Chapter 95: No Favoritism (1)

Ner held onto Berg tightly as she stared down at the Shifre.

The fear that had crept into her from Berg’s icy words was suppressed with difficulty.

She tried to collect her wits, comforted by the warmth emanating from Berg.

Unwittingly, her grip on Berg’s hand tightened, and her tail curled even more tightly.

He was a friend, her own ally.

She had no intention of letting him go right now.

She had no intention of denying that he was precious to her.

Shifre gazed at her for a long moment before collecting herself and bowed her head slightly.

“...I am Shifre.”

But when Shifre raised her head again, her eyes were filled with hostility.

As if Ner had committed some unforgivable error.

Ignoring Ner, Shifre looked up at Berg once more.

“...I know it might seem that way. But Berg, I promise you—I will never betray you.”

Ner felt her priorities flipping inside out at Shifre’s words.

The fear and anxiety disappeared, replaced by a sticky anger.

“...What are you doing right now?”

“...”

Shifre looked back at Ner.

A combative air emanated from Shifre, the indomitable spirit of a mercenary leader making itself apparent.

“...I know it may be rude, but the humans can practice polygamy, can’t they?”

“If you know it’s rude, then you should stop.”

Ner clung to Berg’s arm even more fiercely.

Her clasped hands were so tight that the blood could scarcely circulate.

She liked the solidity she felt from such close contact.

It felt as unshakeable as the relationship between her and Berg.

Shifre’s expression turned even colder at Ner’s words.

Ignoring Ner again, she turned her gaze back to Berg.

“...I know.”

Berg’s eyebrows shot up.

Shifre continued...

“...I know this is all an act. You—Berg, you married her for the sake of the Red Flames, didn’t you?”

At her words, Ner’s heart hammered in her chest.

“...You’re not even loved, are you? Always fighting through hardship? You’re just doing this out of a sense of duty, right?”

...With an expression that seemed to pity him.

Ner was struck to the core and found herself speechless.

Then Shifre reached out her hand.

She attempted to touch the injured Berg’s cheek.

“But if it were me... I would truly...”

And with that direct action, Ner’s body moved on its own.

It might have been a reaction to the anxiety she had just felt.

Berg was the first to become her ally.

He was her friend.

...He was hers.

She couldn’t forget the way he had tenderly smiled while caressing her.

She couldn’t stand someone else trying to touch him impulsively.

Her tribe had a strong sense of domain.

And Berg was her domain.

-Thud!

So Ner pushed Shifre away lightly and turned back to Berg.

“...Ner?”

Berg uttered in confusion as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She jumped slightly, aiming for his neck.

Her teeth were bared.

She did not loosen her tail.

She held him tightly to ensure he couldn’t escape.

-Chomp!

Then she bit down on his neck.

A few mercenaries who understood the meaning of this action gasped.

This was one of the deep displays of affection among the werewolf couples.

Leaving a mark on one’s partner.

To leave this mark, a deep love must be the foundation.

For a bite to remain, one must endure the accompanying pain.

Because it signified a bond so close that one carried the other’s mark on their body.

Ner felt her sharp fangs pressing against Berg’s neck.

Suddenly, a sinister desire she didn’t know she had writhed within her.

She slowly felt her fangs piercing through the flesh of Berg’s neck.

Yet, she did not ease her strength.

-Grrruck... Sunk!

It was her first time doing this.

...But it didn’t feel like a mistake.

“........”

If there was anything that worried her, it was only what Berg might think.

But even that couldn’t suppress her urges at the moment.

Regardless of what Berg might think, she wanted to leave her mark on him.

She wanted to prevent that woman named Shifre from approaching him.

She wanted to boast of the intimate bond between them.

-Thump.

But Berg’s subsequent actions set Ner’s heart racing once again.

Berg made no complaints about the pain, nor did he push her away.

Instead, he embraced Ner so she could bite his neck more comfortably.

He even accepted the pain.

Ner felt a thrill, like a shiver down her spine, flow through her.

Emboldened by his acceptance, she left an even more intense mark.

She bit down harder in excitement.

“...Paha...”

After a long time and in the silence of many, Ner released his neck.

A string of saliva, followed by blood, began to flow, connecting her mouth to his wounded neck.

“...”

Before climbing down from Berg’s embrace, Ner licked his neck once more.

To clean the blood off.

Upon this touch, Berg, who had remained still through the pain, flinched ever so slightly, as if tickled.

“...”

At that brief movement, a smile formed on Ner’s face.

Ner gazed at the wound she had left.

It was her own creation, yet it was beautiful.

It was also satisfying.

Ner then turned to Shifre.

“...Do we still seem like we’re just pretending?”

A werewolf mercenary approached Shifre, who looked flustered.

He whispered something in Shifre’s ear.

It seemed to be an explanation of what had just transpired.

“........”

Afterwards, Shifre fell silent.

She looked back and forth between Berg and Ner, then finally turned away.

In the hollow silence that followed, she left.

Ner savored the subtle taste of victory she felt.

****

Returning to the camp, Ner apologizes to me.

“I... I’m sorry, Berg. But-”

I shook my head.

I had no intention of discussing the incident that just happened outdoors.

I might not have understood what it was, but I knew it was a special show of affection unique to her species.

That must be why Shifre left the way she did.

And so, we continued walking.

From a distance, Arwin approached.

“...”

Her eyes, momentarily hardened, shifted to my neck.

She stayed frozen like that for a long while.

“Let’s go.”

Passing by the frozen Arwin, I spoke to her.

Only then did she seem to snap out of it and follow behind me.

Though Ner’s actions were disconcerting, I felt no aversion.

If this was an expression of affection, it was what I had asked for.

I had asked her to do this.

It was her preemptive action, ensuring that Shifre, who had seen through our relationship, could no longer harbor any doubts.

Ner did what I couldn’t do.

In a way, I should be grateful.

As the negotiations had somewhat progressed, the evening was approaching.

I looked up at the sky.

The sky, gradually darkening, held a faintly visible moon.

It wasn’t quite a full moon... a slightly distorted one.

Suddenly, I wondered if Ner didn’t like this moon.

Now that the tension with the other mercenary groups had eased, I thought it might be nice to take her out for a walk.

****

Arwin entered the lodging with a cold expression.

Inside, Ner was already flustered, apologizing to Berg.

“Berg! I’m, I’m sorry. You were startled.”

“It’s fine. Just explain.”

Arwin already knew about this act.

It was one of the werewolf tribe’s barbaric displays of affection.

An act of marking near the face of their partner to claim ownership.

A gesture to flaunt their relationship.

Inevitably accompanied by pain and ugly wounds, it was a practice not often done even among the werewolf couples.

And Ner had done it.

The same Ner who had contemplated betrayal.

...Of course, Arwin understood that it was for Berg’s sake.

But did it have to leave such a scar on his body?

How much more harm must be done before satisfaction is found?

How long will Berg continue to accept such actions with a smile?

Arwin couldn’t tell.

Ner continued to explain.

“...It’s something married couples do. Shifre kept suspecting... so I felt I had to do something...”

Berg nodded at her words, then quietly wiped the blood that had trickled down his neck.

“...”

Ner stared at the scar left on him for a long while before swallowing hard.

Then she said,

“...Come on, Berg.”

Ner then slightly lowered her clothes, revealing her neck to Berg.

Her pale, delicate neck was exposed.

“...?”

Berg stiffened in confusion.

“...Leave one on me too.”

Ner said.

“What?”

“...I’m, I’m sorry. You can bite me too.”

Berg let out a half-laugh.

“It’s fine.”

As he declined, Ner hastily insisted.

“Just one side is odd. It should be both sides, you know.”

“...”

“...Otherwise, all this might just go to waste.”

“You want me to bite you?”

“Yeah. It’s okay.”

Berg clicked his tongue.

“...There’s no need to go that far.”

Ner declared with firmness at his expression.

“Berg. I think I’ll feel at ease if you do it. Please.”

Arwin watched all this from a distance.

“...It’ll hurt.”

Berg pointed out.

“That’s what gives it meaning.”

Ner explained.

“To endure such pain for someone...”

She then fell silent.

Berg, after much contemplation, rose to meet Ner’s gaze.

Arwin felt a jolt in her heart at Berg’s resolve.

He declared,

“...I’ll do it in one go.”

Arwin couldn’t fathom why this was so painfully hard to watch.

Berg’s right hand gently grasped Ner’s shoulder.

She noticed the ring she had inserted there.

A ring that had never once been worn on the left hand.

It seemed lately that Berg had eyes only for Ner.

The Ner who contemplated betrayal.

The Ner who awaited a different destined one.

Berg lingered for a long moment, even as he gazed upon Ner’s neck.

Then he sighed deeply.

-Chomp.

He bit down on Ner’s neck.

“Ah...!”

Ner moaned, but Berg did not stop as he had promised to do it in one go.

Ner groaned in pain, tightly embracing Berg’s neck.

It seemed like a prepared embrace, to ensure he wouldn’t back out.

“...?”

But contrary to her contorted expression, in that moment, Ner’s tail wagged discreetly.

At the same time, Ner and Arwin’s eyes met.

The tail stood stiffly.

“...”

“...”

The two of them looked at each other in silence for a long time.

As time passed, it became increasingly difficult to understand Ner’s thoughts.

Then Ner blinked and pressed her lips tightly shut.

She wore an expression as if to say, ‘Can’t be helped, right?’

Soon after, Ner averted her eyes.

She whispered to Berg.

“...You can bite harder.”

****

Ner lay in bed beside Berg, spending a quiet night awake.

Berg had already fallen asleep.

It had been a while since she’d had a light drink of her favorite alcohol.

But Ner was tossing and turning, sleep eluding her.

Whenever she closed her eyes, that moment came to mind.

Shifre, who had courted Berg.

The moment she tried to touch his cheek.

The moment Ner had pushed Shifre away and acted.

Berg, who had bitten her neck, then embraced her.

The chills she felt then were so intense, that the afterglow lingered still.

Her heartbeat seemed to thrum endlessly against her skin.

It wouldn’t calm down.

“...Ah.”

Ner soon touched the bite marks Berg had left on her neck.

The pain that flowed through that wound was not unpleasant.

She didn’t expect it to happen at all, it was the teeth marks of a human race, yet the thought of disliking it never crossed her mind.

This mark, meaningless to cover with a bandage, received no proper treatment.

Such neglect was a morose and disgraceful act for the medically advanced werewolf tribe.

...Though Berg might not fully understand.

Ner soon turned around and looked at Berg.

She enjoyed the feeling of her tail touching him, so she rested it on his thigh.

What was this persistent heartbeat she felt?

She couldn’t keep her body still.

As the night deepened, Ner began to rub herself familiarly against Berg.

Her pheromones, now emerging, began to douse him.

And as she continued to rub against him, her body grew hotter and hotter.

More intense actions impulsively pricked at her mind.

“...”

Ner gazed at the bite mark she had left on Berg.

The wound had started to bruise without proper treatment.

It did look a bit pitiful.

“...”

So Ner carefully opened her mouth.

Her moist tongue slowly emerged.

For a moment, she pondered if this was alright.

They were a couple, after all.

There was nothing they couldn’t do.

Ner, reassured by this thought, licked Berg’s neck.

Specifically, she licked the wound.

Such behavior was commonplace in their culture.

Even if Berg were to wake, there would be no reason for him to be surprised.

Licking one’s wounds was a natural act, after all.

But Ner felt her body heat up with the taste that lingered on her tongue from his neck.

She pressed her body even closer to his.

With one hand, she embraced Berg to steady him, and buried her face in his neck.

Her tongue did not cease its movement.

From his warm bare skin, Ner could not pull away.

“...Haah.”

Soon, Ner became aware of the abnormal reaction stirring within her.

Why couldn’t she stop?

Why couldn’t she restrain herself?

Why did she want more?

...Why was it so sweet?

Her glowing yellow eyes swiftly roamed the dark room, searching as if for an excuse.

“...”

And then, through the slightly parted curtains, she saw the bright moon.

The same moon that once reminded her solely of her destined partner.

But now, the thought of ‘destiny’ didn’t even cross her mind.

There was only one excuse that came to her.

‘...It must be the mating season.’

She thought to herself impulsively.

After a moment, she straightened her upper body and tidied her disheveled hair.

Then she clung back into Berg’s embrace and resumed lavishing his neck with licks.

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

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