Andi ended up coming home with us. Barb still had a room technically but she pretty much lived with Rae and I so she gave up her digs for her friend. We helped Andi pack up all her stuff. She said once this was over she would find a new place but she didn't want to come back to the apartment she'd shared with Kirby alone. I didn't bother correcting her but I saw Barb's face when she said that. Our supernatural halfway house had another permanent resident. I wasn't going to complain Andi was a friend and she needed us.

Luckily we'd had an addition put on the house when Morgan and Sam and Cinder had made thing's a bit too cramped. All told we had eight rooms and three bathrooms now. Michael had been, no pun intended, a godsend. He found us guys that were experts in their field and oversaw the work himself. He didn't say it but we all knew he wanted to make sure Kara had the best. She had grown much closer to the family in the last year and even Inari, who was now a full fledged white court vampire, if a very well fed one was a mainstay at their place.

When we got back to the house Yang came out to help move the bags and give Andi a big hug then they all headed back inside while I followed Harry over to his place. Bob was in the basement workshop of course but we didn't head right down, instead stopping in a small pink room at the back of the house. I leaned over the crib Michael had made by hand and scooped out the small child inside spinning her around. Her giggles were music to my ears "Maggie! Hey there little sister! How was the rest of the dinner?"

A dry voice from behind me responded "Tiring, which was why I put her down for a nap. Thanks for ruining that by the way. You always come over and get her worked up." I turned to look guiltily at Susan who had an eyebrow raised at me to firmly demonstrate her lack of amusement at the situation. When she saw the guilty look she kept up her stern facade for another minute and rolled her eyes. "Oh give her here you little menace. Go run along and play in your magic hole in the ground. You're forgiven."

I gave a whoop of joy and passed the baby to Susan, giving both her and the baby a peck on the cheek before racing off, happily avoiding the lecture I had been expecting "Thanks Sue! Sorry again, talk later! Come on Harry we have a bad guy to track down." The smile slipped from my face a bit as I remembered what we were hunting. Man, nothing could clear your emotional palate quite like holding a baby. I was glad we'd decided to stop in Maggie's room, we'd both needed that. I slowed to a more sedate pace as my somber mood reasserted itself and Harry caught up. His eyes were full of pity as he led me to the door at the back of the house.

Harry had set up the entrance to the basement here as a ladder. Partly I think because he was a creature of habit, but partly because a single small ladder shaft was easier to defend or lock down than an entire staircase. Aside from the lessons Henry had supervised the construction via phone. I'd given him one of our scrolltech phones so he could keep in touch just like Harry which had made things much more convenient. The basement was small, ten feet by ten feet. Harry didn't have the skill Henry did, or the help., and he was more used to cramped quarters anyway. He had plans to expand slowly but for now this was it.

Harry used his flickum bickus spell to set the candles alight and illuminate the place. All his old stuff had been moved here, including Lash's coin which Raven had helped ward this time. Over to one side was an old desk with a very shimmery and well made set of scale mail on it. A perfectly tailored set of godsteel armor for Kara, still in the very long process of being enchanted. Even with godsteels amazing properties Harry said a permanent enchant like that was a bit beyond him and would take months if not years to complete. Plus I'd only finished making the scale mail recently, having had to make it piece by piece over the entire year.

All the old books and potion ingredients were here too, neatly organized and shelved according to use and origin. Barb had helped move everything over and insisted on an organizational system. Harry had tried to argue but he was pretty much putty in the hands of his redheaded apprentice. Yang probably could have managed the same but she never really played the doting daughter card. It was nice having a second home like this, all three of us had been welcomed into the family Harry and Susan were making and we spent as much time over here as we did at our own place.

Finally on a very nicely carved pedestal that Kara had made with some instruction from Michael (she'd decided to take up carpentry because she was a total daddys girl and the man had looked so proud when she was learning I thought he would explode) sat Bob's skull. The bleached skull with the symbols carved into it still looked eerie as hell under the flickering candle light. Speaking of flickering lights Bob's eye lights sparked to life as we made it to the bottom of the ladder. The dry accented voice of the spirit of intellect inhabiting the skull drifted out, having long since gotten permission to speak in front of me without needing any sort of dispensation for it.

He sounded the same as always, amused and bored at the same time somehow "Well if it isn't the prodigal son. Cameron, what brings you here? Something unpleasant if past experience is anything to go by, you never stop by just for tea or discuss my romance novels. I suppose you're here to pump me for information again. Well, what is it this time? Another swamp monster in the everglades? Or am I going to be helping identify another subspecies of cave elves? Between the two of you, the redhead and the blonde I never get any rest. A man can only take so much." He very notably made no perverted comments about the girls. Harry had expressly forbidden it.

I snorted at the put upon spirit "You aren't a man Bob. You're a spirit of intellect. Complaining that we make you think too much seems a bit absurd." His eye lights flickered a bit and I got the distinct impression he was really serious about this, so I continued. "But you're not wrong about how helpful you've been since we started taking separate cases for Harry. Which is why we made you a present." Barb had been expecting this and she and Kara had worked together to make Bob a bribe of sorts.

I reached into a bag Barb had stashed over here for just such an occasion, figuring Bob would be more receptive to it when he was feeling underappreciated and pulled out what looked like a tablet. "This is a scrolltech kindle. Pre loaded with literally tens of thousands of romance novels of all kinds. Totally magically compatible so Harry won't affect it. " I knew from the books Bob could interact with electronics since he wasn't mortal and this seemed like a solid peace offering. "Now we need some help here, Kirby was killed, we need help tracking down what did it, Harry used the Sight to get a look and has some info maybe you can help with."

Harry launched into a recitation of the facts and Bob continued making pages flicker across the screen. As a spirit of intellect the skull could multitask, but I think he sensed the seriousness of the issue because after Harry finished he shut the thing off...somehow...and flicked his eye lights up to us. "So you're looking for a werewolf that's old as dirt and a total psycho? That's not exactly a long list, werewolves don't usually live too long, even shorter life expectancy than normal people honestly because of all the things that try to kill them. Plus the suicide rate is astronomical. If I had to put money on who it is I'd say The Beast is probably in town."

Harry and I gave each other confused looks before I spoke up. "See I feel like you're saying those words with capital letters but they're incredibly general ones to use in a title. Wouldn't any given werewolf be eligible for the name The Beast? That isn't exactly helping us narrow things down. What are we supposed to research." After answering he'd turned the scroll back on but at my question he groaned and shut it off. He clearly felt like he'd answered us fully but that wasn't exactly a helpful lead to follow up on. Asking our sources about a werewolf who went by The Beast would get us laughed out of whatever shady parking garage or back alley we happened to meet them in.

Bob gave a frustrated grunt, which considering his lack of lungs or a throat was weirdly impressive "The Beast of Gevaudan. Harry, you remember I told you the medieval french were big into werewolves and the Loup-Garou curse started there? Well the Beast is the original recipe. Eleven secret herbs and spices of crazy. He was some inn-keeper in medieval France who pissed off a sorcerer by banging his wife when they stayed at his place. The Sorcerer in question laid the first Luop-Garou curse, but he made the horrible mistake of making that curse a full time thing instead of just the usual three days a month."

I was confused "Ok, but Kirby was tortured by electrical wire. No way a Loup-Garou had the presence of mind or even the manual dexterity to manage that. Those big ass butcher knife claws have to get in the way when doing delicate work. I could see how he might still be alive but I doubt a fucking ten foot tall killing machine covered in fur could make it into the country without SOMEONE noticing. What makes you think The Beast did this?" I couldn't imagine a full fledged werewolf running around looking for someone in wolf form all the time and not making the news or at least starting some rumors. Mortal blindness only went so fucking far.

Bob scoffed "Because of why it was a horrible mistake. I wasn't done the story. The Beast was stuck as a Loup-Garou all the time, but part of what makes the curse so effective is the time spent as a man. It's three days of horror a month and a chance to decompress and return to a normal state of being so it sucks just as month the next time. The Beast was stuck as a werewolf. The man and the animal were stuck together. Which was fine in the short term, except Loup-Garou don't age when transformed. Because of the healing factor."His voice was excited as he continued "After the first century or two as a monster the man managed to fight back and suppress the wolf, leaving him with the power of a Loup-Garou under his complete control."

Oh, well that was... pretty bad. Sadly he wasn't done. "Apparently being trapped inside the head of a slavering animal for two hundred years drove The Beast crazy. The guy came back fifteen shades of twisted and pretty much everyone avoids him. I think he's signed onto the accords as a free holding lord, he spends most of his time in France abducting and torturing tourists for kicks. If he's here for the baby wolf I can't even guess what he wants but I can promise you it's definitely not nice." Fuck. So we had yet another serial killer running around town with powerful supernatural abilities, this one with the primordial strength and magic resistance of the fucking king of all werewolves. Well shit.

Over the last year we had all gotten pretty close to Dalton. Ranier was working with us on distribution and Dalton was a partner so naturally he was someone we could get in touch with when we needed to. Not to mention he had a scrolltech phone of his own. So when I called him to set something up he was more than happy to meet with us that very same day. Barb was with Andi so it ended up being Raven and I alone which I didn't mind. We didn't get time to ourselves so often that I would be upset to have some more, after all.

However the downside to having an empath for a girlfriend became pretty obvious after only a few minutes waiting at our table at Mac's for him to show up. I of course being the good boyfriend had gotten our food and drinks and sat down to enjoy only to find a pair of solemn violet eyes locked on my face. Which made it understandably hard to eat. I put my sandwich down. "I'm fine." Raven said nothing. "I'm serious, it sucks and he was my friend but we have other things to worry about." Still just a quiet stare. "What do you want from me? I can handle it. You know I can handle it and there's no reason to poke at me and...and...god damn it Rae." My voice cracked a bit. "I thought I saved him."

She reached out to take my hand in her smaller softer one but didn't speak, knowing I wasn't done. "I've changed so much. Some good, some bad, that fucking monster got loose because of me screwing things up but I always had that one thing to hold onto right? Things with Maggie are still shaking out and they look like they'll be fine but Kirby was safe. I did that. I protected him. Killed his future murderer with my own damn hands and now...what? It meant nothing? The bad never goes away but anything good I do gets course corrected by the timestreams bullshit cruise control? What's the point? Why even bother if it doesn't matter?"

She finally spoke, her voice soft and low but still easily distinguishable over the noise of the pub "It matters because you tried. Because you fought. Because Kirby wasn't the only person that thing would have killed and now it won't and that's on you. It matters because you care." She squeezed my fingers, staring into my eyes with almost frightening intensity. "Kirby dying is awful, but it doesn't mean you saving him was worthless. Doesn't mean him being your friend meant any less. Because you fought, and this time you lost, but next time you might not. That's what it's all about. It never ends. Sometimes things go the wrong way, but we keep going because of the people we can help along the way."

She smiled, that soft vulnerable beautiful smile she only shows to me and Barb "Andi has you and Barb and the rest of us now. We're going to find this Beast and put him down like the dog he is and avenger Kirby. She didn't get that before. She never got to know his killer was brought to justice. Because at the end of the day his death isn't on you, or on the universe, or on causality. His death is on the person who killed him, and that person is going to pay." Her eyes glowed, the glasses shaking, and the tremor in her voice letting me see for the first time that even her control wasn't perfect. We were snapped back into reality by the sound of clapping from behind us.

Dalton and Brynn were there waiting behind us having clearly just walked up. My smuggler friend gave us both that rakish grin he threw around so casually "Brava Raven. Couldn't have said it better myself. I heard about your friend. I never met him myself but any young man who gives up his nights to patrol the city streets and keep it safe for mortals with no compensation is someone I would have liked to share a drink with." He gave a solemn nod and took a seat, gesturing for Brynn to do the same. "I take it this particular meeting was called in regards to those events?" He nodded to Brynn who headed up to the bar to get their food.

I let out a loud breath. "Sadly yes. Kirby was tortured before he was killed. Specifically for the same information the Song clan was trying to get last year. Aside from asking a bit about what you know we wanted to warn you people were poking around again. You might be a target since you know where...she ended up." I'd learned my lesson about operational security last year with that asshat Lord Raith. Mac's might be neutral territory but it was NOT a safe place to discuss sensitive topics. I continued "We know of at least one person, though I use that term loosely, in town looking for her and we'll fill you in on what we've heard."

Dalton's normally carefree face was set in angry resolution. What happened last year with the Song family still weighed on him. I didn't know if it would motivate him to help us or keep well away from our problems but I knew it would motivate him to do something. When he spoke I was pleased to note he didn't seem angry at us specifically or at Tera for causing him trouble, just enraged at the people hunting her. "I'll reach out and talk to some of my sources and get you guys everything I can information wise. And if you need a place to lay low the mansion is yours." He gave a wry smile "Those lock down wards are much more comforting when you activate them on purpose."

I chuckled at that and I imagined it was completely true. Those wards were tough as nails. "I'll keep it in mind, man, thanks. The guy who killed Kirby is some asshole who calls himself The Beast. He might be a freeholding lord of the accords from what we hear which makes him serious business. Some kind of old crazy werewolf badass. You heard of him?" I was figuring anyone as dialed in as Dalton must have at least some info on the unseelie signatories. If The Beast was half as infamous as Bob had mentioned him being we might be able to get some info on him at this meeting. Knowing what to look for even before Dalton looked into things would give us a head start.

The immediate pale that stole across Dalton's face at the mention of this guy did not however, fill me with confidence. His voice came out a bit shaky when he finally responded. "The Beast...of Gevaudan?" I nodded and he put his head in his hands and groaned. "That's very bad. Like, nuke the city bad. The Beast is a fucking psycho and he's damn near unkillable. Magic rolls right off him, physical damage heals in seconds and he has some sort of weird ass animal stalking power that makes it impossible to notice him when he's following you. That's just the confirmed stuff too. The Beast is the kind of thing assholes like Lord Raith check under their bed for at night. I heard the Denarians keep track of him specifically so they can avoid him."

I winced. That was pretty fucking bad yeah. One the upside at least we knew Nicodemus wasn't going to be around hunting Conner. Brynn came back to the table with their food and Dalton filled her in. Raven was eating while I thought over the problems at hand. No magic wasn't a deal breaker in a fight, not with all our muscle, but The Beast was part spirit being according to the books, at least if he was like other Loup-Garou, pretty much demigod level of scary and he would tear through Kara like tissue paper if he got those claws on her. Which I normally wouldn't worry about except the stalking ability Dalton mentioned. I cleared my throat, getting his attention away from his food "So who is The Beast when he's at home?"

Dalton blew out a breath after he finished swallowing. "God these sandwiches are good. Anyway, his name as a human was Jean Chastel, but he's like four hundred years old or something and he uses fake IDs mostly. He's hard to spot or catch because he knows how to blend in but there are always signs hes there. He eats people for one. Not as a wolf either, like in his human form. He's got some sort of addiction to it. He drops bodies in town a few at a time because he keeps them and eats them over a few days. You might be able to catch him like that." He shot Brynn a worried glance and I got the impression those lock down wards might be going up with or without us.

He shook of the moment of protective fear and continued on "He's strong as a person. Like vampire strong, and he can transform damn near instantly and at any time. His control is perfect after all these centuries as a wolf. The full moon makes it a bit shaky actually, but it also seems to make him stronger, so I wouldn't go with that angle of attack. Other than that it's the usual rules. Inherited silver can kill him anything else is pretty much a mosquito bite. I heard a rumor that someone tried to bomb him during the London Blitz because he was in town at the time and he just shrugged it off. Most importantly though he doesn't attack head on if he can help it. He likes to target loved ones. Take your life apart piece by piece. Be careful and watch your people."

I blew out a dazed breath "That's a lot of information I really wish I didn't have, but it helps man thanks. We'll call if we find anything out hopefully you guys can do the same. Otherwise lay low for a while, we'll let you know when it's clear. I'm glad I sent the Alphas into hiding, everyone else should be pretty well protected because we're so close to each other. You guys are always welcome at our place if you need a safe house. I know your place is the be all end all of hidey holes but it's also big which means lots of area to look for holes." Plus I wasn't sure how a super werewolf would fare against his wards. Loup-Garou were magic proof it might be able to punch through.

He seemed to get my worry because he smiled "The Beast is a creature of spirit and flesh, which means he can't cross our threshold without breaking it and with the wards bulking them up it's basically impenetrable. Besides, you caught us at a bad time last year, we have other contingencies in place for siege's that can't be used on people inside or during lock down. Trust me, attacking our place from outside is a whole different beast, pun intended. What about your place? I know you work with Dresden and Raven is a big shot but this is a serious hitter, will he be able to get through your defenses?"

I looked over at Raven and cocked my head but she just shook hers. Our defenses were anchored with godsteel ward anchors and were the work of months of enchanting and research. I had been pretty sure they would be fine, and if Raven didn't think it would be a problem either we were good. I shot him a smile "No we'll be fine. The bastard will get a nasty surprise if he tries to breach our place by force." He nodded in relief and we went back to our meals. I just hoped I wasn't lying to him. After we are it would be time to go visit another friend. If someone was eating people in Chicago and it wasn't on the news chances were they were transients. If they were homeless in town Henry was the best place to start asking.

When we got home we saw that Barb was asleep in Andi's room. We both pulled the blanket up over the girls with a smile and kissed our own redhead on the forehead before retiring to our room. We were exhausted from the day emotionally but not physically. I smiled at my girlfriend as I be nudged open the door to our room and we both froze at what was waiting. Cinder was sitting on our bed, completely naked and staring at us nervously.

I pushed Raven into the room and closed the door. This was odd timing on her part but the result was expected. Cinder had been growing closer to us over the last year and we all knew this was coming. Barb was going to be annoyed she missed breaking her in. I smiled welcomingly at the dark haired girl. "Hey Cinder, it's good to see you. And I certainly see plenty. Can we help you with something?" We had already discussed how to handle Cinder when she came knocking as a throuple and we'd all decided she needed some humility.

Her brilliant amber eyes glared at me "I would thank that would be obvious Cameron." She only called me Cameron when she was feeling off balance or out of her depth so I knew I had her reeling. "I am here to..." She cleared her throat. "Seek your companionship." It was adorable watching her flounder. We weren't going to turn her down, she was a big part of our lives and we cared about her, she'd long since become an emotional part of our relationship this was only the last step. We were still going to make her eat a big slice of humble pie because she would enjoy it in the end.

I smiled at her. "Ah Well the bed is certainly big enough, we were just about to head to bed ourselves, you can snuggle up with us and get a good rest. I'm glad you feel so comfortable with us you don't mind sleeping nude." I kept my voice innocent and pleasant, completely ignoring the way I desperately wanted grope one of her gorgeous teardrop tits, or bury my head between those pillowy thighs. Cinder wasn't as busty or bootylicious as raven but she was still very well proportioned. She had a perfect hourglass figure and the thickest pair of thighs I'd ever seen.

She flushed in embarrassment. "You're teasing me. I have been building my courage for this attempt for quite some time. I had planned to wait until tomorrow but I thought perhaps with your loss you might enjoy some extra companionship. Perhaps I should go." She looked conflicted and started to stand. I stepped forward and kissed her stealing the breath from her lungs and dropping her back on the bed when he legs gave out before stepping back. She looked stunned, touching her lips with her fingertips.

She seemed almost confused, but no longer made a move to leave. I had shown we wanted her here, so she needed to reassess. Cinder wasn't a covert operative for a despotic world ending tyrant for nothing though. She figured out what we wanted pretty quickly. She swallowed deeply then drew in a ragged breath "I suppose I am new to this...dynamic. Perhaps I should earn my place. What should I do to show you how much I want to be with you?" Her breathing was quick and excited and she knew very well what kind of thing I'd ask for even without knowing specifics.

I smiled at her. "I don't do anything without other women without permission from my girlfriends. Barb is asleep but she was fine with it anyway. Raven however is unconvinced. She was after all my first and she had such a hard time sharing me. She loves me so much, you would need to prove your intentions by demonstrating you can be part of what we have. Show her what things will be like." I gestured Raven over to the bed and she walked over and sat down next to Cinder. The other girl got down on the floor to kneel in front of the still dressed sorceress.

Her voice was husky as she addressed my goth half demon. "I would not just ignore you for Cameron. I would..." She gulped loudly "Take such good care of you. Can I...can I show you what I would do for you?" Raven just nodded and Cinder reached up to unbutton her pants, sliding them down slowly then peeling off her panties to show her gorgeous and very wet pussy. Cinder leaned forward to bury her head between Raven's own also very ample thighs and my girlfriend gasped. Her eyes fluttering as she made quiet mewling sounds.

I knelt down next to Cinder and slid my hand over one of her breasts, tracing the nipple then running my hand down her stomach to get to her sopping wet pussy. I slid two fingers into her, stroking along the top of her cunt near the entrance to find her G-spot. She moaned and bucked her hips and i grinned, nipping at her earlobe before I whispered to her. "She tastes amazing doesn't she?" Cinder gave a whiny moan of a agreement. I chuckled and kept whispering as I touched her " Look at you, boss bitch Cinder Fall happily lapping at Raven's cunt like a happy little puppy. Under all that bluster you're just a subby little bitch aren't you? Or is this more than you can take. Your safe word is candy. Feel free to use it."

She whined and nodded best as she could without moving her head her hips gyrating trying to get my fingers deeper. Raven had her hands in Cinder's hair and she was whimpering "Fuck, daddy she's eating me so good, it feels amazing. God she's so fucking good I want her, I want to keep her I want to park my fat ass on her pretty little face every morning and make her lick my pussy just like this." She was grinding her hips and shoving Cinder's head deeper while spreading her legs more to give the girl better access.

I growled in Cinder's ear. "Is that what you want? You want to be Raven's little breakfast bitch? Want to have hot pussy every morning start the day off right? Use your fingers on her cunt and answer me." I slapped her gorgeous pale ass as she shoved three fingers inside Raven who yanked her head up by her hair. Cinder's expression was dazed and her smile looked almost drunk, her beet red face covered in pussy juice as she heaved her breath. I kept fingering her pussy and she wiggled her ass back. "That word keeps coming up. Bitch. Y0u going to be our bitch Cinder?" She mewled and nodded her head, closing her eyes in pleasure. "Then bark for us bitch."

I slapped her ass again. I knew Raven would stop us if she sensed Cinder getting uncomfortable and with the safe word too we could keep going for now. Cinder's face was bright red but her eyes were blazing with lust. "I'm your little bitch master." She barked and I slapped her ass again. She shoved her ass up in the air and waved it at me. " I ate mistress so good master, will you mount your bitch?" Raven had figured out Cinder's pet play fetish a while ago and let me know. Given her relationship with Salem my money had been on a mommy complex but people are unpredictable.

I looked to Raven to see if she minded the change in partners but she was three fingers deep in her own pussy staring at us with wide eyes. My girl loved to watch. I knelt down behind Cinder and unbuttoned my pants pulling my cock out. I put it right at the entrance to her cunt and shoved inside in one long smooth motion. She had already been pretty worked up from my fingers and when I shoved in she squealed with delight. "FUCK! Oh master I wanted this so bad for so long. God it's so good. Fuck your bitch, do it! Get that pussy!" She was rambling in a high keening voice so unlike her normal seductive but calm cadence.

I did as I was asked of course and pulled out to the tip before slamming back in. Cinder's gorgeous thick ass rippled as I slammed into her. She was no Raven but there was nothing wrong with wagon she was draggin' I became mesmerized by her ass as we fucked. The way her cheeks jiggled and bounced was almost hypnotic, which was good because it distracted me from the fucking molten pussy I was buried in. Cinder had the hottest cunt I'd ever felt in my life, I think if she wasn't so wet it might have actually been painful how how her pussy was.

Raven was grinning in glee as she finger fucked herself, her giant tits out and bouncing each time she shoved her fingers in her sweet little pussy. Cinder was bucking and screaming and barking as I rained down blows on her ass cheeks lighting them up bright red but when I tried stop she actually fucking snapped at me like a dog. I laughed and went back to playing bongos on her thick jiggly booty. I got sick of the back angle though and flipped her over. Her eyes were wild as she stared up at me but I just pulled her hips up into the air, leaving her upper back against the ground curved enough that her frantic eyes were boring right into me. Then I adjusted my grip and started pounding down into her cunt.

She had her fingers down rubbing her clit as i fucked her, the other hand grabbing her nipple and I was holding her up by her spread ankles using the leverage to just ruin her pussy. Without warning i let go of her legs and reached down to grab her by the hair dragging her up so she was literally held off the ground by my cock, and then I started to bounce her up down. Watching those fat tits jump when I tossed her up and down on my cock was fucking amazing but even with my godsteel enhanced endurance that white hot soaking wet paradise between her legs was too much for me.

I finally lost enough composure that she could tell I was getting close and she started writhing like a fucking eel on me.
Riding and bucking and squealing and biting and scratching. I slammed into the wall and she was bringing her hips down on mine so hard I was afraid the thing would break. Finally it was too much and I came. I felt my balls drain as I blew my load directly into the hottest pussy I'd ever fucked and she screamed in joy. Like my cum was quenching her pussy and the small lapse in the uncontrollable heat was amplifying her orgasm even more the normally spectacular ones we would have had if I'd used my Aura. I'd decided to leave that for next time, I didn't want to fry the poor girls brain.

Finally she was done cumming, though she was still shuddering and the obvious after shocks were lasting quite a while. I had to admit I was pretty shaky myself. I grabbed her limp rag doll body and tossed her on the bed next to Raven. Cinder gave a half drunk little giggle as Raven slid down her body to lap at her well fucked and very much still cum stuffed pussy, clearly enjoying the chance to taste the gorgeous black haired girl. I followed them over and dropped down into the bed, exhausted and pulled them both close. Barb was going to be so jealous she missed this one. But hey, it wasn't like there wouldn't be a repeat whenever we wanted it. Cinder was ours now.

I admit to being more than a little relaxed the next morning. Barb had come back and crawled into bed with Raven, Cinder and I, and the pile of beautiful girls on top of me made me smile. I pulled each one close and kissed the top of their head slipping out of bed to pad down the hall to the bathroom. Washing my face I stared at myself in the mirror, noting how different I looked from the person I had been when I'd gotten here. My features wore more refined and symmetrical, and several rounds of very small alterations had stacked up.

I didn't look human anymore. My eyes were a the shimmering blue or a sapphire in the sun, my hair was midnight black. I could probably have passed for one of the Raith siblings or a faerie at this point. I didn't miss it, miss the old me, or even mourn what I'd lost. But I was sad that I wasn't sad. I felt like I should be worried to see my humanity slipping away and I wasn't, and that in turn actually did make me worry that I was farther gone than I had ever noticed. I shook off my maudlin thoughts in favor of washing my face and heading out to the back yard.

Because of how fast I could absorb the medicinal bath now with all the godsteel in me I did my klurkor workouts in the mornings now. An hour in the tub when I was done healed me right up and didn't disrupt my day. I was intimately familiar with the motions at this point and had even made slow and steady progress intuitively correcting the alterations to the martial art over the last year to eliminate the alterations the kryptonians had made. After a run through of the forms and my usual soak I was good as new.

I toweled off and headed back to my room to check on the girls. Raven and Cinder were curled up with each other but Barb was awake when I got back. She smiled as i came in, holding a finger to her lips and climbed out of bed to pull me into the hallway. Once the door was closed she pouted and punched me lightly in the shoulder "I can't believe you guys had sex with Cinder when I wasn't around. I wanted to be there the first time." Her tone was teasing so I knew she wasn't actually hurt by it since we had already spoken about it before.

I actually did feel a bit bad though because she had been with Andi. She saw my guilty look and reached up to stroke my cheek "Hey, I'm kidding. You know I don't begrudge you any happiness. You had your own reasons to need some release, don't think I forgot Kirby was your friend and you had to see him like that. I'm not actually mad." She reached up to pull me in for a hug then pulled back slowly to glance into my eyes "So today you guys are heading down to Henry's right? Raven texted me about the meeting when you guys were on the way back. You need any back up?"

It was nice to know she worried about us even with our powers. Barb wasn't the strongest member of the team in terms of brute force but her ability to get out of jams was probably better than either of ours. Still we had our own ways of dealing with things if it came to it. I shook my head and leaned forward to kiss the top of hers "No. Andi needs you, spend the day with her we'll be fine. We can fill you in when we get back ok?" I saw a flash of worry go through her gorgeous blue eyes but it was swallowed up quickly by her usual surety.

To make Barb feel better and because we wanted to spend time with her anyway we decided to take Cinder with us. Her reaction to waking after our exhausting night was nearly as grumpy as Barb's but when she found out we were leaving she dragged herself out of bed to go shower. I was curious how she was feeling but I didn't wan t to spook her by asking so I just looked at Raven. My girlfriend laughed and shook her head "I won't tell you what she's feeling any more than I would anyone else." She shit me a wink "Demon client privilege." She was much more open about j0king in regards to her heritage after so long with us,

I sulked, I did not pout because contrary to what the girls may have said in the past I've never pouted., She giggled at me and gave me a peck on the cheek before going to join Cinder in the shower, leaving me alone to get dressed. I'd returned with my towel slung around my waist so of course i grabbed a pair of my favorite silk boxers and then some beat up sweats and a ratty t-shirt. Henry's people got uncomfortable around us when we stood out too much, with their access to water their clothes and bodies were always clean but usually not super high end, so beat around clothes worked perfectly as well as being comfortable.

Finally I threw on a hoodie because I felt naked without an extra layer on me and I was ready to go. We'd long since gotten out own car, but I couldn't drive. My godsteel weave was incredible at increasing my reflexes but unfortunately it worked too well. Being able to move instantly meant I was constantly reacting to things too early, turning before I should or jerking to the side when I saw a car in the mirror that was further away than needed. The only way to avoid it was to wait a second or two when reacting to stimuli so I was as slow as everyone else, which did not work. So I was forbidden to drive the armored caddy we owned, fake license or not.

Raven on other hand was an excellent driver, being able to read emotions made her much less likely to be a victim of road rage. We clambered into the car heading for the abandoned house Harry had taken us to that lead to Safehold. Cinder, who had never been with us to Henry's place, seemed excited. Her face was set into a mask of contentment, though you'd have to know her very well to see it. Her voice was relaxed as she leaned against my side to ask "So we're going to meet this Henry you all talk about so often. Anything I should know?" We hadn't precented her from meeting Henry on purpose but we'd only visited a few times and she had always been busy.

I just shrugged one should "Not really. Henry isn't the type to dwell on formalities. Just be yourself and I'm sure he'll adore you. I know I do." The slight flush on her face spoke to how different Cinder had become. Over the last year out bond had gotten deeper both magical and social, as had her connection with the girls and with Sam and even River. Cinder had a life in a way she never had before and I could feel through our connection the happiness that radiated out of her. Last night had been a kind of block, a last vestige of doubt preventing her from embracing this new life and with that gone she was...she was happy.

The drive to Safehold was nice and relaxing. Cinder was warm against me, even warmer than i had expected, it was like hugging a space heater with really big tits. Sharing that sentiment got me an eye roll but soon enough we were out of the car and heading into the tunnel towards St. Jude's. The dirt passage was still as stable as ever, but when we walked into the church itself there was an immediate difference. The throngs of people that were here before were gone, with only Henry left, sitting behind the altar in a big comfy overstuffed chair reading a book.

He saw us as we came in and smiled, standing to greet us "Cameron, Raven, so good to see you! It's been weeks since you came by." He spread his arms wide to encompass the empty room "And we finished temporary housing! Ebenezar and Joseph have been consulting with me on design through sending. They know so much about magic in such different ways, its truly been eye opening to collaborate with them." He waved us further in to sit on one of the pews, now empty of blankets and pillows. "Please sit down, and introduce me to your lovely friend, any friend of yours is welcome here after all you've done for us."

I neglected to point out that he was the one who was selfless enough to take in all the rescuees from the vampire nest because Henry didn't see it that way. He saw the lost and forgotten of this city as his own people and by finding so many and returning them we'd become heroes to him. The man really was a living saint. I couldn't help but smile as I sat down, Safehold always felt inviting to me, it was such a connected community and even being in the church made me feel warm. I gestured the girls to sit down next to me "It's great to see you too Henry, this is Cinder." I reached out to take her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

She smiled softly at me and greeted Henry politely but after that I was unfortunately forced to continue talking. We didn't have the time for pleasantries as much as I might prefer it. "Sad to say we aren't here on a social call this time Henry, we might have another monster in town preying on the transient population." His face fell and his shoulders slumped as he dropped bonelessly back into his chair. I felt for him, especially since this was the third time we'd had to track down a monster that fed on the homeless. The cave elves had been abducting them to breed with because cave elves have pretty low reproductive rates. I stood up, walking over to give him a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Sorry man, you know we wouldn't bring it to you unless it was a legitimate problem."

He shook his head "Not at all. I was just thinking how sad it is that the world is so cold I can't even be happy to see old friends without worrying they carry some dire news." His sigh was deep and weary and I actually looked at him with worry but he forced a smile and set his shoulders, flipping his mood like a light switch "No matter, I know if you came it's for the best interests of my friends and I am grateful. You can always visit another time, but if there is danger afoot I'm glad to know of it as early as possible. Now, what can I help you all with?"

I winced, this would not be an easy conversation. "A friend of ours was killed, we have reason to believe the thing that
killed him will begin praying on the homeless population if he hasn't already. We're told he takes people that wouldn't be missed and he keeps them for a while. He...eats them. In his human form. Alive." I gritted my teeth seeing the anger and horror in Henry's eyes.

The old man was kind and decent, he didn't deserve to have to figure out if people he knew and cared for were being kept in a cage as a snack for a psychopathic werewolf. "If you know anything let us know, but don't approach him alone. He's dangerous as hell." I paused, deciding to just come out with it, Henry was old enough to know of the monster and he might have information that could help. "Have you ever heard of The Beast of Gevaudan?"

Henry's face paled immediately after hearing The Beast's name. I really wished people would stop reacting like that, it was starting to make me nervous. He let his head roll back against the chair bonelessly, staring up at the vaulted ceiling in despair. His voice came out small and quiet, almost broken "Why is the world like this? So many creatures out there trying to prey on those who need help the most. I just want my friends to be safe and happy, but every time I think I've made steps toward a better world something like this happens."

The raw pain in his quiet words was heartbreaking to her. He sighed, all the energy and happiness present when we arrived were long gone and I felt nothing but shame for putting this on him. He deserved better, deserved to know his hard work for others was making a difference, yet I just kept showing up looking for horrible monsters doing terrible things to those he wanted to protect most. I walked gingerly up behind the altar and sat down on the floor next to Henry's chair. "I get it. I do. No one wants to feel useless, not that I would ever say that you are, but feeling like you aren't making a difference sucks. But you're looking at this the wrong way?"

Henry raised his head to look at me, avoiding my eyes to make sure not to accidentally trigger a soulgaze "How am I supposed to look at it? I dedicate my life to helping these people and they keep being victimized by any random supernatural who stumbles into town. I'm failing them. They aren't equipped to protect themselves from threats like that, they need someone like me to look out for them and I'm not good enough." He sounded frustrated and tired, like someone who had tried to accomplish the same goal over and over for years and just couldn't do it anymore.

I shot him a reassuring smile "Because it isn't all or nothing. You can't save everyone, but you do save many of them. Think of the thousands of people who might be in danger from any one of these threats that are safe under your protection. You give them somewhere safe to go, something stable in a world that is normally anything but. Think of how many kids are growing up happy downstairs who might be starving on the street or sleeping in a car. You do so much Henry, and if you ever forget that just go downstairs and ask those people you help if they think you do enough." I let my pride in him and my gratitude that I could call him a friend leak into my voice and it was clear he noticed.

He laughed and rubbed his eyes "You have a way with words my friend. I'm lucky to have you around. I'm sorry forgive me for indulging in that bout of self pity. What were you asking? Oh yes, Jean Chastel. I don't just know of him, I know him. I ran across him a few times as a Warden. Disgusting creature, but too powerful to be worth offending as far as the council is concerned. Despite that we came into conflict with him on occasion, though rarely to our advantage." His eyes were far away , staring past me into the distance as he thought back to his encounter with a being that was rapidly taking shape in my mind as a monster.

His gaze looked haunted and his voice was low as he continued "I first ran across him in Provence. I was in the area tracking what we thought was a nest of ghouls. Children started disappearing, as did young women, all of them centered around a wealthy family in the region with magic. We assumed they were feeding their women and children to the ghouls, they were all servants and retainers of the family's youngest daughter a beautiful girl with no magical talent named Vivianne. When we arrived we staked out the family's residence, watching for any sign of movement from the ghouls."He was reciting the story in a distant tone, like he was reading from a story book, but there was a tremor in his voice that showed it was far from impersonal.

The story was shaping up to be a horror, and I was almost afraid to hear more, but I listened to my friend. He needed to share this. He took a deep breath and continued "Jean Chastel was courting the girl. He was using the name Henri Renard at the time so we didn't know him. He is a master of blending in with his prey. The servants and the children were all somehow related to Vivianne so we decided to watch the girl closest of all, thinking she might be using ghouls to try to take control of her family. The truth was worse. He was killing them to isolate and disturb her. He'd decided she was to be his next victim and he was stripping her of all support and compassion."

His eyes filled with tears "He'd been waiting until she slept and sneaking into her room, eating them at the foot of her bed. One limb at a time. When he was done he hid the bones under her bed, her maids were the ones who cleaned so she didn't even know they were there. We intervened and chased him off, but when she found them under there...the children's skulls were so small, and they had human teeth marks scored into them. Her mind broke. She never recovered from it, her family had to have her committed. I've heard he visits her every year. He brings flowers. Likes to see the look on her face when she spots him."

The tears were still flowing, but they were angry now, not sad as he glared at nothing, his breathing ragged. His eyes snapped back to my face without meeting mine "I've met many creatures, vampires, ghouls, even a demon or two. But I've rarely come into contact with true evil. Jean Chastel is evil. He's not a Beast, he's a monster. If that creature is here in the city I will help you find him and I will help you kill him. The world is a better, safer place without him in it." I didn't think I'd ever heard that much venom in his voice before, Henry was usually such a kind person, even when we first met and he kind of wanted to kill Harry because of Justin he hadn't sounded like that. Angry sure, but this was real hate.

Not to mention Henry stayed down here for a reason, this place was warded up the ass to prevent the council from knowing he was still around. Justin had framed Henry using his position with the Warden's and the older man had been a fugitive for years. Ebenezar and Listens-to-Wind knew he was here but they were good guys who wouldn't say anything. If anyone else found out...well two people wasn't enough to swing a Senior Council vote, Henry would get the same treatment all law breakers got. Beheading.

I was panicking slightly about the possibility "Henry, if you come out to hunt with us you'll be in public in a major way nexus. Chicago is a hub of connections to the nevernever not to mention leylines. You could be spotted by someone or something or even sensed from further away than would be observable. That's crazy dangerous. We've taken out some scary stuff we can take The Beast, just leave him to us. He killed my friend, I owe him some serious pay back in any case. However there is a way you can help us track him down."

His face was hard but he didn't immediately correct me. He looked like he was wrestling internally with the problem but he finally settled down enough to ask the obvious question. "Alright. What do you need from me? I can send some of my golems with you at the very least. I'm afraid you I can't help if you were hoping to get Calliope's aid again. The only reason she helped last time was because of your deal, if you don't have something else of interest to her there's no way to motivate her to look for traces of him. She doesn't do much for the sake of sentiment. Our work together was mainly a whim and a bit of an experiment, she likes me but I can't change her mind."

I hadn't actually considered that particular resource, but even a year later I remembered that terrible vision and wasn't anxious to repeat it. It had helped refine my mind a bit which was damn useful but Calliope was just too unpredictable. I shook my head "No what we need from you is much simpler. We need information on the places where people who wouldn't be missed might have been vanishing more than usual, especially if they all have some relation to one person. From your story and from what Dalton said I think Jean Chastel is most likely to have picked a target to torment this time, all the missing people will probably know each other or have someone in common."

Henry nodded seriously. "I'll ask around. It's harder to trace relationships like that. Everyone in the community knows one another, or at least everyone who comes here. Figuring out who his current victim in will be challenging. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately as the case may be, I happen to know Jean Chastel has a preference for young women, late teens early twenties usually. The percentage of younger people in the community is relatively low. Most are either older or children of older people. It helps narrow it down and gives me a few ideas. I'll reach out once I have something. If you need any of my golems however you need only ask."

I nodded at the older man as he stood up and pulled me into a tight hug "You're a good man Cameron, I know we don't always see ourselves clearly and you usually have your reasons for coming here, but you do come down to visit. You're a hero to these people and to me, and don't you forget it." He released me with a kind smile "I'll head down to get started asking around, you all get home safe. And visit again soon, I'd love to show you our new temporary housing quarters, they wouldn't have been possible without you and Harry putting me in touch with Ebenezar and Joseph." He clapped his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze before heading down into Safehold to gather information.

I smiled as I watched him go, Henry was like the grandpa none of us had ever had. He always looked out for everyone and was always there when you needed him. It was always nice coming to talk to him. Before my thoughts could continue though my phone rang. One odd consequence of magic cell phone networks was increased range. Even in an underground church below the city of Chicago I got service. I tapped the screen to accept the call and Dalton's voice echoed out into the now silent cathedral as he said hello. I cut to the chase not feeling like a long conversation "Hey Dalton what's up?"

His voice sounded concerned but not urgent as he responded. "I need you to meet me at the Crying Limey, I have information on who is in town looking for you know who and it isn't good." I wasn't much in the mood to head to the docks and my silence must have made that clear because Dalton expanded on his news a bit. "There's a bunch of people here but the biggest ones are people you would have heard of. Remus and Romulus are here looking for the kid. The founders of the Roman Empire are in Chicago, Cam." I told him on my way and hung up, it never rains but it pours.

Well there you are everyone! The arc is starting to heat up and big things are coming. Be sure to check out the five advance chapters

(10k word minimum, these are QQ chapters of 2k apiece) on pat-reon at that site /malcolmtent along with advance chapters of my new

YJ story Sell you a Bridge