Arthur stared at the wooden box Dax had pushed back. The sheer conviction in the younger man's voice hit him like a physical blow. Fresh tears tracked through the dirt on his cheeks. He nodded frantically, his heart overflowing with gratitude. His daughter had found a male who truly understood devotion.

But Arthur was stubborn. He picked up the box and shoved it directly into Cora's hands. His tone left no room for argument. "No matter what, you keep this. For emergencies. A female must always have resources of her own."

Cora felt the heavy, pulsing warmth of the crystal against her palms. She swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded, slipping the box into her pocket.

Arthur wiped his face with his sleeve. His expression shifted to serious concern. "Even though you signed a private contract, you must go to the Tribal Healer for official registration and a physical checkup. Your status as a claimed female must be recorded. "

He looked at Cora, his eyes scanning her pale face. "Your body has always been fragile. You spent a night in the freezing wasteland. Dr. Dorathy Clarke needs to make sure you didn't suffer any hidden damage."

The word checkup made Cora's stomach drop. Her pulse spiked. If a healer examined her, the triplets would be exposed instantly. And her lie about the ex-boyfriend would unravel.

Dax, however, nodded in immediate agreement. His brow furrowed in deep concern. "Arthur is right. You suffered a massive 'trauma' before I found you. You need to be examined. Your health is my responsibility now. "

Cora looked at Dax's deadly serious face. He was talking about the emotional and physical trauma of being abandoned by her "ex." She wanted to scream.

She tried to backpedal. "Honestly, I feel great. We don't need to bother the healer-"

Dax cut her off. His large hand clamped around her waist, pulling her flush against his side. His voice was gentle but brokered no argument. "Be good. We aren't taking chances with your health. If she finds anything wrong, I will fix it. That is my duty as your husband."

Cora was half-carried out of the hut, Arthur watching them leave with a relieved smile. His daughter had a strong male to care for her. It was all a father could ask for.

As they walked down the muddy street toward the clinic, the whispers started again. Mutants pointed from the shadows.

Dax's sharp ears caught the venomous words.

"Look at that useless defect. Can't believe she survived..."

"Must have spread her legs for that brute. She thinks she can act like a proper female just because she caught one male... "

Dax stopped dead. His ice-blue eyes darkened to the color of a freezing ocean. A wave of pure, suffocating killing intent exploded from his body, sweeping down the street like a physical shockwave. They dared to insult his female. They would die.

The gossiping mutants choked. Their faces turned ash-white as the air was sucked from their lungs. They clamped their hands over their mouths, terrified they were about to be slaughtered.

Cora tugged hard on his sleeve. "Ignore them. They're just cowards hiding behind a fence. They are beneath us. "

Dax wrapped his hand around hers, his grip tight enough to bruise. His voice was a low, lethal rumble. "If anyone in this settlement disrespects you again, I will rip their tongues out of their skulls. You are a female. They will kneel or they will bleed."

They stopped in front of a large, sturdy wooden cabin draped in dried vines. The pungent, bitter smell of medicinal herbs wafted through the door.

Dax pushed the door open. Inside, the walls were lined with clay pots and hanging roots. An older, stern-faced female owl-mutant wearing a necklace of animal bones was grinding herbs in a stone bowl. This was Dr. Dorathy Clarke, the settlement healer.

Dr. Clarke looked up. The stone pestle slipped from her fingers and clattered onto the table. Her jaw unhinged. "Cora? By the gods, you're alive!"

The curtain to the back room was violently thrown aside. A bouncy female rabbit-mutant sprinted out. It was Niamh, Dr. Clarke's apprentice and Cora's childhood best friend.

Niamh let out an ear-piercing shriek and tackled Cora into a bone-crushing hug. "You stupid girl! I thought you were dead!"

Cora hugged her back, a genuine smile breaking through her panic.

Niamh pulled away and finally noticed the towering, terrifying man standing next to her friend. She squeaked and dove behind her mentor's back.

Dr. Clarke swallowed hard. She forced herself to step forward, her eyes darting nervously to Dax. "And... who is this?"

Cora kept it brief. "This is my first husband, Dax. My contracted partner. My dad sent us for a registration and a checkup."

Dr. Clarke instantly switched to her professional healer persona. She nodded and pointed to a wooden cot covered in a clean animal skin. "Lie down. I'll use my Wood magic to scan your vitals. We must ensure the female is healthy. "

Cora dragged her feet to the cot. Her heart hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. Her brain spun wildly, trying to invent a lie to explain the impossible pregnancy.

Dax stood right beside the cot. He crossed his massive arms over his chest, glaring at Dr. Clarke like a guard dog ready to rip her throat out if she made a mistake. No one harmed his female. Not even a healer.

Sweating under the intense pressure, Dr. Clarke took a deep breath. She held her palm a few inches above Cora's stomach. She closed her eyes, and a soft, pulsing green light ignited from her skin.

The soft green light of Dr. Clarke's Wood magic swirled over Cora's stomach.

Suddenly, the healer's face froze. The color drained completely from her cheeks.

Her eyes snapped open, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks. She stared at Cora's abdomen as if a monster was about to burst out of it. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead and dripped down her nose.

Dax saw the terror on the healer's face. His instincts flared. He lunged forward, grabbing Dr. Clarke by the collar of her tunic and lifting her off her feet. His voice was a terrifying, icy snarl. "What is it? Is she hurt?! Tell me now! "

Dr. Clarke gasped for air, her hands clawing at Dax's iron grip. "No! Not hurt! It's... it's life!"

Dax dropped her. Dr. Clarke collapsed against the wooden table, pointing a shaking finger at Cora's stomach. Her voice cracked hysterically. "She's pregnant! And... and there are three incredibly powerful life forces in there! Three cubs! "

Niamh slapped both hands over her mouth, a muffled scream escaping her lips. "Goddess! Cora, you're pregnant?!"

Dax already "knew" this. But hearing the official confirmation sent a fresh wave of agony through his chest. His female was carrying another male's cubs. And yet he would protect them as his own. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles popped. He glared at the floor, fighting the urge to destroy something.

Cora lay stiff on the cot. She covered her face with both hands, burning with humiliation. She screamed at the system in her head to make her disappear.

But Dr. Clarke wasn't done. "I need to check the father's energy signature through the Beast Mark to determine the cubs' growth rate," she stammered. She closed her eyes again, her hands trembling as she reached out to sense the energy pulsing from the faint blue fox-tail tattoo on Cora's collarbone.

A second later, she yanked her hands back as if she had plunged them into boiling water. The absolute, terrifying suppression of a Tier-9 apex predator violently lashed out from the mark, slamming into her senses. She stumbled backward, crashing into a shelf. Clay pots shattered on the floor, scattering dried herbs everywhere.

"Impossible... this is impossible!" Dr. Clarke muttered, her eyes wide with absolute despair and sheer terror as she looked up at Dax.

Dax grabbed the healer by the shoulders, shaking her violently. "What is wrong?! Tell me!"

Dr. Clarke looked up at Dax, her teeth chattering. "Your energy... the Beast Mark! You are a Tier-9 mutant! An apex warlord! And you have submitted to her as her first husband!" she gasped, the revelation shattering the fragile peace of the room. Her eyes darted back to Cora in horror, completely misunderstanding the situation as she sensed the resonance. "And the cubs... they are drawing on his Tier-9 anchor to survive! Their innate energy levels are terrifyingly high. They are high-tier mutants! They will kill a defective mother! "

The clinic fell into a dead, suffocating silence. Even Niamh stopped breathing.

In the wasteland, the laws of biology were absolute. A mother's energy had to match her cubs. If a low-tier female carried high-tier cubs, it was a death sentence. She was carrying three ticking time bombs.

Dr. Clarke turned to Cora. Her eyes were filled with pity and profound grief. "Cora... your genetic defect is too severe. Your body cannot provide the massive amount of energy they need to grow."

She swallowed hard. "In less than a month, those high-tier cubs will drain your life force completely. The energy backlash will cause you to... explode. You will die. Your first husband's power is too great for your body to support. "

Even though Cora knew the system would keep her alive, hearing the words explode and die sent a violent shiver down her spine. Her stomach cramped in fear.

Dax heard the death sentence.

His brain snapped.

A guttural, demonic roar ripped from his throat. His eyes flashed a blinding, glowing red. The sheer, unadulterated fury of a Tier-9 apex predator exploded from his body. His female was dying because of his power. His strength was killing her.

The wooden window shutters blew outward, shattering into splinters. The remaining clay pots exploded into dust. The crushing pressure forced Dr. Clarke and Niamh to their knees, pinning them to the floor as they gasped for air.

"I will not let her die!" Dax roared, his voice shaking the foundation of the cabin. "She is my female! My purpose! I will find a way!"

He spun around and dropped to his knees beside the cot. He dragged Cora into his chest, wrapping his massive arms around her. He held her so tight her ribs ached, burying his face in her neck. His massive body was trembling violently. He was terrified. He had finally found a female to serve, and he was going to lose her.

Cora gasped for breath against his chest. She lifted her hands and wrapped them around his broad back. "Dax, stop. Calm down. I'm not going to die. Trust me. Your female commands you to calm yourself. "

Dax took a ragged, shuddering breath. He forced the violent energy back into his core, his eyes still burning red as he glared down at Dr. Clarke. "How do we save her? Tell me the price. I will pay it. I will tear the world apart. "

Dr. Clarke wiped the sweat from her eyes, struggling to speak under the lingering pressure. "The only way... is to forcefully raise Cora's energy tier before the cubs form. She needs to reach at least Tier-2 to survive the drain. She must become strong enough to wield the power her husband has given her. "

She shook her head in despair. "But it's impossible. Her defect makes absorbing cores incredibly slow. We don't have the time-"

A flash of absolute, manic determination crossed Dax's face.

He reached into Cora's pocket and yanked out the wooden box Arthur had given them. He flipped the lid open. The Tier-3 Wood core pulsed with green light.

Dax grabbed the crystal in his fist. He looked down at Cora, his voice hard as steel. "Then we upgrade you right now. I will force it into your veins myself. You will not die. I refuse to lose my female."

Dax pressed the glowing green Tier-3 crystal directly into the center of Cora's palm. He wrapped both of his massive, calloused hands around hers, locking the stone in place.

He leaned in close, his voice a low, urgent rasp. "This is going to hurt like hell. But I will wrap my fire around your heart to protect it. Do not let go, Cora. Your husband commands you to survive this. "

Before she could nod, a tidal wave of violent, untamed life energy erupted from the crystal. It smashed into her palm and ripped up her arm.

Cora screamed. It felt like boiling acid was being injected straight into her veins. The pressure was unimaginable; her blood vessels bulged against her skin, threatening to rupture.

Just as the pain reached a breaking point, Kay Lake's mechanical voice sliced through the agony.

High-tier energy intrusion detected. Activating Assisted Absorption Protocol. Converting energy to host's Mental Resonance frequency.

Instantly, the chaotic, tearing energy was hijacked by the system. The violent flood was forcefully separated into smooth, manageable streams. One stream was diverted straight to her womb, feeding the starving triplets. The other stream began to aggressively rebuild and widen her fragile energy channels.

Outside her body, Dax felt the sudden shift. The wild, destructive energy he was fighting to control suddenly became docile and perfectly ordered.

His ice-blue eyes widened in shock. This level of perfect energy manipulation... it was impossible for a defective rabbit-mutant. It felt exactly like the ancient, mythical "Life Catalysts" from the deep Northern legends. His female was special. Chosen.

But he shoved the thought aside. He poured his own energy into her, shielding her organs as the crystal drained. He would give her everything he had.

Ten minutes later, the glowing green stone crumbled into a pile of gray ash in Cora's hand.

Cora's eyes snapped open. A brilliant, emerald-green light flared in her pupils.

A sudden gust of wind exploded outward from her body. In the corner of the ruined clinic, a dead, withered medicinal plant suddenly sprouted a vibrant, glowing green leaf. Life responded to her. She was no longer defective.

Dr. Clarke, still slumped on the floor, pointed a shaking finger at the plant. She looked at Cora as if she were a god. "Tier-2... you actually broke through to Tier-2! The defective female has ascended! "

Ding.

Congratulations to Host. Tier-2 achieved. Energy backlash crisis averted. Female authority ranking restored. Basic Farming Store unlocked. Additional husband slots now available.

Cora's clothes were soaked in cold sweat, sticking to her skin. But beneath the exhaustion, her body felt incredibly light. A new, pulsing strength flowed through her muscles. She slumped forward, resting her forehead against Dax's chest, and gave him a weak, triumphant smile. She had done it. She had claimed her power.

Dax caught her, burying his face in her hair. The crushing terror in his chest finally evaporated. He pressed a hard, trembling kiss to her sweaty forehead. His female was alive. He had not failed.

After catching her breath, Cora stood up. They thanked a still-stunned Dr. Clarke and pushed open the splintered door of the clinic.

The moment they stepped into the street, they ran straight into a crowd of onlookers. Standing at the front was Kim Travis, the settlement leader's daughter, dressed in pristine, expensive furs.

Kim crossed her arms, her eyes sweeping over Cora with pure disgust. She sneered, her voice dripping with venom. "Well, if it isn't our famous genetic defect. I heard you dragged some wild beast back from the wasteland. What, were you so desperate not to freeze to death that you opened your legs for the first stray you found? You think having one male makes you a proper female? "

The crowd of mutants snickered. Kim lifted her chin, reveling in the chance to crush Cora's dignity in public.

Dax's eyes went dead. A lethal, freezing aura locked onto Kim. He stepped forward, fully intending to snap the arrogant female's neck. No one insulted his female.

Cora slapped her hand flat against his chest, stopping him. This was her battle. She stepped around him, her spine straight. She looked Kim dead in the eye, a cold, mocking smile twisting her lips.

Cora raised her right hand.

A vibrant, swirling orb of green Wood magic ignited at her fingertips. In the wasteland, that green light was the absolute symbol of life and power. The mark of a true dominant female.

Kim's smug smile vanished instantly. The laughter in the crowd died. Every eye was glued to the impossible green magic in Cora's hand.

Cora's voice rang out, sharp and clear, echoing down the muddy street. "My first husband is a Tier-9 apex predator. And I am a Tier-2 Wood magic user. I am a female of this settlement, and I demand the respect I am owed."

She took a step closer to Kim. Her eyes were like shards of glass. "You are nothing but a parasite feeding off your father's title. You don't have the right to breathe the same air as me, let alone judge me. Know your place."

Kim stumbled backward, her face turning a sickly shade of gray. The oppressive weight of Cora's new magic choked the words in her throat. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. A defective female had just asserted dominance over her. The shame was absolute.

Cora didn't waste another second on her. She turned her back on the trembling girl and faced the shocked crowd. She dropped her final bomb.

"Starting today, I am taking over the abandoned sandy plot on the east side of the settlement. I know this sandy plot is considered dead wasteland, but from today, I am going to use my Wood magic to heal this soil and make it yield food! I will let everyone know we don't have to starve! I am going to change this settlement. And any male who wishes to join my household and serve me may present himself for consideration."

Leaving the crowd in stunned, absolute silence, Cora grabbed Dax's hand. Like a queen walking through her conquered territory, she strode down the street, never looking back. Her first husband at her side. Her household begun. Her reign just starting.