Kane pushed the inn door open right around midnight.

His knuckles were split open, and two cracked ribs sent sharp spikes of pain through his chest with every breath he took.

A deep sense of satisfaction settled in his bones anyway, as surviving an ambush that should have killed him always felt incredibly good.

He stepped into the quiet room and stopped.

Kessa sat casually in the chair by the window. She crossed her long, striped legs and watched him walk in.

Thora and Sira sat awake on the large bed.

Thora knew something was wrong hours ago as the magical bond transmitted his pain, but she couldn’t do anything except wait for his safe return.

She slipped off the mattress the second her eyes landed on the fresh blood staining his linen shirt. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

She hurried over to assess the damage while Kane carefully lowered himself onto the edge of the bed.

Her hands began to glow with a soft healing light as she pressed them gently against his bruised ribs.

"You got healing powers now?" Kane asked her.

"Please don’t speak."

As she was healing his wounds, a shadow appeared in front of him.

"I followed you tonight," Kessa stated without a single hint of apology.

"Watched your entire fight from the neighboring roof. Your archer nearly shot me by accident when I shifted my weight on the tiles."

"She doesn’t make accidents," Kane replied with a smile.

Kessa watched Thora work the healing magic into his skin.

She looked like an unwanted intruder in their private space, yet she seemed strangely comfortable sitting there. She leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees.

"Why did you spare me that day?" Kessa asked, her amber eyes searching his face for a hidden trick.

"Do you pity me because I am a beastwoman trying to fight in an elven game?"

’She’s proud,’ Kane thought, wincing slightly as Thora realigned a cracked bone.

"I don’t pity anyone," Kane answered honestly.

"I spared you because you are a highly capable fighter. Dead fighters are useless to me, and I prefer collecting useful people."

Kessa absorbed that answer quietly.

"You did something to me in the arena. The brand."

"Yes."

"What exactly does it do?"

"It makes you harder to kill," Kane said simply.

"Among other things."

Kessa was quiet for a long moment.

"Among other things."

It wasn’t a question. She understood exactly what he meant, and her eyes dropped lower to admire his physique.

She sat back in her chair to watch him get patched up. Kessa wasn’t afraid or trying to perform for his approval.

She was just genuinely curious about this smiling barbarian who fought nothing like a typical savage.

Sira narrowed her fiery eyes at Kessa from the other side of the bed. The orange-haired archer clearly didn’t like another woman inviting herself into their secure room.

Thora finished her minor healing work and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Kane’s bruised shoulder.

Then she turned around.

In a move that surprised both Kane and Sira, Thora looked directly at the striped beastwoman.

"You can stay," Thora said simply.

Kessa blinked in surprise and looked at Thora, then shifted her gaze back to Kane for confirmation.

Kane shrugged his uninjured shoulder.

"She speaks for the room."

Sira opened her mouth to protest, but Thora reached out and gently squeezed her hand.

Thora understood the pack dynamics intuitively.

Kessa wasn’t a threat to Sira’s established position as she was just a powerful addition to their growing family.

Sira felt the reassuring warmth from the bond and slowly relaxed her tense shoulders.

Kessa was not being claimed against her will. She was making a conscious choice to stay.

The energy in the room shifted immediately.

Kessa stood, unbuckled her leather armor, and let it drop to the floor.

Her athletic, striped body was revealed, with toned muscles, heavy, full breasts, and those bold tiger stripes running seductively over her hips and thighs.

She climbed onto the bed and straddled Kane’s hips with slow grace, her slick pussy already drenched and sliding against his rapidly hardening cock.

"My ribs are still healing," Kane warned quietly.

"So I can’t throw you around tonight."

"I don’t need to be thrown around," Kessa rumbled, keeping her voice low.

She leaned down, capturing his lips in a deep, passionate kiss.

Her tongue danced sensually with his as her hand wrapped around his cock, stroking him firmly before guiding the swollen head to her dripping entrance.

With a soft moan, Kessa slowly sank onto him, her tight walls stretching deliciously around his girth.

Inch by inch, she took him until every thick inch was buried deep inside her, her ass pressing firmly against his thighs.

"Haa..."

She began to ride him with slow, intimate rolls of her hips, deep, grinding circles that made her full breasts sway heavily.

Kane groaned into her mouth, his large hands gripping her striped waist, thumbs lovingly tracing the soft patterns of her fur as she moved on him.

Her soaked pussy clenched and fluttered hotly around his cock with every descent, coating him in her sweet, slippery juices.

Sira watched intently from the pillows, her jealousy melting away into arousal as she witnessed how tenderly yet passionately the powerful beastwoman was claiming their injured leader.

Thora moved closer, tenderly running her fingers through Kessa’s short hair. Kessa leaned into the touch with a throaty purr, never breaking her smooth rhythm.

The pleasure built steadily, growing hotter and more intense.

Kessa’s breathing turned into desperate pants against Kane’s lips, her amber eyes half-lidded with lust.

"Haa... Ahh... Ahh..."

As she neared her peak, the magical bond flared brightly inside her chest.

She let out a sudden, breathy roar.

Her Bloodrage Form triggered, flooding her body with overwhelming sensual power. Her pussy tightened like a scorching vice around Kane’s cock, rippling and milking him greedily as she rode him harder, the wet, filthy sounds of their joined bodies filling the room.

Kane gripped her hips tighter and thrust up to meet her, their bodies moving together in perfect sync.

They came together in a powerful rush, Kessa’s walls spasming wildly around him as she flooded his cock with her hot, gushing cum, her entire body trembling with ecstasy.

Kane groaned deeply into her mouth, pumping endless ropes of cum deep inside her clenching pussy.

[Harem Bond: Kessa]

[Loyalty 45 Percent]

[Note: Beastwoman bond mechanics differ from human parameters.]

[Bloodrage Form is now partially suppressed outside combat and redirected.]

[New Passive for Kessa: Battle Mate]

[Effect: Kessa’s combat stats increase when fighting alongside Kane.]