Chapter 276: I Have a Youngling?
Hecate let out a high-pitched hiss, and the Corrosive Swarm warriors waiting outside immediately flocked behind her.
The Blade-Wing Insectoid warriors drew a sharp breath, glancing cautiously at The Everwake. Before he could even speak, they had already moved to shield him and Evangeline, facing off against The Corrosive Swarm. The air crackled with tension.
The Everwake shot Evangeline a cold look before turning away. His magnificent Feather Wings shimmered with a fluorescent glow.
He swept his gaze coolly over Hecate and said calmly, "The Ferocious Beast was an accident. Return."
With that, he strode on his long legs toward The Hive. The Parasite Swarm was watching greedily; he didn’t want a confrontation with Evangeline to give them an opening.
Hecate acted as if she hadn’t heard him. Her eyes were fixed on Evangeline, who stood behind The Everwake.
’She hadn’t noticed this female before. Now, meeting her long, beautiful eyes, a potent sense of crisis washed over her. She knew The Everwake’s disposition—he never involved himself with females, almost as if he harbored a deep-seated aversion to them. But just now, he had actually protected that female. The raw, primal instinct he’d shown left her deeply unsettled.’
’Hecate’s heart leaped into her throat as murderous intent flared within her. In that moment, she forgot all about becoming his mate or fending off The Parasite Swarm. She only wanted one thing: to kill the female who made her feel so threatened.’
The Everwake had already walked several paces, but when Hecate didn’t move, he glanced back. His gray eyes landed on hers, and he saw the murderous intent churning within them.
His brows furrowed, and his voice was laced with violence as he snarled, "Hecate!"
Hearing his thin, cold voice, Hecate faltered. This was the first time she had ever heard him speak her name.
Hecate took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her murderous urges. She strode forward and, right in front of Evangeline, took The Everwake’s arm. She then shot a provocative glance over her shoulder.
She pulled her lips into a smirk and said softly, "I’ll do whatever you say. Come on, let’s go back."
The Everwake’s body went rigid, but he neither dodged her touch nor pushed her away.
’Since things with Evangeline were impossible, there was no point in leaving any room for ambiguity. This was for the best.’ As The Everwake mulled this over, his expression grew even colder.
’Hecate breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a smug satisfaction. It seemed she had been overthinking things. To think The Everwake would forsake his power for a female from outside the Triangle Abyss... Hah. She, Hecate, was the one most suited for him.’
Evangeline watched their departing figures in silence. ’They make a good pair, actually,’ she thought.
Suddenly, a young, choked voice shattered the silence of The Hive. "Father—"
The voice was sharp and fractured, as if the cry had taken every ounce of the child’s strength.
"Father! Are you going to abandon me and Mother again?!"
The Everwake froze mid-stride as a sharp, piercing pain shot through him. Though his rational mind told him it was impossible, his body betrayed his will, turning uncontrollably toward the sound.
The small figure was cradled in the arms of that blasted snake, perched atop a colossal creature that his warriors regarded as a Ferocious Beast.
The child’s skin was pale, as white as the snows beyond the Triangle Abyss. Beneath damp lashes, a pair of seven-colored, glass-like eyes shimmered as if they’d been washed with water. The butterfly marking on his cheek was a perfect replica of his own, only smaller and more delicate.
Right now, his small, crimson mouth was a perfect ’O,’ revealing a few new milk teeth as he wailed his heart out.
’A beautiful child.’
"Sob... Father... Father... Don’t leave... don’t leave Genesis..." The child’s small body trembled uncontrollably, his face flushed red. Every breath was a shuddering sob as he desperately reached his small hands out toward him.
The Everwake’s breath caught in his throat. His eyes were locked on the child cradled in Thorne’s arms, unblinking.
’The child who looked so much like him.’
A series of sharp gasps rippled through the crowd. Warriors from both the Blade-Wing Insectoids and the Corrosive Swarm stared at Genesis in utter disbelief. How could The Everwake suddenly have a child?
Indeed, no one could doubt the boy’s parentage. The resemblance was uncanny; they looked as though they were carved from the same mold.
Hecate’s eyes were also fixed on Genesis. Her grip on The Everwake’s arm tightened abruptly, her nails digging into his flesh. Her face was a ghastly mix of colors as she hissed, "Don’t go! I am the Queen of The Swarm! I can give you countless children!"
’The Swarm was famous for its fertility. She could give The Everwake countless heirs. He didn’t need this one!’
The Everwake seemed deaf to her words. He could only stare at the child’s tear-streaked face as a convulsive ache seized his heart.
He took a few steps forward, his reason seemingly erased. All his emotions converged, bursting forth like a broken dam and flooding his vision. A scarlet hue tainted his seven-colored compound eyes, and a suffocating pressure threatened to crush him.
’A child... He had a child?’
The Everwake took several more steps before stopping just short of Evangeline.
He stared at the child, the corners of his eyes turning red. His low, cold voice was laced with a thread of fury. "Evangeline, how dare you!"
’How dare she bear his child and only let him find out now?’
’How dare she let another male hold his child in his arms?’
’How dare she... confront him with this, so completely unprepared?’
The Everwake’s chest heaved with a sour, churning bitterness that rose in his throat until he could almost taste blood. His expression went blank for a moment, then twisted into a self-mocking smile. His lips parted and closed several times, but in the end, he swallowed the questions that weighed on his heart.
’What right did he have to question her?’
’He was the one who left that night. He hadn’t said a single word to her. Whether it was out of fear of her scorn, fear of his own weakening resolve, or for some other reason, he had left. So how could he dare to ask these questions now?’
’He had missed his child’s birth. He had missed him growing up. He had missed so, so much.’
’But she knew. She knew he had been abandoned because of his weakness, that he had ended up in the Oasis Tribe and suffered so much. He had sworn he never wanted a child in his life, unsure if he could ever be a good father.’
’But he had also fantasized... what if he did become a father?’
’He would give his child the best life. He would hunt the most tender prey and find the sweetest fruits for him. Even if he knew nothing, he would raise him well, ensuring he grew up forever happy and joyful.’
’He would give his child the best of everything, so he would never have to experience the pain and torment his own father had endured.’
’And now?’
’His fantasy had come true, but the first words his child ever spoke to him were a plea not to be abandoned... ’
That desperate, heart-wrenching cry was like The Swarm gnawing at his flesh. The Everwake felt a pain worse than death, a torment thousands of times more excruciating than when he had first broken free from his chrysalis. ’His child... his own child thought he had forsaken him, abandoned him.’
Thorne sensed the turbulent storm of emotions raging within The Everwake. He sneered and stepped forward, still holding Genesis. "What? Regretting it now? Weren’t you the one who abandoned Eva? The one who almost let her die in the rainy season?"
