Chapter Twenty

Chap ter Twenty

T he sun is high in the sky by the time we make it back to the station, and if we weren’t in the middle of something important, I’d ask to stop for lunch. Searching for a shipment of missing and possibly stolen weapons is admittedly a pretty great reason for working through it though, so I keep it to myself. Our first stop is to the forensic lab, where Khazak asks the mages to inspect the storage unit. Then we walk straight into Ragnar ’s office.

“How did it go?” He looks up when we enter.

“We confirmed the items were delivered, but there was no sign of them when the militia attempted to retrieve them this morning.” Khazak stands behind one of the chairs in front of the desk.

“So they were stolen?” Rag nar sighs.

“That is the assumption.” Khazak nods, standing in front of his desk. “All the wards on the storage unit had been dispelled and not a single alarm t riggered.”

“Shit.” Ragnar sits up straighter. “A ny leads?”

“I have the address of the worker who signed for the shipment. We were going over there to interview him next.” Khazak holds up the paper with Thog’s in formation.

“You want backup?” Ragnar sounds hopeful to get out of t he office.

“To be on the safe side.” Kh azak nods.

“You got it.” Ragnar grabs his own sword from the wall behind him and we head out.

“Do you really think this guy is dangerous?” I’m feeling a little underdressed walking between these two big ...swords.

“No, not really.” Khazak shakes his head. “But I would rather be prepared than caught by surprise.”

We make our way to a section of town I haven’t been in yet. The houses here are much smaller, though there are also some large buildings that look like they could be apartments. I see broken fences and a lot of sparse clotheslines, and I realize we are probably in a lower-income area of the city.

“This is it.” Khazak stops us before we approach Thog’s small home. “Okay, David. Deputy Rockfang and I will be asking Mr. Grimrock some questions, which will also keep him busy. While that is happening, I would like you to look around his home for anything su spicious.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?” Seems a lit tle weird.

“This is one of those grey areas I mentioned.” He shrugs.

“What am I looking for exactly?” Am I just supposed to search through all his stuff?

“Just anything that seems out of the ordinary.” I give him a look. What does that even mean? “I understand your idea of ‘ordinary’ might differ from ours, but trust your i nstincts.”

“Yes, Sir,” I sigh. Nothing like vague instructions, a case that involves the city’s military, and my own personal hang-ups to really pile on the pressure and stress. I’m sure there’s no way I can screw this up. It’s not like Khazak’s high ranking job or professional reputation are on the line.

I keep my thoughts to myself as Khazak reaches out to knock on the door, which opens a crack a min ute later.

“Hello?” The occupant is still mostly hidden by the door.

“Good morning, Mr. Grimrock? I am Captain Ironstorm, and this is Deputy Captain Rockfang, with the rangers.” Khazak motions to the insignia on his shoulder. “I am here about the militia delivery you signed for yesterday. I was hoping you might have a moment to speak with us.”

“I don’t know nothing about weapons being stolen.” Well, that is an interesting thing to say when we haven’t mentioned anything being s tolen yet.

“I understand, sir.” Khazak definitely doesn’t believe him. “However, I still need you to answer some questions. May we come in?”

There’s a moment of hesitation, but then he nods, opening the door all the way and waving us inside. It’s a small home, much smaller than Khazak’s. The living room is barely bigger than our bedroom, and there’s a small kitchen connected in the back of the room, separated only by a long counter. A lot of the furniture just seems less...nice. Thog himself is about my height, though stockier, with braided mid-length brown hair that passes his ears. His large tusks have been scowling at us since w e entered.

“Who’s he?” He stands stiffly behind his couch, eyeing m e wearily.

“My avakesh and assistant,” Sir responds as both orcs I came with move to partially block me from his view. Almost wish I had that collar now. “Could you walk us through what happened last night when you received the delivery?”

As Thog starts to recount things, Ragnar gives me a look that says it’s time to start snooping. I start my search slowly, wandering around the room aimlessly while I watch for Thog to notice my movements. Aside from a brief glance, the two rangers hold most of his attention, and I slip down the hall unnoticed. There are only two doors: a bathroom and a bedroom.

I start with the bedroom. It’s sparse; nothing on the walls and the only furniture is a set of shelves in one corner and a small bed in another. I’m not even sure I would fit very well in that bed, let alone an orc. I look under the bed and pick through the shelves but don’t find much interesting. Just some folded clothing and the occasional random trinket. Seems Thog has a penchant for collecting wooden carvings o f animals.

I move on to the bathroom, which is nothing to write home about either. I don’t see faucets so I don’t think there’s plumbing. Not a lot to look inside of or under either, but I check the tub and lift the cover on the thankfully empty chamber pot. Nothing. As I turn around to leave, my foot bumps into something I missed—a metal waste basket on the floor. I peer down, suddenly interested in its contents.

Sitting at the bottom is a book, leather bound and slightly singed. There are also some half-burned matches, like someone tried to burn the book but did a shitty job. But what really catches my eye is what’s on the cover: a large, black claw. A bird’s claw, I think. I reach down to p ick it up.

I open the book, flipping through a few of the pages and noticing the burned edges. Yeah, someone definitely tried to torch this, but for whatever reason it didn’t take. I try to read a few pages in vain, unable to recognize any of the letters, but I do notice a lot of numbers. I think. It’s only been like a day since I started learning, alright? The way these are arranged look like some sort of table, a different one on each page. Maybe it’s nothing but...better safe than sor ry, right?

I step back out into the living room with my findings, waiting for a moment to grab their attention.

“Sirs.” All three orcs cease their conversation and turn to look at me. “I found this in the bathroom.” I hold up the book in front of me, cover out.

At the sight of the book Thog’s eyes go wide, and not a second later, he bolts out the f ront door.

“What the fuck?!” Ragnar exclaims as the three of us take off once the surprise of the sudden exit wears off, but he’s got a good lead.

“Dammit, he is getting away.” Khazak growls as we watch him down the road, fading in the distance.

“Like hell he is!” I shove the book at Ragnar and star t running.

“David, wait!” I hear both orcs call out to me, but I ignore them. I am not letting this guy get away.

He’s fast but I’m faster, and I gain a good amount of ground on him before he notices I’m following him. Once he looks back though, we lock eyes and I see him panic again and start moving faster. Of course, he won’t make this easy. Why couldn’t this have happened next week after I had the chance to break in these boots? My feet will be killing me later.

Thankfully, the streets here are mostly empty so it’s not like I’ll lose him. He makes a sudden turn down an alley on our right, but I’m right on his tail. It’s devoid of people, but I have to jump over a few crates Thog knocks into my path. When we emerge on the other side, the roads are significantly busier. He goes left and darts into the crowd, or at least tries to while bumping into and knocking over a lot of people.

“Sorry!” I shout behind me after leaping over a prone body on the ground. I think he did that o n purpose.

He makes another turn at the next road, leading us right into the middle of a street market, possibly the same one I went to on my first full day here. Even more people and new obstacles. I have to actually focus on keeping him in my sight now, though the chorus of unhappy grunts and yells does some of the work for me. The crowd makes it next to impossible to gain any ground, at least unless I start knocking people over myself. If I don’t figure something out soon, I will lose him. I spot a fruit cart in the middle of the road ahead of me and ge t an idea.

“Sorry!” I apologize again, this time to the owner of the cart whose wheel I step onto, using the leverage to leap over a small section of booths and closing some distance between us. Thanks to all the people, I don’t think he notices me catching up on him.

Until he looks back, sees me, and slows down to sideswipe me. He’s not as big as Khazak, but he’s still got plenty of muscle on me, and when he slams into my side, it’s enough to throw me off balance. I stumble and thanks to my speed, I’m still moving forward, about to crash face-first into a fabrics stall. Wonderful.

“Excuse me!” At the last second, I turn my fall into a slide and slip right under the stall’s table. I roll and jump back up once I’m on the other side, stil l running.

I need to end this chase already, and I think I see my chance coming up ahead. There’s a big enough gap in the crowd that I might be able to bring him down if I hit him hard enough. But how? I weave left and right as I scan around for an idea. Then I spot one propped up against a wall next to a weap ons booth.

“I’ll bring this back! I promise!” I hear the dwarf working his weapon’s stall shout something at me angrily when I grab one of his staves as I run past. Hopefully Sir can explain for me later. I really have to learn Atasi if I’m gonna pull shit like this.

I ready myself as we approach the clearing in the crowd. Just as he reaches the edge, I plant my pole in the ground in front of me, jumping and pushing off to propel me forward and onto Thog’s back. I land with a loud thud, staff still in one hand as I wrap my free arm around his neck. It doesn’t take much more to send us both tumbling to the ground. I roll free of his body as we hit the dirt, landing much more gracefully tha n he does.

He’s up in seconds, glaring at me for daring to try and stop him. He roars with anger and leaps at me, ready for a fight. I’m too slow, and he knocks me into the stone wall of the building behind me. Fuck, that hurt. I manage not to fall this time, push myself off the wall, and strike his left flank before stabbing the staff into his stomach and pushing him back.

I knock the wind out of him, but it doesn’t keep him at bay for long, and he charges at me. Dad always said you should never fight dirty, but honestly I always thought that was a stupid rule. If you’re in a fight, like a real I-will-be-in-serious-danger-if-I-lose-this fight, then you should use every fucking trick at your disposal. Which is why my next hit is directly to his groin followed by a firm kick to the stomach. He doubles over, though he is still standing, and I’m honestly a little impressed by his resilience. Just when I ready myself for him to come at me again, he’s tackled to the ground by a green and b rown blur.

Takes a sec, but it registers that the forest-colored blur is Khazak when I see him wrestling Thog to the ground. He manages to pull both of Thog’s arms behind his back and slaps on a pair of manacles just as Ragnar steps up on my right holding the book I basically threw at him earlier. Glad they didn’t fo rget that.

“Should we be helping?” I indicate to the two men struggling in the dirt. Khazak is saying something to Thog I can’t really make out.

“No, he’s got it,” Ragnar assures me. “Good job catc hing him.”

“Thanks.” I realize I’m still holding the stolen staff in my hands. “I, uh, kinda grabbed this without asking. Can you help me give it back?” I point at the weapon stall several yards down, complete with unhappy weapon seller glaring daggers in our direction.

“Sure.” He chuckles and takes the staff from me as we both walk over to the stall. Ragnar greets the unhappy owner, apologizing for and explaining my behavior. At least I hope that’s what he’s saying. The face on the shop owner does soften somewhat, though I won’t say he’s exactly happy by the time we leave to return to Khazak and Thog.

“That was dangerous, David.” He’s frowning at me. “You should have listened to me when I told you to stop.”

“Oh come on . You can’t be mad at me for catching the guy.” My shoulders sink and I rol l my eyes.

“You could have been hurt.” He looks concerned.

“But I wasn’t.” Other than a few scratches and bruises, I’m fine.

“What if he had a weapon?” He scowls.

Okay, why is he acting li ke my mom?

“He didn’t.” Are we just playing a big “what if” game now? “And if he did, I would have handled it, or do you not remember how I took you and that big-ass longsw ord down?”

“That is not the point,” he grumbles. “You disobeyed an order.”

“Well it was a stupid order.” I cross my arms. “Punish me if you want, but I’m not gonna feel bad about catching the bad guy.” I’m getting frustrated. All I’ve done since yesterday is stand around, read, and dig through trash. “Why did you bring me if you weren’t going to let me do anything? Did you just want me to stand around and loo k pretty?”

“No, D avid but—”

“Then maybe trust me a little more. At least when it comes to stuff like this.” I nod my head at the bound Thog who has been pointedly silent this entire conversation. “You’ve seen me in action. You know that I’m more than capable of chasing down this idiot. Other than handing me a book and telling me to learn a new language, you haven’t given me anything to do. Forgive me for taking some in itiative.”

He cocks an eyebrow at my last comment. Probably could’ve said that a little nicer, but the rest sti ll stands!

“ I thought it was pretty impressive, David,” Ragnar injects, ignoring Khazak’s look of exasperation as we start the walk back with Thog in tow. “All the jumping and diving, using the staff. Where’d you learn to do all that?”

“Huh.” Where did I learn to do all that? “I don’t really know. I just kinda. ..did it.”

Ragnar looks at me funny then looks at Khazak.

“Trust me. I have just as many questions as you,” Khazak says flatly. He sighs, his scowl softening. “I am sorry for underestimating you, David. I know you are very capable. Perhaps after we get you some armor, we can do some combat training to show me just how capable.” I like the sound of that, especially the new armor! “However, when I give you an order, you need to listen to me, especially when we are in t he field.”

“Yes, Sir.” I try not to sigh. I know what he’s getting at: listening to your leader is important. Nate not doing that is why he and everyone are in jail. But I still don’t regret cha sing Thog.

Our prisoner has been quiet since he stood up, something that continues as we make our way back to the station. We get a good amount of looks and people pointing and whispering, probably speculating on what the guy did. Truth be told, I’m not really sure of that myself, but the fact that he ran has to mean something, right? I’ll leave that for the captain and his deputy to wo rry about.

“Hold on.” Ragnar pauses as we approach the building. “Something has been bothering me. How did you make it into the cell yard that night without anyone se eing you?”

I stiffen at the mention of my break-in. We never really did talk about that night in detail, at least not about how I pulled it off. I’m a little nervous to pick at old wounds when things have been going pretty well lately, my sore ass notwithstanding. I look over to Khazak, who gives me a nod of encouragement . Alright.

“I climbed over the wall.” I point at the wall in question. “Well, mor e jumped.”

“What?” Ragnar and Khazak both look from the wall to me. “How? Those walls are almost fifteen feet high.” For once, someone doesn’t make me convert mea surements.

“I used that pole.” I point to the streetlight on the corner.” They both look at me skeptically. “I guess I could show you?”

“Please.” This time it’s Khazak speaking. “I am very curious no w myself.”

“Okay.” I start to walk to my starting position but pause. “I’m not going to get in trouble for thi s, right?”

“No, David, you will not get in trouble,” Khazak assures me as Ragnar laughs ne xt to him.

“I need the sidewalk clear from here to the other corner.” I stand with the wall on my right.

Ragnar does the work of moving away anyone between me and the light post while Khazak stands off to the side holding onto Thog’s cuffs. I crouch down and look at my goal. It’s easier to see in the daylight, but the fact that I have an audience now is making me nervous. There are even more people gathering now that they noticed Ragnar trying to clear the area. It’s alright. I can do this. I already di d it once.

I run, charging down the sidewalk with everything I’ve got. I fan out as I near my mark, running back in at an angle and jumping at the wall. I kick off with my feet, aiming for and grabbing the pole. I swing around once to build up moment and then let myself fly, once again just barely grabbing the lip of the wall with my hands.

I hear people cheering as I pull myself up, and I carefully flip myself around to look down at my audience. I mostly ignore the people clapping, instead focusing on my slack-jawed owner and his deputy. Even Thog look s shocked.

“What in the hell...” Ragnar mutters loud enough for m e to hear.

“ How ?” Khazak looks at me shocked but not like he expects a re al answer.

I shrug. “ Tada? Can someone help me down now?” The height is a little more intimidating in the daylight.

Khazak responds by pushing Thog at Ragnar and walking closer to the wall. “Jump.” He holds out his arms. “I will c atch you.”

I raise an eyebrow at what seems like an overly-cheesy display, but that does sound better than ungracefully hitting the ground wi th my ass.

“Okay.” I nod, inching toward the wall’s edge . “Ready?”

“Ready.”

After gathering my nerves, I let myself fall, and I’m caught by a pair of muscular ar ms. “Oof.”

“Got you,” Khazak tells me after I peek one eye open before he set s me down.

“Thanks.” I try not to blush, but the audience isn’ t helping.

Ragnar finishes waving off the stragglers still hanging around before joining us with Thog in tow. “That was amazing, David.” He then turns to Khazak. “What do we do about that? Make the wall s taller?”

“They are already four and a half meters high,” Khazak responds, the four of us walking around to enter the building. “I suppose we could ad d spikes?”

“Seems violent.” Ragnar frowns. “We definitely need to do something after giving everyone a free demon stration.”

“We can talk ideas after Mr. Grimrock finishes answering our questions.” Khazak’s tone shifts into what I’m calling interrogation mode. “You take him first. I am going to ask the forensic mages to take a look at the journal.”

“On it, sir.” Ragnar’s tone shifts the same way as he starts walking Thog through the building, talking to him. “This all could have been so much simpler.”

After that, there isn’t much for me to do. Khazak joins Ragnar in the interrogation but won’t let me follow. He says something about regulations, but I think he’s more worried that I’ll throw off their rhythm. Which is fair—they’ve worked together for years, and I wouldn’t even know wh at to ask.

It’s just so boring sitting here in the breakroom and pretending to read my book when all I want to do is figure out this mystery. There’s an entire shipment of weapons and armor missing, magical alarms and traps that were dispelled like they were nothing, and a mysteriously burned book that our suspect ran at the sight of. It’s been over an hour already. I just wanna know what’s going on!

“Hmm.” Orim is in here with me, seemingly doing the same thing, though he’s much further along in his book. He looks up from his table. “Can you help ? Please.”

“Sure.” I’ll do my best, but book-learning has never been my strong suit, so book-teaching isn’t gonna be much better. I move over to his table. “What ’s wrong?”

“Just...confusion,” he starts. “‘I walk to work’” is right. ‘I walk to work yesterday’ is not ri ght. Why?”

I reread both statements a few times because I’m not sure what he’s talking about at first. “Oh! The second sentence isn’t in pa st tense.”

“How do I fix?” He looks at me intently.

“Well, I think you just need to change the verb.” I hope I don’t sound like I know what I’m talking about. “So you want to change ‘walk’ into ‘walked.’”

“Add ‘ed’ to the end?” He scratches his beard.

“Yeah.” Yay, h e gets it!

“Do all past tense words end in ‘ed’?” He looks hopeful whe n he asks.

“Err, no.” I shake my head. “Sometimes you have to change a ‘u’ or an ‘i’ to an ‘a.’ Other times it’s something else entirely. It depends on the word.” He scowls at me. “Hey, don’t get mad at me. I think it’s st upid too.”

“Thank you for help.” The scowls fades into something happier, then he looks over at my book on the other table. “I can help you sometime?”

“That would be great.” I’ll take all the help I can get. “Actually, maybe you can explain to me the difference between these two letters because I swear they sound exactly the same when Captain Ironstorm tries to show me.”

I go to grab my book but don’t get the chance because the man himself walks in. “David, we finished questioning Mr. Grimrock, if you would join us.” Still in interrogation mode I see. Woof .

“Yes, Sir.” I turn to Orim. “N ext time?”

“Next time. ” He nods.

“Making friends already I see,” Khazak comments as we walk to Ragnar ’s office.

“I’m very popular.” Not too shabby looki ng either.

“Unfortunately, we were not able to get much information out of Thog.” He starts to fill me in as we enter. “We have no idea where the shipment might be.”

“What could he have done with it?” We’re literally talking about supplies for a s mall army.

“He claims to have destroyed it,” Khazak answers flatly. “Says he threw everything in the river. We have already sent officers to scour the riverbed, but we are fairly confident they are not going to find anything.”

“Why would he do that? Or why would he say he did that, I guess?” Kind of bold to just confess after leading us on a chase like that.

“We’re still trying to figure that out,” Ragnar speaks up. “He was tight-lipped about everything else we asked him. The only other thing we could get out of him was when he denied that he was working with anyone else. So we know that ’s a lie.”

That’s really frustrating. He has to be protecting someone, right? “What about the book?”

“A schedule of deliveries, including the one that has gone missing.” Khazak taps the book where it sits on Ragnar’s desk. “The shipments themselves do not seem to have much of a connection. More weapons and armor, alchemy and medical supplies, even food. Some of are not expected for more than a month. We are not sure how he would have gotten the inf ormation.”

“Couldn’t he have stolen it from work?” He does work at the place people ship things to.

“Already considered that.” Khazak takes a seat on the couch. “We need to check the shipyard’s files, but it seems unlikely. I doubt some of these orders have even been placed yet. The shipyard would not have a record of those.”

“The book is enchanted through.” Ragnar holds up the book in question. “Specifically so it can’t be burned. Which is fine when protecting your record k eeping...”

“But is weird when it’s evidence of a potential crim e.” Right?

“Our thoughts exactly.” Ragnar nods before sighing. “The mages were not able to glean any other information from the book or anything about the wards on the storage uni t either.”

“What about the symbol on the front?” The eagle’s claw. Okay, it’s probably not an eagle, but it has me thinking about my nightmare this morning which might be creeping me out a little.

“Oh, get this .” Ragnar looks excited. “He’s got the same symbol tattooed on his arm. The captain noticed it when he rolled up his sleeves.”

“What does it mean?” Now I’ m excited!

“No idea!” Ragnar throws his hands in the air, a big fake smile on his face.

“Boo,” I pout. “What hap pens now?”

“Well, we have enough to charge him for the theft.” Khazak stands, walking over to the desk. “But we still do not know where the shi pment is.”

“We’ll search his place, but you saw the size of it.” Ragnar shrugs. “Not sure where he could hide that many sets of full plate mail and two dozen swords in there. Not to mention everyth ing else.”

“Councilman Murbank let us know they conducted a full search of the other units after we left this morning. No sign of the goods there either.” Khazak sighs. “The good news is that we will now be able to alert the individuals in this book so steps can be taken to prevent anything from being stolen. David, you and I will take care of contacting everyone on the shipment list and hopefully that will help us gather some more information.” Khazak sounds optimistic as he stands up.

“Yes, Sir.” That sounds like it could be in teresting.

“But do you know what comes next for you , my noble deputy ? ” He walks around the desk and places his hand on Ragnar’s shoulder.

“...What?” Ragnar eyes his friend and superior sus piciously.

“Paperwork.” Khazak g rins wide.

“Aww. Sad wood.” I pretend my finger is a tear rolling down my cheek as Ragnar curses at the b oth of us.

The rest of the day passes in a blur. We visit a few businesses around the city to talk to the owners, all who seem shocked when they learn they may have been targeted for a robbery. Khazak was right; the shipyard doesn’t have even half of the orders on file yet, and the ones that are change their shipping plans immediately. None of them turn up any new info though, and Khazak still can’t seem to find a connection bet ween them.

Councilman Murbank is naturally surprised to learn of his employees’ arrest and offers his apologies. He and Khazak discuss plans for increased security and what sounds like a potential stakeout for the next delivery, but they don’t sound very confident. If the people behind this know we have Thog, they’re probably already changing th eir plans.

By the time we get home at the end of the day, my feet are fucking sore. I probably have a blister or two, but I think I can say these boots have been officially broken in. Later, while we’re sitting around the dinner table, I wonder what it might take to convince Khazak to give me a foot rub. That and why we seem to be eating fis h...again.

“So, this isn’t a complaint, but...is there a reason we’ve had fish at almost every meal for the last few days?” At least every meal that hasn’t been prepared by someone else. It all tastes great, usually some kind of salmon I think, but it se ems weird.

“I...may have used all my good cuts of meat last week in my attempts to impress you.” Khazak looks sheepish as he toys with his meal.

Aww, he was trying to use meat to tell me he liked me. “That is...real ly sweet.”

“I am glad you think so because we will be eating fish for at least a few more days.” Khazak tilts his head toward the icebox, and I laug h. “What?”

“Just thinking about how things might have been different if we had just talked.” I shake my head. I know if things happened differently, we probably wouldn’t be sitting here together right now, but still, what a couple of idiots. “But I guess I’m happy things worked out the way they did, ” I tease.

“I guess I am too.” Khazak’s smiling but looks hesitant for some reason. “I had something I wanted to ask you.”

“Everything okay?” I can’t help but be a little anxious after the emotional whiplash over the past week. “I’m not in trouble for something, am I? You’re not gonna actually punish me for running after that guy at work, are you?”

“No, nothing like that.” He shakes his head as he stands to move next to me. “Things have been going rather well and I was wondering... I am not trying to get ahead of myself or make any assumptions, and it would be completely fine if you said no to this, I would not be offended. I—” He pauses, looking at my confused face before sighing to himself. I have to admit—it’s kinda cute seeing him as the flustered one for a change. “—Am very much over thinking this. I just wanted to know how you would feel about wearing th is again.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a familiar chain collar. I feel a twinge of regret, a few bad memories surfacing when I see it. But they pass quickly now that I know a little more about what this means. Not just the collar but the two of us. Which is a little intimidating on its own. I’m not signing up for a commitment, I’m still leaving in two months, but I know it’s importa nt to him.

“I’d be happy to wear your collar, Sir.” I smile and lean forward, tilting my neck so he can remove the thin chain replacement I’ ve had on.

His fingertips tickle my neck as they pluck the chain away and replace it with his personal collar. I shiver as the cool metal touches my skin. The two ends of the collar hang down my shoulders, and I watch Khazak’s face as he joins them, pushing the lock closed. He stands there for a moment, admiring me i n silence.

“You look good.” He strokes the side o f my face.

“Thank you, Sir.” I smile at the praise. This seems like a good time to bring out my own surprise. “I have something for you, too.”

“You do?” He looks at me questioningly as I reach into my pocket.

“Well, for both of us.” I place my new cleansing charm on the table.

“Where did you get one of those?” Khazak looks at it on the table, voice filled with amusement.

“A gift from Brull.” I grin. “Not to get ahead of myself or anyth ing, Sir.”

It’s hard to read his expression as he looks from the charm, to me, then over to our mostly-eaten dinner, then back to me. “Go get cleaned up. I will meet you in the bedroom.”

“Yes, Sir!” I hop up and make to leave, though not before I’m pulled in for a rough kiss and a slap o n the ass.

I wash my hands and face in the bathroom before stripping down and grabbing the charm. I’m just supposed to put it right here on my stomach, right? The stone gets warm and there it goes... That’s a familiar feeling, but not one I’m sure I’ll get used to. When I walk back to the bedroom, I see Khazak coming down the hall, already stripping off his shirt.

I hop onto the bed, sitting up against the headboard when he enters the room. He reaches over to grab one of my ankles, pulling me down the mattress as he climbs on and stalks over me. He lowers himself to kiss me, slotting our bodies together, his furry chest against my own. It’s gentle at the start, just leisurely pressing our lips together, but soon his tongue is demanding entrance to my mouth, and I feel his aggression building.

He grinds down into me, the roughness of his pants against my bare dick making me shudder. If he’s not careful, I’m gonna leave a stain. I try to reach around to tug them off him, but he grabs my wrists the way he likes to, pressing them into the bed near my head. My whining response is muffled by his mouth.

“Patience, pup.” He breaks the kiss to whisper into my ear before gently biting and licking his way dow n my neck.

He continues mouthing his way down my chest, nipping at each nipple before he reaches my stomach. He pauses, nuzzling my belly button before abruptly pushing himself up, grabbing me by the waist, and flipping me over. I squawk indignantly but don’t struggle and am immediately rewarded when I feel his hands groping and squeezi ng my ass.

“Still sore?” He kneads my flesh a little rougher than he needs to.

“Only a little, Sir.” I bite my lip, not really minding the small twinge s of pain.

“Good.” He spanks me lightly a few times before grabbing both cheeks, spreading me wide and lowering his mouth to my ass.

“Oh fuck,” I groan into the sheets when I feel his wet tongue slide acros s my hole.

I grind my cock into the mattress as he slowly laps at me from bottom to top, his tongue pressing more firmly against my entrance on each pass. I can feel the flat of his tusks against my ass, spreading me even farther the more he pushes in. The lapping soon slows, and his tongue starts to focus on my hole, each time dipping inside a little deeper. I grab the pillow in front of me, holding onto it tightly as he toys wi th my ass.

Khazak settles himself on the bed, pulling back one last time to spread me wide before growling and forcing his tongue all the way into my hole. I cry out in surprise, but his hands stop me where he wants as he feasts on my ass. He fucks his tongue in and out of me, the wet sounds his mouth makes drive me crazy. All I can do to hold on is hug the pillo w tighter.

With a final lick and a smack to my ass, Khazak climbs his way up my back, biting my shoulder lightly when he passes it. He reaches over to the nightstand and retrieves the lube (filing away where he keeps that for later) before sitting up, his weight on my legs. I can feel his hard dick pressing into me, especially when he uses his hand to slap it against my ass a few times.

I hear the cork on the lube as it’s removed, the cool, slippery liquid spilling into the crack of my ass and making me shiver. Sir’s warm fingers massage the slick into my hole as he pushes the first of them inside. He growls again from his spot perched right bel ow my ass.

“Just as tight as the first time I felt you.” I whine at the huskily spoken words. “Shhh, just need to make sure you are ready for m e, puppy.”

Even with the charm, he wants to make sure I’m prepared enough, which is sweet and probably necessary given how big he is. He presses more of his finger inside, and I whimper at the slow burn of my muscles being stretched. He hushes me again, his spare hand stroking my flank as he slowly fucks in and out o f my hole.

Then one finger becomes two, and I cling to my comfort pillow at the added intrusion. He slows down but doesn’t stop, giving me a little time to get used to the stretch before pressing them both in deeper. When he bottoms, he scissors them open, and I groan loudly as I try in vain to press myself farther onto his hand. By the time I’m up to three, he’s got me writhing and begging for more.

“Pleeeeeease, Sir,” I whine. “I’m ready. I swear I ’m ready.”

His fingers are pulled from me and my hole clenches around the empty air, but I bite back a whine because I know what comes next. I hear more rustling and feel him kneeling up, but it’s not until I feel the slick, blunt head of his cock prodding at my hole that I go still. I can feel his hand gripping himself, aiming downward as lowers his weight onto me and pushes inside, breaching my hole. Even after all that stretching, it’s almost too much, and my eyes squeeze shut at the ful l feeling.

When I open them again, I see one of his green arms stretched to the headboard above me, holding himself up while sinking himself deeper into my body. He pulls back a little, pressing down a little more on the next one, and the next one, until finally I feel the heat of his groin against my ass. He lets go of the bedframe and settles along my back, his weight pushing his cock inside me to the hilt.

He nuzzles and kisses my neck, ears, and shoulders while I shudder and whimper as my body gets used to the intrusion. I feel a gentle rumbling from his chest as one of his hands moves under my head, turning my face to the side and making it easier to breathe. I can feel his heart beating against my back, and his free hand reaches up to entangle his fingers with mine.

Slowly, Sir drags his hips back a couple of inches before relaxing and letting gravity do most of the work sliding him back into place. I let out a small moan on the return stroke, one that is repeated as the movement of his hips settles into a steady pattern of slow, lazy thrusts. The hand under my face strokes my cheek before turning me a little more, Khazak bending down to meet his lips to mine, awkward angle be damned.

I whimper into his mouth as his thrusts become more pronounced, sucking lightly on his tongue as it probes me. No longer content to let gravity take all the credit, he starts to pick up speed. His legs move to the inside of mine, pushing them apart and spreading me wide. I’m held in place as his cock drives into my body over and over, and I feel a pressure in my muscles growing that I haven’t felt since that first day.

“W-what’s happening?” I ask weakly, not explaining myself well at all. “Why is it d-d ifferent?”

There’s no response at first, and I want to curse because I know that pretty soon, I’m barely going to be able to string together a coherent thought at all. I just want to know why cumming like this feels so different when I’m with him, when he’s fucking me. Then I hear the low chuckle in my ear.

“Because you were made for this, pup.” He bites my ear gently, his thrusts never stuttering. “Not everyone is capable, especially not their first time, but to be able to make you cum like this? Dry, hands free, on my cock?” He gives a few particularly deep thrusts. “I am so happy you are mine .”

That’s not much of an explanation, but it only takes a few more thrusts for things to finally spill over and my mind goes blank. As I cry out, my mouth is once again captured by his own, and he eagerly swallows the sounds of my pleasure. I can feel my hole spasm around him, struggling in vain to pus h him out.

Sir releases my head, letting it fall onto the pillow. He lifts himself with both arms, giving him more leverage and changing the angle for his cock. My eyes roll back in my head as things build once more. Sweat drips down his chest onto my back, and I can practically feel his ass bouncing up and down on top of mine as I cum again, crying o ut weakly.

I lay there and take my fucking, Sir’s body moving faster and harder atop my own. I’m caught completely off guard when I cum for a third time, and it’s not even a minute later before I can feel it starting to hap pen again.

Oh gods, he’s going to kill me with his dick . The entire bed is shaking with the power of hi s thrusts.

My head lolls to the side, and I’m sure I’m drooling onto the pillow, my mind empty except for thoughts of how incredible everything feels. I don’t even register when Sir’s thrusts get more forceful or when I feel his dick grow thicker, right before he cums with a roar above me. His hips continue to slam me into the mattress, like his body is trying to make sure his seed is planted inside me as deep as possible. I cry out when he finishes and grinds his cock inside of me. Finally, he collapses on top of me, moving to the side just enough so that we can both breat he easily.

After a few minutes of lying in a sweaty heap, Khazak rolls us on our sides, making sure not to pull his cock from my hole. His arm wraps around my waist, and he pulls me back into his still heaving chest as we cool down. Our skins are slick with sweat, and to any outside observer, we probably look disgusting, but I feel amazing. I don’t want to move from this spot for the rest of the night. Maybe the week. Once my consciousness has fully re-entered my body, I notice the hand lazily tracing patterns in the fur on my chest, and I reach my hand up to hold his.

“That was...” I start. “Don’t make me wait another week and half before we do that again, Sir . Please.”

I feel the rumble of his laugh, and he squeezes me against his body, which has the added effect of pressing his softening cock farther into my well-worn ass one last time before it finally slips out. My hole feels like a mess right now, but I d on’t care.

“It would seem as though I have been depriving myself.” He kisses my neck before turning me over to face him, drawing me into him. “Thank yo u, David.”

“I don’t think you need to thank me when I enjoyed it as much as you did.” Maybe even a little more when you compare our respective number o f orgasms.

“Not for that. For giving this a chance, despite everything.” He takes my hand, thumb ghosting over my knuckles. “Do you think you can handle this being your life for the next tw o months?”

I look up from my place on his chest, green eyes meeting chocolate brown, feeling warm and content for the first time in... Fuck, maybe years. It’s an easy answer. “Yeah. I think I can do that.” I lean in to kiss him, content to spend the rest of the night wrapped up in his arms.