Chapter 7: You're mine!
Annoyed, Fang clucked his tongue and frustratedly brushed his unkempt long, inky hair. His smoldering embers stared at her without a trace of joy.
And at that moment, Aella felt as though death itself was looking down on her from the ceiling in grisly red.
"W-What do you want?" she stammered and unconsciously heaved a restless hiccup out of fear.
Her heartbeat was as loud as thunder, clamoring in her chest.
"My name is Fang and you are my female. You ought to remember that well," he uttered firmly, setting up dominance in their relationship.
Alas...
"Excuse me? Since when did I become your female? I never accepted—"
"Since I saved your ass and gave you half of my essence to let you live of course! So I call dibs on you, your lips, your body, your heart, everything about you!" he tutted, groaning with an obvious irk.
"While you're mine, I'm yours as well. As your mate, I'll let you enjoy my body to your heart's content," he explicitly added, causing all the blood in Aella's body to rise to her head.
'E-Enjoy his bo-body? This... this idiotic snake. And ahem! Why am I making it sound so lewd? Aella your mind is down on the gutter!' she mentally slapped herself and began to think at least a bit more rationally for her sanity's sake.
'Wait, is he telling me to boil him to a snake stew and eat his tail in small portions? Does this man think he's a gecko?'
"Sh-Shut up, you weird creep! I-I don't eat exotic food!"
[A/n: Or maybe she'll only start enjoying it soon? Ahem!]
On Fang's end, he was anything but pleased.
'Why is this female being so immensely troublesome? What's so difficult for her to understand about male and female beastmen mating? It should be common sense at her age!'
He already confirmed that she was not a juvenile beast, although her size was quite small to begin with.
Did starvation cause her head and brain to go stagnant and become underdeveloped? Fang was confounded.
Winter is coming and he had spent most of his energy on her! Even if... even if by chance she was actually retarded or had few screw looses, she was already his female by the time she had accepted his beast essence.
One should know that being defenseless and unprepared during winter would cost one's life. Beast essence is that precious for beastmen!
Yet she dares to refuse to be his bride?
Fang felt like he was scammed!
If not for the fact that she was an unmarked female, he would've just left her on her own—not really.
Damn it!
"This weak creature is too fussy. I shouldn't have expected her to have a better character. Women... they're all the same," he thought in spite and grumbled.
Claw silently watched them having their first couple fight, as much as he wanted to join in and state his business with her as well, he was too fascinated to see his brother incessantly grumble and the female tearfully retorting even with visible shiver whenever their eyes meet.
"She was obviously frightened but she still doesn't back down and finds words to argue," he mused softly. He decided to take his sweet time until she was quite used to their beast form.
Won't that make things easier for them to interact later?
"It won't hurt to wait. Since Brother already tasted her, he should take the fall and bear her wrath in exchange," Claw mumbled.
"How… How can you be so rude and vulgar about everything?" her face was so red from his words alone, she couldn't imagine living with him at all!
She wanted to save her face and cover it but wouldn't that mean she was affected by a mere beast even if it was true?
"A-all that comes out from your mouth is nonsense! Perv—"
"Argh! Will you stop that? Female, you should be grateful instead of whining! I made you my wife after I saved your life with my precious essence," Fang insists. "We've already united our bodies. You're mine!"
However, Aella isn't having any more crap.
U-United their bodies? Again with that nonsense!
After thinking about it a little more, the more she heard from him, the more she felt it was ridiculous.
Now, who is he trying to scam?
The only way to unite is when he ate her and put her inside his stomach!
A person and a snake? Then science must be dead!
How can she become a beast's bride? No freaking way!
Who would possibly accept that in a heartbeat? Even if you give her a hundred hearts, she couldn't possibly just accept this!
Who in their right mind would suddenly agree to such a setup?
A witch and beasts?
She's not even a Disney princess who got lost in the forest to find her father! She's a witch, okay?
A freaking witch who wants nothing to do with this wanton and shameless beast!
But whatever, she should put an end to this!
"Why does it have to be me?" she protested with tears in her eyes and tried to break it to him gently otherwise he might snap her neck in anger if she ever spilled the word anaconda again.
What's his deal with Anaconda, anyway? He was glaring at her when she mentioned it, but aren't they the same family?!
He's so frustrating but what can she do?
Aella breathed deeply and mustered all her guts for this very moment.
"Look, if you're truly desperate to have a wife, why not find a female snake? I may be skinny, but I'm most definitely not a snake! I-I can't! No. I don't want it! I—" whittled with anxiety, she blurted out without thinking but was ultimately silenced in fear of his deadly glares.
Aella pursed her lips into a thin sheet.
'See? This is what I am most worried about! How do you expect me to coexist and be a couple with someone giving me death threats by glaring daggers?'
Ah, her life is so unfair!
'I just turned adult but the Witch God is forcing me to marry. Even if there was a scarcity of male witches, why would you throw me into the mouth of a promiscuous male beast? Not just one but there are even two of them! Isn't this forcefully making a witch turn nun instead? Waah!'
Oh please, let's be honest here!
Who would want to be walking on a tightrope where every step matters of their own volition?
Every second of every day, she would have to weigh her actions while being in a constant life-and-death battle of wits with each of them if she got swayed!
Aella swallowed her indignation and clamped her eyes, trembling. "I-I'm not saying that ah... out of... out of spite," oh she does!
Then again, why is he darting her scary looks as if she was the one who did something bad and scammed him of his virginity?
Isn't it the other way around as he claims it to be?!
'I say, bear with it, so you can keep your life, Aella!'
Aella took a deep breath.
"M-Mister snake, I mean Fang," she called with much playing safe, "I'm... I'm not saying I can't be uh, uhm mates with you per se. It's just that... c-can't you please con... consider my situation as well?"
She can only try to explain, hoping he would care, maybe?
"I... am a person, while you're a... unique creature?" she drawled with a bit of hesitation.
Honestly, she's not even sure what they were!