Surrounded by Five Beast Lords novel Chapter 46

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Chapter 46 The Cat Cared Boy

Chapter 46 The Cat–Eared Boy

Now that the new house is officially done.” Dora clapped her hands to pull everyone’s attention. “I say we invite Mindy’s family over for dinner tomorrow. A little celebration, and a thank–you for all the help they’ve given us.”

Elmer jumped on the idea immediately. “Yes! Mindy and her crew are the best. Jaxsen knows so much about construction Every time I got stuck during the build, he was the one I went to.”

Clive gave a slight nod and offered no objection.

Lioren flicked his tail in a lazy sweep that said he could take it or leave it.

‘There’s something else,” Dora continued, her tone shifting to something more serious. “The main structure is finished, but we still need interior work, furniture, and all the prep for the wet season.

‘That means bulk quantities of anti–mold coating, upgraded dehumidifying energy materials, and enough starcoin to carry us through if we can’t go out during the worst of it. All of that needs to happen before the wet season hits.”

She pulled up the climate prediction model on her Optical Brain and pointed to the humidity and precipitation curves, which were climbing steadily.

‘The early signs are already showing. We have a month at most before the reattest begins. Everything we need has to be stockpiled, and the house has to be reinforced against moisture and storm damage before then.”

She looked around at the three of them. “So, this dinner with Mindy’s family isn’t just a celebration.

“I want to talk about whether our two households can team up and head into the Training Zone together for higher–value materials, or at least supplies that target what we actually need.”

Teaming up meant a deeper commitment, a level of trust that bound both sides to shared risk and shared reward.

Clive considered it for a moment, then nodded. “That works. I don’t know the full extent of their supernatural abilities, but they’re seasoned and experienced, and their word has been solid so far.”

Elmer was all in. “Totally. With them on board, we’d find way better stuff out there.”

Lioren licked his paw and kept his opinion to himself.

“Then it’s settled.” Dora brought the discussion to a close. “I’ll cook something good tomorrow. Once Mindy and her family get here, we’ll sit down and map out a real plan. For now, let me start thinking about what to make.”

She stood and headed upstairs to her bedroom on the third floor.

The others drifted off to their own rooms.

Every room was still bare inside. Each of them slept on the same foam pads or sleeping bags they had used back in the

tents.

But every bedroom now had a working bathroom, and, more importantly, each one had walls, a door, and privacy. That alone made a world of difference.

Dora finished the day’s work and let her consciousness sink into the Spatial Realm, running her usual check on the expanded stretch of farmland she had been cultivating.

The peanut seedlings grew thick and green. The potato and sweet potato vines were spreading strongly, and the freshly sown sesame seeds had already pushed tiny sprouts through the soil.

This place is really starting to look like something, she thought, a quiet satisfaction settling over her as she surveyed the increasingly lush plot.

Her awareness drifted back to her body, and exhaustion caught up with her all at once. Within minutes, she had fallen into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Late into the night, when the house had gone quiet, Dora’s bedroom door eased open without a sound.

Clive’s tall frame filled the doorway, but he didn’t step inside. He stood there in the faint glow from the window, watching the figure curled asleep in bed.

Moonlight traced the still outline of her profile. Her breathing came slowly and even.

He watched for a long moment before crossing to the bedside without making a sound.

With careful hands, he tucked the blanket back over her shoulder where it had slipped during a turn in her sleep.

His fingertips grazed the bare skin of her arm by accident, cool and impossibly soft, and the sensation stopped him cold. A current of something unreadable passed through his eyes before he could tamp it down.

He stood beside her in silence for a while, as though confirming she slept soundly, or perhaps staking some quiet,

Chapter 46 The Cat Cared Boy

wordless claim of guardianship over her rest.

Then he withdrew as silently as he’d come and pulled the door shut behind him.

Not long after Clive’s figure vanished around the staircase landing, a second shadow, quicker and far more agile, slipped out from the darkness.

Lioren’s amber cat eyes glinted sharply in the dark. He’d been perched on top of the hallway cabinet the whole time, taking in every second of Clive’s little performance.

‘What a show–off, he thought.

Once he was certain Clive had actually left, he dropped down lightly and landed in front of Dora’s door.

Lioren pawed the unlatched door open with practiced ease, slipped through the gap, and flicked it shut behind him with his tail.

He hopped onto the bed like he owned the place, burrowed under the warm covers, and settled into his favorite spot with the ease of long habit.

This time, he nestled right beside the curve of her neck, close enough to catch the faint, sweet scent of roses on her skin. That scent had a way of making everything inside him go quiet.

Maybe the new house had lulled Dora into deeper relaxation tonight, or maybe some drowsy part of her already recognized and trusted the warmth pressed beside her.

Either way, she rolled over in her sleep and draped her arm across the furry bundle in the blankets.

Lioren’s body went rigid for a second, then slowly loosened. He even nuzzled against her arm without thinking.

The night held still around them, filled with nothing but the soft rhythm of their breathing.

After a while, that wasn’t enough for Lioren anymore.

The warmth under the covers and her breath ghosting so close to his face stirred a restlessness inside him that wouldn’t settle.

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