Chapter 620 - 617: The Beauty Trap Fails

Chapter 620: Chapter 617: The Beauty Trap Fails

Hua Han’s heart warmed at her soft words and warm breath. He nodded in a daze. Though still reluctant, he finally relented. "Then... then you have to keep your word. Come back soon..."

Having placated him, Bai Wanwan turned to look at Zhu Xiu.

Zhu Xiu was also staring at her. Bai Wanwan immediately flashed him a sweet smile, but with her other Beast Husbands watching, she didn’t do anything more.

That night, after bathing, she went to Zhu Xiu’s room on her own, carrying the fresh, sweet scent of her bath.

Zhu Xiu stood facing the window, lost in thought. The dim, yellow lamplight outlined the stern lines of his face.

He heard the sound but didn’t even glance back.

"Ahem!" Bai Wanwan cleared her throat pointedly.

Zhu Xiu turned around. "I won’t agree. It’s no use coming to me."

Bai Wanwan walked straight over and threw herself into his arms.

Her soft, supple body pressed tightly against him.

"Still angry?" Her voice was soft as her fingertips caressed the back of his tense hand.

Zhu Xiu didn’t pull his hand away, but he didn’t respond either.

"If I’m angry, will you decide not to go?" Zhu Xiu lowered his gaze to her, his deep-set eyes filled with unrelenting worry.

"Don’t be angry..." Bai Wanwan whispered with a sigh. She leaned in closer, her warm breath brushing against the sensitive skin on the side of his neck.

Her other hand rose, fingertips gently tracing his sharp jawline.

She said nothing more. Her fingertips slid down his jaw, traced over his bobbing Adam’s apple, and finally came to rest at his collar.

Her movements were slow, her nail grazing the skin beneath his collar as if by accident.

Zhu Xiu’s breathing grew heavier. He grabbed her mischievous hand. "Wanwan, this won’t work either."

"Is that so?"

She rose onto her tiptoes, her soft lips taking the place of her fingertips. Feather-light, she pressed a kiss to his Adam’s apple.

Zhu Xiu sucked in a sharp breath, his Adam’s apple bobbing uncontrollably.

She could feel every muscle in his body tense in an instant, like a fully drawn bow storing up terrifying power.

His hand shot up—not to push her away, but to seize her slender wrist.

His eyes were as dark as undiluted ink, a visible storm of desire churning within them. His gaze locked onto hers, and his voice was impossibly hoarse. "I said it’s useless..."

’Besides, she just gave birth.’

Bai Wanwan tilted her face up, her eyes shimmering with an almost innocent allure. Far from pulling away, she gently rubbed her captured wrist against his scorching palm.

Her other hand grew bolder, slipping inside his slightly open collar to press against his firm, scorching chest, feeling his heart hammer like a drum.

"I know you’re worried about my safety..." she whispered again, her voice muffled. "But the Elephant Clan’s Clan Leader has a noble status. If I can save him, our two clans will be on friendly terms, and we’ll all be safer. Besides, if I go, I can also identify some of the controlled Beastmen in the Elephant Clan."

After speaking, without waiting to see if he’d taken it in, her kisses fell once more, teasing along the tense line of his neck in an attempt to melt his resolve.

Zhu Xiu’s breathing was ragged. He craved her. Every cell in his body screamed to answer her advances.

However, the last dregs of his reason desperately reined in his nearly uncontrollable desire.

’I can’t!’

Just as Bai Wanwan thought he was about to surrender, Zhu Xiu squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again, though the tide of passion had yet to recede, a sliver of forced clarity had returned.

His grip on her wrist slowly loosened. Then, with immense willpower, he gently pushed her a small distance away. His voice was still raspy with unspent passion. "Go to sleep..."

With that, he walked over to the bed and started preparing it for sleep.

Bai Wanwan stood there, dumbfounded. When Zhu Xiu finished making the bed and saw her still standing in the same spot, he walked over, scooped her up by the waist, and placed her on the bed.

A moment later, he climbed into bed himself, but didn’t touch her at all.

With the matter still weighing on her mind, Bai Wanwan couldn’t possibly sleep, seeing him genuinely acting celibate, like he was preparing to become a monk.

She couldn’t resist reaching out to poke his waist.

She poked him. His waist was hard as a rock, but he gave no reaction.

She couldn’t resist poking him again.

Zhu Xiu suddenly rolled onto his side to face her, speaking through gritted teeth. "Wanwan, if you keep provoking me, then once you’ve recovered, begging for mercy won’t do you any good."

With that, he pulled over the animal-hide blanket and carefully wrapped it around her exposed shoulders until not a sliver of her pale skin was visible.

"Sleep."

"Then hold me while we sleep."

Zhu Xiu took a shallow breath, using immense willpower to restrain his desire as he reached out and pulled her into his embrace.

Bai Wanwan looked at his tense profile and the vein throbbing at his temple, knowing just how much strength it was taking for him to restrain himself.

’My seduction failed!’

But she still had to press on.

"Think carefully about what I just said. You know I’m not like other females, and besides, all of you are Red Rank males now. I want to go, Zhu Xiu."

After she finished, she hugged his waist tightly and buried her face in his chest.

She could feel the heat still radiating from his body and the rapid beat of his heart, which had yet to fully calm.

Silence fell over the room. "Isn’t it nice to just stay in the tribe? I worry every time you leave."

"I know. That’s why I’ll be taking Yin Ze with me. If we encounter any danger, I promise I’ll have him get me away first."

Zhu Xiu took a shallow breath. He could see that his female had made up her mind and would not be swayed.

"Let’s sleep first."

Bai Wanwan had said everything she needed to. Now, Zhu Xiu just needed time to think it over.

She nodded and yawned. "Okay, let’s sleep."

Then she found a comfortable spot in his arms and, in moments, was sound asleep.

That night, Zhu Xiu barely slept a wink. The warm, fragrant woman in his arms was sweet torture, and he spent the entire night pondering the future for himself, for her, and for their cubs...

＊＊＊＊

The tribe was a hive of activity. To prepare for the long rainy season ahead, all the Beastmen were working at full capacity to stockpile food.

Over on Yin Mei’s side, even though she didn’t have many Beast Husbands of her own, the Phoenix Clan had sent several strong males to help. With plenty of manpower, things were progressing smoothly.

Shuang Hua’s situation, by contrast, was much quieter.

She didn’t have a single Beast Husband. Although Chou Rong gave her special consideration by ordering people to send her extra food—all because of her connection to Bai Wanwan—the actual chores, like processing game, curing meat, and drying fruit, she had to do almost entirely by herself.

However, the dirtiest and most tiring jobs were often completed in silence by the taciturn male, Qiu Gang, before she could even start on them.

Taking advantage of some free time before her trip, Bai Wanwan left the cubs at home in the care of her Beast Husbands, who took turns watching them. She brought Hua Han with her to help Shuang Hua make some long-lasting fruit jams and cured meats.

Jiao Yuan played with the cubs for a while, then went to look for his own female cub. He searched the whole house, but there was no sign of Wanwan.

He grabbed Yan Lie, who was passing by. "Where’s Wanwan?"

"She went to Aunt Shuang’s to help."

Jiao Yuan realized that since arriving at the Tiger Clan, his attention had been almost completely absorbed by Wanwan and the cubs.

He had wanted to find a chance to have a proper talk with Shuang Hua several times, but something always came up, and he had put it off until now.

’Perfect. I’ll go take a look.’