Nina accepted the gift with both hands. "Thank you. Take good care of yourself while you’re in the city."

Zena had given her a delicate bracelet—beautifully made, each detail carefully crafted by hand.

Zena nodded. "I will."

Mona stepped forward as well, offering her gift with a hint of shyness. "Lady Nina, I made this myself. I hope you don’t mind..."

She lowered her gaze slightly. "I... I don’t have anything particularly valuable to give you."

Her gift was a skirt made from beast hide, the stitching fine and precise—clearly the result of great care and effort.

After her beast husbands had died long ago, she had learned to make clothing for herself. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Nina accepted it with both hands, smiling warmly. "It’s beautiful. I really like it—thank you."

Relief and happiness spread across Mona’s face. "I’m glad you like it."

She could tell that Nina truly meant it.

One by one, the other females stepped forward to present their gifts, and Nina accepted each of them in turn.

Before long, the males finished packing everything and stood ready to depart.

"Nina, we’re ready to go," Odian urged.

"Alright." Nina turned to Zena and the others one last time. "I’m leaving now. Take care, everyone."

"Nina, be careful on the road," Zena said, her voice tinged with reluctance.

"Lady Nina, I wish you all the best. I’ll be waiting for your return in Barbarian City," Mona added.

"City Lord, have a safe journey—we’ll be waiting for you," the other females echoed.

"Alright." Nina climbed onto Odian’s back and waved at them. "I’m off. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Nina!"

"Goodbye, Lady Nina!"

"Goodbye, City Lord!"

Zena and the others waved back as well.

Nina patted Odian lightly on the side. "Let’s go."

With a powerful beat of his wings, Odian soared into the sky, carrying her away from Barbarian City.

Only after her figure had completely vanished into the distance did Zena and the others finally turn and head back to their homes.

Lorin watched Zena leave and quietly followed her, trailing her all the way to her doorstep.

When Zena arrived home, she noticed him.

"Lorin, why did you follow me back?" she asked, puzzled.

Lorin fidgeted with the hem of his clothes. "Zena... I—I want to stay by your side and take care of you."

He was nervous—he knew Zena did not like him.

Zena looked at him, her brows knitting slightly. "You want to become my beast husband?"

"I—if that’s possible... I’d like to," Lorin nodded, his voice tight with both nerves and hope.

Zena lowered her gaze briefly. When she looked up again, her eyes held quiet apology. "I’m sorry. I don’t want to form a bond anymore."

A shadow passed through Lorin’s eyes. "Even if you don’t want to bond, that’s fine. I just want to take care of you. You’re alone, without a beast husband—it must be hard."

Zena shook her head. "I’m not struggling. And I don’t need a male to take care of me. I’m doing just fine living on my own."

Her tone grew firm. "I can’t form a bond with you. Don’t waste your time on me—go pursue someone who deserves you more."

She had no desire for bonds anymore. For males, bonding was a responsibility—and for females as well. But what she wanted now was a life of freedom.

"Zena..." Lorin’s voice softened, almost pleading. "I won’t force you to bond. I just... I like you. Please, let me stay by your side, alright? Even if we never form a bond for the rest of our lives, it doesn’t matter to me."

"Lorin, that wouldn’t be fair to you," Zena refused gently. "I don’t want to owe you anything. So please... don’t come looking for me anymore. I’m sorry."

With that, she turned and went inside, closing the door behind her.

Lorin stood there, staring at the tightly shut door, his expression dim with disappointment.

But soon, determination returned to his eyes.

He would not give up.

He believed that if he tried hard enough, one day he would be able to move her heart.

Turning away, he left her home and went to purchase the nearest empty house.

***

Two days after Nina’s departure, Odian’s spiritual power had fully recovered, and he began setting up another teleportation array.

They found a suitable place and temporarily set up camp.

The next morning, Nina carried the children in her arms, preparing to take them outside the cave to play.

The moment Yanai saw her, he hurried over, holding a large bouquet of flowers in his arms.

He held the flowers out to Nina. "Nina, I saw these nearby this morning—they were so beautiful, I wanted to bring them to you. Do you like them?"

Nina looked down at the bouquet in Yanai’s hands. They were all wildflowers—unnamed, untamed—woven together in a riot of colors and shapes. Somehow, their mismatched beauty came together perfectly, and a faint, fresh fragrance drifted up from them.

Smiling, she accepted the flowers, her fondness unmistakable. "Thank you. They’re beautiful—I really like them."

And she truly did. Just looking at them seemed to brighten her mood.

Seeing her smile, Yanai’s heart lifted. "As long as you like them, I’ll pick some for you every day."

These past few days, those jealous males had been constantly on guard against him, leaving him with almost no chance to get close to her.

Nina glanced at him and gave a small nod before sitting down nearby, still holding the bouquet.

A ripple of delight flashed through Yanai’s eyes.

She had agreed.

The other beast husbands narrowed their eyes almost in unison.

So this shameless wolf had managed to stand out again.

They had been wondering where he had gone so early in the morning—turns out he had gone to pick flowers for Nina.

They exchanged looks.

They needed a strategy. There was no way they could let that wolf get ahead.

Lex and Setan silently began plotting. This was something they could do too. Tomorrow, they would also gather flowers—and make sure theirs were even more beautiful.

Idir glanced down at the durian beneath his knees. He’d go pick flowers for Nina once he finished kneeling.

Mimi clapped her hands excitedly at the sight of the flowers. "Mother, I want to wear flowers!"

Nina picked out an especially pretty bloom and tucked it behind Mimi’s ear. "There—doesn’t that look lovely?"

She took out a small mirror for her. "Our Mimi is the prettiest little girl in the beast world."

Mimi beamed at her reflection, her smile sweet and bright.

The flowers were so pretty.

She picked another flower and carefully placed it in Nina’s hair. "Mother should wear one too. Mother is the prettiest."

Nina laughed, hugging her as her smile bloomed even brighter.

Shushu tugged at Nina’s sleeve. "Mother, can we play a game?"

Nina looked down at him. "What would you like to play?"

Shushu pointed toward the wide grassy field outside the cave. "I want to play catch."

Sunny wrapped her arms around Nina’s arm. "Me too! Mother throws, we catch!"

Nina took out a frisbee. "Alright, let’s play."

The beast husbands watched with growing interest. Odian was busy setting up the array, and they had nothing to do anyway.

"Nina, can we join too?" Mino asked.

He quite enjoyed this game.

"You want to play as well?" Nina asked, a little surprised.

With how strong they were... could the children even keep up?

The males all nodded eagerly.

Nina thought about it for a moment. "Then how about you team up with the children? Each of you pairs with one child, and we’ll have a little competition. The winning team gets a reward—both the child and their father."

Otherwise, the children wouldn’t get much of a chance to enjoy themselves.

Since Odian wasn’t there, they were short one male. Nina turned to Yanai and the others. "Does anyone else want to join?"

All the males immediately raised their hands. "I do!"

Nina looked around. Momo still didn’t have a partner.

She crouched slightly and asked, "Momo, which uncle do you want to team up with?"

Momo looked between Yanai and the others, his little brows furrowing in concentration.

Who should he choose?

Idir glanced at the remaining durians beside him and sighed quietly.

He hadn’t finished his punishment yet—otherwise, Momo would have chosen him.

"Momo, pick Uncle Yanai! I run really fast—we’ll definitely win," Yanai said, recommending himself.

"Momo, Uncle Setan runs even faster than your Uncle Yanai. Pick me," Setan cut in.

Yanai shot him a glare. Shameless lion. Faster than him? Since when?

Setan raised a brow coolly. Lions were naturally faster than wolves.

Lex, lacking any real advantage on land, thought for a long moment before finally offering, "Momo... Uncle Lex is very agile."

If only we were in water, he thought with a sigh.

Momo looked from one to the other, hesitating.

Who should he choose?