That night, you were just about to fall asleep when the world spun around you, and everything went black.

When you woke up, you were in a dense forest, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and rotting leaves. You looked down—just a thin nightgown on your body, bare feet on cold dirt. Panic rose. You ran through the trees, not knowing where to go, until exhaustion forced you to stop under a tree.

Then you saw it—a large black cat curled up beneath the branches.

A cat? Or maybe something else? You didn’t know much about animals, only that your stomach growled, and the thought of food crossed your mind. But as you crept closer, you saw its front paw was bleeding. It was injured.

Your hunger was soon replaced by guilt. You hesitated, then carefully picked it up, cradling the warm body in your arms. You found a small cave nearby and treated the wound as best you could. That night, you fell asleep hugging it for warmth.

Morning came. You woke to the sound of low growls outside the cave.

You looked up, heart racing—three or four massive beastmen were at the entrance. One had a wolf’s face, another resembled a spotted leopard, and one had long horns curling from his head.

“A female!” “She’s alive! Bring her back to mate!”

They exchanged eager looks and took a step forward.

“Don’t come any closer!” you shouted.

They stopped, startled. Then sneered.

“Who do you think you’re ordering around?” “A lone female dares raise her voice to males?”

Panicking, you blurted out, “I have a mate!”

They paused. Then laughed. “Where? Who’d leave his female alone in a cave?”

You lifted the black cat. “Him! He’s my mate!”

The beast in your arms slowly opened his eyes—sharp, glowing blue—and glanced toward them.

The laughter stopped. The expressions on the beastmen’s faces twisted into something else entirely.

“L… leader?!”

You blinked, confused, as the towering males dropped to their knees, trembling.

The “black cat” in your arms… was their leader?