Chapter 221: Uncle Dimi
The highway to Bowral was a graveyard of rusted sedans and cracked asphalt, the kind of terrain that made a bipedal gait a nightmare for a sensitive stomach. Felicity didn’t even have to ask. Damien had slid beneath her with the fluid grace of a shadow, his lower body a massive, powerful coil of emerald and black scales that smoothed out every tremor of the earth.
He held her against his chest, his arms a protective cage, looking for all the world like a dark god carrying his most precious relic.
"Get any more comfortable, and you’ll start purring," Lucan teased. "Then I’ll have competition."
Felicity let out a soft, sleepy chuckle, her fingers tracing the intricate patterns on Damien’s forearm. "He’s just so... aerodynamic walking is so last season, Lucan. I’ve transitioned into a lifestyle of being carried by beautiful monsters; it’s a growth phase."
Ivan let out a low, vibrating grumble from the left flank. To the casual observer, he looked like a wall of stoic, battle-hardened muscle, his golden eyes fixed firmly on the horizon. But the way his tail flicked irritably, and the slight furrow in his brow betrayed him. He wanted his turn; he wanted that jasmine scent back on his own skin, not drifting off a snake’s scales.
"You look like you’ve got a toothache, Ivan," Felicity called out, a cheeky glint in her eyes. "Or are you just practising your ’brooding lion’ face for the official palace portrait?"
Ivan didn’t look at her, his jaw tightening. "I am ensuring the perimeter is secure, little one. Someone has to be the adult while the rest of you play ’taxi.’"
"Oh, hush. When we get to Bowral, and I have a real bed, I’m going to make you all take me on dates," Felicity announced, her voice bright with a sudden, playful. "Real dates. Like the world isn’t ending, I want picnics in the botanical gardens, and I want you, Ivan, to find me a dress that hasn’t been chewed by a zombie. We’re going to make it real again."
The idea of a "date" hit the men in the column like a physical shock. Voss, walking ahead, felt his heart give a strange, heavy thump. A date, not a hunt, not a rescue, not a tactical briefing. Just... her.
"If Bowral isn’t good enough for a date," Ivan rumbled, his voice finally losing some of its edge, "then we will reshape it, we will tear down the ruins and build a city that is worthy of you. If the gardens are dead, we will plant new ones. If the buildings are grey, we will paint them with the blood of..."
"Maybe just paint, Ivan," Felicity interrupted, giggling. "Let’s start with normal paint. Blood is a bit of a ’Year One’ apocalypse. We’re moving into a more ’sophisticated kingdom’ vibe now."
At the centre of the formation, the most terrifying sight in the Southern Highlands was currently being used as a playground.
Dimitri had shifted into his beast form, a massive, hummer-sized albino snow leopard with paws the size of dinner plates and fur that looked like spun moonlight. Usually, this form was a harbinger of silence and death, a predator that could delete a squad before they heard a heartbeat.
Now, he was a glorified day care.
Luna and Frost were perched on his broad back, their tiny claws buried deep in his thick, luxurious fur. Luna was currently trying to "braid" the fur near his shoulder blades, while Frost was sprawled across Dimitri’s neck, chewing on a strand of his white mane.
Dimitri padded along the asphalt, his movements heavy and deliberate. He looked absolutely ridiculous. Every time he tried to let out a low, warning growl at a rustle in the bushes, Luna would pat his head and hiss, "Shhh, Uncle Dimi! I’m busy with your hair!"
The leopard’s ears flicked back, a look of profound, long-suffering patience in his red eyes. He caught Victor’s gaze, and for a second, the two apex predators shared a look of pure, unadulterated "What has my life become?"
"He likes it," Felicity whispered to Damien, pointing at the leopard. "Look at his tail, it’s wagging just a tiny bit."
"It’s a twitch of irritation," Damien countered, though he was smiling.
"No, it’s a wag. He’s a big softie under all that ’Silence Domain’ brooding."
"So, the kingdom," Felicity said, leaning her head back against Damien’s shoulder. "Are we letting people in? Or is it just us and the ’Purified’ we’re about to evict?"
Victor looked back, his red eyes thoughtful. "It’s a fortress first, Felicity, but a kingdom needs productive people, mated groups, perhaps. People who understand the value of what we’re building."
"She’ll start an orphanage," Richard chimed in from the back of the Leaf Team rotation, his voice carrying a dry, reckless edge.
"The way she picks up strays... look at the teenagers back in the valley and look at the cubs at this rate, we won’t have a kingdom; we’ll have a 24-hour daycare for every lost soul in the wasteland."
The air in the column didn’t just turn cold; it shifted in an instant, tension crackling as danger replaced the previous lighthearted camaraderie.
Voss stopped dead in his tracks. Ivan spun around, his golden aura flaring with a sudden, violent heat. Even Exile, who had been gliding silently, bared his fangs in a hiss that sounded like steam escaping a pipe.
"What did you say, Richard?" Voss asked, his voice a low, terrifying growl.
Richard froze, a flush of panic rising as he realised he’d stepped over a line that wasn’t just a boundary, but a cliff edge. "I—I just meant she’s kind! I meant she has a big heart!"
"They aren’t ’strays,’" Ivan roared, stepping toward the younger man. "They are the heirs of this pack, and those teenagers showed more loyalty than half the survivors we’ve encountered. If you think her kindness is a weakness, Richard, perhaps you’d like to test your strength against mine right now."
Victor didn’t move, but the sudden pressure of his Level 100 presence made Richard’s knees buckle. The undercurrent of protectiveness and steel in Victor’s demeanour left no doubt about his allegiances. "She is the Heart," Victor said, his voice dropping to a register that made the asphalt vibrate.
"And the Heart decides who belongs. If she wants an orphanage, I will build her the grandest one in history, and you will be the one scrubbing the floors."