Chapter 166: The Rescue And The Arrival.
What do we do about them? Neve was sure as hell did not have any idea how to answer that question that had slipped out from Popi.
He did not care about Varek and for some reason, he did not care about Zyreth either. At least not in the way Zyreth cared about him.
Zyreth’s favorability meter had increased to only 5 and he claimed he wanted Neve. He claimed he loved Neve. He claimed that Neve was his and his alone. If he indeed loved Neve, his favouritability meter would have exceeded 30%, but it was stuck on 5%.
Neve knew everything Zyreth had for him was just obsession. Zyreth had no real emotion for Neve. It was possession. It was control. It was the desire to own something beautiful and keep it locked away. Or maybe as a tool. After all, that was why he brought Neve here.
"Let’s just head back to the cave, shall we?" Neve asked and Popi nodded in agreement.
Throughout their walk back to the cave, Neve thought about how he could get Bond Points without Cael and his bonded mates being around. Maybe he should let Maren mark him. But Maren was similar to him. They were both reincarnators and surely, Maren might not enjoy the idea of marking another man. Maybe Maren was still adjusting to this world. Maybe he had not fully accepted being a beastman yet.
Neve could not tell. He did not know Maren well enough yet.
’Just what do I do? Force him to do it or... Make a deal with him?’
.
"Oh! We have more meat and fruits," Popi said when they returned to the cave, throwing a fruit to Neve.
Neve caught it and took a huge bite out of it. The fruit was sweet and juicy. It satisfied his hunger temporarily.
"Are you going to stick to fruit or you’re going to eat meat today?" Popi asked, separating the raw meat from his fruits. She was clearly trying to get him to eat something more substantial since he was pregnant. Ever since he was kidnapped and brought here, he never ate meat or anything apart from fruit.
His kitchen wasn’t here for him to cook soup or stew or anything with potatoes. He missed being home. Home? He was getting used to this world so much already.
"I could roast them if I have some wood," Neve said thoughtfully. "Cooked meat would be better than raw. I just need fuel for fire."
"Want me to get some?" Popi offered.
"Don’t worry, I’ll handle it myself," Neve said. "Just find a way to wash them for me, will you? Clean off the blood?"
"You wash meat?" Popi asked, her expression shocked.
Neve nodded also wearing the same shocked look that his jaw dropped.
"What? You eat them with the blood and all?" Neve asked, unable to hide his disgust at the thought.
"That’s the best part!" Popi yelled, lifting her hands like she had just made an important point. "The blood has nutrients. It’s wasted if you wash it off."
Neve shook his head in disbelief. He almost gagged at the mental image.
"Please wash them Popi," Neve said and headed out of the cave. He needed to find wood anyway and getting away from the thought of raw bloody meat sounded good.
He walked toward the forest on the other side, away from Maren’s border, to gather some strong branches for roasting meat. He wanted to put distance between himself and the shark territory. He did not want to risk running into Maren unexpectedly. If he gets caught by Zyreth, Jereth might be forced to watch him and Popi again. And that was the last thing he wanted.
Some of the branches he found were not good for cooking. Others were not strong enough to hold food over a fire. The further he walked into the forest, the deeper his stomach grumbled in hunger.
He ran his hand over his stomach, yawning from exhaustion and the physical demands of pregnancy.
He found some branches on the forest floor and picked up five of them. They looked sturdy enough to work for the fire and also holding meat.
"Finally," he muttered to himself, preparing to turn back.
Suddenly, he heard voices behind him. Male voices. It wasn’t just one person.
He flinched and turned around quickly.
Three snake beastmen were standing there, blocking his path back to the cave.
His eyes widened as he scanned through them carefully, wondering who they were. Jereth was not there. These were not Zyreth’s official guards. They did not hold weapons to show they were part of the king’s personal security force. They looked more like the villagers that had been throwing weird glances at him and Popi whenever they passed.
He swallowed hard and stepped back, his entire body going tense. He wanted to run but he knew they would catch him easily. There was no way he could outrun a beastman, let alone three of them at once. He was pregnant and weakened. He had no chance.
He stopped backing away and tightened his grip on the sticks he was holding. He would not show fear. He would not appear weak.
"Who are you?" he asked, frowning. He tried to sound authoritative and unafraid.
"Who would have thought he would walk straight to our trap?" one of them asked and the other two laughed.
They had been waiting for him. They had planned this.
"Even if it’s not the female, this one can do," the second one said, sliding his hand down his chest to his genitals. He let out a groan as he tilted his head to the side. "After all, he smells like a female. That scent is intoxicating."
"Let’s just hurry before the king finds out," the third one said, dropping his animal skin around his waist to the floor.
Neve gritted his teeth as his eyes dropped lower involuntarily.
The third beastman had two dicks. Two fully erect penises. Neve’s heart raced in pure terror.
He frowned and lifted his head, trying to maintain composure even though fear was consuming him.
"You can’t touch me," Neve said, his voice shaking despite his efforts. "Zyreth will find out I’m gone and he will kill you. All three of you. He will not tolerate anyone touching me."
"The king and his brother have always been able to do whatever it is that they wanted," the first one said bitterly. "So why can’t we? Why should we have to follow rules that don’t apply to them?"
Neve could tell they were angry. Angry at the hierarchy. Angry at being powerless. And that anger could result in them doing something terrible to him.
"Why don’t you try talking to your king?" Neve suggested desperately. "I’m sure he would listen to you. I’m sure if you asked nicely, Zyreth would think of something he could do to help you all."
All three of them burst into laughter at his suggestion.
"Let’s just get this over with," the third one stepped forward and Neve stepped back.
His heart was racing so hard in his chest that he thought it might burst. He felt weak and vulnerable. He did not want this. He could not let this happen.
He bent down quickly to pick up a stick, waving it defensively.
"Don’t step closer!"
"Or what?" the first one asked mockingly.
"Or..." Neve stuttered, realizing he had no real threat to make. He surely did not know what to do to these powerful beastmen. Tears gathered at the corner of his eyes as the three of them exchanged glances with each other.
They could see that Neve was weak. They could see that he could not actually do anything to stop them. They saw only prey.
They took more steps closer, moving toward Neve with predatory intent.
But then the third beastman froze suddenly. His body went rigid mid-step.
"What is it? Get him!" the first and second one yelled behind him, confused by his sudden paralysis.
But before they could even blink, before they could react or move, the third beastman’s head rolled off his neck and dropped to the forest floor. Blood sprayed everywhere, splattering across the ground.
Neve blinked hard, his hand clasping over his mouth as he fell to the floor in shock.
The other two froze in absolute disbelief. They could not move. They could not comprehend what had just happened.
"What killed him? Did that brat kill him?" the first one pointed at Neve.
Neve shook his head, his lips trembling as he tried to speak but no words would come.
Then someone with orange hair appeared behind the second beastman, holding a thin thread over his neck. The thread gleamed in the dim forest light.
"Neve didn’t kill him," the figure said coldly, dragging the thread across the second beastman’s neck brutally. The beastman’s head fell to the ground, his body collapsing lifeless moments later. "I did!"
Neve’s eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the figure.
"Sable!"