Page 43 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
Her gaze on his half-naked body was perhaps even worse than when she’d touched him earlier. Since when did a woman’s eyes have this kind of effect on him? He did his best to ignore it, putting the dirty clothes aside and briefly cleaning his armor before putting it back on.
His fur cape was the most blood-stained, so he just left it aside, knowing someone would come and pick it up to clean later. Once all that was done, he realized he wasn’t sure how to act in front of her.
He grabbed the cup as the hot water couldn’t burn him and drank it quickly. He knew she was still seated on the bed and staring at him, but the lack of communication between them was getting more and more frustrating... No, he shouldn’t think about it too much. She’d be back in the mountains soon anyway. Why was he so bothered?
“...I’ll be going outside. Call Kein if you need me.”
“Kein?”
Outside the tent, his dragon growled softly in response.
At least she now knew the name of his dragon... although he highly doubted she’d understood the rest of his sentence. Kassein sighed and walked out.
He walked past his dragon, which didn’t miss the chance to furiously growl at him, but he ignored it. Kassein just wanted to get away from his tent, and from those frustrating thoughts he had.
He walked deeper into the camp, crossing paths with several men surprised to see him up and roaming.
“C-Commander? Are you going for a hunt?”
He was annoyed that he’d sent Tievin away. At least when the Grand Intendant was there, he didn’t need to report every single one of his movements nor give orders to the men.
Still, he ignored them all and kept walking, headed for the forest. He had thought about going up into the mountains, but every time he did, Alezya’s image came to mind. What if he ended up attacking someone who was important to her this time? What if he already did, and she wasn’t aware?
He’d never thought twice about the Northern people before. They had pushed every attack, fought back when they were attacked, and that was all there was to it. No need to think about it too much; he didn’t need to think when his brother gave him the order. After all, Kassian had only wanted to get rid of him by sending him here. He’d pushed the army as far as he could, but he didn’t care enough to actually try and invade those mountains.
Why would he? It would be sacrificing more men, and Kassian would use that against him too. Kassein only tolerated the deaths he could justify. But now, he felt like he couldn’t justify any of them anymore.
He walked alone in the forest, ready to hunt anything that came his way. Those woods that had remained untouched by humankind for decades were still full of life, and it didn’t take long for him to come across the first hares.
He ignored the smaller prey though. He’d only taken his sword and a small dagger, and he didn’t need anything from skinny snow hares. He was looking for the real challenge, the current masters of the area, the ones topping the food chain. The snow leopards.
Those felines were numerous and had propagated as much as they wanted without a natural enemy to stop them. They didfight once in a while with the wolves or bears in the forest, but because of their agility, the felines could climb the mountain for safety and come back down to the forest to hunt when the prey up there got scarce.
The other bigger creatures didn’t have that luxury, and would sometimes move south to avoid those dangerous predators. Kassein’s capes were usually bearskin, for they were wide enough to cover his whole body. He didn’t care much for snow leopards usually, but right now, he was on the prowl for one. His dragon had inspired him, perhaps.
As predicted, he soon encountered one. A young male, it seemed, roaming alone and fully aware there weren’t many that could defeat it from the way it strolled carelessly. It froze on sight as soon as its eyes met Kassein’s though and it began growling, a warning for the stranger.
Kassein scoffed. The snow leopard wasn’t completely foolish; it was growling furiously, ears down, its fur standing on end and its tail curled under it.
“You alone?” Kassein asked, glancing around for the rest of its family.
Snow leopards often hunted in groups, but after scouring their surroundings, it became clear this young male was on its own.
“...Got kicked out by your family too?” Kassein muttered.
The beast growled even more. Somehow, it seemed aware of how dangerous the male human was, for it didn’t dare turn its back on him.
All the better for Kassein though; it would have been bothersome if his prey ran away. He slowly got closer, and the feline hissed, beating the air with its paw, all claws out, warning what would happen if he got too close. That didn’t stop Kassein. Soon, he stepped too close, and both human and beast jumpedat each other. The fight only lasted a couple of seconds. Kassein’s movements were brutal, merciless, and precise.
The snow leopard’s body fell silently to the ground.
Unlike his dragon, he had done a neat kill with only one strike, and barely any blood on the fur, much to his satisfaction. Moreover, this was a pretty one; snow leopard’s fur could vary from white to gray or yellow, with gray or black spots. This one didn’t have any yellow; it was only white and light gray with dark gray spots.
Satisfied and calmed down, Kassein picked up his prey and made his way back to the camp. He took long detours to hunt some more, following animal trails and paw prints, only because he didn’t feel like going back so soon. He’d have heard Kein’s growls if Alezya had tried to call for him, but his dragon remained quiet.
When he finally came back to the camp, it was much later in the afternoon, and several men were eagerly waiting for him at the edge of the forest. They all opened their eyes wide at the large amount of dead prey he was carrying.
When he stopped in front of them, Kassein let down the snow leopard and three white foxes at their feet, and separately, let down three deers and a large black bear’s body.
