"Winston, it doesn't seem like our sources are accurate. Why are the girls just wandering the forest?" Miur asked the large white tiger. They were on a mission to bring back kidnapped females, and yet halfway through their mission, the women were already there, just wandering the forest.

"This is strange. Is it a trap?" Winston muttered.

"Muir! Check for an ambush!" Winston ordered as he prepared his large white tiger body to attack.

Muir flew above the canopy of trees, checking for an ambush, but he couldn't see anything. "Did they really just let them go?"

"Shuu, lead the wolves and take the females back to the Beast City. We'll go check out the Black Wind Valley!" Winston instructed, and the wolf in charge obeyed, leaving Winston and Miur to head down to the valley.

.

"One!"

"I will not call her 'female'; I will call her by her name!"

"Two!"

"When she is mad, I will reply, 'My wife is always right!'"

"Three!"

"When she doesn't want to have sex, we will not have sex!"

"Four!"

"We will not touch her without her explicit permission!"

"Five!"

"We will pay attention to her feelings and emotions!"

The scorpions under Rhea were doing push-ups strictly in her courtyard. She was holding a cane in hand and training them strictly not to be such assholes. Korrin was there to watch over them. His hair was pitch black and long, and Rhea admired how shiny it was, promising herself that hers would be better and longer too.

"Good! Stand up!" Rhea commanded.

The set of scorpions stood up, exhausted. Their daily training was the same. From daylight, they hunted colossals under Curtis's instructions, and in the evening, Rhea drilled them on what she called "a lesson in common sense."

Since they had let all the women go, they had too much energy to spare, so Rhea made sure they were constantly exhausted.

"Queen Rhea, we have visitors from Beast City," Nik informed her.

Rhea wondered what kind of people visited a tribe of scorpions, but then again, she was one of those people.

.

"This is strange. They haven't attacked us at all," Winston said as they sat in what seemed like a receiving room. It was too suspicious. Despite stepping into enemy territory, they hadn't been attacked once, and instead, a tetra-marked beast accompanied them.

Winston was familiar with Nik. Because of him, so many females had been kidnapped. They had fought multiple times, but neither had ever won.

Nik was the most powerful person in Black Wind Valley, but he wasn't the king. Winston found it strange; after all, ferals only knew to obey strength rather than logic.

"Is this really a trap?" Miur asked, getting more and more freaked out. "Maybe we should get out of here—"

"Oh, hello."

"!!"

The two men were startled out of their minds. Winston was just shocked to see a female. Was she left behind?

"Female, were you kidnapped? Did you not manage to escape?" Winston asked urgently.

"Rhea??" Miur exclaimed.

"Muir!"

"You got kidnapped even with your feral mate??"

"I keep hearing 'kidnapped' whenever I meet someone from Beast City. Do all of you assume everyone is being kidnapped all the time? Actually... maybe that's true, but still! I wasn't kidnapped," Rhea retorted.

"Then what are you doing here, female?" Winston asked.

"My name is Rhea. Rhea! 'Female' sounds too icky."

"My apologies, Rhea. Please, if you need help, we need to get you out this moment."

Winston did look genuinely concerned for her.

"Don't worry about that, I live here," Rhea said nonchalantly.

Miur looked like his brain short-circuited. "You live here? Since when?"

"I don't know? A week? Two weeks? I don't really keep track of time. I've been busy," she said with a shrug.

"Wait, why do you choose to live here? You should know scorpions are very violent. What happens if your mate is away hunting? You'll be in trouble."

"Muir, who is your friend?" Rhea asked.

"This is Winston. He normally does the female rescue missions."

"Winston, you are very cute, but no, no one is harming me. Don't worry."

The second the word 'cute' left her lips, he blushed a bit. Miur saw him and rolled his eyes. His commander had no experience with women, so of course this one would catch his eye.

"Winston, don't worry about Rhea. She can take care of herself."

"How can you say that? We should protect females as much as we can!" Winston insisted.

Miur sweat-dropped. Was there a point in explaining things? He would see for himself eventually. "Rhea, how's Curtis and Harvey? Are you guys here because of the tetra beast that attacked you?"

"Oh yes! Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Rhea! Queen of the Black Wind scorpions!"

"Eh!?"

.

"So that's how it is." Miur nodded in understanding after she briefed him. Winston, however, was struggling to understand the situation. A female? Leading ferals? What is the world coming to?

He placed his hand on his head.

"You should visit the Ape King at Beast City so you can update them on the situation here," Winston said.

"Beast City? Miur said they don't accept ferals. You know my mate is a feral," Rhea replied.

Winston glared at Miur's blatant lie. "It should be okay. A feral who already has a mate won't kidnap other females, so your mate can come."

"Oh, how lovely!" She clapped her hands together and smiled. "I have always wanted to see Beast City. It sounds grand."

Her smile was so captivating. Winston could only look away. It made sense why she was not afraid of him. If she was the queen of ferals, then why would she be afraid of anything?

Possibly she might even...

He shook his head immediately to stop daydreaming.

"You two must stay the night! I managed to get my hands on some naughty scorpions! They taste really good boiled."

Both men had dark faces. They did not want to eat scorpions; they'd get poisoned. Their tune changed once they tasted the soup.

"This is delicious!" Miur was more expressive than Winston, who only nodded in agreement. They ate four bowls each before they began to slow down.

"I'm glad you liked it! I needed to put the meat of naughty kids to good use. They taste just like lobster!"

Miur shivered at how casually she talked of eating ferals. What a beast.

"You seem to have them on a tight rope. I assume you're the one who instructed they release their females?" Winston asked.

"Yes~ If they really can't get a mate, I would rather they just die out rather than chase women all day."

'Ruthless...'

"Oh! They're back!"

The 'they' referred to Curtis and Harvey. Rhea got up, running to hug them.

"Welcome home!"

Winston felt strange. They looked so peaceful together. If only he had been more careful, he would have a mate like her.

He was staring too long. Curtis caught him and glared at him, holding Rhea's waist close.

"Curtis! Harvey! It's been a while!" Miur greeted warmly.

"Muir!"

The reunion was warm. Everyone got along mostly, and Rhea listened to Miur's tales from Beast City with great pleasure. Compared to Harvey, Miur was a way better storyteller. She'd never admit that out loud, though.

Eventually, she got tired and began to yawn.

"It's late, you should sleep," Curtis said, lifting her up with his tail.

"Hmm... Winston, Miur, please do stay in the spare bedrooms. Tomorrow I'll see you off with some gifts for the Beast City rulers."

The two nodded and watched the red snake leave with her.

Winston looked at Harvey curiously. "You are okay sharing your female with a feral?"

"I like her a lot. She does crazy things that bewilder me all the time. The best decision I made was following her," Harvey admitted.

Winston looked at Harvey with a complicated expression. Harvey was weak, even now he was only a double-marked beast, so why did she only have him as her second mate? Was she strong enough that it was unnecessary to care for her mate's ability?

But he only had his power to give her. Could he stand a chance?

"You're thinking of her, aren't you?" Miur hit the nail on the coffin. Winston flushed aggressively since he was caught. Harvey laughed at his reaction.

"It's understandable. She is beautiful. If she had arrived at a tribe rather than at Curtis's cave, she would have four mates at least by now."

"Is she looking for another?" Winston asked quietly. "Would she..." he couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. Would she find me too ugly?

Harvey understood his heart. "She likes you, but she only mates with males she deeply cares for. The day she mates with me, I will know I am in her heart."

Winston and Miur exchanged a glance, both feeling envious. They could see the genuine affection and respect Harvey had for Rhea, and it made them wonder about their own chances with such an extraordinary female.

Winston leaned forward, his interest deepening. "Did she really managed to tame the scorpions?"

Harvey chuckled. "Tame is a strong word. She's imposed her will on them, and they respect her strength. It's a different kind of leadership, but it works. She's teaching them to respect females and to be better as a tribe."

Miur sighed. "I wish more tribes had leaders like her. It would make things so much easier."

Winston nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Maybe we can learn something from her approach."

Harvey glanced at them both, sensing their admiration. "Just be careful. Rhea isn't just strong; she's cunning and unpredictable. She does what she wants and takes what she wants. If you get on her bad side, you won't live to regret it."

Winston and Miur exchanged another glance, understanding the warning. Rhea was not someone to be taken lightly.

.

Curtis set her down on the bed and attempted to leave but she kept her arms around his tail not letting go.

Curtis laid down beside her and brought her closer to his heart.

If she didn't want him to leave, he never would.

A/N: last update today, if I post another chapter that is not good, I should be studying, studying.