The World of Beasts: She's Got Their Hearts novel Chapter 40

"That was my younger brother, Sawyer Hansen. He's also Karl's uncle, and the one who's been trying to kill him," Wayne said, his gaze complicated.

"His actual uncle? And he's trying to kill his own nephew?" Analise asked, clearly surprised. "Is it because of the lordship position?"

"More or less," Wayne replied after a pause. "Sawyer used to be a lot like Karl when he was younger—kind, brave, and a little shy around females. In that way, they were actually pretty similar."

Wayne gave a small smile, but it quickly faded into something more serious.

"But that all changed when he met his mate. Sawyer's mate was also a pure-human female. They had a peaceful, happy life together—until one day, the Vexoths launched a massive assault on the cities.

"The attack hit every alliance. Several pure-human females were captured by them. Sawyer's mate was one of them."

Wayne paused and glanced at everyone around the table.

Analise made the connection instantly. That must have been the same siege where Scott had rescued Vera. Scott remembered it was one of the bloodiest battles they'd faced.

"After that, Sawyer changed. He became angry and unstable. All he wanted was to find the Vexoths and get her back. But their base is incredibly well-hidden. To this day, no alliance has ever successfully located it.

"Eventually, I don't know how, but Sawyer came into contact with people from Colossus Alliance. He even brought back a female who looked strikingly similar to his mate.

"And from that moment on, he kept pushing me to form an alliance with Colossus Alliance. But Colossus Alliance has been deeply tied to The Reclaimers for a long time.

"Everyone in Interstellar Alliance knows that. So, I refused," Wayne continued, but the moment he mentioned that Sawyer had brought back a pure-human female, both Analise and Scott exchanged a glance.

Finlay, meanwhile, was still busy eating.

"Lord Hansen, have you heard about what happened with Ethereal Fang Alliance? And do you know where that female Sawyer brought back is now?" Analise asked.

"She disappeared."

Wayne's expression turned grim. "The moment Sawyer came back with her, I felt like something was wrong. I just couldn't put my finger on it.

"Honestly, I think helping to uncover them is a huge win. I'm proud of that and not ashamed."

Analise thought Wayne was quite charming when he panicked to explain himself.

"Lord Hansen, how old are you now?"

Back when she'd been reading in Stormclaw Alliance's library, she'd learned that once beastial DNA was activated, a person's lifespan stretched far beyond that of humans.

Normal humans rarely lived past 80 or 90 years old. A few rare cases reached a hundred years old.

But therians were different. The average lifespan of a therian was about 300 years old based on recorded data from the last 500 years.

The longest-living therian on record had reached 368 years old, holding the current record for the oldest living therian in history.