Contents:

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12

Chapter 1

Bubbles floated up with my exhalation into my snorkel and burst near my ear, breaking the silence of the underwater environment. The noon sunlight broke through the impediment of the water, refracted by the rippling surface into wavy lines of light that illuminated my body, naked except for a loin cloth. I took in another deep breath through the snorkel and concentrated my mind on the exercises.

Thunderclap Samsara Palms.

The signature technique of my clan, developed and perfected over the five hundred years of its history. The lead weights on my waist and ankles kept me underwater, preventing me from floating up. Settling my feet solidly on the bottom of the indoor pool, I squatted slightly and exploded into motion. Back straight, muscles tense, I lashed out with my right palm in an arcing manner, aiming at an imaginary opponent diagonally from top right to bottom left.

My palm was cupped in a manner that pushed the maximum amount of liquid in its path forward. At the end of its path, I laid my palm along the line of my forearm and withdrew it back to the starting position along the path of least water resistance. I repeated the motion slowly, correcting any flaws I might have picked up in my form and integrating my breathing pattern into the movement.

Inhale, strike, exhale, withdraw…

Moving on to the other five movements; using my right arm, horizontally from right to left, then diagonally from bottom right to top left, using the left arm for a diagonal strike from top left to bottom right, horizontally from left to right and finally from bottom left to top right, I drilled them repeatedly, slowing down to check for flaws.

Satisfied that I was doing them correctly, I sped up the movements. The water around me became turbid as my arms began to blur. The streams slowly became an orderly vortex as I continued to repeat the moves.

One set per second…

Two sets per second…

Three sets per second…

When it got to the rate of ten sets a second, my palms were moving so fast that they displaced the water faster than it could fill in the gap, leaving a vacuum in their path. The surrounding water rushed in to fill the gap, creating an explosive rumble in the process.

The thunderclap.

That’s where the technique got its name. When practised beyond fifty-five sets per second, the speed of the strikes broke through the sonic barrier and could cause sonic booms in the air. The sound accompanying the strikes was directed towards the opponent and penetrated their body to cause internal injury.

In the early stages, the practice was carried on underwater, often with glitter spread in it, so that the practitioner could observe the trend of the water flow due to their strikes. They would then work to perfect it so that the final soundwave was directed towards their opponent.

As a novice, without the advantage of a Barrier to protect my body from the backlash of moving at extreme speeds, and as a Hominum without the sturdiness provided by the beast bloodline, it was a miracle I had managed to keep up with my Bestia peers and reach this level of proficiency.

Although a lot of that was due to the expensive medicines my father lavished on me to strengthen my body and the healing of my mother to ensure that I didn’t leave behind any latent injuries after my hellish training regimen.

My muscles burned with exertion as I demanded more and more from them and sped up my attacks.

Eleven sets per second…

My chest burned from the lack of air as I was unable to pace my breathing to match the strikes.

Twelve sets per second…

The speed of my strikes surpassed my current cognition capacity and I ran them on muscle memory and instinct alone.

Thirteen sets per second…

My brain grew fuzzy from the lack of oxygen as my arms drew upon it all to fuel the crazed speed at which they were moving. Suddenly, pushed too far beyond its limits, my left bicep cramped, deviating the direction of my strike.

The disorderly stream interfered with the vortex set up around me and caused it to collapse inwards, slamming into me with the speed and force of several of my own strikes, forcing the air out of my lungs in a burst of bubbles. I stood my ground with my arms crossed in front of me and weathered the beating until the raging water settled. Standing up straight from my protective crouch, I breathed deeply through the snorkel as I closed my eyes and let the warm sunlight ripple on my face through the water.

*snap*

A sharp pain ran up from my shoulder and my eyes snapped open as I turned my gaze towards my trainer. I could see a distorted image of him through the water. He was six-feet-tall with a swimmer’s body with wide shoulders and a slim waist with wiry muscles that spoke of great power concealed within their bundles.

Having perfectly awakened his Royal Bengal tiger bloodline, minor bestial traits had seeped into his features. His dark orange hair was kept cropped close to his skull with dark stripes running through it. There was a 王 marking on his forehead and his eyes were a brilliant gold without any sclera. His ears were rounded with soft fur filling them. His orange and black striped tail lashed with impatience as he overlooked me from the side of the pool.

He was my trainer. He also happened to be my father, the head of the Felidae clan.

Flicking his finger at me again, a tiny bullet of compressed wind howled through the air, pierced the water and snapped against my other shoulder. His immaculate control of wind, his bloodline talent. A thin thread of wind formed, linking his mouth to me and his growl reverberated within my ear: “Again.”

So, I ran through my forms again and again until he was finally satisfied, leaving me utterly exhausted, barely capable of even raising my hands. Dragging my weights along, I ponderously pulled my body out of the water, discarded the snorkel and collapsed by the poolside, my chest heaving with my deep breaths.

A shadow covered the sun and I looked up, meeting the golden eyes of my father. A stoic man, his square jawed, emotionless visage gave nothing away as we locked gazes. Then an appreciative light filled his eyes and he squeezed out the word, “Good,” from his mouth and turned around to walk away. A warmth filled my chest. Father’s praise was a very rare thing and I appreciated every instance of it.

My entire body was black and blue from the collapsing water currents. My arms, especially, were covered with bruises from the air bullets shot at them by father to correct my form whenever I went astray.

Groaning, I dragged my protesting body up to my feet and divested myself of the weights. Depositing them in the designated box by the poolside, I made my way to the infirmary.

Chapter 2

Entering the infirmary from the back door, I was greeted by a gaggle of voices and bustling activity. The rest of the clan members had arrived after the morning practice to have their bodies recuperated to avoid any hidden wounds accumulated from limit breaking training.

I weaved my way through the crowd of sweaty, half-clad warriors and bustling doctors and nurses. Members of the branch families who recognized me gave way and bowed respectfully while the odd member of the main family threw hostile and contemptuous looks my way.

All was as it had been.

I finally reached my mother. A petite woman with jet black short hair and feline ears. Her bloodline talent was healing and her blood relationship was very honoured, tracing back to the sacred cats of Bubastis.

Looking up from where she was healing the twisted ankle of a female clan member, she gave me a warm smile, running her eyes on the myriad bruises I had accumulated. Soft white rays of light illuminated the swollen area around the girl’s foot and the inflammation subsided at a speed observable by the naked eye.

Within minutes, it was back to its original state.

The girl got up and tested her weight on her foot. Detecting no trouble, she thanked mother and curtsied to me… although it looked quite funny as she had to do it with an imaginary skirt in her exercise attire, which was barely more than underwear.

I nodded my acknowledgement and she moved away.

Mother healed my wounds while asking about my progress before sending me away with a kiss on my forehead. She was too busy now to talk. All the medical personnel were.

I walked into the male section of the hot spring connected with the infirmary. Scrubbing off my sweat with some soap and rinsing the suds off with water, I stepping into the steaming pool. I let out an involuntary sigh as the warm water relaxed my knotted muscles, letting the accumulated fatigue dissipate.

There were several others in similar states of lethargic bliss in various positions of the hot spring. They were mostly from the branch family and acknowledged me with a tilt of their head whenever their gazes met mine.

There was a commotion at the entrance and I lazily turned around to see what was going on.

It was Bruno and his lackeys. He was my cousin, making him my main competitor for the position of heir. That and due to another reason, our relationship was just like fire and water.

Seeing the surly ass stomping into the bath, I knew that the moment he saw me, my peaceful soak would be interrupted. His bloodline was that of a Siberian White tiger. Those majestic creatures held the title of being the heaviest members of the Felidae family and as such, Bruno’s strength was no small matter.

Standing at five feet eight inches tall, his muscular arms were nearly as thick as an average man’s thigh. His ripped back muscles showed how solid his foundation was, allowing him to leverage the entirety of his arm strength without straining his back. He might not be the fastest or the most agile but I had seen him smash a stone larger than me with his two-handed war-hammer.

His icy blue eyes met my crimson pupils and sparks seem to fly. He ran a hand through his white hair that had dark stripes in it and stalked towards the bank of the hot spring opposite to mine, settling into the water facing me accompanied by his lackeys.

My eyes narrowed and my muscles tightened as I felt the bloodlust radiating off them. It was as if an ominous beast was facing me and my body reacted in a manner that readied me for fight or flight.

My goal in the hot spring was to relax all my overworked muscles, preventing later cramping and muscular pain. But if they continued to take turns to lock me with their bloodlust, my muscles would tighten automatically, making my stay in the hot spring fruitless.

I sighed. I could fight them but I was outnumbered and exhausted after my training. Also, it would be seen as a demerit to react to such childish provocation. As the future heir I was expected to show greater poise than that.

Getting up from the water, I left the bathhouse, followed by the sound of their jeers. Even though I felt like punching the living daylights out of that brat, I actually understood why he resented me so. Sighing again and shaking my head at the memory of the beginning of our grudges, I walked into the adjoining dressing room and picked out one of the standard clan uniforms that fit me.

On my way out, I paused in front of a full-length mirror and inspected myself.

At five feet ten inches, I was just a bit shorter than father and had a body type similar to his. It was to be expected as I had inherited his love of the water and had spent hundreds of hours over the years, swimming in the various rivers and lakes in our locality. Broad backed and narrow waisted, I had inherited my mother’s oval face and sleek hair. My tresses were crimson, matching my pupils.

My parents had named me Mars after the crimson comet that passed over Ea on the day I was born. Mars had an orbital period of eighty-eight years and the next time I saw my namesake, I’d be an old man.

Making my way to the library after a quick trip to the pantry to fill my rumbling stomach, I entered after my identity was verified by the librarian.

Books were extremely rare and valuable commodities and the librarian was one of the strongest members of our clan… although he was getting on in years now and his martial prowess was sure to have declined from his heyday when he was known as the Duke of Blood.

I sat down on a stool, leaning my back against the wall. A small table had been set aside for my reading due to the frequency of my visits.

I loved reading about astronomy due to my namesake and the behaviour of animals in the wild due to my pet theory that observing animals could help in predicting the personalities of those who carried their bloodlines.

I flipped open the book I had been reading to the bookmarked page.

It was an old tome that detailed the history of the post-war period. After the Demon Lord’s spell took effect and the Bestia were born as the only sentient race in Ea, non-sentient beings driven by their instincts called animals appeared.

Their bodies were similar to the original Beasts but they had none of their intelligence or their magical talents. But their formidable mortal bodies and keen survival instincts meant that they prospered in the wild lands that had been the former den of the Beasts.

The book I was reading talked about the habits of the Royal Bengal tiger, a majestic creature that lived in the extensive mangroves of the south-eastern part of the Empire. It spent a lot of its time in the waters, hunting for fish.

They were also formidable predators of the land, jointly holding the title of the king of beasts with lions. Hence the term royal in their name.

Glancing up from the book, I noticed that the sunlight streaming through the window had caught a red tinge. A maid stood silently nearby. Noticing that I had awakened from my immersed condition, she informed me that father and mother would not be able to join me for dinner and that I didn’t need to wait for them.

I thanked her and walked to the pantry again, filling my empty stomach with a plate of the generic nutrition meal they served. It was mother’s creation - a supremely bland mix of all the necessary nutrients tailored to suit the high energy demands of warriors. Head nutritionist of the clan she might be, but mother was no cook.

Finishing my meal, I walked down the corridors of the keep as the servants bustled about, lighting the smokeless torches in the sconces. They each carried two pouches. One had fire stones and the other had ignition powder. Pouring equal amounts of both into the torches caused them to react and emit a steady white flame, illuminating their surroundings.

Finally reaching my room - well, Phobos, Deimos and my room - I pushed the door and entered, causing the chimes at the top of the gate to tinkle.

Chapter 3

The sight within the room had me narrowing my eyes. There was a red muslin cloth surrounding the smokeless torch in our room, tinting the room a sultry red with its radiance.

On my queen-sized bed, Deimos and Phobos sat leaning against the headboard, with a game of cards spread out between them.

Seeing me come in, they both looked up and Deimos leapt up delightedly from the bed. Discarding her hand of cards, she ran up to me. After locking the door behind us, she grabbed onto my arm and started pulling me to the bed.

“Hey! I was going to win on my next turn, come back and lose like a good sport.” Phobos said indignantly in her husky voice.

She was a tall, slender girl with pitch black flowing long hair and bright yellow eyes. Naturally pigmented shadows lined her eyes, setting them off in her perfectly symmetrical face. Her ears resembled those of a panther, the source of her bloodline, with soft white fur covering their insides.

Deimos poked her head out from behind me and stuck out her tongue.

“Master’s more important now, ya? We can always play later… and the cards are now mixed up so you can’t say that I would have surely lost.” she said in her sweet girly voice.

She was a petite girl, barely five feet four inches tall and had white hair that she kept shoulder-length and swept to one side. The most distinctive feature of her face was the tear shaped markings below her eyes that she got from her bloodline origin, the cheetah. Her ears too were similar to those sleek beasts.

The markings and her huge green eyes made her look like a vulnerable little girl and she was extremely shy with strangers. But with those she trusted and was familiar with, she revealed her hyperactive side, a laughing and giggling bundle of cheer.

Phobos huffed, “Shameless!”

Suddenly a frown marred Deimos’ pretty face as she squeezed my biceps with her fingers. “Master, you should cool down properly after your exercise, ya. All your muscles are knotted up. If you go to sleep like this it’ll really hurt the next day. Scold him, Phi-Phi.”

Phobos’ eyes flashed, “It was Bruno again, wasn’t it?”

“Shhh,” Deimos hissed, “That bastard… see if I don’t show him his place tomorrow.” I could feel the hackles on her arms rising and tickling my skin where she was embracing my arm. Any mention of Bruno would always elicit the same reaction from her.

I used my free right hand to scratch the back of her ear and soothe her. “Don’t worry… leave it to me. The yearly competitions are coming and I’ll beat the living daylights out of him on the competition stage and not a moment before. If I lose to my impulsion, I’ll make a really bad impression on the elders.”

Deimos began to make a rumbling sound deep within her chest at my ministrations. “Master is the best, ya.” she said dreamily as she rubbed her cheek against my shoulder.

I relaxed. She might look vulnerable and innocent but she was the strongest among my generation of juniors in the clan. If she really put her mind to it, at her speed, I wouldn’t even be able to touch her. If she beat up Bruno in my stead, I would forever be saddled with the title of a pimp.

Sadly, with what my heritage as a pure-born Hominum and future occupation as a Tamer entailed, I was being called that anyway.

Phobos gathered up the scattered cards on the bed and with a flick of her hand, shuffled them into a neat deck, putting it on the bed side table. She patted the empty bed and said, “Come, Husband, take of your shirt and lie down here. I’ll massage the knots out of your muscles.”

Deimos pouted, “No fair, Phi-Phi. I’ll help too. Lie down ya, Master.”

She helped me undress and tossed my shirt onto a chair as I lay down face first onto the bed with my chin propped up on the pillow.

Phobos’ voice grew stern, “Demi! Fold it neatly and put it where it belongs.”

Deimos shrank her neck resentfully and ran to fold the shirt neatly and put it in the bin in the corner that held discarded laundry.

I chuckled, “You’re just like her elder sister. If I didn’t know that you are the daughter of the third elder and she the granddaughter of the first, I would have thought you were related by blood.”

Phobos smiled as she dug the balls of her thumbs into the stiff muscles of my back, loosening them and eliciting a comfortable moan from me. “Why, thank you dear. I love to think of her as my little sister as I make love to her. The feeling of violating a taboo makes everything so much more exciting.” Her smile turned a bit feral.

I kept forgetting that Phobos and Deimos were in a relationship before I joined in and took their virginity, turning it into a triangle of sorts.

I felt a pair of dainty hands join in the massage and start working on my calves and I knew that Deimos had returned from her little errand.

I swear that Phobos’ hands are some sort of magical instrument with how they manage to elicit so much pleasure with the smallest of movements.

What Deimos lacked in technique, she made up with enthusiasm, working out the knots in my calf and slowly reaching the base of my foot where she dug her thumbs into the middle of the flesh, sending a tingle up my leg, through my spine and right to my brain.

I felt my blood rushing to my penis, bringing it to life.

I shivered with pleasure as Phobos’ deft fingers worked on the nape of my neck and kneaded out the stiffness and tension, sending jolts of electricity throughout my body, bringing my member to full mast.

Feeling the constraining discomfort of lying face down, I flipped myself around, startling Deimos who was working on my other foot now. Both of the girls’ eyes fell on the conspicuous bulge in my pants. Deimos chuckled delightedly and in one smooth motion, divested me of my last piece of clothing, revealing me in all my naked glory.

Deimos’ eyes gained a predatory cast as she stalked towards the engorged organ on all fours in a sinuous and sultry manner. Her white tail slipped out of her loose night gown and lashed about, hiking up her thin garment and exposing her firm behind.

A sudden influx of pleasure from my palm drew my attention to Phobos who had my hand in her lap and was pressing her slender fingers into the pads of muscle between two of my fingers at their base. She seemed to have found some pressure point because the level of pleasure was just absurd.

Her figure was back-lit by the torch, revealing the beautiful curve of her body line through her translucent night gown.

My crimson eyes locked onto her yellow ones that were glittering in the soft red radiance of the muslin covered torch. The lust in them sparked mine and I freed my palm from her grasp and grabbed onto her wrist.

Sitting up, I pulled her into my embrace and locked my lips with hers. Her heady fragrance filled up my lungs with each breath, driving my arousal to higher realms as I explored her mouth with my tongue, chasing down hers.

Suddenly I felt soft, smooth skin rubbing against my penis. I shivered as exquisite hands massaged my balls and a rough tongue moistened by saliva licked my glans.

In my excitement, I nearly forgot Deimos.

In that moment of my stagnation, Phobos took over the offensive and pushed her tongue into my mouth. Like Deimos and almost all other members of the Felidae family, her tongue too was rough, designed to lick the meat off the bones of her prey. She scoured every inch of my mouth and teeth, sending jolts of pleasure into my skull as she licked my palate. Her hands twined my hair at the back of my head as she pressed her mouth into mine.

Not to be overshadowed, Deimos continued to knead my balls gently and included my member into her small mouth, every warm, moist breath sending a tingle up my spine. She bobbed her head up and down in slow, long strokes, taking me deep into her throat with each movement.

Her throat convulsed around my glans whenever she took me in deep and her tongue went to work on it whenever she drew her head back, carrying me onto an ascending spiral of pleasure.

Unable to endure, I hugged Phobos tightly and moaned into her mouth as I released my lust deep into Deimos’ throat.

Deimos swallowed the white liquid as it came out of me and her throat convulsed over my penis, increasing the pleasure and further prolonging the ejaculation.

Finally, unable to endure the amount, she choked a bit and hurriedly drew the penis out of her mouth.

A string of saliva and cum remained connecting her lips to the tip. It shone a silvery red in the light of the room.

Phobos drew back from our kiss, her pale white skin flushed red from arousal.

During our embrace, I felt something hard covering her ample chest. Feeling curious about why she was wearing a hard bra, when she was preoccupied by the aftershocks of our kiss, in one smooth motion, I divested her of her thin nightgown, revealing her body in her undergarments…

Except that there were no undergarments. Just a white coloured hardened material which I recognized as chocolate. Freed from its constraints, her black tail lashed about displaying her embarrassment as I stared at her dumbfounded.

Looking downwards, even her vaginal area was coated with the stuff.

Chocolate was the ultimate of luxuries. The cocoa tree grew only on the lush rainforests of the equatorial area in the central part of the continent.

Transportation across such vast distances was extremely expensive, to the point where the price turned time for every trade point along the pre-determined route.

Thus, in my area, which was near the south eastern part of the continent, the price of chocolate was sky high.

Looking at my surprised face, Deimos licked her lips, swallowed the last bit of cum and chuckled. “Master, tomorrow is your name-day and we wanted to surprise you with a gift so Phi-Phi and I pooled our money together to buy two bowls of chocolate. One dark and one white,” she discarded her thin shift and tossed it away, revealing that she too had underwear painted on her with the foodstuff, just in dark chocolate. “Like it, ya?”

I could only nod.

Chapter 4

Reaching out for Deimos, I entangled my fingers in her lush hair, making her moan softly as her head leant back, exposing her throat.

I trailed kisses down her ear to her chin and then down her neck, pausing over her jugular to lay a soft bite.

Her feral instincts rebelled at being held in such a vulnerable position. Shivering with excitement, she arched her back as she grasped me tightly, her nails digging into the muscles of my back.

With my free hand, I lightly raked my nails down her spine, making her mewl piteously and curve her flexible body even further. Her tail wrapped around my arm, keeping me from moving it further.

Getting up, I settle into a half-kneeling position with my knees on the bed. My grip on her hair caused her to rise along with me. Her petite frame unable to reach the bed with her knees, she had to support herself precariously using her hands on my shoulder and the muscles of her calves.

Closing my eyes, I decided to use only my sense of smell and taste to perceive her. I trailed my tongue down her collarbone onto her chest, leaving a silvery line on her soft skin.

Suddenly, a bitter-sweet taste exploded on the tip of my tongue and I knew I had reached my goal. Inhaling deeply, I took in her intoxicating scent mixed with the aroma of chocolate.

My penis twitched with arousal.

Impatient, I roughly bit down on her left breast, cracking the layer of chocolate on her. The confectionery was hard on the outside and semi-solid from the heat of her aroused body on the inside.

A large chunk of it peeled off, revealing the fair skin beneath, flushed red with her lust and the light of the room.

Including the chocolate in my mouth, I chewed on it and the flavour permeated my mouth. Crushing her body into my chest, I wrapped my arms around her as I brought my lips down onto hers.

She kissed me fervently, her eyes dazed with lust and her breath loud with her excitement. We passed the mixture of chocolate and our saliva back and forth as we wrestled with our tongues.

Immersed in the sensation, I could only tell the passage of time from how the taste of chocolate slowly went pale, replaced by the uniquely sweet flavour of her saliva.

Suddenly, I feel something warm and sticky envelope my erect member. I gasped at the sudden stimulation and drew back from the kiss, both of us gasping for breath.

While I was busy playing tonsil hockey with Deimos, Phobos had busied herself with peeling off the chocolate from her immaculately shaved pubis and re-melting it on a crucible I kept in the room for concocting my body strengthening potions.

The warm and sticky sensation was her using a wide brush to paint the chocolate onto my penis.

Looking up at me with a sultry gaze, she kept our gazes intertwined as she slowly stretched out her pink tongue and licked the tip of my member.

Not to be outdone, Deimos too got down on all fours and started to lick my penis. The two girls used their mouths to service me while tussling with each other’s tongue.

Soon, my penis was sparkling clean with a glistening coat of saliva while the two girls devolved into a bout of kissing as they tried to ingest the maximum amount of the confectionery from the other’s mouth and I was suddenly left out of the action.

Appreciating the show, I moved behind Phobos and embraced her from the rear. Snaking my right arm around her to reach for her uncovered pubis, I grabbed Deimos’ hair with my left hand, linking us all together.

When my fingers touched her slit, they came away glistening with her lust. She had apparently had enough of foreplay.

Without hesitation, I spread her apart with my fingers and inserted myself deep into her in one slow and long stroke. She purred with pleasure and the vibrations running through her entire body, converging on her loins, nearly making me lose control and cum instantly.

Her tail lashed against my stomach as the vibrations subsided.

I pulled on Deimos’ hair gently to separate them. I was going to thrust and if they were still entangled, their teeth might injure the other’s mouth.

Understanding, Deimos bent down and wrapped her arms around Phobos’ waist, bringing her tongue to her clit.

Entangling both her hands into Deimos’ hair, Phobos arched back with pleasure as the rough tongue scraped against her sensitive nub of flesh.

Wrapping my right arm around her waist from the back, I use my left to grasp her chin and twist it towards me, locking our lips as I began to piston. Slowly at first then with increasing vigour.

Breaking free of my grip, she leaned back against my chest and buried her head into the crook of my shoulder, deeply inhaling my scent as she let loose with increasingly loud moans.

Her husky voice penetrated my eardrums and blew away my reason as her flexible and tight insides convulsed rhythmically around my penis.

Clenching my buttocks to prevent myself from cumming, I grabbed one of her chocolate covered breasts with my free hand, shattering its coat of milk chocolate, scattering it all over Deimos, covering her back and hair in a layer of delicious frost.

Phobos’ breasts were quite large, spilling out of the seams of my hand as I knead them while pounding into her.

Stimulated on three of her erogenous zones simultaneously, Phobos couldn’t hold back her orgasm and with a husky caterwaul, she reached release, blowing a tide right into Deimos’ expectant mouth.

Deimos sat up, wiping the liquid lust off her face with the back of her fist, then licking it off while Phobos collapsed onto me, breathing hard with my penis still erect inside her.

In this moment, Deimos looked just like a house cat cleaning herself.

The sight made me want to mess her up again.

Chapter 5

Pulling out of Phobos, I gently laid her exhausted form down on the bed before reaching out and grabbing Deimos by her chocolate covered breasts, surprising her.

Leveraging the solidified confectionery with my nails, I pulled it off her, revealing her beautifully shaped chest and leaving me with two chocolate moulds of her bust.

I’d had enough of chocolate for the night. For now, I just wanted to fuck the girl’s brains out.

Noticing the blazing desire in my gaze, Deimos smiled toothily and reached down and broke off the dark chocolate covering on her pubis, revealing her dripping genitals to me. Discarding the pieces to the side, our bodies intertwined as both of us were unable to wait any longer.

I buried my face in her soft and ample bosom and took in the unique scent of her femininity. Licking the remnant chocolate off her breasts, I moved my tongue in a converging spiral from the base of her mound to her erect pink nipple while I kneaded her other breast with my hand.

Moaning cutely with pleasure, she laced her fingers through my hair and pressed my head to her chest.

I bit down gently on her nipple, sucked it and flicked it with my tongue, making her shiver and arch her spine.

Moving from one breast to another, I thoroughly teased her until the protests of my throbbing penis made me move on to the meat of the matter.

Leaning back suddenly and lying down on the bed, I pulled the unprepared Deimos on top of me, causing her to straddle me with my erection pushing against her flat and soft stomach.

Burying my head in the valley of her chest, I held her down to me with one palm on the small of her back while I reached for her tail with the other, twined it around my wrist and gripped it tightly.

Pulling her behind up by her tail, I guided her slit over my raring penis, eliciting a lustful groan from her. Unlike Phobos who preferred to be treated with care, Deimos loved being treated rough.

Filling my lungs with her scent, I slammed down my fist holding her tail and drove her down onto my erection, penetrating deep into her insides and touching the entrance to her womb.

She was like a raft on the rapids of lust, her tail was the rudder and I her boatman guiding her through the eddies of arousal until both of us reached the brink of the huge waterfall named climax and plunged over the edge.

My semen flooded her womb and both of us collapsed exhausted and breathing heavily, her vagina still convulsing around me from the aftershocks of her orgasm.

Letting go of her tail, I straightened out on the bed, relaxing as she lay on top of me with her soft mounds squashed against my firm pectorals and her face buried into the crook of my neck, tickling me with her rhythmic breaths.

I looked up and found Phobos looking on with a bowl in her hand. While I was pounding Deimos, she had apparently busied herself with collecting all the scattered pieces of chocolate and putting them in the bowl.

Now that we were resting, she carefully picked out the pieces of milk chocolate that were entangled in Deimos’ lush hair and spread over her back.

She noticed that some of the pieces had melted when they had been pressed between my palm and Deimos’ skin where I had been holding her down to me by the small of her back.

Laying the bowl aside, she licked it off my palm and Deimos’ back, making both of us shiver whenever her rough tongue scraped against a sensitive part.

Finishing up, she shot me a seductive smile and walked over to the icebox with the bowl, swaying her hips sultrily.

Depositing the bowl in the freezer to preserve the expensive chocolate, she walked into the attached bathroom of our room, beckoning to us to join her with a finger as she passed through the door.

I looked down and met a pair of luminous green eyes that were still filled with desire.

Grinning, I couldn’t help but pat her buttocks lightly, starting off waves on her lush posterior and eliciting a startled yelp.

Both of us got up from the bed and I withdrew from her insides. She clamped her legs tightly to prevent spillage and walked wobblingly towards the washroom along with me.

Laughing at the ridiculous sight caused her to shoot me a resentful pout which turned into an expression of pleasant surprise as I swept her off her feet into a princess carry and walked into the bathroom.

Deimos giggled and linked her arms around my neck as she rubbed her face into my chest.

“Master, master, masteeer… I love you, I love you soo much!”

Both of my girls were usually silent during sex, only speaking their mind through moans and grunts as they devolved into a primal state overwhelmed by their instincts. It was post-coitus that they spoke these precious words that melted my heart.

I hugged Deimos a little tighter.

As I stepped into the bathroom, I found Phobos had tied up her hair into a loose bun and was preparing the towels, soaps and oils necessary for our bath.

Our bathroom was small with only a showerhead, a stone stool, racks for depositing towels, a drain port to one corner and a mirror and a washbasin in another.

The shower and washbasin linked directly to the hot spring, providing a perpetual supply of warm water. There were two communal lavatories one for the males and one for females on each floor of our clan estate so a chamber pot wasn’t included in ours.

I set Deimos down and she immediately went over to the shower to wash off her vagina which was leaking my cum. Sometimes, scooping some up to lick it off her finger.

That was another difference between the two girls. Deimos liked swallowing my semen while Phobos never could get into the habit. She said that she didn’t mind the taste, but the feeling of it going down her throat didn’t sit well with her. It resulted in her passing on the semen to Deimos mouth-to-mouth whenever I came inside her during oral sex.

I embraced Phobos from behind and kissed the nape of her neck and she purred before working out of my grasp and pulling me by my hand to join Deimos under the shower.

The three of us rinsed the sweat and remnant chocolate off our bodies and let the warmth of the water seep into our skin along with its faint volcanic scent.

Turning off the water, Phobos sat on the stool while I knelt behind her. Uncoiling her long hair, I gently rubbed the paste of baking soda and water that she had prepared into her scalp with the tips of my fingers while Deimos lathered all three of our bodies with a mild soap.

Turning on the shower again, we washed off the soap while I rinsed the baking soda out of Phobos’ hair. Turning off the water, I rubbed in the vinegar she had set aside into her scalp similarly, causing it to froth and bubble with the remnant soda and dislodge any dirt that might have been present.

Turning on the shower again, I rinsed out her hair, leaving it shiny and smooth.

Phobos’ midnight black hair had quite thin strands giving it a soft and satiny feel while Deimos had lush and thick hair that was quite robust. The available soaps were too strong for Phobos so she came up with her current hair care regimen while Deimos was quite unconcerned and just used the regular soap to wash her and my hair.

In my mind, I compared Phobos’ tresses to silk, gorgeous but care-intensive while Deimos’ lustrous locks were akin to cotton, robust and able to stand rough treatment but extremely comfortable to wear.

While Deimos loved it when I or Phobos grabbed her hair, I still had the scars to remind me not to try that with Phobos. Her hair was like her life to her and she turned hostile if a stranger even touched it.

Last year in the yearly clan competition that determined the resource distribution for the juniors, a girl had tried to grab her hair during their fight… It took mother a lot of effort to fix her up.

The very fact that she allowed me to rinse her hair showed that she had admitted me into her heart and that there were no boundaries between us.

A situation totally unlike our relationship two years ago.

At that time, the two of them had entered my room for the first time and were tensed up like tigers guarding against another predator that had encroached their territory.

We were brought together by duty, not love.

Our first night was horrible with them baring their teeth at me threateningly as I unemotionally deflowered them. Painfully, as they weren’t aroused at all.

I left them sobbing in each other’s arms as they sought solace from the warmth of the other’s body. I toured the entire clan that night, with the white sheet with the two bloodstains, indicating that I had laid claim to them both, another humiliation for them.

It was required of me by clan custom and I was helpless.

Since then we had come a long way.

Sensing my unusual state of mind, Phobos turned around and wrapped me in an embrace under the shower of water. Deimos too jumped onto my back, wrapping her arms around my neck making me hastily hold her thighs, lest she fall. She rested her chin on my right shoulder and rubbed her cheek against mine comfortingly.

Phobos’ bright yellow eyes seemed to pierce deep into me, laying my psyche bare to her.

“Husband, we need to talk.” she said in her husky tone.

Chapter 6

We stood clumped together under the shower, the volcanic water keeping us warm. I was sandwiched between Phobos in the front and Deimos hanging on my back.

Phobos said, “Husband, you are too lenient with Bruno.”

“Ya, Master, you let the bastard off too easy!” chimed in Deimos, indignantly.

Phobos leant in and kissed Deimos startling her. When she recovered and put out her tongue, Phobos sharply bit down on it, causing her to shriek and cover her mouth with both of her hands with tears in her eyes. I had to scramble to support her thighs to prevent her from falling off my back.

“What did I tell you about bad language? Hmm?” scolded Phobos.

“Thu nwot ewje ith.” mumbled Deimos through her hands.

Phobos nodded, satisfied and ruffled her hair before turning her eyes back to me.

“Husband, the more you behave in this forgiving manner, the more they think that you are weak. They will escalate the situation unceasingly without the fear of retaliation.”

I sighed. “Look, I plan to thoroughly defeat him in the year-end tournament and recover my prestige.”

I squeezed Deimos’ thigh. “I love Deimos and I won’t give her up at any cost but he is my cousin and I have the suspicion of seizing his wife. After all, she was once engaged to be married to him. I can understand his grudge against me… if these petty actions can solve the hate in his heart… then why not? I won’t make concessions to him for any truly important matter though, so you can feel relieved.”

Deimos tightened her embrace and said, “Masteer, I would rather die than marry that bas…” shrinking her neck at Phobos’ glare, she caught herself, “idiot.”

Phobos said, “Dear, you needn’t blame yourself for that. He and his father brought it upon themselves when they aimed at your position of clan heir.

“They spread propaganda throughout the clan about how you were weak and wouldn’t be able to handle the responsibilities of Clan Head because of your heritage. They called you a coward who would always hide behind the skirts of women.

“Not only did they want Bruno to displace you, but your uncle also wanted to seize the position of Clan Head as you are your father’s only child and your mother can’t conceive anymore.

“I feel what your father did to retaliate was perfectly justified. Let alone… it was we who proposed it to your father.”

“Huh? Why is this the first I’m hearing of this?” I asked, truly surprised at the revelation.

Deimos piped up from where she had her cheek pressed up against mine, pressing her chest into my back causing her stiff nipples to rub on my skin, giving me goose bumps.

“Master, you’re so silly, ya. How else could I stay together with Phi-Phi?”

Phobos explained, “Demi and I, we have extremely rich bloodline strengths… which means that we have a corresponding amount of Vita’s divinity flowing within our veins. It is almost guaranteed that we will awaken as Ferals at some point after we hit puberty and will be extremely strong when we do.

“Thus, after the awakening, we need to be contracted to a male partner who can absorb our portion of the divinity through intercourse, strengthening him and bringing us back to sanity at the same time.”

Deimos said, “So, you get it now, don’t you, Master? Since Bestia men can only support one Contract, we would have been separated if we were to marry one. Our only choice was to marry someone with a pure Hominum lineage like you since they can bear the load of up to six contracts.

“It’s not like they would let us marry any Hominum, ya. Not with our pedigree. It had to be someone of equal or higher status, again, like you, Master.”

Phobos clarified further, “So, dear, from the very moment I fell in love with Demi, you were the ideal candidate in my mind for marriage. I believe Demi feels the same way. Her grandfather never asked her opinion when he decided to show his support for your uncle’s bid to power by betrothing her to Bruno.

“He thought it would be more humiliating to have you use your Contract magic to seal the alliance of your greatest rival with the granddaughter of the Elder with the greatest influence in the council. It was his way to strike at your father’s prestige.”

Deimos hugged me tighter, “When I knew about what Grandpa had done, I was so sad and furious. I ran crying to Phi-Phi and she took me to meet your father. He was so scary, ya. All stoic and grim. After we poured out everything to him, he just sat there glaring at us… if not for Phi-Phi, I would have just up and run.”

Phobos took over, “Then he just said, ‘Today onwards, both of you are my daughters,’ and then he walked out of his office and called a Clan meeting. You know what happened next.”

I was stunned at the series of revelations. I asked the question that bothered me most: “Then… then why were you so resistant on our first night?”

Phobos rolled her eyes and Deimos answered, “You’re so silly, ya. Just imagine a guy just walking in on you and Phi-Phi and sticking his cock into both of your butts.”

Both Phobos and I shuddered at the imagery and she grabbed onto Deimos’ ear and twisted while scolding, “Don’t make up such disgusting situations with me in it!”

“Ai ya ya. Stop! You’ll twist my ear off. I’m sowwy. Stop!”

Phobos finally let her off with a huff and she rubbed her ear with a teary pout.

“Anyway… husband, you must understand that both of us liked girls at that point and even though we had prepared ourselves for it mentally, there was no way we could adapt our preferences in the short time in which we were suddenly asked to give you our virginity.”

“Master, you don’t have to feel guilty about that, ya. It’s all good now and we love you just like we love each other. It’s what we wanted… it just took some time to get used to you, is all.”

I released Deimos’ thighs, setting her down on the ground before hugging both of them to my chest and whispering into their ears: “I love you.”

Chapter 7

Turning off the shower, we towelled each other off and I helped Phobos wrap her long hair up in a towelette to dry.

Suddenly Deimos shook her head rapidly, causing droplets of water to fly everywhere from her sopping, short hair.

Exclaiming in annoyance, Phobos tried to flick her on the forehead only for her to dodge out of the way with a challenging giggle and hide behind my back.

Unable to get hold of the agile girl, Phobos glared at her as she poked her head out over my shoulder. They engaged in a staring contest for a moment before devolving into a fit of giggles as I watched on in bemusement.

Exiting the washroom, Deimos ran over to where she had discarded her shift onto the floor and slipped it on.

Phobos walked over to the bed at a more sedate pace and inspected her crumpled nightwear, finding it stained with chocolate.

Sighing, she folded it up and deposited it in the bin before joining me at the closet to select another shift. I wore my pyjamas and held the neck of her shift open so she could easily slip into it without disturbing the towel wrapped on her head.

As she went to bed, I walked over to the smokeless torch and removed the muslin cover from it. The white light hurt my eyes after the dim red radiance.

Setting the cover onto it to smother the flame, I plunged the room into darkness only lit by the dim starlight that seeped through the window.

When I reached the bed, I was greeted by two pairs of glowing eyes, one green, one yellow. The Felidae Clan had an eye structure similar to cats, giving them enhanced night vision and their eyes’ characteristic shine at night.

We generally took turns sleeping in the middle as it was the most coveted position. Fortunately, today was my turn and I drifted off surrounded by their soft, warm bodies and lulled by the cadence of their breathing.

Sol rose above the horizon, sending the first of his rays through the gap in the blinds in our bedroom and onto my sleeping face.

My brow furrowed as it interrupted my slumber and dragged me out of my dreamland.

Blinking owlishly against the brightness, my bleary vision slowly cleared.

To my right, Phobos was still sleeping, a few strands of her having worked loose from her towelette, framing her symmetrical face and peaceful expression.

I slowly worked my hand loose from underneath her with my free arm, careful not to wake her…

Wait! Free arm? Wasn’t Deimos pillowing her head on it? Could it be that the lazy little girl had finally broken free of her fondness for sleeping late?

I turned around…

And froze as my gaze met the emerald eyes of an apex predator.

My heart thumped loudly in my chest as Deimos’ Feral form’s breath ruffled my hair. From this distance my view was filled with the sight of her pointed fangs and my mind couldn’t help but conjure the image of her sinking them into my neck.

I swallowed a little saliva to moisten my dry mouth.

The movement made her growl, a guttural rumble that made me feel like my soul would dissociate from my body.

Feral transformation could occur at any point in time after puberty and before full maturity. Due to the variance in bloodlines, that translated differently for different bloodline clans.

The females of my clan generally reached puberty at around the age of fifteen and awakened at around eighteen years of age. A female from the clan who hadn’t awakened by the age of twenty-two wasn’t expected to do so for the rest of her life.

I drew courage from the fact that in the first few hours of Feral transformation, the subject retained a small portion of their consciousness due to it fighting a losing battle against the activated Divinity fragment of Vita.

It was the only reason both Phobos and I were alive instead of becoming her morning snack.

Knowing that any further delay would exacerbate the situation, I sat up slowly in a non-threatening manner with my palms facing towards her to show that I had no weapons while I kicked Phobos’s leg under the sheet to wake her.

My sudden movement startled Deimos and she backed up a bit warily, teeth bared threateningly and I finally got a glance of her full Feral form.

A pristine white cheetah with dark brown spots and glowing, emerald eyes.

I could pick out the familiar markings on her forehead that had carried over from her Bestia form. As we stared at each other, I could almost feel the struggle within her. Deimos loved us and wouldn’t harm a hair on our heads while Vita just wanted to watch the world burn.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Phobos getting up, then stiffening halfway when she realized the situation. Using my toe under the blanket, I wrote on her calf: ‘Get help! Quick!’

After a moment’s hesitation, the reply came: ‘Be careful.’

My sensation to her presence slowly reduced as she clad herself in the shadows around her. Light bent away from her form as she invoked the Tier 1 bloodline magic: Shadow Stealth.

Thankfully, Deimos was still locked in her internal struggle and her attention was drawn to me. Otherwise, with her enhanced senses in her Feral form, there was no way she wouldn’t notice a big live person just vanish.

Close beads of sweat covered Phobos’ forehead as she strained herself to use the Tier 2 magic: Shadow Walk while she was still a Tier 1 mage. Her darkened figure slowly sank into the shadows, seemingly integrating into them.

A shadow near the room’s door started to bulge upwards as her figure materialized from it.

I had to somehow keep Deimos distracted or she would notice her trying to leave. It is a predator’s instinct to attack any prey which shows its back. I didn’t want to take any chances as to whether Deimos would be able to fight off Vita’s will and her predatory instincts at the same time.

So, I did the only thing that popped up in my overly stressed mind; I embraced her, linking my arms around her neck.

Her resulting growl vibrated through my body. It was pitched higher than before and I could feel her muscles bunch and relax as she fought the impulsion to gut me with her claws or sink her fangs into my neck.

*click*

The sound of the door being unlatched was especially loud in the tense atmosphere of the room and I felt Deimos shift in my embrace. Feeling the trend of her musculature, I predicted her movement.

Just as she snarled and jumped towards Phobos, I swung myself onto her back, passed both of my arms beneath her forelegs and joined my palms behind her head, locking her in a full nelson.

Her pounce interrupted and her forelegs locked, she slammed into the ground face first and a soft white radiance appeared at the point of contact. It was her Barrier, Vita’s divine power given form. Physical trauma was invalid to her until her barrier could be exhausted of its energy.

Exhausting the Barrier was the most popular method to subdue Ferals as they would fall unconscious and revert to their Bestia forms when they were out of divine power.

As I strenuously held down the fiercely struggling feline, I yelled over her caterwauling at Phobos who seemed like she wanted to rush back: “Go. Now! Get help!”

She clenched her teeth with tears in her eyes and dashed down the corridor towards my father’s room at breakneck speeds. Her parting injunction lingered in the air: “Live!”

Chapter 8

Leveraging the weight of my entire body, I held Deimos down as she struggled to push me off using her unimpeded hind legs to buck her body.

Cheetahs were light cats, focused more on speed than strength. Seeing that she had no time to let divine power remould and strengthen her body, Deimos, currently was just as strong physically, as she was in her Bestia form, which is to say about as strong as me.

If she used magic… that was a whole different matter. Ferals had their magic amplified by the influence of divine power. A Tier 1 magic from a Feral would carry the might of a Tier 2.

Deimos was a borderline Tier 2 mage in the sense that she could use the Tier 2 magic: Blade Edge Hurricane with infrequent success rates. If she used that on me… I didn’t fancy my chances against a pseudo-Tier 3 spell.

Thankfully, Deimos’ consciousness was suppressing magic usage. So, I just had to hold on till father came.

Snarling ferociously, she bucked hard, nearly throwing off my grip on her. I clenched my teeth and insisted, my biceps bulging under the strain as the force nearly dislocated my arms.

My hands were growing sweaty from the wire walk between life and death and I could feel my grip slipping. This way I wouldn’t be able to insist till father’s arrival.

Resolving myself, I gave up on holding her down, locking my legs around her midsection instead. Now all I had to do was hold on till help arrived.

With an angry wail, Deimos turned into a blur and slammed into a wall back first, crushing me against the mortar and stone, causing fissures to spread at the point of impact. All the air was knocked out of my lungs by the jarring impact.

Damn it. I was naïve and underestimated the intelligence of a Feral. Just because it ran on instincts didn’t mean it was retarded.

She took some distance and ran up and smashed me against the wall again, nearly dislodging my grip.

The third time, I felt my rib cracking and I coughed up blood.

Before she could slam me again, I spat my bloody spittle into her eyes, blinding her.

Thoroughly wild with rage, she lost all reason and started dashing about the room, crashing into anything that got in her path.

The Barrier protected her but I felt like one of the sandbags I usually practiced against or like a thoroughly tenderized piece of meat.

Maybe that was what she was doing, tenderizing me for her meal.

I tried to distract myself from the pain with my gallows humour and it worked in that I still kept my grip on her. Until…

*crack*

My world turned white as my right arm slammed into the corner of the bed and snapped, hanging limply.

Seizing the chance and feeling my grip loosen, Deimos sank her teeth into the forearm of my broken arm, jarring the fracture and gouging out a large chunk of flesh.

Unsatisfied, she began to worry my arm. The sound of the bone grinding against bone reverberated throughout my body like sounds from the depths of Hell while I grew lightheaded from the blood loss.

Finally, unable to hold on anymore, I slipped off her back.

As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I could see her face looming over me with her fangs bared.

So, this was where it all ended…

Sorry Phobos… I couldn’t follow your last injunction…

Deimos… I hope you won’t blame yourself too much… it’s not your fault…

Ahhh… it’s my name-day today, isn’t it?

After yesterday’s gift… I can die with no regrets…

Suddenly, the air in the room stagnated and there was one more person in the room.

I could see my father’s golden eyes glitter within his face which was hidden in shade as he stood behind Deimos.

I didn’t even see him move and Deimos’ head was smashed into the ground by his fist.

The ground fissured as her barrier lit up with a blinding brightness, indicative of the strength of the strike.

Without pause, he chained his fist into an elbow strike to her head, driving her deeper into the shattered ground and lighting up her barrier again.

With a final shoulder drop with all his body weight behind it, the barrier shattered with a sound like breaking glass.

Father’s infamous three hit combo: The Nutcracker.

How appropriate.

He shot a look at my mangled arm and at the unconscious Deimos, who was slowly morphing back to her Bestia form and walked out of the room.

Always the cold shoulder from him… like he feared I would turn soft if he showed me any affection.

He-he… I can see your clenched fist, you know…

And mother’s probably on the way… there’s no injury she can’t fix.

Forcefully clinging onto consciousness and dragging myself to Deimos’ naked form, I dipped the finger of my left hand into the blood from the open wound on my right arm.

Using it as ink, I shakily painted the contract rune on the back of her left hand. The rune meant speed in the old language.

Deimos… you had to bite my dominant hand, didn’t you?

My left-hand writing is poor you know?

It’s not a stick-on… it’s permanent. Permanent, you hear?

A burning pain that felt as spiritual as it did physical, originated from the spot on my left hand corresponding to the runic tattoo on Deimos. It cut through the fog of delirium that was covering my thoughts and I saw the crimson rune etch itself onto my skin.

In my final moments of lucidity, I saw mother rushing into the room, her face a rictus of concern, followed by a hysterical Phobos.

Don’t make that face, girl… I’m peachy…

I just… need… to…

…sleep.

Chapter 9

Phobos pushed open the door to the bathroom and entered, closing the door behind her.

She turned around and walked to Demi who was standing in front of the washroom mirror, obsessively brushing her teeth with a neem branch.

Embracing her from the back, she held onto her hand, stopping her from continuing to torture herself.

Prying away the small branch from her hand, she found that it had come away bloody. She discarded it into a bin by the side.

The petite girl had brushed her teeth so hard, she had caused her gums to bleed.

Demi turned around and hugged her tightly, sobbing loudly into her chest.

“Phi-Phi. I… I ate Master.”

Her piteous tone was heart-breaking.

Although… the way she put it made Phobos smile involuntarily. Typical Demi, trust her to bring joy to the grimmest of situations.

She sighed and gently caressed her hair, letting her pour her frustrations out.

One didn’t lose their memory when one reverted from their Feral state. She could imagine what Demi was going through, having the taste of Husband’s blood and flesh firmly embedded in her mind.

Phobos had seen the state of his arm. If she had done that to someone she loved, the guilt would eat away at her too.

She looked up at her form reflected in the mirror.

Her yellow eyes were bloodshot and her hair in a disarray… something intolerable to her just a few hours ago, but which seemed of little concern now.

There were a lot of expectations for the behaviour of women in this world.

While a man would be deemed successful if he was strong enough, regardless of his manner or disposition, a woman just had to be perfect.

From a very tender age, females were drilled in a very spartan manner to instil a strong sense of discipline into them to shape and strengthen their willpower.

It was all so that they would have a fighting chance against Vita’s divine will upon their awakening.

Growing up, she had been regaled with anecdotes about the parents who abused their daughter and were eaten by her when she turned Feral.

She had been taught not to be like the loving parents who had thoroughly spoiled their daughter, weakening her will. Even though she loved them, she was helpless, imprisoned in her own body and forced to watch as her parents were ripped apart by her own two claws.

When she was finally subdued, the memories tormented her till she took her own life.

Another family, out of the multitude decimated by Vita’s vengeful curse.

The harsh traditions and restrictions on women were society’s adaptation to living with ticking time-bombs.

Despite the bubbly personality which she showed only to Husband and her, Demi was actually a very shy person. When interacting with others of the clan, she hid it behind an icy mask of indifference.

It kept most of them at bay and Demi was fine with that. She only wanted to bare her heart to someone who took the effort to pierce through the veils of her deception.

In the training halls, she was the epitome of what a woman in this age was supposed to represent. Strong willed and disciplined.

She was held up as the example to follow in the class for the other girls, which alienated her further.

It was only in the privacy of their room that she could let loose.

If even the girl reputed to be the best among her peers had barely managed to prevent herself from taking her lover’s life in the Feral state, then how terrifying was Vita’s will?

Would she be able to resist if the transformation came upon her at this very moment?

Could she trust herself to sleep beside the now incapacitated Husband with the proverbial Damocles’ sword of her awakening hanging over their heads?

Phobos didn’t know.

Demi’ wracking sobs stilled as she slowly regained her composure.

She was a tough little warrior and Phobos loved her to bits.

She never wanted to see her this sad again…

She never wanted to be this sad again.

Her eyes took on a determined cast as she decided upon her course of action.

Washing her face to remove the traces of her breakdown, Demi clumsily tried to fix her hair but only managed to tangle it further.

Phobos sighed. She already missed the feeling Husband’s rough but deft fingers as they raked over her scalp during their bathing sessions.

With the state he was in, it would be some time before they bathed together again.

Exiting the bathroom, they were met by the sight of Husband’s mother sitting by his bedside with palms spread over his hand.

Droplets of sweat ran down her forehead and dripped down the tip of her nose as the soft radiance from her palms shone upon his wounds, knitting them together at a rate visible to the naked eye.

After some time, she paused her treatment and collapsed back into her seat exhausted. She had rushed over in her nightwear and it was now soaked with sweat.

Phobos immediately hurried to the icebox to bring over a jug of cool lemonade and a tray of ice.

Husband’s mother, Epione, shot her a grateful look before chugging some down and laying an ice cube on her forehead to cool herself off.

“H-how is he?” asked Demi timidly.

Epione’s gaze grew soft as she turned to her.

“Come child, show me your marking.”

Walking over to her timidly, Demi exposed the back of her left hand. The word for speed in the old language was etched into her skin in a deep red.

In the hectic sequence of events, Demi’s successful contract to Husband had slipped her mind.

Epione burst out laughing when she saw the seal. “That’s one ugly ass marking. All that time practicing calligraphy and that’s the best he can do. Ha-ha. Serves you right child for nearly biting my son’s arm off.”

Demi seemed to shrink into herself and tears sprang up into her eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

*sob*

Epione put a finger under her chin and raised her face to meet her eyes. She said extremely seriously, “Child, as long as that marking of yours is as dark as it is, you needn’t answer to anyone. Not even me… because it shows how much you mean to each other. If you ever doubt in yourself, just take a look at your mark. It will tell you that there is someone waiting for you in this world.”

She took off her medical glove and exposed her own marking: A beautifully crafted piece of ornate calligraphy that spelt out the word ‘heal’ in the old language.

She placed their markings side-by-side. Both of them shining a deep crimson in the sunlight streaming into the room.

“Be proud, for you are the wife of Mars Felidae, son of Epione and Veer Felidae. Your bond marks you so.”

Chapter 10

Epione held Deimos’ hand. Standing up, she walked out of the room, pulling her along.

Deimos shot a look at the sleeping figure of Mars and stuttered, “B-but… what about…”

“Oh? Him? Don’t worry your pretty little head over him. He’s a big boy, he’ll be just fine… and besides, the sedative I gave him will keep him under for some time yet.”

When she passed by Phobos, she grabbed her hand too and pulled her along.

The trio walked down the corridor and reached her shared bedroom with Mars’ father.

Unlocking the door, Epione invited the three of them into her boudoir where she set about changing out of her sweaty clothes.

She came back in a fresh night gown carrying a plain looking iron box and a tray with some snacks and three glasses of iced lemonade. Setting down the box and the tray on the bed and sitting cross-legged beside it, she invited the two of them over to join her.

When the three of them were seated on the bed in a rough triangle, she leant in conspiratorially and asked, “Want to know how I met your father-in-law?”

Phobos and Deimos looked at each other, then back at her and nodded.

“Well, since I have the lovely excuse of my son’s illness to skip work and both of you have been given the day off due to the circumstances, I may as well tell you our story.”

She turned to Deimos. “I think it will put you at ease.”

“Just like you, ours was an arranged marriage with me being stuck into your father’s room right after I cut my first scarlet dragon.

“We got along well enough and despite his stoic façade, he was a bomb in bed so, yes, I quite satisfied with the oaf. That is, until he started exercising his martial arts and training like crazy, neglecting me.

“You see, with my rare mutation of light system magic that gave me alchemical healing powers, I was a bit of the spoiled clan princess and I wasn’t held to the same standards as the other girls. I was more playful and didn’t like training all that much.

“I knew that there was pressure on him to perform in order to maintain his position of the heir to the post of Clan Head but he was too excessive, sometimes coming back to our room too exhausted to even satisfy me sexually.

“So, we started falling out little by little. Thankfully, before things could get really messy, I turned Feral.

“I might have a gift for healing, but that only means that I know just where to cut. I was strong but he was stronger. All his training wasn’t just for show. He handled me all by himself despite me slashing his stomach open.”

She took a sip of the lemonade and continued with a wistful expression on her face.

“Your father-in-law has a one-track mind. He subdued me so he had to get contracted with me. Everything else came later. So, the fool wrapped me up in some blankets and carried me to the door of the clan Tamer with his intestines hanging out and with that box in his hand.” She said, pointing at the plain iron box.

“Believe you me, the Tamer was utterly shocked when he opened the door in the middle of the night, just to have him collapse after pushing the box into his hand.”

Her eyes glittered at the memory.

“I almost lost him that day. If I hadn’t regained consciousness then and immediately started treating him, he might have died.

“Do you know what was in that box? Money. Money, he had been saving to have the Tamer tattoo the best mark that he could on me. A Tamer isn’t just a notary official for marriages… he is also an artist. Each contract marking is a work of art that will follow a relationship throughout its duration. The mark designs of many kings and queens have been transcribed onto paper and sold as artwork for sky high prices. So, hiring a Tamer’s best services is expensive.

“The fool had been forgoing his resources and saving the money by substituting the expensive medication with extra training. That was why he was always busy at that time. When I saw that box full of cash, my mind went blank.

“Then I had the Tamer start with the marking as I continued his treatment. I was determined that even if he were to die that night, he would die my husband. Fortunately, he lived and I could bring Mars into the world so he could meet you two lovely ladies. Your father-in-law still has that scar.”

She turned to Deimos.

“Both father and son are thorough fools, aren’t they? More concerned about the contract rather than bleeding out due to their wounds.”

She reached out and held on to both Deimos and Phobos’ hands.

“I’m entrusting him to you both. Keep him safe for me. Yeah?”

The both of them could only nod.

Deimos was still a bit nervous. She asked, “M-master nearly died… will he forgive me?”

“Master, huh? Of course, he will. It’s his good fortune to have a cute girl like you call him that.”

She smiled and clapped her hands. “Anyway… want to hear another story? This is about the time I learnt that I was incapable of giving birth after I had Mars. Husband’s brother was attacking him politically using the angle that Hominum were combat weak and hence not suitable to succeed him as the Clan Head.

“Imagine how happy they were when they learnt that I couldn’t conceive anymore.”

She smiled and ran a tongue over her canines. Deimos and Phobos shuddered. Sometimes, Epione could be really scary.

She shook her head self-depreciatingly, “I thought I was holding him back and even told him such. Your father-in-law, he isn’t good with words. He just kept telling me that it wasn’t my fault… so, of course I’ll think it is. It got to the point that our marking started to fade.

“You know that the stronger the bond, the deeper the marking and the more you dislike the partner, the more it fades. If you absolutely hate him, it will vanish. It was my insecurity that made it fade but in my muddled state I started to think he was starting to hate me.”

She sighed with a fond smile.

“Guess what he did.” She opened up the box and brought out three yellowing pieces of paper.

The first piece of paper had rough line drawings of a cat in various poses.

The second piece had more detailed renditions of the same cat in various states.

The third piece had a beautiful sketch of the face of the cat in great detail.

“I loved art from a young age… so right after our engagement had been decided, he took up drawing. Whenever he got time he would practice sketching my Feral form.”

It was then that Phobos and Deimos realized that the cat in the picture was Epione.

“After eight whole years, from the age of sixteen to twenty-four, he had finally perfected his craft to the point that he could show it to me.

“He planned for the last sketch to be my birthday present… but I just had to go and doubt him, didn’t I? Well, after that, I showed him just how thankful I could be. In fact, I was so thankful that the people in the neighbouring rooms had difficulty sleeping that night.”

She winked at the two girls and they blushed. She took another sip of the lemonade before continuing.

“According to protocol, both of you girls should be staying with your parents till you awaken.”

Turning to Deimos, she said, “In your case, since your parents passed away during military service and your grandfather severed his ties to you after you were betrothed to Mars, you should be staying with us in our capacity as the parents of your spouse.

“We would have been easily able to handle you, even as a Feral… but we think that the bonds you form by going through the awakening together are priceless. Our son is already at a disadvantage in military might due to his lineage making him incapable of elemental magic and having to depend purely on martial technique. We can’t have him disadvantaged by a weak bond as well. So, you can blame us for it, if it makes you feel better.

“If you are still feeling guilty, then just apologize by giving my boy the best night of his life. You both have just been contracted and whenever you have intercourse after this, Vita’s Divine Will will flow into him through the contract, both freeing you of its influence and improving his physique… in this case, helping him heal.

“With the boost from that, regular healing sessions and some potions, he’ll be back on his feet within a fortnight.”

She stood up from the bed and shooed them away.

“Run along now, dears. Dusk is almost upon us and he’ll be waking soon. I’m sure you’d like to be there to greet him. I have to prepare to greet your father-in-law. He must be exhausted from dealing with the council. Your awakening and further contract has surely given those loquacious old fogies enough to talk about.”

As the two girls walked down the corridor, Phobos suddenly stopped and said, “I won’t be joining you tonight… It’s an important milestone for you and I’ll just be in the way… So, I’ll be in the cells.”

Deimos nodded absentmindedly as her attention was too focused on her coming meeting with Mars to notice the oddity in Phobos’ tone of speech and the content of her words.

It wasn’t like they’d never had sex in pairs before.

Phobos watched her enter their room, sighed and walked away towards the cells.

Chapter 11

I floated in endless darkness.

Time held no meaning for me here, space was but a word.

My five senses told me nothing.

Yet, I knew that I was.

I existed…

… because I thought.

My thoughts were like a wayward breeze blowing through the Void.

I thought…

… but I had nothing to think of.

So, I searched. The gusts formed of my ponderance converged into a gale that swept across the infinity that was the nothingness and I found it, a word that meant speed in the old language.

How did I know it was from the old language? I wondered.

I knew because I remembered.

My memory was a river of stars suspended in the firmament…

… each star a record of an experience in my life.

As I pored over the memories of my life, some made me laugh, some made me cry…

… and some ignited the white-hot flame of anger.

I thought, remembered and emoted…

… I planned for my future.

I set my resolve.

Suddenly, I could feel my physical self again. Something warm and wet was wrapped around my flaccid penis, eliciting a reaction.

The warm and moist entity continued its tender ministrations on my now erect member while slender fingers gently massaged my balls.

Starbursts of pleasure lit up the Void with their brilliant light…

Except, the ‘Void’ wasn’t empty anymore.

Mountains and plains, rivers and seas, volcanoes and geysers and a breeze that blew through it all under the stars.

It was all painted white by the light, making it seem unreal.

Suddenly, the warm and moist sensation faded only to be replaced by something dry trying to painfully force my penis into itself.

Pain gave the world definition as shadows came to be, contrasting the light.

And I knew what I saw was my own inner world…

… my mindscape.

*sob*

A familiar sobbing sound jolted me out of my meditative state and my eyes snapped open.

I saw a naked Deimos straddling me, her shoulders shaking with her sobs as hot tears splattered down onto the bandages on my chest from her downturned face.

I sat up gingerly, wincing as my newly set arm and rib bones protested the movement even though they were splinted tightly.

I patted her head comfortingly with my working left hand and she responded by carefully wrapping her arms around my neck and burying her face into my neck, mindful of my injuries.

Her wracking sobs shook my body as I caressed her hair comfortingly.

The silly girl had tried to wake me up with sex as she often did… but she was emotionally fraught and hadn’t been aroused enough for penetration to be pleasant for either of us.

In her vulnerable state, even this small failure had set off the waterworks.

I sighed. She probably blamed herself for my injury despite it being the fault of Vita’s divine will.

“Shh, girl, don’t cry. I’m fine. Mother will fix me right up and I’ll be up and about soon. Hmm?”

“Masteer. I was so scaared. I had no control and… and I just bit into you and I could taste everything a-and I was too busy suppressing the magic and then I screamed at my body to stop… it just wouldn’t stoop. Aanh haaanh!” she began crying even louder, devolving into full blown wailing.

I felt flustered. I had no idea how to handle her in this state.

I grabbed her hair, pulled back her head and stopped up her mouth with mine forcefully, shocking her into silence.

As I explored her mouth with my tongue, I could feel that her gums were scratched and inflamed from excessive brushing. My mind trembled. Poor girl.

Breaking away, a trail of silvery saliva connected our lips as I looked into her watery green eyes.

“Where’s Phobos? Let’s talk this through together, yeah? Remember the time when I rough-handled her hair during sex and she didn’t talk to me for a week? You just came and put your foot down, pulling our ears and making us sit down and talk it out… it’s because there’s three of us that our relationship functions, yeah?

“I’ll tell you what… why don’t the two of you put on a show for me? It’s been a long time since you’ve had some fun with just you girls, right? So, have at it and when I’m aroused and you’re wet, we’ll try again. What do you say? Hmm?”

Throughout my speech her eyes had been growing brighter and brighter and by the end, I could feel her juices moistening my shirt where she straddled my hips.

I laughed out loud and patted her buttocks. “That’s my little girl. Wet already.”

She gave me a watery smile. It was like the sun shining through the clouds after a rainstorm.

Suddenly, her eyes widened and she exclaimed, “Phi-Phi said she’d be in the cells!”

Both of us looked into the other’s eyes. It looked like we weren’t the only ones affected by the incident.

I cracked into a smile, “Then we’ll have to go and get her, won’t we? How else will I get my show?”

With a happy peal of laughter, she bounced off me and hurriedly dressed herself then helped me pull up my pants.

Supporting me by the arm, she brought us towards the cells.

Suddenly, the world spun around me as my legs were swept away from underneath me.

For a moment I felt weightless before tightening my arm around her neck for support.

“Master, you’re too slow, ya.”

A breeze blew against my hair and to my great mortification, I realized that she was running down the hallways with me in a princess carry.

“Put me down!” I squawked.

“Nope. Ha-ha.”

I could only pray that nobody noticed us…

Who was I kidding… by the end of the day, I’d probably have an addition to my long list of derogatory nicknames:

Mars Felidae: Princess Charming, the Rider of Women.

Chapter 12

Once upon a time in a Bestia tribe, a boy was born. He was named Adam and he was the son of the Chief with his wife. The Chief was lascivious and had a number of maids he kept at his beck and call to sate his lust. When he was just born and his mother unconscious from the ordeal:

The first midwife exclaimed, “He has no tail.”

The second midwife pointed out, “His ears aren’t like ours.”

The third midwife yelled excitedly, “He has no teeth!”

The first midwife interjected, “Idiot! Which new-born has teeth?”

They exclaimed together, “Hominum!”

The Chief spat out disgusted, “Useless!”

So, they switched him with his son with one of his maids.

The maid bullied him for being the reason she had to part with her child. The Chief bullied him for being a useless son. His own mother unknowingly bullied him for being a symbol of her husband’s infidelity. The child who had replaced him, grew up bullying him because he was influenced by the sight of his elders doing so.

Adam was a sad little boy. He wasn’t even blessed with any of the bloodline gifts the other Bestia children awakened.

One day while foraging in the forest near his tribe, he was chased down by a pack of wolves and forced to take shelter in a remote cavern. In it, he found some vestiges of a civilization long past and a book that instructed him in its language.

After two days of prowling around the cavern, waiting for him to exit, the wolves grew bored and left in search of easier prey. Adam made his way back to the tribe and stumbled upon a remote shelter. Hungry and tired, he decided to spend the night there. Pushing the door open, he was greeted by a rank stench.

What he saw there, left him stunned.

Six naked women were locked in cages amidst the squalor. Scars crisscrossed their bodies and signs of sexual abuse were clearly visible. When he entered, they looked up at him with apathetic eyes. He knew then, that there were beings more unfortunate than him in the world.

Over the next year, he brought them food, water and blankets to keep them warm. He spent a lot of time with them, keeping them company to stave off insanity. He learnt that they were born with extremely strong bloodlines and correspondingly strengthened magical gifts.

Unfortunately, the gift came with a curse that turned them into mindless monsters. If they were beaten thoroughly into submission, they reverted to their Bestia form for the duration of three days until their Feral nature reasserted itself. The Chief had thus ordered them locked away and used as brood mares to birth strong sons with great magical gifts for the tribe while the daughters born were slaughtered.

Adam also learnt their names:

Evelyn the fire kissed.

Naeneve the wind blessed.

Everly the beloved of water.

Evette of the earth.

Genevieve the shadow mistress.

Maeve the light bringer.

He had learnt the old language from the book he had obtained from the cavern and it had struck a chord with something instinctive within him. Combined with his desire to free them and the growing cordiality between them, he decided to act upon the urgings. He wrote the names of their gifts upon their skin with his blood and the first contractual bond the world had seen post-apocalypse was formed. Assisted by the bond, the women were able to break out of their confinement.

Wallowing in wine and women, the Chief had left his magic uncultivated and easily lost his life at the hands of the vengeful women. After that night of fire and destruction, the tribe was Adam’s to rule and he set about reforming it in accordance with his ideals.

He realised that all Hominum had a unique talent beyond the six elements. They could contract any Feral and help them stabilize in their Bestia form. In return, they obtained a portion of their power to help strengthen their body as well as access to one sixth of their magical prowess.

He also found that a Hominum could use this contract to join a Bestia couple together. While a Hominum could withstand six contracts, a Bestia could only bear one.

Thus, he formulated his ten commandments:

Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt marry one wife. (Bestia) Thou shalt marry six wives. (Hominum) Thine marriage shalt be validated by a covenant. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shalt not commit murder. Thou shalt train as a Tamer. (Hominum) Thou shalt not turn away a willing couple. (Hominum) Thou shalt pay a Tamer for their services with a month of thine earnings.

Disillusioned by the concept of tribal segregation and the ongoing witch hunt against women with strong bloodlines, he set about building his empire with the help of his six consorts and an army of Bestia soldiers empowered by their bonds with their spouses, which had been created by the Hominum in his employ.

Soon, he had conquered a large portion of the continent and freed innumerable suffering women, tamed countless Ferals and overseen a multitude of marriages.

He ascended the throne with the reign title, Emperor Regiis I and established the Regiis Empire.

He taught all comers without discrimination and his disciples numbered in the thousands. They spread his ideas and his commandments all over the continent and some even imitated him to form their own empires while others set up their ideal governance systems like republics and confederacies.

It was a prosperous time when hundred schools of thought contended together to develop the continent.

Till today, the Regiis Empire is the largest and most prestigious organization in the Continent bar none.

Phobos closed the book she was reading and turned it over to view its title: The Tale of Adam and his Six Eves by Tamriel Hawthorne, Bard extraordinaire. The author was a bit pompous but the best works in the historical fiction genre were credited under his name. The book spoke of the rise of the Regiis Empire that they were currently in and gave an insight into the social conditions at that time.

The social position of women in society, especially those with strong bloodlines, had been drastically promoted with the advent of Tamers. If before, they were objects of a witch hunt, now, they were highly sought-after marriage candidates as the contract allowed for sharing their power.

She sighed. Putting down the book, she looked around her bare, cell-like surroundings, a throwback to the pre-Tamer era. Women who were likely to turn Feral and weren’t confident in maintaining control could choose, or be forced, to live in such isolated cells so that even if they awakened, they wouldn’t hurt anyone. It was considered a great shame to have to be put in one as it was indicative of poor willpower. She would have much preferred to stay with her parents but they were out of station, serving their time in the army and hearing Epione narrate the tale of their love, she didn’t want to intrude upon her in-laws.

She curled up on the hard bed and sighed again. She was used to the warmth of having two bodies to cuddle with. The sudden solitude was jarring. It was her turn to be in the middle too. Burying her face in the pillow, she wondered how Deimos was doing with Mars and suddenly felt jealous of her. If only she had awakened as well.

Her bitter musings were interrupted when Deimos suddenly came barging into the room with a thoroughly mortified and blushing Mars in her arms. Laughing, she set him down on the bed and pounced upon the open-mouthed Phobos.

Phobos had expected the night to be cold and lonesome…

It wasn’t…

It was warm.

Volume 1 End.