12 She's a what!??

Nemus' path melted away owing to the scorching heat coming from his body. Whereas Regalus' bolts of electricity crushed the rocks off his path, crumbling down the partitions of the cave that were blocking his way. The immense energy coming from the underground cause the surrounding waters of the Ilhu Mountains to boil in the process.

The pair of battle-crazed serpents locked on each other and proceeded with their attacks without a care of what was going to happen to those around them. Equipped with their sharp claws and lethal cuspids, Regalus and Nemus aimed at each other's vital parts.

"Die, you, stupid horny python!"

"Shut up and sleep, you witless elapid!"

With the flame on Nemus' hands and bolts of current on Regalus' arms, the collision of two great forces will inevitably wipe the cave if not crumble it down. 

Alas, shortly before they could crush into each other, a sharp hiss from Zethus released a cold gust of energy from his breath and froze the air surrounding the cave. The frost gradually crept through the walls and froze the raging men in place like a pair of ice statues erected during winter.

"Now, now."

Zethus walks unhurriedly while carrying the female in his arms. But seeing how her countenance turned from ruddy to pale, he immediately snapped his finger and unfreeze the water particles in the air. 

At the same time, the two raging beasts dropped to the ground while gasping out of air, cursing the one who sneaked an attack on them.

"Damn!"/ "Argh!" 

Upon recovering, from what felt like drowning, they both turned their ire at the culprit who appears to be Zethus. Their eyes grew darker when they saw his arms wrapped around the female, especially Nemus who was staring madly at the sight of them.

Sensing his killing intent leaking out again, a cold, terrifying glint crossed the white snake man's eyes. He put out his sharp nails and matched his rage, flicking his long slender fingers towards Nemus and releasing an ice shard that almost penetrated his forehead. Luckily, it only scratched his face.

However, Nemus was more worried about the possibility of it leaving a scar and ruining his face. Previously, he had no qualms about his appearance but after the female complimented his looks, he unknowingly became sensitive and wary of the things that might affect it.

'Aish!'

Nemus wanted to retaliate but upon seeing his brother's grim expression his body stayed frozen.

"Don't even think about it, brat. Unless you want an instant death which I'm more than willing to provide."

His low voice made Nemus instinctively shudder and lower his head. If there's someone whom he naturally fears, it is not his father nor the older snakes, and most definitely not the gold python beside him. It was this freak-white blizzard snake in front of him who could manipulate his blood and kill him at will.

Zethus withdrew the frost inside the cave. Quite after he did, the rocks continued crumbling, and rustling movement of water from the waterfalls came rushing through the holes that resulted from their brawl. It started filling up the dents on the ground making several chambers unsuitable to rest on.

Shaking his head, Zethus looked at his siblings disapprovingly. Suddenly he heard the female whimper while squirming like a cat in his embrace, seeking the non-existent heat from his body. 

Zethus felt lost. For the first time, he felt regretful for having a cold attribute instead of something that could provide warmth like Nemus' fire or Regalus' lightning. Seeing her frail body in that state, he reluctantly placed the female in Nemus' arms.

Without looking back, he spun around and left the three of them. While trekking along the silent and dimmed alleyway, his mind wanders off, carrying the unknown feeling of emptiness after the girl's soft and warm body leaves his arms. 

Unlike that fool Nemus, he's not the type to easily fall in love nor he is like the unrestraint Regalus who finds mating an integral part of their life. Perhaps, this sensation is just a part of instinct acting up. The white serpent dismissed the idea and moved on from it. 

***

Atasha was still feeling groggy after hastily waking up. 

"Do you think this will work?"

The unfamiliar voice of a man sounded hesitant. In a daze, Atasha scratched her eyelids and opened her eyes. Consequently, her vision was completely covered by a figure comparable to a giant.

A muscular man with conspicuous short and ruffled golden hair shadowed her small frame. His eyes possessed the same sharp crimson pupils of the black snake. 

Speaking of which, Atasha started to panic when she thought of the beastman's absence. She roams her eyes to look for him, but the figure on top of her is blocking her vision. Her gaze instantly fell on the huge scar that decorated the man's bare chiseled chest and on his large hand that was busy... fondling her breast!???

"!!!"

Atasha was both alarmed and scared not knowing if she should shout for help or push him away. At that moment, she was conflicted and weighed the odds of the black snake coming to save her or the fact that even if he miraculously appeared, the man above her could definitely snap her first.

Slowly, her face contorted, and her expression grew ugly, filled with indignance while looking intently at the stranger's impertinent hand. 

Sensing the boring eyes on him, Regalus turned to the already awakened female underneath him and beamed without realizing her resentful glare.

"It worked, Zethus. She's up!" 

Quite after he moved away from her, another man who resembled the black snake's features except for his long straight silver hair and frosty demeanor entered Atasha's vision.

It's not only because of his cold visage that Atasha described him as such! The same moment Zethus met her gaze, a strong gust of cold breeze gushed inside the cave. 

"Hey! You put out the flame!"

Regalus blurted out and looked annoyingly at his brother. However, Zethus' sight remained on the female who began shuddering again after their only source of fire, which Atasha remembered not being there before she lost consciousness, vanished. 

Now that she sees it, Atasha soon recognizes that this part of the cave is different from the black snake's lair. It was relatively bigger and quite cramped, especially with the other two snakes in the area. 

Atasha saw that she was now wearing a black bodycon dress that hugged her chubby figure tightly. Her face instantly turned beet red when she recognized the patterns that resembled Nemus' skin. Memories of their intimate exchange instantly flooded Atasha's mind.

'H-he probably dressed me up.' 

Atasha thought to herself. Not long after, she sighed at the fact that the smooth, silky finely cut dress was wasted on her. 

Although Atasha was indeed fat, it was evident that her curves were on the right edges making her fit into the black dress which actually made her look slimmer unlike what she thought. But due to the constant body shaming, she was unable to see how she rocked the dress. 

'I should ask for a robe next time. It could withstand the cold and cover all my skin.'

The female smiled weakly while staring at the hem of her dress as she hugged herself and warded the cold air.

On the other hand, Zethus who was watching her closely thought that she was being sentimental over the dress made from Nemus' shed skin. So, he looked away not liking the way she appeared to be… 

"What did I tell you, you just need to stimulate her to wake her up..."

It's been a whole day since she lost consciousness, and her stomach has been grumbling like a hungry taotie, so they decided to wake her up at all costs. 

Unlike normal animals, beasts like them do not need to eat three times a day, particularly during brumation where they are supposed to conserve energy to survive the harsh winter and unexpected attack from other predators. However, his two foolish brothers expend almost half of their energy in their useless clash.

Right now, Nemus is out to forage wild fruits and berries for her to eat. While Regalus is a dimwit who only knows how to hunt, he on the other hand is not as agile as the other two, making Nemus the best option to undertake the task.

"Considering that she's female cattle with sensitive mammary."

Zethus' words were like a bolt of lightning that descended on Atasha who clearly heard his words.

She's a what!??

Atasha looked at the clueless man in disbelief and thought of his remarks disapprovingly.

'Did he just call me a c-cow!?'