Chapter 417: A good deed today means a fortune tomorrow

I didn’t want to bother myself with any of this, but I wondered if just throwing them out would give me the satisfaction I was craving for. But then, my eyes immediately locked onto some familiar faces.

I immediately stood up, not abruptly but slowly, with a bit of a struggle given my massive belly, but the second I was on my feet, the entire room shifted. My husbands’ protective stances sharpened—Fenric and Damar tensed like coiled springs, and Thalor and Noah moved closer to the steps, ready to support my weight if I so much as wobbled.

"It’s fine," I said, raising my hand before they acted like four supporting walking pillars.

"You shouldn’t do anything, Arinya," Fenric said. "Just give the word, and we’ll throw them out."

"No,"

They thought I wanted to take matters into my own hands, but I wasn’t even looking at the chief or the witch. My eyes were locked on a massive, slumped pair of shoulders and a female huddled near the middle of the pack.

"Taruna? Harok?"

My voice wasn’t cold anymore. It was bright, genuine, and filled with a warmth that clearly short-circuited the brains of every tiger standing in that hall.

I descended the steps. My husbands practically hovered like bodyguards, their hands out, eyes darting to every potential threat as I walked right past my stunned father and the trembling Kaelor. I didn’t even give Veyra a side-eye as I brushed past her. She was a ghost; she didn’t exist.

I stopped in front of the two I had just called out.

Harok looked older. Much older. His bear-beastman frame, once so sturdy when he was helping me carve stone pots and listening to me as I explained how a bowl was supposed to work, seemed tired. His hair was dusty, and his eyes were clouded with the exhaustion of the road.

Beside him, Taruna was clutching her children—they were older now, in human form, one in her arms and three clutched close to her. They looked dirty, tired, and hungry. Where were her mates? Why, even now, were they leaving her alone to care for the children?

But despite how Taruna looked, she still had that same motherly, protective air I remembered from when she taught me to sew with those awful vine threads. Seeing her almost brought tears to my eyes.

"Arinya?" Taruna whispered, her voice trembling. She looked like she wanted to bow, but her eyes were searching mine, looking for the girl who used to seek her out in her hut.

"It really is you," Harok rumbled, his deep voice shaky. He looked at the palace, then back at me, his eyes landing on my healthy, glowing face. "You... you did it. You really built it all."

"I told you I was going to build something amazing, didn’t I?" I said, a reminiscing smile playing on my lips. "And I did,"

I didn’t care about royal decorum. I reached out and took Taruna’s hands in mine—hers were rough and calloused, just like I remembered—and then I patted Harok’s massive arm.

"It’s great that we’re meeting again. It’s wonderful." I laughed, a real, happy sound. I often wondered what they were up to. I often wondered if Taruna had given birth to more cubs, and if her mates were still acting like snobbish assholes. Only sticking around when they wanted to mate with her and leaving the care of the children to her.

I often wondered...

"I don’t forget kindness, Harok. And I certainly don’t forget the woman who accepted me with open arms despite the hate from the rest of the tribe." Though it might’ve been because they were too far to be involved with the tribe, staying on the northern side of the tribe, it just meant they did not care about the happenings of the tribe, the gossip, and all of that.

Taruna was a good female, so even if she had heard, she would never have turned me away. Maybe I am just assuming, and maybe she could’ve been like the rest, but we leave it all to chance.

Since she was not involved and she welcomed me, that is all that matters.

I turned back to the audience hall, my voice rising so everyone could hear.

"Guards! Take Taruna, Harok, and their families to the Guest Wing. Give them the best suites. I want them bathed, fed the best meat we have—seasoned—and I want them rested. They are my personal guests."

The silence from the rest of the Stormhole tribe was deafening.

I saw Rakan’s face crumble. He was the Chief, the father, the ’leader’—and I had walked right past him to treat the tribe’s craftsman and a random mother like royalty. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

This is why they say it pays to be good. A small act of kindness, one believes to be just that, could come back to reward you a hundredfold.

I saw Veyra’s eyes bulging behind her wrap; she was seeing the ’ugly outcast’ hand out luxuries she couldn’t even dream of to people she considered ’common.’

I looked over my shoulder at the rest of them, my smile turning sharp and icy again.

"As for the rest of you..." I let the words hang in the air, heavy and cold. "You can wait. My friends and I have a lot of catching up to do."

I hooked my arm in Taruna’s, ignoring the gasps of the tribe as I started to lead her away.

"Come on, Taruna. You have to see the Nursery Palace I built for the children of the kingdom. It has actual floors and a heating system. You won’t have to worry about taking care of your cubs all by yourself. You’ll have breathing space." I explained, my voice clear and smooth. "Oh, and I’ll take you to where the sheep tribe is. You told me about them in the past, right? Well, you can join them to sew as much as you like."

Taruna was speechless. She didn’t know what to say or why this was happening, but she was beyond elated and began to cry.

Well, it was a lot to take in, so I wouldn’t blame her.

As we walked, I could feel the glares of my family burning into my back, but their gaze made me feel nothing but satisfaction. It felt like a breeze.

I had the crown, the kingdom, and the people who actually mattered.

The rest of them? They could stay in the lobby and think about every stone they ever threw, every insult, every finger they pointed, and every accusation.