Chapter 105: I want harem of 1000 women - 2
Jake pushed back his chair and stood.
"Raani," he said, turning to the Dragon Maiden, "I want you to prepare a courtyard here at the villa. Something private, beautiful, and large enough to house the women of my harem as our numbers grow. Make it worthy of them. They will be my chosen, and they deserve a space that reflects that."
Raani inclined her head, her golden eyes steady despite the flush still lingering on her cheeks.
"It will be done, my lord."
Jake looked at the four women once more, his expression softening.
"Talk among yourselves. Speak freely. I will be in the eastern solar if any of you wish to find me later. But know this—I love you. All of you. And I will not choose between you."
He left the chamber without another word, his robe whispering against the marble floor as he walked away.
The heavy door closed behind him with a quiet finality, leaving the four women in the candlelit room with the weight of his words hanging between them.
For several long moments, no one spoke.
Chelsea was the first to move.
She reached for her goblet, took a slow sip of wine, and set it down with a small, thoughtful smile. Rosa mirrored the expression, her violet eyes distant but warm.
"He has become bold," Chelsea said quietly, almost to herself. There was no anger in her voice—only a kind of weary amusement mixed with pride.
"The boy who once hid his desires behind duty has grown into a man who states them plainly. I should have expected it. The boy I raised does not breed meekness."
Rosa chuckled softly, the sound low and rich.
"He was always bold beneath the surface. Even when he was small and stubborn, he wanted what he wanted without apology. Now he simply has the power to claim it."
She glanced at Chelsea, then at Raani and Elise.
"And he is right. We have all known in our own ways. There is no point pretending otherwise."
Elise looked between the three women, her mouth opening and closing several times before the words finally came. Her cheeks were still flushed, but her voice carried a note of genuine confusion and concern.
"What are you doing?" she asked, looking directly at Chelsea and Rosa.
"Isn’t this... wrong? To sleep with your boy?"
Her gaze flicked to Rosa. "He is your grandson, Rosa. And you—" she turned to Chelsea "—you raised him as your own. And now all of you... with him? Together? How can you accept this so easily? How can you smile like this is normal?"
Chelsea and Rosa exchanged a glance, something wordless and deeply understanding passing between mother and daughter.
It was Rosa who answered first, her voice gentle but firm.
"Because we love him," she said simply.
"Not as a boy we once raised, but as the man he has become. The gods brought him back to us. He carries power none of us fully understand, and that power includes the right to claim what he desires. We could fight it. We could pretend we are only guardians, only family in the old sense. But that would be a lie. We want him. We want to keep him happy, safe, and whole. If that means sharing his bed, sharing his body, or sharing his love with others—then so be it. I would rather have a piece of his heart than none of it at all."
Chelsea nodded, reaching across the table to rest her hand over Rosa’s.
"He is not a child anymore. He has fought and bled and claimed his birthright. The boy we raised is gone. In his place is a man who needs more than duty. He needs love in every form it can take. We give it to him freely. There is no shame in that for us. Only choice."
Raani, who had been silent until now, spoke quietly from her place at the table. Her voice carried the steady calm of a warrior who had made peace with her decision in the hot springs.
"I was not born to this house," she said.
"I came to it as a protector. But tonight I chose to give myself to him—not as a duty, but as a woman who wants. He did not take from me. He asked. And when I said yes, he made me feel... worthy. I have spent my life believing I was only a sword. Tonight I learned I can be more. If that makes me content, then I am content. I will not judge what the rest of you choose."
Elise stared at them, her mouth still slightly open, her hands twisting in her lap.
The flush on her cheeks had not faded, but the confusion in her eyes was slowly giving way to something else—resignation, perhaps, or reluctant understanding.
She thought of the inn, of Jake’s hands on her body, of the way he had made her forget everything else for hours. She thought of how often she had sought him out since then, how her sister had noticed the change in her and asked gentle questions she had not been ready to answer.
She sighed, long and slow, the sound carrying years of internal conflict finally settling.
"I... I don’t understand it completely," she admitted at last.
"It feels strange. Wrong, even, when I think about it in the old ways. But I also know how he makes me feel. How he made me feel. And I know I don’t want to stop."
She looked at Chelsea and Rosa, then at Raani.
"If all of you can accept this—if you can love him together without tearing each other apart—then who am I to stand apart? I don’t want to be left behind. I want to be part of whatever this is becoming."
A quiet understanding settled over the table.
No one spoke for several minutes.
The candles burned lower.
The distant sounds of the villa at night filtered through the windows—distant laughter from the servants’ quarters, the faint clink of armor as Dragon Maidens changed shifts, and the ever-present whisper of the lands.
Eventually Chelsea rose, smoothing her gown with both hands.
"He asked us to talk. We have talked. And I think we have our answer."
She looked at each of them in turn.
"Let’s get ready for the night."
Rosa nodded. Raani’s mouth curved in a small, fierce smile.
Elise let out another long breath, but this time it carried the beginning of acceptance.
Jake, meanwhile, waited in the eastern solar, a fresh goblet of wine in his hand and the dragon mark on his shoulder glowing steadily in the dark.
He did not know what the women would decide, he just waited for them.
