Freya and Her Beast Husbands

"I-I mean you must like him since you married him... But was it love at first sight or did he scare you at first? Xavier didn’t say much, just said that you two met outside the city." Wilson rambled on. "Which must’ve been scary. Xavier always comes back covered in blood whenever he goes there. I hope he didn’t frighten you..."

Freya bit her lip, having to hold back because of the way this snake beastman was acting. Just what in the world had Xavier told his younger brother?! This innocent act couldn’t be real.

There was no way. Especially if he was raised around those two... Was it an act like Ethan? Because he was pretty good at it. She couldn’t even sense anything bad from him.

It was like she was looking at a pure soul.

"Eh... Xavier did scare me at first with his ability, but he also rescued me from a group of Wanderers..." Freya finally answered, not sure what else to say.

It seemed Wilson didn’t know about their deal and actually thought their relationship was real. Which was something Freya knew she was going to need to discuss with Xavier.

Granted her first hint at that was his comment about them having cubs...

"Woah really?!" Wilson’s eyes brightened at her words. "It’s like one of those dramas. The heartless beastman saves the pretty beastwoman and they fall in lov-"

"What are you two up too?" Xavier suddenly called out.

Freya almost fell out of her seat as he appeared by her side so unexpectedly, almost like he teleported there. Which was clearly a normal thing he did because Wilson didn’t even flinch at his sudden appearance.

"Oh... We were just chatting. Though I did ramble on a bit..." Wilson answered, picking up the chip packet and crunching it into a ball. "Still, Freya is very nice, so you better be good. Don’t act so cold."

He then hopped off his stool and added, "Anyway, I’m off to deal with those idiots who dared to mess with my lovely sister-in-law... It was nice meeting you, Freya. We should get some tea and have a proper chat next time."

As he spoke Wilson tossed his chip packet away and grabbed his other snacks. And then he was off, leaving Xavier and Freya alone in the kitchen. Freya barely had any time to process his words before he was gone.

What happened to getting introduced to each other?!

"Well that’s surprising..." Xavier muttered, gazing at the empty spot where Wilson had been sitting moments ago. "He’s almost never like that."

"What do you mean?" Freya asked, glancing over at Xavier.

"Wilson doesn’t like being around others... It takes a lot for him to warm up to someone." Xavier sighed. "And yet in a few minutes, you have him acting like this. What did you say to him?"

Freya pursed her lips. "I barely said anything... Just that I’m okay with how he is and how we met. Speaking of which, what did you tell him exactly? He’s acting like we’re lovely dovey for each other."

"Good... Let’s keep it like that please." Xavier murmured. "Ethan knows about our deal, but-"

"Why would he know about it?!" Freya exclaimed in horror.

If she had to choose between Wison and Ethan knowing about their deal, she preferred Wilson over Ethan because he seemed like the better of the two. Even if they had met only once.

"Because it’s better than way... Otherwise, who knows what trouble Ethan would’ve caused." Xavier answered. "As for Wilson... It’s best he doesn’t know. He wouldn’t take well to the fact I didn’t marry for love."

"Why’s that?" Freya asked curiously, getting up from her seat.

The two began walking out of the kitchen, heading to Xavier’s room where all Freya’s new things were.

"Because our parents married for everything but love and that didn’t end well..." Xavier responded, running a hand through his hair. "Wilson saw the fallout... and it wasn’t great. I don’t need him getting upset over this."

"He’s going to hate you more if he ever finds out." Freya mused. "Don’t you think you should’ve been more straight with him? He’s a grown beastman. He could probably handle this, right?"

Xavier stiffened for a second before he muttered, "Please just don’t let him find out."

Freya pursed her lips at that. She didn’t like that Xavier was hiding this from Wilson since Ethan knew. It didn’t seem fair. But he knew his younger brother better than her, so maybe she was wrong.

She hoped she was wrong.

Finally she sighed, "Fine... But I’m putting this all on you then. Don’t blame me if anything goes south."

Because she wanted no part in that fallout. Xavier silently nodded his head in understanding, opening his bedroom door for her as they got to it.

"Anyway..." Freya asked, stepping inside the room. "Can I ask you something? Um... Is his arm..."

Before Freya could finish Xavier said, "It was him. I accidentally released my power when I grabbed him one day and sent it to the void... Thankfully, Ethan pulled us apart before I could do more damage. Of course, at times Wilson wished I’d sent all of him to the void..."

Freya could practically taste the guilt in those words, Xavier blaming his brother’s tragedy all on him despite it clearly being a freak accident. Though she could understand why Xavier felt so bad.

In his eyes, he ruined his brother’s life.

"I see..." Freya murmured, recalling what he said. "He is quite sensitive about his arm... Is it only because of what others think?"

"Society looking down on physical disabilities among beastmen doesn’t help... But that’s not where most of his issues lie." Xavier answered, shutting the door behind him. "After the accident... Our mother refused to acknowledge his existence and believed he was better off dying than losing a limb.

"She saw him as an embarrassment, something that tainted her image... and well, for a twelve-year old kid, that shattered him. For years, he refused to leave this house, not wanting to be seen by others. He only recently started coming out of his shell... So, please tread lightly with him..."

Freya gimmicked at his words, suddenly feeling bad for Wilson. Because that kind of emotional scarring didn’t just disappear. It lingered even as the years went by.

"I’ll be sure to tread carefully." Freya finally promised.

Xavier gave her a small smile. "Thank you."