The Alpha’s Claim

For a moment, he boasted that our Valtael was this great, but then he was stunned when she drank all the battle-wine offered by the underlings.

“Ah, is it finished? Give me more, more!”

The one who couldn’t even swallow the light decoction and hiccuped, how well she drank the strong battle-wine.
The sound of her gulping it down seemed like it would bring down Bahalgras.

Anxious, I gently suggested she go up and rest, but the clueless fools kept interrupting.

When I pleaded with her to rest for even a moment, she, being so soft-hearted, always listened to my words.

Then it seems she dozed off.

“Valtael, are you asleep.”

Sniffle, sniffle.
Her shoulders, covered by the blanket, moved with her even breaths.

Even if she had returned safely, she must be tired, and she shouldn’t be sleeping in such a squalid place.

But I couldn’t wake her when she was sleeping so soundly, and it was also awkward to just pick her up and carry her to the bedroom.
Only Valta could touch the Valtael.

Unable to do either, I just paced around like a leashed dog.

“…At dawn, something was walking out of the forest! Of course, I thought it was a monster and watched… At first, I thought it was a ghost. Because she didn’t have a single wound.”

The underlings, who had no idea of his burning insides, were chattering happily.

“When I asked her how she came back, my goodness, do you know what she said with those big, innocent eyes?”

“What did she say. What did she say!”

“…‘It was easy’.”

“Kyaaaaaah!”

The Varg considered confidence the highest virtue and named humility the exclusive property of the defeated.

Did the Valtael shrewdly see through that?
Her confident words lit a fire in the hearts of the underlings.
It seemed they weren’t tired of hearing it dozens of times.

“Actually, I was skeptical. Since Mashak was always making decoctions for her, I was worried about what would happen if the Valtael was so weak.”

“Hey, weak? The outsiders tried so hard to intimidate her. She just smiled and said that even hate is a form of affection!”

“Kuuuuuh! To think she’s a great person at heart!”

“Where did Valta find such a mate?”

With Tegen’s most excited voice leading the way, the praises for the Valtael continued endlessly.

“Indeed! She is a suitable mistress of our Bahalgras…”

“What nonsense.”

The hall became quiet at the blunt voice.

Thud!
The one who roughly slammed down his cup was the black mane chief, Radugan.

Although the Valtael had passed the trial with dignity, the pretext was gone, but the distrustful group remained.

No.
On the contrary, they seemed even more displeased.
Because that frail-looking person had returned after bravely overcoming the trial.
Their guts must be twisted to the point of throwing up.

Mashak glared at them with a sneer.
The bastards who were always trying to pull Valta down.

“A beast-kin with pink fur. Have you ever seen one, you guys?”

“The Revit clan has guys like that.”

“Those bastards have been pets raised by the Destroyers for generations!”

The black manes.
The bastards who were always trying to pull Valta down.
Their chief, Radugan, was the center of it.

He was a strong candidate for Valta, but he was stripped of the position for trying to rule by fear with the power to summon grim reapers.

He should have been kicked out, but he’s barely clinging on, and he still hasn’t come to his senses and is trying to show his teeth.

“An unknown female passed the Forest of Trials by herself? Do you think that makes sense?”

Radugan slammed his cup down, thud!
thud!

As he glared at the sleeping Valtael with his bulging eyes, ‘How dare you give her such a lowly look.’
He shielded her with his own body.

“…She’s not a normal human either. She’s definitely a Destroyer.”

“Are you drunk? The Destroyers can’t see us.”

“She must have used some petty trick!”

“Then there’s no way the imprinted Valta wouldn’t know!”

“It’s also suspicious that she smells strongly of human!”

“Didn’t you hear she was a human s*ave for a long time? Talk sense, Radugan.”

“Do you still not know their cunning? How do you know she hasn’t deceived even Valta!”

A quarrel broke out in an instant.

He wanted to tell them to shut up, but he couldn’t because the Valtael might wake up.

“Refrain from speculation, Radugan. If it reaches her ears, you won’t even be able to find your bones.”

“Do you think Valta would care about a mere female?”

“He does.”

All at once, the cups were set down, and the sound of creaking chairs was heard.

The surroundings became quiet in an instant.

‘It’s him.’
Mashak immediately bowed his head.

All the others, without exception, stood up from their seats and bowed their heads.

Hiding their claws behind their backs, lowering their tails, and flattening their perked-up ears.
Even the chattering Radugan closed his mouth and bowed his head.

They would run wild behind his back, but in front of Valta, they couldn’t even make a squeak.
No one could stand against him.

Karvan Baharga.

The youngest and most powerful primordial energy wielder in history.

He was persecuted for his human-like appearance and kicked out of the pack, but he returned with dignity and ascended to the position of Valta.

Valta, wearing a robe like the night sky, was always noble.
His frame, a head taller than the underlings, was like the sky.

After scanning the hall with his bulging golden eyes, he naturally looked for the Valtael first.
As soon as he was given way, he sat next to the Valtael and endlessly fiddled with her hair as she lay on her stomach.

“Karvan hates me.”
“Where in the world is there a Varg who hates their mate.”
“There is, anyway.”

When asked if he had any questions about him, or if he was doing well, the Valtael would always speak sullenly.

No matter how he thought about it, Shinbi-nim had misunderstood.
Who would look at someone they hated with such eyes.

“……”

To think that Valta would have such a tender gaze.
To think that he would perform such a gentle touch.
It was an unimaginable thing.

“A beast-kin with cherry-blossom-colored fur. Yes, it would be unfamiliar.”

Valta, who had been stroking her for a while, spoke indifferently.

Unlike his cool voice, the hand that was stroking her sleeping hair was incredibly affectionate.

“Is it finally time to speak.”

‘About what?’
The Varg’s ears perked up.

Whether the rampant rumors about the Valtael were true.
Half curiosity, half anticipation, they swallowed dryly.

“The holy relics of the Destroyers are quite interesting.”

A bewildered silence followed the out-of-the-blue words.

As Valta said, the holy relics that the Destroyers possessed were of all sorts.
Water that makes you energetic when you drink it, a mirror that reflects distant objects as if they were right in front of you, and paint that can flawlessly change the hair color that is determined at birth.

The Varg, who had been plundering and using the Destroyers’ things for hundreds of years, couldn’t possibly not know.
‘What is his intention in saying this?’
As they were all racking their brains, someone sighed.

“…Ah! No way, did Valta change her fur color? Using a Destroyer’s holy relic?”

“Because she was so feisty.”

‘Ah.’
Only then did everyone have a look of understanding.
The Varg, who lived on the brink of life and death, had good intuition.

Valta’s female gave off a strange atmosphere.

Just as they instinctively knew that pink mushrooms were poisonous mushrooms that shouldn’t be eaten, just as they would break a tooth on the hard seed if they bit into a soft-looking peach.
They knew that if they looked down on her and attacked her, they would suffer great harm.

She must have given off that atmosphere in front of Valta too, and that must have displeased him.

If it were up to his temper, he would have broken one or two of her limbs to break her spirit, but he couldn’t do that to his one and only mate.
So he must have sought a way on his own.

“Ah, so that’s why he changed her into that strange fur color! To tame her!”

“You’re quick on the uptake, Radugan.”

He received the envious gazes of those around him at the praise that was thrown like a piece of meat.

The black mane chief had a smug expression for a moment, but then he turned pale.

“But you don’t know your place.”

Shlick, shlick.
Unlike the hand that was stroking her cherry-blossom-colored hair, his raised eyes were like a sharp blade.
The blade of a guillotine that would fall with a thud if he relaxed his tension.

“Whoever dares to wag their tongue at my mate one more time will have all their claws pulled out.”

For a beast-kin, claws were a symbol of power.

Sharply honed claws were not suitable for trivial matters.
So, they only focused on combat, and the higher the position that could command the underlings, the longer and sharper they were.

“I-I’m sorry. Valta.”

Radugan flinched and tucked his tail as if he had heard that his own neck would be cut off.
At the chilling warning, he just swallowed dryly.

“I’ll watch my mouth. Please forgive my rudeness.”

Valta stood up from his seat without a word.
He tried to pick up the Valtael, who was sleeping soundly even in this commotion.
Mashak stretched out his hand to help, but then shut up and retreated.

A chilling gaze that said not to touch a single fingertip.

Cold sweat dripped down.
He was a million times glad that he had decided not to move her to the bedroom on his own.

“Mmm, let go. I don’t like it.”

As they were watching Valta gently lift the woman’s body, the Valtael kept struggling.

“I, like, cats, hiccup.”

“……”

“Dogs, are cute. You! Are scary. I don’t like you…”