks are all the same! Only interested in defiling a pure maiden!”

“I can think of a lot of ways to describe you, but ‘pure maiden’ wouldn’t be one of them,” I noted as I started to get up.

Only for her to growl, lift her leg, and plant her foot on my chest, shoving me back down. Oof! She was strong for such a short girl.

“How dare you! I am pure and delightful and precious! And men like you should beg for even a modicum of my attention! In fact,” she added, leaning in a bit and putting some more weight on me. “If you want to get up, you’ll have to do something for me…”

Alright, fuck this. I already wasn’t her biggest fan, but the way her lips had started to smirk really pricked my pride. So instead of listening to her tirade, I grabbed her leg and yanked it out from under her, rolling in the same motion. Clearly not expecting that, and also clearly untrained in hand-to-hand combat, Ashlyn could only yelp in surprise as she suddenly fell onto the floor, this time with me on top of her, straddling her waist.

It happened so fast she didn’t have a second to react, just staring up at me in shock at the sudden switch in positions. Which, now that I thought about it, really didn’t look good for me if I was trying to beat the whole ‘sex-crazed maniac’ allegation.

I immediately got to my feet and stepped back off her, though I gave her a glare for good measure. “Look,” I said gruffly as I straightened my black coat. “I do not need this right now. I thought we were doing a bit better given the whole ‘helped each other prevent a bomb from going off under the school’ thing, but if you’re going to be this way, then I’m off.”

“Why?” she demanded, scrambling to her feet, drawing herself up with another huff of smoke, hands on her hips. “Afraid someone will come by and stop you from taking advantage of me? Of showing that you’re a pig? A brute? A bastard? That more witches will know you’re just like the other warlocks, only interested in sex?”

“You’re really obsessed with fucking, aren’t you? Do you think you’re projecting?”

“Do you deny it?”

“Categorically,” I retorted.

“Then what do you think you are?” she asked.

I winced at the unexpectedly sharp question—one that vocalized a number of thoughts I’d been having before I took this walk.

“A killer,” I muttered.

That made her draw up short, blinking. Probably remembering the rampage I went on when fighting Rodney, Hesse, and the witches they’d recruited to their cause. Ashlyn had been there, having been tricked into helping provide them with the expertise to assemble the bomb before getting captured.

“Right,” she said, looking oddly mollified. “I forgot you were… involved in the war.”

“I did tell you to look up my service record,” I told her.

“I did,” she huffed.

Really? “And?” I asked.

She shifted her weight. “I didn’t read it.”

Figures.

“Whatever,” I sighed, brushing past her. I only went a few steps, though, before I paused and glanced back at her. “By the way,” I added, “what were you going to make me do before I could get up?”

She stared at me for a moment.

Then her face went bright red once more. “I…” she stammered. “You… ugh!”

Whirling on her heel, she raced off down the hall. I raised a brow as she vanished around the corner, wings flapping with agitation, and I just shook my head. Godsdamn. That girl seriously needed some help…

Ch. 3

I was still getting used to what my lunch breaks had become. Mainly, because when I first came to Stoneway, I would eat alone, but nowadays I tended to share the table with at least one woman, and often more depending on how our classes lined up.

That also meant that quite often, we (by which I mean Tanya, given she was my official harem queen) made arrangements to meet up for lunch. I was on my way to the location in question when I saw something that drew my eye. There, gathered at one table under the shade of a huge tree, was a trio of black figures like a huddle of crows picking over a carcass.

Warlocks.

I slowed for a number of reasons. One was that you never saw that many warlocks just together without an absolute gaggle of skirted figures clustered around. There weren’t enough warlocks around to have groups of them hanging about on their own. Hell, I doubted there were enough warlocks to make up a fifth of the entire Stoneway student body. And that was an overrepresentation! Warlocks were very rare among men. Less than one in a hundred, and even the weakest were in high demand, even before the war with Auropa killed off a ton of them. For one, you were far more likely to get another warlock if the father was one. And two, even witches born from a union like that were more powerful than the average. Which meant the government was very eager to make sure a warlock had as many lovers as they could. And they weren’t shy about promoting it.

The other thing I noticed about the warlocks I was looking at was that I knew them. The trio were a group I’d met at a party not so long ago, albeit now missing their fourth member. I considered not approaching, given that I’d killed said member. The fact that Hesse had been involved in trying to blow up the school might still go over like a lead balloon, but then Lucen spotted me and waved me over.

Well, time to face the music.

Squaring my shoulders a bit, I headed under the shade of the tree. Lucen grinned a bit, his long silvery hair coiling like tentacles with his wyldcraft. “Hey! Alister, there you are,” he said. “Finally discharged?”

“Finally,” I said, glancing over the other two warlocks to try and get a read on their feelings. Kinda hard. Salazar was currently half asleep on his folded arms, and Dorm was… well, aside from being huge, I couldn’t figure out what he was thinking, if anything. The guy was like a brick wall in both build and expressiveness. “So…”

“We heard about Hesse,” Lucen interrupted, grimacing as his hair twisted with a cringe. “Can’t believe he was involved in something like that. Just nuts. You think you know a guy.”

I nodded in agreement. It was a feeling I knew well. More than a few times I’d come across a traitor during the war—usually someone you thought you could trust, which made it all the worse.

“Though it does explain why he always wanted to talk politics,” Lucen mused. “Guess he was trying to see if he could drag us into his little conspiracy.”

“Mmm,” Salazar hummed.

Dorm rumbled as well. Or maybe he was just hungry; hard to say.

“Here! Join us,” Lucen said, eagerly gesturing to an empty seat.

“Thanks,” I replied, doing so and giving the trio an uncertain look. “Join you for what, exactly?”

“Oh, well, right.” Lucen coughed. “We, uh, meant to invite you, but we weren’t really sure about your… personal orientation until just recently, so we held off. But now that we know you have a proper harem, it’s high time we did. See,” he added, dropping his voice a little, “we hold a sort of… impromptu club just for warlocks. Little meetings to, you know, talk shop.”

“Shop?”

“Yeah. About our girls. Kind of share information, advice. Figure things out and how to keep everything running smoothly. That kind of stuff.”

“You mean you have like a… support group about harems?”

“Gotta keep… on our toes,” Salazar yawned, nestling his chin on his crossed arms and lazily blinking up at me. “Share intelligence. Common… tactics.”

“Exactly,” Lucen agreed, nodding eagerly. “Figure out group sex. How to keep the harem queen happy. Dealing with drama. Bed schedules. That sort of thing. Guys like us have to stick together, right?”

“Woo…” Salazar murmured, listlessly pumping a fist.

“Hrm,” Dorm grunted in possible acknowledgment or indigestion.

I looked between them. Well! This was a pretty welcome surprise. I’d been stressing about the whole harem thing since I realized I was forming one with Erina and Tanya, and now that I had Kensie in it too, this was perfect.

“I see,” I said, settling in more comfortably. “But, uh, what do your harem members think of this?”

“Don’t tell ’em,” Dorm grunted.

“You don’t?” I asked.

“Well, mostly,” Lucen amended. “Women probably understand that we do this, but it’s one of those things they’d probably prefer not to actually know about. If they thought we were talking behind their backs, it could get… testy.”

A good point. “Gotcha. So you just lie?”

“We prefer targeted obfuscation," Lucen said diplomatically. “We mostly just say we need these meet-ups to charge up our testosterone levels and get drunk. Boys’ time, you know?”

“Mhmmm,” Salazar hummed. “Gotta charge up… to breed them with peak… virility…”

Ew. “Yeah, that’d do it,” I agreed. “Honestly, I could probably get away with anything if I told the girls it was to get better at breeding them. Sometimes, it seems like that’s all girls care about—fucking.”

“Mmm,” Salazar hummed. “True. True... They barely want to go out for… dinner. And if you say you’re too tired, they… get all pissy…”

“I mean, to be fair,” Lucen amended, “that is the main point of a harem. At least, officially. Am I right? We do need to do our national duty and breed as many witches as possible, but is the emotional connection really not important?”

I had to say I was a little surprised to hear that from Lucen. He’d struck me earlier as one of those warlocks who didn’t mind being a glorified stud to horny witches. Then again, having an actual harem had maybe changed his mind a bit on it.

“Mine were a bit like that,” I admitted. “Propaganda is strong in this generation. But I think I’m making some progress. It’s still early, but they really do like me. And I feel like I’m forming a real emotional connection here.”

Nods of agreement came from the others, and I found myself easing back a bit, relaxing as I looked around at the group. It actually felt good to be able to talk openly about these sorts of things. Sure, I was fine sharing some stuff with the girls, but there were some subjects you couldn’t really talk about with women. Especially Hexie. If I brought up any of this, she’d probably just recommend I fuck away the stress. Most likely with her, though she might make some concession and have Tanya or Erina get involved in a threesome.

There was a rumbling from Dorm as he shifted. “Love is complicated,” he finally said. “It is our duty to love multiple women, but it is hard to let them all know they are valued by us. A dance of feelings that never ends; we can only validate them, but love is shown in different ways and in different intensities by all individuals. We can never take for granted the feelings that are returned our way, nor let those we love not know the depths of our own for them. Understanding and respect are the keys.”

I blinked, not expecting something so… profound from the normally silent warlock. “Uh, yeah. That’s true.”

Movement from Lucen had me glance over and see he’d straightened a bit, lips pursing as he looked past my shoulder. “Uh-oh,” he murmured. “Here comes trouble.”

I turned my head and winced. Erina was crossing the quad, and she had her ‘prefect’ face on. The fact her stride could probably make her heels punch holes in the pavement told me I was in for it.

“Erina,” I said, turning in my seat to face her. “Hey. How’s it going?”

“Quite well, Alister,” she said coolly, her hand landing on my shoulder as she glanced over the rest of the table. “My apologies to your compatriots, but I believe we had an appointment?”

Fuck! That was right. I completely forgot. I groaned and got up. “Right, yeah. Sorry. Lucen? Can you send me an invitation to the next meeting?”

“Sure. I’ll send a bird. Next week, same time.”

“Appreciated,” I said before Erina’s tugging dragged me away. I followed her willingly enough, though I noticed she wasn’t taking me immediately to where we were supposed to meet the others. Instead, she pulled me off the path and into the shade of a tree.

“Something the matter?” I asked her, even as she turned around, her ears flat and blonde tail twitching with agitation.

“Really now, Alister,” she huffed as she began to straighten my coat, her lips pursed with irritation. “You had me worried! Don’t forget how injured you were.”

“I’ve had worse,” I reminded her, even as her hands pawed my chest and slid up under my coat. “And the healers did an excellent job.”

“No reason we mustn’t check,” she said, though I noticed her voice was a bit hot now. Not to mention the fact her hands were wandering away from where I’d been injured, instead stroking the hard lines of my abs. I raised a brow at her, which caused Erina to flush a little as she pressed in closer. “I worry about you, Alister.”

“Clearly,” I said, but despite my joking tone, I knew she was being honest. Erina genuinely cared about me, and beyond just my ability to fuck her raw. My hands snaked around her in turn, one stroking her back, the other brushing the firm globes of her wonderful ass. “But really. I’m doing okay. Honest.”

“You’re sure?” she said softly, letting me pull her against me, the softness of her breasts pressing into my chest as her eyes stared into mine, feline pupils widening faintly.

“What?” I asked with a soft, amused note in my voice. “Do I need to prove it? Maybe by turning you around, pressing you into that wall, and showing you just how vigorous I can be?”

Pink flamed in her cheeks, and her tongue teased her lips. “We… we shouldn’t do that,” she said hotly. “It would be… it’s very much against regulations. Decency laws are… are quite stringent.”

“Now that’s a shame,” I chuckled, my hand leaving her back to touch her chin and tilt it up. “I guess I’ll just have to settle for a few kisses.”

Her eyes widened as I leaned down and captured her lips. The second I did, though, she absolutely melted, mewing softly as her eyes lidded, pressing up against me like a cat towards a warm hearth. The soft rumble of a purr escaped her as I stroked her ass, giving it a playful squeeze that made her whimper and wriggle in helpless pleasure. Hell, her leg even rose and twined around mine, squeezing like an anaconda.

I probably shouldn’t get such a rise out of making the oh-so prim and proper Princess Erina become putty in my hands, but fuck it, I really did enjoy everything about her. She often had a bit of a stick up her ass, but that was because she took her duty so seriously. And she was always looking out for me. She cared about me and wanted to help me however she could, and not just because it was the patriotic thing to do. It was a strange feeling being valued as a person instead of a weapon, and though we may have had a rocky start, I had no doubts anymore that Erina did love me.

And that was a feeling I more than reciprocated, even if I couldn’t help needling her a little.

I broke the kiss, running my finger along her jaw. “You know,” I said teasingly, “if you really wanted to make sure I was on time, you could add a few more incentives.”

“S-such as?” she gasped hotly.

“Make me an offer,” I hummed.

Her blush deepened. “I… I could suck your cock,” she murmured.

“Oooh, tempting,” I said, running my thumb along her soft red lips. “What else? There are the others to think about.”

“Th-they can watch if they like,” she said, her face warming up even further. Which was funny because when we first met, she’d probably have made that offer without a moment’s hesitation. Now though… now there was more than just duty to sex.

“Just watch? Erina, I didn’t know you were that greedy.”

“W-well? Why shouldn’t I be a little?” she asked huffily, blushing hotter.

“No reason,” I said, kissing the corner of her lip and feeling how warm her skin had gotten. “But still fun.”

“I… I suppose Kensington could perhaps join in,” she mewed.

“Mmm. How generous. But I think we’ll hold off on that. I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

To that, Erina actually laughed. “Really now, Alister?” she asked with surprising mirth. “You think she wouldn’t leap at the chance?”

“You think she would?” I asked.

“I suggest you seize the opportunity,” she said with a knowing look.

Hmm. Tempting. But I was still feeling out my dynamic with the vampire slayer. You know, now that ‘kill the beast’ wasn’t her default. “Maybe later,” I said, releasing Erina and taking her hand. “Now, let’s hurry up, or we’ll totally miss the lunch break.”

“And whose fault is that?” Erina asked, but followed me happily, her hand squeezing mine.

“Yours, if I’d suggested we go back to my room,” I noted.

That shot hit home, and Erina blushed again as we hurried across the grounds toward the cafeteria. Ah, I did love that girl.