52 52 Marked
Before Wolfe could leave the room, Reiko had dragged Mary to her feet.
“No need. Even if she falls asleep, I will carry this lazy little Witch back to her room. If we share a bed, that means Pup will be sleeping on top of me again. As furry as he is, even Flame thinks he’s too warm.” Reiko declared.
Despite being a fire element Familiar, Flame was still cold-blooded and leeched off Reiko’s body heat to remain comfortable when he wasn’t actively controlling the temperature of his surroundings. The two witches left with Pup reluctantly trailing behind, and Ella locked the door behind them.
“Now that we are alone, why don’t you explain exactly what you ordered that made the other two leave in such a hurry?” Cassie asked, oblivious to the nature of her request.
“With pleasure. I told her that she should tell her roommate every secret thought she had ever had about her. Do you want to know what sort of secret things I have thought about you, Miss Cassie Noxus?” Wolfe told her with a smile.
“That is just mean. But I still want to know, just not right now. When I saw the symbol that the Library team had given Mary, I got a strange feeling, like it was something that I needed to have. It should still be crumpled up in the waste bin over there. What do you think of it?” Cassie asked.
Wolfe picked it up and unfolded it, laying the symbol flat on the small desk in their room. He definitely had an affinity for this symbol, and he could tell that the small circle in the center of the Celtic knot was intended to represent the power of the spell caster.
He instinctively knew that this symbol wasn’t the spell itself but the mark that would appear on someone bonded to a Demon when the Demon used them as Familiars. It would temporarily hold a small amount of mana from the Demon, as well as increase the rate at which mana could be transferred back and forth between the two parties, though Wolfe suspected that the balance would most likely heavily favour the Demon.
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“I know where it goes,” Ella whispered as she looked at the rune with her cheeks blushing bright red.
“Tell us then, and let’s try to make it work. If it’s even half as amazing as Mary described its effects as being, then we need it.” Cassie complained.
“It’s an Incubus mark. It goes on the lower stomach.” Ella sighed.
Wolfe thought about it for a while, and she was right. That was the obvious spot for the mark to go, and he was increasingly certain that he could get it to work.
“Who wants to go first? There is no harm in trying, right?” Wolfe asked while the two Witches shared embarrassed looks.
“I will go first. I suggested it, so it’s only right.” Cassie sighed, but her emotions betrayed her voice. Excitement coloured with lust was clear through the bond, and her reluctance to try strengthening the bond with this mark was just for show.
Wolfe felt her excitement peak as he placed his hand where he was certain that the mark was supposed to go and focused on forming the picture. Once he did, he could feel an additional bond begin to form, and his mana began to flow from him to her, but not into her aura. Instead, as his mana filled Cassie’s body, a small black tattoo began to form under her belly button.
The tattoo wasn’t what he had expected it to be, and it was only vaguely similar to the drawing on the paper. Instead of a heart-shaped Celtic knot with a tribal wing design, it was a simple heart shape with a lightly glowing black orb at the center, shining with his mana.
The process seemed to sap her energy and took all she had. Cassie passed out before it was finished, so Wolfe helped her to bed and turned to Ella. The process seemed a bit easier the second time, and Ella remained barely conscious, splayed out across the bed on top of Cassie and slowly recovering her wits while Wolfe went to change into his sleepwear.
Ella had rolled off of Cassie and was touching the newly formed Crest on her lower stomach with a smile when he returned while Cassie snored softly.
“Our bodies automatically absorb the mana, I think. Can you feel how much more powerful her aura is?” Ella asked.
“Yours too.” Wolfe agreed, but it was the new text in the middle of his Inheritance Inscription that was the most startling.
[Bonded Partner Role Set]
[Bonded Partner Role Set]
Wolfe checked his Inheritance status to see how he had done and got an unexpected shock from what he found. There was a new ability listed in the top layer of runes.
[True Name] Beowulfe Abraxas Asmodai Lokarth Noxus
[Affinity Boost]
[Affinity Boost] Increases Users and their Familiars’ Affinity to the Elements for a short time while in close contact.
[Familiar Witch Lv+3] Ella Mariel
[Familiar Witch Lv+3] Cassie Noxus
Both Bonded Witches had been officially marked as his Familiars, but more impressively, their bond had grown two more levels, meaning he could now constantly sense their stronger emotions in his mind and feel their presence near him without having to look for them.
Wolfe carefully snuggled in between both Witches, finishing with a kiss on Ella’s lips that brought happy mumbling from the sleeping Cassie.
“I think she can sense my emotions, even though she’s sleeping,” Ella whispered, looking over at Cassie.
“It seems like it. At this point, you two are closer than any friends, sisters, or even mundane lovers, so I am very happy that you both get along so well.” Wolfe replied softly.
“And it looks like the same Incubus has marked us. At least, that’s the only species I’ve heard of that is capable of leaving a mark like this. The concentrated mana was unexpected, though. It’s so potent that I feel like I’m on top of the world.” Ella replied.
“And that’s just the first night. Imagine how much you can grow with a bit of practice?” Wolfe told her with a wink.
“But not tonight. That process was intense. I don’t even think I can stand right now, and we have class tomorrow.” Ella sighed, then snuggled up to Cassie while Wolfe smirked and made sure that the fan was on so he wasn’t cooked out of bed before the alarm went off again.
Once she fell asleep, Wolfe noticed that both of their bodies were twitching gently as the pulse and flow of the mana from the marks passed through them, and their faint emotions said that they were in the midst of an intense but pleasant dream that showed no signs of stopping. That was a bit unfair. If they were going to be feeling that good, he would have preferred that they were awake and interactive.
Wolfe decided at that point that there were other, much more fun ways to transfer them his mana now that they had the mark, and he was looking forward to trying them all out. Maybe in a few days, though.
The marks seemed to be taking time to actually integrate into the witches’ bodies, and he could sense a growing discomfort, much like exhaustion, from both sleeping girls as the spell embedded itself into their mana control nerves and veins, and they absorbed the mana that had been used to create it.