Evangeline was resting with her eyes closed when she suddenly heard a SPLASH from the water, followed imdiately by a frantic thrashing sound.
Lazily, she lifted her eyelids. On the bank of the stream, a glistening, silver-scaled fish was desperately flopping about. Its tail splashed muddy water everywhere as it struggled, leaping high into the air.
Evangeline propped up her chin, watching for a mont before her gaze drifted to the deep pool of the stream. Ripples were slowly spreading out in circles.
She rose, walked to the stream’s edge, and kicked the fish back into the water.
A mont later, Evangeline turned and built a fire. She took fresh beast at from her space, seasoned it, and propped it over the flas. The chunk of at rotated slowly above the fire, gradually beginning to glisten with rendered fat.
Julian awoke from the depths of unconsciousness, the first thing to reach him the rich aroma of roasting at.
His eyelashes fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes. Through his blurry vision, he could see a cluster of dancing flas.
But his full attention was captured by the slender figure sitting before the fire.
She was wrapped in an unusual beast skin, which, much like her, was unique and unconventional.
As Evangeline lowered her gaze to sprinkle seasoning on the at, her movents were clean and efficient. She was supposedly a coddled treasure of the tribe, yet she perford every task with a practiced ease that suggested she’d done it a thousand tis before. It was strange, yet it made one irresistibly curious to know more.
The firelight made her features all the more breathtaking. She was glamorous and enchanting, but not in a gaudy way. Her skin was fairer than snow, but her most captivating feature was her eyes—long, narrow fox-like eyes that could be lively one mont, tranquil the next, then sly, then languid.
Yet, whenever those beautiful eyes looked at him, they remained perfectly calm, as if he were no more than a rock, a tree, or a pool of water. She wouldn’t spare him even a sliver of emotion.
His most vivid mory was of her arrival at the tribe in search of Lachlan.
She had been standing in the mist, and when she spoke to him, the corners of her eyes were tilted up, a cold sneer was on her lips, and her whole expression was laced with frost.
In fact, he had seen Evangeline before Drake had undergone the Contract.
Back then, she was the most dazzling pearl of the Oasis Tribe. She was The little maiden born from the union of the leader and the Witch, and her very birth had been a remarkable event. Her appearance hadn’t changed much, but her disposition was so different she seed like another person entirely.
Previously, he had only heard rumors about her, and through his Brother’s ordeal, he had beco convinced that she was a cruel and vicious female.
But now, in the short span of a month, he had seen the real her. He had seen her bloom with the brightest of smiles for the male she loved. He had seen her defy more than ten tribes for the sake of her Fallen Beastman, her Beast Husband, just to keep one person safe. He had seen her risk her life, venturing out alone to rescue her male. The light emanating from her seed to shine upon everyone.
’I don’t understand what changed her, but there’s no doubt I’m captivated by the Evangeline of today.’
At this mont, her eyes were lazily half-lidded, radiating a casual weariness.
Amid the shifting light and shadows, she absently turned the roasting at. Sparks CRACKLED from the fire, illuminating her profile in flickering bursts.
Julian was montarily stunned, unable to tell if he was dreaming or awake.
Evangeline looked up at Julian, who was staring at her in a daze. "Since you’re awake, co get sothing to eat."
Her voice was as calm as if she were discussing the weather, holding none of the joy or excitent one might feel upon finding an acquaintance in a strange land.
Julian’s throat bobbed. He propped himself up on his arms and rose slowly. The searing pain in his body had subsided, but each step felt like he was walking on cotton.
He shuffled over to Evangeline’s side and collapsed, breathing in hoarse gasps. "You saved ?"
"Who else?" Evangeline shot him a glance.
"Listen, buddy. You’re a Beastman, not one of those mindless Wild Beasts that only know how to kill. Don’t you know your own limits? You almost kicked the bucket playing hero to go et The Beast God. You think that’s sothing to be proud of?"
Julian froze, his pale lips trembling. He turned to look at Evangeline, his gilded eyes shimring with unspoken emotions, but he didn’t know how to explain. "I... I was just..."
Evangeline handed him the roasted at. "Just trying to protect ," she said flatly, finishing his sentence.
Her words precisely exposed the feelings Julian was desperately trying to hide. His face grew even paler as he slowly accepted the at. His muscles tensed, and his lips parted as if to speak, but his throat was painfully dry, and he couldn’t form the words.
In the silence, broken only by the CRACKLING of the campfire, Evangeline held a cup of warm water and took a small sip. ’Have to stay healthy, even while pregnant.’
"Why do you like ?" she asked suddenly, her voice as soft as falling snow.
She tilted her head slightly, looking at Julian. He was poised on the cusp of youth and manhood.
He was exceptionally handso, with sharp, well-defined brows, long and narrow phoenix eyes, a high-bridged nose, and a clean jawline. His features were striking, and his brilliant golden hair seed to glow even in the dimness of the night, like crushed sunlight.
More striking still was his innate air of pride, as if he were born to stand above all others.
’A young man like that shouldn’t be the type to fall for just any female so easily.’
’Evangeline thought it over. During their ti in the Blackwater Swamp, she and Julian had barely interacted. They had hardly exchanged more than a few words. He fell for just like that? Enough to risk his life for ?’
’If she wanted to make soone fall for her, she had plenty of ways to do it. The problem was, she hadn’t done a thing!’
’She was genuinely curious.’
Julian’s back went rigid at Evangeline’s blunt question, and the burning pain from his wound seed to intensify with her words.
He opened his mouth to deny it, but when he t Evangeline’s long, beautiful eyes, any and all denials died in his throat.
Evangeline shrugged and shook her head. "Forget it. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine."
She stood and started walking toward the entrance of the cave in the cliff face. Julian struggled to follow, but her voice reached him from her retreating figure. "Go back to the tribe. Once I find the dicine and heal Drake, I’ll make sure he returns. You don’t need to follow ."
Julian froze, his clenched fists trembling slightly. He couldn’t tell if it was from the pain or sothing else.
As he watched her slender figure grow more distant, an unprecedented wave of panic washed over Julian.
His gilded pupils contracted violently. A powerful premonition seized his heart. ’If I don’t say what’s on my mind now, I’ll never get another chance.’
’What am I even hesitating for?’ Julian’s lips twisted into a self-mocking smile.
’Beastman courtship is direct, never coy. When did I beco like this?’
With that thought, Julian abruptly pushed himself to his feet, his tall, slender fra swaying in the firelight.
The wound on his back scread with tearing pain as his body tensed, but he ignored it. Barely steadying himself, he shouted after her, "Evangeline! I like you!"
"I like that you’re decisive, not like other females!"
"I like that even though you’re powerful, you still cherish every male!"
"I like your courage to protect your mate, even if it ans making an enemy of the entire continent!"
The night wind lifted Julian’s golden hair as he staggered a few steps forward.
He panted heavily, his eyes fixed on Evangeline. "And I like... the sounds you make when you’re passionate."
Under the moonlight, the young man stubbornly straightened his spine. Though his wounds throbbed with pain and his vision blackened at the edges, he stared straight ahead, his eyes holding nothing but the image of Evangeline. This was a Beastman’s most direct form of courtship: frank, open, and utterly sincere.
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