Berry slowly opened her eyes, and before she could adjust her sight to catch up with the light, the name "Lily" escaped her lips first.
"You are sober now?" Malik questioned, his voice cold and chilling.
Seeing everyone surrounding her, Berry immediately understood that something had happened to Lily. "Where's... where's my beautiful sister?" she stammered.
"I should ask you what you've done to her!" Angus exclaimed impatiently, lifting Berry up by her neck, his tail wrapped tightly around her. With just a little more force, her neck could have easily broken.
"Angus! Don't forget she's still Angel's only friend," Art interjected calmly.
Angus took a deep breath before releasing Berry.
Berry coughed repeatedly but wasn't annoyed. "The Tribe Chief and his grandson have bad intentions against my beautiful sister. I was on my way here to report but didn't expect them to be so cunning. The last thing I remember was that my soul was forced to sleep," she explained, when suddenly she caught a scent in the air. Carefully sniffing, her eyes widened.
"Soul Controlling Charm!" she exclaimed. "It's the Soul Controlling Charm! Where's Angel? Where's she?!" she shouted anxiously.
"We were suddenly attacked last night. When we headed back to Angel's room, she was nowhere to be found. I can still sense her traces through the connection between us, but suddenly the connection went dead, and I can't figure out where she is. Up until now, we haven't found her," Angus gritted his teeth together.
"The Soul Controlling Charm is a forbidden charm. As long as someone makes contact with it, their soul would be controlled, and the person controlled will only obey the controller's orders. This forbidden charm can only be found in the Tribe Chief's home. Angel is definitely with him! We should go to him immediately!"
"Let me tell you this," Angus warned dangerously, staring at Berry. "If Angel cannot be found, your whole tribe will pay for it!" He stated, and without waiting a second longer, he shifted into his snake form and immediately sped toward the Cat Tribe.
Berry followed suit.
Art, Malik, and Liam did the same.
....
Lily sneezed before slowly opening her eyes, looking up to see what looked like an ice shroud. As she adjusted her gaze to see things more clearly, she realized she wasn't dreaming; the ceiling was actually an ice shroud. A frown slowly appeared on her face as she stood up, feeling a slight headache.
"What happened?" she murmured, trying to recall the events leading up to this moment. As her thoughts swirled, an ice plate filled with ice cubes appeared in front of her. Surprised, she lifted her head, only to find herself staring into incredibly beautiful eyes. Her own widened, and she gulped, silently capturing the handsome man's excessive beauty.
"Here comes another handsome devil!" she screamed inwardly, almost getting a nosebleed.
"My name is Grant. I'm a Snow Hawk. I like you, and I want to be your mate," the handsome man introduced, his expression calm yet cute, completely opposite of his ruthless demeanor earlier.
Lily was utterly dumbfounded. "Can a man be this straightforward?!" she thought. "Err, Mr. Grant, how did I end up here?" she questioned, rising to her feet. "He doesn't look like he can kidnap me, can he?" she pondered.
"I saved you; you were about to be caged by them," Grant replied, moving closer to Lily.
"What... what are you implying?" Lily asked, bending back in confusion.
Grant pursed his lips together. "Will you eat? I've got you food," he offered, pushing the ice cubes forward.
Lily stared at the ice cubes, her mouth dropping wide. "Only you would serve someone ice as food," she thought.
"You should accept him!" Star's voice suddenly chimed in.
"So you're still alive, huh?" Lily shouted angrily.
"Tsk, I was just born; my abilities have limits now, okay? But you're quite lucky to be saved by him. Perhaps it's fate, so let him become your fifth mate," Star replied nonchalantly.
"What use are you to me exactly? You can't even save me from danger."
"Worry not! Even though I can't save you, you should be assured that you won't die in this world, so chill out."
Lily hissed in annoyance.
"As for the ice cubes, you should try eating one," Star encouraged.
"I should eat ice!" Lily exclaimed incredulously.
"Will you listen to me and do what I asked you to do?" Star shouted in frustration.
"See? You've got anger issues; try seeing a doctor," Lily mocked, before reluctantly taking a cube. "If I catch a cold, you will face the consequences," she threatened.
"As if you can do me any harm. Shut up already and eat something," Star scoffed.
Lily calmed her anger and threw a cube into her mouth. Surprisingly, the ice cube wasn't cold and tasteless as she had expected; instead, it was a little warm and tasted sweet.
"What's this?" Her eyes widened, and she couldn't help eating another cube.
"The ice cubes are actually snow fruit. They can strengthen one's consciousness and soul. Had you eaten this snow fruit earlier before this incident, it's possible that the soul-controlling charm wouldn't have any effects on you. But eating it now isn't completely late; at least your safety has reached another level," Star elaborated.
"You could have explained that earlier," Lily remarked, enjoying the cubes.
"You seem to be enjoying the cubes, aren't you?" Star's voice suddenly became strange.
An alarm bell rang in Lily's head. "What do you mean?" she questioned, but before she could receive any response, she suddenly felt her body heating up and her senses becoming blurry. "What... what is going on?" She was completely confused.
"Well, the snow fruit has side effect once someone eat too much, and the side effect is that you will... become aroused," Star laughed devilishly.
"Goodness, why didn't you tell me that earlier?" she shouted inwardly, feeling increasingly uncomfortable.
"Wait, don't drag me into this! I said, 'as for the cubes, you should try and eat one.' I never said you should eat them all; you ate them of your own will, so how is it my business now?" Star defended herself immediately, her voice full of mockery.
"No one has ever told you, but you are truly a brat!" Lily sobbed inwardly.
"Lalala, who cares? Enjoy your time with your mate. Bye!"
"You!" Lily gritted her teeth, unable to suppress the heat no matter how hard she tried. Her gaze became pitiful as she looked at Grant, who looked increasingly handsome.
"Forget it; he's not so bad anyway," she thought, and suddenly pounced on him. "You... will... be... my... mate," she declared, capturing his lips without any warning.