Chapter 284: Brothers, Birds, and Beasts

It was incredibly early in the morning in the forest, the dawn light just beginning to pierce through the thick canopy. Most of the beastmen in the newly established village were already awake and working by the time Kael slipped away.

The White Tiger was moving swiftly and silently through the dense forest, his feet making absolutely no sound against the damp earth.

Suddenly, Kael stopped dead in his tracks. His fluffy white ears twitched violently atop his head, picking up the faintest rustle of leaves. His golden eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn’t even bother to turn around.

“I know you are following me,” Kael announced flatly to the empty woods.

“I was only curious, big brother,” Kaelen responded smoothly from the shadows directly behind him.

Kael slowly turned around. His younger brother was casually leaning against the thick trunk of an oak tree, his muscular arms crossed lazily over his naked chest.

Kaelen looked Kael up and down, his golden eyes scanning his brother’s rigid posture. “You seem different.”

“You seem different too,” Kael responded, his tone guarded.

For a long moment, absolute silence stretched between the two brothers. The only sound was the distant chirping of the morning insects.

Then, Kael spoke up, breaking the tension. “Is that why you followed me all the way out here?”

“The others have been talking,” Kaelen admitted, pushing himself off the tree trunk. “They are saying you lost your Beast King status because your mate is cursed.”

Kael let out a low growl. “Ren is not cursed. I gave up my status of my own free will when I rebuked the Rite of the Severed Fang with the Snake King.”

Kaelen’s white brows shot up. “So that’s why she went to the swamp,” he breathed, genuine shock lacing his tone. He and the rest of the forest beastmen had absolutely no idea Ren was already mated to the terrifying Snake King of the swamp.

Kael nodded stiffly, explaining the arrangement. She would spend three moons in the swamp, return to the forest for four days, and then cycle back. That was the agreement between him and Syris.

Kaelen was learning a lot this morning. The Snake King, after all, was absolutely not known for being reasonable or sharing anything he deemed his.

Kaelen hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. “Ren already has the Snake King. Isn’t he enough? He is the strongest beastman in this entire area.”

Hearing this, Kael furiously clenched his fists. His jaw ticked. “Are you a fan of the Snake King?” he accused his brother sharply.

Kaelen immediately waved a hand, dismissing the accusation with a casual shrug. “Planning to become her mate one day, I just want to know exactly what I am getting myself into.”

Kael raised a skeptical brow, sizing his younger brother up. “Backing out from your fear of the Snake King?”

“I am very confident I wouldn’t lose easily,” Kaelen responded smoothly.

Kael let out a dark, booming chuckle. “Are you confident you can beat me?”

Kaelen smirked, a competitive gleam flashing in his golden eyes. “I am very confident I can beat you, brother. I will be Ren’s strongest mate. Our cubs will be strong and powerful—the absolute future of the world.”

Kael honestly didn’t mind his younger brother’s blatant hopefulness. Kaelen had always been fiercely ambitious since they were young cubs wrestling in the dirt. It was the nature of their feline blood.

“Ren also has a Golden Eagle mate,” Kael added.

This piece of information made Kaelen furrow his brows in deep confusion. He was genuinely surprised and baffled about a Golden Eagle being in this forest.

Suddenly, a memory clicked in Kaelen’s brain. He remembered a bizarre, hushed rumor he had overheard on his long journey back to the forest. In a small, run-down village to the west, he had eavesdropped on a conversation between a scarred boar beastman and a lizard beastman.

They had spoken of a massive hunt for the Golden Eagle Prince. There was a staggering bounty of pure venom crystals placed on his head. The rumors claimed he was an incredibly strong bird beastman possessing a highly dangerous, terrifying ability—a legendary beast perched right on the cusp of immortality.

Kaelen didn’t think it could possibly be the exact same beastman. He couldn’t quite remember the Prince’s name, but the odds of a royal, immortal fugitive settling down in a mud hut with his brother’s mate were low.

“Why wasn’t the Golden Eagle mate helping out in the village yesterday?” Kaelen asked, genuinely curious.

This instantly angered Kael. His blood boiled as he vividly remembered how Altair had just rudely flown off into the night sky while Kael was actively trying to talk to him at the waterhole.

“That bird does not care about the village,” Kael spat bitterly. “He is not a good mate for Ren at all, but he at least seems strong.” Kael rolled his broad shoulders. “Assuming you are done with your endless questions, I will be on my way.”

“Where are you going?” Kaelen stopped him once more, stepping into his path. “We never kept secrets from each other before.”

Kael stopped again, but he didn’t turn around to face his brother. His voice dropped an octave. “You mean secrets like how you massacred the goat beastman?”

Kaelen stiffened instantly. The casual, confident smirk completely vanished from his face. Of the two brothers, Kaelen was always known as the quiet, gentle one. He was far less of a bloodthirsty warrior and much more of an eager explorer and hunter. That brutal level of violence was entirely out of character for him.

“I grew up,” Kaelen responded coldly. With that chilling final statement, he turned around and walked away, completely losing his interest in knowing where his older brother was heading.

Kael let out a heavy huff, deciding not to dwell on it too much. All he could tell was that his younger brother was definitely keeping a dark secret from him. Kaelen was never, ever good at hiding things or successfully masking how he was feeling, and right now, he reeked of hidden guilt.

Pushing his brother’s odd behavior out of his mind, Kael continued on his solitary journey.

He was headed straight toward the far east edge of the forest to find the Ancient Healers.

In the Beast World, the Ancient Healers were largely considered a complete myth—a desperate, fabricated rumor explicitly made to give dying beastmen a false sense of hope.

In the villages, sick beastmen suffering from terminal illnesses or fatal wounds on the absolute verge of death would be told they were being mercifully taken to the Ancient Healers by the far east edge of the forest. However, this specific edge was the exact border between the lush forest and the desolate, terrifying Wastelands.

The grim reality was that the sick beastmen would simply be brought there to feed the shadow beasts roaming the border. Eventually, it became silent, common knowledge among the tribes that being brought to the ’Ancient Healers’ simply meant there was absolutely no hope left.

Kael, however, fiercely believed that they truly existed. He firmly believed that his mother would never lie to him about such a thing.

He desperately needed to get his beast form back before the upcoming tournament. Ren was depending on him to help her find strong mates!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep