Chapter 56

I woke up with Jesse on one side and Fen on the other. I was getting used to being the filling between the two studs again. My two Bound had joined in on the fun—it had been one hell of a celebration last night. The melded Unbound had fully recovered, and today we would place him in the creature, moving Kraken back into her cat host. However, that wasn’t the reason for the five of us celebrating. The night before, we had replayed our first erotic party, sending the emotions and experiences to the spirit realm. This time, Fen had been included in the action. The spirit realm found the experience overwhelming.

During the party, I referred to Lassie using the pseudonym “Bud,” and Rin was “Rin”. Jesse was called “Bear,” “Mr. Bear,“ Or Jesse depending on the form he took..

Ursus had told us it was the most powerful energy their world had ever experienced. As long as we didn’t mention that the two new beast-men were actually Unbound, their world would never know. This meant we could use all the Unbound in the Oasis to send more energy with fewer participants in the coupling. Our Oasis could thrive well into the future, with no need to expand.

“I smell bacon and eggs. Let’s get cleaned up and have breakfast,” I told Jesse and Fen.

“Oh, thank you, Master! It’s been so long since I could serve you and Jesse by myself,” Fen said.

“You know that’s not true. You did the same thing just the other night,” Jesse corrected him.

“He’s right, and you’re wrong. The two Bound were in the shower last time,” I reminded Jesse.

“Okay, I stand corrected. I thought by ‘by himself,’ he was talking about the other guys,” Jesse admitted. As we all entered the shower.

We needed to shower quickly with little playtime, but Jesse wasn’t helping. “Jesse, you need to stop fooling around. At least Fen is trying to help and not making things worse.”

“Okay, then let Fen hulk out into a big, fluffy werewolf! He can be our foamy washcloth—it’ll be fun and fast. You good with that, Keith?”

“May I, Master?” Fen asked, a gleam in his eyes. He clearly wanted to pleasure us both in his hulking form.

“Fine, as long as it’s quick,” A large muscular chest pressed against my head. "A-Are we really... doing this?"

Then a big bottle of shampoo was handed to me by a hand larger than the bottle. “Once I’m lathered up, I’ll be able to get you two clean as a whistle.”

I felt Fen’s chest vibrate as he spoke, my head between his large, over muscle pecs. ‘I guess we’re doing this.’

*****

When we entered the dining area, both Ren and Lassie were still in their Yeti and Minotaur forms. They were also still cooking.

“I smelled bacon and eggs earlier,” Jesse said.

“Yes, we cooked some earlier, but they got cold and started to dry up. We’re making fresh ones for you now,” Lassie explained.

“What did I tell you? We took too long in the shower,” I said, glaring at Jesse.

Jesse looked at me, then at Fen, then back to me. “Hey, what about Fen? He was in there too!”

I walked up to Jesse and poked him in the chest with my finger—not that it did much. “He does what he’s told, not like Cetus and the others. He would have just cleaned up until you decided he should hulk out.”

“Master, it’s fine. We ate the first batch—nothing went to waste. Come sit down; help yourselves. It’s hot and ready,” Ren said in a voice that was much more normal now. It was still deep, but I liked how it suited the form he had taken. Not to mention, his body was littered with clearly defined veins and muscles. Even from just seeing his back, he was a sight to behold.

*****

We were back on top of Kraken.

“You must have gotten more powerful in these forms. You brought six of us in one go this time,” I said, praise evident in my voice.

“It seems so, but we’ll need to try in both our animal and semi-human forms to know for sure,” Rin replied.

“Change now into your semi-human forms, and form clothes that will hide any abnormalities,” I instructed them. Lassie had become a perfect male—he could easily pass as a model. Rin wore a hat with a wide brim that cloaked his face in shadow. Other than that, he looked like the ideal bodyguard, his muscles obvious even beneath his clothes.

“Good. After this, we’re going to the hospital.”

Both of them turned to look at me, concerned, as if something were wrong.

“It’s not me,” I clarified. “With all the chaos lately, I never got a chance to check on that driver. Grey got in touch with the hotel, and we found out the driver was still bedridden.”

They relaxed after hearing that.

“Kraken, are you ready for the swap?” I asked.

‘I do like this body, but I also know it was never really mine. Yes, I am ready,’ she replied.

Two more Bound appeared—Kal, the kangaroo, holding the white cat, and Dog, a large one.

I found the same place on Kraken’s armor, kneeled down, and the four Bound surrounded me.

‘I order you to leave this body and enter this cat.’

Time froze as the spirits of the Bound left their bodies, and the one leaving the creature returned to the cat. The only difference this time was that time didn’t start back up immediately.

‘Master, I have a request,’ the melded spirit asked.

‘What is it?’ I asked.

‘After I enter the creature, May I change forms and go with you?’

‘Why?’

‘This body is more than it appears. I feel as though it’s telling me I need to stay close to you.’

‘Alright, but first we need to get to shore. Then you can follow—but not in this form. Understood?’

‘Understood.’

‘I also have a request,’ Kraken, now in the cat, added.

‘Boy, we’re getting cocky. Am I being too loose with my control? Is this the right time to ask?’ I said.

‘I wish to take his place here—to protect the boat and guard the waters. Absorbing a large amount of power from the creature has strengthened me. While I may not grow as big as it is, being placed inside the creature felt like my calling,’ she almost pleaded.

‘Same orders as I gave him. Understood?’

‘Understood.’

Time returned to normal.

Fen, Ursus, Cetus, Stone, and Jesse looked at me expectantly, as if waiting for something.

“Take us to the shore,” I instructed my two Bound.

Once we were ashore, the large dog, Kal and the Kraken cat, were no longer with us.

Jesse approached me. “Is something wrong? You didn’t do the binding?”

“Yes, I did. Wait—you’ll see,” I replied.

“I forget the name of the hospital, but Grey said it’s the one closest to the hotel we stayed at,” I said.

Fen, being Fen, turned into his spirit form and darted off to locate the hospital.

A new Bound appeared, looking more human than any Bound should. He bowed to me.

“I hope this is alright. The other is out there patrolling. She said to thank you. Call me whatever you like, but wait to name me back at the Oasis,” he said.

“Understood. Ursus, you and the others need to take us to the hotel. We’re kind of sticking out here,” I said.

Ursus knew what I meant. The Bound could transport us directly to our destination, but they had to ensure we appeared where there wouldn’t be many onlookers.

We emerged from the men’s restroom and strode into the lobby. Ursus and Stone approached the front desk while the rest of us took seats.

Jesse finally asked, ‘Is this guy the creature?’

‘Yep. The cat asked to take his place. She wants to be the one protecting the boat and this area.’

Jesse looked more confused. ‘So she’s still in the creature’s body? I thought the plan was to take her out and put the melded spirit back in.’’

‘That’s exactly what I did. You’re looking at the creature with the melded spirit inside. The cat wanted to be more than a cat—she liked being the Kraken. As long as she obeys my orders, I have no issue with her staying here.’

Jesse’s confusion lingered, but did not ask for more of an explanation. “As long as you’re okay with it, I’m fine,” Jesse said, now relaxed.

“We could get the same rooms as last time. I booked us for just tonight. The guy at the desk asked if we had bags, and I told him the airline lost them. Said we might get them later,” Ursus informed us.

I stood up, and the rest followed. Ursus led the way to the rooms.

Fen appeared in our room just after sunset.

“I found the driver,” he reported. “He’s in the hospital for testing and scans. He looks okay, but the charts mention issues with the nerve in his back. I can fix it if you want. They might decide to operate—fuse some bones to prevent further nerve damage.”

I considered for a moment. “Get with Grey and find out if he’s a candidate. If not, then repair him. You can do it without him knowing, right?”

Ursus chimed in. “There’s a chance he’ll feel like someone—or something intervened. We leave a part of ourselves behind inside of him.”

“Okay, we’ll use that to our advantage. Get with Grey first, and then I’ll decide.”

Rin disappeared and reappeared shortly with a laptop in hand.

“Grey said all the information is in here, and you can use this to communicate with him.”

“Thanks, Rin.”

I opened the laptop, which booted up instantly and displayed the file Grey had prepared. I read it over twice.

“Looks like he’s not a candidate. He’s married and has two kids. Fen, go ahead and fix him—not just his back. If you find any other issues, fix those too.”

Fen faded, heading off to the hospital.

I turned to Stone. “Go find a florist still open and order the biggest flower arrangement they can make. Tell them it’s for a buddy in the hospital. Make sure they include a large card. Pay whatever it takes to get it ready tonight and bring it back here.”

Stone nodded and faded out to complete the task.

Jesse leaned back on the couch, crossing his arms. “Alright, what’s the plan this time? What’s with the flowers?”

“Just playing on the fact that the driver is going to know someone intervened,” I replied.

Hours later, Fen reappeared. I was ready and waiting. “Was his back the only issue?” I asked.

“No, Master,” Fen said, shaking his head. “His heart was a mess, and his lungs were failing. He probably knows about the lungs, but the heart? I doubt it.”

I sighed. “Figures. The poor guy’s a walking time bomb. Thanks for taking care of it, Fen.”

Fen’s eyes gleamed. “It’s no trouble, Master. I’m glad to help.”

I finished writing on the card, sealed it in the envelope, and scrawled the driver’s name on the front. I handed it to Fen. “Place this and the flowers where he’ll see it when he wakes up. Then come back here.”

Without a word, Fen faded the envelope back in the arrangement, flowers in hand.

Jesse strolled into the room, giving me a suspicious look. “So, are you going to tell me what this is all about? What’s written on the card?”

I chuckled. “Simple. I told him we fixed his back, heart, and lungs. I apologized for what happened to him in the accident and told him to start taking better care of himself. Then I mentioned his younger son might come out to him one day. I warned him—if he handles it wrong, we’ll step in and take the boy away. I signed it with the hotel name, our room number and two dates.”

Jesse blinked. “You’re playing a long game here. Why the son?”

“The father isn’t a candidate, but his son is. The boy’s terrified to come out because of his mother—she’s cold, and controlling. I’m giving the father a chance to grow a spine and stand up for his kid. If he doesn’t, we’ll take care of the boy ourselves. Either way, he’ll remember us and know we’re real.”

Jesse rubbed his jaw, processing. “So, the flowers and card—they’re bait? Proof you’re not just some figment of his imagination?”

“Exactly. The card gives him just enough information to connect the dots, but not enough to trace us. I also told Grey to tag the son, so we’ll know if anything happens. The system will do the rest.”

Jesse nodded slowly. “So, this is about testing the father?”

“Yes and no,” I replied. “Aside from his back, his issues are likely a result of his wife. She’s controlling, not just his sons, him as well, and he lets her get away with it. The stress makes him smoke as a coping mechanism. That stress has strained his heart, and without intervention, he was heading for a heart attack. What I did will either push him to change and stand up for his son, or he’ll let his wife destroy the family.”

Jesse whistled low. “Damn, you’re ruthless. You know if he chooses his son, he might lose his wife, right?”

“He’s already lost his older son,” I said flatly. “The kid walked out years ago because he couldn’t handle her. They haven’t spoken since. The father knows why—he just hasn’t done anything about it. Now’s his chance.”

“And if he blows it?”

“Then we’re there for his son.”