Chapter 431 - 429: You Are Mine

Chapter 431: Chapter 429: You Are Mine

The delicate, soft feeling of her waist lingered on Jiao Yin’s fingertips. Watching her turn her face away, the fluttering in his heart felt like it had been doused with a bucket of cold water.

Bai Wanwan deliberately ignored the gaze that remained fixed on her.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand; she understood all too well.

A powerful and handsome male like Jiao Yin could easily capture the heart of any female.

But Bai Wanwan used her reason to suppress the budding trace of affection.

’Chou Rong, Xin Feng, Zhu Xiu, Yin Ze, Jin Yi, Yan Lie... They must be incredibly anxious, searching everywhere for me.’

She already had their love; she couldn’t be greedy for more.

She couldn’t help but stroke the totems on her wrist, her gaze turning incredibly gentle.

Jiao Yin saw this. She so gently stroked the totems of her mates. ’If... my Merfolk beast form could also appear on her body...’

At the thought, a rush of heat surged through him, and his heart filled with envy for her Beast Husbands.

And so, whenever Jiao Yin appeared near the area where she and Jiao Yue played, Bai Wanwan would make an excuse about being tired or needing rest, hastily pulling Jiao Yue back to her crystal room in a deliberate effort to avoid him.

Once, then twice... Jiao Yin keenly sensed her avoidance.

He watched her retreating figure, and the gentle smile in his eyes gradually faded.

’Is she afraid of me? Or... does she loathe me?’

This thought made him feel inexplicably irritable.

Time flowed by quietly in the ocean currents.

The swell of Bai Wanwan’s belly became more and more obvious, and the baby’s kicks grew more frequent.

Before being abducted by Roger, she was already pregnant with Chou Rong’s cub.

She was still waiting for her Beast Husbands to come get her, to return to the Tiger Clan to give birth to this tiger cub.

However, half a month passed. She waited with desperate anticipation, but there was still no news whatsoever from her Beast Husbands!

Overcome with anxiety, she finally went to find Jiao Yin.

Jiao Yin was reviewing a scroll concerning the latest movements of the Crocodylus porosus Clan.

Bai Wanwan summoned her courage and approached. "Jiao Yin..."

Jiao Yin looked up. Seeing it was her, he put down the scroll and his gaze softened.

"What brings you here? Is something wrong?"

He knew she was avoiding him; she would never come looking for him unless something was the matter.

His gaze subtly swept over her swollen belly. Although Bai Wanwan intentionally avoided him, he still saw her often, watching her belly grow larger day by day.

He couldn’t help but wonder which Beast Husband this cub belonged to.

"It’s been half a month," Bai Wanwan said, trying to keep her voice calm. "By the shore... is there any sign of my Beast Husbands? Or have the Merfolk you sent out sent back any news?"

Jiao Yin’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He, too, found the matter strange.

He had sent out Merfolk he trusted; by all rights, they should have reached the Tiger Clan Tribe long ago and brought back news.

But to this day, there had been no word, and even the scouts he had dispatched hadn’t found any trace of them in the surrounding waters.

"Not yet," he answered truthfully, his voice low.

His answer was like a bucket of cold water poured over her head.

Bai Wanwan’s eyes instantly filled with disappointment and... a flicker of suspicion.

She looked at Jiao Yin’s handsome yet placid face as a terrible thought surfaced uncontrollably. ’Could it be... he never sent anyone at all? Is he just like Roger, trying to trap me here?’

Though the suspicion in her eyes was fleeting, it didn’t escape Jiao Yin’s keen gaze.

A bitter, indescribable pang shot through his heart.

Jiao Yin put down the scroll, stood up from his Coral chair, and said, "I’ll take you out to look myself."

The open honesty in his eyes made Bai Wanwan feel ashamed of her petty suspicions.

"I’m sorry... Jiao Yin. I shouldn’t have doubted you. But it’s been so long, and I haven’t seen my Beast Husbands, so my mind started racing."

Hearing her apology smoothed over the hurt he’d just been feeling, like being soothed by warm spring water.

’She’s pregnant and stranded. It’s only natural for her to be worried and uneasy.’

"Don’t be afraid! You helped me, and I will never hurt you." He softened his voice as much as he could. "I will also personally see you returned to your Beast Husbands."

His eyes, glowing with a faint blue light, were incredibly convincing.

Bai Wanwan breathed a sigh of relief and let him lead her as they swam slowly toward the surface.

Soon, they emerged onto a secluded stretch of reef.

The sea breeze rushed to meet them, carrying the salty tang of the sea. Bai Wanwan greedily breathed in the long-missed air, unfiltered by water, her eyes eagerly scanning the coastline for a familiar figure.

However, she didn’t find her Beast Husbands. Instead, she found herself the subject of two unwelcome stares.

In the dense forest not far away, a pair of fiery fox eyes were staring fixedly in their direction.

Hua Han had never truly left this sea, like a persistent hound, searching day after day for any trace of Bai Wanwan.

He never thought he’d actually succeed in waiting for her to appear. And there she was—the female—but beside her stood an unfamiliar, powerful Merfolk male.

But a more dangerous presence emanated from the shadows of a rugged cliff on the other side.

Roger hadn’t left either. The gunshot wound on his shoulder was healing slowly under the corrosion of Dark Energy, leaving a hideous scar that constantly reminded him of that day’s humiliation.

He had swept the entire region in a thorough search, never once considering giving up.

Until Bai Wanwan’s scent appeared again! Like a shark smelling blood, he immediately locked onto his target.

Bai Wanwan and Jiao Yin had just stepped off the reef when Roger’s figure appeared like an apparition, suddenly blocking their path back to the sea!

His face was pale; he clearly looked as though he was only just recovering from a severe injury.

His handsome features were twisted with paranoia and darkness. He glared fixedly at Jiao Yin and at Bai Wanwan behind him, his voice as hoarse as rubbing sandpaper. "Bai Wanwan, you’ve finally come out."

Jiao Yin took a step forward, completely shielding Bai Wanwan behind him.

"Give her back to me!" His glare was so intense it was as if he wanted to eat Jiao Yin alive.

Jiao Yin’s expression hardened. Water vapor swirled around him as he released his powerful aura. "In your dreams!"

Peeking out from behind Jiao Yin’s broad back, Bai Wanwan snapped at Roger, "Roger! Scram, if you don’t want to die! Wasn’t the lesson you learned last time enough? How many more of those attacks do you think you can take?"

She was trying to scare him off with the threat of the laser gun.

Roger’s gaze swept over Bai Wanwan, carrying bone-deep love and hatred, as well as a trace of well-hidden fear.

’That bizarre weapon had nearly cost me my life,’ he thought. ’If it hadn’t been for the Dark Energy, I might never have been able to stand before her again.’

"Bai Wanwan," he said through gritted teeth, his eyes holding a desperate, do-or-die madness. "Even if you kill me, I’ll never let you go! You can only be mine!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when thick Dark Energy erupted from him again. Like a venomous python lunging at its prey, he charged ferociously toward Jiao Yin!