Chapter 156: The Water’s Call And The Unexpected Kiss!
Neve was still deep in thoughts on how to get a kiss from Maren within twelve hours.
He had no way of doing that. Fuck, he could not think of any idea that would work. The mission seemed impossible. The task was insurmountable. How was he supposed to get close enough to Maren to kiss him when Maren would not even acknowledge him as a person worthy of basic respect?
"Neve?" Popi called his name, snapping him back to reality.
Neve looked at her, worry evident in his eyes. He could not tell Popi about the mission yet. Maybe it was not a good time. She had something she wanted to do and talking to her about his problem was going to drag her down and distract her from her own goals.
"Are you sick? You look pale!" Popi said, holding his cheek and examining his face with concern.
"Pale? You look pale," Neve said back to her with a small smile on his face. He hoped the smile would get her distracted and stop worrying about him.
"I’m not," she said, pulling away from him. "Anyway, I’m going to speak to Varek. Do you want to come with me?"
Neve wanted to say yes. He wanted to have someone with him to help process what was happening. But he was sure Popi could handle herself. After all, Varek was the one she was going to meet. And Neve had his own problem to solve. He needed to think about how he was going to handle his mission with Maren.
"You can go yourself and tell me what he tells you," Neve said. Popi nodded, accepting his answer, and turned to head out.
As soon as Popi was gone, Neve stood up and started roaming about the cave restlessly. His mind was working in circles, trying to solve an impossible puzzle.
"How to steal a kiss from Maren?" he asked himself aloud, speaking the words to the empty air.
Skarr’s voice came from deep inside his consciousness.
’Just poison him, let him sleep and kiss him,’ Skarr suggested, his tone matter-of-fact like it was the most obvious solution.
Neve rolled his eyes at the ridiculous idea.
"Did you even think before you spoke?" Neve asked Skarr mentally. "I have to get close to Maren to poison him. And also, Maren lives under the sea. How am I supposed to get him to ingest poison when he probably spends most of his time in the water?"
Skarr remained silent, clearly unable to provide a better solution.
Neve kept pacing, thinking, planning. And then an idea struck him. It was risky. It was dangerous. But it might work.
"Maybe I should go for a swim," he suggested to himself.
’Tsk! Stupid!’ Skarr mumbled from inside his mind, clearly disapproving of the plan.
But Neve had an idea and it looked like a pretty sneaky plan. A plan that just might work if he was lucky.
He grinned and stepped out of the cave. He managed to sneak past the small border between the forest and the sea. He reached the shoreline where the sand met the water.
He started taking off his clothes. He dropped them on the sand and stood there naked in the cold air. His pregnant belly was exposed. His pale human skin was vulnerable to the elements.
He wanted to shift back to his animal form, but he did not know how to control it properly. He thought he might be able to control the shift himself through willpower, but it had never worked before. He needed the system to help him.
He just groaned in frustration and pressed the button on the system interface in his mind. Immediately, his body began to shift.
His human form melted away and his red panda form emerged. His fur grew in thick and fluffy. His ears became pointed. His tail sprouted behind him. His body became smaller and more compact.
He was surprised that his stomach did not look as big as it was when he was human. Maybe the fur was blocking the pregnancy bump. Maybe his panda form naturally concealed the visible signs of his condition.
He just waddled to the sea and jumped in. The water was cold but refreshing. It felt good against his fur.
He was enjoying himself, floating in the water with his eyes closed. The cold water seeped through his fur and cooled his overheated mind. For a moment, he forgot why he was here. He forgot about the mission. He forgot about Maren. He forgot about everything except the sensation of the water and the quiet peace of being alone.
But he did not know that he was not actually alone.
While some shark beastmen had sensed his presence at the water, they immediately reported it to their king. The shark territory was sacred. The shark waters belonged to Maren and his people. No one was supposed to enter these waters without permission.
The sharks around the area stared at the sleeping red panda floating on the water like he was food. Some of them almost reached out to touch him, curious about this intruder in their territory.
But before their fingers could make contact with Neve’s wet fur, they froze.
They sensed the aura of their king approaching.
The presence of Maren was powerful and commanding. The sharks immediately dispersed, scattering in all directions to avoid their king’s wrath.
Maren floated to the surface of the water and saw Neve sleeping peacefully in his beast form.
He frowned deeply.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Maren muttered to himself, staring at the unconscious red panda.
Neve floated toward him slowly, drifting with the current. Maren reached out and took the sleeping red panda in his hands carefully.
He held Neve gently, almost tenderly. The shark chief was considering his options.
"Shit! Do I carry him down with me?" Maren muttered to himself as he looked around at his territory. "Maybe just for a few minutes. Just to keep him safe. Just to make sure he doesn’t drown."
He looked at Neve’s peaceful sleeping face. The red panda looked so small in his large hands. So vulnerable. So defenseless.
Without thinking, without planning, without any rational thought, Maren drew his lips closer to Neve’s small red panda mouth.
He kissed him.
It was a soft kiss. A gentle kiss.
Something changed in Neve’s body at that exact moment.