Kurus turned his head to look at me, his lips brushing against my palm. I kept my eyes on the horizon, waiting for the eagles to move on, but the weight of his gaze was distracting.
He was probably wondering why I had saved him. Twice now.
I was wondering the same thing. One could argue I needed a playmate. It’s been a while since I had someone to share my interests with.
Nivi was my classmate, I hung around her world most of the time, but our paths rarely crossed in the dark, where I actually lived. She was a softie, and we didn’t always see eye to eye. Also, I didn’t want to drag an innocent soul down the pit of hell with me. She deserved a normal life, away from my chaos.
’What?’ I asked Kurus with my eyes, "Fallen in love with me already?"
His pupils expanded as my lips curled into a smirk. He bit my palm, and I let him, feeling his fangs pierce through my skin.
"I’m cold-blooded. We don’t fall in love like warmblooded." He spat out my blood, looking disgusted. The drug in my body had yet to fully dissolve, and it made my blood taste like poison to him.
"I don’t fall in love, bla-bla-bla. I’ve heard it before. Just accept that you have a soft spot for your mate."
He hissed again, shaking his head to deny the truth. His eyes moved to the forest, checking if the eagles had left.
I slapped his buttocks, signaling him to move, "Can you find some water? I need to clean the blood off. We have to return before Nivi notices."
"..." Covering his bottom, he flicked his tongue out and pointed in a direction. "That way."
I walked ahead of him, ignoring the way he stared at my back. I could see how he was itching to smack me back. His injuries told me he didn’t have a Miracle core from the Green one, so he was definitely not going to pick a losing fight with me.
The stream was hidden behind a wall of vines. I stripped down and washed the blood off my body. Kurus dipped his tail in the water, cleaning it, while his eyes stayed on me, like a creeper.
"Quit ogling," I warned, throwing my clothes on the stone.
"You look at me too. All the time. With hunger." Noodle took the initiative to wash my clothes, studying the material and the stitching as he soaked and squeezed it. The machetes were wiped clean and sheathed.
"You get all murderous when I don’t look at you, so I look. What’s the problem?"
He hissed and began focusing on the clothes. The possessiveness the mate mark brought him had begun to show, and I wondered how much control he would have over it.
He had his fair share of arousal, but survival still trumped everything else. He always ended up ignoring it. Why?
"Are you seducing me?" I teased. Even the way he washed my clothes, with his eyes peeking at me through his lashes, made it feel like a performance. He was inviting me to look, to desire him, even if his hands were busy.
He nodded, surprising me with his innocent honesty again. "You look at me when I seduce you too. It’s effective. More than my threats."
I dressed up in my damp clothes. "Let’s go before I get tempted to seduce you back."
He hissed again and crawled out of the stream. I followed him this time, watching his tail sway from side to side, like he was the snake that ate the canary. Proud, smug, and satisfied with his victory.
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Under the soft glow of the morning light, we found ourselves gathered around a small campfire. It was just the four of us: me, Hale, Nivi, and Kurus.
Kurus underwent a complete transformation in his behavior towards Nivi. It was as though he suddenly found himself no longer in need of her tips to win me over.
"Open your mouth, Mate."
I cast a glance at Kurus while the savory aroma of grilled snake meat filled the air.
"My tongue?" I echoed, opening my mouth for his inspection.
Kurus’s eyes lit up, as he caught sight of the spousal mark. "Mate," he murmured with a touch of ownership, having no idea how triggering he sounded to a pair of modern ears, "I don’t want you to take in another male. I want to be your first and also your last mate."
"Okay," I simply shrugged and continued savoring my snake skewer, his words washing over me like a breeze that failed to stir the leaves, much to Nivi’s surprise.
Nivi couldn’t help but roll her eyes at Kurus, probably gagging inside at his arrogance, "And who’s going to look after Yaya while you’re hibernating or hunting?"
"She can stay with you during winter in exchange for a miracle core," Kurus glanced dismissively at Hale as he dished out the same thing Nivi wanted from me, "You should find more mates, Nivi. The mate you chose is too weak."
Oh, by the way, Nivi’s attitude towards Kurus was a total one hundred and eighty degrees too.
"Say it again?" Nivi bared her small fists, "Hale has powers that brute force like yours could never match."
Her initial sympathy for Kurus evaporated.
Hale managed a strained smile, though his voice betrayed a hint of bitterness. "Kurus is right, Neveah. I’m not strong enough to protect you on my own." He admitted, "You should take in more males."
Hale’s strengths lay more in healing than in combat. The sting from Kurus must have been harsh, especially in front of Nivi, whom he admired.
"Don’t mind him, Hale. He’s all talk, just wait until he realizes that it’s not up to him to decide whether Yaya takes in more mates," Nivi started, her gaze shifted towards me, "Yaya, are you just going to sit back and let Kurus walk all over you with his whims?"
Responding to her worry, I raised my snake skewer towards Kurus’s lips, offering him a bite. "If Kurus is willing to fund my bodyguards, why should I sacrifice my body for males I don’t even care for?"
I could see a flicker of discomfort cross Nivi’s face, but before she could respond, the forest around us fell silent. The birdsong that accompanied us ceased abruptly.
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