The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts-Chapter 584: Why are you looking at me like that?
Isabella lifted the small spear in her hand with the confidence of someone who clearly believed she could overthrow an empire even while three months pregnant already.
She stared at the four men with a daring smile.
"Watch me."
The four men froze as if someone had carved them out of stone.
A leaf drifted down between them.
No one breathed.
Cyrus recovered first, though only barely, and he reached out with trembling fingers as if trying to grab the spear from a distance without actually touching it. "Isabella, please consider that you are currently carrying our precious little hatchlings inside that very beautiful stomach, and I sincerely believe they would prefer surviving the day rather than experiencing your bravery firsthand."
Zyran immediately slapped Cyrus’s arm, clearly offended. "No, no, let her hunt if she wants to hunt, because she is a strong and powerful female who should be allowed to experience the thrill of the chase, although she should probably stand behind me while doing it so she does not accidentally stab something important."
Osiris groaned loudly and dragged his hands down his face. "You are all fools, absolute fools, because if she trips even once and falls on her stomach, the entire village will skin us alive, and I personally refuse to die because Isabella decided she wanted to stab a rabbit."
Isabella pointed the spear at him. "Osiris, if you talk again, I will stab you first."
He immediately straightened his spine and pressed his lips together, determined to remain silent before he accidentally triggered her into chasing him with a weapon.
Kian said nothing, as usual, but the quiet rippling through his aura was more terrifying than Zyran’s loud stupidity or Osiris’s chaotic complaints. His icy blue eyes locked on the spear, then her belly, then her hand holding the spear, and finally her face, and he looked like he had aged four winters in one heartbeat.
Isabella turned away from them all, ignoring their misery, and marched toward a nearby clearing where several small animals were grazing in the distance. The moment she lifted the spear into position, all four males moved at once, closing in around her like a protective cage.
She glared at them. "If you all breathe too loudly behind me, I will hit someone."
They tried to breathe quietly.
They failed.
The first target appeared: a plump rabbit hopping near a fallen log, blissfully unaware that death...pregnant and annoyed...was approaching.
Isabella steadied her grip.
Cyrus whispered, "Move your hand slightly to the left."
She hissed, "Do not help me."
Zyran shouted, "Aim for the fat one, Isabella, because you deserve only the juiciest prey."
Osiris elbowed him. "You are making her nervous, stop shaking her concentration."
Kian said nothing, but he tightened his jaw so sharply that even the forest felt nervous.
Isabella inhaled deeply, narrowing her eyes with fierce determination. "I can do this. I am not helpless."
The two loud idiots nodded eagerly.
Kian nodded silently.
She exhaled.
She threw the spear.
And right before the spear hit the rabbit...
a large muscular hand grabbed the wooden shaft mid-air.
The spear froze.
Isabella’s eyes widened. "CYRUS!"
Cyrus held the spear gently and looked at her with the expression of a husband whose wife was trying to burn down the house while pregnant. "My dearest, your angle was slightly too sharp, and your footing could have twisted your ankle, so I felt that stopping the spear was the safest option available to us."
She pressed her lips together slowly. "I warned you all not to intervene."
Osiris puffed out his chest as if he had done something heroic. "Then next time we will intervene even faster, because your throwing posture looked very unstable, and also because your spear nearly hit my beautiful leg."
Zyran shoved him aside. "Your leg is ugly, and the spear was perfectly fine until you opened your mouth and ruined her concentration with your stupidity."
Osiris shoved him back.
Zyran kicked him.
Osiris grabbed his arm, and the two of them rolled across the ground like angry children. (Yeah I know, too embarrassing)
Isabella ignored their wrestling, snatched the spear back from Cyrus, and marched deeper into the trees. "None of you are allowed to speak again."
They immediately spoke.
Cyrus whispered, "Please walk slowly."
Osiris whispered, "Do not step on that leaf."
Zyran whispered loudly, "I think you should let me carry you like a princess while you supervise the hunt from above."
Kian hissed, "Shut up."
The forest rustled as if agreeing.
...
Her Second Attempt
Isabella spotted a wild pheasant perched proudly on a low branch.
It looked plump, unaware, and most importantly, slow.
She raised her spear again.
The men surrounded her again.
She considered stabbing one of them instead.
"Do not interfere," Isabella warned, her voice dangerously calm.
The men nodded in unison, though their eyes continued flicking nervously between her belly and the bird.
She threw the spear.
The spear flew majestically.
The pheasant squawked.
And right before the spear touched it...
Osiris jumped up and grabbed the spear mid-air.
Isabella stared, her eyebrow twitching violently. "OSIRIS!"
Osiris landed with a grunt and held up the spear proudly. "Your balance was off by one tiny fraction, and your back foot slipped slightly to the right, and your wrist twisted in the wrong—"
She grabbed a rock and threw it at him.
He dodged and hid behind Kian.
Kian looked at him like he wanted to strangle him.
Zyran clapped loudly. "Beautiful catch, Osiris! But Isabella’s anger is scarier than a four-horned bull, so you are definitely dying today."
Cyrus rubbed Isabella’s shoulders soothingly, terrified she would spontaneously combust. "My love, please remember your body cannot handle too much rage in one day."
Isabella inhaled through her nose, exhaled slowly, then pointed her spear at all of them. "If any of you touch my spear again, I will sharpen a new spear just to stab someone."
All four men nodded immediately.
"Yes, Isabella."
"We understand."
"We will behave."
"We will try, no promises though."
...
Her Third Attempt
She found a small fox drinking water at a stream.
Perfect.
She aimed.
She steadied her breath.
She threw...
The spear flew, slicing through the air, beautifully aimed.
And then—
A hand appeared again.
Zyran caught the spear, spun it dramatically, twirled it like a show-off peacock dancer, and bowed. "Isabella, my darling, your throwing form today is as lovely as your face, but your legs are trembling slightly, which is making me extremely nervous, so for your safety—"
She threw a second spear at him.
He shrieked and ran.
Isabella stomped her foot. "You all are ruining my hunt on purpose!"
Osiris pointed at her belly. "We are not ruining anything. We are saving the future heirs of this entire tribe."
Zyran nodded vigorously. "Yes! If anything happens to your stomach, Cyrus will kill me, Kian will kill Osiris, and the village elders will kill all of us together."
Cyrus sighed. "Please, beloved, let us protect you."
Isabella puffed her cheeks. "I hate all of you."
Kian stepped closer, lowered his voice so the others could not hear, and said in that deep rumble of his, "I would rather have you hate us than lose you."
Her heart skipped.
She looked away so he wouldn’t see her face heating up.
But before she could speak—
A sound cut through the forest.
A low, heavy, rumbling growl.
The men froze instantly.
Leaves trembled.
Birds flew away.
Isabella frowned, confused by their sudden panic. "What is wrong with all of..."
Her four men stared at her with wide, horrified eyes. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
She blinked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Their throats bobbed as they swallowed hard.
Cyrus whispered, voice cracking with fear he never felt before, "Isabella... do not move."
She frowned deeper. "Why? What are you talking abou—"
Then she froze.
Because the ground behind her shook.
A hot breath touched the back of her neck.
And a deep, earth-shaking snarl rolled across her spine.
The men’s faces turned pale.
