The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe-Chapter 160: I don’t appreciate being called a monster

I know Fenric is handsome and dashing, with a body built like a wall. I understand if a few females giggle at the side, whispering and watching him from the shadows... but that’s only if they do it from afar.

Walking up to him, acting all shy and soft, and then touching him by ’accident’ is not something I want to understand. In fact, it is a line I will not watch her cross while I stay calm.

The daredevil female rabbit who tried to pull that stunt—and even called me a monster on top of it—was currently suffering a humiliation she probably never dreamt of in her wildest nightmares. She was on all fours, acting as my living stool, and I sat on top of her with my arms folded across my chest and my legs crossed, waiting for the chief to arrive.

Before the morning sun had even fully risen, word had already spread like wildfire about the three predators residing in the village.

There was the snake beastman who was apparently "tame" and eerily beautiful; the snow tiger with the hot body and murderous eyes; and then there was me—the ’ugly’ female who had these two as her mates and could seemingly control their every action.

I don’t know who came up with the bright idea that they could sit on top of the world if they somehow snatched one of my mates and made them theirs, but it was a sick joke. I certainly wasn’t laughing.

This incident quickly escalated as the kits, terrified by the sudden shift in the air, began crying and scurrying off to find their parents. To them, I was being the villain, but if I don’t do even this when being insulted, who’s going to take me seriously?

I am a tiger, and I might as well act as one.

Though not respected in my home tribe, I will not be looked down on in the outside world.

Gram came scurrying as soon as the word reached his pointy, long ears, shooting straight for the sky.

But as he stopped in front of me, his pointed ears rested back on his spine as his face was filled with unease.

He was panting, his face a mask of pure dread as he rounded the corner of the construction site and saw the scene.

I didn’t move an inch. I just sat there on my shivering ’stool,’ looking at him with a gaze that could wither a forest.

"Such a low stool," I mumbled, shifting my weight so the female beneath me let out a tiny, choked sob. I looked at the elder, my golden eyes flashing through the green herb mask. "Chief, didn’t I already say I won’t tolerate anyone trying to cross me?"

Gram nearly tripped over his own feet, his nose twitching frantically as he looked at me, then at the girl, and then at Fenric and Damar, who were standing like silent, deadly sentinels on either side of me.

"S-Savior!" Gram stammered, his voice thin with terror. "Please... what is the meaning of this? Has there been a misunderstanding?"

"No misunderstanding, Gram," I said, my voice calm, which made it ten times more terrifying. "Just a lesson in manners. Your tribe seems to think that because I’ve been kind, I am a beast they can mock while they try to steal what belongs to me. Sure, I’m a predator, but..." My eyes bore into his. "I don’t appreciate being called a monster."

Gram’s eyes widened, and he immediately fell on his face, his hands stretched forward, and his face bruised in the dirt.

"Please appease your anger," he pleaded, his entire body trembling, and I sighed.

I definitely looked like the bully here.

I looked at my low trembling ’stool’ and nearly hissed in irritation. I didn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed. In fact, I think I woke up pretty well, staring at Damar’s face and enjoying the morning sun.

It all went to naught when I saw a female flirting with Fenric. I didn’t think I would lose my temper that easily either.

I might be a jealous person, but I usually think before I act. Yet this time, I acted before even thinking. That’s extremely possessive of me and...

"Ari," Damar called, and I turned my head a bit to find his face very close to mine.

"What... What is it?"

"You’re so lost in thought." He said, and I gulped, given how close he felt. "Would you like to punish the chief?"

I turned to look at the chief and then at the crowd that had formed a few feet away to watch what was going on.

Yeah, I definitely looked like the bully.

"Arinya," Fenric called and I turned towards him. "Want me to settle this?"

I squinted my eyes. We were in this situation because he couldn’t properly reject the female from coming closer in the first place.

And he even let her touch him.

But as I gazed into that bright and confident smile, I could not bring myself to get mad at him and sighed. He must have a solution.

"Fine," I muttered, finally standing up and letting the rabbit girl scramble away. "Settle it. But make sure they know I’m not in the business of sharing."

Fenric’s lips curled up even more as his grin widened, revealing a flash of his sharp teeth.

"Certainly,"

He stepped forward, his massive presence looming over the kneeling Chief and the huddled villagers a few distances away.

"Gather round." He said but the nervous villagers took their time, scared that they were walking into an execution ground.

But they obeyed anyway, even more scared of disobeying and warranting punishment.

"My wife is upset," Fenric said, his voice carrying easily over the silent crowd. "She’s quite the jealous type, so she doesn’t like it when other females throw themselves at either of her mates."

He announced it with a shrug of his broad shoulders, almost as if he were discussing the weather, but his red, friendly eyes immediately grew dark with a look of pure disgust.

"But that’s not even the main issue here," he growled, the playfulness vanishing instantly. "How can a beastman we helped dare to call her a monster? After she stood as a wall between you and the Martens? After she bled to ensure your kits could wake up this morning?"

The villagers flinched as if his words were physical blows. Gram, still pressed into the dirt, let out a pathetic whimper of shame.

"The next time one of you opens your mouth to insult her," Fenric continued, stepping over to the female rabbit who was still shaking on the ground, "...make sure you remember what monsters actually do. We aren’t your pets, and we aren’t your ’monsters.’ We are simply travelers who will leave your tribe soon. Do not make it so that when we leave, there is nothing left of your tribe. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" They all chorused, though I could feel the tremor in their voices.