Chapter 149: Toxic Herbs and Toxic Masculinity

Back in the forest, the atmosphere was thick enough to be cut with a dull spoon.

Kael sat cross-legged on a mossy log, frowning deeply at a pile of vegetation in front of him. Viper, the Snake King’s loyal guard, had returned from his foraging mission with a large bundle of “medicinal” herbs.

Kael picked up a purple leaf, sniffed it once, and tossed it over his shoulder.

“Poison,” the Tiger King grunted.

He picked up a spiky yellow root.

“Numbs the tongue. Then stops the heart,” he muttered, tossing it away.

He picked up a harmless-looking blue flower.

“Makes your insides turn to water and leak out of your bottom until you dry up like an old husk,” Kael deadpanned, flicking it into the bushes.

“Did that stupid snake just grab everything that looked pretty?” Kael grumbled, his voice rough.

He had lived in this forest his entire life. His nose knew every leaf, every root, and every berry. Finally, he found what he was looking for—a thick, fleshy green plant that looked like a succulent on steroids.

Kael snapped the stalk in two. A thick, clear sap oozed out. Wincing slightly, he began to apply the goo to the claw marks on his chest and arms. The coolness of the sap soothed the burn of the wounds that were slowly knitting back together.

Syris sat a few feet away, leaning against the trunk of an ancient oak. He was silent, his eyes closed, his face a mask of brooding contemplation.

Kael had refused to tell him where the tree Ren was being held was. So, Syris had sent Viper out again—this time to find the tree.

Syris, meanwhile, was doing what snakes do best: overthinking.

He wasn’t stupid. And he certainly wasn’t unreasonable—when he wasn’t blinded by jealousy, at least. He replayed the events of the past day in his head.

Maybe Ren hadn’t tried to run away from him?

’It was the fox,’ Syris deduced, his jaw tightening. ’He must have forced her. Forced her into lying to me so I wouldn’t follow.’

Syris opened his eyes, the violet irises glowing with a cold, lethal light.

’Vex isn’t stupid. He knew if I followed, I would have killed him right then and there.’

Syris let out a slow breath. That was a given. But beneath the murderous intent toward the fox, a colder, heavier stone settled in Syris’ stomach.

He wondered if he had been too obvious. He wondered if the fox didn’t actually have to force her into deceiving him.

’Did she pick up on it?’ Syris worried. ’Did she realize I was delaying the cure on purpose? Is that why she felt she had to lie to me?’

He wasn’t angry at Ren anymore. He was angry at himself. He prided himself on being calculating and perfect, yet his jealousy had made him sloppy. And now, a big part of him feared the consequences.

’Does she hate me?’

The thought terrified him more than any enemy. If Ren didn’t already hate him, she was certainly going to hate him now. Because Syris had no intention of backing down.

He had declared the Rite.

Only one of them would stand by her side when the sun rose on the fourth day. It was going to be him. Or it was going to be the white striped cat. There was no third option.

Syris broke the silence, his voice cool and slicing through the dusk air.

“White Tiger King.”

Kael paused. He was currently stripping the thin skin off a round, red fruit known for blood replenishment. He didn’t look up immediately.

“I declared the Rite of the Severed Fang,” Syris continued, his tone devoid of emotion but heavy with intent. “And I intend to honor it.”

Kael slowly lifted his head. His golden eyes locked with Syris’ amethyst ones.

For a moment, the forest seemed to hold its breath.

Kael chewed on the inside of his cheek. He thought about Ren. He thought about her smile, her strange food, and the warmth of her small body.

’She will be sad,’ Kael thought. ’If I kill the snake, she might even cry.’

But then, Kael shrugged internally.

’Sadness is like happiness. It is like pleasure. It is fleeting. She will get over it eventually.’

Kael nodded to himself, satisfied with this simple logic. ’I will help her forget him. She was so happy when it was just me and her in the beginning. Things will go back to the way they were. Simple. Just us.’

Kael tossed the red skin onto the pile of rejected poison.

“I declared the Rite as well,” Kael rumbled, his voice deep and steady. “And by my pride as a King, I will not back out.”

They stared at each other.

There was no animosity in that look—only the terrifying, absolute confidence of two apex predators who both believed they were the main character of this story.

They were both aware of the weight of the Rite. It wasn’t just a fight; it was a binding law of nature.

“Good,” Syris said. “It is settled then.”

He looked Kael up and down, noting the healing wounds and the lingering exhaustion.

“I want to fight you at your full strength,” Syris stated arrogantly. “There is no honor in killing a cripple. And when I win, I want Ren to know that I am the only King strong enough to protect her. She doesn’t need a broken tiger.”

Kael scoffed, a low growl rumbling in his chest. “You talk too much, Snake. When I get my beast form back, I will snap you in half like a dry twig.”

They both nodded in agreement.

“We fight when you can shift,” Syris decreed.

It was a mutual suicide pact driven by ego.

According to Beast Law, once the Rite of the Severed Fang is invoked by two Kings, the clock starts ticking. It doesn’t matter if Kael is healed. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining. It doesn’t matter if Ren comes down and hits them both with her frying pan.

They had three nights.

If they didn’t fight to the death within three nights, the Rite would consume them both. Their hearts would simply stop, a penalty for making a mockery of the sacred challenge.

The stakes were absolute death. But neither man had a single regret.

Their egos were too big to share a mate. Their hatred for each other—and their pride—overshadowed everything, even Ren’s wishes.

In their twisted logic, they both felt they were doing her a favor.

’She is just confused,’ Syris thought. ’Polygamy is hard for her. I will simplify it.’

’She doesn’t know what’s good for her,’ Kael thought. ’I will remove the distraction.’

They were making it easier for her by removing an option from the multiple-choice question of her life.

Kael popped the red fruit into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. He had three nights to recover his strength and figure out why his beast form was locked away.

The tension in the clearing was palpable. It was a heavy, solemn silence filled with the promise of violence and the arrogance of Kings.

“Beast Kings are so intense.”

A playful voice broke the mood from above.

Syris and Kael snapped their heads up.

Perched casually on a high branch, swinging his legs back and forth with a cheeky grin, was Vex.

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