Reborn As A Beast Queen with Too Many Husbands to Pet novel Chapter 7

After Annelise treated Evan again, the medicine finally pulled him under.

Good. At least she didn't have to worry about him trying to end his life again.

The moment she stepped outside, her stomach growled loud enough to echo in the house.

"I can't take it anymore. I haven't slept all night, and I'd hiked into the mountains. I'm starving."

Hudson brought over a bundle of wild greens. "Eat a few bites first. I'll pluck all the feathers off this chicken and check it over. Once I'm sure it's safe, you can have it."

He was worried the chicken had been killed by a venomous snake and might still carry poison.

Annelise waved him off. "One look and I can tell—they were scared to death. But I'm not eating anything raw."

Hudson blinked, baffled. "Then… should I chop it up?"

"Chopping doesn't magically cook it. Come on, I'll teach you how to make a meal."

From the original host's memories, she knew this shifter world had fire.

They just never thought of using it for food. Fire was only for protection—when packs of wild wolves attacked their tribe, and there were too many kids and not enough males to fight, they used fire to drive the beasts away.

The idea of cooked food simply didn't exist here.

She told Hudson to bring over the brazier. She tossed in a few logs and struck flint until sparks caught.

Then she grabbed a knife, cleaned the chicken thoroughly, and dropped it into the pot with the greens.

"By the way," she asked, "where do you all get your salt?"

Hudson frowned, baffled. "Salt?"

"Yeah—anything salty."

"Oh! From the sea. When we eat fish, the fish are salty. But the sea's really far. You have to cross that mountain. Only the chief and her mates can go. So if we want fish, we trade for them. Ten baskets of wild greens for one fish. It's a terrible deal for us."

Annelise thought, Fine. Someday I'll have that chief deliver fish to my doorstep.

But for now, she'd make do. The shifters here didn't seem to need salt the way humans did, anyway.

While sorting through the greens, she tried everything—bitter ones, stinky ones. She was sure each plant had a purpose.

And she was right.

"Little fox, come here. Open wide. Ah…"

Hudson leaned in, puzzled. "This is that smelly wild green…"

"Just open your mouth."

He obeyed immediately.

After two chews, his foxy eyes lit up. "Huh? It's sweet! This smelly one is sweeter than the nice one! Ms. Crawford, what happened?"

"There's a thin film on the outside. The smell comes from that film. Peel it off, and it doesn't stink anymore."

She tossed the bitter greens into the pot. "And this bitter kind? Heating removes the bitterness. These two that no one eats—they're actually great. They boost immunity. Basically, they keep you strong."

Hudson's ears perked with excitement.

"Then we don't have to fight other shifters for the good greens anymore! We can eat these stinky ones, too! We won't have to worry this winter. I'll go dig up more tomorrow! No one else wants them!"

Annelise chuckled and flicked his chin, then told him to chop more firewood.

The whole time, her gaze drifted to the rabbit shifter, Adrian.

It was impossible not to notice him—he never stopped moving.

He cleaned up scattered feathers, pulled up rotten roots, swept away bits of charred ash, and even wiped off the chicken fat splashed from the pot.

Annelise hid a grin. Half a basket today, half tomorrow… doubled each time…

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