"Thank you, Semion, you are a treasure." The alien jumped up with relief, smiled, and hugged the orc's neck. "Shall we go?"
Semion's ears began to burn, and he visibly blushed. With the alien in his arms, he left the house and walked away.
Liss, an alien of modern times, had become accustomed to being picked up and carried around, and didn't even ask where they were going.
The house was further into the forest but still in the vicinity. Semion explained to Liss that they tend to be destructive when they train. A high-level beast trio that attained a soul beast mark, Semion showed his two black arm rings, which meant he was a 2-ring soul beast, and the highest level being a 4-ring soul beast.
Thinking of a house of three bachelors, one would expect chaos, but it was tidy.
Semion placed the alien on a pile of hides. "You must be hungry. I'm going to hunt. Wait for me here." And Semion left, leaving Liss alone with her thoughts.
After functioning on adrenaline and survival instinct for so long, her body finally relaxed, as she was visibly tired.
The makeshift fur bed she lay on top of was warm and cozy, calming her nerves, so she fell asleep.
.
.
.
.
Ishid saw Semion's convoy in the city and knew that the orc mood would be terrible, so he went home early. Every time Semion went to exchange for females, they trained day and night for almost a week after his return to relieve stress.
"Semi... huh?"
There was a female in the house.
'What in the world happened?'
He went closer, prepared to pick her up and throw her out of his territory, but halted. Semion's smell all over her irked him, they were supposed to focus on cultivating strength, not finding a mate.
'This is my house.' As motivation, Ishid sat down next to the female and waited for something to happen, while he watched her chest rise and fall in her sleep.
Semion came back and saw Ishid next to his little female and felt uneasy. Ishid was the definition of a lone wolf, but you never know.
"Ishid"
"Semion, why is there a female here?"
"I found her lost in the woods. She wasn't exchanged at the leopard tribe."
"But why here?"
"She doesn't want to find a mate. The tiger king offered her a house, but she doesn't have a mate, she would probably die of hunger"
"She can just find a mate tonight"
"No!"
Ishid was rendered speechless. Semion was clearly pursuing her.
"What I mean is, she wants to find love. I'm just helping her."
Ishid's curiosity piqued. For Semion to come back in a good mood and even show interest in a female, she must be interesting.
"I don't mind. Have you seen Levi?"
"No, he must still be in the city"
.
.
.
Liss's sleep was disturbed by the sound of nearby voices. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was immediately taken aback. A fair-skinned man sitting cross-legged was right in front of her 'OH MY. WHY IS THIS FOR SHOW?' Even with a hide covering his hips, it failed to do the job, leaving all his lower glory exposed.
The normally calm girl hastily sat up with a deep blush on her face.
The man had short black hair and gray eyes. Seeing his beautiful face, Liss forgot the past mishap. Dazed, she couldn't help but compare the man to a mirage.
"Hello, excuse my intrusion, my name is Liss," Liss said, lowering her head as a greeting.
"Ishid"
When their eyes met, the alien felt light-headed, awestruck. At that moment, Liss swore that if he said that the sky was green, she would preach that the sky was green.
"Come here, Liss"
Semion had a frown on his face, anxious about what could happen. Liss went in his direction, not wanting to cause trouble. In arm's reach, Semion grabbed the little female's waist without patience to be gentle or explain. From the sudden pull, Liss lost her ground and crashed into his chest.
"Oh my, I'm sorry, Semion."
Without a word, Liss was dragged out of the house and sat on the grass under Semion's instruction.
"Eat"
He said, handing a leaf with a big chunk of meat
"Thank you"
As if a predator eyeing his prey, Semion stood close, watching the alien take a bite.
"Which tribe are you from?"
Ishid questioned, leaning on the door frame, making his three silver soul beast rings visible.
Liss thought that, as a human, saying so wouldn't make sense and knew nothing about the tribes. It is easy to get caught up in a lie, so she decided to say that she grew up in seclusion.
"I don't know, I've always lived alone"
Ishid went closer with a menacing look
"You, a female, living alone? How did you survive?"
Liss acknowledged that it was a stupid move, but how could she explain that she knew this place but wasn't from here?
'What did mom say when they asked this?'
"I've always lived in a cave. They brought me food and water"
Still in that frantic train of thought, she wondered what to say if they asked about her clothes. Meanwhile, Semion was touched, the interpretation of her words was that she was kidnapped when she was still a female cub by ferals that were waiting until she reached maturity to mate with her. That was too sad. Wanting to comfort her, he swiftly sat her on his lap and hugged her.
"Poor thing was imprisoned by ferals. Is that why you were so afraid when you saw me on the riverside?"
Liss pitifully nodded her head, looking sad on the outside while cheering on the inside. There would be no possible way to confirm this, even if she didn't understand what ferals are, they must have this habit.
"Did you have your estrus and run away?'
"No, I ran away because I was scared"
'What's estrus? Do ferals eat people with this estrus?'
Ishid was wary of females, but he wasn't heartless. This female stayed quiet until talked to, and that alone pleased him.
The prospect that she was a feral child bride meant that up until now her life must have been hard. With this thought, a sigh left his lips while he sat next to them.
A thought of leaving Semion's embrace passed through her head, but Semion was her savior and her only ally, the conclusion was that if she didn't want to get kicked out, she should, once again, compromise. But every glance at Ishid, her gut had a funny feeling, to the point of thinking that if she had to be in someone's embrace, she would rather...
'What a deviant thought. Is this why mom longed for this place?'
"You got a mate, Simeon?"
Liss's body reacted like never before. The surprise of hearing a deep, husky voice from behind reduced Liss to a puddle.
Back on Earth, Liss rarely interacted with boys, and the only man that she once had a relationship with was her father. The stimulus of attraction was new to her.
Looking up, Liss's eyes met with a burly man with brown hair and clear golden eyes, robbing the alien of her air.
"She is not my mate." In a blink, Liss's legs dangled in the air, her only support being the man's hands on her armpits. Liss felt uncomfortable but still found it funny.
Levi was set on discovering what was happening. The crude behavior was purposeful to earn a reaction.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Liss."
Well, jokes on him. The female introduced herself first! Levi's stoic face successfully hid his surprise at the view, an innocent beauty with skin as white as rabbit fur and eyes the blue of soul gems awoke his predator instinct, an ugly feral instinct.
Liss's armpits were ticklish, a little movement of the man's hands made her giggle.
"My name is Levi, are you Ishid mate?"
"No, I'm not"
Levi's IQ was decent. He had a good heave over his shoulders, but his EQ was nonexistent. His body would heed to his urges, and nothing seemed wrong.
Levi's palm trailed her body until he could lift Liss with his other hand under her arm, raising her into a cradled position, filling the gap between his arm and chest, locking her in a position similar to a mom with her baby.
"So why are you here?"
Semion came forward to explain the situation with great emphasis on the part of finding love. In an arm cage, Liss paid attention to the explanation. To her, the focus on finding love came across as a warning. To her.
Liss's gut was screaming, telling her that those men were trouble.
'All I hope is that none of them force themselves on me.'