The Villainess Will Live a Good Life

35. Plans Are Made To Fail

Nana spent three days waiting around impatiently. Kaito eventually brought Elizabeth back over. He was weary, as Nana expected. The fox king's death was all over, but the perpetrator being Zen was more hush hush. Beasts were skeptical, as they should be. A three mark killing a six mark? Not happening even if the fox king dropped his guard.

Zen hadn't come back yet, but his mark hadn't weakened. That told Nana he was in fine physical health at least. If she gained a power mark, she'd be able to find out more. Probably anyway. There weren't exactly a ton of powerful females for her to check with. If it worked the same for her as it did for males, Nana would be able to feel more things from the mating bond. Like the whereabouts of said mate or strong feelings.

Too bad earning a power mark was way easier said than done. Nana did practice though. She had nervous energy that needed to be burned so she sparred a lot. The heat would always kick her butt before her sparring partner could or would, but it was something.

Nana was visited by guards several times to make sure Zen hadn't come into contact with her. He didn't and Nana was honest about it. Akira spared her his delightful presence and she did not pick a fight with any of his minions.

The one flyer who was in charge of monitoring her family tried to make contact with her once. Karan and Troy took turns reminding him of his place. Nana didn't tell them not to. She couldn't stand the idea of the male using the circumstances to try and win her over. A flier was an asset, but a tactless and weasel-like male would never be her friend let alone mate.

It was towards the end of the stress-filled week that something finally happened. And like a cracked dam, things escalated quickly.

Elizabeth walked up onto Nana's porch holding a female who appeared to be seven or eight years old at the most. Kaito trailed behind them.

The child's hair and ears were both dark gold, but her eyes were a verdant green. Her dark tanned skin seemed to stand out against Elizabeth's paler complexion. A long feline tail caught Nana's eyes, but not as much as those sharp eyes filled with animosity.

"Nana." Kaito spoke since Elizabeth was still finding her words. "There's a problem." His tone was grave and set all of them on guard. "This female cub was found within the territory with numerous unfamiliar scents around her."

Kaito and Elizabeth were on their way to the guards with the cub, but Kaito wished to warn Nana. His instincts told him something was wrong and he would prefer Nana was aware. Elizabeth had supported his decision, so here they were.

Karan's eyes narrowed as his tongue flicked out for a taste of the air. Troy smiled at the promise of action until Nana swatted him with her tail. Amil was out and unaware. Dakotah didn't understand any potential implications and was naturally the first one to speak.

"Isn't that bad? Who would leave the little female like that?" Dakotah scratched his chin as his big eyes looked over the cub.

Nana's boys came up and sniffed at the female curiously. Elizabeth was the next to speak. "We don't know why, and Kaito finds the situation weird." Elizabeth's pursed expression showed that she felt similarly.

Nana watched the little girl. The female cub shook slightly, but stared directly at her with hostility. The child snarled at her, eliciting various reactions from everyone around her.

"What's wrong, Awa?" Elizabeth tensed up.

"A pink-eyed fox," Awa said with a hiss. "Let me go!" She struggled, drawing blood from Elizabeth in the process.

The little girl lunged at Nana while caught in a shift. Nana was too stunned to react, but her mates weren't. Before Karan could smack the girl and send her flying, Troy intercepted and yanked her away. The now leopard; no, jaguar tried to sink its fangs into Troy's arm. Troy grabbed her scruff and held her away from him. She thrashed and yowled in defiance.