"Huh?" Noah flinched at his witty remark, immersing himself in the depth of his shimmering golden eyes. To him, they were magically beautiful yet he could observe an unusual void of mystery apparent in them. Unable to take his eyes off such a divinely gorgeous face, he held his breath for a second, while his heart thumped a bit faster.
However, watching him drawn towards his mesmerizing charm, the crafty smile on his lips widened a little as he clasped his hold a little tight around his waist, whispering in a deep, hefty voice, "Why are you looking at me like that? Haven't you ever encountered a handsome man before?"
Suddenly, a quick reflection crossed his mind as Noah found his voice strangely familiar to him! It was the very first time he came across such a gorgeous person, yet his deep, masculine voice was peculiarly similar to that mysterious voice that had frequently disrupted his sleeping schedule for a week before he faced the fatal accident!
Not only that, but he also didn't fail to realize during the last moments of his hazy vision underwater in the school pond, he had encountered a mysterious savior with this similar dazzling golden eyes protruded into him. Before he could have a proper glance at his face, he passed out, but these bizarre coincidences raised his suspicions encircling this man who mysteriously saved him again from tripping down into the lake!
All these contemplating thoughts in his mind evoked a sudden chill of fear and anticipation, however, he sensed something way more uncomfortable. The way that person was clenching his hold around him, he felt the friction of his back against his smooth, bare skin, rather than experiencing it over a piece of fabric on his body.
Curiously, Noah averted his eyes down but the sight that he encountered wadded them round in shock and disbelief. That person wasn't having a single piece of fabric on his body, standing completely naked!
His broad buff chest exposed porcelain white-toned muscles, packed with strong built. Down below eight taut abs over his abdomen looked like delicious buns, making him appear deadly attractive yet blazing with masculinity. Moreover, he was quite young, seeming like someone to be in his late 20s.
But Noah couldn't muster his courage to look further downwards at a stranger's body, no matter how fatally charming he was!
However, the weird discovery was enough to freak out Noah badly as he pushed him away with his elbow, breaking himself free from his hold. Running a few steps away, a loud, panicked scream escaped from him, "UUWAHHH! W-Who the h-heck are you! W-Why are you n-naked!? A-Are you a p-pervert!?"
Watching him freak out, he flashed a cryptic smile and crossed his veiny arms over his chest, squinting his sharp gaze at him. "That's not a nice way to describe someone who saved you a while ago from getting tripped. We are both men. Have you never seen a naked man before?" His tone sounded a bit stiff.
"T-That's not my point!" Noah darted an irked glare at him before he whined, "Gosh, at least cover your lower part with something! W-What kind of normal person greets someone naked? A-And...Why do you seem proud about it?"
"Pfftt!" A faint, amused chuckle escaped from him as he rolled his eyes, hearing his nag at him. He slowly took a step forward and teased him, "Well, I do possess a perfect body to be proud about! Besides, you are the one who barged in here out of the blue when I was about to take a bath. It made me wonder if you wished to share a bath with me?"
Noticing the sly smug on his face, Noah internally panicked a bit as his answer further made him confused. He retreated a few steps back, gulping his saliva as he thought, 'indeed, he must be a crazy pervert! How can someone act so brazenly towards a stranger? He seems like belonging to a noble household, then why the heck he would come to this creepy forest? For a bath?
No...there's no way he is normal...'
.
"YOUR GRACE! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"
In the span of a few minutes, both of them flinched with the loud, concerned rumble of a masculine voice, approaching them. They could hear the sound of rushing footsteps as it seemed someone was hurriedly marching towards that area.
"Uh-huh!" This time, with a bothered look on his face, the man squinted his golden eyes, emitting a small sigh off. He rolled his gaze back towards Noah and mumbled in a hefty voice, "Looks like, you shouldn't have screamed out aloud. Well, I think you must hurry and leave if you don't want to be discovered here with me by someone." His tone somewhat sounded a bit worried.
Whereas holding a confused look on his face, Noah couldn't bear to oppose him anymore as the sound of the approaching footsteps was getting stronger. Several puzzling thoughts were bothering the sanity of his mind as they made him unable to suppress them anymore.
With an anxious gaze rolled in his ocean eyes, he crept a few steps backward but before he could turn around, he muttered, "Just answer my one question, have we ever met each other before? D-Did you save me from drowning in the lake last night?"
His blunt question prevailed a mysterious gaze to be apparent in his golden eyes as the man smirked at him. He retained a vague expression on his face before he answered in a low pitch, "You think so? But you didn't answer my query either. Were you here to take your own life?"
The ambiguous response from him, triggered Noah a bit as he found him strangely peculiar to deal with. He assumed it might really be an odd coincidence or a misunderstanding since there was no way he would ever come across such a weirdo like him.
However, as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching further close, he frowned his brows and growled at him, "Why are people accusing me here for trying to take my life when I never had such intentions! Also..."
Before he spoke further, Noah took off the cotton linen red colored scarf which he had wrapped around his neck before sneaking into the forest and threw it towards him. Like a snatch, the man quickly caught the scarf that flew towards him with the wind, having a baffled look on his face.
"Since, I am never going to meet a shameless pervert like you again who boasts around with his naked body, have some conscience, at least cover a part of yourself with this scarf before someone else arrives and sees you in this state!" He grumbled, scowling at him a bit.
But instead of getting offended at his accusal, his golden eyes shimmered with an unusual glee embedded in them as he clenched the scarf tight in his hand, without averting his deep gaze from him. "But, why do I feel like we will be seeing each other again, little lamb?"
"Gosh, you shouldn't be calling others these kinds of corny names!" Noah sounded a bit vexed before he turned away from him. "Also, I will be mindful to not run into a pervert like you again."
As soon as he finished his vent, Noah didn't waste a second anymore and fled away from the lake, getting disappeared into the deep woods. While watching him run away from behind, the person couldn't avert his gaze away, holding the scarf tight in his right arm. The cryptic yet amused smile didn't taint away from his face either until someone rushed to the spot.
A tall, muscular man decked up as a military knight, panted a bit hard as he reached the spot, looking quite concerned from his expression. He seemed like a middle-aged man, in his late 30s, with a fair white complexion, and a perfect body of a warrior.
"Y-Your Grace!" The man called out after a brief pause, glancing all around them first. "I heard a loud scream from here...A-Are you alright? Did you encounter someone else?"
All of a sudden, the smile lingering on his handsome face until now was tainted by his interruption as he retained an annoyed look on his face. He exhaled another sigh and grumbled at him, "Randall, couldn't you have come a bit later?"
"Huh?" The man scratched his head hearing his unexpected complaint before he muttered back, "Umm, b-but, I...I am certain, I heard a loud scream from here, Your Grace."
Clenching the scarf tight on his fist, he narrowed his bright golden eyes with an annoyed glare towards him. "Randall, I am strong enough to protect myself against any approaching danger. I know you are protective of me, but it wouldn't matter if you had arrived a bit later."
"B-But..." Holding a confused look on his face, the man kneeled down on the ground and bowed his head before him to offer his respect. "But... you are our mighty Alpha Xanthus. You are not only our Crown Prince...but the future of our kingdom and our pack depends on you.
As your bodyguard, it's my rightful duty to always keep my sharp watch over you so that not any danger lurks around you until I am alive."
A heavy, deep exhale escaped from him as Xanthus heard his concerned words. Randall was the bravest beta warrior of his pack, and also the most loyal companion he ever had since his childhood. His honesty and sincerity had always made it hard for Xanthus to oppose him in any approach.
With one hand, he ran his fingers impatiently through those soft golden yellow hair stuffed over his forehead and pushed them above. He seemed a bit uneasy from his facial expression while looking away into the woods, but didn't unleash the scarf from his grip as he wondered on his own, 'He definitely seemed a little strange than last night. But...did he really not come here to take away his life?'
"Umm, but Your Grace," A tinge of curiosity was apparent in his tone as Randall peered his gaze at the scarf tucked in his hand. "Where did you find this lowly cotton scarf? Why are you holding it so tight? Do you want me to take it away--"
"Don't!" A desperate, yet rigid tone escaped from Xanthus as he clenched it further tight, holding a crafty smile on his face as he declared.
"No one is allowed to take it away from me. It's mine!"