ra didn''t know what else even happened after that one kiss. Her body tingled all over, and there was that undeniable feeling of fulfillment and longing overtaking her senses.


    Everything else mattered little to her. All that did was that Gs was currently walking beside her, his hand wrapped around hers as they toured the small square where the festival was taking ce.


    [You''re even holding hands with him now?!] Sheba joyouslyughed. [Seriously, can you even tell me that you don''t like him?]


    [It just feels natural in a ce like this,] ra weakly scoffed, her cheeks still red from the rush of emotions still running through her nerves. [It''s just tonic hand holding. Nothing more, nothing less.]


    [How can you deny him even now?] her wolfughed at her. [With every second that you''re holding his hand, the more we''re starting to feel the Mate Pull between us. And here I thought you said you didn''t want that Pull to dictate your senses.]


    ra inwardly bit her tongue in begrudging eptance. There was no use anymore. As much as she''d like to say otherwise, she was really enjoying the feelings currently running through her chest. It felt fulfilling... endearing... It was as if she was being made whole from being iplete, and she didn''t even know that was the case before they met.


    "What do you want to do, ra?"


    She was taken out of her musings when Gs suddenly turned to ask her something. Still, as much as she wanted to avert her gaze, she couldn''t help but notice his handsome face and the sensation of their hands holding through the cold winter night air. They were sharing a bit of body heat that way, and it was very distracting for her reasoning.


    "I... I thought you had something nned for us," ra meekly replied.


    "Well, I did, but letting you see the papernterns was as far as that n went," Gs admitted with a chuckle. "We''re kind of free for the rest of the night."


    ra blinked, her mind too busy trying to reset itself before she replied. "How about some souvenirs then?"


    "And food as well," Gs finished her thought, having caught her drift as he pondered. "We still have dinner forter, but we can sample a few dishes here and there."


    Nodding, ra let Gs lead the pace as they went from stall to stall, buying a few knickknacks on some while also sampling some street food from the others. It was like a carnival. Then again, they were in the middle of a festival. She really should''ve expected something like this to happen.


    "Oh, what''s that?"


    ra quickly turned to where Gs was pointing, noticing the rather busy stall by the side of the road. There were many people lining up for it, and from what she could see, it was some kind of game where the challengers would have to shoot down a paperntern to receive a prize.


    "That... looks like an archery range to me," she nonchntly replied.


    "Exactly," Gs grinned. "And I just so happen to be beside the best archer currently in this town."


    She blushed at his words, thepliment to her skill somehow having the same effect as himplimenting her looks. Still, he had touched on her pride as an archer, and she knew she just had to prove his words right.


    "I''ll take that as a yes to you participating in the booth then."


    Her eyes widened. How did he-


    "You look cute with that look of determination on your face," Gs smirked. "And you do know that we already have a Bond between us, right?"


    "O-Oh..." ra blushed. Had her control slipped again for the wall between them to go down? "I guess I forgot..."<novelnext></novelnext>


    "It''s fine," he chuckled. "Let''s go clean that stall out then."


    Once more, ra found herself being dragged along for the ride as Gs took her to the archery stall. There, she saw the numerous prizes up for grabs, including a massive plushie that just screamed at her toe and take it.


    "Here. I already paid for it."


    She blinked as her mate gave her a loaded bow. It hadn''t even sunken in yet that she was doing this, and yet here he was dictating her actions.


    Somehow, she didn''t mind it one bit.


    "Not even a warning, huh," ra chuckled as she drew the bow with a swift motion. "Watch and learn..."


    With a deep breath, she aimed her shot and struck true. Her arrow flew swiftly, hitting the target right in the bullseye.


    "We have a winner!"


    Again, ra didn''t even know what was happening when Gs pulled her closer to his side. He then gave her the massive plushie, forcing her to hold onto it with both arms as they quickly moved away from the stall.


    "What... What just happened?" she couldn''t help but ask.


    "We were getting swarmed," Gs exined. "And you looked overwhelmed all of a sudden. I just thought that you were getting ufortable under all of that attention."


    Huh?


    ra frowned as she turned to look back at the stall. Sure enough, a lot of people were cheering for her sess, and some of their questions about her skill were even audible to her despite their considerable distance.


    "Are you alright?"


    ra quickly nodded. "Y-Yes..."


    She couldn''t help but let out a small sigh. She didn''t even notice all of those people cheering for her back there. Their voices didn''t even register. In fact, the only voice she heard back there was...


    "Say, shouldn''t we get Mother a gift from the festival?" she voiced out.


    "I suppose you''re right," Gs nodded at her with a smile. "Thank you for reminding me."


    And just like that, she felt her chest tighten as Gs talked to her with that amazing voice of his. She was pretty sure she didn''t think that way of his tone back then, but now...


    Even as they turned to another stall to buy Sh a gift, her gaze was trained solely at Gs. His voice echoed between them as he talked to the stall vendor, and it was the only thing in the world she could focus on right now.