My Beastly Fertility System Chapter 135: The Third Mate Revelation

Every day, they spent hours combing the city for Claire. But every time they picked up a lead, it end up dead—as if someone was deliberately blocking them.

Half a month passed.

Zane and Rufus had covered every corner of Grimstone. Nothing came up.

"This is ridiculous. Are you absolutely sure Claire came in here?"

Rufus glared at Zane, his patience long gone.

He'd been running himself ragged. He hadn't even had time to shave. Stubble darkened his jaw, making him look years older.

Zane sat at the table, a fur scroll open in his hands, studying it intently.

He looked exactly the same as always—poised, composed, not a hair out of place. Elegant as ever.

He didn't seem the least bit anxious. He ignored Rufus's complaint entirely.

Rufus fumed. But that was all he could do.

He couldn't beat Zane anymore.

At some point, Zane had quietly leveled up to Level 3. Rufus was still stuck at Level 2.

Rufus had raged about how unfair it was. He'd even picked fights with Zane, determined to test whether that Level 3 breakthrough was real.

It was. Rufus had gotten his face rearranged. The bruises had only just healed a couple of days ago.

Seeing that Zane wasn't going to engage, Rufus paced the room, sighing dramatically.

"Sit down and rest. If Claire needs you and you're too worn out to help, that's on you. Not me."

Zane didn't even look up from the fur scroll. He reminded Rufus dryly.

Rufus's eyes lit. He dropped into the seat beside Zane.

"You mean you know where Claire is?"

After much pestering, Zane finally answered.

"I found out that Grimstone's young lord recently bonded with a female. Her description matches Claire almost exactly. I believe it's her."

"What?" Rufus went rigid. "Claire bonded with someone else?"

"Not just bonded. She's also pregnant. That's why she hasn't been seen outside. I haven't been able to confirm whether it's really her."

Zane remembered the moment he'd first learned the news. Joy and bitterness, tangled together.

But he'd made peace with it.

Claire had always been exceptional. After months of proper care, she'd blossomed into something breathtaking. She carried a scent unique to her—one that drew male beastfolk like moths to flame.

On top of that, she was resilient, resourceful, and hands-on—nothing like the typical Beast World female who sat around waiting for mates or fathers to provide.

A female like that would attract males wherever she went. An extra mate or two was inevitable.

Watching Rufus spiral through the same crisis he'd already processed was almost amusing. Rufus was just louder about it.

Zane shook his head. The man wore every emotion on his sleeve. Someday, that would cost him.

Rufus was clutching his own hair, pacing like a caged animal.

"No way. There's no way Claire has another mate. You got bad intel. Claire already has my beastlings—by now, she should've given birth. There's no way she'd still be pregnant!"

Zane gave him a sidelong look.

"The beastlings in her belly now aren't yours. They're the young lord's. Word is they bonded and conceived almost immediately."

Rufus shook his head violently.

"It's definitely not Claire. A young lord that powerful—why would he accept a female who already has beastlings? Are there newborns at his place? There can't be."

Zane hesitated.

"No. There aren't."

Rufus relaxed instantly, his relief palpable.

"See? That proves it isn't Claire. I knew it. Claire has me—why would she look at anyone else? I satisfy her in every possible way."

He even threw a pointed glance at Zane's lower half, smirking.

Zane's voice was dry as dust.

"Five times to your two. Need I remind you?"

Rufus caught the meaning instantly. His face turned scarlet. He jabbed a finger at Zane.

"You—you were listening through the wall? You pervert!"

Zane neither confirmed nor denied.

Beastfolk's hearing was sharp enough to catch everything without pressing an ear to the wall, thank you very much.

The debate over whether the mysterious female was Claire went back and forth.

Zane held up the fur scroll.

"Whether it's Claire or not, we'll find out at the Sky Rites in two weeks. I've memorized the entire schedule. We go in, and we improvise."

Rufus peered at the scroll.

"Where did you even get that?"

A flicker of something crossed Zane's face. He coughed.

"Borrowed it. From Grimstone Manor."