Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 63: Poly-Problems

The Grand Foyer was dead silent. Even the dust motes seemed to freeze in the air at Syris’ question.

Will you hate him forever, too?

Syris watched her, his heart braced for the impact. He knew the answer. She was a mammal. The Tiger was her first. In the stories, the first mate was always the true mate. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Ren stared at him, her mouth hanging open. Then, her face twisted in annoyance.

"That," Ren shouted, her voice cracking, "is the stupidest question I have ever heard!"

Syris blinked. The guards gasped. Kael let out a growl.

"Of course I would hate him!" Ren yelled, struggling so hard against the guards that Viper had to grab her waist to keep her from face-planting. "If he killed you, I would kill him myself! I would drag his giant, furry ass into the swamp and feed him to the crocodiles! And then I would jump in after him so we could all be digested together in a big, unhappy family stew!"

Syris stared at her. "You... would feed the Tiger to the crocodiles?"

"Yes!" Ren screamed, tears of frustration streaming down her face. "I don’t want one of you dead! I want both of you alive! Stop making me choose!"

She glared at the giant snake, then at the feral tiger.

"I love him! And... and I have weird, confusing, very intense feelings for you, you giant noodle! I want both of you! I want my Tiger and my Snake! Is that so hard to understand?"

Ding!

The sound rang clear as a bell in her head.

[System Notification: Side Quest Complete — ’The More, The Merrier’.] [Achievement Unlocked: The Greedy Collector.] [Task: Boldly claim two Beast Kings as your mates in a public setting.] [Reward: 50 XP (Survival Points). Congrats on your audacity.]

"Hah!"

A shrill scream cut through the tension. Lyssa stepped forward from the hallway, pointing a manicured claw at Ren.

"How dare you!" Lyssa shrieked, her face twisting with indignation. "You useless, hairless ape! You think you can have a harem? Only High-Beast females with magical talents and limitless breeding hips can take multiple mates! You can’t even lay an egg! You are nothing!"

Ren whipped her head around, her headache flaring up like a supernova.

"Shut up, Lyssa!" Ren snapped. "My head is splitting, and your voice sounds like a fork in a garbage disposal! I’m not even talking to you! God!"

She turned back to Syris.

The King had gone quiet. The purple mist around him swirled thoughtfully.

He was considering her words. It wasn’t the first time she had said this. Last night, when she was sweating and writhing in his bed, delirious with poison, she had said the same thing.

"I want you and my tiger taking me at the same time."

He had dismissed it as the sickness. But now? She was better (mostly). She was angry. And she was demanding them both.

Syris looked over at Kael. The White Tiger was currently chewing on the end of a spear, looking feral and unwashed.

’Share?’ Syris thought with a curl of disgust. ’Me? Share my Nest with a smelly cat? A creature that coughs up hairballs? We are both Kings. We are natural enemies.’

It was unheard of. Common beasts shared mates often. But Kings? Their egos were too big. Their territories were too distinct.

But the alternative...

The alternative was killing the Tiger, and having Ren look at him with hatred for the rest of his life.

Syris lowered his massive head until he was eye-level with Ren.

"You are a liar," Syris hissed softly. "You deceive. You burned my guards. You stole from my vault. You say this now only to save his life. Once he is safe, you will take him and run."

Ren stopped struggling. She looked at the giant snake, seeing the genuine hurt behind the accusation.

"You’re right," Ren said quietly. "I did deceive you. I did steal from you."

She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them with a newfound resolve.

"System," she whispered. "Inventory."

A shimmer of light appeared in her hand. A rolled-up scroll materialized.

Syris’ eyes narrowed. He recognized it instantly. It was the map of the Swamp—the key to navigating the exit routes.

"The map," Syris growled. "You stole it."

"I stole it to escape," Ren admitted, holding it up. "I was going to use it to leave you."

The guards tensed. Lyssa smirked, ready for the execution order.

Ren gripped the parchment with both hands.

RIIIIIP.

The sound was loud in the quiet hall.

Ren tore the ancient map in half. Then she put the halves together and tore them again. And again. Until the map was nothing but confetti.

She threw the pieces into the air. They fluttered down around her like snow.

"I don’t need it anymore," Ren declared, her voice steady and loud. "I’m not going anywhere. I want to stay in the swamp. With you. And with him."

She took a step toward Syris, ignoring the guards’ hands on her arms.

"I’m not lying to save him, Syris. I’m telling you the truth because I want to save us. All of us. I can cure him. I know I can. But you have to trust me one last time."

The hall was stunned.

Viper, still holding Ren’s left arm, looked up at his King. He saw the conflict in the amethyst eyes. He knew Syris was obsessed. He knew the King had broken a hundred rules for this female already.

But this? Sharing a mate with a rival King?

’Impossible,’ Viper thought. ’His pride will not allow it.’

Lyssa and the harem girls huddled in the corner, whispering feverishly.

"She tore the map!" one whispered. "He will kill her for sure!"

"He has to," Lyssa hissed, though her eyes darted nervously. "He cannot agree to this. It is humiliating! A King does not share!"

Syris stared at the shredded paper on the floor. Then he looked at the feral, drooling Tiger. Finally, he looked at the small, defiant woman who was demanding the impossible.