Innocent Devil’s Harem Ch. 56

September 19, 2021

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Innocent Devil's Harem 1 (Ch 1-15, 114,000 words)

Innocent Devil's Harem 2 (Ch 16-30, 112,000 words)

Naughty Friend 1 (Ch 1-14, 115,000 words)

Thanks so much! And I hope you enjoy this chapter!

<< Chapter 55 | Ch 1 (Book1) | Ch 16 (Book 2) | Ch 31 (Book 3) | Ch 46 (Book 4)

- CHAPTER 56: Ultimatum -

It was obvious that the blue-haired Rockstar chick was more nervous now that she had four strangers standing together in the middle of a seemingly abandoned field. She stopped a good six feet before reaching our group, seeming reluctant to join our little circle as we socialized.

However, after a slight hesitation, she finally focused up at Gwen and spoke.

“Umm, hi,” she said uncertainly, seeming a little intimidated by the taller woman. Which I couldn’t blame her, considering that the maid was as tall as me and, while skinny, also looked like she could take out the average guy in a heartbeat. Her thighs alone looked like they could crush a grown man to death.

However, it still took me a second to realize Natalie was assuming the taller woman was the person in charge, between her and the shorter more youthful appearing redhead.

“Down here,” Ms. Miriam finally said, seeming amused rather than offended.

Of course, Natalie didn’t have to look down too far, since she was only maybe five or six inches taller than Miriam, but it was just the fact that there was such a huge height difference between the two seductive women, forcing her to go from looking up to focusing down instead.

Needless to say, the Rockstar chick was sincerely confused, glancing up at Gwen again as if to make sure the taller one truly wasn’t the boss here.

Gwen answered her uncertain gaze. “This is my mistress. I’m only her maid.” She then paused briefly, continuing when Natalie focused down at her toned body. “And bodyguard,” Gwen added, as if answering an unspoken thought.

Natalie didn’t seem to realize there was any kind of mindreading going on, probably just assuming that Gwen was interpreting her expression, seeming satisfied with that explanation and simply giving Ms. Miriam her attention after a second.

“You may call me Miriam,” the short redhead continued politely. “And what might I call you?”

“Oh, umm, I’m Natalie.”

“You seem nervous, Natalie.”

The blue-haired chick glanced at Gwen again, before clearing her throat. “Umm, well yeah. I don’t know any of you.”

“And you don’t trust Kai here, even though he helped you out?”

I could feel Natalie’s eyes on me as she responded. “Umm, well…never met a guy who did anything without an ulterior motive.”

Ms. Miriam laughed at that, prompting Natalie to give her a bizarre look. The sexy minx quickly explained herself. “Very true,” she agreed with another chuckle. “Men like that truly are rare. I suppose I can understand your hesitation to trust him. Even I was frightened a few times.”

I glanced at Natalie at the same time she glanced at me, with her seeming uncomfortable now. “And why did he scare you?” she asked uncertainly.

Ms. Miriam frowned, focusing on me. “I suppose you haven’t told her much about yourself.”

I sighed. “Well, I did tell her that I’d prove to her later that I could protect her, if she’d be willing to work with us on dealing with the guys she was with. But there are certain reasons why I can’t do that right now.”

She frowned at that. “Does this have to do with the other imp?” she wondered seriously.

I sighed, realizing she’d truly never let that go. She thought there was another demon involved, not grasping that someone I already knew might not be fully human anymore…

Unexpectedly, Gwen’s brown eyes widened in surprise, causing me to realize she’d picked up on what I was thinking.

Fuck.

I quickly responded to Ms. Miriam. “I plan on telling you later, when Gabriella is with us too, but would prefer not to discuss it in front of our company.”

“That’s understandable,” the short redhead replied, not seeming to have noticed Gwen’s tension, the maid now glancing at Serenity, as if she was looking for some sign that my thoughts were about her. But I didn’t think about it much, trying to keep my specific thoughts on the subject vague, so that the maid didn’t end up learning about the details before her mistress did.

And with that, Gwen suddenly gave me an apologetic look, nonverbally communicating that she was sorry for trying to overstep her boundaries.

I didn’t respond, continuing to speak to the succubus, who looked like a normal person right now since her wings and tail were invisible. “So for now, I was hoping you might be able to just help us identify what Natalie here is.”

Ms. Miriam frowned at that, focusing on the person in question. “So, she won’t tell you herself, but is alright with me figuring it out?”

“Pretty much,” I agreed. “She is worried about what will happen if those guys get a hold of her again, and find out that she shared that kind of information with us. At least this way she could probably claim we forced her to be subjected to our tests, or something.”

Ms. Miriam’s frowned deepened, still staring at Natalie, though nothing about her expression was unattractive. In fact, the sexy minx was ridiculously fucking cute when she was brooding, the level of adorableness only increased by her bright red hair being in twin French-braids.

“Interesting,” she said simply, looking the Rockstar chick up and down. She then spoke to Natalie directly again. “You should know, that whatever you’ve experienced while a prisoner to those men, I’ve suffered far worse. So I can relate.”

Natalie’s light brown eyes widened briefly, only for her to scoff as she looked away. “I doubt it.”

Unexpectedly, Gwen spoke up, sounding sincerely pissed. “Don’t dismiss my mistress!” she snapped, immediately grabbing the girl’s attention, with Natalie looking sincerely scared now. “Even if you had suffered from birth, it would not compare to what my mistress has endured!”

“S-Sorry,” Natalie exclaimed, visibly trembling. “I didn’t mean…I mean…” Her voice trailed off as she took a step back.

“Gwen, calm down,” Miriam hissed. “You’ll burn your clothes off.”

The maid was immediately submissive, her body relaxing. “Sorry, mistress.”

Ms. Miriam continued, directing her words at Natalie again. “I can understand your cynicism. I do look young. But I promise what I said is true.”

“O-Okay,” she replied simply, clearly not wanting to set Gwen off again.

“And I’m not trying to belittle what you’ve gone through,” the redhead minx continued. “Only that I can relate.”

“O-Okay,” she repeated.

Serenity spoke up then. “Is that really true?” she whispered. “I had no idea.”

“Unfortunately,” Ms. Miriam replied, giving her a sympathetic look. “But that was a long time ago, so don’t stress over it.”

Serenity only nodded.

“Now,” Miriam continued, speaking to the blue-haired magazine model again. “Will you kindly remain still while I examine you?”

“A-Are you going to touch me?” Natalie asked nervously.

“No, and actually I won’t even move any closer. But, I need to use a technique that will be less effective if you fidget.”

I scoffed. “Well, that’s inconvenient.”

Ms. Miriam gave me a knowing smile as she looked up at me. “Truly, it is. Had she been uncompliant, then it would have been nearly impossible for me to give you an answer to your question. Not without taking certain measures.”

I assumed she was implying knocking Natalie out or something, but decided to respond before the blue-haired girl figured that out.

“Well, I appreciate it. I doubt we have to worry about those guys trying to retaliate anytime super soon, but I’d like to know what we are dealing with. And possibly learn some magic from you to help defend everyone.”

Natalie abruptly interjected, almost cutting me off. “M-Magic?!” she exclaimed in sincere shock.

“Oh dear,” Miriam replied, holding out her hand toward Gwen, prompting the sexy maid to hand her the Moonstone crown. “Yes magic,” she continued, responding on my behalf. “Now hold still for me, so I can figure out what you are.”

“W-Wait,” she exclaimed. “Are you going to hurt me? Is it dangerous?”

Ms. Miriam was completely calm, her tone reassuring. “No, not dangerous at all. But I’d prefer to not have to do this twice, so if you’d please, hold still.”

Needless to say, Natalie still looked uncomfortable, to the point that she almost seemed as if she was about to turn around and make a run for it.

Gwen spoke up. “My mistress asked you to hold still,” she snapped.

That got her attention, her light brown eyes suddenly wide as she focused up at the ‘bodyguard’ again. “Umm, s-sorry,” she stammered, doing her best to remain perfectly stationary.

Honestly, I didn’t take Natalie for a scaredy-cat, but I also suspected she wasn’t an idiot either. She was fully aware that Gwen could probably hurt her pretty badly if it came to a fight, and also was probably ‘conditioned by pain’ to want to avoid getting involved in such unfavorable situations.

In the meantime, Miriam adorned the delicate crown atop her red hair, and then began mumbling quietly an obvious spell.

“Sight. Perceive. Fold away the layers that conceal, and dispel the haze of uncertainty. Reveal what exists before me, and make known to my mind the truth of its existence.”

At first, nothing happened as the succubus then concentrated…

Only for everything to happen.

Suddenly, they were both on the defensive, Ms. Miriam’s fingers locking into a position I’d only seen once before, when I was convinced she was going to attack me with magic, even as Gwen’s horns suddenly appeared in two tongues of vibrant orange flames, little red pinpricks of light suddenly filling the air all around her.

And I reacted without thinking, desperate to prevent them from killing this girl before she even had a chance to explain herself -- to prove that she wasn’t a threat, prove that she was trustworthy.

In the blink of an eye, I was standing right next to the blue-haired chick with my arms wrapped around in the air, not touching her, but obviously defending her, visibly shocking all three women.

Needless to say, Natalie hadn’t even reacted yet, as if she couldn’t process what was going on around her.

“Wait!” I exclaimed, causing the girl to finally flinch violently when she realized I was practically wrapped around her. “Just chill out for a second!”

“Kai!” Ms. Miriam snapped. “Get away from her right now!”

“Why are you freaking out?” I said seriously, feeling confident they were really going to kill her on the spot.

“She’s a cursed being!” the succubus continued. “A werewolf!”

I just stared at her in disbelief. “Wait, really?” I said in surprise, unable to understand why they were reacting so strongly to this situation.

“Don’t act like it’s no big deal!” Miriam practically yelled. “They aren’t the ‘furry cuddly’ creatures you see in romance novels or movies! They are vicious beasts from the worst of nightmares, with dagger-like teeth that could bite a man in two!” She paused when she saw I still didn’t grasp how serious she was being. “Fuck! You don’t even realize what we’re dealing with! A lot of them don’t even grow a full coat of fur! Imagine a fucking shark with arms and legs! They just look like hairless alien mutants from hell! They’re ugly, horrifying, and extremely lethal!” She took a step forward then. “Kai, she’s dangerous! And she’s not even in control of herself! One bite and you’re fucked! This is a trap!”

Natalie was trembling in my arms now, still not touching me, but clearly realizing that she was about to be killed, and I was the only thing standing between her and a certain death.

“Wait, what do you mean by that?” I asked seriously, not too worried about the biting part, since it was very difficult to break my skin. “She seems in control to me.”

“The alpha controls them all!” Miriam retorted, taking another step closer. “Anyone bitten basically becomes a puppet! It’s like a hive mind! They can’t do anything without the alpha’s permission! And if she fucking bites you right now, you might end up as a puppet too!”

I relaxed a little, only to sigh. “Ms. Miriam, she’s not going to bite me, and probably couldn’t break my skin anyway.” I paused. “Remember when you tried? And you can relax about the control part. I sort of solved that problem.”

Miriam just gave me a bizarre look, but actually relaxed her posture a little as well, possibly at the reminder that she tried to bite me as hard as she could the previous day, and didn’t even manage to make me bleed. “Kai, what in the hell do you mean, you solved that problem?”

I shrugged, lowering my arms some, prompting Natalie to take a small step more toward me, clearly recognizing I was still her only ally right now. “The spell I used before. I gave her permission to obey herself.”

Ms. Miriam just stared at me like she was completely dumbfounded. And not just her, but Gwen too, her flames having died down as she just gawked in disbelief.

“Kai,” Miriam finally choked out. “What you’re saying is impossible. Literally, impossible. And that’s saying something, considering I know how powerful you are.”

I shrugged. “I did, though.”

“It’s impossible,” she repeated, shaking her head. “Like, I don’t even think you understand. Kai, it’s just not possible.”

“And why not?” I asked seriously.

She just stared at me in disbelief. “Because Kai, it’s how cursed beings work. Vampiric creatures are the same. The only way…” Her voice trailed off.

“The only way, what?” I asked seriously.

“What spell did you use?” she unexpectedly demanded.

I frowned. “Like, what did I say?” I tried clarifying.

“Yes, Kai,” she said seriously. “What did you say? Specifically, what words did you use?”

I took a deep breath, as I tried to remember. “Well, first I felt like I had to call her something.” I paused, my frown deepening as I glanced down at her, seeing the panic in her light brown eyes.

I suspected she felt partially betrayed, trusting us to not hurt her, only to put her in a situation where two people wanted to sincerely kill her. And I doubted that me protecting her now was fully alleviating that sensation.

“Something that defined who she was,” I continued. “So I did. And then I believe I said, ‘By my authority, I grant you permission to obey yourself.’ Nothing fancy.”

The succubus immediately clasped her hand in front of her chest, looking shaken, her body trembling slightly. Like, she suddenly looked terrified.

“Ms. Miriam,” I whispered, concerned by her reaction, dropping my arms fully and turning more to face her. Natalie immediately took a step partially behind me.

Gwen finally spoke up, answering the question I was reluctant to ask.

“No, master. She’s not afraid of you. She’s afraid for you.”

“But why?” I replied, focusing on the sincerely terrified minx.

“Kai,” she choked out. “Think about what you just said. Think about what your words mean.”

“By my authority?” I guessed.

She just shook her head. “Kai, you don’t get it. You had no authority over this young woman. Only her alpha has authority over her. But you used magic to break that unbreakable bond. A bond that allowed him to make her a puppet. That’s something only one other creature could have done. And only through killing her master.”

“And what creature is that?” I asked seriously.

“Another one,” she blurted out, only to clarify. “Kai, another alpha werewolf.”

Oh.

Shit.

We were all silent for a long few seconds, until I glanced back at Natalie to see that she was now looking up at me with a slightly panicked expression.

I cleared my throat, deciding to take a step away from her since it didn’t look like Miriam or Gwen were going to attack at this point.

“Oh, umm…but I’m not a werewolf,” I countered, glancing at the crown on her head, wondering why she hadn’t thought to use it on me.

“No, you’re not,” she agreed, beginning to get a hold of herself again. She then took a deep breath, forcing herself to lower her hand in front of her small chest. “Please, forgive me.”

“For what?” I asked seriously.

She gave me an apologetic look. “This is at least the third time I’ve flipped out on you, for no fault of your own.”

I shrugged, assuming she was referring to the first time we met, along with when she first found out I had wings. “Well, just so long as you realize I’m not a threat to you.”

“I know,” she whispered somberly. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright,” I replied, only to glance at her crown again. “But, I mean, do you want to try using that on me?” I wondered. “Just to verify that I’m not cursed or something?”

She shook her head. “I tried when you were asleep yesterday,” she admitted. “After you healed me,” she clarified. “Woke up before you, and figured it was worth a shot, given what happened. But it didn’t work.”

I nodded. “Makes sense.”

Ms. Miriam immediately shifted the subject as she focused on the blue-haired girl next to me. “But she’s still dangerous, Kai. The full moon is only about a week away, and she’ll turn into a literal monster from hell. Nothing you’d probably imagine a werewolf to look like. Nothing like what they have in movies nowadays. If you can’t control her, then she’ll have to be put down.”

Natalie was trembling again, but I ignored it.

“Why do they even call it a werewolf then?” I asked seriously, just trying to keep the overall tone of the conversation away from murder.

Ms. Miriam looked at me in surprise. “Oh, well, because it’s a corruption that did use a type of ancient wolf as the source of the curse, and they do sort of resemble mangy wolves if they grow a full coat of fur. But they are nothing less than horrifying.” She shook her head. “Kai, you saw that monster from before at my place. This creature may not be stronger, but is still faster, uglier, and much more vicious and lethal. It would be best if we just killed her now, while she’s weak.”

“I didn’t choose this!” Natalie unexpectedly blurted out, her trembling having increased. “I don’t want to be like this! I hate it! It hurts! It’s the most horrible pain in the world! And I’ve had to suffer it every month! Or every time that bastard wanted to torment me!”

“Wait, is that how he broke your arms?” I asked in surprise.

She only looked away, closing her light brown eyes as tears slipped out. But I knew that must be the case, wondering if her arms bending backward was a normal part of the transformation, or if that bastard was intentionally forcing her body to warp in unnatural ways to cause her pain.

Miriam spoke up again, placing her hands on her hips. “Look, Natalie, I realize you didn’t choose this, but you’re a cursed creature now. You’ll never be the same again, and there’s no saving you from this. There’s no cure, aside from death. So, either you keep turning into a monster, or else we end it for you. And you should know I’ve made it my goal in life to protect the humans in this world.”

Natalie’s knees unexpectedly buckled, and she fell to the ground, sobbing into her hands. “I don’t want to die! I didn’t ask for this! None of it! He did this to me! He fucking tried to force me to date him in high school, and when I refused he stalked me! And then he showed up at my house one night after graduation, and demanded I date him, or else!” She unexpectedly sobbed harder, really beginning to fall apart now, her words almost incoherent. “Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! He makes them all use me! He fucking beats the shit out of me, and then makes them use me…” Another intense sob wracked her body, making her unable to continue.

Miriam didn’t respond, and we all fell silent as the girl at my feet began crying even harder, as if the short redhead’s simple statement had broken her, telling her what she already knew deep down -- that there was no hope for her. That she’d suffered for a year for nothing.

That, in the end, it would have been better if she’d died back then, rather than to go through all that, only to die now.

Granted, if he really had control over her, then I doubted she could have committed suicide, even if she wanted to. Though, I knew from her aura that she still had the drive to persist, even though she never had much hope to begin with.

The succubus finally sighed heavily once Natalie’s sobbing calmed down a little a few minutes later, directing her focus at me. “Think you can control her?”

The magazine model immediately stiffened at my feet, but I ignored her.

“Honestly? I want to say yes, but I really don’t know. And won’t know for sure until…well, you know. Full moon and all.”

She nodded, her emerald gaze focusing on the girl. “So, those are your only options then,” she said firmly. “Either we need to put you out of your misery, or else you need to let him dominate you. Let him become your new alpha. Because there is no controlling yourself the moment the full moon rises. If you weren’t an alpha upon transforming the first time, then you’ll never be one. And having no alpha means you’ll be a mindless beast. Which means, it’s my job to kill you, before you slaughter a whole town in a single night.”

Well, fuck.

On the one hand, I wanted to help this chick out, but I wasn’t sure I wanted that kind of responsibility. Because what if she did get out of hand and kill a bunch of people? I supposed it would be my job to kill her then. Never mind the fact that this chick clearly didn’t want me, or anyone else, to be her new alpha. She didn’t want an alpha at all.

Granted, she also didn’t want to be cursed either, but there was no changing that…as far as I knew.

There was a small part of me that wondered if I might be able to change her fate slightly like I’d done to my other women, uncertain of how I might be able to affect a cursed being, but I was trying hard not to think too deeply about it, since I again didn’t want to tip Gwen off prematurely. Still, it was something to consider, at least.

However, that didn’t change the fundamental problem.

I helped my other women out because they were my women.

Because they were going to be in my life for a long time, if not forever. But I hadn’t ‘helped’ Mrs. Rebecca yet, because I wasn’t entirely sure if that commitment was solid, and overall I wasn’t planning on helping out random people, just to be nice.

Which was the reason why I almost didn’t help Mrs. Copeland out to begin with.

Because this was my blood, and my responsibility to ensure that my power didn’t end up in the wrong hands.

So even if I could help Natalie, I wasn’t sure I would do it.

Not just to be nice, at least.

Maybe that was callous, but I couldn’t have people running around with the potential power to do something similar to anyone else they wanted.

And ultimately, I realized that what Ms. Miriam was saying was right.

It sucked that this had happened to this chick, but she was a danger to all of humanity now. And putting her out of her misery kind of was the most logical choice. Or rather, the necessary choice. At least, under normal circumstances.

I sighed heavily. “Well, thanks for the help, Ms. Miriam. Sorry to make you come all the way out here.”

The redhead looked at me in surprise. “Oh. It’s no problem, Kai. I was honestly more eager to see you than I’d like to admit. But does that mean you’re going to leave already?”

I shrugged. “Not necessarily, but you’ve pretty much laid out the only two options, so it sounds like there isn’t anything else to talk about right now.”

“Except that other imp,” she said playfully, though I could tell the curiosity was killing her.

I sighed. “Well, see, here’s the thing. I actually want to talk to you about a lot of things, and would rather just have that big conversation all at once. Which means, I’d like Gabriella to be present for it too.”

“Oh.” She nodded. “Okay. Yeah, I understand. I don’t want her to feel left out.”

“Right,” I agreed. “But, I mean, if you want to talk about something not related, we could do that.”

She frowned slightly, only to look down at the Rockstar chick. “As much as I’d love to, most of the things I’d like to discuss, even casually, are subjects I’d prefer not be overheard by a possible enemy.”

I glanced down too, seeing that Natalie had dropped her hands limply to her sides, and was just staring at the ground now, her light brown eyes looking vacant. Her aura was kind of weird now too, almost seeming completely empty, including the underlying stubbornness that pretty much defined her existence. It was obvious she felt numb.

“Well,” I said with a shrug. “She probably needs some time to figure out what she wants to do.”

Natalie unexpectedly scoffed, her voice sounding hoarse. “You’re not even giving me a choice,” she whispered. “It’s either death or become a slave again.”

I sighed. “Well, I’m sure you won’t just take my word for it, but I have no intention on making you obey my every command. Only thing I’ll expect from you is being honest with me -- no lying -- and to just not hurt anyone.”

She scoffed again, clearly not believing that.

I then frowned as I had another thought, focusing on Ms. Miriam. “And hey, how do I become her alpha anyway. Will my eyes do the trick?”

The short redhead shrugged. “I have no idea, Kai. She’s a woman right now, but she won’t be when she transforms. It’s very possible compulsion won’t affect her in that form, even if she’s still female.”

“Okay, so then how do I become her alpha? Or am I already her alpha?”

She shook her head. “Again, I don’t know. You’ve done something impossible by breaking the bond with her former alpha. Like, without killing him, and without being a true werewolf yourself, it shouldn’t be possible. Yet, you did it. So--”

Gwen unexpectedly interrupted. “She knows.”

I focused on the maid, only to glance down at Natalie, seeing that her expression was pained.

Gwen continued. “Or at least, she has an idea.”

“And what’s that?” I asked seriously, assuming it must be unpleasant, based on the girl’s reaction.

Gwen sighed. “Master, with your permission, I’d prefer to let her share that with you, if she decides to.”

Natalie immediately looked up at the maid in shock, possibly because she only now realized the taller woman was practically reading her mind, or maybe just because Gwen wasn’t sharing what she knew. But then the blue-haired chick looked up at me uncomfortably.

I took a deep breath. “Yeah, I guess that’s fine.” I sighed heavily. “But,” I continued, focusing down to meet Natalie’s gaze. “If it’s true that you’re going to become a monster in less than a week, then that’s pretty much how long you have to choose. Either you tell me how to become your alpha, or else…” My voice trailed off, hating that death was really her only other option. But then another idea hit me, prompting me to focus on the sexy redhead minx again. “Hey, can we just tie her up in your basement on the full moon?”

Miriam pursed her lips. “Honestly, I’d really rather not.”

“How come?” I wondered seriously.

“Because cursed creatures have a reputation of getting past weaker barriers and wards, even though they can’t use magic. Never mind we’d probably have to feed her.” She sighed heavily. “Kai, I’m going to be honest with you. In her transformed state, she could probably kill me. I don’t really want that kind of creature in my basement. Trust me, I understand your desire to save her from this. I used to be like that too. But sometimes, the only realistic solution is to kill off the lost causes. Otherwise, they just multiply into a problem that’s far too huge to deal with. It happened in Europe a few hundred years ago, and while that was in no way my fault, I’m sure it started by someone showing the cursed ones mercy. Possibly someone unable to kill his or her spouse, even upon finding out they were a monster now.”

I frowned as I considered that, not responding.

“Please don’t think poorly of me for it,” she unexpectedly added in a whisper.

My eyes widened, prior to shaking my head. “Oh, no. Not at all. I completely understand your reasoning. And I fully plan on trying to track down the other ones, and ending them. But it’s like Natalie said, we aren’t really giving her much of a choice. If she doesn’t want to die too, then there’s only one option for her.”

Miriam smirked. “I mean, if I was in her situation, I’d love to have you as my alpha.”

I scoffed. “Oh, come on, you don’t mean that.”

She frowned. “Well, actually, I kind of do.” She then paused when she saw my skepticism. “Obviously, it wouldn’t be my first choice, Kai. But yes, if I’d found myself in that situation, I would fully commit myself and accept that fate.”

I sighed heavily. “I suppose that makes sense. And I’d likewise feel the same way. If forced into a situation like that.”

She unexpectedly grinned. “That makes me really happy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, don’t get too carried away there. That’s only worst case.”

She giggled in response, only to focus on Serenity, who pretty much hadn’t said hardly anything since Natalie joined the conversation. I could see in her expression though that she was just silently absorbing it all, probably wishing she could do more to help, but knowing there was nothing to be done.

“Well,” I continued, prompting Miriam to look at me again. “Speaking of the other werewolves, do you know of a way to track them down? I’d rather not use Natalie as bait, if possible.”

She frowned. “Well, actually, if you did want to use her as bait, then you’d probably want to wait to become her alpha anyway. Otherwise, they won’t be able to find her as easily.”

I nodded, realizing she was right. “Makes sense. But again, I’d rather not do that, if possible.”

“I might have a way,” she admitted. “I’ll do some research before you come over this evening, just to make sure. You’ll need to bring her along though, since the method I’m thinking of will probably require her assistance.”

I focused down at Natalie. “That good with you?” I wondered.

She just stared up at me in disbelief.

“You’ll need to blindfold her,” Miriam added. “I don’t want to chance her knowing where I live, only for her to end up under that other alpha’s control again.”

“That’s fair,” I agreed, only to direct my attention at Natalie a second time. “So, how about it? All I want from you is loyalty. For you to just be someone we can trust. And, if you can offer that alone, then I’ll keep you safe. I’ll kill those bastards who tormented you for the last year -- maybe even let you help torture them a little and allow you to get some revenge -- and then I’ll do what I can to keep you under control during the full moon. Is that acceptable?”

She continued to just stare up at me, remaining silent for a long few seconds, until I raised my eyebrows.

“Y-You just want l-loyalty,” she stammered, sounding almost like she was asking a question, even though it didn’t sound like a question.

I assumed she was worried about me wanting the kind of things those bastards wanted, which was the whole reason why she was picked in the first place, so I decided to just address that issue upfront. I also decided it might be best to make her sound undesirable to me, just so maybe she’d believe me.

“Well, let me just say this. Those assholes wanted you as a plaything, but that’s not something I need. I am more than satisfied in that department, and have no interest in messing around with some random chick whose got a shit ton of baggage. Which you obviously do,” I added firmly.

Of course, I knew it was harsh to make a statement like that, but I could already see it working on her. See how that logic made sense in her mind, that no normal guy would want her after what she’d been through, never mind the fact that she was aware that I was at least with Serenity.

And that was assuming she hadn’t figured out that I was also involved with Ms. Miriam and Gwen as well.

“S-So just loyalty,” she repeated.

“It’s a serious commitment,” I replied firmly. “It’s not ‘just’ loyalty. I won’t tolerate any form of betrayal. Trust is a big deal to me. You can’t break it even once. We need to be able to trust you.”

“I…” She sucked in a deep breath, only for that stubbornness to finally resurface as she glared up at me. Her tone was hard. “If you help me get revenge on those bastards -- if you can help me torture and kill them -- then loyalty is the least I can offer.”

“Then, sounds like we have a deal,” I replied, holding out my hand.

She focused on it for a second, only to reach out and grab it, pulling herself off her rear and standing up in front of me, giving my hand a firm shake. “Yeah. Help me kill them, and we have a deal.”

I grinned. “And don’t worry. I’ll still prove to you later that I’m capable of it. And I’ll also explain to you why I don’t want to show you now.”

She nodded, a metaphorical fire sparked in her light brown eyes now, as if she truly saw hope again.

As if she finally saw a small light, and after feeling briefly defeated, she’d gotten up again and was running toward it with all her might. As if she finally felt like her struggle up until this point was validated, that the pain she endured, just to survive, would all be worth it when she got to finally end her tormentor’s life. To witness for herself as the life drained from his eyes.

But first, we had a lot to figure out.

And I still had a lot to share with Ms. Miriam.

But, at least it looked as if this blue-haired Rockstar chick would start working with us now, instead of dragging her feet out of fear.

And before long, I’d show her that there was nothing for her to fear, so long as she put her trust in me.

I’d show her that I was a real king.

And that the little alpha bastard was nothing compared to me.

Nothing, compared to an apex demigod.

FEEDBACK: So, how did we feel about this chapter?

This is obviously a complicated situation, and I plan on Miriam being able to offer more help and insight after she gets a chance to look more into, but still want to know what your opinion is.

Chapter 57 >>