One Girl, A Pack Of Beasts

"Lillian Clark, I'll ask you one last time," Waylon Edwards said, his voice sharp with impatience. "Are you going to break the bonds or not?" Without rushing, Lillian set the knife in her hand aside and placed a bag of beast cores on the table. Blood continued to drip from her palm. "After everything I've done for the two of you... has it never been enough?" Disgust showed plainly on Waylon's face as he looked her over. Her appearance was unkempt, far from what he believed a female should be. "With that F-level spiritual power of yours, you've never been able to soothe either Jaycob or me," he said coldly. "All these years, it's been your younger sister helping us behind your back. To us, she's the one we truly recognize as our domina. If you actually care about us, then end the bonds." Lillian's answer came without hesitation. "If that's how you feel, then I'll give you what you want." She paused, her eyes settling on him. "But there's something you need to settle first. We've been married for years, and to make up for my lack of spiritual power, I handed over every beast core I earned hunting aberrant beasts. Altogether, that's worth five million stellar coins. Pay me back, and you're free to go." Surprise flickered in Waylon's eyes, quickly replaced by excitement. He had been pushing for this separation for a year and never thought she would finally agree. He didn't have many stellar coins, but if he joined forces with Jaycob Warren and borrowed the rest, they could still pay her back. He didn't hesitate to agree. Lillian moved just as quickly. She pulled up the agreement on her communicator, signed it, and sent it over. "Get the money transferred by tonight. We'll finalize everything at the Notary Hall tomorrow afternoon." It had only been a month since Lillian took over this body, and along with it came every memory that belonged to its original owner. The world she now lived in was shaped by something known as Yggdrasil, something that governed countless planets. Once males on these planets reached adulthood, they awakened esper abilities that matched their nature. To strengthen those abilities, they hunted aberrant beasts and collected beast cores. The esper ability progressed from the lowest rank, F, all the way to S Plus. The esper abilities of females were the same. There was, however, one critical difference. As males' abilities advanced, they entered periods of rut. Without suppressants or a female's spiritual power to soothe them, they risked losing control, turning into mindless creatures or even destroying themselves. Females were rare and highly valued, their status high. Through Yggdrasil's system, a female could be assigned multiple males, and those males were expected to remain completely loyal to her. Only a female held the power to sever the bonds with them. The body Lillian now occupied belonged to someone who shared her name, yet their lives couldn't have been more different. This Lillian had been considered the least capable female in her family, stuck with an F-level spiritual power. Her younger sister, Justine Clark, stood in complete contrast. From birth, she possessed an S-level spiritual power, something extremely rare. Many females never advanced even a single level in spiritual power, so someone like Justine held immense value. Their family treated her as their pride, giving her the best of everything. Lillian, meanwhile, had to struggle for whatever she wanted. Even then, anything she managed to claim would often be taken by Justine. The previous Lillian had always known her limits. She lacked the spiritual power needed to soothe the two A-level males bonded to her when she came of age, Waylon and Jaycob. To make up for it, she spent her days fighting in the Aberrant Thicket, pushing herself to gather more beast cores for them. At home, she lowered herself to doing everything. She handled the cooking, washed their clothes, and kept the place clean, yet neither of those men ever warmed to her. Later that evening, Lillian sat down to eat with her neighbor, Rosalyn Scott, and told her about her decision to end her bonds to Waylon and Jacob the next day. Rosalyn's reaction came instantly. "That's unbelievable! They actually asked for that? How dare them? You've been nothing but good to them!" Lillian didn't seem bothered. "Justine enticed them away from me during the first year after the bonds were formed. I have never shared a bed with them. And all I could do to soothe them is pat them on the head. There's no point in forcing them to stay with me." Rosalyn fell silent for a while, clearly shocked. Then, her expression softened as she remembered Lillian's weak spiritual power. She said, "You don't need to worry too much. The Federal Directorate won't leave a female without mates. Once you break the bonds, Yggdrasil will assign new males to you." Lillian let out a frustrated sigh and replied, "That's the problem. I don't want to be bonded again. It always ends the same way. The males won't like me." She could already see how things would play out. If she ended up bonded to capable males, Justine would step in again and take them away, just like before. Rosalyn looked Lillian over from head to toe before speaking again. "You don't really have a choice. Bonding is required, and new males will come looking for you whether you want it or not. At least try to change how you present yourself. You always look like you just came out of the wild. Even if males don't hold the same status as females, you should still try to leave a good first impression." For years, Lillian had dressed only for survival. Hunting aberrant beasts and gathering herbs in the Aberrant Thicket had shaped her habits, leaving no room for concern about how she looked. Now, a thought crossed her mind. Maybe Waylon and Jaycob had kept their distance because of how disheveled she looked? If that was the reason, then in her eyes, they were nothing more than shallow males. A quiet sigh escaped her. "Alright, I get it." Rosalyn handed her a ticket. "Here. It's for an underground fighting match. Go watch something fun and take your mind off things. The bar owner gave the tickets to me. We can go together." Lillian accepted the ticket. "Thanks." The following day, after giving it some thought, Lillian decided to take a short break. The money from Waylon and Jaycob had already been transferred, so there was nothing holding her back. She started by taking a long shower. After that, she used her communicator to order several elegant dresses and followed tutorials to style her hair into soft curls. Her natural beauty was actually remarkable. Her skin was smooth, and her features could easily rival Justine's. Years spent outdoors had shaped her body into something balanced and strong. There was firmness in her muscles, yet her movements carried a light, controlled ease. When Rosalyn saw Lillian, she froze in place, her reaction almost comical. It took a moment before she found her voice again. "Why would you hide a face like that before? Even without strong spiritual power, males would still be drawn to you. Waylon and Jaycob would definitely regret leaving you!"