The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 326: Spending the night with Damar

The stroll to the bathing pool was quiet; the only sound was the soft brush of our feet against the awakening spring grass. The air felt different tonight—heavy with the scent of damp earth and the blooming wildflowers that only opened their petals to the moon.

Damar’s hand was cool in mine, his long fingers interlaced with mine as if he were trying to memorize the specific map of my palm. We reached the water, a secluded basin fed by a trickling spring that caught the starlight like scattered diamonds.

"It feels like a lifetime ago since we took a bath together," I murmured, breaking the silence as we reached the edge.

I began to take off my dirt-stained clothes, the evening air biting at my skin, but I didn’t care. I needed to wash away the dust of the nursery and the lingering exhaustion that didn’t just stay on my skin but was pulling my heart down.

Damar followed suit and began to take off his skirt, exposing his twin cocks that were still very much asleep. In the moonlight, his skin was pale as ivory, his lean muscles tensed with a grace that always reminded me he was a predator of the silent kind. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Shall we get in?"

As we stepped into the water, the chill made me gasp, but Damar was there instantly, drawing me against his chest.

He was always cooler than Noah or Fenric, but tonight, his skin felt like a hot balm against my skin. We walked deeper until the water swirled around our waists, the ripples distorting our reflections into silver ribbons.

"Do you remember?" I asked, looking up at him, my hands resting on his shoulders. "When we met at that lake for the first time after you proposed to me in the bush? You were so... certain. You wanted me as your mate right then and there. You didn’t even care that I was still a stranger who peed on you." I chuckled. "Just the fact that I had come to you was enough for you to believe I was your fate."

Even though I clearly remember getting to that lake with no other intention but to bathe, things played out the way they did, and Damar was there.

Damar let out a low, vibrating hum, a sound that started deep in his chest and echoed against my own. He reached up, his thumb tracing the line of my jaw slowly.

"How could I forget, Ari?" he whispered, his slitted pupils blown wide until they were almost entirely dark. "The world was a foggy place back then. A blur of scents and instincts that meant nothing to me. But then there was you. You were the only thing my eyes could see clearly, and the only clear scent that could pull my soul. My soul didn’t just recognize you; it demanded you."

I leaned my forehead against his, closing my eyes.

"You were so persistent. I thought you were going to swallow me whole."

"I still might," he breathed, his lips brushing against mine. I laughed. With his two cocks, sure, he was going to do more than just swallow me.

We stayed in the water for a long time, the conversation drifting into soft, slow words about nothing and everything. We talked about Lyra’s temperament, which carried her father’s everything, about the way the grain would look when it finally turned the southern plains into a sea of gold, and about making a more comfortable place.

"What about a palace?" I suggested. "The royal family needs to have a lot of space to live in comfortably and not a silly, cramped net."

He laughed and nodded, sounding so melodic to my ears.

"I think that would be a wonderful idea."

Eventually, the chill that came with the night and pool became too much, and we retreated to the bank, collapsing onto a thick carpet of moss and clover. Damar pulled my body against his, his chest acting as my pillow, and his arms a silver cage that felt like the only safe place left in the world.

The sky above us was a vast, glittering expanse. I traced the constellations with my eyes, feeling the steady thud of Damar’s heart beneath my ear.

"Promise me," I said, my voice barely more than a breath in the dark. "Promise me you won’t take unnecessary risks. If the road is too dangerous, turn back. I’d rather have a hungry kingdom than a dead husband."

Damar shifted, his chin resting on the top of my head. "I am a snake beastman, Ari. We do not charge into the fire; we slip through the shadows. I will be careful. Not for the Rabbits, and not for this kingdom, but for you and my daughter Lyra."

He turned me in his arms then, his gaze searching mine with a sudden, fierce intensity.

"Two months is a long time. The fish will call to you, and the pup and the cub will be here to claim your nights. But remember this moment. Remember the way I feel towards you."

I didn’t answer with words. I couldn’t.

Instead, I got on top of him, my hands pressed to his face, and then leaned down for our lips to meet. My kiss was desperate and full of the grief I was trying to outrun. Tonight, there was no Queen, no merman, and no Elders. There was only a woman trying to hold onto the moonlight before the sun turned it to dust.

And then, before long, my voice was echoing throughout the small open space, and my scent was carried by the wind. My fingers intertwined with Damars, and my back arched as he filled both of my holes all the way with his thick length. Claiming me, loving me, and leaving kisses of promises on my skin.

So that by the time the sun rose, I would feel nothing but the heat from his body and his predatory scent all over me.

"I love you, Damar," I said as tears slid down my cheeks and fell on his own. Even in the moment of pleasure, I could not hide the grief in my heart. He looked into my teary eyes and saw my grief.

Then, he slid his hand to the back of my neck and pulled me down so his lips could meet mine.

"I love you, Ari," he claimed. "Don’t worry, even if I am not by your side, I shall be in your heart, and you in mine. That is more than enough to keep me going."

I whimpered, my body trembling against his. This night... I wish it would stretch on longer than normal, and that the morning sun bids its time before rising.