I hid in the branches of the apple tree, watching as my stalker silently made their way through the undergrowth. They were too busy following the obvious tracks I had left behind, to pay real attention to their surroundings. If they just looked up, they would spot me. The apple tree’s lower branches provided little cover.

I watched as they passed beneath me, turning from predator into prey. A smile spread across my face. Silently I stood up, stretched my feline body, and prepared. Prepared to launch an attack on my unsuspecting victim.

My victim stepped into the spot I had previously selected. Looking around in clear confusion, because the tracks stopped, which meant they stopped. Just as I had planned. With a slight tightening of my hindlegs, I dropped out from the tree, landing almost silently next to the oblivious quarry. When I landed, they started to spin around to face me, but it was too late.

With a victorious meow, I pounced at my daughter, wrapping her up in my legs, hugging her to me as we tumbled through the tall grass in our garden. Maeve started hissing in frustration that I had gotten her, again. I just purred as I rubbed my face all over hers. Finally, she relented, purred back, and licked my nose.

I turned back into human form and cuddled her to my chest. “Maeve, honey. You’ve to look up, I was right there in the tree for you to see me.”

She meowed pitifully. I gave her a smile while scratching her ears. “Yes, we can go again. This time you hide, and I’ll find you.”

She meowed happily and wriggled out of my arms. As soon as she landed on her paws, she ran off in the direction of the pond. With a fond smile, I turned into a cat. She might be young, but I was not going to take it easy on her. Tracking, ambushing, and evading, were valuable skills in this world, something I wished all my kids were showing an interest in.

I heard Shenerah call out, “She’s ready for you.”

With a loud meow, I set off, hunting my daughter yet again. Just like that a day quickly passed with playing our version of hide and seek. Maybe it should be called Hide, Seek and Ambush.

I stood looking at the newest addition to the house that I had done with the latest remodelling. One of the downsides to being home so much was that the wives apparently had a list of things that only I could do, despite the fact that we literally had tens of thousands of servants working for us.

I might complain, but it was goodnaturedly complaining. I loved the fact that I could make them happy, with a little application of magic. So far in the month that I had been home, I had expanded the walled-in area to twice its previous size. A large part of the original garden, together with an equally large part of the new, had been replanted into a vegetable garden.

The many projects also included an expansion of the lake, building slides for when the kids got bigger. Should never have told them about water parks. It also featured a shallow side-pond for the kids to enjoy without a grown-up being in the water with them. Since all the construction disturbed the home of the otters, Emma insisted I build them a nice new home. With a sigh, I had done just that.

The kitchen had gotten enlarged and I had modernized it into a magical equivalent of a modern kitchen. Sigrid was beside herself, she could not stop thanking me whenever she saw me. I kept telling her it was nothing, but she did not listen.

The family area also got a large expansion, including an extra level. Their mother’s insisted that each child should have a large room that they could grow up in. They also insisted there were rooms for twenty kids. Even if I loved my kids, I might have had a slightly panicked look on my face.

The latest addition, however, had been entirely my idea. It was a large indoor pool area. The water was heated by spell crystals, and I had a few spell crystals summon new water constantly. The water that went into the overflow channels were banished by another spell crystal.

There were three sections of the pool, two visible and one hidden. The first was a large rectangle fifty metres in length and twenty-five in width. At the shallow end, it was three metres deep, while the deep end was five metres. At the deep end, there were a few dive boards of differing heights.

That section of the pool was placed alongside the outer wall of the house, or so it would seem. The five metres closest to the wall was used for a few decorative pieces, like plants and artificial waterfalls. Rocky outcroppings to sit on both under and between the waterfalls. One of the waterfalls had a secret door that could be opened by twisting a specific rock.

The entrance behind the waterfall led to the adult-only section. It would make old Heffner jealous of the decadence. I had borrowed some of the ideas from various skin magazines when creating this little hidden oasis of debauchery. It looked and felt like it was outside, in a secluded lagoon with a beautiful waterfall and everything.

Gentle waves lapping at the beach. An opulent round bed with room for all of us, and then some more, for our adult fun. There was a large stock of chilled booze and alcohol. With me there, it was also possible to create an extra door to the larder, if you had the fancy for barbecuing on the faux beach.

The last area was the play area. It was attached to the large section and formed like a half-circle jutting out from it. There were slides and other paraphernalia for playing in the water. Including a small wooden raft with paddles. The depth went from around a half metre to one and a half.

It was a lot of work, but hopefully, it would be something the kids would love. I had one specific person in mind, so I went out to find Talen. I found him at his accustomed spot near the lake, looking at the fish swimming around, and at the baby otters frolicking nearby in the water. When my shadow fell on him, he let out a happy meow in greeting.

“Hey, there squirt, catch any fish?” I asked as I crouched down next to him.

“Meow,” was his answer and he went back to watching the fish swim around. I chuckled and gently took hold of him. He protested a bit as I lifted him up, but soon he was purring and rubbing against my cheek as I took him to see the pool.

His eyes got big when he saw it. He jumped out of my arms and went to the water. He peered into it hard for a minute, before looking back at me. He meowed questioningly, almost as if to ask, “Where’re the fishies?”

“No fish, this is for swimming,” I replied with a grin as I undressed. Talen just looked at me as if I was crazy. Why would there be water but no fish? I chuckled at his confused expression. “Come on, change into your humanoid form.”

He did as I asked, reluctantly. He was spending most of his time in cat form. The only one spending more time in cat form was Baldur, but I think that was just because he was too lazy to change forms. I walked into the water and sat down in the water, right next to the edge. The edge had some wide steps.

Talen stood, swaying a bit as he was not used to balancing like that, in his short humanoid form and watched me fearfully with large eyes. I smiled reassuringly and reached out my hands to grab hold of his. “Come in and join me. Nothing will happen. Don’t worry, I’m right here.”

He shook his head. Gently I pulled him towards me. He struggled to get away from me. Right before he went into the water, I stopped pulling. “I know you’re afraid. That’s okay, but we need to conquer our fears. If you don’t want to go into the water, then that’s okay. I’m going to stay right here.”

It took almost ten minutes before he moved. If not for my healing magic I would have died from cramps already. When he finally moved, he took an uncertain step into the water. He mewled frightfully as the water covered his hind paws. However, nothing else happened, so he stopped mewling, but he was still shaking like a leaf.

“I’m so proud of you. See, nothing dangerous, just a little water,” I said soothingly and let go of one of his hands. I sat on the step next to him. He could move back on dry land if he wanted. I was only holding his hand gently to reassure him.

Eventually, he took another step forward, still on the first step of the stairway, but it was progress. Another ten minutes passed before he took the next step down. At first, he panicked when the water got deeper, and in his hurry to get back to shallower water, he tripped and almost fell face-first into the water. I managed to catch him.

After that, he wanted out of the water. Over the next few days, he would find me and get me to follow him to the pool. He would stop at the far edge of the first step each time, but at least he was trying. I had all the patience in the world for my son. I would bring him to the water’s edge, but he would be the one to take the first steps. His decision. I just thought it was a pity that he was afraid of the water when he clearly admired it so much.

“Oh yes, right there,” Nathalie moaned. “Mmmmm, It feels heavenly, don’t stop. Harder, deeper!”

I chuckled. “It’s just a foot massage.”

She shot me an irritated pout. “My feet are bloated and they hurt.”

“Then heal them,” I countered, giving her bare thigh a kiss to show her I did not mind. There was something sensual about sitting on the floor massaging her feet. We were in the sauna next to the new indoor pool. I had barred the door to the pool area so that we would not get interrupted because I had plans with my sexy pregnant wife.

She moaned, before saying, “Only relieves the pain, doesn’t feel good like this.”

I chuckled and continued massaging her feet. After another few minutes, she started dozing off. We could not have that. I began kissing my way up her leg, making her moans deepen, becoming more primal. She subconsciously spread her legs for me as I approached the apex between her legs.

“What are you doing?” she asked sleepily, moaning a bit. I did not answer, I instead ran my tongue between her nether lips, catching her clit lightly with my teeth before I released it. Her moaning intensified as I lapped away at her succulent flower.

My left hand moved up and caressed her bulging stomach, while my right fondled her breasts. Switching between rolling each of her nipples between my fingers. A slight pinch made a small sensual hiss escape from her lips.

As my teasing increased, one of her hands grabbed my head and held me firmly in place. Her other hand grabbed mine, directing me where to fondle her. I kept tormenting her for a few minutes, circling around her clitoris but never bringing her any real release. Her moans reached a feverish pitch, and I decided to take her over the edge.

I focused all my attention on her little hood, making her wail in pleasure. I felt a stream of liquid hit my face as she bucked against my mouth. If she had been focused on anything but her pleasure, I am sure she would feel the victorious smile on my face. I knew nothing better than to bring pleasure to my partners.

“That was good,” she panted heavily when she came down from her high. That was when I started round two, by licking frantically at her womanly folds once more. Between moans, she whimpered, “Don’t, I don’t th—I—nk I can handle any more.”

Her protest fell at deaf ears, as I continued to pleasure her. I chased her almost all the way to the peak of her pleasure, only to let her slide back a little, before bringing her back up. After bringing her to two more climaxes, she forcefully pushed me away. Pantingly, she said, “Enough, no more right now.”

“Come, let’s get some fluid in you. You must be running low, because I’m drenched, and not in sweat,” I teased as I helped her to her feet. She looked flushed. Whether it was from embarrassment, the heat, or the exertion we just went through, or a combination of all three, I did not know.

As we made our way into the pool area, she glanced down at my friend who was standing at full attention in her honour. She caressed it. “How about I take it directly from the source?”

Who was I to deny my pregnant wife anything? When I felt her hot breath on the only head with any blood, it was my turn to moan.

Mina and Zac also got some of my personal time. We spent it taking long walks and picnics. My relationship with Mina was simple. It was based on complete trust. It had started when I made her my premiere truth mage and had blossomed from there for me. The trust she had in me was also absolute when I had asked to perform a magical experiment, she had not hesitated to give her consent. She trusted me that much.

I also felt a bit of guilt for the pain and suffering I had put her through when I performed the experiment. I had broken her mana pool’s barrier, and though it had allowed her to become a stronger mancer, she had been unable to use magic for weeks afterwards and even years later her barrier was a fragile thing. It was something I thought about everytime I looked at her.

Lately, with all the extra time on my hand, I had started to wonder if that incident was the reason why Zac was the only one of my children without magic. Garion had inherited my magic and so had the five kittens. Without any guidance at all, the five kittens had been able to connect with Emma and gain her transformation magic.

“What are you thinking about?” Mina asked. We were leaning against a large oak tree, its foliage casting our blanket in shadow. She was sitting in front of me, resting her head against my chest. I guess I had gotten a faraway look on my face, as I was observing my son, who was playing with some wooden toys I had crafted for him.

“How I messed up,” I replied with a sad smile.

She got an irritated look on her face. Her eyes were clearly scolding me, but she kept her tone light, so as not to upset Zac. “We’ve been over this. You don’t have to feel guilty about that. I knew what I volunteered for. So stop beating yourself up over this.”

“But—” I started to protest but was interrupted by a peck on the lips.

“No buts, we’ve been over this before. You didn’t do anything wrong, I knew the risk,” she said. I was about to provide a counter-argument, but she just put her hand over my mouth. “Drop it. I love you, but I’ll get mad if you keep trying to argue.”

With a laugh, I mumbled, “Yes, dear.”

To entertain Zac I made illusions replicating some of the cartoons I had watched growing up, the scenes I could remember. Mina giggled alongside Zac who tried to catch the illusions. When he finally caught one, he found out there was nothing there. He looked back at us with tears, and within a second he was wailing.

Mina gave me a “look what you’ve done now”-look. To appease her, and of course Zac, I quickly made a plushie out of my shirt. As soon as he got the grey bear in his hands, he stopped crying and started babbling excitedly.

‘Magic is great for getting out of trouble,’ I thought with a smile as he started babbling happily at the teddy bear. When it did not reply, he looked confused at us. His mother then turned her eyes on me as well. ‘Or get you in the hole a whole lot deeper.’

The time I spent with Baldur was a little weird. He had to be the laziest person I knew, all I ever saw him do was lying in the sun. He was almost always exclusively in his cat form. I could only remember a dozen times or so I had seen him in his humanoid form.

However, all the other kids had gotten some mostly alone time with me, so I thought it was only fair that he got some as well. When I joined him at the table in my own cat form, he lazily lifted his head to look at me. He meowed a greeting, a meow that was stretched out by a big yawn.

He started purring when I lay down next to him, and he quickly moved in to cuddle against me. I closed my eyes and just lay there relaxing. However, it was a little tough relaxing, because his ears kept flicking at my chin. I moved around a little so his ears would not disturb me.

The warm sun on my body, the happy sounds of the other kids playing nearby. Their mothers were trying to keep them from getting hurt too badly. It was very peaceful, almost serene. Lazing about was more tiring than I thought, and soon I was asleep.

I woke when suddenly he stood up. I looked at him curiously as he started making his way into the more dense part of the garden. With nothing better to do, I got up and followed him. He weaved his way through the trees and soon came to a tall apple tree. With surprising confidence and ease, he climbed into the tree and was soon perched on a branch. Once more seemingly sleeping. I joined him on a branch above him.

As soon as I had found my perch, I started dozing off again but was interrupted by the arrival of Nina and my other kids. They started playing and frolicking in the bushes around the tree. I shrugged at the coincidence and fell asleep once more.

Baldur woke me with a soft meow. Groggily I looked down at him. Or where he had been, he was already shimmying down the tree. Following him yet again I found myself inside in the family room. His new perch was on a high window sill, once more in the sun. I felt decadent as I lay down next to him, basking in the sunbeam.

A minute later, the other kids, Nina, and my wives came into the room. That could not be a coincidence. I looked at Baldur, but he just looked like he was asleep. The pattern followed that for the rest of the day.

I struggled to stay awake, but it seemed Baldur was highly in tune with the daily comings and goings of his siblings. He always left after they did, but arrived where they were going before they did. He always chose a high perch from where he could observe everything. It was almost like he was their guardian angel.

It was shortly afternoon, and they had just gone to play in the garden once more when I transformed back into a human. I grabbed Baldur and brought him up to my face. “Thank you for being a good brother, watching out for your siblings.”

He licked my nose, gave a happy meow, and wriggled to get down. I would not keep him from doing what he liked doing, so I put him down, and soon joined him. This time we arrived after the others, but nothing major had happened.

The wives were bathing in the lake, with all of the kids joining them. Except for Talen, though he bravely stood in the centre of the mini raft I had built for the lake. Their giggles and happy meows were infectious and everything seemed peaceful and right in the world.

Suddenly Nishka came running into the garden, she took a quick look around and saw me lazing on the table with Baldur. Her fingers moved in a frantic pattern, using the sign language we had developed for the Wolf Guard.

“Home, priest, rushing, here,” was what she signed. Cursing I sprang off the table and rushed towards the lake. As I sprinted I transformed mid-stride, and when I made it to the lake and dove in headfirst, I was fully back to human form. Immediately I threw an illusion on Emma and the kids, all of them were in their humanoid form. The illusion I made was to make it look like they were wearing a collar.

My sudden and somewhat unrestrained entrance into the lake caused a lot of waves, which resulted in poor Talen being thrown off the raft. When I surfaced, Emma had already rescued the mewling Talen and gave me a reproachful stare. I could only shrug, because at that same moment, Milton, the fucking priest assigned to the Hold stormed in, with my guards trying to keep up with him. A handful of soldiers in blue uniform followed as well. Fucking Unifiers.

“Karth, we need to speak,” he demanded haughtily.

“It’s Lord Karth, mind your freaking manners. I’m busy,” I grouched as I turned to look at him. “Come back another time.”

Emma was doing her best to quiet down Talen, but he was inconsolable. He hissed, spat, and mewled in no particular order. Milton ignored me. “By order of King Alfred, everyone—Beast stop that mewling abomination, drown it if you can’t make it shut up.”

His words had barely left his mouth when I teleported right in front of him. I stared down at the little prick. “This is my house, my Hold, you’ll speak with respect to everyone. Even if it’s a pig, you understand me?”

“You’re forgetting your place, Lord Karth,” he spat. The way he said Lord was oozing with contempt and venom. “You’re talking to a Priest of Gyzbohr, I can make your life miserable. Get dressed so we can talk.”

“Get the fuck out if you’re not happy with the way I’m dressed. You barge into my house, unannounced and then complain about my state of dress. Well, fuck you.”

He harrumphed and turned around. With his back to me, he spoke up, “King Alfred has ordered that every Hold be placed under Church supervision until such a time everyone in the Hold has been cleared of all connection to rebel activity. Any non-human serfs will be taken into camps until such a time that we decide what to do with them. A squadron of Unifiers is here to ensure the safety and sanctity of the Church and the Thirteen Kingdoms.”

Milton was standing right in front of the table and Baldur took exception to his attitude, hackles raised, my brave little son hissed at the bad man. Milton looked down at Baldur, and then with a casual swipe, backhanded my son.

The moment his hand impacted my son, the world turned black. When I became aware of the world again, I was standing staring down at the bloody head of Milton. I looked at Nishka, who had big eyes, her hand already moving towards her sabre while spinning around towards the Unifiers.

They were still petrified by the sudden bloodbath, as were the other Wolf Guards. I looked down at the bloody head. My only reaction for the moment was to curse at my self, “Fuck!”