Chapter 104: A Fair Trade

Ren’s entire body tensed. She couldn’t help it.

She inadvertently pressed her thighs together, her fists clenching at her sides as a wave of heat pooled low in her belly. There was no underwear beneath her skirt to block the evidence of her arousal, and in the humid, still air of the forest, the scent was intoxicatingly strong for a predator’s sensitive nose.

Vex stood there, unabashed. Aside from the luxurious red fox fur coat draped over his shoulders, he was wearing only a simple leather loincloth. And right now, that loincloth was fighting a losing battle against a very obvious, very enthusiastic erection.

He didn’t try to hide it. In fact, he seemed proud of it.

Vex looked at Ren, his eyes dark with hunger. He reached out, his thumb tracing the curve of her pink, swollen lips where he had just ravaged them.

“One day,” he purred, his voice dropping an octave, “you will beg me to make you orgasm.”

Ren slapped his hand away. She glared at him, trying to summon every ounce of dignity she had left.

“That day will never come,” she spat.

Vex chuckled, a low, throaty sound. He stepped away from her, adjusting his coat but doing absolutely nothing to adjust his loincloth.

“We’ll see,” he said with a wink.

Ren released a shaky breath, peeling her body off the rough bark of the oak tree. Her back ached slightly from being pinned, but the ache in her core was far more distracting. She ignored it, marching past the horny fox to get to her husband.

Vex crouched beside the unconscious Kael, humming a jaunty, random tune that sounded disturbingly cheerful given the circumstances. He reached out and pried one of Kael’s eyelids open, peering into the red iris, then checked the other.

“What are you doing?” Ren demanded, standing over him with her hands on her hips.

Vex released Kael’s eyelid and sat back on the grass. He crossed his legs comfortably, resting his chin in his palm as he stared up at her.

The angle was… strategic.

From where he sat on the forest floor, his gaze went straight up her legs. He could see almost completely up her short skirt. He didn’t look away. In fact, his brilliant orange eyes traveled slowly up her thighs, lingering with appreciative shamelessness.

“I was curious,” Vex replied lazily.

“Curious about what?” Ren asked, trying to ignore where he was looking.

“How you did it,” Vex said, his tone shifting from flirtatious to genuinely intrigued. “How you forced a Stage 3 Feral Beast back into his beastman form.”

Ren frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Usually,” Vex explained, gesturing vaguely at Kael’s massive form, “once a male shifts into his beast form while under the influence of Feral Madness, there is no going back. That is the point of no return.”

Ren’s confusion deepened. “Syris told me that at Stage 3, they become a Shadow Beast. A mindless monster.”

Vex nodded. “Correct. And looking at his eyes… he is a Shadow Beast. Or he should be. The madness has taken root. But…”

Vex tapped his chin.

“He isn’t a shadow. He is here. In the flesh. This form—the Beastman form—is a physical representation of his fleeting consciousness. It means he is fighting harder than any male I have ever seen. And somehow, you anchored him here.”

It made sense. Ren looked down at Kael.

’System, check status.’

[Subject: Kael. Health: 14% (Declining). Status: Comatose (Sedated).]

It was still declining.

Ren shook the pessimism from her head and looked at Vex. The Fox was now lounging back on the grass, his head propped up by his arm. He was still staring at her with lusty eyes, visually undressing her layer by layer.

Ren narrowed her eyes at him.

’Why did he tell me all that?’ she wondered with sharp suspicion.

It was all too convenient. He just happened to find her in the woods? He happened to know to tell her exactly what she wanted to know about Kael’s condition?

Ren didn’t trust the fox as far as she could throw him. But looking at Kael’s declining health bar, she knew he was the only hope she had. She didn’t voice her suspicions, deciding she was going to play along with whatever game he was playing.

Ren steeled herself. She tried not to look intimidated by his constant stare on her legs or the excited bulge in his loincloth.

“What do I need to do?” Ren asked, cutting to the chase. “To get you to tell me how to cure him?”

Vex smirked.

He stood up in one fluid motion, dusting off his knees. He walked toward her slowly, like a predator cornering prey.

Ren held her ground. She didn’t step back. She didn’t look away.

Vex stopped inches from her. The air between them crackled with tension.

“I can think of a few things,” Vex murmured, his gaze dropping to her lips, then lower to her chest.

Ren’s heart hammered against her ribs. She bit her lip nervously. ’Here it comes,’ she thought. ’He wants sex. He’s going to ask to sleep with me in exchange for the cure.’

Vex leaned in, his voice a whisper.

“I want to know how you did it.”

Ren blinked. “What?”

“I want to know how you pulled him back,” Vex said, his eyes gleaming with intellectual greed. “You did something. I want to know what.”

Ren let out the breath she was holding, her shoulders slumping slightly. She almost smiled with relief.

’He just wants information.’

She didn’t have to sell her body. It was a fair trade. Intel for intel.

“Deal,” Ren said firmly.

She opened her mouth to explain. “Well, I used—”

Shh.

Vex pressed his index finger against her lips, silencing her.

He leaned closer to her face, his expression suddenly serious.

“Not here,” he whispered. “The forest has ears. You never know who is listening.”

Ren’s eyes darted around the clearing. The birds were singing. The wind was rustling. It felt safe, but the memory of the attack crashed back into her mind.

She clenched her fists.

“Right,” Ren hissed quietly. “Vara is out there. She’s the one who shot him.”

Vex pulled back, a look of genuine amusement crossing his face.

He laughed, reaching out to pat her head condescendingly.

“No, no, Little Rose,” Vex chuckled. “That was me.”

Ren froze.

“Vara wishes she had such perfect aim,” Vex added with a smug grin, turning around to walk back toward the unconscious tiger.

Ren stood there, stunned for a moment. Her brain tried to process the confession.

“Wait,” Ren called out, taking a step toward him. “You shot him? Why?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep