Diane walked down the road, hugging your arm tightly against her. It was her reward, her own request.

You were still not quite sure what to make of that.

The nurse's head lay on your shoulder; there was even a bounce to her steps. The smile appeared to be a permanent fixture on her face, and the hum she let out as she walked was a catchy little tune you'd not heard before. It vaguely reminded you of a fast ballad of some sort.

You were carefully pretending not to pay attention to whether there were waves of warmth within your body or not. Your eyes remained around but would return to the nurse from time to time whenever certain she wasn't looking. Carefully, you didn't nudge her away, only adjusting yourself to a more comfortable position so her hug wouldn't cause you to trip.

"Rick." The voice came from behind you, and was followed by two strong arms wrapping around your shoulders.

"Monica, I'm going to trip," you complained, your heels almost instantly tumbling against the monstergirl's leg.

Rather than fall, you were bodily lifted off the ground, leaving your feet hanging in the air as Monica's hug remained firmly around your shoulders, pinning your arms into your body. "Rick." The amazon said, leaning down, licking your neck, taking a deep breath before kissing.

"Monica, put him down," Diane complained as she walked next to you, pouting but unable to hold back from letting out a little chuckle.

"Please?" You asked, caressing the feline's arms.

"No."

She squeezed, stopping to let you touch the ground again but not letting go of the hug. Her hands gave another little squeeze before she gave your head a lick, then moved to lick your cheek. Your struggle was fruitless, and the sound of Diane's giggles became louder as the feline monstergirl proceeded to lick your nose, your forehead, and your other cheek.

And then came a kiss that was little more than a peck, followed by a lick of your lips.

It was then and only then that she let go. You stumbled back, trying to wipe your face a little as Monica gave a singular strong nod. "Rick good."

"What?"

"Rick sex, good."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Rick sex Monica Kiara, tonight." She nodded again in reaffirmation, her head turning to the side, her ear twitching for a moment. Whatever it was, it didn't keep her attention for long.

Monica glanced back at you as you scowled. The look in her eyes told you there was little room for negotiations in that statement.

"She was worried too, Master," Diane proclaimed. "It was hard to convince her not to jump you. Kiara volunteered to help calm her down."

A little sigh escaped you. When had this happened? You were fairly sure the monstergirls had remained around you all the time, and you'd been paying close attention. When had they shared this little agreement? It felt like it was second nature for them.

Walking again, you stayed quite aware that Monica's steps stopped making a single sound within seconds of her matching your pace. It always caught you by surprise how stealthy the seven-foot-tall woman would be unless she was distracted by something. With a sigh, you noticed Diane looking at your hand again as you regained the pace.

Rather than let her hug your arm and make it uncomfortable to walk again, you just took her hand. Instantly her heart-shaped face lit up with a wide smile. You kept from reacting too much- you knew some might call it adorable, but your attention kept returning to the feel of her hand against yours, checking and double-checking whether you could sense warmth coursing from her fingertips and into your body.

It was... You felt it might take you a while to properly get used to this new paradigm.

"Master," Diane prompted up, giving the slightest squeeze to your hand. "As your alpha, and now that Kiara and Raven are balled... I'd like to know what... you wish for."

"What I want?"

"From... us."

You tilted your head slightly. "Could you elaborate?"

"From us, from your harem," she said, looking at you as you walked. "What do you want us to help you accomplish, Master?"

Hiding the widening eyes, you couldn't really hide the momentary haste in the beat of your heart. But Diane was holding on to your hand; she caught on to it instantly. She let out a small look that flickered downwards as she held your hand in hers slightly tighter, as if afraid you might let go and make a run for it.

The feeling was certainly there even if you were fighting against it.

"I feel like I'm a teenager again," you muttered, looking away, trying to lighten the tightness in your chest. "I'm not sure at what I could reach out for, what I even have, and I'm being asked what prospect I want to aim for. Potentially for the remainder of my life."

"It's not..." Diane grimaced. "It's not like that, Master."

"Isn't it?" A little hollow laugh left you. "I'm nearing my thirties, everything I've been building up for turned into smoke, I've been reading about everything for days on end and it still feels like I'm barely grasping at the picture let alone handling it."

"Picture?" The words were soft. "Why would you need a complete picture?"

"Because I hate making uninformed decisions... even if those have had a rather annoying uptick in count as of late." There was a sour taste in your mouth as you said this.

Diane looked at you for a long moment. "Mister Gabriel chose to work at Ebony's ranch."

"He's in his seventies, he's just picking whatever place will let him settle down and die." And as soon as you spoke the words you cursed at yourself. "Fuck, that... didn't come out how I intended." Rubbing the bridge of your nose, for once you were thankful the others were well ahead and not within hearing range. "Just look at this group. Tomas wants to find a way back or wanted to. Kat wants to just go around until she finds something that catches her fancy. Gabriel is just looking for a comfortable place to settle down. And, somehow, the one with less of a plan than any of them is the one expected to keep things together."

"What did you want in your... back where you lived, Master?" There was a slowness to her words. "What did you seek? Teaching others?"

"Fuck no, teaching..." Ruffling your hair, you can't help but remember Irina's words back at the interrogation. "Teaching was just a job. I was good at it, chemistry just happened to be a subject I enjoyed reading about during my early years. I just wanted something stable. Work, house, wife, maybe a kid or two, then retire and die."

"Master, you shouldn't talk about your death like that." She tugged at your hand. "I'm sure you did great things, helping others learn, making them better, helping..." She pulled your hand up to press against her cheek. "Even if you might not have been aware of it, I'm sure some of your students were really happy to have you as their teacher."

"Well, as of my last batch, at least a fourth of them are dead." You rolled your eyes, but weren’t really able to pull your hand from her touch. She held your gaze until you could only deflate with a sigh. "I'm... I don't do hopes and dreams."

"You fulfilled mine." She kissed your hand, dropping it back down as she smiled. "I'm sure you'll make others very happy."

"If only I knew what could make me happy for a change."

"That's what I would like to know too, Master." Diane's lips parted into a wide smile. "I know you turned down the offer, but maybe you should become a Hunter, Master?"

Her words made you choke on your own tongue, reducing you into a coughing fit.

Somehow, you suspected the same thing was happening to a certain Major.