Reborn As A Beast Queen with Too Many Husbands to Pet novel Chapter 8

Annelise scratched her head, about to get up, but Adrian stormed ahead and flung the door open, his anger radiating off him.

"You're the one who abandoned me, and now you come asking questions? Hmph! I'm living just fine here—don't you worry about me at all!"

The female, seeing the scene, stepped inside of her own accord. Her eyes widened at the dead chickens, ducks, and boar scattered on the ground.

"Annelise… all of this was brought here by your mates? That can't be real!"

Annelise didn't hide anything. She explained that she had gone into the mountains last night to gather them herself, and it had been life-threatening.

At the entrance of the trail, a venomous snake had fallen and bitten her face. Thankfully, her mate had sucked out the venom.

"See this huge fang mark on my face?" she said.

The female gasped, recognizing the unmistakable bite.

"You're lucky to have made it out alive, Annelise. Don't go back into the mountains again. Actually, the chief sent me here for exactly this reason. Everyone needs to be warned. They didn't want to tell you themselves, but since we met yesterday, I thought I'd come."

Apparently, over the course of a single day, many male and female shifters had been bitten by venomous snakes.

At the mountain entrance, where many males had gone, not one escaped unharmed. Luckily, male shifters had stronger resistance to venom, so none were in mortal danger, though many had fallen into a deep sleep.

Even the slopes where wild greens grew were home to hidden snakes. One female's leg had been bitten.

"It makes no sense—snakes up on the slopes shouldn't be able to survive without food. The chief is trying to handle it. Winter is almost here, the tribe is stocking up on grain, meat, and wild greens, and this happens—how could this be?"

Annelise immediately thought back to last night in the forest, catching glimpses of red eyes and five tails. The snakes must have been scattered by that creature, forced down the trail and onto the slopes.

Still, Annelise thought, the more the snakes injured the tribe members, the better. She could turn the antidote herbs into medicine and trade them. Yep, tomorrow during the day, she'd gather more.

"I understand. Thank you," she said.

That afternoon, after a hearty meal, Annelise took a nap. When she woke, the sun was already low.

She stepped outside to see the diligent fox working hard—drying wild greens, preparing jerkies, and hanging them in the yard.

Meanwhile, the rabbit was leaning against the wall, asleep, hugging his knees with his head buried in his arms.

She didn't know what he was dreaming about, but his rabbit ears and tail were fully visible. Clad in his pink-and-white clothing, curled up like that, he was unbearably cute.

A perfect chance—Annelise decided to reach for his tail.

Just as she stepped near Adrian, her foot crunched a dry leaf, and Adrian's eyes snapped open, shining black and sharp.

"Stinky female! What do you think you're doing?"

"Uh… nothing," Annelise said, her hands clasped behind her back as she whistled innocently into the air.

Adrian immediately pulled back his ears and tail. "Don't even think about touching my tail! I'm going to take a bath, hmph!"

Annelise whispered to Hudson, "He didn't go gather wild greens this afternoon, did he?"

"Nope. He's been sleeping all day and still ate half a basket. That's like a full basket in one day. He's eaten a ton, especially all the bitter ones."

"Tch, he'll never be able to pay me back."

Annelise tiptoed to the backyard. Adrian had filled the large water tub and was loosening his clothes. She rubbed her hands together.

During a bath, the tail would show, right?

Rabbits were naturally clean creatures, and handsome rabbit shifters were even more so. His snow-white fur was exposed, and his long, sculpted legs lifted into the tub—it was irresistible. And those ears popped up, too.

"Haha, when he gets out of the tub, I'll rub his tail. There's no way I'll miss today!"

"Stinky female! Why did you block it for me? You're not even twenty-five, no beast form, soft and tender—you need males to protect you!"

He grabbed Annelise's hands, checking her with a mix of disbelief and worry.

"Hey… you're supposed to be a bad female, yet you're better than the one who brought me here?"

The female who had brought him here—the one who'd reported the snake danger that morning—was attentive to Adrian in his tribe. She'd carry him if he twisted his ankle and even peel his carrots. That was it.

Never did he expect that Annelise—the one everyone else wanted to have nothing to do with—would block a strike for him.

Annelise insisted she was fine. It was just three scratches. No venom entered her system, and the wounds weren't deep.

Then she had a better idea.

She swayed slightly and collapsed into Adrian's arms.

"I… I feel dizzy."

"Huh?" Adrian froze.

Hudson hurried over, checking her forehead and examining her wounds.

"Ms. Crawford, are you feeling unwell?"

The fox nearly cried in worry.

Annelise winked at him, and he immediately understood.

He fanned the concern dramatically. "Ms. Crawford! You must be in pain! These wounds look shallow but go deep beneath the skin. I'll chew up some wild greens and apply them for you now!"

Annelise sank fully into Adrian's embrace.