My Beastly Fertility System Chapter 149: A Game of Patience

Zane handled the thinking. Rufus handled the doing. The two of them worked together with a kind of wordless precision, each sharpening the other's strengths.

"Lucky for you, it was me who figured out your scheme. If it had been Rufus, you probably wouldn't be standing here talking right now."

Marcus's grin spread wide across his face. His teeth flashed bright against the surrounding darkness. There was something sly in that smile, something cold lurking beneath the boyish warmth

"Is that so?" he said lightly. "That one. Rufus, was it? The second mate. His scent is unpleasant. Even without sight, I can tell he’s not easy to deal with."

Zane’s gaze hardened, disdain flickering across his features.

"You look harmless, but there’s nothing clean about the way you think."

Marcus gave as good as he got.

"Takes one to know one. You knew exactly where Claire was all along, didn't you? And yet you stayed silent. You held back. You resisted the urge to see her for all those days. You only waited because you had some plan in mind. You're just as calculating as I am."

Yes, he had interfered. Set small obstacles in their path. And yet, in the end, Zane had still uncovered the truth.

Marcus had expected Zane and that reckless beastfolk Rufus to storm straight to his door and drag Claire away. He'd prepared for it, even made quiet arrangements to ensure Claire would never want to leave him. But those preparations had been unnecessary. Zane and Rufus never showed up at Claire's door at all.

Which meant only one thing. They wanted more.

That was why they held back, why they restrained themselves.

If it had been him, he wouldn’t have lasted a day. He would have gone to her immediately and taken her back from anyone who dared to keep her.

Zane’s gaze drifted, almost against his will, toward the room where Claire slept. For a moment, something unguarded surfaced in his eyes, something that threatened to spill over.

And still, he held himself back.

"I’m thinking of her safety, that’s why I’ve stayed my hand."

Now, with Marcus guarding Claire in plain sight and Zane and Rufus watching from the shadows, they could protect her from every direction.

Not that Rufus knew the whole truth yet. Rufus genuinely had no idea where Claire was. But that was fine. Rufus had one redeeming quality—despite always arguing with Zane, when it truly mattered, he listened.

Marcus’s smile returned, soft and harmless once more. But the words he spoke carried a quiet, chilling edge.

"You slipped into Grimstone Manor alone. Walked through it like it was empty air and walked out with Finlay's confidential records. How do you explain that? Was that for her, too?"

Zane’s eyes narrowed. A cold, dangerous aura coiled around him.

He had taken every precaution that night. Masked his identity, concealed his scent, and went alone without even bringing Rufus. Aside from Zane himself and Rufus, who had learned of it later, no one else should have known.

And yet, this blind young man knew everything.

Like he held all the pieces of the world in his palm.

Zane realized he had underestimated Marcus.

From what Zane knew of Grimstone, Marcus was the successor to the throne in name only. Finlay didn't even acknowledge the title. It had stuck only because some of the older beastfolk had used it for so long they couldn't seem to stop.

He had no followers.

He stood alone.

Still, he knew secrets he had no business knowing. The thought was unsettling.

Zane studied Marcus carefully, reassessing. If Marcus knew all this and still hadn't gone to the manor with the information, then perhaps he counted as an ally. For now.

The tension in Zane’s expression eased, his usual warmth returning, though tempered now with caution.

"Finlay's interest in Claire isn’t clean. You’ve noticed that too, haven’t you? The man you call ‘uncle’ is not what he pretends to be."

Marcus didn’t look surprised.

"Of course."

Zane's smile widened.

"Then let's work together. Let's find out exactly what Finlay wants from Claire. And then let's remove him from her path entirely."

Marcus nodded, the playful edge gone, his expression turning serious.

"Agreed."

Then, as if remembering something, he looked up again.

"There’s one thing," he added. "You won’t tell Claire, will you? About whatever I did... behind the scenes"

He needed to keep his good name with her. He didn't want to spoil what they had.

Zane gave a short, humorless laugh.

"Even if I say nothing, do you really think you can hide it forever? The poison in her system was swapped out for an aphrodisiac. Anyone at Grimstone Manor with half a brain could piece that together. You set her up."

Zane looked at this young beastfolk, so innocent on the surface, but so calculating underneath. Marcus was far younger than Zane, and he acted without thinking through the consequences. He'd probably started laying his plans the moment the city guards delivered Claire to his door.

A quiet anger rose in Zane. Cold radiated from his body, colder than the snow and ice that surrounded them.

Marcus squirmed under the weight of that silence.

"Claire came into my room herself," he protested. "And I helped her. I cured her."

Even as he said it, his thoughts drifted back to that night a month ago.

He had sensed Maxim lurking nearby. To protect Claire, Marcus had stayed up with her, talking through the whole night. He'd never expected Maxim, cornered and desperate, to lash out and poison her.