The music had barely resumed its lively pace when the Chief stood up from his seat, his silver ears perked with an expression of grand authority that demanded silence.

He looked around the square, his eyes lingering on the dragon males for a long, calculating moment before finally settling on Lin Wan. The air, which had briefly lightened during the feast, suddenly turned heavy with an expectation that made the hair on the back of Lin’s neck stand up.

"Female Lin!" The Chief’s voice boomed, carrying over the crackle of the bonfire and the distant sounds of the forest. "Since you have graced our tribe with your presence and shared your wisdom of that delicious spice, it is only right that we settle your status. In the presence of our guests and the honored elders, you may now choose a beasthusband and your guardian males!"

The announcement hit the square like a physical shock, ripples of excitement moving through the crowd. Instantly, every single male in the vicinity, from the burly Rhino guards to the youngest leopard scouts, pushed out their chests.

Their muscles rippled under the orange firelight as they tried to look as formidable and protective as possible. They were not just standing; they were posturing, their animal instincts driving them to appear as the apex choice for a female who could bring such flavor to their lives.

The Dragon males, however, shared a look of profound surprise that bordered on disbelief.

Davy leaned back against the rough timber of his chair, his eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hairline. "She has no beasthusband?" Davy whispered, his eyes darting toward Long Zhan with a sharp intensity. "A female of her quality, one who possesses such grace and she is unclaimed in this wilderness? It seems the luck of these mortals is greater than we imagined."

Long Zhan’s violet eyes narrowed, a predatory light flickering within those dark depths. The idea that this mysterious and beautiful woman was unattached sent a surge of adrenaline through him that was far more potent than the spices he had just consumed.

He straightened his spine, his God-like build casting a long, intimidating shadow over the table that seemed to swallow the light of the nearby torches. He didn’t speak, but the way his grip tightened on his cup told his men everything they needed to know.

Lin Wan felt the world tilt on its axis. She was frozen in place, her eyes wide behind her mask as she looked at the sea of eager faces.

"What?" she stammered, her hands flying up in a gesture of frantic denial. This was not the welcome she had expected, nor was it a tradition she was ready to embrace.

"No... wait! I was not told about this! This was supposed to be a party, a celebration of the hunt, not a husband selection party!"

Across the square, Su Mei was practically vibrating with a fresh wave of malice. Her eyes were red with a burning, raw jealousy that made her look more like a feral beast than a female of the tribe. Her nails dug so deep into the wood of her table that they left jagged, splintered grooves in the surface.

’How dare she!’ Su Mei screamed internally, her jaw locking in rage. ’She gets the food ideas,, she gets the attention of these strong visitors, and now the Chief wants to hand her the strongest warriors on a silver platter while I am ignored!’

"I said no!" Lin Wan shouted, shaking her head so hard that her star-blue flower bobbed precariously. "I am not choosing anyone! I... I already have beasthusbands!"

Internally, her mind raced back to the cold peaks and the quiet moments she had shared before the chaos began. She thought of Qin Mo and the way he looked at her with such silent, unwavering devotion. He had not marked her yet, but in her heart, he was her fiancé. She thought of Wang, her husband.

The thought of them made her chest ache with a sudden, sharp homesickness that threatened to bring tears to her eyes.

The Chief frowned, his thick brow furrowing in confusion as he looked at her solitary figure. "But female Lin, you arrived here alone. Your males must have perished in the great flood. To be without protection in these lands is to invite a swift and certain death. You are a treasure, and treasures must be guarded."

"They are alive!" Lin insisted, her voice rising in a desperate attempt to protect her loyalty and her heart. "And I will not accept anyone else. If my beasthusbands agree to me having more mates, that is the only way I will accept it. Until then, the answer is a final no!"

’As long as I push the decision onto Wang and Qin Mo,’ she thought, a sense of frantic relief washing over her, ’ I can escape this. They would never agree to share me with these strangers. This is my exit strategy, my only way to escape from this at least for now.’

But the victory was short-lived as the weight of the beastworld culture bore down on her.

The Rhino elder, a man whose skin looked like weathered grey stone and whose eyes held the wisdom of decades, stood up and shook his head slowly. "Female Lin, you do not understand the ways of our people. Even if your males survived, a female of your value requires a large pack for true safety. The more beasthusbands you have, the safer your future cubs will be from the dangers of the world."

He took a step forward, his voice turning firm and unyielding. "You do not have to wait for your beasthusbands to choose your mates for you. It does not work like that in our world. A female’s desire is the law, but her safety is the tribe’s responsibility. We cannot leave you vulnerable."

Lin Wan’s temper sparked, her modern sense of autonomy clashing violently with the elder’s primal logic. "It might not be the norm in your families, but in my family, my mates do the selection! They choose based on what is best for me, and I trust their judgment above anyone else! If they are not here to vet these men, then there will be no selection!"

A stunned silence fell over the square, broken only by the crackle of the fire. The males looked at one another, a deep, burning jealousy taking root in their hearts. They thought of these unknown males, Wang and Qin Mo, with a mix of envy and bitterness that tasted like ash.

’Female Lin’s mates are so lucky,’ one young leopard warrior thought, his jaw tight with longing. "To be defended this fiercely by a female, to have the right to decide who enters her house? They must be fools if they don’t realize what they have. If I had such power, I would never let another male near her. I would set the rules from the start. I would be the number one, and she would be mine alone.’

Long Zhan felt a sharp, icy spike of jealousy pierce his chest as he listened to her. He did not like the way her eyes softened when she spoke of these other men. He was the Dragon King, a being of supreme power, and yet he was being held at arm’s length because of ghosts from her past. He wanted that fierce, burning loyalty directed at him.

Seeing that Lin Wan would not budge on the husband issue, another elder stood up, his voice placating and soft. "If you cannot decide on a husband today, then at least decide on your guardian beast. This is a position of protection, not of mating. When you finally reunite with your beasthusbands, they can then decide if the guardian is worthy of becoming a full mate in your household."

Lin Wan bit her lip, her mind whirling. She realized she had run out of excuses that would satisfy their logic. The word "Guardian" sounded less permanent, less like a betrayal of her heart, but she still felt the walls closing in.

She looked at the Chief, seeing the stubborn, immovable set of his jaw, and realized she could not say no again without insulting the very people who had given her shelter.

"Fine," she whispered, her shoulders dropping in a gesture of weary defeat. "A guardian, and nothing more for tonight."

"Excellent!" the Chief shouted, his face lighting up with a predatory glee that made Lin shiver. "Let the Selection begin! Let the strength of the candidates be tested!"

Lin’s stomach did a slow, sick flip as she realized the implications. "Wait... Selection? What Selection?"

Lilly leaned in close, her voice a hurried, urgent whisper against Lin’s ear. "It is the Law of the Competition, Lin. When more than one male wants to claim a position with a female, they must fight to prove who is the most capable of protecting her body and her home. The winner takes the spot because he has proven he can defend it."

Lin’s heart plummeted into her shoes. "This... this is so uncomfortable," she said out loud, her voice trembling with indignation. "What if I do not like the winner? What if he is a brute? Shouldn’t it be my choice who guards me? This is my life we are talking about, not some prize at a fair!"

Ember, who had been watching the males prepare with a look of bored expertise, turned to her and shrugged. "Don’t you want your guardian to be the best amongst everyone, Lin? That is how you get the strongest protection. If a male cannot defend himself in the square, how can he defend you in the forest, moreover no male can bear to harm you, if they do you can just send them away?"

She placed a heavy hand on Lin’s shoulder, her eyes serious and dark. "Remember where you are, Wanwan. This is not a world of soft words and gentle treaties. This is the Beast World, and it runs by the rule of the jungle. The strongest is the king, and the king is the only one who can keep you alive when the shadows grow long and the predators come calling."