Before Mira could react, his mouth brushed against hers. Her eyes widened. It happened so fast.

Ming Tao claimed her in rough fashion, hastily like he feared this would be over soon but so passionately that you could feel his grief. He did not wait for her to give him access into her mouth. He bit her lower lip till she opened her mouth for him to let his tongue prowl.

He devoured. So dominantly and unkind. So intense. Mira could feel his pain in every rugged shift of his tongue in her mouth, like he was trying to fuck her mouth. She moaned, involuntarily but not out of pain. His kiss was different from Jia Hao’s but juicy in its own way and before she knew it, she kissed him back. She claimed the dominance he posed in her mouth and took the control she never worded out in the kiss.

Their heads swayed sideways and their rugged breaths fanned their face, barely letting either of them catch their breath. Ming Tao had his hand placed behind her neck, ensuring she could not break off from the start. He wanted to feel in control and she barely succumbed to it.

Mira tapped his chest and Ming Tao finally let go. His chest heaved and he brought his hand to his lips to feel the swell their kiss brought. He had always wanted to do that. From he moment he saw Jia Hao and her do the deed. From the moment she kissed his member in the river but his mind was so plagued with so many things to accommodate the thought. And even tonight, in that attire she wore while being covered in Jia Hao’s marks, he wanted to taste her so badly. He wanted to feel what she made him feel and now that he had it, his mind ravaged for more.

Ming Tao looked at Mira. He expected her to slap him or yell but she didn’t. She was still in the same spot, panting heavily from the effect of their kissing. "I. . . I’m sorry." He apologized. That was a lie, he was not in the slightest apologetic for that and it made him nearly run mad.

Mira swallowed. "Don’t be." Her breath was still rugged. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

[Seems like you will be having a less hard time winning this skinny cat over, host! Your next task has already been set!]

Mira swallowed. Speaking was quite difficult at the moment as she tried to wrap her head around what just happened.

"I’ll be leaving tonight. I want to take some time alone to reflect on what I have done."

Really? Now? He forced himself on me and is leaving now? He could not reflect on what he had done before kissing me? Mira ranted in her head.

Mira cleared her throat. "S. . . sure. Ha. . . Have a safe trip back."

"I will come visit to check on you, hopefully by then, I would be a better man."

[You don’t need to worry, Mighty cheetah, your bride will come to you!] system chimed.

"Right." Mira said. She was still fazed by what just happened.

"Goodbye Mira. I wish you well, truly." Ming Tao said. The grievance in his gaze was gone and replaced with a newfound satisfaction.

"You too." Mira worded. Just then, he was gone. Like he was never here in the first place and like everything that unfolded was a figment of her imagination. Mira stretched her hands up her face to feel her lips. It was plump. This definitely happened.

And it felt so. . . . good.

"Meat lady!!" Someone called. This made Mira come out of her daze. She turned around. Marr. It had been a while since she saw this little cub. And he came with some friends.

"Marr. How are you?" Mira questioned. Her heart still pounded violently in her chest and her head hammered like crazy with the faint feeling of his mouth on hers but she tried to maintain her composure.

Marr ran to her along with his friends. Their weight settled on her lower leg, nearly making her stumble as they all gathered for a hug. "We have missed your meat, meat lady." Marr said.

"Yes, it is never good without you around!" Another child chimed.

"And you have been away for so long."

"Come and dance with us!!"

The children all spoke at once. Mira laughed. She had no idea how much she missed them until now.

"Let go of me, little ones, so I can bend to see you." Mira said. The kids all let go and she sat on the ground. They were all finely dressed and look so adorable. "As you all know, meat lady just had six meat babies and she needed time to recover."

"Six meat babies?! You are super strong!" One of the babies chimed.

"When do we get to meet them?"

"Can they make meat as well as you do?"

"Would be nice to have people younger than me around for a change."

Mira smiled at the cubs, she could not help but chuckle at their enthusiasm. "You will meet them soon. And I will teach them my special meat recipe. They will be your family too so take care of them for me as well, okay?" She said, responding to the questions she heard.

She had seen all of these cubs before but somehow, her brain only registered a few names.

"Awesome!"

"Nice!"

"Sure will!"

"As long as meat is involved!"

"Now, let us go back to the ceremony. Your parents must be looking for you." Mira said. The children went ahead in an assemble and she followed behind them. If they followed her, she wondered how much they saw or heard.

"Meat lady." Marr called, staying by her side.

"Yes Marr?" She answered.

"I am glad you are okay." The cub said. "I heard about the difficult labour. I also snuck around and knew about an accident."

Oh. This cub knew way too much, Mira thought, first he heard her mate with Jia Hao and now this? It was almost as if he restlessly wandered off to catch on the pride’s latest gossip but he was so young.

"I always ran from home to the king’s home to search for you. But don’t worry, I did not say a word." The cub said. He sounded so cute.

"That’s a good boy Marr, thank you for keeping my secret." Mira said to him.

"Does that mean I get more meat? I have really missed your meat."

Mira almost laughed, this sounded like childlike blackmail. They neared the parts the ceremony was held.

"Yes it does." She winked.

Marr’s face brightened. "Really? Yayyy!!" He cheered, jumping by her side. Now the ceremony drums were loud, they had reached the grounds it was being held.

"Go and play with everyone else, Marr. Have some fun." Mira said to him. The boy ran along. Now that she was undisturbed by people around her, Mira had the time to think.

Ming Tao kissed her. . . And she kissed him back.