Chapter 3 — Giao Giao’s Covenant

Yun Tu’s knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists.

"Since when?"

"Three days ago."

"Three days?"

His voice spiked, trembling with suppressed fury. "You have allowed two strange beast-men to stay in our home for three days?"

"They are my mates."

"While I was away?"

"You are away more often than not." I looked him straight in the eye. "You claim you are busy, so I simply went out and found those who were not."

Yun Tu’s face drained of color. Feng Yan seized the moment to drive the knife in deeper. "The mistress has been eating well and sleeping soundly for these three days. I roast meat for her every day, and A Lan sings her to sleep at night. She has rested better these past few days than ever before." Yun Tu glared at Feng Yan, the blood vessels in his eyes dilating into a menacing, crimson web.

"You sing her to sleep?"

A Lan drifted forward, resting his chin against the edge of the pool. "She used to suffer from insomnia. She does not anymore."

Yun Tu’s breathing grew heavy and ragged. His gaze darted frantically between the two beast-men and me.

"Send them away," he commanded.

"What?"

"I said, send them away." He took a step forward, his voice dropping to a low, threatening growl. "I do not need others to protect you. I am more than enough."

Feng Yan stood up abruptly, his presence matching Yun Tu’s intensity. "You? Where exactly were you? Where were you when the mistress was waiting for you until the middle of the night?"

Yun Tu recoiled half a step. He looked at me, his expression softening into something desperate. "Jiao Jiao... I..."

"You said you were busy," I interrupted, my tone icy and detached. "You told me there were affairs within the clan, that you had to go on patrol, that you had meetings. I believed all of it. But you cannot simply abandon me to tend to your business and then turn around and forbid others from providing the care you refuse to give."

He opened his mouth, searching for a rebuttal, but could only manage a single, hollow sentence: "I am your mate."

"That is true." I nodded slowly. "But you are never home."

By the edge of the pool, A Lan gently stirred the water, the rhythmic splashing cutting through the silence. Yun Tu snapped his head toward him. "Shut your mouth."

A Lan did not. He met Yun Tu’s gaze, his voice soft but articulated with chilling clarity: "I, however, have always been here."

***

Feng Yan and A Lan had been summoned by my sister to transport a shipment of goods to her territory; they would not return until dusk at the earliest. The house fell into an unaccustomed, heavy silence. I leaned against the windowsill to soak in the sun, finally enjoying a rare moment of solitude. Then, footsteps approached—light, yet steady, carrying an indescribable weight of oppression.

I did not look up. "Feng Yan? I thought you had already left."

"It is me."

It was Yun Tu’s voice. I raised my gaze. He stood in the doorway, framed against the harsh light so that his expression was obscured, yet his attire was unmistakable. He wore his official patrol uniform: a silver-grey leather belt cinched around his waist, and the sigil of the Leopard clan—a snow leopard sprinting under the moonlight—embroidered upon his chest. His sleeves were rolled up with meticulous care, revealing the sharp, defined contours of his forearms. The high collar highlighted his long, elegant neck, where his Adam’s apple bobbed in the shadows. The silver threads of his uniform shimmered, tracing a waistline that was as lean as it was striking. He held his posture unnaturally straight, as if on display.

"You once said..." He began, his voice raspy. "...that you liked it when I wore this."

His hand moved from his hem to his belt, hesitating for a heartbeat before his fingers hooked into the leather buckle.

"You also said..." His voice dropped to a whisper, the tips of his ears flushing a deep crimson. "...that you wanted to see me wear this... for your eyes only."

Seeing my silence, he suddenly strode forward, swept me into his arms, and marched toward the bedroom. "Isn't this what you always wanted? For me to wear this uniform while we..."

"I don't want this."

I scrambled out of his arms, pushing him away. In the past, when my world revolved entirely around him, I had uttered countless foolish, shameless, and sycophantic words. I had assumed he never listened, as he would always offer a cold hum of indifference before turning his back on me. It turned out he had remembered everything. He remembered that I loved him in this uniform. But why had he never once smiled at me? Why could he smile at others, but never at me?

Yun Tu stepped forward, closing the distance until he stood right before me. His pupils were fixed on mine, my own face reflected in the dark depths of his eyes. He reached out to touch my cheek.

"Jiao Jiao," he whispered. "It is just the two of us today. Those two are not here... you can do whatever you want."

I was reminded of my sister’s words. Yun Tu smiled at others—a smile never intended for me. It was reserved for everyone else. In my past life, it was because of that very smile that I had fled, encountered the beast tide, and met my end. I turned my head away, dodging his touch. His fingers caught only air, frozen in the space between us.

"Jiao Jiao?"

"Leave," I said.

His breath hitched. "I... did I do something wrong?" He looked down at his own uniform, then back up at me, his voice laced with panic. "Do you not like this anymore? Or does it not look good on me?"

I rubbed my temples, an overwhelming sense of exhaustion washing over me.

"Perhaps we should dissolve the bond."

The air in the room turned to ice. Yun Tu’s expression crumbled, his eyes widening as he stared at me, unable to process the words.

"What did you just say?"