Author's Note

Website is still malfunctioning, views aren't working at all, yet I'm still inspired to write this. To those of you that have followed so far, and the few that have reviewed, thank you so much! I want to know what y'all thought of the second chapter, was it good character introduction, was it interesting or a good way to throw important exposition at you? Please let me know! This is the first time I'm writing a story made entirely around original characters, and quite a few of them, I want to know how I'm doing so far. Thank!

Uploaded

09/18/2023

LEGEND BELOW

"Hello, no I won't eat you..." = Normal speech.

''That's a radical idea...'' = Normal thoughts.

Chapter 3

Rated-M

M rating for mature themes, mentions of suicide and depression, anxiety, romance and nudity.

Music of the day

Deltarune - Before the story

"Hey Nick, it's Britney! You could probably tell by my voice but… Anyway! I hadn't heard back from you and just wanted to let you know that we all miss you! I know you're probably exhausted and stuff, so no pressure, but maybe sometime in the future we can all get together again for dinner this time? There's a great new restaurant downtown that I just found and I soooo want to go there with y'all! Sooo, please get back to me whenever you can! Love you Nicky! Take care of yourself!"

The voice message ended abruptly, the bright and bubbly woman's voice vanishing, leaving him in silence once more. He blinked down at his phone screen, the item providing the only source of light in his room, the blinds having been closed before.

However, he didn't remember even touching the window yesterday, so he knew that he wasn't responsible.

No.

The one responsible for closing his blinds as well as providing him some of the best sleep he'd had in the last few months was currently cuddling him from behind, his head resting comfortably between her furry bosom. He could feel her warm breath ruffling his hair, her arms wrapped around his midsection as she refused to let him go, treating him like some sort of oversized teddy bear.

Color him surprised when he awoke that morning to find himself in bed with the creature, laying comfortably over her exposed belly. The first thing that greeted his bleary tired eyes when he awoke was the bright glowing pink orbs that floated magically in her wolf-like skull, boney maw pulled up into a pleased grin.

Were he a different man, he'd probably wake up screaming in terror at the monster girl thing, but by now, he'd been thoroughly convinced that he'd become the object of affection to a mysterious otherworldly creature that completely defied the laws of nature.

And he wasn't that upset by it…

She was very nice, and hadn't once hurt him or scared him, so he had to not look this gift horse in the mouth and just accept his situation.

It's not like he could tell her to go away, seeing as she could practically teleport wherever she wanted, whenever she wanted.

That and…

Sucking in a slow drawn out breath, his head pressed comfortably against her chest, he found himself slowly being lulled back to sleep from her heartbeat. So close to her like he was, he couldn't help the scent that wafted off of her, like fresh pine trees and a general feeling of a quiet forest spring.

It was the most comforting smell he'd experienced since he lost her…

And he wasn't embarrassed to allow himself to get lost in her presence, her warm embrace taking him back to better times.

He only had one little request, and it pertained to the feminine assets currently smothering his head. He cleared his throat, eyes still closed as he tried to not fall back asleep. "…MalO?" He asked softly, eyes still closed, body relaxed.

"Hmmm, yes Darling?" The monster woman hummed deeply, voice reverberating throughout his body, the sensation making his spine tingle pleasantly.

"I'm not going to ask you to leave…" He muttered quietly, soothing her worries, if she had any. He wasn't sure, but he couldn't help himself as he tried not to upset her. "But… Could you please wear something?" He asked, face flushed lightly.

True, she was a monster woman creature that defied the laws of nature by itself, but that didn't change the fact that she was a woman. Although she was cover from head to toe in that soft luscious grey fur, save for her skull face, she still had all the lady bits that made her a woman in the first place. And snuggled up so close to her, he couldn't ignore them any longer.

"Ohhh, am I embarrassing you, Darling?" She cooed in that ghostly way, voice mysterious and unnatural, but not unsettling. He found it hard to describe, and he found his ability to focus slipping under her intimate attention. "That's okay, I don't mind you looking." She winked, nuzzling up to him, her boney maw rubbing against his exposed neck.

"…" He didn't say anything, letting her do her thing. He wasn't going to say that he hated it, because he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy that attention being so thoroughly focused on him made him feel like that little spark of life that had all but died out had once again begun to kindle.

He was a little embarrassed by her apparent nudity, and her teasing him about it.

But, seemingly reading his mind, she knew that it was making him uncomfortable. She was moving too fast for him to keep up in the fragile state he was in, and she was already pushing him way too far.

"Okay Darling, because you asked so nicely." She relented, humming deeply against his neck. He shivered underneath the warmth of her breath on his body, everything about her unnatural.

He blinked, the bed suddenly becoming far lighter than it had previously been. His eyes widened as he realized that MalO had left suddenly, simply vanishing in the blink of an eye, as if she'd never been there in the first place.

He sighed, rubbing at his eyes to shake off the last vestiges of sleep that remained.

As much as he wanted to sleep in all day, even snuggled up on MalO for the remainder of time, he knew that he had to get up and do something with his life.

The loud growling that echoed out from his stomach told him as much.

He hadn't eaten anything since before the cafe incident, and that had been yesterday morning.

With a start he realized that he hadn't even eaten anything at the cafe at all, his food not reaching him before he had his panic attack.

He was starving.

"Mmm…" He groaned quietly, slipping out of bed as he wandered off, phone left behind on his nightstand. He yawned a long sound, nearly ending in an animalistic whine as he cracked his back, the kinks from having slept an entire day rearing their ugly heads.

The lights were all off, but he could see perfectly clear in the dark. He wandered down the halls of his house, making his way downstairs to his large kitchen.

He hummed lightly as he walked, bent over at the waist as he inspected the contents of his fridge. He wiggled lightly in excitement as he found a large plate of food sitting dead center of his fridge, wrapped up to preserve it from going bad.

His eyes widened in excitement as he realized it was his breakfast from yesterday, the food he never managed to have. "Britney must've gotten it to go for me." He said to himself, unable to help the little smile that formed over his lips as he reached in to grab the plate.

He pulled the plate out, moving for his microwave. He set the plate down, cutting off the thin plastic film with one sharp fingernail, tossing it into the trash.

The electric appliance beeped a few times as he set it to reheat his food, the lights turning on in the microwave as it began slowly spinning his plate.

With nothing better to do, he stood there patiently, watching it spin around and around. If he had a tail, it would be wagging right then, because all he had on his mind in that moment was how good the food was going to taste.

Beeeeep!

He clicked the open button almost immediately, nearly salivating as the steamy scents slammed into his nose with unbridled ferocity.

It consisted of french-toast with cream cheese and blueberries, honey syrup drizzled over top, with strawberry jam on the side. The other half of the plate had potatoes and eggs scrambled together with cheese over top, and bacon strips on the side.

By the time he had moved it to his large empty table, he was practically drooling. Sure, it wouldn't be as good as it would've been fresh, but he was just excited to have his favorite breakfast so early in the morning.

He didn't even need to be dressed to eat it either.

It was a win win situation…

But as he slid his plate onto the table, taking a seat at one end, he realized that the food, no matter how much he loved it, lost so much flavor when eaten alone. He felt that little bit of happiness fade a bit as he took in his large empty home.

Nothing…

Not even crickets could be heard in the vacant walls.

It was so quiet now, that he could detect the change in sound, no matter how small. So when the silence was supposed replaced with the gentle thrum of a heartbeat somewhere right behind him, he knew that he was no longer alone.

He smiled lightly, looking upwards to find the grinning boney maw of MalO, the monster woman having literally appeared as if from nowhere, right out of the corner of his eye. "You're back…" He murmured quietly, eyes widening in surprise when she walked around him, moving to sit in an empty chair adjacent to him.

She'd certainly returned, but this time she wasn't naked, or at least, as nude as she'd been previously. She was wearing a white tee-shirt with a crude drawing of a ghost from Packman on the front, with hearts replacing the eyes. Over her chest was the word FREAK, while underneath the cute ghost were the words, IN THE SHEETS. She looked like she'd raided a Hot Topic...

The shirt barely went down to her waistline, not hiding the red panties she now wore underneath. Even further down her ridiculously plump thighs were black and red striped stockings that went down to her wolf-like ankle joints.

Glancing back up to her neck, he noticed the addition of a black leather choker, with metal spikes lining the outside.

"Better, Darling?" MalO cooed lowly, voice reverberating throughout the kitchen quietly.

He found his gaze drawn back to her pink glowing orbs that seemingly served to resemble eyes, floating in the void of her empty skull. Her silky black hair hung down between her eyes, her ears tilted his way as if eager to hear his answer.

He felt like he had to say she looked nice, the thought that she'd feel like a kicked puppy if he said anything different taking over him.

Swallowing thickly, trying to ignore how the fact that her wearing clothes only served to further accentuate her figure, he smiled politely at her. "Y-You look wonderful, MalO." He admitted, hoping that she couldn't see his flushed cheeks in the dimness of the early morning.

If possible, her grin widened further, pink eyes literally lighting up the kitchen just a bit.

"Oh, you're so polite. What did I do to deserve you?" She cooed in that ghostly way, seemingly content to sit there by his side while he ate. Her words were always heard, voice emerging from her maw, yet she rarely moved her jaw when she spoke. The words mysteriously just appeared, as if she were psychic.

He swallowed nervously, averting his gaze from her deep pink eyes and down to his food. Even then, he could feel her intense gaze upon him.

Swallowing up his nerves, he glanced back over to her, face sporting a light blush. "Do.. Do you want some?" He asked curiously, motioning down to his food.

Somehow, her eyes widened, the wolfish skull that made up her face moving around as if it weren't made of bone. She glanced down to his still lightly steaming food, eyeing it with a curious pink gaze.

Then she grinned wider. "I'll gladly have some, if it'll make you happy." She hummed lightly, moving her chair so it was closer to him. The moment she was close enough, she leaned over the table, hefty chest resting on the cool wooden material as she opened her maw. Glancing past the large sharp teeth that lined her jaw, he saw a long pink tongue poke out.

He grabbed his fork, poking a piece of the french-toast into the cream cheese and strawberry jam, before placing it in her mouth. He pulled the fork back, pretending like he wasn't intensely studying her face for a response.

Then, once again defying the laws of nature, her cheeks turned red, like she was blushing. She hummed a deep and animalistic sound, like a cat or fox purring. "Oooh… that's wonderful…" She cooed in delight, pink eyes rolling up slightly.

His eyes widened, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. Sitting so close to her, he noticed the staggering height difference between them. While he stood at an, unfortunately adorable height of five foot three, she towered over him at a height of what he assumed must've been somewhere around seven foot five at least.

Simply everything about her was proportionately larger.

For some reason, he found a little part of him enjoying the immense size difference between them.

He almost, dare he say it, felt safe in her presence.

No one would dare try and hurt him with her around after all.

So lost in thought, and overjoyed that she liked the food, he wasn't ready for her when she leaned forward and licked his cheek. He was so surprised by the motion that he actually yelped in surprise, before his face turned beet red in horror over the sound he'd made.

Any hope that MalO had not heard the strange inhuman sound was immediately dashed when she began laughing in glee. The situation was made infinitely worse when she began licking him over and over, trying to rouse the strange sound from him again.

"N-No! S-Stop it, that tickles!" He whined pitifully as she licked him relentlessly, unable to stop his giggles that slipped past his lips. He squeaked when he suddenly found himself swept off his feet, being carried bridal style by the mysterious creature. He flushed hot red, blinking bashfully up at the far larger and stronger looking monster woman who so effortlessly held him aloft.

"I love it when you laugh… I can't stand you looking so sad…" She whispered breathily down at him, pink eyes glowing in affection.

He felt his blush suddenly overtake his face, the red blending in with his eyes as she stared in surprise up at her. Once again, he felt that dying spark of life in his heart being kindled, growing just a little stronger.

"A-hah-?!" He squeaked in surprise, holding back a pleased little moan as he found her sharp pointed claws suddenly and slowly roaming his scalp, gently scratching his head. He felt his eyes threatening to roll up in the back of his head, a low a guttural sound emitting from somewhere in his throat.

The sound was so akin to purring that once he realized that he was doing it, he quickly clamped his hands over his mouth in embarrassment, eyes gazing up at the monster in embarrassment.

"I-Is this going to become a regular occurrence?" He murmured lowly, face burning in embarrassment.

"Unless you find some way to get rid of me." MalO cooed, nuzzling his face.

Nick rolled his eyes, sighing as he resigned himself to his fate.

He wasn't sure what he did to deserve such a caring and loving monster woman taking care of him like she was his oversized girlfriend…

He just supposed that it was going to take some getting used to.

Because being happy had been nearly impossible for the past three months, he felt like he had to learn how to live normally all over again…

If normal was even something in his future anymore to begin with...

"So… MalO? I was curious about, well… Everything I guess…" Nick murmured in question.

After breakfast was finished, which ended up consisting of MalO feeding him while he sat in her lap, something she held no hesitation on informing him that she loved, the pale skinned man found himself cleaning up his filthy kitchen.

He'd not done general cleaning of his own house in a while, and now that he took the time to try and live in it, (Forcefully, he might add), he really took note of how filthy it was.

While busying his hands with cleaning the kitchen, he found himself pondering his new life, one he was going to live with MalO by his side.

Summoned by his inquiry, the towering wolf ghost monster appeared in the corner of his eyes, leaning against the countertop patiently, eyes staring intensely at him. "About what, Darling?" She purred, her voice echoing out of her skull like the sound of the wind.

He felt the question she returned his way was silly, because it should be obvious what he was talking about.

But after a moment of pondering, he realized that she may not see herself as anything out of the ordinary.

After all, if typical people assumed monsters were just myth, and a monster appeared in the flesh, he'd be forced to reevaluate his stance on what he thought was ordinary and what wasn't.

It was probably also the same when turned around.

She was a monster, probably had been whatever it was that she was her whole life. That being the case, it was obvious to him that she probably wouldn't think that she's all that strange.

So when asked, she probably didn't immediately understand exactly what he was talking about.

"Well, I mean, what are you? I've never seen or heard of anything like you before." He asked again, trying to word his question in a way that didn't seem like he was trying to offend her. "Where…? Where did you come from?" He asked, turning a curious gaze her way.

He expected the questions to be answered easily, not something too deep.

But, when he looked at her after having asked just that, her face fell. Her boney maw turned down into a frown, pink eyes dimming. "Where did I come from…?" Her ghostly voice echoed out, repeatedly his words back at him.

Seeing as she had no eyelids to speak of, her pink orbs simply vanished, as if to simulate her closing her eyes in thought. "I do not know…" She answered truthfully. "All I remember is waking up in the middle of the graveyard, looking like I do. The only thought in my mind was of you, your face, your smile, your scent, your eyes…" She trailed off.

His eyes widened in shock, looking at her in a different light. "You're a…" He started, before trying to find the right word. "Ghost?" He searched her eyes for the answer, but within the look she gave him, he realized that she didn't know either.

She didn't know what she was, how she'd gotten here, how old she was nor where she'd come from.

She knew nothing, besides the special powers that she had, and one very simple fact.

She loved him, with all of her ghostly heart.

As if to answer a theory he had, he sat his dishes down, quickly drying his hands on the towel. He walked up to her, motioning her down to his level.

She blinked down curiously at him, before relenting to his request as she squatted down on her large powerful thighs, now at eye level with him. Her eyebrows rose in surprise as he leaned forward and embraced her tightly, head pressed firmly to her breast. He closed his eyes, taking in her scent, sharp hearing picking up on her very alive heartbeat.

He didn't saying for a long moment, relishing the comfort he found in her warm and furry embrace for as long as he could.

She looked like a ghost, vanishing into thin air before reappearing with no warning. Her voice simply existed, echoing out from within her, and part of her body defied the typically understood laws of nature.

But, she was very much real, alive, breathing. He could feel her heartbeat underneath her breasts, he could smell her earthy and eerily familiar scent, no ounce of decay present. Her warm breath tickled his ears as she slowly exhaled, something only living beings were capable of.

He realized that it didn't matter what she was at the end of the day, nor really where she came from. She was alive, a strange female creature that could make her own choices in life, and had willingly decided that he was going to be the sole object of her desire.

He could accept her for who she was, looking past her mysterious and ghostly presence.

But he realized that others probably, and very likely, wouldn't.

He had to keep her a secret.

She had to be his little secret, hidden away from the rest of the world.

If word got out that he was living with a ghostly monster woman, he had no idea what could happen.

What if the government came to take her away?

What if Area 51 stole her to do crazy experiments on her?

He felt like there was no end to the madness that would surely ensue if the world found out about her.

He had to protect her, keep her secret.

He didn't know why, but…

He felt protective of her, defensive, even, dare he say, territorial over her. He wouldn't let anyone or anything take her away from him.

She was the only thing that had reignited that dying smoldering fire in his heart, kindling his will to live, his energy to go on. Why she of all people had done so to him was still an anomaly, but he wouldn't question it. If he began questioning things, he felt like there would be no end to the questions that would surely arise.

"Can…" He murmured quietly into her chest, eyes hidden by the fabric of her shirt.

"Hmm?" She hummed in question, patiently waiting for his question.

He was quiet for a long moment, seemingly gathering up his courage to say what he wanted to say, what he needed to say. Swallowing thickly, his grip around her tighter just a bit, almost as if he was afraid that she'd leave him.

"Can you promise me something…?" He muttered quietly, just loud enough for her to hear.

Her furry ears poked up at his earnest tone, picking up on the fragility in his voice. "Can you promise me that you won't leave me…?" He asked finally, tears prickling at the corner of his eyes. He sucked in a shaky breath, pointed fingernails scratching the fabric of her shirt. "I don't want to be alone anymore…" He whispered quietly, voice so quiet and broken it made her yearn to comfort him, tell him that it was going to be alright.

"Please… don't leave me." He begged quietly into her chest, afraid to let her go.

His eyes widened when she wrapped her arms around him. "Don't you remember what I told you last night?" She asked quietly. "I promised that I'd never leave you. I'm here for you, now and forever. No one will ever take me away, I won't let them…" Her promise echoed out like a shining light, warming the cold lifeless walls of his heart.

It would be a little while before he willingly yet extremely reluctantly removed himself from her embrace, already missing the warmth he felt from being so close to her.

Although his heart was still broken in two from the death of his wife, and he'd refused to even consider ever again getting married after her death, no matter how she'd begged him to do so with her dying breath, he found himself enjoying MalO's presence in his life.

He just knew getting used to her would be both exciting and tiresome at the same time…

Chapter

3

End