Summoned Again?

Now that I knew where one of the summoned heroes were, I had to somehow get there without disrupting the current mission that Karen, Anita, and myself were on. I would have to wait until one of the pit stops for rest and food before I could sneak off to see what was going on. I didn't know what I was going to say about it if I was gone too long, though.

Maybe I'll wait for tonight and sneak off after everyone goes to bed. I thought. We needed to pick up the fifth scientist and I doubt they will want to head out so late at night.

My plan decided, I drove us at a ridiculous speed on the open road when Karen's target practice was over. The traffic became extremely light the farther out from the city we travelled and even the nervous scientist was trying his best to look out the armored windows. Being outside and protected was a novelty for everyone, apparently.

“Jessica is going to love this thing.” One of the scientists said.

“Only as a useful tool.” Another joked. “She's even more no-nonsense than Director Stevens!”

That made all of the scientists laugh, even the nervous one.

Around midday, I asked Anita to check the travelling maps that were in the paperwork Director Stevens had given us. I didn't really need it, thanks to my Map and Search spells; but, I had to keep up appearances.

“We've got a good pit stop coming up near (mouth sounds).” Anita said and showed me the paper. “It's on a bluff and people usually park and walk up it, according to this.”

The details filled in on my Map and I nodded. “I think The Bear can handle that.”

Karen let out a little squeal and Anita and I exchanged knowing looks. She was always more enthusiastic in bed when The Bear did something that the other vehicles couldn't do. A few minutes later, where we had to go came up.

“Taking the turn-off in five seconds.” I declared, just in case anyone was up and walking around. I slowed us down and Karen sighed with disappointment. “We're nearly twice as heavy with all the equipment. You know it's a little more dangerous with us top heavy.”

“I know. I just like the high-G turns.” Karen said.

“I'll be sure to do more when we're off-loaded and headed out.” I said and she nodded.

We took the turn off at a much faster speed than a normal vehicle anyway and the nervous scientist groaned at it. I held in my chuckle and kept driving. I had to slow down again when we came to the parking area. There were several partially armored vehicles there and five guards watched them. They had guns out and scowls on their faces... until they saw us.

Karen raised the turret and laughed at their shocked faces before she waved to them as we passed by the parking area. “We're going right up!” She said, happily.

“Jesus, rub it in their faces, why don't you.” Anita said with a laugh.

I chuckled and turned to go up the incline to the pit stop. All of the scientists let out noises of nervousness as we hit the near forty-five degree incline and didn't slow down.

“By Obfume's grace.” Karen whispered as we went up the several hundred feet and around a curve towards the top of the bluff. Luckily, no one was walking on the road and I didn't have to drive around them.

I brought us to a stop beside the small barricade and the two men guarding it didn't even flinch. “Secure protocols.” I said and Karen lowered the turret and locked it, unloaded it and stashed the ammo away. The scientists stored their things after dropping their seats and checked the equipment. Everything was fine, so Anita and I checked the outside and nothing was loose or needed attention.

I walked over to the two guards and gave each of them a stern look. “Keep an eye on The Bear. If you make sure no one touches it, including the both of you...” I pulled out a small stack of local money.

Both guards let out curses and then stood straighter.

“Just maiming is fine.” I said and took a quarter of the stack and fanned it out to show them, then split it and gave it to them.

Both men nodded and stashed the money. They knew a good deal when they saw it.

The scientists got out of the vehicle and stretched. Two of them groaned from stiffness.

“You don't realize you need to move until after you stop driving.” Anita told them. “If Damon didn't give us such nice massages...”

“Anita! Snitches get stitches!” Karen spat, which made Anita laugh.

I cast Remote View on the bear to keep an eye on it and waved everyone towards the barricade. It opened for us and the man there didn't check us for weapons or anything, which meant it was dangerous for the scientists inside. Anita, Karen, and I went into guard mode immediately and the scientists easily noticed the change.

With three of us guarding only four people, it could be considered overkill for some people. Not by me, though. The customers inside the diner were surprised to see normal people wearing normal clothes, namely the scientists. The staff didn't even blink an eye.

“Table for four if you have it.” I said and the woman behind the counter glanced around at the nearly full diner. This was apparently a popular spot and some people stayed a lot longer than their meal usually allowed for. Safe havens out in the wilds was as precious as hidden caches of weapons.

“Do you mind waiting for a few minutes? I'll see if one of our customers wants to give up their booth.”

“We can sit at the bar.” One of the scientists suggested.

I exchanged looks with the girls and they nodded. “At the end, if that's all right?”

The waitress and the scientists nodded at the same time. It would be easier to guard them clumped together, so we went to the very end and the four scientists sat as the girls and I took up guard positions around them. The other customers gave us odd looks and the scientists looked pleased that we were taking our jobs seriously.

They ordered what they wanted and I handed over some money that would more than cover for the food. That surprised the scientists and the waitress, because people usually paid after they ate.

“Make it taste great.” I whispered and the waitress smiled and nodded.

The food came not long afterwards and the scientists dug in as if they were starving. I kept an eye out, using Detect spells and Search for specific things, so I would know who to watch for. I also cast Holy Purify to sterilize and purify any rotten food and Holy Cleanse to remove any poison or disease. The last thing we needed was for the scientists to get sick during the trip.

None of the other customers moved or tried to leave while the scientists ate. It would have been eerie if we were all sitting down and eating. Since we were guarding the scientists, the looks we were getting were appropriate, because we were the dangerous ones and needed to be watched carefully.

“That was delicious.” One of the scientists said and smiled at the waitress. “Thank you.”

The woman nodded and took the plates. Thankfully, she didn't have a concerned look on her face, which meant she hadn't poisoned the food. I used Remote View on the cook, which replaced the view of The Bear and I saw that he wasn't concerned, either. I kicked myself mentally for not watching him make the food, then shrugged. It worked out and now we were leaving.

I ended the spell and led everyone out the diner's door. No one moved or tried to stop us, so we left without incident. The barricade opened for us and I handed the man a bill. He grinned at me and stashed it, then shut the barricade behind us. The guards were where we left them and I kept my word. I took out the three quarter stack of money and fanned it out, then split it and gave it to them.

Their smiles almost looked odd on their faces as they tucked the money away. With that much cash, they could eat whenever they wanted for a long time. I nodded to them and went to The Bear to unlock it. The scientists were chatting normally and climbed in, relieved to have professionals looking out for them, and Karen entered and sat in the turret.

I closed the door and did a quick once-over on the outside of the vehicle and under it as Anita got in the passenger side. I also cast Detect and Sense for tracing devices or bombs, grenades, or anything that could knock out the vehicle electronically. I even checked the gas tank and brake lines for leaks. Nothing showed up and I climbed inside to start the vehicle up.

The rumbling purr made everyone relax and they strapped in. The drive down that steep incline was going to be an experience. Karen almost shook in her seat with anticipation.

“Is everyone strapped in?” I asked and turned back to wink at Karen. She gave me a confused look as everyone said they were, then I stepped on the gas with The Bear in reverse.

“IEEEEEE!” Karen squealed in delight as I drove The Bear backwards part-way down the steep incline. I knew there was a long curve coming up and winked at her. Her eyes widened at me, her mind whirling about what I was going to do, then I jammed on the brakes and turned the steering wheel. The Bear skidded across the dirt and slid in a half-circle around that curve, almost out of control, and it made Karen squeal even more.

I whipped the steering wheel around and stepped on the gas with The Bear pointed in the right direction to go down the rest of the incline. The guards at the bottom had dropped their guns in shock at my antics and Karen laughed at their faces. We hit the bottom at near full speed, even after I had let off on the gas, and we zoomed right past the parking area.

I had to slow down to take the turn to get back onto the main road and Karen didn't make any sounds of disappointment. She unstrapped and slid between the seats to give my cheek a kiss.

“If we didn't have company, I would be riding you already.” Karen whispered and went back to her seat in the turret.

I glanced at Anita and her face was a mix of horror and happiness. I knew she was scared because of what I did and happy that I could do it to get us out of anything that might happen. I reached over to touch her shoulder to get her attention, then I gave her the hand signals for first and insertion.

Anita gave me a stern look back and I mouthed 'bath' while pointing with my thumb at Karen. She gave me a smile and a nod, understanding that we would have a lot of time alone if we let Karen bathe first.

After that little bit of fun, the drive to the rendezvous point to pick up the last scientist was nice and quiet. No one complained, not even Karen. She had gotten her thrill and that got her through the entire day. We stopped and had supper inside the vehicle from our rations, which was more submarine sandwiches I had stored, and that surprised the scientists even more than my driving had.

“Is this what you're doing when you sneak away? Making delicious sandwiches?” Karen asked as she bit into hers.

“I don't sneak away.” I said with a slightly higher pitched voice. “I merely try to leave without anyone noticing where I'm going.”

That made Anita and two of the scientists laugh.

“Uh huh.” Karen said. “I'm not complaining if this is what you're doing.”

“I go rooting in junkyards and other places for interesting things.” I said while thinking about the wolves. I didn't mention setting up the turrets and traps or going to the old ones to release wolves that were caught.

“You don't come back with anything.” Anita said.

“Not that you've seen.” I said with a smile.

“Oh? Like what?” Karen asked, curious.

I went to my gear locker and pulled out my backpack, opened it, and took out the huge crowbar that the repo-man had used to try and take The Bear.

“SWEET!” Anita yelled and snatched it from my hands.

“I guess I should have carried it openly.” I said and Karen laughed.

Anita stroked the thick metal bar and gave me puppy-dog eyes that were a damn good imitation of Crystal's. She didn't even have to speak for everyone to know what she wanted.

“Yes, you can have it.” I said and I suddenly had Anita on my lap and my lips were occupied with hers instead of my sandwich. Neither of us minded.

“Only another couple of hours and we'll be there.” Karen said as we all finished eating, or eating what they wanted and saving the rest. “We're better off staying the night and heading out in the morning.”

“Agreed.” The scientists said as one.

“We should have rooms available at the facility, even if it's a smaller one.” One of them said. “We should check the equipment over as well. Jessica won't be happy if it's not functioning properly when we get back to the main base.”

We cleaned up with water and camp soap, then I drove us the rest of the way. It was getting dark pretty fast now and I saw on my map that there were a dozen wolves several miles off to the side of the road. That wasn't the surprising part. What was surprising was that they were keeping pace with us. Exactly.

I may have to go to another meeting besides the one with the hero I'm looking for. I thought and slowed us down. The wolves slowed as well.

“What's wrong?” Anita asked.

“It's dark.” I said with a smirk and she smacked my arm. “I don't know if there's wrecks or anything around here. Or traps. Or bandits.” I said and she nodded. “A little slower now could save our lives later.”

Anita nodded and looked back at the road in front of us.

I felt a little shock go down my back and shivered as I thought about what I just said. I had been wondering why I hadn't been getting any Divine Sight visions and it was bothering me. I was sure that I wasn't being interfered with like with that other divine being.

I had infected him with Essence Rot and if left untreated, he would die. Hopefully, he ignored the annoyance and let it consume him. He was pretty arrogant, even with his weakened powers.

I drove on into the night and the wolves kept pace and followed us, right up until we reached the town. They came to a stop and stayed in a small group. I didn't think that was odd at all, not if they were waiting there for me.

With the police approval placard in the window, we were let in through the barrier after the guard gave a brief glance at the scientists in the back. The scientists let out relieved sighs when the barrier behind us closed and I glanced over at Anita. She smiled at me and pointed forward.

I chuckled and drove along the directions towards the science station and the guards at the front stared at us as we stopped. “Yes, it's real.”

“By Obfume's grace.” One of them said and the other waved us through.

I drove over to where the scientists said to park and came to a stop. The four men piled out as if on fire and then ran into the building.

“What was that about?” Karen asked as she stepped out and shut the side door.

“I have no idea.” I said as I locked The Bear up and the three of us walked at a normal pace towards the front doors. Before we reached there, the doors opened and the four scientists were there with two women and two guards.

“You see? It's true!” One of the scientists said and pointed past us to The Bear.

“And the equipment?” One of the women asked, her voice stern.

“Completely secured and checked once already. We're going to do it again in the morning to your satisfaction.” Another scientist said. He was the nervous one.

The woman nodded and looked at us. “Who's in charge?”

Anita and I both pointed to Karen, since it was her job.

“Can you take another passenger if we remove some of the equipment?” The woman asked.

Karen held a hand up to tell her to wait, then turned to us and whispered. “Damon, can we risk using the side packs with the top loaded like it is?”

“That depends.” I whispered back. “If we distribute the weight evenly, we could clear out most of what's inside the crew compartment. Or have to, I mean. Unbalanced would be really bad if we need to manoeuvre.”

“It will limit where we can go as well.” Anita whispered. “A wider vehicle means smaller access points for us to get into.”

“You don't have a rear collapsible compartment?” Karen asked.

I shook my head. “It changes the center of gravity on the vehicle too much. You start firing the 50 calibre and we might tip backwards with extra weight hanging off the back. Up and out to the sides is all we have.”

“If we go up too far, we limit the versatility of the gun mount, too.” Karen whispered and thought it over. “All right, we'll do the side storage and change the equipment distribution when they check everything over in the morning.”

“It will slow us down on the open road a little.” I said. “Air drag, I mean. Bigger isn't always better.”

“Says you.” Anita said with a grin and I chuckled.

“All right.” Karen said and turned back to the scientists. “We have collapsible side storage for The Bear that we can use. It should let us move most of the equipment out from the crew compartment in the morning.”

“The downside?” The other woman asked.

“We go a bit slower and the equipment is only slightly less protected. The containers are still armor-plated, only it's not as structurally sound as the solid frame of the vehicle.” I said.

The woman nodded and then smiled. “Please do that.”

“We can take two additional passengers with the extra room and not just one.” Karen said.

The scientists looked happy about that, as did one of the guards.

The woman gave the woman scientist a glance and she nodded. “Very well. Thank you.”

“Is there a spare room here for us to stay in? Hopefully with a bathtub?” Karen asked and slapped her thigh, indicating she needed a bath.

The woman smiled. “Of course.” She looked at me and at Anita. “What of your friends?”

“One room is fine.” Karen said and they all widened their eyes.

The woman looked back at me and I winked at her. She blushed a little and waved at the building behind her. We all got the hint and followed her inside.

Karen was given a room and she ran to the bathroom, only to sigh. “It's normal-sized.”

I chuckled and gave her a quick hug. “We can't be lucky every time we stop.”

Karen sighed and started to strip off while I set the bath for her. “Where are you getting the bubbles?”

I wasn't stupid enough to hand her a bottle I knew would have strange writing on it. “I have custody of the cutest little girl anyone could ever meet.” I said and both women gave me sad looks. “Yeah, that's what she looked like when I said I had to go away for a while.”

“Is she yours?” Anita asked.

“No, but she could have been.” I said and explained about wanting to marry her mother, then about the betrayal when I was on another mission.

“That bitch!” Karen spat. “How ungrateful could she be?”

“She's paying for it in prison, so I can't complain. Much.” I said and they both hugged me. “Karen, you languish in the bath for a while and we'll wait our turn.”

“Are you sure?” Karen asked and eyed the bath.

“Yes, so have fun and relax.” Anita said. “I'll get one later if I don't fall asleep first.”

Karen gave her a hug and slipped into the hot bath. “Ohhh, that's the good stuff.”

Anita and I laughed softly and I shut the bathroom door. Anita gave me a 'come here' look and I did. I cast a protection shield around the room and then cast ten time spells, then ten more, then ten more. It brought me to my limit and I was back to having an hour for me last only 3.6 seconds in real time. I couldn't cast Mana Restoration on myself, because my magic was too low and would have to wait to recharge normally.

I stripped Anita off and took her to bed, all the while whispering about building her a nice normal house and a white picket fence, getting her pregnant, and leaving her tons of money to raise our child. Anita purred the entire time, came more than she thought was fair, and then moaned loudly as I poured myself into her.

We stayed in bed for another hour before she fell asleep and I left her there. I cast several spells to clean myself and her up, dressed instantly in my hunter outfit, and then crept to the window. I unlocked it with a spell and slipped out with Stealth and Obscure spells, then I took off flying towards where the wolves were waiting.

I landed near them at the limit of my time dilation spells, two hundred feet, and walked slowly towards the wolves. Each let out a little yip of surprise as it passed over them and then it passed over her. I wasn't sure why I knew it was her, the one I had met when I first appeared on this world, then I felt a little tingle in the back of my head.

I cast several diagnostic spells on myself and concentrated on my head. I 'saw' in the back of my brain that something pulsed there. It seemed to be blocked, though. I also didn't know how to fix it. I tried casting healing on it and nothing happened.

I ignored it for now and walked forward to stop in front of the twelve wolves that sat there. “Long time, no see.” I said and the wolves all gave me curious looks and tilted their heads slightly. “Right. You probably never heard a phrase like that before.”

The female wolf was just as big as she was the first time I saw her. She let out a yip and squinted her eyes at me. Two wolves darted out from the pack and moved towards me aggressively. I checked them with Identify and was surprised they had fairly high levels. One was 56 and the other was 59.

“It's like that, is it?” I asked and the two wolves prowled around for a good angle to pounce on me. “I won't be gentle if they attack.”

She let out a soft bark and both wolves jumped at me.

I instantly donned my full mithril armor, shocking them all, then my hands slapped the wolves on the tops of their heads. Both fell to the ground and made a little crater as they fell unconscious.

She growled and barked loudly, which sent the other nine wolves at me. They dodged, slashed at me, tried to bite me, and three tried to tackle me. They weren't deterred when they bounced off of me and kept attacking. Their swipes would have been lethal if I hadn't had my armor, so I kept my word and wasn't gentle as I smacked each of the wolves down as if they were bad dogs.

When the last of them fell, the female stood up and walked over to me. She stopped in front of me and sniffed at my armored chest. I didn't react and she nudged me with her nose. I guessed what she wanted and stored my armor instantly and equipped normal clothing and not my hunter outfit. She took another sniff, this one a long one, and she sat down to stare into my eyes.

“I can't read your mind.” I said and that thing in the back of my head pulsed. It almost hurt and I suddenly realized what was wrong. I should be hearing her and I wasn't. Either I was gaining it the longer I was around her or I was supposed to have the ability from the beginning.

She let out a huff, as if she could read my mind, then she stuck out her tongue and licked my face before she laid down and rolled onto her side to present her neck to me.

____

The Queen of the Archanus Lupus Maxima has surrendered to you. Do you wish to accept or defeat her in combat?

____

“I accept.” I said immediately. I wasn't going to refuse. If my guess was right, she intentionally had her wolves attack me to kill me, precisely to level me up.

____

Encounter over! Congratulations! You have defeated the queen of the Archanus Lupus Maxima as a Level 1 combatant without any fighting abilities. Good Job!

Experience earned: 1,000,000

Battle Crazy Bonus (x2): 2,000,000

Grand Total: 3,000,000 Experience Points

You have defeated a group of Archanus Lupus Maxima as a Level 1 combatant without any fighting abilities.

Experience Earned: 130,000 (x11 wolves) (1,430,000)

Multiple Kill Bonus: Not Applicable (opponents only defeated and not vanquished)

Grand total: 4,430,000 Experience Points

____

Congratulations! You have reached the level cap of 99.

Devourer class specific skills are now safe to use without repercussion.

Experience Overload Bonus: Extra experience gained can be converted to Stat Points or Skill Points at the cost of 1,000 Experience for 1 point.

Unspent Experience: 430,000 (none previously unspent)

Current Point Potential: + 430 (not counting Stat and Skill points awarded for levelling)

____

That seems like a low amount of experience to get my level to 99 again. I thought and then laughed. I had been so used to getting totals in the billions on the last world that my numbering sense had been totally skewed. As far as I knew, which wasn't much, this world might not require much experience at all to level up. It could also explain the wolves and their high levels, too.

I knelt down on one knee and lightly pet the female wolf's neck. Her eyes were giving me a particular look and I knew what she wanted me to do. In their culture, they actually needed it done. So, I bent down and dug my face into the fur around her neck to put my mouth next to the skin. I opened my mouth and then bit into her neck, hard.

She let out a little whimper and didn't struggle. If she did, it would mean she was trying to defy me.

I tasted a little blood, which meant I had succeeded in bloodying her and accepted her surrender. For some reason, I felt like growling and assumed it would be okay, so I let out a nice rumbling growl.

To my surprise, it was quite loud and a lot more powerful than I thought it should be. I let her neck go and straightened up to look into her eyes, only to see a startled look. I also felt that thing in the back of my head stop pulsing.

____

Your Devourer class has assimilated the primary Arcanus Lupus Maxima bloodline.

Skills gained:

Limited Telepathy (Arcanus, wolf, dog). Range: 200 feet, 100 feet, 30 feet

Enhanced Smell: 200 feet

Enhanced Hearing: 200 feet

Enhanced Strength, Speed, Durability, Toughness, Stamina: 20% (in human form)

____

Oh. Oh, fuck. I thought and my startled look matched hers.

What mean? A woman's sexy voice asked in my head.

I blinked my eyes at her, because I was positive that she just spoke inside my head, and then the other wolves started waking up.

Hurt!

Ow! Metal hard!

Pain! Someone lick!

I gripped the sides of my head and cast Calmness and Focus on myself. I was not prepared to have a dozen other voices inside my head at the same time.

HUSH! The woman's sexy voice shouted and the other wolves fell silent immediately. Newborn!

A chorus of 'oh' came from the awake wolves, as did a flood of acceptance. They started nudging the still unconscious wolves to get them up and whispered to them to be quiet.

I have to say, getting all of that in my head as if I was hearing it normally, was a bit concerning.

You fine. The woman's sexy voice said and the female wolf rolled back onto her paws and stayed laying there with her head at my kneeling height. Adjust soon. Pack help.

“Help? How?” I asked.

The female wolf opened her mouth to make happy wolf sounds while she laughed normally in my head. Pack magic always help. She thought to me and then she licked my face again. No taste.

“It's a cleaning spell.” I said and saw her neck was dripping blood. “You're still hurt.”

Longer to heal when own cause hurt. The sexy voice said in my head.

I held a hand to her neck and cast Focus Heal to stop the bleeding and remove my bite.

NO! She shouted in my head, startling the other wolves, then she sighed. Mistake.

“You need the mark as proof?” I asked and she nodded. “Give me your neck again.”

Yes, mate. She said with a purr in my head and rolled over with an expectant look on her face.

“M-mate?” I asked.

Claimed me. She said and tilted her head up. Mark. Mark.

I sighed and bent down to bite her hard, only I didn't do it hard enough to draw much blood. I did manage to put it in the same place, though.

Mmm. Mate do good. Her sexy voice said in my head.

I wasn't sure why I liked that compliment.

Adjusting. She said and rolled back over to look into my eyes. Day, maybe two.

I wasn't going to wait that long, not with all the skill points I had from levelling up. I pumped up my new skills to 99 and I felt them activate to full power. I checked them again, just to make sure.

____

Limited Telepathy (Arcanus, wolf, dog). Range: Unlimited (mate assist), 10 miles, 1 mile

Enhanced Smell: 2 miles (in human form)

Enhanced Hearing: 2 miles (in human form)

Enhanced Strength, Speed, Durability, Toughness, Stamina: 200% (in human form)

____

Yeah, that's much better. I thought and my mind wasn't reeling from the wolves around me, because the telepathy skill had pulled the relevant information from my apparent mate's mind to let me control it.

How? She asked, confused.

I'm not from here and the rules don't really apply to me. I thought back to her without trouble.

Know that. She thought and let me see a replay of me appearing in the sky from nothing and falling to land normally.

“You saw that?” I asked out loud, because it was too quiet.

Ow. One of the wolves let out when it tried to stand up.

“I'm sorry about that.” I said and held my hand up to cast Major Healing on him.

“YIP!” He yelled and jumped as the magic washed over him, then he landed and was perfectly fine.

The other wolves stared at him like he was brand new and I heard their thoughts. It didn't overwhelm me, because I was compartmentalizing them. I could listen if I want or I could ignore it.

“I'll fix you all up if you want.” I said and the wolves let out happy sounds and I cast the healing spell on them. Each reacted from the strong magic in a similar way, then they all hopped around as if they were little pups because years of injuries were healed.

No ache! NO ACHE! One of them yelled and rolled around on the ground, wagging his tail happily. The others laughed out loud and in my head and at him. The dichotomy wasn't jarring, surprisingly.

We came to meet. The female wolf said and the others stopped what they were doing and formed up into a circle around me. Didn't expect this.

“Me, either.” I said. “I should have, considering my skills.”

What mean? She asked and the wolves sat down.

“One of my skills is called Devourer.” I said and then chuckled. “Actually, it's called Devour It Whole. I didn't use it like that, though.”

They were confused until I sent them the image of consuming the idiot dragon on Goddess Jasindia's world, where I solved the Beast Conversion virus problem.

You ATE that? One of the wolves asked and I nodded. What taste like?

I smiled and pulled out a roasted chicken. All twelve wolves froze solid and drool poured out of their mouths. “Don't jump for it yet.” I said and stood to put the delicious chicken down, then I stepped over beside the female wolf and cast Enlarge on the still hot bird. I poured mana into it to bring it to a very large size for the wolves to get a good meal out of it.

The man-height giant wolves stared at the thing as it grew to the size of the dragon I ate and the smell must have been killing them because the pools of drool soaked their paws. It was making me drool, too.

“Okay.” I said and all twelve wolves dove for the thing and started tearing it up and eating it.

None of them got into each other's way and they picked every single piece of meat off of the very large bones, then one of the legs were torn off and brought over to the female wolf. She stopped eating the main part of the breast she was chewing on and accepted the offering, then brought it over to me.

Share. Her very sexy voice said in my head.

“I would be honored.” I said and bent down to dig my face into the thing and tore a big chunk of meat off with my teeth.

She laughed in my head at the sauce all over my face and tore off her own large piece. We sat there and ate the food until they were all done eating.

Proved you value Pack. One of the wolves said and dropped to the ground with a groan. SO FULL!

The others laughed in my head and collapsed as well.

“We call that a food coma where I come from.” I said and pet the female wolf beside me.

She turned to look at me, then licked my face several times to get all the sauce off of it.

“Thank you.” I said and dug my hand behind her ear and scratched her there.

Her back paw slapped the ground a bunch of times and she started making purring noises in my head. I eased off after a minute and her leg stopped moving. She tilted her head for me to reach the other ear.

Again! She demanded in my head and it was oddly pleasurable to hear. I laughed at my thoughts and scratched behind her other ear and the matching leg did the slapping thing while I did.

Of course, the other wolves saw this and felt her happiness, so they immediately wanted it, too. I spent the next hour giving each of them a good scratching where their large claws had a hard time getting to without damaging their ears. The female wolf came back three times, just because she could.

When I was done, she turned around three time and pushed me over, then laid down on my legs and chest to rest her head beside mine. Her eye was right by my face and she gave me a tired look.

“At least let be grab a pillow.” I said and she huffed as she stood. I took out a pillow and tucked it under my head, then she walked around three times before she laid down on me again.

Her tired eye met mine again and I chuckled. “Yes, I'm actually going to sleep.”

No leave. Her sexy and tired voice said in my head.

“I can't promise that. I have work to do and...”

Stay. She demanded and I felt a little pull inside my head.

“If you make me refuse on purpose, knowing I can't stay, being your mate won't mean much to either of us.” I said and let her see me claiming a pack of wolves in the other world, then the fights for a stupid reason, and how it ruined what could have been great.

Mate. Her sexy voice in my head said and it was filled with sadness. First mate.

I felt her need to have a strong male at her side and her deep desire to make her pack strong. She had been fighting for so long and she was more tired than she wanted to admit. She hadn't taken a mate in all the years she had been alive, not even at the demands of hundreds of males to give her pups. She hurt them to make them leave her alone, because she was searching for the one she needed.

Apparently, that one was me.

I sighed and rubbed the side of her jaw. “I really do have work to do. Important work.”

She huffed. Nothing more important than Pack.

It was then that it hit me. Her sadness at finally finding a mate that couldn't stay. Her wanting a normal life, that didn't involve the fighting that she was tired of, and to leave it to her chosen mate.

She's just like Anita. I thought. Someone so caught up in the struggle that all she wants is to leave it behind when given the chance.

She rubbed her muzzle against my head briefly and closed her eyes.

“I don't know how to fix both problems.” I said and moved my hand up to pet the top of her head. “If I keep going the way I am, I can easily fix Anita's problem. Segregating the wolves would make the humans safe and they wouldn't hunt you down.”

She let out a low growl.

I chuckled. “I meant for examination. They're still trying to figure you out. If you're cut off from the rest of the humans, they will probably be stupid and try hunting you for sport.”

She let out another growl.

I barked a laugh. “Okay, fine! They will definitely hunt you for sport.”

She huffed and took several deep breaths as she sent a calming wave of emotions out. The other wolves around us decided they were going to sleep as well and they crowded around us into a huge pile.

I would have laughed if I didn't know that they did it for protection of the queen. They would die before letting her be hurt, which was a thought they all shared. I didn't question it, because I could feel the same thoughts settle into my own mind. It was surprisingly difficult to argue against eleven minds that were adamant that the one protecting them all deserved to be protected in turn.

I drifted off to sleep with the rest of them as the queen fell asleep herself. I wasn't sure if she dragged us along or if we dragged her along, though. Either way, we went to sleep and felt both warm and comforted. My thoughts went to the last time I felt this way and Diana, the Freemartin, came to the forefront of my mind as the dream started.

The dream was actually me reliving my time with her and I felt the queen wolf form beside me, then eleven more presences appeared around me as my memories continued. Soon, hundreds more presences started to add themselves to my thoughts. By the time my dream reached making love to the Freemartin for the first time, right after claiming the leader of the wolf pack, thousands of presences had made themselves known in my mind.

A very strong wave of approval filled me and the queen wolf beside me was very pleased. She had chosen a very strong mate for the pack and the entire wolf population wholeheartedly agreed with her.

I woke up sometime later, not really knowing what time it was, and not really concerned about it. An hour was only 3.6 seconds for me, so even if I was asleep for ten hours, that was just over half a minute in real time. I didn't try to sit up, because I remembered the queen resting on top of me. At least, that's what I thought I remembered. When I opened my eyes, I was completely alone.

“You are not doing what I tasked you to do.” A woman's harsh voice said to me.

“If you are who I think you are, then you're the one that's at fault for that.” I responded. “Not only did you just drop me here and didn't tell me what to do, you also stupidly spread the heroes out and are intentionally stopping me from completing whatever mission you want me to do.”

The woman's voice sighed. “I did that to stop you from jumping to conclusions and wrecking everything.”

“Well, since I had no clue what was going on, who's fault would that have been? Mine, right? Because someone like you can never be wrong despite mountains of proof otherwise?”

“Your attitude is not helping you.”

“What part of 'it's all your fault' that you don't understand?” I asked, a little heatedly. “I should be ranting and raving at you for doing this to me and making me stay here for a lot longer than I want to be, all because you want to manipulate me into doing your dirty work for you without telling me what the work actually is!”

“I thought those right feelings you've been getting would have been enough for you.”

“Oh, so it IS you that's intentionally blocking my Divine Sight and leaving me to make uneducated guesses about everything.” I spat.

“I'm not blocking it! I'm just not letting you see what happens!” The woman spat back.

“Semantics.” I said. “I guess you wouldn't want me to actually fix the problem using powers that tell me anything counter to what you want.”

The woman's voice didn't respond.

“Look, either stop interfering with things you obviously have no idea how to fix, or actually do your goddamn job and tell me what the problem is!” I demanded.

She didn't say anything and I also didn't get any odd feelings or felt my Divine Sight come back, assuming that I would. I hadn't felt it get blocked in the first place, so feeling come back was iffy at best.

“Not going to fix anything, then? Good. I have no problem with saying what I think.” I said and smiled. “Fuck you.”

She stayed silent and didn't do anything.

“I'm going to screw around and spend as much time as I can messing up whatever divine plan you have set out, including suddenly giving me the location of only one hero.”

“You need to save her.” The woman's stern voice said.

I knew then that it was a setup. “You intentionally put her in danger and let her be hurt for your own sick and deranged pleasure? No, for your divine plan to fix the world? Yeah, fuck you.”

“They will kill her if you leave her there.”

“So what? All that will accomplish is you failing in the mission, since I didn't put here there. YOU did.” I said, smugly.

She didn't say anything in response.

“Oh? What's that? No response about me being right about you intentionally ruining your chances to fix the problem by KILLING OFF one of the required heroes?” I asked. “Did you at least tell her she was going to die for your idiotic divine plan? No? Who's fault was that again? It's her, right? Because you chose her and she's ignorant of what you want?”

The woman's voice sighed. “Please, go save her.”

“Why? You didn't give her any special abilities. What use is she to me? None. Just being present can't be the only requirement, is it?”

She didn't say anything and I sighed.

“You know, I really hate having to deal with you stupid fucking idiots that have no common sense or care about the lives you screw up with these stupid games you play. You chose me to fix your problem and my title isn't even confirmed yet, not that you care! How stupid is that? Really stupid, I say!” I spat. “All right, I'll go and get her; but, you are responsible for what happens next.”

“I am responsible for the entire world.” The woman's stern voice said.

“You're doing a horrible job choosing protectors for it.” I said and closed my eyes. “If you need to talk to me again, leave a message with one of the other two summoned hostages. I'll find them eventually.”

The woman sighed and I opened my eyes to see that I was suddenly surrounded by wolves again and I had the queen's familiar weight on my chest and legs.

Where you go? The female wolf asked and lifted her head to look down at me with both eyes.

“The stupid goddess of this world wanted to have a little chat in my head.” I said and let her see it all in only seconds.

What she mean? The female wolf asked.

“Honestly, by what I was getting from her answers and her silence to my questions, I think she wants me to kill you all.”

All the wolves let out angry growls, including the queen.

“It's all right, Karina. I would never do that.” I said and sat up to pet her.

All the other wolves froze and then turned their heads as one to stare at me.

“What?” I asked and dug my fingers into the fur on the side of her muzzle.

You named me. The female wolf said in my head with her sexy voice. You! Named! Me!

The first to be named! THE FIRST TO BE NAMED! All the wolves around us yelled in their heads and mine, then I felt that thought go out, and out, and out.

I thanked my fully levelled abilities and the queen's telepathic knowledge to not let me be overwhelmed by the force of shock and then joy as thousands of wolves mentally responded to the queen's new name.

Mate. Karina purred in my head, her sexy voice somehow sexier, then her paw tore open my pants and she licked my crotch. My body remembered the last time and my erection sprung right up for her and two more licks had me ejaculating for her. She licked it up and a rumbling growl with a very strong feeling of possession came from her.

“I have no idea how you can do that.” I said and stored and repaired my pants and underwear, cast Cleaning Hands on myself, then equipped my clothing again. “Even Susan needs a few minutes to do that.”

Mate's other mate not as powerful. Karina thought, happily.

“O-kay. I need to go.” I said and eased her off of my legs and stood up. “Are you staying around here?”

We go where you go. Karina said.

I sighed. “No, I can't allow that.”

You would abandon us? The wolves around us asked.

“No, you can't go where I am going.” I said.

We follow and stay close. Karina offered as a compromise.

I reached out to rub her cheeks briefly. “I mean can't, not shouldn't.” I said and then equipped my full armor and rose up into the air. “Stay here and be safe. Watch for anyone approaching, because I haven't put up any turrets yet.”

You come back? Karina asked.

I tapped my temple. I'm never going to be gone from your mind now.

Truly? Karina asked, surprised.

I nodded and formed a shield around myself. I'll come back and visit after I take care of a couple of things. I thought and then took off at my fasted speed. The sonic boom startled the wolves for a second and then they had the information about what made the sound from Karina, whom I had given it to.

I flew two states over to the spot on my map and wasn't surprised to see that it was a medical research facility. It wasn't one we were stopping at, so I didn't feel guilty about what I was about to do. Well, not that guilty. They had brought it upon themselves if my guess was right. I used my Stealth and Obscure spells as I landed right in front of the doors.

I went inside and cast Topography to get the entire layout of the building and saw that the golden dot was five levels down. I cast stillness on everyone in the lobby and walked over to the guard at the desk and used the Memory Manipulation spell to read his thoughts, specifically looking for the woman they had found.

What I saw sickened me. They beat and tortured her for being sympathetic to the wolves, even though she told them she was a zoologist and felt sympathy for all animals, not just the wolves. I dug out the names and faces of the people that participated and then crushed his skull. I let his body drop to the floor and looked at the receptionist.

Even with Stillness, I could tell she was afraid of the armored man in front of her. I used the same spell on her and she knew about it and approved. Anyone helping the wolves was bad, because they killed so many people. I checked her for names and faces as well, then crushed her head. I went to each person and did the same spell. Only two of the people felt disgusted at what was going on and felt powerless to do anything about it, so I let them live.

“Judge not, lest ye be judged.” I quoted at them and walked toward the stairs. I went up them to the director's office and found a well dressed man that was full of hatred. I didn't bother reading his thoughts and just killed him before checking his office for paperwork, copied it and left it out as evidence, and went around the different offices on the second floor to remove the ones involved.

Since we were all in my time dilation bubble of 200 feet, as soon as I left the area, they would all be dying instantly, as if it happened all at the same time. I went down into the first sub-basement and killed everyone. There were no wolves alive, so I couldn't return them to the Pack. I did pluck their large canine teeth and stored them, though.

I went to the next floor and looked at several vehicles that could be used for parts and things, so I stored them and everything else inside. Tools, metal manipulation machines, trolleys, and everything else. If I couldn't use them, they could easily be sold or traded for something else.

I went to the bottom floor where the prisoners were kept. I found the guard room and killed them all. I was glad that none of them had tried to rape her and I could kill them quickly. I would have castrated them first with a rusty knife and let them live for a few hours to contemplate their life choices before killing them.

I walked over to the only occupied cell and tore the door off the hinges.

“N-n-no.” The woman whispered. “No more. I can't take anymore.”

“And you never will.” I said in as gentle of a voice as I could.

The woman lifted her head from the bed and her face was streaked with tears. Cuts and bruises covered her all over and she only wore a hospital gown. She saw my armored form and her eyes widened.

“Am... am I dead? Did I finally pass on from the pain?” She asked and more tears rolled down her face.

“No, dear lady.” I said and stored the cameras and recording things in the room, put them in my hand, and crushed them. I reached up and pulled off my helm to show her my face. “I'm here to rescue you.”

She gave me a shocked look for several moments and then frowned. “Why now? Why when they were pretty much done with me?”

“Because the bitch that sent you to this world doesn't give a fuck about us and let you be tortured in her sick plans to save the world.” I said and her eyes widened. “Yes, you're not dreaming.” I said and stored my helm and then my armor as I equipped a set of plain clothes. “This isn't Earth.”

The woman started breathing heavily. “No, this... why... how...”

“It's been going on for no one knows how long.” I said. “They erase our memories when they send us back home.”

The woman gasped. “Oh, my god! Alien abductions!”

I smiled at her and made a chair appear beside her bed and sat down on it. “Great connection skills.”

“I'm an anthropologist.” The woman said.

“And a zoologist.” I said and she nodded, then frowned.

“Wait, how do you know that?” She asked.

“I interrogated the head guard before I killed him.” I said and saw the look of satisfaction on her face before she hid it. “I also killed everyone involved with beating and torturing you.”

The woman eased herself up into a sitting position, wincing the whole time, and stared at me. “Why?”

“My own sense of justice.” I said and her eyes widened. “I wasn't going to let them live and do it to someone else.”

“But... wasn't I...”

“An exception?” I asked and she nodded. “I doubt they would treat anyone that was sympathetic with the wolves differently.”

“Like you.” She said, as if testing me.

I chuckled. “I just spent a bunch of hours sleeping in a big wolf pile with a dozen of them, so you could say that I do have a little bit of sympathy with them.”

She smiled and held a shaky hand out to me. “I'm Martha. I'm 38 years old and divorced. I have three nearly adult kids that hate I'm gone all the time with work. I like long walks in animal enclosures and ancient ruins are only slightly more fascinating to me than shopping malls.”

I barked a laugh and took her hand. “That sounded suspiciously like a dating profile.”

“It was.” Martha said. “Now it's your turn.”

“Let me just fix you up first.” I said.

“Don't bother. They treated me as much as medical science can and my leg won't be set for walking for another two weeks.”

I looked down at her leg and didn't see a cast.

“They remove it every night to stop me from trying to escape.”

“Now I'm really glad I killed them all.” I said and held her hand with mine and put my other hand on her thigh.

“At least introduce yourself first.” Martha said with a mischievous grin.

“I'm Damon. I'm 32 years old and seriously dating a great girl that doesn't mind that she's not the only woman I'm sleeping with.” I said and Martha gasped, which gave me the best opportunity to cast Minor Healing on her without her noticing. “I have custody of a cute eight year old girl that's not mine by blood and wished she was, and she also hates it when I go away for long periods of time.”

“She sounds precocious.” Martha said and then she looked at her arms. “Hey, where did my cuts and bruises go?”

I ignored her question and kept talking. “I like spending time with my chosen family that I've built through hardship and hard work. I also like long walks, carrying on with friends, and making children laugh with magic tricks.”

“Really? Magic tricks?” Martha asked, completely skeptical.

“Like so.” I said and cast Major Healing on her leg. It made her tingle and she jerked as her bone seemed to snap together and then her leg glowed.

“Oh. My. GOD!” Martha yelled.

“No, just a powerful magic spell.” I said. “I'm also super rich.”

Martha ignored my words and pat her leg with her free hand. “It doesn't hurt. Why doesn't it hurt?”

“It's not broken anymore.” I said and tried to let her hand go.

Martha clamped her hand on mine and gave me a look. “Are you really going to sit there and tell me you just healed me of a broken leg?”

I thought about that and cast several diagnostic spells on her to find a congenital heart condition, partially blocked arteries, and some melanoma. There were also several lumps in her breasts. I cast Cleaning Hands on her to make her tingle all over, then cast Holy Cleanse to remove any diseases, poisons, and conditions from her body.

Martha sucked in a sharp breath and put a hand over her heart. “WHAT WAS THAT?!?”

I cast the diagnostic spells again and nothing came up. “I fixed your heart and cleared your arteries, healed the melanoma on your nose and forearms, and removed those suspicious lumps in your breasts.”

Martha jumped off of the bed and smashed her lips against mine as she tackled me to the floor. It was so unexpected that I didn't notice her tear off the hospital gown to grab her own breasts. She moaned a little at her own touch, then she grabbed my hands and shoved them into her soft mounds. That made her moan loudly and her now free hands dug at my pants.

She pulled me out and stroked me a couple of times, getting me hard, then she slid me inside of her very tight opening. She really moaned then and pushed my hands out of the way to lay down on top of me to kiss me passionately. I put my arms around her and let her have her way with me, because she actually felt really good.

Despite being a lot older than my usual bed partners, Martha easily competed for the top spot as one of my best lovers. I didn't want to disappoint her, not with her being so enthusiastic about it. I lifted her up easily and took her to the bed as I changed positions to give her an even better experience. She moaned loudly as we had rough and passionate sex in what was essentially her prison cell.

It took her a while before she begged me to give her my best shot, because she was more than ready for it. I obliged, because I knew she wouldn't get pregnant if I didn't want her to.

Ten minutes of comfortable cuddling later, Martha finally realized what she had asked for in her pleasure addled state of mind and sat up to stare at me like I had sentenced her to death.

I laughed at the look and took pity on her. “Shooting blanks.”

“Oh, thank god.” Martha said and laid back down to cuddle into me. “What would I say to your girlfriend if we ever met? I'm sorry about raping your boyfriend and having his kid. I was only thanking him for saving my life three times in three minutes.”

That made me laugh. “I could have easily said no or stopped you when you were fumbling with my zipper, so you can ignore the potential rape part of your statement. And the kid part, unless you wanted to get pregnant.”

“God, no.” Martha said and her hand rubbed my chest. “I have nearly grown adults as kids now. I do not want another kid that I'll spend the first few years trying to pawn off on their father.”

I laughed a little more. “Your independent streak is showing, dear lady.”

“My life was finally starting to become my own again.” Martha said and sighed. “Then I somehow ended up in this nightmare and...”

“I can remove the worst memories if you want.” I said and she caught her breath. “It's a moral dilemma for me, usually. What happened to you, though...” I shook my head. “I'll break my own rules about 'if you lived it, you need to remember it'.”

“Why?” Martha asked.

“You didn't make the choice.” I said and she lifted her head to look into my eyes. “If you came to this facility to confront them about dissecting the wolves and they captured you, then I would have to let you live with that choice and the consequences. If I removed it, you might choose to do it again later and wouldn't learn from the experience.”

Martha stared at me. “You've done something like that before.”

I nodded. “She wasn't tortured physically after she did something; but, the mental pain she suffered was pretty bad, because the result of her actions was completely counter to her normal moral choices.”

“Not with me.” Martha said.

“No, they tracked you down and captured you, interrogated you, and beat you bloody because they could. Their hatred for the wolves makes them blind to their morality and classed you as less than human. Once they made that choice...”

“...they could do what they wanted and wouldn't feel guilty about it.” Martha finished for me.

“I regret having to kill these idiots for both their stupidity and the goddess that allowed them to exist in the first place; but, I warned her that what happened here was all her fault for putting you here and not sending you with me like she was supposed to.”

Martha laid back down and cuddled in again. “What if you were sent here with me?”

“She wouldn't have, because I would have killed them all as soon as they tried anything.” I said and she sighed. “I know. I wish it had happened that way, too.”

We laid there and held each other for quite some time before Martha spoke again.

“Don't take my memories.” Martha said.

“Should I bother asking why?” I asked and her hand slid down to touch my still erect member.

“Your argument about repeating the same mistake.” Martha said and her hand rubbed me a little faster. “I trusted people arresting me for vagrancy and didn't realize it was a blatant trap to capture me.”

I rolled over onto my side and she slid close to let me enter her. “We'll be stopping by the police station on the way back to where I'm staying.”

Martha moaned as I entered her and at the thought that I was going to remove the officers that arrested her and handed her over to the guards. “Make... mmm... make them pay.”

“I will.” I said and we had sex for another half an hour before she thanked me for it and fell asleep. I had slept for a long time before coming here, so I laid back and went over what I needed to do for this world.

The goddess, whose name I will never use, wanted me to block off or eliminate the wolves. The humans pretty much wanted the same thing, only they didn't have the means to do it. They only erected the barricades around towns and cities because it was easier than the very dangerous job of hunting giant wolves.

Only one would devastate a small hunting party. A large group like the one that followed me, could probably take out a whole platoon of soldiers before they were stopped. Or potentially stopped. It would depend on crossfire and how damaged the wolves would get if hit too many times.

I laughed in my head at the speculation, especially when I remembered how they hopped and jumped around from feeling my magic. If they did that in a shootout, the army guys wouldn't stand a chance.

Thank for idea. Karina's sexy voice said in my head. Guns not scary now.

I gave her a mental picture of my Map and where she was and where I was, then one showing the whole country and where we were on it.

Far! She thought, happily. You told truth! Always be with me!

ALWAYS! ALWAYS! The other wolves echoed through my head.

For as long as I'm on this world. I thought back to her and she was very pleased to hear that.