Arin had long been possessive—so much so that when Nika returned irritated, his instincts immediately came to life. The glands in his tail would open slightly, warningly, as if her anger were a signal to him that he might lose her. He didn't do it on purpose—it was nature, a panicked fear that his beloved was taking even a single step away from him.

But tonight, everything was different.

Nika was exhausted, shaken, angry. She glared at him sharply, as if he were the cause of her anger. Arin only sighed, quietly, like an animal trying to hide its tremors.

"Nika... please," he handed her the pills. "Rest. Please."

She took them reluctantly. After a moment, her body began to soften. The anger faded, her eyelids drooped, her shoulders sagged. She became calm... too calm, too sleepy to protest.

Arin looked at her with something that looked like relief mixed with guilt.

"It's... okay. You're mine now... my peaceful Niko."

He embraced her and led her to his room. The interior was cozy, but it smelled of a rich musk—his scent, natural, territorial, deep.

He laid her on the bed, adjusted the pillow, and moved next to her. She was too weak to push him away; she could only breathe slowly, heavily.

Arin placed his hand on her stomach, stroking it gently, as lightly as if touching snow he feared would melt.

"Nika... you're not angry with me anymore, are you?" he whispered.

He ran his nose through her hair, her temple, her shoulder. He inhaled her scent deeply, greedily, but calmly—instinctively. His tail slowly rose and wrapped itself around her waist, fluffy, soft, black and white. He pressed it against her sides, leaving his faint, natural scents on her clothes. It wasn't sexual—it was a biological, animalistic signification of "this is mine, I protect her."

"I have to... I have to make it clear that you're with me," he whispered softly. "So that no one can take you away... even if he never existed."

Then he took her hand and licked it lightly, soothingly, the way animals lick each other to express affection. It wasn't about lust—it was about connection. About her belonging to his little world.

"We're going to be a couple, Niko," he said softly, almost rocking her hand in his. "You don't have to be afraid. I won't do anything to hurt you. I just want you to be... mine."

His forehead touched her shoulder, and his ears twitched, alert as ever. He inhaled her scent again, testing it, making sure there was nothing foreign, nothing that could hurt him.

"You know… during breeding season, other males go crazy," he whispered. "But I… I've always been different. Asexual. That's never been important to me."

He hugged her tighter, gently, with a tenderness that was more like hungry love than lust.

"I don't want your body. I want you… your scent, your voice, your presence. I want to be yours… and I want you to be mine."

He wrapped his tail even tighter around her, protecting her, guarding her, as if the whole night might take her away if he didn't hold her close.

"Rest now, Niko. You're with me. You're safe. I won't… ever… let you go again."

And his voice trembled like an animal that has found what it's been searching for its entire life—and is afraid of losing it more than anything else.