Chapter 64: The Bloodmark Doubt
"Kael, if only you weren’t so banged up and could actually transform into your giant wolf form, I would have used you as a nice, plush mattress right now," Nuan sighed, shooting a glance at Kael’s thoroughly sulking face.
She shifted her weight, getting cozy. Since Kael was out of commission, she was currently half-sitting, half-laying herself comfortably against Selka’s massive, warm, furry wolf form.
Selka had kindly volunteered to act as a living, breathing heating pad for Nuan’s lingering menstrual cramps.
Kael glared at the scene, his silver eyes flashing with utter betrayal. "Mother, you are actively stealing my mate," he hissed, his ears flattening.
Selka’s left ear lifted slightly, absorbing his complaint, before dropping right back down. She closed her eyes, ignoring her dramatic son completely and letting out a deep, rhythmic wolf sigh.
Nuan giggled, closing her eyes and spending the next hour drifting in and out of a very comfortable nap. Mphmm... honestly, this part of the caveman life isn’t half bad, she thought to herself.
[ Then, Host, please just accept Kael as your mate. ]
[ You can become an official part of the pack! You can hunt together, howl at the moon together, and raise a beautiful litter of cubs! ]
Ugh... shut up, Blue Buddy, Nuan groaned internally, her eyelids twitching. I am absolutely not going to be some typical jungle housewife. I have always loved raw wilderness and high-stakes adventures. I am going to map out and explore every single inch of this fantasy world first, making my second life actually worth it. Only then will I find a nice, quiet place to settle down in my final days.
[ Host, why must you be like this? ]
Oh, Blue Buddy, I genuinely feel sorry for you that you got stuck with me as your host, Nuan replied, her mental voice dripping with dry amusement. Tell you what—I give you my solemn blessing that after my human life span is over, your very next host will be exactly the kind of submissive, romance-obsessed person you want!
[ Sigh... So you are absolutely not going to change your mind? ]
No!
[ Being a soft, accommodating system really backfires on a digital entity. ]
[ I am going to be incredibly strict and demanding with my next host. ]
Good luck, buddy! Now you can finally stop bothering me about collecting a harem of mates!
[ Negative. I am still going to keep making my absolute best programmatic efforts to ensure you collect a mate. ]
Wow. You are seriously stubborn, Nuan hissed back in her mind.
[ Look who is talking, Host. ]
Nuan rolled her eyes, cutting the mental link before Blue Buddy could throw another dramatic, teary emoji on her vision screen, and snuggled deeper into Selka’s soft silver fur.
By the end of the afternoon, the strong wolf pack members who had gone out on the hunt marched back into the camp clearing. They had returned victorious, dragging two female elks and one young elk behind them.
Kael pushed himself up from the dirt, his tail giving a proud wag as he limped over to praise the hunters for their hard work.
Beside Nuan, Selka also woke up from her nap, turning her massive snout to nudge Nuan’s shoulder gently with her wolf head.
"Mm..." Nuan groaned softly, blinking her eyes open and tracking the bustling noise of the returned hunters. "Time to cook, I guess," she murmured, stretching her sore arms and torso.
Just then, Lyra and Tala walked over toward them. They stared at Nuan, who had been cozily resting against their own mother, with a flash of quiet annoyance, but they quickly masked their expressions with polite smiles.
"Witch, that young elk over there—the two of us took it down ourselves," Lyra said, gesturing toward the game. "Just like we promised, we wanted to give you a high-quality animal skin. You should use that elk’s hide."
"Ohh, you two really did?" Nuan asked, her eyebrows arching in surprise. "To be honest, I thought you either forgot about it or just said it in the heat of the moment."
"No, no... it is our way of saying sorry to you," Tala added, nodding quickly.
Nuan slowly pushed herself up from the dirt.
Selka let out a soft huff and, with a poof of thick grey smoke, transformed back into her human form.
Nuan reached behind her back, willing her sharp hunting knife straight out of her system inventory and gripping the handle tightly. "Let me go ahead and cut its fresh skin properly then. It’ll be perfect for making a sturdy bra," Nuan said, putting her weight onto her good leg as she walked over with the two sisters toward the young elk carcass.
Behind them, Selka gave her limbs a long stretch and strolled over toward Kael, joining her son to formally praise the rest of the pack for a highly successful hunt.
Nuan carefully slipped the tip of her sharp knife beneath the pelt, slicing precisely over the young elk’s stomach to peel back the fresh hide without nicking the meat.
As she worked, Tala and Lyra leaned in, but when they spoke, they deliberately raised their voices, projecting across the clearing so the surrounding wolves could hear them over the crackle of the fire.
"Witch, why are you resting this much?" Lyra asked, her tone dripping with forced innocence. "We have never heard of anyone needing days of complete rest just to prepare for our clan’s bloodmark ritual."
Nuan’s hand stopped. She left the blade resting against the carcass and looked up, her predatory eyes locking onto Lyra.
"Yes, our clan’s bloodmark is a very quick, simple process," Tala chimed in, crossing her arms and smirking down at her. "Why do you need so many days of honored rest and special treatment before getting marked? It makes no sense."
"Ahh, well..." Nuan murmured, her mind scrambling for an excuse.
She bit the inside of her cheek. The real problem was that she didn’t actually know the mechanics or the lore behind how this specific bloodmark ritual worked yet.
Without that data, formulating a believable lie to satisfy a bunch of highly suspicious, sharp-eared wolves was proving to be a headache.
"Right, Elder Syra? Elder Nyra?" Lyra called out loudly, turning her head toward the main fire.
She was directly appealing to two elderly female wolves who were currently standing beside the larger female elks, receiving praises from Selka and Kael along with the rest of the triumphant hunting party.
The entire gathering fell quiet as all heads turned toward Nuan and the sisters.
Comments