​This was the first time Hana had ever felt so genuinely venomous toward them. Not even when they had overdone it during their first weeks at the den—not even when she had forced them to kneel—had she ever carried such a deep scowl or such absolute venom in her eyes.

They had truly pushed her boundaries too far this time and fueled the damn mood swing she was trying not to have.

​Inside the room, a suffocating silence fell. Kulu looked completely shattered. His massive crimson wings slowly slouched, the sharp steel feathers flattening back down with a dull, hollow click.

He hadn’t meant for it to happen like this. His body had simply reacted on its own.

He had been picking up those quiet, aggravating signs all morning that the white leopard was going to try and take Hana’s attention away with his easygoing enthusiasm, and his instincts had taken over the moment she said she would take him as her fourth mate.

​Caspian, however, did not look shattered at all. He stood in the center of the cracked floor, his jaw locked so tight the muscles in his neck were pulsing.

A terrifying, murderous orange glow emitted from the back of his throat, his golden eyes slit into two lethal needles.

​"I’ll kill him," Caspian said hoarsely, the sheer gravity of his voice vibrating the timber walls.

​Raiden and Kulu both snapped their heads toward him, completely shocked by the unhinged tone.

​"Are you crazy, lizard? If you do that, then Hana will—" Raiden’s words were cut short the moment he saw the murderous, entirely uncaring look in Caspian’s eyes. The dragon was completely serious.

​"Don’t try to stop me," Caspian rumbled, a thick trail of smoke curling past his lips. "Hana may hate me for it, but she won’t hate me for long. I’m going to rip out the fur on that bastard’s tail and burn him to a crisp before he can even think about touching her."

​Kulu stepped forward, dropping a heavy, solid hand onto the dragon’s dark-scaled shoulder. "I feel the same way, Caspian. My claws are itching to tear his throat out. But when I try to calm down and think of Hana’s reasons... I can’t understand them. So I imagine this is just another one of those times she has a grand plan that our minds cannot comprehend. Do not let your anger ruin Hana’s plan because then, she will have valid reasons to hate you for good."

​Caspian scowled fiercely, his shoulder jerking violently to shrug Kulu’s hand away as he turned toward the entrance. "I’m going out for some fresh air," he growled, his feet crushing the gravel as he moved.

​Kulu turned his amber eyes toward the fox. "Follow him, fox. Or he might make a mistake we can’t fix."

​"You don’t have to tell me that, bird brain," Raiden said, his nine pink tails swaying with a tense, sharp agitation as he straightened his tactical harness. "I was already going."

Hana stormed out of the village center, her boots sinking deeply into the crisp mountain snow. Her mind was a chaotic grid of calculations and raw irritation.

She didn’t want to deal with the suffocating pressure of that room for another second.

​She hadn’t gone very far before a soft, crunching sound approached her from the side. She didn’t even have to look up to know who it was; she had already picked up the faint scent of pine and wild mint.

​Ren walked up beside her, holding a wooden bowl filled with steaming, rich deer broth.

Sensing the deep distress radiating from her, he didn’t say a word at first. He simply handed her a wooden bowl of dear soup, giving her a quiet, supportive nod, and walked with her until they reached a wide, snow-dusted tree stump that was large enough for them to sit.

​Hana sat down carefully, cradling the warm wooden bowl in her hands.

​"Are you cold?" Ren asked softly, brushing a layer of frost off the edge of the stump before leaning against a nearby trunk.

​Hana shook her head flatly. Even though this entire mountain range was buried under freezing winds and heavy snow, she didn’t feel the chill at all.

She wasn’t a beastman, and she wasn’t heavily clothed, but her body was handling the extreme climate perfectly. She knew it was probably because she was carrying a dragon’s lineage in her womb, and the baby’s innate heat was constantly regulating her temperature from the inside out.

​"Did you have a fight with your mates?" Ren suddenly asked, his voice careful.

​Hana looked up from the soup, her dark eyes narrowing slightly. "How do you know that?"

​"I don’t," Ren said, offering a small, sheepish smile as his black-striped tail flicked nervously against the snow. "But I figured they should be following you absolutely everywhere, especially since this is a foreign territory and they come off as possessive." He could still remember how they were glaring daggers at him for talking to her. It gave him chills. "And you seem distressed, but they still aren’t by your side. It was the only reason that came to mind."

​Hana turned her gaze back down to the steaming liquid. This guy is far too perspective, she thought, a faint scowl pulling at her lips as she dug the spoon into the soup and took a bite. He was reading her entirely too easily.

​Ren shifted his weight, looking out over the quiet, frozen valley.

"In our tribe, bonds are the most important resource we have," he murmured, his tone turning reflective and Hana added another self thought. He was also talkative. "Whether it’s siblings, parents, or mates... we value them above everything else. We believe that if there’s a fracture between people, sitting down and talking things out is the only way to bring about a peaceful resolution."

​Hana let out a sharp, cynical bark of laughter, the sound cutting through the quiet mountain air. "That’s funny. I tried to talk to them about a decision I made because I thought it would help maintain the household structure, but they just ended up making me furious with their reaction."

​Ren looked away into the trees for a brief second, rubbing the back of his neck, before fixing his icy blue eyes back on her face. "Did you hear their side out?"