Chapter 1: Betrayal

The night sky was choked with dark, heavy clouds, and flashes of lightning jagged across it. Like monstrous claws and tendrils reaching out with malevolent force. The thunder that followed sounded like the growls of demons hunting their prey. Nothing more than a pitiful soul lost in the storm's fury.

While the air was thick with moisture, the rain was pouring down relentlessly, drenching everything in its path.

"Ugh, bleurgh!"

Wenshi cradled her bulging stomach with one hand while her other hand was pressed against the rough bark of a massive tree for support as she bent over. Her face contorted with nausea and the sound of retching followed on cue, echoing through the dense forest's shade.

"Argh! Buwaak!"

She heaved violently. Her body convulsed as if trying to expel her guts and entrails. The force of her retching left her feeling weak, vulnerable, and utterly spent. But she couldn't stop as she couldn't help but gag and wail at the same time.

"Why you bastard? Why?!" She cursed fiercely as her voice trembled with anger and frustration.

Wenshi's every word was punctuated by tears that streamed freely down her face. She wiped them away angrily, only to have more fall in their place, mingling with the rain and her falling snot.

She looked wasted. Far from her regal form of a majestic beast sought after by many beastmen. Her breath was erratic, and her hands, now swollen from repeated impact, continued to slam against the tree's weathered surface.

Bang! Bang!

The tree shuddered beneath each blow if only, its limbs would've been creaking in protest after each and every hit. The soaked leaves rustled like whispers of cruel nightmares boggling her desperate reality as the sound of the rain pattering against the ground below blended with the violent rhythm of her strikes.

"Nuru, you damn tiger—bleurgh!" Wenshi's words broke off as another wave of nausea swept over her.

She stumbled, twisting her guts, reeling with disgust, fury, and a raw, gnawing pain that had nothing to do with the violent contractions of her body. All of this suffering was due to the scene that had played out in her mind vividly and unrelenting.

Bang!

"How could you do this to me?" she wailed and shut her eyes tightly. As if the sheer action would keep her from seeing horrid scenes but as she did, it only did the worse.

Two naked bodies, linked together, panting heavily while mixing their squelching juices as they kept moving in an intimate rhythm. The walls of their lair had been suffused with the scent of lust, tainted with debauchery.

Inside Wenshi's disgusted mind, it replayed like a cruel loop marred with images she couldn't escape no matter how hard she tried.

***

A few hours earlier, inside a meticulously arranged cave.

"Ahn! Darling, you're so big inside me. Oh~ yes! More, ah! Please, pound me harder…"

The muffled cries echoed against the stone walls, breaking the stillness like shattering glass, each word soaked in pleasure and desperate need.

The sounds sent a cold shiver down Wenshi's spine, pulling her from the deep meditative trance she'd been in.

For years, she had secluded herself here, in the warmth of the fire veins deep within the earth, nurturing the life growing inside her. She had given everything for this child, for hers and Nuru's cub. Her body had expanded and changed, adapting to the growing life within her.

Every day had been spent in quiet reverence, preparing herself for the moment when her child would be born. It had been a sacred responsibility, a duty she carried with pride as a new mother. Yet now, that sense of peace was shattered by the voices coming from above—voices she had never expected to hear.

---

A sharp kick from her abdomen made her freeze. Wenshi was abruptly awakened.

As she adjusted to the harsh light that greeted her eyes, she winced and almost immediately, the young woman reached out to soothe her belly.

"Child, why are you so restless? Mama's meditation was interrupted because of your kicking," she murmured softly, even as her gaze darkened. Feeling another kick, her pale face twisted in pain, and beads of cold sweat covered her forehead.

"You're acting so unruly, sweetheart," she uttered, strained and barely keeping up with the searing ache jolting her from her stomach. Even then, she tried to endure and still thought of soothing the little guy first, "There, there. Stop now. No one's going to fight you. Be good. If you keep on kicking up a fuss, you're only hurting Mama."

She sighed when she sensed it calmed down. Her child rarely acted up.

The last time he did was when Nuru tried to snuggle up to her, resting his head on her stomach to listen to the cub's heartbeat. But the little one responded by kicking him squarely in the face with a surprising force that sent the unprepared tiger flying.

She knew her cub was strong but not that strong. Well, it's great to be strong but the little kid also had a huge temper. Even his own father was not spared.

And now, Wenshi wondered, what was making this little child so agitated? It was as if he wanted to come out and beat someone to a pulp.

"Nonsense, how could there be such a thing?" Wenshi thought and dismissed. She frowned, as though scolding the cub. "No. For whatever reason it is, you cannot come out yet. Not until your father imparts his essence to you. We must wait for the branding ceremony."

In their world, females (Zulna) were tasked with most of the incubation, nurturing the young within them, while the males (Satyr) had the critical role of providing sustenance and protection. They collect energy and transfer it directly to their mates to support them during a period when they choose to not consume food.

The branding ceremony was an essential tradition before the birth of a cub. It not only blessed the cub, ensuring its strength and survival, but it also marked the bond between father and child. Without that bond, a male cub would be treated as a threat by its own father—an intruder to the territory and a clone ready to oust him who carries the same genetics—and its existence could jeopardize the safety of the female who was doused with maternal instinct. For killing the cub, she carried and sheltered for a long time, a fight to the death would be inevitable.

Wenshi glanced around the cave, her eyes narrowing as she took in the sight of the withered animal bones scattered across the ground. The remnants of those creatures seemed to have been drained of their life force ages ago. In her eyes, it served only as a reminder of the neglect they had suffered.

A cold, cutting glint crossed her sharp eagle embers.

"Where on Earth is your father?" she muttered under her breath raw with frustration bubbling to the surface.

She had not seen Nuru for a long time. He should have been guarding her, ensuring her safety while she focused on nurturing their child. But something felt wrong. Something was missing.

"Has he gone hunting? But it's been far too long." Did he die?

Wenshi held her throbbing temples and let go of that idea.

"That big cat isn't a wimp. He can't be dead. So, what is he doing?"

Suddenly, she began to feel the weakness in her limbs, the faint dizziness that had been creeping up on her due to the long period without getting food and beast essence. Her hands, once steady, trembled slightly as she adjusted herself.

"I need to consume something..." Her slitted eyes narrowed and scanned her surroundings and after some time, the only thing she saw were some underground critters that didn't look near appetizing. 

Gulp.

Little cub: "..."