After Zoey finished speaking, not only was Sinek stunned, but the healers who were bandaging his wounds were also shocked.
They all looked up at her, clearly forgetting the rules the clan leader had set for them earlier.
"We misunderstood the clan leader. It's our fault!"
"Yes, it's our fault. We will go back to the clan later and explain everything to the other males."
"..."
After a moment, the lead healer spoke, and the other males around him nodded in agreement.
Sinek, however, remained silent, showing no expression on his face.
The healers continued to bandage his wounds. Zoey thought that maybe because of the pain, Sinek wasn't speaking. She didn't think much about it.
Once all of Sinek's wounds were properly bandaged, the healers prepared to leave. After hesitating, they still asked him how he got such serious injuries.
They asked which male from another beast clan had caused him such harm.
Sinek didn't give specific details. He only said he had encountered a huge beast, about the same size as his own beast form, maybe even bigger, but he had already driven it away.
Zoey was surprised to hear it was about the same size as Sinek's beast form. She thought his form was already terrifying, but there was an even bigger beast. She could hardly imagine how frightening it must have been.
After the clan healers left, Sinek stayed seated in silence.
Thinking he must be in pain, Zoey spoke gently, "The vitality pill has already restored your strength. These external injuries will still hurt for a few days, so you'll have to endure it. Just remember what the healers said—don't touch water."
Sinek remained quiet, so Zoey offered, "Would it feel better if you returned to your original form? You can change back if you want. I'm fine."
Sinek suddenly turned to her, his eyes full of concern. Zoey was confused.
"Sinek…"
"Zoey, I'm sorry!"
Zoey: "?"
"I didn't know the rules of your continent. You must have suffered a lot."
Hearing this, Zoey realized her earlier words had made him emotional. She was about to explain when Sinek asked, "Zoey, I've had a question in my heart for a long time. I was afraid you'd be unhappy, so I never asked."
Zoey nodded at him, signaling he could ask. "I won't be angry. Go ahead."
"Do you remember the first time I saw you was on that mountain, at the cave on the border between the Snake Clan and the Fox Clan?"
Zoey nodded. Sinek continued,
"At first, I thought you were a female of the Fox Clan. Later, I realized you were from our Snake Clan. So I never understood why you had a baby with that fox."
"Did he force you? Or did something happen that made you have no choice but to be with a male from the Fox Clan?"
As he said this, Sinek's gaze unintentionally became sharp and fierce.
If she had really been forced by that fox, once the baby hatched, he would go to the Fox Clan and destroy them completely.
Zoey saw the change in Sinek's eyes. They became a little scary. She quickly grabbed his hand and explained,
"No, it's not like that. Fykes didn't force me. I did it willingly!"
Sinek squinted. So that fox was called Fykes. He was even more confused. Why would she be with a fox?
"I came to your Beast Continent, and the first one I met was Fykes. My situation was special at the time. If I hadn't met him, I probably would have died…"
She had been tortured by her broken system!
She didn't expect Sinek to suddenly ask this question and didn't know how to explain. She pressed her lips together and thought for a moment.
"I don't really know how to explain. Anyway, my body was in very bad condition. I had to find a male to help me.
It just so happened that Fykes was helping their clan leader. He went into the cave to find food, and I met him. Without him knowing anything, I had a baby with him…"
When she said this, Zoey carefully looked at Sinek. She noticed that the harshness and anger in his eyes had disappeared, so she finally relaxed.
This guy was terrifyingly strong. If he went to Fykes for revenge, the whole fox clan would be in trouble.
Even though she didn't have strong feelings for Fykes, the baby was hers. Fykes had also introduced fire-making to his clan, which had reduced her system's burden a lot. She should be grateful to him. She didn't want him to get hurt.
"Fykes is just a medium-level male. Even though I had a female fox with him, he only became a high-level beast. His skills and talent are still not as strong as yours."
After saying this, Sinek's expression changed slightly. There was a bit of pride and arrogance.
Zoey didn't notice the small change on his face. She added a final word,
"Fykes is really good. He's truly a good male of the fox clan."
After she said this, Sinek's face darkened.
He closed his dissatisfied eyes, afraid Zoey would see the killing intent in them.
"Can you promise me that no matter what happens in the future, you won't hurt him or the baby? After all, he saved me."
Sinek closed his eyes and nodded gently at her.
After all, he had to be grateful to that stinky fox. If Fykes hadn't abandoned Zoey, he wouldn't have been able to bring her back.
Zoey was a rare treasure, but he had accidentally picked her up. He also had to thank that stinky fox.
Seeing Sinek nod, Zoey finally relaxed. She knew that as the leader of the snake clan, Sinek's words were trustworthy.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Zoey got up to prepare some food for him.
"You're hurt. Rest well. I'll prepare some food for you."
Sinek directly pulled Zoey into his arms and asked a question she couldn't answer,
"Why did you and that fox have a female fox baby instead of a bunch of snake eggs?"
"…."
Zoey widened her eyes, not knowing how to reply.
Looking into Sinek's red phoenix eyes staring straight at her, she stammered,
"I-I… actually, when I had the baby with him, I wasn't a snake… I was a fox, like him…"
Though Sinek didn't show it on his face, he was very worried inside. But he decided that no matter what, he would stay by her side.
No matter what female form she became in the future, as long as he stayed, she would be his Zoey.
In the following days, Zoey returned to the situation she first encountered with Sinek.
Sinek placed himself deep in the cave, surrounded by many layers. Zoey realized she could never get out by herself.
Sinek's talent was getting more and more extraordinary. Zoey tried a few times when he wasn't around.
It felt like peeling an onion—layer after layer, endless. Even if she didn't eat or drink for a year, she might not get out.
Inside there was food and water, but she felt trapped, uncomfortable, and unhappy.
With her birth approaching, Zoey grew increasingly frustrated and finally decided to bring up the conversation herself.
"Sinek, I need to seriously talk to you."
Sinek carefully placed a bowl of warm water beside Zoey and looked at her, patiently waiting.
"I don't want to be locked up by you like this, with no freedom at all. I really hate it!"
Zoey spoke directly, clearly saying how she felt.
Although her eyes showed a little pity and apology toward Sinek, they quickly became firm again.
"I just don't want to lose you. I don't want you to disappear."
Zoey understood his feelings very well. If it were her, she might have been even more extreme.
"You won't necessarily lose me. Didn't I tell you before? I wasn't very familiar with my beast form, and I only caused problems because I accidentally ate a transformation pill. After giving birth this time, I won't take it again."
"You said it's not certain!"
He didn't want to take the risk. He didn't want even the slightest mistake.
"You know, that fox before didn't really abandon you. Have you ever thought that maybe he didn't recognize you?"
Sinek didn't want to bring up the fox and that incident, but he didn't want to hide it from Zoey either.
"I wanted to tell you before, but I was afraid it would upset you. Maybe it's just because you became a female of the snake tribe, and he didn't recognize you, so he took his little ones and left."
Hearing this, Zoey suddenly realized it made sense. With someone like Fykes' personality, there was no way he would abandon her.
Thinking about how careful Fykes had always been with her, and how sentimental he was, after taking his little ones away, he even spread the fire-starting technique to his tribe, which also downgraded her system.
Zoey felt a little guilty thinking about Fykes.
Seeing her expression change, Sinek noticed her frown and pained look before he could say anything.
"Zoey, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Sinek asked with concern, picking her up.
He planned to take her to the healer, but Zoey shouted,
"Put me down! Quick! Let me down! I'm going to give birth!"
Sinek panicked and quickly placed her on the soft pile of grass he had prepared.
"Zoey!"
He saw her swallow a pill quickly and was terrified, trying to stop her but too late.
Seeing his panic, Zoey quickly reassured him,
"Sinek, don't worry! Don't panic! I took a strength pill. It will only give me enough energy to give birth. It has no side effects."
Hearing this, Sinek finally relaxed a little. He saw that her face was pale and she seemed to be in more pain.
In their tribe, females usually gave birth in a slim body form, and he didn't know how it would work for Zoey in her beast form.
"Zoey, do you want to change back to your beast form? It might be easier. That's how females in our tribe give birth."
Zoey shook her head, refusing. The last time she gave birth to a fox, she did it in her beast form, and this time it would be the same.
Seeing her refusal, Sinek didn't insist. Maybe she really was different from the others.
He kept wiping her sweat and encouraging her. Unlike other beasts, the snake tribe didn't need anything special. All they needed was someone to stay nearby, not disturb the female, and let her safely lay her eggs.