Cayden Wilde in Calling the Shots - Episode 1

"My name is Cayden Wilde. I live in the town of Wake Delta. I'm the guy people go to when the cops can't get the job done. I'm the last guy you turn to when you've been down a road filled with dead ends and one-way streets. I'm the bottom of the barrel. I'm the last resort.

"You don't need to look hard to find me. My prices aren't cheap either. But usually, you could soften me up with a little drink. Vodka. Schnapps. Tequila. Yeah, I'm calling the shots."

******

---

Wake Delta.

It was a sleepy little down on the east coast of the American mainland and pretty far up north. As its name said, the town was built around the delta formed by the big Awakening River. Over the years, it had remained a quiet town. No building was ever erected over three storeys tall with that very building being the church. The town hall was the second biggest building. But apart from that, the architecture remained small, homey and cosy.

It was a quiet town.

But that didn't mean people didn't have their fair share of troubles.

For one thing, Cayden 'Cade' Wilde couldn't get a decent internet connection. "Oh for fuck's sake!" he growled, flashing his big, sharp fangs at his screen. He flipped his middle finger at the stuttering images on the screen. "Just when I was getting to the good part!"

When his shouting didn't get the video to buffer quicker, he slammed a big, furry, red fist into the table. It took all his self-control not to slam his clawed paw against the side of his monitor and to bury his huge foot into the side of his PC tower. The video started forward a little and his bright, yellow eyes widened briefly. But when it froze a second later, he let out a tortured howl from his broad, square muzzle and gripped his dense, beach blonde hair in frustration.

"Fuck me..." he snarled. His eyes fell down on the enormous, angry, red rod throbbing against his muscled chest just demanding attention. He could_always just finish off without the video but now part of him was committed to seeing the guy cum or the girl squeal in delight. With a growl, he leaned against table, his very erect canine dick slapping against the corner of the table with a very audible, wet _thwack.

Maybe I could actually find something worth jacking off to, he thought bitterly.

Of course, fate had other plans.

There came a fevered knock on his door and he lifted his gaze. A silhouette hovered behind the blurred glass window to the door. Cayden's claws raked across his table, sliding across the grooves in the wood that he had made over the years of frustration and sexual release.

"G'way!" he growled. "I ain't interested!"

Then his keen, triangular ears caught a sharp sob. "Please, Mr. Wilde. I'm desperate."

It was a woman. He should've picked it up sooner based on her sweet perfume that was wafting through his door but the musk coming off his cock was pretty strong... and needy. A quick check at the clock and he realised that it was well past midnight, almost five in the morning.

"Fuck..." he mumbled.

The chair screeched against the wooden floorboards as he strode towards where he kept his trench coat. He draped the dark grey coat over his shoulders, covered himself up so his dick wasn't protruding so much and then headed towards the door. The woman's scent was growing stronger. Human from all appearances and with perfume so thick that it reeked of desperation. Not the desperation of someone that needed to get laid but the kind where someone had thrown on the sweet-smelling stuff as an afterthought.

He pulled the door open and the woman looked up at him with wide, teary, blue-grey eyes. Clearly a parent, she was about 5'9'', a little dumpy and dressed in an awful floral dress consisting of an overall pink colouration with white flowers everywhere. Though it was raining, she only wore a simple coat over her shoulders and a sunhat. Her broad features and strong square jaw gave her a striking appearance but not one that Cayden wouldn't really call attractive.

"Whatdya want?" he growled.

It took a moment for her to reply as the 7'10'' werewolf in front of her still sported a very erect dick barely concealed by his trench coat. He made no apology though she did to her God. After a quick of the Sign of the Cross she clasped her hands together, a tear-soaked handkerchief in her hand clutched between her fingers. "Please Mr. Wilde, I'm desperate. My son... he's been taken by the police!"

Cayden rolled his eyes. "Lady, I'm a fuckin' private investigator. If the police has already found him, I ain't interested." He turned to shut the door -

"But he's a Satyr!"

That made him freeze.

Ever since the Convergence Event in 2050, a once human-only planet of Earth became inundated with all sorts of supernatural creatures. Humans, young and old, male and female, sometimes even dead or alive, suddenly found themselves in bodies that were not their own. But that was over sixty-six years ago. Looking at the woman, she had to be in her early thirties albeit with the fashion sense of someone who was in their nineteen sixties. Even though those who were 'Paraficationalised' would have unusually long lives, it shouldn't be possible for a human woman to give birth to a Paranorm unless the father was one himself.

"You must like goat legs then," he grumbled. "And sleeping around. Satyrs are notorious whores."

"My husband is a saint!" the woman said furiously. She stamped a heeled foot on the ground. "And if you must know, my Matthew was born human! 100% human. He was turned into a Satyr overnight!"

Now that really got him interested.

Cayden stepped aside to let her in. "Come in. Tell me the details."

She breathed a sigh of relief and hurried inside. The modest two bedroom apartment served as both his home and office. The lounge room he had converted into his office of sorts while one bedroom he had reserved for his workout equipment and the last was his actual bedroom.

"Can I get you any coffee?" he asked, veering away from the hallway into the kitchen.

"Please," she shivered. "It's very cold."

"How long have you lived in Wake Delta?" he rumbled sarcastically. "It's always cold." He poured two cups of coffee and carried them to his desk. The massive, 7'10'' werewolf parked himself behind the desk, tail sliding easily through the tail hole in the big, cushiony seat. The coffee was so black and rich that it would've awoken a slumbering giant. He drained his halfway but she took a sip, grimaced and set it back down. The faint smile she offered him was so forced that it made him laugh internally.

"So what's this about your son being Paraficationalised?"

She straightened and removed her hat, revealing a mess of curly, red hair. "First of all, I am Oliva Kingston. I've lived here in Wake Delta my whole life. Our son, Matthew, was born here as well. You can check his medical records in the Blessed Mary Hospital."

"I'll be sure to check it out," rumbled Cayden. "And about your son...?"

"He is..." She choked softly. "Was about my height. A healthy boy. Always ate his greens. He has my red hair and his father's green eyes. But he was human. Through and through." Oliva sobbed loudly and wiped her tears gently away with her handkerchief. "A couple of hours ago, I got a call from the police. They had my son in custody."

"What for?"

"Indecent exposure!" She was nearly hysterical. "He's never set a _hair_out of line! He's a good boy!"

Yeah, every mother believes that about their son.

"Fine. And?" he rumbled.

"They said that he was walking the streets, fully naked, drunk out of his mind and accosting people for sex!"

"People do all sorts of shitty things when they're drunk."

"But not like this! And not as a Satyr!" She began sobbing again and Cayden could see that her handkerchief was getting very soggy. A box of tissues sat beside him. The grieving woman didn't need to know what he had intended to use it for and she took the offered tissue willingly enough.

"What was he doing last night?"

"Just celebrating a friend's bachelor party."

"A stag party," he chuckled. That got a foul look from her and he lifted a paw in apology. "Sorry, sorry. Where are these friends of his?"

"I don't know! The police say that they're still missing."

Might be too early to jump to conclusions. But Satyrs aren't the kind to kidnap people. Then again, there's always the black sheep in the flock. Or is it a black goat in this case?

"Alright. Sounds interesting."

Her eyes shone brightly. "You'll take the case."

"Provided you can pay your deposit and agree to my terms and conditions." He reached down to one of his desk drawers and pulled out the typical form he had for his clients. It came as a surprise when Mrs. Kingston didn't even give it a second glance and signed away. She did see the deposit fee, however, and immediately reached into her wallet.

The fact that she was carrying around five hundred dollars in cash was a surprise.

"Please," she pleaded, "find out what happened to my son."

Cayden grabbed the stack of money, leafing through it just to make sure it was right. Everything was legitimate. The notes smelled a little too sweetly but it was legitimate currency. He pocketed the cash and grabbed his grey fedora hat, slitting it between his ears with said ears sliding through the earholes so that they poked out through the rim.

"I'll look right into it."

******

Memories came flooding back of the days when he had been Sergeant Cayden Wilde of the Wake Delta police department. Wearing that stifling uniform, bursting out of it whenever he 'went wolf' and chasing down criminals whenever they reared their ugly heads...

Yeah, that never happened.

The sad thing was, the police department was run exclusively by were_dogs_. Sure there were other kinds of officers there but most of them were just administrative staff. The true boys in blue were weredogs. And he was a were_wolf_. They automatically distrusted him and flagged him as a renegade and a loose cannon even though he had graduated with top marks back at the academy. Funny thing was, they were right. Pigeonholing him to traffic duty and making him do all the shitty jobs that they didn't want to do did foster a rebellious streak in him.

Anything to get the perp.

That was why he got kicked out.

But now he was a free wolf.

With a deep breath, he strode up the white steps of the department building, pushed through the big, broad, oak doors and headed straight to the receptionist area. There, a large, rounded dark-skinned woman with leaves in her hair looked up and greeted him.

"Why hello there handsome!" she exclaimed. "What brings you in this early, Cade?"

He beamed at her and deposited the box of a dozen Crispy Cremés on her desk. "The usual, Regina. Client asked me to look into something. Gonna piss off Des." He smiled and turned the box in her direction, opening it. "I got your favourite. Maple glazed with Canadian bacon."

The druid licked her lips and rubbed her hands together in delight. "I know I'm supposed to be an advocate of nature and be a vegetarian but _goddamn_do I love me some bacon." She did cast her dark eyes at him, however, with a fleck of concern. "Be careful, Cade. The Old Bull is a little... ticked off this morning."

That made him wince. "Right. I heard that someone was illegally Paraficationalised."

She plucked one of the donuts from the box, a jam one. Regina liked to save the best for last. "And we've got at least another four people missing."

Oh boy... That's going to piss off Des...

"The stag party consisted of only eight people including our newly made Satyr," provided Regina. "Three have been accounted for because they went home early. But the remaining four have yet to report home. The Bull has almost everyone scouring the city."

"Fun times," Cayden sighed. "Well, I better get to it before someone comes in and reports that they can't find those missing guys. The captain will be inconsolable then."

Most of the desks in the building were empty. As Regina the Receptionist has hinted, everyone was out looking for these four missing guys. Wake Delta wasn't a very big town. Maybe a population of three hundred thousand including the outlying farms and suburbs. It wasn't so small that everyone knew everybody but it was still small enough that they really only needed one police department. There would still be a lot of ground to cover so Cayden had a bit of time to himself.

Before anyone could take notice of the big, red werewolf with a grey lower jaw sweeping down his neck and chest striding through the rows of tables, Cayden quickly murmured a spell under his breath.

"Iveresil'alach mor'duvren."

It was a simple spell, one that he had learned from Mama Sherry. Subtle enough that no alarms would go off and it wouldn't trigger any magical sensors unless they were extremely sensitive. But its effects were very powerful. People would just outright ignore him unless they were dead set on taking notice. The casual glance would cause a person to just pass over him without a second thought. If someone were to bump into him, they'd just apologise and move on.

It allowed him to stride right up to the interrogation room where young Matthew Kingston was sitting alone, by himself and fidgeting nervously. The kid really did have his mother's dark-brown to red hair and his father's green eyes. However, now as a Paranorm, these features were greatly accentuated. His brown hair glistened in the scant light like there were flecks of rubies mingled within the curls. Those green eyes shone with a distinct supernatural glow. Satyrs did have a bit of an allure to them, after all. Matthew's body was well toned, firm and strong. His chest was well defined with clean, cut abdominals to boot. A pair of horns jutted from his forehead and stuck through his wild hair slightly. Pointed ears flicked back and forth in fear. His lower half was covered in dense fur that matched his hair. Instead of human feet, however, his legs tapered off into a pair of cloven hooves.

Cayden sighed softly.

"Poor kid," he rumbled.

Parafication was fairly common especially in rebellious teens. Sometimes, some drama queen might let herself get bitten by a vampire. Maybe some guy looking to remake himself would convince a wizard to turn them into a dragon. These days, it was a little like getting a tattoo. Some forms of Parafication were reversible especially if the right spell, potion or action was done before an allotted time. However, other times it was permanent and it was a well-known fact that only humans can change. If you were a werewolf, you couldn't become a Satyr or if you were a Satyr, you couldn't become a werewolf. It was a life changing decision and one Cayden knew had been forced on this poor soul.

Probably doesn't help that he'll live longer now. He'll have much more time to live with his regret.

Seeing as no one had stopped him just yet, Cayden opened the door to the interrogation room and quietly stepped inside. The young Satyr's eyes lifted and he grimaced at the sight of the big werewolf that strode into the room.

"Look, I told you everything I know," Matthew moaned. "I don't remember anything else."

"I ain't with the cops, kid," Cayden rumbled, taking off his fedora and setting it on the table. Now fully clothed, he shoved his paws into the pockets of his jeans and pulled out a notepad and pen. "Your mom sent me to check up on you. Name's Cayden Wilde. Private investigator."

The newly made Satyr grimaced and turned away. "Great... just what I needed. My mom breathing down my neck again." He waved a hairy hand in Cayden's direction. "Did you know that I wasn't even allowed to have a TV in my own room until I was eighteen?"

"The nerve of her," Cayden muttered sarcastically. "Can we stick to the case? What happened last night?"

Matthew crossed his arms against his bare, muscled chest. Cayden realised that the young Paranorm wasn't wearing any pants. The new equipment probably came as a bit of a shock to the guy. He wondered if half-goat man had gone to the bathroom yet.

"I was just at the bar with my buddies. One of them is getting married and it was his bachelor party. We got a little drunk and around eleven, I guess I blacked out." He waved a hand around his head like he was swatting a fly. "I vaguely remember cocks... a lot of sex. Fucking sexy bodies. Boobs. The taste of flesh. Urf..." He grimaced as his furry sheath began to swell with blood and desire. "Next thing I knew, I was being thrown into the back of a car by the police and being told that I was being charged with indecent exposure."

"Uh-huh." Cayden scribbled a few notes on his pad. "What's the name of this bar?"

"Triton's Tub."

He knew that place. It was mostly a sailor's bar. Wake Delta was, as to be expected, located near a river delta and had its own port. Though it was reserved mostly for local fishermen, the occasional cargo ship would pass by to drop off some supplies here and there. Triton's Tub catered for anyone who visited the docks and was feeling in the mood for some hearty beer and seafood.

"Where were you found?"

"Somewhere far from the docks," Matthew muttered. "I don't recall the street."

Cayden made a note to ask someone that detail. A drunk Satyr that was being arrested probably didn't care too much about the name of the street he was being cuffed on.

"Your friends. What are their names?"

Matthew gave him a list of names and he quickly took note of them.

"Alright," Cayden said, leaning forward. "I think I have most of what I need. Or at least what you remember. Now onto the next matter at hand." He looked directly into Matthew's eyes. "Definitely a curse of some sort. Not an illusion. A true transformation wouldn't have caused your behaviour to change."

The young Satyr gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"There are four ways a norm can change into a Paranorm, kid," Cayden said, holding up four fingers. "First, is the legal way and that's through a true transformation. You get a sanctioned witch or wizard to change you. Hell of a lot of paperwork involved and the casters need to be really trained so they don't do something stupid like mess up and make you a cricket instead. Usually involved really long rituals and specific dates. Planets need to be in alignment or some shit like that."

Cayden shrugged his broad shoulders and changed how many fingers he was holding up so that only two were raised. "The second is through medical practices or surgery. Not very common as it's painful and takes a lot of recovery time but it's actually cheaper than the magical method. Not to mention people sometimes what to be weird half-dragon and half-man things or something. Just the wings or tail. Not the whole fire breathing thing."

He sighed and crossed his big, meaty arms behind his head. "Then there's the third way. Direct influence from an 'infectious' Paranorm. A werewolf like me, for example, can bite a human and they'd turn into a werewolf on their first full moon if they don't get treatment. Same thing with vampires, zombies or whatever else."

"And the last way?" Poor Matthew was scared and was tapping his hoofed foot rapidly on the dull, grey-tiled floor.

The werewolf pointed a clawed finger directly at Matthew. "A curse. That's what you got kid."

In the Pre-Convergence world the worst 'curse' a person could inflict on someone else was 'fuck' or if they were creative some variation of it. Maybe 'motherfucker' or 'cocksucking motherfucker'. But in a world where magic and the supernatural were rampant, a curse carried with it the strong taboo akin to an STD. If anyone were revealed to be cursed and couldn't pay to have a witch or wizard dispel it then they were avoided like they had the plague.

"H - H - How can you be sure?"

"Nothing but a curse goes out of its way to change the way you behave, kid," Cayden said. He nodded wat the young Satyr. "I can smell your need from here. You want to fuck. Bad. You're constantly licking your lips. You're thirsty for some booze. Never seen a human flick his ears so much either. Most people I know who were recently transformed wouldn't have gotten down the nuances of their new form so quickly." He grabbed his fedora and got up, the chair scraping across the ground with a loud whine. "Yeah. You're cursed."

"C - C - Can you dispel it!?" stuttered Matthew. "Please! I can't go back to school cursed!"

Cayden waved a paw absently through the air. "Sorry kid. I'm a private investigator. Not a wizard. I'm sure the good Chief of Police can find some way to dispel this before it becomes permanent."

"Permanent!?"

"All cruses have a sort of grace period. Tends to be different with each one. But once it's over, you'll be stuck with it unless divine intervention or a powerful magic-user dispels it. And those don't come cheap." He turned towards the door. "Maybe I can find the guy who inflicted this on you and convince him to change you back."

The door to the interrogation room suddenly burst open. A huge, hulking bulldog with a grey hair cut in a crewcut came bursting in, his brown eyes afire with fury.

"Wilde!" snapped the weredog. "What the fuck are you doing in my building!?"

Not wanting to get Regina in trouble, Cayden merely shrugged and said, "I found my way in. This kid's sweet old lady asked me to have a look his case."

The Chief of Police, Desmond Gordon snarled at him, hackles raised. "This is a police investigation, Cade. You stay out of this."

"Uh-huh." Cayden crossed his arms and sat down on the table, tail absently slapping the metal frame just to brush his scent in a little more. The Old Bull's nostrils flared. Getting his scent everywhere always ticked off the bulldog. No more than being ignored when he was being spoken to. So Cayden did just that. He glanced towards Matthew with a smile. "Did you know I used to be a cop, kid?"

Matthew lifted his eyebrows in surprise. "You did?"

"Yep. I was actually this big lug's partner." He hiked a thumb absently at Des Gordon. "It was a the clichéd buddy cop scene. Experienced senior with the fresh blooded recruit. We worked well together for years. Then he got promoted and stabbed me in the back. See, I'm a were_wolf_. Everyone else in the police department is a were_dog_. There's this whole thing where dogs are the domesticated, obedient little puppies of their masters and wolves are wild, voracious beasts that'll rip your throat out and eat your guts with their massive fangs."

For emphasis, he snapped his fangs at Matthew, getting the kid to flinch a little.

"That's enough, Cade," growled Des.

But Cayden ignored him. The bulldog's white fur was actually starting to turn a little pink with fury. "Of course the Chief of Police couldn't kick out his former partner and the best damn cop on the force for something as stupid as being a werewolf. So he instead bullied me out. Stuck me with the shitty jobs like traffic duty. Hell, I was even a meter maid once. Can you imagine that? This hunk of beef in a stupid meter maid costume?"

"That wasn't it and you know it, Cade!" shouted the bulldog, rattling the walls and the one-way window. "You were a loose cannon. You broke regulation frequently. You endangered people's lives! Fuck, you even slept with witnesses on occasion!"

Cayden rolled his eyes and returned his gaze to Des. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Des. Fact is, I've been hired to find out what happened to Matthew Kingston here." He clapped the young Satyr's shoulder lightly. "And my guess is that you've already got a team working on making a convincing case that this was all just some drunk and disorderly mishap, that it was a buck party gone too wild and these boys, in their inebriated state, mixed a bit of magic with their drink, uttered the wrong spell and ended up cursing themselves."

Matthew's eyes went wide in terror. "We didn't do that! Honest!"

Des' lips curled upwards in a snarl. "Fuck you, Cade."

"At least someone can," Cayden answered with a shrug. "But then again, that's what the police do the best, isn't it? Cover their own asses? Well, two can play that game." He flashed Des a vicious grin. "I've pulled my secret weapon."

To show fear especially for a weredog and a Chief of Police was highly unprofessional but Des and Cayden had been in this relationship for a _very_long time and Desmond Gordon knew _exactly_what Cayden's 'secret weapon' was.

Cayden leaned down towards Matthew. "You might want to hold onto something."

The already quivering victim glanced up at the hulking grey and black werewolf with fear. "What? Why?"

"Just trust me on this."

"No... You didn't," Desmond whimpered. If the bulldog had a tail, it would've tucked between his legs by now. "Cayden, no. Please. It's too early in the fucking morning to -"

SMASH!

The window suddenly shattered and a tight, lean figure wrapped into a ball came barrelling through the glass shards, spinning through the air with her long, silvery hair whipping around her like a buzzsaw blade. Despite being in heels, she landed effortlessly on the table beside Cayden, instantly uncurling and spreading her arms wide like she had just finished an Olympic gymnastics routine.

"Ta-da!" exclaimed the 5'10'' - without heels - lithe, caramel skinned woman.

Cayden never took his eyes off Des. The bulldog's face was simply priceless. Maw agape, left eye twitching in terror and shoulders slumped in defeat. If the Chief of Police had started moaning, he would've caught this on a recording to set as his ringtone.

"Heeeeeey, Katie," Cayden greeted, unable to stop grinning and still watching Des' crushed face.

The woman in the pristine, slate-grey suit spun around, one hand on her hip and striking a pose. He dark eyes glimmered with glee. "Hey there, Cade. What did you think of my landing? I think I stuck it."

Shards of broken glass were everywhere. Each one seemed to reflect Desmond's mix of barely controlled fury and abject horror.

"It was spectacular."

"I think I was off by a little," she said, tapping her rosy lips. "Let me try again." She cupped her manicured hands over her lips. "Boys!"

The few police officers in the building suddenly turned as the front doors burst open. Burly men carrying a replacement one-way window came charging in. Des watched with a mix of exhaustion and confusion as they began bashing away the remnants of the window and sweeping up the shards.

"What's happening...?"

Cayden turned and found that Matthew was hiding under the table.

Smart move.

"Hey, at least she's paying for the window," said the werewolf with a shrug. He kept off the floor for a bit as his bare paws would've gotten cut up by the shards. "Matt, I'm assuming you don't have a lawyer yet."

"D - d - do I need one?"

"Always." He gestured at the woman who had taken out a little makeup mirror and was examining her exotic features. Cayden turned away from her as she checked the little red spot on the middle of her forehead. "This is Katherine. No last name. She's a good friend of mine and a lawyer. The best there is. She'll be helping to make sure you don't incriminate yourself any further."

Des snapped out of his shock at that moment. "This is uncalled for, Cade! We are not about to convict a _victim_of illegal Parafication!"

Again, completely and utterly ignoring the Chief of Police, he said to Matt, "Just wait until he can't find the rest of your missing buddies. To save his ass, he'll start spreading that rumour. It'll tarnish your reputation whether or not it's proven wrong."

"That's bullshit and you know it!" The OId Bull strode forward. "Come on, son. Let's get you -"

Suddenly Katie was standing in front of the weredog. "Come on, Des," she said in a soft cooing voice. "You can't take him anywhere."

"Yes I can. This is a police matter and -"

Suddenly, Katie was zipping back behind Cayden. She immediately tipped the table on its side, pushing Cayden off. The eccentric lawyer dipped behind the toppled table like she was hiding. Matt was kicked out from behind the barrier.

"What is she...?" began Des. "Is something going to explode?"

"Wait for it..." Cayden said with a smirk and his eyes half-closed in expectation.

Two sock puppets suddenly emerged from behind the screen, one with a red tip and the other with a blue.

"Gee, Mr. Huggiewuffums! Does the Chief of Police really have the right to detain a victim like this against their will?" squeaked the red tipped puppet in a high-pitched voice.

In a gravelly tone, the blue-tipped one said, "Of course not, Mrs. Lovebottom! Unless the victim is under arrest!"

Both puppets suddenly turned towards Des and in unison - though Cayden was really unsure how anyone could cause two sock puppets to speak in unison especially if they were controlling both of them - said, "Is he under arrest, Chief Gordon?"

Des took a second to recover from the insanity that unfolded in front of him. "Of course not, but -"

"Oh my god, Mr. Huggiewuffums! This poor kid is naked!"

"Oh no, Mrs. Lovebottom! Did the Chief of Police forget to give the victim some decent clothing?"

"What? No! I -"

"Oh he must have assumed that all Satyrs prefer to go around naked."

"Well, that is the general view of Satyrs, Mrs. Lovebottom."

"But Mr. Huggiewuffums, isn't that a very dangerous stereotype to be making especially for someone as high ranking and public as the Chief of Police? One could easily point out that there is discrimination and racial profiling being employed in the one and only bastion of law and order in this fair town of ours! I mean, the entire department only consists of were_dogs _after all..."

Des growled and dug his claws into his skull. He could've torn out his hair and fur as he raked his fingers down the side of his face. "_Fine!_Just shut up, okay!?" He bared his fangs. "What the hell do you want?"

"Who are you talking to?" asked Mrs. Lovebottom.

"You!" barked Des. "Katherine, for fuck's sake! Stop this!"

"There's no Katherine here. It's just us. Mrs. Lovebottom and Mr. Huggiewuffums. Who are you talking to, Desmond Gordon?"

"I..."

Cayden decided to step in before his poor former-partner had an aneurism. "Say their names."

Desmond whirled around to face him, steam practically shooting out of his nostrils. "What!?"

"Say their names. Say Mrs. Lovebottom or Mr. Huggiewuffums. Say exactly who you're talking to."

With barely contained fury, Des growled, "Fine. I'm talking to you both..." The next words that came from his muzzle were practically dripping with venom. "Mrs. Lovebottom and... Mr. Huggiewuffums. What. Do. You. Want?"

A third sock puppet, this one with a green tip suddenly sprang up from behind the table. "You are to release poor Matthew Kingston from custody and are restricted from releasing any details of this case to the public that hasn't already been made. All further press releases and information is to go through my office directly and only released with our approval especially if it concerns the wellbeing of my client."

Matthew glanced at Cayden and then the mysterious third puppet. "How is she doing that?"

"Don't give it too much thought," answered the werewolf with a wave of a paw. "And don't look behind that table. Seriously. Just don't."

Matt reeled back and curbed his curiosity, standing incredibly stiff.

"You can't be serious," Des growled. "There is a dangerous guy out there who turned him into a Satyr. I am not going to be releasing him into anyone's custody. He's under our protection. And the public needs to be warned!"

Katie suddenly sprang up from behind the makeshift stage, puppet free. "It seems to me that had your department's 'protection' been more up to scratch, this would never have happened. I've already read the headlines, Desmond. You've done enough damage with your statements. So I suggest you swallow your pride and let the poor boy go home to his family. If you want to put him under protection, put a police escort around his house. Don't keep him in this place. I mean for godsake, man! You've got a broken window!"

"You broke that window!"

Katie waved the comment away. "Details, details." She wrapped an arm gently around Matt's shoulders. "Come on dear, let's get you out of here."

And the funny thing was, there was nothing Des could do to stop them. Cayden just smirked at his former partner and followed them out. However, Des seized his shoulder and tried to yank him back. Cayden refused to budge.

"Listen to me, Cade," whispered Des in a very low and very concerned manner. "This is a hell of a curse. As far as we're concerned, there were no astronomical phenomenon that could've powered a spell like this. It was a waxing moon last night. No stars in place. No special dates. Nothing. Whatever did this to that kid isn't the usual fucked up shit. If you're going to pursue this, be very careful." Des released his shoulder. "And don't fuck the witness."

Cayden snorted softly. "Hey, he's not a minor and he's a Satyr now. Might help them cope. I hear they're demons in the sack."

******

Outside the building, Katie stood by as Oliva Kingston hugged her now somewhat clothed son. Seeing Cayden approach, she ushered the two into the car and approached him so that they were somewhat out of earshot range of the two.

"Hell of a mess here, Cade," she said, her tone extremely serious. "Illegal Parafication? Haven't had a case like this in a long while."

"That's why I needed your help, Katie," Cayden admitted with a sigh. "You know how the mayor and the higher ups are going to push Des into playing this. The police ain't gonna find those missing kids in the next few days. People will want to know what happened. Des will have no choice but to play the 'they got drunk and cast some spell' story in a bit. Even if we do find the guy, they'll just play it off as if it fit their story."

Katie ran a hand down her face, her silvery nails glimmering in the sun. "They got drunk off their ass, accidentally stumbled onto someone willing to exploit their vulnerability for some cash and cursed them. You could even say it was some sort of ironic punishment by a puckish spirit or magic user. They were celebrating a bachelor party after all."

"Traditionally a part with hookers, sex and booze. A curse that turns them into half-goat men with wild libidos and a penchant to be alcoholics would be downright poetic."

The most experienced lawyer in all of Wake Delta and one that had never lost a case ever, nodded grimly. "The poor kid's world has been turned upside down. Even if he gets out of this, he's not going to ever get to live it down. It'll be hanging over his head forever." She rubbed her temples. "Jesus Christ... why the fuck did Des have to release a press statement so soon."

Cayden's lips turned upwards slightly. "Never thought you'd be one to be invoking JC's name."

"What? Because I'm a No One?" She shrugged absently. "He's cool with it." She rubbed her pointed chin absently. "I may actually have to call reinforcements on this one."

"You're going straight to the big guy this early?"

Katie otherwise known as K12 the Karmic of the No Ones shook her head grimly. "Something stinks about this, Cade. There were no celestial movements that could've allowed this to happen. Magical alarms would've flared up all over the city if there was a spell of enormous magnitude that caused this. _I_would've known."

"Aren't your powers restricted being here?" he asked with a faint smile.

She gestured at her form. "This is only an avatar, remember. My consciousness is still very much linked to the being that's outside of Time and Space." She flicked her hair back in a cocky manner. "It's how I always win my cases. I know exactly what to say and when." Then she frowned. "But this is different."

"I thought you guys knew everything."

"We don't know everything," she said. "We're not omniscient. But we have the means to know everything. I'm already looking at the possible cause for this."

"Being outside of Space and Time, can't your future self just know and tell you now?"

She jabbed his thick chest. "Stop poking holes in my logic." Then she rolled her eyes. "And besides, I just asked R3 and he told me to let things progress as they should. You know how he is. 'It's the journey not the destination' and some nonsense. We're all supposed to be in on this. Apparently even I am supposed to learn a lesson."

Cayden laughed softly. "So the big guy is holding this over you, huh? Tell me again why you got stuck here?"

Katie threw her hands into the air in frustration. "So I inadvertently_convinced the Creator of this universe to zip up all the files from his various worlds and that accidentally caused the Convergence and meshed elements of each reality into one. It's not _my fault! I didn't know that's what it would do!"

"The Creator used WinZip on all our realities?" Cayden said laughing. "Can't believe he uses Windows..."

"Worse. He uses Windows Vista."

He shuddered. "And for that little slip, the boss-man has you working as a lawyer here to help stabilise things."

"And apparently to teach me to watch what I say." She huffed and crossed her arms. "If I haven't learned it after an eternity of fixing realities, I won't learn it now. Honestly, I think it's just politics. He knows I'll cause chaos and havoc down here and he put me here to appease the Creator. Once I cause enough damage, I'm sure the Creator will get off his ass, realise that it was his fault for interpreting my advice like that and actually _do_something."

The werewolf laughed softly and patted her shoulder. "If it's any consolation, I'm grateful your unsolicited advice caused the realities to converge like that. I would never have been a werewolf otherwise."

Katie expression turned to one of sorrow as she regarded him. "Werewolves usually have human forms as well, you know."

He pulled his paw away and groaned. "Not this again."

"You don't look so bad as a human, Cade."

"It's not my looks I don't like, Katie." He turned his back to her and reached for his pocket. There, he pulled out his favourite brand of cigarette and popped it into his muzzle. With a simple spell, he had it lit. After a terse encounter with Des, he really needed a smoke. "In my eyes, humanity is what is pure in this world. We were all human once. Then we turned into beasts. Some people gave in to the beast. Others didn't. Me? I don't deserve to be human."

He took a deep puff and let it out slowly. "Anyway, you go ahead and figure out how to try to break this curse. I'm going to see if I can track down the other guys who are missing." Cayden pulled out his notepad and regarded the four names that were given to him by Matt.

"This is going to be a long day."

******

Every city seemed to have a 'Chinatown' these days and after dropping of Matt and his mother back at their suburban home, Katie made her way to the Chinatown of Wake Delta. It was known as 'Little Beijing' to the locals. It was quaint, noisy and she was constantly accosted by street vendors with some sort of bauble or meal. She bought herself some noodles and dumplings as she hadn't had breakfast yet. Carrying it in a little paper cup, she made her way to the one particular store that had proved to be useful in her long stint within this reality.

Mama Cherry Blossom's Emporium.

She stepped through the door, her heels licking against the polished wooden floors in tandem with the ring of bells. A faint buzz filled her being as the magical wards that Mama Cherry had put in place once again were confused by her. No Ones didn't officially exist, after all and being outside of this reality confused a lot of people. She was glad to have made friends with Cayden though. Even a No One needed company. Probably one of the reasons R3 formed the organisation in the first place. Nothingness can be lonely.

The store was filled with all sorts of knickknacks and artefacts from all over the world. Bright red shelves were stacked with golden statues from South America, wooden tribal masks from Africa, ancient rods and sceptres from kingdoms and dynasties all over Europe and Asia and even some extra-dimensional stones. She even caught sight of a little black plant from the Feyworld.

"I had a feeling you would be stopping by."

Mama Cherry Blossom stepped through the bead curtain behind the counter. Seemingly old, hunched and with her pure-white hair caught in a bun behind her head and held together by a pair of chopsticks, she glided easily across the floor to stop just behind the counter. Katie glanced over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking.

"Shall we dispense with the illusions, Mama Cherry?" she said. "It's just you and me, after all."

The old woman smiled softly and shut her eyes. A blue-green smoke emerged from around her feet and swept upwards, covering her entire figure. A deep growl rose from within the cloud and a pair of glowing, green eyes stared down the No One. As the smoke dispersed, large, clawed hands pressed against the glass of the counter. A tall, blue-green Eastern Dragon curled itself behind the counter, sitting her long, reptilian head gently on her folded arms. Her white mane constantly flowed as if it were made of fire and the gnarled, grown horns jutted from her brow added to her already regal bearing.

"I take it you've already heard the news," Katie said, leaning absently on the counter.

"Desmond likes to talk," rumbled Mama Cherry.

"He had to give something to the press. Illegal Parafication is a big thing across the world. Whenever it pops up everyone is always up and arms about it. Politicians love it as their bread and butter. If it isn't about race, it's about the law or the 'balance'."

The dragon chuckled softly. "Hilarious that you would mock the Balance when you have the moniker of 'the Karmic'."

"Karma is traditionally about rebirth and resurrection not vengeance or comeuppance." Katie regarded the items in the glass counter. There were items from all the various planes there. A phoenix feather from the Plane of Fire, an Emerald Leaf from the Feyworld and even a Darkspike from the Shadoweave. "I've done my scans. No celestial movements could've caused this transformation. Especially not one so quick and painless."

Mama Cherry nodded her giant head grimly. "I know. I was greatly disturbed by this news as well and I did my own checks. There were no movements in the other planes. Satyrs are traditionally from the Feyworld. I sent my critters and they have found nothing. The Satyr Triumvirate know nothing but they fear the repercussions."

She feared that. "Satyrs can 'infect' people. A man can become a Satyr if an existing Satyr plays Priapus' Aria using a pan flute blessed by the Triumvirate."

Mama Cherry's tail swayed slightly. "All such pan flutes are accounted for restricted to the Triumvirate and their guards. All twelve have been accounted for and from what I hear, they are testing their authenticity now to ensure no one exchanged them for a fake. We will know the results well before the mayor and perhaps even the Secretary of Paranormal Affairs gets involved."

The No One frowned at her. "You think it'll go that far?"

The dragon hummed thoughtfully. "My critters have been talking. It would have been fine if just a single man had been turned or perhaps even a group. A small town such as Wake Delta with a bit of a Parafication problem is nothing to involve the government with. However, with four more people missing things become complicated."

"Doesn't help that the Chief of Police blabbed about it," Katie sighed. "Within the day, this is going to make national news. Believe, you me." She shook her head. "So it's definitely a curse. Not a spell or ritual. Definitely not surgery. Just like Cayden said."

"A curse..." mused the dragon. "That makes things much more difficult."

"You're telling me. Cayden is out looking for the other missing guys and potentially the guy behind this but we'll have to wait until he comes back with what he knows." She tapped the glass counter absently with a finger. "In the meantime, would you happen to know thing, any curses, that could possibly turn a person into a Satyr?"

The magical reptile tapped her chin thoughtfully with a claw. "Curses typically have three components. The clause, the trigger and lastly the dissolution."

She swept easily across the back of the counter, hovering through the air as she weaved her way through her own store with ease. Even with her length and size, the dragon flew through the clutter without disturbing a single artefact. She grabbed an arrow from a nearby shelf and brought it to Katie.

"This is the Arrow of Arthur," explained the dragon. "A weapon said to topple kings. Supposedly, it was cursed by Morgan Le Fay during Arthurian times exclusively for King Arthur. It's clause was that any monarch struck by the arrow would suffer from a 'king's burden'. Paranoia, debauchery, arrogance, the like. The trigger was simply to be struck by it. To dissolve the curse, wasn't so evident."

Kate ran her hand across the shaft of the ancient weapon. "The monarch had to abdicate," she concluded. "Any 'monarch' struck by the arrow would suffer the curse. But if they were no longer ruling, the curse would be ineffective."

"Correct." Mama Cherry slipped back behind the counter. A cloud of smoke covered her reptilian form and within moments, she was back to being the kindly old Asian woman. "Curses are extremely complex. There are a few common ones that I know designed to change a target's physical form and twist them to embody that form's typical behaviour. Turning someone into a Satyr through a curse can be done in theory but I would have to examine this curse more closely before I can make a full judgement."

Katie nodded pushed off the counter. "I'll bring Matt over. Thanks Mama."

The disguised dragon nodded sagely. "Anything for you, my dear."

******

Cayden approached 87 Cornwall Drive a little past noon. It was a long drive. From Wake Delta proper, he had to drive all the way out of the city to the farmlands surrounding the coastal down. Vast stretches of land covered in rolling hills and acres of farms spread out as far as the eye could see. The road ran alongside the roaring Awakening River which originated from the creatively named Wake Falls further east. Wake Falls was the suburb where all the rich and eccentric lived and those who generally didn't interact with the locals. The mayor had a residence there. Cayden couldn't imagine making the five hour commute from Wake Falls all the way to Wake Delta every day. Then again, the mayor _was_an orc. Knowing the guy, he probably just ran the distance.

The werewolf regarded the red mailbox with the name 'Rosenberger' printed on it. This was the place, all right. With a grunt, he got out of his Ford 2006 GT. It was a very old model, at least a hundred and ten years old. But it survived the Convergence and after he was kicked out of the police force with a sizeable severance package - a form of apology from Des - he bought the old boy if only to prove to Des that he was doing okay.

Some people liked to call their cars girls but his Ford was a guy. He growled, roared and was a real beast. No way that could be a girl. Cayden rubbed the roof of the fiery red vehicle affectionately before turning and heading down the dusty pathway up to the Rosenberger residence. From all appearances, it appeared to be a cattle farm. He could smell the cow shit and cud from where he was standing.

The farmhouse was a quaint, two storey building with a bright red roof and a mostly brick frame. He could see some solar panels to help with power and even a rainwater collector. There were some folksy charms hanging from the gutters just above the patio. Just some mild magic to them to ward off spirits. A powerful spirit or a determined one wouldn't be stopped but generally they wouldn't be bothered if some effort was needed.

He stepped up to the door and rang the doorbell.

The Ted Rosenberger was apparently the 'second best man' to the would-be-groom. He guessed that the police would be heading to the groom's place to ask questions and since Ted's place was the farthest from town, there was a chance he could beat the police here. Unfortunately, he could already smell the scent of coffee and donuts in the air so unless the Rosenbergers liked to make trips to the Crispy Cremé three hours away, the cops had beaten him here.

Fuck... that means they won't exactly be too happy to talk.

The door sprang open.

Well, here goes.

Cayden's bushy, light brown eyebrows rose as a suntanned young man with blonde hair stepped out and greeted him.

"Uh... Ted Rosenberger?" he asked.

The man smiled, showing a straight set of upper teeth but slightly crooked lower teeth. "Yeah! And who might you be, stranger?" He appraised Cayden's coat, jeans and plain, white shirt. "A news reporter?"

"Private investigator, actually..." Cayden responded warily. "I came over here to talk about what happed to your friend, Matthew Kingston."

Ted rolled his eyes. "Ah, right. Poor Matt. Got cursed and all. The cops were already by. Come on in. I'll tell you what I know if it'll help out Matt." The farmer in typical denim overalls and a white shirt welcomed him inside. He was wearing flip-flops strangely enough and his blonde hair was a messy disarray like he had just woken up from bed.

"Mom! Pop!" hollered the young, athletic human. "A guy is here to talk to me about Matt! Mind grabbing some coffee!"

A rather husky woman emerged from what Cayden could only assume was the kitchen and she gave Cayden a smile. "Oh, a werewolf. Or are you a druid taking on wolf form?"

"Werewolf, ma'am," answered Cayden with a lifted hand. He pointed at his bare paws. "Druids get digitigrade stances. I'm plantigrade." The farmers gave him blank looks. "My feet are human-like. Druids get more feral paws."

"Oh! Well why didn't you say so!" exclaimed the woman. "How do you like your coffee dear?"

"Black, thanks. No sugar."

"Alright dear. Can I get you some biscuits? If you would like to stay for about another fifteen minutes, I've got some lovely coconut jam drops in the oven."

He gave her a pleasant smile. "That sounds lovely." Glancing towards Ted, he said, "Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

Ted hiked a thumb at the lounge room. "Follow me."

They sat down in a large room filled with so many pink floral patterns that Cayden was pretty sure he had just stepped inside a female druid's vagina. Everything was very girly. From the corner of his eye, he could see that there was someone working on a tractor in the nearby barn. Likely the father. It seemed that the mother claimed the interior of the farmhouse for herself while the father had the barn as his man-cave.

He sat down on one of the larger couches and pulled out his notepad.

"Don't you cops usually use iPads?" asked Ted. "The cops that were here before used iPads."

"That stuff ruins your penmanship," Cayden answered, waving his pen a little. "Ask a cop to write you a simple sentence on paper and it'll take the FBI to decipher it." He nodded towards Ted. "So tell me about what happened. The account I got from Matt was that there were eight of you including the groom. Three guys left early. You all got drunk and then Matt suddenly found himself being arrested and you guys gone."

Ted laughed heartily. "That's the darnest thing! I was so drunk that I was just passed out in my bed most of the morning. Mom and pop assumed I had slept in the hotel in town like the plan. They gave the police the address when they came calling and then they got a call back saying I wasn't in the hotel room and that Archie and the others were missing. I didn't wake up until about two or three hours ago. Imagine my surprise when I was supposed to be missing! Ha!"

That's very strange.

"How'd you get home?"

The farmer just smiled at him innocently and shrugged. "I don't rightly know. Guess I must've taken a cab or something."

Too drunk to wake up when your parents are panicking downstairs but apparently not drunk enough to call a cab, make your way up to your room and pass out without your parents noticing?

"Why don't you tell me what happened that night? From the beginning."

Ted recounted the story of the bachelor party. The groom, Archie O'Donnell was a fellow farmer. The eight of them had attended community college together though the Kingstons lived closer to the city in the suburb of Greentown than Ted or Archie who were farmers through and through. Apparently, they had all met when studying agriculture as Matt had aspirations to start his own farm. Archie was to marry this beautiful Dryad by the name of Nessie.

"A Dryad and farmer combination," Cayden grunted. "Classic. What else?"

It started out pretty easy night. They headed down to one of Wake Delta's strip clubs in the red light district, got Archie a lap dance and then some food out in one of the fancier places in town. Afterwards, they rented a boat and went out fishing for a bit with some beers.

"We caught a bass this big!" Ted stretched out his arms wide.

"Uh-huh," answered Cayden. "And then?"

After that, they returned to shore and hit up Triton's Tub. It was there where they ended the night.

"I got sloshed like crazy," laughed Ted. "Then I guess the rest you know. I woke up here to my parents sobbing and the police looking for me."

Right...

"What was the name of the strip club you went to?" asked the werewolf PI.

"I think it was called 'Sleeping Beauty'."

He knew that club. Definitely a straight club. Catered for both norms and Paranorms. Sirens and Paranorms that could cast magic weren't allowed to strip though. Too many people filed lawsuits - and won - about Paranorms 'casting spells' that made them spend lots and lots of cash. Often it was just an excuse to get back the money they lost getting erections. Any patron could come in and get their rocks off. Only humans were allowed on the poles. It was also in the northern section of town. Matt was found in that district.

"Classy place," mumbled the wolf. "What was the name of the boat you rented?"

"I don't really remember," Ted chuckled. "I was already pretty drunk by then."

Drunk while on a fishing trip? Dangerous combination. That or this kid can't hold his alcohol.

"Fair enough." Cayden stared directly at Ted with his bright, sharp, yellow eyes. "So tell me something, Ted. How is it that you were so drunk you can't even remember the name of the boat you went fishing on but still managed to tell a cab driver your address and stumble your way upstairs to your room without waking your parents?"

Ted inclined his head to the side and gave Cayden a dopey grin. "Uh... I don't know!" He laughed heartily again. "Guess I was lucky. But I didn't come out of it without a few scrapes and bruises. My feet have been killing me and my back too! Plus I've still got a bit of a hangover!"

For emphasis, Ted lifted one of his feet and rested it against his leg. He was absently rubbing his ankles. He continued to talk about how his head throbbing but Cayden wasn't paying attention. His eyes were settled on Ted's toes. Particularly the boy's toenails. They were black. Not black from dirt or grime or even with a bit of blood pooling beneath the toenail as a result of trauma. They were hard, black like...

"Ted, are you feeling alright?" he asked.

The farmboy smiled at him. "Awww, well ain't that sweet? Big strong werewolf like you looking after a little farmland hick like me." He leaned back, keeping his foot on his leg but his arms behind his head.

Is he... flexing for me?

Then Cayden smelled it. The scent of male musk. Human pheromones. The need. His eyes were drawn to the crotch of Ted's denim overalls and the tent there.

"What do you say, boy?" Ted began lustily, licking his lips. "You wanna bury your bone."

"Ted..." Cayden said warily. "You should calm down. You're not thinking straight."

"You're right, Mr. Wilde," laughed the farmboy. "I definitely ain't thinking 'straight'."

As Ted leaned forward, a strange transformation began to creep up the boy's feet. Thick veins began pressing up against his tanned flesh and a sound like crumbling cookies filled Cayden's ears. The dark toenails grew bigger and bigger, reaching past the limits of his toes and fusing with one another until there were only two, distinct nails there. They began to take over all of Ted's feet, creeping up until they absorbed his toes entirely. His heel began to pull away from his new cloven hooves. Bones cracked and snapped but Ted didn't seem to notice them. Thick, blonde hairs began pushing out of the back of his feet, rapidly spreading across his morphing legs until they became a layer of dense fur.

"Your feet!" Cayden cried. "Your feet!"

"Oh you like feet, do ya?" laughed Ted. "Well I can get behind that." He lifted his leg towards Cayden. Only then did he realise that his flip-flops were hanging precariously on the divide of his two cloven hooves.

Horror instantly spread across Ted's face.

"Oh shit!"

Cayden leapt off the couch but he was unsure what he could do to help.

Ted let out a shrill, almost girlish scream. Now he could feel the transformation as it crept up his legs. His calves swelled and lengthened. Already thick muscle from years of farming ripped the legs of his overalls clean in half as they grew. Ted tried to get up just as his stance abruptly changed. He stumbled forward with thick veins running up his bulbous calves. A wave of dense, blonde fur followed the path. It was like watching someone tracing the path fleeing families from a rapidly encroaching bushfire.

The farmer rolled onto his belly, his cries of shot turning into lusty moans as his cock was pushed against the ground. Lewd thrusts overtook his hips and the young man threw back in head in a cry of lust. The lower half of his overalls split down the middle with two, rounded, muscled rumps pushing out into the air. Cayden got a strong waft of the kid's musky scent and staggered back, covering his muzzle. Mrs. Rosenberger came rushing in from the kitchen.

"Stay back!" he told her. "Don't touch him!"

If there was one thing he knew, it was never to make contact with someone in the throes of being consumed by a curse. Usually, that was when curses were the most unstable; the moment from when they were being triggered and when they were settling. Spells were easy. Cast the magic and let it take effect. Curses were far more difficult to control. They took longer to fully activate and could be disrupted. Any disruption could cause the curse to do something else entirely.

But Mrs. Rosenberger didn't know this or she didn't care. She immediately rushed towards her transforming son. Cayden immediately rushed towards her, leaping over the morphing Ted and wrapping his strong arms around her.

"Teddy! No!" she cried.

Despite her pleas, nothing was stopping the curse from taking hold. Ted's thighs ballooned out into thick layers of muscle corded with pulsating veins. Bodybuilders would've blushed at their sight. Even when the wave of blonde fur swept over his thighs, each cut and divide between the muscle groups was clearly defined.

The flare of blonde fur washed over Ted's sculpted ass. It swirled and pooled around the base of his spine. With every thrust, a fleshy nub began growing from just above his shapely ass. This nub was instantly consumed by the blonde fur to form a thick, fluffy, leaf-shaped tail with its underside a pure white instead of light gold.

Ted let out a roar of pure ecstasy as he spun on the ground, now on his back. His features were twisted in an expression of pure bliss like he was wrapped in the most powerful and the longest orgasm he had ever had. His hands grabbed at his overalls and shirt, digging into the fabric and tearing it clear off his chest. Muscles throbbed and grew. His already large pectorals pushed out into two, big, square mounds that thundered into being. The light layer of fat that covered his abdominal muscles utterly vanished, absorbed into the eight meaty cubes that drew the eye down towards his crotch.

Desperation filled Ted's cries. He whined and gasped as he clawed at his crotch, desperately shredding the remnants of his clothing. Thick veins crawled down his forearms and up his biceps, filling them with mass and muscle. A clear divide appeared between his biceps and triceps with the latter appearing to be permanently flexed no matter what angle they were perceived. His deltoids pushed outwards and grew, taking bone with them as his shoulders broadened to fit his expanding chest and back muscles. A light dusting of blonde hair covered his, nothing as dense as his furry lower half but still clearly visible. That same light layer of body hair spread across his tanned chest, forming little blonde streaks across the mountaintops that were his pectorals like little, golden clouds over two massive alps with dark coloured, fleshy peaks that were his nipples.

Ted screamed, a try cry of lust as he final managed to break his cock free of the remnants of his clothing. A startling transformation took place. His already erect dick, an impressive six inches, was already spurting precum all over his abdominals. His balls were quickly encased in a dense layer of blonde hair, lighter than the rest of his body. That hair started to collect at the base of his cock, forming a fleshy, fuzzy ring. Then, this ring began to make its way up inch by inch over his dick like a hairy lip slowly consuming a length of throbbing flesh. Both Cayden and Mrs. Rosenberger watched in shock as Ted's cock was fully consumed by the furry, white-blonde tub.

For a moment, Ted's cries stopped and he looked up at them, gasping for breath, his blue eyes filled with questions. Then the curse struck back with a vengeance and Ted was twisting in pleasure again.

"Oh fuck yeaaaaaah!" he cried.

A big, pink tube began emerging from the furry sheath. Mrs. Rosenberger sobbed and buried her face into Cayden's chest as the beast that emerged from the member, while appearing mostly human, was bright red in colour. Ted shamelessly gripped his member, tugging at it and drawing more and more of it out of his sheath as possible.

Ted's features turned into a sort of serene, blissful look. He bit his lower lip, his spare hand going to his nipple and giving it a twist. A light dusting of facial hair coated his cheeks; not thick enough to be truly visible except for around the corners and edges of his features. His features became more and more attractive, handsomer, more striking. Cheekbones became more pronounced, angles and contours accentuated by the light. His blonde hair turned a more striking golden in colour and grew out a little more. Despite being longer, it seemed to have a mas sand body of its own and managed to maintain a sort of spikey, wavy appearance, a little like fire. The youngster's ears pulled back at the tips, becoming distinctly pointed. To cap it all off, dark brown horns jutted from Ted's forehead about three inches long.

This was a real dominant Satyr.

At long last, Ted let out a pained cry and thrust his hips into the air. His massive, foot-long dick unleashed a torrent of his cum all over his chiselled human chest. The first blast struck Ted square on the face and the new Satyr eagerly lapped up his own seed. That brought on the second black which splattered all over his chest. Ted rubbed the white goo all into his chest hair and abdominals. The third, fourth and even fifth blasts were just as impressive. While they didn't get as much distance, they seemed to increase in volume. Cayden had never seen so much cum before even in porn movies. He almost pitied the guy as Ted shot load after load of seed

When Ted finally calmed down, the Satyr slumped into the ground, a content look on his face.

Cayden could only wince.

This is going to take a lot_of explaining to do._

******

"Arousal?"

Cayden sat behind his desk arms crossed and his feet up. He was balancing a pen absently on his muzzle, staring past it as he rested deep in though, his fedora over his eyes. Katie was sitting on the desk itself. Matt was in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich.

"Yep," said the werewolf, catching the pen as it fell. "Seems like a devious trigger. Make the kids horny and when they're about to burst, start turning them. Hard for horny young men to turn down an erection even if you're being transformed. Would be especially fun on the groom's wedding night."

The headlines would go crazy. Man marries his human wife and then transforms into a Satyr mid-coitus. Wife has the best orgasm of her life but can't marry a half-goat man because reasons. That would really make national news. It would not only raise the question of equality between Paranorms and norms but also the question traditional values and preconceived notions of certain species of Paranorms.

It'd even be more fun if the wife turned out to be pregnant after that night. Satyrs are notoriously virile.

"Especially when you're being transformed into a species that is notoriously promiscuous," added Katie, almost reading his mind. She let out a thoughtful noise as Matt came in from the kitchen and gave them both cups of coffee. "At least we have something. Still, I agree. It's very strange that Ted just miraculously appeared in his own bed despite being completely and utterly drunk."

"Ted could never hold his alcohol," Matt supplied. "Maybe one of the other guys actually brought him home instead? Have you fond Archie? Ron or Vance?"

Cayden shook his head sadly. "No. Ted was my first stop. Apparently the cops had already been there and found him. That'll at least keep Des from mouthing off again." He took a sip from the coffee and nodded. "Black. No sugar. Just the way I like it. Thanks kid."

"I'm not a kid. I'm twenty-one. Twenty-two in September."

"He's not that much younger than you, Cayden," Katie laughed. She winked at Matt. "He's twenty-seven this year."

Cayden scowled at her. "Thank you Oh-Infinitely-Old-Being-Outside-Of-Time-And-Space."

"You're only as young as you feel, Mr. Huggiewuffims."

He smirked and lifted the cup towards his muzzle again. "So you say, Mrs. Lovebottoms."

Matt glanced at them both and pointed between them. "You two were those puppets?"

"We've been working together for a while," Cayden admitted. "It's just a joke between us. Pisses of Des to no end." He set down his mug after a sip. "Anyway, from what I've gathered, I can either go to the Triton's Tub or Sleeping Beauty. Both are prospective leads."

Matt's brow furrowed in concern. "You're not going to try and look for the others?"

"Cops will probably already have leads on them. I'm not going to bother chasing their tails. I doubt I'll find anything new. My best bet is the bar or the strip club."

Katie nodded sagely. "I'll go back to Mama Cherry Blossom and see if this news can help her decipher this curse," she said, leaping off the desk. "I'll take you home, Matt."

The Satyr shuffled nervously. "Could I have a moment with, Mr. Wilde? I'll meet you down at the car."

The No One in disguise shrugged and finished off her coffee. "Alright. Don't take too long. I'm anticipating angry calls from Des when the goons he dispatched to watch over you discover that paper cut-out I left of you in your bedroom window."

Matt gave her a curious stare.

"It's a very convincing cut-out," she supplied with a shrug. The slightly-insane lawyer swaggered out of Cayden's apartment, leaving Cayden and Matt alone.

"So whatcha want, kid?" asked the big werewolf. "You don't have to worry about what I'm charging your mother either. The initial fee is hefty but every day after that is cheaper. I lowered my fee even more because I get to piss of Des and that is priceless."

The young Satyr shuffled uncomfortably from one hoofed foot to the other. "Actually..." He sat down in the seat in front of Cayden. "... I wanted to thank you."

That got his ears perked in curiosity. "Thank me?"

"You and Ms... uh..."

"Katie. She has no surname. Just Katie. Or Katherine. Never Kat. She'll hit you with a frying pan and then draw cat whiskers on your face with some _really_smelly marker so that even after you wash it off, you can still smell it. Even taste it a little."

"Right." Matt wrung his hands together. "You two have been the only people in this whole thing that have treated me like a normal person. The cops treated me like some drunk and even when I told them my story, they had this look in their eye like they thought I was just making up a story to excuse my 'Satyr-like' behaviour. Even after my mom came and claimed that I was human, you could tell they were thinking I got drunk and did something stupid."

"I know how the cops work, kid," Cayden rumbled. "It's a small town. People need to feel safe with their police force. It sucks, I know, but they've got to cover their asses. If they're not in a position of authority, a whole lot of shit can happen and not all of it very nice."

The young Satyr nodded. "You know even my mom has started to treat me differently? She won't hug me anymore. Won't even kiss me. It's like she has to keep me at a foot away at all times. Every morning when she sees me coming out of my room, she puts on this brave smile but there's pity in her eyes. She flinches every time she hears my hooves on the floorboards."

Cayden recalled the first time he had turned. "It's a big, _sudden_change. You're not human anymore. At least for now. We can still change you back. It's like if you were to suddenly get your arm chopped off. It'll be a shock for you. You'll go to reach for a mug and then realise that arm isn't there anymore. It sucks, I know. But it's not the end of the world."

"That's not what I'm saying." Matt shook his head furiously. "It's more the fact that out of all the people out there that I've interacted with, you two are the only ones that don't actually care if I'm a Satyr or not. You guys pointed out that I wasn't wearing any clothes! Katie actually took me around to Mama Cherry Blossom's place and even here. She's not treating me with kiddie gloves. You're involving me in this process; keeping me informed. Anyone else..." He lowered his gaze. "...they'd give me platitudes and hollow comforting words. You know the Chief of Police actually recommended to my mom that I undergo a psychological evaluation and my mom was considering it?"

"She only wants what she thinks is best for you."

Matt was suddenly on his feet and slamming his hands against Cayden's table. "What, you're on her side now!?"

Cayden waved him down. He had seen this scene before except he was the one throwing the tantrum. "I said what she thinks is best for you. Only you can decide what's good for you and you're going to have to deal with the consequences of those choices." He nodded towards Matt. "So let me ask you this, Matt, what do you want?"

The Satyr calmed and straightened. "Honestly...?"

"Yeah. Anything you want. If it's within my power to grant, I'll grab it for you."

"Well..."

Huh... I wonder if I just dug a pit for myself.

"I really want some Ben and Jerry's right now."

Cayden couldn't help but grin. "Chocolate Garcia? That my favourite."

"I'm a fan of anything with caramel, actually."

Cayden got up from his desk and snatched his coat from where he had it resting. "Well then, come on, kid. Let's go get you some ice cream."

Matt's tail was wagging as they headed down the stairs and out the door of Cayden's apartment building. Cayden brusquely told Katie that he was abducting Matt for the rest of the day and she just shrugged and let them leave. It was just as well, really. Triton's Tub and Sleeping Beauty likely wouldn't be open until the sun went down in a couple of hours anyway.

There was a Ben and Jerry's store not too far away and after Cayden bought them both a sundae - coincidentally with the money that Olivia Kingston had paid Cayden - they just sat at the stool-side windows and watched people walking by. All sorts of residents of Wake Delta passed them. Centaurs using the bicycle/quadruped lanes of the roads, orcs in business suits chatting loudly on wireless phones, Naiad teenager girls quietly giggling and poking fun at the bespectacled weretiger that was clutching his books tightly to his chest and pretending that their jibes didn't hurt. Amongst them all were the norms. A man with his own racing bicycle chatted up a centaur who had stopped nearby. A woman caught up with the orc business man and handed him the wallet he had dropped. A big, burly jock from the nearby high school, suddenly picked up the weretiger in his arms and the two let out a joyful laugh before kissing, shutting up the gossiping Naiads.

Wake Delta.

'Wake' could mean just rising from slumber or the solemn ceremony after someone's death.

'Delta' was both particular river formation and another word for change.

To people here, the town could mean all sorts of things.

But to Cayden, it was where all sorts of people could come and just be themselves.

"Why'd you decide to be a cop, Cayden?" Matt asked abruptly through a mouthful of his sundae.

"Katie, believe it or not."

"Oh..."

He detected the disappointment in that 'oh' and couldn't help but laugh. "It's not like that, kiddo. Katie is... special but not in that way. She goes by the moniker 'the Karmic'. Think of her as a way of balancing things out. When Des backstabbed me and tossed me out of the force, I was pretty down on my luck. Took up drinking, a lot. Eventually I was at the point I would've thrown myself into the ocean if I wasn't pretty sure ocean-dwelling Paranorm would pick me up and resuscitate me."

He laughed softly as he stirred the whipped cream in with his melting ice cream. "Katie though... Well, I came back home one day, just barely noon if I remember correctly and already drunk on my ass. There she was, sitting on my table and her first words to me were 'Fuck me you, butt-sniffing stud'."

Matt choked slightly. "R - Really?"

"Really," Cayden replied with a laugh. "Then she proceeded to torment me the way we torment Des now. She actually convinced me the world had turned upside down but she was just somehow standing on the ceiling."

"How!?"

"Well I was pretty drunk..." He shrugged absently. "But there's a method to her madness, you know. Through it all, she was telling me that my world may have turned upside down but that didn't mean I should give up. Hell, she dragged me out the next day and bought my kickass car. She pretended to be my wife. I love her like a sister." He tipped the cup of cream slurry into his muzzle, lapping up the bits of cream from the sides. "She's insane but so is everyone else in this fucked up world. It just so happens that most people's version of insanity matches up with other's."

Matt let out a thoughtful noise. The Satyr was barely through half of his sundae. "Did you ever love someone like that?"

"Once," Cayden admitted. "But it didn't turn out well. Just leave it at that." He smiled down at Matt and gave him a light nudge. "What about you, kid? Any regrets? Scorned lovers?"

"You mean apart from the fact that my dad left when I was young, my mom has raised me single-handedly since I was three and gave up her dreams for me?" Matt shrugged slightly. "I could only really afford to go to a community college. That's where I met Archie, the groom. It was really through him that I met the others. We were all good friends through Archie."

He lifted his hand towards the fading sunlight, the golden hairs on the back glistening off like little strands of gold woven into his skin. "God... I wonder what Nessie must be thinking right now..."

Cayden quickly checked his phone.

I haven't gotten any news about the others being found yet. I wonder if they really are missing...

"Don't worry kid," he said, patting Matt's shoulder comfortingly. "We'll find them. Right now, let's head on back. Wake Delta has a pretty crazy night life. People pass out drunk and wake up with stuff on their bodies that they don't remember getting."

Matt snorted and gave him a light shove.

"I meant tattoos and piercings!" he laughed.

"Yeah, yeah."

They finished the rest of their sundaes and Cayden escorted Matt back to his apartment. He reached the doors when he realised that Matt was still very much following him.

"Something tells me you don't exactly want to go back home, huh?"

Matt shook his head. "My mom would only give me that pitying look again. Besides, I'd rather stay in your company."

"You still better call her before she calls the cops again."

The red-haired Satyr did call his mother, reassuring her that he was safe and just staying with Cayden for his own protection and hers. Cayden checked the clock and the websites of both Triton's Tub and the Sleeping Beauty. Both didn't really open until ten at night so he still had a lot of time to kill. He decided to stave off on dinner until he got there. Maybe paying for a meal would actually get some of the workers to be a little more talkative.

Of course there was still Matt to worry about.

"So what do you feel like doing for the rest of the night?" Cayden asked, hanging up his trench coat.

"Honestly?" Matt asked meekly.

"Yep. Like I said. If it's within my power to grant, I'll grab it for you."

Matt was fidgeting again. His lips moved and his wish came out in a faint whisper. Too bad Cayden was a werewolf with supernaturally sharp hearing.

"What?" asked the surprise werewolf.

Squeezing his bright, green eyes shut, Matt said, "I want you to fuck me, Cayden!"

Shit... That's what I thought he said.

"Matt, that's just the Satyr talking."

"I don't care," Matt said, stamping his hoof on the ground. "I'm going to have to live with the reality that you may not be able to cure me of this curse. I might as well get used to being a Satyr and all that entails."

Cayden held up his paws. "Being a Satyr doesn't mean being a horny fucker that mounts anything that moves. There are plenty of Satyrs who can keep it in their pants. Just because you look like this now, it doesn't mean that you have to conform to the stereotype."

Matt gave him a determined and very furious look. "Then it's because I just find you very sexy. You're kind but tough, strong but also gentle at the same time. Besides..." He gave the werewolf a sheepish grin. "If I'm not going to stay in this body for very long, I might as well get the most of it, right?"

He knew it was a terrible idea. Arousal was the trigger of the curse and he could only surmise that engaging in sex could make the curse worse. But as he appraised Matt's tight, athletic form contained within the white shirt and black pants, he had to admit he liked what he saw. There was something cute about his curly red hair as well and those green eyes were so intense that he couldn't say 'no' to them.

That and Oliva Kingston did interrupt him before he got off. So in a way, the Kingstons did owe him an orgasm

"Fine," he rumbled. "Don't tell your mother."

******

Wake Falls was a long, five hour drive from the city and Katie hated making the commute. Sadly, Cayden's cases tended to lead her out to the 'rich' part of town every now and then. However in this case, she wasn't after an interview or some detective work of her own. The sun had already set by the time she arrived in 44 Cliffview Avenue. It was a very modern home with a mix of white concrete and polished wood in the structure.

She stepped through the wooden gates and headed straight for the door. It was already open for her and she strode through the large, first floor, taking an immediate right to head down two flights of stairs. The lower floors were built right into the cliff face itself with entire walls being made of a pinkish rock with swirls of white through it. Classical music was playing as she headed to the bottom most floor, to the one room there. Pure white floors, ceilings and walls met her. The one wall that wasn't white was a full glass plane that overlooked all of Wake Delta.

Her heels clacked softly across the tiles as she parked herself in one of the large seats facing the beautiful view. Without looking, she picked up the glass of red wine sitting on the low table between the two seats and gave the brew a soft whiff.

"Ah... Very fruity and aromatic. What is it?"

The big, black wolf with blonde hair clucked his tongue softly. "Dionysus' Blood."

"Really?" She took a sip. It made her tongue tingle like little alcoholic Poprocks were dancing there. "Where did you get it?"

"The source," answered Jacob with a shrug. "Dionysus was in a giving mood. He actually came over and dumped a whole vineyard in front of my Library. He shouted that I spent all day cooped up inside and that I should get out more."

"What did you say?"

"I asked him who he was yelling at." The wolf's deep, blue eyes turned to her. "I was actually out and about doing other things when I arrived. Apparently, he'd be sitting there yelling at an empty Library for hours."

Katie laughed. "How drunk was he?"

"Let's just say he's lucky to be a deity. I called Helios and he carted Dionysus back home." Jacob lifted a glass and offered it as a toast to Katie. She obliged him and they both took a sip. "So how's things down there?"

"You mean you don't know?"

"Oh I know. I'm not restricted like you. But the point of these meetings is because you need to talk. To vent. To rant. I've got Styrofoam bats somewhere around here if you feel like hitting me a couple of times."

She laughed softly. "I'm over that."

"You've found yourself some very close friends."

A smile crossed her features. "Yeah..." She regarded the deep red wine in her glass. "It's... nice and humbling being reminded that we're still mortals. But you never forget, do you?" He didn't answer. "How do you keep reminding yourself of that? Sometimes, it just so easily to flick a wrist and fix everything in the world. But you never do that. You do things the hard way. You put yourself through pain, heartbreak and agony. I don't know anyone as strong as you."

"Now you're just spouting pointless flattery," Jacob chuckled softly. "And if you must know, I just keep reminding myself of one thing." He held up a finger. "Just because the book has ended, just because the last word has been written and just because you've read 'the end', the characters continue on living. There's no such thing as 'Happily Ever After'. Some corporation will always come in, buy the rights to the damn story and make crappy sequels out of it. There will be fanfics, children's imaginative tales, gritty reboots and retellings for all eternity. Even when time ends, the story will continue to be told."

He glanced over to her with a coy smile on his face. "Even if the Creator decided to double-click the 'uninstall universe.exe' and click yes to the dialogue box that asked if he was sure he wanted to delete all of existence and then doubly confirm if he was really, really sure, the story will live on."

Katie rolled her eyes at him. "You just couldn't help but throw that at me, could you?"

"You convinced the Creator to delete everything he had done, Katie. You should thank V10 that she's computer savvy enough to run a recovery program that restored the universes to a semblance of their former selves. Good job with making up that story about Convergence though to explain the corruption in the files. Just be glad he didn't decide to reformat his hard drive."

She groaned softly. "Okay, okay. I get it. I messed up. Haven't I suffered enough?"

Jacob gave her a pointed stare and a gentle smile. "Katie, you and I both know that you can leave any time you want. But you just don't want to. You have a 'little brother' to take care of, right Mrs. Lovebottoms?"

Katie brought the wine back to her lips. "You know, sometimes I hate the fact that you can see everything. I mean, I know you're trying to remind me that I'm in no way superior to anyone else but I just can't sleep with anyone_knowing you're watching. Or rather that you_can watch if you wanted."

"It doesn't stop Cayden."

"Yeah well he's different. He'll fuck anyone." She took a sip of her wine.

"Indeed. That new Satyr kid has a very cute 'O face'."

Katie's eyes bulged out and she spat her wine out in shock. "He what!?"_She bolted to her feet. "He is _not_sleeping with his client _again!"

Jacob waved her down. "Now, now. Dear Matthew isn't his client. Matthew is his client's son. Did I mention that Oliva Kingston is a dedicated Christian?"

She winced and slapped her forehead. "I am going to tear that pup's tail right off!"

"This is what I love about people," Jacob snickered. "You just can't make this up. Ah, the son of a conservative Christian single mother turned into a Satyr, a creature some was the basis of the artistic representation of the devil, and that same son bottoming for the growly, social drinking, casually smoking, bisexual disgraced former cop who is now freelancing as a detective. Not only is it a match between an Atheist man-whore currently engaging in sexual affairs with a newly transformed man just barely of legal age but it's also an interracial affair!"

Fury in her eyes, she spun to face him. "I swear, if you had anything to do with this?"

He lifted his hands in surrender. "I swear to Satan that I have no part in this."

"Satan?"

"Would you prefer I hail Hydra?" She groaned and turned to leave. "Sit down Katie. Let the kids play."

"That's not playing!" she cried.

"By the amount of giggling Matthew is doing, I'd at least say he's having fun."

"You're going to do this all night!"

"And yet your still going to sit down because you're all about balance and you can't wait to pull something on me to make us even. Then, despite the consequences of Cayden's actions, you and I are going to sit here, have dinner, have pleasant conversation occasionally interrupted by verbal jabs at one another and overall have a pleasant evening together."

Her hands balled into fists. It infuriated her that he was right. Still, she knew his reason for doing this to her. After the stress of the day, it felt good to rant, to rage and to just feel... to feel like she didn't have the whole universe on her shoulders again. Some would argue that Jacob taking that stance was highly irresponsible. He immersed himself with the people and the worlds that he sought to save. He didn't lead from a throne or from the front lines. He stood with the grunts, the cannon fodder, the doomed-to-die. Why should someone with all that power submit himself to the lowest common denominator when he could save so many more?

And she had her answer.

Because they were, each and every one of them, mortal.

And all mortals needed time to relax.

She sat down firmly back on the seat and held out her glass to him. "Fill it up, Nubtail."

Jacob happily complied.

******

Cayden tugged on his trench coat. He felt refreshed, energetic and actually pretty pleased with himself. Sexual release was one of a werewolf's greatest vices after all and there was a reason why his kind were called 'howlers'.

If Katie ever found out, and there was no doubt she would find out, he was going to cop hell for it. But that didn't matter. Right now, he had to focus on the job. Besides, if worse came to worst and Katie threated to drive a rocket-propelled jackhammer into his skull again, he could just say that fucking Matt into unconsciousness was the easiest and most humane way he could put the kid out. Even if the Satyr remained conscious, he wouldn't be able to walk at least for the next day or so.

And that filled his chest with pride.

Okay, Cade, time to focus on the job.

He slapped his cheeks lightly, partially to bring himself back to focus and partially to get some blood flow back into them.

"Alright..." he mused aloud as he reached the curb. "Where to now?" He glanced west, towards the docks. "Triton's Tub? That was where the bachelor party supposedly ended. Could be some clues there. But then again, Matt was found far from that place so it could be a dead end." He turned his gaze straight ahead, to the north. "Or to the Sleeping Beauty? That's where the party started. The guys would've been sober then and could've blabbed about their plans. Unfortunately, there were hours between when they started and when Matt was found. There might not be a lead."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Hmmm... I wonder...

******

Time to decide, dear readers.

Which path should Cayden take?

1) __Go to the Triton's Tub. The last known location of the bachelor party but far from where Matt was discovered?

2) __Or go to the Sleeping Beauty where the bachelor party began even if there is a large time difference from when they were there and when Matt was found?