Exildra lay on Bahamut, basking in the afterglow of their intense session. Bahamut had officially claimed Exildra, body, mind, and soul, and she couldn’t be happier. The thought had never crossed their minds that someone might have heard them... Not as if that would stop them. They were too engrossed even to care.

Exildra’s head lay on Bahamut’s chest as she drew circles on it. She still wore her eyepatch, but it only made her more beautiful. Just looking at the woman in his arms, Bahamut couldn’t help but kiss her on the lips. Exildra could feel him harden under the sheets, and couldn’t help but gasp.

"I’m sore~" She muttered seductively.

"I doubt..." Bahamut answered in a dry tone.

Exildra just chuckled faintly and climbed up, her bouncy and soft chest brushing against Bahamut’s chest, eliciting a very intense reaction from him. Just as she was about to seal his lips with a kiss that would end in another intense session, the door was barged open.

"You cheated on us, Exildra!"

...

Lily and Alana had finished their training, or more like Alana had watched Lily finish her training. Lily’s training was anything but intense and difficult, torturous even. From nowhere, her master had suddenly become interested in making her stronger, assigning her a daily quota of training sessions to complete. She even felt like her master had a grudge with her because her training requirements were for a bodybuilder.

Thankfully, she was from a powerful line of fox-kin, and such training, no matter how hard, couldn’t do anything negative to her. It was rather helping her.

Alana, on the other hand, didn’t need to train. No one knew if she was a natural-born cultivator, or if it was because of her experiences, or because she was the contracted beast of Bahamut. She grew strong at such a fast pace that if she weren’t counted as part of Bahamut, she would have been the third-ranked or even the second. No doubt.

Lily dragged in a sharp breath as she leaned against the wall, sweat clinging to her skin, her chest rising and falling from the strain of training. Her red hair was tied up messily, strands sticking to her face as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

"That elf man is trying to kill me..." she groaned, stretching her arms with a slight wince. "I swear he enjoys this."

Behind her, Alana stood quietly, watching as usual, her calm gaze fixed on Lily. Unlike her, there wasn’t even a hint of exhaustion on her face.

"You completed it," Alana said softly. "That is what matters."

"Barely!" Lily snapped, though there was no real anger in it. She glanced sideways at Alana, narrowing her eyes slightly. "You didn’t even lift a finger, you know that?"

Alana tilted her head. "I do not need to."

"Unfair," Lily muttered, crossing her arms before suddenly straightening. Her ears twitched. "Wait."

"What is it?" Alana asked.

Lily’s lips slowly curled into a sly grin.

"Exildra." Alana blinked once.

"She’s definitely with him right now," Lily continued, her tail flicking behind her. "There’s no way she’d miss the chance after he woke up, and he could wake up anytime."

Alana’s expression remained calm... but there was a faint shift in her eyes.

"We should go."

"Exactly what I was thinking!" Lily said, already turning and marching off. "No way she gets ahead of us like that!"

The two made their way through the sect, moving quickly. The closer they got to Elder Silvia’s residence, the more Lily’s pace increased, her earlier exhaustion completely forgotten. By the time they reached the door, Lily didn’t even hesitate. She pushed it open.

Then walked straight toward Bahamut’s room and, without knocking, she slammed the door open.

"You cheated on us, Exildra!" The room froze for a second.

Lily’s eyes locked onto the scene. Bahamut sitting up slightly, Exildra close against him, both clearly... very comfortable. Something in Lily snapped.

"You cheated on us!"

She launched forward without hesitation. Bahamut barely had time to react before Lily crashed into him, grabbing his face with both hands, her grip tight, possessive.

"You!" Her voice trembled, her eyes already glistening. "How could you let her take your first time just like that?!"

Bahamut blinked, caught completely off guard. Exildra, on the other hand, sat back slightly, raising a brow. Lily’s lips trembled as tears began to spill down her cheeks.

"That’s unfair...!" she continued, her voice breaking despite the fierce look in her eyes. "We agreed...! We were supposed to... to..."

She bit her lip hard, clearly frustrated with her own emotions.

"I wanted to be there too..."

The room fell quiet again.

Alana stepped in slowly, closing the door behind her, her gaze moving between the three of them. Bahamut exhaled quietly, his expression softening as he reached up, placing a hand over Lily’s.

"You’re overthinking it," he said, his voice calm but firm.

Lily shook her head immediately. "I’m not!"

"You are," he replied, gently pulling her hands down from his face but not letting go. "This isn’t something that gets ’taken.’"

She froze slightly at that. Exildra crossed her arms, leaning back with a small smirk. "Besides... It’s not like there’s a limit."

Lily turned to her sharply. "You’re not helping!"

"I’m being honest," Exildra shrugged. "You act like you’ve been robbed."

"I have been robbed!"

Bahamut sighed. Alana walked closer, stopping beside the bed.

"There is no loss here," she said quietly. "Only impatience."

Lily looked between all of them, her expression still stubborn... but softer now.

"I still don’t like it," she muttered.

Bahamut chuckled under his breath, pulling her slightly closer.

"Then don’t like it," he said simply.

That only made her pout more, but she didn’t pull away, and despite everything, she leaned into him.

Just a little.

The room, which had moments ago been filled with loud accusations, flustered shouting, and tangled emotions, gradually settled into something quieter... softer. Something warm. Lily still clung to Bahamut, her fingers curled tightly into his hair as if she was afraid he might disappear if she let go. Her earlier outburst had drained her, leaving behind only a quiet stubbornness. Her face rested against his shoulder now, her tail flicking lazily behind her as she occasionally muttered under her breath.

"...still unfair..."

Bahamut let out a small breath through his nose, one arm wrapped around her waist to steady her where she sat half on him, half across him. His other hand rested against her back, absentmindedly tracing slow circles.

Exildra, on the other side, watched the two with an amused, slightly smug expression, though there was a softness in her gaze that hadn’t been there before. She leaned in, resting her head against Bahamut’s shoulder opposite Lily, her fingers lightly brushing along his arm.

"You’re acting as if he belongs to you alone," she teased gently.

Lily’s ears twitched.

"He does," she shot back immediately, though her voice lacked its earlier bite. "...you’re just sharing."

Exildra laughed under her breath. "How generous of you."

Bahamut closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if trying to process the situation he had somehow walked himself into. When he opened them again, his gaze shifted to the only one not touching him.

Alana.

She stood a short distance away at first, near the edge of the room, her fingers lightly gripping the hem of her sleeve. Her usual calm demeanor was... off. Not broken, not shaken, but uncertain. Her black eyes flickered between the three of them, watching, thinking, and trying to understand. This... was something else entirely.

"Alana."

Bahamut’s voice was quieter this time. Her gaze lifted to meet his. For a moment, she didn’t move. Then slowly... carefully... she stepped forward. Each step measured, as though she was stepping into unfamiliar territory. When she reached the side of the bed, she hesitated again, her eyes flickering briefly to Lily, then Exildra. Neither stopped her. Lily only shifted slightly, making a small space without saying anything.

Exildra just smiled. That was all it took. Alana sat. At first, she kept a bit of distance, her hands resting neatly on her lap. Her posture was straight, composed... controlled. But then, Bahamut reached out. His fingers closed gently around her wrist. Alana stiffened slightly at the contact, her breath catching for the briefest moment. Her eyes dropped to where his hand touched her skin.

"You’re part of this, too," he said. Just truth.

Her fingers twitched. Then slowly... she relaxed... enough that she didn’t pull away. Enough that, after a few seconds, she shifted closer. Her shoulder lightly brushed against his arm, and she stayed there quietly, listening to Lily’s occasional grumbles, to Exildra’s soft laughter, and to Bahamut’s steady breathing beneath it all.

Her head tilted slightly... then rested, just barely, against his upper arm. It was subtle, almost hesitant, but it was there. A different kind of closeness, not fiery like Lily, not bold like Exildra, but something quieter, something still finding its shape. Bahamut didn’t react loudly to it.

He just shifted slightly... enough to make it more comfortable for her. Lily noticed. Of course she did. Her tail flicked.

"...hmph."

But she didn’t complain. Exildra noticed too, and her smile deepened.

"...looks like someone’s learning," she murmured.

Alana didn’t respond, but her grip, lightly, almost unconsciously, tightened around Bahamut’s sleeve, and this time... She didn’t let go.

...

AN: I can only do one Chapter for today. I have exams, so later. I will try to do two and add an extra Chapter to make up for it.