Mated to the Beast of the Wasteland novel Chapter 224

Chapter 224 We Need Your Help

Chapter 224 We Need Your Help

+30 Free Coms

But watching Lily cling to Gillian like that, seeing the raw love in Gillian’s eyes, Merrick figured this wasn’t a flat no. There was room to talk.

“Mom, Dad, what’s going on? You’re not getting rid of me, right?”

Lily’s little face peeked out from Gillian’s arms, pale and tense. She’d just found her mom. No way she wa losing her now.

The kid looked so wronged and miserable. No one could help but soften toward her.

“Lily, I’m not getting rid of you.” Gillian pulled her closer. “I’m staying right here. But right now, Mom and Dad have something really serious going on, and we need your help.”

Lily’s eyes lit up. “What is it?”

“I had a dream. In less than a month, the whole wasteland is gonna explode with a taint surge. That black water in your cave? It’s gonna be everywhere. Everyone’s gonna die.”

Lily didn’t get it. How could her mom die from that? “The black water doesn’t kill us. Not really. Why would you die?”

“Because everyone I care about would die. I’ve got a lot of people I love. All those soldiers out there? They’d die too. And then there’d be nobody left to protect this place.”

Gillian’s face was so full of grief that Lily caught it like a wave. “Mom, don’t cry.”

“Lily, I think all those babies inside the taint cores are good babies. Maybe they just act out because their heads hurt. We can help them. I’ll give you the purge, and you can bring it to them.”

If she could pull every last one of those flower beasts out, she’d take full responsibility for them. But if Lily ever turned and hurt innocent people, Gillian would stop her herself.

“Mom, that’s easy. I was already looking for you. They’re probably looking for you too. I’ll take you to

them.”

“Lily, you mean it?”

Gillian hadn’t expected her to say yes. Not like that.

“I mean it. But Mom, Dad can’t put us in cages. And he can’t drug us.”

“Deal,” Merrick said. “You help us stop this taint outbreak, and I swear none of you get hurt again.”

His voice had softened. If Lily could actually solve the taint source, she’d save the whole wasteland.

Right then, Merrick’s wrist terminal buzzed with a message from the beastmen stationed near the Naiad

River.

“Sir, the taint core at the Naiad River just dropped. Contamination fell from A-class to B-class. The taint is

3

1/3

◆ M

|||

O

Г

11:38 Wed, Jun 3 A.

Chapter 224 We Need Your Help

definitely thinning out.”

+30 Free Coms

Merrick and Gillian traded a look. Lily had told them the scale parasites would move into her cave once she left. The data was backing her up. Her story was solid.

“It looks like Lily was right. The scale parasites have seized her cave.”

Gillian set Lily down. “Rest a little. Don’t wander off. Don’t hurt anyone. If your head starts hurting, you find me. Got it?”

Lily blinked, cute as anything, and smiled brightly.

Mom is so good.

Gillian turned to Merrick. “Tonight we pick a taint core with unstable readings and head out. We bring Lily.”

Merrick nodded. “Already thinking the same thing.”

Night dropped. The team moved in their gray-white bio-armor, closing in on an A-class taint core.

They’d picked this one on purpose. It was a lot like Lily’s old hole, which meant the beast inside was probably around two years old too. Easier to deal with.

Merrick said, “This is it, Gillian.”

Gillian had Lily in her arms. The kid had just grown her feet and wasn’t used to them yet. Her heels were already rubbed raw.

Gillian caught the red around her eyes and scooped her up, running her fingers over the sores till they healed.

“Lily, in a minute, my psionic power is gonna follow you down. The White Griffin’s coming too. Be careful. If the one inside is mean, fight if you can win. If you can’t, you run. Mom and Dad will be right here to back you up.”

“Mom, I got this. I can call her out.”

Lily, who’d been quiet the whole time, shook the cryogold sphere in her hand. Her voice was all baby-soft, but she meant every word. She hopped out of Gillian’s arms, pale hair swinging, and ran straight for the taint core without looking back.

Gillian stepped forward before she could stop herself.

Merrick said, “Gillian, she’ll be fine. The taint can’t hurt her. Worst case, she gets her butt kicked and chased out.”

Or she’d sneak off with that cryogold sphere and disappear. Merrick had run every scenario in his head. He didn’t want the kid to bolt either. It would crush Gillian.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify