Surviving Zombies Was Easier Than Raising Beast Cubs

Chapter 15: Chapter 15: Sleeping with her male 1

Swanly lifted a spoon. "This is a spoon."

"Spoon," the cubs repeated together.

Their tiny voices were so serious that Swanly wanted to eat them instead of the food.

"No biting the spoon," she warned.

All three cubs looked offended.

She served the food into bowls and let it cool first. The cubs kept trying to lean closer, so she had to hold one hand in front of them like a gate.

"Hot. Wait."

The smallest whined. "Hungry."

"I know."

"Hungry now."

"I know."

"Mama feed?"

"Yes, Mama feed."

That calmed him at once.

Swanly sat with the three bowls in front of her and began feeding them little by little. The cubs were old enough to chew soft meat and rice, but still small enough that she did not trust them not to inhale the food like tiny wild beasts.

The smallest took the first bite.

His eyes went wide.

Then his whole body froze.

Swanly panicked. "What? Too hot?"

He swallowed.

Then he made a tiny sound so sweet that the second cub immediately shoved his head forward.

"Mama, me."

The eldest tried to wait politely.

He lasted two seconds.

Then he also leaned forward. "Mama, me too."

Swanly laughed softly and fed them one by one.

The smallest kept trying to lick the spoon after every bite.

"No licking the spoon too hard. You’ll cut your tongue."

He froze, tongue still out.

She tapped his nose lightly. freewebnσvel.cѳm

He blinked, then licked her finger instead.

Swanly stared at him.

He looked proud.

"You are addicted."

The smallest wagged his tail. "Mama finger food."

"No. Mama finger is not food."

The second cub, quiet and sweet, ate slowly and watched her face after every bite, as if checking whether she would suddenly stop feeding him.

The eldest tried to sit very straight and act grown, but each time the spoon came near, his little mouth opened before he could stop it.

Swanly fed them until their small bellies looked rounder and their eyes grew sleepy.

Then she turned to Kael who had been waiting patiently, watching them.

He was holding the spoon like it was a bone tool from an enemy tribe.

Swanly almost laughed immediately.

"No. Like this."

She showed him.

Kael copied her.

Badly.

He scooped too much rice, tilted the spoon too far, and half the food fell back into the bowl.

The cubs stared.

The smallest whispered, "Papa bad spoon."

Kael’s ears went back from embarrassment.

Swanly bit her lip.

Do not laugh.

Do not laugh.

Kael tried again. This time, he brought the spoon to his mouth too slowly, like he expected it to attack. When the hot food touched his tongue, his eyes widened slightly.

Swanly leaned forward. "Too hot?"

He swallowed.

"No."

His voice was rough.

But his face said yes.

Swanly covered her mouth.

He tried again, and this time a grain of rice stuck to the corner of his mouth.

The smallest gasped. "Papa messy."

The second smiled.

The eldest looked troubled, like his respect for his father had been shaken by rice.

Swanly could not hold it in.

A laugh slipped out.

Kael looked at her.

She leaned closer without thinking and wiped the rice from the corner of his mouth with her thumb.

"There. You had food on your face."

Kael froze.

The cave seemed to freeze with him.

Swanly’s thumb was still near his mouth.

His skin was warm under her touch.

Too warm.

His golden eyes dropped to her hand, then lifted slowly to her face.

Swanly suddenly remembered that this man was technically a stranger.

A stranger.

A very beautiful, very warm, very loyal, very half-naked stranger who was also apparently her mate and the father of her cubs.

Her face heated.

She pulled her hand back quickly.

"Sorry. Habit."

It was not a habit.

She had never had this habit in her life.

Kael did not point that out.

He only looked at her with that deep, quiet stare that made her feel like he was holding his breath inside his chest.

The cubs looked between them.

The smallest whispered, "Mama touch Papa mouth."

The second whispered, "Papa happy."

The eldest nodded. "Papa very happy."

Swanly grabbed her bowl and looked away. "Eat your food."

After they finished eating, the cave changed.

It felt warmer now.

Not just from the fire that had died, but from full bellies, sleepy cubs, and the soft sound of the waterfall outside. The deep forest was still there. The infected were still out there. The strange world had not become safe just because rice had been cooked in a cave.

But for this short moment, Swanly could breathe.

She wiped the cubs’ mouths with a cloth, which turned into a battle because the smallest kept licking the cloth, the second kept ducking his head, and the eldest acted like a brave warrior being treated after war.

Then she played with them on the animal skins.

At first, it was simple.

She moved her fluffy white tail slowly, and all three cubs pounced.

The smallest missed every time and still celebrated like he had won.

The second was quiet but surprisingly fast, catching the tail tip twice and then looking shocked at his own success.

The eldest tried to be strategic, hiding behind Kael’s folded fur bundle before launching himself at the tail with a tiny battle sound.

Swanly fell onto her side laughing.

"Why are you all attacking my tail? It is attached to me!"

The smallest climbed onto her stomach. "Mama tail fun."

"It is not a toy."

The second patted it gently. "Soft toy."

The eldest nodded. "Mama toy."

Swanly gasped. "Excuse me?"

The three cubs froze, then squeaked and scattered when she sat up suddenly.

She chased them with her tail.

Not fast.

Just enough to make them squeal.

The cave filled with small paws, tiny cries, soft laughter, and the sound of Kael moving quietly nearby as he prepared a sleeping place. He spread thick furs over the driest part of the cave, away from the entrance but close enough that he could reach the cubs quickly if danger came. He set the bone tools near his side. He checked the waterfall twice. He checked the dead fire. He checked the dark mouth of the cave where smoke had escaped.

Always watching.

Always guarding.

Eventually, the cubs grew tired.

The smallest was the first to fall.

He crawled into Swanly’s lap, licked her wrist one last time, then fell asleep with his tiny mouth still slightly open.

Swanly stared at him.

"This one has a serious licking problem."

Kael glanced over. "He likes your scent."

"That does not make it less wet."

The second cub curled beside the smallest, his little head resting on Swanly’s thigh. The eldest fought sleep hard, blinking slowly, lifting his head whenever it dipped, pretending he was still guarding everyone.

Swanly stroked his head gently.

"You can sleep. I won’t let anything take them."

The eldest looked up at her.

His eyes were sleepy and soft.

"Mama guard?"

Swanly’s heart melted.

"Yes. Mama guard."

That was enough.

The eldest crawled closer, pressed his little body against her side, and fell asleep too.

Kael watched quietly.

Swanly looked down at the three sleeping cubs, and her smile turned soft.

They were all round bellies, tiny paws, twitching ears, and little breaths.

How could anyone look at them and not love them?

How could anyone push them away?

Her throat tightened, but she forced the sadness down because they were warm and safe right now. That mattered more.

Kael finished making the sleeping place and looked at her.

"I made space for you," he said.

Swanly blinked.

He looked away slightly. "If you do not want to sleep beside me, you can sleep with the cubs."

The sentence was calm.

Too calm.

But Swanly heard what was underneath it.

He expected rejection.

Again.

Her face warmed.

Sleep beside him.

Her brain immediately became useless.

She had never slept close to a man like that before. Not truly. Not with someone’s arm around her. Not with a warm body behind her in the dark. The apocalypse had not exactly been a place for romance. People slept with knives under their clothes and one eye half-open.

But Kael had not tried to hurt her.

He had protected her. Protected the cubs. Let her treat him. Ate her food. Let her touch his mouth and somehow did not make it weird, even though it had been very weird inside her own chest.

Also, he was warm.

Very warm.

And built like a living wall.

And shamefully beautiful.

Swanly pressed her lips together.

Her true reason was not noble.

The cave was cold. He was hot. She wanted to use him like a heater with muscles.

That was all.

Completely practical.

Not shameless.

Fine.

A little shameless.

Before Kael could turn away, Swanly quickly said, "No, I’ll sleep with you."

Kael froze.

The cubs were asleep, so none of them could expose her.

Thank God.

Swanly’s stomach flipped. She had said it too fast, too casual, like it was nothing. But it wasn’t nothing. The thought of lying next to him — his big body, his heat, that low voice saying her name in the dark — made her thighs press together before she could stop them.

Kael’s ears twitched. He had heard the tiny shift in her breathing.

Kael looked back at her slowly. "You will?"

Swanly lifted her chin. "We are mates, right? It would be strange if I acted like you have a disease."

His eyes moved over her face, searching for a lie.

Swanly looked away first because the man’s eyes were too much.

"Don’t stare like that. I’m already nervous."

Kael’s voice became lower. "I will not touch you if you do not want it."

That made her pause.

Something inside her softened again.

"Good," she said quietly. "Thank you."

Again, that word.

Thank you.

Kael looked like she had touched an old wound and healed it with one finger.

Swanly turned away before she could become emotional.

She carefully moved the cubs onto the fur place first. The smallest protested in his sleep and reached one paw toward her, so she placed him between her and the others. The second curled against him. The eldest rolled close to Kael’s side as if even in sleep he wanted to help guard.

When they were all settled, Swanly lay down.

Kael lay behind her, but he left space between them.

Too much space.

A cold line of cave air sat between her back and his chest.

The cold line of air between her back and his chest felt like a deliberate wall. Swanly stared at the waterfall light on the cave wall and told herself she was fine with it. She was.

She didn’t need to be pressed against a stranger who happened to be her mate and the father of three cubs who were currently snoring softly two feet away.

Except her body disagreed.

She could feel the heat radiating off him anyway. It made the fine hairs on her arms stand up. Made her tail curl tighter against her own leg like it wanted to reach for him.

She waited three breaths and stared into the dim cave.

The waterfall glimmered near the entrance, turning the darkness blue and silver. The fire was out. The pot was clean. The prey was set aside. The cubs breathed softly beside her, their little bodies finally still.

Kael stayed behind her like a wall that refused to touch.

Then slowly, quietly, she moved backward.

Kael went still.

She moved again.

The fur beneath her shifted.

Kael’s voice came low. "Swanly."

"What?"

"You are moving closer."

"I’m cold."

"You have fur."

"I have ears and one tail. I am not a blanket."

Silence.

Then she moved back again.

This time, her back brushed his chest.

Heat rushed through her immediately.

Oh.

He was warm.

Not normal warm.

Beastman warm.

His chest was firm behind her, his breath slow near the top of her head, his body giving off steady heat that wrapped around her like a fire that did not burn. Swanly almost sighed out loud.

Actually, she did sigh.

Very softly.

Kael heard it.

Of course he heard it.

His whole body tensed.

Swanly closed her eyes and pretended not to notice.

This was nice.

This was very nice.

Too nice.

She had been cold, scared, hungry, confused, and angry for so long that simple warmth felt dangerous. Her body relaxed before her brain gave permission. She shifted a little, pressing back more comfortably against him.

Then she felt something hard press against her from behind.

(What the hell is pressing against her?)