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Snowflakes flutter in swirls as they slowly drift along the currents of a breeze. The white silence blanketed the surrounding mountains, painting the world monochrome. Nary a sound as the valley maintained its stillness. Winter has arrived.

On the slopes of one of the mountains, leafy branches have been packed on top of several large rocks stacked together, blocking the entrance to a cave.

Now, it couldn't even be spotted underneath the thick layer of snow. Well, that would be the case if there wasn't a plume of smoke that drifted from a small opening in the snow.

Inside the cave, a warm fire burned, the smoke passing through a makeshift vent to the outside. The only source of light bathed the cave with its orange glow, shadows dancing on the walls from the two people sitting in front of the flickering flame.

Along one side of the cave wall were hundreds of logs of wood, stacked neatly into a long pile. There were also various stone tools lying nearby and soft beast furs lining the ground near the fire. On the other wall were wooden racks with many slices of dried meat resting on large leaves.

The two people were one man and one woman. Facing each other, their gazes were concentrated on the wooden board with an 8x8 grid carved on top in front of them. On top of the wooden board were small wooden pieces carved into two shapes, square and circle.

The man sat with crossed legs and rubbed his chin as his other hand slowly reached to one of the square wooden pieces and gingerly moved it to another spot.

After he let go, the woman cracked a subtle grin as she unhesitatingly moved a circular wooden piece to a different spot, taking away the square piece she captured.

After a second, the man widened his eyes as he facepalmed, then letting out a long sigh in defeat.

"How are you already so good at this?" The man complained.

He had wild, dark brown hair that cascaded down his back. Like the flowing of rapids, his hair was unruly and couldn't be contained, sticking out in various places. His dark brown eyes appeared black as it shimmered in the firelight. He was topless, exposing his young, lean musculature to the warmth of the fire. He wore beast hide pants that was ripped in various places, revealing the amount of harsh activity it had endured.

"Oh Kal, the game isn't over yet you know? You still have a chance." The woman chuckled as she watched the man, Kal, in amusement.

She was a gorgeous woman with tan skin that accentuated her enchanting, sapphire eyes and silky white hair that draped past her shoulders. The white beast hide robe that she wore emphasized her voluptuous figure, her chest and bottom raring to pop out. The way she sat on the floor with her long and plump legs bent to the side oozed sensuality and heated the room up by a few degrees.

"Fine, fine. Just you wait then mom. Once I'm done carving the other pieces, let's see if you can win so easily in the next game." Kal raged in mock anger as he moved his next piece.

The woman was named Asha, the mother of Kal. She warmly smiled at her son's antics as she gracefully moved another circular piece.

"So that's what you've been doing lately. I can't believe you came up with another one of your 'game'. You really are a marvel."

Kal flinched at Asha's remark as he quickly shifted his eyes away as his hand rubbed the back of his head. "Uh… yeah, that's right. It's pretty boring staying in this cave every day so I thought it would be more fun if we had these games to keep us entertained. Haha."

Asha noticed his dubious behavior, but kept it to herself. It's not the first time that her son behaved oddly. She attributed all the strangeness to the bloody injuries he suffered about seven tendays ago.

The pair continued to play as she reminisced about what happened back then.

After his father was killed while out hunting before the last winter, Kal took on the role of hunter despite him still being quite young. Asha was worried that Kal would suffer the same fate as his father, as she knew the wilderness was a dangerous place filled with deadly predators.

However, Kal insisted now that he was the only man left of their small family. Their original family of three had diminished to just the two of them so Kal felt a strong duty to take care of his mother in place of his father.

His father taught him to treasure and protect his family because in this harsh world, family was the only thing you could rely on. If you're all alone, you might be able to survive through sheer effort, but if you make just one mistake, it could spell the end of your life.

His advice couldn't be more applicable during the incident seven tendays ago.

Kal went out hunting like usual, trying to stock up on game in preparation for winter. Unfortunately, as he was in the middle of harvesting the beast he killed, he was ambushed by a fierce predator attracted to the blood.

Normally, Kal would have dodged and fled from the predator as he has done on numerous occasions before. However, this predator was different. It was twice as big as normal and each swipe of its claws created gusts of wind that knocked Kal flying.

Luckily, Kal was sent flying far and broke his fall with many vines and branches before knocking his head upon landing. The predator didn't chase after Kal and focused on gorging into the recently killed beast.

Kal barely made his way back after suffering numerous injuries, the most glaring of which was the deep claw wounds on his back. He collapsed once he caught sight of the cave and Asha had to drag him in and tend to his wounds.

Asha was distraught the entire time as she feared that Kal would die just like his father. He caught a fever and struggled at death's door as Asha tried her best to treat him with what little knowledge she had. She cried many times throughout the ordeal.

After the third night, his breathing was shallow and body was damp with sweat. Asha could do nothing but sit beside her son and watch him struggle. That night was the hardest night of Asha's life as she held onto the faintest hope that Kal would pull through.

Miraculously, the next day, Kal opened his eyes. His fever had cooled and he no longer struggled to breathe. He was even hungry enough to gobble down solid food.

Asha was ecstatic, but it was also when she started noticing the change in his behavior.

Kal became quieter when she was near him. He would fidget around awkwardly as he avoided eye contact.

Every time they went to sleep, Kal would choose the furthest spot from Asha and face away from her, his aloofness disheartening her.

He refused to bathe together at the stream. He insisted that they wash up separately since he was old enough to wash himself even though they had been bathing together since he was born with no problems.

Kal would come up with fascinating, unheard of ideas like using mud and fire to create containers to store water and food. He called them 'bowl'.

He would say unintelligible things at times, making Asha worried about his outbursts.

She would've thought Kal had become crazy from the injury if he didn't prove himself capable by continuing to provide fresh meat from hunting and new ideas to improve their living situation.

However, Asha missed the childlike Kal who couldn't leave her mother's side. Perhaps this was the result of his maturing after his father's death, but Asha didn't like it. She wanted to be close to him.

Since he started hunting, Kal had grown significantly taller, his lean body filled out with muscles, as scars started to accumulate across his body, the most obvious being the long claw scars on his back.

Each time she gazed at the scars, she couldn't help but feel sorrow at all the hardships her child had to suffer. After their village was destroyed by a powerful beast when Kal was still a baby, it was only the three of them as they made a new home deep in the mountains.

Now, it was only the two of them left. Asha was afraid to push him away so she kept her worries to herself. After all, her son survived such an awful injury and could still live on strong so some odd behavior here and there was nothing in comparison.

Even this game he created two days ago after fiddling around with some wood, although surprising, was harmless and fun. Therefore, Asha concluded that there was no need to question anything lest it damages her relationship with Kal.

Kal and Asha continued to play several more games where Kal eked out a few victories under the onslaught of Asha's momentum. They then ate a broth brewed from melted snow, slices of smoked meat, root vegetables, and dried herbs that Kal concocted, filling them with warmth.

It was time to sleep, but one thing bugging Asha was that Kal still refused to sleep near her. He would always come up with some kind of reason to sleep apart, even though it meant he slept further away from the warmth of the fire.

During the winter, it would become unbearably cold and Asha worried that Kal would freeze by sleeping away from the fire.

Normally, their whole family would sleep together, sharing their body heat with one another.

Even though she slept by the fire, she still felt chilly without someone else beside her. And if she felt chilly, she could only imagine how cold it must be for her son who's away from the fire.

Just as Kal was about to settle to his distant corner, Asha stopped him.

"Since I won the most out of the games we played, I get to order you to do one thing right?"

"Yeah, that's what we agreed on. You already have an order? Don't you want to save it?" Kal gave Asha a puzzled look.

Asha responded with a warm smile. "No, I want to use it now. I want you to sleep next to me by the fire."

Kal widened his eyes as he froze for a second, before gesturing and stammering. "Err, can it be something else?"

Asha walked up to Kal and grabbed his hand as she gazed at him seriously. "No, this is my only request. Winter has just started and it will only get colder so you must sleep closer to the fire. I am worried that you will freeze to death."

Kal, panicking a little, patted his chest in assurance. "How could I freeze? Look, my body is big and strong now. I'll be fine, don't worry about it."

Asha scrunched her brow in worry as she gently rested her palm on his cheek. "Son, of course I'll worry. We used to sleep together all the time in the winter. Even your father who was bigger than you now slept together with us, remember? Why are you making things hard on yourself?"

Kal was caught unprepared and couldn't say anything for a couple seconds. The doting care in his mother's eyes made him feel guilty and shameful for making her worry.

However, he couldn't help it. Every time he was around her, it took all his effort to remain calm.

That was because he was incredibly attracted to her. He was attracted to his mother.

He knew it was wrong, she was his birth mother, but her exotic beauty, her luscious fragrance, and curvaceous body made his blood boil and his brain tremble.

The reason he fidgeted around so much before was due to trying to hide his raging boner.

If he slept beside her, she would definitely find out so he had been adamantly refusing her. He didn't want to creep her out.

"I- Uh… Well, um… I have my reasons. I just… can't. Okay?" Being in such close proximity as she held his face made Kal nervous as he tried to back out.

Asha frowned as her eyes became a bit wet in disappointment. Seeing her make such an expression, Kal felt his heart ripping since he was the cause of her dismay.

Kal didn't know what to do. If he kept refusing, he would hurt his mother. But if he accepted, she will find out how much of a pervert he is and shun him.

Asha looked down and let go of Kal, her shoulders drooping as she dejectedly relented. "I understand."

Kal grimaced upon witnessing her despondent demeanor. It only made him feel worse for hiding his secret.

It is the secret to what changed in him after the near-death experience.

Kal decided to bite the bullet. He didn't like making Asha sad and if refusing her would do that, it was better to just go with it.

After all, it's just sleeping next to each other. Plus, Kal has been feeling a bit chilly especially in the early mornings when the fire has died.

Kal grasped Asha by the shoulders, prompting her to look up. Kal is almost a head taller than her now and would undoubtedly grow taller since he hasn't fully matured yet.

Looking into her eyes, Kal assented. "It's just sleeping right?"

Asha's eyes shines in response as a smile bloomed on her face. "Of course, I just want my son to stay warm."

"Fine then."

Asha beamed before hurrying to go drag Kal's beast hides over by the fire, preparing their sleeping area with care.

Kal couldn't help but feel warmth well up inside him upon watching his mother being so attentive.

After the bedding was in place, Kal grabbed one of the beast fur covers and covered himself as he laid down on one side facing away from Asha, his feet by the fire.

"I'll be on this side, you do whatever you need to do. I'm going to sleep. Good night."

Kal worked fast and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep so that he won't be disturbed by any sort of visual impacts. It was his way of controlling himself.

Asha's cheeks puffed in a pout seeing how quickly he went to bed, ignoring her completely. However, her pout morphed into a mischievous grin as she undressed and swiftly dived under his fur cover and pressed against his back.

Before Kal could refute, he felt soft and hot flesh compressed against his back that caused him to jolt. The sweet fragrance and the hot breath tickled his senses as Asha hugged him from behind.

He could feel his dormant member reacting and gradually rising.

"Nnnmm…you're so warm. Hugging you is the best. I missed this." Asha confessed as she buried her face against his neck.

Kal was dumbfounded at the moment. He clearly felt the naked breasts of his mother pressed against his back and that aroused him tremendously.

"Wow, you're getting even warmer. Sleeping by you is even better than the fire." Asha wrapped her willowy arms around his waist as she got even more comfortable embracing him.

"Wait, wait. Didn't I say that I will sleep on this side? Why are you so close?" Kal retorted in a fluster as he tried to wiggle away.

"How else are we going to stay warm? This is the best way, don't you remember?" Now that Asha was able to cuddle with her son after so long, she wasn't going to let go so easily.

Kal did remember. They had slept together like this all the time in the past. However, that was before he realized his attraction to his mother.

Feeling her naked skin like this drew Kal crazy. He could distinctly feel two firmer nubs rubbing against his back that instantly forced his rod to harden.

Kal felt even more apprehensive, afraid that his mom would discover his erection. He tried to struggle away even more and in one motion as he shifted forward, her hold on him descended below his waist.

"Oh? What's this?" Asha curiously wondered aloud.

The moment he felt her hand brush against his tip, Kal froze. He knew he screwed up. She found out.

Kal felt cold inside as he expected her to scream or escape from him. He felt horrible.

"I-I'm sorry. This is just a natural reaction, it doesn't mean anything. Sorry , I know I'm disgusting you." Kal buried his face in his hands as he apologized, too embarrassed to move.

However, Asha didn't feel any sort of disgust or disdain. In fact, she was relieved that Kal finally opened up to her again.

"How could that be? What are you apologizing for?" Asha was confused at his outburst and hugged Kal tighter in reassurance.

"I- Uhh…I swear I'm not lusting after you. This is just a natural reaction, just ignore it." Kal deflected with a nervous excuse.

It finally dawned on Asha what Kal was so uneasy about. She couldn't help but smile. "What? You mean this?"

Her small hands reached down towards his bulge and caressed his rod through his pants, feeling its shape and firmness. The size of his package gave her a pleasant surprise.

Kal flinched in response to her soft touch as he began sweating in pleasure and agitation. He didn't expect for her to be so bold as to reach down and feel his erection.

"Ah, no!" Kal yelped when her hand gripped his staff.

Feeling his reaction, Asha felt pleased and continued to tease his son with firmer ministrations.

"No, mom. We shouldn't do this." Kal mustered with the last of his sanity, afraid of losing control and ruining their relationship as mother and son.

"Why not?" Asha continued to slowly rub his hardened member.

"A mother and son shouldn't do this. It's not right." Kal let out in slow, deep breaths as he tried to reign in his emotions.

"Eh? Do you not like me Kal?" Asha felt a little disheartened at her son's rejection and stopped moving her hands.

"Uh, of course I like you mom." Kal was caught off guard by her question and answered honestly.

Asha released a breath of relief. "That's good. I was worried that you hated me."

"What? How could I do that? You are the most beautiful and kind mom I could have. Did you really think that?" Kal couldn't believe that was what she was thinking, even though the truth was the complete opposite.

"Of course I did. After you started distancing yourself from me after the accident, I thought you started disliking me." Her arms tightened around his waist as she buried her face closer to his back.

After her revelation, Kal recalled all the changes in his behavior and realized how his avoidance could be misconstrued.

It wasn't that he didn't like her. He absolutely liked her. Liked her a lot to the point of infatuation. He just didn't want to come off as a pervert and tried to hide away every time he felt his arousal going out of control.

He only now realized how she must have felt when her precious son started avoiding her without any warning. A feeling of guilt washed over him again as he realized he had inadvertently caused her to suffer.

Kal suddenly turned around to face his mom to see her eyes widen and mouth open into a small 'o' at his action.

"Mom, you are the most important person to me in the world. I would never hate you." Kal expressed his sincere thoughts while gazing at her brilliant, sapphire eyes.

Asha's lips curved into a gentle smile, her eyes rippled with emotion as she tenderly stroked his cheek with a free hand.

"I am happy. After that accident, you changed, but hearing your thoughts now, I am satisfied. My baby boy has grown up."

Kal also unveiled a heartened smile as he basked in her doting embrace.

As they stared into each other's eyes for several moments, the sound of crackling wood providing a subtle ambience, Asha noticed something stiff poking against her navel.

At the same time, Kal blushed in realization at what happened while Asha's other hand started caressing his hard rod again.

Looking up to see his reddened face made Asha grin. To see how innocent and vulnerable her son's reaction was made her desire to comfort and dote on him more.

She hardly had the chance to do that after he started avoiding her so it triggered her motherly instincts.

"Looks like someone's excited."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Kal looked down, avoiding eye contact as he tried to furiously willed his disobedient hard-on to behave.

"There's no need to be sorry. I'm actually glad you are reacting this way. I was worried that you disliked me so to find out that isn't the case makes me very happy."

Kal was bewildered by his mom's nonchalance at his erection. In fact, it seemed like she was even encouraging him to go further.

"You don't find me disgusting for feeling aroused by you?" Kal asked tentatively.

Asha giggled at his doltish question that should have been obvious. "Of course not you silly boy. I could never feel disgusted by you. You are my precious son who has grown up into a big and strong man."

Kal had an epiphany. He realized that maybe all his worries since his accident was just all in his head. In this world of just the two of them, she was the one who trusted him the most. Yet he didn't reciprocate her trust and even doubted her.

Kal closed his eyes in contemplation. Once he opened them back up, a glint of conviction eclipsed the uncertainty he previously held.

It was finally time to reveal his secret.