Chapter 35 - A challenge and a deal

[A/N: I accidentally put the wrong resistance for Nova in the previous chapter; I fixed it now.

Also, from now on, I'll offer a bonus chapter for every review, at least for a little while.

Of course, only one per person; bad reviews still count, but they should consist of constructive criticism.

Enjoy reading!]

Ivar stood up after putting Alita down next to him and started walking towards Nova, who instinctively wanted to back away but quickly caught herself and stood her ground.

Ivar smiled and grabbed Nova by the chin, forcing her to look into his fierce, amber eyes, "You're a brave and prideful woman, Nova, but you would do well to behave yourself with me."

He let her go and moved back a few steps, "Regardless, what you and Alita have become are therians, just like me. You can think of the therian race as an umbrella for every shapeshifting mythological creature in existence."

He continued to give a short explanation about therians, just like he had done for Alita.

When he was done, Nova looked at him with a frown, "So basically, I am not an angel, just a therian with angelic features. And because you are the one that turned me, I am a submissive therian and now have an annoying urge to serve you."

She looked past Ivar at Alita and asked, "Was this really worth drugging me for?"

Alita grinned, "Sure! We gain both personal power and the protection of a powerful being. Plus, that annoying urge you speak of only remains that way so long as you don't submit, and once you do, it feels like the best thing ever!

Besides, if I tried to convince you to do this the usual way, it would take way too long, and neither Master nor I wanted to wait that long. After all, Master has his own plans, and as for me, as soon as you submit to him, we won't have to pretend to be unrelated anymore!"

Nova snorted, "Hmpf, your priorities and morals are a little screwed up, Alita. You're lucky I still believe you love me, but we need to discuss this later."

She turned her attention back to Ivar, who looked at her with a lazy but confident smirk, "I don't expect you to answer this, but is there any way to go from a submissive therian to a dominant therian?"

Ivar chuckled, "Why wouldn't I answer that? I have nothing to hide. 

There is a way to turn things around for a submissive, but it requires them to defeat the dominant, which is harder than it sounds; even if the sub has somehow become more powerful, just gathering the willpower to attack their dom is quite difficult. Or so I hear.

But it should be easier for you since you haven't actually submitted to me yet."

He grinned at Nova, "Do you want to give it a try?"

Nova immediately shook her head, "Forget it; I am not submitting to you!"

Ivar laughed, "We'll see about that, but I was actually talking about you trying to defeat me. 

If you manage to do it, not only will you become a dominant therian, but that annoying urge you have will instead go to me, and Alita's urge to obey me will also be transferred to you. 

Sounds pretty tempting, right? Not only will your little sister finally start listening to you, but you might even have a chance to subjugate me!"

Nova narrowed her eyes at him. It sounded more tempting than she cared to admit, even to herself, but it couldn't be that simple, "So what's the catch?"

Ivar smiled mischievously, "Well, you couldn't even lay a hand on Alita in her transformed state while in your human form, so to stand even the slightest chance against me, you definitely need your Valkyrie form. But I'm still suppressing that.

Luckily for you, I am perfectly willing to return your ability to transform to you in return for a deal."

Having expected something like this, Nova sighed, "Fine, what do you want? And if you think I will agree to put my submission into this deal anywhere, you must be a lot dumber than you think." 

She was surprised to see that Ivar had little reaction to being called dumb, while Alita actually glared at her for a moment.

Ivar chuckled at Nova as the spider chuckled at the fly in his web, "I wasn't planning on that.

No, instead, if you fail to defeat me, not only will you be punished for attacking me, but afterwards, you will have to kneel at my feet as I tell you what I expect from you going forward."

He extended his hand towards Nova, "Deal?"

Nova looked at his hand but didn't extend hers as she kept her cold expression while the gears in her head turned before she asked, "Wouldn't that be the same as submitting to you?"

Ivar grinned, "You're smart to ask, but no. Only the conscious decision to submit matters. Just kneeling makes no difference so long as you keep your desire for independence."

He indicated towards his still extended hand, "So?"

Nova could clearly feel the danger and explosive power hidden inside this man's body. 

Still, his face told her he couldn't be any older than twenty and with her own transformation available, surely she stood a chance against him?

So she grabbed Ivar's hand and shook it, "Deal! But don't you have any problems fighting a woman?"

Ivar laughed, "What kind of problem would I have? There are plenty of strong women where I come from. Neither gender nor age means anything; only strength counts!"

Nova found herself appreciating his words, but before she could react, he quickly pulled Nova closer and bit his thumb to cause blood to flow before he drew a line on Nova's forehead. 

The line was immediately absorbed into Nova's skin before he let her go, and she quickly retreated a few steps back.

She seemed angry, "What the fuck was that!"

Ivar smirked, "Just fulfilling my part of the bargain."

The next moment, Nova could feel that dull throbbing she had felt in the back of her head from the moment she woke up disappearing as her body suddenly started changing. 

Since she still hadn't learned how to control her transformation, losing the suppression would automatically activate it.

She groaned a little as she was still getting used to the feeling of her body reforming itself, but soon enough, she stood before Ivar and Alita in complete Valkyrie form, with white wings and all. Of course, her shirt was, once again, ripped to pieces.

Alita cooed at her sister, "Ooooh, you really do have white wings. Looking good, big sis! Always a pleasure to see your breasts!"

Nova didn't even listen to Alita's words; she felt giddy as she once again felt the incredible power inside her body; at the same time, a glint of something passed by her eyes.

Selene appeared beside Ivar with a smirk, "Did you see that emotion in her eyes, too? You recognised it, right? I wonder if it's directed at you."

Ivar grinned, "Of course I saw. And I doubt it's directed at me; I haven't actually done anything worthy of that kind of hatred, and I doubt she would feel it towards Alita either. No, she definitely wants this power for revenge. But the only question is, against whom?"

Discarding this train of thought for now and storing it away for later, he looked at Nova, "Feels good, right? All that power after a lifetime of living in a regular human body? Do you want a moment to get used to it? I wouldn't want to bully you, after all."

Since Nova had suddenly gained a considerable boost in physical stats, she would need some time to adapt; otherwise, all her experience and fighting skills would mean very little.

Nova looked at Ivar, a little surprised he would give her the time to become stronger but inwardly thankful. She nodded and started exercising and stretching as Ivar returned to the couch.

When he sat down, he pulled Alita on top of him before he started kissing and groping her. Alita couldn't be happier about the attention, despite Nova's presence, and moaned as she responded in kind.

Nova immediately became flushed as she couldn't believe they were doing this in front of her! She wanted to stop this brute from harassing her sister but had no idea how! After all, Alita was clearly pleased, and Nova needed more time before she could fight Ivar. 

She stammered, "Y- You- Do you have to do that in front of me?!"

Ivar pulled himself off Alita for a moment and smirked at Nova, "Well, I don't deny enjoying your presence for this, but you're free to go to another room while you do your thing… and we do ours."

Alita grinned at her sister, "You're also free to join us, you know. "

Shooting a glance at Alita, who only seemed eager for Nova to join them, Nova sighed before quickly fleeing to another room in the penthouse.

It was only then she finally realised her shirt had been ripped apart again, so she snuck down to her apartment to put on a sports bra that her new wings wouldn't get in the way of.