Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 269: An Unwanted Plus One

Ren had already said her tearful, incredibly reluctant goodbyes to everyone back at the clearing. Leaving Kael had undoubtedly been the hardest part; the massive White Tiger had looked like a heartbroken, muscular kitty as he watched her walk away into the tree line, his golden eyes burning with intense reluctance.

But a deal was a deal.

She was now trudging through the dense forest alongside Viper, plunging deeper into the unknown.

The Beast World at night was...creepy. The ancient, towering trees grew so thickly together that their massive canopies blocked out almost all of the brilliant silver moonlight. Only thin, jagged beams managed to cut through the leaves, casting eerie, distorted shadows across the forest floor.

The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and blooming night-jasmine. Massive, twisted tree roots jutted out of the ground like sleeping serpents, and patches of strange, bioluminescent moss glowed in faint hues of ghostly blue and violet, illuminating their path just enough to keep Ren from tripping.

The nocturnal symphony of the jungle echoed around them: the rhythmic, deafening chirps of insects, the distant hoot of an unknown predator, and the constant, unsettling rustle of the thick ferns.

Yet, despite the terrifying environment, Ren felt surprisingly comfortable. Even as the midnight chill rolled through the trees, making the leaves shiver, Ren felt as though she were securely wrapped in a thick, heated blanket. Her bare arms and thighs were perfectly warm, the magical emerald silk adjusting flawlessly to the drop in temperature.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a while. But the quiet walk gave Ren entirely too much time to be alone with her own thoughts.

"Hey, Viper," Ren spoke up, her voice cutting through the hum of the forest. "How is Syris doing? Is he okay?"

Viper didn’t look back, keeping his sharp, reptilian eyes focused dead ahead. "My King should be all healed by now."

Ren furrowed her brows. She sped up her pace slightly to walk beside him, dodging a glowing blue mushroom. "’Should be’? You haven’t actually seen him?"

Viper let out a long, incredibly heavy sigh.

"My King has not left the nest since we returned to the swamp," Viper explained, his tone laced with deep, underlying anxiety. "He has not come out to eat. And he is not allowing anyone inside his chambers."

Ren blinked. "Is he sick?"

"No," Viper shook his head. "But my King refuses to tell me what is troubling him. I can only assume he is missing his mate." Viper paused, rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. "I heard him complaining loudly about the cold."

Ren let out a long, deeply exasperated sigh, tilting her head back to look at the dark canopy.

’Why did I have to attract a harem of emotionally high-maintenance men?’ Ren lamented in her thoughts. They were all so incredibly needy in completely different, exhausting ways.

Silence descended between them once more as they navigated a steep, rocky incline.

’Hey, System,’ Ren called out in her mind. ’What were those exciting updates you were going on about earlier?’

[System: I am no longer in the mood, Host. I was interrupted entirely too many times by your husbands. The burst of excitement is completely gone.]

Ren huffed, rolling her eyes. ’Great. You can just announce them normally then. Save the fanfare and the confetti. Just tell me.’

[System: I am not interested in sharing the updates anymore, I will just be rudely interrupted again.]

Ren scoffed quietly under her breath. ’Interrupted by who? I am not going to interrupt you.’

[System: Not by you. By the beastman currently following us, obviously.]

Ren’s steps completely faltered. Her green eyes widened.

’What?!’

A violent, freezing spike of adrenaline shot straight through her veins, entirely overriding the warming effects of her silk dress. Following them?! Ren tried desperately to stay calm, but her heart began to hammer erratically against her ribcage. Her eyes darted wildly around the dark, imposing woods. The shadows suddenly looked far more sinister. Every rustling fern sounded like a feral beast preparing to pounce. Every snap of a twig made her jump. ’Is it a rogue? A feral bear? Did one of the White Tigers follow us?!’

Noticing the sudden, frantic change in her demeanor and the way she had completely stopped walking, Viper immediately halted.

"Are you tired?" Viper asked, his face suddenly masking a deep, profound terror. "Should we stop and rest for a little bit?"

Viper absolutely feared his King’s wrath if he brought an exhausted mate back to the swamp. Syris was already in a terrible, unpredictable mood. If the Snake King thought Viper had overworked his precious female on the journey, Syris would separate Viper’s head from his shoulders before he could even apologize.

Ren opened her mouth, fully intending to frantically tell Viper that they absolutely needed to move faster, to sprint toward the swamp as if their lives depended on it.

But before a single syllable could leave her lips, a smooth, velvety, infuriatingly familiar voice echoed from the dark shadows right behind them.

"I completely agree. We should definitely stop and rest a bit."

A tall figure stepped out from behind a massive, moss-covered oak tree. The faint blue bioluminescence of the fungi illuminated his striking orange hair, his fluffy orange fox ears, and that devastatingly wicked, arrogant smirk.

Vex shifted two massive, incredibly bulky wool sacks over his broad shoulders, adjusting his grip on the leather straps.

"These sacks are incredibly heavy," Vex groaned dramatically, rolling his shoulders.

Viper turned around instantly. His reptilian eyes narrowed into lethal slits, and he immediately dropped into a deadly, defensive combat stance, his long fangs practically itching to lengthen as he hissed at him.

Ren just stood there in the dirt, her hands balling into tight fists at her sides. She wanted to drop to the ground and stomp her feet in pure, childish frustration. She really, truly would have preferred absolutely anyone else following them through the dark woods.

A feral bear. A mutated dog. A swarm of giant, flesh-eating killer bees.

Anyone but Vex.