For three days, we cleaned the rooms, one prison at a time. Aiko grumbles about it though, asking why she needed to clean for the lowly beings.
As we clean, we also leave bowls for their excrement. We give them food. Ensure their prisons are clean. And we use Gavin's room to throw piss and stools from the half-monster prisons. He allows us since he's become more comfortable going out of his room. He even visits the other monsters.
Despite that, the prisoners look more afraid of me. They can't understand why their previous captor is doing this.
I don't care though, because once they are healthy, I will find another house for them. A place they can spend their lives in until they decide to live it on their own. Which means I need two houses. As for the five full-blooded monsters, where am I going to let them live?
I scratch my head after washing my hands. Another day of feeding and cleaning. I hope they gain some flesh soon.
Suddenly, someone envelops his arms around me. "You smell like shit," Gavin comments.
"Then stop sniffing at me. You are not a dog. I also did not permit you to hug me."
Ignoring what I said, he asks, "How about taking a bath together in my shower?"
I turn my body to him. Instead of withdrawing from me, he pulls his clothes off, and his shirt gets thrown on the floor. Warm skin touches my arms, then he kisses the side of my sweaty neck. I automatically hit his face. He doesn't budge though and instead, he laughs.
"You should use your magic if you want to stop me," he suggests.
He pins me against the sink. I look away, especially when every time I see his muscular body, all I think of is how much it looks like Calais' body—which is beautiful and something I'd like to touch more. Ugh, I miss him so much.
"Or maybe," he continues. "You don't want to stop my advances?"
By instinct, I use my wind magic to push him a few meters from me. "Stop with your flirting, Gavin," I scold, trying not to sound as flushed as I feel. "I love Calais. And every time you do this, all I can think of, is him," I confess.
"Ouch!" But he easily recovers. "Just kidding. I am sure that soon you will realize the truth. My Lyrica is not born stupid."
"Lyrica."
I shift towards the unfamiliar voice. The other four monsters are standing by the door. Byron, Nushi, Adalie, and Pythes.
"We all decided to leave," Adalie, the merman, says.
"We initially stayed here because you needed us," Nushi, the werewolf, adds.
"Now that you are building your own life, we need to check what happened to our previous life too," Pythes, the elf, says.
"But if ever you need our help, my help especially. If there is any information you need, find me," Byron, the vampire, says. "Gavin says you lost your memory. So, right now, you are a completely different person from the Lyrica that we know."
I turn sharply to Gavin. How could he reveal that to the others?!
"What? Don't glare at me. You didn't say that it's supposed to be our little secret," he defends himself.
Pythes comes closer, takes my hand, and kisses the back of it. "You are changing, Lyrica. For the better, unfortunately. However, we stayed because we are more interested in your dark side. Which means that you no longer need us."
"Besides, Gavin will stay. He is a capable man. He can help and support you," Adalie says.
"I am only here for sex, though," Gavin interjects. "Compared to the four of you, I still don't know how Lyrica tastes like in bed."
I scowl at him again. This perverted monster!
"If you find your world breaking again. If you feel hopeless and no one wants to accept you, find me. You can be my guest in my werewolf pack," Nushi invites.
I face the four of them. Each of them has a distinct aura, but each signifies strength. However, I am familiar with their aura for the past few days. They have been going out of their glass rooms and watching me as I take care of the half monsters from the other room.
"I may not know what your relationship with the previous me, but you still have my full thanks for staying. I hope we will see each other again in the future, but not for the reasons you said," I say. "Take care, all of you."
Pythes is the first one to leave, only pressing a kiss on my cheeks.
Adalie comes closer to me and pulls me into a kiss. It feels weird to be kissed by a merman. His tongue feels different, longer too, as he can cover my tongue with his. He seems to have more control as well. He can split it anytime he wants, sucking and engulfing my mouth in the process.
When he pulls back, I am gasping for breath. He presses his thumb on my lips and I look up at his face. There are silver scales appearing and disappearing in different areas of his face and neck, and I wonder if he's not being pained by being in the land for too long.
"The previous you always loved my kisses. But now, I understand that you are a completely different person."
He hugs me to his chest and whispers, "Ah, if only you can live in my Kingdom. But alas, you humans can't live underwater. You can stay and visit because of your magic, but that's all. You can't really stay for long."
He pulls back from me and whispers, "Goodbye for now, Lyrica."
I watch him leave, but Nushi blocks my view of him. He suddenly pulls me into an embrace and bites at my neck.
"Wait, what!"
"Let me mark you as my goodbye," he says, breathing against my skin. "This can protect you from danger for a while."
I purse my lips. This should be fine. "Okay," I whisper.
Nushi leans down on me and his teeth dig into my flesh. I close my eyes and groan in pain. His hold on me tightens, and I can feel a bulge between my legs.
Does this act make werewolves in general feel aroused? But then, I feel the flow of desire in my body. I feel hot and there is a stirring of pleasure in my gut. I start to struggle against the familiar feeling. I don't want anyone making me feel this way, unless it is Calais.