Ari

Chapter 31: Second Guardian

I was thrilled because of his response so I ate all the soup and tonics at once before responding.

"I'll do anything as long as I can do it. Just please keep it a secret." I pleaded.

Lowell suddenly knelt to the ground as he bowed down. I was surprised. Why is he doing that? What's happening?

My heart started to race as I got nervous suddenly on the words Lowell was about to say.

"Can you also accept me as your guardian? It doesn't matter if you give me a favor similar to Dillon, but I still want to be by your side." He responded begging as he kneeled in front of me.

"But why me? There are other beautiful females out there. What more is that I am still too young and it will be unfair for the both of us to be bound by a forced relationship?" I said defensively while panicking due to his words.

"I... I won't force you. I never planned to do so. Don't worry, I am willing to wait until you can accept me, but I won't give up easily. For me, there is only you and no one else. I've never been so interested in a female like this before. Only you, Ari. I like you." He insisted.

"At first, I thought I was just fascinated with how strong and unique you were despite being small. I wanted to wait for you till you reach adulthood, but seeing you with Dillon makes me impatient. I felt jealous because I was the first to fall for you." He continued.

According to him, he saw me a few years ago when I killed a huge boar that was chasing a female cub older than me and he was stunned. He said he was just passing by at that time when he escaped his father's chattering and looked for a place to have fun.

He thought I was a male back then and felt so fascinated that he wanted to remove my mask to see my face, but I fainted in fright, then he fled when the tribesmen approached to not induce any misunderstanding.

I was so shocked and speechless. I was not even sure how to react.

He continued to babble saying he really found me irresistible since the first day he saw me.

When he finally saw me again a few years later, he said I looked like a puppy crawling on the dog hole so he teased me for a bit before I flew away to go back home.

He waited daily in the spring after that day while escaping his tasks as the alpha while trying to take a chance to meet me again.

When he finally met me face to face and learned that I am a female, he had a sudden urge to pursue me.

I do like how he was straightforward, despite his playful and unpredictable personality. However, it would be unfair for him if I accept his condition arbitrarily.

Even if he said that it was ok for him to not reciprocate his feelings as long as he can stay beside me, it is not ok with me. It would be a huge burden on my conscience.

"That... I don't know if it will work out the way you wanted so I honestly wanted to reject your condition..., but... We can still be friends. That way you can still have the freedom to choose if you will stay or not. I honestly don't dislike you, but as you can see... I have negative reactions once touched by a male including you so it would be hard for me to take you as my second guardian." I answered him frankly, trying not to hurt him too much.

He suddenly felt dispirited, but relieved at the same time since he was neither rejected nor accepted.

I can see his ears and tail droop at the same time as he smiled bitterly at my response.

I felt hurt seeing him smiling bitterly. I didn't mean to hurt him with bluntness, but it was the only way I could think of to both protect my secret and not give him a high hope for one-sided feelings.

"Even if we became friends... Will I still stand a chance to pursue you once I can make you comfortable with me just like Dillon?" He asked desperately.

"We are currently not a member of any tribe so we are not bound by any rules. Am I correct? You know it, right? Since you are the alpha of this tribe I know you already knew that once I accept you, we will be bound in this tribe and shall have to embrace your culture and rules." I asked him, hinting at the dilemma I would face once I accepted him.

"Yes, I know... And I promise to do my best to help you, Dillon and Gurion to settle here in our tribe. I can even protect you from harm, even from the new alpha of your previous tribe." He answered sincerely.

"No, I can't stay in your tribe for too long. There is a place I need to go. I haven't talked to Dillon about it yet, but I need to go there for confirmation. Also, I am sure you won't be able to accompany us since the place I need to go to is the dwelling place of the ancient beastmen tribes. Your tribe cannot function without an alpha for too long so it would be impossible to bring you with us." I insisted.

He was speechless for a minute, but he collected his thoughts and responded, "I can give up being an alpha. I will join you in the journey. I cannot let you go with only Dillon and a hatchling by your side on such a dangerous journey. I can always give back my position to my father since he is still strong enough to handle the tribe. Please let me protect you."

I was taken aback by his words, but what he said was true. The journey to the said place was too dangerous for a female like me. What's more is that I have a hatchling with me and only one male will protect us along the way.

"I'll talk to Dillon first. Let's talk tomorrow. Thanks for the food. Can you please call Dillon?" I instantly cut the conversation in a hurry because I suddenly got exhausted from our talk.

He rushed to the door to call for Dillon, but Dillon was standing right outside the door as he opened it.