Philanthropy is Sexy

MADDIE

“Wait until you see this, mouse!” Loch called from the end of the long hallway.

I chased after him, practically giddy.

I burst into the room to see that the sex dungeon had been transformed into a gym.

Treadmills lined one wall. The center of the room was covered with mats for workout classes. And on the other side, punching bags hung from the wall.

“Sick!” I cried. “But where did the other…equipment go?”

Since Loch stopped being ~Lochness,~ my mates had spent almost all day, every day, converting their mansion into an orphanage. And the grand opening was ~today.~

My heart swelled with pride as I gazed into Loch’s green eyes. The red was gone, and so was the monster he had been.

“We moved them to the treasure room in the penthouse,” he said with a wink.

“Perfect,” I replied.

Upstairs, I found Hael arranging teddy bears on each of the bunk beds in the room for young children.

“Oh my God,” I sighed. My heart was literally bursting. “I didn’t know you were so…sweet.”

Hael came over and wrapped me in his arms.

“We’ve always had a soft spot for kids, Maddie. You know that.”

He kissed the top of my head, and I practically melted into a puddle.

“Let’s show her the best part,” Loch called to Hael from the doorway.

I followed my mates as they led me past the rooms filled with bunk beds.

I peeked into each one, my excitement growing with every step I took.

Loch and Hael had created a beautiful space for the orphans of Req City.

Nothing like the dingy shithole where I had grown up.

A nice place would make a ~huge~ difference. The kids would feel cared for. They would know that they were worthy of nice things.

~Of the amazing things they could accomplish,~ I thought, remembering my own rags to riches story.

At the end of the hall, there was a wall of windows. I stood between my mates and looked down into the enormous backyard.

I gasped.

The garden was still on the left, but on the right was the coolest playground I’d ever seen. The glittering, chrome structure had at least four different levels. Slides went down from every platform, and a ring of monkey bars wrapped around the whole thing.

“Wow,” I whispered.

“Cool, right?” Hael asked.

“And we had a mountaineer create hiking trails through the forest, since we own hundreds of acres around here,” Loch added.

“Wow!” I gazed up at my mates. In that moment, I couldn’t have been more in love with them.

Ever since Hael and I had defeated Lochness, I’d noticed a change in my mates. With the monster gone, it seemed like they were finally embracing their humanity.

They smiled down at me and pulled me into a giant bearhug.

A voice rang out from the top of the stairs.

“The kids are here!” their sister Adara shouted.

I had been more than surprised that Adara was willing to sacrifice her country home for the greater good, but it turned out that even that cold bitch had some warmth in her heart for children. Maybe it was a dragon thing.

Holding one of Loch’s and one of Hael’s hands in each of mine, we headed to the ribbon cutting.

I bounded over the bottom step of the grand staircase into the marble entrance hall.

“Someone’s happy,” Adara sneered.

She was right. The orphans of Requiem City finally had a beautiful place to live.

And that made me ~very~ happy.

I noticed a leather leash in Adara’s hand, and I thoughtlessly followed the length over the white marble with my eyes…

“Oh my God!” I shrieked.

At the other end of the leash was none other than ~Darren.~

He was on all fours, wearing an outfit made entirely of black latex.

I ran over to him.

“What the ~fuck,~ Darren?!” I asked. Last time I had seen the guy, he was being torn apart by Lochness. “I thought you were over this shit!”

He just smiled up at me. I noticed he was wearing a thick patent leather collar.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be over it, Maddie,” he replied. Adara’s stilettos clicked over the floor, and Darren looked up at her like a drooling puppy.

I rolled my eyes.

Adara got down next to him and kissed his cheek with genuine affection.

~Huh. Maybe all of the Dobrzycka siblings are changing…~

She pulled a ball gag from her purse and fastened it around Darren’s head.

~Okay. Maybe not.~

“Go wait for me in our special spot on the playground,” she ordered.

Darren nodded obediently. Adara slapped his ass, letting the leash fall from her hand as he scampered out of the room, still on all fours.

I nearly wretched.

“Maddie!” Loch called through the open front door.

I ran to take my place between my mates. I immediately forgot about whatever twisted game Darren and Adara were playing as I stared out at nearly a hundred smiling faces.

These were the orphans who would be moving into the mansion.

Of course, I wasn’t the sentimental type. I was hard as nails. I couldn’t remember the last time I had cried.

But looking out at those young people, at the hope in their small faces, my eyes prickled with tears.

As Loch handed me the scissors to cut the huge, red ribbon, I felt my heart bursting with pride and love.

LOCH

I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Maddie looked fucking adorable with those scissors in her hands. Philanthropy was a good look on her.

And I had to admit, even my cold-blooded heart warmed to think that I was part of her happiness.

Of course turning the mansion into an orphanage was a pretty obvious step.

But not exactly for the reasons Maddie might have assumed…

Hael

Brother.

Hael

What about that one over there?

Loch

Spiky hair?

Hael

Yes.

Loch

Very interesting…

I eyed the teenage boy. He towered over the orphans around him. He had a strong, solid build.

Unlike all of the other excited children, his expression was flat.

Maybe he could be our first recruit…

I met my brother’s gaze, and he gestured to Maddie. Her eyes shone with emotion as she held the open scissors.

“I was an orphan,” she began, “just like you guys!”

~What a cute little pet.~

“And I just want you to know that you ~all~ deserve a beautiful place to live! You deserve care! And opportunities!”

The orphans watched her intently. I hadn’t anticipated that Maddie would want to connect with them in this way, but it was sweet.

And it was working. They looked up at her like she was a superhero.

“Okay, that’s all,” she said. “Welcome to your new home!”

And then Maddie cut the ribbon, and the orphans ran into the mansion.

ANEURIN

“Welcome to your new home!” Silver shouted as we entered the clearing.

“Uh…” Dane stammered.

I raised my eyebrows at him. As usual, we were thinking the same thing.

We were in the middle of the woods. Literally the middle of nowhere.

Why had Silver taken it upon herself to find us a new place to live?

And why was it ~here?~

“I know what you’re thinking,” Silver continued, “but you’ll find that the great outdoors suits your new lifestyle. Or, your old one…”

“Old one?” I questioned. Silver’s only answer was her cryptic smile.

What was she talking about? Dane and I had never lived anywhere like this. Not in this lifetime, at least.

We were in a beautiful meadow with wildflowers that swayed in the breeze. I could hear the babbling stream full of fish swimming in the pristine waters to the right.

Thick-trunked trees surrounded the clearing, giving it near-complete cover.

It sure beat the streets of the Skeleton Quarter.

But still…there was nothing here. No grocery stores. No people. No WiFi.

“I know we were homeless and all,” Dane said, “but that doesn’t mean we’re ready for…this.” He gestured to the great outdoors.

“I know, I know,” Silver said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “But I set up some hammocks for you guys…” She led us into the trees and pointed up. Two huge hammocks swung between the branches.

“And out here, you have the space and ~privacy~ to practice shifting. You can strengthen your twin bond! Plus, you’ll be away from the temptations of the Quarter…”

She went on. “And if you need anything, you can send a smoke signal, and I’ll be able to see it.”

I looked at Dane. He shrugged.

The hammocks were pretty fuckin’ cool.

And I was already thinking of things we could add to the site.

A rope swing into the stream basin, a fire pit in the clearing to cook our meals…

Dane

A rope swing? Oh, fuck yeah!

Aneurin

Yeah.

Aneurin

Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

Dane

You read my mind, brother.

I turned back to Silver.

“You know,” I said, “I’m warming up to the idea.”

“I wouldn’t mind getting out of the Quarter,” Dane added.

She beamed at us.

“Good! There’s a lot of talk in the Shadow Realm about changes coming to Requiem…and when they do, all of us dragons need to be ready.”

My brow furrowed.

What did that mean? What changes? And how many of us were there?

There was so much I needed to learn.

Silver seemed like she was ready to leave. “You really do have everything you need,” she assured us.

I considered this. My brother and I both loved to fish. With the stream, we could be totally self-sustainable.

I flung my pack onto the ground. It had all my meager earthly possessions inside.

A few pairs of clothes, a few crumpled bills.

Enough to start over.

“Thanks, Silver,” I said, meaning it.

She nodded once before mist appeared at her feet and she instantly shifted into her dragon.

~She makes it look so easy.~

I followed her until she was just a speck in the sky.

I knew she had done us a favor, but I also knew it wasn’t totally selfless.

What did that dragon have up her sleeve?