And just like that, he stepped aside, He did not challenge, He did not provoke.
But the fact that he had spoken to her at all had been enough.
Across the clearing, several unmated warriors straightened, Several bonded females stiffened.
Because princes did not initiate conversation lightly.
And he had done so without looking at any other female in the valley.
After witnessing the prince's display, Luna buried her face between Alo's shoulder blades, her fingers digging into his arms.
"That Panther freaked me out," she hissed, her tail lashing behind her.
"Skinny, No muscled beastmen who look at me like merchandise make my skin crawl."
Her eyes flashed dangerously as she gently pulled both Alo and Theo down by their arms, her lips brushing against their cheeks with deliberate slowness. "You two are perfect and what i need," she whispered against their skin.
Alo chuffed happily, chest puffing out in pride, while Theo flexed his iced wings and smirked.
She drifted toward a stall selling carved bone hairpins.
"These are beautiful," she said softly.
Luna fixed her ocean-blue gaze on the Donkey Beast man, whose long ears twitched nervously under her attention.
His jaw hung slack, revealing yellowed teeth as he struggled to find words in the presence of a Rare Female.
"How much?" she asked, her voice soft as silk.
Theo's deep laugh rumbled behind her as he reached past with bronzed fingers, dropping a handful of gleaming coins onto the weathered stall counter.
The hairpiece intricately woven with golden threads that matched Luna's own shimmering tail, as it disappeared into his leather satchel.
Alo leaned close and murmured something that made her flush red to her ears.
Theo bent slightly and pressed a brief kiss to the corner of her mouth.
Not hidden.
Just for her.
She laughed quietly and swatted his chest.
"There's people..." Luna ducked her head, her cheeks flushing pink as she tugged at the hem of her garment. Her ears flattened against her head, tail curling protectively around her leg as her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. "They're all staring."
"I do not care," Theo answered.
Alo added, "Let them watch."
He tilted her chin upward and kissed her properly this time.
Slow.
Not devouring.
Just enough that her fingers curled into the fabric at his chest, The surrounding air changed.
Not because of desire.
Because of fury.
The other beastwomen received no such tenderness. They were trophies, positioned for admiration.
Guarded.
Flanked.
But not adored.
One of them, draped in red with a line of at least fifteen males behind her, stepped forward sharply.
Her eyes were bright with irritation.
"You think Your the best?" she demanded.
Luna blinked.
Theo did not move.
Alo's hand stayed at her waist.
The female's gaze swept over Luna's dress, her belly, the way Theo's wing shielded her instinctively.
The woman's lips curled back, revealing sharp canines. "This is a market," she hissed, her spotted fur bristling along her neck.
"Not some tribe for a random fox slut to parade around, tempting a prince and stealing the males who should be courting me."
Luna's ocean-blue eyes lowered immediately, her golden ears flattening against her head. Her slender fingers twisted nervously in the fabric of her dress as her tail curled protectively around her ankle.
"We were just shopping," she whispered, her voice like wind through summer leaves. She glanced up briefly through long lashes, offering a timid smile. "I'm so sorry if I've upset you. I truly didn't mean to cause any trouble."
The woman's lip curled back to reveal teeth, her nostrils flaring as she took in Luna's scent. Her eyes narrowed to slits, scanning Luna's belly with unmistakable disgust.
"Then. Shop. Quietly."
Each word dropped like a stone, her voice a low growl that seemed to vibrate the air between them.
Theo finally looked at her.
The frost in his eyes was immediate.
"We are quiet."
The woman's throat seized as Theo's gaze sliced through her, his eyes like twin blades of obsidian, cold and sharp enough to sever bone. She took an involuntary half step backward, her body understanding the threat before her mind could process it.
Her males surged behind her, hackles raised, fangs bared. Growls ripped through the air like thunder.
Because Theo wasn't posturing.
He was deathly still.
Which meant blood would spill.
Alo's smile cut across his face like a blade.
"If you do not like it," he whispered, each word dripping venom, "look elsewhere."
That stung.
Because she could not, None of them could.
Every time Luna laughed, heads turned.
Every time Theo brushed a kiss against her knuckles while examining spices, the valley felt it.
It was not about beauty, There were beautiful women here.
It was about focus.
Theo and Alo did not look at anyone else.
Not once.
Not even by accident.
That absence of wandering gaze cut deeper than any insult.
Luna bowed lightly, her golden hair cascading over one shoulder as she attempted to retreat. "Theo, let's go look at the honey," she murmured, her voice soft as windchimes.
The female draped in crimson silks stepped closer, her painted lips curling into a sneer. The scent of sex and sweat clung to her like a second skin.
"You act like you are the only one with husbands," she hissed, eyes flashing with barely contained jealousy.
Luna shook her head gently, her delicate features arranged in practiced innocence. Her tail swished nervously behind her.
"I do not," she whispered, ocean blue eyes wide and guileless.
"Then why," the woman demanded, leaning close enough that Luna could see the fine lines of rage etching her otherwise flawless face, "behave like you are the only one adored?"
The question hung sharp and ugly.
Luna did not understand it at first.
Then she did.
She glanced up at Theo, At the way his entire posture softened when she looked at him.
At Alo, whose fingers traced idle patterns against her hip as though he could not stop touching her even if he tried.
"We do not behave," Luna said softly, her ocean-blue eyes unwavering. "This is just how we are."
The honesty in it hung between them like a blade.
The red draped female's composure cracked, her painted lips parting, the jewels at her throat catching the market's harsh light as she swallowed.
Behind her, one of her own males broad shouldered and adorned with the silver chains of her house looked away, his jaw tight beneath three days of stubble.
Ashamed.
Because he had never kissed her in a market, never tasted her breath or felt her pulse quicken against his palm.
Not like that. Not with hunger that made others stop and stare.
The air thickened, heavy with spices and unspoken desire.
Several unmated warriors drifted closer now, Drawn not by challenge.
But by scent.
By warmth.
Theo's massive wing unfurled with a soft leathery whisper, the iridescent scales catching the light as it curved protectively around Luna's slender form. His muscled arm snaked around her waist, drawing her against the heat of his chest until she could feel the thunderous beating of his heart.
Across from them, Alo's knuckles blanched white. A primal growl rumbled from deep within his chest, vibrating through the air between them like distant thunder.
The red draped female saw the shift and, in a flash of pettiness, reached forward and grabbed the edge of Luna's silk dress.
Not hard.
But deliberate.
The fabric pulled.