The Everwake was like a cornered, dying beast, holding Evangeline in a death grip.

He viciously pried her lips apart, almost violently stealing her breath. The scent of blood spread. The butterfly marking on his cheek seemed to come alive, shimmering as if about to take flight.

Their gasps intertwined, as if locked in a struggle to the death.

He suddenly ripped away the red gauze, the sound of tearing fabric exceptionally shrill against the backdrop of rain.

The next moment, The Everwake froze, his eyes fixed on the faint red marks on her snow-white skin.

He sneered and bit down hard. His teeth pierced her flesh, covering the old marks and branding new ones over them, searing his scent and his presence into her skin inch by inch.

Evangeline didn’t even furrow her brow.

She looked up, her gaze traveling past the tense line of his shoulders to the twelve magnificent butterfly wings behind him. Their seven-colored, scaled surfaces shimmered with a phosphorescent light—a palette of colors that was exceptionally rare, even on the Beastman Continent.

"So this is your beast form?" Evangeline’s fingertips gently traced the edge of a butterfly wing.

"The Swarm’s method of procreation... is different from that of ordinary Beastmen."

The Everwake lowered his gaze to stare at Evangeline, a dark light swirling in his kaleidoscopic eyes. His cold fingertips slowly traced a line across Evangeline’s chest. "I will use your body to incubate my strongest offspring."

His voice was as thin and cold as a strand of ice, yet it carried an undisguised brutality.

Evangeline’s fingertips were still resting on his butterfly wing. Hearing his words, she couldn’t help but chuckle. "So, you want to use me as an incubator?"

The Everwake seized her wrist. His Feather Wings trembled, scattering cascades of dreamlike, iridescent scales.

He brought his thin lips close to her ear, his breath cold. "Your flesh and blood, your witch power, will all be the finest nutrients until my offspring pupate and emerge from your body."

Evangeline gazed into his kaleidoscopic compound eyes and suddenly smiled.

She shook with laughter, her slender fingers tracing the line of his waist up his back. With a sudden flip, she pinned him beneath her. "That sounds far more interesting than simple mating."

The Everwake’s enormous butterfly wings snapped open, shimmering with iridescent scales, weaving a forbidden space around them.

He stared deeply at Evangeline. She sat on his hips, her fingertips gently toying with the membrane of his wings. The caress sent a slight tremor through the twelve massive butterfly wings, making them ripple like silk in the wind.

"Ngh..."

The Everwake’s brow furrowed, and a low, stifled grunt escaped his throat.

Where Evangeline’s fingertips traced, it was as if an electric current had struck him, a numbing tremor spreading through his nerve endings. For The Swarm, the wing membrane was no less sensitive than a Beastman’s tail.

"Are you shy?" Evangeline leaned down, her red lips brushing against the tip of his ear.

"Such a wild, untamable face, yet you’re wearing such a look of strained endurance. It just makes one want to bully you even more. You really do make me want to break my own rules."

The Everwake’s kaleidoscopic compound eyes constricted, the iridescent light within them darkening.

Evangeline’s fingertips roamed. The Everwake suddenly threw his head back, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead as his Adam’s apple bobbed convulsively.

Between their pressed chests, the sound of his runaway heartbeat was deafening. Every throb sent a deeper, more vibrant blush creeping to the corners of Evangeline’s eyes.

The heat surging deep beneath her skin spread like a dark tide, making her fingertips tingle.

The Everwake’s back suddenly went rigid, his knuckles clenching unconsciously.

His magnificent pupils dilated slightly, his irises reflecting Evangeline’s swaying form.

As his consciousness drifted, a memory tore through him like silk—the image of the bone knife piercing a throat. But the splatter of blood in his memory was not nearly as breathtaking as the crimson flush at the corners of her eyes.

’Could this being I once loathed truly transform into something else?’

His last line of defense crumbled. Every inch of his being dissolved into a submissive wave, crashing toward that warm source of light.

But his mind remained excruciatingly clear, screaming at him to get away.

The Everwake clamped his jaw shut, the taste of rust filling his mouth. It was as if by staying silent, this body sinking into pleasure could be separate from his soul, which clearly and consciously hated Evangeline. But the taut line of his hips betrayed him.

The corners of Evangeline’s long, narrow eyes lifted. Seeing The Everwake’s stubborn expression, as if he were being forced, she suddenly let out a soft laugh. Her fingertips traced the tight line of his jaw.

She bent down, her red lips pressing gently against his bobbing Adam’s apple. "Make a sound..."

"The tighter you hold yourself, the more I want to hear your voice." As she spoke, she was pleased to hear a sound finally escape his throat.

The Everwake stared at Evangeline, a dark, kaleidoscopic tide churning in his eyes.

His long fingers dug into the tree trunk. The bark cracked beneath his fingertips, splinters piercing his skin. The faint pain, however, was not enough to overcome the tremors she sent through him.

His mind and body were starkly divided, as if he were being torn in two.

He was like a butterfly being dragged mercilessly into a swamp by Evangeline, covered in filth and sinking ever deeper.

The Everwake suddenly grabbed Evangeline’s waist and flipped them over. They tumbled into the dry leaves of the treetop. He gripped her hips, the two of them like beasts locked in a deadly, passionate embrace.

Evangeline looked at The Everwake, who had now turned the tables. She didn’t fight him, instead letting her fingertips gently stroke his sweat-damp brow bone.

The Everwake had a fiercely aggressive, wild face. His brow bone shadowed his strange, kaleidoscopic eyes, and when his lids were lowered, he exuded a natural, murderous aura.

His glass-like eyes were veiled with a faint red, yet they still held a chilling coldness that made the heart pound.

Evangeline’s fingertips gently traced the lines of his brow and eyes. Her voice was low and soft, both bewitching and beguiling. "Let’s... start over. All right?"

The Everwake’s movements didn’t stop. He merely glanced down at her, his silence as deep as a bottomless pool.

An unknown amount of time passed. A heavy weariness settled over Evangeline. She leaned against the tree trunk, too exhausted to even lift a finger.

When The Everwake pulled away, she didn’t even have the strength to open her eyes. She was only vaguely aware of someone pulling her clothes together, shielding her from some of the chill.

The Everwake looked down at Evangeline, who was curled into a ball. Her jade-like skin was covered in red marks.

A deep gloom settled over his features, and a sinister glint churned in his kaleidoscopic eyes.

After watching her for an unknown length of time, a low, hoarse sneer escaped The Everwake’s thin lips. He uttered a few obscure syllables, and instantly, a RUSTLE RUSTLE sound arose.

A tide of insects swarmed up the tree trunk, surrounding Evangeline in a matter of seconds.

The Everwake stared at her silently for a moment, his butterfly wings slowly unfurling behind him in all their magnificence.

He pulled his gaze away from Evangeline, his kaleidoscopic eyes filled with cold indifference. Then, he shot into the night sky, taking the last remnants of their intimate atmosphere with him. He became a brilliant streak of light, tearing through the curtain of rain as he departed.

He and Evangeline could never, ever start over.