Chosen Mate Of The Beastmen Empire

At Jouise" Seafarion leaned forward slightly, greeting him potirely

Nyx hadn't expected him to know the old man, but after a moment's thought, is clicked fruste The world fins doen.

Het been churning out thrilling action flicks since his early rentier-decades later, he'd made mestres clars his bigges raking in billions, still topping the all-amme box office charts

Seafarion spoke up first, and Jouse seemed to notice him then He obviously knew Seafarings to, but his reaction was way less enthusiastic than with Nyx-just a quick hello, a bit of small talk, then bark in Nyx, jabbering exrently in a rus

Too bad Nyx barely understood his language. She listened, lost, until Seafarion stepped in to translate

"Ah. Jouste says he'll love to work with you-he's got a role in his new film that's perfect for you, Seafarion wid, blushing slightly as he took her hand. "Nyx, you're amazing?

She didn't even need the connections he'd lined up-she drew big shots to her naturally,

Jouste eyed their clasped hands, nodded in realization, and chuckled that they were a match made in heaven Sextarion's checks flushed deeper.

Nyx had set out to chase her man across the globe, then pivoted to sightseeing- now, a plum job had landed in her lap

Most actors would've jumped at the chance to schmooze Jouste, terrified of missing out on that pie. Top stars struggled to break into the global scene-getting picked by a big international director was a pipe dream.

Call it arrogance or laziness, but Nyx wasn't exactly itching to take the role. She had zero drive to hit the international screen. She couldn't even speak the language-filming with a mostly foreign crew sounded like a hassle.

Seeing Nyx hesitate, not jumping to agree, Jouste got antsy.

Seafarion translated calmly. "Mr. Jouste really admires Zachary-he watched some of Breaking Chains and loved your performance. Then yesterday, he caught your live music show and decided you're the actress he's been searching for."

Jouste hadn't made a film in nearly a decade, waiting for inspiration-now prepping this one, he'd locked in most roles. except for one female character that'd stumped him for ages.

She had to nail tons of action scenes with minimal stunts or effects, be drop-dead gorgeous, seem gentle and pure on the surface, and ideally carry that classic beauty vibe. It was hard to find someone like that.

Then Nyx came along-Jouste called it divine intervention, handing him his dream actress. Seafarion skipped some of the old man's rambling, but Nyx could see the pleading in his eyes.

She wasn't great at saying no-her resolve softened fast. "But I've got a variety show to record right now," she said.

Just a local gig-any other actor would've ditched it in a heartbeat for this. But Nyx hated breaking promises she'd just made.

She believed in first come, first serve.

Jouste didn't mind–he admired her principles. "My movie's still in prep-it won't start till early next year at least," he said. "If you can, come try out for the role tomorrow at my set."

He'd pegged Nyx at first glance, but with an untested actor, Jouste wanted to be thorough-test her first, confirm she fit, then sign the deal. Nyx agreed tentatively.

They'd left at midnight, flown over ten hours across hemispheres-time zones flipped it back to night on arrival.

Before Kai's message, Nyx couldn't sleep from worry-after, she stayed awake chatting with Jouste, and got zero rest.

Wed, 19 Mar

Stepping off the plane, she was wipe-Seafarion's heart ached for her.

"Sit on my lap. Nyx," he said, opening his arms and polling her clove

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Wheelchair or not he was sturdy-nothing frail atent him-Nyx trusted her weight to him ne fear of crushing him

full

Burying her face in his chest, she shut her eyes and dored off fact. She woke to daylight, dressed in pajamas, feeling fresh and clean

Nyx xat up-Seafarion, nestled beside her, opened his eyes too. Seeing her scan the room, he explained. "This is my place in the city" One of many, of course.

"It's close to Jouste's set-should we eat breakfast and head over? He'd picked this spot for her audition convenience.

Abroad, Seafarion didn't cook himself he had a local chef whip up authentic dishes for Nyx. Turns out, authentic didn't always mean tasty. Nyx are halfheartedly, deciding home food was still the best.

The meal wasn't great, but a full night's sleep left Nyx glowing-jouste raved when

he saw her again, saying she looked even prettier than yesterday.

Nyx didn't catch his words, just knew it was praise, and waved it off. "Oh, not really."

Another woman stood by Jouste, letting out what seemed like a scornful snort.

Nyx glanced over-she flashed a polite fake smile, like that eye-roll never happened.

Seafarion suddenly asked Jouste, "Who's this?"

The woman's eyes lit up, locking onto him eagerly. 'Is Seafarion into me?' she wondered.

She curved her lips, confidently tossing her hair. She figured her looks rivaled Nyx's, and her family was leagues richer. Why should Nyx get such a great guy and a killer role? Those should be mine!' she thought.

Jouste smiled wryly and introduced her. "This is Sherilyn Boyle, the daughter of an old friend."

"Does she have a role in the film too?" asked Seafarion.

Sherilyn looked eager to jump in, but Jouste beat her to it. He shook his head firmly. "No."noveldrama

"If that's the case, could we ask unrelated people to step out for now?" Seafarion said coolly.

The jab was too direct-Sherilyn's face twisted ugly in a flash.

She bit her lip hard, itching to raise her hand and slap him, but she knew deep down she couldn't afford to offend the person in front of her, so she held it in, turned, and ran off, her footsteps stomping heavily with force.

"Sorry, that kid's too headstrong," Jouste said with a wry smile. "She's an only child, and my old friend had her late in life, so he spoiled her rotten like this."

He knew Seafarion's temperament well-there was no way he'd embarrass someone for no reason. It had to be that Sherilyn did something to upset him. With a little guesswork, Jouste could figure out why, shaking his head with a sigh. "Sherilyn had her eye on this role too, pestering me to let her audition several times, but she just didn't fit what I needed-no matter how many tries she got, it wouldn't work."

Given Sherilyn's spoiled nature, finding out the role she wanted was going to someone else must have made her resent Nyx.

Seafarion kicking her out turned out to be a good thing. Jouste fully approved. Otherwise, who knew what trouble she might

have stirred up later.

Nyx felt like she'd watched a play without subtitles, unable to understand what they were saying, only knowing redden had stood up for her again. She flashed Seafarion a bright smile, blinking at him. In an incans, the sera commanding mate blushed, turning soft and vulnerable again.

Jouste looked at them with a warm, fatherly expression, sighing silently. Youth wre is something he fought. He hulet expected Seafarion to be like this when it came to love.

Before the audition started, Nyx checked the time and sent Kai a location pin, jose to the leopard wouldn't get off the plane and wander around cluelessly, causing some mix-up.

She asked Seafarion to translate and mentioned to Jouste, "A friend might come by later to find me

"No problem," Jouste agreed readily. "What does he look like? Or what's his name? I'll les the reception know

"Tall, light blond hair, green eyes. Nyx gestured with her hands. Height alone made her partners stand out in my cront

"His name's Kai," Nyx added, just to be safe.

The moment he stepped off the plane, Kai headed straight for the address Nyx gave him

The receptionist waited at the entrance, spotting the tall, striking figure from afar, sensing something different about him. and stepped forward, seeing those green eyes. "Are you Mr. Kai?"

After confirming his identity, he led the way. About a hundred or two hundred meters from the main gate. Kai paused his gaze locking onto two figures hidden in

a corner behind a pile of props.

A man and a woman were arguing fiercely.

"I paid you plenty already, didn't I? Don't get too greedy!"

"Greedy? Don't you know how much risk this took? When you hired me, you didn't mention she was the richest guy's

woman!"

"If you knew the risk was big, why are you still dawdling here? Instead of arguing with me, take the money and run alreadyr

The wind howled, outdoor noise drowning out their hushed spat, unnoticed by passersby but caught by Kat's sharp ears.

"Whoa-ahhh!"

Out of nowhere, a stern-faced man leaped down from the prop pile, startling them into screams. How did this gay move without a sound?' they wondered.

He moved like a sleek leopard, radiating wild strength. Looking up at his face, Sherilyn's breath quickened, her cheeks flushing.

But in the next moment, someone grabbed her collar, snapping her out of her flustered daze, leaving only terror. She didn't even get to yell "Help!" before Kai hauled both conspirators, one in each hand, out in front of everyone. "Jouste!" Sherilyn screamed, tears streaming, thinking she'd been kidnapped, begging Jouste to save her.

Everyone turned to look, and Jouste's eyes widened. "W-What?"

Nyx was halfway through her audition when she saw this unfold, climbing down a ladder in shock, but on the third step, her foot slipped.

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The ladder collapsed. Gasps erupted all around her. To make matters worse, the

safety harness snapped with a loud "pop."

Everyone watched helplessly as she lost balance and fell from the height- Kai's pupils shrank.

Without thinking, he flung the two aside, lunging like an arrow, catching Nyx midair, twisting his body with a powerful flex to land safely with her in his arms. Unlike a slow-motion movie scene, it happened so fast onlookers thought it was an illusion, over in a blink. Silence fell, everyone dazed. 'Is this guy even human?' they wondered.

Only Seafarion rushed forward, shouting, "Nyx!"

He couldn't process whether Kai's speed or jump defied human limits-his only concern was Nyx, his face pale with fear, drained of color.

Even Kai lingered in the shock of what could've been. If he'd been a second late, Nyx would be seriously hurt. He held her tight, trembling.

Since the accident happened in Jouste's studio, he couldn't escape responsibility. Once the panic faded, he had a hunch who was behind it, his face grim as he told the police everything he knew.

Facing his old friend begging for help, he stayed stone-faced, refusing sharply. "If you'd disciplined your daughter sooner, it wouldn't have come to this. Now she's hurt an innocent actor and dragged me down too-what help do you expect from

me?"

His friend's face fell. "The case is still under investigation-how can you be sure it was Sherilyn?"

Jouste let out a cold laugh and ignored him. The issue lay with the equipment and props-finding out who tampered with them would lead to the truth, and tracing the money would catch the mastermind.

Kai dragging in Sherilyn with one hand and a crew member who rigged the gear with the other made it obvious who was guilty-all that was left was evidence. Cutting ties with his old friend, Jouste grabbed some prized gifts and went to visit

Nyx in the hospital.

The hospital was quiet, bodyguards keeping out outsiders, even someone like Jouste getting thoroughly checked before being let in. He knocked, stepped into the room, and froze at the sight.