Caden Albright’s expression was gentle. He started to step forward, but his feet suddenly froze.

He stared intently at the Beast Spirit Flower blooming on Evangeline’s forehead. A flicker of joyous surprise ignited his amber eyes, which gleamed in the morning light. "Eva, you..."

His voice, usually so tender and intimate, now held a nearly imperceptible tremor.

The corners of Evangeline’s eyes crinkled. Her smile was like a spring breeze. "That’s right. Our family is getting a new little cub."

Hearing the words "little cub," Nix went still.

He slowly raised his gaze, his eyes inching over the floral mark on Evangeline’s forehead. A startling darkness and deathly stillness roiled in his uncanny violet eyes. A moment later, he turned and left the bamboo house.

A faint, dark fragrance was all that lingered in the room.

Caden Albright paused, his gaze meeting Lachlan’s in midair. An obscure, turbulent undercurrent swirled in both their eyes.

They both knew the cub in Eva’s womb could belong to any of them—except Nix. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Perhaps it was the curse of sharing one body with two souls, but Nix had never even gone into heat.

He was like a lost soul adrift from the others, gloomy and lifeless. In time, they would all have their own children to carry on their bloodlines, but he alone was excluded from that bond. ’To be so utterly alone... isn’t that a form of torture?’

"Eva, about Nix..." Caden Albright’s brow furrowed as he turned to Evangeline.

Evangeline retracted her gaze. "It’s fine. Let him have some quiet time. I’ll go to him later."

Nix’s predicament, ultimately, was because of Loras.

During the end of the rainy season, even though Nix didn’t have to worry about going into heat, she had remained fair to them all, never showing favoritism. She still spent a day with each of them in turn, and in all that time, she hadn’t encountered Loras once.

Evangeline looked up at Caden Albright. "Did you get the information?"

Once the rainy season ended, she had specifically sent Caden Albright and Nix to inquire about the tribal trade gathering. She didn’t want to miss the chance to save Drake. That traditional, stubborn Beastman... if he were truly sold as a slave, he likely wouldn’t survive.

A lofty sovereign of the skies, he was unyielding to the core.

Caden Albright paused briefly, his eyes meeting Evangeline’s. "We did. The entire Norfell Tribe is gathering for this trade assembly. Even the Tideborn Beastmen are coming."

"The Tideborn?" Evangeline’s eyes flickered.

She had never forgotten Danton, the first Beast Husband she met upon arriving on the Beastman Continent.

Caden Albright nodded. He lowered his gaze, his eyelashes casting a shadow. When he looked up again, a cold sneer flashed in his amber eyes. "Yes. This trade assembly is going to be quite the event."

He paused before adding, "They’ll even be selling some wandering Beastmen."

Lachlan, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke out, his brow tightly knit. "Selling wandering Beastmen?"

His brow furrowed, and his face, usually as serene as the moon, was cast in shadow. ’Beastmen are free. How can they be bought and sold like merchandise?’

Evangeline gazed at Lachlan’s tense profile and gently laid her fingertips over his clenched fist.

He was always so serene and noble; of course he couldn’t bear to hear of such things. He was even showing a rare flash of anger.

Caden Albright’s throat worked. After a moment of silence, he looked up at Evangeline, his amber eyes flickering with a somber light. "Yes. And one of them... is Drake."

Lachlan jolted, looking up sharply at Evangeline. His normally cool eyes trembled violently, and his ethereal voice was laced with a hoarse disbelief. "Drake?! How is that possible?"

Though Caden Albright had never met Drake, he had pieced together an image of the Goldeagle Beastman from Thorne’s accounts.

A mutated raptor who once ruled the skies, only to have his wings broken and plummet to rock bottom. He became a reviled, wandering Beastman living on tribal handouts. It was a miracle he had held on for this long.

Evangeline lowered her gaze, her long lashes hiding her expression. "When does the trade assembly begin?"

"Three days from now."

*

"Nix?" Evangeline pushed open the door to the bamboo house, where she found his solitary figure standing before the window.

His pale knuckles were clenched around the weathered windowsill. His violet eyes were downcast, his gaze silently fixed on the drooping buds of the Moonlight Flowers outside. The rainy season had ended, and a sliver of sunlight revealed the fine veins on their petals.

Who knows how long Nix had been staring.

At the sound of Evangeline’s voice, his gaze faltered and he stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Suddenly, a pair of soft, fair arms circled his lean waist, and her cheek pressed against his tense back.

The light in Nix’s violet eyes seemed to freeze, but he remained as silent as a deep pool.

Evangeline’s breath was warm against his back. Her voice was a soft, beguiling whisper. "Nix, will you come with me to the trade assembly this time? Please?"

Nix raised a hand, covering hers. His long, well-defined fingers slowly curled around her arm.

His throat worked. After a long moment, a low, hoarse "...Alright" was dragged from his chest.

Evangeline buried her face between his shoulder blades and nuzzled him gently, her voice as soft and sweet as honey. "I’ll find a way. We will have our own cub. You’re going to be the best father."

Nix’s deep violet eyes trembled. A flicker of light passed through them, as fleeting as mist gathering at twilight.

*

"Eva! I’m back!"

As evening fell, Thorne finally returned. He was dragging a string of blood-stained, still-flapping prey. He ran in excitedly, his chest heaving, with the inky scale patterns on his neck faintly visible.

He tossed the prey to Caden Albright and pulled a bounty of fresh fruit from his storage bag.

Thorne carefully handed the wild fruit to Lachlan, afraid the blood on his hands would stain it. "Here. Wash this for Eva. She’ll love it."

Evangeline came forward and gently wiped the blood from Thorne’s fingers with a cloth, her brow slightly furrowed. Her voice held a note of gentle chiding. "Why are you back so late?"

The corners of Thorne’s lips curled up, his angular face beaming with a smile.

His dark green eyes fixed on Evangeline as he said softly, "I crossed three mountains today, picking a bit of every fruit I found. See which ones you like, and I’ll go get more tomorrow!"

Caden Albright methodically snapped the Wild Beast’s neck. He lifted his gaze to glance at the enthusiastic Thorne, a smirk playing on his lips. "So eager to please? The cub in Eva’s belly isn’t necessarily yours."

Thorne narrowed his eyes, his dark green pupils contracting into slits. "The cub in Eva’s belly is definitely mine!"

"Which of you can compare to us Snake Clan Beastmen? We’re naturally better at... *coiling around*... and pleasing a female." A forked, scarlet tongue flickered unconsciously between his teeth. "Besides, even if we’re going by first come, first served, it should be my Snake Clan cub!"

Lachlan looked up at the self-assured Thorne, the jade ornament in his hair glinting with flecks of light in the twilight glow.

His voice was as clear as snowmelt in a mountain stream. "Snake eggs are easy to lay, but they take a very long time to hatch. It would be very hard on Eva. A Snow Leopard cub, however... can be treading the snow and chasing the wind in just one month."

Evangeline, slightly surprised, turned to look at Lachlan, who had unexpectedly joined the fray.

His handsome face remained impassive, showing no change. She just never expected someone as cool and aloof as frost would actually bicker with someone. It made him seem a little more human, a little more grounded.

Thorne’s pupils contracted. His dark green eyes locked coldly onto Lachlan, and his knuckles cracked.

’I already can’t stand the sight of him,’ he thought, ’and now he dares to provoke me?’

Caden Albright was leaning lazily against the bed, his long fingers idly stroking Bunny’s silver hair.

He lazily lifted his gaze, his eyes flitting between the two of them with a playful glint. He let out a low chuckle. "You know, our Bunny... was just pestering me yesterday, saying he wants a little brother or a Sister."

He finished, then dragged out his next words with pointed slowness, each one landing precisely on the others’ nerves. "And if it’s a Red Fox cub, just like Eva, well, that would be even better. Bunny would probably be too excited to even sleep."