Three weeks passed in a whirlwind. Quests blurred together, and my small house had grown lively with constant chatter, feathers, vines, and fur. For the first time in years, I didn't feel… alone.
So when I went to the market that day, I decided to do something different. Not for me. For them.
Each of them deserved thanks. Not just for protecting me in battle, not just for saving my life over and over, but for staying with me after everyone else left. Yelena, Katie, Drum… they weren't just my familiars. They were my companions. My friends. My… something more.
I hadn't expected that when I tried to thank them, they'd all ask for the same thing.
Not food. Not clothes. Not weapons.
But signs of marriage.
"Not a wedding ring," Katie explained sweetly, her vines brushing my cheek as she leaned against me. "But something that means the same. A symbol of eternal devotion. For my kind, we use a choker of living vines. Once placed, they root into the wearer's body. It can't ever be removed."
Yelena's tail wagged as she pressed close from the other side. "For Fenrir, it's a collar. Soft leather, etched with runes of loyalty. The one who wears it is bound, not as a servant—but as a mate. Forever."
Drum landed lightly in front of me, her wings flaring as she smirked. "For harpies, it's a chain of woven feathers, exchanged between wings. Once tied, it marks you as ours. And us as yours. No sky can tear it apart."
The three of them looked at me with fire in their eyes. Not just love. Hunger. Possession.
They didn't want to just be my familiars.
They wanted to be my wives.
My mates.
I should've hesitated. I should've thought about the danger, the suffocation, the madness of their obsession. But… how could I?
Three gorgeous women, each devoted to me to the point of madness, offering me their whole lives? Offering me their bodies, hearts, and souls, not as a duty, but as a promise?
I'd been betrayed, abandoned, mocked by the ones who should've had my back. And now here I was, standing with three women who wanted me more than anything else in the world.
Why would I say no?
"I… agree," I said finally.
Their reactions were immediate.
Yelena howled with joy, her tail wagging so hard it knocked over a stall display. She leapt at me, her claws curling against my chest as she kissed my cheek, panting with excitement. "Master said yes! Master said yes!"
Katie wrapped me in her vines, pulling me close until my face was pressed into the soft swell of her chest. "I knew you'd see the truth. You're ours now. Ours forever. Thank you, Master…"
Drum swooped down from above, tackling me with her wings and pressing her lips to mine in front of the whole street. Her kiss was hot, fierce, and possessive, her thighs brushing against mine as she whispered between breaths, "You're mine now. All mine."
The crowd murmured, whispering about the spectacle, but none of the girls cared. They were too wrapped up in me.
I shopped with them individually, letting each choose her symbol.
For Yelena, a collar of black leather with a silver clasp, etched with faint runes. She tried it on immediately, her tail wagging furiously as she tugged it snug around her neck. "Now everyone will know I'm yours."
For Katie, a living choker of vines, glowing faintly with her own mana. When she slipped it around her throat, it pulsed softly, rooting gently into her skin. She sighed with bliss, hugging me tightly. "Now I'll never leave your side. Even if I wanted to."
For Drum, a chain of feathers from her own wings, bound by my touch. She tied it proudly between us, her emerald eyes glowing as she pressed her forehead to mine. "Now even the sky knows you're my mate."
They were radiant. Overjoyed. Discussing how they would spend the rest of their lives with me, how they would serve me, protect me, love me until the end of time.
For once, I let myself feel happy.
Until I saw them.
The crowd parted, and my blood ran cold.
Hadrick. Serena. Liliana.
My old party.
The knight sneered, leaning lazily against a post with his flask in hand. The mage smirked, her eyes raking over my girls with mocking curiosity. The cleric crossed her arms, her lips curling with disdain.
Their eyes locked on me.
And they laughed.
The sound was sharp, cruel, and familiar. The same laughter they used in the dungeon, when they left me to die.
I froze, the warmth of Yelena's collar, Katie's vines, and Drum's feathers suddenly heavy against my skin.
My familiars noticed the shift in my mood instantly, their eyes narrowing, their bodies stiffening.
"Master," Yelena growled low, her fangs bared.
"Who are they?" Katie asked sweetly, but her vines tightened, sharp thorns emerging.
"They looked at you wrong," Drum hissed, her wings bristling.
"No," I said quickly, forcing a calm I didn't feel. "They're nothing. Just… old memories. Forget them."
The girls didn't look convinced, but they didn't push.
Instead, they crowded me tighter, their bodies pressing against me from all sides, their voices overlapping.
"You're ours now."
"You'll never need anyone else."
"We'll keep you safe."
I smiled weakly, even as my old party's laughter echoed in my ears.
The girls had given me signs of eternal love. Eternal devotion. Eternal chains.
But the shadows of my past were still waiting.