"Do you like me?"
After dinner, Linden went to take a shower as usual, feeling much more relaxed without the constraints of the ankle bracelet. Seraphina's bedroom has an en-suite bathroom, and there's another separate bathroom outside her bedroom, allowing both of them to use the facilities simultaneously without disturbing each other.
Now, having brushed his teeth and ready to join her in bed, he came out to find Seraphina lying on his bed in the living room, gazing out at the scenery through the floor-to-ceiling window.
She was wearing a new nightgown, and Linden realized he didn't actually know how many clothes she owned. She wore different outfits to work every day and changed again at home.
Her current attire was a light blue long dress, so thin that he worried she might catch a cold.
Linden approached, lifted her into his arms, and Seraphina wrapped her arms around his neck, inviting him to lie down with her. She faced the window, and Linden obediently lay down behind her.
`
She allowed him to go home to visit, which was a good thing. Perhaps he could take the opportunity to spend his mating season alone, Linden thought. Because he didn't know when he would go into heat, but in two days, it would be time for his sister's living expenses, so he could only leave in the next couple of days.
All he can think about right now is having sex with her, trying to fuck all over her skin, but she doesn't show that she wants to so he doesn't dare to move.
The mating season is too hard to endure. His mating season can last about four or five days each time, and masturbation does not alleviate the discomfort. He has to soak in cold water every day and also binge eats. The last couple of years, when he came to his senses, he still had several chunks of raw pork in his mouth, not knowing where the meat came from.
·
Linden always tries to hug her, his nose filled with her scent. He doesn't know if all human females have this kind of body fragrance — not perfume... just the natural smell of skin and flesh that's excessively sweet.
Linden almost drools, wanting to kiss her chest. Looking down, he sees she's already asleep.
Her fingers are interlaced with his. Linden swallows his saliva, gently kisses her cheek, and lies back with a long sigh in his heart. His master is too good to him; he has already saved up ten thousand international dollars from the leftover money for groceries in just about a month. The amount saved is already enough to cover his family's expenses for several years. This way, his sister can eat better at school too.
·
His sister is much shorter than him. Even though the females of the wolf species tend to be a bit smaller, Linden stubbornly believes it's because she often doesn't get enough meat to eat.
Linden loves eating pork tenderloin, tender, but excessively expensive, so he only indulges in buying a small piece during the New Year, cooking it with two pots of tofu, pretending there's a whole bowl of meat to enjoy.
His favorite is still the fresh fatty beef sold by the Beef Bone Rice restaurant, but that place is only frequented by the relatively wealthier wolves in the territory; he hasn't been there many times.
Living in the territory might not offer the best food, and other living conditions are just barely adequate, but life together isn't too harsh. The members of their species are united, looking after each other, even someone as introverted as Linden has many friends.
Living with Seraphina for a month, Linden hasn't seen any of her friends, never heard her conversing with anyone. Maybe she talks to people at work, otherwise, it would be too lonely.
He thought humans were also social animals, but it seems humans can live by themselves.
He doesn't have a strong concept of hierarchy, only knowing that human society is segmented into different world layers, with people of different classes living in different residential areas. Although he can't read, he can understand the numbers on the orders for the supplements Seraphina bought for him.
Seraphina earns a lot of money and is willing to spend a lot on him, which for him is more than enough.
·
Seraphina turned over and embraced him. Linden, wrapping his hand around her buttocks, tried to pull her closer to him, an unconscious action at first. Once he touched her, he couldn't bear to let go, just wanting to hold her forever.
Sometimes, she would make humming sounds in her sleep, which initially frightened Linden, but now he finds utterly adorable. She's so cute that he wants to lick her from head to toe, but he's startled to see tears at the corner of her eyes this time.
It's the first time Linden has seen her cry, whimpering, "Mommy."
Surprised, Linden opens his mouth and softly consoles her, "It's okay," rubbing his fluffy ears against her face to comfort her.
Seraphina seems to feel better, reaching out to grasp his ears for a moment before curling back into the pillow to sleep.
·
Linden too hasn't seen his mother for a long time.
Years ago, when he was exiled to Earth, his mother tried to stop it, even contemplating cutting off his and his sister's ears and tails just so they could stay on the beastman planet with their parents. Unfortunately, her plan didn't succeed, and he was sent to Earth.
So, Seraphina has a mother too. How do humans reproduce? Through sexual intercourse as well? He's never seen a pregnant human female.
Linden doesn't know that in this era, humans no longer need a uterus. Artificial breeding tanks and incubators can fully satisfy the growth of a fetus, and the deformity rate of human infants has dropped to nearly zero, although most people don't know how this is done. ·
After Seraphina woke up, she maintained her usual composed expression, stretched lazily, then went to wash up and do her makeup. After coming to the kitchen for breakfast, she kissed his cheek, admonishing him to be careful on his way home, then put on her high heels and left for work.
Once she left, Linden put on the baseball cap and thick coat she had prepared for him, underneath which he wore a deep blue sweater, grabbed some food, and the check Seraphina had converted for him before heading out.
Outside the door was a corridor, which seemed to face apartments similar to theirs. Not daring to linger, he immediately followed the navigation to the elevator. It was a transparent cabin that allowed a view of each passing floor. However, the speed was so fast that looking outside made him feel dizzy, with a slight sense of weightlessness and even a bit of ringing in his ears.
Today, he was the only one in the elevator the whole way down. Upon reaching the ground level, Linden took a deep breath, took off his hat, and fanned himself lightly.
It was still a bit warm; he really didn't need to wear the coat. The werewolf clan isn't that susceptible to cold, and the clothes she prepared for him were too warm.
`
Following the navigation, Linden returned to the beastman area, to a small piece of land in the outskirts of the werewolf territory where his home was located - a small thatched hut under the bridge was still there.
His sister hadn't come back yet. There was a letter in the mailbox at the door informing him that she would not come home for the holiday and would go out to work instead. She can write, but their communication was mostly through drawings, which she did very cutely.
It was only a three-day holiday, and she could only earn a little money. Linden didn't really want her to work during the holiday; he wished she would rest well or read some books, but he couldn't persuade her. Now that he wasn't by her side, he could only let her be.
Linden had wanted to see his sister, but now he let it go. He went to a small supermarket, bought some food and clothes, and extravagantly sealed them into a compressed package, which, along with the check, he sent to his sister's school. He couldn't write, so he couldn't explain where the money came from.
He felt a little ashamed of being a slave, too, and it was good not to tell her.
·
He wandered around, occasionally running into acquaintances who asked how he was doing. He boasted half-heartedly that his master was great, wealthy, beautiful, generous, and incredibly hot. His peers, not sure whether to be envious or what, touched their ears and walked away.
Although it was quite shameful, he did make some money, after all.
Thinking this way, Linden brought some meat as a token of gratitude to the elders of his kind who had taken care of him before.
After doing all this, he took the elevator back to the third-floor residential area.
·
He checked the terminal Seraphina gave him, noting it was almost time for her to come home. He decided to cook a nice meal to thank her.
When Seraphina came home from work and saw him at home, she was a bit surprised and asked why he didn't spend more time with his sister.
"My sister didn't come back, and there wasn't much else to do," he replied.
Seraphina jokingly asked, "Why didn't you run away?"
Linden was puzzled, "Why would I run away?" He had thought about it before, but now the idea was completely foreign to him.
Seraphina wondered if he didn't feel humiliated. He seemed to take everything in stride; were beastmen really so naive, or were they just scared of the human guard robots? She wouldn't just activate those devices on a whim...
These thoughts irritated her, so she bowed her head and quickly took a couple of sips of the tremella soup he had made, the gentle taste smoothing her agitation.
·
Linden occasionally gazes at her foolishly, and when Seraphina meets his gaze, he becomes flustered and looks away, but his attempt to pretend he wasn't looking at her is comical. His ears tremble, and his hands don't know where to rest; it's too obvious.
Resting her chin on her hand, she asks him, "Do you like me?"
Linden's face turns entirely red. He knows he's unworthy, but liking someone isn't a crime. She's very beautiful... and very kind, extremely so, and he feels he really likes her, especially since she has never mistreated him.
For the first time, Linden doesn't respond to her, just blinks and then lowers his head to eat, burying his head very low.
Seraphina, recalling Ophelia's little fox, mutters, "Such a pure, pure fool."