Yo! This is a bit later in the day than usual, haven"t been in the greatest of moods. Hopefully it"s gonna clear up soon else I"m starting to eye Stardew Valley and Minecraft, and G.o.d knows it"s hard to get myself out of those games when I start playing them.

Anyways, enjoy~

~^.^~

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That night, Arthur stayed at the "Forest House".

Just as he understood that Arthur was going to stay, Takhito"s mood had become restless.

"You"re probably tired from this running around. Go take a good rest." However, the perpetrator in question Arthur said that to Takahito without displaying any special change in his countenance, and returned to his room.

Because of vague uneasiness that perhaps Arthur would come to his room under the lingering aftertaste of excitement at eating prey, Takahito had welcomed dawn without a wink of sleep.

In the end, up until the next morning there had been no knock at the door of his room.

If he tried looking back on it, after embracing him Arthur would definitely give him s.p.a.ce. Most likely it was him carefully considering the burden he put on Takahito"s body. In the beginning he had thought it preposterous that that tyrant would show such concern, but now he could affirm it.

Arthur was such a man.

He looked self-centred, but he would not be negligent in his consideration of other people. Especially towards someone like him who had little life experience, his protector instincts were hard at work.

But right now…that consideration was somewhat irritating.

[t.n. Hah…someone wants the D***.]

(Wait, what am I saying?)

He went red in the face at his heart"s voice that had suddenly spilled out.

Because Arthur had not sneaked into his room at night, why was he thinking of it with dissatisfaction?

(Is it frustration?)

Even if it was mating season…him feeling like that was so embarra.s.sing he wanted to die.

Moreover, perhaps it was not consideration.

Maybe it was just that the man did not want to continue embracing him.

There was no reason to think that Arthur from the start liked the same-gender, and embracing him, that was his obligation as an Alpha.

It wasn"t like the man did this by choice…

[t.n.: Takahito"s obliviousness continues to be 100% strong…]

The copulation for the sake of "breeding" was proof of that, but the kissing was not.

Since the man did not really like him.

(I understand that.)

His partner was a handsome adult man who was over 30. If this was not his task, the man would probably not keep company with a kid like him.

He had only that much value. There was no doubt that as long as Arthur felt inclined towards it, he could obtain numerous suitable beautiful women.

[t.n.: and now he"s drinking imaginary vinegar…hehe]

Now, being confronted by this obvious fact, his feeling completely sank down.

(Why am I in such a slump because of it?)

He did not understand himself.

Not feeling like changing clothes, Takahito put on a dressing gown over his pyjama, and walked back and forth over the empty s.p.a.ce. As he knew not what to do with the feelings that had been putting him in pieces since the morning, a knock resounded. The double doors opened, and Eugene"s face peeked from the shadow of the door.

"Good morning. I see you"re awake."

"…good morning."

"Arthur wants us to take breakfast together in the dining room below."

Being invited like that by a brightly smiling face, Takahito nodded "Ahh…yea."

With his emotions being in such disarray, Takahito was reluctant to face Arthur starting from the morning, but he also did not have any reason to reject.

Washing his face in the sink in the bathroom, while he wiped away the moisture with a towel, he gazed at his own eyes that were reflected in the mirror.

Suddenly, he felt out of place.

(Has…my face always been like that?)

He had a small face for a man, and the corners of his eyes were turned up which he"d inherited from his grandfather. His nose bridge was small, and his lips thin.

No separate part had changed, but for some reason it looked different than in his memories.

As he looked at himself carefully he saw that his black eyes were subtly moist, and the rims of his eyes were vaguely tinged with red. The colour of his lips had also become stronger than before. Maybe because of that, the impression it gave appeared different than it had previously.

Was this an effect of the mating season?

(I look…somewhat wanton.)

The moment Takahito thought that, he became unable to endure it a second longer and averted his eyes from his image in the mirror. Twisting the faucet, water came out and he washed his face one more time.

Yesterday…

After returning to his room, as well as climbing onto the bed, the aftertaste of hunting had by no means lessened. In the still as death room only the sound of his heart had resounded loudly. He had turned over in his sleep many times, but far from the heat in his body ebbing away, instead the burning sensation only became worse…

When Takahito had noticed that, he had reached out for the lower part of his body. Lowering his pyjama bottoms till mid-thigh, he had touched his own length. It had been already half-hard, and had dangled as if it had been impatiently waiting for Takahito"s hand.

The moment he had gripped it…a searing numbness had crawled over his spine.

Closing his eyes, he had stroked repeating the movements of Arthur"s hands.

"Fuu…aaa…"

Memories of Arthur"s f.e.l.l.a.t.i.o had risen in the back of his mind and he had swelled further. Gradually his masturbation had grown fiercer, and with it his breathing had also grown faster - in the end he had recalled the words Arthur had whispered in his ear and how the man had shaken him forcefully and had climaxed.

"Haa…Haa…"

His chest had struggled, tears had clung to his eyes, and he had looked at the proof of carnal desire he had just released in his own palm.

(I"m…being strange)

Of course, he had m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed before this. Like any other person, he let it out by e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.i.n.g. when it piled up.

But things like tracing Arthur"s hand, and remembering that man"s f.e.l.l.a.t.i.o, and swelling while reliving the s.e.x in the cave in his mind…all the same it was strange.

Something was wrong with him.

No matter if it was mating season or not this was weird.

As he had thought about that he had worried more and more endlessly and had become unable to fall asleep, and in the end had welcomed dawn without a wink of sleep.

"…haaa"

Remembering the self-consolation yesterday, a heavy sigh spilled from his mouth.

The fact he had m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed by using Arthur as material, he could not let the man himself know of that.

He definitely could not let that leak out.

Takahito admonished himself while changing clothes. He put on a navy blue cashmere sweater on top of a well-tailored white shirt, and woollen pants. His shoes were side gore boots made from black leather. All this clothing was things Arthur had brought each time he visited. Eugene had said that it seemed they were things Arthur had chosen in his preferred shop in London. The clothes and shoes, their size fit precisely as if they had been ordered.

The cashmere sweater was thin but warm, and the pants were made from a solid material, he knew both were high cla.s.s things. Takahito felt awkward wearing such expensive things that no doubt had a price appropriate for their quality every day, but since he had no other things to wear there was nothing he could do.

When he came down to the dining room, Arthur had already arrived at the table. In the dining room over which bright sunlight poured over from the window, in the middle there was a table for six that was covered in a bright white tablecloth.

This morning the table had been set up for three people.

Cups, saucers and gla.s.ses for orange juice. On white flat dishes scrambled eggs, boiled sausages, tomatoes and boiled broccoli were arranged. On plates one size smaller thin slices of toast were arranged, accompanied by b.u.t.ter and jam. The so called "English Breakfast".

Amongst the three seats, Arthur sat in the seat that made his back face the fireplace.

Because up until now even if the man stayed at the "Forest House" he left before breakfast, this was Takahito"s first time seeing Arthur sitting at the breakfast table like that, and somehow he had a strange feeling.

"Good Morning."

Arthur greeted him. This morning Arthur wore a white shirt under a black V-neck sweater. No matter when he saw him, the man nonchalantly wore items of good quality. They were orthodox items but they looked stylish, probably because the man had high levels of style and looks.

Within the bright sunlight, Takahito blinked his eyes as if looking at something dazzling.

"…good morning."

"Did you sleep well?"

"…yea."

Takahito lied on the spur of the moment. If he honestly said that he had not been able to sleep, he would have to give the reason as well.

"Takahito"s seat is opposite Arthur."

Eugene who had prepared a pot of black tea pointed out, and Takahito arrived at his seat.

Because Arthur"s face was right in front of him, it was awkward in various ways. Takahito cast his eyes downwards in a way it did not seem strained, so he could avoid meeting Arthur"s eyes.

After Eugene poured black tea in everyone"s cups, he sat in the seat next to Takahito"s. The three person breakfast had begun.

"How was yesterday"s hunt?"

Trying the cup of black tea, Eugene brought up a subject.

"We brought down a deer together."

At Arthur"s answer, Takahito hurried to insert a correction "That"s not true. Arthur brought it down by himself." To tell the truth, he was only ent.i.tled to a tiny share of Arthur"s profit.

"No…I was able to bring it down because you circled it and ambushed it."

Takahito raised his head at those words, and met Arthur"s eyes. As he looked at those eyes once, he became unable to avert his own eyes like he had been captured by the amber pupils. Arthur was gazing at him intently as well.

For a moment, Takahito had a feeling time had stopped.

The two of them were running across snow chasing a deer under the moonlight.

Killing prey, and sharing it.

Together howling towards the moon.

Like a revolving lantern various memories were brought back to his mind…

"Hee, that"s amazing for one"s first time."

Eugene said in an admiring voice, and time started to move again. Arthur blinked slowly, and freed their entangled gazes.

"Takahito has good memory and intuition. He"ll become a good hunter once he acc.u.mulates experience."

Receiving certification from the Alpha of the pack, the area around his temple grew hot. His mood became proud and embarra.s.sed.

"Yes, that"s true, Takahito has a good head. He can understand anything quickly."

Almost as if he himself was being praised, Eugene nodded enthusiastically, moved his head closer to Takahito and whispered.

"Arthur rarely praises anyone. He"s been very pleased by you."

Being told such a thing, his temples grew even hotter.

(My…face is getting red, what should I do?)

Instructing his heart that has been loudly beating since a long time ago to calm down, and feigning calm, Takahito brought the sausage he"d cut with a knife to his mouth.

"Aa…this sausage is delicious."

"That"s good. It"s home-made."

Eugene"s cooking had been good from the start, but this morning it seemed especially delicious.

That was probably because he had been bustling about the forest yesterday with Arthur.

"It"s really delicious. The herbs are doing their work, eh."

"The herbs are collected in summer and dried. This time I"ve added thyme, sage, fennel, rosemary, ginger, oregano, basil…"

"You"ve put in that many types of herbs?"

"It"s tastier if you add a lot of them."

Maybe because the meal was delicious, the three people"s conversation was also lively.

Spending time in such a comfortable way was very nostalgic, and briefly, Takahito seemingly forgot the fact that he was a captive.

It would be good if their time together could go on like this forever…

Immediately after he thought that, Takahito suddenly came back to himself.

(What sort of stupid thing am I…)

The feeling of guilt that had risen from the bottom of his chest, Takahito crunched it and swallowed it down together with the sausage.

Donesies! There"s just one more part left in Chapter 8.

It should be up next Monday, but it may end up delayed a day or two. I"ve mentioned that I recently had to go to my family doctor, but what I didn"t say was that the appointment didn"t exactly go well. Got sent to another doctor for a procedure but they don"t do it at my local hospital, so this Wednesday I have to take more than a 2 hour bus ride to the capital to a clinic, see the doctor which is gonna cost me a lot of money and then take another 2 hour bus home.

What I"m dealing with is nothing life-threatening, don"t worry, but it"s annoying, so it might impact my ability to work.

But that"s that.

I"ll see you guys next week~

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