3rd POV
The next day, Maxine woke up to a very warm fuzzy body slightly squashed against her cheek. She opened her eyes and she saw her jaguar husband sleeping beside her.
After taking Rowan as her mate weeks ago. Two of her mates Sebby and Caius approved of Rowan. They welcomed him into the family without any doubts. The cubs were also happy since they now had another father to play with.
Sebastian cuddled his fuzzy jaguar body around Maxine like a pillow. She smiled seeing her husband peacefully sleeping just after he tiredly chased his energetic cubs around the field a minute ago.
She remembers seeing him and Rowan who had just left to hunt, playing and chasing the cubs up and down the field. Both men switched turns running as it was exhausting to chase hyper cubs around.
Earlier, Maxine saw Rowan realizing that cubs were physically exhausting. She admits it's sometimes hard keeping up with the cubs as Rowan himself was a calm and laid back beastmen. He knew nothing about taking care of cubs. But was willing to learn so that he himself can care for his own. The cubs were still babies, one of the most active of all. When they learned how to properly walk in just four months they could now run.
They were similar to that of "balls of fire" because they have so much energy in the day but little at night. But just the way Rowan looked was a total mess when he chased the cubs. Sweating all over, sluggishly walking, and panting. As a top soldier like himself he has experienced lots of hardships but taking care of energetic fire balls was different.
Maxine sighed when she saw two of her cubs playing with another victim to exhaust. It was Raymond in his wolf form playing with them. She thought that by now the cubs would be tired. But instead they looked like they still had lots of energy left when they began jumping and running around Raymond, their next playmate and target.
"Sam?!! Where is Sam?!" Maxine said, in panic.
When she was observing her cubs playing around her motherly instincts quickly kicked in. When she saw that there were two cubs around Raymond and one was missing! She began panicky looking around the garden to find her missing cub. Who was the smallest and youngest in the litter.
"SAM?!! Baby, where are you?" Maxine yelled, calling to her littlest cub. She fears him running off too far and getting lost.
Maxine knew that her third cub Sam was the shyest out of all her cubs. He is a sweet and kind cub that loves giving free kisses to her when feeling down. Though he loves following his brothers and fathers around the place. He would cry when being around unfamiliar things. Especially when he gets lost or alone somewhere. It would freak him out when being left behind with no one familiar.
Maxine remembers this one time when bringing her cubs to visit Lezon. Where he now lived in the Meldon plains located in the Ape king territory. The moment she dropped her cubs that were bundled inside a basket the two oldest began wandering around Lezon's home. Sam, who was the only one left, stayed looking around the strange place to where he was taken. When she was introducing her cubs to Lezon she carried Sam. Pulling Sebastian and Sam's faces together to show Lezon a point. That Sam was indeed a carbon copy of Sebastian in appearance. Both father and son duo had the same eyes and similar fur patterns but different personalities.
Sam who she carried in her hands had his big orange eyes widely staring at Lezon. In her cub eyes it was a stranger who he didn't know. He was frightened to see a big wolf beastmen staring directly at him. Soon those orange's eyes began tearing up, trembling with his fuzzy ears down as he whimpered. She remembered it took ages for her crying cub to calm down. With the many pats on the back to cradling him she felt bad seeing her cub be like this.
That was why Maxine was most worried about seeing Sam missing. She knows he is in distress.
When Maxine began yelling out Sam's name out loud. Her two cubs and Raymond who were playing turned to her way all curious. When hearing Sam's name all of them howled and yapped in the air to what she thinks is calling his name in beast language. Her jaguar husband who was napping now woke up and stood helping. But Maxine told him to go back to see. She felt bad having Sebastian wake up since he was really tired. She told him she will find him herself and that he can go back to sleep.
To that Raymond and her two cubs continued playing while Maxine searched around the garden.
"Sam? Oh Sammi. Where are you?" She called out.
When walking around the rows of strawberry bushes. Maxine heard a small whimper coming somewhere inside the bushes. She quickly walked towards the source to where the noise came from and began peering through the bushes. When the noise came again she squatted down and pulled a bunch of vines away.
There Maxine saw her crying cub Sam in front of her. The poor little cub had both his feet and round body tightly tangled around the vines that trapped him from moving. His orange eyes had teary drops flowing down his cheeks. As a mother her heart cracked a little seeing her trembling cub in total distress. The way his fuzzy fur was all raised up all tense as both his tail and ears drooped down. He was that of a scared kitty.
"Don't worry baby, don't cry. Mommy is here" Maxine cooed to him in a sweet voice.
She began pulling and tugging the vines apart to untangle her trapped cub. The little cub who was trembling whimpered to her. Once free he quickly ran to his mommy arms.
She held both her arms open to Sam. The scared little cub embraced his mother's warmth that made him feel calm and comfortable again. His mommy's loving embrace and kisses landed right on the cub. She gave her cub some cold water for him to drink that she summoned with the flick of her finger while wiping off the dirt on his face.
When things settled down Maxine and her cub came back. The little cub once again played with his two older brothers and not before long. Sebastian who had just woken up from his nap growled in the air calling to his cubs, not before lazily stretching. His three cubs came running in towards him and there they set off. Sebastian and the cubs left Maxine and Raymond behind to train his sons in the forest.
"Bye Sebby! Bye babies!" Maxine said, waving goodbye to her three cubs who followed along Sebastian from behind. In secret, she squealed in excitement seeing how cute they were from a distance.
But a certain black wolf behind her had a pouty face hearing those words that were supposed to be meant for him. He was offended seeing her attention now split. For once in his life, Raymond felt jealous of those jaguar cubs as they were cuter than him. Sebastian's stinking yet clumsy cubs who would often play with him were starting to make him angry.
Despite him being angry slightly at the cubs they were the lowest that angered him. It was instead Maxine's new mate that enraged him the most. Thinking of that purple bird or even being around him made his blood boil. Not only did that bird male beat him to it but Raymond felt even more useless seeing another male in her family. That he himself was not a part of...
The only string that connected him to her was being her guardian.
Raymond wondered if he tried to court her. Can she really love him back?
Just like how he really loved her?
Well he knew he had to start now...
When Sebastian was walking with his three cubs into the forest. He abruptly stopped making the line from behind collapse. His cubs that were behind him tumbled and smushed together against his body from the sudden stop.
"Dawddy?" The three jaguar cubs synchronously called out their father in beast language. Their head tilted in curiosity looking at him to why he stopped.
"Dawddy, why stop" Sam the youngest curiously asked.
Sam came forward to his father. Not knowing that his father was actually standing in alert as the cub can hear his father's low growls.
"No! You stop! Daddwy I play! '' Sean playfully blabbered to his brother then to his father. He stomped his feet feeling playful. He used his front paw to repeatedly pat his father's back to join him in a game of play.
All three cubs questioned their father but were ignored. They instead sat down close to him as their big eyes wandered around. They looked at the vast plants and foliage from the tall trees above. The crawling critters from the ground while the birds in the air squawk.
The father and son group had their eyes and ears open. When they heard footsteps in the distance they quickly turned. Sebastian growled at the danger and stanced his position, ready for his attack.
When the steps got louder there revealed a familiar green haired female. The moment she stepped out Sebastian told his cubs from behind to hide. To be specific, telling them to hide under the flower bushes that had a strong fragrance. So that the strong flowery aroma will cover his cubs scent, making it hard for any beast to detect their presence. The three cubs ran and ran with their little feet entering the flowery bush in the distance. Once in they crawled inside. They did not make any noise to what their father strictly taught them. Their eyes watched from afar seeing their daddy all alone.
Sebastian transformed back into his beastmen form wearing long baggy pants. He had a belt that was equipped with a black dagger.
"Ah!" The female yelled seeing a jaguar male she used to court in the past. Her males from behind followed her.
"Oh Sebastian~" She called out in a loving tone.
Sebastian had his hand by his hip where the dagger was. With the black dagger in his hold to where he was, he decided to be ready for the attack. Despite him not using his jaguar form to fight he thought that it would be a real hassle since seeing the female having lots of spousal marks on her body. This potential fight if she gets angry and decides to fight will be serious for him. Since he needs to fight back her males while protecting his cubs.
"Oh... it's you again...." He thought, slightly looking away to show a secret annoyed expression. He sighed when seeing her smile as he already knew her intentions.
That smile the green haired female named Rosemary had on, was not any kind of smile. It was him knowing that she had a scheme coming.
"Have you come back to the beast city to find me? Of course, I know you will. I am the prettiest female of all. After all, I was the hunting queen". Rosemary said.
Rosemary came forward grabbing his shoulder in tempts to seduce him. She knew that even if Sebastian wasn't a king like the leopard king who rejected her. He was just as strong and powerful. Her dreams to become queen can come true once this jaguar becomes her male. She knows he can overthrow the current leopard king. She wanted to show the leopard king and that white haired female payback to what they have done!
If she becomes queen Rosemary will be the perfect leopard queen. As the tiger and leopard tribe will be united into one. No one dares to hold their noses high up to her again. She will be most feared by orcs below her. She will one day be powerful and wealthy just like her uncle's mate, the tiger queen.
"No, of course not." Sebastian bluntly said. He yanked his trapped shoulder forward to free it from Rosemary's clutches. He backed away, giving distance between them.
Rosemary shaked her head ignoring his words to what he said. Thinking about it would just annoy her. Her mouth moved, speaking again.
"Since you are here. Hurry up and be my male! You should be lucky that I'm willing to make you my male! What female would want a scar ugly male like you? No female would want that" She mocked giggling at that thought. She looked straight into Sebastian's eyes and was met with a surprised shock to her ears.
" Thank you for the offer but I will have to decline. I already have a mate"
"What!?" She yelled.
Anger and displeasure filled inside Rosemary when hearing his last words "I have a mate". She was downright furious. What female in their damn mind would mate with such a ugly male?!
When she was thinking of who an idea came to mind. She thinks that the reason why the female mated was because he was strong. When she was away to go to the fox tribe she thinks that Sebastian may have been desperate and was regretting it when she was away. To that she smiled, satisfied that she knew it all along.
"Who is it?! Break-"
When Rosemary was about to finish her sentence Sebastian interrupted bluntly leaving. She was in shock and saw him leave right in her face. She yelled and began following him. Her males from behind followed.
"HEY! Wait where are you going?! Let me come along!"
"Why?? What direction are you going?" Sebastian said.
He stopped and turned his head back. He had his eyes not on Rosemary but her males that were evenly spreaded behind her. He counted all the males present including the ones hidden above the treeline. When he said that question her answer was important to his plan because it will decide what he will do next. If she pointed in the direction to where his cubs hid. Sebastian had no choice but to go with her. He had to ward Rosemary and her males away from that area.
"Over there, back to the river,"
Sebastian sighed in relief knowing that she was going back to the direction she entered and it was the opposite to where his cubs were.
"Aw.. that's too bad I'm going the opposite way."
Sebastian slowly walked away from her pretending to leave so that she would leave first.
"It doesn't matter if you're mated or have cubs with her. Break off your bond now! If you leave her I know I can be better! I will give you a stronger liter of cubs."
She went towards him in a haughty look full of confidence. In her mind, she knows she can give birth to stronger cubs as she is a bloodline to tiger royalty. Her uncle was the tiger king and she wanted to make him proud in becoming the leopard queen he always asked her to one day be.
"Regardless of what you say, I will pass. I could never abandon my family."
He declined which made Rosemary furious once more and walked out back to the river. Her males behind followed her. Not before giving a glare to Sebastian before leaving.
"You will be my male! I'm going to tell the tiger king!" Rosemary said before leaving.
Sebastian looked around the place checking if all the twenty eight males he counted had all left.
"Come out"
When the coast was clear he told his cubs to come out from the bushes. Small little paws came out of the bushes and came running to him. The father and son group walked further away as they continued their training once more.
Meanwhile outside the palace, were Maxine and Raymond now by the lake.
"You suck. But it's alright." Maxine said.
Raymond, who was swimming in the lake, was offended by what Maxine said. An irritation came hearing that complaint. Catching fish in the lake was not as easy as he thought! Those slippery sea beasts were fast and quick whenever he tried grabbing one. The water was his limitation since he was not used to hunting underwater like this. It wasn't a wolf's task to hunt in water and most wolf beastmen would usually hunt in land.
" Should we just wait for Sebby to come back. It's alright, you don't have to hunt if you can't catch any, I don't want to force you to do this," she suggested.
Raymond was then again offended. When seeing Maxine who was sitting down by the edge of the lake a blush formed in his cheeks. Seeing this cheeky female tell him he was not able to catch fish was a challenge! How dare she doubt his hunting abilities?! Raymond wanted to prove her wrong!
"Shut up, who needs him! I can do it by myself!" He said. His cheek reddened more when seeing her giggle to his protest.
"Okay, try your best Ray. You can do it!" Maxine said, cheering him on as she gave a thumbs up to him.
"Hmph! I don't believe you!"
Raymond pouted, crossing his arms. He was annoyed that she now was on his side again supporting him even when earlier she doubted his hunting abilities.
"What? Why are you acting like a pouty wolf today? Wasn't it you who insisted on fishing? Even when I tried helping you threw my fishing rod away. I didn't mean anything to offend you. When you were struggling I didn't want you to feel down. That was why I suggested waiting. I still support you either way" Maxine explained.
" Thank you for worrying about me. But I-if you really want to support me give me a kiss!"
"Ehhh? Why" She said, in surprise. Feeling a bit flustered at what Raymond had said. As it was not like Raymond to say that. Usually, she herself is the one that would say that to him. So that she could see his adorable red face whenever teasing him.
" It's not fair! You gave kisses to those cubs and that jaguar before they left. Why can't I get one?!"
Raymond, still in the water, came towards Maxine. His jade eyes widened as he showed her something she couldn't resist which were sad puppy eyes. He whimpered slowly begging. Maxine tried to look away from the sad puppy in front of him. But whenever she looked away Raymond was one step ahead. He used his sad puppy face to get her to agree.
She sighed and said "Fineee you win, come here"
Maxine waved her hand calling Raymond to come. The wolf male led his face forward and waited for his kiss. Once he felt her hand to holding one of his cheek she leaned in a gave a kiss on the cheek
Raymond's face instantly turned red. The light kiss on his cheek felt like he was on cloud nine. It made his tail swish excitedly while something hot and warm inside him rushed through his veins. When Maxine was talking to him he became quiet in a daze.
"Ray?" Maxine called again.
"If I catch a fish will I get another kiss? This time I want to be kissed on the lips!"
"What!!?? R-ray!"
She scolded when the bashful Raymond came closer to her face. She blushed as their lips almost touched each other. She could feel his hands holding her hips while his face that was drenched with water dropped below. His hair that was cold and wet dripped down landing on her yellow dress.
She never thought this bashful and shy wolf she met now turned into someone different. When it comes to hug, touch, or any forms of affection Raymond was persistent, waiting until he got what he wanted.
But it was all thanks to her hand that instantly blocked his lips. This sneaky yet softhearted wolf tried to lean in to do it himself. When she had her hand on his blocked lips Raymond whimpered.
Maxine kept calling Raymond's name over and over again to get him to pay attention. But it looked like his eyes were glued to her lips. When he noticed her talking he shifted his attention to her face in confusion.
She was irritated that he was not paying attention. She wanted to give this wolf a small lesson. When she was about to do that in her hand she felt something wet and soft touch her skin.
"Eek!" Maxine squealed when she saw Raymond's tongue licking her hand that blocked his lips. She quickly drew her back. Raymond was one step ahead and when his teeth got a hold of her finger. She became flustered seeing the naughty wolf playfully biting her fingers.
She didn't feel embarrassed seeing him bite her finger since she is used to her cubs doing that. Maxine felt this way because of the sounds of slurps and licks coming from Raymond. She knew this Raymond that was normally softhearted is now being sneaky and teasing to her. The way his jade eyes looked at her were filled with crave and desire. Him biting wasn't like the typical childish biting as she could see in his eyes that he wanted something more from her.
" Maxine~" Raymond called in a low and seductive voice.
The now shy and embarrassed Maxine turned her head back.
"Instead of a kiss won't you give me a gift to celebrate reaching two beastmarks? You can give me the gift once I catch the fish"
She nodded " Then what is your gift you want?"
When Raymond was about to answer a flying rock from the forest was thrown in a vertical direction. The rock was so quick and fast it almost landed straight at Raymond's face. But it missed by a few inches.
*BANG*
The rock that missed Raymond luckily passed right through the top of his left shoulder. The rock shattered into pieces when it pierced through a tree. Raymond's eyes from earlier widen just noticing the flying rock a second after it passed him.
He growled and his eyes went to the direction where the rock was thrown. He and Maxine search deeply in the forest to see who it was.
" Hey"
Maxine jumped a little spooked by the sudden voice. She looked and the person next to her was her husband Rowan. Who had just come back from hunting. He had his legs crouched down while holding a big wild boar in his shoulder.
"Welcome back, Ro" Maxine greeted him back with a light kiss. Rowan placed the boar on the ground and sat right next to her by the edge.
Raymond, who was in front of them, cracked at Rowan's calm expression on his face. He growled knowing that the smile on Rowan's face was pretend. Rowan intentionally hid his aggravation away from Maxine.
"It was you who threw that rock, wasn't it?!" Raymond yelled, pointing his finger at the pierce tree.
"Huh?" Rowan tilted his head in confusion. He looked at the tree and said a single "woah" with no excitement in his voice.
Rowan's bland reaction to the tree made Raymond pissed. He knew that it was definitely him who threw that rock on purpose! A top scout like Rowan who worked under high ranking orcs were swift and sneaky.
"Woah Ray, calm down. Rowan arrived after the rock was thrown. Don't pin the blame on him"
Maxine interrupted and tried to calm the hostile wolf down. She could see the straint and tense feeling in the air. The long stare between Raymond and Rowan felt endless. It turned to a staring contest since not one of them blinked. She could hear Raymond's low growls when staring at Rowan.
The first one who moved was Rowan who turned to his mate.
"What are you doing?" He asked, seeing her sit by the edge of the lake. Her feet dipped into the water while she leaned back to relax. When sitting next to her by the edge Rowan looked at the open lake ahead of him.
" We are catching fish in the lake but we had no luck getting some"
" Do you need help?" Rowan questioned.
To that Maxine nodded. "Yea sure, why not give it a try"
Raymond growled hearing Maxine's approval as now this bird was helping get fish. He didn't like it a bit since he struggled to get some. He felt bitter getting help from someone stronger than him since he wanted to do it alone. He wanted to show Maxine that he was capable. When Rowan asked to help it he realized that he had to step it up.
By step up Raymond wanted to beat this bird! The challenge to who can get the most fish.
"Purple haired bird! I challenge you!" Raymond shouted with his fingers pointing at Rowan.
Rowan slapped Raymond's finger off his face. He heard many insults when working under the beast's kings. All aimed at him which did not affect him in any way. However, when the wolf said purple bird out loud he was irritated. How dare that wolf call him a purple bird?! Rowan knew he had to show this wolf a lesson.
"Sure" Rowan calmly said before smiling at him. On the inside he felt bitter and once they began their challenge he would show this wolf who he was messing with.
"Okay! Do your best out there. I am cheering you guys on!" Maxine cheerfully said.
Little did she know that once she clapped loudly in the air the challenge soon started between the two males.
"Ehh?!! So fast!" Maxine thought.
They had disappeared in a millisecond! She could see them diving and swimming in the lake to catch fishes. Both males were in their beastmen form using their sharp teeth or claws to get a hold of the fish.
When the two males brawled and fought for the fishes underwater. Maxine who was still sitting near the edge of the lake drooled thinking about the delicious food to make out of it. With the boar Rowan brought and some potential fish catched. She might as well cook up some pork dumplings and a creamy fish soup for dinner.
All she thought of that noon was what dishes she had in mind. Soup, marinated, stir fry, pan fried, and roasted. Her options for what she could make out of pork and fish were endless.
Little did she know that the two males in the lake were literally trying to drown each other while fighting for fish.
-thx for reading❤️