The Villainess Winning Back Her Beast Husbands-Chapter 80: Bleeding

Although the Snake Clan Beastmen naturally preferred damp, gloomy environments, they all watched the torrential rain outside the cave with worried frowns. They were concerned that the tribe’s stored prey wouldn’t be enough to last through the rainy season.

Elias Moretti was coiled in his crimson snake form, his scales gleaming with a cold luster.

He raised his head slightly, his forked tongue flicking toward the curtain of rain, tasting the scents carried on the air.

He stared at the downpour, but his thoughts were of Evangeline.

’She left the Grymdale Tribe a long time ago. Now that the rainy season is here, will she be able to make it back from the Frost-plain Tribe?’

A young Beastman appeared through the rain, stumbling forward as he was battered by the storm.

He reached the cave entrance and leaned against the stone wall, gasping for breath. His voice was nearly torn apart by the roar of the downpour. "Elias Moretti, Cecilia West is about to give birth! The Witch said there’s a problem and that you need to go over there right now!"

At his words, every scale on Elias Moretti’s body tensed. He lashed his tail against the ground, sending a spray of water into the air.

His crimson form shot into the curtain of rain like an arrow. ’The cub in Cecilia West’s belly is very likely mine. Even if I don’t like her, as a Beast-father, I must take responsibility.’

Coincidentally, just as he was halfway there, Elias Moretti saw several figures emerge from the curtain of rain.

Thorne was leading The White Fox, on whose back a female was seated. The three of them were returning to the tribe together.

Evangeline held an oil-paper umbrella at an angle when she suddenly saw a crimson figure streak through the murky puddles.

She raised an eyebrow slightly and tilted the umbrella, revealing her bewitchingly beautiful face from beneath its edge.

Elias Moretti’s slithering form froze. He tilted his serpentine head. When her faint, teasing smile was reflected in his vertical pupils, they narrowed into thin slits. His heart hammered in his chest, and for a long moment, he was unable to move.

’This female on The White Fox’s back is a stranger, yet her expression holds a hint of familiarity.’

’Her porcelain-white skin seemed to glow with a cold light in the rain. Her beauty was blatant, almost aggressive.’

’The gentle swell of her belly was just visible, lending her a certain maternal glow. When her red lips curved into that faint, teasing smile, it seemed as though she was the only thing with any color in the midst of the downpour.’

With just one glance, Elias Moretti recognized her.

Although he had never seen Evangeline of the Oasis Tribe in person, her reputation for both beauty and notoriety had spread so far and wide that it was impossible not to know of her.

Before, however, he had never paid those rumors any mind.

That is, until the day news spread through the Grymdale Tribe: Evangeline had personally dug out Thorne’s Beast Crystal.

This renowned female, whom he had never met, had completely upended the power dynamic in the Grymdale Tribe, allowing him to claim the leader’s position with almost no effort.

’Flora... was Evangeline again.’

Elias Moretti’s gaze swept past The White Fox and settled on Thorne.

Thorne slithered ahead, his black serpentine tail sweeping aside jagged stones and tearing through fallen logs that blocked the path.

They had clearly returned to the Grymdale Tribe’s territory, yet he stubbornly continued to clear every inch of the path. Behind him, Evangeline sat on The White Fox’s back, perfectly steady and undisturbed.

Elias Moretti’s crimson Beast Eyes blinked slowly as he let the roar of the rain drown out the turmoil churning in his chest.

’So, Thorne just forgave Evangeline that easily?’

The young Beastman following Elias Moretti also saw Evangeline and froze, his breath catching in his throat. He remained motionless until The White Fox’s cold Beast Eyes swept over him. He flinched as if plunged into an icy cavern and shakily swallowed the gasp of awe that had nearly suffocated him.

He asked in a low voice, "Elias Moretti, who are they?"

Elias Moretti was clearly in no mood to pay him any mind. With a flick of his serpentine tail, he rushed off toward Cecilia West’s cave.

Thorne completely ignored Elias Moretti, leading Caden Albright back to their cave. Water was already seeping inside.

He shifted out of his beast form, water dripping from the ends of his hair.

Frowning deeply, he stepped forward, lifted Evangeline into his arms, and gently placed her on the stone bed. He turned to Caden Albright. "We’re back late. Let’s go get some wood to build a barrier."

Thorne’s brow was heavy. In years past, they would have built a stone levee to keep the water out long before the rainy season. But this time, due to a few mishaps, they had returned late and would have to work hastily in the downpour.

Caden Albright nodded slightly. He glanced down at Evangeline, his voice soft and tender. "You should rest."

Evangeline’s lips curved into a smile as she nodded. "Alright. You two should go."

Once Thorne and Caden Albright’s figures had vanished into the rain, Evangeline surveyed the cave and frowned slightly.

She raised a slender hand and, with a gentle wave, a gust of wind swept the pooled water out of the cave.

With a soft brush of her fingertips, a light flashed. Driven by Evangeline’s Spiritual Power, the rock wall writhed like a living creature. In the blink of an eye, the cave had been widened by more than half, and she had even partitioned off a separate alcove for bathing. After all, three of them would be living here.

Next, she cast a ward throughout the entire cave to keep out the dampness. She brought out a large bed, unfurled the soft bedding, and hung a string of Luminous Pearls from the ceiling, their gentle light instantly filling the cave with a warm glow.

Evangeline looked around the renovated cave, her slanted, fox-like eyes filled with a critical light.

’I don’t want to live in a cave,’ she thought. ’I want to live in a house!’

’But there’s still a long road ahead. It’s too early to be thinking about comforts.’

Evangeline moved a small stool to the cave entrance and sat, watching the deluge outside.

After their return to the Grymdale Tribe, the storm had only grown more savage.

Thumb-sized raindrops pummeled the world into a blurry, greyish-white haze. Even the distant mountain ridges were obscured, as if the entire Grymdale Tribe were submerged in a chaotic, watery prison.

The usual clamor of roaring beasts and chirping birds was completely obliterated, leaving only the thunderous roar of the downpour.

A sudden cramp seized Evangeline’s abdomen. She glanced down. It seemed the cub in her belly disliked the damp, gloomy environment as much as she did and was protesting the suffocating rainy season.

Evangeline stroked her stomach gently, her eyes curving into a soft smile. ’The little fox in my belly should be born in another ten to fifteen days. That’s one good thing about the Beastman Continent—no ten-month pregnancies.’

Just then, a crimson figure flashed through the curtain of rain.

Evangeline raised an eyebrow, casually sizing up Elias Moretti as he suddenly shifted into his human form before her.

A curtain of silver rain streamed down his contours, tracing a path over his wickedly handsome face, past his throat, and onto his taut chest. The water made his crimson eyes look almost unnaturally eerie.

He said, "Evangeline, I need you to help save someone."

"Save someone?" Evangeline’s red lips curved into a playful smirk as her fingertips lightly tapped her swollen belly. "Leader Elias Moretti, you certainly have a way with timing... In my condition, who could I possibly help you save?"

’That’s right. On the way back, Thorne had told her that Elias Moretti had become the leader of the Grymdale Tribe.’

Elias Moretti’s jaw tightened. His Adam’s apple bobbed convulsively before he squeezed out a hoarse sound through clenched teeth. Taking a deep breath, he said, "The cub in Cecilia West’s womb won’t come out. She’s hemorrhaging. The blood has already soaked through three layers of beast skin."

"Gable can’t do anything. He said the cub will suffocate soon."

At this, Elias Moretti lowered his head, his voice filled with pleading. "I’m hoping you can save her... and save the cub."

"A difficult birth?" Evangeline was slightly surprised. She remembered Thorne saying that Snake Clan cubs were supposed to be easy to birth.

Elias Moretti looked up at Evangeline. "The cub in Cecilia West’s belly... it’s not from the Snake Clan."

’The moment Cecilia West started bleeding and couldn’t deliver, I knew. The cub she’s carrying isn’t from the Snake Clan.’

’Our clan has always laid eggs. Glistening white eggs slide out, coated in mucus; there is never any tearing of flesh. Cecilia West’s bleeding is not what happens when a Snake Clan cub is born.’

’She must have claimed the cub was mine simply to save her own life.’

’However, in any tribe, cubs are the spark that ensures its future. Even if the child in Cecilia West’s womb isn’t my offspring, as the leader of the Grymdale Tribe, I still hope it can be born safely.’