The moment I tried to stand up a cramp rippled down my lower half, taking my hind legs out from under me. My mind cried out as the heat in my core expanded yet further. Ginger was either worried about my lack of movement or my silent cry wasn’t so silent. Either way, she reached me in moments.
Hands around me, she picked me up as if I weighed nothing more than a small dog. Her fingers scratched beneath the fur as her voice crooned. “It will be okay.” As she walked toward where I assumed the bathroom was, she continued. “It will get easier soon.”
The bathroom came into sight right then as she rounded the doorframe. The place was massive. It was nearly as large as the room behind me and most of the floor space was taken up by the massive bathtub. I almost wondered just how many people were expected to live in and use these rooms.
Ginger didn’t hesitate as she made her way across the room and to the edge of the tub. Her voice was soft as she set me on the edge. “While I know you don’t want to, you need to shift back to your other form.” I let out a soft whine as the steam started to wet my fur. That water had to be hot enough to burn someone, let alone feel comfortable. She must have misunderstood why I had whined because her words were filled with sorrow. “I know it hurts but trust me.”
The pain I could hear was enough to push me to at least try. With an effort of will, I pulled up the window and tried to select the human option. To my horror, the window flashed red as a text box popped up and stole my attention.
The Human form option is not available during your heat.
What the fuck did that mean? Another ripple of pain reminded me that there was more to worry about than what forms I could and could not use. Selecting the only other option I quickly found myself dropping over the edge and into the water as the shift of weight and size caused me to lose my balance.
While I had been feeling hot before, it had nothing on the water around me. Hell, I was pretty sure that this little lake was on the verge of boiling. Yet it didn’t hurt. If anything it felt amazing. Within moments the heat penetrated through my skin and into the muscles below. Slowly the muscles released and relaxed. For the first time in however long it had been, I was free of pain.
A pair of arms grabbed my armpits and pulled me toward the surface. “I got you,” Ginger said as she pulled me toward the wall and into a seat. “Better?” Instead of answering, I nodded. “Good because we have to go over a few things before your heat gets too far along. Before the heat no longer helps.”
While I knew I should have been panicking over the fact that the heat would stop working, that something else might happen, I was just too worn out. “Why?”
Ginger’s hand caressed my right ear. I leaned into the pleasant touch as she spoke. “Because your body will demand that you find someone to sate yourself against. Likely driving you so far as to try and make them your mate.” I groaned as I realized what she was insinuating.
“And if I don’t?” I asked even though I could probably guess what she was going to say.
“The need will build until either it is sated, at which it will force you two to do the deed as many times as possible, or until your heat ends.” I should thank whatever god was out there that had decided to take it easy on me and limit this to twelve hours.
“What if I found someone willing to help me and we refrained from making it permanent?” I asked, curious but not willing to think about what that would mean. What I would have to do with a random guy all in the hopes of avoiding some pain.
Her hand paused for a moment showing how much my question had surprised her. “The problem is I have no clue how Kitsune mate for life. While wolves and most shifters mark their mates to make the bond permanent, there are a few species that form a bond from the moment they look into each other's eyes or exchange blood.”
I could tell that the heat was working and I was relaxing because my voice wasn’t as clipped and almost sounded lazy. “What species exchanges blood to form a bond?”
“Vampires for the most part. Though there are a few demons.” At the word demon, my body instantly stiffened as my heart rate tried to blast off. “Natural SoulStone changed demons, not those changed by contracts or born.” Ginger quickly added.
I almost wanted to argue that there was nothing natural about the SoulStone and that all demons were evil and should be killed but the mention of the stone reminded me of my own transformation. It reminded me of what had happened. Of what I had changed into. I wasn’t simply a Kitsune, I was a Demonic Kitsune, whatever that meant.
Thankfully the foxkin was a talker because she didn’t notice my lack of a response or my face as she continued. “Though, it's pretty funny that most of those demons and vampires were politicians or ran some of the biggest businesses.” Okay, that was pretty funny. Fitting in a way. “But, where was I? Ah, we don’t know what will bond you to someone else. Given that you don’t want to just make such a permanent decision on a whim or simply to ease your pain, we will keep you separated from all temptation until after your heat has passed. Hopefully next time…”
“Next time?!” I cried out at the very thought that there would be a next time.
“Well, you didn’t think it was a one-off thing, did you? Most animals go through this at least once a year. Most of us are assuming that we are the same. Though, in the case of beastman like me, we can simply ask those that live here.”
For the last minute, a soft ache had started in my stomach but I managed to ignore it. That is until it decided to pulse in time with my heart. To distract myself, I asked her a question that had been bugging me since Xander had brought me to this building the first time. “How did you and Pendragon meet?” Her hand paused in their ministrations. Whether it was from shock or embarrassment, I had no clue.
A couple dozen pulses later, her hand resumed rubbing at my ear. Ginger’s voice was a bit whistful as she recalled something. “We met on the battlefield. I was on my own, cut off from anyone as a handful of creatures attacked me. Which wouldn’t have been an issue except for the pair of demons that were supporting and ordering the creatures around. They anticipated everything I would cast, every attack I would use, and acted accordingly. Hell, they were playing with me because we all knew I stood no chance.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Where was your brother?” I asked, curious as I doubted the guy would let his sister get into so much trouble.
“He was with a group of people that had crossed the battlefield in an attempt to cut off the demon’s reinforcements and retreat.” She stopped talking as she switched hands and started to rub my left ear. I leaned into the touch as I waited for her to resume talking. “When it looked like the demons were done playing with me, they had their creatures hold me down. Likely so they could do something to me.”
With the fact that this had to have been a while ago, I had to assume it was before we had received the SoulStones. Still, I had to be sure. I coughed as I interrupted her. “Was this before the spring festival?”
“Yeah. Why?”
I didn’t answer her as I closed my eyes and asked one of my own. “Did it look like they were going to give you their blood?”
“Maybe? Does it matter?” Ginger sounded a bit concerned and confused at the direction of my question.
“Well,” I drew out the word as I tried to think about how to say what I wanted. A twinge in my gut caused me to wince and I decided fuck it. My hand flicked up as I pulled up my interface and opened my logs. “How do I make it so you can see my screen?” As I asked that, a prompt popped up.
Would you like to make your screen visible to everyone?
As soon as I agreed her hand stopped. My eyes scanned over the information presented as I waited for her question. It included quite a bit, but the majority of what I wanted was right there in a more technical log than what the system typically used. It wasn’t long before she asked me the question I had been expecting. “What is this?”
“This is what happened when I used the SoulStone.” I gestured to the line referring to demonic taint. “This part is referring to the demonic blood I had been unknowingly ingesting.” Her nails dug into the cartilage of my ear. The sharp pain was accompanied by a sharp intake of breath. “From what the demon was saying, his daughter was trying to make me into something like family. Likely with the intention to gain some sort of control over me.”
We were both silent. I was happy to sit in this warm water as she thought about all the implications. Just as long as I was no longer in pain. Her hand shook slightly as she spoke. “The thought of them even gaining control over one person is frightening. How would we even detect such a thing?” That I had no clue nor did I care as the soft pulse turned into a deep throb.
I moved a hand to my middle and slowly rubbed the spot. The feeling dulled but it showed that she had been right. The water would only help for so long.“I am sorry to switch topics but can you finish explaining how you and Pendragon met.”
“Where was I?” she asked but didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “That’s right, the creatures were holding me down. Well, just as the demons approached, a figure dropped out of the sky. A flash of light cut the air parallel to him as it landed behind the first demon. It bisected the creature, killing it in an instant. The other demon lasted a couple of moments longer but it did just as easily to the man. Throughout the fight, the demon only had time to call for the creatures. Free from their hold, I blasted the distracted creatures apart with magic.”
“Let me guess, the man was Pendragon?” I smirked, knowing the answer.
“Even covered in blood, the man looked like a god and he had saved me.” She said in a wistful voice. “I had a crush before the guy took a second to check on me. I don’t know what came over me at the time but while he was checking for injuries I asked him out on a date. Surprisingly enough, he agreed.”
“So what is the problem?” I was confused as to how the two of them could go from that to what they were now.
“Our duties caused the two of us to push the date back to the spring festival.”
“But I thought you were not in the area for the last two weeks?” The timing didn’t seem right. I knew I had been out for a few days but the spring festival was during the time she had been gone.
“Don’t tell my brother this but I came back to the city for the festival.” She sounded sheepish. “The date went perfectly. So much so that we ended up back at his place. We both used our stones together. I expected to be out of action for a few days given some of the effects but he used some sort of item to cancel everything but the changes.”
It sounded as though he did something similar to what the professor had done. Which made me wonder just how many people had similar items and why. Was someone making a ton of these items and handing them out? If so where was mine? Then again if I had such an item I wouldn’t have used it. Not when I needed the extra boost it gave me.
“As soon as our changes were done, his entire demeanor changed. He went from the blissful happiness of having had a good time to nearly demanding. And, while I want to say I was much better, I wasn’t. His smell was heavenly and I had the sudden desire to bite into his flesh.” She let out a dark chuckle. “To say I was scared was an understatement. I ran as fast as I could from the city. Returning to the deep patrol and monitoring mission I had been assigned to.”
“Was the desire to bite him the reason you attacked him?”
“No,” she snorted. “That was because the moron kept trying to get me transferred from my unit to something in the back.” While I barely knew Ginger even I knew that was a stupid idea.
Recalling the change in her demeanor between then and when I had next seen her, I asked. “What happened between you two after we left?”
“We talked. Mostly he asked what it would take for me to accept him as my mate.”
“And what did you say?”
“I told him to stop being so damned bossy. To let me be me. I am not one to hide in the back. If he wanted me to give us a chance then he would have to put up with me being next to him no matter who or what we were facing.”
“Guessing he fought you?”
She laughed. “Nope, the man agreed without hesitation. It was almost as if he realized that there was no way he would win that argument.”
“Smart man.” I joined in her laugh only to wince as the motion caused my nipples to slide through the surface of the water. It seemed that, since I had gotten into the water, my nipples had grown so sensitive that I could feel the water drops sliding off them. My hand lifted toward my chest but stayed a fraction of an inch away as I hesitated, not knowing if my touch would make the feeling better or worse.
Ginger’s laughter stopped only a fraction of a second later than mine had. She must have noticed where my hand was and my hesitation. “You will find that, while it isn’t perfect or even half as good as sex, masturbating will help with the pain.” My eyes squeezed shut at the idea of masturbating. I had been holding myself back out of fear that I might like it and not want to go back to my male body, but it seemed like my body wasn’t giving me much of a choice.
Her hand dropped to my shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. “Your body is nothing to be ashamed of. Sure, you are not a guy anymore, but that doesn’t mean you cannot live and enjoy your new body. Just…at least give it a chance.” Her words struck at something deep inside me. At a fear that I had not told her with words but my reactions. With them, she stood up and started for the door.
Before she could leave, I asked her a simple question. “How did you deal with your heat?”
“Alone,” She sounded a bit sad. “But the cramps were just akin to a really bad period.” With those words, she left me to make up my mind. To make a decision that might change everything or nothing.
“Wait, did she say these were akin to a really bad period?” I asked no one. “Fuck. I forgot I would get those now.”