Beastman Imagination Short Stories & Regret Novels

The Kumiho my father chose for me hated me. He hated that he was my pet. When I turned eighteen, I decided to give him his freedom. However, it turned out that he was in love with one of our servants’ daughters, Rachel Lenford. I was crushed, but I could only accept it. I woke up from a good dream to find a silver-ringed giant python coiled around my body. It hissed at me while flicking its forked tongue. "Why do you like him so much? How about trying me out? I'm better than he is." Trying this snake out? How would that work?

My sister Debra Evans and I came of age in the same year, and we were both chosen to represent humanity in the beast-clan mating ceremony. According to the ancient pact between humans and beasts, the first half-beast child born from this generation's unions would become the next ruler of the Human-Beast Alliance. Debra chose Jacob Griffin, the eldest son of the wolf clan—the strongest of them all. But every child she conceived ended up stillborn. Jacob flew into a rage and dissolved their bond. No other beastman would take her in either—not when she couldn't give them heirs. Meanwhile, I had chosen Patrick Bryant of the serpent clan. And I gave birth to the first half-beast child of the generation. They hailed me as a divine maiden. Patrick rose to power because of me. Debra burned with jealousy. She poisoned my child and shoved me off a cliff—I shattered on the rocks below. When I opened my eyes again, it was the very day we were to choose our mates. Without hesitation, Debra picked Patrick. I knew then: she had been reborn too. But she had no idea what I'd actually gone through in my past life.

As human fertility rates kept falling, the government created a matching system between humans and beasts. That was how I became engaged to the Blackwood brothers—two wolf beasts who never wanted me. For a year, I made coffee for both of them every morning.The older brother, Adrian, kept his distance, but he always took the mug and thanked me quietly. The younger one, Kieran, was all temper and sharp teeth. He snapped at me, broke the mug, and acted like I was a nuisance. I told myself this was fair. If I treated them the same, maybe one day this arranged bond would feel like home. Then my best friend saw it and asked, “Have you ever thought that treating them equally might be unfair to the one who’s actually kind to you?” I thought about that all day. Then one morning, I walked out of the kitchen carrying only one cup.