After Rebirth, She Chose Saintess — I Became the Beast Queen Chapter 04

After Rebirth, She Chose Saintess — I Became the Beast Queen Chapter 04

When I woke, evening had already fallen.

I lifted my hand, only to find my sharp claws were gone. In their place was a pale, human

arm.

A scream caught in my throat. Had I been thrown back into the nightmare of my past life?

Marcus rushed in at the sound. The moment he saw me, he froze.

“Elena… you shifted?” His voice came out rough, and his beastly face grew hot.

Only then did I realize, flushing, I was completely naked. I concentrated, and with a surge of

energy, I shifted back into my white wolf form.

“Congratulations, Elena. You can shift into human form.”

Marcus’s eyes gleamed darkly. The woman before him was the Blessed Vessel from the past

life, and far more beautiful than the current one.

But to his surprise, I didn’t live in human form like Sierra did. I acted as if the shift had never

happened.

I told him not to tell anyone I could shift. I didn’t want trouble.

Without absolute power, beauty was a threat.

In the following days, I taught the tribe how to hunt strategically, how to build wooden

shelters, and started military training for the younger wolves.

Marcus and the others were included. Corbin and Wyatt seemed to realize I was different

from their past mate. One day, they “accidentally” started speaking.

I didn’t think much of it. The reason they couldn’t shift or speak was simply lack of power. With enough training and energy, shifting would come.

During this time, I took them hunting, taught them techniques, and they grew much stronger than before. Beasts that survived with crippled bodies were no ordinary creatures.

When one door closes, another opens.

Marcus, blind in one eye, gained incredibly sharp hearing.

Corbin, who couldn’t fly yet, had razor sharp claws.

And Wyatt was no cat. He was a lynx, even more dangerous than a wolf.

I looked at them with a smile.

I believed that if I taught them to survive on their own, they wouldn’t meet the same tragic

end as before.

I looked at our gradually expanding territory, but worry gnawed at me. I remembered that this

year’s winter would be especially harsh.

Wolves weren’t the strongest race, except for the white wolves. Most of our tribe were either

old or young.

But beyond winter, an even greater challenge awaited. In spring, after the snow melted, a

great war would break out among the tribes.

I heard that in Sierra’s tribe, she was teaching the beast-men human wisdom. Using fire to

cook, refining mineral salt to flavor food, making tools, and urging them to wear clothes.

Her three males adored her. The cooked food was delicious, the tools handy, so they went

along with her wishes.

They called her the Blessed Vessel. I knew she was walking the path I had walked in the past

life.

I sneered inwardly. Unrefined salt contained carcinogens. And anyone who owned a pet knew

that salt caused organ failure. Overusing tools would make them lose their speed and agility.

So I didn’t force Marcus and the others to eat cooked food all the time.

I had considered the nature of every beast around me. Yet I overlooked one thing: myself. I forgot what this body would demand when the season turned.

Especially for wolves, the mating season is long and brutal. And I was no longer just human.

By the time I realized something was wrong, it was too late.

I couldn’t even maintain my beast form and shifted back into human shape against my will.

I locked myself in the cave. Marcus’s worried voice came from outside.

“Elena, are you okay?”

They had come to see that I wasn’t the Sierra from the last life. They had started opening

their hearts to me.

I shut them out and soaked myself in ice cold water.

But I overestimated myself. The water grew warm, and my fever didn’t break. Instead, my

body burned with unbearable heat.

In my feverish haze, I collapsed into a cold, strong embrace.

Looking up, I saw a strikingly handsome face, one eye covered. It didn’t detract from his

looks. If anything, it made him more wild and dangerously attractive.

Behind him were two equally gorgeous men, one cool and reserved, the other soft and

boyish. Both looked at me with concern.

“Elena, let us help.” Marcus’s voice was hoarse, almost hypnotic. He pulled me against him.

The moment our skin touched, he felt like a cool spring in the middle of a desert.

My throat burned, and I clung to him like a dying traveler in the desert, desperate for more.