Novalyn stared at Muir.
Muir.
"The Flying Yandere."
A registered scout of the City of Beasts.
A beastman known for capturing what he wanted and never letting go.
His wings were half-spread, feathers bristling, eyes burning with that single-minded, unsettling obsession she had only read about.
She doubted very much that any version of Muir could be reasoned with—
…but she would try.
"Muir, stop this please," she breathed.
But he only smirked, pupils blown wide with fixation.
"You deserve to be worshipped, Qilin."
"I don't want that. Someone worshipping me would never make me happy."
"You don't know what you want." His voice dropped to a velvety, dangerous rumble. "You don't know what you need."
His eyes gleamed obsessively.
Then—with a crack of wind—he lunged toward Cadmus and Kallis.
---
Cadmus hissed, sprawling his hood wide in a threat display that shook loose dust from the cave walls.
Kallis darted forward, fangs bared, striking like a bolt of silver lightning.
But Muir was airborne—fast, vicious, predatory—banking just out of reach as he snapped his talons toward their throats.
"You're in my way," Muir snarled. "Step aside or I'll clip your fangs."
Cadmus surged, fury twisting his voice.
"You will not touch her!"
Kallis was worse—silent, murderous, coil-tight as he prepared to launch again.
Novalyn felt the panic spike—not for herself—
For them.
Muir was fast enough to injure them.
Maybe even kill one before the other could react.
Gentleness wouldn't work.
This required the Qilin.
---
A gold shimmer flared beneath Novalyn's skin—
unbidden, instinctive, ancient.
The air vibrated.
Muir froze mid-flight, feathers ruffling as his instincts screamed a warning too late.
Novalyn stepped forward, spine straight, eyes glowing like molten lava.
Her voice carried the weight of storms:
"Muir. Stop."
He didn't.
He tried to dive again.
That was his mistake.
The ground rippled with Qilin energy.
A pulse of golden distortion swept out like a shockwave.
Muir hit an invisible wall and slammed backward, wings snapping open in panic as he crashed to the dirt. His talons dragged against the stone floors as he tried to rise—but his body wouldn't obey.
His limbs trembled.
His breath seized.
His instincts were crushed beneath something incomprehensibly older and higher on the food chain.
A strangled sound left him.
"W-What… what are you…?"
Novalyn's expression was calm.
Not soft.
Not gentle.
Judgmental.
Regal.
Terrifying.
"A Qilin," she said simply.
---
Light poured from her palm—
gentle in color, brutal in force.
It pinned Muir flat, wings flattened, cheek pressed to the ground. Not harming him—yet—but making it clear she could.
The brothers watched in stunned awe. Cadmus trembled. Kallis whispered, "Divine…" under his breath.
Novalyn walked toward Muir slowly, each step making him convulse.
She knelt—meeting his wild, terrified eyes.
"You tried to take what is mine," she said quietly. "You threatened what I vowed to protect."
Muir gasped, chest heaving as the aura tightened around him.
"Qilin—please—"
"Silence."
He silenced instantly, throat locking.
Novalyn leaned closer, eyes glowing brighter.
"Send a message back to the City of Beasts."
Her aura whipped upward, stirring a wind around the cave.
"I will not be controlled."
The golden flames flared brighter.
"I will not be chained."
Muir shuddered violently, unable to look away.
"And if anyone comes after my chosen family…"
She let the aura tighten—just enough that he felt his heartbeat stutter.
"…I will decimate them."
Her voice dropped to a glacial whisper.
"No second chances."
The aura released just enough for him to breathe—but not enough for him to move.
"Do you understand?"
Muir, the arrogant flying predator feared across the region, whimpered like a beaten fledgling.
"Yes," he rasped. "Yes—Qilin—I understand—"
Novalyn exhaled.
The glow dimmed.
"You may rise. And you will run. Now."
He scrambled to his feet, wings shaking, and launched out of the cave and into the sky in a panicked blur.
He didn't look back.
---
The cave fell utterly silent.
Cadmus swallowed hard.
Kallis stared at her like she had just peeled back the veil of a myth.
And Novalyn—
She trembled, just a little, the adrenaline ebbing.
Cadmus slithered to her instantly.
Kallis wrapped around her other side.
Both spoke at once:
"Are you hurt?"
"Did he touch you?"
"Do you need to rest—?"
"Novalyn—"
She leaned into them, letting the warmth ground her.
"I'm alright," she whispered. "But no one threatens my family."
And in that moment—
The twins realized:
She wasn't just their female.
She was their protector, their mate, their future, and the force that would burn the world before letting harm ever reach them.