Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 31: The Art of Negotiating with Predators

"HEI YAN! STOP! IF YOU BREAK ONE MORE THING, I SWEAR, I WILL NEVER MAKE YOU THAT HONEY-GLAZED RIBS AGAIN!"

The effect was instantaneous.

The giant black panther froze mid-air, skidding to a halt with his claws furrowed deep into the mud. He shifted, his massive muscles rippling as he transformed back into his human form. He was heaving, covered in soot and swamp water, looking like a devastatingly handsome disaster.

"No ribs?" he croaked, his voice cracking with genuine trauma.

"No ribs. No seasoned steak. No stir-fry," Xin Yi threatened, crossing her arms over her chest, trying to ignore the fact that she was currently standing in a swamp in a world where her only protection was a possessive cat and a manipulative snake. "And no head-scratches for a week!"

Hei Yan looked like she had just stabbed him. He let out a low, pathetic whine, a sound no Alpha of his stature should ever make, and slumped his shoulders. He looked less like a king of the jungle and more like a giant, grumpy housecat that had been told he was going to the vet.

"But he took you," Hei Yan growled, pointing a shaking finger at Qing Lin. "He took you right after our......our union! The mark hasn’t even settled!"

"I’m staying," Xin Yi announced, her voice firm despite the ’Are you crazy?’ alarm bells ringing in her head.

"WHAT?!"

This time, the roar didn’t just come from Hei Yan. Feng Huang, the Tiger Alpha, emerged from the treeline, his golden eyes blazing with enough heat to evaporate the swamp. He looked at Hei Yan, then at Xin Yi, and finally at the faint, glowing mark on her collarbone.

The air turned freezing.

"You mated with him," Feng Huang said, his voice a low, dangerous purr. "The stray cat actually managed to catch the bird."

"I’m right here, you know!" Xin Yi snapped. "And yes, we mated! It was.....a lot! But right now, we have a crisis! Qing Lin wants me to teach his people. If I don’t, this war will kill everyone. I’m staying for ten days. Just ten!"

"Ten days is ten days too many!" Hei Yan shouted, stepping forward.

"I disagree," Qing Lin interjected. "I requested a moon cycle. She negotiated down. But make no mistake, Panther, the mark of a female can be challenged if she is not protected. In ten days, she may decide the swamp is far more comfortable than staying with you."

Hei Yan’s growl was so deep it shook the leaves off the trees. Before a fight could break out again, a scout from the Tiger tribe burst through the brush, panting heavily.

"Alpha Feng Huang! The Great Migration! The wildebeest herds have shifted toward the Southern Pass. If we don’t move now, the tribe will go hungry through the Frost Moon!"

Feng Huang cursed, a sound of anger. He looked at the sky, then at Xin Yi. As the Alpha, his first duty was to the survival of his people, but his soul was screaming to stay and rip the snake’s head off.

He marched up to Xin Yi, ignoring Hei Yan’s warning hiss. He reached into his belt and pulled out a jagged, polished tiger claw, carved with ancient runes. He pressed it into her palm, his hand lingering over hers.

"Ten days, little female," Feng Huang whispered, his eyes dark with a promise of future trouble. "I have to lead my hunters. But if that snake touches you, if he even breathes on you too hard, crush this. I will hear the signal, and I will return to burn this entire swamp to the ground. Do you understand?"

"I... okay, okay! Just go feed your people!" Xin Yi pushed him back.

Feng Huang turned to Qing Lin, his lips pulling back to reveal fangs. "Guard her well, Snake. Because when I come back, I’m not just taking her home. I’m contesting that mark."

With a final, lingering look at Xin Yi that made her toes curl in a way she didn’t want to admit, the Tiger Alpha shifted into his massive golden form and vanished into the jungle with his scouts.

Now, there was just Hei Yan.

The Panther Alpha approached her like a beaten dog. He didn’t look angry anymore. He wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face in the crook of her neck, right where the mark was.

"Ten days," he whimpered. "I’ll be right there. On the border. I won’t move. I won’t eat."

"Hei Yan, you have to eat," she sighed, patting his messy hair.

"I’ll stay on the border," he insisted. Then, he started licking.

He licked her cheek, her neck, her shoulder, frantically trying to coat her in his scent one last time to drown out the smell of the swamp. It was gross, it was wet, and it was incredibly possessive.

"Ugh! Hei Yan! Stop! You’re turning me into a lollipop!"

"Need... more... scent..." he mumbled between licks.

Qing Lin rolled his eyes at the Alpha’s pathetic display. "Honestly. How do you stand the saliva? It’s unsanitary."

After another five minutes of Hei Yan acting like a needy toddler-sized predator, he finally stepped back. He gave one last menacing snarl at Qing Lin, and retreated to the edge of the Azure territory, where he promptly sat down in the mud, staring at the snake village.

Xin Yi let out a breath she felt like she had been holding since she transmigrated. "Men. Why are they like this?"

"Because they are governed by instinct," Qing Lin said, walking toward his palace. "I, however, am governed by results. Come. My people are waiting to be ’civilized,’ as you put it."

Xin Yi followed him, but her mind was already racing. System! she screamed internally. Are you seeing this? I’m in a den of snakes, my panther husband is sulking in the mud, and the tiger wants to have a rematch! Give me something! How am I supposed to ’civilize’ these guys in ten days?

[DING! (◕‿◕✿)]

The blue screen flickered to life, looking far too cheerful for the current situation.

[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully survived a three-way Alpha standoff! That’s +500 Dignity Points (which you lost immediately when the Panther licked your face, but let’s not dwell on that!)]

[Current Quest: THE GREAT SWAMP MAKEOVER!]

[Objective: Teach the Snake Tribe the following:]

Soap Production: (Because let’s face it, they’re slimy).

Fish Preservation: (Stop the rot, save the world!)

Advanced Weaving: (The Snake King needs a sweater, Host! He’s literally a popsicle!)

Xin Yi nodded. Okay, okay. I can do that. Soap, fish, sweaters. It’s like a very dangerous Home Economics class.

[BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE! (￢‿￢ )]

[Hidden Side-Quest Unlocked: SNAKE CHARMER]

[Objective: Gain the ’True Trust’ of the Snake King, Qing Lin.]

[Hint: He’s cold on the outside, but his blood is even colder. He needs a different kind of warmth, Host. Get closer to him. Explore the scales!]

Xin Yi froze in her tracks. "Explore the scales? System, are you telling me to flirt with the guy who kidnapped me?!"

[The System only provides the path to survival, Host! A King who trusts you is a King who won’t eat you! Or maybe he will... but in the fun way? WINK WINK!]

[Good luck, Host! Don’t get constricted!]

Xin Yi looked up at Qing Lin’s broad, elegant back as he led her deeper into the shadows of the emerald swamp. She looked back at the border, where Hei Yan was still staring at her like a heartbroken kitten.

"Ten days," she whispered to herself, clutching the tiger claw in one hand and the system’s invisible map in the other. "I’m either going to be an Empress......or I’m going to end up as an Alpha’s chew toy."