Interstellar Beast World: All My Husbands Are Powerful and Rich!-Chapter 58: The truth

"Take my starrail," Dax said, his voice firm and unyielding, brooking no argument.

The faint glow of the dock lights caught in his eyes as he continued, "That way, Female Master Rory can travel in comfort—and without unnecessary risk. Once I’ve finished dealing with Sylas Ruan, I’ll come find you."

He didn’t wait for a response. With the decisiveness that had always defined him, Dax turned and strode away, his footsteps echoing briefly before fading into the hum of the station. There was no hesitation in his departure, no backward glance—only resolve.

As soon as he was gone, Jasper exhaled, the tension he hadn’t realized he was holding finally loosening its grip. He pivoted and headed upstairs, his pace measured but purposeful. Rory would need to be woken, and he knew she wouldn’t appreciate being rushed.

He stopped outside her door, lifting his hand. For a brief moment, he hesitated—then knocked.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Nothing.

Silence stretched, thick and expectant. Jasper waited, listening. After more than a minute, he heard it: the soft shuffle of footsteps, slow and uneven, approaching from inside. The door creaked open just enough for Rory to peer out, one eye barely open, the other squinting against the hallway light.

"Jasper...?" she murmured, her voice rough with sleep. "Do you need something?"

She yawned deeply, covering her mouth far too late, then leaned against the doorframe as though it were the only thing preventing her from sliding back into unconsciousness.

Her hair was flattened on one side from sleep, dark strands tangled and unruly, with a few rebellious wisps sticking up at odd angles. The sight gave her an endearingly disheveled, almost fragile look—unguarded in a way she rarely allowed herself to be.

Jasper swallowed.

A faint warmth lingered around her—clean, familiar, quietly intoxicating. It wasn’t just scent, not really, but something deeper, something that settled beneath the skin.

Therians carried the weight of ancient instincts in their blood, and for those of the Ophidian lineage, such impulses ran especially strong. Only the Dragon Kind were said to surpass them. Jasper felt the pull instinctively and forced himself to remain still, to remain civilized.

"Rory," he said at last, lowering his voice despite the empty corridor, "I want to take you to the Interstellar Hunter Alliance for a few days."

Her brow furrowed faintly as she tried to process his words through the haze of sleep.

"Would you like to go?"

"The Interstellar Hunter Alliance?" Rory blinked, suddenly far more awake. "Do we... do we have to leave right now?"

He nodded. "Yes. Pack a few essentials. We need to depart immediately."

The urgency in his tone made her pause. Suspicion flickered across her features.

"What about Dax?" she asked. "Isn’t he coming with us?"

"He has something important to handle," Jasper replied smoothly. "Once he’s done, he’ll meet us there."

Dax leaving so abruptly only confirmed her unease. Rory studied Jasper closely, eyes narrowing just a little.

"He rushed off without a word," she said. "Something happened, didn’t it? What’s going on?"

Jasper hesitated. He didn’t want to burden her with the truth about the Blood Moon—about the danger lurking behind it all.

"I don’t know the details," he said instead. "He received a message and had to leave."

"I see..."

Rory straightened, stepping fully out of her room. She raised her hand and lightly tapped her finger against his chest through his shirt.

The reaction was immediate.

A jolt shot through Jasper’s body, his breath hitching as though struck by lightning.

"R-Rory..." His pulse thundered, his throat tightening.

Amused by his flustered response, she slipped an arm around his neck, rose onto her toes, and brushed a kiss against the corner of his mouth.

For a split second, Jasper’s mind went completely blank.

It felt like something detonated inside his chest.

His heart raced so wildly he thought it might burst free.

She kissed me.

She actually kissed me.

"Ror—"

"Shh." She lifted a finger and gently pressed it to his lips. Her breath, warm and faintly mint-scented, brushed his ear as her lips skimmed along its edge. Her teeth caught his earlobe in a light, teasing pinch.

A sharp hiss escaped him.

Heat and sensation surged through his veins, nearly stealing his control entirely.

"Jasper," she said softly, her voice deceptively gentle, "tell me what Dax went to do. You’re both hiding something from me, aren’t you?"

Her words wrapped around him like a spell. His thoughts unraveled, and before he realized it, the truth slipped free.

"Rory... Dax went to deal with Sylas Ruan—and the Blood Moon," he confessed. "You don’t need to worry. We won’t let it drag you into this."

"Sylas Ruan?" Rory stepped back, frowning. "Blood Moon...?"

She thought for a moment, then recognition dawned.

"I’ve heard that name before."

She activated her light-brain, scrolling through old records until she found it—Sylas Ruan, listed among her earliest matches.

He had been the very first whose people had approached her to request a dissolution.

She looked back up at Jasper. "What’s going on with him? And what exactly is the Blood Moon?"

The warmth in Jasper’s arms faded as clarity snapped back into place. He stared at her, suddenly feeling both exposed and wronged.

She really used that on me to force the truth out...

He nearly surrendered again—but sheer willpower held him steady.

He explained everything carefully, deliberately omitting the parts about Gina and her mates. Rory listened in silence, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"So that massive fireball that fell from the sky that night," she murmured, "that was the Blood Moon..."

She exhaled softly. "Thank the Beast God it saved me from that Rank Eleven Chitinid."

Then her expression hardened.

"Sylas Ruan must have lost his mind. He already agreed to the dissolution—why involve himself now?"

Neither Jasper nor Dax had known Sylas was once one of Rory’s matches. Now that Jasper understood, his urge to wring Sylas’s neck intensified.

"We discovered he’s been searching for a female who once saved his life," Jasper said evenly. "We confirmed that female was you. He must have traced the clues back and assumed Mindy Lane stole your chance to reach the Central District. That’s likely why he acted the way he did."