Chapter 1

After I rescued Silas Drake and Fox Ashford during their heat, I forced them to be my partners. I treated them like dirt, bossing them around and putting them through hell.

I was living it up and making their lives miserable until a stream of floating comments appeared before my eyes.

[Let Lily play her little games for now. Once the human female lead crosses over, her days will be numbered.]

[I can't wait! Only seven days until the heroine arrives. Silas' and Fox's happy ending is just around the corner.]

[When the time comes, both Silas and Fox will fall for the heroine at first sight. They'll team up to dump Lily in the wild, leaving her to be torn apart by beasts while she's gravely injured. Just thinking about it is so satisfying.]

A chill ran down my spine. I lunged forward and snatched the prey right out of Fox's hands. "Don't bother roasting it. I... I'll just eat it raw."

*****

The orange-red fox ears atop Fox's head twitched. He narrowed his eyes at me. "I thought you hated raw meat?"

He reached out to take the meat back to finish roasting it over the fire, but I took a sharp step back to dodge him. "I'm tired of cooked food. I just wanted to shake things up a bit."

Fox was the head of the Fox Tribe, known as the sharpest and most cunning fox in the entire beast world.

I didn't dare look him in the eye. So I spun around and ducked into the cave.

When I saw Silas, who was busy prying scales off his own body to make me a pendant, my whole body trembled. I rushed over and pinned his hand down. "Silas!"

He turned to look at me, his eyes calm. "What's wrong?"

I forced a smile and snatched the scales away, tossing them aside. "I don't need a pendant anymore. I like things just the way they are. Go get some rest."

I reached out, hauled Silas to his feet, and shoved him toward the mouth of the cave.

He belonged to the Serpent Tribe. Currently, he wore nothing but a scrap of shed snakeskin around his waist, barely covering the essentials.

My cheeks burned, and I kept my head down.

"Lily?" Silas' pupils narrowed into slits as he stared at me. "Are you not feeling well?"

Fox, who I'd just left hanging a moment ago, came over too.

The live comments were still flying across the screen.

[She is acting out again just to get their attention. Typical fodder character behavior.]

[The harder she plays them now, the more tragic she'll crash and burn later.]

[Don't worry, Silas and Fox are just under her spell for now. The human heroine is their true destined mate.]

I glanced at the two drop-dead gorgeous men standing side by side.

Fox was built like a tank, his proportions perfect and his muscles rippling with power.

Silas had softer, delicate features that were incredibly striking with an icy vibe that somehow made him even more captivating.

I only managed a brief look before quickly looking away.

The temptation was through the roof. I really couldn't blame my previous self for letting my eyes wander and following my heart.

I clenched my hands tight. Bracing myself, I blurted out, "I was wrong before.

"I shouldn't have touched you two while you were out of it, and I definitely shouldn't have forced you two to be my partners after you came to.

"Now that your heat's over, I'm setting you free. As for everything I did... I hope you won't hold it against me."

I let out a heavy sigh. "You can leave now."

Silas' expression darkened as he leaned in closer. "What did you just say?"

Fox frowned and reached out to press his palm against my forehead. "Why are you acting so weird today?"

I took two steps back again, putting some distance between us.

[Such a scheming vixen. She totally jumped them when they were vulnerable, and now she's acting all coy and playing hard to get.]

[She didn't just take advantage; she straight up forced herself on them. Too bad the author just skimmed over that part.]

[Honestly, I low-key get her. If it were me, I wouldn't have been able to keep my hands off them either.]

[Hush, hush.]

[I want to see what kind of stunt she pulls next.]

My mouth tugged in frustration. Good grief... I'm totally innocent!

I was just a run-of-the-mill, low-level Cat Tribe beastman; I couldn't even transform. I didn't have a malicious bone in my body.

I just wanted to stay alive. Was that so much to ask?

Three months ago, while I was out foraging in the forest, I stumbled upon Silas and Fox in the middle of a scrap.

Seeing two top-tier hotties duking it out, I couldn't help but stop and stare.

Unfortunately, they ended up critically wounding each other. They shifted into their beast forms and, to make matters worse, went into heat at the exact same time.

In the heat of the moment, I didn't stop to overthink things. I saved them and even hauled them back to my cave.

I did so much for them to save their lives. Did I ever say a word about it?

Luckily, they actually had a conscience and didn't give me the cold shoulder once they shifted back into human form.

When they came to their senses, they asked me what I wanted as a reward.

At the time, I'd binged a ton of cheesy web novels where the heroine falls for the hero after he saves her and promises herself to him.

So, the words just slipped out. "I want you both to be my partners."

The second the words left my mouth, I kicked myself.

There was no way top-tier beastmen like them would ever settle down with a low-level nobody like me.

Instead of making a fool of myself, I should've just asked them for more prey and supplies.

But then... they actually agreed. They actually said yes!

Not only did they become my partners, but they even humbled themselves and moved into my little cave like I asked.

At first, I figured they were just going through the motions to pay me back for saving their lives, so I didn't take it to heart. Aside from making them stay in my cave, I didn't dare push my luck.

But a month flew by, and they started treating me like a real partner, looking after my every need. Even though it was clear they were just driven by instinctual desire, they spoiled me rotten.

Gradually, I started getting a bit too big for my boots. I began bossing them around and putting them through the wringer.