In the end, the so-called High Priest didn’t manage to escape.
It wasn’t that Evangeline insisted on killing him, but the tribe’s Beastn sward him, giving him no chance to flee.
Inside a hut in the Wyndsong Tribe.
Evangeline sat at a stone table, eating scallion oil chicken—a fresh batch, of course.
Her gaze fell upon Rhys Finch, who was eating slowly and deliberately. The morning sun filtered through the gaps in the tent, scattering like starlight across his silver-white eyelashes. ’Seeing a face like this every morning could make my mood a hundred tis better.’
A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she blinked. "Are you interested in taking a little trip?"
Fearing Rhys Finch might refuse, she quickly added, "I want to see what kind of flower seeds they are. Perhaps if we teach the Fallen Beastn to brew wine and supplent it with those seeds, they’ll be able to provide for themselves?"
Rhys Finch lifted his gaze to Evangeline. A faint smile touched his crimson lips, and his voice was nonchalant. "They’re just Fallen Beastn, abandoned by the Beast God. Why do you care so much?"
"I don’t care about them. I care about you."
"We’re all planning to leave Thorncliff eventually. Are you just going to abandon the Wyndsong Tribe?"
"The swindler is gone, but the Beastn have lost the one thing that suppressed the backlash. Their lives will only get harder from now on."
"Besides, are you telling you’re not interested in all those hidden Beast Crystals?"
Evangeline made a solid case.
Rhys Finch paused. He slowly lifted his eyelids, his amber eyes shimring. His voice held a lazy drawl as he dragged out the final syllables, "Well, since you’re begging ... I suppose we can go."
The corner of Evangeline’s mouth twitched at his haughty act.
’He’s really putting on an act. It’s so obvious he’s practically buzzing with excitent, right down to the tips of his hair, yet he insists on acting like he’s doing a huge favor.’
Evangeline and Rhys Finch left the tribe that very day.
According to the High Priest’s confession, all his belongings were hidden in a cave abandoned by the Ape Clan. He had always been extrely cautious, never letting anyone follow him, for fear that his thods for acquiring Beast Crystals would be stolen.
The Ape Clan’s cave was so distance from the Wyndsong Tribe, a journey that would take two days.
That night, a raging sandstorm slowed them down.
Shielding her eyes, Evangeline said, "Let’s find a place to rest. We’ll leave after the storm passes."
"Alright." Rhys Finch glanced at her, hesitated for a mont, then took her hand and led her toward a rocky cavern.
Once they had a fire going, Rhys Finch said, "I’m going to hunt. I’ll be right back."
Evangeline nodded. "Go on, then."
When she finished speaking, however, Rhys Finch didn’t move. Evangeline turned to look at him and froze when she t his stare.
It was a look of distinct vigilance and concern—the kind a male gives a female he feels responsible for protecting before he heads out to hunt.
At that thought, Evangeline couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh. ’It seems Rhys Finch has already started to think of as his female.’
"I’m fine. You can go," Evangeline said, her lips curving into a bewitching smile.
’Besides, it’s not like I’m so ordinary female in need of protection.’
Rhys Finch paused. His silver hair swept through the cavern like a flowing cloud, and in the next instant, his slender figure was swallowed by the swirling sand.
As the wind began to die down, Rhys Finch returned, carrying a single Herbivore.
Evangeline blinked, surprised. She looked at Rhys Finch. "Did you already eat?"
Rhys Finch didn’t answer. A cold glint flashed at his fingertips as his sharp claws expertly sliced open the creature’s belly. He peeled off the fur in one pristine piece, large enough to serve as a blanket, and handed her a chunk of bright red, still-steaming at.
Evangeline blinked, taking the cleaned portion of the Herbivore and setting it over the fire to roast.
She sprinkled it evenly with spices, and soon a rich, savory aroma filled the air.
Evangeline casually tore off a golden-brown leg, took a few bites, then offered the rest to him.
Rhys Finch’s brow furrowed instantly. Reflected in the firelight, his narrow eyes glinted with a dangerous darkness. "This little bit wouldn’t even be enough for a cub," he said, his voice laced with displeasure.
Evangeline eyed the roasted leg unhurriedly and teased, "Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let *your* cub starve."
At her words, the tips of Rhys Finch’s ears instantly flushed crimson, and even the Star Pattern on his forehead began to glow faintly.
He whipped his head away, his silver hair swinging violently over his shoulders. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he finally managed to squeeze out an annoyed huff. "It’s only for a few days..."
He paused, then added, "Do you think the cubs of High-level Beastn are as common as weeds by the roadside? The higher the Star Pattern, the more difficult it is to conceive. Hasn’t the great and powerful Witch ever learned that piece of common knowledge?"
Hearing this, Evangeline faltered. She looked at Rhys Finch and saw a trace of gloom hanging over his stunning features.
A twinkle returned to Evangeline’s eyes. She smiled brightly, then took the roasted leg and sat down right next to Rhys Finch, pressing close against him. Her bewitching voice was enough to make one’s heart lt. "That’s fine. We’ll just have to try more often."
Rhys Finch’s breath caught in his throat as her warmth suddenly overwheld his senses.
He turned his head to look at her, his long eyelashes trembling. An undercurrent of emotion, like both pain and burning desire, churned in the depths of his eyes.
His claws quietly receded, but his long fingers clenched uncontrollably, knuckles turning white. Veins stood out on the back of his hand as if he were trying to physically choke back so runaway emotion.
He suddenly spoke, his voice a low, lingering rasp, like sandpaper on silk. "I can never form a Contract with you in this lifeti. I might even die from the backlash of the Beast God Contract."
Evangeline pressed her lips together and laid her fingertips on the back of his hand.
She took his hand and pressed it to her cheek. Her voice was as soft as lting snow. "I’m here. Even the Beast God would have to get through first. Besides, if we have a cub, are you really going to make raise it all by myself?"
Hearing her words, an ache spread through Rhys Finch’s heart.
’Why couldn’t it have been Flora he t from the very beginning?’
*
The night air was cool as water. Wind swept fine sand past the mouth of the cavern.
Rhys Finch lowered his gaze to Evangeline’s slight figure leaning in the corner. A ripple of emotion disturbed the calm in his eyes.
A silver light flowed around him, and he transford into a giant, snow-white fox. He curled his body around her, wrapping her in his thick fur. He then draped his fluffy tail gently over her, shielding her from the wind and sand. The night wind howled outside, but it could no longer disturb her in the slightest.
Rhys Finch rested his head on his front paws, his amber eyes half-lidded.
Her warmth seeped through his fur, and it felt as if even the curse of Thorncliff’s eternal night had lessened.
At the first hint of dawn, Evangeline was woken by the heat.
She looked at the snow-white fur surrounding her and blinked, feeling as if she were nestled in a snowdrift.
When she turned her head, she t Rhys Finch’s amber Beast Eyes. Seeing that she was awake, he slowly withdrew his tail, rose to his feet, and shook out his frost-colored fur.
"Hold on tight." His deep, intimate voice brushed past her ear.
His fluffy white tail wrapped irresistibly around Evangeline’s waist, lifting her onto his back. The tip of his tail slid slowly down her waistline before pulling away, the movent as deliberate as an intimate caress.
In the next instant, the white fox shot out of the cavern like an arrow loosed from a bow.
In the distance, the sand dunes were rimd with gold by the morning sun—a breathtaking sight.
Evangeline sank into the thick fur on Rhys Finch’s back, her fingertips toying with a soft tuft.
She suddenly laughed. "You know, this feels a lot like a honeymoon."
’After forming a Contract, a male Beastman would only allow his contracted partner to ride him in his beast form. This unwritten rule, however, had an exception in Rhys Finch.’
Rhys Finch was running swiftly. Hearing Evangeline’s words, the tips of his ears twitched. "What’s a honeymoon?"
Evangeline’s lips curved into a smile. Her voice, sweet as honey, seed to drift on the wind and tickle his ears.
"A honeymoon..." She deliberately leaned forward, her lips almost brushing against his pricked ear. "Is when a contracted male carries his female on his back and travels with her across every inch of the Beastman Continent."
She finished, drawing out her last words. "Just like you’re doing right now."
The tips of Rhys Finch’s ears twitched sharply, and his gait faltered for a half-step.
Feeling his back suddenly go rigid beneath her, Evangeline added with a grin, "You can carry during the day, and at night... I’ll groom your fur for you. How does that sound?"
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