Chapter 12: Preparation for Winter

Our tribe has had a good system for gathering enough food before the winter ever since I suggested to my father that we could plant our own food and domesticate some animals instead of constantly hunting. It took our tribe some years to properly adapt to the process of farming and domesticating animals to sustain our food during the winter.

We also started to help all the nearby allied tribes by teaching them the said methods. We often visit their tribes on a scheduled basis to constantly check their progress. Some seemed to find it hard to adjust to the method, but still managed to follow through with my father's guidance.

One time, I accompanied my father and our people to the Forest Wolf Tribe to check on the progress of their farming and animal domestication.

The Alpha of their tribe was named Acwulf, a bluish-gray Wolf beastman with silver eyes.

The body of a Wolf beastman was smaller than that of an average Lion beastman, but their muscles were firm, they were more agile, and their nose was more sensitive, making it easier to detect the exact location of their prey even if they were hidden.

Their population was higher than ours, so it was harder for them to maintain their food supply, especially during the winter. They welcomed our help to strengthen our alliance and also in exchange for rare herbs that were only available in their territory.

My father and Acwulf became friends due to the alliance, so they regularly met to exchange thoughts about their plans for their own tribes.

"Hey Lev, my son, Lowell, is soon to come of age in two years, and he can legitimately succeed as the Alpha once he is strong enough to defeat me," Acwulf said.

"That's good to hear," my father replied.

"Why not let your daughter Ari marry my son?" Acwulf suggested.

My father suddenly raised his left eyebrow while listening to Acwulf's words. He looked irritated but was still trying to keep his cool.

"I assure you, he was the best-looking male and the strongest one in our tribe, and the duel we will perform once he comes of age is only a formality," Acwulf bragged with a grin on his face. "Every female here and even in the other tribes falls for his charm—though I don't know why he keeps disappearing lately."

My father looked at him sharply as if he were roaring inside his mind for a moment.

No one outside our tribe knew that I was a Winged Lioness because I always transformed into my Passive Form when I was accompanying my father on his tasks, unless we were hunting.

"She's allergic to males; only the beastmen goddess knows whom she will marry in the future, so I have no plans of giving my daughter to anyone as long as I am the Alpha of the Forest Lion Tribe," my father answered firmly as he looked at me with a reassuring smile, as if promising me that he would protect me as long as he was alive.

Acwulf tried to pat my head, but I was agile enough to dodge.

He was surprised and laughed, while my father shot a scary glare at him, warning him not to do it again.

"I know—I know—I won't do it again—geeze!" he replied to my father's glare, while raising his hands in the air. "I just want to pat her head because she looks so cute despite that mask."

My father chuckled as he tried to divert the topic back to the main purpose of our visit: "By the way, Acwulf, it seems that your tribe is doing well with the methods we gave you—do you have enough food for the winter?"

He smiled wryly and responded, "It seems we are still a little bit lacking since we only just started, but we can just set half of the adult beastmen of our tribe to hunting since we have loads of manpower—how about your tribe?"

"Yes, we do need some manpower because there was a boar attack incident a few weeks ago that caused the deaths of some Cubs and injuries to some elders, and it interrupted our schedule for the courtship ritual," my father sighed as he continued, "I need some manpower to speed up the delayed preparation because there were also quite a few incidents after that boar attack caused by my spouse and her other males, but it's all settled now."

"You can survive even without a spouse since you are their Alpha, and you already have Ari—why don't you just throw them outside the tribe?" Acwulf suggested sincerely as he tapped my father's shoulder, showing his compassion for a troubled friend. "I doubt that you still go through a rut after giving birth to Ari."

Rut is a condition in which a male beastman experiences an increase in exaggerated sexual desire and increased aggressiveness and interest in females. A beastman no longer undergoes an uncontrollable rut once he becomes a father, unless his spouse triggers it during her estrous. A female releases a special scent once she is in heat, and that scent triggers her spouse and other unmarried males.

"I can't—you know I can't," my father replied. "I already promised her to help her settle in the tribe for good with her Cubs and other spouses—I can no longer take back my words."

Acwulf sighed while shaking his head, as he was speechless. The pride of a Lion was so high that they could never retract their words.

After their conversation, Acwulf assigned a few unmarried young males to accompany our group as we went back to our tribe on foot and helped with the preparation for the courtship ritual. They would stay with the tribe until the preparations were finished.

When we returned to our tribe, there was a small commotion. It seemed that a few female Younglings showed early signs of estrus. In the Forest Lion Tribe, all Younglings were tested for early signs of estrous and rut occasionally during the autumn.

Once they showed an early sign of estrous or rut, they were given a higher dose of suppressant. Younglings were more aggressive and active than adults during the heat season due to their inability to suppress their sexual desires when undergoing estrous and rut.

Secret meetings were prohibited for Younglings since unexpected pregnancies among minors could lead to fatal outcomes for the female during the egg-laying process as their bodies were not yet fully developed for reproduction.