The first thing Mira needed was to get close to one of them. The previous Mira lived separately from her husbands and now she had to find a way to rectify that situation. And quickly.
She has four days, eleven hours, fifty eight minutes and five seconds till death. If she did not have to walk every single mile bare foot, maybe travelling would have been faster but she needed fruit hunting breaks and time to find a hidden spot to let out the waste out of her system.
And finally, she is at her home. A large, well constructed underground hobbit as ancient housing can go in the heart of her territory. There was cheer and music coming from inside. The people were throwing a party. And she wasn't invited. Of course evil Mira had no friends even in her own den.
She made her way inside. The moment she walked into the party which was held outside the large hobbit, the music stopped. People stopped dancing and everyone looked pale like they had seen a ghost.
This was sickening. She made her way through, where she saw a lady with midnight black hair and fur skin wrapped over her bosom and legs. Fur belonging to a dead animal. This lady was her sister, Hye Yang. The daughter of her stepfather.
The men she saw at the pond surrounded Hye Yang, enjoying the feast which was now halted. It sickened her to the bone.
The feast being held was one for the celebration of her death and it was so obvious that it was planned by her own sister, Hye Yang. Her jaw clenched. This useless Mira had no allies. That needed to change. She was surrounded by her people, predators that celebrated her own death. Planned it even.
Mira knew she wasn't safe even in her own den.
"M. . . Mira." Hye Yang began. "You. . . You're here." She shot a death glare to the men around her, like a warning for not getting the job done.
"I went for a little hunt and lost track of time." Mira stretched. "What is the party about?"
Hye Yang looked nervous. "Just a celebratory feast." She lied.
Hye Yang was second in line to everything Mira owned. It was no wonder why she tried to have her killed.
"Then enjoy the feast, carry on with the music, foxes. Dance." She waved. The band, or music beasts, continued and the feast carried on. It was either most people here were idle of the purpose of the feast or continued to make her idle, whichever it was, she needed to run away.
[Since you already caught on with the situation, flee from your den and take refuge in the Lion King's pride, Host!]
"Are you saying this because you don't want me to die, system?" I asked, still in front of Hye Yang.
[While I do appreciate the need to be missed by me, I also cannot give you a direct answer to that question, host.]
I sneered. I walked past my half sister.
"Not staying for the feast?"
So you try to kill me a second time? No thanks! Mira said to herself. She smiled at Hye Yang. "No, I am tired. I'll meet with you in the morning."
Fat chance. She was getting out of this place tonight!
The plan was simple. She would go to Jia Hao and crash. Mira gulped. The same man who sniffed between her legs. Well, breeding with him would be easy. She was finally ready to fulfil her duty or die.
And she chose sex.
Mira arrived at Jia's pride. It looked different. Refined. The beast ladies had different features ranging from slender to bulky but they all looked strong. Cubs patrolled the pride and some women had round bellies. She would be one of them soon, as long as Jia Hao hated her less.
Jia Hao's pride was like a refined village in anime isekais. You'd see bamboo huts and owners selling furs and weapons carved out of wood and rocks.
Certain leaves made clothing and surprisingly leather. These people knew what leather came from, right? Then why do they wear their own people as clothing? It was shocking.
The roads were as tidy as forest paths can be, but the paths were clear and walkable. It was nice to see a mini village thrive in a forest, something she never believed was possible but here it was, a heaven in the forest. And the best part? While some bamboo huts had raw meat hanging in front of the stores, others had dried ones. These lions and lionesses had meat. She loved meat.
[And you better have Jia Hao's meat in your uterus or else you'll die, Mira.] System chimed.
"Remind me not to have thoughts when you're nearby." Mira cooed, making her way in.
[I am always with you, host! Feel free to think away cause you're closer to death than living in my opinion.]
This made her brows twitch. Mira ignored system and stared ahead. She noticed the snarky gazes and cautious expression on people's faces. She noticed some of them grit their teeth and showcase their canines at her like she was trespassing.
They all looked like they wanted to pounce on her. Rip her apart. They all hated the old Mira. How would she prove that she was different? That she was not the same person?
Mira arrived at the heart of the village, where Jia Hao's home laid. It was massive. Built with explicit workmanship and sturdy. You could tell from a mile away that he was the sole ruler of this pride.
A guard stood by the entrance of his home, her face rigid.
"I want to see the lion king." Mira voiced. Her voice sounded like a quake.
"He does not want to see you." The guard responded.
A screw loosened in her head. "Listen to me you good for nothing twat! I am his wife and you WILL let me in whether he wills it or not and you surely do not want to defy me." She poked her finger on the lady's chest. She noticed the beast woman's eyes waver before she stepped aside.
Woah. These people not only hated Mira, they feared her. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? She had no idea but the time counting her last days was not halting and neither would she.
She had exactly four days left. Four freaking days.
"And the next time you think of blocking me from meeting my husband, remember I have eaten your kind before." This was a lie. The old Mira had not her and that was only a rumour to scare younglings from approaching her.
Inside Jia Hao's hut looked better than the outside. On the solid walls were skulls of animals he probably devoured and conquered. Every kind of fur was pasted across the walls and on the floor serving as curtains and décor and soft rugs.
Fur coats served as doors, concealing each room from the other. You could tell a powerful man lived here. Yet she tortured this man and pushed him away.
She couldn't tell if Jia Hao let himself be subject to the old Mira's cruelty or if it had something to do with the hierarchy of females.
She made her way inside. This place was clean. Tidy. Concrete stones served as stools and carved stones served as furniture and they were laced with furs to serve as tablecloths and cushions and chair mats.
She noticed wooden bowls and cups arranged in a well crafted cellar. He had many things. Many furs.
She made her way into one of the largest rooms. It was a proper throne room. You would think people in this age had no skill for decency but the living conditions proved her wrong. For beasts, they sure love comfort.
"What are you doing here?" There it was. A powerful, hateful growl that made her body hair stand. It was Jia Hao.
Mira turned to see the king. Her own husband. Well sewn with vines fur draped over his shoulders and back like a bush yet posh leather jacket exposing his adulterously, well sculpted chest. Her eyes traced his body. Jia Hao was tanned and well built. His abs were defined and drew into a structured V line to his pelvis where the fur pants brazenly secured.
She needed what laid beneath that fur in her. She needed his seed.
Everything else about this man from his long, auburn hair which cascaded his neck and the sides of his face to his beastly features and canines screamed masculinity in its finest.
This man was hot. A walking seduction. Again, was the old Mira blind?? Mira has only seen this man for a short while yet she wanted him between her legs, her need to live aside.
She swallowed, suddenly remembering his question. "I am here to fulfil my duty." Mira said, her voice husky and low. "To be your wife, Jia Hao."
He raised a brow, his eyes scanning her with a warning. His chest heaved and his lips parted to say the words she thought she wanted to hear. "Get out." He roared.
Her heart sank.
"Go back to the shit hole you crawled out from and never make yourself present in my pride again." He snarled.
There was a dangerous glint in his eyes that proved he was serious. Not long ago, this man complained about her not wanting to fulfil her duty yet, now here he was when she was offering herself on a silver platter telling her to leave.
[You really did not think he will accept you with open arms after everything you did, right host?]
She swallowed. She actually thought he would.