Chapter 8: A Sudden Visit

Sol cleared his throat and waited silently in his spot without looking as though he was ever bothered at all. But even so, his face betrayed him a little, and a flicker of light passed through his deep slitted eyes—an emotion he dared not name. Though he would never admit it, her absence gnawed at him. While her very presence makes him flustered at times. That strange, soft-hearted woman who called him "husband" without shame while tending on him like he was someone precious to her. She eagerly recounted every trivial event of her day as if they were shared memories. She laughed often. Smiled easily and worried just as much. She had never cared about him and his unborn children before, whether they perish all at once, but now, that woman seemed to have grown a little brain and sympathy for them. She even brought him random little snacks like offerings from a distant world to soothe his cravings. Well, not that it ever helped. Since most of the things she would bring were either smelly or green. He’s a freaking carnivore and an apex predator for Pete’s sake! Sol internally grumbled and looked down at the swell of his belly where the tiny lives are growing within—his children. Their children. A blush crept on his pale cheek, but it didn’t linger for long as s few things struck his mind and made the pregnant man buried in deep thoughts. Would she still smile when the time came to lay the eggs? Would she still care after he gave birth? Would... Would she stay? Sol might not have realized this much, but he was becoming anxious day by day, plagued with the thoughts that he never dreamed of having before. He did not know why she started caring for him. But her warmth, foolish as it was, had seeped into the deepest chambers of his cold-blooded heart, melting the frost that had never known spring. Before his thoughts could wander further, a mocking voice sliced through the gloom. "Well, well. What have we here?" Sol’s breath caught. His pupils narrowed into slits. "A cramped lair... and a hideous pregnant beastman," the voice drawled with venomous amusement. "You look pathetic, Sol." "... Cyan?" Sol hissed the name like a curse. "How did you—" "Oh," the voice cut him off, "Are you going to ask how I found your little lair?" A tall figure stepped into the cave, his presence dark and arrogant, a grin curling across his lips like a knife’s edge. His scales shimmered with a bluish hue, and his eyes glinted with malice. "I must say, you did a great job hiding in this dump for months. To think you were just at the tip of our noses. That’s so genius of you, dear brother." Cyan said sarcastically with a slow clap. However, his words that came out were more like a threat than praise, "What’s with the surprise face? Do you think you can continue hiding from us forever? I didn’t know you could be so stupid, while I say you were quite brilliant." The man rolled his eyes and shrugged. Meanwhile, the tip of Sol’s tail flicked up, sharpened like a blade. Though he could barely lift his limbs, the instinct to strike had not dulled. "Stop the unnecessary talk. You entered this cave while knowing it's my dwelling place. Did you come to challenge me? I could kill you here and now," Sol growled, voice low but deadly. "Leave, before I forget our blood ties." Dark mist began to curl from his body. The aura he once wielded like a blade stirred once more, threatening and cold. But Cyan only laughed, the sound echoing with mockery. "You? Strike me?" Cyan scoffed. "Oh, please! You didn’t even notice me until I opened my mouth. Face it, brother—you’re weak. So weak you can’t even stand. And you still pretend you’re the same old Sol who once ruled the Southern Peaks?" His gaze fell upon Sol’s bulging belly with a sneer. "Try fighting me now ow and you’ll crush those precious unborn cubs of yours. Go ahead, I dare you." Sol’s jaw clenched. His claws curled into the dirt beneath him. He said nothing. Yes, Cyan was right. The very existence of the lives inside him held him back. Once, he would have struck without hesitation. But now, hesitation was his curse. And this humiliation... was his punishment. All because of her. The woman with that cursed physique who drained his beast core with every touch. Because of her, he could barely support his own body, let alone fight. She had rendered him into this... this useless, crumbling shell. Yet even as rage surged in his veins, a contradictory fear crept in. He hoped she wouldn’t return now—not while Cyan was here. Because Cyan... was not someone who spared females. Especially not weak ones, whom he only sees as broodmares and a burden. Especially... not his. Even if she had drained him, even if he had grown weak because of her, she was still his mate. That foolish woman had no idea what kind of danger she courted just by breathing in front of Cyan. She was his mate. Although he had long decided to let her go if she ever found a new mate to atone for his sin, he would rather die than hand her over to another feral like him. "What? Cat got your tongue?" Cyan chuckled darkly, stepping further into the cave. His eyes roamed over the nest-like corner, the discarded herbs, the half-eaten fruits, and the musty odor that was no better than a pigsty. "Filthy," Cyan said with disgust, brushing a vine out of his way. "So this is where you’ve been hiding her? How generous of you, keeping such a delicacy to yourself." "Didn’t you take that accursed female here to hide from us? Look at what became of you because you don’t want to share. It’s a well-deserved consequence, don’t you think so?" Then his voice dropped, laced with poison. "Now, tell me, brother. Where is she? Where is that little female you kept so dearly? You’ve had your fill—now be a good brother and hand her over. Before I stop asking nicely." At the same time, outside the cave... Achoo! A crisp gust of wind whistled through the trees, slipping past the bark and curling over Hyerin’s damp, half-bare form. Her teeth chattered as she sneezed for what felt like the ninth time today. Wrapped only in her undergarments, she sat huddled beneath a hollowed tree trunk, wringing out her soaked clothes with reddened fingers. Her eyes brimmed with frustration as she sniffled again and whimpered softly, sounding more like a disgruntled kitten than a grown woman. "Ugh, I really can’t make sense of this blasted world!" she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "Is the weather drunk or just cursed? If I end up catching a fever, how am I supposed to take care of Sol?!" Everything was a mess. Her traps had been swept away by the flash storm, her clothes were soaked through, and she had nearly slipped into the river chasing a stubborn branch that floated past. A single misstep and she could’ve ended up as food for some lurking beast. With a heavy sigh, Hyerin lifted her gaze toward the treetops. The rain had subsided, and the clouds were beginning to part, but the sound of swollen currents in the distance reminded her that the river was still wild and unforgiving. As for fetching water or scouring the forest for fruits, she might as well have been asking to be devoured by a wild beast. If I run into one of those monsters in this condition, I won’t even have time to scream before I’m a cold dish on their table. Still, the thought of Sol’s frail form, belly swollen with children and curled up waiting for her return, gnawed at her heart. Her chest tightened. Should I just go home? But if I do, there will be no food for me or Sol... Ugh, what should I do now?