Dessert Goddess

Introduction Pt2

Charlene's POV

I peeked around the shower curtain and watched as Brent put his red leather top back on. It was a poor excuse of a shirt and showed off most of his abdomen. His scutes were glistening down his back as he placed his overcoat back on. But damn it he was hot. He turned to look at me, now fully dressed. “I shall take my leave, madam.” He bowed to me sharply and drifted from the room. The view of my empty bathroom greeted me. The bathroom I had built for myself was large and lavish. The gold glittery stones shone back at me in the natural lighting streaming from the many windows. Withdrawing back into the shower, I turned around to rinse my hair out. My mind drifted back to the first time I arrived here. Reaching a hand up, I touched my necklace. I had been here long enough that I didn’t even need it anymore. But it was just easier. I had received it the moment I woke up.

What happened to me was basically what you would consider abducted by aliens. I remember walking home from school. I was getting close to graduating high school and had not one care in the world. I had made my way down an alley, throwing down a joint as I passed. My family had been broken. Dad was always in and out of jail. Mom was a serial dater that never wanted to be alone. Even if that meant she brought a toxic person home. My older brother was an addict that was only around when he was coming down off of something. Despite my sketched upbringing, I got good grades and did what I was told. No one ever noticed if I went out to a party or with friends. Could have been gone days and no one would have noticed. However, if I did run into my mom, and I had an issue, that woman would move heaven and earth for me. Having that kind of freedom gave me the room to learn street smarts in a fairly controlled environment. Which served me well when I got here. I slipped into the memory as the bathroom disappeared in front of me. I was all of 16 when I arrived. The light felt weird and made my skin tingle. The air moved stiffly but smelled fresh. The Inflow moved and felt like airy water. It dropped me lightly in a circular cage with about 40 other girls.

Most of us looked hung over or confused. A few looked scared. And one looked rabid. The cage was set atop a circular matching stage. The bars looked like they were made of light. The floor of the stage was yellow and red. But this red wasn’t paint. I found it to be quite familiar and bent down to look. This confirmed the floor was covered in blood stains. How quaint, I had thought, disgust reaching into my senses. My 16 year old self stood and looked around. Rows of seats surrounded in a circle around the stage. Four entry points on each level, five levels of seats. Someone rushed through, giving each of us a necklace. The cage bars had dissipated. Then one by one, spotlight after spotlight clicked on and found its target. Each girl had about four spotlights on her, highlighting us from all sides. I put a hand up to block the light and squinted to see behind them. It appeared to be people in animal ears, with a masquerade type mask over the eyes and cheekbones. The sounds around me, all incredibly foreign.

My attention shifted awkwardly to someone trying to get me to put on the necklace. I looked down at it. It had wings that looked like dragon wings. Inside the center was a red stone. It was about the same size as my palm. I looked back up as he demonstrated what he wanted me to do, not making any attempt to touch me. In fact he stood about five feet away and seemed to not want to get any closer. I slipped my hands into the chain to open it up. The guy started talking at that point. The only reason I knew he was talking was because his mouth was moving. But strange and almost impossible sounds were coming out. It matched the din of voices echoing all around me. I slipped the chain over my head, resting it on my clavicle. When I did this, those sounds immediately morphed and I was flooded with English conversations. The sudden tsunami of data assaulted my brain and made spots appear in front of my eyes.

“That one looks lowly.”

“She needs a sponsor more fortunate than i.”

“Phenomenal structure on that one.”

“I shall request to visit that one.”

“Look at the hair on this one over here.”

Were they talking about me? About one of the many other girls here? Looking around, all of us looked to be some form of humanoid. This had given me comfort for reasons unbeknownst to me. The subtle differences between us escaping me completely in the moment. Did someone drug me? Was I s*x trafficked? Options swarmed through my brain like a flipbook of pictures, all ominous. I tried to focus on the guy talking to me.

“What is your name?” He asked me. I heard it in a foggy muted volume as I managed to focus in on him.

“Charlene.” I answered meekly.

“It is wonderful to meet you Charlene. Welcome to Nefritum.” His voice was smooth but it had a growl to it. I am not sure why I had not noticed before, but now his ears are brought to my attention. He was wearing what looked like Siberian Tiger ears. But I could swear I saw them moving.

“Nefritum?” I asked, not familiar with what country that was in. I kept a keen eye on his ears. My peripheral vision told me other similarly dressed men were approaching the other women just as Tigers ear here had with me. I had so many questions and no answers.

“Yes. That is the planet you are on.” He said it so matter of factly that it had taken me by surprise. My sole focus landed on his face. I needed to see if he was just messing with me or if he was being serious.

“P-Planet?” I sputtered. I wasn’t even on earth anymore! Nothing else in that moment mattered. My entire world had shattered beneath me. Nothing I thought I knew made sense anymore. How did I get here? Planet? My mind was swimming and I could not tread water.

“Yes, ma’am. If you will follow me, I will take you to your sponsor.” He bowed to me, dressed in a simple blue suit. I blindly followed him. My mind reeling. My legs felt weak with every step. My arms felt heavy. I straightened my back as I noticed I was starting to curl in on myself. I was worried about what was going to happen to me and what the hell a sponsor was. I was worried about what being on a new world would mean for me. No matter what predicament I was in, I needed to stay present until I could wrap my head around what is happening in a safe place. He walked me out of the lights and my eyes adjusted to the darker atmosphere. As I followed, I looked at him, letting my eyes wander over him all the way down to his simple black dress shoes. He was taking the tiger thing a bit far though. He even had a tail swishing about.

“Why are you dressed as a tiger?” I could not contain my curiosity. I heard him stifle a laugh.

“Because a tiger cant change its stripes, ma’am.” He answered simply. The answer didn’t make much sense, but I did not have time to question him. A well dressed man was standing before us. He had long black hair, and almond shaped purple eyes. His very strong jawline was set anxiously. I didn’t see any animal ears, but as I approached I noticed his eyes were slit like a cat. “This is your sponsor, Mr. Ezra Cutter.” He swung his hand, open palm up, towards the new guy. Then he bowed to us both and swiftly made his way off.

“Hello. I am Ezra Cutter. I am a prominent person in Luxure and also hold a level five skill. I am in the highest tier of beasts.” He sounded proud of himself. But I had no idea what he was talking about. Beasts? That was the first time I saw my husband. Of course I did not have to marry him if I did not want to. But who wouldn’t? He was a strong and profitable Puma beast with skills to match in the bedroom. In our many years of marriage, I have produced 4 litters of Puma cubs. Luckily I wasn’t the one who had to take them and give birth to them. I just brought the possibility of them into existence. I smiled to myself as I looked up. I was back in my bathroom. I finished rinsing out my hair as I thought about the matrimonial night. Seeing his impeccably designed body for the first time was mind blowing. Especially because I had tried to find a suitor outside of him. But you cant really help who you fall for. And he let me stay with him the entire time. Taking me to social events and introducing me to other bachelor beasts. He was such a good sport about it all. I suppose that’s why he was chosen as a sponsor. Any jealousy disqualifies you. I shut the water off and stepped out of the tub. The moment my foot hit the rug on the floor, the bathroom door opened and Creast walked in. He brandished a towel for me and wrapped me in it. He ushered me over to the vanity and sat me down on the stool. He didn’t say a word until he started towel drying my hair.

“Did you enjoy your shower, ma’am?” He asked trying to make conversation. He delicately separated out my hair as he dried bits at a time.

“Yes. I was recalling my early life in Luxure.” I thought back to the day I was asked to take over the gathering. The mistress of gathering was getting older and had lost two of her husbands so far. She had mothered almost 50 litters in her lifetime. When Ezra and I were first married, I took an interest in the fights after watching Ezra rise in levels. I was inspired to build the Colosseum. It was just to have a place to hold the power fights originally. Instead, it had grown in popularity far faster than I had anticipated. After a decade or so, she made her plans to retire known to me. Once I had taken over, it was almost like she had nothing else to live for. She passed in her sleep shortly thereafter. I had taken it upon myself to ensure her remaining husband was well taken care of for the remainder of his life.

“That story is one you have not yet blessed me with, ma’am.” He said as he discarded the towel in the bin. He then began brushing my hair.

“Perhaps I will someday.” I teased. I didn’t want to go over it all with him right this moment. However it did get me thinking about Creast. “You are a level two beast, aren’t you Creast?” My inquiry caused him to pause for just a moment. He was sweeping my hair up into a fashionable updo, consisting of a few braids and ponytails. It was outlandish in my old world, but here it was fit for royalty. Basically that is what I was. Ezra ran Luxure. I ran the fights and the gathering. We had hands everywhere, in everything, around everyone. As the one in charge of fights, I also delt with the military requirements of the country. However I usually consulted with my husband before making official decisions.

“Yes, my lady.” I watched him in the mirror as he worked. He almost looked a little huffy.

“Perhaps you should start training. I would like to see you rise to a level four in my care.” I leaned forward and began applying my makeup. This was one of the few things I enjoyed doing for myself.

“Of course, my lady.” He resigned. He was definitely not a fighter. But he would do anything I ever asked of him, even if that meant risking his life in the fights. This made me happy. I fed off their devotion like I needed it to survive. This beautiful world gave me the freedom to do just that. You could not try hard enough to convince me that I would have been married to who I married, with my own castle, stables and harem, if I had returned home. If anything I would have went through a string of terrible relationships. Men who could not commit, communicate or comprehend. Men who hurt physically, emotionally or both. I would not be who I was today. I never once regret staying in Luxure.

Once I was finished, I walked out of my gigantic bathroom and into my even bigger bedroom. My double king sized bed took up the far wall at the back. The four poster bed frame had to be made specifically for it. The posts were decorated with scenes of creepy Halloween type things I had picked out. Even a dancing fire amongst it all. Spider webs decorated the canopy, making the black bedding look all to normal. So I have a creepy goth side? No one outside of this household needed to know. It would be only my boys that needed to know, but my husband had his own harem that comes about. His boys serve him just as mine serve me. He did have a few humanoid women in his harem that he was very proud of. Women who would rather devote themselves to him, than find their own beastman to marry. Which was fine with me, he never turned me down when I wanted him and that was all that mattered to me. He was just as devoted to me since I was his wife. Our harems where more like playthings. Of course, you grow attached to them eventually but even if they mean the whole world, your spouse means more. As I was browsing outfits for the day, I was snapped from my reverie by the sound of footsteps. It couldn’t be one of my boys, they were taught to be silent and all of them were very good at it. My ornate bedroom door cracks open and Faveh squeezed through.