The Villainess Winning Back Her Beast Husbands-Chapter 48: He Seemed to Be Acting Spoiled

Those words seemed to break some unspoken taboo.

Rhys Finch’s breathing suddenly grew ragged, and the last shred of reason in his eyes was torn to pieces.

He suddenly grabbed Evangeline’s wrist and pinned her against the stark white Bone Bed. The jagged beast bones dug painfully into her spine. When his scorching lips pressed down, the force was so great that Evangeline tasted blood.

It was no gentle touch, but a searing brand, like a wild beast sinking its teeth into its prey.

Rhys Finch’s arm circled her waist tightly while his other hand clamped onto the back of her neck, his grip unyielding. Evangeline’s brow furrowed. "Maybe we should eat the roast chicken first?" she murmured.

Rhys Finch paid her no mind.

The flickering light on the stone wall stretched their overlapping shadows into distorted shapes. The sound of their heavy, mingled breaths filled the air.

As his sharp, snow-white teeth grazed her collarbone, Evangeline suddenly felt a heavy weight settle over her.

The shadow projected on the wall stretched and expanded, transforming into a giant beast!

Evangeline’s eyes widened, meeting Rhys Finch’s glowing Beast Eyes. She suddenly remembered something very important.

In the ancient laws of the Beastman Continent, creating new life required undergoing the most primitive ritual—the female needed to withstand the male’s power in his full beast form.

Evangeline’s mouth twitched. ’He’s so big, and I’m so small. Does it really have to be this twisted?’

Just as her body tensed, that fluffy, snow-white tail gently wrapped around her ankle.

The fur at the tip of his tail was unexpectedly soft. His Beast Eyes stared at her, warm breath brushed against her neck, and an inscrutable purr rumbled in his throat, as if he were trying to be endearing.

"Just bear with it."

A deep, lingering voice sounded. Before Evangeline could react, a sharp pain struck.

She suddenly thought, ’Maybe giving him my heart’s blood would have been better.’

Evangeline’s fingertips dug deep into the fur on Rhys Finch’s back, the sensation fluffy yet wild.

She was like a small boat in a storm, tossed to the highest peak by a monstrous wave only to be plunged into The Abyss.

*

For two whole days, Evangeline was lost to the tides.

On the third day, Rhys Finch finally stopped and shifted back to his human form. It wasn’t that he wanted to stop, but the Beastmen of the tribe were shouting outside, "Leader, the High Priest is here!"

The lines of Rhys Finch’s back were sleek and taut. He lowered his gaze to the listless Evangeline, his narrow eyes holding an inexplicable softness. He took a snow-white beast skin and covered her with it, saying in a low voice, "I’ll be back soon."

With that, Rhys Finch strode away.

Evangeline lay on her back on the Bone Bed, feeling utterly wrung out.

’I’ve finally won him over,’ she thought, ’but who knew the process itself would be the hardest part?’

Hearing the commotion outside, Evangeline winced as she sat up. She pulled various remedies from her personal storage space and applied them. The cool, soothing ointment worked instantly, and her vitality returned.

She sighed in relief. ’It’s a good thing I have my cheat abilities. Otherwise, there’s no way I could have survived that. I would have been torn to pieces.’

Once outside the hut, Evangeline didn’t see a single Beastman. Judging by the noise, they had all gathered at the entrance to the tribe. She didn’t hesitate, hurrying in that direction. ’I wonder what kind of medicine the High Priest has,’ she thought.

Just as she reached the entrance, she was met with the sight of a massive crowd of Beastmen kneeling on the ground.

Their backs were hunched as they held obsidian-black Beast Crystals high above their heads, arms trembling in the wind. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but these dark crystals, emitting a suffocating glow amidst the swirling yellow sand.

Evangeline’s brow twitched, and she immediately spotted Rhys Finch standing at the very front of the crowd.

He stood proudly among the kneeling Beastmen, as straight and tall as a spear, his long, silver-white hair whipping wildly in the sandy wind.

Before him stood a group of people led by the High Priest himself—a stooped figure in a black robe, his withered fingers clutching a White Bone Staff. He was speaking with Rhys Finch.

Evangeline paused, then walked forward.

Before she got close, she heard Rhys Finch’s displeased voice: "Why has the number of Beast Crystals for this month increased again?"

The High Priest cackled coldly. "Chief of Wyndsong, if you think it’s too much, you don’t have to pay. The Wyndsong Tribe aren’t the only ones who want this medicine. I’m just curious... your face, Chief of Wyndsong. Last month it was rotting away, but this month it’s suddenly healed? Could it be you used some kind of... treasure?"

Rhys Finch’s narrow, fox-like eyes glinted with cold indifference. He smiled faintly. "High Priest, you’re overthinking it. I just hunted a Sand Lynx and applied some of its fat to my face. It’s nothing worth mentioning."

The High Priest didn’t press the matter, his voice raspy. "Ten Beast Crystals per person. Not one less."

Rhys Finch’s gaze turned cold, a savage aura swirling in the depths of his eyes.

Ravening Wolf, who was at his side, suddenly spoke up, "Ch-Chief, it’s only right for the High Priest to demand Beast Crystals. We’ll give them, we’ll give them!"

The corners of Rhys Finch’s eyes turned crimson. Suddenly, his whole body went rigid as pain spread rapidly, eating away at his flesh and bone.

"Chief?" Ravening Wolf called out again.

Suddenly, a gruesome crack of shifting bone echoed from Rhys Finch’s spine. He slammed onto one knee in the sand, his waterfall of silver hair spilling forward and obscuring his dangerously beautiful face. He trembled violently, cold sweat dripping into the dust.

"Hngh..." The gasp forced from Rhys Finch’s throat was tinged with the scent of blood. A spiderweb of CRACKLING fractures spread out from his spine.

The High Priest watched this scene with cold eyes, then suddenly smiled. "How unfortunate, Chief of Wyndsong. Is the backlash acting up?"

"Hmm... let me think. How about fifteen Beast Crystals per person instead?"

Ravening Wolf’s expression changed drastically, his face a mask of despair.

Rhys Finch, however, forced himself to look up, the fractured patterns on his face adding to his sinister air.

Traces of blood ran down his cheek, over his clavicle, and pooled in the hollow of his shoulder, forming a small, dark puddle.

Just as he was about to speak, a captivating voice cut in, laced with ridicule: "Fifteen Beast Crystals per person? Aren’t you afraid your appetite is so big you’ll eat until you burst?"

Rhys Finch’s expression changed instantly. He knit his brows and looked at Evangeline, fighting through the intense pain to bark, "Go back!"

The High Priest stared at Evangeline and suddenly let out a cold cackle. "A female?"

Evangeline stepped forward, supported Rhys Finch’s arm, and fed a pill into his mouth.

’She didn’t understand how painful the backlash was for a Fallen Beastman or how to cure it, but some principles were universal. Pain relief couldn’t be wrong. But could a curse-like backlash truly be suppressed with mere herbs?’

The pill entered his mouth and instantly dissolved into a liquid that flowed through his entire body. The intense pain subsided significantly.

Rhys Finch’s eyes were fixed on Evangeline. He suddenly realized he had still underestimated her.

"You hide your secrets well, Chief of Wyndsong," the High Priest said, watching the scene with a sinister smile.

He slowly approached Evangeline, his Bone Staff dragging a serpentine trail in the sand. "The little maiden who bites," he said eerily, "needs her fangs pulled before she can be truly likable."

As he spoke, the tip of the High Priest’s Bone Staff moved as if to lift a strand of Evangeline’s hair.

"Don’t touch her!"

Rhys Finch roared, one hand pressed to his chest, his silver hair stirring as if in an unfelt wind.

The black Star Pattern on his forehead suddenly flashed, like a demonic beast from The Abyss whose territory had been invaded.

The High Priest’s Bone Staff froze barely an inch from Evangeline’s hair. He glanced at Rhys Finch in surprise, his expression full of the kind of puzzlement one might have when looking at a lab rat. "You’re suffering from the backlash, yet you can still fight back?"