After resting for a few short minutes, cuddling affectionately on the completely messy bed, they finally decided it was time to get up before Miria’s parents returned. She led Asterios to the bathroom while happily talking about various decorations and paintings as they walked hand-in-hand through the wooden hallways. Completely naked, of course.

They took a quick dip in a big hot tub. Miria would love nothing more than to just relax in the warm water while leaning onto Asterios but she wanted to introduce her mate properly, not with one of her parents walking into them idling in the bathroom like it was just their daily thing, so they took only as much time as they needed.

After drying each other up, Asterios picked Miria into his arms and carried her back to the bedroom as they rubbed their cheeks together. She felt so giddy inside when he princess-carried her through her own house. Until recently, that had been just an unachievable dream.

He materialized his clothes, in brown shades for now, and Miria quickly dressed up in a more casual t-shirt and hotpants. She still loved wearing those at home. And she looked utterly adorable in casual clothes, making Asterios unable to hold back sneaking a few kisses onto her pretty lips, causing the timid panthergirl to blush faintly.

Without wasting too much time, they tidied up the mess they had made and Miria began showing him around. Her bedroom was quite small but very cozy. She lived right under the roof so the ceiling was slanted towards the outer wall, creating a lovely atmosphere with all the other furniture and decorations.

Besides the comfy bed in the middle, Miria had a neat mahogany desk in one of the corners, lots of shelves littered with various trinkets and trophies, most likely from hunting and competitions, a dressing wardrobe and drawers, of course, and a small fireplace not that far from the bed. One of the walls was purely out of glass panels, giving her a beautiful view of the village outside, filled with plenty of cozy cabins and similar structures.

Asterios had already seen her home and village many times through Miria’s eyes, but he now understood the difference between looking through someone and experiencing the sight and feeling yourself. He stood with Miria by the giant window and they gazed outside together as she rested her head on his shoulder while he rubbed her side.

“I still can’t believe it…” she murmured.

“Me neither. We will have to test this a lot. But, better do that when we reach solid land.”

“You should visit Selene’s home too, Master. It’s so much more beautiful than my small village in the middle of nowhere.”

He chuckled and brushed through her hair with the other hand. “It doesn’t matter if it’s small, it’s as beautiful to me as any other grand city. I love it here. Although, I’m a little afraid of how people will react after seeing me.”

Miria giggled adorably. “Don’t worry, Master. I will chase away all the girls that will throw themselves at you. Besides those that you will want to pursue, of course.”

He rubbed her head a bit stronger, causing Miria to laugh some more. “I’d rather you keep all of them away. No exceptions. You are enough for me.”

She pulled herself closer and joined their lips in an affectionate kiss. Asterios was the first one to back away a moment later and nodded towards the window.

“Looks like they are coming back. Let’s go.”

“Yes!”

They quickly moved to the dining room connected with the kitchen and sat down by the main table side by side. Miria was already getting embarrassed just by thinking about the introduction and Asterios placed his hand over hers, smiling softly. She smiled back and took a deep breath.

Not that long after, they heard the front door opening.

“—have spent so much time looking through all the designs just to not pick anything in the end.” A man’s voice reached their ears.

“Don’t be mad, darling. I thought it would be nice to try something different for a change but all of that only made me realize nothing can ever compare to what you make.” A woman’s voice followed.

“I’m not mad. You know I can’t be mad at you. And, thank you. I already have something in mind. I’m sure you will like it. I’ll get to it straight—”

A man with short blond hair and yellowish fur over his arms and legs stopped dead in his tracks after showing up at the doorstep. A woman with long black hair stood just behind him, smiling widely at the duo sitting by the table. Miria blushed and escaped her gaze.

The man didn't hide his shock while staring at the confusing scene, with his lips still frozen mid-speech.

Asterios stood up, bringing Miria up too since they still held hands, and bowed his head.

“Good morning, Father-in-law, Mother-in-law. My name is Asterios. It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

“Uhhh… Yes?”

“Oh, get a grip and stop embarrassing us.” Miria’s mother chuckled and pushed him inside, stepping closer to the duo. “I’m happy to finally meet you too, Asterios. I’m sure you already know but my name is Oria. I never thought I would be able to see you like this.”

She extended her hands and Asterios let the woman hug him. She was around his height and looked pretty much like a more mature version of Miria with longer hair, just without the fur on her limbs. Oria patted his back while moving her face all around his neck.

Miria suddenly moved between them, breaking the hug.

“Mom! Stop sniffing my mate!” she shouted at the woman.

Oria chuckled. “Why so angry? I’m just checking out my son-in-law. It’s not like I’m going to steal him from you. I’m pretty sure that would be impossible, anyway.”

The man behind her back sighed and walked closer, placing his hand on the woman’s shoulder.

“Please, excuse my wife. She can’t stop herself when in front of a strong individual. My name is Rook. I’m sorry for spacing out. I thought you weren’t able to come here.”

He offered Asterios a handshake and both men exchanged greetings. Rook was taller than Asterios and quite well-built. He seemed to be something akin to a tiger going by his features. If one judged only by appearances, he seemed stronger than Oria with her slim figure. But, Asterios knew well that Miria’s mother was clearly above him.

“That was true. Until recently, at least.” Asterios nodded.

“I’m so happy for you.” Oria smiled at them. “Miria was so anxious about having to choose if her kittens would never see her parents or their father. Now she doesn’t have to hold back anymore. I hope it won’t be long before we see a few little ones.” She took one more sniff of the air. “No, I’m sure it won’t be.”

“MOM!” Miria waved her arms at her mother while redder than a tomato.

Asterios chuckled and wrapped his arm around Miria’s waist, pulling her closer. She calmed down a little, still blushing and sending her parents shy glances with her ears laid down.

“I would prefer to make sure I know everything about my ability to come here before that happens. And, I wouldn’t be so sure if I were you, Miss Oria.”

“Alright, let’s stop embarrassing Miria anymore and have a normal talk for once, shall we?” Rook smiled at them and gestured at the table.

Everyone sat down and chatted together, mostly about Asterios and his world. Oria stopped poking fun at her easily embarrassed daughter, with the exception of a few small teases, and they were able to talk quite comfortably. It was Ast’s second time talking to the parents of the girl close to him and it was completely different from when he had spoken with Viscount Nobelle.

They spent around an hour with Asterios answering various questions and Miria chiming in from time to time. She grew a little less flustered the longer they talked and began openly resting her shoulder against Ast’s while smiling blissfully. She was happy Asterios seemed to enjoy talking to her parents and they seemed to like him too. She knew they would accept him but was still a bit anxious.

Then, Miria’s mom suggested showing him around the village and they decided to have a short walk together, all four of them. They walked in a line with Asterios and Miria in the middle, the two lovebirds holding hands. Miria’s parents accompanied them on their sides, with Rook by Asterios and Oria by Miria. She was a little more open when talking with her mom and Asterios enjoyed interacting with her father.

As expected, many subraces of beastfolk filled the streets, with the majority being felines and canines, but some people with other animal characteristics littered the crowd here and there. Vulpines seemed rare and he guessed that the region where Spiritual Foxes lived might be the reason behind that, just like this area seemed to be dominated by cats and wolves.

Many turned around or openly watched Asterios with curiosity as the group strolled through the village but no one seemed to be hostile. People did whisper between themselves while pointing at him, though, but Asterios could tell that it was nothing malicious.

As they reached the edge of the village which had been built in the middle of a dense and lush forest, Miria gripped his hand a little stronger and he could feel her turn a little more nervous. He understood why just a moment later as they showed up in front of what clearly was a hunting lodge. And a group of beastfolk was just heading out, most likely for a hunt.

One of the wolfgirls with dark brown fur and hair pointed their way and the whole squad was soon jogging towards the four. Five people stopped in front of them, three women and two men.

“Greetings, Mrs. and Mr. Blackclaw.” The same brown-haired girl nodded her head politely, most likely being the leader of the group. “And hello, Miria.”

“Hi there, Zoe. You seem to be leaving quite late for the morning hunt.” Miria smiled at her.

“Gnesh was in another duel, as usual. We’ve been waiting for him to recover a little.” The wolf woman sighed. “By the way, who is this?” She glanced at their joined hands and nodded at Asterios.

“My mate, of course. I believe I have told you guys about Asterios many times,” she answered with slightly rosy cheeks and shyly downcast gaze.

“Wait. He is actually real?” one of the girls whispered behind the leader.

“Oh no. Gnesh won’t be happy about this,” another one added.

“Look! He is coming!” A man pointed at the lodge.

“Ohohoho, this will be gooooooood,” the other man added while chuckling to himself.

Everyone glanced towards the building and watched a quite handsome man with an impressive halberd behind his back cruise towards their position. He wore leather pants and chestplate, leaving his chiseled stomach in full view. Judging by his shoulder-long dark golden hair, fur over his limbs, and quite characteristic tail, he definitely was a Lionkin or something close.

“Greetings Mrs. Blackclaw.” He nodded towards Miria’s mom after stopping by Zoe’s side, completely ignoring the panthergirl’s father. “It’s nice to see you around, Mir—”

He froze after turning his gaze to the duo in the middle and noticing their intertwined hands. His eyes immediately shot towards Miria’s face with a frown.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked, tilting his head.

Miria mirrored his motion. “Meaning of what?”

“You parading like this with some random male!” Gnesh furrowed his brows even more.

“What’s wrong in walking hand-in-hand with your mate?”

He froze again for a brief moment. A quiet snicker traveled behind his back but was quickly shushed down.

“He what?” Gnesh turned to Asterios with a grimace after recollecting himself.

“That’s Asterios. Why are you all acting like it’s your first time hearing about my mate.” It was Miria’s turn to frown now.

Asterios heard some rustling and noticed that Miria’s parents took a step back, and so did the hunting party, leaving only the three of them where they had originally stood. Oria winked at him with a cryptic smile.

“What?” Gnesh still had a hard time processing Miria’s words. “That wasn’t just an excuse to keep other males away?”

Some more chuckling followed from the group and Asterios almost snickered himself. He had never expected to be called someone’s excuse for not being interested in another person.

“Why would I come up with a fake story like that? Everyone said I’m too shy to find a mate anyway,” Miria replied.

“But, I thought you were saying that to keep others away while waiting for me! You swore to become my mate after I beat you!” Gnesh started raising his voice a little.

“Eh?” Miria didn’t hide her surprise. “No? I only promised to think about it if you managed to win against me?”

A girl from the party couldn’t hold her giggle in and Gnesh’s brain stopped working for the third time as he stared at his supposedly mate-to-be with eyes like saucers.

“Besides, why would I want to wait for someone who can’t beat me even if there were three of them?”

Gnesh’s jaw immediately dropped to the ground and the men behind his back sharply inhaled air, shaking their hands fervently.

~Oof. You didn’t have to straight-up murder him like that,~ Asterios commented in her mind and Miria glanced at him in confusion. ~Right. Bad with boys. I forgot.~

“Bullshit!” Gnesh almost roared, close to losing it.

“What?” Miria glared at him.

“Didn’t you say that you wanted your mate to be stronger than you?!” he shouted.

“Yes, I did say something like that.”

His furious eyes snapped to Asterios. “And he is stronger than you?!”

Miria nodded. “Of course. I don’t stand a chance even with my bloodline activated.”

Asterios chuckled inwardly. He certainly hadn’t been stronger when Miria had fallen for him and he doubted he could best her even now, alone, without the help of his familiars.

“That pathetic, furless half-of-a-man is stronger than you?! Stop joking around!”

A low growl escaped Miria’s throat. “Do not slander Master’s name.”

“Master?! You even call this twig your master?!”

Miria increased the volume of her growls a little and started showing her canines.

“Then, since he is supposedly stronger than you, if I beat him, it will mean that I beat you and you will become my mate, isn't that right?” Gnesh asked while glaring at Asterios.

“What? No! That’s stupid! Why would I do that?”

“Because I would be stronger!”

“But I never cared about you!”

Gnesh’s eye twitched and his hand shot towards Miria’s t-shirt as his face twisted into a scowl. But, before he managed to reach the material, someone caught his furry wrist and squeezed it with incredible strength.

An immense explosion of spiritual energy suddenly burst out from Asterios, with his hair and eyes changing colors in a blink. His clothes followed suit, turning black and dark crimson at the same time. The unbearable pressure and scarlet aura caused everyone’s attire to flutter like in the middle of a vicious typhoon, and even the signboards and decorations started squeaking around them.

“Now, listen here, punk,” Asterios said in a cold and murderous tone as his gleaming crimson eyes bore into the man’s brown irises. “When a lady says no, you are supposed to back away without a single word of complaint. Especially when that lady is taken, and does not wish to involve herself with another. Now. Be a good boy and get lost before I change my mind and grab your neck instead of your wrist.”

The more Asterios spoke, the more Gnesh’s face paled, and the more he began sweating. In the middle of Ast’s lecture, he was already down on his knees with Asterios towering over him completely. By the end of it, he was a shaking mess almost as white as a sheet of paper. And the fact that Asterios emitted an actual, threatening growl after finishing didn’t help.

The moment Asterios let go of the man’s wrist, which ended up completely crushed and his hand flailed around limply, Gnesh bolted away like his life depended on it, without even getting up from all fours, or threes in his case, quickly switching into his lion form mid-run.

Asterios withdrew most of his aura and gazed over the rest of the beastfolk standing a bit further away.

“Does anyone else have problems with Miria choosing her own mate?” he asked, locking eyes with each of them.

Most people shivered when their gazes met and hastily glanced away. Finishing at Zoe, he found her casting her eyes down alongside her ears and throwing a hesitant upwards glance into his ferocious irises with a faint blush and tail wagging like crazy.

Asterios turned his head to the right. Miria stood by his side with her hands covering her whole face while her ears twitched repeatedly and her cute tail made lively dances, clearly covering her completely flushed cheeks. She looked at him through the gaps in her fingers and Asterios could literally feel the wide and silly smile that painted her lips.

He smirked at her and grabbed Miria’s forearm, gently, pulling her into him. She ended up face to face with Asterios after moving her hands to his chest and waited. He slowly leaned in to give Miria time to do the same and they pursued each other's lips, softly at first but quickly turning it into a ferocious contest while she purred into his mouth loud enough for everyone to hear.

When their lips parted, Miria hid her face in his neck. The thrill of seeing Asterios stand up for her slowly faded away and she was starting to get extremely embarrassed.

“We’ll… go start the hunt then…” Zoe’s uncertain voice arrived at their ears and Asterios glanced her way.

“I’m sorry for hurting one of your hunters,” he apologized sincerely.

Zoe shook her head and smiled sweetly. “Please, don’t be. Gnesh fully deserved that. Have a good day.”

She bowed a little and urged her group to leave. They quickly scurried away, with a few people still sending them glances over their shoulders as they disappeared behind the wooden palisade that guarded the village.

Miria created some distance between her and Asterios when her parents came closer, still staying in his embrace.

“I must shamefully admit, I would have fainted when you released your killing intent if not for my wife supporting me, hahaha!” Rook slapped Ast’s back.

“You really found yourself an incredible mate, Miria.” Oria brushed through her daughter’s hair from the side, making her smile shyly. “You better be ready. Many females will try to gain his favor. Especially those who know about humans.”

Miria puffed her chest proudly. “Let them come! They’ll have to go through me first! Master isn’t the only one who has been growing through our bond!”

Asterios chuckled and pecked her forehead, making Miria giggle adorably. They resumed their stroll with the shy panthergirl now clinging happily to his arm while her tail made cute waves.

After spending enough time with Miria, he could recognize that these motions meant that she was feeling deeply in love at the moment. Just like in the stories her father had told her many times, Asterios valiantly stepped in to protect his lover. Not that Gnesh could do anything to her and she would most likely have mutilated him, but it didn’t matter.

Spending a few moments more in her house, they bid farewell to Miria’s parents for now and jumped back to his realm through the crimson gate. They didn’t want to take too long, just in case. Neither of them wanted to overuse this opportunity and cause something that could potentially bring any inconveniences to Asterios or his familiars.

Selene sat up from the bed when the shadowy portal rose from the ground. She stepped closer to welcome the duo but got immediately slammed by the shaking panthergirl who pulled her into a strong hug.

“Selene! Selene! Master came to our realm! To my house! Can you believe it? We even mated on my bed! And he met my parents! And he scared Gnesh away for me! It was so amazing! You need to bring him to your place too!”

Miria kept jumping around with the fox lady in her arms and Selene could only chuckle softly at her antics while brushing through her friend’s black hair. Asterios stood by their sides with his hands on his hips and smiled at them.

It took around a minute for the energetic panthergirl to slow down, realizing her actions and causing a tinge of rosiness to cover Miria’s fair cheeks. Selene leaned forward while still hugging Miria and rested her foreheads against each other.

“I’m happy for you, Miria. I was a little worried when you disappeared in the portal but I could still feel you through our bond and knew you were okay. I thought Summoners can’t cross the realms?”

“I have no idea why and how it works,” Asterios chimed in. “But it does. And we’ll have to study it. This is unprecedented. But, I wouldn’t be even slightly surprised if it has something to do with my ancestry rather than summoning itself.”

Miria turned Selene’s face back to herself after she had glanced at the speaking Asterios.

“It’s your turn now. I will stay here while you take Master around your home and city.” She then turned her gaze towards him. “I know you said we shouldn’t overuse this yet, but can you do it for her, Master? Just for a bit?”

Selene wanted to protest but Asterios stepped closer and placed his hands on their heads, stroking their ears affectionately.

“Of course. Just for a bit, though. We can spend as much time in your world as we want later.” He smiled.

Miria jumped a few times more with a wide grin and pushed Selene into Asterios. Their gazes met and the fox lady sighed softly after seeing his caring expression.

“I’ll fully oblige then, my Lord. I do have someone I want to introduce you to too, fufufu~”