Several blissful weeks had gone by where nothing happened in Conjur. Stanton was able to focus on his schooling and made the cooling system for Battlemaid, as well as her protective wards, a series of extra-credit projects for his philosophy, practical defense, and engineering classes. Two of which he'd decided to take on since they would help him learn more about her.

So, with Battlemaid's help, he'd built her a magical cooling enchantment that she was able to insert inside her, that she could actuate by delivering electricity to in varying amounts, that would make her chassis wick out heat at a rate all the more higher because he'd put the full force of his magics into it.

Walking home from class with his school break starting after three more days of paper reports, he couldn't help but shake the feeling of being watched.

The worst part about it was he wouldn't be able to slip away and become Super Lupine Girl if needed. After doing a fair few twists and turns, he finally gave up trying to give whomever it was the slip and instead decided on confrontation.

Slipping into an alley just as he had before, Stanton rolled sideways and behind some crates. He could smell his pursuer getting closer, and jumped out when they were passing by. "Why are you following— Triana?"

"Shh." Triana shoved Stanton back into his hiding place and pressed against him. They only had a few moments to wait for Elspeth to walk past, her sniff the air, then keep going. When the cloying odor of the woman's perfume left them, Triana let out a groan. "When I heard she was coming to Conjur, I figured I'd tag along and warn you."

"And spend some time with me rather than her doing it. Nice one, Tri." When he started to move for the entrance of the alley, though, Triana body-checked him.

"Thanks. Hey, Lore was right, you do shape up pretty good as a guy. Are you using any enhancements?" Knowing full well Stanton's pedigree, Triana didn't doubt for a second that he could use magic to alter his appearance.

"No. That would give the game away. Even an average mage can spot that kind of magic, unless it's done better than I can do it, and a werewolf would still smell me out." Stanton finally decided he was going to have to push past Triana and did so, letting a little of his Super Lupine Girl strength out—and then he walked right into someone else who stumbled and started to fall.

Having investigated who was following her totally-not-a-crush that she'd been following around for the last several weeks (rather than help Cassandra in any meaningful way), Gisse started down an alley to see where he and his stalkers were—only to have him step right…

…into Gisse, and apparently planning to come out the other side. Falling over, Gisse pondered her lot in life as the cutest guy she'd found caught her in his arms, his reaction time somewhat greater than her own. "Oh! Uh…"

"Sorry, I didn't see you—" And that moment was where Stanton lost cabin pressure, as it were. He realized the glowing eyes were two he'd seen before.

As Gisse started up at him through her glasses, she realized how close their lips were. It was still about a foot, but it was far closer than they'd ever been. "So handsome…"

Despite the fact he was cradling what he was sure was a succubus in his arms, Stanton felt no malice from her. For all he could tell, she was perfectly happy where she was. "Sorry, uh?"

"Ahhhh!" The moment ended and the spell broken, Gisse tried to squirm to get upright, only she was off-balance and leaning into Stanton's arms. "Hi Gisse! I'm— No, that's not right. Uh? Oh! I'm Gisse! You're—?"

"Stanton." Now helping her to rise, Stanton wasn't exactly sure why, but he was more relaxed now. "Sorry, Gisse, I haven't seen you around Conjur before. Are you from out of town?"

Unencumbered by the strong, supple arms that had cradled her, Gisse's wings picked that moment to spring out and spread, but the narrowness of the alleyway meant they hit the bricks on each side and scraped against them. Without her magic suffusing her, Gisse winced and pulled her wings back in. "Ow, ow, ow."

If Stanton had one weakness, it was seeing a woman in pain. All Cassandra—as a dragon—had to do was stub her toe and he'd take pity on her and help. "Did you scrape them bad?"

"Aww heck. Yeah, I—" It occurred to Gisse again that her crush was standing close and talking to her and he was nice, which made her panic. Turning, she tried to run—only for her foot to slip on the stone and again she got caught up in his arms.

Sparing a glance at Triana, who was looking on with a big grin, Stanton looked back into Gisse's eyes. "We have got to stop meeting like this. People will talk."

It wasn't that Gisse didn't want to be in Stanton's arms, they were very nice arms and she quite liked the way they held her, but it was beside the point. He was a hunk and she wasn't prepared to be this confronted. "C-Can you please let me go?" That her hearts were beating way too fast, thundering in her ears, didn't help either.

There were dozens of ways Stanton could handle it, but so far she hadn't actually threatened anyone but the dragoness. Normal, high-born tact wouldn't work, but if he had to guess then she was a young demon and might be susceptible to charm. "You know, you're pretty cute for a demon."

"Wh-Who said I was a demon?"

"Three things. I'm a trained wizard; you're rugged up like it's icy cold when we're almost to the warm season; but the big one is that expansive wingspan."

"Oh," Gisse said.

Stanton dutifully released Gisse, letting her stand on her (admittedly cloven) feet. "If it helps, it was a good disguise. You want to go somewhere and talk about why you're here?"

"I—" Looking around for a way to escape, all Gisse's profane powers slipped from her head as her mind caught up with the conversation. "You're a wizard? That's so cool! What magic can you do?"

Sparing a glance back at Triana, Stanton winked and put his arm around Gisse's shoulders. "Come on, then. I can show you some neat spells."

Stanton liked to think he was sensible. Before he'd gotten Angel as his familiar, his life had been reasonably straight forward. So here he was, with a werewolf who wanted to marry him and a demoness who kept stealing glances at him, walking to a local Raveel family restaurant.

A nod to the waiter and Stanton slipped, with his two acquaintances, into a back room. Sitting down, he looked at Triana Eyesbright. "You can leave if you want. I don't know how this little friendly conv—"

"Stanton, not a hope. You must be the singly most interesting person on this plane. I assure you, I want to find out where you're going if not into a wedding contract with me." Triana leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. She was grateful she'd picked a more modest travel dress than her mother had wanted her in.

"Wedding?" Gisse's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at Triana. "You're m-marrying him?" Panic crept into Gisse. She looked at the woman and considered if she could defeat her—not in combat, of course, but in a way that would make Stanton look at her.

"Maybe. I'm still not entirely sure I want to deal with all this"—Triana gestured at Stanton—"but he cuts a fine figure, wouldn't you say?"

Gisse nodded enthusiastically, taking the time to look at Stanton again. "I like his hands. Firm, but gentle."

"I hadn't noticed that. Stanton, hold out your hands." Her tone sharp and commanding, Triana was pleased to see him respond. She took one and nodded to the other for Gisse. Feeling his fingers and palm, she sucked on her lower lip. "You're right. Definitely a good feature."

At some point Stanton had realized he was being double-teamed by a werewolf and a demon. "Can we get ba—"

"My name's Triana. Triana Eyesbright," Triana said.

"G-Gisse. Oh, Gisse Daughter of Desire."

It was about then Stanton realized Triana was helping. He made a mental note of the name and title, but wasn't sure there'd be anything on what seemed like a young demoness.

"Well, Gisse— It's okay if I call you Gisse? Please, just call me Triana." When Gisse nodded, Triana smiled. "His knuckles are a little bruised. Odd for a werewolf to have that, but I guess Stanton probably hurt them playing some musical instrument or the other."

Stanton, of course, didn't want to say that he'd been practicing fighting with Battlemaid and punching her was literally like punching stone. Pulling his hands back and leaving the pair to talk, he stood and walked to the door. Opening it, he looked outside and saw no one listening but the waiter was standing a good distance away and saw him.

When the waiter was near, he said, "Can you bring us some entrees, something to share?"

Slipping himself back in the room, Stanton was greeted by two female faces looking at him with interest plain as day. "What's wrong?"

Triana started. "Gisse's a demon, but she's really not a bad sort. Quite nice, actually."

Gisse nodded to this.

"She thinks you're cute, and I told her all about the stupid contest," Triana said, with more nodding from Gisse at appropriate moments. "So, she's on team Triana now. Look, I'm no idiot. Demons have all kinds of crazy powers, right Gisse?"

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"R-Right!"

"And I'm no slouch when it comes to beating the snot out of werewolves—not you of course, Stanton—but you have a lot of werewolves trying to secure your hand, and I doubt all of them are willing to take no for an answer. That means I might have to throw a few around. Gisse could probably throw them all the way back to the capital."

"How far is that?" Gisse asked.

"About half a day by train."

Gisse was more lost. "What's a train?"

"Never mind that. It's a long way. Days by foot." Triana reached up and brushed some of her hair that'd gotten out of place back. "We can settle it later. Right now, Stanton, know that you now have two shape-shifters and a demon all intent on stopping those others from getting their filthy hands on you."

Gisse and Triana both looked at each other, then looked back to Stanton, and nodded in complete agreement.

The food arrived, relieving Stanton of a need to attempt to calm down the pair. They each got a little stack of sandwiches filled with cheese and meat, then toasted on the outside. As he picked one up to eat, Stanton reflected on how good it was to have people know who he was and what he liked.

Food wasn't common in the pit that Gisse was annoyed to call home. There, sustenance was gained through draining souls of their vitality and releasing them, though some demons did like to occasionally end one just for the extra spice.

A vegan demoness herself, she never ate a soul completely. "I can see the meat, but what was the source?"

"This? This is beef. Cows," Stanton said, opening his sandwich to show her. "The sticky stuff in there is cheese, and the bread is made from grains. On the outside, they soak the bread in duck eggs. It's really tasty, I promise."

"Do these creatures have souls?"

"Very, very small ones," Stanton said.

Focusing herself on the sandwich, Gisse tried to feed off any soul that might be within it—only to find there was none. "Oh! There's no soul in these? Why do you eat them?" she asked, biting down on it. Her eyes flew wide open as the glorious flavor hit her mouth. "Oh." The word came out muffled from her full mouth, but the taste was so good she didn't think twice about it.

"I think that's a yes." Relaxing a little, Stanton tried his best to be non-threatening, but it was a little hard given both women in the room were predators. "So, Gisse, there's a bit of a reputation for demons here. I'm glad you don't seem to have earned it, though."

It was a lead into one of Gisse's favorite, recent arguments. Gulping down the mouthful of sandwich, she nodded. "Don't get me wrong, it's not completely terrible here, but dad kicked me out and told some pig to look after me for the next four hundred years or something, and he wants me to help defeat a hero and help a dragon."

"A dragon?! So the rumors are right?" Stanton stretched his acting ability as far as he could to make his surprise legitimate. He looked at Triana. "There has been a rumor that there was a dragon roaming Conjur."

Triana felt more worried now. A demon was a disaster. A dragon was an existential threat. "There haven't been any dragons for—"

"Well, there's one now. She's tall, shoots lightning, and is an utter bit—" Gisse didn't let herself finish, taking another bite of the delectable food. She angry-munched on the food, but couldn't stop her little sounds of delight at how good it was.

It was weird, but Stanton could see why she was angry and why she'd acted like she had. "I guess demon parents can suck as much as any others, huh?" He didn't want to talk about the dragon, he knew enough about that to fill a book.

"Have yours ever sent you to another plane because you were cramping their style?" Having spoken a little harsher than she'd meant to—particularly to Stanton—Gisse was surprised to see he didn't look upset.

"Okay, you win. Mine just tossed me out of the house and let the servants raise me until I was old enough for school, then the school raised me until I was old enough to make sense of politics, then they got a tutor to raise me." It was mostly true. He'd barely seen his parents before he was twelve, though when he was that age they alternated teaching him about each half of the family. "I know a few tricks about hiding in a crowd. I can help you keep those wings under wraps a little more, if you want?"

Gisse blinked in surprise and, though she knew he had only lived a fraction of her own lifetime, Stanton understood her.

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The summoning circle to the demon realm took up half the floor of the room. Profane energies boiled around its edges and, seated in the middle, a demoness sat. Her legs were long, perfect, and the journey up them would have ruined many marriages. The young demoness wore approximately three pieces of fabric no larger than the palm of her hand. Each piece of her attire clung for dear life to her body—the envy of every man and woman who had a heartbeat. "And then what happened?"

Kicking her feet in excitement, Gisse let out a little squeal. "He hugged me, asked me if I had somewhere to sleep— He was sooooo cute!"

"Well, did you bewitch him?"

Gisse gave her friend a sincerely disgusted look. "Sin! You know I couldn't—wouldn't— Ugh. I don't like doing that. It's not fair on them."

"You are such a bleeding heart, Gisse. My mom says if you ate more souls, you wouldn't be so cold all the time." Syntha looked over at her friend and smirked. "But my mom's so far up herself she could see hellfire. Still, you should put him through his paces; see what he can do."

"I know what he can do, Sin. He's strong, fast, and he knows the best places for food."

Sitting up on the couch she'd sprawled herself on, Syntha Mistress of Desirous Thighs looked at Gisse and blinked her perfect lashes a few times. "You've been on a date?"

"What? No! Well, kinda. His fiancee was there. She's nice."

The repeated sighs were starting to get to Syntha. "Girl, you've got it soooo bad. Make yourself look like his fiancee, bind him to you, and then drag him back down here. Even if you don't want to devour his soul, you could just nibble a bit. You're not against that now, right?"

"No. I"—Gisse gulped and pulled the huge quilt up and over her nose—"promisedhimIwouldn't."

"What was that, Gisse? Because it sounds like you promised a mortal you wouldn't eat any soul while you're incarnate on the material plane, but I know you wouldn't be that stupid because that place is literally free-range souls as far as your fangs can reach!"

"But he's so cute, Sin! When he asks something, I can't stop myself from saying yes. He said he'd figure out a way I could eat without souls." Gisse pulled her legs up to her chin and snuggled herself in her wings and the heavy bedding. "He was so nice, Sin."

"Gisse…" Syntha pulled her rump up the couch and sat up on it. "What can I do to help?"

"This stupid dragon is doing all kinds of idiotic things. I'm worried she'll win. Then she'd take over and Stanton would be her slave." Sighing, Gisse looked at her friend. "Can you make something for him that will protect him from whatever stupidity a dragon can do?"

"Well, the easiest way would be to make him your slave first, then—" Syntha relented at the glare from her friend. "Alright. Ugh. Okay, so we trick the cosmic forces. Enslavement without being a slave. He is bonded to you in a way that makes your powers—and your dad's powers—protect him as if he belonged to you. Think that would work?"

"Dad juiced me up so much, if you could manage that, nothing could touch him." Holding her hands close, her forefingers together, Gisse looked at Syntha. "Can you do it?"

"For you? Of course, Gisse! You are legit the only interesting being left in this place. Everyone else is either so ancient they might as well be animate piles of dust, or they're so stupid they can't get out of the dust's way!"

"C-Can you make it a ring?"

"For his finger?" Syntha laughed when Gisse blushed. "Calm down. I'll have it ready in a week. Just keep that mad dragon from doing anything stupid until then. Also, Gisse, ask him nice if you can have the smallest nibble of his soul. If he gives you permission, it's okay, right?"

"Is it important?"

"Actually, yeah. You can make such a ring, but it will only work on those you have tasted. All you need is the tiniest bit. He won't even feel it."

"Alright!" Gisse slumped back. "I'll ask him nice. Maybe I should pretend to trip again so he catches me and, when he's staring down into my eyes, I ask him. He'll say yes, of course, and then we'll kiss."

"Girl, you've got it bad. Take him somewhere, show him a good time, have a nibble and give him the ring. It'll be a magical night and not entirely a demonic soul-binding experience." Grinning, showing off the tiniest hint of her fangs, Syntha kissed her fingertips. "I have to go. Mom wanted me to work farming souls today. Do everything I would do!"

Gisse rolled her eyes as the portal ended and she was once again alone. Even the chill of not having her own private entrance to her home plane didn't bother her. She jumped out from below the covers and twirled in a circle, letting out a little squeak of excitement.

Then a knock at the door completely shattered the moment. She grabbed up her clothes and pulled them on before calling out, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Cassandra called through the door. "Look, we got off on the wrong foot. I want to apologize for insinuating that you would use those kinds of powers. I get how bad that bigotry can be. I wasn't born a dragon, I was a commoner. Even as a dragon no one will listen to what I have to say unless I make them."

Gisse considered the offer of peace. "Do you promise not to treat me like a succubus?"

"Yeah. I promise to treat you like a friend should." When the door opened, Cassandra smiled. "Hi. I'm Cassandra. Want to help me beat up an annoying werewolf?"

"As long as no cute guys get in the way." Gisse couldn't stop herself from picturing Stanton and giggling. "So, what are we going to do to them?"

"Well…"

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Stanton sneezed. It caught him by surprise, but at that moment he noticed a scent he remembered from his mother's little party. "Hey, Elspeth."

Stepping around a corner in the college, Elspeth Longhowl wore an expensive summer dress along with a grin that barely touched her eyes. "Hmmm. Smart and canny. This is why I agreed to this. You, my delectable morsel, were worth hunting even when all I knew was that you aren't actually male. It's the perfect solution, you see. I get a high-born consort who bestows all his titles and such onto my child, and I get to pick another father for them."

"Nnnope. One of the things I agreed to is taking care of that sort of thing. Any pups my wife has will be mine." Stanton stuck his tongue out at Elspeth. "So, what has you in town?"

"That was your last required attendance for the semester. Your projects are all handed in. All your tests are taken. Come on, you're going out to dinner with me." Reaching for Stanton's hand, Elspeth took it in her own vice-like grip and started to turn—only for him to tug his wrist from her. "What?"

"I'm sorry, you'll have to get in line. I'm having dinner with Lorissa tonight." Setting his hand back at his side, Stanton flashed his smile at Elspeth. "And tomorrow I agreed to dinner with—"

"You will change your plans."

"No I won't. You could always talk to Triana about tomorrow's dinner, but tonight is definitely with Lorissa. We're celebrating the end of semester. Cass is coming too."

"'Cass'? That would be your recent female dalliance, Cassandra? Forget the both of them. I don't share a male with anyone."

In a way, Stanton had to respect her for her forthrightness and the fact she called him male despite knowing what had happened. At the same time, though, he had no intention of marrying her if he could find a noble insect he could propose to. "Take it up with Triana. I hear she's no pushover in a fight, though."

"Fighting who?" Lorissa asked, catching the end of Stanton's words as she arrived. "Hey, are we still celebrating tonight?"

"Of course we are. Elspeth was just saying she wants to set up a contest tomorrow to see who gets a more intimate date." Stanton fluttered his eyelashes—something he'd been practicing for such an occasion. "Are you in?"

"Who gets to choose the location? If we're going somewhere, it won't be one of those fancy restaurants where you get two mouthfuls for dinner." Lorissa crossed her arms over her chest. "Also, I'm definitely in. Who else?"

"Myself," Elspeth said, "and I assume Triana will not turn down such a fight. What will be the rules?"

Stanton didn't need to do much thinking to put his own spin on things. "That's easy. You'll be cooking food. I'll judge, along with my familiar and maid."

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This story is released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license. If you are paying money to see this or the original creator, Damaged, is not credited, you are viewing a plagiarized copy of the story.