After hesitating for a while, Yanai finally gathered his courage and transformed into a tiny wolf cub.

Carefully, almost cautiously, he padded over to Nina.

Then he lifted his head and looked at her with pitiful, pleading eyes.

At the sight of the adorable little wolf pup, Nina’s heart instantly softened.

She pulled out a brand-new dog teaser wand and waved it gently in front of him.

Joy burst through Yanai’s chest. Delighted, he immediately began playing with Nina.

At last, she was willing to play with him too.

He no longer had to stand there envying Mino and the others.

The beast husbands, however, were far less pleased to see him join in.

Several of them immediately began crowding him, jostling him aside every chance they got.

Damned wolf. Don’t even think about charming Nina.

Yanai wasn’t intimidated in the slightest and fought back just as fiercely.

Watching them bicker and shove each other around, Nina began to feel a headache coming on.

The beast husbands really did not like Yanai at all...

Seeing that even Yanai had successfully joined, Setan felt himself wavering even more.

Clenching his fists, he quietly slipped to a spot where no one was paying attention and transformed into a little lion cub.

If the others could do it, then so could he.

Slowly, cautiously, he crept toward Nina and gazed up at her with large, wet eyes full of shy anticipation.

Nina turned her head and froze when she saw yet another cub approaching.

She blinked in surprise.

...Was that Setan? Why had he come too?

Setan looked at her expectantly, though embarrassment still lingered in his eyes.

Nina coughed lightly and refused him as gently as she could. "Um... Setan, maybe you should go play with the children instead."

The lion froze. Disappointment and hurt immediately surfaced in his eyes.

Why didn’t she want to play with him?

The others were her beast husbands, so he couldn’t complain about them, but why could that damned wolf join in while he couldn’t?

"Nina... I..."

He looked at her pitifully. He didn’t want to play with the children at all. He only wanted to play with her.

Nina cleared her throat awkwardly and said tactfully, "I’m already having trouble keeping up as it is."

Setan lowered his head and silently walked to a corner, crouching there alone.

His lonely little figure looked utterly miserable.

Why was he the only one not allowed? Little lion cubs were cute too...

The beast husbands nearly burst out laughing.

Hahaha, the damned lion got rejected by Nina.

Watching Setan sulk in the corner, Yanai suddenly thought back to his own earlier experiences.

For the first time, he truly understood the smug satisfaction Mino and Sal must have felt when they used to watch him fail.

Not that he pitied the lion one bit.

The lion clan males watching nearby clicked their tongues sympathetically.

Ohoho, their great city lord got rejected. How tragic.

...So why did it also feel a little funny?

Nina herself felt rather awkward. Conveniently, her hands were starting to get sore anyway, so she tossed several toys toward the beast husbands and let them entertain themselves.

Yanai immediately spotted a little yellow duck nearby and decided he wanted it.

At the exact same moment, Shushu—tired from chasing the ball around—also set his sights on the duck.

Two tiny paws landed on it simultaneously.

Shushu looked up and glared furiously at Yanai.

Big bad wolf, let go. That’s my toy.

It was his favorite toy.

Yanai raised a brow and casually hooked the duck toward himself with one paw. "I want this one. Go play with something else."

Every time you stepped on it, it let out a ridiculous squeak.

Honestly, it was kind of entertaining.

Shushu immediately bit down on the duck. No. I want this one.

Yanai bit down on it too. "I’m playing with it."

The two little snow wolves tugged fiercely at the yellow duck, neither willing to back down.

Watching the father-and-son pair fight over a rubber duck, Nina pressed a hand to her forehead in helpless amusement.

Then she pulled out another one and tossed it over.

"Stop fighting. One for each of you."

Yanai released the little yellow duck and went to play with the new one Nina had tossed him.

The moment he let go, Shushu lunged over and bit him once before angrily trotting away with his duck clenched in his mouth. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Stupid bad wolf. That’s what you get for stealing my toy.

Nina shook her head helplessly. This father and son pair truly were natural enemies.

***

After playing for a while, Sal and the others gradually lost interest once Nina stopped interacting with them directly.

Sal and Mino leapt into Nina’s lap, shamelessly asking for pets and cuddles. Seeing this, Kith and the others hurried over as well.

After hesitating briefly, Yanai carefully edged closer too.

"Nina... could you maybe... pet me too?"

Nina lowered her gaze toward him. His tiny paws nervously clutched at the fur beneath her feet, clearly anxious. He was afraid she would reject him again.

Truthfully, he had wanted Nina to hold and pet him like this for a very long time.

Nina reached down and picked him up as well. "One at a time."

How could she possibly refuse such an adorable little puppy?

Holding a beast husband in each arm, Nina unleashed the full power of petting mode.

Under her touch, Sal and Mino practically melted, rolling over to expose their bellies.

Being stroked by Nina like this felt far too good.

The other males inside the cave stared in stunned disbelief.

Wait... You could do this too?

None of them had ever realized that males and their female could be close in such a way. Apparently, transforming into cub form came with unexpected benefits.

Their envy deepened instantly.

Lady Nina treated her beast husbands far too well.

Watching how blissful Sal and Mino looked, Kith and the others became even more eager.

Normally, Nina already had the children to cuddle and pet, so she rarely doted on the beast husbands this way. Aside from occasionally indulging Sal and Mino, opportunities like this were rare.

After finishing with those two, Nina looked toward Kith and the others.

"Who’s next?"

"I am," Kith immediately answered, wrapping himself around one of her hands.

Finch shamelessly claimed the other.

Nina began petting them too before eventually moving on to Aviel and Yanai.

But Aviel’s scales were much harder than fur, making him difficult to pet properly.

After thinking for a moment, she set him down gently. "I’ll use a special brush to massage you later."

Looking down at his scales, Aviel suddenly felt a little dejected.

He wasn’t soft and fluffy like the others.

Nina couldn’t stroke him with her bare hands the same way.

Even though she promised to massage him later, how could a tool possibly compare to Nina’s touch?

For the first time in his life, he found himself slightly envious of furry beasts.

Nina then scooped Yanai into her arms and began petting him.

It was the first time he had ever experienced something like this.

He felt so comfortable he might float away.

His eyes narrowed in bliss, his entire expression softening with pure enjoyment.

Nina’s embrace was so warm. Her hands were so soft.

He wanted to stay curled up in her arms forever, letting her pet him like this for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, Setan had only just managed to comfort himself enough to prepare for another attempt when he suddenly realized the cave had grown strangely quiet.

Earlier, he had been too immersed in the misery of being rejected to notice what was happening around him.

Turning around, he froze.

There was Yanai, comfortably nestled in Nina’s arms while she lovingly stroked him.

Setan suffered what felt like ten thousand points of emotional damage on the spot.

Playing with Nina came with this kind of benefit too?!

He suddenly felt as though he had missed out on an entire fortune.

Slowly, he turned back around. His lonely silhouette now carried an extra layer of sorrow.

***

After playing for a while, the children suddenly realized something horrifying.

Their usual spots in Nina’s arms had been occupied by the beast husbands.

Instantly outraged, they dropped their toys and charged toward her. The little ones climbed into Nina’s lap and began dragging at the beast husbands.

"Bad fathers, move! Those are our spots!"

Yinny pushed at Kith.

Didi tugged Finch’s tail.

Linny grabbed onto Aviel.

Momo wrapped himself around Mino.

Shushu dragged at Yanai.

Sunny clung stubbornly to Sal.

The entire scene descended into utter chaos.