Ke Li frantically clawed at her hair, pacing back and forth inside the stone house. She spun around and glared at Kasen. "Didn't you always want to become Su Yu's Beast Husband? Why did you reject her?"
"The past is the past, and now is now." Kasen sat by the bonfire and placed the freshly washed cubs on a nearby stone stool, letting them dry their damp fur and lick each other clean.
He lowered his gaze, his thick eyelashes hiding the bitterness in his eyes. "The me I am now isn't worthy of her."
Kasen paused, then said, "And the way she is now, she doesn't need me either."
Finally, he gave a small smile and continued, "Besides, with North Beast City damaged like this, and our people still not recovered from being Exotic Beasts, how could I possibly abandon you all to go with her?"
