Home for Horny Monsters Ch. 056

"I'll be fucked," Lily muttered. "You really did it. You domesticated one of the fiercest predators in existence."

He nodded. "This shouldn't be a surprise to you, I know you've been reading my memories." Lily had been back in the Dreamscape with him most of the week, trying to help him refine his techniques. The Shadow had been mysteriously absent, so the succubus had been putting Mike through the paces.

"Seeing it in real life is different," she told him, then stuck her hand toward Cerberus. The head nearest to her swiveled to sniff her hand, and then the beast had formed once more, a trio of growls rumbling from her chest.

"Easy, Cerberus. Lily is a friend." He patted the fur of Cerberus' chest, and the rumbling dwindled. "That's a good girl."

"Why do you talk to her like she's a dog?" Lily asked.

"Well...isn't she?" He frowned at the question, then looked at Cerberus. "I figured the enchantment that bound her to me made her more human, but that was it."

Lily shook her head. "Cerberus are actually very smart. Whatever changed because of the magic really only gave her the ability to transform."

"Cerberus, is this true?" he asked. The hellhound transformed back into a woman and sneered at Lily.

"Master speaks to Cerberus how master wants," they said, each head speaking only a word at a time. "Cerberus is a good girl for master."

Stunned, Lily shook her head. "Well fuck me in the ass, she's got it bad for you. I shouldn't be surprised."

"Shit, now I feel bad. I'm—" he was about to speak when Lily clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Romeo, I'm not certain how powerful the enchantment is that bound her to you, but if she is deferring to you as an alpha male, I want to remind you that she is still a fire-breathing demon who relies heavily on instinct. If she were to feel that her own status has shifted, it could be problematic. She's your bitch, you're not hers." She released her grip on him when Cerberus growled at her. "Just a thought."

"It's okay, Cerberus," he said, then looked at Lily. "Thanks for the reminder. Cerberus, take us to the other house."

The scowl on Cerberus' faces disappeared, and they all nodded eagerly before becoming the beast once more. Mike climbed onto their back and pulled Lily up behind him once she changed her clothes into a red tank top and jeans. Once settled, he grabbed a handful of fur and held on tight while Cerberus broke into a loping trot.

The ride was different every time. The other day, it had only been five minutes long, but it usually averaged half an hour. Lily was leaning back with her hands behind her, and her tail was curled lovingly around his thigh.

"So what have you been up to during the day?" he asked. "I heard Quetzalli mention you at breakfast."

She laughed, a sound that echoed back to him from the trees. "The zombie and the dragon have become quite the odd couple, if I say so myself. Caught them experimenting in Dana's bedroom last night. It was quite a sight."

"Experimenting?" He knew he had heard her right, but suspected she was hiding something. "Experimenting how?"

"The dragon was completely naked, for starters."

His cock twitched in response, but Lily's tone was teasing. "She was naked? What were they doing?" When Lily didn't answer, he looked over his shoulder and saw her biting her lip, clearly trying to buy some time to think of a clever (yet truthful) response.

"Oh, fine. You're no fun. Dana was trying to teach Quetzalli how to control her electrical charges. She can summon a charge, but can't control it once it's there on account of her busted horn, and Dana is tired of having her toys get blown up by the field." Lily rolled her eyes dramatically. "She also was trying to teach Quetzalli how to make a shifting electromagnetic field via alternating currents. Something about being able to test the shielding inside the drones in the backyard without losing them in the greenhouse. It was nerd stuff. You would love it."

"Maybe. I struggled with learning about electricity in school, and I'm not much better now, even though...well, you know."

"Do I ever." She grinned and stroked his thigh with her tail. "Been a while since I've ridden the lightning myself."

He grunted and turned back around to face forward, refusing to take the bait. He had spent countless hours recently with Lily in the Dreamscape, and she absolutely loved tormenting him sexually while they were in there, peeking into his mind to read his thoughts. Out here, she didn't have that luxury, so he figured turnabout was fair play.

"So...why was she naked?" he asked.

"Something about the static build-up," she answered. "You would have loved it. The dragon has quite the rocking body."

Inwardly, he nodded. Quetzalli had a very curvy figure, but their relationship right now was primarily storm facts and keeping her fingers out of the outlets.

Out in the mist, dark shapes shifted about, but Cerberus ignored them. Mike saw the hint of faces appear in the darkness, and frowned. "Are these lost spirits?" he asked.

"Some. It's possible to become stuck here and wander forever, but you could also be seeing hints of another plane. Think of them all like giant, four-dimensional spheres rotating through this world, and realize that you can see glimpses of them. They could also be spirits like the ones trapped at the other house, and if we knew how to pass into their world, we could go talk to them."

"Like the ones that live by the shadow's castle?"

"Exactly. That fucker has pulled them all inside his castle walls, so I can't even chat them up anymore. Not that it ever did me much good. I'm fairly certain he's up to something, but no idea what."

Mike smirked. "Burning down my world, most likely. Last I spoke with him, he said he had found somebody else to take his bargain. As far as I know, nobody in the house has spoken with him, so it must be someone on the outside. Do you think it could be Amir?"

"No. That shit head doesn't have a soul, so no bargain. Still, could be one of his cronies from the society, maybe someone who survived."

"Like Elizabeth? We know she survived." The witch had confronted him after the society had been gobbled up by a dimensional rupture. Other than her, he had no idea who could have survived, though Lily insisted that Amir must still be around.

"Maybe. To be honest, I don't see someone like her parting with a piece of her soul. She knows what a bad idea that is, and it would take a serious bargain to convince her. I don't know that there's anything she would want so badly as to risk ending up as Emily did."

"Speaking of," he muttered, the house coming into view. Cerberus stopped at the gates and dropped them off, then gave Mike three quick licks before bounding into the misty woods once more. He gave a little wave and watched until their shadow disappeared.

"So I wasn't going to say anything, but when they're human, they look kind of like you." Lily was leaning against the base of the fence. "What's that about?"

"Yuki noticed, too. She thinks the magic tried to make her into a shape I would find appealing, but then got caught up on making too many changes and defaulted to the nearest human form. We're lucky it didn't turn me into a dog, or worse, leave them how they were. I wouldn't have been able to establish dominance and bind her to me."

Lily chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure you could have made something work."

"Not without a ladder and the ability to hold my breath." He walked past her and toward the house. "It worked out the way it did, and that's good enough for me."

They entered the home and stopped when they heard Emily wailing upstairs. Mike ignored it and kept going until he was in the backyard. Once outside again, he looked back to see Lily staring up the stairs.

"You okay?" he asked.

"You go ahead," she told him. "I'm curious about something."

"She's not right," he warned her. He was aware that she already knew this, but it needed to be said. "And be careful. She was barely in control last time I came, and I haven't been able to get her to tell me anything. It's like she's stuck in a loop."

"Oh, don't worry about me." She headed up the stairs with a determined look on her face. "I'll meet you out back in a few minutes."

He watched her ascend and then headed out back. Amymone was lying against the fountain, and her face lit up when she saw him. By her side was a stack of books he had brought on his last trip, and he suspected she had already plowed through most of them.

"Hi!" Amymone hopped to her feet and adjusted her dress, then carefully tucked a leaf into the book she had been reading. "Did you bring me more?"

"Yes, I did," he announced, then set the bag down. Each book he handed her was treated like a treasure, and he allowed her to read the summary on the back before handing her the next one. She was chattering with excitement, and her enthusiasm was only transcended by the occasional wail from up above.

After a particularly loud scream, Amymone paused in her perusal and looked up at the window. "She's in a mood," she noted.

"Yeah, Lily went up to see her. She's a succubus, so I'm not worried that she'll get hurt."

The dryad smirked. "Well, maybe not, but I wouldn't underestimate what's left of Emily."

Once the words left her mouth, the bedroom window shattered. Lily tumbled through the air and landed on the ground with a thud. The glass from the window hung suspended in mid-air for a moment before reversing course and reformed, good as new. Once the window was rebuilt, Emily appeared behind it, her eyes filled with darkness.

"Lily, you good?" Mike was already moving toward her when she hopped to her feet with a scowl on her face.

"Yeah. Queen cunt up there wasn't very happy to see me." Lily brushed off her pants and then gave Emily the finger. "Tried to have a conversation with her and she went full Carrie on me, but without the blood."

"Ooh, Carrie, that's a good one!" Amymone ran to Mike and grabbed his arm. "Is King still alive and writing books? I love a good horror novel."

"I assume so. I'll try to get you some next time." He looked up at the window. "It fixed itself."

"Yep. The Underworld doesn't like change, and this place is special enough as is. Can't have it showing up all busted in your world, now can we?" Amymone sat down next to her book pile and reached into her cleavage and produced an envelope made of leaves. "Oh, before I forget. This is for Naia."

"Oh, right. Thanks." He took it from her and pulled a letter out of the outside pocket of the bag. Naia and Amymone had been exchanging letters, which seemed to help. The news that her sister still existed had given her hope, and the letters had been a great way for the pair to keep in touch. "Also, no word on the heartwood. The centaurs are keeping their eyes out for it, but it's a big jungle."

Amymone sighed. "Yeah, well, I've got at least a couple of years left in me before I disappear. You keep bringing me stuff to read and I'll do my best to enjoy it. By the way, I'm Amymone." She waved at Lily.

"You sure are," the succubus replied. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna wander the grounds a bit until you're ready to leave." Her wings unfurled and she leapt into the sky and vanished over the roof.

"Is she always that moody?" Amymone asked.

"Yep. But she's a good person." He sat next to Amymone and picked up a book he had brought her earlier in the week. Though they didn't have a lot in common, there was one thing she enjoyed more than reading and he felt like indulging her. "So what did you think of this one?"

A big smile appeared on her face. "Oh, I am so glad you asked," she responded, and then spent the next hour telling him all about the books she had read. She spoke quickly, as if afraid that she would disappear at any second and be unable to share her opinions on the stories he had brought her. On occasion, Mike looked up to see Lily on the roof, her eyes on the forest. She had claimed that she was just looking around, but he knew without a doubt that she was up there watching for trouble.

Once it was time to leave, he left Amymone behind with her new stack of books and headed for the front gate. He paused long enough to wave at Emily. He usually dropped by just to say hello, but since she threw Lily through a window, he decided he would try some other day. Once in the front yard, Lily joined him, and he called for Cerberus and waited.

The ride back was uneventful, though Lily did spend some of it tracing circles on his thigh with her tail. He wondered how Cerberus would handle it if he decided to give the succubus what she wanted while riding on their back, but didn't want to upset the delicate balance they currently had.

Besides, he also didn't want to be late for Zel's ceremony. He had seen very little of the centaur lately, and was already getting the idea that he was about to see even less of her. The bulk of nearly every day was spent surrounded by people, and he now understood how easy it was to lose track of someone when your life was suddenly so busy. He had never been popular growing up, content with a couple of good friends at a time, though he often struggled at maintaining even those relationships.

Now though, every day was packed to the brim. Some of the women in the house were content to just be in his presence and spend time with him, while others preferred to enjoy more intimate pursuits. The nymph magic running through his veins meant he was able to rise to the occasion whenever he was needed, but he still couldn't be in two places at once.

When Mike sighed, Lily scooted close to him and wrapped her arms around his chest. Her hands hovered just over his pecs, and she squeezed him through his shirt.

"Penny for your thoughts, Romeo."

"Just feel stretched thin is all. Once Cecilia is back, I'm hoping things settle down for a bit before the next crisis hits. Wouldn't mind a small vacation or something."

Her grip loosened. "What, you mean away from the house?"

He chuckled. "Well, we both know I can't really leave the house. Not in a traditional sense, anyway. Don't feel like being hunted down by whoever is mad at me that week."

"I could give you more time in the Dreamscape," she purred, then pulled herself against him. He could feel her breasts squished against his shoulder blades. "You just have to ask."

He smiled and put his hands over hers. "That sounds wonderful, but I mean out here, in the real world. Maybe somewhere that isn't a beach, someplace I could go with some of the others. Tink has been working herself to death, and I bet Beth wouldn't mind seeing somewhere new." He had hardly seen the lawyer in the last week. Between the time she spent with Sulyvahn or Asterion and the time she put into looking for the geas contract, she was almost non-existent as well.

Then again, based on the things he had seen and heard, it was likely she wasn't interested in any of his attention anyway.

"And what about me?" Lily asked. "Do I feature in this vacation of yours?"

He squeezed her hands. "If I didn't bring you, how would we have any fun?"

A small sigh escaped Lily's lips and she laid her head down against the back of his neck, staying nuzzled up to him for the remainder of the ride.

Once they were back home, he waved Cerberus off and returned to the house with Lily right behind him. She was back in her formal gown, and they happened to pass the fountain just as Dana and Quetzalli emerged from the garage.

Dana was wearing a button-down shirt with dress slacks, and her hair was no longer in a ponytail. She had obviously run a curler through her gray and blonde hair and put on a little bit of makeup, which made her look a bit older. Quetzalli looked stunning in a shimmering gown with sequins embroidered across the front in the pattern of the constellations.

"Whoo, hot stuff," Lily declared, then slapped Dana on the ass. "You wearing a thong under there?"

Dana ignored Lily and turned her attention to Quetzalli. "The centaurs made this dress especially for her," she told Mike. "They wove something that wouldn't accumulate a charge."

"Wonderful. You look very pretty, Quetzalli." He held his elbow out to her. "Shall we?"

"Yes," she said, then put her arm through his, sending a good shock into his arm. He flinched, then scowled at Dana.

"By no charge, I meant static cling," she told him. "She's still gonna zap you."

"Okay, fair eno—ow!" He howled in pain when Lily touched her finger to his butt and he received another shock.

"That's what you get for holding hands with another girl," she pouted, then threw an arm around Dana's waist. "If I told you that you had the body of a dead girl, would you hold it against me?"

Dana rolled her eyes. "Somebody kill me again," she moaned, and followed behind Mike as they walked through the house and out into the front yard. Beth and Sulyvahn were already out there, and Beth was dressed to kill. She was wearing a low cut blue gown with a white skirt that flared when she turned to watch them all come down the stairs.

"Is this everybody?" Beth asked. When she stepped aside, Mike saw that Reggie was standing behind her with a small contingent of rats. The rat king wore a little bow tie around his neck that complemented his fake glasses very well.

"Almost. Where's Tink?" No sooner had he asked did the front door open with a slam, startling some nearby rats. Out strolled Tink in a yellow gown that came down to her knees. She put her hands on her waist and grinned, showing all of her teeth.

"Tink ready for dancing," she declared, then looked over her shoulder and frowned. "Husband wait," she added, then disappeared back into the house.

"What did she forget?" asked Beth.

Mike had no idea, but was surprised when Tink emerged towing a very reluctant Kisa by the wrist. Kisa wore a gorgeous emerald green gown that shimmered in the waning light of day, and he heard Beth gasp in surprise. Kisa's ears were folded forward in either anger or embarrassment; it was hard to tell.

"Tink bring grumpy cat girl," the goblin declared, then pulled Kisa forward until they both walked down the steps. "Big night out, eat too much, and shake booty!"

"You look wonderful, Tink." Mike moved close to the goblin and lifted her goggles slightly to remove the pencil that was tucked behind her ear. "I'm glad you're ready to take a break and have some fun."

"Tink make big fun, you see." She grinned at Kisa, who turned her head away.

"You look very nice as well, Kisa. I'm glad you're coming tonight." He didn't expect much of an answer, and when she shrugged at him, he turned to the others. "Okay, let's see our girl become the new chief, shall we?"

Tink let out a raucous cheer and dragged Kisa toward the portal to the Moon Tribe's home. The others followed while Mike paused just long enough to go wind the sundial. Even though it was supposed to be a fun outing, he half expected trouble to find him somehow. He stopped to look at the Jabberwock, which was slumbering on the edge of the hedge maze. Someone had decorated its horns with flowers, and he chuckled. As a result of his delay, he was the last to go through the portal.

Well, almost the last. Beth had stopped to wait for him.

"You look very pretty," he told her, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Thanks," she said. "This whole thing kind of reminds me of prom. Everyone dressing up for a night of dancing and fun with friends. Takes me back a bit."

"I never went to my prom. And even if I had..." he contemplated the portal for a moment. "Then I bet this is going to be way more fun."

"I agree. Shall we?" She crooked her arm out for him to take, and just as he was about to slide his arm through hers, Tink appeared through the portal.

"Husband too slow," she declared, then grabbed him by the hand and pulled him through.