Greed and pride

The air grew still.

Even Echryos, a god made of memory, sorrow, and the quiet ache of eternity paused its drifting tendrils.

Dice floated lazily overhead, one elbow propped on nothing, the other hand idly spinning a d20.

My system window glowed in front of me, displaying the three class evolutions:

Apex Lupiara.

Draconis Warder.

Echryos-Kin Ossiphage.

I swallowed.

Then I looked at Jen and Kai.

Jen bruised, furious, terrified of losing me but pretending otherwise.

Kai trembling, loyal, staring at me like I was the center of gravity for his entire world.

(How am I supposed to choose one path when I’m already responsible for two lives?)

(How do I pick between dragon and parasite when both of them matter?)

(When I need power that isn’t one or the other but both?)

My heart thudded.

I turned around.

And stared directly at the two gods.

Dice raised a brow.

Echryos merely waited, its tendrils folding in sorrowful curiosity.

I took a breath.

And did something no sane adventurer in any timeline, universe, or suicidal fever dream would do.

I demanded.

“Combine them.”

The cavern went silent.

Not quiet.

Silent.

Even the veins in the walls froze their pulse.

Jen choked.

Kai squeaked.

Echryos’ many voices overlapped in what might have been horrified surprise.

Only Dice reacted with

A snort.

A full-body, undignified snort.

Then manic, delighted laughter.

“OH MY GODS, SHE DID IT!”

Dice doubled over mid-air, wheezing.

“She actually said it! Not even the Archdragons ask me for custom classes! And YOU? You’re level thirty!”

I folded my arms.

“I’m not asking,” I said, tail flicking. “I need something stronger. Something that protects my pack. Something that fits me.”

Dice stopped laughing.

His eyes gleamed amused, impressed, dangerously entertained.

“Ohhhh, sweetheart… normally I’d erase a mortal for that sentence alone. Completely. Like poof. New crater on the map of existence.”

He floated closer until he was eye-level with me, chin propped on his hand.

“But you?”

His grin widened.

“You’re fun.”

Echryos shifted behind him, its voice a trembling harmony:

“She asks the impossible. The convergence of decay and flame. Memory and tyranny. Flesh and scale.”

Dice rolled the d20 between his fingers.

“I know,” he said cheerfully.

“And I’m gonna do it anyway.”

The die hit the air

and split into shards of light.

Mana roared through the chamber like a living storm.

Jen shielded her eyes.

Kai clung to me, claws digging into my arm.

Even Echryos recoiled, its body rippling across dimensional layers.

Dice snapped his fingers.

“System,” he said, “give my girl her monster.”

The world glitched.

A new system pane slammed into existence, wreathed in red-gold and bioluminescent white.

[CLASS EVOLUTION UNLOCKED UNIQUE PATH]

Parasitic Draconith (The Wyrm That Remembers)

“A dragon’s hunger. A parasite’s memory. A sovereign born of Greed and flesh.”

Through divine anomaly and Alpha demand, you have been granted a forbidden hybrid evolution.

This class intertwines the Draconis Warder’s emberbound authority with the Ossiphage’s memory-devouring metamorphosis.

Your physical body will be permanently altered.

This evolution is irreversible.

CORE TRAITS

Wyrm-Mind Imperative

Your thoughts sharpen with draconic calculation fear resistance dramatically increased.

Enemies with lower Willpower must pass a check to meet your gaze or be paralyzed in fear.

Great Remembrance Maw

Devour the essence of slain foes to permanently store fragments of their instincts, senses, or abilities.

Neuroflame Breath

Exhale a blast of psychic fire that burns both body and memory.

Chitin-Scale Mantle

A hybrid hide of scale and organic armor reduces slashing/piercing damage drastically.

Parasitic Nerve-Sense

You subconsciously read vibrations, and mana signatures like a living antenna.

Memory Sight

See echoes of an enemy’s last actions.

Predict their next movement with eerie accuracy.

Echo Pulse

Release accumulated memories as a psychic shock that disorients foes.

Crystal bone Reinforcement

Skeleton transforms partially into crystalline bone body becomes highly resistant to crushing **** ,fire ,frost and acid but highly weak to electricity.

When grievously wounded, crystalline bone extrudes to form temporary armor.

Jabberwoc Form

Partial transformation into a tendril-enhanced draconic humanoid.

Movement becomes fluid, unpredictable; can climb walls or ensnare enemies.

Passive Bonuses:

+300% Strength

+300% Constitution

+300% Agility

Regeneration x50

fear aura

Drawbacks

Emotional instability accelerates transformation.

may activate involuntarily if pack members are threatened.

Marked as “abomination” by divine senses.

Kai quivers when he hears it.

Jen can’t look away.

Even Echryos whispers:

“A memory that should not exist.”

“Congrats! You’ve got custom DLC!

This thing shouldn’t even BE POSSIBLE.

Dragons don’t merge with parasites unless a writer is on **** and the last one who tried that became a boss fight!”

He winked.

“But for you?

I’ll break a few rules.”

Accepted.

The pane burned white.

[SYSTEM CONFIRMATION]

Unique Class Selection Locked

Path: Parasitic Draconith The Wyrm That Remembers

Status: Irreversible

Consent: Confirmed

Dice clapped his hands once, delighted.

“WELP. That’s that. Hope you stretched.”

Echryos did not move.

But the Hollow Vein did.

The walls convulsed.

Veins flared brighter, pulsing in time with my heart.

(Oh.)

(Oh no.)

(Oh yes.)

The change did not begin gently.

It began correctly.

Pain like pressure.

Pressure like being rewritten.

I staggered as my legs buckled, claws scraping against the metal floor. Kai shouted my name. Jen reached for me.

Neither of them could touch me.

A field snapped outward from my body, not forceful, just absolute. A boundary drawn by something that had decided I was no longer negotiable.

My spine arched.

I screamed not in agony, but in feral pleasure as something unfolded along my back.

Not wings, Not yet.

My tail lashed violently, bone cracking, lengthening, plates surfacing beneath my skin like rising continents. Fur split apart in clean seams as black chitinous scales emerged beneath, glossy and faceted, overlapping taking on a draconic form .

(My tail )

(It’s not just a tail anymore.)

It split.

Not painfully but pleasurably.

The base widened, then parted like a living seam, extruding thick, muscular tendrils one after another. They uncoiled behind me, heavy and controlled, each one tipped with leaking slits.

Tentacles,just as sensitive as my cock.

They flexed experimentally.

like a flower closing they coiled back together reforming back into draconic tail,

The floor cracked.

Jen swore under her breath.

Kai made a small, broken sound of awe.

My arms followed.

Skin hardened, darkened, segmented. Plates locked into place along my forearms and shoulders, forming a natural mantle of chitin scales. My fingers lengthened, joints realigning as retractable claws slid free with a wet, metallic sound.

Dragon claws.

I clenched my fists.

The air screamed.

(My strength )

(This isn’t just more.)

(It’s… denser.)

My chest burned.

Something inside my ribcage crystallized.

I felt it happen my bones reinforcing, threads of luminous crystal weaving through marrow and spine. Every breath scraped like glass and thunder at the same time.

My eyes burned last.

Not blindness.

Inversion.

The whites bled into shadow, flooding with pitch-black void while my pupils ignited in pale bioluminescent predatory light.

I could see

everything.

Mana currents.

Heat trails.

Residual thoughts clinging to walls like fingerprints.

Memory.

Too much memory.

I gasped and my jaw unhinged.

grotesque and snake like.

My mouth opened wider than anatomy should allow, muscles rearranging, tongue elongating as it slid free prehensile, segmented, hollow along its core.

A conduit.

(I know what this is for.)

(I don’t need the system to tell me.)

(It’s for devouring minds.)

I snapped my mouth shut with a click, shaking, forcing myself to breathe normally.

My hair spilled down my back in a thick, heavy mane, darker at the roots, streaked with deep crimson and ember-vein highlights. It moved when I didn’t, responding to ambient mana like living filament.

When the change finally slowed

When the dungeon stopped screaming

I was on my knees.

Not weak.

Grounded.

Steam curled off my body.

My reflection stared back at me in the metal of the floor, tall, broad-shouldered, built like a war goddess carved by someone with too much imagination and no restraint.

An.

A monster.

A queen.

Dice whistled low.

“Wow. Yeah. Okay. That’s… that’s a lot.”

He glanced at Echryos.

“See? This is why I don’t let players design their own classes tell level 80.”

Echryos’ many voices murmured, layered with something like reverence.

“She carries hunger without forgetting mercy.”

“She remembers why she devours.”

I pushed myself to my feet.

The dungeon yielded.

Jen and Kai stared at me, breath shallow, eyes wide with something between fear and awe.

(My pack.)

(Still here.)

(Still mine.)

I rolled my shoulders.

The chitin shifted smoothly.

The tentacles settled, coiling behind me.

My **** mask visor reappeared.

New metrics.

New instincts.

New limits I hadn’t found yet.

I exhaled slowly.

“Okay,” I said, voice carrying a faint buzz, something that carried weight whether I wanted it to or not.

“…now we leave.”

[Status Sheet: Alice]

Race: Chimeran (Apex Alpha Variant dragon parasite mix)

Hybrid physiology stabilized. Beast traits dominant. Further non-human expression expected with level progression.

(Dice: You are no longer “part beast.” You are the part that scares the other beasts.)

Class: Parasitic Draconith - The Wyrm That Remembers (Unique, Irreversible)

Forbidden hybrid class combining draconic sovereignty and parasitic memory assimilation.

Physical transformation permanent. Divine hostility increased.

(Dice: Custom class. No refunds. No rerolls. No one else gets this. Ever.)

Level: 30

Title: Sweet Survivor

+5 Constitution, +5 Willpower

Sugar resistant, trash romance immune, probably

(Dice: You survived Candyland.)

Affiliations: Inspira Guild, Raven’s Howl

(Unspent Attribute Points: 230 total. Yes, this is absurd. Yes, you are hoarding. No, I will not stop commenting.)

HP: 170

(meat-shield upgrade unlocked, still not a tank, stop trying)

Mana: 550

(Beastmaster reserves included. You are not allowed to complain.)

Body

Strength: 185

(You are no longer allowed to say “oops” after swinging.)

Constitution: 170

(+15 visor, +5 title. Muscle armor confirmed.)

Agility: 74

(+20 Mirrorblade. Fast, sharp, still reckless.)

Appearance: 63

(This number no longer reflects anything understandable.)

Mind

Charisma: 66

(Dominance aura active. People listen before they realize why.)

Intelligence: 36

(“Think first” was traded for “hit harder.” Working as intended.)

Willpower: 80

(+5 title. You are stubborn enough to headbutt fate until it apologizes.)

Perception: 102

(+30 gear. Predator-grade sensory package.)

Magic

Magical Strength: 55

(Draconic-parasitic core online. Do not poke it.)

Magical Control: 10

(Still sloppy. Now dangerous. Congratulations.)

Traits and Quirks

Apex Endurance

Massive stamina amplification. Physical fatigue reduced by 90 percent.

Adrenaline and combat escalation extend performance indefinitely.

Secondary: prevents full physical collapse while adrenaline is active.

Side Effect: chronic restlessness. Sleep quality minus 70 percent.

(Dice: You are a wind-up apocalypse with legs.)

Touched by Mana - Minor

Born weird. Now professionally weird.

Primal Awakening

Beast features continue to surface as you level.

Expect additional limbs, instincts, or biological reinterpretations.

(Dice: I hope you like surprises. They like you.)

Chimera Pulse (S-Rank, Unique)

Instantly assimilates a single ability from a higher-level target as a permanent lesser variant.

Side Effect: Severe mutation risk when biology conflicts.

(Dice: You keep surviving things this was supposed to kill you for.)

Class Traits - Parasitic Draconith

Wyrm-Mind Imperative

Draconic cognition unlocked. Fear resistance massively increased.

Low-will enemies must pass a check to meet your gaze.

Great Remembrance Maw

Devour fallen enemies to permanently store fragments of instincts, senses, or abilities.

(Some memories will surface uninvited.)

Neuroflame Breath

Exhale psychic fire that burns flesh and cognition simultaneously.

Chitin-Scale Mantle

Hybrid armor reduces slashing and piercing damage drastically.

Parasitic Nerve-Sense

Reads vibration, mana flow, and motion subconsciously.

Memory Sight

See echoes of recent actions. Predict enemy movement with high accuracy.

Echo Pulse

Release stored memories as a disorienting psychic shockwave.

Crystalline Bone Reinforcement

Skeleton partially converted to crystalline structure.

High resistance to crushing, fire, frost, acid.

Severe weakness to electricity.

Emergency extrusion forms temporary armor when critically wounded.

(Dice: You traded lightning resistance for immortality vibes. Bold.)

Jabberwocky Aspect

Partial transformation into tentacle-enhanced draconic humanoid.

Grants wall-climbing, ensnarement, and unpredictable movement.

Passive Bonuses

+300 percent Strength

+300 percent Constitution

+300 percent Agility

Regeneration x50

Fear aura active

Drawbacks

Emotional instability accelerates transformation.

Protective response may trigger involuntary mutation.

Marked as “Abomination” by divine detection systems.

(Dice: Clerics will hate you. Paladins will cry. Everyone else will run.)

Pet Management

Registered Pet: Jennifer “Jen”

Scaleborn, quadruped default, cybernetic limbs, Manavore trait.

Remote Posture Toggle enabled.

(Dice: Alpha privileges unlocked. You will absolutely **** this. I support you.)

Equipment

Deathmask Visor, B Rank

+15 Constitution, +10 Perception

Reveals structural weak points on compromised targets.

(Dice: Wallhacks for ****. Tasteful.)

Mirrorblade, A Rank

+20 Agility, +20 Perception

Each clean parry spawns a delayed spectral strike.

(Dice: You miss once, it forgives you. Miss twice, it does not.)

Unspent AP: 230

(Banked since Level 7. This is not healthy behavior.)

[SYSTEM UPDATE Attribute Allocation Complete]

230 Attribute Points Assigned → Magical Strength

Your core surges.

Your mana pathways rupture, rebuild, and crystallize into something draconic and wrong in the best possible way.

MAGICAL STRENGTH: 55 → 285

(Dice: “Well look at you, investing responsibly for once! I’m so proud I could cry. Or explode. One of those.”)

Consequence:

Mana density exceeds natural Chimeran tolerance.

Parasitic-Draconic hybrid core stabilizes via **** mutation.

Neuroflame potency ↑ dramatically

Memory assimilation efficiency ↑

Psychic backlash risk ↑↑↑

Alpha dominance aura now penetrates magical defenses

(Dice: “Congrats. Your spells hit harder than your sword now. Please try not to vaporize your party.”)

[ALERT: EXTRANEOUS OBSERVATION DETECTED]

A HIGHER POWER IS WATCHING YOU.

[PRIDE EMINORA]

The Radiant Crown of Shattered Empires

has taken interest in you.

“A mortal who demands divinity reshape itself…

One who refuses the choices placed before her…

Rise higher, little dragon.

Show me what an unbowed will becomes.”

Favorability: +1

Current Stance: Intrigued

(Dice: “Oh GREAT. The queen of cosmic narcissists is watching you now. Don’t look directly at him he thinks eye contact is worship.”)

[GREED MAMION]

The Devourer of Forgotten Gods

fixates on you.

“A creature who eats strength and ascends…

A hoarder of power who refuses limits…

Delicious.

Show me how far you climb before you break.”

Favorability: +1

Current Stance: Hungry Curiosity

(Dice: “Perfect. Now you have the attention of the universe’s worst loot goblin. Try not to let him ‘collect’ you.”)

[SYSTEM SUB-NOTICE]

Two demon gods have marked your growth.

Their eyes will follow your evolution.

Their blessings or interference may manifest without warning.

(Dice: “Welcome to endgame politics, sweetheart.”)

The light outside the dungeon felt wrong.

Too clean. Too quiet.

Sunlight spilled across cracked concrete and rusted fencing, the portal’s afterglow bleeding into the sagging sprawl of the elven trailer park.

I stood at the curb, cloak drawn around my shoulders, tail coiled tight beneath layers of fabric that were absolutely not designed to contain me.

(It’s not that my body feels too big.)

(It’s that the world feels too small.)

The bus stop sign leaned at a lazy angle, plastered with guild stickers and old warding charms. Someone had painted a smiling cornette over the timetable. The bus was late.

Of course it was.

Kai hovered at my side.

Not clinging. Trying very hard not to cling. Standing just close enough that my shadow covered his feet. Every time I shifted, his attention snapped back to me automatically.

Good.

Jen paced.

Back and forth. Back and forth.

Metal limbs clicking softly against the pavement, tail lashing with barely restrained irritation. She hadn’t stopped moving since we cleared the dungeon perimeter.

I let the silence stretch.

I wanted to see who broke first.

Kai did. He always did.

“So,” he said quietly, fingers twisting together. “Um. About… everything.”

I turned my head slowly and looked down at him.

He froze.

Not in fear. Not exactly.

In anticipation.

Like he was waiting for instruction.

(My instincts hum.)

(Gods help me, I like it.)

“I’m still me,” I said. “Enough.”

Jen snorted. “That’s a lie.”

I didn’t argue.

Kai laughed weakly.

Jen stopped pacing.

She turned, eyes sharp, jaw tight. “You didn’t even hesitate.”

I met her stare without blinking.

“Hesitate about what?”

“About demanding gods rewrite reality for you,” she snapped. “About dumping everything into one stat like you weren’t already walking around with enough power to flatten half a district.”

She stepped closer.

Then closer.

“You scared me.”

I didn’t flinch.

I stepped forward instead.

Close enough that she had to tilt her head to keep eye contact.

“Good,” I said calmly. “That means you were paying attention.”

Her breath hitched.

Kai sucked in a sharp breath behind me.

“I didn’t do it to be reckless,” I continued, voice steady, carrying weight whether I meant it to or not. “I did it because hesitation gets people killed. Because weakness invites loss. And because if anything touches either of you again, I want it to regret existing.”

Silence.

Kai nodded immediately. Too fast. Too eager. “She’s right. It made sense. Very Alpha. Very… her.”

Jen snapped her gaze to him. “Stop agreeing with everything she says.”

He shrank instantly. “S-sorry ”

I lifted one clawed finger.

He stopped mid-word.

(Oh.)

(That’s new.)

“Don’t apologize unless I tell you to,” I said, not unkindly. “You weren’t wrong.”

Kai swallowed hard and nodded, cheeks burning.

Jen stared at the exchange, something conflicted flickering behind her irritation.

I exhaled slowly.

(This isn’t me losing control.)

(This is me taking it.)

“Both of you,” I said. “Look at me.”

They did.

Immediately.

Jen’s defiance cracked just enough to reveal the fear and arousal beneath it. Kai’s devotion was raw and bright and dangerous in its intensity.

“I didn’t choose power over you,” I said. “I chose power so I could decide what happens to us. There’s a difference.”

Jen crossed her arms. “You don’t get to decide everything alone.”

I leaned in just slightly.

“I do,” I said evenly,

She held my gaze.

Long.

Then she scoffed, looking away. “Figures it’d take becoming a dragon-parasite nightmare for you to stop pretending you’re not in charge.”

Kai smiled, soft and sincere. “She’s always been in charge. She just stopped pretending otherwise.”

(He understands.)

(Too well.)

The bus rumbled in the distance, a low mechanical growl cutting through the afternoon air.

Ikos-bound.

Home.

My tail tightened beneath the cloak.

My stomach twisted at the thought of it.

(My mom.)

(The bar.)

(The Velvet Bottle’s leaky sign and the stairs that creak on the third step.)

(How do I walk in there like nothing changed when everything did.)

Jen followed my gaze toward the road.

“You thinking about Ikos?”

“Yeah.”

The bus arrived in a coughing rattle of mana and rusted hydraulics.

The doors folded open with a hiss.

I stepped on first.

The aisle felt smaller than it should have. Everything did lately.

Before I could even turn toward a seat, Kai climbed up after me and without asking, without hesitating sat directly down on my lap.

Full weight. Tail wagging. Ears high. Hips grinding.

Satisfied.

A couple of nearby passengers stared. One elf choked on their drink. I didn’t care.

Kai sighed softly, curling in like this was the most natural place in the world.

“Comfy~,” he murmured.

(Of course you are.)

I rested one clawed hand on his hip and another on his back, fingers idly threading through his hair. He melted instantly, purring under his breath, tail thumping against the seat.

Jen froze in the aisle.

She stared at us.

Then at Kai.

Then at my hand on his waist.

Her jaw clenched so hard I could hear it.

“…You have got to be kidding me,” she muttered.

I looked up at her.

Slowly.

Patting Kai once more, deliberately.

“Sit,” I said.

Jen bristled. “I am NOT ”

I tilted my head.

One ear flicked.

She stopped.

Her eyes narrowed, cheeks flushing, tail lashing once in pure, undiluted jealousy.

“…I hate you,” she said, and dropped into the seat beside me hard enough to rattle the frame.

Good.

I reached out and placed my hand on her head.

She stiffened.

“Don’t ” she snapped.

I scratched lightly behind her elf like ear anyway.

Jen made a sound halfway between a growl and a betrayed whine.

Her ears flattened.

She crossed her arms, scowling out the window.

“…I’m only letting you do that because you’re insufferable,” she grumbled.

I smiled.

Kai glanced up at her, smug and warm. “She pets really well.”

Jen shot him a murderous look.

I scratched her ear again.

She leaned into it before she could stop herself.

Tsundere as hell.

The bus lurched into motion, carrying us away from the trailer park, away from the dungeon, back toward Ikos.

I leaned back slightly, letting the weight of both of them settle against me.

And for the first time since the transformation

I let myself think.

(I used to be five foot four.)

(Used to complain about reaching top shelves.)

(Used to be human.)

Now I was at least six feet tall. Taller with the ears. Broader. Heavier. Built like a war goddess carved by something with bad intentions and worse impulse control.

Human was gone.

In its place

Insect.

Parasite.

Dragon.

Chimera.

Alpha.

And I didn’t feel grief.

I felt pride.

(I did this.)

(No handouts.)

(No legacy power.)

(No father pulling strings.)

Every inch of this strength was earned. Every level clawed out of blood, fear, and refusal to die quietly.

I could feel it in my bones.

S-rank wasn’t a dream anymore.

It was a deadline.

And those three S-ranks who’d looked down on me?

(I can’t wait to break them.)

Yes, I was more arrogant now.

More prideful.

More dangerous.

But I’d earned that pride damn it.

And I wasn’t about to apologize for it.

Kai shifted on my lap, nuzzling closer.

Jen huffed, still pretending to be mad while very clearly enjoying the attention.

My pack.

Mine.

The bus slowed.

The familiar skyline of Ikos rolled into view sandstone towers, neon sigils, the distant glow of the Velvet Bottle’s sign flickering like it always had.

I blinked.

(…Oh.)

The bus hissed as it pulled to a stop.

I straightened slightly.

“Alright,” I said, voice steady, dominant, certain. “We’re home.”

And just like that, I realized

I’d been lost in my thoughts the entire ride.

(I missed the opportunity to fuck kai's ass on the way back it would have been cute to see him try and hide it from everyone else on the bus)

The bus doors hissed open again.

Warm Ikos air spilled in, dust and spice and city-heat rolling over us like a familiar blanket. I stood first, unfolding out of the seat in a way that drew eyes whether I wanted it to or not.

Kai slid off my lap reluctantly, tail still swaying.

Jen hopped down beside me, deliberately bumping my hip as if to reassert territory.

The moment my boots hit the pavement, I felt it.

Eyes.

Not just glances attention.

Lingering.

Curious.

Hungry in that half-conscious way people get when they don’t understand why they’re staring.

(looks like I don't blend into a crowd anymore.)

I rolled my shoulders and scratched absently at my side, claws brushing fabric. The motion made my cloak shift just enough to hint at what was underneath chitin lines,dark scales, and Amazonian bimbo proportions.

Someone swallowed audibly.

I looked up.

A goblin stood near the curb, short, stocky, green skin dusted with gold freckles. She’d been mid-conversation and had gone completely silent, eyes wide, cheeks darkening as she realized I’d caught her staring.

I smiled.

Predatory.

Her breath hitched.

She looked away fast then looked back again, like her body hadn’t gotten the memo yet.

(Huh.)

(I could work with that a short stack fleshlight sounds fun.)

The thought came far too easily.

(I really am getting worse.)

(Or better.)

I didn’t hate it.

Jen noticed immediately.

She leaned closer, voice low. “Don’t even think about it.”

I tilted my head. “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have to,” she growled.

Kai glanced between us, then peeked back at the goblin, ears twitching. “Um. She was looking at you like… like people look at dangerous magic.”

“That’s because I am,” I said without hesitation.

Both of them went quiet.

(See?)

(No filter.)

We started walking.

Ikos unfolded around us sandstone walls etched with glowing sigils, market stalls humming back to life as the afternoon crowd thickened. My home district wasn’t far, and I could almost picture the sign already, flickering like it always did.

As we moved, I became painfully aware of myself.

Of how people shifted aside without realizing why.

Of how conversations dipped when I passed.

Of how my thoughts felt… sharper.

Cruder.

More direct.

(I want.)

(I take.)

(I decide.)

That hadn’t been me before.

Before, I’d second-guessed.

Before, I’d worried about being too much.

Now?

Now the world felt like it should make room.

Jen walked at my left, jaw tight, eyes scanning everything and everyone like she was daring the city to try something.

Kai stayed just behind my shoulder, close enough that his sleeve brushed mine every few steps, clearly comforted by proximity.

My pack.

Mine.

I exhaled slowly, grounding myself as the Velvet Bottle came into view the familiar glow, the neon sign, the stairs leading up to the apartment above.

(Home.)

(Mom.)

(Maria is going to lose her mind when she sees me.)

I cracked my neck once.

“Alright,” I said, voice firm, already slipping back into command. “We’re almost there. Stick close.”

Kai nodded immediately.

Jen scoffed but obeyed.

The door swung open and conversation dipped, then resumed a half-beat too late. I felt it immediately. Heads turning. Eyes tracking. That same instinctive pause people got now when they didn’t know whether to stare or look away.

I didn’t slow.

I didn’t soften.

I walked in like the place still belonged to me.

Because it did.

As I passed the bar, a familiar laugh cut through the noise.

“Holy shit Alice?”

Lila.

Same silver hair, same sharp smile, same huge tits. She was carrying a tray, mid-stride, when she saw me. The tray wobbled. She caught it at the last second, staring openly now.

I smirked and reached out, giving her a casual, proprietary slap on the ass as I passed.

“Miss me?” I said, low and unfiltered.

She sucked in a breath, cheeks coloring instantly. “You- you got bigger.”

“So did your tits,” I replied without slowing.

Behind me, Jen made an annoyed sound.

Kai nearly tripped.

(Lila.)

(Right. My first girl. My first fuck.)

(Funny how that feels… distant now.)

The thought slid through my head without ceremony, filed away like trivia.No hesitation. Just ownership. and nostalgia.

Behind the bar, Maria was already reaching for glasses, not even looking up.

“Ignition?” she called out. “You alive or did you finally explode something important?”

Kai froze.

I stopped.

Then I laughed, a short, sharp sound.

“Mom.”

She looked up.

Really looked.

Her eyes traveled from my fuzzy ears to my Tentacles, She paused, then smiled like this was mildly interesting rather than reality-altering.

“Huh,” she said. “New look.”

“That’s it?” I asked, genuinely offended.

Maria snorted. “Sweetheart, I’ve seen adventurers come back with extra limbs, missing souls, or married to demons. You still know how to walk in a straight line. That’s a win.”

She leaned closer, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “You look good though. Strong. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”

I opened my mouth to reply

and caught Lila’s reflection in the mirror, subtly jerking her head toward one of the private booths.

Invitation. Quiet. Intentional.

I closed my mouth.

Jen noticed immediately. “Don’t,” she muttered.

I grinned.

“Relax,” I said. “I’m just catching up.”

I turned, already moving toward the booth, tail swaying beneath my cloak, thoughts sharp and unapologetic.

(No filter.)

(No shame.)

(No slowing down.)

The Velvet Bottle hummed behind me.

And whatever version of me had once been careful?

She didn’t walk through that door.

Maria was still smiling when her eyes drifted past me.

Her gaze snagged.

Paused.

Then narrowed.

“…Where’s Ignition?” she asked, wiping her hands on a rag. “I'm looking forward to another ride of that big black cock of his~”

Kai made a noise.

a squeak.

Every muscle in his body locked up.

I didn’t notice right away. I was already halfway to the booth, attention fixed on Lila’s hips swaying, my brain filing it under later.

Then Maria’s eyes slid back.

Down.

Up.

Down again.

And finally landed on Kai.

Her brows climbed her forehead in slow, fascinated realization.

“…No,” she said.

Kai swallowed.

“I um hi,” he said weakly, ears flattening. “M-Maria.”

Silence.

The bar noise faded around us like someone turned the volume knob down.

Maria leaned over the counter.

Squinted.

Then straightened.

Then leaned again, this time with a grin that was sharp and absolutely unashamed.

“…Ignition?” she asked carefully.

Kai’s tail flicked.

“…Yes ma’am.”

The reaction was not what I expected.

Maria laughed.

Loud. Genuine. The kind that came from the chest.

“Oh my gods,” she said, delighted. “You’re adorable.”

Kai’s face went nuclear.

“I I it wasn’t Alice did not I mean she did but ”

Maria waved a hand. “Sweetheart, I’ve been around enough magic to know when to mind my business.” Her eyes flicked over him again, slow and appreciative. “And I gotta say, you wear it better now.”

Jen made a strangled sound.

I finally turned back.

“…What?” I asked.

Maria didn’t even look at me. She was still smiling at Kai like she’d just discovered a favorite dessert had changed packaging.

“So that’s what happened,” she mused. “Seven feet of muscle to what, five-something of fluff and attitude?”

Kai squeaked.

“That’s that’s not !”

“Oh hush,” Maria said cheerfully. “I’m not complaining.”

Something about her tone made my instincts prickle.

(Not now.)

(Focus.)

Lila cleared her throat loudly near the booth, fingers drumming on the table.

I grinned.

“Cya later,” I muttered, mostly to myself.

Jen caught it.

Her eyes narrowed. “Alice.”

I ignored her.

I turned and stalked toward the booth, tail swaying, cloak brushing against chairs, every step deliberate. I felt eyes on my back, on my hips, on the subtle movement of chitin beneath fabric.

Good.

Lila slid into the booth opposite me, crossing her legs slowly, chin resting on her hand. Up close, I could see the way she was breathing a little faster than normal.

“You don’t waste time,” she said.

I leaned forward, elbows on the table, looming into her space without apology.

“Why would I?” I replied. “You waved. I came.”

Her lips parted.

Behind me, I heard Jen mutter something vicious under her breath and the soft thump of Kai bumping into the bar.

(I really should keep an eye on them.)

(Especially with my mom smiling like that.)

But right now?

Right now I was exactly where I wanted to be.

I didn't give her time to respond. In one fluid motion, I was around the table, my hands on her hips, spinning her around and bending her over the booth. My tail curled possessively around her thigh.

"Wait " she gasped, but there was no real resistance in her voice. Just breathless anticipation.

I yanked her skirt up over her hips, exposing the thin lace of her panties. My clawed fingers hooked into the fabric and pulled it aside roughly.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" I growled against her ear. "Why you kept looking at me."

Lila whimpered, pushing back against me. "Yes... fuck yes..."

My massive black slimy canine cock was already hard, the tapered tip pressing against her slick entrance. Without any more preamble, I thrust forward, burying myself inside her in small brutal thrust after thrust.

Lila screamed, her fingers scrabbling at the leather of the booth. Her tight pussy clenched around my thick girth, struggling to accommodate my size. But she was dripping wet, her body more than ready despite the shock.

"Fuck!" she cried out. "Oh fuck, you're so much bigger "

I didn't give her time to adjust. I started fucking her hard and fast, each thrust slamming her hips against the edge of the booth. The wet slap of flesh echoed through the bar, impossible to ignore even with the privacy screen.

Lila wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me deeper. Her arms reached back to grip my hips, using them as leverage to bounce herself on my cock. She met each brutal thrust with **** enthusiasm.

"Harder," she begged. "Please, harder "

I obliged, pounding into her tight cunt with animalistic ferocity. My knot was swelling at the base of my shaft, catching on her cunt with each stroke. Soon I'd be too big to pull out, locked inside her.

The sounds of our fucking filled the bar the obscene squelch of her soaking pussy, the slap of my hips against her ass, her high-pitched moans and my low growls. Everyone could hear us, even if they couldn't see.

Lila came first, her pussy spasming around my cock as she shrieked her release. The sensation pushed me over the edge. With a snarl, I buried myself to the hilt, my knot popping inside her as I started to cum.

Rope after rope of hot seed filled her womb as she milked me for every drop. Lila collapsed against the booth, panting and twitching, completely fucked out of her mind.

We stayed locked together, my cock still pulsing inside her. Somewhere behind us, I could hear Jen muttering something about "no fucking shame whatsoever."

I just grinned, running my claws through Lila's sweat-dampened hair.

"Same time next week?" I purred.

Lila could only moan in response.

The booth curtain slid shut behind me.

When I came back out, the bar sounded wrong.

Too loud.

Too normal.

Jen was standing where I’d left her, arms crossed so tight her metal fingers creaked. Her eyes snapped to me the second I emerged.

“Done?” she asked flatly.

I rolled my shoulders, heat still humming under my skin, tail twitching with leftover tension.

“Yeah,” I said. “It was a nice quick fuck.”

She stared at me.

Really stared.

Her jaw worked. Once. Twice.

“…Where’s Kai?” she asked.

I opened my mouth.

Paused.

And realized I didn’t know.

The prickle hit my spine immediately.

I scanned the bar.

No Kai.

No mom behind the counter either.

Just an empty space where Maria had been, glasses untouched, rag abandoned.

Jen saw it the same moment I did.

Her expression shifted not anger something sharper.

“Oh,” she said quietly. “You didn’t know.”

(Know what?)

She took a step closer, voice low, controlled.

“I tried to talk to you,” she said. “About us. About boundaries. About you dragging everyone into whatever the hell this is becoming.”

I waved a hand, distracted now, ears angling upward.

“Jen, not now.”

She flinched.

“Not now?” she snapped. “You fuck a waitress in the middle of your mom’s bar and now you don’t have time?”

That would’ve stung more if I wasn’t hearing it.

The sound.

Faint.

Muffled.

Upstairs.

A breathy noise.

A familiar one.

My blood went cold-hot in the same instant.

I tilted my head.

Focused.

And heard it again.

Kai moaning,

My grip tightened on the table hard enough to dent metal.

Jen followed my gaze.

Her eyes widened.

“…Alice,” she said slowly. “No.”

I didn’t answer.

I turned and moved.

The stairs creaked under my weight as I took them three at a time, cloak flaring behind me, claws clicking against wood. Each step sharpened the sound until there was no mistaking it.

My home.

My Den.

My pack.

The door at the top of the stairs was ajar.

Light spilled out.

And inside

Kai, nude, flustered and breathless.

Maria, shirt loose, hair undone, Strap on inside my fucking girlfriend.

They both froze when I filled the doorway.

Silence snapped into place like a guillotine.

My voice came out low.

Even.

Dangerous.

“…Explain.”

Kai turned white.

Mom straightened slowly, eyes flicking over me not afraid, but very aware she’d crossed a line.

“Well,” she said, attempting a casual tone. “This got complicated fast.”

I took one step into the room.

Then another.

The air bent around me.

“No,” I said. “It didn’t.”

Kai swallowed hard, tail curled tight against his leg.

“I- I thought she said I didn’t mean ”

I raised a claw.

He stopped instantly.

My gaze never left him.

“Mine,” I said quietly.

The word hit the room like a brand.

Mom’s smile vanished.

Jen’s footsteps sounded behind me on the stairs, sharp and furious.