"I'm not that bad." I argued back.
"Really?" Caly asked doubtfully.
"Of course." I retorted.
"How many women have you been with besides Karen?" Caly asked.
I was silent for a moment, I had felt Karen tense up when Caly asked the question. Apparently she was finished awakening already.
I pinched her ass making her sit up with a squeal.
"That really isn't fair." I commented.
"That hurt!" Karen retorted then smacked my chest. It stung a little bit but that was it.
"Don't avoid the question." Caly insisted.
"Two." I replied with a sigh. "Now why does no one else have to spend hours awakening?" I asked in return.
"That's easy if you think about it." Caly replied.
I gave her a deadpan look, but was quickly distracted as Karen laid back down on my chest and snuggled her face into the crook of my shoulder and neck. She gave my neck a kiss then relaxed with a sigh.
"What color?" I asked Karen.
"Blue." Karen replied. "And I awakened the physical, mental, harden, and superior strength." she informed us.
"Superior strength? Didn't feel like it." I commented.
Karen just snorted. "There is only one wisp in it, so it isn't very useful yet." she replied.
"That is good." Caly said with a smile. "Harden is a defensive skill that works with physical. Most people who learn it on their own can learn more advanced skills like shield and barrier."
"I never did hear about the skills you have." I told Caly.
"No you haven't and we can do that later. What happened to those two women?" she asked me.
"Why?" I asked in return.
"Proving a point." Caly replied.
"Does it matter? I already have you and Karen, and maybe Megan, so why would I even think about sleeping around. Plus I can't even if I wanted to." I told her.
"Just confess already." Caly insisted.
I groaned then thought about it. "There was Ashley who I dated for a month or so right after I started to really lose weight. Turned out I was the rebound so she dumped me to go back to her ex. Then there was Jessica, we spent like three nights together then she had some kind of family emergency. She had to drop all her classes and head back to South Carolina I think. Never heard from her again."
Caly gave me a big grin.
"What?" I asked.
"You never broke up with either of them." Caly replied.
"That doesn't mean anything." I replied.
"It doesn't." Karen agreed with me. "But she is right."
"And even if she is, what does it matter?" I asked.
"Did you forget the limit on sleeping with others only applies to when we are engaged?" Caly asked.
I stared at her for a moment. "Rather than forget, I am pretty sure I didn't know." I told her.
Caly frowned then shrugged. "Maybe, it hasn't even been half a day since we were engaged."
"Feels longer." I said with a sigh.
Both girls chuckled then Caly laid on the bed beside us, I shifted so that I could wrap an arm around her so she could snuggle into me. I knew that I should feel uncomfortable with her snuggling into my side while Karen and I were laying there naked, but I didn't.
"Once the engagement bond changes into marriage that restriction is gone. I will still know if you sleep with other women, but I can't stop it, and I was never meant too. Wallous men don't want to be controlled by their wives. The restriction is only there so we don't ignore our engagement." Caly told me.
"Okay." I said. "So you want to marry me now? It hasn't even been a day." I told her.
Caly nodded. "I do, and that doesn't matter. I am certain that I will not find a better man for me in this world. Our feelings for each other can grow with time."
I was silent for a while as I stroked Karen's bare back my mind a whirl of thoughts. "So what is the real reason?" I asked finally.
Karen sighed. "There is that low self confidence again."
I slapped Karen's ass eliciting a yelp. "Hush you. This has nothing to do with my self confidence. Caly already has a bond with me. She doesn't have to rush into a marriage bond with me. Not without a reason. In fact it would be better for her if she didn't, that way she could limit the women around me."
Caly giggled. "True, I could use our bond to make me the only woman you could sleep with, but that is it, and it would only last two rounds in the sheets."
I forgot about that.
"Unless I chose not to sleep with you, the bond isn't very useful in controlling you, so I don't see a reason to wait. There is another reason though, one that is related to minimizing the women around you, and the difference between the primary color cores, and the metal cores." Caly told me.
"What is it?" I asked.
"First, that is the answer to your earlier complaint. Your awakening lasted for hours because you have a metal core. That advancement is a big thing, which is why your awakening took so long." Caly told me.
I was a bit surprised, but once I thought about it, it did make some sense. I was the only metal core amongst us.
"Second is the benefits of the marriage bond. I want to give them to Karen, and every other woman that wants to be with you." Caly told me.
That took me a moment to process. "We can't though." I told her. "I don't have all the abilities to form that bond."
"That is where the difference between a primary and metal core comes in. It is also the reason why your dad is so much stronger than you." Caly told me.
"Wait a minute." I said as I realized what else she had said. "You want to offer this to the other girls interested in me, or they have to accept it before they can be with me?" I asked.
Both girls were silent for a moment. "Before." Karen told me.
I frowned as I realized that the pair had already discussed and agreed to this. "Is that why Megan backed off?" I asked.
"Yes." Karen replied.
I sighed but I didn't immediately object. "Why?" I asked.
"Two reasons." Caly told me. "First is for our safety. With the bond you can communicate with us and appear by our sides if we are in danger."
"And the other?" I asked.
"People flock to the strong when shit goes sideways." Karen said. "You've read the books and watched the movies Daryl. You are strong, and have the potential to get stronger. People will want you to protect them and women have an easy way to get that protection."
"Those are works of fiction." I reminded her.
"They might be, but they aren't wrong. Humanity will do a lot to ensure their own safety or the safety of their loved ones. My family has been through this before Daryl, we are well aware how people will react. Once the ambient mana level increases enough the number of twisted appearing will explode, same with mutated beasts and plants." Caly told me.
I wanted to argue, but I didn't know what to say. I wasn't a stranger to the darker side of humanity. I hadn't been seriously abused or anything like that. I did know some who had been, and seen enough of the news articles about child abductions, and the underground slave trade. That was all done in a world that didn't have to deal with the twisted and mutated beasts. Add those in and I could imagine things getting really dark fast.
"I get it, though I have no desire to form a harem." I told them.
Karen shifted her weight onto her arms pushing herself up so she could look into my eyes while providing me an excellent view of her cleavage. "What about Megan? Can you really say three women isn't a harem?" she asked me seriously.
Again I didn't know what to say to that.
"And before you say something stupid like you meant anyone besides us three, I have seen the way you look at Grace. Your mother already put that idea in your head. You will jump on that the moment you think you have a chance with her." Karen told me.
Was I really that scummy?
Karen smiled at me then leaned in and kissed me. "It's fine if you are a man whore, as long as she agrees to our condition I am fine with it. She is a nice girl, and I want a piece of that ass too."
Shock, that was the only word I could use to describe my condition now.
Both girls giggled at my expense.
"Still haven't figured that out yet?" Karen asked.
"But…" I said then stopped.
Karen shrugged. "It took me going to college to figure it out, but now I accept it." she told me. "Why do you think I was so open to the idea of Megan joining us?"
I shook my head unsure what to think, I guessed that she was interested in girls, but now, it seemed like she was more than just interested, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. Not that I was against it, but I worried that she would be more interested in my other women than she was me. That could wait though.
"So what does that have to do with the difference between primary color and metal cores?" I asked.
"He deflected, you might have broken him." Caly stated.
"It's fine Daryl. I love you and you will be fucking me a lot. If you get lucky I might even let you make love to me a few times." she said with a laugh.
I could feel myself start to react to the ideas she generated in my mind.
Karen shivered as she felt me react. "Later, we have more to go over, then we need to go up and eat dinner, and tell the others."
"Tell the others?" I asked.
"Of course, putting a restriction on something only works if you tell others about it." Caly told me.
"There isn't anyone who would even be interested except Megan and maybe Grace." I replied.
"Still doesn't hurt." Karen agreed with Caly.
I frowned but sighed, I didn't feel we needed to announce it, not yet, but I did agree to the idea. "Fine, so what is the difference between the primary color and metal cores?" I asked.
"It's better if you see it for yourself. Add wisps to your bond ability until you have ten inside." Caly told me.