I'm NOT a Female!

Chapter 20

Annnnnnnddddd another update....

I deserve a degree in procrastination

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Alva watched August take off, practically dragging his hunk of a male behind him as he went. She smirked to herself at having so easily made her friend uncomfortable. Ignoring her mates that were present, she turned back to face her brother.

His pale eyes quickly found hers. Thanks to her nocturnal vision she could easily spot the pinkened tips of his ears. She elbowed him before teasingly, "Since you're having such a hard time finding a mate on your own, I thought I'd help you out."

Yule sighed, "Sister, you know I don't like beastwoman parts..." He muttered embarrassedly. "Let's not make a repeat of the past. Things won't change even if this female has a flat chest." He finished glumly.

"Ohhh but brother-in-law," Jair piped in, "the 'female' your sister just introduced you to is male." The racoon beast man shared a cheeky smirk with his mate from across the space.

"Don't fool me." The snow leopard man grumbled with a huff, "August clearly smells like a female."

Aquil chose that exact moment to slip into the front room of their hut. "I can attest, August has male parts while having a female's scent."

Yule gapped at the blunt information, turning to his sister to see her reaction to her mate seeing another without coverings.

"He saved August from a fox beastman who was attempting to kidnap him." She explained in turn. It wasn't as if Aquil had looked at August's privates on purpose. Plus, how could she be upset when she'd gotten a new friend out of the whole thing?

"He was also able to exchange mating marks with Ekon." Jair continued with slight envy present in his voice. "Ekon being the beastman August left with."

"Kinda figured. Given that 'he' only has one mate and all." Yule's voice dripped with sarcasm. "However interesting them being able to exchange mating marks is, what's to say that August can have more than one?" He asked doubtfully.

"What's to say that he can't?" Alva quipped back. "It's worth a shot. Worst that happens is that you go back to mingling with other male beastmen with similar interests as your own."

--

The trip back to Ekon's hut was a quick one.

Ekon promptly dropped the prey he'd collected along the way by the entrance. Then, he deposited August into the hut and wrapping an extra layer of furs that he'd taken from their nest. Once he was satisfied that August would not freeze while he was twenty feet away gathering wood, he zoomed out the door to find kindling and fuel to keep a fire burning.

Eager for a distraction, the first thing August had done upon entering the hut was take note that there was in fact a fire pit in the center of the room. Though it was hard to make out its presence given how unkept the space was. Little wonder he'd not noticed it sooner

Usually, August would have protested being left to do nothing while others worked, however, he was feeling rather worn-out from the eventful day as well as the previous day's travel. Holding the fur Ekon had wrapped him in snuggly around his shoulder, he made his way over to the small pile of furs that served as a bed. His feet padded softly against the exposed soil of the shelter's floor.

He left his feet pocking out of the furs, not wanting to track more dirt into his sleeping space than necessary. Once snuggled up into the furry nest, he took a curious sniff. It smelt bad... but he found it odd how he was nearly able to pick Ekon's scent out from the smell of animal skin. The male's scent seemed to bring him comfort in a strange primal way.

Shaking his head at the thought, August instead focused on getting a bit of rest. He didn't want to think about this new world for a moment. He didn't was to think about his rapidly growing interest in the man who'd coerced him into sleeping with him and had in turn bound them together. It was a strange and primal attraction that he couldn't quite put into words. Damn it. He especially didn't want to think about that... It made no sense.

What made even less sense was the panic that welled in his chest at the prospect of having nearly been stolen from Ekon.

--

Ekon return to his old hut carrying a large stack of dried wood. The first thing he did upon entering was locate his mate, who happen to be asleep within their nest. His heart swelled at the sight.

As quietly as he could, he crept further into the space with his findings still piled high, which he placed along one of the walls. Satisfied with the quantity he'd been able to collect, he picked out some of the smaller, dryer twigs that he'd found specifically for starting the fire and brought them over to the pit.

Then he went to go digging around through the items he'd brought back along with August, needing to find the flint stones. He was quite thankful to the males who'd left all their gear behind to flee from August. Not to mention running into those same males earlier that day.

Those males should have fled the moment they recognized August. Maybe then they could have saved themselves the trouble and humiliation of being accused of endangering and abandoning a 'female.'

Either way, he looked forward to receiving fresh prey from the four idiots for the next four days.

He smirked to himself as he recalled the memory of their faces when they'd seen their mating marks and found out his August could give him cubs. His August. He smiled affectionately when thinking of his mate. He could already feel his instincts needing him to remain near his mate at all times, craving contact.

Thinking of his mate, he looked over his shoulder, enjoying the sight of the small sleeping form nearly buried beneath a mound of furs.

Noticing the delicate feet pocking out from the lump that was his mate, the large male suppressed a chuckle. He'd need to tan some hides to place on the hut's floor.

Repressing a contented purr, the large cat got to work setting up and starting the fire.

--

Solid arms lifting him from his position roused August. Normally he would have panicked at such an awakening, but something within him knew who the culprit was and instead found great comfort in their embrace.

Ekon carried the burrito-ed August over to the fire where he was in the process of roasting meat for their evening meal. He tenderly settled his groggy mate onto his thighs, cradling his back in one arm while he used the other to rotate the skewered meat over the heat source.

August further snuggled into Ekon, seeking warmth and something else he couldn't quite place. Surprisingly, he had not fought being placed into the intimate position. In fact, he nearly craved more contact, the warmth seeping through from his mate not close enough. Maybe he was getting sick. He'd never been gay, at least not that he remembered.

He was under the impressing that people generally knew if they were gay, or not. There was no way he could be becoming gay out of nowhere. Heck, he didn't find any of the beastmen attractive in that way. Not even Ekon who he had a strange yearning for and some sort of... cough! No way he had feelings for the dude. He certainly didn't notice the lion man's broad shoulder or his sculpted adds. Nope!

Yup... He was definitely coming down with something.

Hopefully it was just a faze that would pass, like a cold.

There was NO WAY it could be anything more.

Right?

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Again, big thanks for reading.

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Cheers!

Dec. 5, 2021

Edit uploaded June 14, 2023