Chapter 23 – The Wolf & The New Plan

I walk over to the chair where the Fenrir Beastkin Ria is sitting. Unlatching the straps, I tilt her head up suddenly and cause her careful mask of pretending to sleep to be broken as she stares at me with wide, excited eyes.

"You heard it all, yes?" I clarify with a knowing smile.

She nods slowly, her eyes were little more than cerulean pits with how dilated her pupils were. 

"Last chance to back out. You will have to share me with 8 other women, are you sure you want this?" I ask the small blue-haired woman.

She hesitates, looking at said women who seem to stare back at her with a mixture of welcome and murder in their smiles. She nods once, a jerky motion as her breathing starts to become ragged again.

"Say it," I command, uncompromisingly. My bullshit meter had already reached the maximum for today and I had little patience at the moment. 

"I...I want you. I want this. I want to be your mate. I-I want to be ravished by you!" Ria says as she licks her dry lips. Her hands grip the ends of the chair so hard it splinters and snaps.

I hear chuckles from behind me as well as some sighs. 

"Alright," I say, my tone becoming soft. "If that is what you want, I will grant you your wish, but in exchange, you must give me everything. I am rather selfish..."

"All that I am is yours, Zeneff." She answers, her body shaking but her words firm. 

I look over my shoulder at my other Fiances and sigh. "Looks like I will be busy for a couple of hours. When I get back I expect you all to be here as we have much to discuss and plan. Hagi, please go get Azuza as well if she is available. This time...this time I am including you all in the planning process."

They smile back at me and nod. 

"Worry not, Zen," Samatha says in a jovial tone, "I am sure we can think of something to do while we wait. Just...calm down and don't break her..." Sam says with a gentle smile and giggle.

"Break me! Please!" Ria denies Sam's words desperately. 

"...You might be a bigger masochist than even Suki..." I comment as I pick Ria up in a princess carry. Her body is now shaking so violently that I worry she is going to hurt herself. 

"Hmm..." Suki considers, her murderous gaze becoming contemplative, "Maybe we can be friends after all? It could be fun to be tied up with someone else..."

I ignore her and the many, many impure images that flash through my mind at her words. 

"Right. Well, I will help our newest member out and explain the rules to her afterward. See you all in a bit." I say with a final nod at the group and walk down the hallway to my bedroom. 

Ria is nearly incoherent as we pass through the doorway. Her grip on my school blazer is so tight it starts to rip the fabric.

'...Not like I will need this anymore.' I think with an internal shrug. 

I sit her down on the edge of the bed and crouch in front of her. 

"Ria, I want to get to know you better, but it doesn't look like we have the time-" I start to say, lowering my head, but am interrupted as she literally rips her clothes off with a hand that now has long claws instead of fingers. 

Startled, I look up and see her lean back on the bed, never breaking eye contact with me. 

"Please..." She whines in a wanting voice as she slowly spreads her legs for me. 

I am greeted by a glistening pink slit, absolutely drenched with her fluids, and a cute triangle of blue hair pointing down at it.

"I need you..." She says as she cups one of her breasts and squeezes the nipple, hard. She bites her lower lip and looks up at me coyly. 

Rationality leaves me and I am naked in the next instant.

"Good. Very good, little wolf, I need to relieve some stress," I say completely giving into my Dragon's Pride. Like hell was I gonna fight it after all that I went through today. 

"Use me however you want, baby. I am but an object made for your satisfaction." She says, her chest heaving.

I tilt my head to the side, my eyes becoming cat-like, or in this case dragon-like, slits.

In a flash, I am on top of her pinning her ankles and wrists by her head. Her body is now bent in a way that gives me the perfect angle to enjoy her juicy peach. 

I lower my head and give it a long, slow lick, enjoying the taste of her. 

Ria immediately shivers and spasms as she gasps from my touch.

I chuckle, finding her reaction to be most pleasing. 

"Well then, I just have one last question for you," I growl as I move up her body, lightly biting and sucking her pale flesh as I pass.

"Wha-What?" She pants as her heart seems to beat out of her chest. 

"Does my little wolf howl?" I ask with a predatory smile and shove myself fully into her folds in one strong, fluid movement.

Spoiler Alert: She does. 

* | * | *

Several Hours Later...

8 wry smiles greet the blushing blue-haired Fenrir beside me.

"It's official, she is the loudest of us all," Diana says with a roll of her eyes.

"I honestly didn't think that was possible with Hagi's yowls," Suki comments as well.

"Wanna go, chicken bitch?" Hagi growls out with a vein bulging at her temple. 

"You always cheat with your mind fuckery!" Suki spits back.

"Ladies, behave." Samantha chides in a lazy tone. 

"Is no one going to blame Zen for bringing another one in?"Azuza asks.

"You get used to it," Sophia responds.

"Master has always been a man whore." Aki says.

"Yup, but it is Lord Husband, so what can we do?" Ares agrees.

"We could always chain him in the basement and keep him for ourselves?" Hagi suggests.

"Oi." I say between bites of perfectly cooked steak.

We were sitting down for a family meal with the newest addition sitting on my right in Hagiwara's usual spot. Surprisingly, she suggested this change so that we could talk and get to know each other better without Ria feeling awkward...or less so than she would otherwise. 

*Ahem* "I must apologize for my behavior before. It is...hard to fight my instincts when I'm in heat." Ria says in a calm, collected voice that is betrayed slightly by her blushing cheeks.

"We all have our moments, Ria, nothing to be sorry about. Zen took us in and it is his responsibility to handle us when those situations come up." Samantha says with a warm smile.

"Hey-" I start, but seeing all the others nodding seriously, I sigh and give up.

"Anyway," I decide to move the conversation along, "Have you all filled Hime in on the potential future Takasone informed us of?"

"Yes...and I must agree with your sentiment, Zen. It is quite a ludicrous story." Azuza says with a frown.

"Well, stupid as it might be, I am not going to discount it. Before we discuss what we should do moving forward, I want to ask some clarifying questions." I say, pushing my 14th plate of 16 oz steak, mashed potatoes, and green beans away so that I can concentrate. 

'Letting loose takes a lot out of me. I had to heal Ria up quite a bit after I was done...though she hardly seemed to mind...'

"First, let's assume the worst and that in the next 5 years portals to dimensions with mythical monsters appear. Sam, would the watchers let us interfere if this was the case?" I ask the only one strong enough to completely shut that down. 

"Doubtful. I am not allowed to confirm or deny it happening, but my kin typically chooses to side with whatever is the most interesting. We watch worlds like humans watch reality TV. The chances of them agreeing to stop something like that would be very slim, at best." Samantha says, wiping her mouth daintily with a napkin. 

"I thought as much," I answer. I then turn my attention to Aki and Ares.

"How are our finances looking? More specifically, how much land do you think we could buy up over the next 5 years?" I ask. nodding to the two.

Ares barks a laugh. "We have enough to buy the entire country of Japan if we really wanted to." 

"Indeed. Securing land is more a matter of time than money at this point, Master." Aki agrees with a small nod. 

"Good. We will need to spend quite a bit of it, I think." I say with a frown as I organize my thoughts. 

"Um..." Ria begins hesitantly.

Everyone looks to her and she centers herself with a deep breath before taking on the air of someone used to business deals and pitches. 

"I have a village that I bought in the countryside of Hokkaido. An Onsen village. I planned on using it as a new family compound for myself and the Fenrir clans, but if it is of use, I will gladly hand it over. I only ask that we allow my family to move there and share the land with us." She says with determination. "I also own land all over the country and have several contacts in both the government and private sectors that should make land acquisition easier."

I smile at my newest fiance and nod. "That is quite useful, thank you...How about the land surrounding this village. How hard would that be to secure?"

"I think...Honestly, I think I could probably secure most of Hokkaido with enough money. Traditional Onsen villages have been in decline as of late and even the bigger resorts would cave if we throw enough wealth at them. There are some places that would not sell, but I think a good majority would." Ria responds. 

My smile grows further. This was exactly what we needed. 

"Thank you, Ria. You are already proving to be a great asset to the family." I say and pat her head. 

The other women nod at her as well, acknowledging her worth and position in the harem.

"Alright, here is my plan...at least the rough draft of it," I say and take a deep breath. 

The gist of my plan went like this:

1. We will all quit school. 
   1. It was redundant and unnecessary at this point. All hopes of a normal life went down the drain with Takasone's future revelations. Even if they were BS, I couldn't discount them as a distinct possibility. 
   2. None of us really needed to go anyway. Most magical creatures went every 50 years to keep up with modern trends, but it was more of a place for singles to meet and marry. Hardly necessary for us at this point.
2. I will finish introductions with the harem's families.
   1. This was important to me. I wanted to do this whole thing right and I felt this was the best way to accomplish that. 
   2. I still needed to meet with Suki's parents, Ares' (if she wanted to), and now Ria's. Aki was a nameless dragon so she had no family but me at this point and Samantha...I don't think I need to explain why that is irrelevant. 
3. The Night Council will get eradicated to the last. 
   1. This was, in part, to assist Takasone and his Magical Girl girlfriend. I didn't have to meet her, even accidentally, if her family was never in danger in the first place. 
   2. As far as I am concerned, this also makes me and Takasone square, even if he still hates my guts.
4. We will then spend the next few months securing our holdings and getting ready to move. Anything that could be liquidated, should be.  
5. We will buy as much land around this onsen village Ria mentioned as possible and start preparations for several more family compounds to...create a new city and, eventually, a new country. 
   1. If the modern world was going the way of the Dodo, I wanted to have a place that could withstand the tide of monsters and that would endure through the troubling years to come. It needed to be a safe place for not only my family but their extended family as well.
   2. To that end, I would encourage, or coerce if necessary, my wives' families to move with us to this new city. Each of their families can have their own village under the protection of the main city.
   3. This means bringing in tons of people and the logistics of it all would be a nightmare. Luckily, we had money and power. That made it much easier and more practical to do. If I can make a haven for the magical creatures currently in the world, then I would. The humans? Meh.
6. We will secure our city and make it stand the test of time. 
   1. Defenses, agriculture, sciences, law and order, entertainment, and military. All of these would be necessary to both create and maintain the city if and when the world goes to shit.
   2. I suddenly felt like I was playing Total War or some other grand strategy game...
7. Prosper.
   1. I don't just want to survive, I want to maintain or advance the current state of our world, at least in this isolated pocket, and expand when we can. I want a place where I will never feel worried about my children or my children's children's future. 

When I was done with my presentation, my women had varying responses. 

"Oh, is that all?" Diana asks in a sarcastic and tired voice.

"I think it sounds like a wonderful dream, Zen. Maybe a bit idealistic and incredibly difficult, but wonderful all the same." Samantha says with a chuckle. 

"I...I will do my best!" Ria says adorably with a fist pump. "You...You would really protect my family as well?"

"Of course. You are all mine, and I protect what is mine. What is ours. Even if the world goes to shit, we will still live in peace and prosperity...or at least, that is the idea."

"You have the allegiance of the Demons," Sophia says with a nod and a smile.

"And the Kitsune," Hagi agrees as well.

"And my axe! ...But seriously, I can talk to the folks." Suki says...quoting Fellowship of the Ring?

I didn't know she was a nerd too...I suppose she did look like the bookish type before everything happened. She just got many times hotter in my mind. 

"The Fenrir clans were looking to move anyway, so that is not a problem," Ria says with a bright smile.

"The drakes of my family will probably stay with Tiamat," Ares admits with a sigh.

I nod to her. She had a point. They were sworn to Tiamat, so it makes sense that they would follow her lead. 

"The dragons...well I am sure you can get quite a few of them. I doubt Mom will care much either way." Diana tilts her head and considers. 

"I will talk to her. I doubt she will want to constantly defend her territory, so she will probably agree to move." I reply as I tap my fingers on the table.

"We can explain our plans at the Beastkin Conference either this year or next. I am sure some of them will be more than happy to be taken in under your protection. Though, I recommend we avoid telling them about future problems that may occur. I would rather have loyal followers than opportunists." Azuza comments while sipping at her wine glass.

"Master is my family. I go where he goes." Aki says simply.

The rest all smile at the adorable, diminutive dragon. 

"Nice to see that Lord Husband is thinking of our future," Ares says with a toothy grin.

"Of course! I told you before, but I want a safe place for our family and children to live. I will not take any chances on our future happiness." I say with a firm nod. 

Once again, then all smile at me warmly.

"Okay, but what are we gonna call this city?" Suki wonders aloud. 

"Zentopia!" Diana shouts with a chuckle.

"No," I say in a deadpan. 

 "The Silver Empire?" Sophia asks with a wry smile.

"What, is it filled with hot old men? And why does it need to have part of my name!?!" I demand.

"Silverscale Paradise!" Samantha offers with a smirk.

"That's a bit too on the nose..." I comment feeling strange about that name.

*Oi! No breaking the 4th wall!*

"Z-Nation!" Hagi says, full-on giggling now.

"That would be copywrite infringement!" I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose. 

"Zeneffland!" Ares says with a boisterous laugh.

"Are we opening a theme park!?!" I demand, feeling extremely tired all of the sudden.

"What does Master want for the name then?" Aki asks, a small smile on her face as she is clearly enjoying the perilous situation I have been forced into. 

"Well...my original world was called Celeborn which meant "Our Home" in the ancient tongue...So I was thinking that would be a fitting name." I grumble, feeling my idea was a bit childish.  

"I love it," Samantha says with a warm smile.

"Celeborn...Sounds nice to me!" Sophia agrees.

"All in favor?" Hagiwara asks for a roll call.

All 9 of my wives agree to the name I picked and start talking animatedly about plans and things to do in the coming days. 

"Oh, I suppose I should say this now," I gather their attention after letting their conversations go on for a while. "I don't plan on taking on any more wives. I think 9 is more than enough and it just feels like the right number to me for some reason."

Silence greets me as 7 of my 9 wives look at me with faces that seem to call into doubt my statement. Ria just nods, agreeing with my words. 

"I...I'm serious!" I yell, feeling betrayed by their accusatory stares. 

"We'll believe it when we see it," Hagiwara says with an eye roll, and the others nod seriously.

"Should we just kill all of the new women he is alone with?" Suki offers.

"That seems a bit extreme...Maybe we just chain them as they go to see him?" Sophia counters.

"Or drug them so that they are not fully lucid?" Diana considers.

"Oi Oi Oi! None of that!" I yell as my face pales.

'Right. They are still Yanderes...Just because they haven't killed anyone yet doesn't mean they won't. God forbid someone defies me...I am starting to think this won't be a peaceful city at all...'

Samantha, however, tilts her head and considers my statement. 

"So 9 was the limit after all, hmm?" I hear her mutter quietly under her breath.

The rest of the night devolves into my women teasing me for the next couple of hours. 

* | * | *

Once everyone turns in for the night, I offer to give Ria a tour of the manor and show her to an empty room that she can use. 

Coincidentally, it is right in front of Samantha's room and none of the other women have taken it. Whether that is intentional or not, I cannot say. They all seem to like Samantha just fine, so I don't see why it would be.

Anyway, I had just finished the tour and was saying good night to Ria, when suddenly black tentacles wrap around me from behind and pull me into the dark room across the hallway from her. 

Ria stands there in shock staring at the pitch-black room as Samantha's head pops out from the corner of the door frame. 

"Sorry Ria, I am stealing Zeneff for the remainder of the night. He seems to have forgotten a promise he made with me and I need to punish him a little bit. Have a good night~!"

The door slams shut as girlish screams, clearly not Samantha's, come from beyond the closed door before they cut off just as suddenly as they started.

Silence in the hallway.

"This place is a madhouse..." Ria comments as she closes the door to her room and prays for Zeneff to survive the night.