The Villainess Winning Back Her Beast Husbands-Chapter 96: I Set You Free

A smile bloomed on Evangeline’s lips, her gaze incredibly earnest as she looked at him.

Lachlan’s eyes suddenly grew warm. Light, a long-lost sensation, filled his vision, revealing a breathtakingly stunning beauty before him.

She was like a living flame, her skin whiter than snow and her dark hair a cascading waterfall. Her shimmering eyes held a gentle smile.

Utterly magnificent.

And utterly dangerous.

Evangeline leaned in slightly, her gaze fixed on Lachlan’s eyes as she studied them in detail.

’Such a beautiful pair of eyes.’

They were a cool, languid grayish-brown, like amber veiled in mist. Yet, as they moved, they held the distinct clarity and alertness unique to a feline Beastman.

Evangeline’s breath, faint and subtle, brushed against Lachlan’s eyelashes. She chuckled. "They’re beautiful."

Lachlan stared at her, stunned. His Adam’s apple bobbed. The pounding of his heart was deafening, his composure utterly shattered. All he could hear was her low whisper.

"Am I beautiful?" she purred, her fingertip gently tracing the outer corner of his eye.

Lachlan’s long eyelashes fluttered. He jerked his head to the side, narrowly avoiding her touch.

Evangeline’s hand hovered in the air, caught in an awkward limbo.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

"Didn’t you say we were even?" The edge of his cool voice tightened almost imperceptibly.

Evangeline’s expression flickered, and her red lips curved into a smile. "Why do you still despise me so much?"

’A visceral aversion like his is hard to soothe.’ 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Lachlan sat on the stone bed, his back ramrod straight. Though thin and unwashed for some time, he still carried an air of cleanliness and stark solitude.

Evangeline watched him in silence for a long moment before sighing, her voice laced with a hint of weariness.

"Lachlan, I’m willing to set you free."

Lachlan’s fingers clenched abruptly, his knuckles turning stark white.

He lifted his grayish-brown eyes, his expression utterly serene as he gazed at her.

Evangeline suddenly knelt, half-squatting before him. With a flick of her wrist, she tied a storage bag embroidered with a Snow Leopard to his waist.

The lifelike Snow Leopard was depicted lounging on the ground, the tip of its tail curled contentedly, looking perfectly at ease.

This time, Lachlan didn’t flinch away. He simply sat on the stone bed, quietly watching her.

His grayish-brown eyes were downcast, the shadows from his long lashes forming a barrier that concealed all his emotions. Only the slight quickening of his breath betrayed his inner turmoil.

Evangeline could feel the tension in his core.

"This is a small Illusion Realm I made. You can use it to store your kills and keep them from spoiling."

"When I’m not around, you have to take care of yourself. Nothing is more important than your own well-being."

"Lachlan, I want you to live a good life."

Her voice was soft, but her fingers were perfectly steady as she tied the knot.

Once the storage bag was secured, Evangeline’s fingers lingered on the knot for a fraction of a second before pulling away cleanly. As she rose, a cool fragrance wafted from her.

In the shadows, Lachlan’s long lashes trembled violently.

Evangeline lifted the hem of her garment, revealing a sliver of her slender, snow-white waist.

Her fingers gently brushed over the Snow Leopard Contract Mark. Her voice was soft, yet heavy with intent.

"By the Beast God above."

"I, Evangeline, on this day, dissolve my..."

Lachlan’s gaze snapped away from the storage bag at his waist. He looked up at Evangeline, his grayish-brown pupils contracting into slits.

"...partner contract." Evangeline met his gaze, a light glimmering in her slender eyes.

"May the rest of his life be peaceful, and may he know wellness in all his years."

The moment she finished speaking, the Snow Leopard Contract Mark on her waist seemed to come alive, twisting and contorting.

Just as Evangeline was about to bite her tongue to complete the final step, something unexpected happened.

Lachlan shot to his feet. His slender fingers seized her jaw, his grip so tight it felt as if it could shatter the delicate bone.

His ethereal voice was raw and hoarse, his grayish-brown eyes churning with fury.

"What gives you the right to make my decisions for me?"

"Evangeline, why are you always like this?"

Evangeline’s eyes reflected Lachlan’s handsome features. Seeing the emotions churning in his gaze, her expression shifted. She looked at him thoughtfully. "You don’t want to break the contract?"

His grip slackened slightly, and Evangeline, chin still in his grasp, leaned even closer.

Her rose-colored lips nearly brushed against the tense line of his mouth, their breaths mingling in the small space between them.

Lachlan’s brow furrowed, and the fingers holding her jaw loosened further.

Just then, a blood-curdling scream echoed from outside the cave. "The Beast God is furious!"

At the same time, the ground began to tremble. Debris rained down with a deep, rumbling sound.

Evangeline caught a glimpse of churning mud outside the cave. Her brow furrowed. ’The cliff couldn’t hold back a flash flood?’

Lachlan’s expression turned grim. He grabbed her wrist with astonishing strength. "Go!"

Outside the cave, Evangeline finally saw the full picture. Days of torrential rain had washed away the soil, which had already been loosened by melting ice and frost, causing the ground to collapse like sodden cotton. This wasn’t a flash flood—it was a mudslide!

"Lachlan, your eyes..." Gamar’s pale face twitched, her gaze locked on Lachlan’s eyes. A moment later, she began to tremble with excitement. "They’re... they’re healed..."

Lachlan had no time for explanations. Watching the churning mudslide, he said grimly, "Mother, go!"

Gamar looked at the wailing tribespeople in the distance and stammered, "Go?"

Just as Lachlan was about to speak, his pupils constricted violently.

In the distance, Galen was stumbling through the splattering mud, running toward them. Behind her, the mudflow, filled with splintered wood and rocks, was closing in fast.

Without a moment’s hesitation, the crack of Lachlan’s bones shifting into his beast form was swallowed by the roar of the mudslide.

The agile Snow Leopard leaped toward Galen—and toward certain death.

Evangeline glanced down at her wrist, still warm from his grip, and absently rubbed the skin. Then she tilted her head, watching Lachlan determinedly carve a path of survival through the mudslide, and let out a soft laugh.

’As expected,’ she thought. ’A newcomer is no match for a childhood sweetheart.’

’The original owner of this body really did break them up. What a mess.’

"Lachlan!" Gamar screamed, watching him charge headfirst into danger, and tried to rush in after him.

Evangeline grabbed her arm. "Don’t make things worse," she said coolly.

She leaped into the air with Gamar, her toes tapping lightly on the rock face to propel them to a safe ledge. Placing Gamar down, she pressed a hand on her shoulder. "I’ll get him back. You stay put."

The moment she finished speaking, she shot off like an arrow from a bow, speeding toward the Snow Leopard and Galen, who were about to be engulfed.

The long whip in Evangeline’s hand whistled through the air, wrapping around the waists of both Lachlan and Galen. The whip went taut, forming a straight line.

Tapping her toes against the rock wall for leverage, she flung them both up onto the cliff edge.

Evangeline stared at the two of them for a long moment, a faint smile spreading across her lips.

Suddenly, she bit her tongue. Scarlet blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Evangeline reached out. Her blood-stained fingertip traced the Snow Leopard Contract Mark on her waist, and the instant she touched it, the mark erupted in a blinding light.

"By the Beast God above, I, Evangeline, on this day, dissolve my partner contract with the Snow Leopard, Lachlan."

"With no regrets."

Each word she spoke brought the searing pain of her meridians tearing apart.

The contract seemed to take physical form, shattering inch by inch. The metallic tang of blood filled Evangeline’s mouth.

The Snow Leopard’s grayish-brown Beast Eyes widened in shock. He stared at the Contract Mark on her white waist as it began to twist violently. The pattern seemed to evaporate, peeling away from her flesh and blood like smoke until it vanished into nothing.

Immediately, her skin seemed to crack, and a thousand tiny rivulets of blood began to seep from her pores.

This was the backlash from the Beast God Contract.

"Lachlan..."

"Now... we’re truly even."

Evangeline turned to look at the horrified Lachlan. A faint smile touched her lips as her slender, fox-like eyes fluttered shut. Her long hair danced in the wind as she plunged into the churning mudflow, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"Evangeline—!"

A broken, trembling cry, like a hoarse sob, tore from Lachlan’s throat. His grayish-brown Beast Eyes narrowed to slits, the golden rings in his irises trembling violently. He moved to leap after her.

"Lachlan!" Gamar screamed, throwing her arms around him and collapsing into sobs.

Galen’s face was ashen. She watched the spot where Evangeline had been swallowed by the mud, her eyes filling with tears.

Lachlan stared intently at the churning mud. The Red Fox Contract Mark on his neck suddenly blazed, searing hot like a branding iron. An instant later, it went utterly still, becoming bone-chillingly cold.

He shifted back into his human form, his face a mask of despair. He staggered and fell to his knees, his slender frame trembling like a candle in the wind. His fingers dug deep into the rock as he failed to suppress the metallic tang of blood rising in his throat.

Blood splattered onto his pale lips. His face, usually so cool and distant, was now twisted in agony.

’Didn’t you say you weren’t Evangeline?’

’If you’re not her, then how could we ever be even?’