Surrounded by Five Beast Lords novel Chapter 19

Dora gently set the kitten down and signaled for him to stay put.

Lioren gave her a disdainful glance, but still slowly walked off to the side. He looked as if he had curled up to rest, but his amber eyes remained half–open, quietly watching everything.

Dora turned to Clive. She tried hard to ignore the dark pressure around him and the gloom in his eyes.

Lowering her head slightly, she spoke softly but clearly, her tone sincere, ‘Clive, thank you for yesterday.”

She meant that he had saved her, and hadn’t taken advantage of her when he easily could have

“And… I’m sorry, I used your identity to apply for the homestead without asking you first. I just… didn’t have another choice,” she added.

She lifted her head and met his gaze, her eyes honest and steady. “Aside from this land. I won’t ask anything from you. I also won’t… act like I’m your mate. When I’m stronger…”

She paused, feeling the weight of Clive’s dark stare, but still forced herself to continue, “Once I’m settled, or once you find a female you actually want to form a bond with, you can ask to end this relationship anytime. I’ll definitely agree.

“For now, can you do me a favor?”

After saying that, she waited nervously for Clive’s answer

This was the most reasonable solution she could come up with after weighing everything: Admitting that she had used him, drawing a clear line, and giving him the most freedom and the easiest way out.

She had to keep Clive for now, not just because of this land, but because her 22nd birthday was coming soon. She had to get five beast mates before then. Having at least three familiar ones was safer than letting the Marriage Matching Center assign her five complete strangers.

Clive looked scarier than the rest two, but he had helped her detox, hadn’t taken advantage of her, hadn’t rejected her match request, and had even moved here to protect her.

All of that proved that Clive would not hurt her.

Clive listened in silence, his face showing nothing. Only deep in his eyes did something complicated seem to surge for a

brief moment.

He repeated her words inwardly, “Thank me? Sorry? End the relationship anytime?”

A bitter emotion churned inside him. There was anger and unhappiness about being used.

But more than that, there was a restless frustration even he couldn’t sort out.

Clive thought bitterly, ‘Dora would rather struggle to survive on this wasteland, get close to some random male beastfolk and show trust in Elmer, yet she still rushed to draw a line between herself and me

That realization made his fingertips turn cold. The jealousy at the bottom of his heart began to stir again.

But in the end, he only gave a small nod. His voice remained cold and unreadable. “OK.”

With one simple word, he accepted the partnership she had drawn up on her own

3.33 pm P

ppp

Chapter 1

chen, Clive paused. His gaze swept over the barren land, the shabby tent, the wary Elmer, and the kitten not far away who

looked asleep but hadn’t lowered his guard at all.

At last, his eyes returned to Dera’s face. He added, still stiff and cold, but with a tone that left no room for argument. “As long as our marriage exists, I’ll stay here.

He deliberately ignored Elmer’s suddenly wide eyes and Lioren’s pricked ears. His gaze stayed locked on Dora. “I’ll protect

our home.”

Stubbornly, Clive had decided to stay. As her legal beast mate and protector, he forced his way into her life.

He then opened his Optical Brain and confirmed the match without the slightest hesitation.

Dora parted her lips as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she only nodded and said. “Thank you.”

Elmer was so anxious that he nearly lost his mind on the spot. He clearly wanted to speak, but Clive swept a cold glance over him, and the words got stuck in his throat. All he could do was glare at Clive in frustration, then look at Dora with worried eyes.

Lioren closed his eyes again, as if none of this had anything to do with him. Only the slight twitch of his ears gave away that he wasn’t really asleep.

On Dora’s barren homestead, three tents stood in silence.

Three males and one female, tangled together in a mess of complicated ties and different motives, had somehow reached a strange, fragile balance on this empty land.

Dora practically fled. She scooped up the kitten crouching nearby and quickly ducked back into her tent, as if the two men locked in silent confrontation behind her were monsters waiting to pounce.

Only after the rough waterproof flap dropped behind her, cutting off the suffocating air outside and those two heavy gazes, did she lean against the tent and let out a long breath.

When she loosened her arms, Lioren lightly jumped down to the ground. He shook his dusty tail and swept his amber eyes around the cramped space in the dim light, his nose twitching as if checking whether it was safe.

Only then did Dora belatedly realize that something inside the tent seemed different.

She looked around carefully by the faint light coming through the small window.

The moisture–proof mat beneath her had become much thicker and flatter. It was no longer the thin, uncomfortable old

Γ mat Mindy had given her.

The old blanket beside it was gone too, replaced by a thick dark–gray blanket that looked soft and fluffy and carried the clean scent of new fabric.

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