Chapter 54: Amy vs Miche

Chapter 54: Chapter 54: Amy vs Miche

Loki shot up from his chair, his expression tense. "What? Miche’s condition has worsened?"

"Yes, go check on her quickly. Miche keeps saying her head hurts, and I don’t know what’s going on." Galen spun the lie effortlessly.

"Alright. Galen, please keep an eye on Amy for me. I’ll go see her right away." Loki still felt a bit uneasy about leaving his daughter behind before he departed.

"Okay, don’t worry. With me here, nothing will happen to Amy."

Reassured by Galen’s promise, Loki finally left with peace of mind, rushing toward Miche’s stone hut.

Galen glanced at Amy on the bed. She was still asleep, her pale face so thin she was almost unrecognizable. Softening his footsteps, he patrolled the stone hut, but after a full search, he couldn’t find a single trace of the herbal medicine. He felt a bit disappointed. Just as he was about to leave, he inadvertently glanced back at the sleeping girl.

With just that one look, he noticed a bulging lump under Amy’s blankets. He narrowed his eyes and changed his angle, peering closely at the animal hide blanket. A corner of white hide peeked out from the bulge, standing out starkly against the leopard-print bedding.

He tiptoed to Amy’s bedside, reached out with two fingers to pinch the corner of the blanket, and gently lifted it to get a clear view of what was inside. Galen had an incredibly sharp nose. Even from a distance, he could smell the faint, bitter scent of herbs—the exact same smell as the medicine Miche had been drinking.

Galen reached for the hide-wrapped bundle, tugging gently to pull it out of Amy’s arms. However, he had underestimated the girl’s alertness even in her sleep. The slight movement was enough to jolt her awake. She followed the arm with her eyes and saw the male’s fierce face. Terrified, she immediately shrank back into the corner of the wall.

"Ga—Galen, what are you doing?"

"Give me the medicine in your hands." Galen narrowed his eyes, his expression stern.

"No! My uncle gave this to me." Amy shielded the herbal medicine tightly in her arms, her eyes full of vigilance. She only had these two packets left. She hadn’t fully recovered yet; she couldn’t let them be taken away again.

"That’s not up to you. Hand it over." Galen reached his predatory claws toward her.

"No! You can’t steal my medicine, or I’ll tell my father and have him kick you out!"

Because Amy hugged the medicine packets so tightly, Galen was forced to drag her entirely out of the blankets. Dangling in mid-air, the sudden invasion of cold air made her shiver uncontrollably, but her grip on the medicine didn’t loosen in the slightest. Impatiently, Galen shook her a few times, trying to fling her off his hand. But Amy used every ounce of her strength to cling to him, refusing to let go.

Losing the last of his patience, Galen squeezed Amy’s arm hard, forcing her to release her grip in pain. As she plummeted to the ground, Galen delivered a vicious kick that sent her tumbling. Her tiny body rolled across the floor several times, only stopping when her back slammed hard against the base of the bed.

"Listen here, you little brat," he warned coldly. "Keep your mouth shut. Don’t go spouting nonsense, or I’ll kill you."

With that threat, Galen turned and left.

Amy lay weakly on the floor. The intense pain in her back drained all the color from her little face.

Meanwhile, after finally coaxing Miche to sleep, Loki remembered he needed to check on Amy back at his stone hut. As soon as he entered the room, he saw Amy curled up on the ground, shivering violently from the cold. Shocked, Loki hurriedly scooped her up and placed her on the bed.

"Amy, are you alright?" When he rested his large hand on the young female cub’s forehead, a scorching heat transferred to his palm. This was bad. Amy’s fever had worsened significantly.

"WAAAH! Father, Galen bullied me! He snatched my medicine and kicked me to the ground." Hearing her father’s caring voice, Amy’s grievances immediately surged to the surface. She hugged his arm and cried uncontrollably.

"How is that possible? Galen is Aunt Miche’s brother. They are both very good people. Why would he steal your medicine? Don’t speak nonsense."

"It’s true, Father. If you don’t believe me, look at my back. The marks from where Galen kicked me are still there. It hurts so much, Father."

Amy rolled over onto her stomach and lifted her clothes. Shocking bruises appeared right before Loki’s eyes. The wound wasn’t just red; it was already turning a deep, angry purple. Loki’s hand stopped abruptly just before touching the injury. He didn’t dare make contact, terrified that even the slightest brush would cause her pain. His heart ached terribly for her. Scooping Amy back into his arms, he stormed off to find Galen.

As for Galen, as soon as he left the stone hut, he had returned to Miche’s place and handed her the two stolen packets of herbal medicine.

"Amy saw me stealing the medicine. Will she complain to Loki?"

Miche tucked the medicine packets into her blankets and scoffed coldly. "So what if she does? Loki will only believe me, not her." She was exceedingly confident about this.

Hearing his sister’s assurance, Galen’s anxiety finally faded. They had barely exchanged a few words when hurried footsteps approached. The siblings exchanged a glance, instantly knowing that Loki had come to demand answers.

"Galen, why did you steal my Amy’s medicine? And you even dared to injure her!" Loki’s expression was incredibly dark. He felt his authority had been directly challenged. A mere Fox Clan male actually dared to harm his daughter!

"Loki, I didn’t. When you were returning to Amy’s stone hut, we bumped into each other. I wasn’t carrying anything in my hands." Faced with Loki’s furious questioning, Galen didn’t even blink.

Loki pondered for a moment. It seemed true that when they crossed paths, the other man’s hands were empty.

"You’re lying! It was you who stole my medicine, and you won’t even admit it!" Amy fumed, her small face flushed red—whether from her fever or her anger, it was hard to tell.

"Loki, this must be a misunderstanding. My brother wouldn’t steal Amy’s medicine," Miche said gently as she sat up in bed. "Could it be that her condition has worsened, and she mistook someone else for him?"

"Impossible! It was him! Aunt Miche, you can’t protect a bad person!"

"Amy, good children shouldn’t tell lies.

"I know Loki gave your medicine to me, and you’re unhappy about it, but you can’t just slander my brother."

Miche slipped out of bed and crouched down in front of Amy, placing a hand on her shoulder. Her voice was delicate, and the look she gave the girl was exceptionally gentle, laced with tolerance and helpless resignation.

"Even if I get incredibly sick in the future, I won’t drink your medicine anymore, okay? We’ll save all the medicine for you to drink, alright?"

"No! Aunt Miche, you’re a liar. You’re a bad female. I don’t like you anymore!" Amy swatted away the hand Miche was using to stroke her head, pouting in sheer displeasure.

"AH!"

Even though Amy had used very little force, Miche’s body suddenly pitched backward from the motion, causing her to fall hard onto her rear.

Seeing this, Loki immediately flew into a rage. He raised his hand and struck Amy across the face. Five distinct finger marks instantly appeared on Amy’s tender cheek, swelling and turning a bright red within seconds.

Amy felt a burning, stinging pain on her cheek, but her heart ached even more.