forget about getting the stars

"You tell me, why did you deliberately anger Beauty?" Liam asked Angus, glaring at him with fierce intensity.

Angus merely cast him a cold stare without responding.

"I know you are stronger than me, but I won't hesitate to fight you. Stop making her sad! You are still surviving well now only because Beauty has a soft heart. You should stop hurting her!" Liam warned, gritting his teeth together.

"Shouldn't you focus on getting the stars for her?" Angus's cold voice echoed. "She's safe here with me; you can go."

Liam's eyes widened, and his anger calmed a bit. "If I come back and find out that you have hurt Beauty, I will definitely kill you, even if it costs my life!"

Angus looked at Liam with a mocking expression. "I don't have time to chitchat with you. Go first and everything else will be decided after you come back alive."

"You... Very well, then!" Liam gritted his teeth and stormed out.

Right after Liam left, Angus's expression turned extremely cold. He hissed, and various snakes emerged from nowhere. "Go to the border, feed on anyone with the intention to harm Angel!" he commanded, and the snakes hissed in response before darting off in different directions at high speed.

....

Lily stood outside the hut, admiring the beautiful surroundings. "With this calm look, this environment is not bad; it's full of nature," she smiled.

"Beautiful sister!" Berry's voice echoed beside Lily.

Lily looked around and found Berry, whose chest and hips were covered in leaves. She was holding a well-made basket with seven little kittens inside. "Are these your children?" Lily asked.

Berry nodded proudly. "I told you I already have children."

Lily smiled and gazed at the kittens, who had similar green eyes to Berry's, looking cute and adorable. "Can I touch them?" she inquired.

Before Berry could reply, the kittens meowed in unison, seemingly excited to see her.

"Ah, it seems like they like you. You can hold them," Berry replied, handing the basket to Lily.

Lily took the basket and warmly cradled the kittens. They meowed in satisfaction, closing their eyes and enjoying the gentle touches.

"They really like you. You are truly magical for them to be so obedient under your hand," Berry chuckled.

Lily smiled beautifully. "They are really cute," she commented lovingly. "By the way, I haven't seen your mates since I arrived. I hope I'm not the cause of their disappearance."

Berry sighed. "That Mele anaconda of yours chased them away, but no worries; they are nearby. This is the Cat Tribe, after all." She flashed a sweet smile.

Lily nodded. "So we are in the Cat Tribe," she thought. "Are you a doctor here?" she asked.

Berry wore a puzzled expression. "What do you mean by 'doctor'?"

"Oops, I forgot that their understanding of specific words is limited here in this world. I meant a life saver, a healer," she clarified.

"I see. I'm not one, as I don't like the title, but I know a lot about medicine. Apart from the male tiger, I'm the only one who knows about it," Berry replied.

"That male tiger you're talking about is called Ewan?" Lily asked.

"Oh, you know him?"

Lily nodded. "He's a friend of mine," she responded.

Berry looked at Lily and flashed her a meaningful smile.

"Stop looking at me like that! We're really just friends," Lily's face flushed slightly.

"That fox male—why don't you consider him? Is he not to your liking, or is it because his strength is only at level three?" Berry inquired.

Lily found the question hard to answer. "His strength is level three; he's quite strong," she replied.

"Then you don't accept him because he's not to your liking?" Berry pressed.

Lily felt tongue-tied and unsure how to respond. "Why don't we skip this chapter?" she suggested with a sweet smile.

Berry sighed. "Since you don't care about him, then it's pointless telling you something big I overheard and it's relate to him."

Lily's heart skipped a bit as she looked at Berry. "Please tell me," she urged, sounding desperate.

"I thought you didn't like him, so it seemed pointless to share if you had no interest," Berry replied.

"Well... I…I promise to teach you the reverse cowgirl style! Please tell me," she pleaded, inwardly cursing Liam for putting her in this position.

Berry's eyes widened in surprise. "Really!"

"I promise," Lily reiterated.

"Well... I heard him talking about going to get a star for you. Beautiful sister, going to the sky to get a single star is very risky; it can even cost his life."

Lily gritted her teeth together. "Why are these two just not afraid of death! I thought he was only flattering me; I didn't expect him to be so serious," she thought. "Why on earth is it that they could only think of getting the star to please their mate, huh?" She asked, clenching her teeth in anger.

Berry chuckled at seeing Lily's reaction. "It's in the legend that the ruler of the Lion Tribe fought against nature's law and went to the sky to get a star for his beloved to prove how much he loves her. Well, he went there and came back alive, but only after seven repeated cycles of seven blood moons. He wasn't the same as the one everyone knew anymore, and he lasted only a few hours before he died. His actions and love touched everyone, proving his immense strength. Since then, females have demanded stars from their mates, and males have taken the initiative to give their female mates a star to prove their worth. This incident isn't a secret; it's rather strange that you don't know about it."

Lily took a deep breath. "Very well!" She gritted her teeth, handed the little cats back to Berry, and entered.

Feeling the warmth they were getting was gone, the cats began meowing in displeasure, giving Berry a hard time as she tried to coax them.

...…

Lily was pacing back and forth. "Sure enough, am I really in love?" She sat on the stone bed. "If Berry hadn't overheard him and hinted to me, he would really go! Must he be sincere with all he says!" She ran her hand through her hair in frustration.

"Beauty!" Liam's voice echoed.

"Come here!" Lily's hot voice rang out.

Immediately, Liam rushed over to Lily. "Beauty, please don't be angry, okay? Please don't be angry," he pleaded, his worry evident.

Lily stared into Liam's sincere eyes, and the memories of their time together replayed in her mind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Compared to that non-human Lu Chen, he's far more better than him," she thought.

"Liam, if I agree to let you be my mate, would you abandon the idea of getting the star for me?" she asked, locking her sober clear blue eyes with his.