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“I can’t say when I’ll manage. I might need a bit more sleep. It’s been a while since I played a full game.”

I brushed a strand of hair off his forehead. “Don’t worry. I shall know when you arrive. The forest will tell me. And then I will come to get you.”

“Okay.” He bit his lip to hide a grin.

Then he took hold of me and kissed me deeply before slipping back through the veil.

I stared after him until he was out of sight. Even then, I waited some before turning back in the direction of my house.

He would be back, and I had plans.

I am ready.

My heart hammered against my rib cage when I thought about it. But there was one thing I was sure of: if I wanted to go further with anyone, it was Bunny.

He made me feel safe and loved, something I had never experienced with another person before, least of all with my mother.

The Elven Queen’s magic was strong. As her son, the ones falling for her had extended their desire to me. When the Elven Queen had spurned their advances or moved on to her next toy, they had tried to get me to satisfy their desires instead.

Their grabby hands and blank eyes had repulsed me.

A shudder ran through me as I thought of them. I had felt hopeless on their behalf and had tried to convince her to release them. She laughed me off.

‘They love me, Julius. They want to stay. Go ahead, ask them.’

Whoever was her favourite at the time had then confessed their love for her in a sickly sweet voice, falling to their knees at her feet.

So I had left. I would rather face a life alone than one in her shadow, or worse, in her footsteps.

With Bunny everything was different, and it showed me that I had made the right choice staying true to myself and not abusing those poor people’s position.

He liked me. Truly likedme. I felt it in every fibre of my being. And I…I was his for as long as I lived. There would be nobody else for me.

I spent the week preparing the house and my food storage for him. If I wanted Nikolai to stay with me more often, I had to include him in my plans. And my forest provided.

I also wanted to spoil my bunny a bit. So I worked hard on setting up a space in a clearing behind the house. Under a freshly grown canopy of rambling plants, I made a nest for us to curl up in. I pruned and cut and planted all through Thursday evening.

And then, I waited for the weekend to come.

Forty-two

Nikolai

ThememoryofJulesgetting himself off on my lap carried me through the first half of the week.

Nope, I didn’t think even for a minute that frotting with a hot forest god magically cured me of my depression, but it did help me get out of bed—after jerking off imagining it was his hands on my cock. Plus, I played better.

“Well done, Nik,” Arne clapped me on the shoulder. “If you play like that tomorrow, the Füchse won’t have any reason to laugh.”

“Thanks, Captain.”

“Well done, Kleiner.” Bo punched my bicep with a grin. Snorting, I punched him back, careful not to hurt myself on his bulging arms…again. That had been an interesting bruise to explain to our PT.

“We’ll kick them back to their burrows,” I said, perhaps a bit too sure of our team. But we had never played better.

Raven and Decks were a match made in heaven—on the ice at least. Arne was at the height of his strength. Guns was having the best season of his career. He led the category for the goalie with the most saves. The sun now shone out of Bo’s ass since Ollie had moved in with him, and even I sucked less than usual.

My lips twitched as I stripped my clothes and protective gear.