The panther beastman stood before her, tall and immovable like the tree itself.
"My name is Drex," he said calmly.
The warmth of the tree-house suddenly felt suffocating.
He turned slightly, blue gem–like eyes reflecting the torchlight. "I am a stray beastman. Rejected by my former mate."
June stiffened. "Why are you telling me about your personal matter?"
"She was a notorious female from the Eastern Fox Tribe," Drex continued clearly ignoring June, his voice steady but edged with bitterness. "Cunning. Ambitious. She left me once she gained status."
His gaze returned to June—sharp, assessing.
"And now," he said slowly, "you have entered my territory."
June's heart dropped.
"In this world," Drex went on, "territory is law. What enters it belongs to the owner."
She took a step back instinctively.
"You will stay here," he said. "Until winter ends."
June's breath hitched.
"And during that time," he added, his voice lowering, "you will give me four or five cubs."
The words landed like a blade.
The air thickened—his dangerous aura pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. This was not a joke. Not a threat spoken lightly.
June clenched her fists.
"No," she said, her voice shaking—but firm. "I am not something you can claim."
For a moment, Drex only stared at her.
Then—surprisingly—he laughed softly.
"You humans," he said. "Always confusing choice with power."
He stepped closer, stopping just short of touching her.
"I could force you," he said plainly. "But I won't."He was very close, June could hear his heartbeat .
Her eyes widened.
"Fear makes weak mates," he continued. "And weak cubs."
He straightened, turning away.
"You will stay," he said. "Because outside this tree, you will die. The red-eyed wolves are not patient. And the silver wolf you ran from—"
His voice sharpened.
"—will tear this forest apart to find you."
June froze.
Drex looked back over his shoulder.
"Think carefully, little human," he said.
"You ran from one fate straight into another."
The tree creaked softly as the wind passed through its hollow core.
June stood there, trembling—not just from fear, but from fury.
But then, June's shock broke through her fear.
"How… how do you know about Alex?" she asked, her voice unsteady.
Drex turned to look at her again, his blue eyes narrowing slightly, as if he were surprised she hadn't already understood.
"I can smell him," he said simply.
June blinked.
"His scent is all over you," Drex continued. "Silver wolf. Alpha blood. Strong. Arrogant."
His jaw tightened.
"And familiar."
June's heart sank. "You… you know him?"
A low, humorless chuckle left Drex's throat.
"Know him?" he repeated. "We are enemies."
The word echoed.
"Silver wolves and black panthers have fought for generations," Drex said, pacing slowly across the tree floor. "Territory. Prey routes. Ancient grudges. Sometimes for survival. Sometimes simply because neither side knows how to bow."
He stopped near the open window carved into the trunk, staring out into the forest.
"We fight together against outside threats," he added, "and we fight each other when the threat is gone."
June swallowed. "Then why save me?"
Drex looked back at her.
"Because that red-eyed wolf would have killed you," he said. "And because fate does not send a human female into beast territory without reason."
He stepped closer again, but this time his presence felt… controlled.
She shook her head. "I didn't choose any of this. I just want to go home."
For the first time, something flickered across Drex's face—something unreadable.
"There is no home untouched by fate," he said. "Only doors. And consequences."
June clenched her fists.
"If you're enemies," she said carefully, "then keeping me here will start a war."
Drex's lips curved slightly—not in amusement, but in challenge.
"Perhaps," he said. "Or perhaps it will end one."
Alex was wide awake.
The space beside him was cold.
At first, he told himself she had only stepped outside—maybe restless, maybe unable to sleep. He rose, moving quietly through the cave, his senses stretched thin.
But her scent…
It was fading.
His heart clenched.
He searched every corner of the mountain caves, questioned the guards, scanned the paths leading down the slopes. Nothing. No trace of her footsteps returning.
Then his gaze fell upon the river.
The fast-flowing, merciless river.
He froze.
She couldn't have crossed it…
There's no way…
A terrible thought struck him.
Did she drown?
His chest burned violently, as if claws were tearing through it from inside. The idea of her small body carried away by the current made his vision blur.
Alex dropped to one knee.
He had believed her.
After everything—after her kindness, her ideas, her laughter—he truly thought she had chosen to stay. He had never forced her, never marked her, never claimed her against her will.
Yet she left.
And still… he could not hate her.
"I adored you," he whispered hoarsely.
"And you ran."
His grief turned sharp—into resolve.
Alive or dead, he swore, I will find you.
And if you live—this time, I will never let you escape.
A sudden presence snapped him out of his thoughts.
A wolf beastman knelt beside him.
"Leader."
Alex straightened immediately.
"The Tiger Tribe leader has arrived," the wolf said grimly. "He brought his people. They're demanding Anthill Mountain."
Alex's eyes hardened.
He rose and strode toward the outer clearing.
There, waiting as if the mountain already belonged to them, stood a group of tiger beastmen—tall, broad, radiating confidence. At their front was their leader, leaning casually against a stone, arms crossed, eyes full of mockery.
When Alex appeared, the tiger leader smirked.
"I like this mountain," he said lazily. "And I saw it first."
Alex stopped a few steps away, silver eyes cold.
"So it's ours now," the tiger continued. "You should leave while I'm being polite."
Silence fell.
The wolves behind Alex tensed, muscles tight, ready.
Alex took one slow step forward.
"This mountain shelters my tribe," he said calmly. "You don't get to decide its fate."
The tiger laughed.
"Then I suppose we'll have to take it."
The air thickened instantly—two alphas, two predators, neither willing to yield.
Claws extended.
Fangs bared.
The moment the tiger leader's words fell, the air exploded.
Alex moved first.
In a blur of silver and force, he leapt straight at the tiger leader, his body shifting mid-air as his full wolf form surged forward. The ground cracked beneath the impact.
Around them, both tiger and wolf beastmen froze—muscles coiled, eyes locked on their leaders. No one moved.
This was an alpha duel.
The winner would decide everything.
Pain still burned in Alex's chest—June's disappearance tearing at his focus—but rage sharpened him instead of weakening him.
He threw his head back and released a thunderous howl.
A declaration.
A command.
A war cry.
The sound rolled across Anthill Mountain, echoing through stone and bone alike.
The tiger leader snarled and lunged.
Claws met claws.
Fangs flashed.
Stone shattered beneath them.
Alex struck first—his paw slamming into the tiger's shoulder with bone-crushing force. The tiger staggered but recovered instantly, countering with a vicious swipe that Alex narrowly dodged.
They circled, dust rising, eyes locked.
Then the tiger grinned.
With a sudden kick, he flung sand directly into Alex's eyes.
Alex roared, momentarily blinded.
That was all the opening the tiger needed.
He surged forward, jaws snapping shut around Alex's abdomen.
Fangs sank deep.
Alex howled—pain ripping through him—but instinct screamed louder.
He twisted violently, claws tearing across the tiger's flank. Flesh split. Blood sprayed dark against the stone.
The tiger recoiled, growling, but Alex didn't give him time.
Still bleeding, vision burning, Alex launched himself again—driven by fury, by loss, by a promise he had made to himself.
I will survive.
I will find her.
The mountain shook as the two leaders crashed together once more.
Behind them, the wolf beastmen tensed, waiting.
Waiting for the signal.
Waiting for their alpha's next howl—
the one that would unleash total war.
The fight dragged on longer than either side expected.
Both leaders were drenched in blood and dust, breaths coming in ragged bursts. Every movement was agony now—instinct pushing bodies far past their limits.
The tiger leader struck again, but his steps faltered.
Alex seized the moment.
With a final surge of strength, he slammed his claws into the tiger's chest and threw him back across the stone. The tiger crashed hard, rolling once before lying still.
Silence fell.
The tiger beastmen stared in disbelief.
Their leader did not rise.
After a long, tense moment, one of them stepped forward, bowing his head.
"We concede," he said grimly.
Carefully, they lifted their unconscious leader, retreating without another word. No threats. No pride left to spend.
Only survival.
Alex remained standing, watching until they disappeared beyond the ridge.
Only then did his legs give way.
He collapsed.
A sharp cry went up among the wolves.
"Leader!"
The tribe healer rushed forward immediately, her hands already glowing faintly with prepared salves and herbs.
"Carry him," she ordered. "Carefully."
Several wolf beastmen shifted forms and lifted Alex between them, moving as quickly as they could toward the healer's dwelling carved deep into the mountain.
Blood stained the path behind them.
Inside, the healer worked through the night.
She cleaned the deep bite wound at his abdomen, ground bitter herbs, bound torn flesh, and pressed warm poultices against shattered muscle. The poison carried in tiger fangs was slow but dangerous—every moment mattered.
Outside, the wolves stood guard in silence.
Their leader had won.
But victory had come at a terrible cost.
Far away, beneath an ancient tree whose roots reached between worlds—
A human girl shivered for reasons she could not explain.
And the forest, heavy with blood and fate, waited.