Chapter 68: The Alpha Who Understood Her Pride
Some time passed in the dim, quiet den. Nuan initially wanted to resist Kael’s suffocating warmth, but her body was simply too weak and exhausted to push him away.
Subconsciously, amidst the cramping, the bleeding, and the emotional vulnerability of her period, her body desperately craved the heavy, grounded closeness he was offering.
She sobbed quietly until her eyes grew heavy, finally drifting off into a deep, exhausted sleep against his broad chest.
Kael didn’t say a single word, nor did he move an inch. He remained perfectly still, letting her rest completely against him while his head stayed anchored on her shoulder.
Feeling the cool, dried tracks on her skin, he leaned in and gently licked her tear-stained cheek, acting on pure, protective instinct.
Nuan stirred slightly in her sleep, frowning as she wiped her cheek and aggressively rubbed her nose, which had started leaking from all the crying.
Kael quickly pulled his tongue back in, his ears twitching. What should I use to clean this? Oh, right... Nuan uses leaves.
Reaching out carefully with his good hand, Kael swiped a few large, clean leaves that had fallen near his sand bed.
He gently wiped her nose and the skin around her lips where the moisture had spread, handling her with an absurd amount of care for a brute Alpha.
Feeling the soothing movement, Nuan subconsciously snuggled deeper against his chest.
Her sudden shift in weight pressed directly against his heavily injured shoulder, sending a sharp spike of agony through his joint. Kael winced, his jaw clenching tightly, but he forcefully held back his whining.
He refused to pull away. Instead, he carefully adjusted his good arm to guide her head until it was resting comfortably against his uninjured shoulder.
He stared down at her quiet, sleeping face in the darkness. His mind kept playing back her words from morning—how she had called him cute after he kissed her.
A small, goofy warmth bloomed in his chest. Leaning down, he planted another soft, dry kiss right against her cheek.
"Gasp!!! Sorry, Brother!"
Lyra and Tala’s flustered voices suddenly shattered the quiet of the cave. Standing at the mouth of the den, the two sisters instantly whipped around, their faces turning bright red. "We... we will come back later!" Lyra squeaked.
"It is not what it looks like. She is asleep," Kael whispered sharply, his voice low and commanding, making sure not to jostle Nuan.
Hearing that the Witch was dead to the world, the two sisters carefully peeked over their shoulders. Seeing Nuan completely tucked into Kael’s embrace and snoozing peacefully, they let out a quiet breath.
"Brother..." they both murmured, turning around completely to face him, their tails tucked low in genuine submission.
"We are sorry for what we did to the Witch," Lyra said, her voice cracking slightly with real remorse.
"We are truly ashamed of our behavior," Tala murmured, looking down at the dirt floor of the den.
"Don’t apologize to me," Kael whispered, his voice dropping into a cold, quiet rumble that carried the full weight of an Alpha’s disappointment. "You hurt Nuan. I won’t forgive you until she forgives the two of you."
"We... we will do everything to make up with the Witch!" Lyra said quickly, her voice trembling.
"Yes! We will take whatever punishment she gives us!" Tala added, nodding frantically.
Lyra looked at her brother’s rigid posture, her ears pinning back completely. "Brother... are you truly angry with us?"
"I’m angry," Kael whispered, his golden eyes flashing in the darkness of the den. "Not just because you hurt Nuan... but because you didn’t learn anything from my actions. When you two were little pups, I used to hunt alone. Later, the other young ones started hunting together, bringing back large meat for the pack."
He tightened his good arm around Nuan, keeping her steady against his chest. "But I never let any of them ever feel smaller when they couldn’t contribute to a hunt, or when they brought back nothing. Even when the two of you spent many, many months just learning how to hunt simple rabbits! I never made anyone feel bad for taking a large portion of the meat."
He looked down at his sisters, his voice dripping with heavy reproach. "I hunted more to feed the young ones, the elders, and you two, who were still not good at hunting. But today, you made Nuan get up from food because of your words. I am not happy with your actions. Leave."
Lyra and Tala’s eyes instantly teared up. They opened their mouths, desperately wanting to apologize again, but the words choked in their throats. Feeling the crushing weight of their brother’s absolute disapproval, they turned and quietly left the den, their tails tucked deeply between their legs.
"So..." Nuan’s scratchy voice suddenly cut through the heavy silence of the den. "You’re not angry because they hurt me?"
Kael looked down in surprise, his eyes widening as Nuan peeked up at him, opening one tired eye.
"You’re awake?" Kael asked, his voice instantly softening.
"Yeah. Even when you whisper, your voice rumbles like a literal thunderstorm inside my skull," Nuan grumbled, shifting her head slightly.
"I’m sorry," Kael whispered, trying to speak from his throat instead of his chest.
"I’m awake now, you can stop whispering. And seriously, don’t be sorry for trivial things," Nuan murmured, wiping a hand across her face.
"No, I am sorry for what they did to you," Kael insisted, his brow furrowing as he held her tight.
"Yeah? Well, they’re your family. Of course you’re not going to be truly angry with them," Nuan said, her voice dripping with defensive bitterness as her pride flared back up.
"That is not true!" Kael growled softly, his grip tightening just a fraction. "I am angry because they made you feel bad. They made you feel like you eat without doing anything for us. They are wrong! You saved my life, you brought us the red evil, you protected us—"
"I don’t care," Nuan cut him off firmly, her jaw setting into a stubborn line as she stared into the dark cave wall. "I’m not going to eat a single bite of what is hunted by this pack from now on."
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