The next morning after Malia had turned back to her human form, Jacob was sleeping alone in his room since the girls had held their girls' night in Lydia's room and slept there. He was abruptly woken by the sound of a commotion outside. He got up, grumbling, and walked out onto his bedroom's balcony to see what was going on.
In the mansion's front garden, a bizarre scene was unfolding. Cogman was fighting a deer. Not with weapons or his full strength, but in a ridiculous, hand-to-hoof brawl. As Jacob watched, Cogman deftly ducked a charge, then delivered a series of theatrical karate chops to the deer's flank. The deer, looking more annoyed than injured, shook itself and head-butted Cogman in the chest. Cogman staggered back, then charged forward and head-butted the deer right back, the two of them locking heads in a surreal standoff.
"Cogman!" Jacob yelled down from the balcony. "What are you doing?!"
Cogman, without letting go of the deer's antlers, looked up. "Lady Malia said she likes deer, sir! I hunted one for her!"
"Then why are you beating the poor thing? Just put it out of its misery already!"
"I'm just tenderizing the meat, sir!" Cogman replied, before the deer broke free and tried to kick him.
Jacob sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Stop playing around and dispatch it already. Then go make us breakfast."
He turned to go back inside, still hearing the sounds of the struggle—a thump, a grunt from Cogman, and an indignant snort from the deer. He just shook his head and headed for the shower.
After cleaning up and getting dressed, Jacob left his room and almost collided with Malia in the hallway.
"Good morning, beautiful." Jacob said with a smile.
Malia smirked, a mischievous glint in her eye. In a swift move, she grabbed him, spun him around, and slammed him against the wall. Before he could even react, she kissed him deeply. Jacob was surprised, but he was never one to refuse, so he kissed her back with equal fervor. He then reversed their positions, pinning her against the wall as the kiss intensified.
Just then, Malia's ears picked up the sound of a door opening down the hall. She instantly began to struggle, pretending to push him away. Lydia and Allison emerged from Lydia's room just in time to see Jacob pinning a "struggling" Malia against the wall, seemingly forcing a kiss on her.
Malia finally broke the kiss, panting, and looked at Allison and Lydia with wide, frightened eyes. "Help me!" She pleaded.
Jacob looked from Malia's perfect acting to the furious faces of Allison and Lydia. He realized how guilty he looked, still pinning her to the wall. He quickly let go and raised his hands. "It's not what it looks like! She was the one who pinned me against the wall and started kissing me!"
Malia didn't wait for a rebuttal. She ducked under his arm and ran downstairs, leaving Jacob to face the music alone.
Allison crossed her arms. "But that's not what we saw. All we saw was you pinning a struggling Malia against the wall and kissing her."
Jacob started backing away. "I swear, she started it!"
Lydia advanced, a dangerous glint in her eye. "I think you're lying. Allison, let's beat his ass."
"I'm not lying! I'm telling the truth!" Jacob protested, but it was too late.
The two girls didn't listen. They closed in, and a flurry of punches and kicks—without using their supernatural strength—rained down on him. He let himself fall to the ground, taking the beating. It didn't hurt physically, but he felt profoundly wronged.
When they were finally satisfied, Lydia and Allison shared a smirk. Lydia headed downstairs, leaving Allison standing over him.
Jacob looked up at Allison, who was looking down at him with an amused smirk. "I swear I didn't force her." He said. "I'm not that kind of person. She kissed me first."
Allison smiled. "We know. After talking to her yesterday, we realized she's not as confused as she acts. She's just playful. And when she ran downstairs just now, she was laughing."
She bent down and kissed him gently. "And I know you would never force yourself on a girl."
Jacob sat up, still feeling emotionally bruised. "Then why did you two beat me up? It didn't hurt physically, but I'm hurt emotionally!"
Allison stood up and smiled. "Well, I know we can't stop you from dating other girls. But the least you can do is take a little beating for adding a new girl to our family. Since we'd already accepted Malia a long time ago, we went easy on you. But I can't guarantee we won't hit harder next time."
Jacob stood up in one fluid motion and pinned Allison against the wall, kissing her deeply. "That's a beating I'm gladly willing to take." He murmured against her lips. "Now, how about we have some fun before heading to school?"
Allison responded by driving her knee into his stomach—this time with her supernatural strength. He grunted, releasing her as she slipped free. "No. We're going to be late for school."
"You could have just said no." He wheezed, clutching his stomach. "Why did you have to hit me? I think you need some punishment."
Allison batted her eyelashes innocently. "Punishment? Didn't you just say you'd gladly let me beat you?"
Jacob was stunned into silence. He couldn't refute her logic.
Allison laughed, a clear, bright sound, and headed downstairs.
After she left, Jacob just smiled and followed her, thinking. 'As long as they don't cause real trouble and don't try to stop me from having more wives, I don't care if they beat me up a little. But I need to teach Malia a lesson. Just wait until we sleep together... she'll learn the consequences of teasing a dragon.'
Jacob walked into the kitchen and found the girls already at the table, with Cogman busy at the stove. He grabbed some juice from the fridge, sat down, and addressed his butler. "Cogman, bring Malia to school at lunchtime. We need to take her to the Sheriff's station to report what happened to her family. After that, you'll become her legal guardian."
Malia groaned. "Do I have to go to the sheriff's station?"
"Yes." Jacob said firmly. "You need to fix your situation legally so you can enroll in school with us."
Malia let out a low growl. "No, no, no! I hate school. I don't want to go."
Allison chimed in gently. "Then are you going to stay home all day? That's boring. Besides, you don't really have to study; we can help you during exams. You can just come with us to hang out. It's kind of fun."
Seeing Malia's continued scowl, Allison sighed. "At least try it. If you really don't like it, you can stay home."
"Fine." Malia grumbled.
Lydia added. "But no growling at school." She then glanced at Malia's hands. "And no claws, either."
Malia looked down at her hand, where sharp claws had unconsciously extended. "That's going to be hard."
Jacob raised an eyebrow. "You can use your claws?"
"Yeah." Malia said, a hint of pride in her voice. "Allison and Lydia taught me how to shift yesterday. It wasn't that hard."
"Can you still turn into your coyote form?"
"Yes."
"I see." Jacob said thoughtfully. "But I'll have to teach you control. I don't want you to lose it and hurt someone at school."
"How are you going to do that?" Malia asked warily.
Jacob gave her an evil smile that made her shiver. "By beating your mischievous ass, of course."
"What?" Malia exclaimed. "No, thank you! I don't know exactly what kind of monster you are, but I know you're very strong. And terrifying. You almost gave me a heart attack the first time I saw you. I'm not stupid enough to let you beat me up."
"Is there another way?" Allison asked.
"She has to find an anchor." Jacob explained. "An anchor is a person, an emotion, or a memory she can focus on to maintain control. Concentrating on it will remind her of her humanity."
He then turned his gaze back to Malia. "By the way, do you want to be my mate? And by mate, I mean..."
Malia smiled and cut him off. "You already told me what it means when we were in the woods. And Allison and Lydia explained it more yesterday. They also told me that if I don't want to be your wife, I have to leave."
Jacob looked at Allison and Lydia, surprised. "They did?"
Lydia nodded. "Yes. We told her that if she wants to be a real part of our family, she has to be your wife, you pervert. And we told her you'll have more wives. So, if she can't accept that and chooses not to be with you, she should leave now, before you two fall in love only to break up and get hurt."
"I see." Jacob said, his expression softening. He looked at Malia. "Then, what's your decision?"
Malia took a deep breath. "I don't know much about emotions. All I know is that I don't want to leave you guys, especially you, Jay. So, I'm staying, and I definitely want to be your wife. All I ask is that you don't abandon me, and of course, you have to satisfy me whenever I want."
Jacob smiled. "Don't worry. I'll never abandon you. In fact, once you become my wife, you won't be able to leave even if you wanted to. Now, shall we go to my room and sleep tog..."
"Not so fast, you unromantic pervert!" Lydia interrupted. "At least take the girl on a date or two first! Besides, she's on her period, so you can't sleep with her even if you wanted to."
Jacob blinked. "That's a shame. Wait, her period?"
"Yes," Allison said. "What's wrong?"
"Well, female werewolves lose control twice a month: once during the full moon, and when they're on their period. I don't know if werecoyotes are the same."
Allison looked at Malia. "Do you feel like you're losing control?"
"Nope," Malia replied, shrugging. "You told me I might feel agitated and have mood swings during my period, but I don't feel a thing. The only thing I feel is a food craving. I'm craving some deer meat."
"That's good, I guess." Jacob said, relieved.
Cogman, who was setting the table and serving food, spoke up. "I already hunted a deer for you, Lady Malia. I've skinned it, and it's hanging in the cold room. I can cook some right now, but it's preferable to let it age for at least 24 hours for better flavor."
"Then let it age." Malia decided. "Just cook me some of that meat that Jay calls Sea King meat. It's way better than deer."
"Right away, madame." Cogman said with a slight bow.
Jacob added. "Malia, I don't have much of that meat left, so you'll have to save it for special occasions, or at least eat it only once a month. At least until I get more."
Malia panicked. "What?! How much do you have left?"
"I had 500 kilos, if I remember correctly." Jacob calculated. "We've already eaten about 400, so we only have about 100 kilos left."
"How much is 100 kilos?" Malia asked, confused.
"Not much." Jacob admitted.
"Then buy more! You're rich, right?" Malia insisted.
"I am, but I can't buy it with money." Jacob explained. "Anyway, if we only eat it once a month, it'll last us a while."
Malia said. "How about that Weego steak? Or Wago steak? Or whatever it's called?"
"It's called Wagyu." Jacob corrected with a chuckle. "It's a Japanese breed of cow. It's expensive, but you can just tell Cogman, and he'll buy you all the Wagyu you want."
Malia turned to Cogman. "Then, old man, buy me a whole Wagyu cow and cook some of it for me every day."
"As you wish, my lady." Cogman said.
With that, they began eating breakfast. The girls started excitedly discussing buying clothes for Malia. Jacob tried his best to become invisible, focusing intently on his food in the hopes they wouldn't drag him shopping with them.
'System, sign in.' He thought, seeking a distraction.
[Daily Sign-In Successful. Rewards Obtained:
- Toilet Paper x35
- Canned Sardines x50
- A Pot]
Jacob scanned the list and thought. 'Useless.' He then returned his attention to his meal.
After breakfast, Cogman drove Allison, Lydia, and Jacob to school, leaving Malia at home happily watching TV.
To be continued... 😊