That's right!
Both Alpha and Ghost looked at me with disbelief when I told them that I haven't yet been recorded in the census despite staying in this world for a long, long time.
Alpha facepalmed himself while Ghost murmured about Lion being an airhead.
With that, they took me to get registered.
....
Name?
Iris.
Death?
Are they kidding me?
Occupation and purpose of life?
Uh....
Alpha answered on my behalf that I'm a designer.
The neutral in charge of registration gave us a stare before asking what kind of designer I am.
Ghost murmured all sorts of unintelligible words while Alpha scratched his head, trying to figure out what kind of designer I am.
Awkwardly, I blurted out that I'm a designer of everything.
Much to my surprise, the neutral simply nodded and recorded it.
Wait, what?
Alpha and Ghost both shrugged and admitted that they didn't think of it sooner.
The neutral cleared its throat and said that we should continue with the registration.
Sorry.
Mate or mates?
While Alpha proudly answered the question for me, out of the corner of my eye I could see Ghost glancing at the ceiling.
To his delightful surprise, Alpha also included Ghost despite him not being one of my official mates.
Offspring?
I immediately answered that I have none.
The neutral again gave me a stare, as if it were silently judging me for having a lot of mates but no offspring, which is quite unusual in this world.
Thankfully, it did not ask further questions regarding it and instead, asked me what type of class I am.
I have no idea.
I glanced towards Alpha and Ghost again for help but to my dismay, they have no idea either.
A predator hunts and consumes meat. I don't hunt but I consume meat.
Preys don't hunt. They consume fruits, herbs or leaves. I don't hunt and I also consume fruits, herbs and leaves.
Obviously, I'm not an unknown. Nor a neutral. Definitely not a deserter too.
Ord? Really...
Then what am I?
Alpha, Ghost and the neutral spent a long time intensely discussing what kind of class I am before I interrupted them and told the neutral that I'm a human.
Fair enough.
There's a first for everything.
With that, I'm the first human recorded in the census.
Ability?
My shapeshifting ability is temporary so I couldn't answer that. Instead, I just told the neutral to put none.
Alpha and Ghost began to protest when I simply gave them a grin and told them that I just wanted to get it over with.
Then holding each of their hands, I pulled them towards the exit.
.....
I see.
The developmental center is kind of like an orphanage yet a training center at the same time.
I expected it to be filled with all sorts of offspring but to my surprise, it was filled with all sorts of creatures and beings at all stages before maturity.
Some seemed older than me but Alpha murmured that they are not yet mature.
Ghost began reminiscing about his time here and how he met Lion.
I already knew some of the stories, but I'm still fascinated listening to them.
How Lion was a ball of neglected chaos when he arrived here.
Wait.
If Leon is his father, why was he placed here?
Ghost looked stunned when I asked him about it, while Alpha pondered for a moment before telling me about the possibility that Leon didn't know about Lion until he finally matured.
It makes sense!
But, why?
Alpha glanced around before whispering that it might be because of his mother.
Both Ghost and I are extremely curious so Alpha decided that we should leave the developmental center for now and go to a place that is a bit secluded since what we are talking about is a bit sensitive.
After walking for a while, we finally found a good secluded place and sat down.
Then Alpha told us what he heard.
....
Lion's mother was a fae.
Not just any fae, but a high-level fae.
Before I continue Alpha's story, let me tell you something about Fae.
Fae are among the ancient races of magical beings. Some say they are spirits of the dead, fallen angels or simply the ancients.
But others claim the fae may belong to the demon race, particularly the dark ones.
Whether they are light or dark, they are considered superior when it comes to raw magic because they are born in it in its purest form.
They are often seen as threats and many try to avoid them with good reason.
Besides having immense magical ability, high intelligence and extremely long lives, they are rumored to lived longer than dragons, almost as if they are immortal.
They have the ability to shapeshift and create illusions. What's even more terrifying is that they have the ability to create false realities, so potent that many have lost their minds after being exposed to them.
With the ability to control all kinds of elemental magic and capable of speaking any tongue, it's no wonder that they are known to be deadly dangerous.
What's even more horrifying is their ability to make binding contracts, similar to those of a demon.
Besides the contracts, they like to cause accidents, lead travelers astray and kidnap individuals. And for what reason? Just for the fun of it.
Anyway, back to Alpha's story.
As soon as Alpha told us that Lion's mother was a fae, Ghost and I looked at each other with terror.
To make things worse, Alpha told us that Lion's mother used to be a prominent member of the high council.
My voice shook as I asked Alpha if Lion knew about it.
At this moment, yes.
Leon must have told him about everything.
Then where the heck did Alpha learn all of this?!!
Alpha simply shrugged and told us that it is one of the perks of being the heir. You have eyes and ears everywhere.
Good point.
But..
AM I BEING WATCHED RIGHT NOW?!
Alpha laughed uncontrollably while both Ghost and I looked terrified at the thought.
Between laughs, Alpha assured me that it is only him that is currently watching me.
THAT DUMMY TERRIFIED ME FOR NO GOOD REASON!
Ghost held me tight as I wanted to shake Alpha by his shoulders and give him a good bite on the neck.
Oh, sorry.
I lost control for a moment.
I took deep breaths while Ghost severely scolded Alpha, reminding him of the consequences of my losing control.
Alpha kept chuckling as he apologized and tried to comfort me, but to no avail.
Dummy.
He placed me gently on his lap as he nuzzled my ear, whispering that no one can dare do that except him.
I asked him if he was a stalker, making him laugh as he retorted that if I wanted him to be, he could definitely do that.
Despite my glare, he kept laughing until tears ran down his face and between laughs, he told me that he does watch me from time to time, just to make sure that I'm safe.
Oh, alright. I don't mind if that's the reason.
....
While Alpha was busy talking to one of the shopkeepers, I asked Ghost, who was currently carrying me, what Lion's job had been.
Also, I reminded him of the time we visited his former boss.
Ghost told me that Lion took a lot of jobs in the past because most of them didn't pay well, despite his ability. But to be fair, his current ability is outstanding compared to before.
Lion used to rely heavily on several artifacts and magical items to help him with his magic, unlike now.
I remember him wearing a lot of magical jewelry before. Now he doesn't wear much except for earrings, which I find extremely alluring on him.
And of course, the jewelry I gave him.
But how can he afford the castle if all his jobs didn't pay him much?
To my surprise, Ghost seemed baffled by my question and admitted that he hadn't thought of it before.
Both of us were extremely curious, so we waited for Alpha to finish with his task so we could ask him about it.
Thankfully, Alpha's talk with the shopkeeper ended up quickly and we went to a restaurant where we continued our conversation while waiting for our food.
To make the long story short, Lion got his castle through a "get it now, pay a huge amount with extremely high interest later" scheme.
WHAT THE?!
Oh, for the love of...
Why is Lion easily susceptible to SCAMS?!!
No wonder his castle was almost empty during the early time I lived there!
At least now he has finally paid it with the huge amount he is earning from all our busi...
NOT YET?!!
SHOW ME THE WAY TO THE SCAMMER WHO SOLD HIM THE CASTLE!
....
The scammer and I had a lovely talk inside his office.
Despite Alpha and Ghost insisting that they accompany me, I gave them a look and they both stayed outside the office obediently.
I'm happy to say that Lion won't be paying interest anymore.
And the scammer won't be showing his face to Lion for the rest of his miserable life.
Oh, Lion will have a lovely surprise as soon as his training is done, but I won't tell him. I'll just see if he can manage to find it out on his own, just as I sweetly instructed the scammer, Alpha and Ghost not to tell Lion that it was me.
Ghost gave me a salute while Alpha simply shook his head and chuckled, murmuring how I always managed to amaze him.
...
Alpha asked me out on a date.
Ghost had already left the room as several warriors had hesitantly reported to him that there were strange packages being delivered to the palace.
Uh-oh. I have a feeling that the ord must've delivered Ghost's packages to the palace by mistake.
To make things worse, a couple of creatures managed to destroy part of the palace during a silly argument.
Andddd someone tried experimenting with cooking in the kitchen, which resulted in a lot of creatures and beings suffering from food poisoning.
As the reports went on and on, Ghost's face looked so terrible that the warriors' faces paled and their voices became more of a whisper as they continued reporting.
Oh, poor Ghost. He was looking forward to spending the day with Alpha and me!
While Alpha went to his room to prepare for his date with me, I smiled at the warriors sweetly and told them that Ghost will join them after a moment.
I closed the door and tackled Ghost onto my bed, kissing him intensely and marking him all over his body as he panted, whispering into his ear that I have something for him.
To his delight, I gave him an ear cuff and placed it on his ear.
Besides the ear cuff, I showed him a hair tie I made, then combed and braided his hair, tying it with the tie.
And for the finale, I gave him a wrapped box and told him to open it.
It's a pillow I made and the color is his favorite, which is red.
When he went out of my room, his face looked like it could light up the abyss.
The warriors looked at him strangely, though they kept their distance from him.
In a voice so tender that the warriors shivered, Ghost thanked me for brightening his day, vowing to treasure my gifts and crush anyone who dare to lay a finger on them.
Of course, there is no problem with me touching it. Besides, he would love it if I tied up his hair from time to time.
With pleasure!
Then, he bowed to me and went off with the warriors, whistling a cheerful tune as he clutched the pillow I gave him.
Okay then. Time for me to get ready!
.....
Alpha looked teary-eyed at the several presents that I gave him.
He eagerly opened one of them, revealing the blanket I had secretly made for him.
Besides the blanket, there is also a rare ring that was a bit expensive when I bought it, but it's worth giving to him.
When he opened the last present, he looked confused because it was a rugby ball.
I gave him a grin then explained to him how to play it.
He insisted that we go on our date first before he testing it, even though he looked excited to play with it.
....
We rode in the canoe that Alpha bought in one of the cities we visited.
The canoe traveled around the territory and both of us had a lovely time. He embraced me while pointing out some of the places he found interesting and told me some stories about them.
He wrapped us in the blanket that I gave him and snuggled up to me.
After several moments of comfortable silence, I could feel his tears falling on my neck as he kept whispering sorry.
What is he sorry about?
He didn't say anything else but continued to embrace me tightly while silently crying.
I just placed my head on his chest and just let him cry his eyes out.
I don't want to force him to tell me why. If I force him, it might backfire and he might be hesitant to show his vulnerable side in the future.
So I just snuggled towards him and stayed like that until he whispered that I am his heart, his moon and will always prioritize my being above anything else.
And that he will do what it takes to stay by my side forevermore.
Then he kissed me on the forehead, continuing to cry and told me that he was a disgrace. He said that even though he always claimed I am precious to him, his actions say otherwise, as he made an unpardonable sin.
To my horror, he showed me his mating mark and told me that I could remove it, as he is unworthy of being my....
I bit his ear, gently of course, and while ignoring his pants, I told him sternly that I don't like it when he puts himself down. I admitted that, even though it was a horrible experience, I was also partly to blame...
He interrupted me and insisted that I hadn't done anything wrong. I looked at him in the eye and told him I am not a saint and have my faults, both great and small. I added that having a partner who stays and understands is better than all the soothing, unfulfilled promises.
And yes, I didn't hold any grudge for what he did and I had already forgiven him before he asked.
And no, I'm not removing his mating mark.
It took a bit of time before he said anything.
In a whisper, he said that he will redeem himself for everything and will do whatever it takes to earn the forgiveness that I gave him.
I have a feeling that he's not only talking about the time when he almost killed me while I was in my monster form.
Ah, whatever. Maybe I'm overthinking again.
Ohh.. great timing! It's just about sunset and the sky is truly lovely to look at!
I glanced at Alpha and he looked at me with so much love in his eyes. He held my face gently and kissed me passionately.
Is it me or has something in him changed?
For the better, of course.
Hopefully.
....
Yeah, something changed after our talk.
As soon as we arrived back at the palace, he carried to his room.
There he kissed me tenderly and sweetly, placing me on his bed as he looked at me with so much love in his eyes.
It's as if he's finally showing me the entire vulnerable side of him.
He was always guarded and though he always made his feelings known to me, something seemed to hold him back.
Now he...
We kissed passionately as he gently removed my clothes, kissing and licking me all over my body, as if trying to pour out all the feelings he had kept hidden from me.
He's not in a hurry this time and I had to admit that it's a surprising but lovely change of pace.
Now I understand the difference between intercourse and lovemaking.
Just to clarify, there's no penetration involved.
But it feels so fulfilling and pleasurable.
We kept on doing it again and again until Alpha remembered that the rest of the pack would be back soon.
He kissed me tenderly and we looked into each other's eyes for a moment, during which he smiled and nuzzled all over my face.
Since that moment, he has been showing his vulnerability more...
But only when we're alone.
...
Alpha and his brothers had the time of their lives playing rugby.
Ghost and Sly had joined as well.
Lion and Orm joined me at the sidelines while watching the chaos before us.
It's not really their thing to play such a rough sport according to both of them.
Yeah...
It does look kind of rough..
But the players looked like they kind of enjoyed it despite the...
Ow! That looks quite painful!
Hmmm.. I don't think that's how you play rugby...
You know what? Nevermind. Let them knock each other out.
I snuggled into Lion as he wrapped us together in the cloak I gave him.
As for Orm, he is munching on the cookies that I made for him while he is painting the scene before him.
Lion and I were soon so engrossed with giving each other little kisses that we didn't notice someone behind us.
By the time I noticed, I let out a scream that could wake the dead.
I regret screaming though.
It turns out that it is Lion's hot father.
Whoever said that Leon looks terrifying should have their eyes gouged out.
He is terrifyingly hot.
Oops.
I finally met Leon in his true form.
With a nod from Leon, Lion stood up and carried me in his arms and we all went back to the palace.