Only the moonlight illuminated the room in which Grey was staying, still, it was enough for him to see. The gentle shades of muted colours calmed his mind. However, he was anything but calm. The cursed image clung to his mind and he kept reliving the nightmare inside his head. The which has cast a curse upon him, she must have.

Grey clutched his head with both hands, willing the phantom of a cursed penis to leave his head. It worked, but he knew that if he didn't find a distraction it will be back again. He cursed the witch twice, for meeting her/him and for making him this way.

Anyway, he couldn’t sleep so he looked around the room for anything he could distract himself. There was a chest brim filled with coins. No, once there was one, but now it was two. The coins have multiplied themselves somehow. It wasn’t Grey’s doing. It was the she-elf who loved to play with these shiny things, she must have stolen more.

Grey rolled a golden coin between his fingers, playing with it as the she-devil would. But unlike her, he didn’t find pleasure in the act. He tossed the coin to the wall in contempt. Then, he opened another chest, this one filled with jewellery. He had never worn jewellery before so he wondered what was the appeal. Grey tried a few pretty pieces but none of them fit him, the trinkets were clearly made for a woman. He sighed, the distractions were shortlived.

These were the things half-elf liked. But what did he like? What was his passion? He wondered to himself for a moment. He liked hunting, he liked tasting new things and that was about it. Well, he did try to wander the streets seeking interesting prey, but either nothing caught his eye or he was just too distracted. So he didn't feel like pursuing an empty goal yet again. He felt disheartened and unmotivated, an alien feeling of melancholy.

He took a deep breath in, held it for a couple of seconds and let it out. The action was soothing, yet he kept pacing around the large room, unable to relax and catch a so much-needed shuteye. The inside of his nostrils tingled. It was a tiny prick rousing his mind. There was a smell. The smell he had almost gotten used to. Actually, it was the lack of it. Grey smiled in a big toothy grin.

The poison had left the elf’s body. The dessert was back on the menu! Grey opened the door leading to a smaller room. It started as a large closet but on the she-devil's whim was converted to her sleeping champers and a place she could get some privacy. There in the tiny room, on a tiny bed, was sleeping the petite elf. Her long blonde hair was sprawled all across the bed just like the woman herself. A thin blanket covered her body halfway through, and in her even thinner nightgown, she seemed so peaceful. So delicious. A perfect midnight snack.

Grey approached close to her and took a big breath of air in. The smell was ripe with magic, a mouthwatering scent. He smelled her neck greedily, savouring every second of it. The elf remained oblivious, peacefully taking her breaths, so he removed the blanket to eye his desert. The presentation of the food was almost as important as the food itself. He eyed the elf, judging her form. It seems she has lost some weight, there was barely any fat on her body. Yet still, she was an eye candy to behold. The silken nightgown hugged her petite figure tightly leaving very little to the imagination.

Deprived of the blanked and exposed to the cool air the elf moved to a curl. Still unaware of the monstrous danger looming over her. Grey continued to ogle her as a predator would. Her tiny nipples perked up from the cold. They were asking Grey to feel them up. And he will, using hands while eating made the food so much tastier.

A fat drop of saliva splashed on the elf’s neck. Grey was drooling like a dog. The half-elf opened her eyes and she almost jumped from being startled. Almost ­– because she couldn't. Grey grabbed her by the neck to hold her down.

“What?!” She yelped still surprised.

“Finally, I get to eat you.” He whispered into her ear while his other hand coped a feel on her chest.

“No! We had a deal!” she protested trying to kick him off.

“What deal?”

“No don’t need to do this. I have almost had another one ready for you.”

Grey shrugged. “A bird in a hand is worth two in a bush.”

His tongue tasted her neck making it slick with saliva.

She grimaced while struggling “That’s not true! Think about it.”

Grey ignored the she-devil. This time she will not trick him. He was done playing her games. Instead, he ripped the luxury garment standing between him and his meal. The moonlight beam coming from a tiny window made her skin look even more pale-white than usual. Or was it the fear?

“Stop!” She begged.

The she-elf crossed her legs shut hiding her private parts. At least she wasn’t trying to kick at him.

“Are you ashamed?” Grey wanted to laugh, there were bigger things for her to worry about.

He tried to get on top of the bed to get a better hold of the struggling meal. The tiny bed broke of course and the two hit the floor with a thump. Grey slumped on top of the elf almost crushing her.

“Ups.” He pulled himself up using both of his hands.

That was the mistake. The elf scurried away from under him. Grey managed to grab her by the ankle before she could jump into the sprint. He pulled making the woman slam to the ground. “Where are you going?” He pulled closer.

“Do not eat me! I promise I will fetch you mages. Many mages…” She spoke out trying to reason.

“A deception.” Grey reasoned.

He pressed her back down so she could not flee and tasted her delicious bottom. Every part of her tasted good even the anus. A real connoisseur ate every part of the animal.

“Ah! What are you doing?” She yelped sounding startled.

No reply was needed. It was obvious, he was just tasting his food. The elf squirmed while Grey made a good effort to enjoy every inch of it.

“No… Stop, stop. You can’t!”

She was begging and Grey responded to that with more vigour. Finding pleasure in her torment. He turned her around and pulled her legs apart. She looked at him with horror in her eyes.

“No…” Her voise tiny and meek.

“Yes!” Grey smiled at the reaction. Finally, he will get back at her for his ruined dinner from before at the stable.

This was exactly what he needed to lift the witch curse. He opened his mouth wide and stretched his tongue long. The face the elf was making was a piece of art. The perfect blend of overflowing emotions. Grey burned the image into his mind and sunk his tongue between her legs.

“Ahh!” The elf gasped.

And how splendid did she sound, how sweet did she taste, how pleasant did she feel in his hands. The dessert was of the highest quality. He should have eaten the first time he had the chance. The devious she-devil was reduced to a trembling mess, bound to suffer his might.

With each stroke of the tongue, she tasted more delicious. Grey didn't want to stop. He wanted more. He was ready and roaring for the bite. For that rare and rich blood of an elf. No, only a half-elf, yet despite that, she proved to be on an higher scale of flavour.

Grey pulled his tongue out and licked his sticky chin. He didn’t want to dilute the taste of precious blood with other fluids. He opened his maw ready for the bite.

“I… I have… saved your life.” The half-elf voiced between the gasps of air. “So stop…” There was a particular fear in her voice. The fear of the unknown.

Grey picked up on that odd note. It was supposed to be only the fear of death yet this was not it. It wasn’t just terror. Why? Because of this small conundrum, or because of that she said. Grey froze for a moment with his mouth still agape.

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“I have saved your life.” The elf repeated. “I will watch your back then no one will.”

“No!” Grey protested. He was feeling that she was trying to weasel him again.

“I will give you women. I will give you mages. Whatever you want. I’ll do what no one else would.”

He knew it, he knew what the she-devil was doing. Yet still, she had his attention.

“And… if you want you can have me. I am yours to own.”

Grey sighted. If he really wanted to eat her, he would have done so. He was self-aware of his hesitation but not of what it meant. He liked her taste, he wanted to eat her, but he wanted to continue having her too. She did save him, after all.

“I can’t have my cake and eat it.” Grey repeated a pearl of ancient wisdom.

“No, you can’t! You can’t just kill me. Think bigger!”

Grey closed his eyes. He wanted to eat the damned elf but he gathered the willpower he had; all of it.

“I will not eat you then. But you need to take an oath to me.”

“Anything.”

“Swear to be mine and mine alone.”

“I am yours and yours alone.”

“Swear to never betray me.”

“I’ll never betray you.”

“To serve me forever.”

“I’ll serve you forever.”

“And if you fail you will pay the price in blood.”

She swore. Grey nodded approvingly.

“Then, hurry up and get me mage’s blood or offer yours.”

“I’m already on it!”

He stood up giving the elf her personal space back. She let a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding in.

“Oh, and never ever drink a mana potion!” Grey threatened recalling the foul smell.

“Yes, yes of course.” Elf agreed while looking puzzled.

And so he left. The stomach was rumbling, but the phallus-witch curse was lifted. Instead, the delicious visage of the naked elf dessert was embedded in his mind.

The elf, finally left alone, collapsed into a fetal position. A stream of tears rolled down her tormented face. Her eyes were big but empty and devoid of will. Her body was still shivering and refusing to listen to her commands. The sensation of touch still lingered at the places where he had violated.

“I have sold my soul…” She whispered to herself. “For my life. I must live. I will…” The glimmer of will returned to her eyes.

…

After the so much-needed downtime, Grey was once again roaming the streets looking for that perfect prey. That would be it, but he sensed that he was being followed. The gang of beastkin were giving him sideways glances while pretending to be on their business. Grey was getting tired of their games so he turned a corner into a more quiet alleyway.

“Oi!” Someone shouted from behind him.

Grey turned to face the fools. There were six of them. All men, all beastkin.

“It’s over for you.” Grey smiled at the men.

They began to laugh. All six readied their weapons, maces and clubs seemed to be their favourite. Grey hated blunt weapons, they were quite effective against his natural armour.

The tallest thug waved his rusty mace at the Grey speaking “You’re an arrogant bastard. We will teach you a lesson.”

“Yeah, this is our turf.” The lackey added in.

“If you want a fight you will get one.”

The brawl was not on his schedule today so he didn't bring his spear. This would have been a good practice. Grey readied his fists. “Come on you mutts!” He taunted.

The fools didn't bother to surround him and charged head-on. The alley was quite narrow so it was only 3 against 1. Grey waited for the trio to get close enough, and once they were he stepped forward using his powerful leg muscles to build momentum and punched the closest one.

A sickening crunch of broken ribs filled the air followed by the thump of a body. The beastkin wheezed struggling to breathe. A blow came to Grey’s side, it was quite painful but he weathered it. The other one was only a glancing blow. Grey roared and managed to grab the thug's mace rod as he was swinging, shouldering another blow to the side. Another beastkin was already rushing to replace the other one on the floor, the one choking on his blood.

There was no time to waste. The fool clung to his weapon so Grey kicked the man in the groin. The kick was powerful enough to lift the thug out of his feet. The grip on his weapon became loose and Grey used borrowed mace to swing at the one bashing his side. The clumsy buffoon didn't dodge in time, the mace hit true bashing his skull open.

They weren't at it for even a minute and he managed to take three of them down. The fourth one who was coming to the aid had slowed down in hesitation. Grey used that chance to throw the mace right at the thug. Since the thug was already cautious of the Grey he managed to dodge it. But even then, the mace hit the man behind him on the shoulder.

“Fuck!” nimrod swore while rubbing the sore spot.

It still was three against one, but Grey had proven his point. He was better than these wannabe thugs.

“What are you waiting for.” Grey taunted.

The three still standing didn’t seem to want to approach him anymore.

“Scared to die? Then don’t come at me.”

“We will get you next time!” Their leader shouted a warning.

“I don’t think so.”

Grey was distracting them by talking while he was taking a stance. His tendons were wound and muscles tight and then he released the power built in his legs to a fast lunge.

Once again they were caught unaware. Grey wasn’t very good at jumping, but he was good enough to reach the closest man. He clawed at the thug's head with his claws slashing the face, no, the blow was powerful enough to rip it off. A piercing horrible scream filled the alley and the other two launched themselves into a sprint. They were quick and once out of the alley one turned right and the other left.

Grey, of course, wasn’t letting the rude people escape him. He started running after their leader. The man wasn’t that fast so it took only a moment to catch up. He slugged the thug from behind hitting him on the head. It blow was hard enough to knock him to the ground. So he had him, but the problem was that they were on the main street and people were watching, curious about what will come next.

He considered his actions carefully. Killing the man here in the open would bring too much unwanted attention. Actually, there was already too much attention! The idiot was down; knocked out cold. Grey shrugged and left it at that. He went back to the alley, it still was filled with pained cries and sniveling men, he wasn't here to finish them. Grey sniffed at the air picking the scent. He followed the trail of stench at a brisk pace. He will catch the last one. It would be unfair to the others to just let him go.

The runaway ran back to his lair. Grey smiled at the inexperience of the man. This was a big mistake. The building was run down and he didn't even need to enter to smell the reek of booze. He pushed the rotten wooden door open, there wasn’t even a handle on it.

“Ah!” Someone shouted, “This is him!”

There were six more in the building. These weren't rank-and-file muscular brutes like the ones Grey dispatched. There were two beastkin women, two more beastkin males, and a human.

Grey eyed the human suspiciously wondering if he was a mage, he reeked of tainted magic. But it was hard to tell if this was because he was near the mages or one himself.

“What do you want!?” The man didn't sound welcoming.

Grey gave them a toothy grin. “Why did you send your men after me?”

It was the other beastkin who replied. “You are collecting on our turf what did you think will happen?”

Grey wasn’t collecting anything. Well, maybe only fair delicious maidens for his lunch. He has racked up quite a number. Did they know about him? If so they all had to go before the word spread. Hence, the time for games was over. He took a big breath and concentrated. This will be expensive, but he couldn’t risk any more runaways.

The eyes on the man bulged out “What are you…”

A burst of magic filled the room. The brunt of it had hit the human. Upon impact his clothes scattered clean off his body, followed by his flesh. An invisible force had ripped him open. He didn’t even have the time to scream. Two others standing close were knocked out by the whiplash. Blood trickled off their ears and eyes.

The two women and the runaway were far enough to stay unscathed.

“Monster!” They shouted accusingly.

The two women screeched in terror. Grey gave the room another glance. He moved slightly to the side to cover their escape routes.

“Who else knows about my activities?” He roared.

“What?” The beastkin looked at him still dumbfounded.

“Speak or else.”

“What do you mean? You extort the money through that elf. Everyone bloody knows!”

Grey looked at the fool, he was spouting some nonsense.

“Money?”

“Yes! Yes, you can take everything we have. Not like there is anyone alive to resist you, just spare us.”

“We are sorry!” The woman added hurriedly.

There was some misunderstanding.

“I don’t want your money. Was this all just about the money?”

The terrified beastkin just looked at Grey dumbly. “Yes?”

“The elf…” Grey stopped to think for a moment. “She was collecting money?”

“Yes?” the covering beastkin muttered in hesitation.

“Oh…” Grey put one and two together. “The she-devil!” He roared.

That was how she was multiplying her coins.

“Ah! Spare us.” The beastkin was crying on his knees.

“I don’t think I can let you go. Not after what have you seen.”

“We will tell no one.” Spoke to the only woman who still had it together.

“Am I supposed to trust the word of thugs and thieves?”

There was only silence. He had got them.

“You are too scary to lie to. We will tell no one.” The woman repeated while the male nodded vigorously in approval.

Grey sighted. Then he grabbed the head of the prone man between his palms and squeezed it. The man began to scream in pain while the two women cried in terror. He pressed some more until there was a loud crack, led by a pop. Blood oozed from between his fingers followed by grey matter.

“You will tell no one.” Grey looked at terrified women. They were shivering and wailing in delirium so he roared louder “You will tell no one!”

“Ah, yes!” Only one of them replied, the other was too far gone.

“Look at me.” He demanded. “Now you work for me. And in secret! A double agent, a spy.”

She looked and nodded.

“You are to report back to me of what happens in the streets. You understand.”

A nod.

“Does your friend understand?” He looked at the other woman who mumbled something through tears. “Do I need to kill her?”

“No, she does! I will make sure she does.”

“Good, then I will be on my way.”

Grey sighed again. He felt like he was going soft ever since he came to this city. But this was a good opportunity to get someone extra to provide meals for him. Maybe the pair will prove to be better than the backstabbing she-devil.

“Wait!” The woman interrupted the leaving Grey. “What do I tell others about this?”

“Well…” There were plenty of witnesses, he had only killed four maybe seven of them, the rest only grievously wounded. “You can tell them It was me, make something up but don’t mention our deal.”

The fools had learned their lesson and will be able to teach others. It wasn’t like Grey attacked unprovoked.

“Okay…”

Grey turned to leave again.

“Wait!” She shouted out. “Where do I find you?”

“No… I find you.” He left before she could ask for more.

The useful tools took initiative and action by themselves, which will be the deciding factor if he eats her or not later.

The she-devil, however, had some explaining to do!