Chapter 99: Puppy Eyes Won’t Save You
The next morning, Nuan stepped out of the den and stretched her fit body under the bright morning sky.
The golden sunlight hit the camp beautifully, and she immediately ran over to the flat rock to set her clay pottery out to bake in the heat.
"Wow, I’m so happy!" Nuan chirped, literally jogging in a small circle around the central clearing just because her legs actually worked.
"Ouch, ouch! Wait, the gravel. Let me get my shoes."
Nuan turned on her heel and marched right back inside the Alpha’s den. She searched around the bedrock until her eyes landed on her trusty modern shoes. "Oh, I missed you guys so much," she cooed, picking them up. She hadn’t been able to wear them at all thanks to that colossally swollen ankle.
She sat down on a smooth rock inside the cave and pulled out her socks. She took one sniff and immediately winced. "Well, that smells horrible. Whatever, I’ll just wash them in the river later." Shoving her bare feet straight into the shoes, Nuan leaned forward and began tying the laces.
Right then, Kael groaned and sat up on the bed, looking like a man who had just slept for a hundred years.
"Morning, Kael!" Nuan said breezily, not looking up as she finished knotting her first lace.
Kael’s golden eyes snapped wide open. He lunged out of the bed, standing directly in front of her and completely blocking the den’s exit. "You are leaving?!"
Nuan started tying her other shoe, giving him a funny look. "Well, yes. To take a good bath! I am desperately missing the sweet sensation of a good bath. The freshness! The cleanliness! The lack of dirt on my skin!"
Kael let out a massive, heavily relieved sigh, his entire posture slumping the moment he realized she wasn’t running away forever. He crossed his arms, a proud, helpful smile breaking across his handsome face. "But I kept you nice and clean while you were sleeping! I wiped you down every single day with fresh, clean river water!"
Nuan finished her knot and stood up. "Oh, thanks, Kael, you are so sweet..." She froze mid-sentence. Her brain delayed for a violent two seconds before the horror fully registered. She instantly clamped her arms tightly around her chest, staring up at his proud face. "Wait... what?! Tell me you did not give me a full-body sponge bath."
"I didn’t," Kael answered simply.
Nuan let out a massive, breathy sigh of relief. Thank God, there are boundaries in this jungle—
"Elder Nyra and Syra cleaned your lower body," Kael added casually.
"I see... wait!" Nuan’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. She stepped closer to him, her hands forming an invisible square in the air right around her upper torso. "Then who exactly cleaned this section?!"
"I did!" Kael declared, instantly puffing his chest out like a proud soldier waiting for a medal.
Nuan’s eye twitched. She moved her hands higher, drawing a very specific square right around her chest. "And... this area too?!"
"Yes!" Kael said, nodding like a giant, innocent puppy.
"And who exactly gave you permission, mister?!" Nuan snapped, her voice rising an octave.
"I took it on your behalf!" he countered confidently, his tail starting to wiggle behind him.
"Kael!!!!" Nuan erupted, her face flushing bright red. "You... you...!!! Why on earth didn’t the elders clean this area too?!"
"I asked them not to!" Kael stated, completely oblivious to the danger he was in. "I wanted to take care of you myself! I wanted to keep my eyes on you at all times!"
"Kael!!! I was unconscious! I wasn’t going to suddenly grow wings and fly away in my sleep!" Nuan hissed, her inner modern woman completely losing her mind. "If they were already doing the dirty work of cleaning all my waste and my lower body, why on earth did you stop them from just wiping down my torso?! It’s not good, Kael! You literally took advantage of me being unconscious!"
"I didn’t!" Kael argued back, his tail completely stopping its proud wiggle as he realized she was genuinely mad. "I did it with zero mate thoughts! I swear! I did it with only ’wake you up’ thoughts!"
"That is not the issue here! The issue is, why did you stop the elders?!" Nuan said, throwing her hands up in utter disappointment and irritation. "You just saw an opportunity and you took it, buddy!"
Kael’s ears pinned back flat against his silver-grey hair, and his tail drooped low as he stared down at her with the most devastating, sad puppy-dog eyes he could muster.
"Stop giving me that look! It is not going to get you out of trouble this time," Nuan muttered, rolling her eyes as she turned her back on him and marched out of the alpha den. "I am so incredibly disappointed in you, Kael! You didn’t even care that I was weak, helpless, and in danger, huh?!"
Kael immediately began to jog after her like a desperate shadow, but the moment they hit the sunlight, Nuan whipped around and shot him a fierce, unyielding glare. "Do not follow me!" she hissed, pointing a strict finger at his nose.
Without waiting for his response, she spun around and began walking rapidly toward the western path leading to the river.
Seeing the Witch on the move, Lyra and Tala quickly and silently slipped out from behind their rock, keeping a respectful distance as they followed behind her like personal bodyguards.
Left entirely behind in the middle of the camp, Kael stood frozen outside his den, his golden eyes filled with profound sorrow as he silently watched her walk away, his tail resting completely still in the dirt.
"But I really didn’t mean it with mate thoughts..." Kael murmured to himself, his large, clawed hand slowly tightening into a frustrated fist as he stared at the empty path.
Just then, from behind him, a heavy, reassuring hand clapped down onto his uninjured shoulder.
Selka gave it a firm pat, her silver eyes filled with maternal amusement. "Oh, boy, I know you didn’t. But you have to understand, there are very specific ways to win a woman’s heart, and pulling a stunt like that isn’t one of them!"
"But I only did what I thought Nuan would like," Kael murmured, his ears dropping lower. "And now she thinks I am a liar."
"Haha! Don’t worry so much about a little misunderstanding, boy," Selka laughed heartily, her tail giving a relaxed swish behind her. She leaned in closer, giving him a deeply mischievous wink. "Just listen to your mother’s tips, and we will win her heart back in no time. Now, here is what you are going to do..."