50 gems per issue

"Pregnant!" Alice exclaimed, standing there with her hands on her hips, cheeks rosy red but apparently deciding to pretend that she was fully dressed. "Wait...how is that biologically possible? She's a cat demon and you're human! Ish! Fine, Incubus-human hybrid mix now, don't tell me that when you marry someone you...Wait...You're not part Lich now, are you???"

"Uhh... Don't forget part fae." Seamus grinned sheepishly. "But I'm pretty certain that's a no on Lich and cat demon...right, Vavnagal?"

Vavnagal paused and answered slowly: "My King, you are a fine specimen of manhood that has many fine qualities. Including many that make most succubi quite happy such as qualities inherent of incubi and others such as fae...and...and..." Vavnagal looked at him desperately and then finished when he didn't take her hint: "...and others as such required to acquire the barest additional most miniscule hint of minute bits of DNA in your biological systems to ensure cross-species compatibility in the meiosis process during initial contact proceedings..." Vavnagal sighed.

Seamus stared at her, slack-jawed. "Are my children going to share this intermixed DNA?"

Vavnagal looked at him desperately and he stubbornly refused to cancel his question. "Yes, my King." She finally answered.

Seamus looked at Alice in wonder. "Chimera..." He shook himself. "My kids are going to be chimera. Our kids will be chimera."

Alice looked at him in annoyance: "We've tried for years to have a third...second child, it hasn't worked. God was gracious enough to gift us one and you think we'll have a second bountiful gift after all this time?"

Seamus nodded: "I do. Because the point of all this is saving races. And besides, how old were Abraham and Sarah? Can't save races without a virile populace, can you?" Seamus peered closely at Vavnagal who was studiously looking at her kneecaps. "But I take it you'd rather not get into the particulars at the moment, eh, Vavnagal?"

"Correct, husband." Vavnagal said, her voice tight and clipped.

Sighing, Seamus pivoted away from the chimera child issue to the other pressing problem: "I need to figure out what's going on with my word choices, I did not intend on ordering you to remain naked, Alice. In fact, let me correct that, I order you to remain naked until noon tomorrow. Bah! One moment please, Alice." He looked down to look for an answer in the app, only to be hit with a barrage of notifications.

'Congratulations! You're having 5 children with one of your Custom Girls, have 250 gems to celebrate the happy news!' Seamus felt his eyebrows shoot up into the stratosphere. Five!

'Congratulations! You had anal sex with a Custom Girl, have 3 gems (reduced due to number of prior events with the same Custom Girl).' Uh-huh, expected.

'Congratulations! You had vaginal sex with a recently added Custom Girl! Have 100 gems to celebrate.' So...pregnant wasn't enough for this one, he had to get more gems on top?

'Thanks for letting us use 252 gems on your behalf!' Seamus paled at that number, pulled up his own profile, and found the reason for his statement. 'Thanks to synergy between three Custom Girl enhancements, User now has a 10% chance to verbalize subconscious desire as direct instructions when responding to a question.'

Seamus swiftly looked through, trying to find what had been chosen for him that synergized. Ah, there: CG-wide:

1. Please Oh YES! Please!: CGs shall beg for and receive permission before engaging in any form of sexual pleasure, giving or receiving.

2. Please Tell Me What To Do: CGs shall beg and receive permission from the user to make major life decisions.

3. Some More Sun Block Please?: CGs shall beg and receive permission from the user before covering up exposed skin or replacing removed clothing when in users presence

Seamus slumped. Those three had thankfully used all but 2 gems, and no additional Custom Girls had been added, but still...that list in combination with the synergy impact...this was bad.

And the 2 gems remaining? They had gone to a CG option that allowed Seamus to toggle:

Strip and keep off article of clothing per CG choice once per day from specific CG for four hours with a delightful little note alongside: if not used daily, app will select a CG at random the following day at a random time.

"My liege?" Na's voice purred from above, again.

Seamus idly wondered what would happen if he tapped this strip toggle on Na, who wore fur, not clothing, but decided the experiment could either result in the app choosing to punish him for trying to find a loophole or it might result in something worse like shaving her fur...and in general that just screamed like a really bad idea. Envisioning having to duck an angry paw swipe from Na as fur flew from her back as clippers zipped across in mad frenzied movements, he responded: "Yes, Na?"

"Lucifer has ordered the aid of the cyclops. I don't have more data on that, but they don't fit his typical preferred profile for army draftees, as they are generally of exceedingly low intelligence. Casually cruel: yes, big: certainly, but generally they make tempting targets by being slow and dimwitted. They wade in to the thickest of fighting and swing big clubs but leave their chests wide open for attack. Easy prey." Na trailed off thoughtfully at the end, but didn't continue any further.

"How big?" Seamus asked.

"Only twice everything, height, width, thickness. Muscles are four times stronger but eight times slower to respond." Na was still deadly thoughtful as she responded. "They are useless in any form of warfare except terror."

Na paused and corrected herself: "Unless going up against unaltered humans not armed with guns. They have thick hides that repel arrows because of the coarse, rubber/leathery nature."

"Okay, thank you for the update, Na." Seamus nodded in her general direction.

Seamus could hear her tail swishing and thumping agitatedly against the pillar before Na replied: "Of course, my liege. Ask, and I'll tell you anything..." She chuckled darkly and disappeared again, something still obviously bothering her in her tail movements but because she didn't know what it was, Seamus couldn't read it either.

"We need to...and she's gone again." Seamus growled. "Why don't cats ever stick around when you want them to?" He groused. Seamus turned back and shared what he'd learned from the app with Alice and Vavnagal.

Vavnagal simply nodded and stayed quiet.

Alice was about to ask a question when something that had been prickling the back of his mind finally percolated through his conscious enough to be named and Seamus turned and asked Vavnagal: "How is it that Na can come and go so easily? She's a demon... don't we have some way to protect against that, at least here in my bedroom?"

Vavnagal said: "Because you allow her to, husband, she's on a specific list in your mind that has access."

Comprehension dawned and Seamus exclaimed excitedly: "Like a MAC address through a firewall!"

Vavnagal looked confused: "I'm sorry husband, like a what through a what?"

Seamus laughed. "Advanced human physics you're fine with, basic elementary information technology security systems such as those needed to create apps that would work on human devices such as my watch, that confuses you?"

Vavnagal huffed, annoyed. "Human computer systems change operating systems seemingly every six months, my dear King, we had to hire a human computer security firm to keep up with the necessary changes and even then when they turned on their AI tools, they found thousands of insects that had to be covered."

Now it was Seamus's turn to be confused, momentarily, "You mean...bugs to be...patched?"

Vavnagal thought a moment and then said: "Yes, husband, that is what I meant to say, although I'm still not a hundred percent certain on what that meant other than the app ran more smoothly afterwards."

Seamus shrugged: "Essentially that in a nutshell, or to prevent viruses or black hats from taking over the system." Seamus shuddered at the thought of a system with capabilities like this being **** to ransomware attacks...or worse.

Wait... "Humans worked on this app? What did they think they were working on?" Seamus asked.

Vavnagal smiled tiredly: "A game, husband."

Seamus shook his head and stretched. "Figures. Okay, Alice. I know a lot has happened. Tell me honestly with full thought behind it. Are you okay?"

Alice gave his question the appropriate gravitas and then answered: "Yes. Am I happy that I'm competing for your time with a literal harem? No. What modern woman raised in our neck of the woods grows up with that as their desired pastime upon finally getting past all the crap of childhood?"

Alice frowned and moved to sit on the bed and cheekily quirked an eyebrow at him to ask permission to sit there, waiting for his nod before daintily poofing her non-existent skirt to sit on the edge. "Okay, maybe a few...but not me. That said...even though I have actually jumped between two different women to have you to myself for a few minutes, we've still somehow had better intimacy based marital relations in the past few days than the past two years, combined."

Seeing Seamus start opening his mouth with a guilty look Alice quickly interjected: "Honey! I'm not blaming you. You've been providing for the family, and you put in a lot of overtime to get that promotion that biii-female dog stole from you." Alice smirked at his annoyed expression.

Seamus felt his lips thin, then had an awesome thought. He tried toggling the switch for Alice to strip, but it didn't work. Aggravated at the loss of a simple solution, he sighed and wondered...Ailis had to sleep naked either on the floor or at the foot of their bed. He'd just ask her to keep her clothes on for a few minutes, and then toggle it! Unless it counted time...safer to test on someone who wouldn't care, like Nazps-Odo. Unless, she actually preferred being covered...Gah! He looked up to see a long suffering look on Alice's face.

"Solving MAST passivation issues in your head again or something else you're working through honey?" Alice prodded, lying back on the bed on her side facing Seamus, bending her top knee and sliding the foot behind her other leg slowly, propping her head and upper body up with a palm on the back of her neck, arching her back just enough to apply even pressure on the chains. She slid her other hand up to her stomach and lazily rested the elbow on the curve in her side.

"Huh?" Seamus was confused. "Oh! Oh, you meant ASTM standards of passivation, no. I wasn't. I was thinking through logistics of the new system." His eyes didn't leave her hand on her stomach as he thought through and discarded possibilities for solving the issue.

Alice chuckled ruefully. "I should know better by now when you get that look in your eye."

Forcing his attention away from logistical issues and realizing that his wife was naked in bed, making come hither eyes, and physically flirting in every way possible sans jumping on him, Seamus cleared his throat and began to apologize but Alice waved him off again, not moving from her position.

"Honey, I'm here, going nowhere, apparently until noon tomorrow because if you think I'm exploring this castle in it's entirety for the first time naked as a bird you've got another thing coming!" Alice smiled, so Seamus relaxed and lay down behind her, placing his lips on her neck and inhaled the scent of her hair.

Seamus pushed his worries out of his mind for a few minutes and walked a few fingers up her ribs, causing Alice to giggle and thrash with laughter before he gently cupped her right breast in his hand.

Alice reached back with the hand on her stomach and unzipped his pants...again. Thanks to his own changes, Seamus was up again and pressed against the sharp edges of the zipper through the part in his boxers, but that 'instantly ready again' still felt weird to him.

Alice wiggled her butt a little and said: "Please honey, ravish this poor woman who is starved for your attention! Her moist nether regions ache to be filled with your turgid rod!"

Seamus snorted but obliged and heard Alice as she sighed in contentment as he guided himself to slip between her folds and inside her with nary a delay.

"So you're really okay?" Seamus whispered into her ear.

"Yes honey. Now, focus please. Not on work. I finally got you off work." Alice whispered back.

Seamus smirked: "Now you just want me to get off?"

"Mhmm. In me please, I'd prefer you get off in me." Alice groaned as he hit a sweetly sensitive spot.

Seamus thrust up and smiled at her stifled gasp, then looked up to see four guards carefully keeping watch around the room, just on his side of the bed. Closing his eyes, he thrust again and smiled at Alice calling his name and begging for more speed. Clutching her to his chest, he rolled her on top of him away from the edge of the bed and then kept rolling until she was on her stomach. Looking at the cute tail sticking out of her butt, he went onto his knees and started driving back and forth as quickly as he could.

Seamus opened his eyes again to see another pair of wings beyond the head of the bed, the long red hair slowly moving as the guard scanned the corners from her side. Closing his eyes again, Seamus redoubled his efforts on focusing just on Alice. Then he started slowing. The guards were visible. They hadn't been before. They'd been pretty much invisible until Na had spoken up.

"Honey? You okay?" Alice asked since he had suddenly stopped moving.

"I don't know yet. All of y'all were fairly invisible before, now that I'm having sex with Alice, y'all are as obvious as art in a gallery, what's going on?" Seamus asked, keeping his position with Alice, but ready to move in a heartbeat if needed.

"Na's report, Your Majesty. It's an increased threat profile that we don't fully understand yet." Said the red-haired succubus he hadn't heard from yet answered without turning around.

"Ah, okay." Seamus resumed where he'd left off and Alice shrieked a little in delighted surprise at the sudden unexpected motion, especially now that he'd doubled his speed.

Fifteen minutes later, still merrily enjoying his wife's attention, a knock sounded on the door with an accompanying: "Your Majesties, sorry to intrude but King's Pet is here requesting audience to go to sleep." Seamus was still not close enough to finish and so he growled in annoyance but slowed and told a pouting Alice: "Tomorrow, honey. We'll finish tomorrow."

Alice sighed and nodded and tried to cover herself with a blanket, which failed. "Oh, come on!" Alice looked at Seamus and said: "I guess we're cuddling the whole night because I definitely need your warmth."

"The castle is warm!" Seamus said in mock protest.

Alice smiled and replied: "Unless you're naked in which case you feel every wing as people walk by."

"Sorry, Queen Consort." A whisper from the darkness intruded.

Alice shook her head, "No worries."

Seamus looked pointedly at Alice and wiggled an eyebrow towards the bedroom door.

"May as well honey. Not like it's going to get any easier with time. Better to rip the bandage off and get it over with." Alice said, taking a deep breath.

Seamus nodded, took his outerwear off, but out of character for himself, kept his boxers on, slid under the covers, cuddled up to Alice, covered her breasts with his arm while she covered her lower half as best as she could whilst avoiding chains and directed the waiting door warden who immediately let Ailis in.

Ailis came in, eyes widening at Alice, but Seamus started and stared at the lower half of her face, feeling Alice move her hand to fiercely grip his arm. Ailis had a muzzle covering the lower part of her face, and she was wearing an o-ring gag, with a plug in the gag that was obviously too big in diameter to fit through the bars of the muzzle.

Seamus asked, shocked: "Ailis? What happened?"

Ailis reached up, twisted the plug in her mouth and pulled it out, at which point Seamus realized it wasn't a short plug. After she got it to the limits of the muzzle, she tried talking through the combination of the plug still left in her mouth and the o-ring, and was nearly incomprehensible but Seamus heard something that sounded like 'lost' and 'game'.

Seamus sighed and said: "Sorry to hear that Ailis, I'd hoped to talk with you a bit before sleep but I see that won't be possible now."

Ailis shrugged, pushed the plug back in, coughed a little when she hit full depth, rotated it to lock it in place, and then went to the foot of the bed and started to remove her clothing.

Seamus quickly turned away and snuggled up a little closer against Alice. Hearing one of the guards move away with her clothing, Seamus heard Ailis climb into the foot of the bed and felt her curl up. Seamus asked: "Can we get you a blanket?"

Ailis carefully vocalized: "Uh-uh."

Seamus sighed and prayed: 'Lord, help. I know, You don't perform signs and wonders like tricks, but it would be really helpful if just this once, You might solve everything at the drop of a hat?'

Waiting with bated breath, but still feeling Alice naked beside him with chains, and Ailis at the foot of the bed, Seamus prayed again: 'I understand, Lord. Please give me, and us, strength to get through this. And if You have decided to make me a Shepherd for these people, please help me keep my growing flock safe.' Seamus felt sleep claim him, fighting a losing battle, trying to figure out some way to help keep Alice, Ailis, and everyone else in his care safe from the machinations of Lucifer.