She looked incredibly hesitant, her fingers twitching at her sides. She didn't dare to reach out or touch the cubs, a deep, lingering fear in her chest whispering that she had no legal right to them after what her tribe had done to her in the past.
Lin Wan looked up, noticing the older woman's painful hesitation. Without a word, she gathered Second Son gently into her arms, stood up from the rug, and carefully passed the plump, wiggling baby directly into Lanying's arms.
The moment the baby's warmth touched her chest, Lanying's breath hitched. She couldn't help but begin to cry silently, large, silent tears rolling down her flawless cheeks as the painful memories of her past came flushing back like a violent tidal wave.
Decades ago, when she had given birth to Wang, the brutal elders of the Leopard tribe hadn't even allowed her to hold her newborn cub for a single minute.
