Pampered By The Cold Panther Alpha

Tremor. Violent tremor.

Autumn's consciousness jolted abruptly from the deep darkness, like a string stretched to its limit, instantly taut.

She didn't move.

His eyes remained closed. His breathing maintained the rhythm of unconsciousness. This was an instinct etched into his bones after ten years in the apocalypse-upon waking, first assess the surroundings, then decide how to wake up.

A damp smell filled my nostrils. The scent of ferns. Rot. And blood. A sweet, metallic stench, thick and sticky, mingled with the air.

Another loud roar.

The sound exploded from the depths of the dense forest, accompanied by a shrill whistling sound like metal being torn apart. The ground trembled, and gravel and dirt rained down from above, hitting her face.

She lay on some kind of soft plant bed. The leaves were large, covered with fine hairs, like those of a fern. They were damp and brought a cool sensation against her skin.

Autumn remained motionless.

Eyes closed. Senses focused outward.

Ears pick up the direction, distance, and layers of sound. The roar comes from the northwest, about four hundred meters away. The sound of tearing metal is slightly closer, about three hundred meters away, mixed with the muffled thud of bones shattering. The frequency of the ground shaking-heavy footsteps. More than one. At least three large creatures are moving, each weighing over a ton.

Her fingertips pressed lightly into the soil beneath her, sensing its texture, moisture, and temperature. A thick layer of humus covered the surface, beneath which lay hard rock. Groundwater flowed from east to west. Large trees stood nearby, their roots penetrating the rock layers, spaced approximately ten meters apart.

A heart-wrenching scream.

Neither human nor beast. So sharp it could pierce an eardrum.

Then came the sound of a crash. Catastrophic. Like a building collapsing. The ground jolted, and Autumn's body bounced a few centimeters into the air before falling back onto the fern bed. Leaves and twigs rained down.

She struggled to sit up.

My body is protesting in pain. Muscle aches-lactic acid buildup from a prolonged coma. A familiar dull ache throbs in my left shoulder. An old injury. One left on Earth. It aches whenever the weather is cold and damp.

Energy reserves are almost depleted.

She closed her eyes and looked inward. The core within her body was still operating, but at a pitifully slow pace, like an engine about to run out of power. She needed to replenish its energy as soon as possible, otherwise she wouldn't even have the strength to suppress its power.

She stood up, holding onto the tree trunk.

The bark was rough and covered in moss. It felt slippery and damp to the touch. She squeezed herself into the shade of a giant tree, its trunk so thick that it would take three people to encircle it. Huge buttress roots stretched out in all directions, creating ridges in the ground.

She peered out through the gaps in the buttress roots.

In the open space, a creature the size of a truck lay in the center. Its body was almost cleaved open, green blood gushing from the hole in its chest cavity, soaking the surrounding soil. Its head was an inverted triangle, with two compound eyes like black gems, one of which was shattered. Its forelimbs were two huge, scythe-like bone blades, with some kind of dark red flesh still clinging to the blades.

A praying mantis. It looks like a praying mantis, but it's completely different from those on Earth.

Several dark figures stood beside the corpse.

Combat suit. All black, the close-fitting material gleaming coldly. Well-equipped, with a small energy core hanging from the weapon at the waist and some kind of folding launcher on the back.

One of them turned around.

Autumn's pupils contracted sharply.

The man's right arm was not a human arm. It was covered with fine black scales, and at the end was a claw-like structure with five curved black bony claws. Green blood dripped from the tips of the claws.

Partially transformed into a beast.

Her mind raced. This wasn't Earth. These people could transform into beasts. The mantis monsters weren't Earth creatures either.

She took a deep breath.

suppress.

She slowly pressed down on the dormant core within her. The power receded like a tide, converging to its deepest depths. Her muscles relaxed. Her breathing slowed. Her heartbeat slowed too. She transformed herself into a harmless mass of flesh and blood, a useless, weak, ordinary human being on the verge of death.

A combatant with bushy wolf ears looked up.

Its ears twitched. Its sharp gaze swept across the forest.

His pupils gleamed gold in the dim light, like two pieces of amber settling in their sockets. His gaze swept over the giant tree where Autumn was hiding, pausing for two seconds.

Autumn held her breath.

She pressed herself deeper into the shadow of the buttress roots. The coolness of the moss clung to her cheeks. The sound of her blood flowing echoed in her own ears like the beating of drums.

The wolf-eared youth looked away.

She counted. There were six people in total. Besides the wolf-eared youth and the scaly-armed man, there were four others. One of them was extremely tall, with his back to Autumn. His shoulders were as broad as a wall, and he exuded an imposing aura just by standing there.

They began to dismember the body.

The efficiency was astonishing. The sickle-shaped bone blade was removed and placed into some kind of buzzing container. The green blood was collected into a sealed jar. Finally, one of them dug a fist-sized object deep inside the mantis's chest cavity.

A crystal nucleus. It is emitting light.

A faint blue light leaked from between the man's fingers, making the surrounding fallen leaves glow.

Throwing. A parabola traces through the air.

The tall man caught it.

He turned around.

A face with sharply defined features. A jawline as if carved by a knife. Ice-blue eyes. A very thin vertical line in the center of the pupil-a characteristic of some predator. He took the crystal core with a casual yet precise movement, as if accepting a piece of fruit.

Then those icy blue eyes lifted up.

Sweep through the forest.

The light swept across the giant tree where Autumn was hiding.

It stopped.

A powerful aura pressed down on her. Like the pressure of deep-sea water, it tightened from all directions. Autumn felt something gripping her chest, making it difficult to breathe. It was a pure, biological suppression. The signal of a predator locking onto its prey.

He has been discovered.

She made a decision instantly.

She dropped all defenses. She surrendered. She crushed even the last vestige of killing intent. She suppressed every memory of battle to the deepest recesses of her consciousness. She became a blank sheet of paper. A stone. A harmless blade of grass.

A huge two-headed black dog broke away from the group.

It had two heads. Both heads were roaring. Black saliva dripped from the corners of its four mouths, scalding the ground with tiny plumes of smoke. Its body was the size of a calf, its muscles undulating beneath its fur. Its four thick legs pounded the ground, each step heavy as a countdown.

Autumn didn't run away.

Running away only triggers the hunting instinct. That was the first lesson she learned in the apocalypse. When facing a predator, you can't run. You can only make yourself look unlike the prey.

The dog's paws drew closer step by step.

Step. Step. Step.

Two enormous dog heads peeked out from behind the tree.

Four eyes. Cold. Ruthless. Her shadow, curled up in the mud, was reflected in their pupils. Her black nose twitched, and hot breath sprayed onto her face.

Autumn forced her body to tremble.

First, it was the fingertips. Then the shoulders. Finally, the whole body was shaking. The shaking was just right-not like feigned stiffness, nor so violent as to suggest a resistance.

She looked up.

His light brown eyes widened. His pupils dilated. His eyes quickly welled up with tears, which filled just the right amount of time but didn't fall. That fear, poised to spill, was ten times more realistic than any loud crying or screaming.

She stared directly at the pair of dog heads.

The dog's head froze.

A confused growl escaped its chest. They exchanged a glance-a silent exchange of glances between their heads, tinged with obvious hesitation. It sniffed her hair, then her shoulder. It took a half-step back.

She remained motionless. She was just trembling.

A tall man walked over.

His footsteps made almost no sound as they landed on the fallen leaves. The black dog automatically stepped aside, making way for him. The man crouched down in front of her, his icy blue eyes scrutinizing her closely.

The sense of oppression has intensified.

But Autumn's pupils remained dilated. Her breathing was rapid. Her chest heaved violently. Every detail pointed in one direction: fear. Pure, primal, non-aggressive fear.

He looked at her. For a long time.

Then he opened his mouth.

The voice was deep, like a vibration squeezed from the throat of some large feline. It carried a metallic coldness, yet was surprisingly steady.

"Who are you."

Autumn's lips trembled. No sound came out.

He asked again, his voice even lower: "Who are you? Why are you here?"

She opened her mouth. Her lips were cracked. Her voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible.

"I......"

She stopped. Then she clutched her head. The movement was slow, as if it took a tremendous amount of effort. Her fingers dug into her hair, and she curled her body up even tighter.

"I don't know. My head hurts. I can't remember anything..."

Tears finally fell.

A single drop. Perfect. It slid down the curve of her cheekbone, lingered for a moment at the tip of her chin, and then fell into the soil.

The tall man's gaze changed.

A crack appeared in the ice shell. He stood up, no longer looking at her. His voice returned to its usual concise, commanding tone.

"Clean up the scene. Prepare for evacuation."

His gaze swept over her body. A dress stained with mud and leaf debris. A recently healed old wound on her bare arm. Thin shoulders. A pale face.

He turned his head away.

"Take her with you."

Kaelen Sharp's question remains unanswered.

"Who are you?"

Autumn's trembling intensified. She could feel the frequency and amplitude of her shoulders shaking-just right. Real enough, yet not so real as to seem like she was deliberately acting. This was a skill she had honed over ten years in the apocalypse.

She opened her mouth.

A sob. Broken and intermittent. Like a shattered whistle squeezed from the depths of a throat. No words, only fear. Pure sound.

Kaelen's eyebrows twitched.

It was very subtle. But Autumn caught it. That faint displeasure-the instinctive bewilderment of a predator facing prey that was far too fragile. He had never encountered a creature like this before. Neither a beastman nor a beast-demon. Thin. Pale. Non-aggressive. Unable to even stand steadily.

"Hey, boss."

A young voice broke in. The voice had a certain lightness to it, like a feather brushing the surface of water.

Zane Reynolds stepped forward. His hair shone like burning parrot feathers-a mixture of blue, purple, and red that shimmered in the dim light. A relaxed smile graced his face.

"Don't scare her. Look at her, she looks like she's been abandoned here..."

His voice suddenly lowered.

A faint scent drifted into the nostrils. Extremely faint, yet distinct enough. To the mutated human's sense of smell, this scent didn't need concentration, only presence.

Female pheromones.

The world stood still for a second.

The entire squad froze instantly. Six pairs of eyes turned to them. The look in their eyes changed. From suspicion to shock, from wariness to something more complex.

In this world, an unregistered woman. Wild. Lonely. Worth the equivalent of a planet containing S-grade minerals.

Autumn captured this change.

Her brain was like a high-speed processor-scanning, analyzing, and drawing conclusions. The gazes of six people. Pupils dilated. Breathing rate increased. Body weight shifted forward. Interest. Protective instinct. Possessiveness. And-value assessment.

She quickly adjusted her strategy.

"I......"

Her voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping against sheet metal. She clutched her head, her fingers clenching so tightly her nails almost dug into her scalp. "I don't know. My head hurts. I can't remember anything. I can't remember... anything."

Her performance was flawless.

The trembling vocal cords. The placement of the pauses. The timing of swallowing. The bewildered and fearful focus in the eyes when raised-like someone struggling with a severe headache.

Kaelen stretched out her hand.

It stopped mid-air. The fingers curled slightly, hesitating for a moment. Then it withdrew. The knuckles tightened and then relaxed.

He straightened up.

"Clean up the scene. Prepare to evacuate. Take her with you."

The tone changed. It was no longer a command, but a conclusion. There was no room for negotiation.

Zane jumped up. "Boss! We're rich! A wild woman! The guild's reward is enough for our retirement!" He turned to Autumn with a grin, "Don't worry, Miss, our Crimson Hound mercenary group is best at protecting people!"

"Shut up."

The voice came from the other side. Nolan Vance leaned against a tree, arms crossed, his expression wary, as if he were watching a ticking time bomb. "Her origins are unknown. This could be a trap. Have you ever heard of abandoned women? No. Never. Why is she here?"

Autumn absorbed every single word of these words into her mind.

Nolan Vance. Cautious. Skeptic. The team's safety valve.

She maintained the bewildered expression on her face. A perfectly measured look of confusion, as if she didn't quite understand what they were saying.

A teammate strode towards her. He was young. His movements were hurried.

Kaelen's eyes narrowed slightly.

The team member immediately stopped in his tracks, frozen in place, as if bound by invisible chains.

Kaelen removed his black combat jacket with swift, decisive movements. The jacket still carried the warmth of his body and the scent of blood-fresh, from the mantis monster's corpse. He walked over and tossed the jacket over her shoulder.

The feel of rough fabric. Heavy. Still warm.

"Put it on. It's cold in the forest at night."

Autumn obediently pulled the jacket tighter around herself. The wide hem hung below her knees, and the sleeves were rolled up three times before her fingertips were visible. She looked even smaller in the jacket, like a baby bird soaked through by the rain.

But inwardly, he was calmly analyzing the situation.

Material: Some kind of composite fiber. Lightweight, yet extremely tough. A very thin energy film covers the surface-presumably providing basic protection. Wear marks on the elbows indicate frequent use. A hard object is found in the side pocket, possibly a small energy battery.

She archived the data.

The team began processing the beastman's corpse. Cutting, sorting, and containing. The team worked in perfect harmony, their movements fluid and efficient. They placed the most valuable parts of the beastman into a spatial container-a palm-sized silver cube; retrieving items only required pressing the side.

Space technology. Autumn marked it in her mind.

She was positioned in the center of the group. Kaelen walked two steps ahead of her, naturally placing her at the core of the formation. Zane and Nolan were on either side of her, and the wolf-eared youth and the scaly-armed man were behind her.

Beastmen. All beastmen.

She walked among them, like a cherished package.

The path beneath her feet was difficult to traverse. The humus layer was thick and slippery, and exposed roots lay across the surface like tripwires. She walked slowly, cautiously testing the waters with each step.

Then she deliberately staggered.

My knees buckled. My body tilted to the right. A very natural feeling of weightlessness, like the inevitable result of exhaustion.

A hand grabbed her arm.

The force was just right-preventing her from falling without hurting her. Her fingers were large and calloused. The heat seeped through the jacket fabric, burning intensely.

Kaelen.

He caught her.

Her body stiffened for a moment-an instinctive reaction. The next second, she forced herself to relax. Soft. Submissive. Like a boneless puddle of mud.

Kaelen quickly released her grip.

He took a half step back. A very faint red tinge appeared on the tips of his ears, almost invisible in the dim light. But the color still spread, standing out prominently against his dark skin.

"Thanks."

She kept her head down. Her voice was as soft as the wind rustling through the leaves.

Kaelen didn't respond. He turned around and continued walking, but his pace slowed.

The entire group slowed down. Zane stepped forward and used her knife to clear away the vines blocking their path. Nolan kicked aside the sharp rocks beside her. The wolf-eared youth walked behind her, blocking a thorny branch that was sticking out.

They treated her like a fragile object.

Autumn observed. She recorded. Their coordinated movements, the gaps in their tactical cooperation, their individual habitual actions. Zane had an injured left shoulder-he would subconsciously avoid using his left arm when slashing. Nolan had a wide field of vision, but every three minutes he would turn thirty degrees to the right to check behind him. The wolf-eared youth had extremely sensitive ears; even the slightest movement in any direction would attract his attention.

She broke these people down into data.

The best position is in the "center of the group." "Protected asset" is the safest identity. As long as the shields of "woman" and "amnesia" remain, she can continue to observe, learn, and adapt.

Night quickly enveloped the dense forest.

The howls of the beasts echoed from afar, rising and falling. The closest was less than two kilometers away.

The team sped up again. Kaelen glanced back at her, his gaze lingering on her face for half a second. Then he turned his head and gestured to the team.

Formation contraction.

The space around her felt more intimate.

Kaelen raised his fist to signal to stop.

The entire team froze instantly. Their movements were as synchronized as a machine being powered off. There were no unnecessary steps, no whispers. Everyone simultaneously went on alert.

He scanned his surroundings. His icy blue eyes gleamed faintly in the darkness, his vertical pupils like two thin slits. The forest was silent. The howls of the beast demons had faded into the distance.

"Set up camp."

Zane and Nolan immediately sprang into action. Within thirty seconds, they cleared a space and retrieved a thin, silver membrane from their spatial container. The membrane unfolded and automatically levitated, forming a translucent energy shield in the air. Its edges glowed with a faint blue light, and its buzzing vibration was barely audible.

Autumn was led to the campfire.

Zane lit the fuel block with a flint and steel. Flames leaped up, casting a warm yellow glow on the surrounding tree trunks. She huddled inside the shield-closest to the fire, furthest from the outer edge. Right in the center.

Zane handed her a silver nutrition packet and a piece of roasted meat.

"Level four demonic cow meat." He grinned. "Didn't scare you, did you? We don't usually hunt, but tonight's a special case."

The meat was charred black. The surface was overcooked, and the edges were charred. A burnt smell mixed with a faint bloody odor wafted from it. It looked terrible.

But Autumn will not refuse food.

She'd eaten worse on Earth. After the cataclysm ten years ago, everything edible was food. Rotting flesh. Tree bark. Radiation-contaminated berries. She survived by never being picky about food.

She took a small bite. The meat was tough, like chewing rubber. But it was full of energy-she could feel the bioenergy released as the meat broke down in her stomach, a subtle warmth spreading through her veins.

She thanked him sincerely.

Zane's eyes lit up. "You're welcome! Our boss said you're a distinguished guest. By the way, do you know our boss? He's..."

"Zane."

A deep voice came from across the campfire.

Kaelen sat there polishing his weapon. A curved black dagger, its blade gleaming coldly. His movements were slow, focused as if performing some sacred ritual. But his gaze drifted towards her between polishes. Sharp. Precise. Like the eyes of an eagle.

Autumn felt like she was locked in.

But she wasn't afraid. As long as the shells of "woman" and "amnesia" remained, she was safe. There was no hostility in Kaelen's gaze-she could tell. It was something more complex. Wariness. Curiosity. And a concern he himself wasn't even aware of.

She took a deep breath.

Summoning her courage, her voice held just the right amount of despair and pleading. It trembled, with a hint of a sob in it.

"Please... take me away from here."

She looked up at Kaelen. The firelight reflected in her light brown eyes, making a golden glint appear deep within her pupils.

"This planet is terrifying. I... I really don't remember how I got here. But I can't stay here any longer."

A single tear.

The timing was perfect. The speed of the slide was just right. It glittered in the firelight.

Zane's expression immediately softened. He patted his chest, "Don't worry! Our boss will definitely get you safely to the Women's Protection Association! That's the best place in the Empire!"

The other team members nodded in agreement. Even Nolan's expression softened slightly.

Kaelen stared at her.

silence.

It was long. Longer than expected. His eyes flickered in the firelight, his expression unreadable. His jawline tightened and then relaxed. His fingers rubbed the hilt of the knife twice.

Then he spoke.

One word.

"good."

Autumn lowered her head. A slight smile played at the corners of her mouth, unseen by others.

Later that evening.

A medium-sized starship landed silently fifty meters from the camp. It appeared suddenly-the moment it tore through the air was completely silent. Its silver-gray hull resembled a bullet, its surface covered with some kind of light-absorbing material, making it almost transparent in the night sky.

The hatch slid open. White light poured out.

Autumn followed Kaelen inside.

Her eyes truly lit up for a moment.

The interior was brimming with technological sophistication. Sleek metal walls. Floating control panels. Holographic projections swirling in the air. Everything was clean, orderly, and efficient. It was unlike anything she had ever seen on Earth.

She quickly composed herself, replaced by a blank, timid, and cautious demeanor as she followed Kaelen.

Private cabins.

The door slid open. The space inside wasn't large, but it was simple and tidy. There was a bed, a table, and a porthole window. The walls were a warm off-white. There was a faint smell of disinfectant in the air.

Kaelen stood at the doorway.

"Get some rest. We'll arrive at planet M230 by noon tomorrow."

He paused for a moment. His gaze swept across her face. Then he turned and left. His footsteps quickly disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The moment the door closed.

All expression vanished from Autumn's face.

She stood up. She scanned every corner of the cabin. The top corner. The vents. Under the bed. The inside of the table legs. No cameras, no listening devices. At least not within sight.

She walked to the porthole.

Stars flashed past the window, stretching into streaks of silver light. The instant the starship entered warp drive, the view outside the window stretched and distorted abruptly, transforming into a dazzling tunnel of light. Blue-purple. Pink-gold. Constantly shifting and changing. Unrealistically beautiful.

She watched all of this. Her mind raced.

Beastman. Female privilege. Ability level. Crystal core. Women's Protection Association. Interstellar travel. Planet M230. She pieced all the fragments together.

Humanity on Earth. Her origins. The dormant power within her. These are her greatest secrets. And also her greatest danger.

Until she can protect herself, she must continue to play the role of Autumn-that helpless, amnesiac, and vulnerable woman.

She lay down on the bed.

But I can't sleep.

The alertness cultivated during the decade-long apocalypse couldn't be erased overnight. Her body lay still, but her senses were fully engaged, capturing every sound in the corridor.

Footsteps. Whispers.

The crew members were discussing her. "A woman..." "Wild..." "The boss is so lucky..." "I wonder how much the association will reward her..." They lowered their voices, but the beastmen's hearing was too sharp. Every word was heard clearly.

Then the sound suddenly disappeared.

Footsteps. Heavy. Approaching her cabin step by step. Closer and closer. Finally stopping outside the door.

Autumn's body tensed up.

Her hand reached for the metal water glass on the bedside table-the only thing in the cabin that could be used as a weapon. She gripped it tightly. A cold touch came through.

The footsteps outside the door stopped for a long time.

There was no knocking. No words were spoken. Only a quiet, expectant silence. Like someone standing outside, doing nothing, just standing there.

It felt like a very long time had passed.

The footsteps finally faded into the distance. Much slower than when they arrived. With a kind of reluctant hesitation.

Autumn looked out through the light filtering through the crack in the door.

A tall silhouette was imprinted on the ground. Broad shoulders. His posture was like that of a deeply rooted tree.

She recognized him.

Kaelen.

He stood outside her door. Was he on guard duty?

She gently placed the water glass back in its place. She lay back down, staring at the ceiling, her eyes shining in the darkness.

What does he want to do?