The playfulness was gone. Ming Tao’s face became rigid as he stared attentively at Jia Hao.

An answer to the disturbance of this morning? That was something he was down to listen to any time and any day. Especially on something so dire.

"Speak." Ming Tao said. The short silence that brewed between them made the air thicken with tension and heightened his eagerness. Ming Tao swallowed. He wondered if Jia Hao knew who caused it and part of him really hoped it was no one from his clan. He believed them and he would hate for that to be false. He would hate to be cautious when living in his own home and he would hate to have to deal with the culprits according to the law. Believe it or not but no cheetah enjoyed seeing their own suffer even though the discipline was well deserved.

"On my way here, I saw some foot marks. Ones drawn over on the ground to hide the paw definition and the trail. One thing I know is that those did not belong to a cheetah. You have intruders living either among you or around you and one thing for sure is that they are watching. Whoever they are." Jia Hao stated.

"You think there are more than one?" Ming Tao questioned.

Jia Hao lowered his chin and his gaze hit the ground as he thought. "It is possible. It would be foolish to assume it is only one being. After all, one person cannot do a lot of damage on their own in such a short time." Jia Hao concluded.

Ming Tao took a deep breath then let out a steady exhale at Jia Hao’s words. All of him hoped that if what Jia Hao said is true, none of his clan members were in on the atrocity. He did not want to have a reason to not trust his own people.

"If the strikers are as good at decision making as I expect them to be, then tonight would be a perfect time to reveal their hands again. Your people are occupied with feasting and it will be easy to miss a lot when their minds are carried away with several things." Jia Hao added. He would be gone by the morning so it would be best to tell Ming Tao all that was on his mind. He would feel relieved if the intruders were caught sooner rather than later and he would leave knowing they had one less problem to deal with. "Keep your eyes out tonight. Do not let your guard down one bit." Jia Hao warned.

"I appreciate your effort." Ming Tao said. "This will be taken into consideration and will be acted on without delay." He added. He would go to the farm tonight and oversee everything himself. Even while his men still kept watch. An extra eye was never a hassle. In fact, it was needed in this case.

"I am always glad to be of help even though I barely have done anything but speculate." Jia Hao stated. "Also," He continued. "Ming Tao, the animal I smelt in all those trails was fox. A female fox." Jia Hao added. Mira did not catch the hint when he stated it before but he knew Ming Tao would immediately understand when he mentioned the gender of the animal.

Ming Tao’s eyes widened with horror at the sound of Jia Hao’s voice. The last words that left Jia Hao’s mouth replayed in Ming Tao’s head for a long while. Hye Yang. It had got to be. There was no other fox Ming Tao could think of with a pungent hidden agenda against Mira this much. An agenda so hateful it pushed the bearer to follow Mira all the way here and destroy something she worked on along with several members of the clan she lived among. It would raise suspicion Mira’s way and only breed more hate. Ming Tao grit his teeth. He had been here for a very long time yet he did not catch any suspicious thing relating to Hye Yang’s presence here.

"Are you sure about this? That woman could be here, even at this very moment?" Ming Tao asked carefully, he kept his voice low so no one but Jia Hao would hear him. The last thing Ming Tao wanted was someone to hear him and spread the word around that it got to his wife’s ears. Or worse, his own wife being nearby without his knowledge and overhearing him. Ming Tao turned his head around subtly and gazed at the environment. He searched through the crowd till his gaze landed on Mira. She was cutting meat into leaves and serving. And she was a long distance away from the two of them.

"Yes. The fox was careless enough to leave shedded fur. Unless she wanted her fur left on purpose so she could be found. It is possible her intention is to lure someone out and use as a scapegoat but I do not think she is acting alone." Jia Hao worded.

Ming Tao let out a dragged, frustrated sigh. Hye Yang tried to drown an innocent cub as well as Mira when she was pregnant. That woman was banned from the pride land yet there had been no further banishment of her from neighbouring clans Jia Hao did not push the matter further. Now, Ming Tao wished that Jia Hao did. Hye Yang was lurking around his clan and it was obvious the intention she had in her mind doing so.

"I will go and check this at once." Ming ATAs stated distastefully. He hated Hye Yang and everything she stood for and he hated his past self too because he saw a likeness to Hye Yang in what he did, and what he did was worse.

"Let me come with you." Jia Hao said.

"No. Please. Stay here and keep watch while I go over to the place of the scene. Do not leave Mira alone. Not when that woman and the ones she is working wit could be anywhere." Ming Tao protested.

Jia Hao sighed. The cheetah made sense so he nodded in agreement.

"Thank you, Jia Hao. The cheetah clan is indebted to you for this." Ming Tao worded. He was preparing to leave.

"I will hold on to that." Jia Hao uttered. With that. Ming Tao left him and headed to the direction Mira was at, cutting already cooked meat.

"My darling." Ming Tao said lovingly as he stared down at her form. Mira looked up to face him. A smile immediately graced her face as she sighted him.

"Ming Tao!" She exclaimed, her voice filled with her typical feminine warmth. "I kept some aside for you as you wanted. The feast seems to be going good and everyone seems to be happy. Thank you for letting me host this tonight. I am glad for it." Mira gushed.

Ming Tao could not help but smile. She was always full of many words even if the sentence directed to her was a single or double word statement.

"I am glad you are happy." Ming Tao said. The longer he stared at her diligently do her thing, the more he knew he needed to sort this matter out before Mira knew it ever existed. He did not want her to know Hye Yang could be in the cheetah clan. He remembered the dread Mira had when she thought Hye Yang was left alone with her babies when she newly gave birth and the last thing Ming Tao wanted was to make Mira relive that dread.

"Glad is an understatement. I am overjoyed!" Mira beamed. She looked down at the meat and continued to cut and serve into small leaves wraps that some children came to pick up and eat. "Although, I cannot deny that I can’t wait for this to be over. I want to spend some alone time with you. Just the two of us in your bed chambers and talk." Mira looked up to face him without taking her hands off what she was doing. "I want us to cuddle too while we talk. And love. And make love." Mira said. Her cheeks went red as she said the last part. Mira took a deep breath then let out a sharp exhale. "There is something I want to tell you Ming Tao and I want the two of us to be alone when I do." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Ming Tao parted his lips to speak. "What is it?" He asked.

Mira chuckled. He clearly missed the part where she said she wanted them to be alone. "Meet me in your bed chambers at midnight. Preferably, come underdressed." Mira said. By underdressed. She meant naked and she was sure he knew that too. "Don’t miss it. And don’t come a minute too late. I am not used to staying up late or

waiting." Mira immediately added. She but her lips as she said the words so he understood the message behind it. It was a tie to the night they went on a date. That was the same night he got her pregnant.

"I will be there." Ming Tao said to her. "That’s a promise."