"Ao-ao" was almost out of his beastman mind. The already concentrated scent of a freshly-cleaned Samantha embraced him with warm, creamy vanilla overlaid by a faint but clean feminine scent he couldn't quite place. Her naked body, though it was initially cold and wet, heated up and her scent wafted irresistably up to his nose. He could feel her trying to dry her poor feet, but he could not give up any more secrets yet than he already had. That didn't mean it wasn't extremely tempting, and that it wouldn't be so easy for him to make one slip that could shatter all of his carefully-laid plans. If she discovered the secret between his legs at this specific moment, he would be lucky if his plans were merely shattered - the wolf beast who had unwittingly exposed himself to her had his hopes dashed entirely. He was grateful once more to the unfortunate soul who was probably still nursing that emotional wound, because he had taken a hit that would otherwise have likely belonged to "Ao-ao" himself.

Immersed in these thoughts and completely entranced by the feel, smell, and now taste of Samantha, Ao-ao lost track of anything outside of Samantha and himself. He had never lost himself in someone else like he was doing now, and when he felt Samantha's leg brush against his side, it was all he could to do not to lose himself completely, to whine and whimper until he could satisfy the instincts pulling him closer to the edge of sanity. Then, he smelled it. As if her actually grabbing hold of his tail had not been enough in terms of agonizingly delicious punishment, a cinnamon ribbon swirled through the delicious creamy scent that was Samantha's alone. He almost began to drool, his eyes rolling back until he realized where that additional, completing note must have come from. No. This was not possible. This was not the plan. He froze. His plans and his future hung in direct opposition to the allure and power of what had to be Samantha's estrus cycle. Cubs. He could have a chance for cubs, if he gave in. They might not have this opportunity for up to a year, or possibly more, depending on Samantha's physiology. A family of his own with a female like this one was just not something males could even dream of in this world.

But they would have time, he reminded himself. Plenty of time. It was better to wait and hope to continue to gain her affection than to hurt her for a potential short-term gain that would likely turn into a permanent loss. It finally sunk in that without her, he could no longer be at peace; he would always think of her, long for her. No female could ever replace her to him. He was entirely at her mercy, which was certainly not something he had put in his own plan. Wishing he could be surprised, he again thought of the beastmen he had scorned in the past for falling in love and acting as fools. This time, he was merely a first-hand witness to the fate of nearly every beastman ever born. Pushing away from the instincts that had unraveled themselves in his brain in an eternity of mere seconds, he in turn pushed Samantha on her back, allowing her to see an expression of existential terror. "Ao-ao" could barely trust himself not to give in when he saw her produce the proof of her cycle, and as soon as he heard the word "leaf", he mobilized himself to get Samantha what she needed and then to get them both to safety as quickly as he was able.

Flipping Samantha onto his back leaving only his fur for her to cling to, he fled to the home he had carved for her. He doubted it would be enough to protect them for long, depending on the number of males in the forest who had heard her shouting and especially had the hearing abilities to make out the words she had announced to the entire world. It was clear now that being so undeservedly underestimated by her, though it had been his own choice from the start, was going to be a problem. But what, short of revealing himself, could be done to solve it? The fox was frantically running scenarios through his mind as he firmly prodded Samantha through the tunnel to their den and into the main room, dropping the large tree branch behind her. He immediately turned his attention to plugging their chimney with a large boulder to hopefully keep her magnetic, enticing scent from giving away their location. Swishing his fox tail with all his might, he fired off a wind attack in all directions that would hopefully cover their tracks until he could figure out their next steps. There was no guarantee that this would help, but it was at least as likely to throw off pursuers as it was to attract them. Finally, "Ao-ao" followed Samantha into their den, collapsing the tunnel behind him and dragging a plethora of leaves as he did so.

"Ao-ao?" he heard her whisper raggedly, "Are you in here? What's happening? Did I do something wrong? Are we in danger?" He had no way to answer her questions, since the cave was now too dark for even a fox to see in; he had not made a light source readily available aside from the fires he had lit. "Ao-ao" had not wanted to let on any more about himself than absolutely necessary, and now they were both suffering the consequences of his paranoia. "Ao-ao" located Samantha purely by smell, and gave her what he hoped was a reassuring nuzzle. However, they still had no time to lose, and he needed to concentrate on where he had stashed the more valuable of the belongings he had brought. The first tunnel that he opened was thankfully the one had hoped it would be, and he slithered through to the dead-end room that contained his largest luminous pearl. They were extremely rare and valuable, but if Samantha had no idea about the importance of a female in heat, it was much less likely that she would realize he had brought and hidden a priceless treasure in their home.

Finally able to see the fox once again, Samantha positively flew to his side and would likely have embraced him if she hadn't first remembered the reason she had been blinded to start with. She was trembling now from fear rather than from cold, and "Ao-ao" felt his heart sink back into his throat and down into his stomach. She was too afraid to touch him now; this one incident had been enough to break the fragile trust he had worked so hard to nurture. "Ao-ao," Samantha began, her voice wavering, "I have some things I need to tell you, and I think you have some things you should tell me as well. I didn't think it was possible, but," she paused, holding up a cluster of leaves, "it's clear that you can understand what I'm saying." The fox gulped, dreading what would come next. "First things first, where are my pajamas?"

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Author's Note:

Hello, dear readers! I hope that you're enjoying the story so far. I'm really enjoying writing it, though it's been a very long time since I've written anything at all. This idea has been bouncing around in my head since I read a number of Chinese novels with the Beast World theme. Thank you to everyone who has added my stories to reading lists and given me votes and other support - it has meant so much more to me than I ever dreamt it would. I hope you're all doing well out there, and I'll see you next update!