Every Beast Needs a Beauty

When she opened her eyes again, the bitterness in them had hardened into something colder.

"Your father abandoned us." Though her still heart ached a little, her voice was steady now. "You saw how he looked at us—with nothing but disdain. If we had stayed even a moment longer, we might not have made it out alive."

And the cruel irony was that she felt safer here, in the vast darkness of the wilderness than in the home she had built with him.

Out of her instincts taking over, she had fled blindly. If she had lingered a second more—if Nuru had noticed her—what would he have done?

"Surely it won't be anything good. He doesn't love us anymore. And that woman—" her fingers dug into the earth, "—who knows what she'll demand from him next?"

Females were jealous creatures by nature.

Sure, zulnas like her were fiercely territorial, yet they would never harm another beast's cub. But Earthlings? They were different. They are cunning, scheming, and malicious whenever it suits them.

Before she eloped with Nuru, Wenshi had heard some nasty gossip back in her tribe—stories of these foreign women who lured beastmen away with their unnatural fertility, who shattered mates' bonds and upturned traditions.

She had thought those stories were exaggerated because of the beast kin's ire toward those outsiders. 

She had been wrong.

"If what my tribesmen said was even half true, I need to stay as far away from them as possible. That woman didn't sound clueless at all. She knew that Nuru had a mate, and she still stole my husband from—"

Kick!

Wenshi groaned and hissed. "What is it again? You're kicking Mama— oh!" Wenshi blinked and soon realized what her child was meaning. The woman patted her tummy and chuckled lightly, "You cheeky brat. Alright, alright! Mama said it wrong don't be angry. Let Mama correct it, that sow stole our problem not my husband or your father. Happy now?"

Wenshi uttered dotingly and felt the child respond with a soft kick as if he understood everything.

Female fertility on Saturn was a fickle thing. Some only entered their estrus cycle once a year, and even then, many struggled to conceive. It was a challenge—a sacred struggle to bring new life into their world. Meanwhile, giving birth to a new generation of zulna was a bigger challenge. 

She had thought herself lucky when she conceived in the very year they mated. She had believed it was a blessing.

Then Earthlings arrived, and everything changed.

Their effortless ability to bear children shattered the delicate balance of Saturn's society. And with it, the sanctity of mating.

Adultery became common.

And now, it was her turn to wear the shameful mark of a woman betrayed with a green hat.

"I couldn't do anything against your father in my current state. I'm sorry if Mama couldn't throw revenge for us as of the moment."

If it were just her, she would have fought back—torn them apart, dragged them both to the afterlife if that's what it took to settle the score.

But she wasn't alone.

She had someone far more precious to protect.

She traced the faded beast mark of a red tiger on the back of her hand. The once vibrant symbol of their bond had dulled. Seeing the proof of their connection almost gone, she no longer tried to deny the cold truth.

It's all real.

Nuru defied the natural law of beastmen and mated with another female. Ultimately putting a crack on their sacred bond. With how much it waned, the gravity of his deeds could be seen clearly.

"With how faint it became, I don't think I will receive any repercussions from the Beast God Saturn."

Henceforth, it's safe to say that Nuru and her are no longer mates. She was now determined to end the farce he started.

Thinking so, the last bit of trace of the mark in her hand quickly vanished. Inside the cave, Nuru who was lying naked, resting after many bouts of carnal indulgence jolted upwards with an ominous look on his face.

"Darling? What's wrong?" Yemane who was abruptly stirred beside him yawned.

But the man didn't spare him a glance. His intense brooding eyes were set on the back of his hand. So sharp he could penetrate his skin.

"Did... Wenshi rise?" He furrowed with trepidation.

Thereafter he's eyelids twitched violently, without a word, he jumped off the bed and ran towards the direction of the fire vein.

Leaving Yemane confused and perturbed.

"Hey, hey!" She called out but her shouts fell on deaf ears. Yemane kicked her feet on the bed frustratedly.

"Argh! He's gone so quickly! Shitty cat. Where the hell is that troublesome tiger bolting off again without even saying anything to me?" Yemane grumbled, looking at the looming darkness that he slowly faded into.

He's only attentive when they're having intercourse. So hateful!

"And who the hell is Wenshi?! Is that his wife's name? Aish!" She hit the mattress in annoyance. "How can he look for her just right after he finishes banging me? Asshole!"

Meanwhile, Nuru stared darkly at the abandoned nest.

Crack!

With a sickening snap, he crushed the skeletal remains of the underground critters Wenshi had consumed before fleeing. The veins on his forehead, twisted to a knot as his callous fingers trembled, not with weakness—but with rage.

"You woke after two years, and the first thing you do is sever our bond?" His voice was low, nearly a whisper, but it carried the weight of a coming storm. His eyes gleamed with unhinged fury and grudge. "You should have stayed. Obedient. Waiting. Until you gave birth." He roared.

Does she think she will let her go just because he had taken in that earthling? When she already carrying a powerful tiger cub of his bloodline?!

A slow, ominous grin spread across his lips. "You want to escape that badly? Fine. Run to the ends of the world if you dare… but understand this—" his fingers curled into a fist, nails digging into his palm, "—you will never escape me. Your body shall become a vessel in conceiving countless tiger descendants for my tribe!"