The girl was flustered when confronted with the question, but she didn’t look scared. Instead, she stared at her king with awe, as if gazing at an unreachable star.
Kael had been the Beast King for so ti now, yet he was still unaccustod to being looked at with such naked admiration, especially after spending most of his life hiding from others and avoiding their attention.
Thus, he raised his voice.
"If you have nothing to say, then leave!"
"Ah—!" the girl shrieked, startled by the hostility. She quickly lowered her gaze and knelt. "M-My King, my na is Ruela. I was tasked with delivering a gift from my pack!"
"A gift?" Vestor echoed in surprise.
This was the first ti anyone had ever presented the king with a gift. Kael had never wanted anything from his subjects. Most of the ti, he distributed whatever loot he gained to strengthen his kingdom, ensuring it grew rapidly and beca powerful enough to strike fear and gain respect into others, the sa fear and respect that would one day extend to Jojo as well.
An unsolicited gift from a beautiful young woman was indeed a shock to both Kael and Vestor.
"Yes!" Ruela pulled a small item wrapped in a leaf from her satchel and held it out. When she removed the wrapping, a beautiful violet gemstone was revealed. "M-My pack has been working in the northwest, foraging for sothing worthy of you, My King. This is what we found. I-I believe it’s called an athyst, a rare gemstone!"
Naturally, Kael had no fondness for adorning himself with gemstones. Such things were for vain kings and won.
Worse still, sothing so fragile could easily be destroyed in the battlefield where he spent most of his ti in.
Yet his gaze lingered on the gem.
Its color was strikingly similar to the eyes of his fated mate in his dreams.
Violet—deep and luminous beneath the moonlight, just like the athyst now resting in Ruela’s palm.
Once again, the gemstone, sothing he normally cared nothing for, stirred mories of the warmth in his fated mate’s gaze, the way they once looked at each other beneath the night sky.
Yes, he hated her for tornting him in his dreams.
But he could not let go of that warmth.
He was like a drowning man, clinging to the very thing that might save him.
In Kael’s heart, he knew that if she were to look at him with that sa gentle gaze even once more, he would forgive her instantly.
"Young lady, your gift is very... thoughtful. But our King does not need a gemstone. He—" Vestor abruptly stopped when Kael stepped forward and transford into his beastman form.
Ruela remained kneeling, her head lowered obediently. When Kael didn’t reject the offering outright, she let out a small breath of relief.
"I’ll accept your offering," Kael said, taking the athyst.
He motioned for Vestor to bring his cloak and draped it over his shoulders. Then, he pinned the athyst to it.
The simple, slightly tattered black cloak was instantly elevated by the violet gem. The change was subtle, yet it gave him a regal presence one befitting a true king.
When Ruela lifted her head, she was t with a warm gaze from the Beast King.
Kael was looking at the athyst, his lips curling into a faint smile as he gently caressed the gemstone.
Ruela didn’t know what he was thinking. But in that mont, it felt as though his gaze, and his smile, were directed at her.
As if he were satisfied with her.
She held her breath, her heart skipping a beat.
She knew the Beast King was handso, but he was infamous for being terrifying. He was like an untouchable monster ant to be worshipped, never approached.
But now... that image cracked.
When the Beast King smiled, it felt as though the frost surrounding him slowly lted away, revealing a charming man beneath—a man many won would thirst after.
And Ruela... was not immune.
’Is he looking at because he’s starting to like ?’ she wondered.
She tried to deny it, but faced with his smile, her doubts lted away.
’That must be it. The Beast King likes . He... actually likes ...’
The realization left her dazed.
She had only co because the elders had ordered her to, believing that the Beast King, though hostile, would at least not kill a beautiful girl who trespassed upon his summit.
She admired him, yes, but she had never imagined he might smile at her like this.
"Your thoughtful gift pleases ," Kael said. "Tell , what reward do you desire?"
Ruela snapped out of her daze and shook her head. "I-I was only here to deliver the gift, My King. I have no other wishes."
Of course, what she wanted was to remain by his side. Even as a concubine, she wouldn’t mind.
She had heard the rumors that the Beast King already had a son, and that his fated mate was dead. Becoming his destined one was impossible... but standing beside him wasn’t.
Kael studied her for a long mont, as if weighing sothing in his mind.
Ruela’s cheeks burned under his gaze, her thoughts drifting far from reason.
"What is your na, and which pack do you belong to?" Kael asked.
"I-I am Ruela, of the Silvertooth Pack, My King. I am Jor’s daughter," she replied, ntioning her father, the forr Alpha who had been slain by the Beast King himself.
It was her way of showing she had nothing to hide before absolute power.
Kael humd.
He had been too busy in recent months to dwell on the past, but he rembered Jor well, the first Alpha he had killed.
But it didn’t matter.
Beastn worshipped strength. And since no one in the Silvertooth Pack possessed the power to kill him, any grudge they held—even one carried by Jor’s daughter—was aningless.
But this young woman didn’t seem to bear any grudge in her heart. Kael had thought she would at least resent him for killing her father, yet she looked at him with nothing but awe whenever their eyes t.
In the end, after weighing his options, he made his decision.
"Ruela of the Silvertooth Pack," Kael declared, "from this day forward, you shall be my concubine."
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