Chapter 593 - THE SLEEPING BEAST

The first thing that Ian witnessed was the way Kace cuddled Hope in his arms. This scene alone was very intimate to be presented early in the morning. What were the two of them thinking?

Hope just realized her position and struggled to free herself, only to be hugged even tighter. "No, this is not what you think!" she panicked. This was indeed a very awkward and suggestive position.

"Don't worry, I will not think anything outrageous." Ian held his right hand up as he walked with a plate full of roasted rabbit, yet his expression told Hope otherwise. This boy indeed had thought of something outrageous. 

"Seriously!" Hope rolled her eyes exasperatedly. Kace also didn't help at all by being all clingy like this, hugging her, acting like he was a five year old boy. What happened to this man's personality and behavior? 

There were many sides of Kace that Hope had discovered, but it seemed like it didn't stop there.Her gut feeling was telling her that there will be more to discover that would shock her. 

"You are awake!" Ian spoke cheerfully, smoothly changed the topic as he put down the plate in front of Hope. 

This small hut didn't have a bed or anything alike at all. Thus, Hope and Kace had been lying on a stack of haystacks where they slept all this time. 

Hope couldn't say it was convenient, but she knew she couldn't complain about their current situation. Or otherwise, she would look like an ungrateful brat. 

"Bring another plate for me, pup. I am hungry," Kace said in his guttural voice, when he watched how Ian was sitting across from Hope. He didn't like this boy, because of the way he touched and being near his mate more than necessary. 

He watched how intimate the two of them when they shared a joke or two.Or whenever they were talking, Hope would occasionally slap Ian's arms playfully and Ian would do the same. 

Well, the beast didn't like it when another man touched his mate, especially when she had not bear her mark yet. 

"Huh?" Ian raised his eyebrows questioningly. It wasn't the order that surprised him, but the hostility in Kace's tone that made him give Hope a look. "Sure."

"So, what are you waiting for!?" Kace glowered, and Hope pinched his arms to warn him. 

"You don't have to snap at him." Hope frowned, and the beast hid his face behind her neck again, grumbling something incoherently. 

"What happened?" Ian was at loss, but then he remembered. "He is…" his voice trailed off. 

Despite Ian not finishing his words, Hope understood what he wanted to say. "Yes, he is," she said helplessly. 

Ian grimaced when he heard that, he thought the beast wouldn't come to the surface again after that night. However, seeing Lana's condition now, it seemed Kace's human side was too weak to restrain the beast, thus his beast was the one who took his consciousness over instead. 

At least, that was what Ian understood from Ethan's long explanation about there was the possibility of how the beast would be the one that they would meet, once Kace had regained his consciousness. 

It seemed like constant battle had worn Kace out. 

And now Ethan was following Carina, almost, everywhere. Talking about the constellations, and whatever the stuffs that Ian couldn't comprehend, leaving him alone to babysit little Bree. 

"Alright, I will get you some food, and call Carina over to check up on Kace." Ian realized his presence there was no longer wanted from the way Kace behaved. 

"Just bring the food. You don't need to bring the centaur." Kace scoffed. This beast was akin to a cranky little child, who just woke up from his sleep. 

"Ask Carina to come quickly," Hope said, contradicting Kace's words. There was a grumble from Kace behind her.But she could care less about his dislike towards the female centaur. 

If the beast wanted to take over Kace's consciousness, then he had to stop complaining and get along with the others as well. After all, they were in this mission together and plus, the centaurs were doing nothing but helping them. 

"Oh, right." Ian turned around to say something that he almost forgot because of Kace. "The centaur went to the place where you dropped your cloak before, let's hope your cloak is still there."

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Carina came in after fifteen minutes Ian went out of the hut, she brought a concoction for Kace's wound.Though it didn't help to heal it, the female Centaur said that it would help keep the wound from getting worse. 

The beast, of course, was being annoying and would growl threateningly when Carina came close to him. 

It was Hope, who would glower back to stop him from making any scene. 

And apparently, the beast's condition was not in a good state, because as soon as he ate all the food that was served for him, he would fall asleep again, exhausted. This made Hope even more worried.

Fortunately, after the exhausting morning and afternoon, there came good news from the centaurs. They succeed in finding the cloak. 

In another word, once Kace had regained his strength for another long walk, they would be ready to set off to the Uzu Mountain.

Kace was still fast asleep when Hope used her cloak, and walked out of the hut, to feel the night breeze after two days straight she couldn't go anywhere. She wanted to see Lana's condition. 

However, Hope missed little Bree, when she took a detour to go to Lana's hut. 

Bree was walking straight to Hope's hut, there was a bucket of wild flowers in her little arms. Hope had said that once she found her cloak she would take her to her parent's grave. 

On the other hand, the centaurs were used to seeing the little girl around. That was why no one would have thought Bree would come to Hope's hut alone, with the beast inside. 

"Hope?" Bree called her when she entered the hut.It was her first time to come inside, because before they wouldn't allow her to come to this place. "Are you there?"