Chapter 586: Harems

"Even if I behave like this," Rachel purred from the bed. "You still won’t forsake my Tribe or me, will you?"

Liam glared at Rachel, but her pleased expression only intensified. She was right anyway. It took more than a few deviances to override his desire to protect.

’It’s just like Brother Lancelot touching my bottom,’ Liam tried to brainwash himself. ’Nothing more.’

"Don’t mistake me," Rachel warned as if reading Liam’s mind. "I am as surprised as you are. To think my true nature would be so indecent ..."

Rachel took a few deep breaths, composing herself, pulling the blanket over her to hide her wetness.

"You made me like this when you degraded me to mere prey," Rachel continued. "I am conquered. I have submitted down to my very soul. Unleash the beast and reap your spoils, for I am already branded as your mate."

’Is this punishment for comparing Melissa to boars?’ Liam cursed internally. Sadly for him, Rachel’s metaphors played right into what he often used to understand life and himself.

Still, despite the unbelievable development, Liam had long since shed off his hesitation. He didn’t need to review his situation to know where he stood.

"Rachel, I am sorry," Liam declared. "I will keep siding with the Dark Heaven Tribe and working toward its well-being. I will protect it, including you, but I can’t have this relationship with you, nor will I stand for it."

Grace had used a similar approach, but by then, Liam had already felt attracted to her. His instincts had warned him they were something more before his brain could make peace with that reality.

Yet, Liam was a different man now. The life shared with Grace had changed him down to his most basic perspective. No matter what the future had in store, he imagined her at his side.

"I understand," Rachel responded, almost giving Liam hope, before shattering it right away. "If that’s your will, I shall obey it."

That didn’t sound like understanding at all since it still played into the master-servant relationship, but Liam put the matter aside. Such a compromise was already a great result.

"Though I wonder for how long this will last," Rachel grinned. "Having me subservient at your side, ready for you, always within reach as the weeks turn into months and years."

Movement happened under the blanket, which Liam’s superhuman senses forced him to study, missing the chance to address that statement.

"I’m too young and beautiful," Rachel exclaimed. "My feelings are still immature, but I’ll learn to love you better than her as we grow together, and you me."

’What does beauty have to do with any of that?’ Liam wondered. ’Is she just boasting now?’

"She is ahead," Rachel continued. "For now. I am the conquered, so I must accept that I can’t own you, at least not yet. In time, I will become your favorite, until you desire only me."

"Is this really what you want?" Liam genuinely wondered. "To chase a taken man? Sharing him in the hope of claiming him?"

Liam was asking that question for himself. He knew his perspective, but not Grace’s or Melissa’s, and he would have to tackle the issue if he ever found the latter.

"What’s wrong with that?" Rachel bluntly asked. "Concubines have flocked around great men since the dawn of time, many becoming more treasured than the official wives. It’s not even limited to men."

Liam shot a frown at Rachel, and she seemed to understand something from his confusion.

"Senior Laurel’s harem is famous even among Sects," Rachel giggled. "Rumors say she sells her men only after they get their first wrinkle."

The image of Laurel, a mighty high-stage branching expert with the appearance of a thin, wrinkled old woman, surrounded by young men popped into Liam’s mind, and nothing he had learned in his life had prepared him to process it.

Still, the matter clearly involved cultural differences. Even Grace had spoken about the harem her Clan’s Patriarch had as if it were normal.

"But what about your father?" Liam questioned.

"One of the Tribe’s vaults has frozen statues of every woman who tried to approach Father dear," Rachel revealed. "Don’t worry. I didn’t inherit my noble Mother’s jealousy, and it sounds exciting to fight another for your pleasure, watching her despair as you continue seeking me."

"I will marry my partner," Liam flatly rejected, giving up on the matter. "And she will have my children. It’s also better if you don’t get too close to me."

"How can someone who kills so easily also be so protective?" Rachel pouted, a deep breath following. "Why do even your hurtful words make my belly flutter?"

"Finish changing already," Liam sighed. "I need to resume hunting."

The rustling was none other than Rachel changing her damp underwear, which Liam had been cursed to notice despite the blanket’s cover.

"I’m picking a color," Rachel said. "Should I do it in the open? It may be embarrassing, but I’ll do everything you ask. I’m also educated on popular dances."

Liam turned a deaf ear to the matter, even turning away when Rachel jumped off the bed, worried she might be naked. Luckily, she wasn’t, sort of. When she arrived at his side, her attire was as revealing as always.

"Though Big Brother feels distant now, too," Rachel whined, pointing her puppy eyes at Liam. "Can’t little Sister have a special name for him? She would even accept a collar with his brand."

Liam made a mental note of hanging out with Uriah as much as possible, but salvation came in a surprising shape. He stretched an arm over Rachel as soon as the underground hall started shaking, the tremors soon turning into a raging earthquake.

Cracks appeared on the ceiling, and debris started to fall, but Liam summoned his backup tablet before it could shatter, undoing the hall.

A proper cave-in started, but the rocky layer above erupted when Liam jumped through it, his mere presence preventing any dirt from landing on him. Rachel hung from his arm, carried by her waist like a mere sack, but his gaze was on the sky.

"Outsider!" Andrew shouted while floating in the sky. "Did you think the Invincible Oasis Tribe would have let you-?"

"Oh, yes, thank you!" Liam exclaimed, interrupting the threat, casually throwing Rachel away. "Please, please, let’s kill each other. I can’t deal with women anymore."