Beast Love Show: All For Her (by Sylvester Raven) novel Chapter 196

Chapter 196 Why He Held Back

The wound should stop bleeding in an hour or two.

But without rest, even three days wouldn’t staunch it.

Layla’s treatment had been timely.

Inside the cave, Liam curled into a tight ball against the stone wall.

“Layla, go find something to eat. See if there’s clean water nearby.” Shane turned to her.

Layla paused. In the past, Shane would never send her off alone to forage.

He wanted her out of the way.

She realized it instantly. But with Shane, she always had patience. “Alright.”

She nodded. Whatever he could tell her, Shane would.

If he wasn’t telling her this, if he was even sending her away, it meant it wasn’t something she should know.

She had no burning curiosity. Things she wasn’t meant to know, she didn’t ask a single extra question.

She trusted Shane would never harm her. Some things, not knowing was better for her.

She agreed and stepped outside.

She even helped roll the boulder further, sealing the cave mouth against any beasts that might try to force their way in.

Shane watched the stone settle, then moved to sit beside Liam.

With Layla’s presence gone, Liam lifted his head. His curled posture unspooled into something more relaxed.

“Prof. Slater, do you have something to say to me?”

“Yes.” Shane flicked the fur on top of Liam’s head. “Why didn’t you say it?”

“Say what?” Liam was baffled.

“That you like Layla. Why didn’t you tell her?”

“Since when do I like Layla?” Liam shot back.

Shane didn’t answer. He just stared down at him.

Lying on the ground, Liam was physically lower than Shane.

“You don’t?” Shane finally asked, after a long pause.

Liam was silent for a moment. Then he nodded. “I admit it. I like her. A little.”

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apter 196 Why He Held Back

“How much is a little?” Shane pressed.

Backed into a corner, Liam felt a surge of irritation. But again, he couldn’t afford to offend Shane. He had no right to refuse Shane’s questions.

“Not much. About this much.” He spread his front hooves, measuring a distance just slightly smaller than his full reach.

Shane’s face went black. “That much?”

“Yeah,” Liam said.

“Since when?”

“And you? Since when did you start liking Layla?”

Liam’s counter-question was just as unanswerable as Shane’s.

Liam hadn’t even thought about when he’d fallen for Layla.

He didn’t even know when he’d started watching her every move, started caring what she thought of him.

Even under Shane’s threats, even with every ounce of restraint he could muster, when he faced her, the feelings still leaked out.

He couldn’t control his heart. Sometimes he couldn’t control his reactions either.

“But

you don’t need to worry. I won’t fight you for Layla.” Liam’s voice was serious.

Shane was confused. “Why?”

He had a premonition. He was about to touch the truth.

He was about to know the reason why Liam always pulled back at the last second.

It was clear that if he just spoke up, Layla would immediately know how he felt.

“Prof. Slater, isn’t it hypocritical for you to ask that?”

“Hypocritical?” Shane’s brow arched. He shifted closer and seized Liam by both antlers, forcing his head up. “Explain yourself. How exactly am I hypocritical?”

“Wasn’t it you who forbade me from liking Layla? And now you’re asking me why. What do you think the answer is?”

Wounded, and with Layla absent, something raw and unfiltered had risen in Liam. He could speak freely,

“Of course it’s because I’m selfish and low. I have eyes only for the glory of the Hartwell Legion. The glory of the Hartwell name. As for Layla, I like her, yes. But measured against my family, against the million soldiers of the Legion, against my own grand purpose, the future of my line, I can’t put her above all that.”

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