The moment he entered the room, he saw Selene twitching as though she was having seizures.
Boom!
Blood rushed to his head, and hatred and murderous thoughts consumed his mind.
Yellow Beard Root was a benign herb and had no side effects. This meant what was happening to Selene was most probably because of whatever Vincent had done to the roots.
Suppressing the storm of emotions raging in his chest, he rushed over to her.
However, he didn't have any idea what he should do—he felt helpless, and the more he felt this, the more he hated his father.
If not for him, nothing wrong would have happened to his family.
Huu~!
Suddenly, he took a deep breath and calmed his emotions once again.
'Damn it. I accept I'm Vesper now, but I don't want his emotions to affect me so much.' He cursed in his heart.
Step! Step!
Alric came over to his side, crying as he looked at Selene.
"W-What's happening to her, Big Brother?" He asked amidst his sobs, hoping his Vesper would know something and could help her.
After seeing him helplessly standing next to the bed, however, he knew his big brother was clueless just like him; otherwise, he would be helping her now instead of just standing there.
But when faced with a situation where people know for sure that there is no hope, they will go into denial and will still hold onto a flicker of belief that something will happen that will change things for the better.
Alric was doing the same.
Vesper stayed silent.
He didn't want to lie because he knew it was useless, as Alric was sharp enough to discern whether what he had said was true.
And because the truth would break his illusion of hope, he didn't want to say the truth either.
Alric also didn't ask again and just continued staring at her while shedding tears.
Vesper glanced at him and then at Selene before turning his gaze away, a tear also slipping down his cheek—he couldn't bear to watch her suffer and Alric cry.
Just then…
Zoop~!
A small system window suddenly materialized in front of him.
[The system has sensed the host's deep emotions toward a human female.]
[Activating the Trait, Pack Leader…]
[Trait activated.]
[Assessing the target…]
[Target is in an unconscious state, unable to consent.]
Vesper's eyes lit up with a flicker of hope when he saw the system window suddenly appear, but when he read the latest flashing line of texts, his face fell.
He didn't know how this trait of his really worked because all he knew about it was the information the system gave him. However, seeing how it activated now, he might be able to help her if she became his pack member.
Unfortunately, she was unconscious and couldn't…
Just as he was lamenting this fact, another line of text flashed on the system screen.
[The target can't consent. Would you still like to proceed and mark her as your pack member?]
[(Yes)/(No)]
[Please note, due to the lack of explicit consent from the target, the chances of a successful mark bestowal might reduce based on the target's subconscious resistance.]
Vesper didn't hesitate and chose Yes with his will.
Hiss~!
Immediately, his head throbbed with acute pain, which made him hiss. It felt as if someone had stabbed a sharp needle in his brain.
Fortunately, it was soon replaced by a mystical and soothing feeling. He felt as if something was fusing with his soul.
[Congratulations! The mark bestowal is successful.]
He read the message that had just appeared on the system screen. The moment he read it, the system screen flickered out of existence.
He frowned and was about to pull up his status screen to see if there was any change when some information suddenly appeared in his mind. He didn't need to review it because it felt as if he always knew it.
'I see…'
"What happened, Big Brother?"
Suddenly, Alric's voice brought him back to his senses.
He turned to him and squatted down in front of him. Wiping his tears, he smiled, "There is no need to worry. Selene is not in any danger."
"Huh? How… Are you sure, Big Brother?" Alric asked, hope suddenly sparkling in his brown eyes.
"Yes. I just remembered hearing somewhere that even though Yellow Beard Root is harmless and doesn't usually cause any side effects, it is just a gradeless herb, and sometimes, when given to a patient suffering from some sickness that erodes vitality, it causes a violent reaction, which is the sign of it trying to cure the cause of sickness." Vesper told him the best thing he could make up on the spot.
"So, don't worry. This reaction would soon subside."
Alric stared into his eyes for a moment before asking, "You… are not lying to me, right?"
Vesper smiled, and instead of answering his question, he asked, "What do you think?"
Sniffle~!
Alric sniffled and nodded, "You are not lying."
"Good. Now, go and sleep for a while. I'll watch her." Vesper secretly let out a sigh of relief.
From the dark circles beneath his eyes, he knew he didn't sleep last night, most likely because he was too worried for him and also because he wanted to watch Selene in case she regained consciousness.
"No, I—"
"Just go." Vesper interrupted him before he could protest.
Alric pouted and reluctantly left the room.
Vesper then pulled up his status screen.
When he told him Selene wasn't in any danger, he wasn't lying because the information that appeared in his mind was about the bond he had formed with her by making her his pack member, and from this bond—the connection they now shared—he knew while her vitality was dangerously close to exhaustion, it was recovering bit by bit thanks to the Yellow Beard Roots.
[Name: Vesper Ironhart]
>Age: 20
>Species: Human
>Cultivation: None
>Bloodline: None
>Beast Energy: 0
>Tamed Beast: 1
>Traits: Pack Leader
>>Pack Members: 1 (New!)
>Physical Stats
>>Strength: 7
>>Endurance: 9
>>Agility: 8
>>Vitality: 5
>>Defense: 6
[Tamed Beast: Silver Moon Wolf]
>Species: Wolf (Female)
>Cultivation Level: 2-star
>Bloodline: Silver Moon bloodline (Grade one)
>Magic Abilities: Unrelenting Chase, Super Senses, Berserk Howl, Crescent Moon slash.
Current Status: Severely injured (Currently in hibernation in Beast Space)