Chapter 46: Two Hands, One Very Confused Female
"You are giving him all your affection."
Tera could not believe her eyes when she saw something close to a stubborn put on Xavi’s lips as he drew closer and sat himself right beside her.
"No, I was only tending to him..."
Her heart fluttered as his warmth enveloped her, and the slight twitch from Ermin’s grip snatched her back to the present.
She looked at Ermin and then back to Xavi. "You are going to make him hotter."
"I am not doing anything."
"Your body heat is like a furnace. You being this close is literally raising the temperature in here."
Xavi ignored this. He was staring at her hand—the one Ermin was holding—with the focused intensity of a bear who had spotted another predator sniffing around his territory.
Then, very deliberately, he reached out and took her other hand.
Tera now had a beast man attached to each hand like a pair of very large, very territorial handcuffs.
"I want you to be my mate."
Tera’s brain stalled.
’OMG. Is he proposing?’
Xavi continued, with the calm certainty of a man announcing the weather rather than confessing his feelings. "You are very clever, and I admire you."
He squeezed her hand, his golden eyes holding hers with an intensity that made her stomach flip.
[Xavi’s Favourability: 55% → 60%]
"I will bring you the best meat, I will keep you warm and give you many cubs—"
’Sorry?!’
"Many?" Tera’s voice came out as a squeak.
"Yes. Many." He nodded, as if this were a perfectly reasonable number. "As many as you will carry. Our cubs will be strong. They will have your stubbornness and my—"
"How many exactly are we talking—"
Ermin’s hand tightened around hers.
Tera’s head whipped around. The panther was still unconscious, his eyes firmly shut, his breathing even. But his grip had gone from loose and fever-weak to deliberate and firm, as if he were trying to anchor himself.
Then he frowned.
His tail, which had been lying limp and pathetic on the fur bedding, gave a single slow swipe across the floor.
[Ermin’s Favourability: 9% → 15%]
[(⊙_⊙)]
’I don’t—what is happening—’
Tera stared at Ermin’s sleeping face, at the frown that hadn’t smoothed, at the tail that had just thumped the floor like a disgruntled cat who’d been disturbed from a nap.
What was wrong with him?
’He’s supposed to be sick and delirious! Why is his favourability going up?!’
[This system hypothesizes that Ermin’s subconscious mind is responding to the perceived threat of Xavi’s confession]
[Even in his fevered state, he does not wish to lose Host’s attention]
[(￢‿￢)]
[How scandalous]
’That makes no sense. He hates me.’
But her brain, treacherous thing that it was, had already started down a dangerous path.
If Ermin was jealous even in his sleep and Xavi was holding her hand and talking about cubs, and both of them had just gotten favourability increases because they were essentially fighting over her, did that mean...
Did that mean she might actually get to savour Ermin’s dick again?
Her mind supplied a very vivid image of her sandwiched between Ermin and Xavi.
A double buffet!
Tera was almost getting excited when she forced herself to relax and push the depraved thoughts into a small mental box and slam the lid shut. She could examine them later.
Preferably, when two males weren’t holding both her hands and one of them wasn’t staring at her with golden eyes full of earnest expectation.
Her heart fluttered at the look in Xavi’s eyes. She would actually love to have him and get to know him more.
She almost felt sad she had been pouring her whole time into this task rather than getting to know Xavi more, especially when the shelters were being completed quickly and there was still time.
"Yes," she whispered, suddenly feeling a bit shy.
Xavi’s ears perked forward. "Yes?"
"Yes, I’ll be your mate."
Wasn’t there some sort of procedure that was meant to come with this?
The smile that spread across Xavi’s face was like watching the sun rise. It transformed his usually stoic features into something almost boyish, full of a happiness so pure it made her chest ache.
The sudden, rapid thumping sound that filled the shelter immediately alerted Tera to the small tail behind him. She had never exactly noticed it this close before, and the small detail, along with how rapidly it was swaying, was a very cute sight.
Tera wanted to laugh, but held it in.
He looked so proud, and Tera was nearly rendered speechless. She had never seen this much emotion on Xavi’s face before, and she found it so mesmerising.
She wanted to see him light up more.
He nodded. "We can fully solidify the imprint when you are relaxed and ready."
Tera’s heart quickened, and she looked away shyly.
She immediately thought of his mention of cubs, and she turned her attention back to him, about to ask what exactly he meant by multiple cubs, when Xavi looked at Ermin, concern slowly slipping into his eyes.
"How is he faring?"
"His fever has gone down a bit."
Ermin’s grip on Tera’s hand loosened, and Tera slowly set it back beside him, sighing in relief as her hand was finally released from captivity.
"He needs rest more than anything," she said, slightly leaning back.
Xavi grunted, then, with a sudden movement, wrapped his arm around Tera’s waist and hauled her against him while he shifted away until they were some distance away from Ermin.
Tera’s heart jumped in her chest. She was directly in his lap, his arm still surrounding her waist.
"What—"
"Enough paying attention to him. I am here too."
’Oh, my...’
"You should eat," he announced.
"Oh—I ate earlier."
"That was hours ago."
Tera looked up at him, surprised. "How do you know that?"
Xavi didn’t answer. He just reached to the side and placed the leaf he had come in with in front of them.
There were flat strips of roasted meat, still slightly warm, a few of the purple grapes she’d liked so much, and a piece of fruit she didn’t recognize. It was golden and round and smelled faintly of honey.
Her mouth watered.
Xavi picked up a piece of meat and held it in front of her mouth. "Open."