[Kaelum's POV]
The Red Fever usually left my mind fractured for days. I would wake up in a pool of my own blood, surrounded by claw marks I didn't remember making, my throat raw from screaming.
This time, I woke up in silence.
The Ice Vault was dark, save for the faint blue glow of the crystals embedded in the ceiling. The air was cool—blessedly cool. The fire that usually raged in my veins had dimmed to a manageable ember.
I looked down.
Curled in the space between my crossed legs was the human.
Elara.
She was asleep, her cheek pressed against my bare thigh. Her breathing was slow and even, a stark contrast to the violence of the night before.
I reached out to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. My hand hovered—and then stopped.
On the pale skin of her neck, just above her collarbone, was a bruise. It was dark, ugly, and unmistakably the shape of my thumb.
The memory hit me like a physical blow.
The hunger. The loss of control. The way I had pinned her against the stone wall.
I had nearly crushed her. I had treated her not as a person, but as a tool to quench my own fire. If the fever had lasted a minute longer... if I had squeezed a fraction harder...
She would be dead.
I pulled my hand back as if I had been burned.
"Monster," I whispered to the darkness.
The Elders were right. I was a calamity. A walking disaster. Keeping a fragile human this close wasn't "medical necessity"—it was selfishness. I was using her like a drug, ignoring the fact that my very existence was lethal to her.
She shifted in her sleep, reaching for my hand.
I didn't let her take it.
I stood up, lifting her carefully into my arms. She weighed nothing. She was so small, so breakable.
'Never again,' I vowed, the guilt churning in my gut like acid. 'I will not be the one who kills her.'
[Elara's POV]
I woke up to the smell of antiseptic herbs and the feeling of rough wool against my skin.
My eyes snapped open. I wasn't in the soft, luxurious nest of white furs. I was on a cot. A hard, narrow cot in a cave I didn't recognize.
"You are awake."
I sat up. A female healer—a gray wolf beastman—was grinding herbs in a stone bowl.
"Where is Kaelum?" I asked, swinging my legs off the cot. "Is he okay? Did the fever stop?"
"The Chieftain is fine," the healer said, not looking up. "He carried you here three hours ago. He ordered us to check for injuries."
"Oh." I rubbed my neck. It was sore. "Well, I'm fine. Just a little bruised. I need to go back to the main tent. My... shift... starts soon."
I stood up and headed for the cave entrance.
The healer stepped in front of me. "No."
I blinked. "Excuse me?"
"The Chieftain's orders were specific," she said, her voice devoid of emotion. "You are to remain in the Guest Caves. You are relieved of your duties as Totem."
"Relieved?" I laughed, a nervous, high-pitched sound. "What is this, a corporate layoff? You can't fire me. I'm the only reason the Ice Vault didn't melt last night!"
"He said the contract is void," the healer stated. "He said... you are too fragile. He does not wish to break his toys."
The words hit me harder than the cold wind outside.
Too fragile. Toys.
"He didn't say that," I whispered. "He wouldn't."
"He did."
A shadow fell across the cave entrance.
I looked up. Standing there was a woman. A Tigress.
She was stunning. Tall, with golden skin and long, fiery orange hair braided with gold beads. She wore leather armor that accentuated her curves and a cloak made of expensive Snow Fox fur. Her eyes were sharp, vertical slits of amber.
I recognized the character design immediately from the game Wiki.
Tigra. Role: The Chieftain's Childhood Friend / The "Fated Mate" Candidate. Class: Elite Warrior.
She walked into the cave like she owned it. She looked me up and down, her lip curling in distaste.
"So," Tigra purred, her voice smooth like honey mixed with poison. "This is the 'miracle cure' everyone is whispering about. You look like a starved rabbit."
"I'm Elara," I said, straightening my spine. "And who are you?"
"I am Tigra. Daughter of Elder Varg. First Huntress of the Clan." She stepped closer, invading my personal space. She towered over me by at least a foot. "And I am the one who usually calms Kaelum down."
She leaned down, her amber eyes mocking. "Do you think you are special, human? Because you held his hand for a few nights? Kaelum is a predator. He was curious about a new scent. But last night... he realized the truth."
She poked my shoulder with a clawed finger. It hurt.
"You break too easily. He needs a mate who can withstand his fire. Someone strong. Someone of his own kind."
She smiled, revealing sharp canines. "He realized his mistake. That is why he threw you out. Go back to the kitchen, rabbit. Be useful with a ladle. Leave the Chieftain to the warriors."
She turned and swept out of the cave, her golden braid swinging arrogantly behind her.
I stood there, trembling. Not from fear.
From rage.
'He threw me out? To protect me?'
I thought about the way he had held me in the vault. The desperation in his voice when he said, If you leave, I will burn this world down to find you.
And now he was pulling the "Noble Idiocy" card? He was pushing me away because he felt guilty?
"Oh, hell no," I muttered, grabbing my thin shoes. "I did not survive a transmigrator death-loop just to get dumped by a suicidal tiger with an avoidance attachment style."
[Scene 3: The Break-In]
Night fell quickly in the North. The temperature dropped like a stone.
In the Guest Cave, I was freezing. The healer had given me two thin blankets, but without Kaelum's furnace-like body heat, I felt the chill seeping into my marrow.
[Status Alert: Body Temperature Dropping.] [HP: 92 / 100]
"I'm going to freeze," I hissed, pacing the small cave. "And he's probably sitting in that giant tent, burning up, being miserable and noble."
I needed to get back in. But Kaelum had posted guards. Actual guards, not the terrified ones from before.
I needed a distraction.
I peeked out of the cave entrance. The camp was quiet. Most beastmen were sleeping or huddled around communal fires.
Near the kitchen caves, I saw movement. A ball of white fluff tumbled in the snow.
My eyes lit up.
I sneaked toward the kitchens. "Psst! Hey! Little guys!"
Three heads popped up from a snowbank. It was the Tiger Cub Squad. The same ones I had fed spicy stew to a few days ago.
They recognized me immediately. Their tails started wagging.
"Stew Lady!" the smallest one chirped, bounding over. "Food?"
"Shh!" I put a finger to my lips. I knelt down in the snow. "Listen, I need a favor. Do you guys want... Honey Glazed Ham tomorrow?"
The cubs gasped. Their eyes sparkled.
"Ham?" "Sweet meat?"
"Yes," I promised. "But I need you to do something for me right now. You see those big scary guards in front of the Chieftain's tent?"
The cubs nodded solemnly.
"I need you to go over there and start a snowball fight. A big one. Make lots of noise. Make them chase you."
The cubs exchanged mischievous grins. Chaos was their favorite game.
"Go!" I whispered.
The squad deployed.
Two minutes later, shouting erupted near the main tent.
"Hey! Get back here you little brats!" "Stop! Do not throw ice at my—OW!"
The two guards posted at Kaelum's entrance were suddenly swarmed by six hyperactive cubs pelting them with snowballs and biting their ankles.
"Now!"
I sprinted. I stayed low, using the shadows of the rocks. While the guards were busy trying to pry a cub off their spears, I slipped around the back of the massive tent.
I found a loose flap in the leather wall. I pried it open and shimmied through, tumbling onto the thick rugs inside.
I was in.
The tent was dark. The fire crystals were dimmed.
Kaelum was sitting on the edge of his massive bed, his head in his hands. He was shirtless. Even from here, I could see the faint red glow of the curse pulsing in his back muscles. He was in pain. He was suffering alone because he was an idiot.
I stood up, brushed the snow off my dress, and marched across the room.
I grabbed a velvet pillow from a nearby chair.
"Hey!" I shouted.
Kaelum's head snapped up. His eyes widened in shock. "Elara?"
Thwack.
I threw the pillow as hard as I could. It hit him square in the face.
He didn't even flinch. The pillow bounced off his nose harmlessly. But the sheer audacity of the act left him stunned.
"You!" I yelled, pointing a shaking finger at him. "You absolute moron!"
"You..." Kaelum sputtered, staring at me like I was a ghost. "How did you get in? The guards—"
"Are busy dealing with a very organized toddler rebellion," I snapped. I marched up to the dais and climbed onto the bed, invading his personal space.
"What do you think you're doing?" I demanded, hands on my hips. "You fire me? You send Tigra to gloat at me? You think you can just decide what's good for me?"
"I am protecting you!" Kaelum roared, finding his voice. He stood up, towering over me. The heat radiating off him was intense—and comforting. "Look at your neck! I hurt you! I am a monster, Elara. I cannot control it. Next time, I will not just bruise you—I will break you."
"So let me decide that!" I yelled back, getting right in his face. "I'm not a vase, Kaelum. I'm a human. I know the risks. But look at you! You're burning up right now! You're in pain!"
"I can handle the pain!" he lied. "I have handled it for a hundred years!"
"Liar!" I reached out and poked his chest. "You were miserable. You were lonely. And I'm freezing to death in that stupid guest cave!"
I grabbed his hand.
He tried to pull away, but I held on with both hands.
"Let go," he warned, his voice trembling. "Elara, please. Go away. Before I hurt you again."
"No," I said firmly. "I'm not leaving. I'm the heater attachment. It's a lifetime contract. Read the fine print."
I pulled his hand to my cheek and pressed my face against his scorching palm.
"I'm not scared of you, Kaelum," I whispered, looking up into his red eyes. "I'm scared of freezing alone. So you can either throw me out into the snow yourself, or you can shut up and cuddle me."
Kaelum stared at me. He looked at my hand holding his. He looked at the determination in my eyes. The conflict in his face was heartbreaking—the war between his fear of hurting me and his desperate, overwhelming need for my touch.
With a defeated groan, his resistance shattered.
He didn't throw me out.
He grabbed me and pulled me into his chest, burying his face in my hair.
"You are a fool," he whispered roughly, his arms wrapping around me like steel bands. "A stubborn, foolish, fragile human."
"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled into his chest, feeling the warmth seep back into my bones. "Shut up and be the pillow."
End of Chapter 6