The Devil's Son and His Fated Bride
Chapter 66: A nest

Chapter 66: A nest

The training was harsh today as Arkilla decided to be strict this time. Today, even more females gathered to watch. Ren felt as if all her tiny muscles would cramp tonight. After leaving the training venue and Looking around, she didn’t see Elaika.

"Has she left?" Ren asked as they walked toward the deserted building behind the infirmary.

"Who?"

"Elaika!"

Arkilla shrugged. "I hope she has." Hinting at the building, she trailed off, "From your chambers, you can view this building."

Ren peeked at the cursed garden. "What if he sneaks into the garden out of curiosity?"

"That’s why we will have a keeper to watch over him."

Stopping in front of the building, Ren took a deep breath and looked down at Ogain. "My little Ogain, this is your new house."

"It was once a training venue, but they built a bigger one, so it was left unused."

The building had three stories, providing enough space for Ogain to stay before he matured and found a nest for himself.

Knocking on the door, Arkilla winked at Ren, making her cock her head. "Who is the Keeper?"

Orgeve opened the giant door and bowed his head. "Welcome, Luna Reneira."

Ren was shocked to see him. Looking at Arkilla, who flushed upon seeing him, she smirked. Oh, this girl was certainly swooning for this man but dared not say it.

"Gamma Orgeve, you have to stay with him at all times. Are you sure you want to be his keeper?"

He stepped aside so they could enter. "I’m sure about it. This is the least I can do to repay what you’ve done to save me."

He was serious and dry while saying those words, giving off an intense aura. Was he truly happy to be alive? His expression didn’t say so.

"Oh, don’t mention that. It was my duty."

As they walked inside, her mouth fell open. "You cleaned all this alone?"

"Not alone. Arkilla gave a hand last night when she returned from that cave."

Ren smiled mischievously. "So she did! Huh!" She nudged Arkilla, who immediately flustered.

"What? We just cleaned here. I swear we didn’t do anything..."

Finding Orgeve’s wide eyes on her, Arkilla shut her mouth.

"I didn’t say that you did..." Ren giggled, seeing them so embarrassed. Of course, they did something. Arkilla looked incredibly hot last night, and Orgeve was heartbroken. Their reaction surely exposed them. Did they kiss?

"Alright!" Ren wrapped up the topic as both turned red-faced with embarrassment. She wasn’t sure if wolves cared about ethics, but these two definitely did. They looked perfect together. They shouldn’t be so shy.

"I made a nest similar to the ones griffins make." He scratched the back of his neck, pointing at the staircase near the wall.

They ascended and followed him to the third floor. The venue was vast, providing enough space for Ogain to settle there until he grew to almost six feet tall. Normal griffins could grow up to fifteen feet—measuring from the beak to the base of the lion-tail, although as a royal ancient griffin, Ogain would grow even larger, possibly reaching twenty feet in just one year.

The window wasn’t too large, yet he could break out and pry around.

"What if he sneaks into the forest?"

"Make a blood oath with him. You can summon him from wherever he is."

Orgeve suggested casually, but Ren wasn’t interested in a blood oath with a griffin. If she died, the griffin would die as well.

"No, he is a free being. I won’t take that right from him. Let’s just pray he doesn’t get lost."

She was troubled for a moment when Arkilla took a step back and eyed the red ribbon on her braid.

"How about giving him a gift that smells like you? This way, wolves can track your scent on him."

Ren immediately bobbed her head, untied the red ribbon, and sat in front of Ogain. He fluttered his wings and blinked cutely, his eyes blazing with eager light when she took the red ribbon in her hand.

"Listen, Ogain, this is my first gift to you. Always keep this with you." Ren cautioned. From his attentive, twitching ears, she could tell he was paying attention. Griffins were known for their intelligence, and this little one was no exception.

She stretched her arms and tied the ribbon around his left foreleg. "Just until we can communicate. I can’t wait to hear your beautiful voice."

Ogain lifted his leg and examined the ribbon, bringing his beak close to untie it.

"No!"

Ogain froze, looking at her, blinking. He was possibly about to play with it.

"This is an offering. I’m giving it to you until you talk to me. After that, we’ll throw it away. So do your best to communicate with me as soon as possible."

Ogain let go of the ribbon and scratched his talons on the floor as though weighing the situation.

Ren huffed. That was close.

Arkilla laughed. "You should see yourself."

Ren shrugged. "He is going to sleep here because I don’t think I have the heart not to see him all day long."

"I’ll bring him to you every morning. He must get familiar with us so he won’t attack when he gets older," Orgeve stated.

Ren thanked him sincerely and guided Ogain to the nest that was made of countless twigs, set in the middle of the hall. "Come on, go ahead. This is your new place."

Ogain struggled to climb, but when Ren moved to help, Orgeve shook his head. "Don’t make him lazy. He isn’t a pet. He is a scared predator."

Ren pouted. He was still so little. She had to watch him fall and climb again until he finally plopped at the bottom of the nest, his wings spread wide.

"He will have to climb up and down for drinking and eating!" Ren was disturbed at the thought.

"The days of being fed and watered are over. Their mothers train them after a month to ensure they don’t become lazy. If we help him, that just ruins his nature even more."

He was blunt, indeed. She didn’t want to ruin Ogain’s nature. But he had lost his mother, and... oh no! Did Orgeve mean they should have let him live with his own kind? This man, ah, he was so fierce. Poor Arkilla!

Ren lost confidence for a moment. "Alright, I trust you." She couldn’t say anything else.

"You can go now. I’ll have a servant bring us food. I’m staying on the second floor."

Ren looked at her little fledgling before leaving. He seemed to like his new nest. She had tired him enough in the training hall.

Saying farewell, she headed back to her chamber to clean up and get ready for lunch and the tea meeting with those ladies Arkilla found suspicious. She kept nagging that they should have not rushed Ren to the meetings this soon.

"Forget about them. Tell me, did he kiss you last night? You looked alluring." Ren asked Arkilla excitedly, who instantly blushed.

"You are shameless, Luna Ren!"

Ren grimaced and folded her arms over her chest. "So are you. You and Gloria kept talking about me kissing my husband. Now it’s my turn. Did you tell him that you love him?"

Arkilla sighed and sprawled in a nearby chair. "Don’t let anyone find out. I don’t want them to mock him for kissing a wolfless female."

Ren grabbed her hand. "Screw them. Don’t limit your heart because of what others say. Does he like you?"

Arkilla shook her head. "He pulled away fast and apologized. He is so hurt. It was just a mistake. He wants her—his so-called mate who stabbed him. It is what it is. I can’t do anything but move on."

Ren bit her lower lip and didn’t push further. Instead, she hugged Arkilla, tapping her back gently. "It seems we understand each other." Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to cry.

...

Hours passed quickly, and Ren found herself awkwardly sitting in the living hall while six women sat across from her, scrutinizing her every move.

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