Chapter 2

Emory and Levi went out to get Galen, while Kieran and Cyril waited in the cave. Feeling awkward, Lunara turned her back on them and started taking in her surroundings.

The living conditions of a primitive society weren't exactly great, but the cave entrance had been reinforced with thick tree trunks and vines, blocking out most of the cold wind.

The cave walls had been smoothed down as much as possible. The ground was covered with a thick layer of dry grass, topped with seven or eight different kinds of animal hides.

All of this was thanks to Caius. Although he, a purple-tier wandering beastkin, spent most of his time out and about, he had taken great care to meet his daughter's every need.

One side of the cave wall held over 20 cured hides. The stone shelves were filled with food. Air-dried meat covered half a wall, and the wild fruits in the baskets still glistened with dew.

Lunara walked over to a clay jar filled with clear water. She couldn't help but sigh as she stared at her reflection.

The female reflected in the water had long, slightly wavy purple hair and delicate, beautiful features. Her black eyes shone as if filled with starlight.

She hadn't expected this body to be this attractive—a stark contrast to its original owner's sadistic personality.

Lunara had already made up her mind. These beastmates were all ruthless villains in the novel. If she stayed with them, she wouldn't even know when she'd end up getting killed, so she decided to look for Caius.

Only Caius treated her unconditionally well. And since he was already a purple-tier beastkin, all she had to do was find him before he ran into danger and then dissolve the bonds with these males. That way, she could keep herself alive.

But the beast world was filled with dangerous creatures and harsh environments. Without the protection of powerful males, a female with no combat ability or beast form simply couldn't survive on her own.

In this world, males far outnumbered females at a ratio of roughly 100 to 1. A female usually had many beastmates. Several strong beastmates had to work together to be able to protect the weak and fragile female.

"Are you thinking up some new trick again?" Kieran's voice suddenly rang out, easy on the ears yet laced with mockery.

Lunara turned around to see him absently tracing the scar on his face, his pale green eyes glinting coldly in the firelight.

Beside him, Cyril still had his head lowered. His silvery hair covered most of his face, but the whitened knuckles of his clenched hands betrayed his emotions.

It was clear they both thought she was busy coming up with a new way to torment them.

Lunara sounded a little helpless as she said, "You'll find out soon enough."

Just then, footsteps sounded at the cave entrance.

Emory and Levi had returned. The two of them carried a wooden barrel between them. It was about half as tall as a human and filled with clear water drawn from the stream. Galen was submerged inside.

Lunara's breath stopped.

The merman in the barrel had slightly wavy light blue hair, which was now wet and plastered against his cheeks and neck, making his already pale face look almost translucent.

His amethyst-like eyes were half-lidded. Droplets of water clung to his long lashes, yet his gaze was frighteningly hollow.

However, the most shocking sight was his tail. What was once covered in fine scales was now a mess of torn flesh and blood. The red seeped into the clear water, slowly blooming like a torn painting.

Even after he endured such brutal torture, his features were still breathtakingly captivating. He had a high nose bridge, full lips, and an elegant jawline. With a face like that, he was even more striking than most females.

Alas, that beauty was now shrouded in a gloomy stillness born of pain and despair.

Lunara felt as if something heavy had slammed into her chest. She finally understood why these five males would rather risk dying from the repercussions than keep their bond marks.

The original Lunara's daily torment hadn't just destroyed their bodies—it had crushed their souls.

Emory set the barrel down before saying, his tone devoid of warmth, "Satisfied now? Are you even more entertained seeing him like this than burning me with a stick yesterday?"

Levi stood to the side, fury churning in his icy blue eyes. But because of the bond mark, he couldn't do anything. His fists clenched with audible cracks. The old wounds on his arms split open from the force, blood seeping out once more.

Cyril's lashes flickered. Beneath his silvery hair, his amber eyes finally showed flashes of pain. He and Galen were the closest to each other, and both had been given "special attention" from the original Lunara.

Even the mockery on Kieran's face stiffened at the sight of Galen. His fingers unconsciously brushed the scar on his own face as he looked toward the barrel with a complicated expression.

Lunara took a deep breath, suppressing the tightness in her throat. "I know you all hate me. It wasn't my decision to forcibly bond you as my beastmates. I will dissolve the bond mark."

Emory let out a derisive snort, his dark red eyes locking onto her. "You think we'd still believe you?"

"But I have one condition," Lunara continued. "Before the monsoon season begins, I need to find my father. You'll protect me along the way. Whoever performs best will receive a drop of my blood."

Her words shocked the five males, who froze with widened eyes.

"You just said… a drop of your blood?" Emory's voice trembled with disbelief, his dark red gaze fixed on her face.

Almost instinctively, he raised a hand to press against the scorpion-shaped mark on his chest—the bond mark that represented Lunara.

The extreme imbalance between males and females in this world gave females an elevated status above all other males. Forming a beastmate bond required two steps.

The first step was the binding through blood. The female would drip her blood onto the male's forehead, and a bond mark belonging to the female would appear on his body. Even though females had no beast form, the mark reflected the beast form carried in her genes.

Caius was a scorpion beastkin, so Lunara's mark was also a scorpion.

The second step was a physical union between the two. Only then would the male's bond mark appear on the female, fully bonding them as beastmates.

The original Lunara hadn't liked the males Caius brought back, so she'd only completed the first step. To dissolve the bond at this point, the female would need to drip her blood onto the male's bond mark again. After ten drops, the mark would disappear.

But of course, this meant the female had to cut her own finger to draw blood—and the female had to do it willingly. Once a bond was formed, almost no female would go through the pain of slicing her skin ten times just to break it.

Moreover, once any stage of the bond was formed, as long as the female's bond mark was still on the male, he couldn't harm her. If he did, the mark would make him suffer a fate worse than death.

Some males, unable to endure the torment from the female, would carve out the mark themselves, but the chances of survival were extremely low.

Besides, males still had no choice but to seek out females. Once they reached adulthood, they would enter mating periods known as heats several times a year. Without a female to soothe them during that time, the aggression inside them would drive them mad. And if left unchecked, it would eventually cause their bodies to explode.