Somehow, Emma had slipped out of Alan’s room and appeared in the kitchen. When Alan, busy stir-frying, finally noticed her, she was quietly sneaking meat from a plate with her fluffy little hands.
She kept glancing at Alan while stealing bites.
“Just one last dish left,” Alan said. “Once it’s ready, we eat. But wash your hands first, Emma. Did you wash them?”
Caught red-pawed, Emma blushed and smiled shyly. She pulled back her fluffy hands, crouched on the floor, and wagged her tail. Her pitiful gaze at Alan made her look like a puppy begging for scraps—so adorably cute!
Alan instinctively reached out, chuckling as he ruffled her hair. “Don’t rush. It’ll be ready soon. Go wash your hands now. Once they’re clean, we’ll eat.”
Emma nodded. Then she held her hands up, stuck out her pink little tongue, and started licking them. For werewolves, tongues could clean when water wasn’t handy.
Alan’s lips twitched. He swatted her hands away. “I said wash, not lick. Fine, stand up and stay here. I’ll take you to wash properly.”
Emma looked puzzled but understood Alan’s words.
Moments later, the last dish—braised lion’s head meatballs—was done. Alan led Emma to the bathroom to wash her hands.
“Emma, wash here from now on before meals. Like this. Got it? No licking. Remember?”
Emma nodded, a blush spreading across her childlike face. Alan was carefully scrubbing her small hands front and back. In her memory, only her parents and grandpa had ever washed her hands.
Today, someone new had joined them—her fiancé.
“Emma, when will the fur on your hands fade?”
“Grandpa says it’ll vanish when I turn a hundred.”
“Oh, nice. What about your tail? Does it stay forever? Or fade at a hundred too?”
Emma shook her head. “I don’t know. Grandpa didn’t say. Alan… do you hate my tail?”
“Nope. It’s cute. A werewolf without a tail? That’s no werewolf. All clean now. Let’s eat in the hall.”
Alan smiled warmly, turned off the tap, and dried her hands with his towel. He took her small hand and walked her to the dining hall.
Ten minutes later, the table groaned with meat dishes and steamed rice.
“Alan, all this is for Emma?”
Alan grinned and nodded. “Yep. All for you. Dig in.”
“Then Emma starts eating!”
Emma grabbed the whole roasted beast leg from the table and devoured it in huge bites.
Alan had set out cutlery and chopsticks for her—but she ignored them. Even the rice was forgotten.
Alan sighed with a wry smile. “Slow down. It’s all yours. No one’s stealing it.”
“A… A… lan… eat too…”
Mouth full, Emma peeked out from behind the golden-brown beast leg, urging Alan to join her.
“I’m not hungry. You eat.”
“Not hungry?” Emma stared at him, confused. In her mind, even on the Northern Plateau, her stomach was always empty.
“Yeah. Not hungry. Eat up, no worries.”
Emma glanced at Alan, then back at the beast leg. She focused on devouring her food again.
Half an hour later, Emma had polished off every scrap of meat. Even the plates and bowls gleamed from her licking. Alan eyed the spotless dishes and thought, *Guess I won’t need to wash tonight.*
Full and content, Emma patted her belly and leaned back in her chair, eyes half-closed. “Hehe, Emma’s so full. Alan’s a good person. A good person who cooks.”
Alan chuckled and started clearing the table.
“Emma helps too!”
He didn’t stop her. Raising a diligent little bee beat raising a lazy pig any day.
After washing the dishes, Alan tucked Emma into his room to sleep. He’d stay in Haina’s room—he’d shared baths with her as kids, so sharing a room was no big deal.
Once Emma was settled, Alan returned to Haina’s room. He sank into her soft pink bed and drifted off quickly.
In Alan’s room, Emma lay under his covers, breathing in his scent. Her pale pink eyes glowed with contentment. “Grandpa… Emma’s fiancé is such a gentle boy. He even washed my hands for me.”
Murmuring to herself, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. But soon after her breathing steadied, her cyan hair flashed crimson. Her shut eyes snapped open.
“DarkMages… and those damned human mages and the Light Cathedral! Without you, would I, CrimsonLotus, have fallen so low?!”
Cold, cruel words dripped from “Emma’s” lips. The blanket flew off her.
She rose from bed. Her petite 1.5-meter frame stretched to nearly 1.8 meters the moment her feet touched the floor. Flawless, long legs gleamed under the moonlight, dazzling to behold.
Her cyan tail blazed crimson. Even her eyes burned the same fiery hue.
“The Cloud Peak Guild? Alan? Your fiancé, little girl? How amusing. Perhaps tonight, I, CrimsonLotus, should taste your fiancé’s flavor?”
The transformed Emma stood by the window, gazing at the cold moon high above. A seductive laugh escaped her.
“Nah. I’ll spare your fiancé tonight. Before tasting him, this princess must find the DarkMage who framed me… and tear him to shreds!”
As the icy words faded, Alan’s window swung open. A crimson streak shot out like a rainbow, vanishing into the night.
·····
Meanwhile, in Newdali City’s glittering sleepless district, a sultry girl shed her black robe in a lavish room, revealing her stunning figure. “Tonight, how many more will kneel at my feet?”
She smirked at her reflection in the mirror, then glided out with elegant steps, melting into the city’s neon glow.
Layne, who’d left the Cloud Peak Guild early, swaggered through the district too. Dressed in a crisp white suit and flashing gold coins borrowed from his dad, he partied with his rowdy buddies.
