"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 gazeplicated.


    "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 simr."


    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 Vexothsunched 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 nced 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 sessfully 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 simr 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 Reimers for a long time.


    "Everyone in Interster 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 nce.


    Fiy, 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.


    "A few days ago, after we heard what happened with Ethereal Fang Alliance, I decided to send troops to track her down. But by the time they arrived, she was already gone.


    "Sawyer was convinced we took her. No matter how we tried to exin, he wouldn''t believe it. He even tried to use Karl''s life as leverage against me."


    Tears welled up in Wayne''s eyes as he spoke, "If I hadn''t sensed something was off and sent Jay to check on them, my son might not be alive today.


    "Thank the stars, Karl''s mind is strong. He held on long enough to make it back. And now, his own uncle would rather trust some mysterious female and The


    Reimer than believe in hiel


    blood."


    own


    "That female was probably one of the five robots created by the Vexoths," Analise


    said, ncing at Scott and Wayne.


    "But I wonder... Has she calmed anyone in Ironhorn Alliance?" she added, frowning.


    "Probably not," Wayne answered. "If she had, she''d be as famous as you by now."


    He quickly caught himself and gave a sheepish smile. "I mean... what I meant was-"


    "You don''t have to exin, Lord


    Hansen. fm not offended. If I hadn''t happened to yield mind essence, who knows how long those


    synthetic imposters would have kept hiding in in sight in the alliances?


    "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 exin himself. "Lord Hansen, how old are you now?"


    Back when she''d been reading in Stormw 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 thest 500 years.


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