Free Web NovelChapter 5: Is This Extra Meat for Winter?
Bai Nuan’s eyes fluttered open, but her brain’s first instinct wasn’t to check her surroundings—it was to stop breathing. The air was thick with the heavy, metallic stench of raw meat and old blood.
’Is this a cave or a butcher shop’s dumpster?’
She pinched her nose, sitting up on a "bed" that was essentially just a layer of sand on a flat rock. Very minimalist. Very uncomfortable.
’Nobody’s here. Great. Time for a tactical exit.’
She swung her good leg over the side, but the darkness behind her suddenly grew two glowing, golden eyes. Before she could even gasp, two massive, boulder-like arms wrapped around her. One clamped onto her waist while the other draped over her chest, hauling her back against a wall of solid, hot muscle.
Kael buried his face in the crook of her neck, letting out a low, vibrating growl before swiping a sandpaper tongue against her skin.
"Ack!! Hands off the merchandise, Kael!Personal space is a human right!"
She squirmed, but it was like trying to wiggle out from under a fallen redwood tree. He only tightened his grip, pulling her flush against his naked chest.
"Nua..." he rumbled, the sound vibrating right through her spine.
"Who? Where? Is there a Nua here?" she snapped, looking around the dark den.
"You. Nua," he grunted.
"It’s Nuan! Bai Nuan! Please, for the love of logistics, get the syllables right. Never mind, don’t—I’m leaving anyway."
She grabbed his forearm, trying to pry his fingers off her waist, but he just tucked his chin over her shoulder. "Stay. Night is cold. Your fragile, furless body won’t survive the chill."
Bai Nuan gulped, feeling the sheer heat coming off him.
’Fragile? I’m aerodynamic. There’s a difference.’
She mentally summoned her blue buddy, and the screen flickered into life with its usual annoying glow.
[ Why would you summon me during such a private, warming moment, Host? ]
’Because I need the warmth of a blanket! Check the inventory, now! He stinks like a wet dog that rolled in a carcass!’
[ I do have blankets, Host. But I’d rather let your Mate have his courtship time. It’s good for your survival rating. ]
[ Good night! ]
"Oi! Wait! You digital traitor!"
The screen vanished. Bai Nuan groaned, slumping back against the Alpha. "Kael... could you maybe take a bath? Before the hugging starts?"
"At this hour? You wish for me to go to the river?" He tilted his head, his breath hot against her ear. "It is chilling outside to enter the water. Do I feel... unclean to you?"
"Yes. Very much so. Professionally speaking, you’re a biohazard."
Kael paused, then started sniffing his own shoulder before letting out a loud, wet lick against his own skin.
"Ugh! No, no, stop! Please!" She squeezed her eyes shut, horrified. "Don’t cover yourself in saliva and then press against me. I’ll adjust! I’ll survive!"
She stiffened, praying to any sleep goddess listening to knock her out before he decided her other cheek needed a "cleaning."
’Logistics, Bai Nuan. Think about the logistics. At least he’s a warm heater. A very smelly, very naked heater.’
(Next Morning)
Bai Nuan’s morning didn’t start with an alarm clock; it started with a wet nose and the realization that she was still being used as a human body pillow.
"Ahm... Kael, please... just learn the concept of a personal bubble," she murmured, batting at the heavy snout in her sleep.
"Kael! What kind of creature is this you have brought? Is it extra meat for winter?"
The feminine voice was so sharp and authoritative that Bai Nuan jolted upright, her eyes snapping open. Standing at the mouth of the den was a tall, powerfully built wolf-woman. She was wearing a simple loincloth that left very little to the imagination, her fur a mottled grey, and her gaze currently dissecting Bai Nuan like a specimen.
’Great. Am I finally dinner for his wife?’ Bai Nuan thought, her heart doing a frantic tap-dance.
"Kael!?" she hissed, glancing at the Alpha beside her. To her immense relief—and professional surprise—he was actually wearing a loincloth around his waist today, however lazily. fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Kael blinked at her, his expression softening.
"You woke up, Nuan?"
He turned toward the formidable woman at the entrance. "She is not prey, Mother. I have claimed this female for mating. Just apply the Whiteclaw Herb to her feet."
’Oh, so it’s his mother. Wait—no! I don’t recall signing the mating contract!’
"This fragile creature for... mating?" His mother tilted her head, looking at Nuan as if she were a particularly pathetic bird that had fallen out of a nest.
The sharp, medicinal tang of the herb filled the cave as Kael’s mother began grinding the leaves with a heavy stone. She moved with an efficiency that Bai Nuan could actually respect, even if she was currently being judged for having "weak fur."
Once the paste was ready, the older woman moved in. She sat at the foot of the bed-slab, dipping her clawed hands into the green gunk and smearing it directly onto Bai Nuan’s injured ankle.
"Rugh!!! Ahhh haa haa!!"
Nuan let out a strangled squeal. The paste hit her skin like a bucket of liquid nitrogen, a freezing, stinging sensation that made her vision swim.
"Hold still, mosquito," the mother grunted, ignoring the dramatics as she thoroughly coated the ankle and wrapped it in large, supple leaves.
She stood up, wiping her hands on her thighs, and cast one last unimpressed look at Kael before heading out.
"Such a fragile mate you have brought... she can’t even handle a little herb paste. Good luck keeping her alive through the first snowfall."
[ Healing Process Initiated: 15% complete. ] frёewebηovel.cѳm
[ Host, Your mother-in-law thinks you’re a lost cause. Tactics suggested: Try not to die in the next hour. ]
