Back in their own domain, inside the small and quiet house, Lan Yue sat alone. It had already been more than a week since she had been confined there, and the days had started to blur together.

The room felt suffocatingly silent, with no one to talk to and nothing to distract her thoughts. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her once lively expression had turned dull and tired. She had not been able to rest properly, nor calm her mind even for a moment.

She leaned against the bed, her fingers gripping the edge of her clothes as she stared blankly ahead. "How long am I supposed to stay here like this..." she muttered under her breath.

The more she thought about it, the more irritated she became. That man... just thinking about him made her expression harden. His cold and ruthless face flashed in her mind, and the way he had separated her from her husband filled her with anger.

But what hurt her the most was not that.

It was her child.

Her little Ocra fry.

Her chest tightened painfully at the thought. It had been so many days since she had seen him. He must be scared, confused, and crying for her.

The more she imagined it, the more restless she became. "He’s still so small..." she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "How can someone be so cruel... to separate a mother from her own child?"

She could endure being separated from her parents. She could even force herself to endure being separated from her husband. But her child was different. He needed her.

The thought that he might be hungry, or crying without comfort, made her heart ache even more. She wiped the corners of her eyes impatiently, trying to suppress the emotions that kept rising again and again.

At that moment, the door opened briefly, and one of the men walked in, placing a bowl of food on the table before leaving without a word.

Lan Yue’s gaze shifted to the bowl, and her expression immediately turned cold. She had no appetite for anything given by them. It felt like she was being fed just to stay alive, like some captive animal.

"I don’t want to eat this..." she muttered, but her hand still moved slowly toward the bowl. She knew she had no choice.

That man was not someone she could afford to offend. If she angered him, there was no telling what he might do next. The thought of her husband flashed through her mind, and her hand tightened slightly around the bowl.

"...Damn it," she whispered before forcing herself to eat.

She ate quietly, without taste, without feeling. It was not for herself, but simply to endure. When she finished, she suddenly threw the empty bowl aside with force. The sharp sound echoed in the room, breaking the silence.

"They’re treating me like a prisoner," she said, her voice filled with frustration as she stood up abruptly. "What does he even want from me?" Her brows furrowed as her thoughts grew more chaotic.

"I already agreed... I said I would go with him. I even said I would become his beast wife in front of everyone, as long as he let my husband and family go. But he still refused..."

Her fists clenched tightly. The more she thought about it, the more unreasonable it felt. "What more does he want? Does he want my life too?" she said bitterly, pacing back and forth in the small room.

Her steps gradually slowed as another thought crossed her mind. Her expression changed slightly as she remembered her sister Qinglan. She froze in place, her brows knitting together with worry. "She came here for the first time..." she murmured. "And now something like this happened..."

Qinglan jie had nothing to do with any of this. She had her own life, her own path. She should never have been dragged into their family’s problems.

The more Lan Yue thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. "If she gets implicated because of me..." Her fingers tightened unconsciously. "Then what kind of sister am I..."

She lowered her head, her expression filled with regret. She had already been unable to protect her child, unable to protect herself. If even her sister suffered because of her, she would not be able to forgive herself.

The room fell silent again.

Lan Yue slowly sat back down, her body feeling heavy and exhausted. Her mind was still restless, her heart still filled with anger and worry, but there was nothing she could do. She could only endure, waiting for something to change.

"That bastard..." she muttered once more, her eyes turning cold. "If anything happens to my family... I will never let you go." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Lan Yue was still muttering angrily under her breath, her heart filled with frustration and helplessness, when suddenly a cold voice came from behind her.

"And let me see, how exactly are you not going to let me go?"

The sudden voice made her whole body stiffen. A chill ran down her spine, and all the hairs on her body seemed to stand up at once. Her heart jumped in fear as she quickly turned around, only to find Rong Yanchen standing there with a smug and cold expression on his face.

The moment she saw him, her face turned pale. Her body moved back instinctively until she was pressed into the corner of the room.

Just moments ago, she had been cursing him in anger, but now that he was standing right in front of her, she did not even have the courage to look at him properly.

She was afraid of him.

There was something terrifying about this man. He looked like someone who could do anything without hesitation. Even hurting a female would mean nothing to him. Just standing in front of him made her skin crawl. She did not want to be alone with him, but there was nowhere for her to go.

Rong Yanchen looked at her fearful face and the way she shrank into the corner as if trying to hide from him.

Seeing her like that, his expression became even colder. There was no sympathy in his eyes, only disdain.

He clicked his tongue lightly and said, "You are really worthless. Someone like you, how can you become the female leader of our fox beast tribe? You are lacking in every way."

Lan Yue’s face instantly flushed red. Fear was still there, but anger rose inside her too. Being insulted so openly made her want to shout back at him, but she did not dare.

She knew that this man was unstable. She had no idea what he would do if she angered him further.