CHAPTER 23: THEN, I WILL WAIT FOR YOU, ARINYA

"I have never met a female in denial like you before."

And I assume you’ve met tons of females. Should I be grateful that you chose me among the numerous females you met?

And that you didn’t eat me, even after I dared to pee on you.

My eyes wavered.

It hurt. But it hurt in a good way. Like someone was tapping on an old bruise I never expected anyone to care about.

"Damar..." I called softly.

But before I could decide whether to thank him, push him away, or hide my face under the water like a fish, he leaned even closer—and then froze.

His pupils narrowed into thin lines, alarmed, and it startled me.

What now?

His head snapped toward the forest’s direction, his muscles going tense beneath my palms and his tail suddenly curling around me again.

"Someone is coming," he hissed quietly and my stomach dropped.

What in the...? Why would anyone come this way?

I turned to look but then Damar snapped my head back, forcing me to look into his eyes, as he forbade me from looking at another.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"You’re mine." He suddenly declared, which confused me.

Can he already see who was coming from all this way? No, that’s not important.

I have to get out of his hold. I have to wear my clothes and not give whoever it was an OnlyFans service or whatever.

"Damar, we’re still talking about that," I said and he hissed.

The fear in my heart towards him has decreased. Maybe it was because of how hard he worked to cheer me up and how he considered me precious, but I no longer worried that a big snake would eat me once I displease him even a little.

"Are you rejecting me, Arinya?" He asked but I shook my head, my pulse quickening as I felt panicked.

"No, but I just want you to know that I do not plan to take on only one spouse."

I plan to have a harem of handsome beastmen flocking around me. I might not be able to bag Fenric, since his interest had flickered towards Veyra already, but it’s not like there’s only one beastman with such a hot body in this world.

I’ll find others.

Damar frowned but I didn’t have time to appease him.

"You have to hide for now, Damar. If someone sees you, it might get dangerous."

"I am strong." He said and my eyes blanked.

No, not dangerous for you. Dangerous for them. Why would I care about you getting hurt when you’re the size of a freaking anaconda?

"Arinya," he called and I began to hear the rustle. They were getting closer.

There might be no time for me to get out of the water and put on my clothes at this point, so I decided to invest my time in persuading Damar to hide.

"I may decide to have other spouses," I said, cupping his face and molding it like he was a lump of dough. "But you’re my first, Damar. You’re the first one to call me pretty, the first one to tell me I have worth, and the first one to diss all of those worthless males who couldn’t see my true value. Of course I’d pick you first."

I don’t know how much help these words were but the words I said were all sincere. To the first man, the first beast man, who ’saw’ me, I was beyond thankful and would never leave him behind.

I closed my eyes, biting my lip.

If it comes to a situation where I have to choose between Damar and the tribe, I have a feeling I’ll go with Damar.

"I understand." He finally said, holding my hand. "Then, I will wait for you, Arinya." He said and slowly released his grip around my waist.

I watched him dip slowly into the water until there was little to no ripple left.

I hope he doesn’t feel bad. No, let’s look at the bright side. Sending him away right now is for the best.

"Who’s there?" A familiar voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I turned, dipping my body deeper into the water and leaving only my head out.

I bet they don’t have manners in this world, either. You can’t just barge into a place, see a female in the water, and look away. You’re asking who’s there, as if you’re a detective.

The owner of the voice was someone I least expected.

Why in the world would they send a snow tiger out into a forest he had never explored before?

Fenric.

What was he doing here when he should be a guest in the tribe?

Did he sneak out?

Probably got bored because there’s no match for him, in terms of strength, and the females must’ve flocked around him a lot.

Seeing him, I felt even more embarrassed.

My eyes fell on my ’clothes’ in the grass. How do I get it?

"As you can see, there’s someone here," I said and he stopped, staring at me.

"What are you doing there?"

What does it look like I’m doing?

I’m certain snow tigers don’t take baths either. Their tribe must be super cold with snow and the water should be icy. They have more reasons not to take a bath than my tribe could ever come up with.

"I got a lot of dirt on me," I said. "So, I decided to come wash it off. And you... What are you doing here? How did you even find this place?"

It’s a long walk from the tribe, and I doubt even my tribe folks, who are familiar with the area, know about this place.

"I came out on a walk."

Liar.

I can almost smell his lie. His facial expression was just as it was earlier, uncaring and cold and... Was that a smirk on his lips?

Wait, did I see that right?

Why was he smirking?

"But it seems I found what I was looking for." He said, which got me confused, and then he began to approach. What was he looking for?

And why was he coming closer?

Does he plan to play a prank by stealing my clothes? He didn’t come across as such a person.

But then he stepped past where I neatly folded my bra top and skirt. My heart leaped.

"W-wait, what are you doing?" I asked. It wasn’t what I was thinking, was it?

But his intentions became clear as day as he stepped into the water and my insides yelled in fright.

Seriously, what is he planning? I can’t get a read on him.

He can’t come into the water. I’m naked.

But worse than that... I looked at the water... Damar was still in the water.