Married to a Fierce Wolf 38

Chapter 38

Not having his needs met during his rut was agonizing.

After dinner and cleaning the kitchen, Shi Nuo looked out the window. The sky was overcast, already dark even though it was only evening.

He walked towards the living room and saw the storage room door open, Hugh inside, taking inventory of their food supplies.

“Why are you doing that?” Shi Nuo asked, puzzled.

It had only been two weeks since Hugh’s trip to the black market. They had plenty of food. He had estimated, based on their current consumption, that it would last them at least three months.

They had an even greater abundance of essential staples like rice, oil, noodles, and flour, enough for six months.

The white-haired man closed the storage cabinet door. Two light blue virtual screens displayed the types of food, their weight and quantity, and their recent consumption. He had been diligently recording their food intake every time they took something from the storage room. The data was clear and detailed.

Hugh Elvis turned to Shi Nuo. “I’m going into hibernation. I don’t know for how long. I’ll use that time to absorb and process the remaining energy from the beast heart. If everything goes smoothly, when I wake up, my body will be completely stable, no more instability or abnormal ruts.”

Shi Nuo stared at him, his eyes widening after a moment. “You can fully recover without medical treatment?”

Hugh nodded. “Yes. It’s a form of evolution. But the beast heart’s energy is potent, and I’ve only been able to absorb and process it slowly over the past ten years. Hibernation is the best way to accelerate the process. Without consuming food, my body will prioritize processing the beast heart’s energy. When it’s complete, I’ll wake up naturally.”

Before Shi Nuo arrived, he hadn’t been in a hurry to complete the final stage of his evolution. But now, he was fascinated by the Omega and didn’t want to enter hibernation.

Then his rut had arrived.

Previous ruts had only made him restless and irritable, and he would vent his frustration by fighting ferocious beasts or running until he was exhausted. After three days, it would pass. He had never felt the urge to harm an Omega before.

It was likely due to the permanent bond. His and Shi Nuo’s pheromones were intertwined, their connection, both physical and emotional, undeniable.

And his attraction to Shi Nuo had intensified during his rut, amplified many times over. He hadn’t anticipated losing control so completely. It had been dangerous for Shi Nuo.

Only when he was fully recovered could he indulge his desires without risking Shi Nuo’s safety.

“Mm,” Shi Nuo listened attentively and nodded seriously. “That’s good.”

He suddenly remembered the rumors surrounding Hugh’s exile, how he had become a feral, berserk beastman. Such cases rarely recovered, let alone regained their human forms.

Curious, he asked cautiously, “How did you regain your sanity before?”

There was no medical treatment available here, and yet Hugh showed no signs of being feral. He realized he had never asked about this.

Hugh Elvis, after checking the remaining supplies in the storage room, closed the cabinet door. “After arriving here, with no one to disturb me, I realized the beast heart’s energy resonates with the planet’s energy, with the power of nature. The most suitable place to absorb its energy is in the natural world.”

He paused, then added, “I realized later that the reason I became feral was probably because I couldn’t truly rest. Back in the Elvis family, surrounded by darkness and schemes, even when locked in the basement, my mind was never at ease, constantly on guard. But here, with no one else around, I could simply follow my instincts, my natural instincts.”

Shi Nuo was stunned. So that was it.

It was common knowledge that beastmen, retaining their animalistic nature, were more attuned to the natural world.

After hearing Hugh’s explanation, he was surprised, but not entirely.

He was surprised by Hugh’s resilience, his ability to recover both his sanity and his human form. If this were known, countless research institutes would be clamoring to study him, to understand the effects of the beast heart.

“It’s fortunate that this is a resource-rich planet,” Shi Nuo murmured, feeling a sense of relief. If the Elvis family had exiled him to a barren planet, he might not have been so lucky.

Hugh Elvis lowered his eyes, then looked up, his voice slightly softer. “Yes. That was my father’s decision.”

The current head of the Elvis family was still Hugh’s father.

Seeing that Hugh didn’t want to talk about this, Shi Nuo wisely remained silent.

His hand was taken, and he followed the Alpha outside.

Hugh closed the storage room door. “While I’m hibernating, you’ll have to eat alone. There’s enough food here for at least four months. I shouldn’t be asleep for more than that. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the mountains to gather fruit, enough fresh fruit for half a month.”

He sat down on the sofa, pulling Shi Nuo onto his lap, then activated the house’s intelligent system, several screens appearing before them. He quickly adjusted the settings.

“There are two large vacuum-sealed bags of dried fruit, and plenty of other food. If I haven’t woken up after four months, wake Long Xu and have it hunt for you.”

As he entered commands, he continued, “That should be around the third month of winter. You have plenty of dried vegetables; don’t ration them. If I’m still asleep by the fourth month of winter, Long Xu will wake me through our link.”

“Okay,” Shi Nuo leaned against the Alpha’s chest, accepting everything. After a moment, he asked, “Where will you hibernate?”

“In the bedroom,” Hugh replied casually. The bedroom was comfortable and clean, filled with Shi Nuo’s scent. Where else would he sleep?

Shi Nuo opened his mouth to speak. He had imagined a cave or some other natural setting, not the bedroom.

But it made sense.

Before he could say anything, Hugh turned his head towards Long Xu’s portable terminal, and a blue light scanned his face, a beep confirming his identity.

Hugh lifted Shi Nuo’s left hand and linked his optical brain to the terminal.

He then adjusted and tested the house’s defense systems and, seeing Shi Nuo sitting on his lap, looking bored and slightly dazed, activated the holographic projector, resuming the TV show they had been watching yesterday.

After a while, Shi Nuo, his gaze fixed on the screen but his mind elsewhere, heard Hugh speak again.

“If you’re bored, you can use your optical brain or the terminal to activate Long Xu. It has a conversation mode and a companion mode.”

Unlike him, Shi Nuo’s mental strength wasn’t strong enough to summon Long Xu from its spatial storage without considerable effort, even with secondary user access.

“Okay,” Shi Nuo replied, still slightly overwhelmed by the sudden changes, but then he thought, Hugh would be hibernating in the bedroom, not leaving, so there wasn’t much to worry about.

He could check on him anytime, and if anything went wrong, he could have Long Xu wake him.

He hesitated, then decided he had to ask. “Mr. Elvis, if…if the evolution isn’t complete, but something happens, and I have to wake you, will it harm you?”

Hugh paused, thinking. “One winter, it snowed for an entire month, and I entered a brief hibernation. Based on that experience, the absorption and transformation process is slow and gradual. There shouldn’t be any drastic changes in my body or energy signature. It’s just a deep sleep. Waking up abruptly won’t cause any harm.”

Shi Nuo was relieved. If Hugh fully recovered after this hibernation, no longer tormented by his instability, all their problems would be solved.

The rain continued, the grass and trees turning brown and yellow, the landscape bleak and desolate under the gray sky.

Shi Nuo sat in the bedroom, wrapped in a thick pajama set, leaning against a pile of pillows in the corner, another pillow clutched in his arms, the volume of the movie turned down low.

He was distracted, his gaze shifting from the screen to the window, wanting to look outside, but the rug was much lower than the bed, and his eyes were almost level with the bottom of the window. All he could see was the rain.

Fruit left in the rain would spoil, so he hadn’t gone out to gather any today. Based on Hugh’s experience, this rain would likely last for about a week. Autumn here was characterized by wind and rain.

There was still some fruit left in the refrigerator, along with the dried berries, enough for ten days or half a month. When the weather cleared, he could ask Long Xu to take him to gather more.

Hugh Elvis lay on the rug, his eyes closed, his body relaxed, a thin blanket covering him, already asleep.

They didn’t usually talk much. When they weren’t working, Hugh preferred physical affection, often marking and kissing him.

Even when they weren’t doing anything, they would often lie together on the rug, the holographic projector displaying movies or animation on the ceiling.

The sudden silence was unsettling to Shi Nuo. He tried to focus on the movie, but his gaze kept returning to the sleeping Alpha.

Two hours ago, after Hugh had brought him to the bedroom, marked him, and made love to him, he had fallen asleep.

Initially, Shi Nuo hadn’t dared make a sound, afraid of waking him.

Now, seeing that he was still asleep, his breathing slow and even, he tentatively reached out and waved his hand in front of Hugh’s face.

He didn’t wake up.

Before hibernating, Hugh had told him to continue his normal routine. The bedroom was temperature-controlled and safe, and with the Omega’s pheromones present, he wouldn’t be easily disturbed once in a deep sleep.

Shi Nuo hadn’t been suppressing his pheromones, and as usual, hadn’t been actively releasing them either, only the natural, passive diffusion from his scent gland.

But remembering Hugh’s instructions, he actively released more pheromones into the room.

Hugh had said that even while asleep, being surrounded by his Omega’s scent would benefit him.

Shi Nuo followed his instructions carefully, worried about anything disrupting the final stage of his evolution. After releasing his pheromones, he anxiously watched Hugh’s face.

Asleep, the Alpha’s usual wildness was gone, his sharp features softened, his high nose bridge and well-defined jawline creating a strikingly handsome profile. His skin was flawless, his appearance the epitome of male beauty.

Shi Nuo, momentarily captivated, quickly looked away, his gaze returning to the animated movie, its plot forgotten.

Eating alone wasn’t as enjoyable. Fortunately, it wasn’t like when he first arrived. Even in his sleep, Hugh Elvis’s presence was strong, his Alpha pheromones constantly being released.

They didn’t usually talk much, but there had always been some interaction. The sudden silence was unsettling, and it took Shi Nuo three days to adjust.

He didn’t know when Hugh would wake up, but Long Xu was constantly monitoring his vital signs and energy fluctuations. If there were any drastic changes, the wristband terminal would alert him, but he still checked the real-time data multiple times a day, just to be safe.

Hugh’s breathing was slow and even, his chest rising and falling rhythmically. Apart from his occasionally elevated body temperature, he looked like he was simply sleeping.

And like a normal sleeping person, he would sometimes turn over.

This, to Shi Nuo, was the most fascinating aspect. He had imagined deep hibernation as a state of complete stillness, like suspended animation. Seeing Hugh move made him think the Alpha might wake up any moment.

He had been surprised the first time he saw it. And the most peculiar thing was that whenever he lay down next to Hugh for his own nap or at night, the Alpha would turn over in his sleep and instinctively pull him close.

The first time it happened, he had thought Hugh was awake and had been startled, worried that he had disturbed him, but the Alpha’s eyes had remained closed.

He had been confused, thinking Hugh was playing a prank, and had whispered his name, but there had been no response. He had tentatively poked Hugh’s cheek, but the Alpha hadn’t opened his eyes.

It was then that Shi Nuo realized Hugh wasn’t awake, that it was simply an unconscious, instinctive movement, like a normal sleeping person shifting positions.

He had gradually grown accustomed to this, no longer surprised when Hugh, in his sleep, would pull him close from behind, nuzzling his head against his neck until his nose touched Shi Nuo’s scent gland, then lie still, inhaling his pheromones.