#33
Enrique blinked slowly.
As he lowered his eyes, he saw thick, muscular forearms and large, firm hands in his field of vision. Those arms were embracing his waist, and a large black cloak was wrapped around Enrique’s body, shielding him from the cold of the winter forest.
‘What on earth is this?’
Enrique muttered with a slightly dazed mind.
To think that the stranger was none other than Anture…. To have lost his mind completely and indulged in wild sex with that little brat….
Enrique was so dumbfounded by this absurd incident that he unconsciously let out a deep sigh.
“Are you awake?”
A low voice was heard from behind. The voice of the grown-up kid had completely changed now, taking on a slightly husky baritone. If he had only heard the voice, he wouldn’t have recognized this guy as Anture at all.
“Are you in pain anywhere? Are you feeling alright?”
Anture asked with feigned tenderness. Enrique clicked his tongue softly. To think he’d show belated concern after being so inexperienced yet recklessly rough and persistent… tsk.
“How much time has passed?”
Enrique’s voice was very hoarse as he asked Anture. It was only natural, given how he had been moaning out of his mind.
“I’m not sure either. I wasn’t really in my right mind.”
Anture answered with a slightly raspy voice as well, planting a kiss on the crown of Enrique’s head.
The urge to suddenly get up, trample all over Anture, and shower him with curses welled up. But his body was too languid and refreshed for that. He didn’t want to disturb this very pleasant languor. And to be honest, he didn’t have the strength to lift a finger.
“They must be in a state of emergency looking for me. We need to go back quickly.”
Enrique said, then belatedly furrowed his brow. His head throbbed as he thought about how the situation might be unfolding now.
Were the knights and soldiers who had faced the wolf pack safe? Had Damiel, who had been in a fierce battle with the wolves, survived? If Damiel had survived, he would surely have joined up with the others and informed them that he had been abducted by a stranger. By now, they were probably combing through the vast forest. Of course, the news would have reached his father as well. How shocked he must have been.
Having thought that far, Enrique forcibly raised his upper body, drawing on non-existent strength. A groan escaped him involuntarily.
As Enrique raised his upper body, Anture also rustled behind him, getting up. Then, as if worried about the cold, he pulled the cloak tightly around Enrique’s body.
“We need to go back quickly.”
Enrique said again, looking around. But soon he frowned as he discovered the shreds of clothes torn beyond recognition. Enrique shot a fierce glance at the culprit who had ripped his clothes. As he turned his head sharply to glare at Anture, the latter smiled awkwardly.
“To think you’d tear all my clothes, you…!”
Enrique was about to unleash a torrent of words but soon trailed off.
It was the first time he was seeing the grown-up Anture with a clear mind. The black hair and black eyes were the same as in his memory. The unusually pale face was the same too. But the face that had only been pretty before had completely transformed into that of a dazzlingly handsome young man. His body, sitting half-naked, was armed with a perfect skeleton and supple muscles that were impossible to look away from, purely as a man, regardless of alpha or omega.
“Do you like what you see?”
Anture asked, watching Enrique slowly look him up and down. Enrique felt somewhat embarrassed by the question and snorted, “Hmph.”
“You tore all my clothes, so what are we going to do? People must be looking for me in a state of emergency, how am I supposed to go back looking like this!”
Enrique burst out in anger for no reason. Anture hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear.
“You don’t need to worry about that. They’ve already found us.”
“…What?”
“Earlier… I sensed a group approaching. They would have seen the emblem of the Ruben Empire on the horse tied to a nearby tree, so they would have already guessed that the person with you was me. They probably couldn’t bring themselves to disturb us. I can still sense people scattered and waiting within close range.”
“……”
Enrique was at a loss for words. His mind went blank as if he had been hit hard on the head.
Come to think of it, quite some time had passed. Although the royal hunting grounds were vast, it wouldn’t have been difficult to find them by tracking the horse’s hoofprints in the snow. The reason people hadn’t burst in until now was probably because they could sufficiently guess the situation inside from the sounds leaking out of the old, shabby cabin.
Of course, if they hadn’t known who the other person was, they would have burst in to rescue Enrique. But they must have seen the pattern on the saddle of the horse tied in front of the cabin, realized it was the prince of Ruben, and quietly stood guard.
“…Good heavens….”
Enrique covered his face with his hands. It was a situation that made even Enrique, who usually knew no shame or embarrassment, feel ashamed.
“This is all because of you!”
Enrique ultimately chose to paint over his embarrassment with anger.
As he jumped up and pointed accusingly, Anture also rose from his seat. Enrique watched Anture grow taller and taller as he stood up. When fully upright, Anture was about a head taller than him.
Unlike Enrique who was wrapped in a cloak, Anture was half-naked. A strong male scent wafted from his broad shoulders, steel-like frame, and the flexible, beautiful muscles that seamlessly enveloped that frame. Enrique forcibly tore his gaze away from Anture’s body, which kept drawing his eyes involuntarily, and swung his hand.
Thwack!
The flying hand struck Anture’s head. Even though he saw the hand coming, Anture didn’t dodge and obediently took the hit. Then, as if making a belated excuse, he said:
“I just saved you because you were in danger.”
“You shouldn’t have saved me, you should have killed the wolves with me. Or at least you should have taken me back to my people. What ulterior motive did you have for stashing me away in a place like this?”
“When I saw you up close after so long, I got greedy and wanted to stay with you a little longer. After that….”
Anture’s voice trailed off as his eyes slowly traced Enrique’s body. Despite being tightly wrapped in the cloak, Enrique felt as if his naked body was fully exposed to Anture’s eyes. As anger welled up again, Enrique once more aimed his hand at Anture’s head.
Smack!
But this time, instead of obediently taking the hit, Anture caught Enrique’s wrist as it flew towards him.
“You…!”
As Enrique glared fiercely, Anture pulled down the wrist he had caught and respectfully kissed the back of Enrique’s hand. The sensation of warm, soft lips made the remnants of pleasure deep within his body stir.
“We’re engaged, Enrique. And I’m already an adult. Is there a problem with what happened between us?”
Anture asked gently. His husky baritone made Enrique’s body tingle. Pheromones full of male scent that seduced Enrique emanated from Anture as he stared intently.
“Stop it. Can’t you control your pheromones at your age?”
Honestly, his body reacted slightly. But knowing that people were guarding the area, he had no intention whatsoever of entangling with Anture again. Enrique buried his nose in the hem of the cloak and suddenly frowned. This pheromone scent… It seemed like he had smelled it once before.
‘Am I mistaken?’
Enrique tilted his head. But Enrique wasn’t the type to easily mistake things.
Something seemed about to come to mind, but it wouldn’t quite surface.
Anture blinked for a moment, and the pheromones emanating from him began to fade. Perhaps because he had just come of age, it seemed he still couldn’t control them perfectly.
Anture’s gaze suddenly fixed on Enrique’s fingers, which were blocking his nose with the hem of the cloak. A bright smile immediately appeared on his handsome face.
“You’re still wearing the ring.”
Anture’s eyes sparkled as if deeply moved. Only then did Enrique glance down at the antique ring on his finger. The ring, which he had been unable to remove despite various attempts and had ended up wearing for years, now felt almost like a part of his body, to the point where he barely noticed it.
It was the moment he glanced at the shining ring. Suddenly, memories rushed in like a storm.
Anture, who had deceived him and put on a ring that couldn’t be removed. And the pleasant scent that emanated from Anture at the moment he put on the ring…. That moment when he thought it was cute that Anture had put on perfume to impress him…!
Enrique looked up at Anture with a hardened face. His pheromone scent, which he hadn’t yet fully contained, was similar to that pleasant scent from when he had put on the ring!
The memories fit together like puzzle pieces.
Come to think of it, after Anture had put the ring on him and left, his first heat cycle suddenly hit. He had thought it just happened because it was time, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case. It had been triggered by the alpha pheromones that Anture had emitted, albeit immaturely.
“…Hah….”
Enrique exhaled in frustration and disbelief. Anger surged up, but he had no strength to express it. And it didn’t seem like there would be any impact in getting angry at a kid who was still young.
