The Breeding Hall felt too large and too small at the same time.
I sat in the center of the massive circular bed, knees drawn up to my chest, arms wrapped tightly around them as if I could hold myself together by sheer force. My heart hammered so violently I could feel it in my throat, in my temples, in the tips of my fingers. Every breath came shallow and ragged, like my lungs had forgotten how to work properly. The golden light inside me surged and flickered erratically, sending hot and cold flashes through my veins that only made the panic worse.
Liora was still touching my arm, her small hand gentle and warm. "Alex… breathe. You're safe. You're here with us."
Kaia leaned closer, her heavy breasts brushing my shoulder, voice low and soothing. "You were magnificent last night. We've never seen you like that. You took control completely. You claimed every one of us like you owned us. It was… intense."
Morgana watched me from the edge of the bed, purple hair falling over one shoulder, her expression calm and unreadable as always. "You never left this room. You were inside us for hours. We lost count of how many times you filled us. You even took Liora and me at the same time while the others watched. You were… different. Stronger. Wilder."
I shook my head violently, eyes wide.
"No. That's not possible. I followed him. The man with the silver eyes. He led me into the alley. Someone stabbed me. I felt the blade go in. I tasted blood. I died. I died right there on the ground and then… then I woke up here."
My voice cracked on the last word. I could hear how unhinged I sounded, but I couldn't stop. The words kept spilling out faster and faster.
"I saw the gallery. The black thrones. All those people just sitting there, staring at the wall, not moving, not breathing. He said they were the ones who came before me. The ones who got used up. He said when I'm no longer needed I'll sit there too. And now you're telling me I never left? That I was here fucking all of you the whole time? That I did things I don't remember?"
Liora's eyes widened with concern. "Alex, you're scaring me. You really were here. You kept saying you wanted to mark us, to own us. You were so rough with me… I loved it. You came so much inside me I could still feel it leaking out when I woke up."
Kaia nodded, a small smile playing on her lips. "You painted my tits twice and made me lick it off while you fucked Lirien from behind. You've never been that dominant before. It was like something finally broke loose inside you."
Morgana's gaze sharpened slightly, but her voice remained cool. "You were different last night, Alex. More… present. More hungry. We assumed the cultivation had finally taken hold and you had embraced your true nature. You even took me from behind while I was on my knees, choking me lightly with your hand around my throat. You told me I belonged to you."
I clutched my head with both hands, fingers digging into my scalp. My breathing was coming too fast now. The room tilted. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision.
"This isn't happening. This isn't happening. I died. I felt myself die. How can I be here? How can I have done all those things and not remember any of it?"
The panic crested like a wave. My chest tightened until I couldn't draw a full breath. My hands started shaking uncontrollably. I rocked forward, forehead pressed to my knees, gasping.
"I followed him… he showed me the gallery… the thrones… the people who came before… he said the crack chooses… he said when I'm not needed anymore…"
Liora tried to wrap her arms around me, but I flinched away.
"Don't touch me. Please. I don't know what's real anymore."
Kaia frowned, confusion clear on her face. "Alex, you never left the Breeding Hall. We were with you the entire night. You fell asleep between us after the last round. You were smiling."
Morgana studied me for a long moment before speaking again, her voice quiet. "You were different last night, Alex. More… present. More hungry. We assumed the cultivation had finally taken hold and you had embraced your true nature."
I clutched my head with both hands, fingers digging into my scalp. My breathing was coming too fast now. The room tilted. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision.
"This isn't happening. This isn't happening. I died. I felt myself die. How can I be here? How can I have done all those things and not remember any of it?"
The panic crested like a wave. My chest tightened until I couldn't draw a full breath. My hands started shaking uncontrollably. I rocked forward, forehead pressed to my knees, gasping for air that wouldn't come.
"I followed him… he showed me the gallery… the thrones… the people who came before… he said the crack chooses… he said when I'm not needed anymore…"
Liora tried again to comfort me, but I pulled away sharply, eyes darting around the room.
None of them understood.
They only stared at me with concern and confusion, their bodies still marked with the evidence of whatever had happened last night.
And in that heavy silence, a single terrifying thought settled deep in my gut and refused to leave:
If I really died in that alley… then who — or what — had been inside my body all night, using it to fuck them?