I Abandoned My Beast Cubs for the Protagonist... Oops?-Chapter 75: I Know What To Do!

Bai Yue was a mess.

She paced the small, enclosed space of her woven-grass hut, her hands flying up to cover her cheeks for the hundredth time. It was no use.

She was hiding. She was a grown, modern woman with a functioning brain, and she was currently hiding in a primitive tent like a frightened rabbit.

He kissed me, her mind screamed, the memory of the hot spring playing on a relentless, terrifying loop in her brain. Han Shān actually kissed me!

The shock of it was still vibrating through her nervous system.

This was the same Snow Leopard Alpha who, just a short time ago, had looked at her with eyes made of hate. He had threatened her. He had kept Ruì Xuě tucked behind his massive legs as if she were a literal plague. He had loathed the very ground she walked on.

And now? Now he had cornered her behind a rock, devoured her mouth like a starving beast, and declared that he was going to make her pay for every cold night she had put him through.

He wanted to mate with her.

Bai Yue groaned, burying her face in her hands. How on earth do I manage two horny men???

Zhāo Yàn was already a walking, talking hazard to her blood pressure. The Fox Lord was unashamed of his desires, constantly flirting, teasing, and trying to get her into his furs.

Adding a fiercely possessive, newly-awakened Snow Leopard Alpha to the mix was going to be the death of her. Her modern sensibilities simply weren’t equipped for a reverse-harem of this magnitude.

"Bai Yue?"

She jumped nearly a foot in the air.

Yàn Shū was standing in the doorway of the hut. The gentle Red Panda scholar looked slightly hesitant, holding a smooth, flat piece of dried animal skin covered in carefully etched symbols.

He looked so incredibly wholesome and safe compared to the other two that Bai Yue felt a rush of immediate relief, closely followed by a brand new wave of sheer panic.

Oh Goddess, she thought, staring at his soft, pink-tinted lips. Is this a coordinated attack? Are they taking turns? Will Yàn Shū try to kiss me too?!

The poor girl was completely overwhelmed. Her body was still humming with heat from the spring, leaving her a little horny and extremely on edge.

"Ah... you..." Bai Yue stammered, backing up until her calves hit the edge of her sleeping cot. She crossed her arms defensively over her chest. "Yàn Shū! Hi. Hello."

Yàn Shū blinked, his soft, reddish-brown ears twitching with concern. He lowered the animal skin.

"Bai Yue, please calm down. You look flushed. Are you running a fever?" He took a step toward her. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing!" she squeaked, waving her hands frantically in front of her. "Nothing, I... I just... it’s hot! The weather is very warm today! Very tropical!"

Yàn Shū stopped. He instinctively pulled his shoulders inward, a tiny, heartbreaking flinch escaping him at her sudden, loud movements.

Even though she had changed, the trauma the original Bai Yue had inflicted on him was still a physical reflex he couldn’t entirely control.

Bai Yue’s heart instantly melted, extinguishing her panic. She dropped her hands, her expression softening. "I’m sorry, Yàn Shū. I didn’t mean to yell. I’m just... easily startled today."

Yàn Shū let out a soft breath, relaxing his posture. He offered her a small smile that made the corners of his eyes crinkle.

He walked over and sat on the edge of a wooden stool, talking to her normally, his voice a soothing balm to her chaotic nerves.

"I was translating some of the old forest verses," Yàn Shū explained softly, tracing the etched symbols with a finger. "The elders used to sing them during the changing of the leaves. I found one that made me think of you."

"Of me?" Bai Yue asked, sitting cautiously on the edge of her cot.

Yàn Shū nodded, his gaze dropping to the hide, though his cheeks dusted with a faint pink.

"The winter ice claims the mountain, sharp and unforgiving," he recited. "But even the deepest frost bows to the amethyst dawn. She does not burn the earth, she coaxes the buried seeds to bloom. She is the quiet sun, the mother of the thaw, more radiant than the golden peaks."

He looked up, his warm, amber eyes meeting hers. "You are the amethyst dawn, Bai Yue. You brought the spring back to our family."

Bai Yue blushed, a completely different kind of heat warming her chest.

"Hahaha," she laughed nervously, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear, completely unable to handle the poetic sincerity of this man. "You flatter me too much, Yàn Shū."

Her third husband blushed and continued telling her more poems, making her more and more at ease.

~

Four days had passed since the incident at the hidden spring.

The chaotic family had fallen into a surprisingly steady routine.

They woke up with the sunrise. They walked to the river to bathe, though Bai Yue now strictly enforced a staggered, heavily monitored bathing schedule to protect her fragile sanity.

They ate massive meals cooked over the open fire. They played games of hide-and-seek with the cubs in the tall grass. They talked, they mended clothes, and when the moon rose, they went to sleep.

Rinse and repeat.

It sounded peaceful. It sounded idyllic.

It was exhausting.

Because while the routine was normal, Zhāo Yàn and Han Shān had been very.....aggressive.

Just yesterday, Han Shān had cornered her against the trunk of a massive oak tree while she was collecting firewood.

The stoic Snow Leopard had trapped her with his massive arms, his eyes blazing with that same ravenous hunger.

He had nuzzled her neck, his large hands slipping under the hem of her woven top. He had nearly mated with her right there against the bark, his deep growls vibrating against her skin, if not for the fact that Ruì Xuě had suddenly woken up from his nap and started crying loudly for food.

Han Shān had frozen, groaned in agony, and walked away to dunk his head in a bucket of cold water.

And earlier that very morning, Zhāo Yàn had taken his turn. While she was organizing the sleeping furs, the Fox Lord had practically pounced on her.

He had pinned her firmly to the bed, his nine tails caging her in. He had kissed her achingly, stealing the breath from her lungs, his hands exploring her body with devious, agonizing slowness.

He had teased her until her vision blurred and she nearly saw stars, before whispering against her swollen lips that ’the time to mate is coming, Bai Yue, and you won’t be able to run.’

But now?

Now, the afternoon sun was beating down, the Alphas were off hunting, Yàn Shū was napping with the cubs, and Bai Yue was......

Tired. And bored.

She was kneeling in a patch of wild clover, aimlessly picking small, purple flowers.

The adrenaline of dodging two horny Alphas had worn off, leaving behind a stark realization: primitive life lacked serious entertainment value.

She let out a loud, drawn-out yawn, tossing a handful of clovers into her woven basket.

"Goddess, I’m bored," she muttered to herself, staring out at the endless expanse of green trees.

In her old life, she would be typing up a new novelkiss Chapter, watching anime, or arguing with customers over sticker designs. Here, her biggest daily accomplishment was successfully not getting naked in the woods.

"Is there something else I can do?" she sighed, resting her chin in her hands.

There were no books to read, no screens to scroll, and only so many times she could reorganize the dried meat stores before losing her mind.

She needed a project. She needed a distraction from the impending doom of her complicated love life.

She looked up, squinting at the bright, golden sun filtering through the jade canopy.

Surely......she thought, her modern brain kicking into overdrive. If she could make a spicy hotpot that defeated a dragon, surely there was something else she could invent to pass the time.

A slow grin spread across her face.

"Haha! I know just what to do!"