Being rude or judgmental on first impressions was something I tried to avoid - not always successfully, I must admit. Stupid human nature, and a thing I found inherent in the beasts as well. One look, one whiff, instincts kicked in, and I concluded that [Neralles’s Wonders] was nothing more than a medieval-looking sex shop, its shelves stocked with all manner of magic tools of varying and sometimes all-too-familiar shapes.

Not exactly what I was here for, so I made my way to the potion display, trying to remain unfazed by the surrounding wares. Unfortunately, what I found there were dozens of glass bottles filled with liquids of all colors and with names that meant nothing to me.

“May I help you, ma’am?” the store assistant spoke from behind the counter, quickly making her way to me. “Is it an aphrodisiac you’re looking for? We have a variety of flavors of diverse aromas with a range of effects. Or is it a potion to enhance the senses? This one will take you to new heights with every touch, and that one will make you feel like time has stopped, allowing you to enjoy those highs longer. This tonic will give you more stamina; this one will take it away.”

“A-away?”

The woman - some sort of raccoon terran - grinned. “Some people of your strength and higher like to pass out exhausted after enjoying themselves and not going at it all night.”

Regretting even asking, I calmed my breath. “Not why I’m here. I was told you have everything here as far as heat is concerned?”

“But yes, indeed we do? What exactly do you have in mind, ma’am? Is it the rings . . . ?”

“I would like to stop it.”

“Oh . . .” the raccoon woman paused, staring at me as if I were from Mars - I meant another planet.

“Or suppress it, if that’s possible,” I added quickly.

“Indeed, it is entirely possible. This way, please,” the raccoon store assistant said, quickly recovering from her initial surprise. “We have items for this particular season in another section. May I ask what you prefer, tools or consumables?”

Knowing that this woman had to deal with terrans with far more awkward problems and demands did not make it any easier to admit the truth. “I . . . you see, t-this is the first time for me.”

“Oh, I see. Quite a late bloomer you are. Well, consumables have a duration that depends on many factors and can vary from hours to days. Just like tools, they have their advantages and disadvantages. You have to remember when to take your next potion, tonic, or pill, but you won’t be inconvenienced by wearing them all the time, ma’am.”

“The - the downside of tools, I suppose?”

“Indeed. However, if you recharge the mana batteries before each mating season, the tools will comfortably last you through the entire period. Another thing to consider is that consumables can be customized to the specific needs of the customer, such as race, level, or gender, while tools are for more general use.”

“It’s more . . . more complicated than I thought.”

The raccoon woman smiled warmly. “It doesn’t have to be. It just depends on how complicated one makes it. Mating can be quite simple and enjoyable.”

Her hint didn’t escape me. “I w-would have thought you were trying to sell your wares, not talk me out of it.”

“Our priority is customer satisfaction. The motto of the old lady Neralle and her children try to adhere to that as well.”

“That’s . . . not very common.” Both here and on Earth.

“No, it’s not, but likely the reason they recommended this place to you.”

There was nothing I could say to that, so I looked around at the wares. Some things I couldn’t even imagine wearing, like iron panties that looked not far from a chastity belt on a key. But it was the tools that I was drawn to. There was no latent weird urge behind it seeping out now, just plain old rationality. I was made of several beasts, not one. Whether I liked it or not, there was a good chance I’d be going through this several times a year from now on. It would be nice to have something I could use as often as I wanted whenever I felt the need.

“Something caught your eye, ma’am? Or have you changed your mind?”

“To be honest, I-I just came to look at your goods today. I have no coins on me to buy.”

The raccoon woman smiled knowingly. “You are neither the first nor the last to do so. Even so, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Little did she know that I was burdened with so many.

***

“How did it go?” Sah asked, waiting for me outside the shop.

“Weren’t you listening?” I shot back, still red in the face from my conversation with the raccoon woman.

“Believe it or not, despite the nature of my job, I respect other people’s privacy and know when it’s better to turn a deaf ear,” he said, taking a step back when I growled, not really buying his bullshit, even though I couldn’t detect any lies in his honey-like voice. “If you insist, I wasn’t particularly curious to hear the benefits of rings piercing your tits as opposed to bracelets or a hip belt.”

“Bastard! So you were listening!”

Honestly, I don’t know why I was pissed at him when I was aware of his presence in the store the whole time. I guess I just needed to vent my pent-up frustration, or just hide my embarrassment about the whole thing.

“Sah?”

“Yes?”

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“You know my…my problem, then? Right?”

“Yes.” Luckily, he had the good sense not to utter it out loud.

“But why now? Do you think it could be you-know-who behind this? I mean, I’ve been away for over eight months - getting in touch with my inner beasts and nothing. Then I met him, and I am a mess.”

“I wouldn’t rule it out, but it could just be that you’ve been stuck in a loop.”

“W-what . . . oh. Shit! You may be right, annoyingly.” No matter what progress I made in the heart of Fallen’s Cry, which might eventually drive me into the heat, my body always reverted to the state I came into every five days in Echo. It would make so much sense. Yet I found it hard to believe that all of this had caught up with me just as I met Cenberet Waldobert Liryadon.

There had to be more to it than Sah was saying. There had to be.

“It wouldn’t be the first time I’m not wrong.” The confident grin, the arrogance - oh no, not this bastard.

“Why did you even show up? Just to jerk me around?” I barked back, trying to get my shit under control.

“As much fun as it is, no. Captain Rayden contacted me. She wants to see you - and me.”

“She does?”

“Good, maybe I can ask her if she’ll give me a salary in advance or something. These potions are going to cost a fortune.”

“Potions? I thought you were more interested in tools?”

“As it turns out, at the rate I’m leveling, I’d either have to buy one that matches my level every time I go into heat, or a really, really good one for which I won’t have the coins, not even in a million years.”

“Don’t potions come with the same issue?”

“They should cost me less in the end, though.”

“Really?”

“I know, I know, depending on how often I get into heat. And don’t you dare make this any more awkward for me than it already is!”

“Then maybe we’d better go.”

“Finally talking sense,” I growled, knowing full well how unfairly grumpy I was being towards Sah.

***

“What are you doing here?”

“Good to see you too, Little Beast.”

I couldn’t say the same for Deckard. Not that I didn’t like having him here, far from it. Just . . . was my heart beating faster in his presence because I was happy to see my mentor? Or was it the heat that kicked in? It could just as easily have been me overthinking things. This whole heat business was so vexing.

“I saw it fair to inform him since the issue concerns his apprentice, Grey. Have a seat,” Rayden explained, unperturbed, pointing to the two armchairs across from her desk, only to sigh when neither of us moved. Both men preferred to stand, while I found the armchairs to be the most annoying piece of seating furniture.

“Suit yourself. I’ll get straight to the point. The matter of a certain Sylyrys Katsk Agent Sah saw the need for my personal verification. A woman in her forties, [Seamstress], three children, husband, leads an orderly life in Castiana. Born here, as were her parents. Ring any bells, Grey?”

“Not at all, I’m afraid. I don’t think I’ve ever met her.”

“Good. I had to ask, though.”

“Does she have anything to do with Liryadon?”

“Liryadon? That peddler? What makes you think that?”

“Um . . .” Sah cleared his throat. “I’ll explain later, Captain.”

“You better. So, Sylyrys Katsk - she was under the influence of mind magic.”

My heart stopped, my hands cold as ice; Sage pulled into the safety of my legs. The mind mages were operating in the city! To hear it confirmed was worse than I thought.

“I was under the impression that you and Agent here had swept them out of the Castiana, San,” Deckard voiced my thoughts aloud.

“We did. But you know how hard it is to track down all those who have been touched by mind mages. It would be easier if all the runes on the walls and throughout the city worked as they should, but unfortunately, they don’t.”

As vexing as it was, not much seemed to have changed in my absence. Still . . ."You found some? Them? I mean, mind mages?"

“Two. Low levels. Just gathering information,” Sah filled me in.

“Which seems to be the case with Sylyrys Katsk,” Rayden added, and continued. “Apparently unaware of it, she regularly wrote reports that she handed out here and there at night. The locations vary, but the times don’t, which suggests she’s getting some feedback back.”

“Interesting, disturbing, but interesting. How strong was the binding of her mind?” Sah asked without a trace of pity for the woman.

“Light, very subtle. Easy to remove. But the problem is that they’ll notice the missing reports. You realize that, don’t you, Agent Sah?”

“Better than her reporting your move,” the Imperial Agent replied, only to sigh. “I wish those two were here already. I could have one tail her, and another Liryadon.”

“Him again. Talk! As far as I know, Katsk had no contact with the peddler.”

“No, she didn’t, but Grey here ran into him this morning.”

“Not literally,” I stupidly felt the need to clarify, not sure why.

“Anyway, an interesting encounter I failed to witness . . .”

***

“For fuck's sake! You left her alone with a dragon?!” Deckard snapped after hearing what had happened this morning, while Rayden massaged her temples, trying to process what she had just heard.

“It seems you weren’t listening. I . . .”

“Bullshit! You left her there unattended.”

“I assessed the danger - wrongly, I admit - and followed protocol.”

“You should use your head.”

“High of you to say that. Where were you? In whose bed?”

“Okay, that’s enough, guys!” Rayden growled, her soothing aura rolling across the room. “And you, Grey, stop grinning like a damn fool. For Traiana’s sake! Do either of you realize how bad this can get?”

“Why do you think I’m pissed at this amateur, San? During the Wars . . .”

“Because of your own incompetence - you weren’t there for her again! Or am I wrong?”

She knew my mentor too well.

“No, you’re not,” Deckard growled back, defeated.

“Good. And Grey, seriously . . . stop grinning and take this seriously.”

Her aura rolled over me like a mental slap that I so desperately needed to realize how much I was enjoying these two fighting over me.

“Look, Deckard, I know I made a mistake,” Agent Sah said with a hint of apology in his voice. His lapse in judgment was eating away at him. “But even if Liryadon wasn’t a dragon - which we don’t even know yet for sure - and was just a powerful one comparable to Esudein, I wouldn’t be able to do shit if . . .” he let us all figure out the unspoken, his eyes sliding to me. “Actually, there might be another problem.”

“Another? Are you kidding me . . . ?” Rayden whined, fatigue and a headache raging behind his eyes. “What now?”

“Well,” he said, looking at me again for approval, which I gave, though not very willingly. “Grey’s going into heat.”

I couldn’t say the shocked looks from Deckard and Rayden were pleasant, but neither was the thought of losing control of my own body in a mere conversation. It reminded me too much of the time I had a collar around my neck, its power twisting my mind to that lunatic’s wishes.

“Wait,” Deckard was the first to come to his senses - or so I thought. “Are you saying she could jump the dragon?”

“Again, we don’t know for sure that Liryadon is one, but yes - or it could be the other way around.”

“What? W-what are you talking about?” The agent bastard had never mentioned anything like that to me before.

“It’s said that some beasts can smell their mates across the land,” Rayden explained, understanding, unlike me, where the Imperial Agent was going with that, and sank into her chair. “I’m getting too tired of this job.”