I suddenly felt a hand on my waist and another on my shoulder. Noah and Fenric moved in close, their heat grounding . Thalor shifted to my side, but his hand did not go to my ankle. That would just be weird in front of anyone.
Instead, he stuck his pinky out and hooked it in my pinky.
It was little, it was subtle, but it was warm.
"You did good, little tiger," Noah murmured into my ear, his breath hot against my skin.
"We did good," I corrected, looking at my three perfect, chubby-cheeked disasters. "Now, we feast."
The feast officially began, and all the big boars and deer caught by the brave males of the West Way were being roasted, all on my directive, of course.
Watching them gnaw on raw and bloody at during this celebration just felt unsettling to . And thankfully, I had taught a few how to use the spit thod to roast an entire boar as well as sprinkle salt all over it.
It was going great.
Then, I caught a glimpse of the open doorway. The sun was setting, casting long, bloody shadows across the valley.
The ceremony was over. The peace was settled. But as I watched the shadows stretch, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this mont was the last bit of quiet I was going to get for a very, very long ti.
...
A week later, I realized I was right.
I was at the nursery where the pups played alongside mine. It was supposed to be a quiet afternoon of supervision while the n worked on the upper joists of the palace.
Since there had been no incidents since the creation of the nursery, I felt I could handle a one-man watch. I felt wrong because putting those pups to sleep was war, and I was losing.
"Co on, children, don’t be like this." I tried to keep my smile up, but it was so damn hard.
I bla Noah for having too many kids.
Their mothers were working at the construction site. So it was just two other sheep girls and .
If it wasn’t for them, I would’ve already given up.
Then, the scent in the air changed, and my body went rigid.
It wasn’t a scent I recognized—not wolf, not tiger, not even the salty tang of the sea. Not the other beastn I worked with either.
It was sothing dry. Sothing cold.
Quite... familiar.
The subtle coldness reminded of Damar, but this feeling was cruel. Vicious.
I got up right away, and every child and the sheep girls looked at .
"Is sothing wrong, Land Mother?"
"Stay here for a bit," I said, and quickly turned to head to the sleeping room.
And I was just in ti because as soon as I got there, I found a woman with red hair, her lower half had a thick, red-scaled tail, and she was reaching into one of the cribs, her claws inches away from a sleeping wolf pup.
My vision went red. I didn’t think and acted right away.
I didn’t call for the guards because there were no guards.
"Get. Away. From. Them!"
I lunged forward. My fingers curled into elongated claws, and my teeth bared in a snarl that felt a lot more ’beast’ than ’human.’
The snake woman hissed, her eyes widening in surprise as she turned around, but I was already in front of her.
I had watched Damar hunt. I knew how the tail moved. I knew how the weight shifted before a strike. So, if it were a female snake beastman who was my opponent, I could take her.
As she swung her massive red tail to crush , I didn’t move back—I moved in. I dove under the sweep, my hands snatching the pup from her grip in a flash as I rolled across the floor.
"Run!" I scread to the other children, who had woken up and were frozen in terror. "To the Great Hall! To the males. Now!"
The wolf pups scurried, their tiny paws thumping against the wooden floorboard.
The sheep girls had carried my cubs and were hurrying out as well, and I knew I could count on them to go get help from the fiercest on the land. My husbands.
I stood my ground, the stolen pup tucked firmly against my chest, as I faced down the red snake. She was tall, prideful, and looked at like I was sothing she’d found on the bottom of her shoe.
"So," she hissed, her tongue flickering. "You are the Land-Mother I’ve been hearing so much about." She locked her wrist where I had slit it as I stole the pup from her. "I thought you only knew how to bark orders, but it seems like you have claws after all."
I didn’t smile. I didn’t tremble. I just frowned.
It seems my na has been going around lately. But why did it have to be the Land Mother title?
Anyway, she must’ve watched for a while if she knows all I do is bark orders all day.
This female... She was dangerous.
How did she even get in here? How did she slip past the guard post? How—?
"You seem quite bold to be thinking about sothing else while I am in front of you!" She interrupted my thought process, her tail whipping towards .
Instead of dodging back, I simply jumped up, avoiding the whip until she retracted her tails, and I landed on my feet, my eyes narrowed as I looked at her.
"You have no idea," I growled. "I do a little bit of multitasking every now and then,"
I’ve always known I’ve been quite nimble. But fighting against a female that plans to kill ... now that’s new.
I’ve gotta test out all my body functions today, but... I looked at the pup trembling in my hands and then at the door behind the snake woman.
If I can toss him through the door, he’ll be off to safety, and I can fight this female with no issue.
And if possible, I want to get her out of the nursery palace.
Fighting here will only destroy the place we built with so many hopes and dreams.
"You still have the ti to think?!"
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