True to her words, his manhood was already growing again.
He looked back to the gorgon’s smug expression and grinned. “Looks like I might have another one in me after all.”
“Packmaster going to mate with Snakey now?” Cindra asked, and she started to shift from Gabriel’s side.
“Yes he is, but you need not vacate the bed, Cindra. Just move over a little,” Sthuza replied as she pulled the covers back. Her head-snakes turned to the hellhound and bobbed in agreement.
His erection stood proudly once freed, and he swallowed when both bonded monsters stared at it with lust-filled eyes.
‘Relax, Master. I will do all the work this time.’ Sthuza sent, her mind-voice filled with barely restrained desire. She crawled over and loomed above him, her modest breasts bouncing and drawing his gaze.
“Okay, but at least let me get you warmed up first,” he said.
To his surprise, the gorgon froze for a second. “Perhapsss nexxxt time, Massster. I am more than warm already.”
She threw a leg over Gabriel and straddled him just above his erect member. Before he could say anything, she arched her hips toward him and spread herself with two fingers.
Gabriel stared at her glistening entry as she teased it with her free hand. Sthuza traced her nether lips, then dipped a finger inside. She shivered and moaned as her finger curled before she withdrew it and held the wet digit up in front of him.
“Sssee, Massster? I am… mossst ready.”
He reached up to take her hand and taste her, but she pulled it back and made a show of sucking it clean.
Gabriel swallowed and grasped his Prime’s hips, pulling her down. He bucked up to meet her, and his shaft sank fully into the aroused gorgon.
She leaned close and kissed him hungrily. When she broke away long seconds later, his lips tingled.
“Lie back and enjoy, Massster, I will not take long,” Sthuza said. “Cccindra, obssserve.”
I could get used to this.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Gabriel woke slowly. His eyes didn’t want to open, and it felt like he’d barely slept.
He brought up the Dungeon Interface and saw that it was still several hours before dawn.
Don’t care how little sleep I got. Last night was amazing. They were amazing.
His memories were so vivid he could practically hear Sthuza’s moans.
“Oh, yesss, Massster. Her tongue is ssso long. Yesss, do not ssstop. Deeper.”
Her lusty words sounded so real that his hips bucked, and his manhood twitched. They blended perfectly with the loud licking noises, and Gabriel pictured his bonded in his mind.
The slender gorgon writhed and moaned as Cindra eagerly devoured her, cleaning his seed from Sthuza’s tight channel.
Wait… that didn’t happen.
Someone shifted to his left—Sthuza moaned again.
With his mind still waking up, it took him a moment to remember how the night ended.
Once we finished, Sthuza snuggled up on the left while Cindra was on my right… right?
He rolled his head to the side and cracked open an eye. Nothing.
More noisy licking and his Prime moaned again. Gabriel turned back toward his left.
Sthuza lay fully exposed at his side. She had the fingers of one hand entwined with his. He barely noticed.
Cindra lay between the gorgon’s spread legs. The large monster girl lapped at Sthuza’s glistening slit, then she shifted and sank her glowing blue tongue deep inside the other woman.
Sthuza shuddered, and her hips bucked against Cindra’s slick face. Dark-gray hands reached up to grasp green legs, and she pinned Sthuza down—then went right back to licking.
Gabriel peeked up at Sthuza’s flushed face and paused at her lethargic head-snakes. He reached out to their bond and sighed at the presence of her disjointed, dreamlike thoughts.
She’s asleep. This is not good!
“Yesss, Cccindra, jussst like that. Ssso good.”
He blinked.
That’s… awkward. Part of me wants to yell at Cindra for doing that while Sthuza’s asleep. But she’s… enjoying it, and she might be humiliated if I call attention to it.
He glanced at Cindra again. The hellhound’s bright-blue eyes were glazed over. His bonded didn’t even flinch when he waved at her. She just continued to greedily delve between Sthuza’s thighs.
Okay, that’s… odd. Hot, but odd.
Gabriel decided to watch until he figured out what to do. Sthuza continued to moan and squirm beneath Cindra’s oral caress.
He felt nothing but pleasure and satisfaction across their bonds. When he realized how much stronger his bond with Cindra felt, Gabriel tried to get her attention that way.
Just as he framed his thoughts and reached out toward her, a panicked scream exploded in his mind.
With his attention fully on his bonds, the sudden spike of fear caused him to jump. He stumbled his way out of the bed, startling his bonded.
“Massster!?”
A garbled bark escaped Cindra when she jerked back. She got caught in the discarded covers and tumbled off the bed with a massive thump that shook the room.
“What isss wrong?” Sthuza asked. She shook her head, which caused her snakes to sway and hiss.
“I don’t know. I was reaching into my bonds when there was this terrified scream.”
Sthuza said something, but he couldn’t understand her words.
Merideva’s voice wailed inside his mind, and he fell to his knees. ‘Gabriel save! Please help! The—’
His blood froze.
Strong hands shook his shoulder, and he blinked when the pain in his head receded.
“Wha—?” he muttered, then blinked and stared up at his Prime.
“What happened, Massster?”
“Meri, something attacked Meri. She’s terrified; she begged me to save her. To help… but then her scream cut off,” Gabriel said. He rocked back and collapsed on his butt as he spoke.
“Can you reach her now?” Sthuza whispered.
His bond with Merideva glowed as bright as ever, but he couldn’t contact her.
“No, but I hadn’t thought to try since we left the dungeon, so I don’t know if that’s normal. Our connection still feels strong, though.”
The gorgon let out a sigh.
“Both of you get ready; I want to go find her right now. We can’t waste any time,” Gabriel said.
Sthuza nodded. Cindra tore the cover from around her legs and leapt up.
While the hellhound stumbled across the room, Sthuza moved to her neatly stored gear and dressed in a rush, not bothering to put on her strange black undergarments.
Gabriel grabbed his pants and pulled them on as his Prime quickly slipped into her leather armor. When he saw how much quicker she was dressed, he called out, “Sthuza, would you check on Reyna? Cindra and I will meet you downstairs.”
The gorgon nodded and headed for the door while strapping on her belt. “Of course, Master. Please let me know if you can make contact with Lady Merideva.”
Gabriel pulled his armored coat on without a shirt and began to button it closed. He ran through a calming meditation and then tried to reach out to the Dungeon Core.
Meri, can you hear me? What’s wrong?
Merideva?
Shit. Was she under attack?
Gabriel focused on the Interface and checked his pool.
Mana 32%
Better than I had before the fight with Kelith.
He glanced at the hellhound, who struggled to get the tight armor over her unbound breasts. “You okay?”
“Cindra ready, we go now!” she growled. Righteous wrath at the thought of someone daring to attack Merideva flooded across their bond. Her presence had a strange, hazy feel to it.
Is she drunk?
True to her words, she grabbed her sword and stood ready. Apparently, she’d given up on stuffing her boobs into the tight armor and left them uncovered.
Do
n’t think we could make it to the dungeon with those beauties on display like that.
He chuckled, stepped close, and grabbed her armor to help.
With his assistance, it only took her seconds to fasten the leather top, and then they were racing down to the all but empty common room.
“This better be good, you sexed-up love-muffins,” Reyna grumbled sleepily. The petite lycan rubbed at her eyes then let out a loud yawn. She wore an oversized shirt and baggy pants.
Gabriel headed straight for the door without a glance toward her. “I don’t even know… We’ve got to go back to Meri. I still can’t reach her through our bond.”
“Yes, Master,” Sthuza agreed. She was the best-dressed of the group but still fidgeted with her pouches and satchel while she moved.
“Who the toad-licking hells is Mary?”
“Just follow us, no time to explain,” Gabriel said. He struggled to resist the whirlwind of fear and despair that seeped across from Merideva.
With that, the trio rushed out the doors. After a moment, the still cursing lycan raced after them.
Four hours from dawn, the city streets were deserted, and he sprinted toward the dungeon entrance.
Heart in his throat, he was surprised that he had no trouble running at full speed. His body shook, and his pulse raced, but it all stemmed from the unrestrained terror that spiked into him from the Core.
Hopefully, that means she’s still alive.
Gabriel refused to entertain the possibility that she wasn’t. Instead of worrying, he began to harness mana and focused on weaving the glyphs for a simple Haste effect.
Between the panic flooding through all of his bonds and the strain of sprinting, it took him twice as long to form the spell even though he skipped every step he could.
Rushing didn’t really affect the potency—only the cost and stability of the magic. Given the circumstances, he wasn’t worried about the mana or anyone countering his spellwork, and he released the recklessly cast magic the second it completed.
He shivered as the spell accelerated his body and reflexes. Time appeared to slow, and Reyna stumbled as the magic washed over her, but she recovered and sprinted to catch up with Cindra.
When they reached the fortified entry hall leading into the dungeon, Gabriel slammed to a stop and looked up at the pitch-black sky.
“Shit, what if they don’t let us in so early?”
“Then we forccce the issssue,” Sthuza said grimly.
“We’re attacking the dungeon?” Reyna asked.
“Let’s hope they don’t mind,” he said with a sigh, then pushed the heavy door open.
Four guards looked up at them.
“Are you all new around here?” one masked woman asked.
“We want to enter the dungeon,” Gabriel said as calmly as he could.
His connection to Meri felt stronger now, and her fear flowed through it. He fought back the urge to scream.
“You’re here way too early, kid. It’s not like the place is going to fill up if you wait till dawn,” an older male dressed in red robes said.
“Are we allowed inside or not?” Gabriel asked. He glared at the four guards still seated around a square table.
“Eh, yeah, you can enter. If you have tags from the Guild or a writ from the baron,” the woman said with a shrug of her shoulders. “There’s just no reason to go delving at this ungodly hour.”
“Hmph, yep. Not like there’s anything worth looting in this decaying place. If you came to Lostbarrow hoping to strike it rich, you should just head home now,” the red-robed mage said.
“Thanks for the advice,” Gabriel snapped irritably. He pulled the bronze tag from his coat pocket and held it up as his companions rushed to do the same.
The woman stepped forward and held out an onyx stone for him to swipe his tag across.
Once she nodded, he rushed past to help the other armored guard who slowly opened the heavy barrier that blocked the dungeon entrance.
“Silver-ranked?” the woman gasped when Sthuza presented her tag.
“For real?”
“We are in a rush, sso if you do not mind, pleasse hurry up,” Sthuza said, and Gabriel winced at the slight sibilance of her words.
His companions caught up by the time he’d opened the foot-thick gate enough to pass, and they sprinted down the winding tunnel.
“Is the big one drunk?” the masked woman whispered.
“Damn, never seen someone in such a rush to get themselves killed,” the other mage muttered, which drew a round of chuckles as the party disappeared from view.
◆◆◆
Meri has to be safe!
I can’t lose her. We should never have left her alone like this. She begged me not to.
‘Breathe, Master. We will do whatever we have to in order to protect Lady Merideva, but you must remain calm. Let her feel your presence. Do not broadcast your anxiety.’
He nodded and tried to keep his mind calm as they raced for the fourth floor. Sthuza dropped her disguise the moment they turned the first corner and slipped into the dungeon proper. Skin already glistening with sweat, Reyna took that as the signal to shift as well.
They quickly passed the dozens of goblins and giant rats that occupied the dirt-walled warrens of the first floor. Reyna cursed and muttered about their pace, but she never slowed.
Cindra led the way, and her black greatsword tore through any careless goblins that got in her path. Gabriel and the other two women were able to follow without much threat as the little monsters fled.
Would be nice if whatever’s threatening Meri is just as easy to defeat.
Now that they were in the dungeon, her presence was stronger in Gabriel’s mind. Their bond was limited by distance.
What happens when I leave the city to find the crystal? Will I even be able to sense her?
He sighed and rushed over to the hellhound. “Cindra, hurry back to Meri as fast as you can. You have to protect her; we’ll catch up as soon as possible.”
Cindra ducked her head, smashed another too slow goblin aside, and put on a burst of speed that left him staring in awe.
Hopefully, she can get there in time to make a difference.
“Will one of you long-legged assclowns explain why the hells we’re running through the dungeon?” Reyna grumbled as she panted for breath.
“You suspected Master is from the dungeon,” Sthuza replied breathlessly. “You were correct. And Lady Merideva is in danger.”
“That explains fuck all, you serpent-haired freak.”
Gabriel let out a dark chuckle at the werebadger’s continued grumbling. Despite her complaints, the short lycan kept up with them.
Jumbled visions of Cuix and her forces arrayed against chittering monsters filled his mind. Archers fired small arrows into the shadows that flooded the stone corridor. A white goo flew out from the darkness.
A rock shifted beneath his foot, and he stumbled. Gabriel shook aside the blur of images. He focused on the path back to the Core.
Back home.
When he spotted the passage down to the third floor, he sped up.
A filthy goblin rushed out and tripped Gabriel with a spear.
The blow took him by surprise. He stumbled and fell but got a hand in front of himself to keep from face-planting against the uneven stone.
Gabriel rolled to his feet and spun toward his ambusher.
A male goblin in a ratty, oversized gambeson stood there, spear in hand. The stupid fool soon discovered the folly of his mistake when Sthuza and Reyna caught up to them.
With an angry gorgon and a snarling werebadger barreling down on him, the terrified goblin froze up and stared with wide eyes.
Then he soiled himself.
What is it with goblins and voiding their bowels at the slightest danger?
Gabriel had to redirect his sword in mid-swing when Reyna raced by and ripped the goblin’s head off in a blur of fur and claws.
“Whatcha waiting for slowpoke?” she g
rowled while blood dripped from her paw.
Not bothering to reply, he followed after her and leapt down the stairs.
At least now we shouldn’t have random monsters blocking our path. At least so long as we don’t take any wrong turns.
Lungs finally starting to labor, he dug deep and forced himself to keep going. The strain of sprinting and maintaining his Haste spell on the four of them had sapped much of his strength.
Every time his body cried out for rest, to slow down, he focused on the insistent tide of fear flowing from the Dungeon Core. Gabriel couldn’t contact her, but he could feel her presence.
We have to save her!
They crossed the third floor quicker than he’d expected, and he soon led the way through the winding tunnels of the fourth floor.
Meri’s floor.
Even with the Haste spell, Reyna struggled to keep up thanks to her shorter legs. Sweat matted her fur, and he felt a surge of gratitude that the prickly lycan stuck with them.
◆◆◆
They were closer now, just inside of Meri’s expanded Domain. Gabriel could hear the faint echoes of clashing swords and angry growls. The high-pitched screeching of goblins and the warbled battle cries of Kestria’s kobolds.
He ran around the next corner and skidded to a halt in the large chamber.
Cindra desperately parried spear thrusts from four armored arachne.
“Oh shit,” Reyna muttered.
The words matched Gabriel’s thoughts perfectly as he took in the bloody spectacle before him.
Unlike the first time he faced them, these spider women had black-and-gray breastplates, helms, and bracers to protect their humanoid half. A strange barding of scale or mail shielded much of their arachnid abdomens.
They shared the same too-pale skin and coal-black hair as the ones from before. While their human faces were attractive, the dark, alien red eyes unsettled him.
Cindra whipped her massive greatsword back and forth impressively. But even with his speed boost, the hellhound simply wasn’t fast enough to block all of the spears and talons the four arachne attacked with.
Across the hewn-stone room, two more arachne hacked their way through the last of the kobolds. They had the small reptilian warriors pinned into the far corner. Over a dozen bodies littered the broad chamber. Mostly kobolds, though a pair of goblins were slumped near the opposite door.
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