Chapter 43: What Happens in Hookup Forest

The silence that followed Daemus’s challenge was deafening.

For a long moment, the two beast princes just stared at each other. The air between them crackled with quiet tension. Blair held her breath, her fingers digging nervously into her own palms as she hung over his shoulder.

Finally, Killian let out a soft, amused hum.

"I don’t care," Killian said, his voice as smooth and cold as polished ice. "Your relationship does not change my intentions."

Without another word, the Crown Prince turned on his heel. He glided silently into the morning fog, disappearing as if he had never been there at all.

Taking their cue, the two naked beastmen scrambling in the dirt didn’t waste a second. They quietly retreated in the opposite direction.

The moment the clearing was empty, Daemus’s shoulders dropped. He let out an exhale, running a hand through his wild hair.

"Man," Daemus breathed out, shaking his head. "That dude is scary."

"Can you stand?" Daemus asked, gently sliding her off his shoulder and lowering her toward the ground.

"Yeah, I’m fine," Blair said automatically.

Her shoes hit the damp moss. When she tried to put weight on her right foot, static shot all the way up her calf. Having all her blood pooling in her head while dangling upside down by a single ankle for so long had killed the circulation in her leg.

Her knees buckled instantly.

"Whoa, gotcha," Daemus said.

He caught her around the waist before she could face-plant into the dirt.

"Sorry," Blair winced, roughly rubbing her thigh as a series of painful pins and needles shot up her calf. Guilt washed over her as she looked up at his bare chest. "I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you out here."

Before she could apologize again, Daemus leaned down. He hooked one arm under her knees and the other behind her back, effortlessly sweeping her up off the ground and into his arms.

Blair gasped, her face flushing hot. "Daemus, you can put me down! I can walk just fine, I only stumbled a bit."

Daemus looked down at her, a charming, easy grin spreading across his face.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be to have my precious girlfriend walking when her feet hurt?" he asked, his silver eyes crinkling at the corners.

Blair blushed furiously, her fingers nervously gripping his bare shoulder. "You don’t have to take it so seriously."

"I take everything seriously, Bunny," Daemus countered smoothly.

Blair let out a heavy sigh, her shoulders slumping. "I’m really sorry you had to come save me again."

Daemus let out a warm laugh. "How do you even get yourself into these types of situations? But hey, I promised to protect you, so you shouldn’t feel guilty about calling me when you’re in trouble. Besides..." He flashed his sharp canines in a playful smile. "I like to help a princess in distress."

A swarm of fluttering butterflies erupted in Blair’s stomach. She clamped her mouth shut, her cheeks burning. "Thank you," she said shyly, averting her eyes.

Daemus started walking, carrying her through the woods as easily as if she weighed nothing at all. Blair tried to look straight ahead, but her gaze kept drifting upward. From this angle, the sharp, sculpted line of his jaw was very distracting. He really was so very handsome. The morning sunlight was catching the silver flecks in his eyes and highlighting the light dusting of freckles across his nose that she had never noticed before. Blair found herself completely lost staring at him.

His lips were moving.

Blair blinked, snapping out of her daze. "Huh?"

Daemus chuckled. "I asked, what were you doing in Hookup Forest in the first place?"

"Hookup Forest?" Blair repeated, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Yup," Daemus nodded, looking around the woods. "It’s where beastmen go to hook up for some reason. I honestly don’t get it. I mean, fucking in the dirt? It’s complete bullshit. You get mud grinding into your knees, sharp twigs stabbing you in the ass, and wet moss chafing your dick. Give me a nice, fluffy mattress any day."

Blair’s mouth fell open in mortified shock. That explained the two beastmen she had stumbled upon earlier.

Suddenly, the dark, furry wolf ears hidden in Daemus’s blue hair twitched. They swiveled slightly, picking up sounds far beyond human hearing.

"Case in point," Daemus muttered. "Right now, there are a bunch of beastmen having sex all around us."

Blair’s eyes widened. She looked around the clearing. She didn’t see anything. She couldn’t hear anything, either, just the quiet rustle of the wind.

To prove his point, Daemus hoisted Blair a few feet higher into the air.

Suddenly, Blair could see straight over the tops of the high grass and the dense, leafy shrubs they were passing.

He was right. In a small clearing just beyond the bushes, two beastwomen and a beastman were enthusiastically tangled together against the trunk of a tree, naked, horny and oblivious to the world around them.

Blair let out a muffled squeak. Her face turned red hot. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, burying her burning face into her hands.

"I’ve seen enough!" Blair hissed. "I have seen way too much!"

Daemus chuckled. "Wanna join in on the fun?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows. "We are in Hookup Forest, after all. Who comes to Hookup Forest and doesn’t hook up?"

Blair’s fingers dug painfully into his shoulders. She knew he was teasing her, but he was taking way, way too long to say he was joking. She held her breath, sweating under his gaze, until he finally broke into a loud laugh.

"Can we please change the subject?" Blair pleaded, desperately pivoting the conversation. "I actually saw Professor Feron here earlier."

Daemus snorted, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "Feron? Really? I thought that guy was asexual or something. Well, good for him."

"No, you don’t understand," Blair insisted, looking at him seriously. "I think he was looking for the monster."

Daemus hummed skeptically. "You’re still on that?"

Blair ignored his dismissal. "If I could convince the professor to let me help him, then I can possibly help Heather. I can’t explain why, but I have a strong gut feeling that there is a connection between those monsters and my roommate."

Daemus looked at her determined expression and sighed. "Well, good luck with all that."

The dense trees finally began to thin out, revealing the manicured lawns and stone pathways of the academy grounds.

"You can put me down now," Blair requested.

Daemus smirked, coming to a halt at the edge of the tree line. "What? You don’t want to be seen in the arms of a wolf?"

"Not particularly," Blair responded flatly.

Daemus chuckled. He set her down gently on the cobblestones, waiting a second to make sure her leg could hold her weight. He gave her a two-finger salute, "I’ll see you later?"

Blair nodded but as he jogged off, she wondered, See him later for what?