Chapter 2
I paused for a moment, then nodded. “If Valerie likes him, then I’ll follow Mom’s wishes. She can have him.”
They hadn’t expected me to agree so quickly. Delighted, they eagerly started helping me choose my Beast-kin husband. Mom, as the Clan Leader, gave an order, and a parade of handsome, exceptional Beast-kin males were presented before me.
“Cassandra, this is the last group. What kind do you even like?” Mom was starting to get impatient, seeing me take so long to choose.
Valerie, ever eager, chimed in. “Sister, that fox Beast-kin is so handsome! His perfect face makes my heart flutter. If I didn’t have my Leopard, I’d definitely pick him!”
Kaelen exchanged a complex glance with Valerie, then his eyes, burning with expectation, turned to me. Under his hopeful gaze, I calmly pointed to the frail-looking young Beast-kin standing on the very edge. “I want him!”
The young Beast-kin had a tall, slender build. He’d just come down from the arena, still covered in wounds, looking utterly worn out. But when he looked up and saw me, his beautiful eyes instantly lit up.
Kaelen’s pupils dilated. A mix of hurt and disbelief plastered across his face, as if silently asking why I no longer wanted him.
In my past life, I’d always been a sucker for good looks, utterly defenseless against handsome men. So, after Valerie’s schemes led to my unexpected bond with Kaelen, I chose him as my sole Beast-kin mate. I loved him, I gave him my everything, my whole heart. Anything he desired, I’d move heaven and earth to get for him.
He was a six-tailed fox, desperate to become a nine-tailed fox. To help him achieve his dream, I went to the sacred Spirit Peaks to gather mystical herbs. The guardian beasts there bit off my arm. After he got the herbs and grew his nine tails, he tearfully embraced me, swearing I was the one who loved him most in the world, promising to never leave my side.
But what was the result? When Valerie and I entered the trial dungeon, competing for the Clan Leader position, he actually betrayed me, pushing me into a fiery abyss, a point of no return. Only as I died did I understand: Valerie had always been the ‘one true love’ of his life. He hated me for claiming him, for keeping him from her.
I struggled in agony in the inferno. He just watched me coldly, unmoved. Then, he turned and walked straight into Valerie’s embrace.
This time, I wanted a man fiercely loyal to me, no matter what. I would reclaim what was rightfully mine — the Clan Leader position! And I would make them all pay the price they deserved!