The primitive wilderness was simply too dangerous.
And if she were bitten by something venomous...
Sora shuddered.
She had only recently escaped death once already.
She had no desire to experience it again.
No wonder Martin had advised her to stay with one of her beast husbands.
A strong protector was practically a necessity in this world.
After a brief hesitation, Sora glanced toward her contracted mates.
Among them, was Ace, although he offered to sleep with her he wasn’t sure he was not planning to get even with her for choosing to mount him instead of the other beastman husband.
Xavier still seemed annoyed by the earlier incident involving her torn skirt.
As for Lucas, after the misunderstanding with the sleeping arrangements before, approaching him now felt awkward.
That left only one option.
Taking a deep breath, Sora walked straight toward Lukan.
Just as she was about to speak, Serena suddenly called out from nearby.
"Lukan, Father wants you assigned to the outer watch tonight."
Lukan glanced toward the chief’s camp before giving a lazy nod.
"I understand."
Sora immediately felt disappointed.
If Lukan was responsible for patrol duty, then staying beside him was obviously impossible.
Her choices were shrinking one by one.
Meanwhile, Ace noticed her strange expression and raised an eyebrow.
Before he could ask, Sora forced a bright smile.
"Ace," she said, "if you’re not too busy later, would you mind if I stayed nearby tonight?"
The tiger beastman nearly choked, she choose him again today.
His golden eyes widened slightly.
Of all the things he expected Sora to say, that had not been one of them.
The tribe had long known that Sora had never truly accepted any of her beast husbands.
Likewise, none of them had expected her to willingly seek one out.
Ace felt a headache coming on.
As a beastman, protecting a female was his responsibility.
As Sora’s contracted mate, refusing outright would be inappropriate.
But the thought of spending the night beside her made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.
At the same time, Sora was feeling equally uneasy.
She wasn’t choosing him because she liked him.
She simply valued survival more than pride.
Compared to sleeping alone in a forest full of dangerous beasts, enduring a few hours of awkwardness seemed like a small price to pay.
Around the campfire, curious gazes followed them.
Whispers quickly spread among the tribe members.
"Did Sora just choose Ace?"
"Are they finally going to act like mates?"
"Could it be that they’re planning to consummate their bond?"
The gossip grew louder.
Meanwhile, Sora remained completely unaware.
At that moment, she was only thinking about one thing:
How to survive the night without becoming dinner for the wilderness.
___ ___ ___ ___
It was a well-known secret throughout the tribe that Sora had never consummated her relationships with any of her beast husbands.
So when the tribe members saw her following Ace into the forest, curious whispers immediately spread through the camp.
"Is Sora finally planning to spend the night with Ace?"
"Could it be?"
"After all this time?"
The murmurs drifted through the cool evening air, reaching Sora’s ears and nearly causing her to trip over her own feet.
She almost choked.
What kind of outrageous gossip was this?
A few hours ago, she had been praising the simplicity of primitive society. Now she wanted to take those words back immediately.
Primitive society was primitive indeed—but apparently not innocent.
Sora risked a glance at Ace.
The tiger beastman walked ahead of her beneath the moonlight, his handsome face cold and unreadable. If anything, he looked irritated.
Just hearing the tribe’s speculation had darkened his expression.
That alone made Sora nervous.
If he looked this displeased now, what would happen if he misunderstood her intentions?
After a moment of hesitation, she quickened her pace until she was walking beside him.
"Ace," she began carefully, "don’t worry. I only need you to protect me from wild beasts tonight. I won’t do anything else."
To her, the explanation was perfectly reasonable.
Unfortunately, Ace merely snorted.
"The same trick again?" His voice dripped with sarcasm. "Do you really think I’ll fall for it twice?"
Sora blinked in confusion.
Before she could respond, the system’s mechanical voice sounded in her head.
[Ding.]
[Friendly reminder: The original host once pretended to be sick in order to lure Ace into her bed.]
Sora nearly rolled her eyes.
Of course.
The original owner had once again sabotaged her future.
How many ridiculous things had that woman done in pursuit of these beast husbands?
Every path she tried to take seemed blocked by the original Kaelira’s terrible reputation.
Taking a deep breath, she tried again.
"I’m serious this time."
Ace didn’t even look at her.
Sora raised three fingers.
"If I try anything tonight, may lightning strike me—"
BOOM!
A deafening thunderclap exploded across the sky.
The sudden sound swallowed the rest of her words.
Sora froze.
"..."
The heavens really weren’t helping her.
She stared at the dark clouds gathering in the distance and sighed internally.
Was climbing into bed really worth all the effort the original owner had put into it?
After realizing further explanations were useless, Sora finally gave up.
The two continued walking in silence until Ace suddenly stopped.
He pointed toward a large tree ahead.
"You can sleep there tonight."
Sora followed his finger.
The tree was massive, its trunk so thick that it would take two people to wrap their arms around it.
The designated sleeping area, however, was nothing more than a patch of grass beneath it.
No shelter.
No cave.
Nothing.
Sora stared.
"Here?"
Ace crossed his arms.
"The ground is flat. There are no rocks."
Technically, he wasn’t wrong.
But Sora glanced at the darkening sky uneasily.
"What if it rains?"
"It won’t."
"You sound very certain."
Ace lifted his chin toward the heavens.
"I can tell."
Sora had no idea where his confidence came from.
Still, she didn’t dare argue.
After all, Ace already disliked her enough.
If she annoyed him further, she might truly end up spending the night alone.
She tried another approach.
"There are bugs in the grass."
Ace narrowed his eyes.
A strange look appeared on his face.
"Don’t think I don’t know what you’re planning."
Sora blinked.
"What am I planning?"
"You think if we find a cave, you’ll have an excuse to get close to me."
"..."
Sora stared at him.
Was this man serious?
Without waiting for a reply, Ace transformed into his beast form.
A sleek white tiger appeared beneath the moonlight and effortlessly leaped onto a sturdy branch.
"I’ll sleep here."
His golden eyes looked down at her.
"If you don’t like it, find somewhere else."
With that, he curled up and closed his eyes.
Sora nearly exploded.
She genuinely had no such intentions!
Unfortunately, Ace clearly didn’t believe a word she said.
In the end, she could only spread her beast-skin blanket beneath the tree and settle down.
At least she hadn’t forgotten to bring bedding.
Otherwise, sleeping directly on the hard ground would have been miserable.
The primitive world truly lacked entertainment.
The moon had barely reached the center of the sky, yet everyone was already preparing to sleep.
Sora lay on her back, staring upward.
She wasn’t sleepy at all.
After tossing and turning for a while, she decided to count stars.
One star.
Two stars.
Three—
Suddenly, strange sounds drifted through the forest.
Sora froze.
A moment later, realization dawned.
Nearby beastman couples had apparently found secluded places for their nightly activities.
The surrounding sounds became increasingly difficult to ignore.
Sora’s face turned red.
She covered her ears.
The primitive world really had far too little entertainment.
Meanwhile, she silently missed the nightlife of her former world.
Just as she was finally beginning to adapt, a faint rustling sound emerged from the grass.
Hiss.
Hiss.
A chilly breeze brushed against her skin.
At first, she thought it was the wind.
Then she looked up.
And froze.
Two glowing yellow eyes stared back at her.
A triangular head emerged from the darkness.
A long white snake marked with black rings slithered through the grass, flicking its tongue as it fixed its gaze on her.
Sora’s blood ran cold.
Venomous.
Definitely venomous.
Every survival instinct she possessed erupted at once.
"Ace!"
She scrambled backward.
"Ace! There’s a snake!"
High above, the panther flicked one ear.
Nothing more.
Sora almost cried.
The snake moved closer.
Its body coiled.
Ready to strike.
Without thinking, Sora lunged for the nearest tree and began climbing.
The rough bark scraped her palms.
Branches scratched her arms.
But she didn’t dare stop.
Below her, the snake followed.
Its body wound around the trunk with frightening speed.
The entire tree shook.
At last, the movement caught Ace’s attention.
His golden eyes opened.
Originally, he had intended to mock her panic.
Then he saw the black-and-white ringed snake rapidly climbing after her.
His expression changed instantly.
A blur of black shot from the branches.
Ace leaped down.
The tiger collided with the snake in a violent explosion of movement.
The snake hissed viciously, striking again and again.
Ace’s claws flashed.
A cold mist erupted around him.
Frost spread through the air.
The moment the snake’s tongue touched that icy aura, its movements slowed.
Then stopped completely.
Ace’s ice ability had frozen it solid.
Moments later, the giant snake crashed to the ground.
Dead.
Sora clung to the tree, breathing hard.
For the first time since arriving in this world, she had witnessed a true battle between a beastman and a wild predator.
The difference in strength was astonishing.
White light surrounded Ace.
A moment later, his human form reappeared beneath the moonlight.
His dark hair shifted in the breeze as he glanced disdainfully at the snake’s corpse.
"So filthy."
He immediately pulled out a piece of animal hide and wiped his hands.
Sora stared.
A cleanliness freak.
That explained a lot.
After finishing, Ace looked up at her.
"The snake’s dead."
His voice was impatient.
"Why are you still hugging the tree?"
Sora glanced down at the corpse.
The snake’s eyes remained wide open.
She shuddered.
"Ace... could you move it somewhere else?"
His brows furrowed.
For a moment, she thought he would refuse.
Instead, he grabbed a nearby branch and casually flung the dead snake deep into the darkness.
Sora immediately relaxed.
"Thank you."
Ace paused.
A strange expression flickered across his face.
Thank you?
The old Kaelira had never thanked anyone.
She had always acted as if helping her was everyone’s obligation.
But before he could think further, Sora carefully climbed down from the tree.
The night was far from over.
And somehow, she had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last surprise waiting for her before dawn.