Spoiled By My Nine Beast Husbands (Emma Tibarn) novel Chapter 40

**When She Opened the Door to the Life She Was Afraid to Live by Nora Vale Kingsley**
**Chapter 40: Storms in the South**

Edric executed a flawless swing of his tail, dispatching the last pack of level 5 beasts with a single, decisive motion. With remarkable ease, he gathered them up and laid them down before Emma, who was already in the zone, her heart racing with adrenaline. Each beast was tucked away with meticulous care, her calm demeanor contrasting sharply with the electric energy coursing through her veins.

As the echoes of battle faded into an eerie silence, they lingered together, sharing whispers that danced between them like the remnants of the fight they had just survived.

Two hours later, Laura’s squad finally finished off the last of the stragglers. She had long since exhausted her energy reserves and was sprawled across a large rock, trying to catch her breath while her mate stood guard, his watchful eyes never leaving her side.

When she finally mustered the strength to look up, her jaw dropped in astonishment. The clearing was a gruesome sight, littered with carcasses piled like small hills, their beast cores glinting on the ground like scattered jewels. A sharp whistle escaped her lips as she grabbed her mate by the collar, pulling him close for a fervent kiss.

“We hit the jackpot this time,” she exclaimed, laughter bubbling up from her chest, breathless with relief. “All thanks to Emma.”

Yet, beneath her joy, a nagging thought lingered in her mind. If Emma’s Rank 9 mate hadn’t arrived when he did, that level 8 beast would have had them frozen in fear. They would have been paralyzed, unable to act, no matter how many beasts surrounded them, waiting to be claimed.

Shaking off the thoughts, Laura snapped back to the task at hand, briskly ordering her squad to process the bodies before jogging over to Emma. “Emma, I mean it—you saved us out there. Without you and your mate, we would have gone home empty-handed.”

Emma stood up, brushing off her sleeves with a modest smile. “Edric may have done the heavy lifting, but you and your mate fought with incredible strategy. That’s how we made it through this alive.”

Laura grinned widely, waving her hands dismissively. “Oh, come on! Even if we doubled our strength, that level 8 beast would’ve chewed us up. Your mate saved our skins, and we both know it.”

The mere mention of the level 8 beast made Emma pause, her eyes widening slightly as she turned to Edric. “Wait—what about that level 8 beast? You didn’t kill it? What did it look like?”

Beasts of that caliber were notorious for their rarity and value. A complete corpse along with its core could fetch a staggering fortune on the open market. Emma had never laid eyes on one, and if Edric still had the body, her curiosity was piqued.

Edric finished scaling the night pod and stepped closer, his voice steady as he explained, “I didn’t take it down. It was heading south when I arrived, and I didn’t pursue it. I just wanted to find you.”

He straightened up, offering her a confident nod. “Once we settle in, I’ll head south and finish the job.” Typical Edric—calm and collected, as if swatting down a level 8 beast was just another day at the office.

Meanwhile, in the southern part of the forest, Evie couldn’t believe her fortune—of all the people to encounter here, it had to be him.

A tall figure stood framed by the dappled sunlight, his hair shimmering like molten gold. The faint glimmer of golden feathers at his shoulders caught the light with every subtle movement, creating an almost ethereal aura around him.

“Mr. Auris—I never imagined running into you here,” she blurted out, unable to contain her excitement. “If it weren’t for you, that level 8 beast would’ve swallowed me and my mate whole.”

The man before her was no ordinary hunter. This was Kael Auris—the heir to the illustrious Suncrest Lineage of the Central Planet, a name that resonated with power and prestige across every system in the Empire.

She had glimpsed him once before, from a distance at a planetary summit, where he had radiated brilliance like the sun among lesser stars.

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