Minutes later.
Travis stood in the middle of the room, scowling as everyone watched him in dead silence. His ears twitched in irritation while he scolded them, a wooden spoon in hand and his arms akimbo. How he even got that spoon, no one knew—and at that moment, no one dared to ask. The mood he carried was like a storm about to break loose.
"Why, Derek?! You were supposed to look after the cubs! But here you are, feeding on their food—and not only that, what was that nightmare of a clothing you made? Was that supposed to be a Halloween costume or something?!" Travis vented furiously.
Halloween! The word sounded foreign to them. Richard, ever the curious one, raised his hand politely like a schoolboy.
"Okay… what now?" Travis rolled his eyes, already expecting nonsense.
"What's Halloween, please? Is it something we have to eat?" Richard asked.
Travis froze, utterly dumbfounded. Who the hell is this guy? he thought. And how in the world do none of them know what Halloween is?
He took a deep breath. Okay… calm down. It's an animal kingdom. They won't know. Just calm down.
But gosh, Derek!
"It was delicious!" Derek broke the silence cheerfully, praising the food.
Travis nearly stormed off, but the words stopped him mid-step. He turned slowly, his formidable glare freezing everyone in place. The room went so silent that if a pin had dropped, it would've echoed like thunder.
Derek, expecting another harsh scolding, stiffened. Instead, Travis walked toward him, his expression unreadable, and then—to everyone's shock—patted Derek's mane gently.
"Next time, Derek," Travis said in a calm but firm tone, "if you can't handle household chores, just let me know and I'll help. From now on, no one eats here until you all learn how to use spoons."
Everyone gawked. Travis sighed deeply and walked away, muttering under his breath that he wasn't about to endure another round of trauma.
As he left, he scooped up the twins—each one in a separate hand—determined to help them bathe. Somehow, they had caused another mess just by eating.
"You didn't tell me your mate was this beautiful and scary… and a man?" Richard asked as they began assembling for their journey.
"I guess I'm one hot, lucky lion," Derek said proudly, wagging his tail and flashing a wink.
Minutes later, Travis came out with the cubs—who were once again tugging at his hair.
What's with these cubs and my hair? he thought irritably. I just finished braiding it! Can't they let it shine for at least a minute?
He sighed. He'd have to bear with it. At least, for now, peace was holding—sort of.
Travis noticed how organized they looked, lined up like they were going on a parade. One question, however, lingered in his mind:
Did Derek even brush his teeth? Probably not.
Derek stood proudly at the center of the formation, with fierce lions in their primal forms guarding the front of the pride. When Travis was pulled closer, Derek placed a hand around his waist—his fingers tracing down until they caught the curve of his thigh.
Travis's face burned crimson. The cubs before him gave him confused stares, and even Richard glanced over, curious. Realizing how public this was, Travis forced himself to remain composed.
Thank goodness they're more civilized than I expected, he thought. At least he's not trying to manhandle me right here—
But his thoughts shattered as Derek's hand slid lower… lower… until it landed squarely on his crotch, gripping him with precision. Travis let out a quiet, involuntary groan.
Damn this lion… he thought helplessly, heat rushing through him.
As they continued walking, Travis's gaze caught something ahead—a looming mountain spewing faint smoke.
"Is that a volcano?" he murmured, eyes narrowing. "And it's so close to the lion tribe's base… connected to the other villages too. This isn't right. Why does it feel like something terrible lies in there?"
He turned sharply to Derek, snatching his hand away and gripping it tightly.
"No further move until you answer my question," Travis demanded, his tone firm.
Behind them, Richard was too busy drooling—his eyes tracing Travis's waistline shamelessly. Henry noticed immediately.
"Not eyeing my mama, are you?" Henry accused from a short distance.
"Little one, why don't you stay close to your father and let me be," Richard growled, clearly annoyed.
Henry smirked and exchanged a knowing look with Tilda, who immediately stepped forward.
"No one messes with my mama," she hissed. "He's staying with my papa—you won't take him away!"
With a swift leap, Tilda bit Richard's tail, earning a deafening scream that tore through the pride.
"It's an anthill, Travis. It's been there for ages—a giant anthill," Derek said casually.
Travis blinked, baffled by their ignorance. An anthill? Did he seriously just call that massive thing an anthill?
From afar, Travis could see faint ashes scattered around the volcano. His chest tightened. What if it wasn't an anthill? What if the volcano was awakening slowly—and the beastmen didn't even realize it? It could wipe them all out.
Then, suddenly, he remembered the vision—the sea of lava swimming through the ground. His stomach dropped.
"Calm down, Travis. It's just an anthill," Derek reassured him. "Nothing will happen to you as long as I'm here."
But Travis wasn't convinced. Their ignorance only made his anxiety worse. He silently wished the fairy would just appear—give him a proper mission, something to prevent what he feared—but as usual, she was nowhere to be found.
"Yes, you're right. It's probably just me being paranoid. Just an old anthill," he muttered, though his thoughts disagreed. Whoever first called it that must've been the most clueless creature alive.
Before he could continue, a sharp scream shattered the air. Everyone tensed and bolted toward the sound—it came from the front.
Richard was there, clutching his bleeding tail and jumping in pain. Derek's roar thundered across the area, halting everyone in their tracks.
"Don't you dare touch my cubs, you traitor!" Derek growled, halfway to transforming.
Travis's eyes widened. What did the cubs do now? But when he saw Richard's bleeding tail, he understood. The cubs had bitten him.
Travis sighed. He felt bad for Richard, but killing a cub over that? Unthinkable.
"They attacked my tail for no reason!" Richard shouted, wincing in pain.
"I don't care," Derek growled. "My cubs don't attack unless provoked. What did you do this time?"
Richard's eyes widened in disbelief. "Are you serious right now?!"
But before he could react further, his beast form erupted—a full leopard. Derek shifted as well, and in a blink, he had Richard pinned to the ground, claws pressing against his limbs and neck.
The pride shifted too, morphing into their primal forms, ready to defend their king. Derek gave Richard a fierce bite to the neck, paralyzing him instantly.
Travis froze, horrified. The cubs, however, seemed thrilled—completely unfazed by the violence.
"So, babies," Derek said in his deep, rumbling beast voice, paw still pressing Richard down. "What happened?"
Henry stepped forward timidly. "He wanted to make a move on mama," he confessed. "He was planning to do it by pretending to play hide and seek."
Derek's golden eyes darkened dangerously. He roared again, the sound shaking the earth beneath them. Then he turned back to Richard, claws gleaming.
"Good job protecting your mama," Derek said to the cubs before glaring down at Richard. "One thing I don't tolerate, Richard—even though you're my friend—is betrayal. You tried to make a move on my mate? Was this a ploy, or did your tribe's chief put you up to it? Answer me, you bastard!"
Richard barely managed to stammer, "I can explain—please—it was the chief, he wanted to—"
Before he could finish, Derek's claws slashed across his throat. Blood splattered, and silence fell. Travis turned pale as ice.
Derek blinked, the rage fading from his face as realization set in. He turned to Travis and rushed forward, pulling him into a tight embrace.
"I'm sorry, Travis," he murmured against his shoulder. "I had to. I couldn't let him think that way and get away with it. Please don't be mad." He pouted slightly, hugging him tighter, oblivious to the stunned expressions of his clansmen.
As it appeared, the more days passed, the more Derek's behavior grew—stranger and more unpredictable.