Chapter 239: Lay Down With Me (bonus)

"He is resting." Faelynn smiled gently, nursing her new cub against her chest while Luth dangled off her thigh.

She looked worried. "Calis has not slept since before the fight."

Tera’s stomach tightened.

"He did not sleep the night your mates told him what you planned to do," Faelynn continued, her crimson eyes fixed on her pup. "And after the fight, he still did not sleep."

Tera felt very sad.

After she had told her mates and they had agreed to her facing the beast, she had gone to prepare the traps and then she had gone back to direct both packs here, and Calis had barely gotten a say in that arrangement.

He had been very worried, and he had barely spoken even as they had made their way there. Plus, Tera had been too preoccupied with tackling the beast to talk to him about it.

{PervyGoddess recommends makeup sex to remedy the situation}

{BeastWorldAddict sighs and shakes their head}

{BeastWorldAddict says the situation is too serious for that}

Tera found herself nodding firmly before she caught herself.

’Agreed!’

At least one of the sponsors was sensible.

{PervyGoddess pouts}

Faelynn glanced up at Tera, and her expression softened. "He is not angry with you. He was only scared."

That was worse.

Tera thanked Faelynn quietly and made her way into the forest, following the direction Faelynn had pointed.

She found him a short distance from the main settlement, beneath a large tree whose canopy filtered the light into pale, shifting patterns across the ground.

Calis was laying down flat on the ground, his hands behind his head and his eyes closed. His hair fell across his face in dark, messy strands, and he looked pretty tired for someone asleep.

Tera’s chest ached.

She crept closer and lowered herself beside him, and peered down at his face.

She wanted to touch him, but didn’t want to wake him up either. He needed the sleep more than he needed an apology right now.

The forest was quiet around them, and the shifting light danced across his skin.

She reached out and gently brushed his bangs away from his forehead.

Calis’s eyes snapped open.

He jerked upright just as Tera had leaned in to get a closer look at his face.

Their foreheads collided with a sharp, hollow crack.

"OW!" Tera recoiled, her hands flying to her forehead. Stars exploded across her vision, and a throbbing pain bloomed across her skull.

Calis, who was blinking rapidly and still half-caught between sleep and waking, registered three things in quick succession. He was awake, his forehead hurt, and Tera was in front of him clutching her face.

The confusion vanished, and panic replaced it.

"Tera?! Are you—I didn’t—are you hurt?!" His hands were already reaching for her, one cupping the side of her head and the other gently trying to pry her fingers away from her forehead to check the damage.

Calis had a very hard head, apparently.

"Ow, ow, ow—I’m fine—"

"Let me see—"

"It’s just a bump—"

"Your forehead is red!" The genuine alarm in his voice made it sound like she had been impaled rather than bonked.

"What?" she nearly screeched.

{PervyGoddess is cackling}

{BeastWorldAddict finds them adorable}

Calis’s hands were still on her face. His thumbs had settled on her cheekbones, and he was studying her forehead with the intense focus of a healer examining a war wound.

"There is a mark," he said gravely.

It was Tera’s own turn to panic. "I need to put some ice before it swells, OMG!"

[Where does Host intend to get ice?]

[? ? ? ?]

{PervyGoddess says not to worry. Her mates will still tap that ass regardless}

’What?!’

{BeastWorldAddict nods their head. It doesn’t look like Tera would develop a lump}

Calis looked very worried in return. "Sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you."

Tera pouted, and then she jerked as Calis started massaging and pressing down her head before it developed any lump.

"Calis. That hurts!"

He huffed, fully focused on massaging it.

"It will only hurt for a short time. Your head will not swell when I do this."

"Urghhhhh..." She moaned as he massaged her head, and it was throbbing when he stopped.

"Owww..." Tera pouted and touched her own tender forehead.

When she paused to glance at Calis, she found him intently staring at her. He flinched as she caught his gaze.

She looked away. "I’m sorry... I should have told you about what I was going to do. Sorry for worrying you."

Calis didn’t respond immediately. His jaw worked once, and his gaze dropped too.

"I thought you were going to die," he said quietly. "Before and after that thing came out..."

Tera’s felt sadder.

"And I could not do anything about it..."

Tera pulled him in for a hug, surprising Calis. "I’m sorry."

Calis’s chest throbbed as he hugged her back and buried his face in her neck.

They remained like that for a long time until Tera gently nudged him off, her body starting to sweat.

There was a small smile on his face, and it made Tera a little happy.

She looped her arm through Calis’. "Lay down with me."

Calis’s pulse kicked up.

His head turned toward her, and his crimson eyes widened just slightly. Then, very slowly, his gaze slid sideways, scanning their surroundings.

He was checking if they were alone.

"It is not completely private here," he said, his voice dropping lower. A faint colour had crept up his neck. "Someone could walk past."

Tera stared at him.

’Why would it matter if someone walked past? We’re just lying down—’

Oh.

OH.

{PervyGoddess leans forward with interest}

Before Tera could correct him, Calis looked back at her with hope.

"Now that the corrupted beast is gone and there is nothing threatening nearby, can we have cubs now?"

Tera’s mouth dropped open.

The forest was very quiet.

{PervyGoddess SCREAMS}

{BeastWorldAddict tells PervyGoddess to calm down}

{PervyGoddess will NOT calm down}

[???(??????)?]

"Uh..."

Calis frowned slightly, as though he didn’t understand why she was reacting this way. "You said you wanted to lie down."

"To sleep," she whispered.

A pause.

"...To sleep," he repeated.

"YES! To SLEEP! You look so tired. I just wanted to sleep with—lay down with you."

His mouth opened. Then closed. The colour that had been creeping up his neck flooded his face in full, and for the first time since Tera had known him, Calis looked genuinely mortified.

He looked away.

"I see..."

He looked so embarrassed.

[This system is experiencing something it can only describe as profound amusement]

[Though it would never laugh at Host’s expense]

[(???)]

’You’re literally laughing right now!’

[This system is doing no such thing]

[(???) ← this is a neutral face]

’THAT IS NOT A NEUTRAL FACE!’

’And I saw you laugh earlier!’

Calis smiled at himself, his embarrassment wearing off. Tera only smiled and laid down, pulling him down beside her.

"I can consider cubs sometime later when all this is done."

Calis went very still, his eyes searching her face.

"Really?"

Tera’s face warmed at how eager he looked. She laughed nervously when she remembered how intent Calis was to get her pregnant the last time they’d had sex.

"Yes, really. But later. Much later."

He did not seem at all deterred by the timing as his tail started thumping against the ground.

{PervyGoddess fans herself}

Calis removed his arm from Tera’s, and he turned on his side to pull her against him.

Tera blinked, startled. Her face was buried in his chest while his chin settled on the top of her head.

"What are you—"

"I will sleep better like this," he said.

Tera chuckled, the sound vibrating through them both. She stopped trying to argue and relaxed against him, letting his warmth settle around her.

She smiled and closed her eyes.