Chapter 6

Lunara dreamed that Caius had just passed her a skewer of freshly roasted meat, the oils still dripping down. All of a sudden, she felt something tighten around her neck, suffocating her.

She struggled desperately, trying to scream, but no sound came out. The roasted meat in front of her blurred into a dark shadow. Her strength drained away, and it felt as if her eyelids had been glued shut.

A broken whimper squeezed out of her throat as her consciousness teetered on the edge of waking.

The fire in the cave cast an unusually large shadow of Galen onto the cave wall. His eyes were lowered, but those amethyst eyes churned with a darkness so dense that it seemed to solidify. The fingers gripping Lunara's throat tightened, pressing down harder and harder with each passing second.

Her face shifted from flushed red to a bluish-purple. Her lips trembled, tears sliding down the corners of her eyes, into her hair.

Just as her consciousness began to slip, a powerful grip suddenly clamped down on Galen's wrist, so strong it nearly crushed his bones.

He was forced to let go.

Lunara collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, slumping onto the bed of dry grass. She coughed violently, gasping for air as her chest heaved.

"Galen, have you lost your mind?" Emory's voice was cold as ice.

He stared at Galen, fury blazing in his dark red eyes. "Do you want all of us to die with you?"

In the beast world, the forces of nature were iron-clad. If a bonded female were killed by one of her beastmates, every male bound to her would suffer the repercussions from the bond mark and explode on the spot.

Galen didn't look at Emory. His gaze remained locked on Lunara's trembling figure, the coldness in his eyes piercing enough to split a rock.

After a few seconds, he abruptly pulled his hand back. Without a word, he turned and strode out of the cave, the green beast band at his ankle faintly visible.

Emory watched him leave, his brows knitting tightly.

He could understand the hatred in Galen's heart. The scales torn from his body and the endless torment… If it were him, he might've lost control, too.

But there was indeed something different about Lunara today. He turned toward her, who was still sputtering. It was clear she hadn't fully woken up. Galen must've used his spiritual power to keep her consciousness trapped in a haze.

Tears still clung to the corners of her eyes. Bits of dry grass were now attached to her face, making her look unexpectedly pitiful.

Emory's gaze dropped to her hand. The cut from the necklace was still open, the red and raw edges painfully conspicuous.

He stood there in silence for a few seconds. Then, for reasons he didn't quite understand, he crouched down. From his clothes, he pulled out a small bundle of dried yarrow. Cyril had given it to him earlier, but he couldn't bear to use it then.

He stuffed the yarrow into his mouth, chewing it carefully. A bitter taste spread across his tongue. Then, he stiffly lifted Lunara's hand, pressing the chewed yarrow gently onto her wound. The coolness made her flinch slightly, a soft sound escaping her throat.

Emory paused briefly before tearing off a relatively clean strip of animal hide. He wrapped it carefully around her fingertip and tied it in place.

Once he was done, he looked at his hand, now covered in bits of yarrow. Suddenly feeling a sudden surge of unusual discomfort, he straightened up and went to the cave entrance. He stood there with his back toward Lunara, as if he were standing guard.

The cave quieted again, filled only with Lunara's gradually steady breathing and the occasional crackle of the fire.

…

Lunara was awakened by the scratchy itch in her dry throat. The moment she opened her eyes, her neck felt like it had been crushed by something heavy. Even the slightest movement sent waves of pain rippling through it.

She pushed herself up and tried to call out for water, but the hoarse sound that came out startled even her.

Sucking in a breath, she instinctively reached for her neck. Her fingers brushed against skin that was warm and slightly swollen.

What happened?

Lunara staggered over to the clay jar of water and leaned over to see her reflection. The murky surface only showed a vague outline of herself and just a hint of redness at her neck. She couldn't get a clear view of the state of her neck.

"Probably caught a chill last night…" she muttered as she scooped up some water to splash on her face.

In this beast world, where medicine was scarce, even a cold could be dangerous. While the symptoms could be as simple as some dizziness and fatigue, the illness could also completely ruin one's health.

But when Lunara considered the possibility that Caius might be in danger right now, she didn't dare delay. He was her only support. She couldn't let something like a cold stop her from finding him as soon as possible.

Even if a tornado struck, she still had to set off today.

She rinsed her mouth and wiped her face. The cool water cleared some of the fog from her mind. As she lifted her hand, her fingertip brushed against a rough band of hide. Only then did she notice that her wound from yesterday had been carefully bandaged.

A thin scab had already formed, and the faint coolness of the herbs seeped through the hide. It didn't hurt at all.

Lunara froze. Who did this?

She clearly remembered curling up to sleep last night, and she hadn't heard anyone come in.

Was it one of her beastmates?

Regardless of who it was, she had to encourage this sort of behavior. Only by rewarding such actions could she ensure that they would treat her well.

Even if they had ulterior motives for their actions, at least it might ease some of the hatred.

Steadying herself, Lunara walked to the cave entrance, cleared her still-hoarse throat, and called out, "All of you, come in for a moment."

As soon as she finished speaking, figures began to appear one by one—Cyril, Emory, Kieran, Levi, and finally, Galen.

All five of them stepped into the cave, their gazes landing—almost in unison—on her neck. Their expressions instantly grew complicated.

Cyril's lashes trembled. His grip tightened around the bag of herbs in his hand.

Kieran raised a brow, his gaze flicking between Galen and Emory.

Levi frowned, his icy blue eyes fraught with mixed emotions.

Only Galen and Emory avoided Lunara's gaze. One had his eyes lowered, while the other was staring at the ground. Both their expressions were difficult to read.

The other three exchanged looks, having been tipped off by Emory and Galen's reaction. Something had definitely happened last night—and it most likely involved Galen.

Lunara, however, didn't notice their silent exchange. Smiling, she asked, "Who did it last night?"

The cave fell silent for a few seconds.

To the five males, it sounded as if Lunara had figured out what had happened and was now attempting to identify the culprit.

In the past, even when they hadn't done anything, she would find excuses to torment them. Now that someone had done something as serious as attempting to strangle her, was she going to kill them outright?

Galen suddenly stepped forward. A cold resolve flickered in his violet eyes. With his voice calm but tense, he answered," I did it."

He lifted his gaze to meet hers, his tone firm and unafraid as he continued, "Punish me however you want. Don't involve the others."

Lunara was caught off guard. "Punish you? Why would I punish you?"

She lifted her bandaged finger and waved it a little, her smile becoming even more genuine as she said, "You helped treat my wound. I should be thanking you. How's this? In the future, if any of you bandages my wound for me three times, I'll give you a drop of blood."

Galen wasn't the only one who froze at her words. The other four looked just as thunderstruck. Instead of the bruise around her neck, she'd been talking about her bandaged finger instead?