Reborn As A Beast Queen with Too Many Husbands to Pet novel Chapter 1

Her head throbbed. Her whole body felt chilled.

Annelise Crawford forced her eyes open. What she saw first was a half‑collapsed, old‑style cottage and a messy little yard.

That was strange. She was supposed to be dead—she had jumped from a building after breaking down over her dog's passing.

Then, it clicked.

She had crossed into another world.

Before she could process it, a low, pained groan cut through the silence.

Annelise tensed and pushed herself up fast. There's someone else here?

Pressing a hand to the back of her head to slow the bleeding, she followed the sound.

She froze the moment she saw him.

A half‑naked man was tied to a not‑so‑thick tree.

He was lean but not fragile, tall with perfect skin and seductive eyes. His chest and stomach were the kind many women liked—thin muscle, tight and smooth, begging for a touch.

Annelise jerked her gaze upward.

His expression was a mix of desire and raw pain. When he noticed her, he let out a weak, bitter laugh. "Ms. Crawford… just do what you want with me. Don't hit Evan again."

Annelise blinked, baffled.

What on earth was this insanely handsome man talking about?

A sudden dizziness hit her. Memories flooded her mind like a dam breaking.

She now understood. This was a world where females ruled over males, a shifter world.

Females had full human forms. Males appeared human but frequently showed beast ears and tails. And every female was born with spirit energy strong enough to suppress and tame shifters.

The original host—who shared Annelise's name and face—had been disgusting to the core.

Other households worked together. Their mates foraged, hunted, or made winter furs, and their matriarch treated them with warmth and affection. They lived as a team, supporting one another.

But the original host didn't do a thing. She beat her mates daily.

Just imagining it made Annelise ache.

The woman drank happily every day, snored through the night, then woke asking, "Where's breakfast?"

Her mates rarely had the strength to cook, much less gather vegetables or hunt. Any delay earned another round of abuse.

Earlier today, they had dug up a small basket of wild greens. The original host traded it all for liquor.

When they hesitated to obey, she used her spirit energy to force them down.

She got too excited, though. Years of heavy drinking finally stopped her heart—and as she collapsed, she cracked the back of her skull on the ground.

That was how Annelise ended up here.

Everything made sense now.

She pointed at the half‑naked man. "You're… Hudson Brooks. A fox."

The memories lined up.

This fox shifter had been dirt‑poor. The original host traded three baskets of wild greens to force a bond with him.

Honestly, with how violent she had been, only the truly desperate would have accepted her.

But the moment she said the word "fox," Hudson let out a strained sound, his body shaking. Sweat gathered on his brow and slid down his throat.

A pair of fluffy red fox ears and a matching tail appeared seconds later.

Annelise stared. Oh my God… he's so fluffy. So cute.

She wanted to touch those ears, that tail.

Annelise had grown up in an orphanage, with no family at all. Even after she left to attend school, she never mingled with the other kids from happy families, so she had no friends.

Later, to ease the loneliness, she adopted a Samoyed.

When she entered the bedroom, she found Evan sitting stiff and motionless, long dark‑green hair spilling over his shoulders, eyes vacant as he stared ahead.

Annelise rushed over and loosened the ropes.

He flinched, immediately on guard. "Ms. Crawford, what new trick is this?"

"No trick. Let me help you up. Your leg can't take weight."

Evan wondered if his hearing had malfunctioned.

Wasn't she supposed to break the other one tonight?

Hudson, still battered, crawled and stumbled in behind her, grabbing her skirt in panic.

"Ms. Crawford, please, don't hurt Evan again. If both his legs break… he'll die. Hit me instead. I can take it."

Evan dragged his injured leg forward and glared at Hudson.

"You don't need to beg for me. If I die, so be it. I'm done living like this. Death would be a relief. She uses spirit energy to force us into obedience and stop us from ending it ourselves. Being beaten to death would be doing me a favor."

Annelise planted her hands on her hips, cursing the original host every name she could think of.

Then she forced herself to look gentle. "I won't hurt you again. I swear it."

Evan lowered his head, giving no reaction.

Even Hudson's sultry face held no hint of trust.

They were terrified. Traumatized.

Resisting earned punishment. Obeying earned punishment.

Annelise exhaled. Fine. Time to go big.

"Alright then. I'll use my spirit energy to put a curse on myself. How about that?"

Both shifters froze.