Chapter 56 - Group Hug

Chapter 56: 56 - Group Hug

(Yaya’s POV)

The tree hollow was big, but the three idiots were bigger. Noodle, the biggest of them all, was hogging all the space with his tail, coiled around the base of the tree.

I promised to impale their asses if they dared to bring another male into this mess, and of course they found a runaround for that. A law enforcer who apparently had a change of heart and no longer wanted me as a mate. How convenient. How utterly believable.

I knew this world’s standards for females were as low as a pit latrine, and that males had no dignity when it came to them, but come on. Did they have to prove me right every time?

My glare zeroed in on Nugget, lounging by the entrance like he belonged. I rose slowly, like a shadow in the night, and made my way toward him. "You heard my mate. Strip and keep him warm. He is cold-blooded and needs all the warmth he can get."

I was going to make this the worst day of his life. He would regret ever following us here, and would flee for the hills after this.

"Precious..." Dickhead tried to stop me, but my body already moved to fulfill my threat.

I grabbed the eagle by his wet cloak and dragged him away from the entrance, then tossed him to the ground. He looked up at me with wide eyes as I stripped off his cloak and the skirt-like bottom he wore. His skin turned all red, making him look like an angry chick.

"Stop—" he sputtered, covering himself with his hands as if he had anything to hide. "What are you doing?!"

"Taking your clothes off. What does it look like? You must have seen me naked with all the stalking you’ve been doing." I said, throwing his clothes at Noodle’s branch. "Go and hug my mate, warm him up. He can’t afford to lose his body heat."

"No, no, no." He tried to cover his junk with his hands, but I grabbed his wrist and dragged him to Noodle, who was still holding his stick up, fixing the clothes on the branch.

"No? I don’t understand what that word means," I said, making Nugget face the snake male’s chest. "Hug him. Now."

I pushed him, and he stumbled forward, his hands flailing for balance. He caught Noodle’s shoulders.

Noodle looked down at him, frowning. "Mate?"

"I’m just making sure he listens to your orders," I said, and Noodle’s lips parted in realization.

Nugget tried to push himself away from Noodle, but I held him in place, pressing him against Noodle’s chest. "He doesn’t seem to understand that he should be useful."

Noodle nodded, letting me drill my point into Nugget.

"You can’t make me do this." Nugget squirmed, his cheeks flushed, yet still trying to keep his cool. "This will turn against you, and you will regret it."

I pressed my hand on his lower back and pushed him harder against Noodle’s chest. "Get on with it. You wanted to catch me for my crimes, right? You have to go through my mate first."

Nugget turned his head to Dickhead for help, who was busy with his own top.

"Group hug?" Dickhead suggested, pulling his shirt over his head. "I’m coming."

His shirt joined the rest on the branch as he sandwiched me between him and Nugget and Noodle, taking advantage of me holding Nugget in place.

I gritted my teeth as he changed the scene’s dynamic. I just wanted to torture Nugget, but now it looked like I was forcing a group hug on everyone.

"Warm, isn’t it?" he whispered in my ear, wrapping us all in his arms.

The eagle’s struggles ceased the moment Dickhead stepped in to ’help’. The flush on the back of his neck deepened, but the fear seemed to leave his body. His hands uncurled slowly. They came to rest on Noodle’s sides, no longer pushing away, but not quite embracing either.

Nugget turned his head slightly, his gaze flickering between Noodle’s face and the wall of the hollow. "Group hug?"

"Yes." Dickhead sighed in contentment, his chin resting on my shoulder. "Even with Precious’ wet and cold clothes, it’s still warm, don’t you think?"

The two fell silent, as if Dickhead had a spell on them, and they just accepted it. Noodle even coiled his long tail around my legs, nudging me to wrap them around him. He seemed to like the warmth too. He liked sunbathing, so this must have felt similar.

I was the only one fuming. Being sandwiched between two half-naked males was not my idea of fun. I let go of Nugget and elbowed Dickhead in the stomach.

He took the hit with a grunt and chuckled, his breath tickling my neck. "This is what happens when you try to be a bully, Precious. You get bullied back. Cause and effect. Action and reaction. Karma? You call it."

I started this, and now I had to suffer through it. He turned me into the butt of a joke; worse, he made them believe I deserved it. Who knew what other weird ideas he had planted in their heads through the deep-speak, as they called it? The mysterious beastmen communication method that I had no access to.

I continued to throw blows at Dickhead, hard enough to make him loosen his grip on me, until he was forced to release me. I threw myself out of the "group hug" and towards the back of the hollow.

Nugget’s fingers trembled as he pulled on a clean skirt he’d taken from his space, his gaze avoiding mine.

Dickhead went to guard the hollow’s entrance. He held himself carefully, as if even breathing pained him, creating a picture of such a poor victim of my abuse. The rain outside mirrored the misery he projected (caused by my blows), each drop another accusation. His act was believable to the point that I almost fell for it too. I almost believed it myself, believed I was the monster here.

I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, legs stretched out in front of me.

"Mate, I’m warmed up now." Noodle sat in front of me, his eyes expectant. "Your turn."

I averted my gaze and stared at the wall behind him. "Don’t touch me."

"Mate?" His hand stopped mid-reach, hovering over the fabric I’d rejected.