CHAPTER 58: BUT I’LL SCALE THROUGH IT

My words seemed to have healed some things in Fenric. I don’t know what it is but the fact that he turned around and went to hug me, laughing like a kid, made my heart swell with warmth, like I had done a good thing.

"You’re the best, Arinya." He said and then raised his body, having a newfound confidence to win this thing. "I’ll make sure not to disappoint you." With that, he rushed away, his naked butt and tail swaying in front of my eyes.

I sat there, staring at the empty space that had become of his absence.

Then, I brushed my hand through my hair, my fingers grazing my ear and then... There was this little flush on my cheek that made me seem like a girl with a huge crush.

He had a way of moving my heart so warmly with his childlike actions.

I say it again but his first impression does not do his character justice at all.

He’s such a pure-hearted beast.

"Well, I should hurry and put on my clothes," I mumbled to myself. The next person to come would definitely be Damar.

But as I did this, using my fingers to comb the tangled locks of my hair, I began to wonder.

During the time when I felt I was in danger, when my heart was racing and I thought running away was the best thing to do when faced with a beast... The thought of Damar or Fenric coming to save me never surfaced.

Hmmm.

Usually, in times like that, you wish for the person you trust the most, the very capable one, for that matter, to just show up and save you, but I didn’t.

I didn’t wish for either of them.

Should I just take it that it was because my beast instinct was already familiar with who the beast was and that was why I did not seek help?

No, that’s too convenient.

There’s definitely something.

Still, I couldn’t put my finger on it.

I want to know if there’s a problem in my trust towards Damar and Fenric and that’s why they never came to mind when I needed help.

I mean, I only met them two days ago and yesterday. Except for the fact that I like their face and bodies, and that we’ve bonded and mated... I don’t think I’m very familiar with them.

Is it the lack of familiarity that caused it? Even when my heart feels this way for them?

I pressed my hand on my chest... Even when my heart beats warmly like this and I know I will be with them all my life, it seems I’ve not opened up to them completely.

Ah, this is why I wanted us to have a bonding session. Nothing good will come from my heart liking them only on the surface and not inwardly as well.

I stretched my arms and legs, looking up at the sky.

This... Is harder than I thought. Starting a relationship, and starting a family... It’s not as simple as scraping our names together or moving in to live with each other.

But I’ll scale through it.

I’m confident that if I put my heart into it, I will definitely make the perfect family I can rely on.

Then, my ear caught a rustle. I didn’t make the same mistake and let whoever or whatever it was that was making the rustles get close first. I quickly scanned the area I caught a figure emerging from the forest.

"Damar?" I called, expecting him and I was right.

The person who came out was Damar, holding a bunch of squirrels I couldn’t even count.

His face and his body were all bloody. Ah, he must’ve worked really hard to catch the squirrels.

There were a lot.

Has he already concluded his hunt?

As soon as Damar’s eyes landed on me, his cold gaze softened and his lips curled a little. That was the way he smiled. His lips didn’t curl too much but his eyes showed more than his face wanted to tell.

"Ari," he called with a soft tone and then tossed the hunt aside as he got closer.

He was about to hug me when he paused, taking a look at the blood on his body.

"Just a moment, Ari." With that, he slid past me and dove into the water, rinsing all the blood out of his body.

Then he came out, in a hurry, and hugged me.

"I’m back, Ari," he said.

The stench of blood was heavy on him.

That couldn’t have been from just the squirrels. I wondered if he had secretly killed other big animals, but only brought the squirrels back, since that was all we needed.

"Yeah, I can see that," I said, stroking his back. "Good work."

He raised his body and looked into my eyes. He wanted something. A reward or a pat on the head... Something that would make him feel good.

Something... That would make him feel good?

I ran my hand through the back of his long, silky hair and then pulled him in.

If he was looking for a good job pat then why not give it to him the adult way? I’ll give him a good pat... With my lips.

I parted my lips and then chomped on his lower lip.

That... That wasn’t what I intended. I wanted to kiss him, I swear. I just... How did I end up sucking only on his lower lip?

I suddenly feel embarrassed but I can’t stop cause that would be even more embarrassing.

Let’s just do it a little more and then stop.

But Damar had other plans.

It was times like this that his lips curled even more than they did whenever he smiled warmly at me.

He was a cunning snake. I have to put that at the back of my head.

"Ari is so cute." He mumbled through our lips and then wrapped his own arms around me, one of his hands sliding towards the back of my head. "But Ari, you need to do it properly."

Properly?

Before I could think of anything, he had taken the lead, crashing his lips into mine and kissing me ’properly’ with his long tongue wrapping around mine, exploring the insides of my mouth as his lips roughly caressed mine.

This... Was definitely a proper kiss.