Waking up early the next morning, Ophelia's consciousness immediately entered the farm space. She headed straight for the warehouse. As soon as she opened the doors, a rich, refreshing fruity aroma wafted out, invigorating her senses. Brightly colored, plump fruits were arranged neatly on the shelves. The pink, tender peaches seemed to sparkle like gold, the bright red lychees were exceptionally dazzling, and even the glowing green watermelons looked incredibly delightful.
Ophelia knew that watermelons—known locally as cold melons—existed in the Beast World, but they were not something ordinary families could afford. To avoid unnecessary trouble, she reluctantly left the watermelons behind and only took out some peaches and lychees, since their leftover pits and peels would be easier to dispose of as evidence.
Ophelia placed the peaches on the stone table and waited for Tyler to come so they could share them. However, after waiting for quite a while with no sign of him, she grew a bit worried and went out to look for him.
Not long after she left, a short, small figure slipped into the stone house. Amy smelled the sweet fragrance of the fruit and stood on her tiptoes, catching sight of the peaches on the table. Licking her cherry-red lips, she reached out with her small hands, grabbed two of the peaches, and scurried away.
By the time Ophelia returned with Tyler, only four of the original six peaches remained on the stone table. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"What's wrong, Ophelia?" Tyler asked.
"Two peaches are missing," she said, pointing at the thin-skinned, pink fruit on the table.
Hearing this, Tyler twitched his nose, catching the lingering scent of a female cub in the air. "Amy must have been here just now."
Ophelia narrowed her eyes at his words. Amy was straying further and further down the wrong path.
"Should we just let it go?" Tyler was also deeply disappointed by Amy's behavior, but at the end of the day, the cub was still Ophelia's daughter.
"If we just let it go, it will only encourage this kind of behavior."
"I'll go with you."
Ophelia shook her head. "No need. I'll handle my own affairs." She knew Tyler didn't like Loki. Just like her current self, he felt disgusted even casting a single glance at the man.
Skipping happily, Amy returned to her own stone house and waved the two peaches at the young male standing outside. "Father, look! What's this?"
"Is that fruit?"
"Yes! I took it from Mother."
As soon as she spoke, a slender figure emerged from the stone house. The petite female took one of the peaches and examined it under the sunlight, a gentle smile on her lips. "This fruit looks so beautiful. Amy, could you let Miche taste one?"
Amy pressed her lips tightly together and lowered her head without saying a word, clearly expressing her reluctance.
Miche looked at Loki with feigned sadness.
How could Loki bear to see his beloved suffer any grievances? He stepped forward, pulled Miche into his arms, and glared at Amy with clear displeasure, his tone growing harsh. "I thought you liked Miche the most. Why won't you even share a piece of fruit with her?"
Crystal-clear tears welled up in Amy's eyes as she looked up at her father pitifully. To Loki, her silence was nothing more than a silent accusation.
"Amy, since when did you learn to be as stingy as your mother? It's just a piece of fruit. I'll get you more some other day."
"Father..." She hadn't been stingy.
CLAP CLAP CLAP. A few crisp sounds of applause rang out.
Amy turned around. "Mother."
Ophelia raised a hand to stop the female cub from rushing over to her. "Don't call me Mother. From the moment you made that wish at the Wishing Pond, Amy, you were no longer my daughter."
Amy's voice grew hoarse. "I'm sorry, Mother. I know I was wrong."
Ophelia's hands clenched tightly into fists at her sides. It would be a lie to say she felt absolutely nothing. But this single apology was far from enough to offset the heart-wrenching pain she had endured in her past life.
"What are you doing here?" Loki's deep eyes were tinged with a layer of frost. It was too late for Ophelia to admit her mistakes now. He wasn't going to forgive her so easily this time.
"Your good daughter stole my fruit. Naturally, as her father, it falls on you to pay me back."
Loki raised an eyebrow. "It's just a piece of fruit. Don't forget, you're her mother."
"I haven't forgotten. But it seems someone else has forgotten that he is still my mate, yet he's acting intimately with another female." Ophelia's gaze fell on the male's large hand gripping the petite female's shoulder.
As if burned by her stare, Loki instantly let go.
Amy watched from the side, vaguely feeling that her father and Miche were acting entirely too close.
"Ophelia, I'll give the fruit back to you. Please don't be mad at Loki. If you don't like it, I won't appear in front of him ever again," Miche said pitifully, playing the victim as if she had been terribly bullied.
This instantly ignited Loki's fury. He snatched the peach back. "It's just a piece of fruit. If you want to eat it, keep it. I'll just find another one to compensate her."
A smug smile curled on Miche's lips as she secretly flaunted her victory to Ophelia.
Ophelia laughed. "Oh, perfect. I traded one hundred prey animals at the trading market for these peaches. I heard they grow in the Tropical Rainforest and are extremely rare. May I ask if the future Clan Leader of the Snow Wolf Clan intends to compensate me with one hundred prey animals or find an identical peach for me?"
"What! This fruit is worth a hundred prey animals? Who are you trying to fool, Ophelia?" Miche's surprised voice turned shrill.
"If you don't believe me, you can go to the trading market yourselves and see if you can find the same thing." Ophelia shrugged nonchalantly.
Loki's voice grew cold. "Ophelia, is this really necessary? We're mates. What's mine is yours. Is there any point in fighting over this?"
"Heh. Loki, we've been mates for five years. Do you even remember how many prey animals you've brought back, or how long it's been since you last contributed anything to our home?"
Over the past five years, the prey he had brought back could be counted on one hand. If Tyler hadn't been helping her out, she would have starved to death long ago.
"I..." Loki choked up. Thinking back carefully, he genuinely couldn't remember the last time he brought food home. "I've been busy with the Clan Leader election recently and neglected you. It won't happen again."
"Thanks, but there's no need. All I need is for you to drip your blood on the Blood Crystal Stone and sever our mate bond."
"Stop making a fuss. My father has moved the competition up to two days from now. As long as you help me hunt a tiger and provide ten sacks of rice, I'll successfully become the Clan Leader. After that, you can have as much fruit as you want."
"If you want a tiger, hunt it yourself. I'll give you two final days to annul our mate bond. Otherwise, even if it costs me half a year of my lifespan, I will sever our relationship."
"Ophelia, you..." Loki was furious.
Forcibly breaking a sole mate contract would cost the female half a year of her lifespan, while the male would lose thirty percent of his strength. This would be extremely detrimental to his arena battles for the Clan Leader position.
"And don't forget, you owe me peaches as compensation. Two of them!"
Right now was the critical moment in Loki's competition for Clan Leader. The consequence of losing thirty percent of his strength was something he could not afford to bear, so he would definitely agree to peacefully sever their sole mate bond. This was exactly why she had been delaying the annulment—to force his hand at this crucial moment so that he'd have no choice but to agree.
At the thought that she would be free from her mate bond in just two days, Ophelia left in a great mood, humming a song.
"How dare she! How could she bear to part with me!!!" Loki clenched his fists, the veins on his forehead bulging in sheer anger.