Lillian gave a small smile, thinking that Rosalyn was only saying that to comfort her.
However, when they showed up at the underground fighting arena, she indeed caught the attention of many males around her.
Rosalyn located their seats, guided Lillian over, and sat down with her. The fight was already underway, a brutal scene with fists flying and legs kicking, the audience watching with excitement.
At first, Lillian felt no real interest in what was happening. That changed when a werewolf was hauled onto the platform in chains. His gray ears were alert, and his eyes glowed with a dull, reddish hue. Lillian's focus locked onto him immediately.
The werewolf was in rut.
The emcee's voice rang out with excitement. "Here we have a slave who has been stuck in rut for a long time, rejected by every female, deprived of food for an entire week, and left without even a drop of water. Whoever manages to take him down will earn a hundred high-grade beast cores!"
One after another, fighters stepped up to the fight, but every single one was violently overpowered and thrown off the stage by the uncontrollable werewolf.
As the rounds went on, his wounds increased. One of his claws was broken. He remained crouched on the stage, blood spilling from his mouth as he coughed, yet he refused to make a sound, enduring the pain in silence.
When the final horn echoed through the arena, he raised his head. By chance, his bloodshot eyes met Lillian's gaze. The mix of fury and despair in his look made her press her lips together.
Rosalyn inhaled deeply and said with a trace of pity, "He's said to be from the Rogue Planet. He has been kept here for quite some time. I remember seeing him here last time; he's got a criminal past and no family, just scraping by on his own. Honestly, this could be the last time he steps into the ring alive."
It was common knowledge that a male left too long without a female soothing him would eventually lose control and destroy himself.
Lillian's expression grew somber. Something about his loneliness struck a familiar chord in her.
In the end, the werewolf gathered what little strength he had left, defeated his final opponent, and then collapsed, looking as though he might die at any moment.
Seeing that, Lillian suddenly asked, "How do I buy him?"
Rosalyn stared at her in shock. "What? You want to buy him?"
Lillian tilted her head slightly. "Just for fun. That's allowed, isn't it?"
Rosalyn tried to talk Lillian out of it but eventually failed. She knew the arena's owner and brought Lillian to meet him and explained her intention to buy the werewolf.
The owner looked taken aback. "You mean you want to buy Samuel? I was already planning to get rid of him. My lady, if you take him, you'll spend an enormous amount trying to treat him; it's simply not worth it."
Ignoring that, Lillian crouched down in front of Samuel Burton, who had reverted to his human form due to extreme exhaustion. Even in that state, he was strikingly handsome, with an intimidating presence. A pair of soft, furry ears still remained visible. Lillian reached out and gently stroked them.
Samuel flinched. Startled, he abruptly sat up and was about to attack the person before him.
But the moment he recognized Lillian as the striking, gentle-looking female he had noticed earlier in the crowd, his raised claw stopped mid-swing. The hostility and lethal intent in his eyes faded. He couldn't bring himself to hurt an innocent female. So, he lowered his head and curled into himself, silently refusing her touch.
Lillian chose not to bother him anymore. She had always moved on her own or occasionally teamed up with low-tier hunting groups, traveling to the outer edges of the Aberrant Thicket to hunt small aberrant beasts and collect herbs just to get by. Still, the earnings were barely enough, and the low-grade beast cores she absorbed had no real effect on improving her spiritual power.
She began to consider that this werewolf could help her venture deeper into the Aberrant Thicket, where she might find quality herbs and stronger beast cores to elevate her spiritual power.
At the very least, it seemed like a feasible plan.
Lillian spoke calmly. "I'll pay one million."
She turned her attention to the owner and said firmly, "That's a fair deal for you, isn't it? Even if he recovers, the cost of suppressants alone is extremely high. And without a female to soothe him, he won't be able to return to the arena anyway."
She wasn't wrong. At this point, Samuel was a rogue werewolf with no real value. After a moment of consideration, the owner accepted her offer.
After taking Samuel out of the underground arena, Lillian noticed her communicator buzzing nonstop with missed calls and messages. She opened one of the video messages.
Jaycob appeared on the screen, his face flushed with anger as he shouted, "Lillian, we've been waiting for you at the Notary Hall forever! Don't test our patience! You already took the money and signed the separation agreement. Are you trying to go back on your word now?"
Without the domina's approval, it was impossible for the males to end the bonds on their own.
In her rush to buy Samuel, Lillian had completely forgotten about the matter with Jaycob and Waylon.
She quickly turned to Rosalyn. "Please take Samuel back to my place. There are medical supplies stored there. Use whatever you need and make sure he pulls through."
"Sure, leave it to me," Rosalyn replied with confidence.
By the time Lillian arrived at the Notary Hall, Waylon and Jaycob were already standing beside Justine.
Walking up to them, Lillian said, "Sorry for keeping you waiting."
Waylon and Jaycob stared at her, startled, as though they didn't recognize her right away.
"Li-Lillian?" Jaycob's eyes scanned her from head to toe. She did look more attractive than before, but when he noticed she was wearing a white dress just like Justine, he let out a mocking laugh, assuming she was trying to imitate Justine to win sympathy and avoid the separation.
Waylon seemed to reach the same conclusion. Disdainfully, he said, "There's no need for you to copy Justine. What we care about isn't just her looks; it's her kindness. Don't waste your time doing something useless."
Justine offered a soft smile, putting on a fragile and apologetic front as she spoke to Lillian. "Lillian, I truly didn't mean to ruin your bonds or take your mates away from you. Please don't hold it against me, okay?"
In her mind, Lillian was deeply attached to these two males. Seeing Lillian dressed like her today only reinforced her belief that she had come here to plead for reconciliation.
However...
