Reborn As A Beast Queen with Too Many Husbands to Pet novel Chapter 9

"Hey! Don't just dump her here! I'm still taking a bath… and I'm completely naked!" Adrian sounded horrified.

Fine, it wasn't like he cared about someone seeing his body.

But he was cold.

Meanwhile, Annelise had fallen right into a smooth, warm chest that smelled faintly sweet.

His stomach was unbelievably soft.

He wasn't chubby, just soft—and that was priceless.

And the rabbit smelled good.

Probably from living on wild greens so long that he carried a clean, grassy scent.

Adrian straightened her gently. "You really don't need to block danger for me. Even if something scratched my neck, I wouldn't die. We male shifters recover fast—way faster than females."

When Annelise didn't answer, he assumed she had fainted from the pain.

He shook her lightly, pressing her cheek against his chest, and his voice wobbled with panic. "Hey, bad female, don't scare me. You're making my chest feel tight."

She swallowed hard. "Let me touch your tail. Maybe that'll calm me down."

This time, Adrian fell silent.

Annelise wondered if he'd figured out she was faking.

Then he whispered, barely audible, "A tail can only be touched after bonding with a female. And you're not my matriarch. We're nothing. I…"

Oh. So she couldn't touch it.

Fine. She'd wait until next time.

She was about to get up when Adrian's face turned bright red. "You can touch it… but very lightly. And don't tell anyone. I'm not bonded yet—people will talk."

Wait… I can touch it?

Annelise immediately reached behind him and found the tiny, fluffy rabbit tail.

Round. Soft. Fuzzy.

She was going to die from the cuteness.

And of course, once she touched it, she wanted more.

She even wanted to bury her face in it.

She squeezed a little harder, and Adrian's whole body trembled.

"Stinky female… you… you…"

"Hm?"

She truly had no idea what was going on. She had always loved anything fluffy, so she just wanted to pet him.

Adrian shook harder and harder until he was quivering all over. His arms tightened around her and practically crushed her into his chest.

Great. Now his chest was pressed against her cheek.

Then Adrian suddenly went limp. He let her go and braced himself against the bathtub, gasping.

Annelise stared. "What happened to you?"

Adrian fought to steady his voice, furious and flustered.

"You awful female. I… I can't stand you!"

"What did I do?"

"You—"

Right then, Hudson walked over and pressed the chewed wild greens onto her wounded arm.

Annelise shifted and ended up tucked right into the fox's arms.

She sighed. The little fox truly loves me most. He's always on my side.

After a moment, she straightened. "I'm feeling better. I need to go back into the forest. After that thing came out, it means the woods are safe now. I want to grab more wild animals and pick some antidote herbs."

Hudson volunteered immediately. "Ms. Crawford, let me go with you."

"No. Evan will wake up soon, and Adrian can't control him. Evan never listens to him. If he starts acting up again and coughs blood, we'll be in real trouble. You've spent more time with Evan—you can calm him down."

She glanced at Adrian. "You, little bunny, come with me. Help me carry a few baskets of wild greens. You're the one who keeps eating all of them."

You think you can ever pay that back? she thought.

At one point, she balanced a dead duck on her head. The legs dangled down like she was wearing a duck-skin hat.

Then she saw the pool Hudson had mentioned. Snakes slithered everywhere, but the strong scent of the antidote herbs kept them away.

Adrian gasped. "Why is there blood everywhere?"

"It's probably from the shifter that attacked us earlier. Or he might have spit it up."

Adrian planted his hands on his hips and tapped the ground with clear disdain.

"I heard male shifters who reach twenty-five without a female's spirit energy eventually go mad. If they spiral too far, they die."

Annelise had seen that in the original host's memories, too.

"But is there really a male shifter nobody wants? A matriarch can have as many males as she wants, and bonding barely costs her anything. Feed a male, and he survives. Look at me—I look like this and still ended up with two mates."

Adrian snorted. "So you do know you're a terrible female."

"I swear, I've changed."

Liar, Adrian thought.

He puffed his chest. "I'm twenty-four this year, and I'm not worried at all. Once I get back to my tribe, plenty of females will want me."

Just then, a small snake shot from the grass toward Adrian.

Annelise yanked him back, grabbed the snake, and shoved a mouthful of antidote herbs into it.

The snake made a twisted, horrified face and squirmed away as fast as it could.

Adrian stared, jaw slack, looking at Annelise like she had changed shape.

"Why… Why do you keep saving me?"

He stomped his feet, cheeks burning, rabbit ears popping up.

"A male shifter wouldn't die from a snake bite."

"True," Annelise said plainly. "But it hurts."

Adrian froze. His heart thumped wildly—one heavy beat after another.