Chapter 45 - Andra's report

Molly stood up with a complicated look as she considered Ivar's question; eventually, she sighed, "I don't like how this therian instincts business works. It still feels too much like forceful enslavement or brainwashing.

But fine, I suppose you don't seem like a terrible person, at least. However, I want you to tell Alita to answer all my questions. I'll use my ability to make sure she doesn't lie to me.

If none of what she says contradicts you, I won't try to work against you. But understand this: if you try to force Nova into anything, I won't hesitate to take you down, no matter the cost."

Ivar grinned, "I like how you fiercely defend your friend no matter the consequences. I hope you feel that way towards me someday."

Molly snorted, "Fat chance. And don't even try to turn me into a therian!"

Ivar chuckled, "Don't worry, I doubt it would work on you. Besides, sometimes it's more fun to make someone submit without those therian instincts smoothing the process."

He grinned lustfully, "I bet you'd surrender your entire being to me as soon my cock got even halfway into that cute body of yours. Alita, till where did you measure it would reach again?"

Molly glared at him as her face turned to multiple shades of red, "Shut up! I take back what I said about you not being a terrible person! You only think about sex!"

Ivar chuckled as he had to admit he did think about sex quite a lot. But anyone who believed sex was his only thought would get a nasty surprise. Or a pleasant one.

Molly felt part embarrassment, part fury, and, unbelievably, a part of her was happy at being called cute instead of munchkin. 

Her body had always been somewhat of an embarrassment for her, as she always felt inferior in the looks department, even next to relatively slender women like Alita and Nova.

Unfortunately, the appearance of a myth's human shell was determined when using the ability for the first time and couldn't be changed afterwards.

Meanwhile, Alita suddenly turned up next to her and measured the distance again, causing Ivar to laugh and Molly to jump back, "Damnit, Alita! He was just joking."

Alita giggled and said in a cheery tone, "I know, but I like doing it! I can't wait to see it happen for real!"

Molly rolled her eyes, "Ugh, you two deserve each other. Ivar, please tell her to follow me and answer my questions."

Ivar chuckled, "Sure, Princess."

Then, turning to Alita, "Go with the cute munchkin, Alita, and feel free to answer any questions truthfully."

He didn't order her to answer any and all questions from Molly, just to answer those she didn't mind answering; after all, he refused to give anyone except himself any authority over his servants.

Then he continued, "When you're done, come back and take an uplink or anything else that can connect to the cyberspace with you."

Alita was slightly annoyed at having to separate from Ivar to answer boring questions, but she nodded cheerfully anyway, "As you wish, Master!"

After they were gone, Selene appeared with a pout, "Finally, you remember little old me and my uplink."

Ivar chuckled, "Cut me some slack, alright? It's been a busy few days. Anyway, we will need something other than that uplink at some point. I doubt I could carry it with me while transformed."

Selene nodded with a mysterious smile, "Don't worry, I already have something in mind. I just need to do a little more research when I can finally access the net again."

Ivar looked at her suspiciously, "Alright, but remember, I don't want to replace any body parts or even get some kind of implant. Setting aside that it would probably break when I transform, I just don't want any metal inside me."

Selene snorted as if offended, "Hmpf, I'm the last person who would advocate for something like that. Therian bodies are perfect as they are!"

With those words, she disappeared again, and Ivar chuckled as he returned to training.

*******

Meanwhile, in a different part of the city, a familiar woman with one missing hand was kneeling before a sinister throne.

The throne was made of a dark stone, its armrests looked ornate, spikes stuck out on the sides, and the backrest was a thin bar with two large, bat-like wings, spreading themselves off to the sides and a half-moon pointing upwards.

It was placed at the end of an equally sinister-looking hall, with a few steps leading up to it. It was positioned in front of a large mural displaying various scenes, from sex to torture to parties or even combinations of the three. 

The steps and the rest of the hall seemed made from the same dark stone as the throne. The hall itself was rather narrow and had ornate pillars lining the sides.

There were no windows, as all the light came from fires burning in braziers. Clearly, the hall was ancient, and whoever owned it now had not taken the effort to modernise it.

On the throne sat a breathtakingly beautiful woman. An ornate metal bra barely covered her large breasts, clearly showing off her toned stomach and slender waist. 

Her wide hips were covered by a metal belt with a similar design to the bra, which was holding up a long piece of cloth that barely covered her privates while dancing around her shapely legs.

Like her waist and breasts, her feet were covered by ornate metal sandals, which included bands travelling up her long legs.

Her face was regal in its beauty and framed by wavy, silver-coloured hair, with long elf-like ears and two small black horns curving upwards from her forehead.

Her eyes were black as night as they trained themselves on the woman kneeling in front of her with cold indifference, "Do you have anything to say for yourself, Andra?"

Hearing the coldness of her mistress's voice made Andra shiver, as she knew all too well the price of failure, for it was the same as the punishment for disobedience.

She kept her head bowed and stammered, "I- T- There is no excuse for failure, mistress. I should have accounted for every possibility. Please punish me."

The woman on the throne snorted, "Do I need you to tell me these things, you insignificant insect? Tell me what happened!"

Andra quickly began to recount her encounter with Ivar and Alita, making sure to mention every little detail she could remember.

When she was done, the woman stood up and slowly made her way down to Andra, who had started shivering when she heard her mistress approaching.

Next, she felt a soft hand with long, black nails lightly grasp her chin and turn her head upwards, forcing her to look into the eyes of the woman towering over her in a domineering manner.

She spoke up with a seemingly warm voice that only made Andra tremble harder, "Tell me, Andra. Do you need some additional training? Do you need to be reminded of the rewards and the punishments?"

Andra trembled harder and shook her head, "N- No, Mistress! T- There was no chance for me to fulfil your orders; I was not even strong enough to make that wolf-man go all out against me. B- But I lost a hand trying!"

The woman simply snorted as she looked at Andra with disdain, "There's no excuse for weakness. But I suppose you did lose a hand and managed to report this new variable back to me."

Despite modern technology, many people still preferred to receive updates and reports in carefully controlled environments, as anything else was much too easily intercepted.

She continued, "So I will forgo punishment this time, but believe me, Andra, screw up like this again, and punishment is all you will see for the foreseeable future."

Tears spilt from Andra's eyes as gratitude overflowed from her expression, "Thank you, Mistress! I won't disappoint you again!"

The woman nodded, "See that you don't. Now leave me and start your training. Since your cover at Sanctuary is blown, you need to grow in strength before you can be of use to me again. Make sure to do something about that hand as well."

Andra enthusiastically nodded as she looked at the woman with love and devotion, "Yes, Mistress! I will do anything to be of use to you again!"

Afterwards, she left the hall, leaving the woman alone and deep in thought, before she returned to her throne to sit down.

She conjured a strange, shadowy substance and started playing with it by making it dance around her hand and between her fingers as she mumbled out loud, 

"Genetic engineering has undoubtedly come a long way, but I refuse to believe someone out there could create an actual werewolf.

But then, what else could it be? Therians are supposed to be extinct, after all.

Her face now lit up in a sinister smile, "I need to find out more."