In the morning, Wolfe ran the cleaning spell and then ran it again before he realized that the problem was the contents of the trash bin, which had been removed from the rest of the room. A quick burst of [Unholy Fire] burned the contents of the bin to ash, removing the remainder of the cloying scent of sex and sweat from the room.
Cassie was still deeply asleep, but he knew she would be hungry as soon as she woke up, and he certainly was, so Wolfe used a bit of Gravity Magic to lift the beam that she had blocked the door shut with, letting the door swing open a crack and the sounds of morning in the Den fill the air.
Cassie had released him enough to pull free of her body, but she was far from letting Wolfe escape her grasp. As soon as he began to move, trying to sneak out of bed to get food for them, she woke up, bleary-eyed and happy.
The strange combination of happiness and contentment filled Wolfe's mind, and it was his turn to wonder if his magic was broken. Emotions really shouldn't be that strong, or perhaps it was just that his own emotions were naturally somewhat muted, and this was the normal level for Cassie, where they affected every single thought she had.
"Good morning. Is there food?" She asked as she cleared the last of the sleep from her mind.
"I was about to get it. You can sleep a few more minutes if you like." Wolfe offered.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"No, that's fine. I'm hungry."
The moment that her feet touched the floor and she tried to stand, Cassie's legs collapsed under her, and an aching soreness spread from her chest to her core.
"Goddess Wolfe, what did you do to me? I hurt in places that shouldn't be able to hurt." She complained as she activated a healing spell that filled the room and left them both refreshed.
"As I recall, you not only requested but begged for what I did. You had better not be changing your mind now because I fully intend to do it again." Wolfe whispered in her ear so that no prying ears would overhear them.
The shudder of anticipation that ran through her body caused a stirring in Wolfe's pants, an unintended side effect of the change in their bond. If this feedback of overcharged emotions kept up, teasing Cassie had just become a much higher-stakes game.
They made their way down to the dining room, where a very annoyed-looking Ella was waiting for them with plates of breakfast and coffee.
"You nearly missed the breakfast service, so I saved some for you. I didn't know when you would unlock the door, but it seems that something big happened in there last night, and I am not just talking about Cassie's nest of a hairstyle." The little blue-haired witch giggled, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
"The link with Cassie advanced. It changed from what seems to be the max level of the Familiar Bond to a Consort Bond. It's a strange experience, and I think that we will have to find a way to adjust to the link before it distracts us during a critical moment." Wolfe replied.
"Is it that strong?" Ella asked, wondering just what sort of bond this new advancement brought.
Cassie nodded rapidly. "It's manageable if we're apart, maybe. I haven't really tested that yet, though. But together, I'm basically non-functional. I mean, I can think, but all I can think about is him and what will make him happy. Plus, I can feel everything he feels. Not just emotions, but physical sensations as well, and it's overwhelming."
Mio, who was seated just down at the table, scooted over and smirked at Cassie.
"It's the same with the Servant bond, in a way. Only, we don't notice that what we want is what we think he wants, and we can't feel anyone touching him. But if he's around and giving orders, it's hard to think, even if he's not ordering us, we want to do it."
Cassie nodded. "Yes, I think it's like that in a way. But there's a need for him. It's not a matter of being compelled to do what he wants. I don't really feel that. It's more like a desperate need for approval."
Ella laughed at Cassie's words. "Is that any different than before? I think it's just that you can't hide your nature from him anymore."
Cassie stuck her tongue out at the little witch while the rest of the witches nearby began to laugh.
"You know what they say? You always have to be careful of the quiet ones. They're secretly the freaks. Good luck, Wolfe. Now that you've unlocked her, you will have a wild one on your hands." Priya chuckled.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmCassie threw a bit of cereal at Priya and shook her head. "You're not listening to what I'm saying. This isn't like anything natural. I think that the bonds might actually be a form of Witch Magic that affects the mind."
That was a very real possibility. There was nothing in Wolfe's magic that would link them together like that, not even the [Favor] spell, which put a link to their soul using Unholy Magic. That didn't affect their mind, but it could be used to force them to comply through intense guilt and fear sent to the deepest levels of the subconscious.
"How bad is it?" Mio asked curiously.
"It only happened last night, so I can't really say, but at the time, it was overwhelming. Hey, get your hands out of his pants." Cassie replied, her voice raising to a shout at the end as Mio decided to tease Wolfe to see if Cassie would feel it.
"What does it feel like? I guess you really can tell if anyone touches him." Mio giggled.
"It feels like you're touching me as well. Now that he's blocking most of his emotions from me, the way everyone usually does so they don't flood the link, it's just a sense of touch. I think that if he was injured, I would feel that as well. But I definitely know if someone has their hands down his pants, so cut it out."
Mio giggled as she retracted her hand, then patted Wolfe on the arm. "Sorry buddy, no more playing with the witches. Your new consort will get upset."
Cassie wasn't sure it was physically possible for her to get mad at Wolfe anymore, but she wasn't going to tell anyone else that, and she was definitely going to work on getting her reactions under control before the others learned to use them to tease her.
But when Wolfe patted her on the head and fed her a bit of fruit, she couldn't help the thrill of lust that ran through her body. This adjustment was going to be harder than expected.