It took me a full week to shake off the lingering cold.

The moment I recovered, Draken came to me with flushed cheeks. His gaze darted everywhere but refused to meet my eyes. And when he finally spoke, his voice was barely a whisper.

"That thing you did to me… could we do it again?"

I blinked and immediately buried my face in the covers, feeling the heat rushing to my ears.

Panic crept up his voice as he went on, "That shift was an accident! I didn't know how it happened, but I swear it won't happen again!"

"Please stop!" I practically leaped up and clamped a hand over his mouth, feeling my face burning like it was on fire.

But when I pounced on him, he caught me in his arms with gleaming eyes. And with one practiced motion, he ripped my robe in two.

I groaned inwardly. That robe was expensive, and I'd been saving it for special occasions. Now, on the first occasion I wore it, he just had to tear it just like that.

But I didn't have time to mourn the robe either, because Draken nuzzled against me like an eager pup. The change in his body was plainly visible.

"Litha, I feel terrible… Please help me, alright?" he murmured softly and needily as if begging for affection.

My body melted. I couldn't even tell when I stopped thinking at all as my hands moved on their own, following his lead.

When that massive, searing heat entered me, I finally snapped out of the haze in my mind and gasped. Draken shuddered with exhilaration as though he'd finally found his vent.

I could barely remember anything about the storm that followed. All I could recall was the sensation of being tossed around like a boat drifting in the violent sea, until the waves finally flung me into the clouds.

For the entire month that followed, I hardly ever set foot out of bed.

As for showers, Draken carried me to the bathtub himself, only to have our bodies pressed flush the whole time. Each of those shower sessions seemed to last half a day.

Eventually, I had had enough and shoved him out the door with wobbly legs. "Starting today, you're not allowed to set foot in my chamber!"

Draken whined and pouted with every trick he knew, but I held firm for an entire month, until he couldn't take it anymore.

One night, he shifted into his dragon form and burst through the windows again to barge into the bedchamber. As he coiled his dragon form tightly around me, I shivered under the cold press of his scales.

"Actually… We could try it in my true form…" he hesitantly suggested.

I hated to admit it, but something in me stirred. But we never got to try it out because not long after, I discovered I was pregnant!

Draken was overjoyed, though there was a faint look of regret on his expression. He clicked his tongue and sighed. "Guess we'll have to wait until the baby's born, then."

Meanwhile, I couldn't stop smiling as I rested a hand on my belly, feeling far more content than I'd ever been.

Three months later, Arya came to me again. "Litha, why didn't you tell me about the lions' horrible traditions? If I don't conceive within a month, I'd have to mate with multiple beastfolk!

"Please help me! How did you manage to conceive an Aetherborn in your past life?"

She looked nothing like her smug past self. Her face was pale and desperate, while panic and blame swam in her eyes.

I calmly rested a hand on my belly. "How was I supposed to know the lion clan had such barbaric traditions? If you're struggling to conceive, did you get examined to check whose problem it is?

"And what was that about a past life?"

She studied me for a long time before flashing a smirk that was more smug than genuinely malicious.

"Just watch! I'll be the first to get pregnant and bear a golden lion cub! And my husband will rule the beastfolk!"

Yet, I never expected her words to come true because two months later, news swept through the lion clan—Arya was pregnant!

When I first heard the news, I froze.

Kael was infertile, so whose cub was Arya carrying? Could it be a pregnancy she faked to escape being forced into mating?

Whatever the truth was, I was stunned by her boldness.

A month later, when she was due to give birth, the lions held a grand ceremony. All clan leaders were invited to witness the birth of an Aetherborn.

In the past life, I'd borne Kael a golden lion cub with Aetherblood. That must have convinced Arya she could do the same, so she'd been boasting of her Aetherborn from the moment she'd discovered her pregnancy.

The beastfolk hadn't seen such a rare bloodline in decades. So, when the day came, nearly all clan leaders gathered for the occasion.

As her sister, I was permitted into the birthing chamber to keep her company.

By the time I entered, the room was crowded with females, all fawning over her. Arya sat upright and basked in the praise with her chin held high.

When she saw me, she ran a hand across her round stomach and threw me a taunting look.

"Litha, it looks like I'll be the first to bring an Aetherborn into the world. That makes me the chieftess of the beastfolk!"

There was an old, unspoken rule among the beastfolk—for every human-beast matrimony, the bloodline status of the offspring often decided the political future of the clans.

The beastfolk who had offspring with stronger blood would be tied to the next chieftain. If the offspring shared the same bloodline, the matter was decided by whoever was born first.

Arya had conceived after me, but dragon pregnancies lasted far longer than other beastfolk's. So, it was no surprise that her cub was nearly born, while my belly had just begun to show.

No wonder she was so smug.

I gave her belly a calm, unreadable look and commented, "You might want to wait until the cub is born before you celebrate. Let's hope it doesn't disappoint you."

Her eyes widened and flashed with diffidence. "What do you mean by that? Do you know something?"

It was such a subtle probe, yet she rattled and had never been able to keep her cool.

After the brief panic, she soon calmed down and settled her hands on her belly with a snort. "I don't care what you know. As long as I give birth to an Aetherborn, Kael will take his rightful place as the chieftain."

Just after she spoke, a sharp grunt escaped her lips, and her brows knitted together.

The healers rushed in to check her and, finding the time had come, immediately cleared the room of visitors.

Outside the birthing chamber, Kael stood at the center of a crowd and was showered in praise. Everyone was eager to curry favor with him, which they believed would be the next chieftain.

"The lion clan is finally back on top. How many years has it been since we saw a rare bloodline?"

"Exactly! The lion clan will lead us to a golden age!"

Kael was glowing with pride. When he spotted me and Draken standing to the side, he made a point to walk over.

"Apologies, Lord Vorgath, but it looks like we'll be welcoming an heir before you get your turn."

His words sounded apologetic, but his eyes brimmed with smugness.

It was the first time the lions could hold their head high in front of the dragons.

"We might not be as wealthy as the dragons, but when it comes to choosing a wife, I clearly have better taste. You can't buy rare bloodlines with gold."

Others joined in and eagerly piped up.

"Too true! Lord Hawthorne clearly has the better eye! They're sisters but worlds apart; one's already giving birth, while the other's belly stays flat. Clearly, they're not from the same mother because some certain one is just useless."

I'd been pregnant for half a year, but Draken had kept it a secret, for fear I might be harmed. So, there had been no announcement of my pregnancy to outsiders.

Right then, cheers erupted from the birthing chamber.

"She's delivered! It's born!"

Everyone surged toward the doors, eager to catch the first glimpse of the Aetherborn. But seconds later, a stunned silence fell over the room.

"Wait… How did the wife of lion clan's head give birth to a cub with a fox tail?"