Snow, looking as regal as ever despite the circumstances, had a large, bristly wild boar slung over her shoulders as if it were a light sack of grain. A single, precise wound was visible on its side, as if a sharp knife had killed it with one neat stroke.

Emma, the smallest of the three, was triumphantly holding up a dead lynx by its scruff, its beautiful fur matted. She had a fresh scratch on her arm, which she seemed to regard as a badge of honour. Adrian concluded this because of the prideful look on her face, as if she believed her game was the most impressive of the three.

"Good morning, dear!" Snow said with a smile, her voice bright and cheerful.

Grey gave him a wide, happy smile, her eyes sparkling. "For you," she said simply, gesturing to the deer.

Emma just grinned her sharp, cheeky grin and held the lynx up higher for his inspection.

Adrian was speechless, his brain struggling to process the three dead large animals currently presented to him on his doorstep. His gaze then travelled past them, and his blood ran cold.

Standing a few paces back, their expressions a mixture of awe, confusion, and deep alarm, were Thomas and two other men from the village patrol. They were holding their spears loosely, looking completely unsure of what protocol applied to this situation.

Thomas, recovering first, cleared his throat loudly. "Mornin', lad," he said, his voice a little strained.

Adrian blinked. "Mr. Thomas… What a coincidence. Morning. I didn't expect to see you so early today," he said with the best grin he could muster. Unfortunately, that only made him look even more suspicious.

"I hope there's no issue," he said. Afterwards, he then turned his wide-eyed stare back to the girls.

"What… what is all this?" he whispered to the girls, his voice a mixture of exasperation and pure disbelief.

The three girls, who had been beaming with pride, suddenly looked awkward. They had a feeling that such gestures might not be the norm for human couples, but Adrian's reaction only confirmed their suspicions.

Grey shuffled her feet. Snow adjusted her grip on the boar, suddenly finding the sky very interesting. Emma lowered the lynx, her grin fading into a look of uncertainty. They had clearly not anticipated an audience for their grand gesture.

Thomas cleared his throat again, stepping forward slightly. "Adrian, I wouldn't be upset with the three of them."

"From what I can see, it seems these lasses here planned a surprise for you. That's all. I don't think it should ruin this beautiful morning we've got going on," he said, trying to sound jovial.

He glanced at the deer, then the boar, then the lynx, a look of professional respect crossing his face despite his confusion. "I'll be honest, son, I've never seen a hunt like it."

"I was wondering who they were when they were so persistent to see you."

"To think they actually took down a full-grown stag, a raging boar, and a lynx, all before breakfast?"

'And without a proper spear or bow between 'em?' he said to himself, wondering whether they had lost their weapons during the hunt.

He shook his head in wonder, then gave Adrian a searching look. "Mind telling me where they're from? I'm sure I'd remember faces like these, not to mention beautiful young lasses with such a knack for hunting. It's not every day you get to witness such things."

Adrian's mind raced. He could see the suspicion in Thomas's eyes even if he was coming off as calm and humorous.

Three incredibly strong, beautiful strangers appearing out of nowhere, capable of feats that seasoned hunters would brag about for years? He needed a story, and he needed it fast.

'Woke up and have to deal with this?'

'Why couldn't today just be peaceful…' Adrian sighed inwardly.

"Well, you see…"

He forced a laugh, hoping it didn't sound as panicked as he felt. He slipped an arm around Snow's and Grey's shoulders, pulling them close. They looked up at him in surprise, then snuggled against him, playing along instantly.

"These," Adrian announced with as much casual pride as he could muster, "are my wives."

Thomas's eyes bulged. Not only him, but even the two patrolmen behind him were stunned by the news. The two patrolmen stared in silence, their envy and disbelief plain on their faces.

Adrian continued on. He knew he had to keep going, otherwise he'd have trouble explaining the truth. "It's a bit of a funny story, really. It all started with some old friends of my mother's from town."

"Well, you see, they made a promise years ago, you know how it is, that if they had daughters and my mother had a son…" He shrugged, as if this were a perfectly normal arrangement. "Well, they finally tracked me down a few days ago to make good on it." He chuckled, yet his eyes twitched a bit when he felt Grey and Snow nuzzling against him without care.

He was here trying to clean up after them, yet here they were, doing as they pleased. Adrian struggled to hold back the urge to flick both of them on the forehead.

"Honestly, it surprised me too!"

'Well, I'll be…' Thomas glanced at the three girls before glancing at Adrian. The boy's looks weren't even high-quality, and yet…

Adrian watched Thomas's face. The initial shock was fading, replaced by a dawning, almost reverent acceptance of this incredible luck. Thomas glanced at the three stunning women clinging to Adrian, then at the three game that were probably enough to feed the village for a week, and then back at Adrian. He rubbed the back of his neck, a slow, awkward smile spreading across his face.

To think the news he'd been waiting to hear was this.

"Some guys really do get all the luck," Thomas muttered, mostly to himself. He shook his head in amazement. "The early bird really does get the worm," he continued to mumble, but trailed off, realising it didn't quite fit.

"Ahem…" He coughed, embarrassed when he saw the confused gazes on the girls' faces. Only then did he realise that they had actually heard everything he had said.

"I mean… congratulations, lad! Truly!" He clapped Adrian on the shoulder, a bit too hard. "Right! We'll, uh, we'll leave you to your… I mean, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day."

With a final, bewildered look at the three "wives" and their grisly gifts, Thomas quickly turned and gestured sharply to his two men. "Come on, you lot. Nothing to see here." He practically dragged them away, their heads still turning back for one last look at the most bizarre and enviable scene they had ever witnessed.

Adrian stood on his doorstep, the morning sun warming his face, flanked by his three deadly, devoted brides and enough fresh game to start his own market stall.

He watched the patrolmen retreat. A wave of sheer, unadulterated relief washed over him, he was lucky they weren't the prying type; who knew what might have happened then. But his relief was short-lived, followed immediately by the sinking realisation that he now had three large dead animals to deal with before he could even have a cup of tea.

*****

A while later.

The morning sun, bright but offering little warmth, shone down on the backyard, illuminating a scene that was both domestic and deeply surreal. The three animals, the stag, the boar, and the lynx, lay in a row on the hard-packed earth before the entire family that was now gathered together.

'Umm… How are we supposed to do this?'

Adrian stood over them, a sharp skinning knife in his hand, yet he felt completely and utterly lost. His memories told him he'd butchered rabbits and the occasional goat, but these were massive, powerful creatures.

'Where do I even begin?' He blinked, his gaze like someone without a single ounce of direction.

A gentle hand patted his shoulder just then. "I can tell that you aren't used to this."

"Leave this to me, dear. I've experienced my own fair share of butchering creatures as big as this back in my day," Melissa said, her voice soft.

'…There's no way Mom could've caught these things on her own, so she's definitely talking about skinning a cow,' Adrian told himself.

"I've done this more times than I can count, so just let me handle them. You go on inside," Melissa continued before approaching the three game.

Adrian shook his head, his jaw set with stubborn determination.

"No, Mom. I'm not a child. I should be able to do this much." He flexed his right bicep.

"Why would I let you do all the work when I'm around?" He smiled charmingly. Meanwhile, Snow, Grey, and Emma were watching the proceedings with keen interest.

Seeing his resolve, the three of them immediately chimed in. "We will help!" Grey declared, her fists clenched with earnestness.

"If it's okay with you, Mother-in-law, please let us lend you a hand as well," Snow added, her face eager to help.

Emma just nodded lightly, her emerald eyes fixed on the lynx she had caught before moving towards the knife in Adrian's arms. Her palms clenched unconsciously, showing just how much she yearned to hold a blade once more.

Melissa looked at the four determined faces and let out a long, helpless sigh. Resignation settled on her features. "Alright then. Everyone who wants to help, gather round." She pointed to the stag. "Grey, Snow, flip him onto his back for me, please."

With an ease that was still a bit startling for her to watch, the two women grabbed the heavy carcass and rolled it over with a soft thud. Melissa picked up a different, heavier knife. Fortunately the village was filled with kind-hearted people; if not, their simple family wouldn't have been able to procure such butchering knives.

"Now, pay attention. The first cut is here." She made a precise incision along the stag's belly. The smell of grass and iron filled the air.

Melissa's blade skills were surprisingly efficient and graceful; her hands didn't tremble at all, proving her earlier proclamation to her son, who watched with astonished eyes.

Melissa stole a momentary glance at her son. Seeing his expression, a warm smile emerged on her face. She carefully removed the entrails before setting them aside in a bucket.

Then, she began the methodical work of flaying and separating the valuable hide from the rich, dark meat beneath. Her hands, though worn from years of work, were steady and sure.

Adrian continued to watch in silence. Neither he nor the girls wished to interrupt her. Out of all of them, Emma was the only one with a look of approval on her face, as if meeting a worthy adversary skilled in the blade.

At the beginning, Adrian had to admit that he was lost by her intricate movements, but the confusion on his face soon melted away, replaced by a dawning understanding. His eyes brightened with the thrill of learning a new, vital skill.

"I see," he murmured. Eager to try, he grabbed his knife and moved to the wild boar. He replicated his mother's initial cut, but his angle was wrong, and his hand slipped. The knife sank deep, severing a major artery he hadn't seen.

A hot, shocking spray of blood erupted from the wound, splattering across his face and clothes. Adrian stumbled back with a sharp curse, wiping blindly at his eyes. "Ah, damn it!"

"I thought I had it…" He sighed, staring at the blood that was sputtering like a pimple's pus.

Before he could even process the mess, he saw a grey-haired figure by his side.

"It's alright, Grey. I'm fine—?" Adrian guessed that she must've been worried by the blood, so he tried to reassure her. But

She moved in close, and before Adrian could stop her, her tongue darted out, soft and slippery like a dog's, and she licked the blood from his cheek and forehead with one lick.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.