"Cla, let's roast some meat first," Mateo urged anxiously.
Clara couldn't stand it anymore the smell of blood and the spotted bloodstains on Mateo's back frightened her. "Mateo, are you injured?" So much blood, she didn't know if it was from a zebra or from him.
Mateo touched his back, looked at his blood-stained hand, and then at Clara's worried and scared eyes. He chuckled, waved at Clara, and said, "I'll go take a bath. You roast the meat quickly!"
As Mateo left, Clara suddenly realized that she forgot to ask him how to start a fire.
As a modern person who couldn't even make a fire, wouldn't that be embarrassing? Clara started using the two stones in her hand, banging them together. She banged and banged, but the fleeting flame couldn't ignite. It was making her anxious.
Meanwhile, Mateo enjoyed a refreshing bath at the waterfall, thinking about returning to have something to eat, and hastened his pace. As he approached the small grove, he heard some strange noises. Could it be an attack from another tribe? Mateo immediately became alert, pricking up his ears and quietly moving toward the forest.
Huh! What were Rowan and Gloria doing? The two were getting intimate. When they noticed Mateo unexpectedly showing up, Rowan awkwardly smiled and pulled Gloria behind him. "Mateo, what are you doing here?"
"I came to take a bath. I thought there might be an attack from another tribe." Mateo couldn't understand why the two of them were in the forest so late at night. It was dangerous!
After bidding farewell to Rowan, Mateo continued on his way home, still thinking about what had just happened. It seemed like he saw Rowan and Gloria kissing! Suddenly, he remembered something—he hadn't be with Clara yet! But how should he approach this? The last time he had the chance to observe, he was dragged away by Jimmy to fight the werewolf.
Mateo, with his lion's blood boiling, rushed home. The house was pitch dark, and he heard the clattering sound of stones. In the darkness, he could see the small figure of Clara. Even in the darkest night, their lion tribe could clearly see everything in front of them. He saw Clara banging on stones.
What was she doing with those stones? Startled by Mateo's shout, Clara jumped, and upon seeing a tall figure slowly approaching her, she realized it was Mateo. Feeling a bit wronged, she said, "Mateo! The fire went out, and I was trying to figure out how to start it again."
Mateo's eyes were fixed on Clara's tender little mouth, thinking about how to take a bite. He didn't pay much attention to what Clara was saying.
Suddenly, there was a sizzling sound, and a large flame shot up. Clara exclaimed excitedly, "It's lit!"
There was a strange burnt smell in the air as the flames grew larger. Mateo suddenly howled, "Wow! My scalp is so hot!"
Oh no! Clara accidentally ignited Mateo's hair. Panicking, Clara grabbed a water ladle and poured it on Mateo's head, finally extinguishing the fire. However, it seemed that Mateo's hair was damaged, and Clara saw a wisp of smoke rising from the top of Mateo's head.
Everything happened so suddenly. Mateo touched his hair, realizing that his beautiful white fur had been singed. Thinking about being a bald lion in the future made him feel embarrassed and ugly. In the tribe, purebred white lions were rare, and Clara hated them. Mateo's eyes turned red, and he vented his anger with furious snorts.
Clara had no idea about Mateo's thoughts. She felt sorry and hurriedly approached him to ask if he was okay. However, as soon as she touched Mateo, he waved his hand, pushing her away. Mateo had a strong grip, and sometimes he couldn't control his strength. To him, the wave was like shooing away a caterpillar, but for Clara, it was different. She was pushed out violently, and her back hit the stove. The newly built stove was overturned, and her waist was banged against the bluestone floor, causing her intense pain.
Mateo was infuriated. For a lion, fur was as important as sharp claws for hunting—it was a symbol of masculinity. His roar, which had once harbored some fondness for Clara, was now completely gone. Mates were truly troublesome. He shoved Clara, not thinking much of it, but the rage inside him burned intensely. "I don't want you anymore, leave! Go!" he angrily shouted.
This caught Clara completely off guard. She knew he was impulsive and easily angered, but he had never yelled at her so harshly before. He rejected her, didn't come to comfort her after she was injured, and even scolded her as if he wanted to eat her.
Clara ran away, feeling both angry and scared, and she found herself ridiculous. How could she have such naive thoughts of living with the beast? Humans and beasts were not on the same food chain. She should be grateful that Mateo didn't eat her! The more Clara thought about it, the sadder she became. Was she unlikeable everywhere?
She had mustered so much courage to convince herself to stay, thinking about Mateo's fierce appearance and those heartless words. Now, she felt sad, crouching under a tree, crying bitterly.
"Hehe! Where did this little female creature come from, crying here!" A light and airy laughter echoed from the forest.
Clara tensed all over. In the past few days, she had learned that in this world, there were only beasts and beast. She wondered what species the speaker belonged to.
Tonight, the moon was exceptionally bright, illuminating the trees in the forest. Clara saw a white fox leaning against a tree, striking a very flirtatious pose. Terrified, she took several steps back.
"Such a fragrant little female creature. Who bullied you? Do you want to come home with brother?" The fox suddenly transformed into a human form, with tall and slender limbs, smiling alluringly as it approached Clara.
Clara was almost frightened to death. Encountering a fox in the middle of the night seemed eerie no matter how she looked at it. And now it was inviting her to go home with it. "Go away! I'm not a female creature; I am a human!" Clara realized she had unknowingly wandered into a very unfamiliar environment.
The moonlight poured in, and Clara saw the fox with a mesmerizing and seductive look, smiling sycophantically as it pounced towards her. "Oh!" Clara exclaimed, running away. She needed to go home, this place was terrifying.
"So, you're the little creature. Hehe... Finally, I've caught up to you!" The fox grinned maliciously and quickly lunged towards Clara.
Roar...
Suddenly, a roar echoed in the forest. The fox, about to pounce, swiftly transformed back into its true form and climbed up a tree.
"Sly fox, daring to compete with us for mates!" Several beast walked out of the woods, strong and robust, with eyes shining with eerie golden light, approaching Clara.
What kind of beast were these! In the moonlight, those beast, waving their tails behind them, looked at her as if they had found a top-notch delicacy. Approaching closer and closer, under the moonlight, the beast's appearances seemed somewhat apologetic, especially when they noticed the tent rising under the animal skin at their lower bodies, making Clara's face turn pale.
"Oh!" Clara exclaimed, then ran frantically.
The beast behind her pounced, knocking her to the ground. One of them stretched out his tongue and licked her face, lewdly saying, "Truly a delicacy, so fragrant and sweet. Hehe... Little creature, come home with us!"
Clara was lifted onto the shoulder by one of the beast. She screamed and shouted in fear, "Let go of me, help! Mateo, save me!"
She was so afraid! Being captured by these beast would surely lead to her death. Thinking of their appearance, Clara shuddered in fear.
"Let her go!" A white figure descended from the treetops. The white figure cut through the moonlight, leaving a silver arc.
The white fox bite down on the hand of one of the beast.
"Damn fox! How dare you bite me!" The beast dropped Clara and rushed to fight with the fox. The other two also joined the fierce battle, and the intense roars of wild beasts echoed through the night.