34 A Wolf’s Habit
Xenia heard a distinct growl coming from behind her. That was her cue that the King was now in his wolf form, so she immediately turned around and gathered his clothes.
Moving closer to him, she didn’t know what came to her as she suddenly had the urge to pet his head, running her hands over his head.
Another moment of silence, and there was another soothing growl that came from the man. She chuckled slightly, interpreting the sound as the King liking her decision to pat his head like that.
“Your Ma- I mean, My King… you look so adorable in your wolf form,” she genuinely commented. “And so huggable as well.”
Before the King could let out another growl, she added, “Yeah I know. I’ll be climbing onto your back now, My King. I’m not wasting time…”
Rolling her eyes, Xenia quickly climbed onto the King’s back. As soon as she was settled, she patted him by his side; a signal that made the wolf begin to run.
Xenia didn’t know how long they had been running nonstop, but the sky was already dark when Darius began slowing down.
Naturally, she felt hunger creeping onto her stomach, so she took out a banana from the fruits she had gathered earlier and started eating it while they were still moving, albeit a little slow. After having one snack, she then peeled another one and offered it to the wolf.
“Here, My King. Eat this.”
Darius turned his head, and Xenia shoved the peeled banana near his mouth. He quickly took it into his mouth, and she smiled as she peeled more fruits for the King to eat.
All the while, she continued eating with a smile on her face. It was adorable, seeing how tamed the King was in his wolf form. He was really just too cute to look at.
After a few moments, Xenia spoke out, “I think it’s already safe to stop and rest.”
In truth, she felt bad for him somehow, the man always constantly carrying her weight around for long periods of time. Hearing her, the King stopped and bent down, letting Xenia get down from his back.
And as soon as he was able, Darius suddenly shifted back into his human form without even so much as a warning.
Xenia stood frozen in her spot. Although it was a bit dark, there was still enough moonlight that she could still have a peek of his majestic body. She didn’t know what was happening to her anymore, but Darius’s predatory eyes seemed to have a hypnotizing effect on her.
Slowly, he walked towards her. There were no words between them, and the princess felt his breath against her face as he stood close to her… too close.
King Darius smirked as he hoarsely breathed on her face. “Look at you, being a clumsy eater…” he scoffed. “You’ve smudged those fruits all over your face.”
Xenia gulped, her lips parting to complain only for her to realize that no words were coming out. Her eyes widened when she then felt his tongue licking up from her chin all the way to the corner of her lips.
‘What the hell is happening?!’ she inwardly panicked.
It was very sudden, but what really surprised her was the weird sensation that his tongue was giving to her body. Something was once again stirring inside her stomach, and her legs were shaking for some reason.
“W-What are you doing?” she managed to gasp out.
Raising an eyebrow, Darius leaned in and whispered into her ear, “Sorry, Xen. It’s a wolf’s habit to lick the delicious smudge of food off someone’s face. Next time, be careful not to smear food all over you when you eat.”
It was then that she suddenly felt his body press against hers. Hastily, she retorted, “What the heck!?”
“My clothes, Xen,” Darius whispered out.
Xenia blinked in surprise and astonishment. It was only then that she realized that he was only getting his clothes that were currently tied tightly to her body.
She held her breath as Darius removed the knot on her back to get his clothes. She found herself closing her eyes, making sure that she wouldn’t see his nude body being so close to her.
“You can breathe now, Xen,” Darius amusingly spoke out.
Taking her cue, Xenia let out a sharp breath, but she still kept her eyes closed. She was a mess. That one moment when the King’s tongue licked at her kept on replaying itself inside her head, and it took her a bit of time to clear that image away from her thoughts.
By the time she finally opened her eyes, Xenia could barely look at him as she cried out, “Why would you lick me like that when you’re not even in your wolf form?!”
It was loud. She knew that her response was a bit too late for the occasion. Nevertheless, it was better late than never.
A bout of silence passed.
There was no response, so with a frown, she chided, “My King, what you did is unacceptable! Who would do something like that in his right mind? Are you saying that you’ll lick anyone’s face whenever you see a smidgen of food on their face? What about in your human form?! Have you ever done that to someone before?”
This felt really weird. Her last question sounded off even in her ears, but she was curious to know if he actually did lick other people’s faces like what he just did to her.
“Of course not, Xen. I only did to you, and will only do so for the foreseeable future,” Darius seriously answered.
Xenia’s jaw dropped at his answer. Before she could even retort, the King spoke further.
“I like your smell Xen, so don’t ponder too much about it,” Darius casually explained. “I only lick those whose scent I love. And so far, I haven’t liked any other scent apart from yours.”
Without so much as a warning, he leaned close to her again, making Xenia instinctively step back.
“Xen, what’s with you? I was just thinking that I’ll get this out of your body,” Darius sighed. “I will carry this for you,” he commented as he grabbed the fruits Xenia secured in the cape that she tied to her body