Reborn As A Beast Queen with Too Many Husbands to Pet novel Chapter 3

The female waved a hand. "Take him with you."

Annelise grabbed the rabbit shifter and led him away.

From behind, the female shouted, "Don't think I won't come check on your place!"

"Don't worry," Annelise called back, knowing full well she wouldn't.

The rabbit shifter reluctantly followed, glancing back at the female every few steps.

He didn't like Annelise. During his few days in this tribe, all he'd heard were stories of her mistreating her mates.

Fear made his rabbit ears twitch uncontrollably.

But the female didn't want him, and alone, he couldn't scale the mountains on his own.

At Annelise's doorstep, she extended her hand toward him with a grin.

The rabbit shifter immediately shrank back, closing his eyes tightly. "Don't… Don't hit me!"

Annelise, however, only ran her hand over his drooping rabbit ears.

Soft… fluffy… perfect to the touch!

The rabbit shifter felt heat rise through him at the gentle caress.

When Annelise reached for his tail, he panicked and dodged, breathing hard. "Bad female, we're not bonded! I'm not yours! I… I don't want a bond with you!"

Annelise didn't care. She was only interested in the thrill she'd felt a moment ago.

Back at home, Evan and Hudson were sorting through the few rotten wild greens left in the sun.

When they saw Annelise arrive with a rabbit shifter, Evan sneered, glancing at Hudson. "I told you she wasn't really out for greens. And look at this fool—he actually followed her home."

Hudson's eyes reddened.

Evan added, "See her expression? When has the matriarch ever looked at us like that?"

Indeed, Annelise's face was now lit with a smile.

She really wanted to touch that rabbit tail!

As her hand reached for it, the rabbit shifter swatted it away.

Annelise huffed. "Evan, Hudson, from now on, this rabbit shifter is part of our household."

She asked his name.

The rabbit shifter snapped angrily, "My name's Adrian Vale. And seriously, it's just a basket of wild greens. Your tribe is dirt poor! Just a few greens and I could wear her out. Hmph. My old tribe had plenty. Just wait—once I dig enough, I'll fill two baskets. One basket is to repay you, the other is for you to take me out of the mountains."

Annelise thought, Go ahead and dig—you won't even gather more than you can eat yourself.

She wanted to see how this big bunny planned to get away.

She then picked out different kinds of wild greens, handing the rest to Hudson. "See what you want to eat or store. When your injuries heal, we'll hunt together."

With that, Annelise went inside to study the greens. She selected a few for hydroponics—if they could grow in water, all the better.

She stayed busy until nightfall, when a knock came at the door.

"Ms. Crawford, you should eat something too."

Annelise opened it to see Hudson holding a small bowl of raw greens—just washed, nothing cooked.

Raw? She had spent the whole day harvesting. A little exhausted, she resolved to show them a proper stir-fry tomorrow.

She let Hudson in and told him to sit anywhere.

Hudson kept his head down, cautious, and didn't dare sit. "Tomorrow… Tomorrow I can hunt. I'm useful. My injury won't stop me."

Heat rose to his lower abdomen, but he pushed the thought away. The matriarch had said he wasn't worthy.

She preferred white-haired fox shifters, not red-haired ones. Even in human form, his dark hair earned her disdain.

He trembled violently, wanting to curl into a small ball, fearing she would strip his fur or pull his tail.

"Relax," Annelise said. "Even if I call you by your beast name, I'm not going to hurt your fur. I just want to touch it."

She reached out and touched him. The fur felt different from the rabbit ears.

Rabbit ears were soft and dense, like a plush pillow.

Fox ears, however, were fluffy with a smooth, silky sheen.

She couldn't help but want to touch his fox tail, too.

The fox blinked, lashes fluttering. "Ms. Crawford, I'll eat the bitter greens, but can Evan have some of the good ones?"

Annelise smiled. "You all get the good ones."

Then she noticed a scar on his tail—one of the original host's twisted punishments. A long, bloody mark.

She remembered that earlier, she hadn't just harvested the greens—she had also studied their medicinal properties.

These non-bitter greens, when chewed and applied to a wound, could reduce inflammation and ease pain. She quickly grabbed a handful, chewed them, and pressed the pulp onto the fox's tail.

Startled, Hudson tried to pull his tail back.

"Don't move," Annelise scolded.

In just a moment, Hudson felt the pain in his tail fade, replaced by a cool, soothing relief that felt surprisingly comforting.

For the first time, he seemed to truly understand that the matriarch wouldn't hurt them anymore.