The Grimoire's Chosen Ch. 29 (Worm) (Patreon)

A/N: A look at a wreck of a woman.

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Carol Dallon was a mess and her life was in shambles. She did her best to try and present a certain façade to make it seem like she still had it all together, but the truth was she didn’t and hadn’t for a while now. At minimum, she hadn’t had her life together since the death of her husband, but the real answer was probably somewhere more in the ballpark of years before that.

The worst part was, she couldn’t even blame only outside forces for what her life had become. Yes, it was Behemoth that had killed Mark almost half a year ago now, but things were bad long before then. Mark’s depression, Carol’s inability to face the problems inherent in her home life and parenting techniques... she wishes she could say it was all Behemoth’s fault. She wishes she could lay the blame at the feet of that monster.

But while Behemoth killed Mark, the Endbringer wasn’t the one who had driven her daughters away so effectively. Behemoth hadn’t forced Carol to treat Amy like a primed grenade all her life, nor had it been the one to push Vicky harder and harder until she wasn’t even sure whether she wanted to pursue higher education anymore.

And… Behemoth certainly hadn’t made her sleep with her sister’s husband like she had either. Oh sure, Mark’s death had left Carol in quite the state. She’d been weak. Grieving. Lonely. Neil was… well, once upon a time, Carol and Neil had flirted a little bit. Contrary to the conspiracy theorists on PHO who claimed Vicky had to be Neil’s daughter, nothing had actually ever happened between them back then. By the time Carol and Neil met, he’d already been seeing Sarah.

But there were tidbits of factual information in most conspiracy theories, weren’t there? It was true that once upon a time, Carol had felt a connection to her sister’s boyfriend. And she was fairly confident that Neil had felt it too… especially given what had wound up happening between them in the wake of Mark’s death.

It never should have happened, of course. Carol never should have let herself fall into bed with Sarah’s husband. It was a betrayal most foul, to say the least. Made even worse by the fact that Sarah didn’t seem to blame her, even now.

No, all of the blame had fallen upon Neil. And he’d taken it on the chin too, accepting Sarah’s demand for a divorce and even moving to Boston in what might just become known as the death blow to New Wave somewhere down the road when people looked back.

Sarah hadn’t told anyone. Not even the kids. She and Neil had simply cited growing apart, leaving his infidelity with Carol out of things… all to spare Carol more pain.

Except Carol knew she wasn’t some victim of Neil’s manipulation or anything like that. It took two to tango, and she’d most definitely been willing when he’d come onto her. Yes, she’d been in a place of weakness, yes it was a bad call… but it was her call to make all the same.

Sarah’s forgiveness and unconditional love made things worse rather than better, if Carol was being honest. In the end… she’d imploded. Taking this sabbatical from her law firm wasn’t a choice Carol had made; it’d been forced on her by her legal partners. And now here she was at BSU, teaching as a Professor and throwing herself into her work.

But that wasn’t much better, truth be told. Carol had lived her life in one certain way for so long. She’d thought she was in the right, doing what she did. Amy was Marquis’ daughter, so of course she had to be watched. Brockton Bay was a shithole, so of course New Wave had to stand strong and take no shit from anyone. The Protectorate and PRT were either incompetent or corrupt, so collaborations with them needed to be kept minimal and New Wave needed to maintain its independence.

Maybe she hadn’t been wrong about all those things… but she’d been wrong enough, often enough, that Carol was still trying to figure out which was which. Looking back on the sum total of her life… had she done well? Or had she done more harm than good?

And now here she was in her office at the University, acting like a degenerate. Softly moaning so as to not alert her assistant outside her office of what she was doing, Carol moves the vibrating dildo in and out of her cunt, shuddering as she touches one of her breasts. One might think at her age, having lost her husband, that things like arousal, lust, and a sex drive would be a thing of the past.

Carol wished it was like that. She loathed that Mark’s death and her indiscretion with Neil seemed to have awoken something in her. Something dark, depraved, and perverted. She couldn’t help herself anymore. Masturbating every night like she was a younger woman again, using toys during the day just to feel something.

… Carol Dallon is an empty husk waiting to be filled up. By what, she doesn’t know. But-

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Her internal pity party is suddenly interrupted by a set of three knocks on the door of her office. Freezing up mid-motion, Carol’s breath hitches even as Jason’s voice drifts through the door.

“Professor? Are you okay? I thought I heard moaning.”

Oh god. Carol’s face begins to heat up massively. Had she not been modulating her volume properly? To her own ears, she’d been relatively quiet… but obviously not quiet enough if Jason was able to pick up on it.

That was another situation that Carol felt she was failing in. Jason wasn’t someone she’d initially wanted to take on as a Teacher’s Assistant. Not because of anything about him specifically… but because of her. Because she wasn’t fully sure she could deliver on the promise she’d made regarding his internship.

Ultimately, Carol didn’t know if she would ever be going back to her law firm at this point. The sabbatical she was on might just extend indefinitely, whether that meant staying in this position as Professor, or something else. To be fair, just because she might not ever return to being a lawyer didn’t mean she didn’t still have plenty of pull at her old firm.

… But it wasn’t a guarantee. Carol could put in a good word for Jason, and given how hard of a worker he was, the firm would likely pick him up as an intern over most candidates if she did so, but she couldn’t say for certain that it would work out.

That was why, despite knowing how wrong it was, Carol had done everything in her power so far to try and push the young man away. Short of outright dismissing him from his position, she’d been harsh to him… harsher than her current self wanted to be, but just as harsh as the woman she’d been before would be.

She’d hoped she might chase him away. Carol had gained enough self-awareness in the last six months to know she wasn’t a pleasant person to be around. Frankly, it was surprising that Crystal had even stuck it out with her this long. Her own daughters hadn’t, after all.

And yet, Jason had stuck it out as well. The bright, handsome young man was still here in spite of all of Carol’s efforts. More than that, he was effectively acting as her bridge to Vicky. Carol knew deep down inside that holding financial security over Vicky’s head in the way she was… was wrong. But she didn’t know how else to get her daughter back. She had failed Amy and lost her as a result. She could feel Vicky slipping away more and more too. She just didn’t know what else to do.

Jason though… he was a good man. A good student, a good assistant, and from what she’d heard, a good tutor as well. Vicky had no complaints at least. Carol fully believed her daughter would pass the test at the end of the month thanks to Jason’s help. And even though she was paying him quite the sum to make that happen, it still made Carol feel all the guiltier because of the uncertainty surrounding that promised internship. It was-

“Professor?”

Quickly pulling her hand out from under her skirt and top, Carol smooths out her clothes as best as possible and clears her throat.

“Come… come in.”

A moment later and she’s kicking herself, even as she knows it’s too late to take it back. Why? Why would she tell him to come in? The words had just slipped out before she could help herself, even though Carol knew she should have just told him she was alright and to get back to work. Fuck, fuck, fuck…

The doorknob turns and the door eases open, with Jason glancing in for a second before stepping into the office properly. He looks at her uncertainly, but Carol… Carol just gestures to the seat across from her.

“Have a seat, Jason.”

What was she doing? What was the plan here? The dildo is still buried inside of her clenching cunt. Vibrating away constantly. Jason has no way of knowing its there, of course. He has no idea what a fucking pervert she truly is. Carol schools her features, even as the young man walks over and sits down, looking at her with some degree of concern in his eyes.

Once upon a time, he’d been afraid of her. Carol had hated that. But recently… recently, it’s like the fear has bled away. Ever since he started tutoring Vicky, in fact. He’s found his footing, his confidence, his stride. Whatever you want to call it… it’s somewhat breathtaking if she’s being honest. Jason was always a handsome young man, but now that he’s no longer quite so timid, Carol finds there’s a lot more than just his looks to be attracted to.

Even still, she definitely shouldn’t… do anything with her TA. That couldn’t possibly end well. So why the fuck was she talking to him while feeling so damn horny?

“How… are things with you, Jason?”

Yeah, that incredulous look on his face is probably fair. Carol Dallon is not known for her fucking small talk. Never has been. But to his credit, Jason doesn’t squirm under the scrutiny. Once he gets over his surprise, he gives the question some consideration before shrugging.

“Well enough, Professor Dallon. Vicky and I are making good progress and-!”

Jason cuts himself off and looks down. Carol looks down as well to find that she’s reached across the table and put one of her hands atop his own. Luckily, not the hand that is still a little wet with her pussy juices. No, that hand is tucked away beneath the desk, still in her lap.

“Please Jason… call me Carol. And I didn’t ask about Vicky. I asked about you.”

What was she doing?! Oh god, was she really trying to seduce this young man? He was half her damn age! She shouldn’t… she shouldn’t be doing this. She should dismiss him now, before this went any further. And yet… she doesn’t. Nor does she remove her hand from atop his.

Jason hesitates for a moment before peering at her closely.

“Carol, are you alright?”

The words take a moment to register. When they finally do, they hit her like a sledgehammer to the chest. Carol’s eyes widen and though her mouth opens, no words come out. Jason’s question rings through her head. Is she alright? Is she alright?

… Funny, she’s pretty sure that’s the first time anyone has asked her that question in years. Again, Carol has gained enough self-awareness in recent months to know that’s probably her own fault as well. She was a stern, bitter bitch of a woman for decades, effectively pushing away any and all forms of concern, even from those closest to her. Sarah had certainly learned to never ask something like that of Carol, mostly through getting burned one too many times by the question.

And yet… Carol hadn’t known how much she needed to hear it from… from anyone now. She hadn’t known how badly she wanted someone to ask a question that she’d bitten more than a few heads off for daring to ask of her in years gone by.

Tears well up in her eyes and a full body shudder overtakes her as she gasps and shakes her head.

“N-No… no, I’m not alright.”

And then, vibrating sex toy still buzzing away in her cunt, Carol Dallon has a mental breakdown.

-x-X-x-

Jason doesn’t know what to do when Carol starts sobbing while still clinging to his hand across the desk. Big, heaving sobs that seem to be without end. Seeing the normally taciturn, stern, and altogether overbearing woman in such a state, Jason can’t help but leap to his feet and circle around the desk to hug her.

“Shhh… breathe, Carol. Just breathe.”

This wasn’t what he expected to happen when he decided to ‘check in’ on her in the middle of… what she was doing before. But now it was rapidly becoming obvious that Carol wasn’t doing alright. Not even a little bit. And more than that, it was rapidly becoming obvious that she’d turned to… the things he’d caught her doing as a coping mechanism.

Maybe, because all of that was so obvious, it should have also been obvious what was going to happen next. Carol eventually starts to calm down, breathing in and out thanks to Jason’s soothing tone and helpful words. And then, once she does… well, she looks up at him with red eyes and proceeds to plant one on his lips, kissing him right then and there.

Jason freezes in place as Carol desperately starts to make out with him. On the one hand, he definitely shouldn’t be doing this. On the other hand, it was an opportunity to find common ground with one of the harsher mistresses (literally) in his life. If he could… develop a deeper connection with Carol, then life as her TA would likely become so much easier.

… But at what cost?

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A/N: Will try to keep this up to date at the end of every chapter, get on me if I forget please. Though if it gets too out of hand, might have to change it at some point.

Jason's current banked points:

0 Celestial Points

Jason's current banked power:

• Scarborough Fair (100 Point Cost)

Jason's current powers:

• Flash Air (Gained in Chapter 1)

• Transformation Pendant (Gained in Chapter 4)

• Keen Eye (Gained in Chapter 4)

• Blood, Death, and Demons (Gained in Chapter 6)

• Alchemical Prodigy (Gained in Chapter 8)

• Staff of Magnus (Gained in Chapter 13)

• Bind and Seal (Gained in Chapter 17)

• Hero of A Hundred Faces: Everyone’s Leader (Gained in Chapter 20)

• Minor Regeneration through Blood Empowerment Ritual (Gained in Chapter 23)

• Restraining Order (Gained in Chapter 25)

• Focus (Gained in Chapter 28)