For a second, the world tilted—the trees, the fire, and the dark sky all blurring into a single, swirling mess.

The pain was there, but as Kulu’s mouth stayed pressed against her thigh, it shifted. It became a heavy, thrumming vibration that moved from the mark straight to her heart.

​Kulu didn’t pull away yet. Instead, he watched the mark form. It was a single flapped red wing blooming on her thigh.

His mark on her body meant he had found his nest. He had found his home. And now, he was truly hers.

He kissed the mark, his breath hot against her skin, as he had finally claimed his place on her body alongside the dragon and the fox.

> ​[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: PRIMAL BOND ESTABLISHED]

> Mate Added: Kulu (Red Falcon Prince)

> Bond Type: Soul-Binding / Primal

> Status: Completed

​Hana lay there for a moment, her chest heaving as the mark settled into a dull, warm sensation filling her body. The timer in her vision flickered and then vanished.

She was glad that it didn’t have to lead to mating like the others. It would’ve definitely been a disaster if Caspain came and found them intertwined by the hips.

> ​[QUEST COMPLETED: THE PRINCE’S MARK]

> Reward: +50,000 Karmic Points

> Current Balance: -1,101,880

Good, with this, I just need to save up one point one million points. No biggie, right?

Since the system ​was increasing the rewards by the day, it seemed like she would get to lower the score to a negative zero before the one month elapsed.

This was just the third day in this world but all the events going on made her feel like she’s been living here for three months already.

While Hana was trying to catch her breath and finally sit up, a familiar, heavy sound thrashed through the air.

The trees nearby swayed violently as a massive shadow blotted out the moon.

​Caspian dropped from the sky like a falling star, his obsidian scales gleaming in the firelight. He didn’t wait for his wings to retract before he was moving, his eyes landing instantly on Hana and the way she was tucked beneath the red-haired falcon.

For a moment, he just stood there, his eyes narrowed. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Caspian was no fool. He knew something was up when Hana asked to go ahead with Kulu, so he prepared his mind to see a fresh mark on his mate’s body.

And here they were, hurdled all by themselves, a safe distance away from their den. It made him want to rip the falcon’s wings out even more, but he kept his composure.

​"You were fast," Caspian hissed, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that made the lake water ripple. It sounded like a compliment to Kulu but it was far from that. The interpretation was, You were fast in laying your hand on my mate.

He looked at Kulu, and then his gaze dropped to Hana’s thigh, where the fresh, red mark was clearly visible in the firelight.

​His nostrils flared, a thick puff of smoke escaping as his jaw tightened. The possessive heat coming off him was enough to rival the campfire, if not hotter.

​"So," Caspian growled, stepping closer until his shadow swallowed both of them. "This was the ’something else’ you had to prepare for?"

​Kulu stood up, his face flushed by what he had just done, but his gaze steady as he moved to help Hana up. He didn’t flinch away from the Dragon King’s fury this time. He stood by her side, his wing brushing her shoulder.

​Hana smoothed her dress, her fingers lingering near the mark. She looked at Caspian, her expression returning to that cool, calm mask.

​"The boars are at the den?" she asked, ignoring his jealousy for the moment.

Caspian saw this coming as well. Hana had no reason to explain her actions to him in the first place but he wished she could’ve at least seemed a little guilty.

But then his thoughts reminded him, No, not Hana. Hana is never guilty, and she is never wrong. I am the one who feels jealous because I want to have her to myself.

​"They are inside," Caspian snapped, his tail lashing the ground and snapping a fallen branch. "They are waiting for you to come and tell them where to put the glass. But it seems you were busy making a nest for a bird."

"You’re not wrong." Hana muttered and picked up the teddy bear. ​"And I am the one who decides who enters my nest, Caspian," she said, her voice quiet but sharp. "You knew he was coming, didn’t you? You just didn’t know when we would establish our primal bond."

Hana felt she didn’t need to explain it to him and that he could think whatever he wanted but there was this thing about his calmness even as he met the situation , the way he didn’t flare off or try to roast the bird. It made her want to... cheer him up even if she wasn’t cheering him up.

"I didn’t plan to do it sneakily like this. I actually planned to do it in the den but then I got hungry so we had to make a stop."

Caspian’s nose caught the scent of roasted fish and herbs.

He suddenly began to feel bad because he had been paying attention to other things and forgot that his mate was pregnant and needed to eat.

"Caspian," Hana called and he looked up at her, his expression a tab but hurt and she furrowed her brows, not with annoyance but with something... guilt? No, that was too much.

But it was close.

She walked up to him and then reached a hand towards his face. With the ’Iron Mother’ trait, she could get him to forget about his anger right now and focus on something else, but there was something about the way his golden eyes looked into hers, like he was about to cry, that made her unable to look away.

"Hana," he called, his voice quiet.

Hana caressed his face and then said,

"You worked hard today, Caspian. Thank you." The words that left her lips made Caspian’s eyes widen in bewilderment.

Did Hana just... Thank him?

"Hey, don’t look at me like that. I may act strict and harsh to you guys but I’m still a person with a heart and I know when to thank you when you do well, just as I scold you when you do bad. Okay?"

Caspain suddenly leaned closer, his currently scally hands reaching out to wrap around her waist and he asked,

"Then, do I get a kiss for being a good boy?" His eyes, the ones that were just about to tear up, began to glint with expectations and Hana reminded herself she shouldn’t spoil this but lizard too much.

But for now...

"Sure," she said and the words didn’t even fully leave her lips when he blocked them with his.

He kissed Hana so passionately as if she would get taken away from him the moment the passion died down.

And while he did this, he lifted his gaze to glare at the falcon, as well as show off that he was still the favorite, even if he had just spent an alone time with Hana.

Kulu shouldn’t have cared. He should’ve just seen this and realized that he was still third on the hierarchy but he wanted to be greedy too. He wanted Hana to look at him with those soft eyes and give him a kiss for being a good boy.

Ah, a kiss... he had never had one before.

Suddenly, a quest was generated to Hana, based on Kulu’s current feelings.