At the hotel, I remove my outer garments and tight clothes, loosen my shirt and lie down prostrated on the huge bed. All night digging for the newlywed's honeymoon isn't real! I'm too tired throughout the preparation and the whole day of the great day! Dandeline is taking her time in the bathroom and I nap while I wait.
But, my waiting took longer than her time inside the bathroom, the squint of sun rays was coming inside the room already! I fell asleep facing her, she fell asleep facing me. I stare at her face for a while, then reach for her nape and hair. She woke up with my touch.
"Hey…"
"Why didn't you wake me up last night?" I asked.
"You seem so tired I don't want to disturb you, so I postponed my plan." She stretches her arms and thighs shortly.
"What plan?"
"To flirt with you, of course."
"..." I chuckled at her. "I'm sorry I fell asleep." I kiss her eyes gently down to her lips but I can't touch her any further when she pushes my face away.
"Hessuel, I love you but wash your face and mouth first! You didn't take care of your hygiene last night, you even slept with your outside clothes on!" she scolded. Still, I cuddle with her even more under the blanket. She flails her legs.
After teasing her, I went into the bathroom, washed my face, and whilst washing my mouth, my wife came into the bathroom and I choked—unintentionally swallowed some of it.
"Hey! Slow down! Spew that out!" She panics on my behalf, patting my back and rubbing my arms whilst I recoup. I look at her night dress again.
"Dan, where did y— Why are you wearing that?"
"I have plenty in store that will impress you~" She gracefully shakes her hips like a naughty girl. Slender straps, full slits on both sides that barely cover her skin, and a fit chest that perfectly compacted her bust; just the sight of it excites me.
"You're okay with it?"
"Hm? I am because it's you. Are you uncomfortable?"
Her answer pulls me for a hug, pressing her to my chest and they're satisfying. How could I have fallen asleep on this last night!? "You look so good in that, too," I whispered, then hungrily kissed her so that she couldn't spill a word of complaint.
I push her feet backward until she's cornered on the wall and kiss her even harder. I slide my hand down to her neck and my kisses follow, pulling her straps and groping her shape. She's submitting her neck to me but not to my hands. I pin her resistant hands to the wall, pressing my body on her too.
I took a break from kissing, pin her hands above her head, and took a look at her body up to the pleasing reaction on her face. After all my experiences with her, she only allows me to be touched when she's reaching the depths of pleasure so I have to make that timing, too.
"How many little devils do you want?" I asked in front of her face.
"... That… depends on the budget."
I hissed a laugh! "Dan! We're tight on budget! Perhaps I should stint my penetration—"
She grabs my nape with her arms and sarcastically suggests, "We can loan."
"Nah, I don't want to mingle with its interests."
"Then…! I-I want more boys and one girl."
"Done~" Back to kisses again. To impress both participants, I strip my shirt and then allow her hands to rub the skin of my back. I can't do everything here and consequently, I hang her on my shoulder to lay her on the bed.
She was startled when I opened her legs, but she submits to my lips while I tear off her nightdress. I am enchanted even without magic. She sounds so beautiful when I come in. The arching of her body is perfect. Watching her reaction is filling. So addicted to the point of breaking the bed. She probably forgot that I was an Alpha: once dangerous and wild.
I cover us under the blanket and this time, gently unite our bodies as one. She remains stiff as I stay, and keep feasting on her neck. Eventually, the gentle kisses, eye contact of our beastly eyes, and holding hands on the bed are the heart-beating images recorded in my head. She suddenly turns soft and faints, when we part. I want her to wake up with my claim mark all over her skin, acknowledging my accountability after this.
It is often the price of having good memories with her.
Our life as husband and wife is prolonged. I got into a mechanical job while also building my dream business by and by. She, on the other hand, is enjoying being a housewife. She takes over the garden, I almost forgot that she has a garden in her ancestral house.
Every time I come home, she greets me with a kiss. I hunt meats she can cook, she apparently enjoys preparing different meals instead of repetitive lamb. But, she doesn't want to wash oversized clothes in the laundry so she's coaching our wolfy training every day.
Sometimes, I thought she retired from her busy profession to be a naughty wife. I was busy calculating the other expenses needed for my business when she danced around me in her seductive night dress again while drumming a pan.
"Dear, what are you doing?"
"An offering for your concentration~"
"For concentration? Really?" I already miscalculated the rates. So I made it worse as I gave into my greatest temptation.
She's secretly a jealous wife.
"Why do I have to embalm your outside clothes? Are you impressing someone at work?"
"I impress the boss. At least I have to smell presentable. It does not revolve around betraying."
"We impress humans by looks. We impress werewolves by smell. Your natural scent is enough."
"Alright. So it's okay to look good at work?"
"No! Look decent!"
It's true that one's routine will change when taken, perhaps simple words and constant affection aren't enough to satisfy trust but simple changes in lifestyle also present faithfulness—I just find it funny, too.
Dates should not die. Rather than discussing the details of our lives, we discuss the bills, methods to discipline the Little Devils, and problems BUT with affection. A belly dancer performed on stage in the restaurant. She reminded me of my wife's dance, then I couldn't help but imagine her wearing that revealing clothes as she danced. I only stopped watching when I met her narrowing glare.
"I'm not thinking what you're thinking," I defended.
"Then what makes you smile while biting your fork, hm? You think she's a good dancer?"
"Your Concentration dance is still my favorite."
"Whaaat!?"
And my teasing continued.
Sulking.
Coaxing.
I thought it was immature, yet it really is a part of relationships. We can't be perfect even if we've conquered our worst enemies in the past. We argue about our differences during dinner one time, in front of the kids:
"I had sacrificed 5 years building the world where you belong! Why is it so hard for you to live there?"
"No, I don't belong there. Everyone thinks I'm dangerous! In the name of being honest, I am not comfortable around them after all the disasters I had made! And I know they think the same! If it wasn't because of the moon, they would never lift the exile."
"It happened! It was all in the past! How are they supposed to welcome the pureblood again if you're aloof? You can change what their community thinks about you."
"You can't understand. I'm making their community better by distancing myself."
"That's not a solution! Don't you think you're dangerous to humans too!? They are healing from the existence of werewolves but what if an incident exposes your identity!? What about the twins? Will you hide them forever?"
"... No. It is their choice to make."
"And you know they love that world."
"Dear, this doesn't mean I'm disregarding your dedication to that world. It's not about your creation, it's about the werewolves. Don't make me explain myself twice. If you disagree, you're not considering my side and that's the problem."
"Seriously? Those white wolves detested me before. Your neighbor here thought I am the mistress because of Hrista. I've been in the community that suffocates me but you are the reason why I stay. Can't you do the same? Why am I the only one adjusting things?"
"What do you want me to do!? Abandon what I've been building for this family and mingle with the werewolves from dust!? We will live wherever is best to live."
"You know what? I'm done."
It was a night of coldness. She prepared a burned breakfast the next morning and I didn't bother to eat. It was hard to focus on my work. We ate dinner in bitter silence. It's natural to defend myself in front of her, contrary to the times when I am alone, I argue with myself for contemplating that she got a point too that I must consider.
"Dad!!" One night while I was watching the moon, Danteleon reported to me that "Mom is raining blood from her butt!"
"Huh…?" I hurried to the kitchen and found her shedding blood between her legs.
She stopped me when I'm about to lift her, so I put her hand down—she was startled, and I took her to the nearest hospital. The price of holding onto our pride was paid when the doctor said, "It's a miscarriage."
Remorse overshadowed me. Something tells me that I killed my own child. I beg for forgiveness from my wife and she does the same. "I'm sorry. I know you have a better future in this world… and I should not steal that from you."
This accident closed the gap between us, also settling the conflict. Fighting isn’t immaturity, it is leaving the conflicts unsolved along with choosing the worst-case scenario.
We've agreed to stay in Linevr occasionally through my wife's ancestral house. It became another passage of the two worlds, with the right magic activation in the pendulum, the house migrates to another world. My wife was right, the kids love this world exceedingly and they are free in expressing their nature as they play with Maestrelia or other pups.
While the house is free from little devils, we tried once again to have another little devil. After weeks of waiting and hoping, it resulted in another miscarriage. My wife’s next pregnancy was protected with her enchantment. But fate seems reluctant to bestow its blessing when our very first daughter died in the womb. I was given the painful experience of burying my own child. That’s how I realize that giving birth is such a sensitive matter.
“Dear, do you… do you still love me even if I can’t give you another child?” my wife sulked one night. “Are you going to leave me and marry another werewolf—”
“No. Don’t say that. I won’t,” I said. And I did everything to keep her away from overthinking, giving her sweet fruits as a suitor should be, and trying to create life again. It took 3 years for the heavens to give our yearning. Rather than celebrating, my wife presented a plan:
“I will not use any enchantment this time! I will carry this child naturally so the dogs will take over all the house chores and I will live a healthy stress-free lifestyle!”
“That’s exciting~”
I’m no longer a first-timer in taking care of kids, taking care of a pregnant wife is like another version of it! I was in a deep sleep when I felt something sitting on my face. [“Pervert!”]
“Acro? What’re you doing…?”
She walked out of the room, I groped for my wife but she wasn’t beside me, and then I heard someone crying in the living room. She was cuddling with her dogs, wiping her tears on this fur. Gently, I ask, “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“I’m… I want buttered shrimp now but the stores…”
I noticed she was wearing outside clothes. She’s not accustomed to relying on me. “You should have woken me up. I’ll find that buttered shrimp really quick.” Her face blushes, eyes sparkle when she sees me preparing to leave. I know a 24/7 store in the city and I even haste to cook the meal she craves. This happened several times during her first trimester.
A tough dilemma is also written in my fate when I had to choose between my appointment with a potential investor and my wife’s labor! I chose the one with the lifetime consequence. Nevertheless, our third little devil survived. We named her Hara after the name of the O’Hara flower. The twins—starting to grow in height—fell in love with their sister at first sight.
Even I see something angelic in her that decreased my time with my wife—a little. I was caressing Hara’s birthmark on her neck when my wife surprised the twins with her real age.
“You’re not mom! You’re grandma!” Hedwelch said.
“This is how you’ll look like when you grow up,” she explains and demonstrates her magic, gradually returning to age 23.
“Will you teach us?” Danteleon humbly asked.
“Of course!”
“I want to grow up now!”
“How come?”
“To marry Ms. Dayana.”
“Well, you still have a long way to go other than growing up. You should learn corny jokes from your dad.”
“That’s right.” I supported.
Living with her influenced me in her preferences, and likewise. She became mischievous and I became an enchanter, too. I surprised her by coming home with my dark skin and hair without wearing the coat. “Look~! I experimented with my father's spells in his office. I don’t have to wear a coat every time I leave. I can switch whenever I want. This is so convenient~” I said.
She’s been staring at me from head to toe with a book covering her mouth.
“What?”
“Good wolf~ Stay like that. You look… more manly with that!”
“Oh.” I unbutton my shirt, corner her on the couch, and she laughs. I initiated the flirting until we proceeded to our room. She got excited at my body that I woke up the next day with the marks of her claim on my skin. So we had another little devil boy.
They become my everything. Probably more than a villain deserves. And Dandeline, her cheering-up smile whilst we hold hands and spin around like kids at that one autumn picnic, is the image behind my success.
She was there when I got nothing to provide. She was there when I started my business. She was there when it failed. She was there when my business won a contest. She was there when it started to prosper. She was with me in the passenger seat when we got our very own car. She was there when I established my company. She was cheering as my business was overwhelming.
I am glad that she got an offer to be a professor in one mage academy and seeing her happy about it eases me. The Little Devils are starting to build their dreams. I couldn’t demand more except…
“Dear.”
“Hm?”
“Will you bestow your blessing upon this family?”
“We receive that from the goddess herself.”
“I’ve been meaning to say… I think the vow lacks something.”
“Ahaha! What took you so long to confess that? Alright, what would it be then?”
“... This woman, our children, I will use my gifted strength to protect them. My wife owns my loyalty. Our children own my love. I covenant to every powerful deity that in the middle of the crowd of betrayal, or bitterness, I will stay with this woman who called my name and lifted me out from the darkness. I promise to love her… Down beneath the pit of thorns.”
…
…
THE END
The Kind Villain: A Legend of Woof-Woof
[September 13, 2021 - January 7, 2023]
Novelnow | CK Marikwen | @otakwen
[Optional] I thank you if you’re ever thinking about leaving a review. Let’s put some twist!
1st: mention one specific thing you learned from this book
2nd: use the original idiom hashtag #DownBeneathThePitOfThorns to let me know you that you know what it means
“Thank you & so long~” - Hessuel & Dandeline