The Spoilt Beauty And Her Beasts

So Isabella said very sweetly, "Because of that, you should stay."

Zara’s fingers tightened under her sleeve.

She had no choice now.

If she refused again, it would become noticeable.

So she lowered her head and said, "Then I will stay."

The meal was arranged soon after.

They all moved into one of the warmer inner rooms where the fire had already been fed properly. The beast world feeling of the place was everywhere. Thick furs covered the seating areas, heavy stone walls held the warmth, and the scent of roasted food, herbs, damp snow, and warm bodies mingled together in a way that belonged only to such homes.

As always, Isabella sat in the center of where her males naturally formed around her.

That part happened so often now that nobody thought it strange anymore. They simply moved by instinct. Kian took his place nearest with that cold lion king presence of his. Cyrus stayed at Isabella’s other side, still too attentive to her comfort to be normal. Osiris lingered close, restless but deeply alert, and Zyran placed himself where he could watch everything while pretending he was there only because his beauty improved the room.

None of them invited Zara closer.

And Kian did not even glance at her.

That hurt her more than it should have.

It truly did.

Because she had stayed with one hidden hope in her chest that perhaps she would at least be noticed, perhaps Kian’s eyes would land on her, perhaps she would catch his attention for one moment in the warm firelight.

Instead, he did not look at her at all.

Not once.

That made jealousy twist through her chest so sharply that even sitting still became difficult.

Isabella noticed.

Of course she noticed.

But she said nothing.

She simply let herself be settled more comfortably while Cyrus adjusted the furs around her and Kian checked the angle of the seat without even thinking about it. That silent teamwork between them was enough to make Zara hate them both a little more.

Then the food was brought.

Bowls were placed.

Steam rose softly.

The smell filled the room.

The moment the bowl was placed before Isabella, the smell of warm soup rose up in soft white curls and drifted into the room so gently that even the people who were not truly hungry still looked over.

It smelled good.

Very good.

The broth had that rich warm smell that settled into a person’s chest, and the meat inside had already softened enough that even looking at it made the mouth grow greedy. The fire nearby crackled softly, the snow outside still fell in quiet flakes, and for one brief moment, the whole room looked peaceful enough that nobody would have guessed how quickly peace usually ran away from this house.

Then Glimora ruined that peace first.

The little white beast had been sitting near Isabella with the kind of false dignity only shameless creatures could manage. The moment the bowl arrived, however, her ears lifted, her body straightened, and her eyes locked onto the soup with such open desire that Isabella did not even need to look twice to know what was happening in that little head.

She wanted food.

Again.

Always again.

Isabella looked down at her and narrowed her eyes. "Do not even start."

Glimora blinked once.

Then she blinked again.

Her face still looked perfectly innocent, but the very tip of her tail had already begun tapping the floor in small excited beats, which completely destroyed the innocent act.

Osiris noticed first and immediately leaned a little closer to look.

Then he said, with full seriousness, "She is pretending."

That made Luca cough into his hand.

Shelia had to lower her face because her smile was already trying to escape.

Even Kian’s cold mouth moved very slightly, though only Isabella saw it.

Glimora turned and looked at Osiris with pure offense, as if asking how dare he expose her business in public.

Zyran clicked his tongue from the side and folded his arms. "Unbelievable. Even the beast gets fed before me in this house."

His tone was so naturally wronged that if a stranger had walked in, they might truly have thought he had not eaten in days.

Osiris turned to him at once and said very honestly, "That is because she is cuter than you."

For one full second, the room went quiet.

Then Luca let out a snort he could not hold in.

Shelia’s shoulders immediately began shaking.

Valen looked away.

Even Ophelia laughed before she could stop herself.

Zyran stared at Osiris with disbelief written all over his face. "You truly looked at me and chose cruelty."

Osiris looked completely calm. "I chose truth."

That made the whole room lose whatever little dignity it had left.

Isabella laughed too, and the sound of it made Cyrus’s face soften at once because whenever she laughed like that, something inside him settled in a very helpless way. He might still act calm on the outside, but everybody who knew him well enough could already see it. If Isabella smiled, Cyrus became gentler. If Isabella laughed, Cyrus became weaker. It was a very simple and very embarrassing truth.

Glimora, meanwhile, seeing everybody distracted, slowly lifted one paw and placed it against Isabella’s leg as if to remind her that the truly important matter had not yet been addressed.

The food.

Isabella looked down at her and almost laughed again.

"You have no shame."

Glimora did not even try to deny it.

Instead, she sat straighter and looked up at Isabella with the bright shameless eyes of a beast who had already decided she would absolutely be getting some no matter what happened next.

Seeing that face, Osiris pointed at Glimora and said, "Look. She knows how to ask properly. Zyran should learn from her."

Zyran looked offended at once. "I know how to ask properly."

Luca muttered, "You know how to beg dramatically."

That made Ophelia laugh harder.

Even Cyrus smiled.

The room felt warm for that one small stretch of time. The fire was steady, the food smelled rich, the snow outside made the walls feel even safer somehow, and the people gathered there looked almost ordinary if a person ignored the tails, ears, claws, scales, fur, and the fact that half of them could kill something with their bare hands.

Then Isabella’s eyes lifted.

And she noticed it again.

Mira.

Or rather, Zara.

She was glancing at her.

Not once.

Not twice.

Again.

And again.

The glances were quick, but they were not quick enough.

At first, Isabella thought perhaps she was imagining it because the room was full and the firelight shifted strangely over people’s faces. But no. The healer’s eyes really did keep drifting toward her bowl, then toward her face, then away again too quickly, as if she were trying to look without being caught.

That alone was enough to make Isabella’s amusement cool.

Because people who had nothing to hide did not look like that.

People who meant well did not keep watching another person’s hand before they even touched the food.

The smile on Isabella’s lips faded just a little.

Not enough for everybody else to notice.

Only enough for those who always watched her too closely.

Cyrus saw the change at once, though he said nothing yet.

Kian’s gaze also flickered toward her for one short second.

Even Glimora, who had been busy being greedy, seemed to feel something in the air and stilled near Isabella’s feet.

And then, without changing her expression, Isabella called in her mind, "Bubu," she said silently, keeping her face calm and sweet, "scan the food."

The system answered at once.

{Scanning.}

For one short moment, Isabella’s heart beat harder.

She did not know yet.

She only suspected.

Then Bubu’s voice returned.

{Yes. Poison detected.}

The world inside Isabella’s chest went still.

She did not move.

She did not blink for one full second.

Then Bubu added quickly, {It is not the type that takes effect at once. It is delayed. It begins to damage the body in around twenty-four hours.}

For one terrifying moment, Isabella felt a coldness run through her body despite the fire and the warmth around her.

Not because she was scared for herself alone.

But because she was carrying children.