Say Yes To Vessa

Zarek clicked his tongue, a sharp sound of impatience cutting through the tense air between them. He leaned his head back against the rough bark of the tree, looking at Jace with a hardened stare. "How many times do I have to say it to get it through your head? I am not Myra's guardian anymore. I do not care if Torin becomes her main mate. It makes no difference to me."

Jace studied him, searching for a crack in his indifferent facade. Seeing nothing but cold disinterest, he eagerly shifted his strategy, thinking Zarek was finally open to moving on. "If you really do not care about Myra, why not consider Kaira? She has been pestering me for ages, begging for an introduction. She desperately wants you to be her main mate. Why not give her a chance? She is an alpha female, Zarek. There are not many alpha females in our tribe. Maybe just go with her, huh?"

Zarek lazily closed his eyes, shutting out the sight of his friend. He remained silent, letting the cold wind rustle the leaves above them.

Jace stepped closer, refusing to let it go. "Why not just go with her?"

Zarek's voice was a flat, chilling blade. "Get lost."

Unfazed by the hostility, Jace rubbed his temples, a headache forming behind his eyes. He realized Kaira did not stand a chance. But the underlying issue remained a massive problem. He clapped a hand down on Zarek's broad shoulder, dropping the casual banter for a serious tone.

"Brother, listen to me. Your rank is higher than anyone else's here. Because you are a high Rank 5 male, the beast power backlash hits you much harder than it hits me. The energy constantly causes you issues. No matter how much you do not want to deal with it, you desperately need to find a female soon to stabilize your energy. We cannot drag this out for years. The backlash will destroy you."

Jace watched Zarek's stoic profile, convinced his friend was just putting up a front. He assumed Zarek still harbored deep desires for Myra but refused to admit it out of pure pride.

"Honestly, if you really wanted, you could take Torin out," Jace pushed honestly. "I do not think Myra actually wants anyone else to be her main mate. But not going to lie, you were pretty cold to her before. Look at any other guardian in the tribe. They do whatever their female wants. Like Vessa, she caused such a massive scene today, but her guardians just went along with it. They did that stupid courtship dance and did not care how ridiculous they looked, just to please her."

Jace shook his head, sighing into the crisp air. "But you? You are never even around Myra. No wonder she gets pissed at you. Honestly, you do not even act like a guardian."

A soft scoff escaped Zarek's lips. Keeping his eyes closed, he murmured, "I never was."

Jace blinked, leaning in. "What?" The murmured words had barely registered.

Inside the dim interior of the nearby hut, Theron turned his towering frame toward Cora. He looked down at her small stature and said, "You are free to leave now."

"Thanks, sir," Cora said, her voice a quiet murmur in the small space.

The pieces fell into place in her mind. She realized Theron had intentionally kept her inside to look out for her, sparing her the embarrassment of stumbling into a chaotic mess. That courtship dance happening outside was embarrassing as hell. Cora was incredibly glad she had not gone out there to witness it up close.

She had caught confusing fragments of the conversation drifting in from the two males outside. The green-haired guy and Zarek were arguing about guardians, mates, and someone named Myra. The details slipped past her understanding. Apparently, Zarek used to be some kind of guardian to this Myra, and now someone else was supposed to be the main mate. She did not grasp half the words they were throwing around.

Grateful for his quiet protection, Cora reached into her pocket. When Theron was looking away, she quietly slipped a smooth, blue beast crystal into his large hand as thanks. Before the stoic male could even react to the gift, she hurried outside into the cold air.

Zarek, who had been sitting under the tree with his eyes closed, snapped them open at the faint sound of footsteps.

Jace turned his head. His gentle emerald eyes widened in sheer shock.

He had heard soft noises from the hut earlier but assumed it was just another desperate female crushing on Zarek lurking around. He never expected to see an unfamiliar female cub walking toward them.

Jace stared, caught off guard. *Oh my, she is so chubby. How could there be such a round female cub?*

Cora was already on the chubby side, standing about five-foot-three and weighing around one hundred and seventy pounds. Now, wrapped in a thick, pale, fluffy fur coat, she looked even rounder. Her skin was a striking fair tone, and the fluffy white fur made her resemble a puffed-up marshmallow bouncing across the dirt.

Cora quickened her pace, her expression strained. After being forced to watch the tail-end of that weird courtship scene, she had to fight to keep a straight face. Desperate to shift the focus away from the awkward display she had witnessed, she turned to Jace, politely tilting her head up toward the tall beastman.

"Hi," she offered a sweet greeting.

The single word hit Jace like a physical force. Her voice was incredibly soft, carrying a gentle, melodic cadence that made his pointed ears twitch. It felt comforting, like a fluffy tail brushing against his heart, or fresh honey warmed by the sun, wrapped up in sweetness and warmth. Her voice was so pleasant that back in her world, someone had once tried to recruit her as a voice actress.

Cora clutched a dirty, mud-stained nightgown in one hand, while a clean fur dress rested under her other arm. As she greeted Jace, she had to crane her neck upward. Jace was a tall, strong-built guy, standing around six-foot-three with long legs. Coming from a modern world where she spent hours looking down at her phone, the upward stretch finally eased the strain on Cora's neck.

Recovering from his initial daze, Jace asked in a gentle tone, "Hey there! Which tribe are you visiting from?"

Before Cora could formulate an answer, Zarek abruptly stepped between them. Without a hint of hesitation, he snatched both her bundled dirty nightgown and the clean fur dress from her grip. Then, leaning down, he effortlessly scooped her up into his massive arms, lifting her off the ground.

Cora’s eyes bulged, panic flaring hot in her chest.

*Wait, my underwear is inside!*

Her flood-soaked panties were tucked deep inside the folds of the dirty nightgown. Wearing wet underwear had been unbearable, and she was terrified those panties, soaked in dirty floodwater, would give her a weird infection. Thus, after a ton of hesitation, she had taken them off inside the hut.

She was way too embarrassed to just carry them out in the open, so she bundled them up securely inside her nightgown. They could tumble out any second. She never thought Zarek would just snatch the clothes right out of her hands.

And now, he was carrying her. She did not have her underwear on right now. Sure, the pale fur dress she wore was long, but hanging suspended in the air in the arms of a giant beastman made her feel dangerously exposed to the drafty wind.

"You don't have to carry me. I can walk with you," she blurted out quickly, her face flushing hot.

Zarek ignored her protests. He glanced to the side and spotted another female rapidly approaching the area, flanked by a squad of her guardians. Zarek’s face instantly hardened into a cold mask.

"Who knows how long walking will take?" Zarek demanded, his voice a low, rough rumble. "Do you really want us to get surrounded by onlookers?"

He turned his sharp gaze to Jace, who was standing there looking bewildered. Zarek pointed a long finger toward the edge of the clearing.

"Did you see that pony over there?"

Jace blinked, shaking his head, and followed Zarek's gesture. He finally noticed a dying black-and-white pony lying near the tree line, barely hanging on, heavily guarded by a massive python coiled protectively nearby.

Zarek stated, "That pony belongs to the little cub. I am explicitly leaving it with you. Help it recover, okay?"

Jace raised a hand, blurting, "Wait..."

But Zarek did not wait for a single response from his friend. He turned on his heel and strode away, carrying Cora tight against his chest, his long legs eating up the distance.

Jace stood rooted in the dirt, trapped in a state of sheer shock.

He stared at Zarek's retreating back. This was the very first time Jace had ever seen Zarek willingly carry a female. Even with his former supposed mate, Myra, Zarek kept a rigid distance. The tribe gossiped that the two had never so much as held hands during their entire time together. He had never shown any physical intimacy toward anyone.

The realization crashed heavily over Jace. Zarek was carrying this chubby, unfamiliar female cub in broad daylight.

If the countless single females in the tribe who spent their days crushing on Zarek ever found out about this unprecedented display of affection, they would riot. They would surely make a massive scene, tearing the settlement apart with their jealousy.