Kael didn’t just growl; he let out a "WRRRAAAAGH!!" that felt like a localized earthquake, sending birds screaming from the nearby trees.

"Kael! He’s being polite! Why are you behaving like a territorial guard dog?" Nuan hissed, slapping his furry shoulder. "Get back into your other form. You’re taking up too much oxygen!"

Kael cut his eyes at Nuan’s angry face and, with a sulky poof of smoke, he was suddenly standing there in his human form. He didn’t look any less dangerous, though, as he glared at Aerin with his teeth partially bared.

Aerin watched the transformation with calm, razor-sharp eyes. "I do not intend to get into any trouble with you," he said, his voice as smooth as a high-altitude glide. "But if you start it, I won’t step back either. Let me remind you—I am the apex predator of my dominion as well."

"And now you stand on land!" Kael rumbled, stepping into Aerin’s personal space until they were inches apart. "You depend on the land for your food, your water, and your rest. And on land, I am the apex predator."

The tension was off the charts. Kael was all raw, wild aggression and heat, while Aerin was a wall of silent, dark calmness. It was like a forest fire trying to burn the sky.

Gulp.

’This is a total photoworthy moment, but absolutely not the time!’ Nuan thought.

She dropped her cargo pants and squeezed herself between the two muscular walls of meat. She placed a hand on each of their chests—which felt like pushing against warm granite—and shoved. "Back off! Both of you!"

Kael immediately grabbed the hand she had used to touch Aerin and began licking her palm aggressively, trying to scrub the "eagle scent" off her.

"Haha! Stop it, that tickles!" Nuan giggled, giving Kael a soft smack on his chest. "Enough! No one is fighting here, okay? I’m the one with the broken ankle; I don’t need to be caught in a crossfire of egos!"

Aerin looked down at her, his golden eyes softening slightly. "My apologies again... I was not trying to have a conflict with your..." He paused, his gaze drifting over Kael’s possessive stance. "...pet," he murmured.

Pffft! Nuan nearly choked on her own spit, fighting the urge to burst out laughing.

Behind her, Kael turned a shade of red that suggested his blood was boiling. He launched himself forward, but in the blink of an eye, those majestic obsidian wings snapped open behind Aerin. With a single, powerful downstroke that nearly blew Nuan over, the Sky Tyrant took to the air.

He hovered a few feet up, looking down at Nuan with a lingering, curious gaze. "We will meet again, Human."

Kael snarled, launching himself into the air with a series of powerful vertical jumps, snapping his fangs at the space Aerin had occupied moments before.

"Kael, calm down! What are you even doing? He’s gone!" Nuan shouted, reaching down to finally retrieve her much-abused cargo pants.

Kael watched until Aerin was nothing but a dark speck against the sun. Then, his golden eyes snapped toward Nuan’s back as she bent over.

The blue screen flickered to life directly in front of her face.

[ System Alert: Kael’s Possessiveness increased by 30%, Jealousy by 27%, Anger by 59%. ]

"Hm?" Nuan barely had time to process the math. She was sitting carefully on the grass, trying to protect her ankle, when she felt a sudden rush of air. She glanced over her shoulder just as the Alpha launched himself at her.

"Ack!"

In a blur of motion, he spun her around and pinned her flat against the soft grass. His massive hands gripped her wrists, pinning them above her head, while one of his heavy, muscular legs wedged itself firmly between hers.

Her breath hitched at the sudden impact. "Kael... what is this behavior? This is a serious breach of the ’no-touching’ protocol!"

He let out a jagged gulp, his chest rumbling like a distant storm. He buried his face in the crook of her neck, sniffing her aggressively before dragging that sandpaper tongue across her skin. A soft, trembling moan escaped her before she could stifle it.

"Kael..."

She tried to wrench her wrists free, but trying to move Kael was like trying to move a mountain that had decided to take a nap on her. His huge head slowly lowered down, sniffing at her chest with primal intensity.

"Kael! Whatever you are up to is highly illegal! Get off!" she snapped, though her heart was drumming a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

To her surprise, the aggression suddenly vanished. Kael didn’t bite or snap; he simply let his heavy head drop onto her chest, dead-weight.

"Ugh!!! Are you trying to suffocate me? Is this the new tactic? Since when did wolves stop snapping necks and start using ’The Pillow Method’?"

But he just stayed there, pressing his head against her, snuggling into her like she was the only stable thing in the world. His tail, thick and heavy, began to sway slowly, brushing against her legs. His hot breath seeped through the fabric of her bra, and his soft wolf ears tickled the underside of her chin.

"You... like... snake... eagle behavior," he rumbled, his voice vibrating through her entire ribcage. "You scold... me... I just... want to... protect you... meek savior."

Nuan’s frustration softened as she felt the slight tremor in his massive frame. She looked down at the silver hair of the Alpha who was currently pouting like a kicked puppy.

"Aww," she whispered, her hands relaxing in his grip. "A jealous puppy. Okay... this is actually kinda adorable."

Kael’s grip on her wrists went slack as Nuan slowly reached up, her fingers finding the soft, sensitive spots behind his wolf ears. She gave them a tentative scratch.

"Ahh... just like that," he murmured, his entire body going limp as he snuggled deeper against her chest.

"Oh, you like that, big boy?" Nuan teased. She upped the ante, scratching his head aggressively and giving him firm, rhythmic pats.

The fierce, territorial Alpha practically melted into a puddle of fur and muscle on top of her, his weight becoming a serious survival challenge for her ribcage.

After a few minutes of providing free spa services, Nuan’s arms began to ache.

"Kael... okay, therapy session over. Can you move now? I’m starting to lose feeling in my extremities. Numbness is setting in... Kael? Hello?"

He didn’t move. She craned her neck to look at his face, only to find his eyes closed and his breathing deep and steady.

"Oi, oi, oi! You have got to be kidding me!"

She tried to shove his shoulder, but it was like trying to push a parked truck. "Kael! This is not a bed! Wake up!"

’Oh no, is this how it ends?’ she thought, staring at the sky above. ’Death by oversized lapdog.’

Suddenly, a loud, guttural, vibrating growl filled the air.

Kael bolted upright, his eyes snapping open and his nostrils flaring as he scanned the treeline. His head was finally off her chest, much to her lungs’ relief.

"Meek savior! what was that?" he hissed, his body tensing for a fight. "Is the Tiger Clan here? Was that a war cry?"

Nuan finally sat up, taking a long, wheezing breath and rubbing her chest to bring the circulation back to life. She glared at him, unimpressed. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"No, you idiot. That wasn’t a tiger," she groaned, clutching her midsection as her stomach let out another thunderous roar.

"That was my stomach. I’m starving! Kael! Feed the human before she eats the wolf!"