Page 249 of A Soul to Embrace

A sweet scent fluttered over her as she moved around the tree and picked fruit. Looking up as she reached for another, she hesitated to give it to Delora. To inspect it, Zylah caressed its hard red skin with the pad of her thumb and claw.

“This smells like you,” Zylah muttered, refusing to look at her because she knew it would make her uneasy about admitting it. “You also smell cold, like peppermint or spearmint.”

“Magnar says the same thing,” Delora croaked in a trembling voice.

Zylah handed the fruit over. “It’s... comforting. I like the way you smell.”

I like Magnar’s scent too.She didn’t know what he smelt like, only that it was sweet, but alsofeltprotective.

They hadn’t been around each other much yet, but he always followed Delora like he was her shadow. He often scratched at the side of his bony fox snout, and he appeared just as unsure about Zylah as she was about him.

She kind of liked that, as it made him more relatable to her. Was he struggling to deal with this bond in the same way she was? Hedidappear more comfortable as he approached her to string up an awkward conversation, whereas Zylah was just being avoidant.

The tang of salt rose into the air, and her sight shifted from the apple Delora was holding to her face. The wet track of a lone tear going down her left cheek caught Zylah’s attention, and others swirled unshed in her mother’s brown eyes.

Zylah chittered nervously as her orbs shifted reddish pink in embarrassment. Just as she went to step back and retreat, unsure of how she’d upset her, Delora reached her hand out halfway.

Her lips trembled as she tried to curl them into a smile. “Can I... can I please hug you?”

Zylah’s first instinct was to reject her, but something about her frowning, beseeching expression had her halting.

“Okay,” she answered with a light nod.

Delora put the apple in her basket and placed it on the ground. Then she slowly, almost gingerly, came forward as if she didn’t want to spook Zylah, who tried to ignore the way her fur puffed in aversion.

Yet, the moment the little human wrapped her arms around her narrow waist, warmth bled into her and soothed her fur. Delora was soft, her wide body moulding around the lithe hardness of her own, and her scent felt reassuring and protective.

Delora gave a sob when Zylah placed her arms across her back and held her in return. She did so properly, leaning into the embrace when tenderness swelled in her chest.

This... feels nice.

“I missed you so much,” Delora said around tears. “We were so worried for you when you suddenly grew and wanted to leave, but we knew we had to let you go. Thank you for coming back, even if it’s only for a little while.”

Unsure of how to respond, Zylah said nothing.

She could tell in Delora’s trembling form that she needed this more than anything. Zylah just held her mother tightly untilshewas ready to let go, even when it went on for too long.

Maybe she needed this too.

“Can I join in?” a masculine, deep voice asked from behind.

Zylah spooked but didn’t let Delora go as she lifted her head to Magnar. He was scratching at the side of his snout while it was pointed up and away, and his orbs were a bright reddish pink.

The fact he looked embarrassed, but had gained the courage to ask anyway, was one of the reasons she agreed. The other was because she enjoyed hugging Delora so much, she wondered if it would feel deeper if herfatherjoined in.

There was only one way to test that.

Delora’s sobs grew louder when he came up behind his bride and hugged her from behind, while his arms wrapped around Zylah’s ribcage. His hold was loose, but tight enough to squeeze the little female between them. He gave a purr as he rubbed the top of Delora’s dark hair with the side of his snout.

Zylah’s sight blackened as a radiant ache swirled in her centre.

I like this too.

She liked the way they smelt together, and that their touch didn’t feel foreign.

By the cursed light, that is the biggest creature I’ve ever seen,Jabez thought, as he stared at the serpent Mavka who darted outside his cave entrance with fangs bared and a resounding hiss.

A set of back fins, that had to be at least three feet in height at their tallest point, had slapped together and fluttered alongside the warning sound he produced. His arm fins were also extended, and the soft frills going down his gigantically lengthy body even quivered.

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