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For his mind, it was almost as good as sleep, and he knew his body would be perfectly rested.
What he had forgotten was that the other Witches nearby could feel the ebb and flow of his mana as he stretched his Mana Focus and then fed the excess to his Witches.
Normally a person’s aura was placid while sleeping or meditating, but theirs pulsed as he fed them power and slowly grew. It wasn’t much, only a few percent per night, but any observant Witch who was sitting that close would notice.
When Parker woke Cassie and Ella for their watch, she signalled for them to stay silent, then sat down beside Wolfe and waited to see if it was an inherent trait of being a Demon of his type that caused the effect or part of their bond.
It only took a few moments to realize that the target of the effect hadn’t changed, and she got up with a sigh. She had felt a bit of lingering power around Wolfe, but it wasn’t something that she could easily work with, and being that close to him when he was surrounded by excess mana felt much better than she was willing to admit in public.
“If you only had to be close to him, half of the regular class would be living in our room. It’s a side effect of the bond we share.” Ella whispered, trying not to wake anyone up.
“That’s disappointing. My Familiar implied that there was a way for any Witch to grow stronger quickly through a Demon like him.” Parker sighed.
“Oh, there is. But his Witch won’t let you.” The Imp giggled while Ella glared at it.
“See, what does he mean? Imps can’t lie or break their word. It’s part of their curse as lower-level demons.” Parker asked while Cassie sighed.
“He’s not lying. But the method is, how should I put this, somewhat unconventional. You can swallow and process his less vital fluids to build your aura, but it will likely bond you to him.
But more importantly, I’m not letting your mouth go anywhere near his dick. That’s my man, I got to him first, and I’m already sharing him with enough people.” Cassie replied softly.
Parker’s face turned bright red, and her Familiar burst into laughter as she realized what the method was.
“Why would you even tell me something like that?” She asked her Imp.
“It might be outside my powers, but it’s well within his, and you could double your aura before the end of the term if you managed it. You said you wanted power. Here is your chance.” The Imp teased her.
“Double her aura? Seriously?” Noor asked suspiciously.
“Easily. His Witches certainly will, and you could too. Maybe if you beg, the Witches will let you. It’s not so bad being a Witch’s slave, I would know.” The Imp gloated.
“Stop picking on the Witches and behave. They need to sleep so they’re ready for tomorrow, not spend the night fretting about power.” Wolfe chastised the imp without opening his eyes.
“You are awake? More importantly, you’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Ella demanded.
“Not as much as I was enjoying having you beside me in bed. But I have to admit; there is a certain appeal to it. Before I came to the academy, back when I was a bike courier in the city, a beautiful Witch in my bed was a farfetched dream.
Now I get two of them and a fluffy kitten. Things are going pretty well for me if I do say so myself.”
Ella swung a kick into the tent, hitting Wolfe in the leg before sticking her tongue out at him. “You’re such an ass. You were supposed to say that we are the only ones for you.”
“Do the others know?” Parker asked, indicating the tent where Mary and Reiko were sleeping.
“They know, but they’re not sleeping with him either.” Cassie insisted, leaving out the reasons why.
“They are growing quite quickly, though. Are you sure?” Noor asked.
“Wolfe formed a five-way link between us and Stephanie, the Familiar Cat, to boost our power for the exams. If it came down to lewd things, I’m pretty sure Mary would have flat-out refused.” Ella replied, smiling at the memory of the night the bond was formed.
“Why the cat?” Noor’s confusion was clear in her voice.
“Oh, I know this one. He formed a Pentacle. Five Witches bound to a mana source. In this case, he bound them to himself, I’m assuming. It’s a type of combat formation from the great war. The members of the Pentacle will all appear to have the same power level while it is active, and they can all equally share the mana source they are linked to, even when they are cut off from outside mana.” The Imp explained.
Parker looked at her Familiar with suspicion.
“Is that all?”
“Of course not. It’s blood magic. They will also share their growth and their emotions in addition to their auras.”
Their conversation had gotten a bit louder, attracting the attention of Pup, who stuck his head out. Then, when he noticed that Wolfe was alone, he flipped Mary into his back and came to lay down across Wolfe, dragging his slumbering witch into the sleeping bag with him.
“What is he doing?” Parker asked in confusion.
“Leeching excess mana from my meditation.” Wolfe offered as Reiko stuck her head out of the tent.
“It’s cold in here. Is it our turn?” She asked.
“No, it is ours. Pup stole Mary so he could leech mana from Wolfe and not lose her warmth.” Cassie explained.
“Oh, then, please excuse my intrusion,” Reiko mumbled and switched tents, moving to the far side where she could cuddle Mary.
“I’m going to bed. This situation is too much for the middle of the night in the wilderness.” Parker sighed, returning to her tent, followed closely by Noor.
Wolfe noticed when the shift changed, largely because Mary had to be dragged off of Pup, who then refused to leave the bed when Cassie and Ella returned.
“We need a new sleeping arrangement for the next trip. Everyone should be in one big tent with a little stove or something for heat. I need more assistance getting Mary up for her watch.” Reiko told Wolfe when she came to wake everyone up for breakfast.
“The tents we have are big enough that we could split the group in half, but it’s up to you to convince the other half.” Ella joked.
“At least we know nothing inappropriate will happen. Not when Pup is there to guard his spot.” Noor laughed, already seated on the far side of the fire.
“He’s a good boy. Cuddly too.” Wolfe agreed to enthusiastic agreement from Mary.
“You lot really are strange, you know that, right?” Curtis asked while sticking his arm out of his tent and holding out his armour amulet so someone could charge it for the day.
“But that’s why we have so much fun.”