XueLing, with a possessive tug, pulled Xishi closer, settling her firmly on his lap. They remained there for a beat, the silence thick with unspoken things. XueLing's gaze was an intense study, his eyes tracing every curve of her face, while his hands, with a slow, deliberate intimacy, explored the contours of her body. Really, she sighed softly. "Where were you?" she asked, finally breaking the silence with the question that had been nagging at her.

"Well, I was just nearby," he chuckled, the sound a low rumble that vibrated against her skin. He carefully laid her naked body down on the soft pile of animal skin, his eyes never leaving hers. "Nature's call, you know..." he added, a teasing glint in his eyes. He settled beside her, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from his body. "You know, for a red fox... my dear, your smelling senses are weak. Even if the scent of my arousal wasn't that strong, masked as it was by the water and nearing its end, shouldn't you have... guessed that someone was in heat and avoided disturbing them? I almost thought your interference was intentional until i saw how flabbergasted you were...... " he said, gently caressing her cheek, his expression intensely serious, almost predatory, God....

Well, XiShi's memories did testify to her less-than-stellar nose, but her other senses were sharper than anyone else's, or so she believed. But she was being chased, for God's sake! What was she supposed to do, calmly analyse the pheromones in the air while fleeing a bear attack? She had been running on pure adrenaline. Even if she did hear him , it must've gone unnoticed.

"Well, you could say that..." she said , a shaky laugh escaping her lips.

"And I smelled the scent of bears on you?" he inquired, his tone still playful but a hint of something darker edged his words. "I'm sure you're not mated with any male, and the red foxes loathe bears to death... You were ....sorry―are injured too," he added, his eyes drifting with concern to the marks on her skin.

"Well, a small conflict led to a massacre and things happened one after another..." XiShi trailed off. It wasn't supposed to be a big secret, and if her tribe was as famous as she remembered, the news would already be setting the woods ablaze.

"Did they touch you?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous, his eyes darkening for that split second, his grip on her hips tightening imperceptibly.

"No, I ran away," XiShi said casually, her voice betraying none of the fear she had felt. Hell, no. That shit hurt. She was so fucking terrified.

"Ah, well they did hurt you. Should we go kill them?" XueLing asked, his tone a casual question as if suggesting a friendly stroll through the woods.

"How does burning them sound?"

Talk about a psychopath huh........