Chosen Mate of the Beastmen Empire by Lewis Reed

Chapter 8 "Dollar, be good," Nyx mumbled, tossing her body and pushing the fluffy thing away.

G 203 69%u Dollar was the cat her boss kept around. It was a big, fat orange tabby, with a proud attitude to match its size. It looked down on everyone in the company-whether it was the higher-ups or the employees, even her owner was just a peasant in Dollar's eyes.

But there was one person Dollar did like-Nyx. Every day, she would hang out by Nyx's desk, rolling around and rubbing against her legs, trying to lure Nyx into petting her soft belly, completely wrecking her work efficiency.

Luckily, since it was kept by Nyx's boss, Nyx never got her pay docked. In fact, she got a raise for winning Dollar's affection. Her boss had even asked her several times privately how she managed to get Dollar to like her so much.

Nyx just shrugged. She couldn't explain it. Maybe she was just born with a gift for animals.

It wasn't just Dollar, either. When she was younger, out in the countryside, all the kids in her family had excluded her, even her cousins. While the other kids ignored her, Nyx could hang out with the animals.

From the chickens and dogs to the squirrels and foxes in the woods, every animal seemed to take a liking to her. The scariest encounter had been with a pack of wolves in the mountains. She had expected them to attack, but instead, they acted like playful pups, and she even got to pet their chubby little cubs.

Nyx muttered in her mind, 'Wolves' fur isn't soft. It's a bit rough, much like Dollar's fur now... But wait, isn't Dollar a cat? Why is its fur suddenly feeling so stiff? And why the heck is it so heavy? What on earth has it been eating lately?' Before she could process it, a massive fluffball pressed against her chest, nearly crushing her.

The pressure immediately woke Nyx up. Her eyes snapped open and her heart almost skipped a beat. A pair of glowing, predatory eyes stared at her from the darkness.

She then realized this wasn't Dollar.

Reality crashed in on her like a ton of bricks. She wasn't on Earth anymore, and there was no way she was seeing Dollar here...

Nyx's heart raced as she stared at the creature in front of her.

It was massive with solid muscle and a thick mane around its neck. Even in the darkness, it was unmistakably a lion. A young, strong, powerful lion was watching her quietly with an intensity she could feel down to her bones.

Nyx had never been to a zoo when she was on Earth, and all her knowledge of lions cfrom TV. But even so, she could tell this one was way bigger than the ones back on Earth.

It didn't need to use its claws or fangs-just one swipe of its paw could probably flatten her in an instant.

Fear gripped Nyx's chest, her face turned pale, and a chill ran through her body.

For what felt like forever, the two of them just stared at each other in silence. But slowly, as the panic receded, she noticed that the lion didn't seem to be attacking her. It was just watching her.

Tentatively, she reached out and pushed its head off her chest. Surprisingly, it didn't bite her.

12:28 Sat Feb 8 BBB.

Chapter 8 Gathering her courage. Nyx tried to get up and slide off the bed, 69%u The lion immediately followed, inching closer and keeping pace behind her, its glowing eyes never leaving her.

It didn't attack Nyx, but having a lion shadowing her around was enough to make her heart race. Nyx looked around for Theon or Zayne, but neither of them was anywhere to be found.

The villa felt eerily empty, and suddenly she wondered if this was her doom, and she was about to be food for a wild beast.

"Are you... a beastman?" Nyx blurted out, her brain scrambling for answers. "Theon? Zayne?" The lion didn't respond. It just yawned, stretching its massive body like a lazy cat.

Nyx shook her head and waved her hand in front of its face. "Hey, can you understand me?" This time, the lion's reaction was immediate-its eyes locked onto her hand, and a low, excited growl rumbled from its throat. Nyx quickly pulled her hand back.

Well, definitely not a beastman, just an animal,' Nyx thought.

A little defeated, she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed sfresh-looking meat from the fridge, figuring she could bribe this hungry intruder into leaving her alone. She was pretty sure that getting the lion's stomach full would lower the risk of her getting eaten.

She placed the meat on the floor in front of the lion, but it didn't even spare a glance at the meat.

Nyx then picked it up and offered it to the lion. This time, it sniffed the meat but still refused to eat it.

It wasn't the meat it was interested in.

"AHH!" Nyx yelped when the lion's massive tongue suddenly licked her hand. She almost thought the lion would bite off her fingers, but it just licked her curiously. Its head tilted to the side as if wondering why she was freaking out so much.

After getting spooked a couple of times, Nyx's nerves finally snapped, and suddenly, she got brave. She boldly reached out and touched the lion's belly.

It wasn't sunken in-it was the belly of a well-fed lion. No wonder it didn't even bother eating the meat. Normally, the belly of an animal like that would be a no-go zone. Touching it would be asking for trouble. Who in their right mind would just go up and rub a lion's belly? That was basically a one-way ticket to get eaten.

But this lion seemed to be way too chill. Not only did it let Nyx rub its belly, but it even nudged her shoulder with its mane, purring in contentment.

The more Nyx rubbed, the more confident she became, almost feeling like she was back in the countryside when she played with those animals.

"She even smugly thought, 'What's the big deal? It's just a lion.

I can easily handle it."" Nyx thought throwing the meat away would be a waste, so she washed it, cut off the outer layer, and stuck it back in the fridge.

She tried to message Theon and Zayne, but before she could send anything, the lion's giant head nudged in and blocked her 9/4 12:28 Sat, Feb 8 BGB.

Chapter 8 screen.

69%1 "Stop it, okay?" Nyx muttered, dodging the lion's head as it pushed against her. She ended up retreating to the bedroom, only to get pounced on by the lion. The two of them tumbled around in a chaotic mess.

Failing to send her message, Nyx spent a good while in this ridiculous gof cat-and-mouse with a lion. Soon, exhaustion hit her, and she closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath.

Before she knew it, she had drifted off to sleep with one arm draped across the lion's back. The lion just lay there quietly, keeping watch over her.

The next morning, Nyx blinked her eyes open, her consciousness slowly returning. She reached out to touch the lion but found nothing there.

'What the heck? Where's the lion? Was it all just a dream?' she thought. 'Yeah, it must be a dream. How could a lion break into my bedroom in the middle of the night? It's absurd.

After washing up, Nyx went out of her room. Zayne was cooking breakfast in the kitchen, but there was no sign of Theon.

"Good morning! Where's Theon?" she asked.

"Morning, Nykie," Zayne answered in a gentle tone. "General Lane had a mission. He left early this morning and headed back to the base. Don't worry, it's nothing dangerous. I'll stay with you." To keep Nyx from worrying, Zayne left out the whole Theon's bestialization situation.

Last night, Zayne spent hours looking for Theon, who had gone completely rogue in his lion form. The search parties had been completely thrown off track. That was why Zayne had left Nyx alone to go help out.

When he got back this morning, he found the broken window still unrepaired. He fixed it withoupam second thought. He was relieved that Nyx was still asleep at that time. Otherwise, he didn't know how to explain things to her. Nyx didn't suspect a thing. She went over to help Zayne with the soup, tossing in a few extra ingredients to make a steaming pot of creamy corn chowder. She also fried up seggs that smelled absolutely amazing.

As they were eating, Zayne's Intelligent Brain beeped, and a message popped up: [There were reports of a possible lion sighting nearby, and you are the closest to the target. Go check it] "Sorry, I've got an urgent mission," Zayne said, clearly trying to hide his concern.

"Is it a rescue? An emergency? Just go ahead," Nyx replied. She knew Zayne was a doctor, and urgent missions were just normal.

Zayne had never met a more understanding female before. He felt so grateful in his mind.

After sserious thanks and compliments, Zayne lowered his tall frame, leaning down to kiss Nyx's fingertips.

Nyx almost choked on her food. She was awkwardly speechless.

She sat there and screamed in her mind, 'What the hell is wrong with el those males?! How can they stop treating the like skind of fragile porcelain doll? I really didn't do much, but they act like I'm skind of hero. 'Like yesterday, I just gave them the recipes, and they were the ones who made the food. Yet in the end, I got all the credit. Just now, I just agreed with Zayne to do his job, and he acts so gratefully.

3/4 12:29 Sat, Feb 8 BBB.

Chapter 8 69%g 23

After finally sending Zayne on his way, Nyx let out a deep breath of relief. She went back to her breakfast, e casually scrolling through her Intelligent Brain. All of a sudden, a loud noise cfrom Theon's room.

She immediately froze in her seat. 'No way. Is there a robbery going on? Is someone trying to break in while I'm halone? Am I supposed to just sit here and take it?' she thought.

Footsteps were already getting closer to the kitchen. Nyx instinctively grabbed her fork and held her breath.

Then, she saw the familiar lion's head poke its way into the kitchen.

12:29 Sat, Feb 8 BBB.