Chapter 4

Elyse remembered the violent Korr as well as Kieran, the pretty male who wanted to mate with her. Compared to that, the darkness before her no longer seemed quite as scary.

Fortunately, there weren't any trees nearby. She could see far ahead, so it was much better than being in the dense forest just now. She had to get as far away as she could tonight to avoid getting hauled back to the clan.

…

In the morning, the sun rose from the east. Elyse looked around and saw a river ahead. She ran to it, washed her face, and cupped some water to drink.

On the opposite bank, two porcupines were staring at her. Her heart leapt into her throat. Could it be that the beastfolk had found her?

Afraid, she slowly stood up and hid behind a large boulder. Sticking her head out carefully, she saw the porcupines rooting through the dirt, apparently eating something. Seeing that they didn't come after her, she relaxed. She didn't care what they were doing, so long as they didn't come toward her.

After drinking two mouthfuls of water and washing her face, Elyse didn't feel as tired anymore. She kept walking along the river, for she didn't think that one night of walking was enough to guarantee her safety. She needed to get a little further from the Duskfall clan.

Elyse was holding a thick branch she'd picked up from the ground. She used it both as a walking stick and as a weapon she could rely on in the event of danger.

Suddenly, up ahead, she saw a hyena crouching by the riverbank and drinking from the river. That made the alarm bells go off in her head, for hyenas were a pack animal.

If they targeted her, she would end up dying here—from being attacked in the anus, no less, for that was what hyenas often did to their victims. It would've been better if she could've been put out of her misery at once.

Elyse was puzzled. Wasn't she in a forest region? Why would there be savannah animals here?

At a time like this, she suddenly realized that it didn't seem like such a bad idea to live with Kieran, the male who'd shared his meat with her last night. Now that a comparison could be made, she finally knew what the better choice was.

Just then, the hyena finished drinking and spotted her. Its gaze locked on her, unblinking. Fear rooted her to the spot.

She remembered what people used to say. If one ran into a dog, it was never a good idea to run. The more they tried to flee, the more the dog would chase them. She'd also read that dogs would get intimidated if one made a display of dominance.

Meanwhile, the hyena was beginning to make its way toward her, letting out a scary, rumbling growl in the process.

Elyse was deathly afraid of dogs. While she'd imagined the kind of ferocious wild beasts she might encounter after leaving the clan, she didn't expect to run into one that resembled a dog!

Immediately, she raised the branch defensively and commanded, "Go away!"

The hyena didn't leave. On the contrary, it continued advancing toward her, so she grabbed a rock and threw it at the hyena. However, the hyena wasn't intimidated at all. It bared its fangs and lunged at her.

"Help!" Elyse screamed while making a run for it.

Suddenly, a black silhouette streaked past her. She stumbled to the side and felt pain shooting up her foot as she fell to the ground.

Ignoring the pain, she turned her head around to see a massive black panther sinking its teeth into the hyena's neck. The blood was dripping as it approached her.

Terrified, she tried to stand, but her foot made it too painful for her to do so.

"Please don't eat me," she begged.

The panther's golden eyes narrowed slightly. It paused, dropped the hyena, and vanished into the forest.

With the threat gone, Elyse breathed a sigh of relief. It was far too dangerous out in the wilderness. She had to find shelter somewhere.

She picked up her tree branch and slowly rose to her feet. At last, she noticed her swollen ankle. Thankfully, after wriggling it carefully, she confirmed it wasn't dislocated. She didn't know how to set bones, so she might've ended up crippled if she had a more serious injury.

Elyse took one look at the bloodied corpse of the hyena before tossing it into the river. She didn't know how to skin it, so it was better to just get rid of it, lest it attract other wild beasts to the area.

Fenric Shadowbane, the black panther, was hiding behind the bushes, his black tail swishing. He couldn't understand why Elyse had tossed the meat away.

Was she not hungry? And where was her mate? Why hadn't he come looking for her even after so long? That was rather irresponsible of him.

Elyse continued along the river, staying alert the whole time. In the afternoon, she found a promising cave halfway up a mountainside.

She could see quite a distance when she stood at the cave entrance. There were no trees in the vicinity to block her view. She would be able to spot the danger the moment a wild beast came near.

She limped into the cave and took a look around. It was dry and didn't have any pebbles scattered around either. Satisfied, she set down the branch and sat on a large boulder at the entrance to get some rest.

Just then, her stomach rumbled.

Glancing at the bushes below, Elyse considered heading down to look for some food. But the sun was already setting, and she was afraid she'd run into other wild beasts like the hyena from earlier.

It was better to wait till dawn. It wasn't like she'd die from not eating for one day.

Heading deeper in the cave, Elyse found herself a comfortable spot and sat against the cave wall to get some sleep. Her ankle was swollen, so it was best if she didn't move around too much.

All of a sudden, a tall silhouette appeared at the entrance, his face obscured due to the sunlight coming in behind him.

"You're pretty good at running away," Kieran remarked.

It was a familiar husky voice, and it made Elyse's scalp tingle. She'd journeyed for an entire night, so how did he manage to find her so quickly?

"I-I promised I'd compensate for your meat!" she stammered.

"Hah! You said that last night, but you ran off!"

Kieran was angry. He'd woken up in a good mood that morning and happily cleaned himself up. He'd even tidied up the cave, thinking he'd be welcoming a new female inhabitant into the space today. Yet even when the mate selection ceremony was about to end, he saw no sign of Elyse.

He was no fool. By then, he knew he'd been tricked. Not only did she eat his food, but she even lied to him. Infuriated, he marched off to find her.

Finally, fortune favored him. He found her in this cave and saw the way her fair face was tinged with fear as she looked at him. Her right foot was pretty badly swollen as well. With just a quick glance, he noticed how miserable she was. That assuaged his anger quite a bit.

Well, it made sense. She wouldn't have blinded Korr in one eye if she didn't have a defiant streak to her.

Meanwhile, Elyse was aware that she had tricked Kieran, but she also knew he harbored ulterior motives toward her. But after recalling the hyena who wanted to eat her and the massive black panther that showed up afterward, she was genuinely rather frightened.

The beast realm was far too terrifying.

Finally, it dawned on her why the females at the clan had multiple mates. If she wanted to live, she needed to rely on a strong male herself. And if she had to make a choice, Kieren seemed like a pretty decent one.

At the very least, he looked better than males like Korr. He didn't resort to violence to force himself on her either. Otherwise, she wouldn't have had the chance to escape last night.

Huddled against the cave wall, Elyse looked at Kieran and said, "I'll be your mate, but I have a condition!"

Kieran exhaled in relief. To be honest, he genuinely liked her. If she insisted on leaving now, he wouldn't force her to stay. He knew that nothing good came by force. He'd followed her only to see whether she was safe and to confirm whether she'd left on her own volition.

"Name your condition," he said, ready to meet them if he could.

"You mustn't force me to mate with you!" Elyse declared.

Kieran raised his brow ever so slightly. Was that even a condition? Wasn't it a strict rule that all males had to abide by?

He nodded without hesitation. "Okay."

Then, he approached Elyse and bent down to pick her up before carrying her off into the bushes. The moment they left, Fenric, the golden-eyed black panther, appeared at the entrance of the cave.