"M-may I ask why?" I asked, my voice barely coming out of my throat.
Maybe I was being too bold. Maybe he would hiss in annoyance. My fingers fidgeted. Arinya's emotional trauma of being neglected and hissed at as a nuisance surfaced slowly and painfully.
But he did not hiss, nor did he get annoyed.
He answered with the same tone he had been speaking with. Not too gentle, and not too rough either.
"You smell pleasant, female," he said, bringing his hand to touch my hair and I gulped.
What about me smelled pleasant?
I may not be Arinya, but I know this body did not try to adorn fancy scents like the other females to attract a spouse.
Beastmen had sensitive noses, so it was natural that they would be drawn to something that smelled pleasant to them.
So then, what was it that he sniffed on me that made him drawn to me so much?
"By smell, could you elaborate?" I asked, still nervous but he tilted his head.
"What more can I say?" He asked. "You smell so good that I would like us to consummate right now, female."
I flinched.
Yeah, no.
I'm not doing 'that' in the bushes with a snake.
I might be drawn to your handsome face but can we get a little privacy? I mean, after you give me a good reason to agree to be the spouse of a public enemy.
No matter how much I'm hated, I'm still the chief's daughter.
What would it look like if I suddenly brought a snake home and went like, 'Hey, this is my new spouse. We'll make little snake babies together.'
I could die of embarrassment just from thinking about it.
I covered my face but then peeped at him.
I need to know why he's drawn to me.
My wish is to have a lot of beastmen fall for me and worship me, but that's not going to happen with the kind of face I have. And... Even if it's somewhat a good idea or a desperate attempt, to snag this handsome snake and make him my spouse, I still don't know what exactly it is that he's drawn to.
Who knows when it'll fade, and he will no longer fancy me? That might even put me in danger.
"If you don't know exactly what it is that smells nice on me, then what will you do once the scent fades?"
"It's impossible to fade." He said, leaning in again and licking my face, once again giving me goosebumps. "This scent, it won't fade."
And how do you know that? He sounded like he was so sure but he doesn't even know what type of smell this is.
I sighed.
"Then, can you give me some time to think?" I asked. "I... I would like to think this through."
"Female does not need to think this through." He said and I shut my eyes, feeling I might not be able to communicate with this snake any further.
He wants what he wants.
"But I can't just choose to be your mate out of the blue," I said.
"It is in exchange for the humiliation on my beautiful scales." He said and I flinched.
Oh, right. I forgot about that just now.
I urinated on his body. Waa.
Then, do I really have to enter this relationship without a single say?
"If I let you go, you will run away and never come back."
Yeah true. I might not come back. But I might also come back.
"What if I promise not to run away and come back here this same time tomorrow? I'll just use a whole day to think this through."
"No,"
Waa, come on. Don't be like this.
The snake watched me and then tilted his head.
"If you agree to consummate with me, I will give you time to think."
This jerk... That's the same thing as telling me to agree to become your mate first before I think. What's the use of thinking at that point?
He suddenly pinned my body down, pressing his body against mine.
"Urgh," he was so heavy.
"Female will consummate with me first," he suddenly said, his amber eyes glowing in excitement and I felt horrified.
I don't want to do this. I'm not ready yet. I'm still a virgin and... I gulped... Snakes have two Willies and they like putting both in.
How am I, a virgin, supposed to endure that?
Help!!!
Just then, I began hearing scuffling sounds, like someone was approaching.
My ear twitched a bit, listening carefully. Not somebody, some people... Hah, I'm saved.
"D-Do you hear that?" I asked the snake. "People are coming. They're probably looking for me. If they see you, you'll be in danger. But if you let me go now, I promise to come back here same time tomorrow. And if I don't..." I gulped, wondering if this was a good idea. "You can come to my tribe and find me."
"Female wants to set a trap for me." He suddenly said, glaring but I shook my head.
"No, no, it's not like that at all," I said. "I'm just saying I might not come because, well, the people there don't like me very much. So, if I get locked up, I might not be able to come back and tell you my decision."
The odds of that happening are slim, right?
I mean, Arinya got locked up for a week for something she didn't do, shouldn't that be something that happens once in a few years?
They can't be so dumb as to think Arinya would pull the same stunt twice.
The snake thought for a bit and then he suddenly hit my ear.
"Ouch."
That hurt.
Was it trying to devour me?
But then he licked the ear, his tongue curling around it sensually and my body trembled.
Turns out, my ear is an erogenous zone.
"You have to come, Female. Because you're mine now." He said and then got off me. "What is your name, female?"
"Ste-" oh shoot. "Arinya," I said and he nodded.
"Arinya, my mate."
I'm not your mate yet though.
"My name is Damar."
With that, he began to leave, his snake body sliding on the floor in an 'S' motion.
I watched him slide away with his huge snake body, and then finally breathed in relief.
My chest, which felt like it had been clogged due to fear, was finally released and air passed through normally.
"What a weird snake. Are all beastmen like this?"
But at least he left without making things complicated. I don't know how I'd have been able to solve things if they had seen him.
Damar, huh?
What a peculiar name. I don't remember naming any character Damar. So that means, he's not involved in the plot of my own novel.
And... I sniffed my shoulder but I couldn't get any smell, not to talk of scent... What was the scent he was so attracted to?
I heard the scuffling footsteps approach even closer and decided to go see who they were.
As soon as I showed myself, the beastmen, tiger beastmen, saw me and yelled,
"We found Arinya! She's over here."
Were they looking for me?
Gosh, was it because I stayed out too late? I guess I'm still somewhat important since I'm the chief's daughter.
But then they grabbed me and tied my hands.
I looked at my tied hands and then at my situation.
Ah, I was way ahead of myself.
There's no way they were looking for me simply because I had stayed out too late.
What did my scheming sister do this time?