Ren woke up to the sensation of something wet and slimy slapping against her face.
"Gah!" She bolted upright, flailing. "I'm up! The soufflé didn't collapse!"
She wasn't in a kitchen. She was in a cave. The wet thing definitely wasn't a failed dessert.
It was a tongue.
A dead, purple tongue hung from the mouth of a bloody pheasant, which someone had placed on her chest like a creepy bouquet.
"Oh, gross," Ren gagged, shoving the bird away. It landed in the dust with a wet thud.
She looked around. Kael, her source of warmth, was gone. The spot next to her in the hay was still warm, and when Ren squinted, she saw a dent in the grass that looked a lot like a tiger-sized butt print.
[System Notification: Good Morning, Host. The Alpha has gone on a border patrol. He left you a 'Love Gift'.]
"This is a love gift?" Ren pointed at the bird carcass. "It's a health code violation."
[In Beast culture, providing food is a marriage proposal. Congratulations, you are engaged.]
"I'm not marrying a man who thinks raw poultry counts as a bouquet," Ren muttered as she stood up and stretched. Her back cracked three times. "I need a chiropractor. And coffee. I'd do anything for an espresso."
She picked up her frying pan and the dead bird (holding it by the very tip of its wing). If she was going to survive here, she needed calories.
She was just about to pluck the feathers when a shadow blocked the cave entrance.
"You."
The voice was sharp, high-pitched, and dripping with venom.
Ren looked up. The Amazonian woman from yesterday stood in the entrance. Up close, she was even more intimidating...at least six feet tall, with thighs strong enough to crush a watermelon and a deer-skin bikini that barely fit.
Ren had heard whispers yesterday that her name was Vara. She was the tribe's 'Beauty Queen'.
Vara marched into the cave, her nose wrinkled in disgust. She held a large, jagged stone spear.
"You are still here," Vara sneered, looking Ren up and down. "I thought Kael would have eaten you by now. Or thrown you out for being useless."
Ren sighed. 'Of course. The high school bully type. Even in the Stone Age, mean girls never change.'
"Good morning to you too," Ren said cheerfully, setting the bird down. "I'd invite you in for tea, but we're fresh out of cups. And civilization."
Vara narrowed her eyes. She didn't get the words, but she caught the tone. "Disrespect," Vara hissed. She stepped closer, looming over Ren. "I am the strongest female in the White Tiger Clan. I can hunt my own prey. I can bear strong cubs. Kael was supposed to choose me this mating season."
She poked Ren's shoulder with a sharp fingernail.
"Look at you. No fur. No claws. You smell like... plants. If Kael tries to mate with you, he will split you in half."
Ren flinched. Honestly, that was a fair point.
"Thanks for the anatomy lesson," Ren deadpanned, slapping Vara's hand away. "But unless you're here to help me pluck this chicken, get out of my kitchen."
Vara looked at the dead pheasant. Her eyes widened.
"That is a Razor-Beak Pheasant," Vara gasped. "Those are hard to catch. Kael gave this to you?"
Jealousy twisted Vara's face. She kicked the bird, sending it sliding across the dirt.
"He is wasting food on a pet!" Vara shrieked. "You don't even know how to eat it! You probably can't even tear the throat out!"
"I don't tear throats," Ren said calmly, picking the bird up and dusting it off. "I deconstruct."
She pulled out her knife. The stainless steel blade glinted in the morning light.
Vara paused. She had never seen metal before. It looked like silver ice.
Ren ignored her and got to work. She made an incision, skinned the bird, and gutted it in less than thirty seconds. It was quick, messy, and a little scary.
She tossed the guts into a corner.
"Sanitation," Ren muttered.
She turned to Vara, knife still in hand. "You were saying?"
Vara stepped back, eyeing the shiny blade, but her pride kept her from leaving.
"A sharp rock doesn't make you strong," Vara spat. "You think you can stay here? Kael is an Alpha. He needs a female who can handle his... heat."
Vara smirked, a cruel, suggestive look. "When the Mating Fever fully hits him in three days, he will lose his mind again. He won't be gentle. He will need a real female. Not a toy."
She reached into her loincloth. Ren tensed, expecting a weapon, but Vara pulled out a handful of dried, black berries.
"Here," Vara said, her voice turning falsely sweet. She threw the berries at Ren's feet. "Eat these. They are 'Sweet-Dreams'. They will make you sleep. When Kael comes back and sees you sleeping while he is hungry, he will realize you are lazy and throw you out."
[System Alert: Item Detected – 'Rot-Gut Berries'. Toxic. Causes violent diarrhea and vomiting for 24 hours. Intended to humiliate the Host.]
Ren stared at the berries. Then she looked at Vara.
'Oh, so, you want to play dirty?' Ren smiled. It was the smile she used when a customer sent back a perfectly cooked steak.
"Thank you, Vara," Ren said sweetly. "But I'm already cooking. Why don't you stay? I'll make you a special dish."
"I do not eat your burnt trash," Vara scoffed.
"Suit yourself."
Ren lit the fire. She chopped the pheasant meat into bite-sized chunks. She threw them into the hot skillet with the bacon fat left over from yesterday.
Sizzle.
The smell hit the air instantly. Savory poultry, salty fat, and the 'Starter Spice Kit' she had unlocked. She sprinkled black pepper and cumin over the meat.
The smell was strong. It hit Vara right in the nose.
The tiger woman froze. Her nostrils flared, and even though she hated it, her mouth started to water. She couldn't help it.
Ren tossed the meat, letting the flames lick the pan. "Are you sure? It's very tender."
Vara swallowed hard. Her stomach let out a treacherous growl.
"I..." Vara wavered.
Suddenly, a massive shadow fell over the cave entrance.
The temperature in the room dropped.
"What is happening here?"
Kael stood there, back in his human form, wearing a leather loincloth and with sweat-damp hair. He carried a huge dead boar over one shoulder, like a soldier with a knapsack.
He looked at Ren. Then he looked at Vara. His golden eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
"Vara," Kael rumbled, his voice vibrating with irritation. "Why are you in my cave?"
Vara straightened up, puffing out her chest to maximize her cleavage. "Alpha! I came to warn you! This weakling... she is lazy! She was sleeping when the sun was high! And look!" She pointed at the berries on the floor. "She tried to feed me poison berries!"
Ren's jaw dropped. 'Unbelievable.'
Kael looked at the berries. He sniffed the air.
He dropped the boar. THUD.
He walked past Vara as if she didn't exist and went straight to Ren.
He wrapped a massive arm around Ren's waist and buried his face in her neck, inhaling deeply.
"You smell like cumin," Kael groaned, biting gently on her earlobe. "It is making me crazy."
Ren stiffened, her face heating up.
Kael turned his head slowly to look at Vara. He kept holding Ren, and even pulled her closer, lifting her feet off the ground so she dangled against his chest.
"Vara," Kael said, his voice bored. "Get out. You are blocking the air flow."
Vara's face crumpled. "But Alpha! She is—"
"She is cooking," Kael cut her off. He plucked a piece of hot pheasant meat right out of the sizzling pan with his bare fingers and popped it into his mouth.
He chewed. He swallowed. He shuddered with pleasure.
"And her food," Kael growled, staring directly at Vara, "tastes better than you ever could."
Ren choked. "Oh my god, phrasing!"
Vara let out a humiliated screech, turned on her heel, and ran out of the cave.
Ren watched her go, then looked up at the massive man nuzzling her neck.
"Did you just tell her my food taste better than her?" Ren asked.
Kael licked a drop of grease off Ren's collarbone.
"I haven't tasted you yet," he whispered, his hand sliding dangerously low on her hip. "But I plan to find out after breakfast."
[System Notification: Bond Level Increased to 10%.][Quest: 'The Rival's Humiliation' Complete. Reward: 1x Soap Bar (Rose Scented).]
Ren sighed. "Can I at least eat the bird before you try to eat me?"
Kael considered it. "Fine. But feed me first."