CHAPTER 28: THEN, SHALL WE MEET HERE AGAIN TOMORROW?

Though still embarrassed that I was naked, I did not feel the need to cover up while getting out of the water since Fenric and Damar had already seen it all.

It would be great if no one else saw me like this, though.

I’m only letting it slide now since they’re going to be my spouses.

"Let me dry your tail." Fenric suddenly said, while I was putting on my skirt and before I could turn to see what he was planning to do, I felt his tongue slide up my tail.

My entire body stiffened for a second, accompanied by a violent jerk.

"W-what...?"

My face flushed. My tail... Didn’t he know it was an erogenous zone?

He was doing such an intimate thing when he hadn’t even gone past the probation period yet.

I mean, I didn’t feel anything like that when the cubs bit me earlier, but such a thing being done by a grown man... And he didn’t even bite, he licked... How was I not supposed to feel anything?

"Stop it," I said, planning to yank my tail back but then Damar turned my face to look at him.

"You’re not a cold-blooded beastman." He suddenly said. "So staying in the water for so long shouldn’t be good for you."

You’re saying this ’now’? After we stayed in the water for so long?

"I... I think I’ll be fine." I said. My tone faltered a bit, as I stared into his emerald eyes.

Then, Fenric licked again, causing me to jerk even more violently.

His tail was wet too, so why couldn’t he lick his own tail and leave me alone?

My body trembled and I could barely stay still with my flushed face. This was embarrassing.

Damar saw that Fenric was getting my attention by doing something like that and got jealous.

"I can’t pick your hair dry." Please do not say something so scary. "But..." He leaned closer and locked my face with his long tongue. "I can lick your face dry."

Please, do not. That’s just nasty.

But he did whatever he wanted, and Fenric did whatever he wanted as well, and then I realized, putting up with primitive beasts is way harder than I imagined it to be.

I can’t even imagine what would happen once the probation ended and I officially take them as my spouse.

Ah, I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of uproar that would occur once I bring Damar to the tribe. I hope they don’t try to attack him. It would be dangerous if Damar resorted to ’self-defense’ and killed them.

I don’t have any attachments to them but it would be bad if they began to hate on Damar and make him known as a serial killer who massacred the Stormhole tribe.

"I think we should be getting back," I said, once my hair was a little bit dry. "It would be bad if they come looking for us and find you, Damar."

Damar looked sad as I said this. I was leaving him again.

I didn’t even need to hear his thoughts to know what he was thinking.

"I’m sorry but I need to get a few things prepared before I can take you to the tribe," I said. "They might decide not to accept you, but don’t worry. Even if that happens, I won’t give up on you." I reached my hand towards him, and he lowered his body a bit so that my hand could touch his face, caressing his cold, pale skin softly.

His torso being a snake made him seem very tall and he could get even taller if he wanted, by extending his body on his tail.

"Then, shall we meet here again tomorrow?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah," I said. "Let’s meet then."

I wonder, what does Damar do in his spare time? I mean, every time is spare time if we’re talking about that, since he has no acquaintances.

He doesn’t have a friend, or family. He’s alone and roams around alone.

He must not want to part with me, but has no choice.

"I’ll prepare a gift for you." He said, his eyes soft on mine.

"Really? Then I’ll look forward to it." He nodded and then looked up at Fenric, frowning.

"I don’t want to rely on a dirty cub but I don’t have a choice." He said with a disgruntled tone and a face that made it seem like he was looking down on Fenric.

"What did you say?" This irked Fenric, of course.

"You have to take care of Arinya, since you get to be by her side."

"Heh, I don’t need you to tell me that." He said, his shoulders leveled, and waving his hand like he already knew what to do. "I was going to take care of her without your words. She’s going to be my spouse too, you know. I can’t let anything harm her."

But Damar wasn’t impressed.

His eyes glazed and he scoffed, shaking his head in denial.

"How can I trust the words of a weak cub?"

Damar’s words immediately hit where it hurt. I mean, I wouldn’t say Fenric is weak, given that he was given the title Beast Warrior. One that’s only given to a select few, the strongest of each tribe, and one acknowledged by the beast king.

There is no way he’s weak.

But in Damar’s eyes, he is weak. I don’t know the justification but this doesn’t look good whichever way I look at it.

"Did you just call me weak?" Fenric asked, his veins bulging on his forehead. "And what’s this about a cub? You’ve been calling me a cub this whole time? What part of me looks small?"

But Damar couldn’t be concerned to give an explanation.

"Just take care of Arinya." He said and turned. "It’s the least you can do, since you’re second."

"You..." Fenric couldn’t even counter him.

It looks like Damar wins this round.

It was so hot that I thought Fenric would blow a gasket and throw a punch but he surprisingly held back.

Jeez, I can’t hope to give them a good relationship if they’re already at each other’s skin.

I watched Damar sliding away, his back seeming lonely and his shoulders heavy.

He’ll be okay, right?

"Let’s go back, Ari." He said and I turned to him. Did he just give me a nickname? "Ari sounds nice, right?"

"Well, yeah," I said, my hand brushing my damp hair over where my human ear should’ve been.

I blushed.

"It’s quite nice."

This pleased Fenric, but he knew he had a long way to go if he wanted to leave a strong, favorable impression of himself on me.

"Be honest with me, how did you find me?" I asked, knowing he had been specifically looking for me and then he touched his nose.

"I followed your scent."

It’s probably that scent he and Damar are so obsessed with. Maybe obsessed is a strong word but they both care about my scent so much.

Anyway, that solves the mystery about how he found the lake so fast when it took me a while even when following Arinya’s memory.