She got up quietly, dressed in her training clothes, and walked out to the training ground just as dawn broke over the mountains.

The twenty young warriors were already there, standing in formation, backs straight, waiting.

But something had changed.

"Good morning, Tribe Leader’s Wife," one of them said, bowing slightly.

Kaya stopped mid-step. "What?"

"Good morning, Tribe Leader’s Wife," another repeated, also bowing.

Kaya’s eye twitched. "Stop that."

"Stop what, Tribe Leader’s Wife?"

"That. The title. Just call me Instructor like you did yesterday."

One of the warriors shifted uncomfortably. "But... you’re married to the tribe leader now. It would be disrespectful to—"

"It’s disrespectful to waste my time with formalities," Kaya cut him off. "You want to show respect? Do your exercises properly. Now drop and give me fifty push-ups."

They hesitated, glancing at each other.

"NOW!"

They dropped.

Kaya stood over them, arms crossed, trying to ignore the weird feeling settling in her chest. She was the same person she’d been yesterday. Same skills. Same authority. But now there was this invisible layer between her and them—a title she didn’t ask for and didn’t want.

"Faster!" she barked. "You think enemies care that you’re tired?"

From behind her, a familiar voice drawled, "Wow. Married less than twelve hours and already yelling at people. That’s my girl."

Kaya turned to see Veer leaning against a tree, still wearing his sleep clothes, hair messy, grinning like this was the best morning of his life.

"Shouldn’t you be sleeping?" Kaya asked flatly.

"Couldn’t," Veer said. "Bed felt empty."

Several of the warriors glanced up, then quickly looked back down when Kaya’s gaze swept over them.

"You’re distracting my soldiers," Kaya said.

"Your soldiers?" Veer’s grin widened. "I like that."

"Don’t you have tribe leader things to do?"

"I’m doing them," Veer said, walking closer. "Watching my wife train warriors. Very official. Very important."

Kaya rolled her eyes. "You’re impossible."

"You married me anyway."

Before Kaya could respond, a loud squawk echoed across the training ground. Sparrow landed nearby in bird form, shifting mid-hop into his human shape.

"Veer!" he called, slightly breathless. "Your brothers are here. All three of them. With their families."

Veer’s expression shifted from playful to surprised. "All three? Now?"

"Yeah. They just landed at the main gathering area. Said they came for the wedding celebration." Sparrow paused. "Also they brought a lot of food. And kids. So many kids."

Kaya looked at Veer. "You have three brothers?"

"Technically four, but one’s traveling," Veer said. "And yeah. They’re... a lot."

"How much is ’a lot’?"

Veer grimaced. "You’ll see."

***

Twenty minutes later, Kaya stood at the edge of the main gathering area and understood what Veer meant by "a lot."

Three massive vulture beastmen stood near the center, all of them taller and broader than Veer, all of them surrounded by mates, children, and what looked like half a mountain’s worth of supplies.

"That’s Raven," Veer said, pointing to the tallest one. "My eldest brother. He’s the serious one."

Raven looked every bit the responsible older brother—sharp eyes, strong jawline, arms crossed as he surveyed the area like he was assessing it for weaknesses.

"That’s Talon," Veer continued, pointing to another. "Second eldest. He’s the loud one."

Talon was laughing boisterously at something one of his kids said, ruffling their hair with one massive hand.

"And that’s Kite. Third eldest. He’s the sneaky one."

Kite was leaning casually against a tree, eyes tracking everything, a small smile playing on his lips like he knew secrets no one else did.

"Sneaky how?" Kaya asked.

"You’ll see," Veer muttered.

Before she could ask more, Raven spotted them and walked over, his mate—a beautiful woman with silver-streaked hair—following close behind.

"Little brother," Raven said, voice deep and formal. "Congratulations."

"Thanks," Veer said. "Didn’t expect you all to come so soon."

"We were nearby," Raven said. "And Mother would’ve killed us if we missed your wedding entirely." His gaze shifted to Kaya, assessing. "So. You’re the one who’s got Father so worked up."

Kaya met his stare without flinching. "Apparently."

Raven’s mate stepped forward, smiling warmly. "Ignore him. He’s terrible at introductions. I’m Mira." She extended her hand. "Congratulations. We brought gifts."

Kaya shook her hand, surprised by the genuine warmth. "Thank you."

Talon approached next, still grinning, his mate trailing behind with two small children clinging to her legs.

"So you’re the soldier woman!" Talon boomed. "Heard you’ve been beating up our tribe’s warriors. Good! They needed it." He clapped Veer on the shoulder hard enough to make him stumble. "You picked a strong one, little brother. Smart."

"I know," Veer said, recovering his balance.

Kite was the last to approach, moving silently until he was suddenly standing right beside Kaya. She hadn’t even heard him move.

"Interesting," Kite said quietly, eyes studying her face. "You don’t smell fully human."

Kaya’s stomach dropped. "What?"

"Kite," Veer warned.

"Just an observation," Kite said, that small smile still in place. "No judgment. Just... interesting." He glanced at Veer. "Does Father know?"

"Know what?" Veer asked, voice tight.

"That she’s different." Kite’s eyes sparkled with amusement. "Oh, this is going to be fun to watch."

Before Kaya could respond—before she could demand what he meant—one of Talon’s children ran up and grabbed her hand.

"Are you really the Instructor?" the little girl asked, eyes wide. "The one who makes warriors cry?"

Kaya looked down at her, caught off guard. "I... yes?"

"Can you teach me?" the girl asked eagerly. "I want to be strong like you!"

Talon laughed. "Careful what you wish for, little one. I heard she makes grown men do a hundred push-ups before breakfast."

"I can do a hundred push-ups!" the girl insisted.

"Can you?" Kaya asked, genuinely curious.

"Well... maybe ten," the girl admitted.

Kaya’s mouth twitched. "Ten is a start."

More children started gathering, drawn by curiosity and excitement, asking questions, tugging on her dress, completely unafraid.

Veer watched with barely concealed amusement as Kaya—the same woman who’d faced assassins without flinching—stood frozen, surrounded by tiny humans demanding attention.

"Help," Kaya mouthed at him.

Veer just grinned wider. "You’re doing great, sweetheart."

Raven’s mate, Mira, stepped in mercifully. "Alright, children. Let’s give your new aunt some space. Who wants to help unpack the gifts?"

The children scattered instantly, drawn by the promise of presents.

Kaya exhaled slowly. "Your family is..."

"Overwhelming?" Veer supplied.

"That’s one word for it."

Kite reappeared beside her again—she really hated how quietly he moved. "Welcome to the family," he said softly. "It only gets more chaotic from here."

And looking at the gathered crowd—three massive brothers, their mates, their children, the gifts being unpacked, the laughter and noise and chaos—Kaya realized he was absolutely right.

Her life had just gotten infinitely more complicated.

But watching Veer laugh with his brothers, watching the children play, feeling Mira’s genuine kindness and even Raven’s gruff acceptance—

Maybe complicated wasn’t the worst thing.

The family gathering moved inside as the sun climbed higher, everyone crowding into Veer’s home—which suddenly felt much smaller with three massive brothers, their mates, and a small army of children filling every corner.

Cutie had somehow anticipated this and prepared an enormous meal. Kaya suspected he’d been cooking since dawn.