Trapped in Beast World: My Husbands Are All Animals! Novel

---- Chapter 50 An Invitation The moment she heard that, Ardenia's eyes lit up like she'd remembered something. She scrambled back a few steps, nearly tripping over herself, and gave a sheepish little grin. "The self-heating hot pot is ready," she said. Halden, though, wasn't even paying attention to the hot pot. His long legs landed with a decisive step, and before she could react, he scooped Ardenia up effortlessly, still in the middle of fiddling with the hot pot. Her feet left the ground suddenly, and instinctively she wrapped her arms around his neck.

That was when it hit her-the way he held her burned her cheeks, and she couldn't figure out why she felt so embarrassed. "You treating me like a kid or something?" Ardenia asked. Halden's face, the kind she secretly thought was perfect, was now inches from hers. She was already tall herself at almost 168 cm, but she suddenly felt unsteady after being lifted like this by Halden, who stood close to 190 cm. ---- "Put me down." Her voice was soft, barely carrying any bite at all. "No can do," Halden said, pressing his crisp, sharp-featured face against her chest.

His fluffy tail snaked around her calf, sliding upwards with a teasing brush along her leg. Ardenia's body went soft at the touch, and she clutched his neck quickly. A slight muffled sound escaped her lips. She thought, How did the little leopard get so good all of a sudden? "Can | try again?" Halden asked. Ardenia almost shook her head without thinking. "It hurts..." He felt a flash of awkwardness cross his expression. / feel like my little female is actually disgusted with me. "Well... | think | will grab something to eat first." He was badly hurt inside as he set Ardenia back down.

Beneath a beast-hide kilt, his body was reacting far too loudly for his liking. He deliberately turned away from her, putting distance between them. The last thing he wanted was for her to notice how embarrassed he was. ---- Ardenia watched his retreating and covered her mouth, laughing softly. Did he seriously think | would not notice? He is holding me that tight. No one can miss it. Halden had his back to Ardenia, shoveling food into his mouth like he had not eaten all day. The self-heating hot pot tasted incredible, but it was also quite spicy. Still, he could not stop.

What really caught his attention were the little chunks of potatoes mixed inside. "What is this?" Ardenia glanced over. "Potato." "Potato?" Halden echoed, clearly lost. "Yeah. It is a kind of staple food. Same category as noodles," Ardenia replied. That only confused him more. In his mind, food had always meant meat-all kinds of it and roasted or cooked over fire. Yet, every strange item he had eaten lately-dishes that made no sense but somehow tasted amazing-had all been prepared by Ardenia. 1am almost certain now that the little female is not from my world.

She feels like she comes from a much more advanced civilization. She knows more, understands more, and handles ---- things in ways far beyond us. There is something else that continues to bother me. The little female has never gone into heat, not once, no matter how much time passes. That makes no sense. Do highly advanced species really not have a fixed breeding cycle? "Why are you looking at me like that?" Ardenia asked, tilting her head. "Is the food too spicy?" She was sitting on the edge of the bed, her lengthy hair falling loose over her shoulders, almost down to her waist.

Her eyes fluttered as she looked at him, bright and lively, like a little butterfly that never quite stayed still. Halden shook his head. "It's not spicy." He set the bowl and eating stick down. After a brief pause, he still asked the question that had been sitting in his mind. "My dear female, have you... never gone into heat?" "What?" Ardenia pointed at herself, clearly stunned. "Me?" "Yeah." He nodded. ---- In truth, most of them were already reaching that stage. It was spring, after all. It was written into their genes.

When the rains came, and resources became abundant, therian bodies usually followed, and heat naturally arrived. Yet, after all those kisses, Halden had never caught the scent that told him Ardenia was in heat. For some reason, the thought made her want to laugh. She patted the bed beside her, motioning for him to come over. Instead, he stayed right where he was. "Why aren't you coming here?" she asked, her voice filled with confusion. "| just ate. | smell like food," Halden answered honestly. He knew how much the little female cared about cleanliness.

The bathroom was always stocked with every kind of washing supply. He also knew she disliked lingering smells. She hated it if any smell-food smells or any type of smell- clung to her skin, so he stayed where he was, keeping his distance without being asked. Ardenia laughed again. She lay on her side, hugging a pillow, ---- only her eyes visible as she looked at him. "Did you ever think that maybe, if | want to go into heat, then | do?" /'m human! I'm not a therian, so how could | care about seasons? Even if this body is a therian's, it's my soul in here right now. | call the shots.

| do what | want. Halden's eyes lit up when he heard that. So, she can go into heat any time she wants? However, his eyes brightened for a moment before he started feeling uneasy. So she's never thought about it? | must not be doing it well enough. That's why she doesn't want to copulate with me. "Come here." Ardenia's voice was soft, almost a whisper. She was lying on the bed, legs crossed neatly, looking impossibly alluring from Halden's angle. "Ardenia, is that an invitation?" Halden's deep voice carried a restrained huskiness, and beneath that rough edge lay a teasing, magnetic pull.

"You could take it that way." Ardenia flipped a strand of hair over her shoulder and then sank back onto the bed. Halden's cheeks immediately burned red at her words. ---- He took two quick steps forward, scooped her up into his arms, and pressed a hurried, urgent kiss to her lips.