Trapped in the Beastworld Breeder System (BL)-Chapter 28: The extinct race?

Inside a room well furnished with different household equipment, much could be seen. A king-sized bed was placed at the center of the room, its dark aesthetic emphasized by tiger skin rugs, serpent hides, and tiger-carved statues lining the space. The room smelled strongly of medicine, the scent lingering thickly in the air.

Lying on the bed like a log of wood was Lucien. Beads of sweat had formed on his forehead, and his body burned with heat, as though he were a furnace set ablaze from within.

After the injury he suffered while trying to escape the tiger kingdom with Aries, and with Areis separated from him—Lucien had been brought into this room, where he was treated and left to recuperate.

And now, today, a man dressed in a formal long shirt with a short, fitted top stood before the bed. Beside him was another man with an apron tied around his body, and if one took the time to smell him closely, one would easily agree that he was a healer, for he smelled exactly like medicine itself.

As the scent assaulted Lucien’s nose, he was forced to open his eyes. His nose scrunched up as his eyes squinted in annoyance. His gaze slowly scanned the room, and when he noticed the two figures standing before him, he grunted—a brutal groan tearing out of his throat as he tried to sit up.

He groaned harder, grimacing as he placed his hands to his sides and forcibly lifted his body. At once, the healer panicked and rushed closer, stopping whatever Lucien had been trying to do.

Holding both of Lucien’s hands firmly in place, the healer berated him sharply, "What were you trying to do? Do you intend to never use your arms again?"

"Of course I’ll use them again—and who are you?" Lucien hissed, his eyes scanning the body of the man before him with irritation and suspicion.

The man gently but firmly lowered Lucien’s hands back to his sides before gesturing toward the other man standing beside him. That man was Lucien’s personal guard, though Lucien hadn’t seemed to notice him earlier.

"Come," the healer said calmly, "I believe he wants to sit up. Let’s help him do that."

With that, Roger, along with the healer lifted Lucien carefully, helping him shift upward on the bed until his back rested against the bedframe, his body settling against the foam mattress beneath him.

Once Lucien had settled into this position, he finally paused long enough to understand what was happening to him. Earlier, he had thought that he had merely slept and awakened, his memories distorted and blurred. But now, as the lingering effects of the charred plains they had passed through cleared from his mind, he recalled everything that had happened.

And because of this realization, he turned his gaze sharply toward his guard and called out, "Roger!"

"Yes, my lord!" Roger responded instantly.

"Where is the beastkin that was with me when I arrived?" Lucien asked, his voice tight with restrained urgency.

"My lord," Roger replied carefully, "there was no beastkin with you when you arrived."

Confusion settled into Lucien’s mind at the straightforward answer. Then where had Areis gone? Where had he slipped off to, if he hadn’t arrived alongside him? As these thoughts raced through his mind, a dreadful realization dawned on him, and he muttered weakly, "Don’t tell me he died in the space..."

The healer and Roger watched as Lucien thought hard. Then, through a wrinkled forehead and tightly squeezed lips, Roger decided to say the blasphemous words he had been considering.

"Or..." But as soon as the first word dropped from his mouth, he couldn’t continue. Lucien, however, had already noticed him.

He hurriedly asked, "Or what? What, Roger?"

Roger then said carefully, "Is it the Tigerbeast cub you refer to as beastkin, the one that was with you?"

Blasphemous. That was what any sane wolfkin would call Roger’s words if they heard them. Implying that the prince might have been calling another beast kin, and worse, worrying about him was far too much for a wolf royal to tolerate. For Roger to even think along such lines showed how bold, or perhaps reckless, he was being.

As Lucien heard this, he knew immediately who Roger meant. Who else could it be? He was the only tiger beast that had been with him. He quickly said, "He’s a cub, right?"

"Yes, he is."

"Where is he now?" Lucien tried to sit up properly on the bed as he asked, but he only managed to grimace in pain. Still, his eyes never left Roger, and his ears perked up, fully attentive to his reply.

"I want to assume he’s dead."

"What!" It felt as though a bomb had dropped straight onto Lucien’s heart.

"Say that again," Lucien commanded, his voice sharp and cold. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Roger found himself forced to repeat the words he despised, though this time he phrased them differently. "I’m not sure if he’s dead or not, my lord. He was hit by an arrow, and no follow-up was done on him from my part. I thought he had injured you, so I was focused on getting you treated first. When I went back today, I found that he was no longer in the dungeon as ordered."

The words, the explanation Roger gave made Lucien’s heart settle slightly. They made him realize that he might not be losing his mind, and that the strange feelings stirring inside him about his mate were real.

From the moment he woke up, he had felt that his mate was in danger, but nothing could be done while he lay injured. Hearing that Areis might be dead had awakened something deep inside him—something he didn’t want to confront, because where would he even begin if it were true?

A faint smile settled upon Lucien as he reasoned more clearly than Roger. "I don’t think he’s dead. I think he was taken by someone and is only injured for now."

"And I need to find him."

As Lucien spoke these words, he had already dropped his legs to the floor. His hands moved to assist his body as he attempted to stand, but he buckled too soon.

The moment he lifted himself off the bed, pain assaulted his mind instantly, and he dropped right back down.

Roger moved closer, trying to force him to sit properly again as he asked in frustration, "What are you even trying to do?"

"I’m trying to find him and get him treated. I know he’s around somewhere."

"I don’t understand, my lord," Roger said, genuine confusion etched across his face. "Who is this tiger cub to you that you would ignore your own injuries just to save him?"

As he asked these questions, Roger glanced at the healer and sighed. He gestured for Lucien to sit properly, then moved closer to the healer.

"You heard nothing here today," Roger said firmly.

The healer nodded.

"You only came here to treat the second prince, and now that you are done, you are leaving. Alright?"

"Yes, sir," the healer replied before leaving the room, leaving only Roger and Lucien behind.

Lucien’s personal guard stepped closer again and said in a low voice, "Look, the walls have ears. Many people are waiting for you to make just one mistake so they can hang you for it. What do you mean by all this?"

"Why would you want to save a tiger cub?"

"Because he’s my mate."

"Huh?" Roger was utterly confused.

"And stop calling him kin to a tiger," Lucien added firmly. "He is not one."

"What is he then?"

"A human," Lucien answered matter-of-factly.

"The extinct race?"

Lucien’s interest was instantly piqued. When Areis had told him about his race, he hadn’t known anything about it. He had simply believed him, because his appearance was unlike anything he had ever seen. But his personal guard now sounded as though he knew far more than Lucien expected.

Lucien looked at him with amazement and overwhelming curiosity as he asked, "You know about humans?"

"Yes. Why are you surprised?"

"Tell me everything you know."

---

During the minutes that followed, as Areis thought deeply, though the time was short, he managed to realize something he desperately hoped was true so he could save himself.

What the prince before him proposed was beneficial to him, and it was only right that he agreed. If I accept to help assassinate his brother, then I’ll gain the freedom I need to go to Lucien. From there, I can increase his love meter even after I tell him what his brothers have planned.

All in all, the fact that he’s letting me go to Lucien without any restrictions works completely in my favor.

With these thoughts settled in Areis’ head, he looked up at Kenzie and smiled slightly before saying, "Yes. I’ve decided."

A smile curled up Kenzie’s chin as he dragged a chair closer to the bed and sat down. His eyes remained fixed on Areis as the two of them stared at each other in silence.