Chapter 96: The Secret Relationship And A Crisis Unveiled!
After the chaos in Bella’s cave, after Jereth left in his snake form and Bella got hit by her own girl, Bella remained standing in shock.
She could not think of anything. Her mind was completely blank. There was no next move that could make up for the mess she had just caused. No scheme. No plan. No way to fix what she had done.
The girl that had hit her had even left the cave angrily, storming out without saying another word. Bella had no idea where she was going. Heaven knows where. It could be to report to Neve. It could be to gather supplies and leave the village. It could be anything.
Bella frowned and started chewing her nails again, a nervous habit she had developed over the years.
"What do we do, Bella?" the girl who had gone to search for Jereth asked, trying to get her attention.
Bella shot her a glare, irritated that the girl was distracting her from her spiraling thoughts.
"I don’t know. I don’t... Know!" she snapped.
She tried to calm down as she looked at the girl again, forcing herself to take a breath.
"You should head back," Bella said finally. "I need to rest. I need to think. Just go."
The girl nodded and left the cave without another word.
.
.
Outside the cave, the girl who had just left paused and looked back at the entrance.
"I’ll have to tell the chief about this before Bella puts all of us in trouble," she said quietly to herself.
She turned and started walking toward Soren’s cave, moving quickly through the darkness of the village night.
.
.
Inside Soren’s cave, the chief was standing alone.
He had just finished a small meeting with some of the members of the tiger tribe who wanted to discuss the transition of power now that Ryker was no longer their leader. They had come to negotiate trade agreements and territorial boundaries. It had been exhausting and tedious.
As soon as they left, Soren stood up and started walking toward the entrance.
That was when he heard the familiar voice.
"Chief," she called, lowering her head respectfully as she entered the cave. "I have news,"
"News?" Soren asked, walking even closer to her.
His hand snaked around her waist naturally, like he had done this a thousand times before. Doris tensed immediately, her body going rigid against his.
He pulled her close to his body, his chest pressing against her back.
"How many times have I told you not to call me chief when we’re alone?" he asked, his voice dropping into something softer. Something more intimate. "It’s just us, Doris. You can call me by my name."
Her cheeks flushed bright red and she tried to bury her face somewhere so he would not see how embarrassed she was. But there was nowhere to hide when he was holding her this close.
"I can’t get used to it," she said quietly. "Besides, no one must find out about our relationship. Not even Bella. Especially not Bella."
"Why? Do you think she’ll be against it?" Soren asked, his lips close enough to her ear that she could feel his breath.
"I doubt Bella will let me live if she finds out I’m going to be the next queen," Doris said, her voice trembling slightly. "She hates when someone is above her. She hates when anyone has more status or power than she does."
Soren planted a small kiss on Doris’s forehead before stepping back and releasing her.
The loss of contact made her feel cold immediately.
"I’ve been thinking of a way to get her to leave the village," Soren said, walking toward his sitting area. "She’s caused too much chaos. Too much pain. She needs to go."
Doris walked closer and sat opposite him, her body still warm from where he had been holding her.
"Well, I hope the information I bring to you is quite helpful," she said carefully. "It might be exactly what you need to make that decision."
Soren tilted his head, his expression becoming serious and focused. He was shifting into his chief mentality now. The protective side. The leader side.
"Tell me," he said simply.
"Bella just shared secret information with a beastman from the snake tribe," Doris said, her voice steady despite her nervousness. "An outcast. Someone from the forbidden tribes."
Soren’s entire body went tense.
"What?!" he yelled, slamming his fist down hard on the stone floor beneath him. The sound echoed through the cave. "What information did she share with an outcast? Tell me everything, Doris. Every single word."
Doris lowered her head, gathering her courage.
"She told him about Neve," Doris said quietly. "She told the outcast that Neve is able to cure the golden frog poison. The most lethal poison in the entire beast world."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Soren stood up abruptly.
"Bella!" he screamed her name, his voice carrying fury that shook through the cave. "This time, she has gotten enough. This time, she has gone too far."
He started pacing, his mind clearly working through the implications of what Bella had just done.
"If the outcasts have their hands on Neve and manage to get the cure from him, all the tribes would be in trouble. Not just us. All the tribes. We will be responsible for putting every single beastman in this world at risk."
He turned back to Doris, his expression fierce and protective.
"What do we do?" Doris asked softly, her voice small and worried. "I can’t have anything happen to my siblings. We have no place to go. We have no one else but you."
Soren sat back down and pulled Doris toward him gently. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to his chest.
"Do not worry, Doris," he said, his voice becoming gentle again. "I’ll protect you and your family. You’re my responsibility. You’re mine. And I protect what’s mine."
A tear rolled past Doris’s eyes.
She believed him. She knew that Soren meant every word. He was a man of his word. A man of honor.
Soren stood up with a sigh, his mind already shifting into action mode.
"It’s already late outside," he said, looking toward the cave entrance where the darkness was thick and complete. "Night has fallen. But I’ll have to go see Neve first thing tomorrow morning. Before the sun even rises if necessary."
He placed another kiss on Doris’s head.
"Something must be done about Bella," he said firmly. "She has betrayed not just this tribe, but all the tribes. She has put the most important person in our village at risk. She has given information to our enemies that could destroy everything we have built."
Soren walked toward his bed and gestured for Doris to follow.
"Stay here tonight," he said. "Stay with me. I need you close right now."
Doris did not hesitate. She followed him to the bed and settled against his chest, finding comfort in his warmth and his presence.
.
.
Outside the cave, the night was growing colder. The stars were barely visible through the clouds. And somewhere in the darkness, the outcast messenger Jereth was making his way back to the snake tribe, carrying information that would change everything.
Information that could start a war.
Information that Bella had foolishly handed over.
And Soren was going to have to figure out how to protect Neve before it was too late.