The Ultimate Litter: A Beast World System Tale novel Chapter 265

Chapter 265 Father Figure

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Then Quentin seemed to realize something and exclaimed, “Wait, are you One and Two’s dad?”

Finish

Zane remembered hearing the other beastfolk call his younglings that during his occasional visits, so he nodded.

“Yes. I’m their dad. My name is Zane Evans.”

With Quentin leading the way, Claire and the others soon arrived at an enormous valley.

Sheer cliffs towered into the clouds on either side. Caves dotted their faces, and enormous bird nests filled the trees growing from the rocky slopes.

stretched

The valley was more than a dozen football fields across and stretched as far as Claire could see. Thick forest covered the valley floor, the trees resembling giant banyans, with sprawling branches that intertwined overhead and connected one tree to the next.

The narrow entrance to the valley served as the eagle clan’s gate. It had been fenced off with thick, sturdy tree trunks, leaving only a single opening for beastfolk to enter and leave.

Quentin had already sent the eagles and falcons overhead back to report their arrival. By the time they reached the eagle clan’s entrance, a large crowd had gathered.

Some wore beast hides, while others had skirts woven from feathers around their waists. Feathers of every color decorated their hair, and they were all barefoot as they stared curiously at Claire and the other strangers.

“Is that Rufus’s mate? She’s beautiful! No wonder Rufus turned down the most desirable female in the clan and kept running off.”

“What clan is that black-and-white beastfolk beside her from? I’ve never seen an animal form like that before. He looks so majestic!”

Marcus heard them whispering about him and praising how impressive he looked. He immediately lifted his head with pride and deliberately stomped his feet, making the ground tremble.

Zane stayed close to Claire, occasionally sweeping a calm gaze over the crowd. Several females blushed when his eyes passed over them.

Quentin had barely taken two steps forward when the gate opened completely, and an older male beastfolk came out to greet them.

“Quentin, is this the female Rufus took as his mate?”

“Yes, Clan Chief.”

Kieran Soto looked at Claire with delight. The longer he studied her, the more pleased he seemed. H approached with a warm smile and said kindly, “Welcome. I’m the chief of the eagle clan and Rufus’s dad.”

Claire suddenly felt as nervous as if she were meeting a boyfriend’s parents for the first une She hurriedly greeted Kieran.

Chapter 265 father Figure

“Hello, Mr. Soto!

“Why are you calling me Mr. Soto? Just call me Kieran. There’s no need to be so formal. You can think of me as a father figure. And yes, that feather in your hair definitely belongs to Rufus. I’d recognize it anywhere. You really are his mate!”

Claire hadn’t expected the feather Rufus had given her to serve any purpose beyond looking beautiful.

She had been worried that without Rufus there, the eagle clan might think she was an impostor trying to deceive them.

“O-okay, Kieran. I’m Claire. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

No one in the Beast World had ever told her she could look to him as a father before. Hearing it now brought an unexpected lump to her throat.

Had the original Claire’s father still been alive, perhaps she would have known what it felt like to be loved by a father too.

Kieran looked at the group behind her in surprise.

“Why didn’t Rufus come back with you? Did that brat run off again?”

Claire covered her mouth with a small laugh. Knowing this wasn’t the place for a long explanation, she quickly replied, “I’ll explain everything once we’re settled.”

Kieran immediately ushered them inside.

“Of course. Come in and get settled first!”

Kieran walked ahead, with Claire half a step behind as he led them into the valley.

Towering trees blocked out much of the sky, casting broad shadows across the ground.

Wooden houses had been built among the branches. They were safely out of reach of snakes, insects, and rodents on the ground, while also sitting close to the flowers and fruit growing in the canopy, near enough to pick by hand.

“Does everyone in the eagle clan live in tree houses like these? They look wonderful!”

”

“Of course. Most of our clan are eagles, but we also have other bird beastfolk, butterfly beastfolk, and dragonfly beastfolk. Everyone here has wings and can fly. Tree houses are safer and more convenient for

us.”

As he spoke, a pair of wings emerged from his back. Their color and shape were almost identical to Rufus’s, though they were slightly shorter.

Kieran was also a gyrfalcon beastfolk.

With one light beat of his wings, he flew up to the balcony of a tree house and waved down at Claire and

the others.

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Chapter 265 father Figure

“So that’s how everyone gets into the tree houses. No wonder the trunks are so smooth and don’t even have vines hanging from them. They don’t need any!” Claire whispered to Zane.

Zane nodded. Even he couldn’t jump directly to that height: He would need to push off the trunk several times to reach it.

Kieran soon flew back down and continued leading them deeper into the valley.

Behind them, Marcus took a few steps, stopped, then took a few more, patiently matching their