Erlea stood at the edge of the zone with the same trepidation that she felt with every passing. It wasn't just that they were closer to Monefuck or that their party had gotten stronger, it was the fear of the unknown. Everything changed at the zone, from the monsters they would encounter to the terrain to the hidden dangers.
Ahead of her, the zone looked almost idyllic and safe. There were almost no trees or obstructions as far as she could see, just short grass littered with the occasional boulder.
It was a lie and they all knew it.
Miere buzzed next to her, her wings stirring up currents of air. Her soft curves ground against Erlea. A soft whine slipped past her lips as she looked one side to the other. The naked fear in her gaze brought a wave of concern as did the soft tremors that raced through the weaker Honningbie's body.
Erlea slipped her arm around Miere and held her close. “It's going to be okay?”
Miere trembled again and looked up. There was a dazed hunger in her gaze, a lust that they had all seen in the various breeders. It was the aching desire to feel an orgasm, to be bred. But no matter how much Erlea licked and fingers and caressed, her lover could not orgasm.
Her lover inhaled and then whimpered. “I don't like that look,” she said in a quiet voice.
Erlea realized she was frowning. She closed her eyes to settle her own thoughts, to quell the growing frustration that she couldn't satisfy her lover and that her lover was suffering because of it.
“I'm sorry, I'm holding you back.”
Opening her eyes, Erlea shook her head. “No you aren't.”
Billie interrupted them. “Yes, you are.” She was armed with a long sword in one hand and her other hand shifted into a small shield. It was obvious she was anxious to go.
Miere's wings stopped and drooped. She looked back and forth.
Tira rested a hand on the beetle girl's waist. “You already said your mind and we agreed to do something about it, but we have to get to Monefuck before we can do anything else.”
Billie growled. She shook her head violently. “It was a mistake. We're going to all get raped because of her, even with the damn monster protecting her.”
Miere's grip around Erlea's waist tightened. “I'm sorry—”
Erlea didn't want for to finish. “Billie, we agreed—”
“Yes and I'm leaving the second we get to the city. But that doesn't mean you are going to get her killed as she tries to follow you. You know she's going to. Even if you leave her in Monefuck, even if you take a detour to the next hive, she's going to come back to you like an aphid wanting to suck on your tit.”
“Billie!” gasped Tira in shock.
“What?” snapped the warrior. “You heard them last night. The cries, the whimpers. I was almost praying that she would just get off because then they could stop. But, no, they spent all night fucking each other and it didn't work! The stupid bitch could have waited one fucking day and we would have—”
Gral cleared his throat. He had his thumbs tucked into his trousers. The torn material was tight around his muscular thighs and outlined his immense cock. He took took a deep breath and gave a grim smile to Billie. “Then, why don't we just kill her—”
The beetle's blade streaked through the air as Billie covered the distance between them in a flash. She stopped, the blade almost resting against his throat.
Gral didn't even flinch.
“You will not hurt her.”
Gral's smile grew wider. “Then I guess you aren't ready to give up on her, are you, Beetle?”
Billie's eyes widened.
“I mean, when you think about this, all of this was your fault.”
The tip dug into the flesh and blood formed around the shallow cut. “Don't you dare say—”
“What? As the mentor of the group? The leader?”
Billie flinched.
“They were what? A week old? They barely knew their own zone but you… you've been through zones, you were teaching them, you were the one in authority after the attack.”
“T-Two… two weeks.” Billie's weapon wavered.
“And they were scared. From what I heard, they lost their friend, their queen, and were completely alone. They had a handful of character points, a ton of drawbacks, and their home was on fire. Why didn't you take charge?”
“I just lost Saroia! I lost her!”
“But you had a life before her, right? Those bee girls? That's all they knew. She was probably there right at the beginning, a constant in their life, an anchor point that they didn't realize their entire existence had been built on.”
Billie ground her teeth together. The edges of her weapon grew serrations, the points flexing.
Gral's eyes never left Billie's. He seemed tense but also somehow at peace at the words he said with a weapon poised to kill him. “You, a Kever, should know that Honningbies don't deal well without guidance. They are hive breeders.”
Billie flinched.
“You knew that both of them had been rebuked for touching each other before losing their virginities. You even said you were the one who suggested that Miere be moved to the other side of the hive.”
Billie tensed. “How do you know that?”
Her eyes flickered to Tira. “You tell him that?”
Tira held up her hands and backed up. “I didn't.”
Gral snorted and then flinched as the point cut deeper. Sweat on his brow indicating his nervousness but somehow it never reached his eyes. “No, Kever, I didn't need Tira to tell me that. I heard you say it. In passing, but you said. I listened to Erlea, to Miere, and to you.”
“In a day? You know all our secrets in a day?”
The Orc Chief didn't move but somehow his Presence grew more intense as he seemed to draw Erlea's attention with his words. “A good leader listens her people. You have failed that and you know it was your fault that the bees are in this situation.”
Erlea's heart gave a double-beat as she found herself drawn into his words. It felt like an moment of intimacy, but it wasn't sexual that drew her like a moth to the flame. Between her legs, she felt the quivering of her sex stirring.
Billie's eyes glistened as she tensed. Her sword wavered. “I… I should kill you right now.”
Erlea tensed as she pulled away from Miere. She needed room to stop Billie, but she didn't think she had the Speed to act first.
A bead of sweat ran down the Orc's cheek. “For telling you something uncomfortable? Yes, you should. Just cut me down. Just slash my heart open or knock off my head… and realize that all of your friends are watching.”
Billie said nothing for a moment. Then tears ran down both cheeks, tracing her carapace. Stepping back, she screamed, “Fuck you!”
She scoffed and then stormed away, not across the boundary to the zone but back to where their temporary hive had been set up for the night.
Gral opened his mouth but then closed it. His presence relented, fading back until he was nothing more than a monster. Erlea's eyes scanned down. A monster with an aching hardness between his legs.
She felt a hunger to feel it inside her again. She wanted to have the thick pole sliding into her again, with all his ridges teasing every part of her sex until he was buried deep inside.
Miere slipped her hand into Erlea's. “Do we need to do something about that?” she asked while staring at his bulge.
Gral glanced down and sighed. “Probably don't have the time. Only one of you has Combat Pregnancy and I have a strong opinion that Billie wouldn't take well to me railing Erlea at this moment.” He adjusted his hardness. “Nice thought, but I feel I'm going to be dealing with this thing aching until we part ways.”
Tira smiled. “Well, at least until tonight. If you can wait that long, I might be able to relieve some of that pressure.”
Gral grunted and then nodded sharply. “I will be thankful for any chance to sate my lusts on your willing body. As long as we can ensure that I don't get a spear up my ass in the process.”
Tira grinned and fluttered her wings. The smell of citrus swirled away form her.
Erlea found herself moist at the thought. She would have been willing to give Gral relief before they crossed over the zones, but his words made sense. She had to tear her eyes away from the throbbing cock and force her attention back to her lover.
Miere, on the other hand, was the only one not looking at Gral's bulge with desire. Instead, it was trepidation in her eyes. Erlea guessed that Gral, at one eighty points, was probably at the top end of what Miere could handle without dying during the breeding process. It probably scared her as much as she probably wanted it.
Erlea kissed her. “Are you okay?”
Miere turned back to Erlea and gave a thin smile. “Y-Yes.”
“If he bothers you, just say something.”
Wings fluttered. “No, he's been only nice to me. I know Billie threatened to kill him, but he seems like a really nice creature… for a monster.”
Erlea grinned. She returned her arm around Miere's waist. She looked at him and smiled. “He is. I didn't know it was possible, but he seems to be a decent rapist.”
Gral shrugged. “The System drives us all.”
No one said anything for a beat. Then Erlea looked back over the plains ahead of them. “Any idea of what is over there?”
“No idea,” said the Orc Chief. “Monsters don't normally jump zones, but when they do, they never come back.”
Tira hummed as she hopped over to the edge. “Why?”
“I assume they get killed off, try to breed something far above their value, or they find a new place and don't want to risk coming back. We aren't exactly social creatures outside of our encounter charts.”
“Sounds terrifying.”
“It is. I envy you breeders in that regard, you are able to adapt whereas we are nothing more than obstacles, rocks and trees that happen to fuck.”
Erlea frowned at his cheerful yet tense voice.
Tira crossed her arms just underneath her breasts, pushing them up as she tightened them. “You're afraid?”
“Yes. But, I'm not needed in my clan but I am needed here. The Shucks need to be defeated and you four are the only ones who have a chance. This is the System at work, who am I to fight it?”
Miere pressed tight against Erlea's body. “But you might die out there.”
The Orc Chief chuckled. “Might? I will die. It doesn't matter if it is a breeder, another monster, or I just fade away. It's going to happen sooner or later, so might as well make an impact in the turns I have left.”
He looked at the moth and the two Honningbies, one at a time. His Presence grew again, rising up and filling his words with vibrancy, “I promise you this, I will do everything I can to support your quest to destroy the Shucks. This includes my promise to sacrifice myself before I let any dick get into that lovely bee clinging to Erlea. That is the System and I'm nothing but a random encounter within it.”
Inspired, Erlea fluttered her wings. “Thank you.”
“Now, my honeyed leader, what do we do?”
Erlea's skin prickled at his words. “As soon as Billie gets back—”
“I'm here,” snapped the beetle girl as she passed in front of her while heading directly to the zone transition. She brought out her weapons again as she crossed and then started straight across the plain grid that marked out the area.
Erlea gestured and they followed.