“Good goddess.” Janice took in a deep breath as she ran her free hand through her long curly black hair. Her brown eyes closed for a moment so that she could steady herself before she looked at the poor male currently laying in her hand. While all men were fragile due to their tiny size he was positively delicate. That wasn’t her primary concern though as she turned to the girl’s who’d summoned her. “You couldn’t find his wings?”

Ariel slowly shook her head no as she looked at the healer. “Frea and Samantha stayed behind in order to look for them but they couldn’t find anything. I brought him home right away so that mother could inspect him.”

To this Janice gave a nod. “Then she had your friends fetch me. You made the right choice. What psychotic bitch would remove a man’s wings?” As she spoke Janice retrieved a small cloth from her medical bag and laid it flat on the table then placed the male in the center of it. She then began retrieving reagents some of which she sprinkled around the male. As she placed the powders on the cloth several of them began to glow softly. She was quite relieved whenever she noted a soft green glow. “His life isn’t in any danger. That’s strange.” As she spoke Janice added more mureye.

While not a full healer Ariel had received several lessons in the basics and alchemy as part of her education. She knew that mureye wasn’t suppose to glow violet. The reagent responded to residual mystic energies in a living being and the color it glowed was determined by those energies. “Was he experimented on?”

At first Janice said nothing but tried to think back to her reading. “I believe I read something about this but I can’t be certain. For now let me see to the healing of his body.” This time Janice sprinkled some water on the male watching as he flinched for a moment. She then began to move her right hand around his body while uttering a slow chant and carefully stirring the reagents she’d sprinkled around him together. A slight hum could be heard seconds later and a soft white light could be seen radiating all around him.

Ellayn placed her hands on her daughter’s shoulders as she easily looked over her head at Janice and the male whose name they hadn’t learned yet. She felt her husband gently flutter his black wings as he set atop her head. She knew that the sight of another male with his wings removed would upset him. It upset her to. “We will take care of him my daughter and we’ll find the one responsible for this and deal with her.”

Why could he hear voices and what was he laying on. Vincent didn’t know anything other than it was soft. Uncertain of anything he slowly opened his eyes and began to look around. The first thing he took note of was a girl with almond shaped emerald green eyes looking at him. Her wavy brown hair was just long enough to be feminine but short enough to say she didn’t like fussing with it too much. Her complexion made him think of someone that loved swimming but didn’t care for actual tanning and her athletic build matched this image. With a nice oval face and breasts roughly half the size of her head she was quite a sight especially as she was nearly naked wearing some strange cloth that appeared to be made of leaves but hardly counted as swimwear.

Yet as impressive as Ariel was she didn’t compare to the woman behind her. Long, straight raven black hair framed a fair skinned oval face with positively radiant blue eyes. Her lips were a soft pink with a small nose and elegant features. If the other girl enjoyed swimming then the one behind her had to be a professional while each of her breast surpassed the head of the smaller woman. With both of these women in the room he couldn’t help but think the third looked rather plane in comparison though he was certain if they hadn’t been there she’d been quite striking.

For all the women’s beauty though he couldn’t help but feel something was off. They didn’t look quite right. Their features seemed to blur a bit as if they were very far away. Had he been drugged and they found him? The way they were looking at him it seemed clear they were concerned. Yet as he looked at the women Vincent could feel himself slowly becoming more alarmed as awareness seemed to be sinking in. He shouldn’t have to set up like this to look at them if they were standing over him. Realization finally banished the fog from his mind as he looked towards his feet and noticed there was over a hundred meters between him and Janice. An alarmed gurgle escaped him before he froze in place.

The three women had noticed Vincent stirring and waited patiently to see how he’d respond. As Ariel saw fear and alarm spreading over his face she felt a pain in her chest and couldn’t hold her tongue. “Please don’t be afraid Cutie you’re safe here. I’m Ariel, this is my mother Ellayn and that is healer Janice.”

As the brunette spoke her tone was soft and comforting but the power of her words was overwhelming. He could literally feel them ripple through his body. She’d gestured towards the three other women but made no further moves. The curly black haired one shifted slightly drawing his attention but that seemed to be enough to keep her still.

The fear on Vincent’s face was clear. His body was positively frozen by the sight of them. “He’s clearly been traumatized by the removal of his wings and whatever else was done to him. I have some spells that should help calm him down but I’d like to try doing this naturally before resorting to magic. Lex do you believe you could speak with him?”

Nodding his head Lex stood up and quickly leaped off Ellayn’s head. He caught an immediate upgraft as his wife blew on him and began to fly towards Vincent. As he neared him though he noticed the look of alarm on his face seemed to be growing even more intense. He’d never seen another man behave like this but he could recognize when an animal was about to run and promptly landed on the edge of the table rather than approach him. “Easy my brother. We mean you no harm.”

Black wings. Black fucking wings flashed through Vincent’s mind as he looked at the tall sculpted fellow. He hadn’t even noticed him setting in Ellayn’s hair until he’d began flying. If it hadn’t been for the three women the guy would have been downright imposing. As things were Vincent was having trouble taking his eyes off the women especially Ellayn. Janice was the closer of the three but he had no doubt of which one was the most dangerous as he compared their heights and builds. As he got a handle on his fear though it was clear they were trying to talk to him. “Sorry I can’t understand you.” He felt his hold on his fear loosen when the four looked at one another.

Taking in a deep breath Janice tried to speak soothingly as she looked at the frightened male. “If you can understand me please raise your arms.”

When nothing happened Ariel looked to her mother. “Mom do you know what language he’s speaking.”

“I can’t recognize it and I haven’t heard anything like it.”

With the three titans and the winged man speaking to one another Vincent took a moment to risk looking around the room. He was laying on a large white exceptional soft surface. It seemed that he was on some kind of table though compared to the women around it the table seemed rather tiny. He hoped it wasn’t a dinner table though they didn’t seem to be planning on eating him. Not that he’d even be a swallow for one of the women. A chill ran up his spine as he quickly pushed that thought from his mind and tried to compose himself. He felt like his heart had jumped into his throat as Ellayn stepped forward and began to take out several stangly colored bottles.

Janice couldn’t help but glance to Ellayn as she began to go through her reagents. “Pardon me Ma’am but what are you doing?”

“You will be compensated for your powders as well. Lex would you be a dear and cast true tongue on our frightened fellow? I’m afraid I do not recall the incantation well enough to do so safely.”

“I will be happy to however you may have to restrain him I’m afraid he may flee.”

Vincent didn’t know what was going on. The tallest of the three women had began to pore from several of the bottles and mix the contents with a finger. He didn’t know what she was doing but he knew it was far closer than he cared for. As he looked at these mountainous women though running didn’t seem like such a good idea. He couldn’t be certain but it appeared he wasn’t even as tall as one of their fingernails. He doubt he’d have covered more than three meters before they captured him if they had a mind to. He still struggled to control his breathing as he stood up upon seeing Lex approach him.

Ariel bit down on her lower lip as she listened to her father chanting. What she couldn’t understand was why Vincent was so frightened of her father. She had no doubt that some monster of a woman had abused the poor man. She’d even taken his wings.But why fear her father? Fortunately she wouldn’t have to wonder for long as she saw the powders beginning to glow. Her father liked to study magic in his leisure and had become an accomplished spell crafter.

This was weird and he should run kept going through Vincent’s head. As he felt his fear building to critical levels he realized it was too late whenever he saw a bright flash and all the powder seemed to vaporize. A cloud rushed towards him moments later and he covered his face to shield it from the impact. A sharp burst of cold brought a yelp from him and he was made to leap into the air as his skin was left tingling and then there was nothing. The three women and winged man continued to smile at him.

Lex gave the magic a moment to settle before speaking again. “Greetings brother I’m sorry if I alarmed you but I hope you can understand me now.”

Vincent could feel himself growing light headed as he realized that he could understand the winged man. His heart was positively pounding in his chest and his fingers were tingling. The back of his throat was burning and his mouth had gone dry. How could this be happening? Where was he and what did these people want with him? “Please could someone explain what’s going on? Where am I? Who are you? How am I so small?”

As the healer Janice didn’t need to look to know the other women were looking at her. Such mental trauma was the type of thing she was meant to handle but she hadn’t dealt with this type of situation before. As she set silently though she could see Vincent growing more concerned. “Please try to relax. You’re in Manevin in the house of alpha Ellayn wife of Lex. I’m Janice a healer. The black winged fellow before you is Lex while this is lady Ellayn and her daughter Ariel. May we know your name?”

What did she mean by alpha and where was Manevin? Even as Janice’s answers only added to his questions Vincent could feel some relief. Each time one of these women spoke he felt the power of their words vibrate even his bones but they carried gentle tones and were using friendly words it seems. “I’m Vincent.”

“It’s good to meet you Vincent. We were hoping you could help us figure out what happened to you. Ariel and her friends found you while they were out exploring the wilderness but first I want you to know that you’re safe. I’m not sure what you mean by small. Your height looks to be average for a male.”

This was average? Vincent’s eyes went to Lex as he considered what he’d been told. How could this be average? “How tall are each of you?”

Lex couldn’t help the pride in his voice as he looked towards his wife. “My lovely Ellayn is seven hundred sixty seven meters tall and our daughter is six hundred twenty seven meters tall. Healer Janice is five hundred eighty seven meters tall.”

Janice felt like she’d been given a slight smack on the nose as she listened to Lex. Naturally she wasn’t as tall as the other women as she was neither an alpha or the daughter of an alpha. It was however the tendency of married men to boast of their wives stature. She was rather surprised whenever she noticed Vincent sinking back to his knees while looking up in disbelief. After a moment more of observation she went for her powders. “Vincent breath. Breath Vincent.”

This was too much. He’d woken to find that he’d been shrunken except he hadn’t been shrunken the women were simply titanic. He’d seen a man fly with black wings and watched him cast some kind of spell. He had cast the spell on him. Vincent couldn’t forget that part. All of this coming down so quickly was making it hard for him to think. It was simply too much to process at once. Yet he tried to think. He tried to think what these people were going to do to him. He tried to remember Janice saying something about him being safe but he couldn’t be certain of that. He wasn’t certain if she had actually said it or if she was lying. He could feel darkness coming in around him now as he began to gasp for air and then there was a bright flash of light and he inhaled deeply.

Ariel had watched enough. As Vincent began to breath normally she stepped forward to join her mother but rather than remain standing she dropped herself to her knees and reached out with her right hand gently rubbing him with her index finger. For a moment she expected him to pull away but was surprised whenever she felt him lean into her finger and even press one of his hands against it. “You’re safe Vincent. Just relax. There that’s good. You don’t need to worry no one is going to hurt you here. We want to help you.”

Picking up Vincent in his current condition would have been a huge mistake but it was clear he needed someone to hold him. As he calmed down Ariel shifted her fingers and began to gently worked his body between her thumb and index finger. While she worked him between her fingers a tiny portion of her nail covering was made to become fluid and flowed down her nail taking on the form of outstretched hands as it gathered. These hands began to gently push into Vincent’s body helping her to massage and comfort him.

“There you are Cutie. Just relax and breath. You’re safe and we’re going to figure out what happened to you. So just relax.”

Lex smiled at his daughter before looking to his wife. He wasn’t surprised to see a proud smile on her face as well. He knew she was proud of their daughter as well. After a moment of consideration he quickly beat his wings and lifted himself into the air flying back towards his favorite spot within his wife’s hair. As he neared he watched her remove a few strands to over him a more secure resting place atop her head.

Vincent didn’t know when he’d began to cry but it was clear he had been as he straightened up. He still didn’t know what was going on and was beginning to wonder if he’d gone insane but he was feeling better. “Lord I think I may have been drugged.”

Why would he think that? Ariel couldn’t help but wonder as she listened to Vincent. Now she wished her father hadn’t cast true tongue on him. They couldn’t speculate about what had happened to him without alarming him. There was also the strange changes to the mureye to consider. “Janice was he?”

“There was no indication that he’d been drugged and after the purification and healing spell his body is.” Janice went silent as she looked at Vincent and once again noted the lack of his wings. “Except for his wings he’s completely fine physically. I still need to find out why the mureye responded like that.”

Ariel wanted to tell Janice to be more gentle when talking about his missing wings. She knew most men took great pride in them and the loss of mobility would surely upset him. “See Vincent? You’re healthy and we’ll have your wings restored as soon as we can. I’ll even prepare a restorative milk bath for you myself but first we need you to help us find out what happened. Can you tell us what you remember?”

Having Ariel’s fingers touching and messaging him was doing wonders to help Vincent keep calm. Before he would have imagined having her massive hand looming over him and touching him would have frightened him even more but the gentle contact was soothing and she hadn’t actually picked him up. Perhaps she knew that would cause him to panic. “I never had wings.” As the words left him he felt Ariel’s fingers freeze for just a moment before they resumed their gentle attention.

All men had wings naturally. There was no exception to this that Ariel could remember. At times cruel women had removed their wings with either magic or physically taken them off but such crimes were almost unheard of especially in Manevin. Telling Vincent that he had been mutilated didn’t seem like a good idea though given how stressed he was. She would just help him regrow his wings and not argue with him. What was more important was the damage that had apparently been done to his mind. “I see. What else can you tell us Vincent?”

For a moment Vincent was made to laugh as he looked at the three women and the concern on their face. If three such gorgeous women had been making such a fuss over him an hour ago he might have cried out of joy. Now he was utterly terrified as he tried to process what was going on. How much should he tell them? “The last thing I can remember is leaving the restaurant I work at to go home.”

Work? Ariel felt her head growing foggy for a moment at how wrong everything Vincent had just said was. Men didn’t work at restaurants. They came in with their wives often enough. Few women knew how to cook a meal that their husband could easily digest except for their breast milk. Many women also enjoyed playing with their husband and food but the men didn’t work there. “Were you there helping your wife?”

“I’m not married.” Vincent gave a slight yelp as Ariel and Janice were made to recoil though Ellayn was able to retain her calm.

As surprising as the information was Ellayn could easily process it. She handled stress well thanks to attributes from past lesser wives. She could still understand her daughter’s and Janice’s shock. Yet when she saw the powders there was nothing to indicate his mind had been mystically influenced except the mureye that was still uncertain. “Vincent if you don’t mind telling us. What is your position in the restaurant you work at?

“I’m a chef.” What’s going on here? What’s with the strange looks? Vincent knew that he’d said something wrong but he wasn’t certain what until he thought about it for a moment. He didn’t know where he was but from the way the women were behaving all women were roughly as large as them. If all men were like Lex how could they work in a restaurant? They would be more likely to end up in the food then be able to serve it.

“Thank you for that. Janice I believe that you need to go investigate your findings. Ariel and I will see to Vincent’s well being.”

“Huh? Hold on a.” Janice took in a deep breath and went silent as she noticed the look Ellayn was giving her. She’d been so caught up in the moment that she’d forgotten herself. “I apologize Ma’am but he needs to be brought before the civic health committee.”

“Indeed he does but not before he has fully recovered and a better understanding has been formed. As guard captain this is my decision to make.”

“Yes Ma,am.”

Vincent didn’t know what to think as Janice began to put the various bottles she’d taken back into her bag. The speed and grace with which she moved the bottles was positively astounding. She was so engrossed in this act that she gave a slight yelp of surprise whenever Ellayn held her hand out towards her.

Janice  was made to smile despite her scare as she noticed the tokens of will. Rather than take them from Ellayn’s hand and risk further offense she held her hand under it and let her drop the payment into her hand. “Thank you Ma’am.”

As Ellayn and Janice spoke Vincent turned his attention to Ariel whose eyes had remained focused on him. As were her fingers. “What’s going on?”

“Mother is just paying Janice for her reagents and work. Don’t worry Vincent we’re going to take good care of you and help find out what happened.” As she spoke Ariel took a moment to look Vincent over. She’d been too concerned to think about it before but now that things were a little calmer she couldn’t help but notice how cute he was.

As Janice looked to the last of her things she took in a deep breath. “Pardon but I’ll need my cloth back before I can leave.”

Ariel noted the problem immediately and smiled at Vincent before withdrawing her hand from him. “Vincent if you don’t mind we’re going to need you to get off the cloth.”

It felt like Vincent’s heart had leaped a bit and the weight that had been pressing down on him heavier and heavier was made to lighten. He had expected to be told they were going to pick him up or not even ask. Instead he was being asked to walk off. It made him feel a lot better and helped him find his legs as he began to walk towards the edge of the cloth. As he walked there was one thing that troubled him. He hadn’t been able to see Ariel’s fingernails while she’d been massaging him or even looked behind himself. As she withdrew her hand though he caught a glimpse of them and saw something moving on her fingernails.

Janice couldn’t help but look at Vincent and Ariel as she gathered up the cloth. A man was standing before her without a betrothed, scared and clearly suffering from some ailment. It should be a perfect opportunity for her to get close to him. Such opportunities to become an alpha wife only happened in stories and she couldn’t take advantage of it because he’d been found by the daughter of an alpha. It was made even worse by Ellayn’s standing. Not only could she choose to keep Vincent but she had the authority to do so based on his health. “I’ll let you know as soon as I find something.”

“Please do.” As Janice had gathered her things Ellayn had been watching her. She knew the healer was upset and while she considered her a good woman she knew this could cause problems. Yet she felt herself smiling as she looked at her daughter still setting in front of the table and smiling at Vincent. After a moment of consideration she placed her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “The two of you seem to be getting along well. Ariel I’m going to trust Vincent’s care to you while Janice researches. I will also be conducting some research of my own.”

While she didn’t want to scare Vincent and she felt for him Ariel couldn’t keep her smile from growing. “Thank you mother I won’t let you down but what about my work tomorrow?”

“You will take him with you naturally and I will handle your training at home. Now don’t give me that look.”

Vincent was actually a bit worried whenever Ariel was suddenly made to become somewhat pale. Part of him said it was best not to get involved but he couldn’t stand to see her suffer because of him. “I don’t want to be any trouble.” Vincent surprised himself when he gave a slight jump upon noticing Ellayn’s eyes focus on him.

“It is no trouble. My daughter is simply worried about embarrassing herself in front of an unwed male especially as she has yet to become a wife herself.”

What Ellayn said was partly true but that wasn’t all of it. Ariel had opted out of combat training with her mother whenever she’d been given the chance. That had required her father coming to her defense. It wasn’t that her mother was a bad mentor. She was very good. Her being too good was one of the problems. She got the best out of you even if it nearly killed you. While she didn’t want to play her parents against one another she quickly turned her eyes to her father.

Lex knew this was coming and stood up to fly down to his wife’s nose. He’d want to look her in the eyes when speaking to her. He didn’t get the chance as her index finger pushed him back into place. “Ellayn.”

“You promised me that I could evaluate her after a year and see if she’d made acceptable progress. It has been fourteen months.”

A sigh escaped Lex as he nodded his head and looked towards his daughter. “That is true. Ariel I hope you’ve made good use of this opportunity.”

Before she could respond Ariel felt her mother gently pat her on the shoulder. “I promise to go easy. You have a male to take care of so I can’t injure you that badly.”

As her mother turned to leave Ariel gave a sigh. I’m going to get my tail kicked tomorrow. She’s going to beat me until it hurts to walk after she realizes only a few of the alpha instructors could teach me anything. I probably deserve it. As Ariel looked at Vincent she was made to feel rather guilty despite her concern. She knew her mother was doing what was best for her but it was hard to remember that when in pain. For now she had more important things to worry about. She didn’t dare leave Vincent alone even in her own home but he didn’t seem ready to be picked up. In time she would have no choice but she would try to hold off. “Let’s make you something to set on.”

Vincent wasn’t certain what to say so he remained silent as Ariel stood up and walked over to what looked to be a potted tree. The winds created by her standing causing him to stumble. He didn’t recognize the type of tree but that was hardly a surprise. As she snapped a branch off the tree he took a moment to look around the room. He couldn’t see any other furniture then the table he was standing upon and several shelves. On more careful inspection he soon noted the shelves seemed to be made of stone and holding a wide variety of potted trees. On some of the lower shelves he also noted pots that seemed to be holding shrubs and grass. “Miss Ariel where are we?”

“Please just call me Ariel and we’re in my family’s herb nursery.” Holding the branch she’d snapped off the tree up Ariel channeled a small amount of energy into it until the branch began to glow and then grow. As the branch was growing she carefully bent and twisted it quickly working it into a simple recliner. Upon looking back to Vincent she was reminded of how wrong the situation was as she noticed the look of surprise on his face. Such simple plant shaping should be nothing special. As she placed the seat next to him she made certain to smile. “Vincent I’m not certain what happened to you but before we go into that I believe we need to determine how things are.”

Despite his earlier massage Vincent waited until Ariel had lifted her hand away from the seat to walk over to it and set down. Even then he did so slowly. As he leaned back in the seat though he was quite surprised by how comfortable it felt. The branch had a natural give to it and the pattern she’d weaved the chair into allowed it to adjust to his body. One thing he did notice was a large portion of the back was missing. He imagined that was for the wing’s of the male that he didn’t have. “I would appreciate that. So all males have wings?”

“Yes.” A fog seemed to come over Ariel as she struggled to think of what to say next or even where to begin. As she leaned forward in an attempt to think she didn’t consider how her breast rested atop the table or the vibrations created by her fingers lightly tapping it.

While Ariel didn’t think about it Vincent sure did. Each one of her breasts was taller than many buildings he’d seen and much larger. Even with the vibrations her casual tapping sent through the table reminding him of how foolish it was he could hardly keep his eyes off them. The tiniest shift in her body or arms was a seismic event to him. “How about we begin with what’s going to happen to me?”

“I.” A sigh escaped Ariel as she nodded her head. “That’s fair. First I want you to know that you’re safe here. What is likely to happen is you’re going to be living with us until you can be fully healed. Vincent I don’t want to say there is anything wrong with you but what you’ve told us makes no sense. Like when you thought you’d shrunk or when you said that you never had wings. I believe that your memories have been tampered with but I don’t know why they’d change them in such a strange way and Janice couldn’t find any indicator of mind altering magic.”

For a moment Vincent said nothing but bit down on his lower lip. “Okay but what happens if my memories haven’t been altered or they can’t be restored?” Vincent didn’t like to think that his mind had been altered but he really didn’t want to argue with Ariel either.

“If your memories are true.” A sigh escaped Ariel as she rubbed her head and set up in an attempt to get herself to think. Unfortunately scratching her head didn’t help that much. “If your memories are true we’ll try to find out where you’re from and if we can get you back there. Perhaps you can tell me more about where you’re from after we’re done but from what you’ve already told me I can’t even begin to guess where that might be. If we can’t find a way to get you home or if your memories have been altered and can’t be restored then you’ll be granted a caretaker to help you learn what you need to know.”

“Do you know who that might be?”

For a moment Ariel glanced over her shoulder as she felt herself blushing a bit. “It will probably be me. My mother seems to like how we’re getting along.”

He’d only just met her and perhaps they were even nicer girl’s out there However, upon hearing Ariel would probably be his caretaker Vincent felt a wave of relief. “That makes me feel better. What happens after that though?”

“Once you are considered capable of making decisions for yourself you’d be taken to the Civil Health committee housing and put up for courting so that you could find an alpha wife.” As she’d finished speaking Ariel had noticed a look of shock on Vincent’s face. Clearly something was off.

“An alpha wife? As in I would have to be married?” Vincent was trying to remain calm but he could feel himself getting worked up again. It wasn’t that the women weren’t appealing but they were the size of mountains and he didn’t much like the idea of being forced to mary.

Vincent kept confusing Ariel though it wasn’t as bad as before. The fog was nowhere near as heavy. “You mean you don’t even remember the rights of marriage? Every man has to be married to an alpha wife. You’d be given time for the women to court you and then you’d have to choose.”

Okay the panic is coming back. Flashed through Vincent’s mind though he remembered to breath this time. “I see but why? Is it because men can’t survive on their own?”

This was not the type of conversation that Ariel expected to have with an adult male though she imagined some mothers with sons had it. As she thought of a child it helped to calm Ariel down. “It’s so that we can survive and the husband can carry blessings of marriage to the alpha wife. The male birth rate is so small that if each man doesn’t do his part to maintain our species we would die out. Yet the life of a man is so delicate that he must be protected. So every man is married to a wife and and undergoes the ritual of marriage which lets him carry the blessings to her. Often these marriages are planned well in advance and cost the wife or her family a great deal. However, as we may not be able to find your mother the decision would be entirely yours.

The first wife is the alpha wife and the two are bound by the ritual of marriage. After that lesser wives are chosen. It is their responsibility to serve the husband and alpha wife for the betterment of the household while the husband is responsible for giving each of them a child. In return the husband carries a trait from each lesser wife to his alpha wife bettering her with each child conceived until she reaches her prime. After that the alpha wife is expected to conceive children.” As she looked at Vincent it was clear to Ariel this was a bit much for him to process.

“So what you’re saying is men are toys whose only purpose is to impregnate women and carry this blessing to his first wife?” As Vincent looked at Ariel they were so many questions running through his mind. How did they even have sex? Considering the women’s size it seemed the men would drown. Was all he amounted to in this world a sex toy? Would he be forced to take a wife if he refused? Perhaps they’d choose one for him.

This was not what Ariel had expected and she immediately reached out towards Vincent and cupped her right hand around him. “Men aren’t toys. You’re not a toy. Vincent it’s so much more than that.” For a moment Ariel went silent as she took in a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts. “As a husband yes your greatest responsibility is to help your wives conceive children while your wives responsibility is to provide for, protect and nurture those children and you. Providing for, protecting and nurturing you is especially true for your alpha wife who isn’t expected to have children until she’s reached her peak.”

“Peak?”

“When she’s become the best she can be or near it like my mother. She has all the traits she can handle. It’s done so the children of the alphas are the best they can be. But even with that you’re not a toy. Provide for, nurture and protect. That doesn’t just mean your body. Would we be so worried about restoring your memories if all we cared about was your body?” Ariel felt her heart grow a little lighter as she heard Vincent take in a deep breath.

“No. I don’t believe you would.”

“Your alpha wife also has a very good reason to see to your mental health. The copying of a trait from a lesser wife to an alpha is not a simple matter. Magic requires a sound body, a sound mind and a sound soul especially the blessing of marriage. If you lack the proper bonds of attachment it won’t work and can’t be forced. Not only that but I’m here to protect you and so is my mother.”

“I remember she called herself guard captain. If that is the case then. What will happen if my memories had been altered and my wings taken?” By no means did Vincent believe that either of these things had happened. He could remember his life far too clearly for him to believe that. He could remember his parents, his friends, his work and even the name of his car.

For a moment Ariel didn’t speak. She didn’t want to risk frightening Vincent so she needed to be careful with her wording. She could tell him the penalty for clipping but not how it was done. “The penalty for clipping a males wings intentionally is death and for using magic or drugs to alter a man's mind against his will it depends on the severity and the man’s will. In your case you wouldn’t be allowed to speak on the punishment as your judgment wouldn’t be trusted. Likely she would be resocialized and put to service.”

“Resocialized?” Vincent was fairly certain Ariel didn’t want to talk about this one as she took in a deep breath.

“Her mind would be destroyed and a new personality devoted to service to the community would be put in its place.” Ariel was made to regret her choice of words as she noticed Vincent looking rather alarmed. “It’s our most severe punishment for the worst crimes. With your missing wings and altered memories it would be seen as the only fitting punishment.”