The sun blazed overhead, relentless and unforgiving.
Aiden stared at the bag of seeds Lukas had handed him the day before. He knew they were useless. Sabotaged beyond hope. Planting them would be a waste of time. But He can't give up. He needed a plan.
Then it struck him, no one else knew the seeds were dead. If the truth came out, Lukas's reputation would crumble. Aiden weighed his options. He could expose Lukas slowly, letting the truth unravel piece by piece. Or he could quietly replace the seeds with healthy ones. Lukas wouldn't dare object, doing so would mean admitting his deceit.
Aiden sat with the dilemma, knowing Lukas would be ready for any move he made. After a long, silent deliberation, he chose a third path: plant the dead seeds as expected, but also search the wild for good ones. Let Lukas think he'd won, for now.
He knelt and began preparing the soil. This wasn't just a test of growth, it was a test of resolve.
From a distance, Sera watched him.
Guilt eating her inside. Their first encounter had been tense, and she regretted how things had unfolded. They didn't even know each other's names, yet the air between them was already thick with misunderstanding.
She took a breath and stepped forward, determined to make things right.
"You look troubled," she said gently. "I'm Phoebe. I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I'd like to start over, maybe be friends?"
She extended her hand for a handshake, which Aiden isn't familiar of.
Aiden looked up, surprised. Her voice was softer than he remembered. He studied her hand, unsure, then smiled.
"Aiden," he replied. "I think I came on a bit strong. Sorry about that."
He hesitated, then reached out. She clasped his hand and shook it firmly.
"That's how we greet here," she explained with a small smile. "It's a custom we've adopted over the past few years."
Aiden nodded, the tension between them easing. 'Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.' He thought.
"What does shaking hands mean?" Aiden asked, his brow furrowed in quiet curiosity.
In the Beast World, greetings were a matter of hierarchy. Only nobles and royals received formal gestures, everyone else bowed their heads in submission. Refusing to bow wasn't just rude; it was rebellion. There was no space for equality in a greeting, only dominance and deference.
Sera paused, sensing the weight behind his question. She chose her words carefully.
"In our tribe," she began gently, "we created a custom. When you meet someone for the first time, you offer your hand. If they take it, it means peace. It shows you're not hiding a weapon, that you come without a threat."
She shook his hand again one more time.
"It's our way of saying, 'I came in peace.'"
Aiden looked down at their joined hands, the gesture suddenly heavier with meaning. In his world, such a thing would be unthinkable. 'This is actually brilliant!' Aiden thought.
As their hands parted, a stray thought flickered through Aiden's mind.
'What if the person behind the Leopard tribe's prosperity… was her?'
He dismissed it instantly. 'Impossible'. In the Beast World, females weren't expected to be visionaries. Sewage systems, agricultural reform, housing reconstruction. Those were ideas reserved for councilmen and strategists, not women.
He shook the thought away, almost embarrassed it had surfaced. In his world, women were pampered, protected, and kept far from the fires of politics. Even the strong and wise among them were rarely invited to lead. Most were taught to defer, to listen, to follow.
If only he knew how close he was to the truth.
But that thought would never return. Not in a world where brilliance are believed to stem from masculine face, and power rarely came with a gentle voice.
"Are you starting to plant those seeds?" Sera asked.
"Well I have to start early if I want them to grow." Aiden replied. Guilt was starting to grow in Sera's heart, not knowing that Aiden already has a plan.
"I think you should gather new seeds. Let me help you." Sera said.
Aiden didn't want to accept her offer. The test was meant for him, accepting help from someone could be seen as cheating. As a prideful Tiger beast man, he thought he should refuse. It was his fight.
"I appreciate it," he said, forcing a smile, "but I got this."
The words landed wrong.
Sera stiffened. She'd heard that tone before, curt, dismissive, wrapped in politeness like a blade in silk. She'd been turned away too many times, her ideas dismissed before they were heard. Men often ignores her suggestion, as if she threatened the natural order.
That's why she'd worked through Lukas. His voice carried weight. Hers, apparently, did not.
Her jaw tightened. "Well, I hope you can grow those dead seeds," she snapped, the bitterness slipping through before she could stop it. She walked away feeling upset and rejected.
"Dead seeds... So she knows it's sabotaged." Aiden who was feeling ecstatic now feel sour.
'How does she know the seeds were dead?' Some dark thoughts were forming in his mind. 'Is she part of Lukas's plan? did they set me up?'
Deep inside him he was hoping Sera and Lukas has no connections at all. His mind is disturbed and he needed Sera to clarify what she said. Feeling betrayed, he silently swore not to trust women again.