A sharp-eared individual was monitoring the situation from deep within a shadowed chamber far from the werewolf village. A glowing mana sphere floated before him, its surface rippling with faint images of the brutal fight — claws flashing, blood spraying, and that strange human stumbling through it all. Then came the big disruption in the mana sphere in front of it, a sudden violent spike of raw power that warped the image like static before it disappeared a second later. The sphere flickered wildly, then went dark.
This creature looked elegant, dressed in expensive robes that shimmered with faint silver thread even in the low light. The darkness in the room lifted with a flick of the wrist. Candles along the walls ignited one by one, their soft flames revealing a slender male elf with long, flowing hair and sharp, angular features.
"That is strange," the elf muttered under his breath, eyes narrowing at the now-empty sphere.
This elf was named Thalion. He quickly dispelled the sphere the moment he heard footsteps approaching from the hallway. The last traces of mana vanished just as the door was kicked open with a loud bang.
A female elf in even more elegant robes stormed in, her presence filling the room like a storm. "Which one of you are using magic?" she barked, voice sharp as a blade. Thalion remained quiet, hands folded neatly in his lap, eyes lowered.
The elf looked around the room and noticed Thalion's bunkmate was missing. "Where is Haldir!?" she barked at him.
Upon closer inspection, Thalion's robe had stained patches near the hem and, despite the material being expensive, it was patched together in several places with crude stitches. Before Thalion could speak, she walked over to him and slapped him hard across the face, the sound cracking through the chamber.
"You fool! Your only purpose here is to help us reproduce! Now tell me who used this magic!?" she barked, voice dripping with contempt.
"I don't know, Tauriel," Thalion responded calmly, though his cheek burned.
Tauriel's eyes narrowed. "No, sorry. It is Haldir," Thalion added quickly, throwing his bunkmate under the cart without hesitation. "He used a phasing spell."
Tauriel reminded him what happens if he lied to her as she took out her metal whip, the barbed length glinting in the candlelight. She shut the door behind her with a heavy click. What filled the room next was pain and despair as the sound of the whip cracking against flesh echoed behind the closed door, accompanied by muffled cries that quickly turned into broken sobs.
The elves had subjugated their males to act as breeding machines. Nothing more, nothing less. And those with the higher quality of semen got preferential treatment.
-
Jason was done with the fight. The chaos with the traitorous werewolves had finally ended when Luna tore through them like they were nothing.
He noticed his adaptation to blunt force trauma had stopped at 20%. It didn't advance further, but that must be because the person who had inflicted the damage upon him died before he could fully adapt to it. He didn't care about this right now.
Survival was enough.
Ylva had him on her back, carrying him through the woods without complaint. The merman had surprisingly healed most of his wounds the moment it slipped back into water — like the pool had regenerative properties. Aquarium creatures really did have that kind of bullshit healing factor.
Jason still had no idea why the ugly fish thing kept following him, but at least it couldn't talk and complain.
Luna had returned with the bodies of the traitors slung over her shoulder and gave Ylva quick directions to a healer in the city of Eldrath before disappearing back toward the village.
As they finally stepped out of the tree line, the city of Eldrath opened up before them. Wide marble streets, floating crystal lanterns, and elegant stone buildings with flowing arches stretched out in every direction. A massive gated palace sat high on the hill at the center, towering over everything like it owned the sky.
"Wow," Jason muttered, still draped over Ylva's back. "This place actually looks civilized. I was half expecting more caves and bones after hanging out with your family."
Ylva adjusted her grip on his thighs, her voice carrying a low growl of amusement. "We are not savages, human. Eldrath has stood for centuries. The palace on the hill is where the ruling council lives. They control everything in this region."
Jason shifted slightly, wincing as the gash on his side pulled. "Ruling council, huh? Sounds fancy. So… you guys have kings, queens, or is it more of a 'whoever has the biggest claws' situation? And be honest — do they use sex as currency here too, or is that just a village thing?"
Ylva snorted, her shoulders shaking a little as she walked. "Only in the border markets do they trade that way. In Eldrath they use gold and mana crystals like normal people. Stop squirming or I will drop you on your head."
"Hey, easy," Jason laughed weakly. "I'm injured, remember? Your dad's 'friend' needs gentle handling. Speaking of which… after what we did in your room, I figured you'd be nicer to me. That sex was awesome, by the way. It wrapped around me like it was made for my monster cock. You sure you weren't trying to kill me with pleasure instead of claws?"
Ylva glanced back at him, fangs flashing in a half-smirk. "You talk too much for someone who almost died twice today. If you keep reminding me about mating season, I might finish what those traitors started. Now be quiet before someone hears you."
Jason grinned despite the pain. "Come on, you liked it. I could tell by how you rode me like you were trying to break my pelvis. But seriously… thanks for carrying me all this way. And for calling your mom when things got bad. That howl nearly blew my eardrums out, but it worked. Luna showed up like a goddamn superhero."
"She is not my mother in the way you think," Ylva muttered, slowing as they approached a large building with glowing healing runes above the door. "She is my father's mate. And she came because I summoned her. Werewolves protect their own… even strange guests like you."
"Strange guest, huh?" Jason teased, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I'll take it. Better than being dinner. So this healer — are they gonna poke me with weird herbs or actually fix me up?"
Ylva stopped in front of the healer's entrance and carefully lowered him to his feet, keeping one strong arm around his waist to steady him. She looked down at him, eyes narrowing but with a flicker of something almost soft.
"You are annoying, Jason. But you are not useless. The healer here is skilled. Try not to bleed all over their floor." She paused, then added with a small smirk, "And if you behave… maybe we can test that out again after you are healed."
Jason's grin widened. "Now that's motivation. Lead the way, big bad wolf. Let's get me patched up before I adapt to being carried around like a princess."
Ylva rolled her eyes but pushed the door open, guiding him inside.