The Fantasy Trove

Someone groaned nearby, but the sound reached Eldon’s ears as a distorted and hollow moan. Light flickered from the other side of his eyelids, making it difficult for him to get some rest. The groan sounded again, annoying him. He was getting some good sleep in, until that moaner decided to be rude and not stay quiet.

“Would you knock that off? I’m trying… to…” he trailed off as he opened his eyes and looked around. Smoke billowed up from a couple of fires. The fires were all that was giving him light to see by, but it was obscured from all the smoke and dust in the air. It looked like a bomb had gone off, and pieces of timber and support beams were scattered everywhere. Eldon realized that it had been a bomb that did this. Areth’s sacrifice could be the only reason he was still alive.

Eldon coughed, and pain seared his stomach from the movement. Looking down, he saw a large metal pipe pinning him to the floor, and protruding from his abdomen. Blood soaked what little remained of his clothes, marring his exposed skin. He couldn’t see past his waist because of a large metal beam holding him also holding him down. He couldn’t feel his legs, and hoped that his lower body was still attached.

“Who—who’s there?” a man’s voice called weakly to him. Whoever it was sounded pained and out of breath. Eldon suspected it was the person who’d woken him with his groaning.

“Eldon Lance,” he replied, then added, “I’m Ambassador Snow’s son.”

“Fuck! It’s one of the freaks,” Eldon heard the other man mutter before raising his voice. “Do you know what happened? I was escorting one of the senators when, shit, I don’t know what happened.”

Anger boiled up in Eldon at the other man’s words. “Gee, I don’t know. Let me use my freak abilities to know everything. I’ll just call on all the mystical powers I have at my beck and call to answer all your questions. Tell you what. Since I have a couple brain cells to rub together, I’ll use them to guess an explosion went off.”

“No one likes a smartass, kid,” the man responded, then broke into a fit of coughing.

“No one likes a bigot,” Eldon said back when the man finished coughing. “And don’t call me kid. I’m twenty-four, not fourteen. I’ve probably seen more action than you have.”

“Who pissed in your Cheerios?” the other man asked between coughs. “I’ll have you know I fought in two American wars, and saw shit that requires above a Top Secret clearance just to mention.”

Eldon felt anger burn hotter through him. Who was this man to mock him? He had no idea what Eldon had been through in the past few hours. He had no idea what kind of pain and loss he’d suffered. How dare he treat Eldon like a child!

“Have you even taken on three ogres with only a sword in your hands?” Eldon demanded. “Or watched an entire city pillage, rape, and kill itself because it had no choice but to reveal what it truly was? Everyone baring their deepest darkest secrets to one another, destroying lives and loved ones?”

“Relax, would ya?” the other man tried to chuckle, but it turned into hacks and coughs. “No, I haven’t fought ogres since they’re not allowed to come here. We’ve both been through some shit. Can’t say I’m happy having one of your kind in here with me, but at least you’re a soldier and patriot. I’ve heard how hard you’ve worked to protect the president. I might not like what you are, but I can still respect what you’ve done.”

Eldon almost told the man that he was no patriot, but just following his sense of duty. He held back at the last moment. The pain in his stomach from the pipe sticking out of him stealing his breath might have had a little to do with his self-control as well. He gripped the pipe, and gasped as he yanked it out, hard and fast. Blood spurted up from the wound for a brief moment, before the wound shrunk, sealed, and healed. He filled his chest with air slowly, testing the spot with his fingers. The skin was smooth and slick with blood, but no pain. He chucked the pipe with his other hand, and propped himself up to look at his lower body.

“Shit, man! Careful where you’re throwing stuff. Sorry I offended you,” the other man grunted and Eldon heard some shuffling from the direction where he’d chucked the pipe. “I didn’t think you were that touchy.”

Eldon ignored him as he looked at the beam crossing his hips. He couldn’t sit all the way up, but could see that his pelvis was crushed. There were perhaps a few inches between the floor and bottom of the heavy object. No wonder he couldn’t feel his legs. He wasn’t worried about permanent injury. If he could get out from under it, his body should return to normal. On the other hand, he was afraid of the amount of pain he would feel until his body recovered.

“Say, any chance you can help me out over here? My arm doesn’t seem to be working right.”

Eldon continued to ignore the other man, instead pushing his weight against the beam. It shifted slightly, but hit something else and refused to move.

“You still with me, buddy?” the other voice nagged at him. Eldon was his buddy now? What a prick. “I can hear you moving around over there. Listen, I don’t mean to press you, and I’m sorry for my choice of words earlier, but there’s a fire over here that’s getting awfully close. I would rather not become extra crispy.”

Eldon closed his eyes for a couple seconds, gathering his courage and blocking out the other man’s groans and coughs. He was really getting annoying. For a split second he debated on telling the man that he preferred his secret service agents to be medium rare, and he would be there in a bit. Discretion is the better part of valor, he told himself and kept his mouth shut.

Taking a deep breath, he shoved hard against the metal beam. Even with his enhanced strength, it lifted up a couple inches, then struck something else and refused to move any more. He held it there, his arms straining, muscles bulging. Sweat dripped from his head as he looked down to see his pelvis inflate and expand, taking up the space he’d just freed. Realizing his opportunity, he slid his lower body out, until the beam slipped in his sweat-slickened hands and crushed his shins.

“Argh!” he screamed as black spots swam in his vision. Sensation had returned to his lower extremities just in time for him to feel that. What else could go wrong today? He fought to remain conscious through the torment, mentally forcing back the darkness before it could overcome him.

“I take it you’re not in much better shape than I am,” the other man stated while Eldon tried to catch his breath.

“No shit, Sherlock,” Eldon gasped as he looked down at himself. “What was your first clue? The fact that I’m in here, or was it the scream of agony that gave me away?” So much for discretion. He knew his father would be disheartened with his choice of language, but didn’t much care right then. In fact, other than making it out of here alive, there wasn’t much he cared about anyway. Gloria had abandoned him, saddling him with two other women. While he had to admit he cared about them, Gloria’s departure left a hole that the other two couldn’t fill. To make matters worse, one of them was already taken, and engaged. The other was an ex-girlfriend that he’d never truly gotten over, despite him being the one to break it off.

If he could still change forms, he could shift into a smaller shape and slide out. Of course, if he could still do that, he wouldn’t have survived the blast that destroyed this wing of the White House. Areth’s sacrifice was turning into a blessing and a curse.

“Still with me, buddy?” the other man asked, his voice full of hope as seconds of silence stretched on and Eldon contemplated his situation.

“Don’t call me buddy, either!” Eldon snapped and wiped a fresh sheen of sweat from his brow.

“Damn. Don’t remember hearing about how touchy you were,” the man groaned. “Look, man. Help me get out of here, and I’ll praise your kind from here ‘til Sunday. I can’t do it on my own.”

“Oh yeah?” Eldon sneered. “And if I don’t, then what? You’ll continue to curse my kind? Hell, I don’t even have a kind! I’m the only one of me. Even my sister is different.”

“No, if you don’t then I’ll be dead, and you’ll prove my opinion of things from your world not being worth the attention they’ve been getting lately.”

“First of all, we’re not things.” Eldon tried to push against the beam, to try to get it off his legs, but it wouldn’t budge again. He needed to get out of here. He didn’t doubt that he would survive this, even if the building burned down around him, but he didn’t care to suffer the pain of burning alive. “I believe the president wanted to call us Lydonese. We might not be human, but that doesn’t mean we’re not people.”

“Uh, yeah. Sorry. Got some changes to do to the way I think, I guess.” Eldon heard the man panting for a moment before he continued. “Ugh. So… I guess you’re as stuck as I am? Well, at least I know I’ll be dying next to a patriot. I want you to know I really respect what you did for President Louise. I admit I didn’t vote for her, and I don’t agree with all her policies, but she’s proven to be one tough lady. I… Whew, that fire is getting close…”

Eldon wished the man would just close his trap. He didn’t want to listen to him. He didn’t want to be stuck in this burning building, hearing some guy who didn’t care about magical beings, spouting off about crap that Eldon couldn’t care less about. He just wanted to get his legs free. If he could shift forms, he’d already be partway there. Maybe his ogre form, to move the beam? Wouldn’t that give the other man a fright! Of course, knowing his intelligence level in that form, he’d likely eat the Secret Service agent. Serve him right for his rude comments.

No, he’d be better off changing into a snake and slithering out. He wouldn’t need to be worried about being cold blooded. It was plenty hot in here. If he were a snake, he could slip out from under the beam, and then go over and bite the rude man. He deserved it for his comments.

His forked tongue slipped out, tasting the air to see where the man was. His body slithered across the uneven ground, unsure of which direction to go. All he could taste was smoke and fire. His natural instincts were to run from the conflagration, but it was all around. He couldn’t see very well in this form….

In this form?

Eldon curved his long neck around, and stared in shock at his thin, tan-banded and scaled body. He was a snake! Not just any snake either, but a king cobra. He didn’t understand how, but his tiny snake brain wasn’t the best to figure it out. He hated this form because of how little he was able to think, but right then he couldn’t imagine a better form to be in. Literally!

“Hey, you still there? Haven’t heard anything from you in a couple seconds,” came the other man’s voice.

Curious, Eldon slithered in that direction, continuing to taste the air. He slid over wood and debris, winding his way to where a large man in black lay with his right arm pinned beneath something large and heavy. He was too big to eat, but maybe it would be better to bite him and let the venom do him in, just to be safe. There were flames building close by, and the heat was starting to get unbearable, even to him.

Eldon coiled his body up, flaring his hood to give the man ample opportunity to run. He wasn’t smart enough as a snake to realize the dark-clothed man couldn’t flee.

The man looked at him and his eyes grew large. “What the fuck is a snake doing in here? Oh, shit! Help! Somebody help me! Eldon, you over there? There’s a snake in here. Don’t know how the hell it got in, but it looks like it’s about to strike. If you’re still alive and can get free, I could sure use your help. Eldon?”

Hearing his name, the snake stopped and swayed back and forth, closing its hood. Eldon… That was him, right? He had to think hard to remember, but it came back to him. With the memory came knowledge of who and what he was, and his body grew back into his normal shape.

If it were possible, the man’s eyes grew even larger as he watched the transformation. “It’s you!” he said in relief as Eldon finished changing. “I thought I was going to die there for a moment… Holy fucking hell, that’s a huge cock! Do you play baseball with that thing?”

Eldon looked down and realized he was completely naked. What little clothing he’d had after the explosion hadn’t survived him transforming. Not for the first time, he wished his clothes changed with him, like they did with his sister.

“My eyes are up here,” Eldon snapped as he stepped up to where the man struggled against the debris where his arm was pinned. Blood dripped from numerous scrapes and cuts on his body. One eye was swollen shut, and there was already a bruise forming from his jaw to his temple. The agent looked at him with his one good eye and shuddered.

“Sorry, buddy. I’m not gay—not that there is anything wrong with that, if you are—but that beater between your legs is nothing to be ashamed of, even if it is twisted like a pig’s tail.”

Eldon shook his head, wondering why the man could call him by his name when he was a snake, but he was back to being buddy now.

“So, uh, about getting me out of here. Do you think you could…” he tried to pull his arm free, but it wasn’t going to happen. Flames were getting close to what was left of his shoes.

“No, I’m just over here for my health,” Eldon groused, annoyed with the man all over again. “Give me a moment.”

Eldon closed his eyes and tried to change into his bodybuilder form. There was no resistance as he felt the change commence. Elation swept through his system, energizing his bulging muscles. He wasn’t locked down to one form after all! It had never even occurred to him to try and change forms after Areth sacrificed herself. Now he cursed himself for blindly accepting what he’d been told.

After her sacrifice, his strength had multiplied. Now as a muscle-man, he was a force to be reckoned with. He bent over and gripped the large piece of debris that held the other man in place. Using his powerful legs, he lifted it up and tossed it at the fire. It crumpled as it struck, and the fire went out in that spot for a couple seconds.

“Thanks, buddy!” The agent got to his feet, cradling his mangled arm in his good one. Eldon was no expert, but he doubted the arm could be saved without the use of magic. The agent saw him looking and gave a slight chuckle. “Guess I lost my girlfriend. I’ll have to use my left hand for a while.”

“Just call me Eldon,” he said, surprised that the man would make masturbation jokes at a time like this.

“Eldon. Yeah, sure thing, buddy. Call me Mac.” He looked around, but it was hard to see much in the smoke and dust. “You, uh, know how to get out of here? I can’t remember which way is up, much less out.”

Eldon looked around, then dropped closer to the floor where there was less smoke. Everywhere he looked, he either saw fire or fallen debris. They appeared to be in a pocket with no way out. Except, the smoke was getting out, or they would have been suffocating by now. He looked up, but that didn’t look promising. The thick smoke roiled and moved, but he couldn’t see through it.

“I have an idea, but I don’t like it,” Eldon said as he continued to look around. “It’s going to be dangerous.”

“You don’t like it? Can it be more dangerous than staying in here?” Mac chuckled.

“Yes,” Eldon responded, without cracking a smile. “Climb on my back, and don’t let go, no matter what… Unless I try to eat you. If I do, I’m sorry.”

“You’ve got a strange sense of humor,” the agent frowned but Eldon didn’t respond. “Look, I already told you I’m straight, and you being naked isn’t something I’m into, but if it gets me outta here, then I’ll fuck anything to breathe clean air again.”

Eldon glared, liking this man less and less by the second. He said Eldon had a strange sense of humor? “I’m not interested in sex right now, but I’m going to change into an ogre and bash my way out of here. If I see you when I’m in that form, I’m about as likely to decide you look like a tasty treat before I go. If you’re on my back, I might not notice your weight, and will likely be too dumb to even remember you were here.”

“Not interested in sex? What kind of a man are you? Besides, I’ve heard stories about your old man and his wives that—”

“If you want to get out of here, shut your mouth right now,” Eldon growled. He turned his back on the wounded agent, and started changing, not willing to wait any longer.

He might have heard an “Oh, shit!” before he finished growing even larger than his bodybuilder form.

Dark fluffy clouds that were hard to breathe surrounded him. He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten here, and only knew that he wanted out. He took a step forward and felt something crunch under his massive right foot. It felt warm, and he lifted his foot enough to see what it’d been. The ground glowed, and he knew he should know the word for it… “Fiiiirrrre,” he said, and cheered for having remembered such a difficult word. “Fire hot. Fire burn. Fire make things yummy.”

A portion of the sky fell close by, startling Eldon by its racket. No, not the sky, the ceiling. He remembered that there was something he was supposed to do. He concentrated as hard as he was able, trying to recall his task.

“Bash!” the thought drifted to him, but his head was already too full, so he spoke it out loud. “I bash. I break walls. I get free!” He didn’t want the fire to make him tasty.

Looking around, Eldon saw a large metal beam that would work perfectly as a club. It was the same beam he’d been trapped under, but he couldn’t remember that. His thick sausage fingers gripped the beam and pulled it up with ease, knocking aside another beam that’d held it in place. It was slightly bent at one end, but that wouldn’t ruin his fun.

He turned to the nearest wall and demolished what remained of it with one swing. The dark fluffy clouds weren’t so bad on the other side, and Eldon moved into the cleaner air. “That fun! I bash again. I get free! I not be yummy,” he cheered as he knocked down the next wall, and then the next. Each wall that fell to his might led him to cleaner air, until he was outside and the late afternoon sun beat down on him.

“Oof, too bright,” he complained as he tried to block out the bright globe in the sky. He dropped his beam as something loud nearby popped, and his hand stung. “Owie!” he complained, shaking the hurt hand.

“Don’t shoot!” something fell from his back and shouted. “This is Ambassador Snow’s son! He’s a friendly!”

Eldon turned to the sound, and something that looked delicious and already half cooked wave one arm above his head. Eldon couldn’t smell the blood coating the other man after being in those foul clouds, but he could see it staining the yummy’s clothing.

“That’s a god-damned ogre!” another yummy-looking person said, distracting Eldon before he could snatch the first one. “How is that thing friendly?”

“My big buddy here saved my life,” the first snack stated with confidence. “Though I think he might have ogre did it in the process.” The tasty treat laughed for some reason.

Eldon’s head started to hurt as he stared between the two meals. It occurred to him that it would be easier to go for the first one, since it was closer and already half baked. With lightning-fast reflexes, he reached out and snatched the man with one meaty fist. It was the same one that’d been shot a moment ago, but he’d already forgotten about that, and it was healed anyway. “Yum, yum!” he grinned as he brought the screaming morsel to his mouth.

“Eldon Lance, you drop him right this instant!”

The voice was so commanding and something deep inside Eldon knew that he had to obey it, that he opened his hand without thinking. The man tumbled down his naked belly before hitting the ground, running for his life. Eldon frowned, unsure why he’d let his meal get away.

“You change back right now, Eldon,” that voice ordered him. He looked around for it and saw a woman with long black hair and gray streaks. He knew this woman was in charge, though he couldn’t remember why he should listen to someone that should have been food. “Go on! Change. Or do I need to get your father? What would he think about this kind of behavior?”

He knew he didn’t want that. He wasn’t afraid of his father, so much as afraid of disappointing him. Somehow, he found the mental fortitude to remember that he could change forms. With a bit of effort, he felt his body shrink down into a puny… no this was his normal form.

“Mom… What—what are you doing here?” He could almost feel his IQ rising into triple digits, but he didn’t know why she was there.

“Cover yourself up and we’ll talk somewhere a lot more private,” she told him and handed him a blanket.

She guided him past the cops and agents surrounding what remained of the White House, but he didn’t miss their comments. “Are you sure that thing is safe?” “Should have put it down when we had the chance.” “Heard he saved the president on more than one occasion. Glad he’s on our side.” And, “Did you see the size of it? I swear it was bigger in his current form than when he was an ogre. Glad my wife wasn’t here, or she would have been on her knees, begging.…”

Eldon blocked out everything besides putting one foot in front of the other. When Sheila stopped him, he looked up to see they were at the back of an ambulance.

“I’m not hurt, Mom,” he complained. “I can’t be permanently hurt, remember?”

“What I remember is that you’re not supposed to be able to change forms anymore, either. Remember?” she snapped in a tone that told him to shut up and listen. “Now sit still and let them check you out. Oh, good, looks like someone thought to bring you some clothes.”

Eldon looked up to see Mandy and Shlee walking up to them. Shlee had a bundle of clothes in her arms, while Mandy carried a pair of shoes. The thought struck him that Mandy could have carried it all with her four arms, and wondered if they’d decided to split the load between them. That thought led to memories in the Orange Bubble of them licking his load out of each other. No matter what else they may mean to him, he was glad that they got along with each other.

“Thank you, ladies,” Sheila said as she stood and took the clothing.

Eldon tried to stand up and tell them he didn’t want them there and to go, but the EMT held him down, and his words came out very different. “They ate my cum out of each other.” Sheila grimaced at his words, the EMTs choked for a couple moments, his two girlfriends turned deep crimson, and Eldon wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Of all the truths he could have said in Mandy’s presence and his mom right there, why did he have to spill that one? Just because the memory was in his head? He wanted to glare at Mandy and blame her, but he knew she couldn’t help it. “Sorry, Mom. That’s not what I meant to say.”

“I know, Son,” she replied and dumped his clothes in his lap. “You’ve been through a traumatic experience. Such things can mess with your head. It’s not like I haven’t enjoyed eating my master’s spunk from—”

“Anyway!” Mandy interrupted. “If we could change the subject, it might help alleviate a whole lot of embarrassment.”

“Where’s Dad and Shelly?” he asked, following Mandy’s advice. His heart dropped when he saw the look on their faces. “What? What happened?”

“Your dad is… okay,” Shlee told him. “Your sister was hurt pretty bad from the bomb. Your dad is already at the hospital with her.”

“So it was an explosion,” he said, avoiding thinking about his sister being hurt.

“Nope,” Sonia said as she approached them. “The president farted and the whole place went up in flames.”

Eldon’s jaw dropped as he stared at the damaged android. Had she just made a joke? Her synthetic skin still hung from her in places, but she was in full Secret Service battle regalia. A black bulletproof vest with plenty of pockets, a pistol holstered on each side, and black baggy pants completed the ensemble.

“Sorry,” she apologized a moment later. “That blast must have damaged some of my neural circuits. I haven’t been acting normally, since…. But when I run internal diagnostics, only my outside is damaged. All my internal wiring and neural pathways are intact.”

“I thought you left with Shelly,” Mandy spoke up.

“I just got back and saw our hero over here. I thought I should come check him out. By check him out, I mean his health, not that canon between his legs.” Sonia grimaced, which looked quite scary with her tattered flesh. “I need to figure out these glitches. I don’t feel quite right.”

“How is Shelly?” Sheila and Eldon spoke at the same moment, ignoring the robot’s strange behavior. Eldon would have blamed Mandy for it, but her first statement when coming up to them had been a lie, even if it was a joke. As far as he knew, Mandy’s ability to force truths didn’t affect electronics.

“She’ll recover completely,” Sonia responded with what Eldon would have thought was a proud smile, if he hadn’t suspected she was incapable of pride.

“Thank goodness,” Eldon sighed, and then noticed Shlee’s and Mandy’s frowns. “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t respond to you two being okay sooner. I’m not being a very good boyfriend.”

The two women exchanged a glance before plastering their faces with smiles that Eldon could see were forced.

“She’s your sister,” Mandy said, her teeth clenched.

“Shelly is your blood,” Shlee added, and Eldon could see the pain on her eyes.

“Yes, but—” Eldon tried to explain, but didn’t get the chance.

“But you could see that we were okay, and couldn’t do the same for her,” Mandy cut him off. The other two women exchanged glances and a nod that Eldon couldn’t read before Mandy continued. “We love you Eldon. I’m sorry if we seemed callous about your sister, but we already knew about her condition. We knew you would be all right also, but….”

“But it would have been nice to see you worry about us also,” Shlee finished.

Eldon nodded, knowing they were right, but also feeling overwhelmed. Everything had happened so fast, and now he was in trouble for not thinking of everyone’s feelings. He didn’t think it was fair because he could see that they were okay, but was wise enough not to argue. “Forgive me?” He asked, holding out his arms.

The two women didn’t look at each other before they stepped into his embrace. They held the hug for a few seconds before stepping back.

“So you and Gloria really are done?” his mom asked.

Eldon ground his teeth together as his anger skyrocketed once again. “Yes, mother, we are! She claimed to love me more than anyone else, ever, and then saddled me with these two. One of which is already engaged. I’d have to say we’re pretty done.”

He didn’t see Sheila’s hand coming at him until he felt her slap across his face. “I don’t care how heartbroken you might be; you don’t treat women like that. Now apologize to these two!”

“Saddled you with us?” Mandy demanded.

“I liked you well enough before,” Shlee told him, her voice filled with seething heat and her eyes turning golden in her fury. “But I didn’t exactly have a choice in falling in love with you either. I can’t help the way I feel, but if you keep acting like a hurt little child, you won’t have to worry about me hanging around much longer.”

He stared in shock at the three women for a moment, trying to find words to speak. He wanted to say he hadn’t meant it like that, but he knew that wasn’t the truth. There was a part of him that felt Gloria had dumped these two lovely women on him. While he knew a lot of men wouldn’t complain about having two wonderful women loving them, he felt guilty. Mandy claimed she still loved him from when they dated before, but Shlee had her emotions twisted by Gloria’s magic.

“I…” he tried to say as he searched his feelings. Because of Gloria’s meddling, he cared strongly for both women. He would even go so far as to say he loved them. But it wasn’t fair to them what’d happened. “I don’t want to hurt either one of you. Neither one of you asked to be forced to love me. I… I love you both, but… but maybe it would be best if—” He had to stop and swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. “—If you both just left. Apparently I can’t treat you the way you deserve, and you Shlee… You should go back to your fiancée and forget about me.”

Eldon thought he knew what pain was. He’d been blown up, lost body parts, been stabbed, crushed, and shot, but that was nothing compared to the agony he saw in the two women’s eyes, or the powerful slaps that they delivered to his still-stinging cheeks, knocking him to the ground and making the EMT shout at them. Shlee’s slap was strong enough by itself, but Mandy brought her two right hands into hers, and she was plenty strong in her own right.

“You must still have some ogre brains in your head,” Mandy spat at him. “Didn’t you listen to me tell you before that I never stopped loving you? I know you can be a great man, and an even greater boyfriend if you quit being so afraid. Stop worrying about hurting me. I’m a grown woman and can take care of my own damned heart. Trust me to do so.”

Shlee stepped up to him, bent down and helped him up. Her eyes were still golden, so he knew she was angry, making him wary of her kindness. As soon as he was upright, she brushed him off, picked up the clothes that he still hadn’t donned, and then proved his fears right by grabbing his ears and pulling his face close to hers. “Now you listen, and listen well,” she told him through clenched fangs. What would happen if a werewolf bit him? Would he be safe because of Areth’s sacrifice, or would he still be infected with lycanthropy? He realized he wasn’t doing as he was told, and focused on her. “I may not have chosen to love you, but that doesn’t change the fact that I do. Do you think I’m any less confused because I still love Dimitri? My head and heart are a jumbled mess, but don’t you dare go pushing me away. I love you, Eldon, and there’s not a damned thing either of us can do about it. I haven’t known you long, but I have learned that you’re a strong man. Show me that strength. Make me your bitch, or I’m going to make you mine.”

She paused for the briefest moment, and Eldon decided to follow his instincts and do as she ordered. He dropped his clothes and grabbed her ears, pulling her face to his in a powerful kiss. Her thin lips melted against his, and when she opened up, her teeth were back to human.

“Apparently I need to take some lessons on how to manage him,” Mandy joked when Shlee pulled away and gave his face a quick lick.

“You remind me so much of your father,” Sheila told him.

Eldon sighed, knowing he wasn’t done arguing this point, but also knowing there was no point in arguing any more at this point. Their point had been made. He decided to stop thinking about points and move on. Shlee’s fiancée still bothered him, but he would deal with that later.

Eldon reached over and grabbed the front of Mandy’s shirt, pulling her into a kiss for a moment before letting her go.

“I’ll work on it,” he told them. “I still have issues, but I’m willing to work through them with you both. Sorry for what I said, and how I said it. I love you both, and it doesn’t matter how it came to be. You were right about that, Shlee. I just don’t want to hurt either of you, and since I have to be completely honest, I don’t want to be hurt either.”

“Then you’re done being an ogre-brained idiot?” Mandy laughed.

“Until next time,” he agreed with a smile.

“That’s just so sweet!” Sonia pined and wiped at her eyes. She looked at her hand with the tear on it with confusion. “My emotions are out of control. I need to go get checked out.” She turned and walked away from them, heading to what Eldon had to assume was a command tent.

“If you people will leave the patient alone, maybe I can finish checking him out?” the EMT groused.

“No need,” Shlee gave her wolfish grin. “It looks to me like everything is working fine!”

Eldon followed her gaze and realized his blanket had fallen from him at some point, and his perma-boner was pointing to the sky. He grabbed his clothes and quickly got dressed, while his mother turned her back, and his girlfriends teased him about covering up such a beautiful sight.

Once dressed, he allowed his blood pressure and temperature to be taken, before the EMT let him go.