BEASTLY ALLURE

●Feelings.

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Tears.

If someone happened to glance at the man sitting alone by a small wooden table, they might think he's a crying mess.

There's no one there to offer comfort.

For Harvey, being alone was something he had grown accustomed to. His only companions were his work and the tasks he occupied himself with.

He sniffed and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, the traces of tears slowly drying.

The paste he was preparing consisted of cry root and some green leaves, used to reduce stomach pain.

Cry root always had this effect on him-whenever he made a paste from it, his eyes would water and give the appearance that he was crying.

But he's just working with cry root. Sometimes the tears did leak from his eyes. He would deliberately blame it on cry root.

This morning, Harvey was awakened by a loud banging on his door. When he opened it, he saw an older beast man standing there, with a stripe across his face. He learned that the man's female was sick.

And as a healer, Harvey quickly gathered his supplies and followed the man to their house.

Usually, beast men didn't let unmated males enter their homes, but since Harvey was a healer, he was granted permission.

After examining the female, he realized that she had eaten raw meat the previous night, which likely caused her stomachache.

Harvey returned to his hut for preparing the healing paste for the sick female. He gathered the necessary supplies and began heading to the female's house to administer the treatment.

While on his way, he unexpectedly encountered her.

Qingqing.

The female who had always captured his attention, sparking an admiration within him.

Yet, he knew he couldn't do anything about it.

She probably wouldn't want him anyway. He felt weak and inadequate, despite his well-built physique.

He was slightly smaller than other beastmen, and his attempts to gain his first stripe, a symbol of maturity and strength, had failed repeatedly.

He had known this since he was just a cub.

As a healer, he couldn't figure out why he had never developed the stripe that marked many beast men.

He had tried to gain it, but his efforts had proven futile. He felt his weakness keenly.

Harvey was about to greet the female, but he stopped when he noticed her male companion, Parker.

The one who had threatened him before to stay away from her, claiming her as his mate.

Sighing softly, Harvey stole a long glance at Qingqing as she rode atop the leopard.

He wished for a moment that she would look his way, but she didn't. She's truly the most beautiful female he's ever seen.

Sometimes, he would catch her smiling at him when their eyes met accidentally - or at least, what he hoped were accidental glances.

But who was he kidding? He often found himself stealing glances at her, hoping for any sign of her attention.

Clearing his thoughts, he walked to the sick female's house and treated her. They paid him with deer meat, which he accepted gratefully. He began his journey back home.