Ferals are born abandoned. Korrin was no different. He didn't know his mother, and his father did not care for his existence. Most ferals were the same. Maybe that was why most ferals gravitated toward each other, since they had no one.

When Nik went out to hunt for more females, he didn't think anything of it; after all, that was his usual mission. But when he didn't come back, Korrin began to worry. Nik was the most powerful in their group. If something happened to him, the Black Wind Valley would be left without a four-grade beast.

Korrin scouted the perimeter daily, hoping for him to come back. And one day he did, with a female. She was beautiful, with long hair in tiny braids, and her skin against the gold on her skin seemed unreal. He wondered if she was brought up by ferals meticulously. She had just a vivacious, unrestrained aura that made it hard to think she was from a normal tribe. A woman like that comes once in a man's lifetime.

When Korrin saw Nik tied up at first, he thought the female's mates were higher than fourth grade. But then he saw the four stripes on the snake's neck and realized they probably ambushed him.

"The female stays, the rest of you can go."

Korrin wondered later on if he hadn't said such ridiculous words, would they be in such a good position right now. If his ass wasn't completely handed over to him by Rhea, the scorpions here would have no Queen. So maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

.

In Beast City, two wolves rushed into the wolf king's castle, begging for an audience. Their mate had been taken by ferals. They pleaded for someone to rescue her.

Winston heard of the situation and felt perplexed. The only feral camp nearby was the Black Wind tribe. But why would they take a female? Was this a misunderstanding? So he volunteered to go.

"Winston, take Shuu with you. It's better if he has more experience."

And so Shuu tagged along, the little wolf prince. The two set off within the hour, but to Shuu's confusion, their pace was way too leisurely.

"Winston, why aren't we in a hurry? That female could be in trouble."

"Calm down. You probably haven't met the Black Wind Queen. Under her jurisdiction, no female will be harmed by the scorpions. She probably got separated from her mates."

"Huh? The ferals have a queen?"

.

Every day.

Every goddamn day there was a new nuisance.

"Kya!!"

Rhea's screams of delight echoed throughout the village. Curtis could only glare at the object of her delight.

"Come, Dali. Isn't this so cute? Look at it!"

"I've never seen one before. It's so beautiful."

"Right? Look at its tail!"

The two girls bickered, and the scorpions watched with flushed faces. They were pretty when they were happy.

The peacock, whom Rhea gushed about, glanced at the scorpions with a smug look on its face. The cup in Curtis's hand shattered instantly. Harvey only looked at him exasperated. It's just a peacock. Rhea didn't like those kinds of beastmen anyway.

Rhea hugged the peacock tightly against her chest, nearly suffocating him in bliss. 'The female of this tribe is not bad. She also likes my pale feathers.'

"I am here on behalf of the Peacock King!"

Rhea let him go so she could understand him. "The Peacock King sends his greetings to the new tribe leader and hopes for help."

"What does he want?"

"There are a number of ferals around the peacock territory. We hope you can deal with them as you see fit."

"That's not a problem at all~ Curtis!"

The terrifying snake came forward, making the peacock feel impending doom.

"Please follow this nice peacock home and help them with anything they need. Bring back those lost ferals."

Curtis had already made up his mind to kill the peacock. "Gladly."

"Do not harm the peacocks in any way. That would be bad for our diplomatic relationship."

The peacock let out a sigh of relief at her instructions. Curtis's glare was deadly, but he nodded in obedience.

"Come home soon!!" Rhea called as Curtis picked up the peacock by the neck and dragged it out.

Dali laughed at the scene and looked at Rhea. "Your mate is cute."

"He is, isn't he? Don't worry about your mates. Beast City should have sent someone to get you by now."

"Queen Rhea!" Right on cue, Nik arrived. "Winston has arrived!"

Rhea clapped her hands in delight. "Looks like they came just in time, Dali!"

She got up, dusting her dress. "Ready to go home?"

"Can I stay just a little longer? Pleaseee."

"Come on Dali, people will think I actually kidnapped you." Rhea said laughing.

'Then kidnap me!'

But Dali's thoughts remained unspoken.

.

Winston and Shuu, who had arrived at the tribe, were greeted warmly. Winston was used to it, but Shuu was weirded out.

"I thought they were ferals? Why are they so friendly?" Shuu asked.

"They're under a Queen now, so they wouldn't dare act brazenly."

"What can a queen do? If she is not careful, they will take advantage of her."

"Her mates are very powerful, so she's safe."

"Winston!!" Rhea's voice could be heard before she could be seen.

Winston grinned as she ran into his arms, hugging him tightly. She quickly looked up to check his face. His wound had healed beautifully, only leaving a scar across his face, no infections.

"I'm glad you're safe!" Her smile was ridiculously pretty. Even Shuu had to be shocked. So this entire time, Winston had a female?

"You really shouldn't be running around like this. Take care of your body more," Winston said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Oh, who's this?" Rhea asked, looking at Shuu, whose body stiffened.

"I-I'm Shuu!"

"Aw, he's so cute. Is he your nephew?" She ruffled his hair. He was so cute.

"He's the wolf king's son. He's here to join me on the mission."

"Oh, wow, look at that~ a little prince. Lovely to meet you."

Shuu had to remind himself he already had someone he liked.

"Thank you."

Dali finally caught up with them. "Rhea, you run too fast," she said, panting.

"Oh! Winston, here's Dali. She got lost, and I'm assuming you came for her?"

Winston nodded. "Her mates thought she was kidnapped. I'm glad she came across your tribe first. If someone from Flame City found her first, that would be a disaster."

"Flame City? What's that?"

"It's another city of ferals. Don't worry too much about it."

"Well, you guys are just in time for lunch. I'll cook this time. Wanna stay?"

"You know I can't say no to that. I don't want to eat scorpion this time, though."

Rhea laughed nervously. "I don't do that anymore. They're all my babies, so I won't do something that mean."

That was not what she said last time.

Rhea dragged everyone to her building. The first to be redone was the Queen's castle, so naturally, she needed them to see what her babies had gotten up to.

"Wow, this looks pretty good," Winston said in surprise.

"Hehe." Rhea was super proud. Since she figured out Leo was from her world, she used him to design a castle that fit with the rocky cliffs.

"Come on, just relax. I'll go get food ready~" She was in a really good mood today. She was going to cook rice and eat colossal meat.

As she skipped away, the three were left to their own devices.

"Her mate must be a fourth-grade beast. How did she manage to get them to build a place like this?" Shuu was definitely in awe.

Winston laughed at his disbelief. "You have Bai Qingqing, so don't get any ideas, or her mates will kill you. By then, I won't be able to save you."

Shuu blushed. "I'm not disloyal!"

"If it's okay, can I go bring some of the clothes Rhea made for me? I'll be right back," Dali asked.

"Yes, of course. Um, should I accompany you?" Shuu asked.

"No, it's okay!" Dali was off.

"Even Dali feels safe walking around here."

"This isn't Flame City. Don't be afraid."

Shuu nodded and sat down. The room they were in had a large pit in the center. It was a large rectangular seat with lots of soft squares in them.

"What's this? It's really comfortable," Shuu asked, picking one up.

"I'm not sure. It makes me want to sleep on it."

Winston squished the pillow and tried to lie on it. It was soft. So soft.

"Is it made out of wool? How did she get the sheep to give this up?"

"Oh, I'm back!" Dali came back with a bag full of clothes.

"Why do you have so many? You've not been here that long," Shuu asked.

"Rhea says I can have as much as I want! She also gave me these." She showed them the bracelets on her arm like a concubine who had been gifted jewelry by the king.

"Rhea this, Rhea that. Someone would think you didn't want to go home," Shuu said sarcastically.

Dali blushed and held her heated cheeks, looking away.

"Rhea is pretty amazing, isn't she?"

What the hell?

Shuu sighed. "You can always visit with your mates. It's still dangerous; they're ferals."

Dali nodded shyly. She considered moving here

Dali nodded shyly. She considered moving here with her mates. She was treated better here than in Beast City, but she would talk to them first.

.

"Alright, eat up!" Rhea announced, placing a large pot of steaming food on the table. The smell was mouthwatering, and Shuu’s stomach growled in anticipation.

Lunch was served piping hot. Shuu had never eaten anything like this, so he was shocked at how good it was.

"You made this yourself, Rhea?" he asked, eyes wide with admiration.

She nodded cutely, sitting beside Harvey. Since Curtis was gone, Harvey was there to protect her. He insisted it wasn't good for her to run around without her mate.

"Harvey is really brilliant. He makes sure it's good for your body, so eat up. It's basically tasty medicine."

Harvey flushed at her praise. He only made it this way to nurse her back to health since she hated bitter things.

"Rhea, once I get back, I'm gonna come live here. I can't bear to live without this delicious food," Dali said, half-jokingly.

"Dali, I'm coming to Beast City for winter. The scorpions will be hibernating, so I'll be lonely. I'll come and stay with you, alright? So don't miss me too much."

Dali blushed and nodded.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Rhea got up and rushed off.

"She has so much energy," Shuu said, shaking his head.

Harvey sighed. "Every day is like this. I appreciate her good health." It was tiring how often she ran around, but it was better than seeing her sickly.

Rhea returned quickly with some emeralds in her hand.

"Say ahh," she instructed Winston.

Winston opened his mouth, and she placed two emeralds inside.

"There, at least before I see you, don't die."

He stared into her eyes, his heart pounding. As long as she wished it, he wouldn't dare to die.

.

The group soon set off back to Beast City. Rhea waved them off after giving them all a big hug, including the little prince Shuu.

"I'll see you guys soon!"

"Bye, Rhea! Come visit soon!" Dali said with tears in her eyes.

Shuu, who carried all her things on his back, thought it looked like they were taking Dali away from her mate. He wondered how he would tell his father what he saw.

Rhea sighed after she saw Dali go, she really missed having female friends.

She promised to move here, that was a huge step in one direction. Leo didn't manage to capture her heart, but what should she expect from a human male?

"You can't really be blaming me for this." Leo sensed her dissatisfaction.

"You should have tried harder to seduce her, now you'll be single."

Leo rolled his eyes, the threat of being single meant nothing to him, he had been single all his life.

"Is this how a woman from the 21st century should be? You should be strong and independent but you have like 4 men gathering around you like flies."

"So you're from the 21st century too huh?"

"!?"

He didn't mean to say that, he had gotten so used to talking casually in front of other beastmen since they just didn't understand. He forgot she could understand.

"Why are you scared? I won't do anything to a fellow human. It's nice to have someone to talk to that won't just assume I'm trying to fuck them."

What a way to put it.

"I guess that's why you asked me build the castle for you?" He asked with a sigh.

"You're really slow. It's probably better you don't get with Dali, you would infuriate her to death."

'Oh now you're just throwing insults?'

"I miss Dali.."

'Then maybe you should have married her instead!'

"I have work to get to, try not to bore yourself to death." He said before leaving.

"Leo waittt, keep me company!"

"No way. "

If Curtis found out when he got back he wouldn't be able to keep his head.

.

The weather had chilled considerably, but still, Rhea wore just the thin dress she liked to wear. Harvey wasn't happy with that.

"You need to cover up. If you get sick, it'll be very bad for you, Rhea," he urged.

"I'm not cold, Harvey!" she whined.

"Get up, put it on." He was tired. It was better for her to be too warm than to catch a chill. Too many females died because of the cold. She was on the bed in her bedroom refusing to get up and change.

He lifted her off the bed, and she gasped.

He didn't notice the subtle change in her demeanour and instead carried on nagging. "Are you gonna put it on now?"

He sniffed the air for a second. "Rhea?"

He turned her over to look at her face. She had a strange look on her face.

"How many months has it been?" She asked. As if deciding what to do next.

Harvey realized it has been two months now, but before he could say anything she jumped him.

So she had a manhandling kink, he found out the hard way.

.

The next day, the weather was colder still. Harvey was adamant about Rhea wearing warmer clothes. She reluctantly agreed, bundled up in furs and wool.

"Better?" she asked, twirling in front of him.

"Much better," Harvey said, satisfied.

He was in a good mood, his mark was on her left rib under her arms.

They spent the morning organizing supplies for winter. With the scorpions hibernating, they needed to ensure they had enough provisions to last.

Rhea supervised the preparations, making sure everything was in order. Despite the chill in the air, she felt warm inside, surrounded by her makeshift family.

"Will Curtis also hibernate?" She asked curiosly.

"Most likely.".

"I'm a bit worried, who will take care of the village if we're away?"

"We can ask the tiger tribe when we get to best city, don't worry about it." Harvey said giving her a kiss.

"You got bolder." She commented.

"Well, should I?" He had a smirk on his lips.

She dragged him down to the floor and drained him three times before she was satisfied, he got hotter too so it wasn't her fault this time.