Chapter 77 – The Heat of the Pack.

Morning in Diana's office on the Bastion's second floor began with the Commander bent over a new series of cartographic parchments.

After the victory in the Amethyst Labyrinth and the squad's consolidation at Level 35+, Diana's goal was mapped with mathematical clarity: take all five members to Level 40.

She had spread detailed maps of the most dangerous neutral zones along the Second Circle border across the mahogany desk. With Intelligence 151, she calculated the best advance routes between two elite dungeons:

1. The Volcanic Glass Gorges (Level 38-40): An obsidian and magma rift rich in dragon ores and black fire golems.
2. The Sanctuary of Fallen Titans (Level 40): The ancestral temple housing the Border Boss required to unlock portal crossing licenses.

Diana was about to trace the supply line with her glass quill when the office door opened without a sound.

Rhea entered the room.

But there was something completely different in the hybrid girl's posture that morning.

***

Rhea didn't walk to the window or the bookshelf as she usually did.

The silver-haired girl approached the desk with slow, almost sleepy steps, moving with a strange sluggishness for someone possessing Agility 103. Her cheeks were flushed a vivid rosy pink, and the tips of her wolf ears twitched softly with every breath.

Without speaking a single word, Rhea rounded the large mahogany desk, approached Diana's armchair, and simply… slipped behind the Commander.

Before Diana could ask what was happening, Rhea brought both arms over Diana's shoulders, lacing her fingers across her friend's jacket chest, and buried her warm face directly into the curve of Diana's neck, taking a deep breath of the Commander's scent.

A deep, continuous, profoundly relaxed purr vibrated against Diana's collarbone.

Diana froze with her glass quill suspended in midair.

“Rhea…?” Diana called out, her voice coming out somewhat strained. “What are you doing? I'm drafting the supply map for the Glass Gorges.”

Rhea didn't loosen her embrace. Instead, the wolf girl's silver tail slithered underneath the armchair armrest and wrapped itself tightly around Diana's thigh, like a rope of living velvet. Rhea nuzzled the tip of her nose against Diana's jawline, letting out a small, needy whimper when Diana tried leaning forward:

“Stay still, Diana…” Rhea murmured in a raspy, sweet voice, her warm breath hitting the skin of the human girl's neck. “You smell so good… it's so warm right here…”

***

Diana furrowed her brows in immediate clinical alert.

Rhea's skin was visibly hotter than normal, and her amber pupils were dilated and glossy.

Magic fever…? Diana thought rapidly. Some residual toxin from the last dungeon's scorpions that took forty-eight hours to incubate in her bloodstream?!

Diana activated [Command Eye] with her 70 Perception points, focusing the analysis on Rhea's biological flow:

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

[BIOLOGICAL ENTITY DIAGNOSIS]

- Target: Rhea (Phantom Blade of Greed - Level 35)

- General Status: Healthy (HP 250 / MP 70).

- Active Special Condition: [Wolf-Beast Biological Cycle: Primordial Heat State]

- Condition Effects: Body temperature increase by 1.5°C, touch hypersensitivity (+20%), heightened territorial instinct, and uncontrollable biological need for physical closeness with the recognized pack leader.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Diana stared at the floating screen.

The glass quill slipped from her fingers, clattering onto the parchment map with a small snap.

Wolf-beast biological cycle…

Heat state…?!

Diana's Intelligence 151 brain short-circuited so violently and absolutely that the Commander's face turned redder than an elemental coal ember in less than half a second.

“H-Heat…?!” Diana choked on her own air, her voice issuing as a shrill whisper of pure, unadulterated virginal panic.

—HAHAHAHAHAHA!

The System interface exploded in midair in black gold, flashing with gigantic letters and roaring laughter that echoed in Diana's mind:

—THE COMMANDER'S GRAND MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS! SHE THOUGHT IT WAS SCORPION POISON! YOUR WOLF GIRL IS IN HEAT, DIANA! AND SHE CHOSE YOU AS HER PACK MATE!

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, SHIT SYSTEM!” Diana growled mentally, unable to move while Rhea kept purring and nuzzling her warm ears against her chin.

***

Despite the monumental embarrassment sending Diana's heart hammering against her ribs, her analytical mind and Level 20 Alchemy knowledge took control of the situation to take care of her friend.

Diana slowly turned her body inside the armchair, holding Rhea's shoulders with gentleness.

The hybrid girl looked at Diana with amber eyes clouded with pure instinct and affection, clinging, tilting her head to seek the touch of the Commander's hand.

“Rhea, listen to me.” Diana spoke with awkward sweetness, touching the wolf girl's warm forehead with her fingertips. “I'm going down to the lab to prepare a tea that will help cool your body down, alright? You need to lie down on the sofa.”

Rhea let out a small, needy whimper of protest, but when Diana gently stroked the base of her silver ears, the wolf girl yielded, letting herself be guided to the office's leather sofa.

Diana sprinted down to the basement laboratory.

With master-grade mastery, she synthesized an infusion of Ice Mint, Lunar Lotus Root, and Purified Sap, creating a soothing 95% purity elixir specifically designed to regulate humanoid beast body temperature and ease the thermal cramps of the biological cycle.

She hurried back up with the steaming mug and helped Rhea sip the infusion slowly.

The ice mint's effect was almost immediate: Rhea's heavy breathing calmed down, her biological fever dropped to comfortable levels, but the need for physical contact remained absolute.

The wolf girl simply laid her head on Diana's lap on the sofa, curling her legs up and gripping the hem of the Commander's jacket with both hands, closing her eyes in deep relaxation.

***.

It was at that exact moment that the office door opened.

Aurelia-Elysia and Seraphina entered carrying a tray with oat cookies and coffee cups for the planning meeting.

The two stopped at the office doorway, freezing in place.

They saw Diana sitting on the sofa with a bright red face, one hand resting on Rhea's head, while the wolf girl slept with her tail wrapped around the Commander's leg, purring loudly.

Aurelia-Elysia let out a muffled squeal of pure excitement, covering her mouth:

“OH MY GOD! Rhea turned into a giant stuffed plushie on the Commander's lap! Diana, what did you do to her?!”

Seraphina adjusted her round glasses on her nose, examining the wolf girl's breathing with her academic knowledge, and gave a shy, blushing giggle:

“House Vesperis had books on wolf-beast tribes… when they enter their biological cycle, they become extremely attached and only rest if they're pressed against the leader they consider their life mate…”

Diana raised the parchment map with her free hand, covering her thoroughly crimson face up to her dark eyes:

“This is… this is a natural biological condition perfectly treated with Level 20 Alchemy!” Diana barked from behind the map, her voice cracking in pure embarrassment. “Silence in the command room! Put the cookies on the table and come review the Glass Gorges routes!”

Aurelia and Seraphina sat in the chairs around the coffee table, laughing heartily at the scene while sipping coffee.

***

The afternoon proceeded in a sweet calm inside the manor office.

Rhea slept a deep, restorative sleep on Diana's lap for three consecutive hours, her breathing calm and her ears relaxed, lulled by the involuntary affection of Diana's fingers that continued stroking her silver hair while the Commander studied maps with her other hand.

—You know, Diana…

The System's voice whispered in her mind, in a gentle, warm tone of black gold.

—You can play the cold, calculating Commander as much as you want… but the way you take care of this wolf girl shows your soul has way more heart than you'll ever admit.

Diana looked down at Rhea sleeping on her lap, then at the Level 38 to 40 dungeon maps spread across the desk.

She didn't answer the System. She simply let out a small, calm sigh, adjusting the blanket over her friend's back.

The plan for the Volcanic Glass Gorges was drawn. The faction was at Level 35+, with 310 Silver Coins (31 Gold Coins) in the vault and an unbreakable union.

As soon as Rhea's cycle rested, the march toward Level 40 would begin.

Final Notes:

Yes, Rhea entered heat, lol. I needed to do this chapter, my mind demanded it-