Under the sunlight, the young male's pale yellow hair seemed to glow. His starry eyes gazed silently at the slender figure for a long, long time.
The male beside him thought he had struck a chord. He threw an arm around Tyler's shoulders. "Why don't you just find someone else to like?
"Look at you. You're from the Golden Dragon Clan. You're a noble Dragon Beast, incredibly strong, and handsome too. You can have any young female you want. Why get hung up on just one?"
Tyler shook his head. "Without her, I will never love anyone else."
From a young age, the Clan Leader had appointed him as Ophelia's Guardian and future mate. It had been love at first sight; from the moment he first laid eyes on her, he knew he could never let her go.
"Besides, she's different now," he added.
The vibrant, delicate Princess who shone like a little sun seemed to be returning. Perhaps... he might actually live to see the day she finally looked back at him.
The other Golden Dragon male sighed helplessly. "Good luck."
Outside the stone house of the Golden Dragon Clan Leader, a fair-skinned, slender young female stood anxiously at the doorway, constantly peering into the distance. Her racing heart finally settled only when two figures came into view.
"Leon, they're here!" Joy flushed the young female's fair face. She lifted her animal-hide skirt and hurried forward to greet them.
"Rebecca, slow down before you trip." A tall male quickly stepped forward, scooping her into his arms. Carrying her, he walked with steady strides toward the two approaching figures.
"Mother!"
"Ophelia, my darling daughter, you've finally come home." Tears instantly welled up in Rebecca's beautiful eyes.
Seeing her mother like this, Ophelia felt a lump in her throat, the corners of her own eyes reddening.
"Mother, I was wrong. I should have listened to you. Please forgive me, okay?" She threw her arms around her mother, weeping like a child, as if trying to pour out two lifetimes' worth of grievances through her tears.
"Don't cry, my sweet girl. I'm not angry. As long as you are safe and sound, I can accept anything." Ignoring her own falling tears, Rebecca gently wiped the wet cheeks of the young woman in her arms.
"Mother..." Ophelia murmured hoarsely, taking in her mother's soothing floral scent.
"That's enough. Stop making your mother cry, or you'd have been better off not coming back at all." Displeasure tinged the male's steady voice.
"Father, you're so mean."
Hearing her father, Ophelia straightened up and gave a slight pout. She knew full well that in her father's heart, her mother would always come first.
Rebecca shot a playful glare at her mate, pinching his sturdy arm with her soft hand. "Leon, don't you dare bully Ophelia. If you do, you'll be sleeping outside tonight."
The tall male, who always maintained a stern and imposing demeanor before their clansmen, immediately threw his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, it's my fault. I shouldn't have snapped at her. I just hate seeing you upset."
"Hmph." Rebecca took her daughter's hand and gently led her toward the stone house.
Left behind, the two males—who bore striking similarities in their facial features—exchanged fond, helpless smiles.
"My daughter, you've lost so much weight. Was that Wolf Beast too incompetent to feed you properly?" Looking at her daughter's sharpened chin, Rebecca's eyes filled with heartache.
Ophelia smiled. It was a classic case of a mother's overprotective nature—you were only ever "too thin" or "too cold" if your mother decided you were.
"It's nothing like that. I'm doing perfectly fine now. Tyler has been taking good care of me, so you can rest easy."
At the mention of Tyler, Rebecca's worry eased slightly. "He's a good young male. He's always liked you. It's just a pity you signed a Sole Mate Contract and can't partner with him."
The thought of her daughter being tricked by a Wolf Beast into signing a Sole Mate Contract made Rebecca's heart clench in pain. Having lived for so many years, she was all too familiar with the deep-rooted flaws of males.
Once a male believed a female could not live without him, he would treat her as his property, assuming she could never escape his grasp—and thus, he would stop cherishing her.
This was why polyandry was so common among the young females of the Beast World. Aside from the necessity of surviving in such a highly dangerous environment, the competition between multiple mates was the key to securing a female's happiness.
Competition bred rivalry. If one male treated a female well, another would try to treat her even better. The one who failed to keep up was destined to be eliminated.
A sole mate was entirely different. If either party refused, the contract could not be fully dissolved.
"You don't need to feel sorry for me, Mother. I'll be breaking my mate bond with Loki very soon. Once I do, I plan to take Tyler as my mate."
Whether out of genuine affection or profound gratitude, she was determined to give Tyler an official status.
"Are you really breaking your bond with Loki?" Leon asked, his thick eyebrows knitting together. "Has he agreed to it?"
Laxus scoffed coldly. He leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. "If he doesn't agree, I'll beat him until he does."
"Don't worry, Father. He will break the bond with me," Ophelia assured them.
Seeing the serious expression on her face, Leon finally believed that she truly intended to end things with the Wolf Beast.
Laxus glanced out the door from the corner of his eye, a profoundly meaningful smirk curling his lips.
Outside, the male who had been standing there for quite some time felt his heart nearly burst when he heard the young female say she would take him as her mate. He couldn't find the words to describe how he felt in that moment. He thought that even if he were asked to die right then and there, he would do so willingly.
Holding his breath, Tyler quietly stepped away, not wanting to disturb the family's conversation.
"Oh, by the way, Father," Ophelia continued, "I've heard some elders in the tribe mention that the clouds have been unusually thick lately. They fear this year's rainy season will be particularly brutal. We need to make preparations early."
It was true that some elderly beastmen, having lived through countless seasons, could accurately read the weather. It was an invaluable skill born of a lifetime of experience.
Leon's expression grew solemn. "The elders of the Golden Dragon Clan have warned of the same thing. That's why I had your brother lead a team to build several stone houses on the high slopes near the tribe. If the rains do get out of hand, we'll evacuate the young females and little beastmen up there."
"That's a good plan. It would be best to build a few more, just to be safe if things take a turn for the worse."
Mentioning the stone houses reminded Ophelia that she also needed a place to store her prey. She could use it as a cover, disguising it as a granary, which would save her the trouble of parading baskets of rice through the Snow Wolf Clan.
"Brother, could you build a stone house on the mountain for me, too?" she asked.
"You already have a home here with the Golden Dragon Clan. Why do you need another one on the mountain?" Laxus asked.
Rebecca immediately grew anxious. "Are you not going to move back with us?"
Seeing the tears threatening to spill from her mother's eyes again, Ophelia immediately swallowed whatever she was about to say.
She hurriedly shook her head. "No, no, that's not it! It's just that I traded my rice for a massive amount of prey. If I keep all that meat in my own stone house, the smell will be unbearable. Plus, I don't want Loki and his friends plotting to steal it. I just figured building a storage house on the mountain would be more convenient."
Leon had heard about his daughter trading rice at the market and knew she had hauled back three hundred carcasses of prey today.
Though he had no idea where she had gotten her hands on so much rice, he didn't pry. If his daughter didn't want to explain, they wouldn't force her.
If any trouble arose from it, the Golden Dragon Clan would simply shoulder the burden. Surely he, the mighty Clan Leader of the Golden Dragon Clan, was capable of protecting his own daughter.
Gazing fondly at his precious daughter, whose features so closely resembled those of his beloved mate, warmth filled Leon's heart.