Marik’s heart sank when he heard that voice.
It had almost been a year since their last confrontation, and in his mory, this cursed wolf had not yet reached the peak of his power. Back then, his voice hadn’t carried such overwhelming majesty or danger.
In fact, Marik had believed himself stronger than Kael at the ti. Seeing the cursed wolf cornered by his subordinates, forced into the desperate act of throwing Jojo off the cliff, had given the tiger an imnse boost of confidence at that ti.
But now, Kael’s voice resonated with a commanding, regal presence that only a true king could possess. The hostility within it was so intense that Marik’s fur bristled, a shiver running through his spine.
Even so, Marik knew he couldn’t back down.
Not while Sisi and Jojo were still with him.
He lifted his head and stared straight at the monster standing before him.
The first thing Marik noticed was Kael’s crimson eyes, gleaming with a dangerous glint as they looked down at him. There was no trace of kindness left in that handso face, only fury and bloodlust of a savage animal.
Currently, Kael regarded Marik as one would look at a piece of dead at.
Of course he would never spare this tiger. After separating him from Jojo once, the sa damned beast had now kidnapped his son again, perhaps even tortured him. Kael would not let this go easily.
He would break this tiger’s bones slowly. Skin him with his own hands. Then display his head and fur before the entire kingdom as a warning to anyone who dared lay a hand on his son.
However, his attention abruptly shifted towards the human woman who sat astride the tiger’s back, cradling Jojo against her chest. She had wrapped the little wolf cub tightly in a pelt, holding him close with unmistakable protectiveness.
Kael pondered.
Was this an act of care, ant to keep his son warm?
Or a cruel restraint to prevent Jojo from escaping?
The Beast King’s gaze shifted to Sisi, and her breath hitched instantly.
And yet, Kael’s breath also caught—for a reason he did not expect.
This woman... was beautiful.
Objectively so. Far more than the concubine he had recently chosen in his kingdom, by an overwhelming margin.
Despite her flushed cheeks and cracked lips from the cold, her eyes were clear and alert, filled with wariness as they t his gaze. Kael had never seen anyone so striking. Even he knew that a single smile from her would resemble warm sunlight enough to soften any man’s heart.
She was too beautiful and unbearably so.
Yet he wasn’t sure how she compared to the fated mate he saw in his dreams, whose face he could never rember upon waking.
Strangely, her beauty made him feel uneasy.
As though sothing dangerous and contemptuous lurked behind those eyes, as if she were silently mocking him. The sensation made him want to avert his gaze, an instinct he found deeply improper.
Since becoming the Beast King, Kael had always been the one looking down on others. Yet this woman’s guarded stare filled him with an inexplicable sense of sha and gave him an urge to retreat into his cave and never erge again.
The revulsion startled him. He recoiled for the briefest mont before hardening his heart and lowering his gaze, focusing instead on the small figure bundled in the pelt.
"Co out, Jojo," Kael said. "Daddy’s here."
Jojo had been quietly sobbing ever since Sisi refused to stop traveling, terrified that she would grow too cold to breathe, then freeze to death.
His body trembled, his heart aching from cold, though he couldn’t tell whether it was from the blizzard or from fear of losing her.
Then Uncle Marik abruptly stopped.
And Jojo heard a voice he knew.
He peeked out from the pelt, eyes widening at the man standing before them.
In an instant, all the cold he had felt throughout the journey lted away, replaced by overwhelming relief. He knew this man would do anything to keep Sisi warm, so long as Jojo asked.
"DADDY!!"
Hope surged through him, and Jojo struggled to leap out of Sisi’s arms and throw himself at his father.
It had been almost a year. Though he was happy with Sisi, he had missed his father terribly. Sotis he dread of him, and after a long ti, Jojo had truly believed his father had died after fighting ten tigers alone.
But just as he was about to jump, Sisi tightened her hold on him, harder than ever before.
"Ah! Sisi, it’s okay!" Jojo exclaid. "That’s my Daddy! We’re saved now!"
He smiled at her, assuming she was only uncertain because his father was said to have a nacing look by others. "Didn’t I tell you he wouldn’t die? Now we can be together, Sisi! My Daddy is really good. He’ll hunt lots of deer for you!"
Of course, Sisi rembered what Jojo had told her.
That his father was kind, gentle, and a skilled hunter. That life would be safer once they reunited.
But looking at the man before her, dread coiled in her chest, making her chest tighten for each second they were staring at each other.
Despite his handso appearance, Sisi could sense that he was far too powerful, far too dangerous. His crimson eyes carried a dreadful on that made her want to look away out of pure instinct.
They reminded her of a human king she had once seen during a parade—majestic, yet filled with the cruelty of a tyrant.
She felt no warmth from him at all.
So when Jojo tried to leave her embrace, she instinctively held him tighter, afraid he would be hurt, or worse, killed the mont the boy approached this man.
"Sisi, let go. It’s okay," Jojo said earnestly. "My Daddy looks scary, but he’s gentle. Right—"
He turned to look at his father again—
And froze.
His father’s once-obsidian eyes were now glowing crimson, like those of a demon that ca from the boy’s nightmare.
"—Daddy?"
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