How Did I Go To the Beast World in My Pajamas?

Chapter 42: Late Bloomer

Benjamin found himself on Jewel's doorstep once again, this time holding a sleeping Samantha in his arms. He had a sinking feeling that, unless some major changes occurred in the family he found himself in, he would begrudgingly have to make a habit out of this. Giving up his position as the only male physically present in Samantha's family was one of the last things he wanted to do, but he could hardly be in two places at once. Hunting in his scorpion form meant he had to go out farther from home, which meant less protection for Samantha even if he let her tag along with him. Shifting Samantha's weight to just one arm, he mentally prepared himself for dealing with Jewel's large family and even larger opinions; sighing loudly and rolling his eyes, he reached out to knock on the door to find his clenched fist whiffing into thin air. "Jewel said you were probably here to see me," came a raspy voice so full of self-confidence that it could only belong to Timothy. Benjamin returned the bear beastman's grin with a long-suffering look on his own face. "I don't have time to play games with you," Benjamin replied wearily. "I have to go hunt for food for Samantha. She's had a long day and needs to rest, especially when you take into account the other unpleasant experiences that have occurred over the past few days. Even if this oblivious female can't see it, to me, your infatuation with her could not be more obvious. So, here's the deal I'm willing to make with you until Samantha is awake enough to decide for herself on this matter: I will procure enough food to feed the three of us, and you will protect Samantha every second that I'm gone. If that includes protecting her from your own fantasies or perversions, so be it. If I return and find that she's suffered at all, I won't hesitate to kill you."

Now it was Timothy's turn to roll his eyes. "So what you're trying to say in normal beastman is that you need my help to protect Samantha. You need my help badly enough that you're willing to leave me alone with her for hours, and all you can use as leverage are empty threats. You're pretty lucky that I do have feelings for her, and you're even luckier that I would rather die than see any kind of harm come to her. But I'm going to need a favor from you, especially if this arrangement becomes frequent. That favor is that you won't hinder me from joining your family as long as Samantha is not opposed to it. If you can agree to that, I'll watch her platonically as often as you need me to. Oh, and I'll still be taking you up on that offer for food; my hunting time is going to be spent guarding your female, but I still gotta eat. Lucky for you again, I'm not picky." The look of fury in Benjamin's eyes would have stricken fear into the hearts of most other beastmen, but Timothy simply reached out his arms, his own expression blank, to receive Samantha and go back inside Jewel's home. He was shocked when Benjamin grabbed hold of his arm and leaned in, quietly snarling, "It's too noisy in there; go back to our house and take care of her there. You're a three-stripe beastman, you should be able to handle it. Just don't go in the main bedroom, Samantha doesn't like it in there. May the Beast Deity help you if that's where she wakes up," he finished with a rude chuckle. "Yeah, got it," Timothy replied nonchalantly, brushing past Benjamin with careless cockiness in every step and crossed the street without looking back. The scream of frustration and rage that was rising in Benjamin's throat would have to wait until the combat of this hunt before he could let it out.

Meanwhile, Timothy cradled Samantha in his arms as he opened the door to her home. How she'd stayed asleep this whole time was a mystery to him, but her soft, warm cheek pressed against his shoulder and he suddenly felt like he wouldn't mind if this female, whose gentle breathing tickled his bare skin, slept for a little bit longer. The house was dark and cool thanks to the newly installed and promptly closed shutters, and the large bear beastman did his best to maneuver through it without jostling his charge. There was only one interior door that had been shut, and he assumed this led to the bedroom from which Samantha's mate had been taken. He turned away from it and purposely walked to the other side of the house, entering a bedroom that was too small to belong to adult beastmen. Contemplating everything that her family had gone through over the past couple of days, Timothy placed his back against one of the smooth stone walls and sunk to a seated position on the floor while holding Samantha as close to his body as he could manage. Gradually, her warm skin became cool to the touch, and Timothy glanced around the room for furs to cover her with before the cold woke Samantha from a sleep she probably really needed. As his gaze passed over some fancy woven baskets in different shapes, neatly stacked shallow stone dishes, and wooden baubles that were teething staples, the purpose of this room dawned on him for the first time. He probably wouldn't find any furs here that would warm the female, even though a typical Bear tribe nursery would have a fur to cover a female as short as Samantha.