Chapter 22

"Please, stand on the fur. You're barefoot and the floor's cold." She ignored him, too stunned by the view that greeted her to focus on anything else. The cold stone beneath her feet was a stark reminder that she was not dreaming.

She came to a stop before the balcony's balustrade, the metal entwined into a detailed vine design. A natural garden extended before her, scenic with lush flora in shades of green and blue in the moonlight. There was movement between the trees and she spotted a herd of deer grazing among the shrubs.

A gazebo stood close to the island's ledge and a white translucent barrier was just beyond, encasing the entire island. It was visible to the naked eye, allowing her to see the ground below as they soared through the air; a little too slow if you asked her since some crawlers were already upon them.

The fluttering and clicking of their wings was loud, barely drowned out by the roar of tornadoes. It was nighttime but from so high up in the air, she could see the several whirling tornadoes stretched across the horizon. The blue dragon she'd seen from Sher's vision looked like a divine snake as it drifted through the air. It was probably just another monster of this world that deemed the crawlers to be a delicacy.

She gulped, choosing to focus on the looming danger instead. Shadows were cast upon the island as dozens of giant locusts swarmed the upper dome of the barrier, loudly buzzing and banging against it. She would've been relieved to see this if only a huge hole didn't appear on one side of the barrier. Sure enough, a crawler flew in and her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets.

"Rex!" she shouted for him just as he appeared beside her, sweeping her up in his arms. She yelped, grabbing onto his clothes. "Rex!" she screamed again.

"Don't get mad, okay? The deer are yours," he said, carrying her back towards the room. "I also captured more prey from your territory for you to eat on the way. No one else will touch them, I promise."

"No, wait... what?" She was confused. What prey? Who the fuck cared about deer at a time like this? They were all going to die. "What are you on about? The barrier's broken! We've got to fix it before more crawlers get in!" She squirmed but he held her tighter.

"Calm down, the barrier's perfectly fine. I opened it up on purpose. See?" He paused in his step long enough for her to see a projectile shoot out of nowhere and smash the crawler's head into bits. "We're just collecting a few mana crystals before we leave. That's unless... you wish to leave immediately?"

Was that a trick question? They had to leave ten hours ago! There was a muffled thud as the crawler crashed to the ground, too far away for her to confirm that it was dead dead. Insects were like manozores, you had to kill them twice just to be safe. Panicking, she looked up at Rex, only to see him earnestly awaiting her decision.

"I—" she started but ended up staring, his beauty giving her pause. Short light grey hair framed his handsome face, curling behind his long pointed ears to the nape of his neck. It was tousled as if he'd run his fingers through it several times. His skin was pale, almost white, and his sharp silver eyes glinted like steel, the whites rimmed red. He looked exhausted, but that too only seemed to add to his charm because her heart couldn't help but ache for him.

"Rex, are you alright?" she asked, reaching out a hand to cup his smooth soft cheek. She wondered why he insisted on carrying her around instead of catching up on some much-needed sleep. "Put me down. You need to lie down and get some rest."

"N-no, I'm fine. I don't need sleep," he answered flusteredly, looking away from her as his cheek warmed up in her palm. He was simply too adorable. Her lips curved at his shy reaction but froze as their current situation returned to the forefront of her mind. Rex wanted to stay behind to...

"Wait." The surprise was clear in her voice as she finally processed his words. "Did you just say mana crystals?" Rex's sexy haggard look was long forgotten as she watched him with sparkling eyes. She hadn't heard him wrong, right?

"Yes," he said, noting her interest. He placed her on the bed, letting her sit at the edge. "We can get plenty of pure mana crystals from low-level crawlers such as these. And if that blue snake lets us have some Kings, we'll get some elemental mana crystals too."

"Where are the crystals exactly?" she asked, trying and failing to hold back her excitement. She had finally found a clue on mana crystals. Once she figured out how to use her mana, she would be able to use yellow mana crystals increase Arim's landmass, creating islands and even continents. The possibility alone had her nostrils flaring.

"They're in their thorax. Male orcs like us also have mana cores within our chests. Right here," he said touching his sternum.

"You're an orc?" she asked. Was that was he was? She had presumed that he was an elf because of his long acute ears.

"Yes, a lycan to be exact," he said, kneeling before her and taking both her feet in his large palms, encasing them in a cocoon of warmth. It felt pleasant and she was too lazy to pull away.

"You mean like a werewolf?" She'd heard of lycans; humans who transformed into wolves under the full moon. Not that they existed in her last life; humans only had psychic and spatial abilities, but there was still plenty of folklore and literature about them.

"Never heard of that one before but yes, I was born a dire wolf and I later evolved." He studied her feet as he spoke, staring at them as if they held the secrets to the universe. He gently traced their soles with his thumbs, sending pleasurable tingles up her legs.

She bit her bottom lip so as not to make a sound, as she too took the opportunity to admire his dashing good looks. Even his fingers were elegant; long and slender with healthy cuticles and perfectly trimmed nails. She tried to picture him as a big grey wolf with silver eyes but his hands on her were too distracting.

"Your feet are so small. I can see why you aren't wearing the boots I gave you," he said and looked up at her, giving her a besotted grin, gazing at her so endearingly that her heart melted. "I'm so glad I found you."