Michael bared his teeth back at me, but with more effort, and his pointy fangs were terrifying to look at, "Scary faces are supposed to be scary. You look like you want a belly rub."
He then rubbed my stomach with his knuckles, making me let go of him and curl up into a ball, laughing along with Baron.
"I...I want...to look scary too," I wheezed, my stomach aching from the rubbing and laughing.
"You are a female," Michael put his hand on my head, pressing down and turning my head from side to side as he continued, "Your goal is to look needy, cute, and defenseless, so we males can look useful, strong, and big."
"But Madam..." I said, pushing Michael's hand away. He was messing my hair up, and Skaris put lots of effort into combing it and making it look nice.
He probably didn't feel my hands pushing his, and took my action as if I wanted to hold his arm while he continued to play with my hair.
"You can't even sit like her," he pointed at the way I was sitting in his lap, more like inside the hole his legs made.
He was big enough to make me look like a cub in comparison, which made his words even more upsetting.
"There is no way you will ever be like Darling. I don't know why you even try."
"Madam said I was supposed to seduce you into liking me," I hugged my knees, resting my chin on them, watching my toes wiggle, "You only like Madam, so I have to be like her to make you like me."
"Why are you listening to the nonsensical things that come out of her mouth?"
"She's the family's head," I replied, looking up at him, confused, "I have to listen."
This was a basic rule of every pack. The head was the one who set the rules, and everyone else followed.
Michael and Baron looked at each other, their lips widened into a smile.
"Do whatever you want, Little Miss." They said at the same time, making me frown. It sounded like a trap.
Michael set me free from his lap, and I carefully stepped away, "Whatever you do, it's definitely going to be a fun show. Now, go to Moyu."
I tiptoed toward Moyu hidden behind the throne, who was listening to us the entire time. I grabbed the side of the throne and peeked behind it.
He averted his gaze, the tips of his ears turning pink.
Even I started to feel less shy around the owners and Madam after a while while Moyu was still the same. He always had trouble looking at Madam and now me too, after the accident.
"I love you," I said to him and hid myself with the help of the throne, not wanting to make him feel even more awkward.
Unlike the rest, I didn't find teasing Moyu amusing. He looked like he was the only one with a nice past, had no ex mates, was respected by the beastmen community, and was considered a hero.
He tolerated others teasing, and was just happy he could be Madam's mate, that was all that mattered to him.
"Wait, come back," Moyu held onto the hem of my dress, stopping me.
He was fast, his hand moved so quickly, I didn't even see it coming, I just felt the tug.
I looked back at him, and he bit his lip, his eyes still on the floor, "Thank you."
I smiled and his eyes darted to my face for a second, then he quickly let go of my dress, not wanting to hold onto me any longer than he had to.
Michael then chased everyone away since it was his time to sleep.
I did a little twirl and skipped out of the tent.
Being stuck inside for so many days due to the rain was hard, so I was happy to be able to walk outside again.
I went to check on the sheep females and saw Madam already taking care of them. They watched her in a daze as she offered them food and water.
I overheard Madam's soothing words, and didn't know she could be so gentle with her tone. She sounded like a completely different person.
"─slowly. There is no rush," Madam held a bowl of water in one hand, and gently guided a female's head to it with the other. Once she could hold onto the bowl herself, Madam let go and went to check on the other female, "I'll take you to your herd once you are better."
Madam passed by me to fetch more water, ignoring my existence, not even sparing me a single glance.
My role was to stay away from her and focus on the owners, so I tried to do just that, following her with my eyes for a bit, then turning around and going the other way.
Skaris and Baron went to refresh the markings around the camp, and even gave me a bottle of their urine to pour on the trees during my walk.
They were probably fed up with being locked up in the tent and wanted to stretch their legs.
They could sense my presence even from miles away, so I was free to explore.
I grabbed a basket that I used for picking berries and went inside the forest. It was a bit gloomy, wet leaves and dirt sticking to my feet.
I saw mushrooms growing on the trees, and went to pick them, checking if they were not rotten or slimy before putting them in the basket.
Then sprinkled the owners' urine on the tree trunk and walked further.
I found a few bushes with berries and picked them too, sprinkling the urine again to mark the place, so the berries wouldn't get stolen.
I was getting a bit lost, and it felt weird to roam the forest alone, so I began to head back.
Of course, I got even more lost.
The owners and Madam were all lone-wolf types, so they must have needed some alone time, from me included.
I was thinking about how much alone time they needed when I saw a large snake coiled around a tree branch above my head, staring down at me.
It had dark green scales, and its eyes were bright yellow.
It could probably swallow me whole if it wanted to.