Chapter 49: Why You So Obsessed With Me?
Ermin had never claimed her. She had forced this bond on him, and he was going to dissolve it in a few months, and that was the end of it.
So why had his other instinct been to announce his bond with her too?
Before he could force something out, another male defended him.
"Why would he not defend her?" The beast male’s tone was matter-of-fact. "She nursed him through the fever and barely slept for three days. She even paused the shelter building she was passionate about, so she could take care of him properly."
The beast man huffed proudly at those words.
Another one nodded in support. "Ermin defending her means he has seen what we have all started to see. She is not the troublesome female like before. She has changed."
The jackal snorted. "Or maybe the imprint is still messing with his head."
Ermin glared at the jackal, and the male’s ears flicked back. He frowned and looked away from Ermin, washing his back.
"Just leave her alone," Ermin said.
The other male, who had been smirking with the jackal, muttered, "Since when do you care what happens to the shiftless female?"
He shot that one another scalding look at him, and he went quiet.
Ermin stayed in the water longer than he needed to, deliberately positioning himself so the others would have to look past him if they wanted to stare at Tera. He told himself it was only for himself and it had nothing to do with the way his pulse had jumped when she looked at him, or the memory of her soft hands on his fevered skin, or the quiet way she had told him that she wouldn’t go anywhere.
When he finally risked a glance back, Tera was already leaving the water. One of the females was wrapping a hide around her. For a brief second before the hide covered her, Ermin’s eyes caught the soft curve of her butt—the same soft flesh he had once held—and his cock twitched hard despite every effort to control it.
He dragged his gaze away, jaw clenched so tight it ached.
This was maddening.
She had forced a bond on him, ruined his standing with Naiya, and had turned his life upside down.
And yet she had also sat beside him for days while he burned, cooling his skin, forcing bitter medicine into his mouth, holding his hand when he asked her to stay. She had paused the entire clan’s work for him.
He didn’t know what to do with any of that information.
Ermin scrubbed himself roughly, as if he could wash the confusion off his skin, then climbed out of the lake. The males had started chatting about something else long ago, but no one else made another comment about Tera.
[Ermin’s Favourability: 22% → 28%]
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Kiri had always been beautiful.
She knew this the way she knew the sun would rise and the river would flow. It was simply a fact of the world. Her fur was thick and glossy in her fox form. Her tail was full and elegant. Her ears were perfectly pointed, and her features sharp and striking in the way that had always drawn the eyes of males wherever she went.
Her tribe had nearly been slaughtered by a corrupted beast the previous year when Xavi and two beasts had killed it, and she had vowed to never leave his side. It was safe moving with a capable, strong male beast, and there had barely been anything left of her home tribe, so what else did she have to lose?
Xavi was everything Kiri had ever wanted. Strong, powerful, and a natural leader who commanded respect without having to demand it. He had very beautiful eyes, and he was the kind of male who could protect a female, provide for her, give her cubs that would grow up strong and feared.
She would especially love to birth cute bear and fox cubs for him.
Kiri had decided the moment she met Xavi that he would be hers.
Until this second-rate, shiftless fox had arrived.
Kiri could not even believe they were the same species. It was quite disgusting, and there was no way the clan leader was going to choose that second-rate thing over her.
Xavi had returned with the other males from his hunt with a large game. New meat and hide for the clan.
And most importantly, she had taken her chance when the shiftless thing had gone to the lake with a few females.
Now, Xavi was alone at the fire.
Kiri smoothed her tail, adjusted the hide across her chest so it sat lower, and walked toward him with a casual stride that had taken her twenty minutes to practice.
Xavi was chewing his meat, those beautiful golden eyes of his reflecting the flames as the firelight carved deep shadows beneath his jaw.
He was handsome. She was beautiful. They were a perfect match, and if not for that pesky fear of his to bed another female, he would have noticed how perfect she was for him.
She settled beside him, close enough that her arm was nearly touching his. She let her tail drift, just enough for the tip of it to brush along his calf.
Xavi looked at her, surprised.
"Kiri."
"Leader," Kiri said softly, pouting her lips, which she had licked earlier for a slightly glossy sheen. "The night is cold."
He grunted. "Shift into your fox form. Your fur is very dense and will protect you from the cold."
He then paused and looked at her again. "Have you eaten your meat?"
"Yes, leader," Kiri pressed on. "But that is not what I came here for. I have an urgent issue."
He stopped chewing, his rapt attention fully on Kiri now.
She let out a dejected sigh, her body sagging even further against him as her tail brushed gently against his legs. "Leader. All the other females are expecting cubs now. It is a joyful time."
Xavi grunted with a nod, understanding dawning on his face.
"And I am the only one who is not." She lightly brushed her hand over his sturdy forearm.