Chapter 47: Midnight Devotion, Midnight Commotion

Ivan entered his little vine room, he saw that the small room was furnished with a bed, a wardrobe and a mirror. It was a rather small room about the same size as the room he had back home. Ivan then heard a strange sound and saw vines growing out of the floor and sealing him in.

“What were you talking about with Katsuro?” Volva asked as she sat on the edge of the bed looking at him curiously.

Ivan didn’t reply he just walked over to the wardrobe and began removing his armor. As he did so he felt a pair of soft hands start to help him. With practiced movements, Ivan felt Volva remove his chest plate. Soon his armor was off and he was left in his boxer shorts and tank top.

“Is something wrong?” Volva asked as she walked close and gently placed a hand on Ivan’s chest.

“It’s nothing I’m was just being stupid.” Ivan replied gently as he wrapped his arms around Volva’s waist and pulled her close until they were chest to chest. He could feel her nipples through the thin fabric of her nightgown pressing against his chest.

“Stupid?” Volva asked as she tilted her head slightly her brown eyes coloring with confusion.

“It’s nothing…” Ivan said as he began pulling her to the bed.

As Ivan took a weary seat down on the edge of the bed his mind still on what Katsuro said. Ivan knew he was right, his grandmother always told him to trust those with experience. What you learn from speech and text, only gives you a vague understanding. True understanding comes from living through it…

Then Ivan felt Volva climb onto his lap and straddled him as she cupped his face with her hands.

“What’s wrong? Tell me…” Volva said gently.

“I don’t want to worry you.” Ivan replied as he shifted his eyes unable to look Volva in the eyes.

Ivan felt Volva pull his face towards hers and soon he felt her soft lips on his. Ivan returned the kiss as he gently touched her lips with his tongue. Volva knowing what he wanted, opened her mouth and they deepened the kiss. Ivan ran his hands along her back feeling her warmth through the thin fabric of her silk nightgown. Then they separated for air and Ivan saw Volva’s eyes alight with desire.

“You are worrying me.” Volva said softly as she placed a hand on his chest as she quietly felt his heartbeat.

“I’m sorry…” Ivan muttered in reply.

“I have a suggestion…” Volva said with a small smile.

This got Ivan’s attention as he looked up at her. This was odd, usually, Volva just wants physical contact and emotional support. Usually, she would talk about her feelings, how she is worried about this and that. She talks about Alfie and the other girls, Ivan usually just listens and chimes in every now and then. As the “counseling” session progresses usually clothes start getting removed, it is interrupted by kisses and the occasional moan as hands start to wander.

So this is a highly irregular and a definite break from their usual routine, then again Ivan has never needed emotional support from Volva until today…

Volva got off his lap and she walked over to a nearby piece of luggage that was lying on the floor. She bent down to open it exposing her beautiful rear as the short nightgown lifted up. Ivan felt the growing desire in his loins as he looked at how her panties were pulled against her nethers. In the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but feel a little annoyed at the sight.

There was unfortunately a darker side to her dress. These weren’t meant for her, they were meant for Charlotte. When they received their nightgowns after the first day Ivan noticed that Charlotte’s was made of fine silk but the other girls got gowns made of some kind of cheap fabric. The girls naturally didn’t mind, they even said the clothes felt really comfortable. Not that surprising considering Amethine was desperate to get accepted as an attendant. So she wouldn’t risk expulsion because she wasn’t happy with a nightgown. As for the Volva, Alfie and Momo they obviously felt it was an improvement, considering they were wearing literal potato sacks when they first met.

Through their conversations, Ivan slowly began to realize how bad their lives were. They didn’t talk about it directly most of the time but their comments over these past two months slowly revealed what exactly has been done to them. For instance, when they first got the nightgowns the three were overjoyed with the new clothes, saying that it was nice to have clothes to sleep in to keep out the cold…

Ivan discussed these things with Charlotte in private, especially the things he hears from Volva and they slowly began to piece together what was done to these three. They went through alot of… training.

They were taught how to pleasure a man, from the overall strategies to even the most minute details. Volva even revealed that there was a period when they would tie her and Alfie to chairs as they trained them, what the training was they did not say. Ivan could only hope it wasn’t too painful for them…

They were taught the best positions to pleasure, how to use their mouths, their hands, and their breasts. All for the express purpose to make the perfect pleasure slaves… all to justify their astronomical price… all for the Brareil family pedigree of high-quality slaves...

Charlotte said she wouldn’t tell Katsuro about this because he was already on a short fuse, there was no need to cut the fuse even shorter lest he kills someone in anger. Honestly, from what Ivan has seen from Katsuro, he is very protective of the weak and helpless, and he is not above killing the abuser in an excruciatingly painful manner. Ivan preferred the death to be quick but Katsuro almost seemed to revel in the torment. Katsuro demands blood for blood and pain for pain. He collects his debts and only when the debt is settled will you have his permission to die...

However, his temper wasn’t all bad, his temper sent a clear message to all the nobles of the court. Volva once got cornered by a particularly lecherous noble, apparently Volva was afraid of antagonizing him due to the… training she received… So she allowed him to touch her wherever he wanted. Eventually the noble had his trousers down and she was bent against the wall with her panties between her ankles. Volva even followed her training to the point where she pried the lips of her womanhood apart as he began pushing his manhood into her.

Volva only snapped back to her senses when the noble had gone in all the way and begun thrusting. Volva then asked him to stop because she was afraid Katsuro might get angry. She even told him verbatim that Katsuro would “take care” of anyone who tried anything with them and that he would “teach them the last lesson of their miserable lives.” Volva told Ivan that the noble immediately released her and she has never seen an erection disappear that quickly.

The noble begged her not to tell anyone but she just scurried off in fear. Volva was at the time already physically intimate with Ivan and of course when Volva told him about this event. Ivan was ready to rip the man’s head from his shoulders…

Luckily for that noble Ivan was still level-headed and he consulted Charlotte before he did anything too rash. Charlotte of course was also extremely angry, arguably angrier than Ivan... but she was also much more level-headed. Although, perhaps she was levelheaded because Katsuro was training downstairs and they could hear his rifle cracking down below. If they tried to do anything about it, Katsuro would find out, and when Katsuro finds out about things like this… Noble heads start getting removed from their noble shoulders...

If Katsuro had killed that noble who knew what kind of political consequences they would have to face… he wouldn’t exactly be subtle, they’ll be scrubbing what’s left of him off the walls…

They never found out who that noble was, as far as Ivan could tell he never showed his face in the palace again. Maybe he fled, afraid of Katsuro’s wrath...

Ivan snapped back to his senses when he saw Volva put a contraception potion in his hand and he looked up to see her smiling down at him blush on her face. He looked on as she pulled the straps of her nightgown down and let it fall to the floor. As the cloth fell it revealed her curvy olive-skinned body. Her narrow waist, wide hips, her large voluptuous breasts tipped with brown nipples.

Ivan felt his mouth go dry as he took in the sight and he uncorked the potion drinking in a single swig with a single practiced motion. Ivan heard a small giggle from Volva as she walked up to him in nothing but her black lace panties. She walked forward until her panties were right in front of his face.

Then Volva turned around bent over as she began slowly taking her panties off. Ivan looked on enamored as the panties began to move down, he noticed the bit of cloth at her opening stick slightly before it separated from her petals. The panties revealed a puffy wet slit that was glistening in anticipation. Volva turned around and stood a little closer, her brown bush a few centimeters from Ivan’s face. Ivan drank in the scent of her sex and he felt that animalistic urge rise up from within him.

“I have something I would like to request…” Volva said.

Ivan immediately snapped out of his lust-filled haze. His eyes shot up immediately as he gazed at her wide-eyed. This was huge to Ivan, the three girls never asked for anything beyond the most basic things like food or water. Volva for her part mostly only asked for different positions during their lovemaking and asked him to go faster or slower, to go softer or harder. She has never directly asked for anything out of the blue.

“How about this, I’ll tell you what I want and you tell me what troubles you?” Volva said as she gently stroked Ivan’s hair.

Ivan paused for a moment and felt in his heart a little thrill of happiness at those words. He wanted nothing more than for Volva to move past the experiences she endured under the control of those slavers. The experiences caused her to instinctively spread her legs and jut her rear out, fully accomodating the noble as he assaults her. The trauma and conditioning were so embedded into her consciousness that only the sensation of the nobles member inside her snapped her back to her senses.

Charlotte was very clear with Ivan, this conditioning would take a long time to fully resolve. Charlotte suspected that if Volva had not marked Ivan at that time and was not already physically intimate with him. Volva might have just stood there as the noble took her and possibly gotten her pregnant. If that was the case imagine what would happen if Alfie was the one that was cornered. Naturally, after that event, Charlotte checked the other girls to make sure nothing has been done to them without their knowledge. Luckily all of them turned out to be ok… But since Volva was ambushed on her way to the bath Charlotte made it a point to always escort all of them to the bath together.

Ivan nodded as he pulled Volva onto his lap so that she was once again straddling him, with her knees bent inwards, legs spread on both sides of Ivan’s thighs. Volva giggled as she began taking his shirt off. Ivan fumbled with his trousers and soon Ivan was naked as well. Volva looked down at his swollen member that was resting against her bush and she gently reached down and wrapped her fingers around it.

“I guess we can talk while doing it… we could just take it slow…” Volva said as she stroked Ivan’s member.

“Mhm yeah…” Ivan said as he suppressed a groan.

Volva then rose up slightly and guided Ivan to her entrance. She gently placed it in position before slowly bringing her body back down. Ivan let out a groan as he felt his manhood enter her, he relished the familiar warm wet tightness that was wrapped around his member.

Volva for her part sighed in contentment as she felt him enter her. She always loved having her lover inside of her, he completed her in ways that no one else could. When that noble put his thing in it felt like barely anything, it was like a soft sausage in comparison to her lover’s large hard member that could hit her deepest parts. Volva knew she was tight, after all that was one of the traits the slaver were trying to breed her to have. The noble couldn’t even get it in without her prying her lips open for him and she only did so because that was what she was trained to do. The reason why her breeders wanted her to be tight was that it allowed her to satisfy men of all sizes and in the event that the man was too unendowed to penetrate her, she was trained to assist him. That as she was told, usually occurred with old men...

Volva let out a small moan as she began rocking her hips back and forth, enjoying the feeling of Ivan’s member rubbing all the right places.

“So what do you want?” Ivan said as he reached up and cupped her cheek.

“I want to go to the Searing Wastes and learn about my people…” Volva replied as she let out another small moan.

“I want to know how a Lupus woman is supposed to behave, I want to learn how to be a good wife… a good mother…” Volva said as she shifted her grinding to slight bouncing.

“Sure…” Ivan panted as he began lightly thrusting up to match her rhythm

“We’ll have to go... there eventually... because of the Rifts... Even if we can’t... we can always go after the Rifts...” Ivan panted as he grabbed Volva’s breasts and pinched her nipples between his index and middle finger. Enjoying the soft warm sensation of her breasts filling up his hands.

“Then what... is... troubling you?” Volva asked through her pants as her bouncing became more aggressive as she felt the beginnings of her climax approaching.

In the back of her mind Volva chided herself for being so naive to think that they could even restrain themselves to take it slow at the start. The first round of love-making was always frantic as Volva drowned herself in the pleasure.

“Let’s finish... one round first…” Ivan said between grunts as he grabbed onto her waist to help Volva thrust down harder.

“O…k…” Volva replied through her moans that were increasing in volume with every thrust.

Volva unable to hold back anymore wrapped her arms around Ivan clinging onto him as she bounced her lower half frantically. Volva dragged her nails across his back scratching him as she felt her rapidly approaching climax.

Ivan, feeling this, knew Volva was close, so he leaned back onto the bed and Volva released him from her embrace. Volva now in a better position began pulling halfway out before slamming her hips down as hard she could. Ivan reached up and grabbed her breasts again. Volva grabbed Ivan’s hands as he fondled her breasts and her moans started turning to screams. Finally, she slammed her hips down as hard as she could, pushing her lover’s manhood as deep as she could inside of her as she felt her body shudder from her climax.

Ivan looked on as he saw his lover convulse and he felt a rush of wetness from where they were connected as Volva’s nectar sprayed out from her orgasm. Then it was over and Volva panted as Ivan let go of her breasts. Volva looked down lovingly at Ivan as she bent down and captured Ivan’s lips with hers. Ivan kissed her as he wrapped his arms around her, he could feel the beginning of the throbbing in his member as they kissed. The potion would make it so that he couldn’t release his seed until the effects of the potion wore off. By the end after all the love-making his member would be throbbing so much it hurts as he wanted nothing more than to relieve himself. Each time Ivan was tempted to just damn the consequences and finish inside her. Ivan wanted a child with her but he knew doing that now was stupid in the extreme. He could only imagine Katsuro’s reaction if he found out he did something that stupid and irresponsible.

Back home, the concept of family was a big thing in Ivan’s culture. You put your family first, always. As his grandmother once said, family above all…

To have a child was a thing to be celebrated in his village, the whole village would come to celebrate when a little one was brought into the world. With many gifts, well wishes, and blessings from the priest. Ivan knows one day he will be a father... if he survived the Rifts…

Ivan would do anything to start a family with Volva, she was someone that was more important to him than anyone else. One day he hoped they would be married, he would share all he had with her, she would carry their children and she would share his home…

As the two separated for air and Ivan ran his hands across her now sweaty back. Volva looked lovingly into his eyes as she cupped the sides of his face.

“So what is wrong, my love?” Volva asked.

Ivan smiled as he wrapped his arms around her tightly. He planted a kiss on her cheek as he gently ran a hand along her back.

“I am not troubled anymore…” Ivan said as he pressed his forehead against hers.

Katsuro was right… he just needed to remember what he fights for. If he can’t afford to lose, then the solution is simple. Don’t lose…

What was that saying his grandmother always told him… whenever he overthought anything…

Ah yes…

Let me tell you something child

There is no sense worrying about what might happen

Life is very simple

Do your best

Whatever shall be, will be

Learn from the mountain goats

They do not fear what is to come

They climb everything

Eat everything

And when something kicks it

They kick it back!

“But we agreed…” Volva said with a small pout.

“Alright,” Ivan said with a chuckle as Volva got off and lay down on her back.

Ivan positioned himself at her entrance and entered her again. Volva let out a small gasp at his entrance and he began to slowly move in and out, eliciting a sigh of pleasure from his lover.

“I was just worried about you… about losing you in the coming battle. Also, I was worried about what would happen to you if I died… I was worried if you would be able to move on.” Ivan said softly as leaned down a planted kiss on Volva’s lips.

“I wouldn’t move on, I am yours until my last day… without you, I have nothing to live for...” Volva said before returning a kiss.

Ivan flinched at those words, did she mean what he thought he did?

“Ivan?” Volva asked in surprise when he stopped moving.

“What do you mean by that?” Ivan asked seriously.

“What?” Volva asked still confused by his reaction.

“Do you mean that you will end yourself if I die?” Ivan asked.

Volva paused for a moment as she looked at him, Ivan felt a chill run down his spine as he noted her silence.

“What would I live for without you?” Volva replied as she cupped Ivan’s face.

“You can’t Volva, even if I die you must fight on… I don’t want you to die…” Ivan said shakily.

“Ok…” Volva said obediently as if she heard a command.

Ivan sighed as soon as he saw her blind obedience. Most of the time her blind obedience would make him uncomfortable but for just once he was glad she was conditioned to obey.

“I won’t die, when all of this is over I’ll take you as my wife… if you would have me… will you marry me?” Ivan said a little uncharacteristic hesitation in his voice and Volva’s eyes widened.

Ivan saw her eyes water as she hugged him tightly.

“Yes… I am yours forever…” Volva muttered into Ivan’s ear.

“So don’t you die Volva, we still have to build a family…” Ivan said as he wiped a happy tear from her eyes.

“Ok… but if I die you still have Alfie…” Volva replied softly.

“Alfie?” Ivan asked, a little surprised at that response.

“We are identical twins, even if I’m gone Alfie can still comfort you, give you children...” Volva replied.

“No. You aren’t replaceable, I only want you. You are priceless to me, I will not accept another. I will not settle for anyone else.” Ivan said firmly as he furrowed his brows at that line of logic.

Ivan was on occasion slightly disturbed by what Volva suggested. It seemed like in her mind, her sister and her were interchangeable. One time Volva even asked Ivan to sleep with Alfie because Alfie was curious about sex. Volva argued that they were one and the same so it didn’t make a difference… it spoke a lot about how little they valued themselves…

Ivan suspected they were raised exactly the same way, made to learn the same skills, with the exception of combat. They were also probably told their bodies were what made them valuable. As if their beauty was the only aspect of them that was worth anything. The slavers had no regard for them as people, they saw them as products and they did everything in their power to make them think of themselves as such…

Ivan knew this reply was part of that…

Volva looked at him in confusion. As if he had said something nonsensical, no matter what he said to her previously she still didn’t seem to get it. I guess it’s hard to undo 18 years of brainwashing…

Still though despite all the slaver’s efforts there were differences in their personalities… thank god for that…

“I don’t want anyone else, I want you,” Ivan said softly as he captured her lips with his. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and he felt her seemingly melt. When they separated Ivan looked into her eyes.

“I love you.” Ivan said softly.

“I love you too… to allo mou miso.” Volva replied.

“What does that mean?” Ivan asked in surprise, he has never heard her speak that language before.

“It’s Lupenti the language of the Lupus. One of the few phrases we knew in the breeding pens.” Volva explained.

“What does it mean?” Ivan asked.

“My other half…” Volva muttered shyly in reply.

Ivan smiled as he began moving once again and small moans once again began escaping from her mouth.

Mmmm…

Ahh….

♡♡♡ Ahh... ♡♡♡

Alfie stood outside Ivan’s door as she gently rubbed her left forearm. That was where she had it hacked off by that demon during the first Rift…

She felt her body growing hot as she listened to her sister’s moans as she made love. Alfie wanted to know what it was like, Volva always described it as an amazing experience, a time of unimaginable pleasure…

Alfie was afraid, she kept having nightmares of the pain in her arm when the demon had cut it off. This might be her last chance to experience it…

The heroes always said they should have their own desires… she wanted this…

Ideally, she wanted her first time to be with Jacob but he seemed hesitant to accept her. There were quiet moments when he looked like he wanted her but he always brushed it off in the end…

Alfie shared everything with her sister… Is it so wrong that she wanted to share this too?

Deep down Alfie knew she was jealous, her sister has been spending more and more time with Ivan and spending less time with her. Leaving her alone with nothing but her thoughts and her desires...

Then she heard Volva let out a scream of pleasure and her hand instinctively went to her nethers as she began rubbing her petals. She let out a small moan as she felt the pleasure course up her body. She wanted this…

Alfie finally unable to bear it anymore she raised her hand to knock on the door made of vines but her fist hit air and she froze. The door and had automatically opened…

Alfie looked in and saw Ivan staring at her in shock as Vovla had her head in between his legs. Volva turned her eyes wide in surprise as the two lovers took in the pale-faced Alfie. Alfie saw her sister’s cheeks were puffed up as if she held something in her mouth and she saw white seed on Volva’s lips.

Ivan immediately bent down to pick up his pants as he rushed to get dressed. Volva immediately swallowed the contents of her mouth and rushed over to her.

“What’s wrong Alfie?” Volva asked concern coloring her eyes.

The moment Volva opened her mouth Alfie smelt the seed in her breathe and she noticed the scent of Volva’s nectar rising up from below. Alfie immediately brought her hand between her legs as she locked her teary eyes with her dear sister’s gaze.

“I want it too…” Alfie half sobbed.

Then Alfie fell to her knees and began to cry. Volva immediately bent down and pulled her into an embrace.

“Want what?” Volva asked as she cupped her dear sister’s face.

“Love…” Alfie sobbed as she felt the rising terror from within her. She didn’t want to die without having experienced anything…

Volva flinched as if slapped, she looked on, horrified as her sister sobbed.

“You are never with me anymore… you spend all your time with Ivan sama… you tell me stories of how good it feels but… I might die tomorrow and I’ll never have experienced any of it… I thought we shared everything…” Alfie sobbed and Volva pulled her into a tight embrace as she felt her eyes start to water.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” Volva sobbed as the two sisters embraced crying.

Ivan walked over in half a state of shock as he looked at the scene in front of him. When he reached the doorway he saw the doors of the surrounding doors open. He saw Jacob stick his head out in confusion. Then Katsuro stormed out his room pistol in one hand and knife in the other. Charlotte followed him out as well in nothing but her nightgown and her staff in hand.

The three all spotted the two sisters on the floor and hurried over.

“What the hell is going on?” Katsuro asked as he looked at the scene around him.

“I don’t know…” Ivan replied.

Eventually, they got Alfie to calm down and slowly they got the problem out of her and Volva. Once it was revealed that Alfie was afraid of dying without experiencing the same things her twin experienced, Katsuro pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

Ivan looked at him wondering if he knew something he didn’t…

“We can’t afford this now…” Katsuro muttered.

“We are going off to fight tomorrow… fuck it I’m going to expedite things…” Katsuro snapped.

Charlotte gave him a worried look but he looked down at Alfie who was looking nervously up at him. Ivan could tell she was afraid that she did something wrong…

Apparently from what Ivan has heard from Volva, causing unnecessary disruption back in the breeding pens was grounds for a few days of starvation as punishment.

“We all know Alfie likes Jacob and Jacob you said you were undecided. We don’t have time for this romance drama shit in the middle of a demon invasion. So I’ll cut to the chase…” Katsuro said as he gave him a look.

“Are you interested? Yes or no, decide now. If you aren't, we'll decide on a way to resolve Alfie’s problem. If Ivan you want to help that’s fine, if not I’ll do it myself if I have to.” Katsuro said firmly, using his military tone of voice on the lot of them leaving very little room for debate…

Charlotte looked like she had just been slapped and Jacob’s jaw was basically on the floor. Well, this is one way to push things forward…

“Katsuro, you can’t be serious,” Charlotte said aghast.

“Alfie isn’t in a good state to fight, if a soldier goes into a war with something like this on their minds they won’t be focused. That lack of focus can get her or someone else killed. I would rather we resolve it to some degree in an imperfect fashion rather than leave it unaddressed and risk her dying for it.

Alfie can sort out her love life when she’s alive, she can’t do so when she’s dead. You would be surprised how often these kinds of things crop up, for some reason when we meet our impending doom we have this sudden desire to reproduce. Best to satisfy that urge and get on with it. We don’t have the resources to spare to be sentimental.” Katsuro replied firmly.

At those words, Charlotte visibly deflated as she bit her lip and looked down.

“I don’t mind, if it helps you Alfie, I’m fine with it,” Ivan said with a sigh.

To be fair Volva was very open to the idea, on numerous occasions asking him if they could have sex as a group, to… share the love… Considering that the twins previously shared everything and they grew up in a rather twisted environment I guess sharing lovers wasn’t completely off the table. That combined with their view that they are interchangeable due to their identical bodies made sure there was no issue with the mate-for-life thing... Although a threeway can be tempting at times it just didn’t sit well with Ivan…

“So Jacob what will it be? Yes or no?” Katsuro asked as he raised an eyebrow.

“I… I don’t know…” Jacob replied weakly.

Ivan knew he was dealing with a lot of emotional baggage. Jacob has on an occasion mentioned he was afraid of growing too attached to Alfie. He’s afraid of the pain in the event she dies, he just doesn’t want to lose another loved one to the jaws of death. Just like his brother...

“That’s not an answer, yes or no?” Katsuro pressed.

“Jacob, I know you two like each other, you can’t run forever. This is her first time, she should have it with someone who cares for her, someone who REALLY cares for her.” Charlotte said gently.

“Run all you want Jacob, believe me, it’ll catch up to you eventually,” Katsuro said calmly.

Jacob bit his lip as he shut his eyes, lost in thought. Then after a minute or so he reopened them and he walked over to Alfie. He knelt down and Alfie looked at him, her eyes wide.

“I’m sorry I hurt you, I know I was being selfish… I never wanted to hurt you.” Jacob said softly as he reached forward and took Alfie’s hand.

“They’re right, I can’t keep running forever… Yes... I am interested… if you still are…” Jacob said, revealing a rare bit of vulnerability that is usually hidden behind his optimistic, joke-loving exterior.

Alfie looked a little stunned at his reply, she looked like she didn’t know how to respond. Then Volva gently placed a hand on her dear sister's shoulder. Alfie turned to look at her still a little lost.

“Do you want this?” Volva asked gently as she wiped away some of the tear stains on her face.

“Yes.” Alfie replied softly.

“Then go to him…” Volva said as she looked at Jacob.

Alfie turned back to Jacob as he gently helped her to her feet. Alfie then slowly walked towards Jacob and he pulled her into an embrace. Jacob planted a small kiss on her head and Ivan saw a small smile appear on Alfie’s face.

“We won’t do anything tonight…” Jacob said.

Alfie looked up in surprise, she clearly expected Jacob to make love to her tonight but Jacob just gave her a small smile as he stroked her head.

“I want your first time to be special, besides at least let me take you out on a date first. I’ve never even done a one-night stand, so this is way too fast” Jacob said with a chuckle.

“Date?” Alfie asked, confused.

“Yeah, a date. When we seal this rift and the next one we should have a few days of rest. I’ll buy you some flowers, take you out for dinner, afterwards maybe… if we’re in the mood... we’ll do something fun.” Jacob said as he cupped Alfie’s cheek.

“Fun?” Alfie asked, still a little confused but Ivan could tell she was getting into that “mood” Jacob was talking about.

“You know fun fun…” Jacob said as he ran a hand along the side of her arm. Alfie visibly shuddered at the touch and she immediately understood what he meant.

“Oh… ok…” Alfie replied demurely.

“Why don’t you wait in my room for a bit, I want to have a bit to have a word with the heroes,” Jacob said as he flashed Alfie a winning smile.

Alfie nodded pink in the face as she walked towards Jacob’s room. Ivan gave the still nude Volva a look and she immediately understood that they wanted to be alone. Charlotte then asked Ella, Amethine and Momo who were standing quietly at the side to go back to sleep.

Once the heroes were alone, Charlotte raised an eyebrow at Jacob.

“I can see why you said you had a lot of girls on your arm. Have you taken psychology before?” Charlotte asked.

“What no?” Jacob asked, a bit surprised.

“No, never mind. It’s just that the way you handled Alfie was… let’s just say it was textbook seduction...” Charlotte said with a shake of her head.

“Hey! I’m not a playboy. I am a very loyal boyfriend, I never cheat.” Jacob replied, slightly offended.

“She never said you did, but regardless that was well done.” Katsuro said with a sigh of relief.

“That was honestly the best outcome, you gave her something to look forward to. Which was much better than my original plan. Then again I had no idea if you actually wanted to accept her as your girlfriend.

Removing regrets before a battle is good, but giving a soldier something to come back to is even better. You might have just saved her life, Jacob.” Katsuro said.

“Well I didn’t do it just to make her a better fighter, I was interested for a while. I mean she’s pretty and shy, kind of my type. To be fair Amethine fits the bill too, but she has eyes for someone else doesn’t she?” Jacob said as he gave Katsuro a playful smirk.

“Don’t remind me please…” Katsuro said as he pinched the bridge of his nose in his usual manner.

“So what will we do when that happens to Amethine?” Ivan asked.

“I’ll do what I have to, I just need to keep her alive until she can sort out her life. I was the first person to treat her with a shred of decency in years. She has lived with little to no control over her own life, and my style is basically being in control of everything around me.

In my experience in times of great uncertainty, people look for a leader, someone to control them and tell them what to do. The feeling of some higher power that knows what to do gives many people comfort in uncertain times. They think as long as I follow my leader I’ll be fine, it’s easier to believe than it is to think.

Then again Amethine is tough, that might not even happen. There have been soldiers under my command that are tough enough to stay focused for long extremely long periods of time. One of my Corporals held his nerve for almost a year before he was… killed. ” Katsuro said.

“Then let’s hope Amethine can keep it together,” Charlotte said softly.

“I think she might be able to, she’s tough. She might crack a little but I think I might be able to keep her together. Do me a favor and keep an eye on all of them, just in case. The battle fatigue will only mount as we continue this war.” Katsuro said as the rest all nodded.

“Ok, get some rest, we have a long day tomorrow. Probably a lot of walking…” Katsuro said with a nod.

As the rest all got ready to go back to their room. Ivan placed a hand on Jacob’s shoulder. Jacob turned to face Ivan with a questioning look on his face.

“Take care of her Jacob, Alfie means alot to Volva.” Ivan said.

“I will Ivan, have a little faith.” Jacob said sincerely.

“I trust you, but it still has to be said. These two have been through enough suffering.” Ivan said.

“Yeah…” Jacob said as his mood sombered.

“By the way, I have something for you,” Ivan said as he turned away for a moment and headed back into his room. He retrieved another contraceptive potion and walked back out handing it out to Jacob.

“Take this you never know what might happen, I wasn’t expecting our first time either, it just happened. At the time I didn’t have one of these on hand, I had to pull out to stop Volva from getting pregnant.” Ivan said as he lowered his head slightly in embarrassment.

“What? You know pulling out doesn’t always work right? Even if you manage to pull out before you shoot there’s still a 20% chance of her getting pregnant. That fluid you secrete during sex has sperm as well, there isn’t much but it’s still there.” Jacob said seriously.

This information caught Ivan off guard, he wasn’t aware of this…

“Oh… Now that you mention it… I don’t have those fluids when I drink the potion…” Ivan muttered.

“Well you got lucky, maybe Volva just wasn’t ovulating,” Jacob said with a sigh as he realized that Ivan didn’t even know about this.

“Ovulating?” Ivan asked.

“Basically there is a period of time when a girl is more likely to get pregnant. I’m not sure if the Lupus has the same cycle as humans but since they do have periods I’m guessing that the overall mechanics are the same.” Jacob said.

“Well anyway take it, you never know what will happen.” Ivan said as he pushed the potion towards Jacob but he just pushed it back as he shook his head.

If I took this then I’m not confident I can treat her right...

I said I’ll take care of her…

So that’s what I’ll do...