Chapter 2

"Hah! You damned little female, how dare you blind me in one eye? You're asking for a beating!" Korr snarled.

Clenching his fists, he stood up and marched toward Elyse before grabbing her chin forcefully. The sudden pain made her tears stream down uncontrollably. She tried to back away in fear, but with her jaw caught in his hand, she couldn't move an inch.

"I-I didn't do it on purpose! Y-You forced me to do it!"

"How did I force you to do anything?"

Korr found her words ridiculous. Earlier in the day, everyone had been thrilled on his behalf but also envious when they saw he'd brought a female back with him.

Elyse looked far more delicate than all the other females in the clan. Her skin was fair, her hair was silky, and she had soulful eyes that seemed to speak.

Yet, in next to no time, he lost an eye, and she ended up running off. He felt utterly humiliated, and he was no pushover!

Elyse raised her teary eyes, summoning the courage to stare at Korr, the ferocious boar-kin. Just one look reminded her of everything that had happened in the cave earlier.

"I don't like you! You were trying to force me to mate with you. I was only defending myself. I had no choice but to hurt you!"

At her words, the other beastfolk turned their attention to Korr.

She was an outsider, so that made her lower in status compared to the clan's females. That being said, she was still a precious female.

When it came to mating, it was an ironclad rule that a male could never force himself on a female. Otherwise, if such actions led to the female developing a sense of disgust for mating, the other males would lose their chances with her as well.

If that happened, who would bear the next generation to ensure the survival of the clan?

As such, the females of the Duskfall clan were particularly displeased.

"How could you try to force yourself on her, Korr? Don't you know how precious females are?"

"Exactly! Thank goodness you're the one who got injured. If she'd gotten hurt instead, it would've been a loss for the entire clan!"

"That's right!"

Tavian Longfang, the chief of the Duskfall clan, had finally gotten the gist of the situation as well. To put it simply, Elyse, the new female, wasn't at all interested in Korr.

That was no surprise to him. Korr was known for being immensely unattractive. It'd be a shock to hear of a female taking a liking to him.

Tavian looked at Elyse, who was all curled up on the ground with a fearful expression. "What's your name?"

"My name is Elyse Moore."

Tavian nodded in satisfaction. Elyse seemed rather gentle and good-tempered to him.

"Since you're unsatisfied with Korr, you can join the mate selection ceremony tomorrow with the three other females of the clan who've come of age. Once you've made your choice, you'll officially be a part of the Duskfall clan!"

Elyse glanced around at the males nearby. Many of them looked grimy and unkempt, walking around with just a crude piece of animal hide covering their private parts. But even so, at least they looked far better than Korr.

Thinking of the endless forest she had seen while fleeing, she could only nod. Choosing a mate should be fine, as long as it wasn't a dirty and ugly beastfolk like Korr.

Pleased, Tavian nodded. All that mattered was that Elyse would stay in the clan. Sooner or later, she'd be birthing the next generation of the clan. He expected her to bear at least ten beastlings!

"You're all dismissed. Elyse, you can follow Mirabel back to the female cave to get some rest."

Mirabel Plum, one of the females who'd recently become of age, stepped out of the crowd. She took Elyse by the hand and began leading her off.

However, Korr wasn't willing to let things end like this.

"This is unfair, Chief! She's my female!"

Tavian was quite displeased to see someone questioning his decision in public. Frowning, he asked, "What do you want, then?"

"She's my mate! No one can take her away!" Korr declared with a scoff.

It hadn't been easy for him to finally find himself a female. He wasn't going to let her slip away so easily.

Staring sharply at Korr, Tavian asked, "You say she's your mate, huh? Have you sought the Celestial Goddess' blessing yet? And furthermore, the fact that you tried to force yourself on her means she's not your mate!"

What he said was the truth. Everyone knew that all mate pairings had to be sanctified by the Celestial Goddess before they were considered official.

Korr was aware of that as well, but he was upset about having to stomach such a huge loss after everything he'd gone through—especially since he'd lost an eye in the process.

However, after seeing the look on Tavian's face, he dared not protest any further. All he could do was swallow his discontent. Instead, he glowered menacingly at Elyse.

Just a glimpse of his eyes made her look away in fear. She quickly left with Mirabel.

While the female cave wasn't very large, thankfully, it was quite clean. There was only the faint smell of sweat, not feces and urine.

She curled up in a corner, sitting on a pile of slightly greasy straw. She stared at the cave entrance with a look of terror. Korr had looked at her as though he wanted to devour her. Just recalling it now was enough to fill her with dread.

He probably would've had his way with her by now if she hadn't resisted with all her might. The memory of that filthy cave made her both nauseous and terrified.

If she ended up in Korr's hands, she figured she wouldn't live for more than three days.

Elyse didn't want to die. She was only 18 years old. The best years of her life had only just begun. The reminder of this drowned her in sorrow.

She couldn't understand why she had transmigrated to this place. She was penniless and all alone in a world with no humans, just crowds of wild beasts and beastfolk.

Seeing her in the corner, crying in silence, Mirabel spoke up, "You should start thinking about who you'd choose to be your mate tomorrow."

Hearing this, Elyse realized how foolish it was of her to wallow in sadness without thinking about her present predicament. If she wanted to survive in the beast realm, she needed a strong mate.

However, the thought of a strong male made her fearful.

If he were too strong, would he end up hitting her while they were mating? With how petite her frame was, she might die if she got hit a couple of times.

Moreover, if she got into a fight with her official mate, it was very likely that no one would intervene. Even if someone did, it didn't seem like the outcome would be in her favor.

After what happened that day, she could tell that since she wasn't a native of this clan, her status was lower than the other females.

The incident that day only worked in Elyse's favor because it was the first occurrence, and she hadn't chosen Korr to be her mate. The beastfolk could understand her reaction.

But she'd be the one choosing her own mate tomorrow. If she still refused to mate with him then, she wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

The thought of that made her sigh. Why was life so difficult for her?

Just then, the sound of footsteps rang out at the cave entrance.

"Mirabel! Are you there?"

"I'm here! Hurry up and come in, Marvin!"

Mirabel sprang up from the straw once she heard the familiar voice. She began waving toward the dark silhouette standing at the entrance.

The male, Marvin Blackfur, came in with a grin. Even before he reached Mirabel, he'd stripped the animal hide off his body and tossed it aside. Then, he lunged forward and pressed himself against her.

"I've missed you so much, Mirabel."

Hugging him tightly, she replied, "Get on with it! I've been missing you, too."

In the blink of an eye, sounds of intimacy filled the air. Elyse froze in shock as she heard the moans and rustling sounds. She could also see two vague figures in front of her.

Wasn't this the female cave, the one where the underage females stayed? Why were Mirabel and Marvin…

Quietly turning around, Elyse tried to comfort herself by covering her ears and telling herself that everything was fine. It would be over soon.

Out of the blue, a foot slammed into her back.