Beauties and Beasts

Chapter 42: brought to you by creepy old men

"Fine, why did you let him assume they were yours?"

"If I have mated with you, he can't get rid of the offspring easily without incurring the wrath of the Tiger Clan. Although I am banished, my children will be strong and a necessary addition to their ranks." He looked down at her, although his mind seemed elsewhere. "They will be protected until they are born, but we can find an excuse for that later."

Theo stepped forward and offered an oily bag. "For you, beautiful female."

"Theo, it's been a month. You can call me Neara." She took the bag and opened it. Cotton flowers were stuffed inside until it bulged out the top. She shook it loose over the remaining cotton and sighed. "Well, this should help in the winter, at any rate."

Orson stood next to Neara with every muscle in his body flexed. "And you're not offended they aren't yours?"

Winston paused in rearranging the cotton blooms. "I am just her protector, not her mate. They couldn't possibly be mine." He went back to spreading the cotton out, thinning it into a sheet so it would dry faster.

The bunny looked at his feet, then at Neara. "I will wait until next year!"

"Don't you have other fertility rituals to attend to?" Neara tried not to sound snarky, but she couldn't help it; he'd been following her for almost 3 months, drooling over her every move and while she was used to it by a certain extent, he took it too far daily. His political immunity meant she couldn't send him away, but she'd rather not deal with the libido that came from an underage rabbit.

"Next year, yes, but I will wait until your estrous cycle to leave. If you still don't want me..." His voice dropped in volume and he whispered the last bit into his hands.

"Fine. Let's just go to bed." Neara dragged Orson to the bedroom and let the other two males sort things out for themselves. "Orson, do you think I'm really pregnant?" She pressed her hands against her belly in a vain attempt to feel their movements. Of course she wouldn't feel them... of course they'd be too small. They were only a day old.

"If the Ape King says you are, I have no reason to doubt him. It's unusual that he couldn't sense who the father was; I thought his powers were almost limitless."

"I guess that's why he's a two-mark." His hands joined hers around her middle and he squeezed her tightly.

"I'll take them to my village in the spring, if you like," he murmured, "the community raises our young in the Sheep Clan, and they should be weaned in the light rainy sea... spring. Hm. You're right. It is shorter."

"What will happen to them?" Not that she felt any particular bond with her unborn, but she felt nervous about babies leaving their mother.

"They're placed in a pasture close to the village with the elders watching them day and night. They take them to the best grass, the best water, the best shade, the best of everything. Our sons will be strong, so extra care will be shown for their sakes."

"How did he know they'd be strong?"

Orson hesitated. "Well, it must be because of you. Merpeople are a strong tribe, so it must be inherited."

Neara yawned. "That makes sense." Before she could continue the discussion, she fell asleep.

In the morning, Winston vanished. Neara searched for him all over the City of Beasts and even had Theo check the woods. Their sense of smell couldn't compete though, and they couldn't find him. Panic gripped her heart as she remembered the two wolf beastmen from last night.

"Orson, we have to find him!"

"The only ones who might kill him are Curtis, the Wolf King, the Tiger King, and the Leopard King." He held up four fingers. "Curtis is Shay's mate and wouldn't attack him unless he came after Shay, which he wouldn't, so it wasn't Curtis. The Leopard King isn't close to the Ape King, so he wouldn't. That leaves the Wolf King, who is too weak, and the Tiger King, who can't be bothered. He's a lazy beastman who prefers sending others to do his dirty work. You're overreacting like you always do."