Chapter 16

For a while, I stayed nestled against Wolf Huey’s body, sharing warmth with him.

As my body slowly thawed and I began to relax, my mind wouldn’t stop racing about what to do next.

I never imagined the wolf I’d met would turn out to be Huey. I’d originally planned to just live quietly here… but I couldn’t exactly spend the rest of my life as a beast with him. And with no clothes in this harsh environment, living together as humans was even more impossible.

Besides, I wanted to know what had happened to my father and mother after I left the village.

“Whine…”

I leaned close to Wolf Huey’s face, trying to tell him I wanted to talk.

Of course, he didn’t understand a word—he just started licking my nose affectionately.

Yeah… this beast form isn’t exactly great for conversation.

Looks like the only option is to turn human again so we can actually talk face to face.

I tried to wriggle out of Huey’s warm embrace, but for some reason, he tightened his hold on me, misunderstanding and refusing to let go.

I wanted to explain, but there was no way to speak properly in this form…

So I made up my mind and transformed back into my human form right there in his arms.

“Yelp!”

Huey’s grip loosened in shock.

I slipped free immediately, turned my back to him, and tried to cover my chest and butt as best I could.

Wait—what? A tail!?

Panicking, I twisted around to look and saw a familiar-looking dog tail sprouting from my bare, peach-colored backside.

What—why!? I thought I’d learned to control my body completely!

Still staring at my own rear in confusion, I looked up—

—and froze. Wolf Huey stood behind me, eyes wide, staring at my body like his life depended on it.

“Face the other way! I want to talk, so turn toward the wall and change back!!”

Clutching my tail to cover my butt, I yelled at him, still facing away.

Maybe he was shocked because I’d transformed so suddenly… or maybe because I still had a tail in human form. There were lots of possible reasons.

But judging by the way his tail was wagging violently, none of them seemed to hold up.

Ugh—men!!

Huey hung his head apologetically and shuffled toward the wall. I hurried to the opposite side myself.

Now we were both facing away… but what if he’d peeked earlier?

Not that I had much room to talk, since I’d definitely imagined his human body a moment ago.

I used to think girls who shouted “What are you looking at!?” were just being paranoid, but… yeah, I get it now. Sorry.

“…So, what did you want to talk about?”

“If you so much as glance this way, I’m turning back into a wolf and not saying a word.”

“I—I get it! I swear I get it! It’s just—when you transformed right in front of me, it was—uh—instinct! I couldn’t help it! I’m sorry!”

His panicked apology sounded sincere, so I decided to trust him.

Well, I can’t really blame him. Any guy would glance if a naked girl suddenly appeared right before his eyes.

“Yeah… I was careless too. I’ll be more careful from now on.”

A long sigh of relief came from behind me.

You look relieved now, but if I were a real girl, Huey, you’d be in serious trouble.

“My dad and mom… they must be worried sick since I suddenly disappeared, huh…”

As I spoke, my voice trembled, and my nose began to sting.

“I already told them what happened.”

“Huh?”

I almost turned around in surprise but quickly stopped myself.

No—no looking! What’s wrong with me!?

“You—you told them?”

“Yeah. When Mimosa came to my room and suddenly ran off, I told my mom I was going after her before leaving.”

“Whaaat!?”

“My mom said she’d explain things to your aunt, too. So right about now, your uncle and aunt are probably waiting for you to come home.”

“Noooooo!!”

I can’t go back now!

I ran away from the village thinking I’d done something indecent with Huey and couldn’t show my face there again—but if everyone knows about it, that’s even worse!

Ugh, wait—there’s something more important I need to say.

“Huey.”

“Yeah?”

“…I’m sorry for barging in like that… and for what I did. I know it probably doesn’t sound like a real apology like this, but… I’m sorry for saying those awful things too.”

Suddenly, there was a loud thud as something hit the wall behind me, and I almost turned around on reflex.

“Huey, what happened!?”

“Nothing! I’m fine! Don’t worry about it!!”

It’s so frustrating not being able to talk face-to-face…

I could hear him fumbling awkwardly behind me.

“Uh, um, listen. Don’t worry about that! Actually—please, I’m begging you—don’t bring that up right now! Seriously, I’m begging you!”

“Ah, yeah… okay…?”

I blinked, confused by Huey’s desperate tone. Then the guy half of my brain finally put two and two together.

…Well, yeah. If you’re completely naked, right next to the person involved, and suddenly remember that situation, things might get… awkward.

“—Cough!”

I choked as I realized what kind of “situation” Huey might be in.

An awkward silence filled the den. Huey was taking deep, shaky breaths.

“I’m so embarrassed… I can’t go back to the village now. Honestly, I didn’t even think I could face you again, Huey.”

Unable to bear the silence, I finally spoke.

“N-No, it’s fine… I didn’t say anything about what happened in my room, so don’t worry.”

Huey, don’t talk so fast—and stop hunching over like that!

“Sometimes, you know, when someone’s just started their first mating season, they get all emotional and do things like suddenly showing up at someone’s place. So no one thinks badly of you or anything.”

“Wait, what!? You mean people just show up and actually go through with it!?”

“Wha—!? No!!”

We both whipped our heads around to look at each other, then immediately spun back toward the wall.

“M-Mimosa, are you maybe misunderstanding what mating season actually is?”

“Huh? Isn’t mating season when all you can think about is making babies, and you spend, like, a month being all lovey-dovey with your partner!?”

“Whaaat!? No, that’s for adults who’ve already chosen their lifelong mate!”

“Ehhh!?”

Our screams echoed through the tiny den, bouncing off the walls.

“Th-Then what’s our kind of mating season supposed to be!?”

Huey hesitated for a moment, then began explaining—stammering the whole time.

“Well… at first, it’s not like there’s a specific person or anything. For me, I just start getting curious about girls. For you, it’d be boys, I guess… Uh, but I only know what it’s like for guys, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Please, tell me! I need this knowledge for, uh, personal safety reasons!”

Huey must’ve realized he couldn’t risk me running off again, because he sighed and continued.

“…So, as it goes on, you start to notice one person in particular. And when mating season really gets close, you can’t stop thinking about who that person likes—or who they’re drawn to—and before you know it, that’s all you can think about…”

“…”

I listened silently, completely at a loss for words.

That’s… just like elementary school kids with crushes, isn’t it?

Who was the idiot who told me mating season meant going wild and only thinking about doing it?

…Oh. Right. That idiot was me.

“Um, if you’re done, can we please drop this topic now?”

“No, tell me more!”

Huey hesitated, clearly suspicious of my sudden enthusiasm, but when I insisted, he groaned and went on.

“So when mating season fully hits, you confess to the person you like. If they say yes, you become ‘temporary mates.’ If they say no… well, you just cry yourself to sleep for the rest of the year.”

“So a ‘mate’ doesn’t mean husband and wife?”

“No. Husband and wife are called ‘true mates.’ But people usually just say ‘mates’ either way.”

Ah—so when Mom said “mates,” she didn’t mean “married.” She just meant “dating”!

Dad seriously overreacted! This whole naming system is so confusing!!

“Okay, then what happens after you become temporary mates?”

“Ugh, you still want to know?”

“I don’t want to keep going around with the wrong idea anymore!”

“…Fine. After that, you might hold hands, go on picnics in the fields together… or turn into beasts and groom each other’s fur—stuff like that…”

What!? That’s… so pure!

Mating season sounded like something scandalous and wild, but this is just—adorably wholesome!

That’s not mating season—it’s puberty!!

I groaned and buried my face in my hands. My fingers brushed against the soft, fuzzy texture of dog ears.

Oh great. Those didn’t go away either!!

At this point, I didn’t even know what I was stressing over anymore.

“…So, uh… are you satisfied now?”

“Yeah. Thanks…”

I couldn’t bear to ask anything else. It felt like the universe itself was judging me for being a perverted adult.

“So, uh… let’s go back to the village.”

“…Yeah.”

And so, the two of us transformed back into our beast forms to leave the den we’d shared.

We faced each other—dog and wolf—locking eyes for a long moment.

Somehow, after spending two days here together, it felt hard to leave. We both stepped forward and nuzzled each other gently.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that.

Even after we pulled apart, a lingering warmth remained between us.

Then I turned and began to crawl toward the exit, determined to make a cool, solo departure—

Only for Huey to shove me from behind.

“Wha—hey! I said I can get out on my own! Don’t ruin my dramatic exit!! Stop pushing meee!!”