Chapter 29: I Am an Alpha (Please Pat My Head)

Zhāo Yàn’s attention snapped back to her, his expression softening instantly. He looked at her like shehad just done something miraculous.

Without thinking, Bai Yue reached up and patted the top of his head, right between his fox ears. He liked it, so why not? “There, there. Don’t let the grumpy dragon ruin your day. We still have the evil carrots to battle.”

Zhāo Yàn froze.

His ears shot straight up, and a pink flush spread across his cheekbones, traveling down his neck. His eyes went wide, almost comically so, and his tail, which had been swishing irritably behind him,went completely still.

He stared at her.

“Zhāo Yàn?” Bai Yue asked nervously, suddenly very aware that her hand was still resting on his head. “Are you okay? Did I break you? I thought you liked it?”

“I am a Fox Lord,” he said, his voice rough and slightly strangled. His ears were twitching now, doing that happy little flutter they did when he was pleased. “I do not need head pats. I am an Alpha. A warrior. I have led hunts and fought bears and—”

He grabbed her wrist gently, holding her hand in place.

“Do it again.”

Bai Yue blinked. “What?”

“I said do it again,” he repeated, his voice dropping an octave into that dangerous purr that made her stomach do flips. His red eyes locked onto hers, intense and burning. “Pat my head again, Bai Yue.”

“Oh. Um. Okay?” She carefully moved her hand, stroking over his soft hair and scratching lightly behind one ear.

Zhāo Yàn’s eyes fluttered closed, and a sound escaped his throat that was somewhere between a sigh and a purr. His whole body seemed to relax, leaning into her touch.

Oh my god, he’s just a big puppy,

Bai Yue thought, her heart melting into a puddle. An incredibly handsome, slightly terrifying puppy, but still.

She did it one more time, and Zhāo Yàn made that sound again.

Then his eyes snapped open.

Before Bai Yue could process what was happening, he grabbed her hand, the one that had been petting him, and pulled her forward. She stumbled, and suddenly she was pressed against his chest, trapped between his body and the wall of the hut.

“Zhāo Yàn! What are you—!” she squeaked, her face flaming.

He didn’t let go. Instead, he leaned down, his nose brushing against her neck, and inhaled.

The sound he made was almost feral. Possessive. His hands came up to frame her face, tilting her head back so she had no choice but to meet his burning gaze.

“You smell different,” he murmured, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw. “Sweeter. Like river flowers and…..something else.”

Bai Yue’s brain was going in circles. Her heart wouldn’t stop racing in her chest like a drum, and she was sure her entire body had turned the color of a tomato.

“I—that’s—you can’t just—personal space!” she managed to stammer, though she made no move to push him away.

A slow, wicked smirk spread across Zhāo Yàn’s face. He leaned in even closer, until his lips were barely a whisper away from her ear.

“Hmmm. I know I said I would wait until you reconciled with all your children….including the red panda scholar and his kit…..but you are making it very hard to resist wanting to mate with you, Bai Yue,” he purred, his voice smooth. “This new you…..soft, sweet, mother to my son…..do you have any idea what you do to me?”

Bai Yue made a sound that might have been a word if her brain hadn’t completely abandoned ship. “Eh?????” was all that came out. “M-mate?! I—I—you can’t just—we’re not—there’s a child in the room!”

“Hmm.” Zhāo Yàn’s eyes drifted to where Ruì Xuě was currently very absorbed in examining a shiny pebble he had found on the floor, completely oblivious to the adult drama happening three feet away. “He is not paying attention to us.”

“THAT IS NOT THE POINT!”

Zhāo Yàn chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest and into hers where they were pressed together. He pulled back slightly, but kept his hands on her face, forcing her to keep looking at him.

“I will enjoy mating with this new you,” he said, his tone making it very clear that this was a promise, not a question. His thumb brushed over her lower lip, making her shiver. “When you are ready. When you have proven yourself to all your cubs. When Han Shān has stopped looking at you like you might steal his son in the night. When Yàn Shū returns and you make things right with him.”

He paused, his smirk widening.

“And then, Bai Yue, I will make sure you remember exactly what kind of male I am.”

And with that absolutely devastating declaration, he stepped back, leaving her pressed against the wall and trying to remember how to breathe.

Bai Yue stood there, frozen, her mind a mess of incoherent screaming. Mate? MATE?! He wants to—we’re going to—I can’t—AHHHHHHH!

“Cursed Female?”

The tiny voice broke through her panic. She looked down to find Ruì Xuě standing beside her, his little head tilted in confusion. “Are you okay? Your face is very red. Did you eat bad berries?”

“I—yes—no—I mean—” Bai Yue shook her head violently, trying to dislodge the image of Zhāo Yàn’s smirking face and those words he had just casually dropped like they talking about something absolutely mundane. “I’m fine! Just fine! Let us go see the panther cubs! Right now! Immediately!”

She grabbed Ruì Xuě’s hand and practically fled from the hut, her face still burning.

Behind her, she heard Zhāo Yàn’s low, satisfied laughter following her out into the sunlight.

That fox is going to be the death of me, she thought, her heart still racing.

Ruì Xuě skipped beside her, swinging their joined hands happily. “Uncle Zhāo was being very strange. Was he sick?”

“Something like that,” Bai Yue muttered.

“Will he get better?”

Bai Yue thought about the look in Zhāo Yàn’s eyes, the promise in his voice, and she shuddered.

“I…..have no idea, little Xuě. No idea at all.”

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