Chapter 3

The wolf beauties who had always looked down on me now took the opportunity to mock me even more.

"A mere human, how dare you think you could monopolize the prince's favor forever?"

"The real deal has arrived. You little thing who hasn't even grown fur yet, get lost!"

We lined up in two rows to welcome the arrival of Zane and the tiger princess, Roxanne.

When they walked in hand in hand, my heart skipped a beat.

Zane exuded the powerful aura of a beast king, while Roxanne's beauty was elegant yet wild.

They made such a good match.

My heart was instantly flooded with sourness.

Thinking of the long years ahead, where I might have to watch them be a loving couple,

I found it hard to breathe.

In the days that followed, Zane accompanied Roxanne on tours around the territory.

They admired the moon together and hunted together.

Some onlookers even used illusion magic to capture their sweet moments, deliberately showing them to me.

I pretended to be calm, saying I didn't care.

But every night, I couldn't control my tears, which fell like rain.

Zane hadn't summoned me for many days.

He returned very late at night, and I couldn't even see his shadow.

Perhaps, as the other beasts said, I was just a plaything he took interest in for a while.

His previous doting was probably just a way to pass time when he was bored.

Suddenly one day, the Wolf Queen summoned us to the great hall.

It turned out that Zane was busy with official duties and feared Roxanne would be lonely, so he asked us to keep her company.

Roxanne walked towards me with a smile, intimately linking her arm with mine.

"I heard you're close to Zane. It must be hard work taking care of him, right?"

When we were alone, her expression immediately changed. She violently flung my arm away.

"How dare a human like you stay by Zane's side?"

"I heard you consider yourself his bedmate? Guess who's more important to him, you or me?"

Alarm bells rang in my head, but before I could escape, I saw her rip off the protective charm hanging around her neck and throw it into the nearby miasma-filled forest.

At that moment, Zane happened to walk into the courtyard.

Roxanne immediately threw herself into his arms, tearfully complaining.

"Zane, this human in your courtyard is so ill-mannered. I just wanted to chat with her, but she insulted me and threw the protective charm my mother gave me into the miasma forest!"

I hadn't seen Zane for a long time.

The man I once spent day and night with now had a cold face, his gaze so unfamiliar it made me panic.

He gave me a cool glance, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

"I didn't..." I tried to explain, but was cut off.

Zane lowered his head to softly comfort Roxanne in his arms.

"Don't be afraid, I'll send someone to find it right away."

But Roxanne pouted, pointing at me.

"She lost it, so she should go find it!"

Humans have the weakest sense of smell among the beast clans. I had no way to navigate in the miasma.

Zane knew this. He used to tease me, calling me a "noseless fool".

But at this moment, he coldly ordered me.

"Go find it!"

I stumbled into the miasma-filled dense forest.

The acrid smell made me dizzy, and the poisonous gas burned my skin.

I stumbled around, feeling my life force slowly draining away.

After searching for who knows how long, I finally touched that cursed protective charm.

Covered in wounds, I crawled out of the dense forest, trembling as I handed it to Roxanne.

The Wolf Queen had arrived at some point. She glared at me, fuming with anger.

"How outrageous! You're a disgrace to our wolf clan!"

"Stay in the dense forest for a day and night to reflect on your actions!"

Zane didn't even look at me, leaving with his arm around Roxanne.

As the night wind blew, I shivered.

At this moment, I finally understood the vast difference between a surrogate and a queen.

Here, I didn't even have the right to speak.

Roxanne, on the other hand, could easily control my life and death.

I, who had once been intoxicated by the sweetness with Zane and attached to this wolf clan territory, thought about leaving for the first time.

I couldn't hold out for long in the miasma forest before passing out.

In my hazy state, I seemed to catch Zane's scent.

He carefully licked my wounds with his tongue, his movements uncharacteristically gentle.

Sobbing, I asked him, "Do I have a place in your heart?"

But he remained silent.

When I fully regained consciousness, there was no one around.

I shook my head with a bitter smile, thinking I must have been hallucinating.

Suddenly, a familiar set of footsteps approached.

Zane entered, his face gloomy.

A glimmer of joy rose in my heart. "Prince, why have you come?"

He sat down by my bed, staring at me with a complex expression.

"Lily, Roxanne has contracted beast soul atrophy from losing her protective charm. Her condition is critical."

He paused, his gaze becoming determined.

"The shaman doctor says we need human essence blood as a catalyst for the medicine. You've always been understanding... can you help her?"