Backstories

Xavier gazed down at me for a moment before he finally sighed, "My father once saved this village back when I was a cub… Rootless beastmen attacked and he was the only one that could get here in time to stop them from kidnapping any females."

"Oh… He must've been quite strong." I mused, wondering if he was the reason Xavier was now a feral hunter.

"He was…" Xavier said with a sad tone. "The strongest flying beastman in Grasslands City."

His words made me frown, wondering if I had brought up a sore topic for Xavier. It sounded like his father had passed away. Maybe this was why he didn't really speak about his family.

"I didn't mean to bring up a sore topic." I cringed. "Losing a father is hard."

A wave of sadness hit me as I thought about my dad. It was easy to see why Xavier sounded so upset. I knew what it was like losing a father.

Now it was Xavier's turn to frown at me. "He's not dead… He's just no longer as strong as he used to be. The fight cost him an arm and his left eye… Wait, Elisa are you crying?!"

"Huh?" I touched my cheek to feel it was wet. "Oh… I'm sorry…. It's my stupid hormones acting up."

Heat flushed across my face, embarrassed to be suddenly crying in front of Xavier. The grief had hit me unexpectedly and I blamed my period for getting all emotional.

I tried wiping a hand over my face to stop the tears, but they just kept falling. Xavier finally grabbed my hand before he gently placed a finger on my cheek.

"It's okay." Xavier murmured, gently rubbing away the tears. He was quiet for a moment before he suddenly asked, "What are hormones?"

"Um… they're like these things in your body that make it go into heat and stuff." I mused, trying to ignore the warmth of Xavier's fingers on my face. "Females sometimes get emotional because of them."

"Oh…" Xavier paused for a minute. "Does it also make females moody?"

"It could be that or the pain." I answered before deciding to get back to the topic at hand. There was one other question I wanted to ask. "Xavier, is it okay if I ask what you meant by not really being a prince?"

"Ah…" Xavier closed his mouth before sighing, "Well, I guess you'll find out anyway…"

I crocked an eyebrow. "Find out what?"

"My mother is the Grasslands City Queen." Xavier stated before quickly placing a hand over my mouth. "And before you say anything, it doesn't make me a prince… Not really as my father lost favor with her and is no longer her mate."

I removed his hand from my mouth. "Is he…."

I wasn't sure if I wanted to complete that question. To be heavily wounded in battle and then to lose your mate was the worst fate possible for a male. It was no wonder Xavier didn't like talking about his family.

"He's not a rootless beastman." Xavier answered my unfinished question. "My mother wasn't that harsh as to condemn two of her cubs into becoming rootless beastmen because she removed their father's mate marking on her. However, she was not willing to keep around a useless male… Especially, with the injuries he got making him unable to provide for her."

His words reminded me of the cruel fate that existed in this world for males. Why I had to be so careful in choosing mates, not just for my sake, but to prevent tragedies like this from happening.

While I'd grown up with divorced parents and could understand Xavier on some level, this was worse than what I had. At least my parents were reasonable and put their differences aside for me.

Xavier's father was spared from becoming a rootless beastman only because Xavier and his brother existed. If they hadn't, his father would have been one of many Xavier now hunted.

And all because Xavier's mother saw him as a useless male. She didn't care that he got hurt saving lives.

"She's a cruel female." I couldn't help but mutter. 

"You're right." Xavier murmured, looking away for a moment. "And yet, I can't bring myself to hate her completely. It would be easy if she was a heartless mother that didn't care for us, but she wasn't. While she'd easily replace males like it's nothing, her cubs are everything to her.

We're her treasures that she pours all her love into. She never made my brother or I feel any different from the cubs of her favored males. In fact, she had the Grasslands King give us all the titles of princes despite it being normally reserved for his cubs.

Honestly, I hate her for what she did to my father, tossing him out like that after he helped the Grasslands King with such a crisis. But another part of me loves her for giving me everything a cub could ever want. The attention she gave to us was something not many can claim."

"I see… But if she had the Grasslands King give you the title of prince, why are you not one?" I asked.

"Well, I refused the title." Xavier replied. "It caused too much trouble for me and I didn't want to get involved with the politics of the city… Plus, females are always scheming for a mate with such a title."

That actually made sense. Xavier didn't seem like the type to be interested in city politics nor in females after power. Especially with what his mother did. 

"Well, I guess I can now protect you from those females." I joked, attempting to make the conversation more light hearted.

Xavier smirked. "And how do you plan to do that? Females can be quite fierce."

"I have claws too." I scoffed, getting all serious. 

"Sure…" Xavier patted my head. "Now why don't you get some sleep…"

I gave him the side eye, but otherwise kept quiet deciding to take his advice. My body was exhausted and it was best to get some sleep before Ahi came back. We could talk more later.