"Alright." Evangeline’s voice grew even softer.

She had just started to reach out and hug Lachlan when she suddenly felt something between them.

When Evangeline looked down, she saw Lachlan cradling a bamboo tube with a tender green seedling planted inside.

"This is..." Evangeline reached out and gently brushed a leaf on the little seedling. In that instant, her pupils constricted.

Lachlan reined in his emotions and passed the seedling to Evangeline.

His thin lips moved, his voice low and hoarse. "I found it at the tribal trade meet. After your blood seeped into the soil, a Moonlight Flower seedling sprouted. Perhaps... this is a new turning point?"

Evangeline pressed her lips together, her long, narrow eyes fixed on the seedling in her arms.

The moment her fingers touched the tender green plant, she sensed a familiar presence.

The man who was both cold and wrapped in a rich fragrance was so clear in her mind—dangerous, yet alluring.

"Nix?"

The moment she spoke, a leaf suddenly and gently coiled around her finger, its touch cool and soft.

In a trance, she could almost see him—the man who always loved to wrap vines around her waist, his eyes glowing with a bewitching purple light at the peak of their intimacy.

A Plant Beastman should follow the natural cycle of life and death; she had thought he would never return.

’So, was it my blood that held on to the last wisp of his being, making him unable to bear leaving me?’

Evangeline’s fingers trembled as she clutched the bamboo tube, her fingertips turning white from the pressure. That familiar, rich fragrance surrounded her, and an indescribable feeling churned within her heart.

She knew she needed to be calm, to not drown in these emotions. But knowing Nix had a chance at life, she couldn’t seem to control the frantic beating of her heart.

’So it was never just Nix who couldn’t let go.’

Just then, Loras’s faint voice suddenly called out, "It’s him!"

Evangeline’s brow furrowed as she turned to look at Loras. ’He dares to show his face now? A newborn calf truly doesn’t fear the tiger.’

As expected, the moment Thorne saw Loras, he was the first to erupt.

He transformed into a giant, pitch-black snake and lunged at Loras without a word, his vicious attack clearly showing he had no intention of holding back.

Loras’s pupils constricted. The nine-star pattern on his forehead flashed as he engaged the giant snake in battle.

Caden Albright’s eyes glinted. He walked slowly to Evangeline’s side and placed the soundly sleeping Bunny into her arms.

The strong winds whipped his silver hair about. He casually tore off the dark gold band on his forehead, revealing a pitch-black Eight-star pattern beneath. "This pent-up anger," he said softly to Evangeline, "had to be released."

Before his words had even faded, Caden Albright’s fox tail was already whipping through the air with a whoosh. In an instant, a giant white fox had joined the fray.

The fight among the three of them made the very ground tremble.

Evangeline felt a twitch in her brow. She turned to Lachlan, who was standing quietly by her side. "Aren’t you going to go?"

Lachlan froze, tilting his head to look at Evangeline, ripples of emotion disturbing his grayish-brown eyes. "Eva... you want me to go?"

The corner of Evangeline’s mouth twitched. She lifted her chin slightly. "Go on. Just leave Loras breathing."

As she finished speaking, Lachlan’s tall, upright figure instantly transformed into an agile Snow Leopard.

His flaxen fur shimmered with a cold light as he paced elegantly around the battlefield. His gold-ringed Beast Eyes were locked on Loras, searching for any weakness, his tail swinging dangerously from side to side.

Evangeline held the bamboo tube with the young seedling in one arm and the sleeping Bunny in the other.

Danton was woken by the chaotic sounds of the battle. When he rushed over, he was still damp, as if he had just been in the water.

"What is..." Danton’s light blue eyes took in the ferocious, world-shaking battle, and he frowned.

He quickly walked to Evangeline’s side and gently took Bunny from her. As he looked down at the child’s rosy cheeks, his eyes filled with warmth. But when he looked back up at the fight, he asked hesitantly, "Shouldn’t we stop them?"

Evangeline shook her head. "We’ll all have to live together from now on. This pent-up anger really does need to be released."

With that, she took Danton’s arm and said with a smile, "Let’s go. I want to see the new bamboo house you built."

Danton’s bamboo house was a little ways away from the others, built beside a stream. It was quite exquisite.

Pushing the door open revealed a room filled with the scent of the sea breeze. The window looked out onto a shimmering pond, with ripples spreading across its surface. The aquatic plants were lush, and now and then a fish would leap from the water, its splash catching the sunlight like shattered diamonds.

"Do you like it?" Danton asked softly.

Evangeline smiled. "I love it."

*

Danton went back to mending the roof.

Evangeline laid Bunny on the bed before sitting by the window, cradling the bamboo tube.

She sat in the bamboo chair, quietly watching the seedling. She took out some Spiritual Liquid and poured it over the soil. In moments, the seedling’s thin stem grew at a speed visible to the naked eye. In a flash, it sprouted two new branches, which swayed in the breeze.

Evangeline’s fingertip gently tapped a branch. "Nix," she said, her voice strained, "you need to grow up quickly."

The next instant, a leaf coiled around the pad of her finger, a hint of possessiveness in the gesture.

Evangeline chuckled, resting her chin on one hand while she toyed with the seedling with the other.

’I never expected to be raising something like a pet,’ she thought. ’I just wonder if, once the seedling is fully grown, it can transform into a Beastman. And will he still be that beautiful, paranoid, and morbidly gloomy man?’

Before she could finish the thought, the seedling, as if annoyed by her wandering mind, suddenly grew sharp, serrated edges on its leaves and sliced her finger.

Her blood dripped, one drop after another, into the bamboo tube, where it was instantly absorbed.

The corner of Evangeline’s mouth twitched. She stared at the seedling for a moment, then laughed again. ’Truly, a leopard can’t change its spots.’

’Even if he was reborn ten thousand times, the soul in this seedling would always be that same sinister, charming madman.’

"Mother!"

A childish voice cried out, and a moment later, a pair of soft little hands wrapped around Evangeline’s leg.

Evangeline looked down at the adorable, doll-like little girl.

Her soft silver hair was a tangled mess over her shoulders, but her features were lovely. She had inherited her long, narrow fox eyes from Evangeline and Caden Albright; they were stunningly bright. Her nose was cute and upturned, her lips red, and her teeth white. However, the six-pointed star pattern on her forehead was jet-black, and her beast skin was smudged with mud from who-knows-where, making her look a little grubby.

"Bunny." Evangeline reached out and pulled the little girl into her lap.

This was her first child on the Beastman Continent, and the bond they shared was special.

"Mother... I missed you so much..." Bunny threw her arms around Evangeline’s neck and sobbed, her hot tears dripping down inside Evangeline’s collar. "They all said... Mother... that you were hurt. I was so scared."

Evangeline hugged Bunny tightly and said softly, "But I’m back now, aren’t I? Don’t cry."

She comforted the little girl for a long while before her sobs finally subsided.

Bunny’s nose was red from crying. She reached out a chubby little hand to touch Evangeline’s still-flat stomach, her eyes curving into happy crescents. "Mother, Father Thorne said his cub is in here. Will it be my little brother or sister?"

Evangeline froze.

She suddenly recalled her last pregnancy. The males had all competed to be the father, but in the end, she had given birth to The Everwake’s cub on Zylos. ’Now I’m back and pregnant again,’ she thought, ’but it’s obvious... this cub’s father can only be Danton.’

Thinking of this, Evangeline frowned slightly. ’Well, this is a bit awkward.’