Well this sucks.

Geneeva watched from the small enclosure he was currently imprisoned in, the sun had long set and the entire village was celebrating around a bonfire that had been erected in the village's center. He looked over the small log buildings present, taking note of the simple designs and plain exteriors.

This place really is small…and its people poor.

The villagers kept themselves clean and tidy, but the clothes they wore were of simple design, and nearly everything was made of animal hide. Either unprocessed or turned into leather.

Though…it’s form fitting at least.

Hiding a selfish grin he looked out over the crowd, every woman present had clothing that fit snugly with little waste, he guessed that in a world of mostly women, that wearing tight revealing clothes was more commonplace without the worry of the opposite gender being around to harass them.

Sitting down on the dirt he began going over his day.

He had entered the village with his hands tied firmly to a small trading cart they had found near the edge of the white woods, he assumed that the owners of such a small cart had most likely fallen victim to one of the infected. After repairing a couple of the broken boards, they had loaded it up with several hooved animals the girls had managed to catch, the hides had been fashioned into a makeshift shirt and pants to hide his exposed body.

After being paraded around the village he was abruptly locked in the back room of one of the houses as the girls prepared a wooden cage like enclosure for him to be Tethered in. During this time, he realized just how sensitive his sense of hearing was, despite being contained in the back room of a shack he was still able to hear the women talking and working outside and down the road as they worked.

Eventually they had gathered him and thrown him into the enclosure, a large log had been pegged into the ground to work as a post to attach a rope to, the women had firmly tied his hands together before attaching them to rope. After which they had simply left him and begun preparing the animals he had hauled in, the women seemed to loiter around the area as if lazily watching him, however once the fire was started and celebrations began they quickly ignored his presence and began mingling around instead.

I’m being ignored…what terrible guards.

Two women had been posted to keep an eye on his cage, but besides turning away the odd women who approached out of curiosity they hardly lingered around the area at all, within the hour they had made their way over closer to the fire to enjoy the drinks and food now being served, only periodically glancing his way.

Relaxing in the cool night air, he focused on listening to the crowd with his newfound hearing, only taking several minutes of concentration before he could pick out individual conversations.

Most of the party goers were enthusiastically talking of how the funds from his sale would be spent, a considerable amount of praise was being given to Shoji and Luna for capturing him, as well as the variety of large game they had brought back and prepared for the night's festivities.

He managed to pick up Shoji several times throughout the night repeating the story of how they had found him running through the woods. She explained how she had easily run him down as he frantically fled from the girls. Like an escaped animal fleeing its pen. Sighing, he ignored the conversation after hearing it for the third time. Only focusing in on her talk again when she was close enough to the enclosure that he could easily see her.

Toss up on who is more beautiful between those two…that’s for sure.

While Luna had been a fair skinned beauty who gave off a delicate lustful aura, Shoji was tanned into a wonderful bronze that nearly matched her brunette locks, her toned body showed off years of hard work she had put into building herself, the same delicate facial features as Luna also showing clearly on her face, a testament to fact they shared the same father.

A fair skinned, delicate beauty, and her sporty, strong, bronze skinned lover. Opposites truly do attract.

Smiling to himself he continued his recon through the crowd, trying to pick up the names of noteworthy members of the village.

Serena and Serene. Twins that excel at annoying others and sneaking about.

Shoji. The village's prized warrior and the lover and guardian of Luna.

Luna. The only fox spirit of the village in several generation's, treated like a relic against her will and only allowed out of the village when Shoji is with her.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Mariana. The chief of the village, currently avoiding the party due to her worrying about another group of girls…

He had heard the twins talking about the report that had come back on the findings of that campsite. He smirked as he thought of what the women would do if they knew both those girls were technically here right now.

As everyone ate and drank their fill, he felt a sense of accomplishment growing within himself. Everything was falling into place better than he had imagined.

Few of the villagers were born with the blessing of spirits. Meaning the majority of those present had no way of sensing his corruption at all, and of those lucky enough to be blessed the fear of the villages secret being noticed by a slave they were about to sell prevented them from taking their animal forms. If he were to notice and tell his new owners, they could not risk the potential attention it would draw to themselves.

Even in this world with its many beings, the lycan abilities of these girls are strange.

He pleasantly hummed to himself as he felt his corruption growing quickly within the village. Had the women been willing to expose their forms while he was here they would have quickly realized the danger in letting Luna and Shoji prepare the food tonight. Even after being cooked his blood still emitted a strong essence. Just a few drops being added to the mead barrel the girls had pulled up from storage had also tainted the entire batch.

Concentrating within himself he drew forth vast amounts of mana, instead of sending out individual lines to those present he simply expelled it in a cloud throughout the village, just as he had practiced out in the woods. The souls of those present would repel the corrupting effect, but just as every defense had a limit so did one’s soul. Being assaulted from outside as well as inside the body the corruption would slowly spread into those present.

Relaxing back in his enclosure he smirked to himself, though it might take some time, none of these villagers would escape him.

I wonder who will succumb first.

He patiently waited as the night dragged on, guessing that at least an hour had passed since the group had eaten.

Holy shit is this boring. How do slaves put up with this without biting their tongues off to drown?

Although he had never considered himself one to think of his fellow man, born slavery had always left a sour taste in his mouth, one should be given the chance to show their worth. Not to say they couldn’t show it to be worth a slave’s life mind you, he felt little remorse for slaves of battle or dept slaves, both of which had found themselves disemboweled before him in the name of his God on multiple occasions.

There’s one!

He smiled to himself as he spotted a woman in the crowd intently staring at him, her face conflicted as she watched him. Eventually another woman began talking to her, drawing her eyes from him.

Soon after various women began to sneak more and more glances his way, some even began ignoring those around him to instead just watch him. What had been a festive night soon became stifled in sorrow, like the sight of him being caged brought on a great sadness in the crowd.

The women who remained resilient to such effects soon became confused at the predicament now taking a hold of the village. Some tried to continue talking to their comrades, hoping the moment would pass. While others simply got up and left, deciding to retire for the evening, perhaps thinking they had drunk too much and muddied their thoughts.

Soon even those who had shown a resistance to his corruption began to silence themselves as they too joined in watching him.

Only those who did not come out remain whole.

Slowly a young raven-haired girl rose from her seat, plate in hand, and began making her way towards his enclosure. As she approached several women began making the attempt to stop her, only to pause and abandon it. Some would raise a hand, or open their mouths to speak, only to find themselves unable to grab the girl or find the words they needed to say.

As she approached she brought her plate forward, slipping it between the wooden bars meant to stop his escape. As she carefully rested it on the ground she whispered.

“I’m sorry…I should do more…but...I can’t.” pulling back her arms slowly she turned to leave, only to pause and instead stand there motionless, watching him.

He looked over the girl, she had been one of the twins he had seen from afar, though he did not know which, naturally.

“What is your name?” His voice was sweet and caring, though he feigned both. Being inside a cage while resting in the dirt had driven his mood foul. A plate full of food had only slightly elevated it.

“Serene” The girl smiled as she answered him, excited that he was taking the time to talk to her.

“You and your sister are twins, correct?” As he asked her he could see her eyes widen, her face slightly flushing as surprise spread over it.

“You… You noticed us!” She seemed joyful at the revelation that he had been watching her before she came up.

Looking at the young woman smiling before him he tried to maintain his composure, laughing at her would be out of character for such a moment.

This corrupting effect…I thought it was as if those affected become your comrades, but that is wrong. It’s like those affected see you as their idol. Eager to be noticed in any way.

Amazing.

Her shy composure was now replaced with a joyful one, as if gaining confidence at being noticed she motioned towards the plate.

“The meat is really good, will you try some?” For a moment her beaming smile almost drove him to take the plate, as if to appease her happy nature.

“I will not.” His reply was blunt, leaving no room for hesitation, no sooner did he speak it than the smile fled from her face, being replaced with a saddened disappointment.

“But why?” Her saddened tone now matched her face as she stared at the plate, avoiding his eyes.

He smiled towards her, speaking softly. “That’s a slaves plate, and this is a slaves shack. I will eat when I sit at a table worthy of my presence.” He nodded as he spoke, watching as the girl silently stood before him, refusing to meet his gaze.

With a slight nod she replied “Ok” reluctantly turning and briskly walking away, almost breaking into a run as she gained some distance from him.

“I wonder how long before she comes…” He spoke to himself absentmindedly, recalling the words Shoji had warned him with.

“The chief sleeps in her spirit form.”

A single sentence that had a dangerous meaning behind it. Mariana had not visited the feast, and the night was growing late. Both Luna and Shoji were able to clearly sense his corrupting mana while in their animal forms, it was only a matter of time before his tactic would be revealed to everyone present. He could only hope that by then it would be far too late.

Sitting in meditation he focused on expelling a steady stream of mana from within himself, he had quickly realized this body could draw forth vast quantities of it with little signs of fatigue. Even so, he made sure to expel it at a rate he could easily sustain, as to avoid even the slightest mishap.

After nearly an hour of meditation the silence of the night was cut short as a rage filled scream echoed out from the edge of the village, the woman's voice had combined with her animal, giving the cry an eerie tone, as if two beings, not one were crying out.

So it begins.