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Chapter Text

Prologue.

 I took one last look out into the world I was leaving behind. I could see the faint fiery orange and deep purple glow from the sun behind the mountains, and see the strange birds and dragons flying back to their homes. I could see the trees and villages in the distance, the great lakes and biomes, different habitats that we visited. This place was truly magical, and for a fleeting moment, I did not want to leave.

  But then a hand grabbed mine, and I knew that I had to go. I had to return home. I looked back at the new friends I had made and thought back on the enemies I created on the way. This truly was an adventure, one that could never compete with the pitiful dreams of a life and purpose I so desperately craved in the real world.

  With a heavy sigh, teary vision, and a new sense of purpose, I turned and closed my eyes. Then, I stepped forward, seeing the portal that would take me back home. I think back to the life I had. No family, no friends. I turn back around, looking up at the men I’ve grown to love.

  “Let me stay with you.”

Chapter Text

 You woke up for a routine that felt like you had been doing your entire life. Get up, get ready, and leave for work. All for a boring desk job in a shitty office with even shittier people. The pay wasn’t even that great, but it was enough for your small studio apartment in the big city. You sighed once you finally sat down in your car, watching the rain patter softly against the windows. You always felt drowsy once it rained, making you just want to lie down and sleep for hours.

  But it had to wait because you would be late to work soon.

  After a depressing and boring drive, listening to some random station on the radio, you reached the office. You parked in the back, grabbed your purse and keys then triple-locked the car doors. You'd rather not add a car theft to your plate since you were living paycheck to paycheck. You opened the office doors and headed to the break room to punch in for the day, grabbing my card. I went to my desk, mumbling greeting back as my co-workers said their too cheery “Hello”s and “Good morning”s.

  Just after you set your bag down and powered on your computer, an annoying, grating, ear-deafening voice sounded behind you. “Oh, won’cha look at that? There’s my favorite girl!” You grit your teeth, rolling your eyes before slowly turning in my seat. You looked up into the dark green eyes of none other than Evan Vanderbilt, a right jackass that made your skin crawl. Even now, his eyes roved over your body despite being right in front of you. You shoved the bitterness down your throat, tilting your head in a reluctant greeting with a forced smile. “Hi, Evan..” He smirked at you, walking closer to lean against the desk divider, and peered down at you. “Hi, doll. Did you miss me?” Evan asked in a way that made you want to gag. If you ever thought about him at home then you’d gladly go step into the highway by your apartment.

  You glance away, not having an answer to his weird question, and log into your computer. Maybe he’d give up if you looked busy. He, in fact, did not give up. “Ah, playing hard to get.. Bet’cha shy admitting it, hm?” He laughed, clapping you on the shoulder. You nearly gagged again as his fingers dug into the sliver of shoulder and neck peeking out from under your hair. “Um.. totally.” You mutter half-heartedly and thank whatever god was out there that he finally walked away to find his next victim.

  You sigh, looking at the stack of papers on your desk. With a sense of disappointment, you began the long, tedious task of filling out paperwork for the next eight hours.

  You stand up, stretching and yawning softly. Your boss asked you to stay extra time to finish up a few “urgent” things. You realized not long after he left it was just work he was supposed to do, but he decided that clubbing with his rich buddies was more important. After flicking the computer off, grabbing your things, and clocking out, you step outside into the chilly weather. You pull the coat closer to your body, huffing softly while walking to your car.

  Except Evan was right there. Leaning against your door. He grinned when he saw you, but.. Something was off. “Evan..? I thought you left?” Your voice is cautious and tense . He stood up straight, and you knew he was drunk off his mind. Wobbling and leaning this way and that. “I- hic - Was waiting for ya, pretty..” He slurred, taking a step closer. You stepped back. You put your hand in your purse, resting there just in case . “Um.. y-you can go now. I’m going home.” You try again, anything to get him away from your car.

  Evan’s bloodshot eyes looked down at your hand, then back up at you. His drunk smirk only got cockier. “I-I wanna talk t’you, sweetheart.. Just a moment, yeah?” He stepped closer, faster this time. He grabbed your coat, tugging you forward. Hard. You stumble into him, breath hitching as your purse drops to the ground, contents spilling out. You and Evan stare at the can of pepper sprat rolled right in front of his boot, almost mocking you. He glanced up at you, his eyes darkening. “S’that what that pretty hand o’yours reaching for?” He nearly snarled, the switch up making you flinch. His hand grasped your wrist, pulling you close enough to smell the drinks on his breath. “Thought you liked me, doll. Hurts hic- my feelings.”

  “Let go-” You start, jerking your hand back. He seems to get only more annoyed, tugging you back into his chest. This was when you began to panic. “H-Hey, what the fuck? Let. go! ” You hiss, trying to push him away. “C’mon, loosen up baby.. Lemme help you out.” Evan purred into your ear, hand sliding underneath your shirt despite your struggle. Fear kicked in, your body growing taut as he brushed against your breast with his perverted fingers.

  “Get- off !” You yell, stomping on his foot as hard as you can with your heels. As soon as he let go, you bolted, dashing towards the alleyway, hands frantically patting your pockets. Fuck, my phone is in the purse. You reach a dead end, panting hard as you tremble lightly. Just as you were about to turn around to run somewhere else, Evan skidded around the corner. “Oh, there you are. Y’know, for a woman in heels, you run fast..”

  He stepped closer.

  You stepped back.

  He got even closer .

  Your back hit the wall.

  You stared at him, wide-eyed as he pulled a knife out. Of course, the sick fuck was into knife play. You think bitterly, staring at him. If this was how you’d die, it would be a pathetic way to go. A woman,  dying from rape and stab wounds. No family, no friends, no connections. A nobody.

  He lunged.

  And you screamed.

Chapter Text

  You woke up on the damp ground. Everything hurt. It felt like you were dropped from the sky, your vision slowly coming back to you as you looked up and saw... trees. You sat up quickly, looking around you with wide eyes, feeling the panic creep into your chest. All you saw were fucking trees. “What the hell..?” You ask nobody but yourself. Maybe Evan kidnapped you and dropped you off in the fucking Amazon or something.

  You stand up with a groan, dusting off your… pants. You looked down, seeing slightly baggy black pants and black pants black boots, digging into the mud. Your shirt was different too. A white, loose-sleeved shirt with strings in the front on the collar. You thought maybe Evan changed you after he was done with you. The thought made you shiver. Gross…

  After looking around quietly, you started to walk. You climbed over a fallen tree, stepping over thick roots and dead branches. It was oddly silent for a forest, not a single sound except the faint rustle of trees in the wind. Until you hear it. Rushing water. You try your best to pinpoint where it is, blindly walking in what you hoped was the right direction.

  You pushed passed a few bushes, the water sounding louder now. You blink at the sudden sunlight, the shade of the trees fading as you see a river before you, flowing downstream. It looked pretty big and was most likely really deep, considering how you couldn’t see the bank after about a foot in. You stepped closer, wondering if there were any fish in there, wanting to see some kind of wildlife.

  As you crouch down and place your hands on your knees, you see your reflection. There was a white streak in your hair. Confused, you touch it lightly only to jerk your hand back from the cold feeling it had. You were so distracted by the streak you don’t see the creature swimming up to you in the waters until you look down and see two, pale white eyes staring at you from beneath the surface.

  You freeze, staring at it, peering into it’s gaze. You don’t know why, but your hand starts to move on its own, slowly reaching out. You try to pull it back, but you can’t, your palm hovering just above the surface. “W-Wait, hey, what are you doing-!?” You nearly yell, seeing more, smaller eyes open around the original pair. Whatever this creature was, it had multiple eyes. And its mouth was opening, bubbles forming around its opened jaws where you could faintly see rows of teeth. A whimper escaped your lips as you tried to tug your hand back, but felt like someone was pulling it forward.

  The creature was suddenly rising, and you watched in horror as it emerged from the murky waters, blinding white eyes blinking at you. Its mouth hung open, sharp jagged teeth barely a foot from your face. It lunges and you scream, one hand held out in front of you as you realize this was it. Except the fatal blow never came. All you heard was a loud, terrifying snarl, feeling a rush of wind in front of you and hearing a loud thud.

  Your trembling hand was finally free, and you jerked it back to hold it against your chest. But then you look over and see it. A large, wolfish creature tearing the fish creature apart. The wolf looked to be the size of a large horse, with human-like paws, and thick claws instead of nails protruding from its furry fingers. You could see the flash of fangs, a resounding crunch making your inside jolt when the fish monster stopped moving, and the wolf dropped its neck.

  Then it turned to you.

  You stumble back, standing up and falling again, hitting a large rock as it starts to prowl forward. It had large teeth, its muzzle bloodied up from the fish. He had a thick mane, one that looked like a messy Mullet or Mohawk, sitting between its pointed ears. It looked like a fucking werewolf. It had bright blue eyes, eyes that were seeing right through you as you whimpered and looked away, squeezing your eyes shut and holding your hands out protectively. This was it, I’m going to die from a fucking wolf. If not a demon fish, it’s this-

  You freeze, feeling something wet press against your held-out hand. You crack open your eyes, seeing the wolf nosing your hand. Your fist was barely as big as its black nose. Blue eyes flicked up to yours, watching you carefully. Its ears twitched as it lay down on the forest floor, pressing its stomach to the ground, still watching you as its tail swished. You stare at the wolf in shock.

  “Um.. h-hi..?” You murmur, feeling a little crazy for talking to an oversized animal. But, it seemed to like it, his tail wagging. It leaned forward again, pressing its huge furry head into your palm. You hesitate, but you gently scratch at its ears much to its pure delight. You hear a deep rumble escape its chest, tail wagging so fast you’re half-expecting him to just take off and fly away.

  The wolf stands up slowly for a moment, stepping back. For a moment, you expect it to leave, but then you see steam rising from its muscular, furry body. You watch in curiosity and slight fear as the wolf grows smaller. Its muzzle shrank back into a more human-like shape, fur retracting from the arms and legs. You watch in awe as the wolf turns into a man.

  A hot one, at that. Large arms and broad chest. His thighs were almost thicker than yours, and you tell he was just pure muscle. His tanned skin was tinted pink, with brown stubble, and baby hair all around his body. You look at his chest, eyes trailing down his thick happy trail towards his- You blinked, realizing he was naked. When you averted your gaze quickly, you heard the man’s laugh out loud. “Ach, bonnie, donnae be shy!” He called out to you, stepping closer and crouching in front of you. A large, firm hand grabbed your chin, tilting your head up to see those bright blue eyes again. He grinned at you, a cheeky expression on his face as he saw your faint blush. “Did tha' Arancis fish scare ye? Hurt ye a’ all?” He asked, blue eyes looking you over with genuine concern. You shake your head, not trusting your voice to speak up. He smiled, patting your head as he stood up, making you look away again. You didn’t want to see his manhood by accident.

  He started walking away, however, and for a moment, you felt fear crawl up your spine. “W-Wait!” You call out, unable to help the tremble in your voice. The man’s fluffy ear twitched, looking over his shoulder at you. “Yeah, lass?” He mused, smirk tugging at his lips, showing a flash of sharp canines in his mouth. You hesitate, before speaking up quietly. “Are.. Are you leaving..?” For a moment, his eyes soften. His tail flicks behind him, and then he shakes his head. “Nae. M’gonna got to get ma clothes. Unless.. Ye like seein’ ma goods.” He winked at you, and to your annoyance, you blush faintly when you look away quickly. He cackles, walking past the bush and leaving you alone for a moment.

  He returns a few minutes later, wearing a pair of blue pants that look similar to yours. They sit low on his hips, the back resting just underneath his thick tail. You were perched on the rock, looking back at the huge fish quietly, your knees pressed to your chest as the near-death experience started to hit.

  “Bonnie. Ye okay?” He hummed, walking closer and snapping his fingers in front of you. You nod slowly, glancing up at him. “Yeah, I’m peachy. Woke up in a random forest, nearly got killed by a demon fish, and I’m looking at a… Werewolf or something in front of me. I’m great .” You reply dryly, sighing as you rub your hand over your face. The Werewolf hummed, tilting his head before holding a hand out. “Soap. Th’ name’s Soap.” You blink up at him, raising a brow at the strange name, but you take his large hand in yours and shake lightly as you tell him your name. He grinned, tail wagging. “Pretty name fer a pretty lass.” You roll your eyes at the flirting. But it was working. Kinda.

  He chucked at you rolling your eyes, pulling you off the rock. You yelped, but he helped steady you as he patted your head again. “C’mon. Ye said you donnae know where ye are, yeah? I can take ye to mah pack, an’ we can help ye find yer way home.” You blink up at him, hesitating as you take a tiny step back. Could you really trust him? Trust his… pack? He could sense your worry, his blue eyes softer than before as he cocked his head. “Hey. Lassie. M’not gonna hurt ye, promise. I think I ‘ad a perfect chance there earlier, hm?” He murmured, gently grabbing your hand. Your eyes flicked down, looking at how his clawed fingers lightly brushed against your skin. You don’t know why, but you thought back to Evan. When he touched you like this, it made you feel ill and creeped out. But when Soap did it…

  You sigh, stepping closer. “Lead the way, I suppose.” Soap smiled at you, nearly dragging you along through the forest. “Is it a long walk?” You ask him, and he barks out a laugh. “We’re ina forest . O’course s’gonna be a long walk. I could shift and let you ride me though.” He suggested, but the waggle of his brows made you realize he was making a dirty joke. You groan, mumbling about how you’d rather walk instead, making another round of barking laughter erupt from him.

  You did eventually ask him to carry you, however. He walked behind a tree to tug his pants off, and when he stepped back, he was shifted into that huge wolf form. He crouched down, letting you crawl onto his back. You clutched onto the Mohawk fur his wolf form had, before slowly relaxing and leaning forward. You drifted to sleep, feeling his powerful muscles ripple beneath your body.

  Maybe Soap wasn’t so bad.

Chapter Text

  You woke up to feel a warm hand pressing to your face. There are voices around you, at least three. You shift slightly, silently grateful you can feel Soap’s fur underneath your body still. When you manage to push yourself up, you nearly slide off the Wolf’s back, until a pair of hands grab you from under your arms. “Whoa, easy lass.. Careful, Soap’s a tall mutt.” You hear a deep voice near your ear speaking, and you could have sworn he had a British accent. Odd. Scottish and British..

  When you open your eyes, you see an older man looking down at you, a sort of amused glint in his eyes as he watches your sleepiness slowly fade. Your vision clears, and you see the man a bit clearer now. He was definitely older but looked in his late thirties. He had dark blue eyes, looking into yours with a softness that reminded you of Soap’s. His face had a thick, yet well-trimmed, beard with mutton chops and a mustache matching the dark brown color of his hair.

  Then you see the horns. And the big-ass wing behind him.

  “Where am I-?” You start, your eyes widening as you scoot back, but you feel a wet and cool nose press against your back. You look up and see Soap looking down at you with that feral grin in his wolf form. “It’s alright, dove. I’m John Price, but Price is alright.” You look back at the ma- Price with a cautious glance, seeing him hold his hand out to you after he introduced himself to you. You mumble out your name, taking it.

  He also had clawed fingernails, and you took a moment to look at his.. Dragon features. He had two, pale green horns sticking out of the sides of his head, pointing directly in front of him. His teeth were sharp, watching him talk to Soap above you as the long, lizard-like tail behind him flicked. You looked at the wing behind his back, silently wondering what happened to the other.

  Your thoughts are broken when another voice rings out from behind, smooth and light, also accented with a British lilt. Tilting your head back, you blink at the sight of another young man, and he is probably the prettiest man you’ve ever seen. Your jaw almost dropped at the sight of him, seeing his chocolate brown eyes and copper-colored skin. You looked at his legs, feathers fading into skin on his thighs in his shorts, and instead of feet, he had hawk-like talons. Two, large, fluffy black wings sat on his back, nearly as large as his body.

  You watched as he chuckled softly, stepping closer to bend down to your height, and holding his hand out. You see black and brown feathers littered along his wrists and forearms, each one looking sharper than the last. His fingers had black claw-like nails jutting from them, shiny and clearly well cared for.

  You hesitate to take his hand, but you do quietly, letting him shake it while he speaks in a slightly softer tone than before. “Hiya, luv. I’m Kyle, but you can call me Gaz. Soap was just tellin’ us about your little problem.” Gaz’s dark brown eyes looked a little sympathetic, tilting his head. “What are you?” He asked suddenly, sniffing the air before standing up straight. Soap chimed in, having finally shifted back into a more human body, stretching as he tugged his pants back on. “Coul’ be a human, mate. She donnae smell like i’ though, bu’ I donnae think she’s a mage a’ all either. Almos’ g’ eaten by an Arancis.” He explains, moving to rest a hand on your head. “Think Si can figure ‘er out?”

  You look up at the three of them, these.. Creatures, feeling your heart start to race. What was going on? Where were you? Were you dead? Your eyes found the ground silently, your body starting to tremble as your thoughts raced. You hadn’t even realized your eyes were tearing up until a large, gentle, and clawed hand was pressed to your cheek. “Hey, shh, shh it’s okay… we’ll help you find your way home, I promise.” Gaz was softly murmuring, his large wings wrapping around your bodies as he tugged you closer to his warm chest. You finally had a moment to sit and process everything, your breath hitching as it dawned on you were kidnapped and possibly drugged out of your mind.

  Your arms subconsciously wrapped around Gaz, barely listening to them talking above you until a low, deep gravely voice cut through the air. ”Who the bloody ‘ell did y’brin’ in this time, Price?” You look up, seeing a huge, tall man look down at you with cold-hazel eyes. He wore a black balaclava and a skull mask that sat right on his face held by a buckle in the back. He glared down at you, trapping you in your spot against Gaz as a sense of fear washed over you.

  Soap’s voice broke through the silence, and you watched as the werewolf happily bounded over to the skull-faced man, grinning dumbly at him. ”Ah, Si’! Perfec’ time for ye to sho’ up.. We have a bonnie lass who needs help.”

  It then hits you that this is the man who was supposed to help you get home. And judging from his glare… he was going to have a huge problem with that.

Chapter Text

  Ghost looked down at you quietly. Your big, round eyes peered up at him with weariness and anxiety when Gaz stood up and moved away. He narrowed his eyes behind his mask, trying to sense what you were, but to his annoyance, he couldn’t feel anything. It pissed him off, the fact that you had no energy. No magic. No abilities. Nothing at all that he could sense.  He scoffed softly, crossing his arms. The sight was pathetic, honestly.

  You shrank back slightly, not out of entirely fear, but the judgement in his eyes made you cringe. Soap, ever the cheery one, was quick to try and ease the tension in the room with an easy smile, his hand on Ghost’s shoulder. “Ach, donnae mind Ghos’ lassie. He’s a grumpy ol’ arse.” That earned him a glare from ‘Ghost’, his hazel eyes boring into the Scotsman before he turned back to you, stepping forward and speaking up with his deep, monotone voice. “Wha’s yer name? And what the ‘ell are you doin’ in this forest? S’our territory, love .” He grumbled out, the pet name coming out condescending as he leaned down to get in your space.

  You could only stare up at him, trembling lightly from your earlier panic as you tried to remember how you got here. “I-I don’t know.. I swear, i just woke up here!” You breathe out, watching him eye you skeptically. Price, the Dragon-man, stepped in finally with a soft huff of smoke, sighing as he spoke. “Don’ scare the poor thing, Simon. She’s clearly lost and scared. She could have been dropped off by traders or something, mate.” Price offered the possible explanation, one that didn’t make sense to you as much as it seemed to make sense to them.

  Price turned to you, his lips quirking up slightly underneath his mustache as he bent down in front of your body. “You hungry, dove? M’sure Gaz ‘ere can make ya somethin’ so we can figure what’s goin’ on.” He said gently, and you could see Gaz’s chocolatey brown eyes soften when he nodded in agreement, his wings fluttering behind him. You hesitated, obviously, since these were four men who could easily drug you.. But then you thought ‘What the hell’ and figured you were probably drugged enough and possibly hallucinating. “I.. I’ll take something, thank you..” You mutter finally, letting Soap drag you to your feet and push you to sit down at a table.

  You take a moment to look around, and a few things catch your eye quickly. The furniture looked.. Old. Not in an “oh I’ve had this for years” kind of old, but in an old times kind of way. Like, the medieval times. The chairs were clearly handcrafted out of some kind of wood, and the table in front of her matched the same intricate design of skulls and animals.

  There’s paintings hanging around, and some weapons and trinkets scattered here and there. The living room you were just sitting in had a fireplace and a thick, large plush rug in front of it. There was a strange-looking ‘couch’ thing against the wall, wood carvings sporting the same as the table as well. You then notice the lack of lights. It’s just.. Candle holders. And windows. The place is lit up by natural light alone..

  “Hey, ‘ere, love..” Gaz murmured, placing a plate in front of you on the table, making you turn around in your seat again to stare at the food. You didn’t think you were hungry until the smell of bacon hit your senses. Thank god these creatures believed in bacon. You thank Gaz quickly, digging into the eggs and bacon, the taste of homemade biscuits making your mouth water even if they tasted like they were from this morning. Food was food at this point.

“Poor bonnie, yer probably starvin’..” Soap muttered softly with pinned-back ears, a guilty look on his face as he sat next to you. Gaz sat near Price at the other end of the table, and Ghost sat next to Soap. You normally would hate to have people watch you eat, but honestly? You could care less. Ghost watched with mild disgust, not at how were eating, but just at the fact you were even in the same room as him.

  Price cleared his throat after a moment, catching your attention as you munched on a strip of bacon, your eyes peering up at him like a deer in headlights. “So.. we know your name, but where are you from? That would probably help us figure out how you got ‘ere.” He said calmly, his dark blue eyes studying you quietly.

  You blinked up at him, then glanced around the cottage-like home. Would they even know any cities..? “I’m from Texas. The uh.. United States of America? Dallas..?” You say slowly, seeing the confusion morph on all of their faces. Even Ghost’s eyes seemed to show he was stumped. “Er.. where’s that, sir?” Gaz asked Price, his dark brows furrowing as his wings ruffled in thought. Soap’s fluffy ears twitched, his wagging tail slowing down to a stop. That’s when the panic started to kinda kick in. “Okay, w-what’s.. This place called? Maybe there’s a language barrier, or we’re not on the same page..” You say a little desperately, bacon returning to the plate. Ghost gave you an ‘Are you serious?’ look, before he sighed and responded in a gruff tone. “The forest is called Siluva . And the country is called Veticaterra . You must have hit your head if you didn’t know that.”

  “..What the fuck.” Is all that you can manage, your hands hovering above your plate. What the hell was that? She’d never heard of these places, and she was in AP history classes back in high school. The men seem to notice your panic rising again, Gaz reaching out to try and calm you down. “Woah, i-it’s okay.. Maybe you did hit your head? We can find this.. Texas you speak of, right?” He said quickly, concern in his eyes. “Ah, shite.. She’s lookin’ pale, mate..” Soap said dryly, standing up when you did and reaching out to steady you.

  Meanwhile, your mind was racing. Maybe you were dead. Evan killed you, and this was some weird version of hell. A sort of laugh escapes you as you press a hand to your temple. “Oh my God.. this isn’t real. This can’t be happening.” You say shakily, looking at the four men. “I mean, you’re a bird. You have dragon wings, and this guy is named Soap and turns into a wolf. I’m going crazy.”

  “Yer’re not dreamin’.” Ghost muttered, rolling his eyes as he sipped out of a cup of tea he seemed to make appear out of thin fucking air. You watched as shadowy tendrils surrounded the mug until they disappeared in thin air. “H-How.. How did..?” You ask in pure shock before suddenly you're falling. And everything is going dark.

Muffled voices surround you as someone catches you and lays your limp body on the couch, someone tapping your face. The last thing you catch is your name and the sound of Ghost’s deep scoff.

Pathetic, he thought once more.