Beastmen: She Tames the Land-Chapter 127: Catching the spy

The caldera was buzzing with life. Even with the trio gone, everyone still needed to do their duties. The pack is waiting for their leaders and priestess to return. It has only been two days since they left. They would need to wait for a while to see their beloved leaders again.

Today was a day like any other. Except that Cato had been trying to get Lyra to talk to him. However, every chance at being alone was shot down. No matter how hard he tried, she seemed to have decided she wouldn’t be alone with him.

It wasn’t until some time after midday lunch that he was finally able to get a hold of her. He found her near the gate. There was no one on lookout at this time. He saw her trying to get the gate open.

From her body language, he could see she was restless. Her hand fumbled with the lock, which gave him time to grab her hand to stop her. He finally had the chance to speak to her alone, and he wouldn’t let go of the chance.

As his hand reached out and touched hers, she jumped away as if she had been electrocuted. Her eyes darted around, as if she was afraid someone else was there, or she was looking for a place to escape. She shook her hand, trying to shake him off, but Cato held her hand firmly.

"Where are you going?" Cato asked. "Don’t you know if you go out on your own, they might catch you?"

His voice was firm but caring. He made sure to hold her and not let go. Lyra flinched at his tone. Her head hung low.

"Sorry. I was too forceful," he sighed. "But you’ve been avoiding me, and I don’t understand why. I thought we had gotten closer these past few weeks. Why are you avoiding me?"

His hand slipped from hers. He didn’t want to cage her. He only wanted answers. Her head was still down, and she refused to look at him. He noticed her body was hunched. She was trying to make herself small. He didn’t like the way she looked now.

His heart felt like it was about to explode. He was happy these past few days. He thought about what Visha said, and he hoped Lyra was his mate. Someone he could be with forever. The thought of being with Lyra, her being pregnant with his cubs, watching them grow up. It made him happy like nothing else.

This was something he knew was missing when he was with Heta. At that time, he wasn’t able to marry the person he was pursuing and ended up marrying Heta. Even when pursuing that person, he didn’t feel the way he felt around Lyra.

His life felt more complete with her in it.

As he thought about these things, he noticed Lyra hadn’t moved. She was fiddling with her fingers. Her head was still down. Cato’s heart dropped.

"Are you not happy here?" he asked, voice cracking. "You’re not happy," Cato whispered to himself, eyes downcast.

Lyra heard it. She heard the heartbreak in his voice, and she felt the pain in her own heart.

"I am happy," she said quickly. "It’s just...different. There are a lot of things here that are different than the Stonefang Pack." If not for Cato’s hearing being exceptional, he might not have heard what she said.

Cato took a step closer is large frame blocking her view of everything but him, forcing her to look at him. "If you’re happy, then stay. Why do you want to leave?"

Her head snapped up to look at Cato, who was looking at her with gentle eyes. Her mouth opened and closed before she pursed her lips, not saying anything.

"Since you don’t want to talk, I will." He pulled her close, hugging her against his body. "There is a reason you want to leave," he felt her body tense, but he continued.

"Whatever the reason is, I don’t care. What matters is that you want to stay...I need you to stay. The priestess said you might be my mate. I’m still not entirely sure what that is. But I do know what I’m feeling. It’s something I haven’t felt all my life. It’s pulling me to you. Your sight, your scent, your words, they all make me happy. They make me want to hold you and never let go."

"I don’t know if that’s how people feel when they have a mate. I only know that it is different from having a partner. I hope you won’t leave. Whatever it is. We can get through it together. I want you to be my mate. Don’t leave. If you feel I feel like I might die."

"No!" she responded. "You can’t die. You...you have a cub to take care of."

"His ma is here, he will be fine," Cato replied nonchalantly. "If you don’t want anything to happen to me, you can’t leave."

Cato was still holding her. He hadn’t released her, and he didn’t feel like he ever wanted to. "Lyra, can you stay with me?"

His question hung in the air. He didn’t say anything. Only waiting for her reply. He didn’t know what else to say to get her to stay. He didn’t know how to help with whatever trouble she was in. He could only wait until she was ready to talk.

That’s when he heard it. The sniffle, the shuddering intake of breath. She was crying.

He quickly released her. His eyes scanned her face. He saw the tears that were falling. His heart felt as though it would break.

"What’s wrong?" he asked.

Lyra looked up at the man in front of her. She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t stop crying. Everything she had been keeping inside came tumbling down. She lost her composure. Her face crumbled, and she started ugly crying.

She started to speak. Her words came out between the sobs. "I can’t stay. They have my family. I was supposed to spy on your pack and report to them."

Her confession made Cato’s body go cold. His face fell. His hands balled into fists. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again.

"Explain," he said between clenched teeth. That one word took a lot of effort.

She took a deep breath, her tears still falling down her cheek. "My...they have my ma and ba. They told me that if I don’t help them, they’ll be killed. You don’t know...your pack has attracted a lot of attention."

Cato’s anger was rising. He didn’t want to be angry with her, but knowing they thought they had saved her, and it was all a ploy. It didn’t feel good. He didn’t even think; he contacted Krag and Chi through the pack link.

They would know how to deal with this. The only thing he could do was plead for her. Because, even though she wanted to harm them, he couldn’t bring himself to cause her any harm.

He laughed, a sharp hollow sound. He can understand her circumstances. But he couldn’t stop himself from letting out that laugh.

"So, why are you telling me now? What changed?" he couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice.

Lyra wiped her face. "I needed you to know. What you said before, I can feel it, the pull. It’s the reason I’ve been hesitating. But for my parents, I need to do this."

As soon as she finished speaking, they heard the sounds of footsteps. Cato turned to see Krag and Chi walking towards them.