I Abandoned My Beast Cubs for the Protagonist... Oops?-Chapter 44: Caught in 4K

Han Shān did not like the village gossip.

Normally, the stoic Snow Leopard ignored the whispers of the Thousand Fang Tribe. He preferred the quiet solitude of the snowy peaks or the focused rhythm of a hunt. But today, the rumors spreading through the clearing were entirely impossible to ignore.

She fought a Swamp Hydra.

She tamed a Dragon.

The Fox Lord carried her away.

Han Shān tightened his grip on the woven basket of frost-berries he had spent the entire afternoon gathering. Beside him, little Ruì Xuě tugged impatiently at his father’s massive hand, his fluffy white tail swishing back and forth.

"Father, hurry!" Ruì Xuě chirped, his purple eyes bright. "Miao Miao said Mama is back! She didn’t get eaten by the monkeys!"

Han Shān’s jaw clenched. Mama. The word still felt foreign and dangerous, especially when directed at the female who had treated this cub so cruelly. He had taken Ruì Xuě out of the village all day specifically to keep him away from the chaos of her absence, only to return and find the entire tribe completely bewitched by her again.

"We will go to the tribe middle grounds, Ruì Xuě," Han Shān said.

"No! She is at the hot springs!" Ruì Xuě insisted, pulling his father toward the rocky grotto at the edge of the territory. "With Uncle Zhao Yan! I want to see her!"

Han Shān’s eyebrows pulled together. Zhāo Yàn had taken her to the springs? Voluntarily? The Fox Lord was cunning, manipulative, and deeply selfish. He had despised Bai Yue just as much as Han Shān did. If Zhāo Yàn was isolating her in the grotto, he was likely interrogating her. Or worse.

A strange, uncomfortable tightness coiled in Han Shān’s chest. He told himself it was just suspicion. He needed to ensure the female wasn’t plotting something that would endanger the tribe or his son.

"Stay here by the outer rocks," Han Shān instructed Ruì Xuě as they reached the edge of the steaming pools. "I will go see if she is....decent."

Ruì Xuě pouted but obediently sat down on a mossy boulder, popping a frost-berry into his mouth.

Han Shān stepped quietly into the heavy, sulfur-scented fog. His footfalls were completely silent, the trained movements of an apex predator. He expected to hear yelling. He expected to hear the Fox Lord mocking her, or Bai Yue throwing one of her old, vicious tantrums.

Instead, he heard nothing but the soft splash of water and a quiet, breathless sound that made his pointed ears twitch.

Han Shān rounded the largest dark stone, his eyes piercing through the thick veil of steam.

He froze. The basket of frost-berries slipped from his numb fingers, hitting the wet stone with a soft, pathetic thud.

The breath was completely knocked from his lungs.

There, half-submerged in the crystal-clear water of the spring, was Bai Yue. Her muddy clothes were tossed carelessly onto the bank. And she was not yelling. She was not throwing a tantrum.

She was pinned against the smooth rock wall by Zhāo Yàn.

The Fox Lord’s broad, bare back flexed as he leaned down. His hands were buried in Bai Yue’s wet hair, tilting her head back. And Bai Yue, the vicious, hateful female who had once recoiled at the mere touch of a beastman, had her arms wrapped tightly around Zhāo Yàn’s neck.

They were kissing.

Not a forced, reluctant peck. It was a deep, consuming kiss. Zhāo Yàn let out a low growl of pure satisfaction.

Han Shān stood rooted to the spot, his mind completely blanking. The stoic, unshakeable warrior of the snows felt as if a lightning bolt had just struck him directly in the chest.

She....she is kissing him.

~

If anyone were to ask Bai Yue exactly how she ended up making out with a ridiculously handsome fox in a glowing hot spring, she wouldn’t have been able to give a coherent answer.

Her brain had completely short-circuited about five minutes ago.

It had started with that shocking, searing heat of his tongue tracing the delicate shell of her ear.

From there, it was a blur of sensory overload. Zhāo Yàn had been infuriatingly gentle. His large hands had stroked her waist, expertly and effortlessly peeling away her muddy, stiff garments before she could even formulate a protest. He had guided her down into the soothing, bubbling heat of the crystal-clear water, the stark contrast of the steaming spring and the cool cavern air making her shiver.

He hadn’t stopped touching her. His fingertips had traced the line of her spine, sending sparks flying across her skin.

"This is difficult," Zhāo Yàn had muttered earlier, his voice a gravelly, frustrated purr as he rested his forehead against hers. "Very, very difficult. I want to mate with this new you so badly." He had let out a ragged sigh, his thumb brushing her flushed cheek. "But.....the panda.....and you still haven’t made up with Han Shān."

Despite his words about restraint, he clearly hadn’t been able to help himself.

He had continued pressing open-mouthed kisses along her jawline, sucking gently at the sensitive skin of her neck and collarbone until Bai Yue felt completely, entirely melted. Her core felt like fire, and every rational thought she possessed had flown right out the window.

Eventually, with a heavy groan, Zhāo Yàn had tried to be the responsible one. He had planted his hands on the smooth rock wall, attempting to pull his body away from hers to cool off.

But Bai Yue, completely high on adrenaline and Fox Lord pheromones, hadn’t let him.

Acting purely on instinct, she had reached out, grabbed the front of his wet hair, and pulled him right back down. "I—" she had started to say, before simply smashing her lips against his.

A split second later, panic had set in. She had tried to pull away, a squeak of embarrassment vibrating in her throat.

Not happening.

Zhāo Yàn had let out a dark, triumphant sound. He caught her waist, pinning her against his solid, wet chest, and took absolute control.

Smooch. Smooch.

His hands trailed everywhere, down her back, tracing the curve of her waist, pulling her closer.

Oh my, she thought dizzily, her fingers tangling tightly in his hair.

Chen Jue could have NEVER. Her pathetic, boring Earth-crush from her previous life wouldn’t have even known what to do with a kiss like this. Was this what it felt like to be kissed properly? To be absolutely devoured?

She liked it. Oh, she really liked it.

They were so wrapped up in each other, entirely lost in the steam and the heat, that they almost didn’t hear it.

GRRRRR.

A low, sharp, completely involuntary growl ripped through the heavy fog.

Bai Yue broke the kiss with a loud gasp, her eyes flying open. She peeked over Zhāo Yàn’s broad shoulder and let out a strangled yelp.

"Han Shān????"

Standing at the edge of the pool, looking as if he had just been struck by a bolt of heavenly lightning, was her first husband. A basket of spilled frost-berries lay at his feet.

The stoic, unshakeable warrior of the snows was staring at them with wide, completely bewildered blue eyes. His jaw opened and closed silently for a full three seconds before he finally managed to form words.

"You’re....." Han Shān stuttered, pointing a trembling, clawed finger at the water. "You are kissing......the cursed female?"

Zhāo Yàn didn’t flinch. He didn’t even look guilty.

The Fox Lord simply let his forehead drop heavily against Bai Yue’s shoulder, letting out a long, deeply annoyed groan at the interruption.

"She caused it," Zhāo Yàn complained, his voice muffled against her wet skin. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Bai Yue’s jaw unhinged. Uh???? Excuse me?!

She smacked his shoulder indignantly.

Han Shān looked even more surprised, his gaze darting between the pouting Fox Lord and his completely flustered, blushing mate. The intense, violent jealousy in his chest was warring with confusion.

Zhāo Yàn finally lifted his head. He looked down at Bai Yue, his red eyes dark and swirling with a hungry, possessive promise that made her breath hitch all over again.

He reached up, his thumb slowly wiping a drop of moisture from her swollen bottom lip.

"We will finish this another day," Zhāo Yàn whispered.

Without another word, the Fox Lord turned, the water cascading off his flawless, muscular back as he gracefully waded out of the spring. He completely ignored his muddy clothes, walking straight out of the water to confront the paralyzed Snow Leopard in all his wet, glorious, thoroughly uninterrupted arrogance.

Bai Yue sank down until the water was up to her nose, hiding her burning face behind a thick cloud of steam.

Eeeeeekkkk!