Natalie straightened herself and kneeled beside Gu Mengmeng. Hesitant and fearful, she still took Gu Mengmeng’s hand in hers, trembling the entire time. Her fingertips were icy and extremely bony. Despite their frailty, they held an undeniable sense of weight.
“Elvis suffered a lot when he was young. He never had a moment’s peace. He had to be cold and distant, to remain invulnerable. Otherwise, he would have died…”
“This created the flaws in his character. He is not like other males who can use sweet nothings to coax you. But his love for you is sincere.”
“Moreover, he is already a fifth-level beast. Even if you don’t like him, just going by the fact that he is a powerful fighter, don’t abandon him, okay?”
Natalie raised her eyes and gazed pleadingly at Gu Mengmeng. Her eyes were brimming with tears, as if they would spill over any time if Gu Mengmeng gave even the slightest shake of her head.
“This must be the first time you saw Elvis again after he was a month old… how do you know he loves me?” Gu Mengmeng asked gently.
Natalie was taken aback and lowered her head. “I…”
Gu Mengmeng continued. “Don’t you know? You said all that because of your maternal instincts. To protect him and not let him come to any harm. Whether or not he loves me, you don’t really care, right?”
Actually, Natalie could not completely deny Gu Mengmeng’s logic. This was because deep down inside, she really did think that.
But that was not the whole truth. Natalie was afraid that not only had she failed to help Elvis, she had instead brought trouble. Hence, she hurriedly explained. “A person’s eyes never lie. No matter how fierce his gaze is, it cannot conceal the gentleness within. He only had eyes for you all the way from start to end. You… are his entire world. He is just bad at expressing himself. Please, give him a chance. Even if you don’t shower affection upon him… just don’t abandon him.”
Gu Mengmeng tugged at her own collar and presented Elvis’ partner mark on her collarbone for Natalie to see. “Elvis is my first partner. I love him very much and will never abandon him. Moreover, I don’t think he looks at me fiercely at all. On the contrary, I see a deep, profound love in his eyes. He is a male who will sacrifice his own life for me. I can wholeheartedly place my entire life in his hands.”
Natalie was dumbstruck. She gazed at Gu Mengmeng for a long while, as her tears eventually trickled down.
Choking back her tears, she said, “You are truly the Messenger of the Beast Deity. Able to see through him more clearly than I can.”
Gu Mengmeng let go of her collar and hugged her own leg. She rested her face on her knee and looked sideways at Natalie. “So you do know some things after all.”
Natalie smiled bitterly, as if opening her heart for the first time.
“I have been imprisoned here for 17 years since he captured me. In these 17 years, I have seen too many examples of how the stray beasts treat the females they have snatched. The bloody scenes remain firmly etched in my mind’s eye. If I cannot see his protectiveness and concern towards me, I am not only foolish but also blind.”
Natalie continued to smile her bitter smile. Her tears flowed quietly as she struggled to compose herself. “But so what if I can see all that now? What has been done cannot be undone. My children are dead. My partners are dead. My entire tribe annihilated… and all that just because I failed to see the passion behind his savageness. Unwilling to give him a chance to express his love.”