The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts-Chapter 607: Winter Is Here!

The sky over the lion tribe was gray and heavy that morning. The wind smelled different. It no longer carried only the scent of trees and dry leaves.

There was a cold, sharp smell that made people’s breath turn white when they exhaled.

Isabella stood on the newly built stone wall with her fur cloak wrapped tightly around her shoulders. Her stomach was heavy and round.

When she lowered her head, she could no longer see her feet. Only a fluffy layer of fur and the curve of her belly filled her vision.

She still remembered when this place had only a few broken huts and frightened men who thought surviving one more day was good enough.

Now there were solid walls, watchtowers, storage pits, and patrols changing shifts with steady footsteps.

Under the wall, the villagers moved around like busy ants. They wore thick, padded clothes that the women had sewn.

The stitches weren’t that bad, but some sleeves were different lengths, yet at least everyone was warm.

Small children hopped around in fur boots that were a size too big. Their laughter rose into the cold air.

Kian stood beside Isabella like a tall, quiet mountain.

He had also wrapped himself in fur, but the cold did not seem to affect him much. A light layer of snowflakes had already gathered in his dark hair and on his eyelashes.

He did not bother to shake them off. His golden eyes only rested on Isabella’s profile.

When Isabella shifted her weight, Kian’s hand immediately moved to support her lower back. His palm was large and steady, warm even through the fur cloak.

"Careful," he said softly. "If you are cold, we can go down."

Isabella tilted her head to look at him.

The proud Lion King who used to look at everyone with a cold gaze was now standing on the wall like some loyal guard, his entire attention tied to her movements. It made her secretly want to laugh.

"I am fine," she said. "I just wanted to see the first snow."

As if responding to her words, the sky finally let go.

Fine white flakes drifted down from the clouds. At first there were only a few, but soon the air was full of them.

The flakes landed on Isabella’s hood and cloak, on the stone wall, on Kian’s broad shoulders, and on the roofs of the village houses. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Villagers below raised their heads and let out surprised cries.

"It is snowing!"

"Winter is here!"

Some of the younger men stretched out their hands like children, trying to catch the flakes. The older ones narrowed their eyes, already measuring the thickness of the new snow and thinking about hunting roads and patrol paths.

Thankfully they had enough food that would carry them through out winter.

Isabella watched the white world slowly take shape.

Snow covered the brown earth and the rough stones, making everything look cleaner and brighter.

The ugly storage pits she had forced them to dig now looked like gentle white mounds. The walls that had been built with so much sweat stood firm, wearing a soft layer of snow like armor.

She felt a strange warmth in her chest.

Her stomach was heavy. Her waist often ached. Her feet swelled sometimes. Yet when she saw this village survive from one season to another, when she saw the people she had scolded, trained, and bullied still standing there, alive and laughing under the first snow, she felt that all her efforts were worth it.

Kian lowered his gaze, watching the snowflakes land on Isabella’s dark lashes. He slowly tightened the arm around her waist and drew her a little closer to his side.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "For all of this."

Isabella blinked.

She looked up at him with surprise.

"Since when did our Lion King learn to say ’thank you’?" she asked. "Did the snow freeze your tongue, so it can only speak sweet words now?"

Kian’s lips curved slightly.

In the past, he would have replied with something stubborn. Today he simply looked at the village and then at her again.

"I mean it," he said. "If you had not come, this place would have fallen long ago. The men at the wall would be corpses in the snow. The women and children would be struggling. I thought I knew how to protect them. I did not. You showed me."

Isabella’s heart gave a small twist.

She was used to Kian’s quiet loyalty and his silent, stubborn love. Hearing him say it so plainly made her ears feel hot.

She turned her head away a little.

"Of course," she said, pretending to be proud. "How can you compare yourself to me? I am the great Isabella. The smartest, most beautiful, and most hardworking pregnant woman in this entire beast world."

"Yes," Kian said without hesitation. "You are."

Isabella, "..."

Why was he so straightforward?

She quickly turned her attention back to the snowy forest, trying to control the strange flutter in her chest.

Under her feet, the wall felt solid. Behind her, Kian’s hand was firm on her back. In front of her, white snow fell on a land that was no longer weak and helpless.

She suddenly thought, stubbornly, that no one had the right to take this away from her.

Not poachers. Not hidden cities. Not kangaroo kings or fox lords. Not the First City, not the Fifth City, not even gods who liked to play with mortals like toys.

This was her territory.

Those were her people.

Her babies would be born into this village, and they would not grow up in chains.

In her heart, she quietly made a promise.

No one will take what I have built. If they try, I will throw them out myself.

At that moment, a familiar mechanical voice rang in her mind.

[System notification. Hidden condition met.]

[Hidden Achievement: Pregnant Territorial Goddess.]

[Reward: Small defensive buff for Lion Tribe village. Overall protection +5 percent. Duration: entire winter.]