Mira was asleep. After that talk in the hot spring, Jia Hao washed her and put her to bed. He waited, attended to her all night till she fell asleep and stayed long enough till he was certain she was deep into the sleep and the slightest disturbance would not wake her up.

Now, he stepped out of his bed chambers and headed to the nursery. His cubs were asleep, thankfully. This meant Mira could rest properly without having to worry about their babies. While Jia Hao was a father and found glee with taking most of the work off his wife, there were things he could not do. Like breast feeding. He fell for Mira even more every time he watched her take care of their children but he sometimes wished she did not have to let it consume her. He never knew how much he wanted to have breasts that produced milk attached to his chest till he saw her breastfeed. At least, temporary breasts that came only when she had cubs so he could ease her off the baby feeding duty, he would very much prefer to cuddle up to hers all the days of his life.

Jia Hao sighed. He just wanted Mira to be okay. He cared about her so deeply. He fell harder than he expected himself to. Not too long ago, he would have rejoiced to hear the news of her death but now, he dreaded it. He hated that she was in danger every time she breathed and he hated that he could not always be there to save her out of it.

And what bugged him the most was knowing that his friends, his wife’s husbands, and everyone else he related with mainly outside the pride land still wanted her dead. He knew why but it was a tough pill to swallow.

"I know you are lurking. Show yourself if you want to talk." Jia Hao breathed. He kept his voice low so not to disrupt the peaceful slumber of his cubs.

Ming Tao made his presence known, he walked into the room sluggishly till he stood by Jia Hao’s side. "How is Mira?" Ming Tao asked first, his eyes directed at a cub. It was the one he stole and used to put Mira in this state that night, the memory saddened him.

"What do you think?" Jia Hao asked without taking his eyes off his cubs. "She can still not walk but she is safely tucked in bed and sleeping." He tried to keep his tone levelled but he was finding it hard to. Jia Hao let out an exhale.

"You are still mad at me. You’re bearing it but I can tell that you are only tolerating me." Ming Tao said.

"Should I not be?" Jia Hao sparked. "You know how much deeply I am in love with Mira yet you pulled that stunt. And even if you did not think about her in that state, I am your friend, Ming Tao. You put my own child in danger without a second thought. How would I not be mad?" It was getting harder for Jia Hao to suppress his anger with each word that left his mouth. Jia Hao folded his fist. "You know how long it has been since any clan had an heir. You know the consequences of killing our mate, someone we are bound to especially after she has given birth for one of the clan rulers! You know how dire of a situation the beast world would have gone through if that had happened yet you risked it without thinking of anybody but your stupid self and feelings." Jia Hao turned to face Ming Tao. "And you know pretty well how badly Mira has been trying to right her wrongs yet you still-"

"I met Mu Yang!" Ming Tao breathed, cutting Jia Hao off. This was the first time they had had a proper conversation since Mira awakened.

"And? How does that change a thing?" Jia Hao growled.

"He told me that the only reason Mira came to you was because he told her to."

Jia Hao fell silent.

Ming Tao swallowed. "I believed him. It was not the first time she had done something like this on his command and I believed him. He said he told her to bear your child first before he would consider being with her and he was stunned she actually did it. ’She must really love me that much’ he said."

Jia Hao kept quiet. He remembered having a similar conversation with Mira about Mu Yang. His eyes widened for a second and he began to think about Ming Tao’s words before he shook it off.

The first thing Jia Hao did was clench his already hardened fist. His rage was slipping and he was trying to subdue it.

"And you know of my earlier suspicion of her carrying his baby then meeting you to breed as a cover." Ming Tao continued, his voice came out as heavy pants. "I was only doing this for you. To prove she was still the same and-"

Whack!

Straight in his face. Jia Hao sent a punch to Ming Tao’s jaw, his patience hung on a thread. "Enough!" He growled. "Maybe if you spent more time getting to know her more instead of looking for a loophole, you would have known she was genuine."

Ming Tao’s body shifted back slightly due to the hit. He put a hand to his lip. His flesh tore and blood spilled out. Ming Tao used a lazy finger to wipe it into a smudge on his face then rubbed the liquid against his other fingers. He deserved that punch so he did not retaliate.

"Mira is barely recovered mentally for what you have done. She is still fazed with the trauma and in all this, she still thinks about you!" Jia Hao’s jaw clenched. "If I were to have it my way, I want you gone but that is not for me to decide." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"I could go. Leave the pride and pay for my sins." Ming Tao uttered.

Jia Hao scoffed. "What hurts me the most is that you are my friend. I cannot hate you but I am angry."

"Your feelings is fair."

Jia Hao rolled his eyes at Ming Tao’s statement. "Give Mira a chance." He uttered.

"I am trying that."

"And give her time to breathe. Let her gather her thoughts and clear her head. She has been through so much and she just came out of labour." Jia Hao swallowed. "You do not know what it is like to watch the life slip out of the woman you love as she conceives your child. Every single day she lives, she loves knowing she has so many enemies. The least anyone can do when she’s in a home she is comfortable at is not make her remember her past."

Hearing this made Ming Tao feel genuinely awful, way more than he already felt. "What do you suggest I do?" He asked, his somber tone expressed his grief.

"Anything to make it up to her." Jia Hao breath. "I am not the one to tell a grown beast how to correct his mistakes. But I will be the one to stand by Mira’s side. So do not dare try to hurt her again."

Ming Tao brushed his bloodied fingers through his hair and huffed. His head was completely divided on what the best decision was. Should he leave or should he stay till she recovered? What gesture would be grand enough to pass out as an apology? He did not know. He did not even know Mira enough to know what she liked and that alone was a problem. He really was a terrible husband to her and being with Jia Hao made it obvious.

"Get out of the nursery. I do not trust you enough to leave you alone with my cubs." Broke Ming Tao’s thoughts from across the room. Ming Tao did not even know when Jia Hao left his side to get that far away from him but the burning firmness in Jia Hao’s tone portrayed his rage.

"I will. Thank you for the talk." Ming Tao uttered. Silence trailed afterwards in the room. Both of them were still inside and none of them moved an inch. "Forgive me, Jia Hao. I have wronged you and done something entirely unforgivable to you. To our wife. To your children. I am so sorry. I cherish you as a close friend and I am not saying this to make you forgive me or to let your anger towards be be any less than it is." Ming Tao took a pause to catch his breath before he spoke again. "I mean it. I have been an asshole and you have been so accommodating after everything. I don’t deserve your or Mira’s or your kind’s kindness and I am ashamed of what I did. But please, if you can, forgive me."

Jia Hao did not say a word. In this dark nursery which’s only source of light was the moonlight shining through the windows, his eyes plastered on Ming Tao. Jia Hao folded his hands across his chest and cocked his head to the side. "Save your apology for the woman who deserves it." He worded through grit teeth.

Ming Tao got the memo. He knew it was about time he left. "On my clan’s existence, I swear, I will make it up to her."