Only then did James realize something.
The male saber-toothed tiger—who had been absent for most of the day—had clearly gone out hunting.
The juvenile pronghorn lying before them, already missing nearly half its body, was today's catch.
That's strange…
James couldn't help but feel puzzled.
As far as I remember, tigers are supposed to be solitary animals.
In his previous life, he had been an avid viewer of wildlife documentaries and knew the basics well. Modern tigers—whether Siberian or Bengal—typically lived alone within their territories.
Male and female tigers only stayed together briefly during mating season.
Once mating was over, the male usually left without hesitation.
No childcare. No responsibility.
Cold, efficient, and ruthless.
In the end, the female tiger bore the entire burden alone—enduring months of pregnancy and raising the cubs by herself until they were old enough to fend for themselves.
But saber-toothed tigers… seem different.
James felt as if he had stumbled upon a hidden truth.
It appeared that, unlike modern tigers, male saber-toothed tigers actually participated in raising their offspring.
That realization alone felt like discovering a brand-new world.
"Rrr—"
Inside the cave, the male saber-toothed tiger lowered his head and dropped the remains of the pronghorn onto the ground, offering it to his mate and cubs.
James stared at the carcass with keen interest.
Two deep, blood-soaked puncture wounds were clearly visible on the pronghorn's neck, positioned with frightening precision—right where the trachea would be.
Aside from those wounds, there were no obvious injuries.
It had been killed instantly.
One strike…
His gaze darkened slightly.
Those holes—
They must have been left by Father's saber teeth.
A chill ran through him.
The most legendary feature of a saber-toothed tiger was, without question, those impossibly long fangs—so large they couldn't even be fully hidden by the lips.
How such terrifying weapons were used in actual combat had always fascinated later generations.
If I ever get the chance…
I have to watch Wilma and Father hunt with my own eyes.
The thought filled him with anticipation.
At present, all three cubs were just over three months old. Although they hadn't fully weaned yet, it was time for them to start tasting raw meat.
Unfortunately, their bodies were still too weak.
They lacked both the jaw strength and technique needed to tear flesh apart. For now, that task could only be handled by Wilma.
"Rrrr…"
Brock and Vivi stared at her eagerly, eyes practically glowing with anticipation.
Then Wilma acted.
She lowered her head, tore off a fresh piece of meat—
And placed it directly in front of James.
He froze.
"…Huh?"
A moment later, amusement bubbled up inside him.
So that's how it is.
Looks like I really am the favorite in this family.
It seems that even if you regenerate into a tiger, you can't escape the Law of True Fragrance!
[Ding! Capture pronghorn genes, gene point +0.1.]
At this moment, the system's prompt sounded in Fang Yin's mind.
"Soga, it turns out that you can get gene points by eating. This turns out to be a glutton with gold fingers. "
Fang Yin suddenly realized.
"Roar~~"
When Fang Yin finally started talking, Hu Ma continued to help him tear the flesh from the pronghorn antelope carcass and fed it to him one by one.
Fang Yin also changed his previous resistant attitude and ate the pieces of meat carefully selected by Hu Ma one by one.
[Ding! Capture pronghorn genes, gene point +0.1.]
[Ding! Capture pronghorn genes, gene point +0.1.]
The system's notification sound continued to ring.
[Ding! Gene point acquisition has reached today's limit. Current gene points: 1.]
After repeating ten times in succession, the system finally displayed a new message.
"So there's a daily cap… but I can't eat anymore anyway. Burp."
After swallowing seven or eight pieces of meat, James felt completely full.
Seeing this, Wilma continued tearing the meat apart and fed it to Brock and Vivi, who were already whining loudly with hunger.
"Rrr—!"
Only after all three cubs had eaten their fill did Wilma finally turn her attention to the remaining scraps.
Crunch!
James watched as her massive jaws closed.
A series of crisp, bone-shattering sounds echoed through the cave.
Terrifying.
With a single bite, she crushed and swallowed the entire right leg of the young pronghorn.
Then, like a sweeping gale clearing away clouds, the remaining flesh and hide vanished at a speed visible to the naked eye, all of it disappearing into Wilma's stomach.
…
Not far away, Willam—exhausted after a full day of hunting—lowered himself to the ground and prepared to rest.
"Hrrr—"
Soon, thunderous snores filled the cave.
Like many apex carnivores, saber-toothed tigers consumed enormous amounts of energy during a hunt.
To maintain the strength needed for survival, they slept more than ten hours a day on average.
Wilma was no exception.
After eating and drinking her fill, she quickly settled back into sleep.
Brock and Vivi cuddled close in her embrace, their small bodies pressed together as they drifted off in different, awkward positions.
Watching this warm and peaceful scene, James felt an unfamiliar sense of comfort.
After a moment, he found a suitable spot and leaned against Wilma as well, his body wrapped in the thick, warm fur of her chest.
It was cozy. Safe.
An instinctive sense of peace washed over him, and soon, heavy drowsiness followed.
Exhausted, he slowly closed his eyes.
And just like that, he fell asleep.