Chapter 92: Murderous Traitor
The fox was walking toward the group slowly, emerging from the forest shadows with her head slightly bowed and her tail tucked. She looked shaken, her hair dishevelled and her steps unsteady, as if she had been sitting somewhere nearby this entire time, waiting for it to end.
More infuriating was that mask of frightened innocence she was wearing, as if she was a victim in all this.
Something volcanic erupted inside Tera.
A surge of strength she didn’t know she still possessed shot through her battered body. She pushed against Xavi’s arms, struggling to get down.
"Let me go—"
"Tera!" His hold on her tightened.
"Unable to get off Xavi, she sat up, pointing at Kiri with a trembling hand.
"She did this!"
Xavi stilled. "What?"
"Kiri!" Tera’s voice was raw, broken, but it carried. "She brought that thing—led it to us!"
Kiri froze.
Every beast turned to look at her.
Kiri’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her eyes were wide, and for the first time since Tera had met her, there was genuine terror there.
"That’s—that’s not true." Kiri’s voice shook. "I didn’t—"
"Don’t lie, you stupid bitch! YOU DID THIS!" Tera raged.
"She led the monster to us!" Tera continued. "I saw you. You led it to us, and the cubs—"
"I didn’t know the cubs would be there."
The words hung in the air like a blade suspended by a thread. Every beast who heard them understood exactly what they meant, and exactly what they confirmed.
She hadn’t denied leading the monster. She had only denied knowing about the cubs.
Which meant she had known about Tera.
The horror that spread across the clan members’ faces was instantaneous. Several of them stepped back from Kiri as if she were contaminated. The only other female there covered her mouth, while a few others eyed Kiri with pure, unfiltered disgust.
Kiri looked around, shocked and confused.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Xavi’s growl deepened into something barely recognisable as a sound a living creature should make. His golden eyes had gone dark, and the muscles along his arms and shoulders were locked rigid with a fury that was visibly fighting to stay contained.
"Repeat that," he said, his voice so quiet it was almost lost beneath his own growl.
Kiri looked confused. "I didn’t say anything. What do you want me to—"
"Repeat yourself," Ermin growled, his hairs standing on end as he glared at Kiri. "What did you say about the cubs?"
Kiri’s face crumpled. She seemed to realise, all at once, what she had just said. Her mouth opened and closed, her eyes darting between Xavi and the surrounding clan members as the full weight of her own confession settled onto her shoulders.
She had only thought about it, she didn’t know those words had slipped out.
"I—I didn’t mean—I was scared, and I ran, and I didn’t—"
"REPEAT WHAT YOU SAID!" Xavi roared.
Kiri flinched so hard she nearly fell.
Xavi took a step toward Kiri, but stopped. His massive frame was trembling with the effort of restraint. He had never wanted to strike a female, but he was fighting that principle now with every fibre of his being.
"You led a corrupted beast to my mate," he gritted out. "To a pregnant female. To cubs!"
Kiri’s tears were flowing freely now, but they weren’t the practised, strategic tears the clan had seen before. These were real.
Out of everything, she was most heartbroken that Xavi was looking at her like he hated her.
She almost couldn’t believe it.
"I am sorry—sorry—I didn’t mean for the cubs—"
"THE CUBS?!" Xavi roared.
[( ◺˰◿ )]
[Is this wicked thing even sorry for what she has done?!]
Tera was itching to slap Kiri till her face was red, and before she could carry out her wish, the dinosaur corpse shifted.
Everyone froze.
[(O_O)!]
[IT ISN’T DEAD YET!]
’No shit! You didn’t check earlier?!’
One clawed hand pressed against the earth, and the creature began to push itself up. Its movements were broken and shuddering, its body leaking dark fluid from dozens of wounds, but it was refusing to let the ruined body stop.
All the males stood on edge, already shifting back into their beast forms and ready to attack. Xavi quickly moved to place Tera down, but Tera noticed something.
Kiri was the closest one to the monster.
She had been standing near the creature’s body when it stirred, and now she was barely three steps from its head. The monster’s gaze, already unfocused and dying, settled on the nearest living thing.
Her.
Kiri panicked and turned to run, but the monster was faster in its final surge.
Its jaws closed around her before her second stride hit the ground.
"NO!" Kiri screamed.
The beast men didn’t hesitate. They all launched at the monster’s neck as it ripped through Kiri like a rag doll. The males’ teeth and claws ripped into what remained of the beast’s neck and tore flesh out.
The monster’s body convulsed once, its jaws loosened, and it collapsed. The males ripped further into its flesh, nearly decapitating its head.
The forest finally went silent, and everyone was left staring at the mangled corpse.
Kiri lay on the ground where the monster’s jaws had released her. Her fox form was broken and still. Her body was matted with dark blood, and the beautiful tail that had once swayed with calculated grace was motionless.
She was dead.
Tera stared at the body.
She did feel relief and a strange satisfaction, but she felt oddly shaken and angry at the same time.
Eveything that had happened just now had been so jarring and sudden.
Most especially...
’She had died too quickly. She should have suffered more.’
[༎ຶ‿༎ຶ]
[As much as I would like to share Host’s thoughts]
[That was not quick or painless from her perspective]
’Whatever...’
At least she was finally gone.
The world tilted.
"Tera?"
Xavi’s voice sounded far away. His face swam above her, and she realised she was now lying down on the floor.
[HOST...]
Everything went quiet.