Chapter 79: The Fated Mate And The Dangerous Plan!
Neve ran as fast as his legs could carry him through the snowy village.
The Winnie the Pooh blanket fluttered behind him like a cape, slowing him down slightly. But he did not care about that. He had to get to the meeting. He had to stop whatever replacement was happening. He had to fix this.
But even as he ran, doubt crept into his mind.
How was he going to stop it? He did not know anything about the tiger tribe politics. He did not understand their customs or their power structures. All he had done was accept the bond from Ryker. He had not built any real relationship with him beyond that.
He felt guilty.
He did not want to ruin Ryker’s relationship with his tribe. He did not want to be the reason the tiger prince lost everything he had worked for.
He got to the village center and stopped.
They were all gathered there. A few leopard tribe members stood on the edges, watching but not participating because this meeting did not concern them. Most of the beastmen present were from the tiger tribe.
And there was Ryker.
Standing in front of his people with his neck bare.
The cowries chain was gone. The symbol of his chieftaincy was missing. He was no longer the chief.
Neve covered his mouth with his hand, stepping backward involuntarily.
He took another step and his leg almost gave out completely.
But someone appeared behind him in an instant.
"Don’t move, Neve," Sorin’s voice said quietly.
Neve felt tears building in his eyes before he could stop them.
"He lost his title because of me," Neve said, his voice breaking slightly. The tears spilled over, tracking down his cheeks. "I did this to him."
"It’s not because of you, Neve," Sorin said, his hand settling on Neve’s shoulder. He sounded certain, but Neve thought he was just saying that to make him feel better. "He made this decision himself. Since yesterday, actually. His people kept forcing him to marry a specific female."
Sorin pointed toward the girl standing nearby.
Neve lifted his wet face to look at her. She was beautiful. Young. Calm. She stood with the posture of someone who was used to authority and expectation. Her white ears perked slightly as she observed the meeting.
She was the fated mate. Popi.
Neve could not explain why, but he could not trust her immediately. He did not know if it was because of his experience with Bella. If being betrayed once had made him suspicious of all females in this world.
He stared at her.
Popi suddenly snapped her head to the side and locked eyes with him directly.
Neve flinched and looked away immediately.
"Don’t worry," Sorin said gently. "She’s not evil. I’ve been watching her all day. She’s not plotting anything against you or Ryker."
Neve finally wiped the tears off his cheeks with the back of his hand. He leaned against Sorin’s body to look him in the eye more clearly.
"Thanks," he said, grateful for the reassurance. "I never knew Ryker had a fated mate."
"Ryker himself didn’t know," Sorin said. "Or should I say, he didn’t remember. But she’s willing to give him up for you, which is..." He paused. His expression shifted into something more serious. "However, those people are planning something dangerous."
Neve’s stomach tightened.
"Dangerous?" he asked, his voice dropping lower. "What kind of dangerous? What are they planning?"
Sorin glanced at the gathering of tiger tribe members.
"I’m afraid I can’t understand the tiger tribe language," Sorin admitted. "So I couldn’t listen in on what they’re saying. I can only see their expressions and their body language and it all looks very calculated."
Neve wished desperately that he could understand what they were saying. If he were there, if he were close enough, his beast language ability might help him understand. But from this distance and wrapped in a ridiculous blanket, he could not hear anything.
He turned to watch the meeting more carefully.
A new beastman was stepping forward now. He was large and impressive looking. He stood beside Popi and Ryker, and the way the crowd was reacting suggested something significant was happening.
"What are they doing?" Neve asked urgently. "Is it a marriage? Are they getting married?"
"I don’t know," Sorin said. His hand tightened on Neve’s shoulder. "But stay close to me, Neve. I’m going to keep you safe."
Neve smiled slightly at how protective Sorin was being. Even with all his other responsibilities and all the other things happening in his life, Sorin was still prioritizing Neve’s safety.
If someone tried to attack him from over there, it would take at least thirty seconds to run across the village center and reach where Neve and Sorin were standing. Thirty seconds was enough time to escape or to call for help.
That was what Neve thought.
But he did not know about the frenzy flower.
He did not know that Popi had accidentally inhaled it just seconds ago. The scent had drifted through the winter air and she had breathed it in without realizing what it was.
The frenzy flower was a rare plant that increased beastmen’s senses tenfold and make them go wild.
Popi’s senses were already ten times better than normal beastmen because of her genetics.
With the frenzy flower in her system, her senses were now fifty times better than a regular beastman’s.
Which meant her speed was proportionally increased.
Which meant the thirty seconds Neve thought he had was actually much, much less.
Which meant she could cover the distance between where she stood and where Neve stood in just five seconds.
Neve had no idea any of this was happening.
He just stood there wrapped in his Winnie the Pooh blanket, leaning against Sorin, watching the meeting unfold, completely unaware that danger was about to strike.
Completely unaware that Popi was about to lunge out of where she was standing... To attack him.
Poor Neve had no idea.