- 7 hours ago
My S Rank Beast Mate New 🔝
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:02the chieftain gathered every unmated male and told me and sister to choose male shifters are
00:07ranked s a b or c my sister lyra seized the a rank wolf shifter that should be mine
00:16and through the low level b rank snake shifter that should be hers to me
00:19as a result her fate was tragic while i won everything she bore him five litters every
00:27single one lowly b rank the wolf shifter raged he kicked her hard in the stomach and cursed her for
00:33being useless tore the bond like it was nothing the other males wanted nothing to do with her either
00:39and me i chose a b rank snake shifter one litter ten cubs every single one high quality a rank
00:47the whole clan named me the sacred daughter my mate inherited the chieftain's seat
00:55lyra couldn't stand it she killed all my children and pushed me off a cliff
01:08when i opened my eyes again we were back back to the day of choosing i came back to myself
01:14just as
01:15lyra pressed her body against the snake shifter's side chieftain she said sweetly
01:21i choose boss she said it and then she looked at me one long deliberate look the kind that said
01:30i've already won i understood she'd been reborn too actually my sister and i weren't from this world
01:36but we couldn't find a way back in the end we would just have to adapt to the rules here
01:42but this time
01:43i absolutely won't let her control everything male shifters are born ranked s a b or c the higher
01:52the rank the more valuable the male c rank males were everywhere b rank was considered a prize a rank
01:58was rare enough to cause a stir as for s rank even the elderly chieftain had never seen one females
02:05in
02:05the beast lands were fewer than males their social standing was higher which standing on the children they
02:10bore the higher the rank of your cubs the higher you climbed in our last life lyra had wanted to
02:16be the top female in the clan she'd gone straight for the only a rake wolf shifter without blinking
02:21she told me to choose vos the snake shifter snakes have two you know she'd said with that
02:28conspiratorial smile of hers but they lay eggs hatching eggs is so much easier than live birth
02:34i'd listened i'd chosen vox we bonded and i fell pregnant quickly one clutch ten cubs every single
02:44one a rank this clan had existed for over a century among clans they'd never had more than five a
02:51rank
02:51shifters total the chieftain declared vos his successor on the spot
02:59lyra had conceived around the same time i had she gave birth to a b rank cub then another five
03:07pregnancies total nothing above b nothing below c she decided the problem was the wolf's bloodline
03:15one night she crept into vos's den vos threw her out of bed and called the entire clan to witness
03:21his
03:21innocence before dawn the wolf shifter found out his rage was immediate and absolute he dissolved
03:29their bond and drove her out along with her children within a month lyra's cubs had all starved she'd
03:36tried to seduce some of the c-rank males during that time but this world had no tolerance for betrayal
03:45the males would take what she offered they wouldn't bond with her when lyra was close to starving
03:54i'd brought her back to mine given her meat from my own stores she repaid me by destroying me even
04:02now
04:03i could still feel the drop that weightless stomach larching fall the chieftain nodded at me now signaling
04:11it was my turn to choose i scanned the remaining males then i pointed at the wolf shifter i'd like
04:19to choose i didn't finish the sentence a crack split the air a hand connected with my face
04:27the female who hit me belonged to drac the black tiger shifter she came at me with all the the
04:32males
04:32who'd been eyeing me with interest took a collective step back the wolf shifter in particular his
04:38expression shutted he frowned i turned to look at lyra in her eyes i saw it clearly calculation
04:46satisfaction then i remembered in my last life she and drac had history a brief affair
04:54it was a trap by her i didn't do anything with drac and that's not my fur if no one
05:01believes me
05:02i'll shift right now so you can all see for yourselves i shifted i turned in a slow circle
05:10showing every angle no bald patches no missing fur anywhere on my body except there on my inner thigh
05:18a small bear patch i hadn't noticed before the crowd erupted
05:24what kind of female goes after someone else's male that kind should be thrown out of the clan the noise
05:30felt and built this clan male and female alike had no room for a female who might lure away bonded
05:36males
05:37the chieflin raised his hand i was cast out lyra came to see me off at the border she was
05:43curled
05:43against vos's chest when she said goodbye her voice all silk and sympathy sister being cast out isn't
05:49necessarily a bad thing there are plenty of strong males out there in the wild maybe you'll find your
05:54true mate the wild was full of powerful shifters yes they were also the ones every clan had already
06:01thrown away half feral dangerous the kind who would take a lone female and break her i'd saved lyra from
06:10them three times in our last life however she hadn't remembered that at all when she killed me last
06:17life i smiled at her slow and pleasant
06:24i think you can save concern for yourself vos is vigorous you'll have your fill of trouble then
06:33vox was a snake shifter as lyra had once told me herself snakes had appetites he had no interest in
06:42hunting he had every interest in making love once or twice a day was sport
06:52once or twice without stopping for days that was suffering
06:59it hurt terribly every time if i hadn't satisfied him he'd gone looking outside the clan
07:06he screwed many female at the same time without a clan's backing he was useless
07:14the memory of all of it made my skin crawl lyra thought she'd won a prize
07:24what she'd actually won was a rotting thing wearing a decent face
07:30you must be jealous of me lyra snapped her sweetness curdling in an instant
07:35what exactly are you smiling about this life i'm going to make you watch me watch me become the
07:41sacred daughter of this clan she and vos disappeared back into their den their laughter trailing behind
07:47them i stepped outside the clan's boundary and immediately had company a leopard shifter
07:52eyes full of hunger and violence i knew what solitary males like him did to lone females they played
07:59they broke every survival instinct i had fired at once i ran i ran until a cave mouth appeared in
08:05the rock face ahead of me with nowhere else to go i dived inside the leopard stopped at the entrance
08:11he
08:12paced he snarled in my direction then when i didn't come out he cursed twice and left from the darkness
08:20deeper in the cave came a roar that pinned me to the spot i looked up a white lion stood
08:26before me
08:26beautiful enormous his jaws were wide enough to swallow my head whole
08:32i ran again two steps then i stopped the lion had roared but he hadn't moved
08:43it was almost like he was trying to frighten me off rather than attack then i smelled it rot the
08:49hot
08:50sickening smell of infected flesh i looked at his back legs
08:56the meat there was going necrotic white with larvae i steadied myself hello you're injured
09:04i know how to heal will you let me stay
09:09he understood me he looked at me for a long moment then he stretched both back legs forward
09:18his wounds were severe the larvae had spread deep
09:25i forced down the nausea and cleaned them out thorough methodical
09:34then i opened my pack and found my medicinal powders
09:45before i'd came this world i'd been trained in herbalism
09:51after arriving in the beastlands that knowledge had made me a healer for the varmeric clan
09:59when i finished dressing the lion's wounds he leaned his great head forward
10:05and pressed his face against my sleeve gratitude for me
10:13then his stomach ground injured immobile unfed
10:21i'll find food wait here i moved to leave he hooked one paw around my ankle and drew me back
10:28then he dragged his enormous tongue over my shoulder and down my arm
10:33i understood he was marking me with his scent most predators wouldn't come near me now
10:41i thought of the leopard at the cave entrance whatever rank this lion was
10:49it was enough to send others running
10:55i didn't go far i gathered wild fruit some edible roots and came back to the cave as the sky
11:04went dark
11:06i made a fire
11:10the lion's eyes the lid up
11:14he inched closer to the flames and that was how i came to live in his den
11:21days settled into rhythm mornings i changed his dressings then went out for water and food
11:28nights he curled around me like a living blanket his warmth soaking into me while we slept half a month
11:36past then one afternoon i returned to the cave and stopped in the entrance a man lay where the lion
11:46had been
11:49white hair long and loose eyes the color of gold he saw me two pale ears rose slowly from the
11:57top of his head
11:58your back his voice was startling low and clear and unexpectedly lovely
12:05you're the white lion
12:11he nodded
12:15my name is caius i smiled
12:19hello i'm sarah under my care caius had healed enough to walk
12:30on our first hunt together he showed me what he was capable of a wild boar
12:36under a minute he bit through its neck like it was nothing
12:46that night i finally had meat again pork fat crackling over the fire filling the cave with the
12:51kind of smell that made your stomach hollow with want i ate until my face was shiny with grease
12:56and asked him around a mouthful
13:00are you a rank you have to be at least caius's expression shadowed
13:08no i don't have a rank i paused
13:13what
13:16every male shifter in the beastlands was ranked
13:20that was just the world caius just shook his head he'd never had a rank
13:28and because of that his clan had called him a monster from birth
13:33cast him out young
13:36the memory sat visibly on him as he spoke
13:39his eyes went somewhere far away cast out as a cub
13:45no family no kin
13:49no one
13:52i reached over and touched his head
13:55just lightly
13:57it's all right
13:59you have me now we're friends
14:01yes
14:03caius went red
14:05it was sudden and total
14:07and genuinely charming
14:11another month passed
14:14healed completely
14:18winter was coming
14:24i woke late one morning to heat radiating from his side of the den
14:29his eyes were red rimmed his breathing rough
14:38he told me to stay inside
14:40that he needed to step out for a while that i shouldn't worry
14:43he made it two steps before his legs gave out
14:47when he hit the ground i understood every shifter had a fixed heat cycle
14:52during the surge the animal instinct overwhelmed everything else
14:57he was already past his limit
15:00he was painful
15:01don't be scared
15:02he managed
15:03i won't touch you
15:05i'll handle it myself
15:06he was fighting his own body
15:08every muscle in his neck was stinic
15:10veins visible under his white hair
15:12the sounds coming from his throat were low and inimpolentary and painful to hear
15:16i looked at him
15:18something in my chest did something quiet and final
15:22i crossed the distance between us and crouched down in front of him
15:29i said
15:30i said do you not want me
15:32no
15:34how how could you think that
15:36i cupped his face in my hands
15:43and i kissed him
15:46when his hands came up to touch me
15:49i braced
15:50i thought sex was simply about being hurt
15:53he was so strong it must be hurting a lot
15:57i'd prepared myself
16:00but surprisingly i felt no pain
16:03caius was gentle
16:05he moved like he was afraid to break something
16:09i felt weightless
16:11i was as comfortable as if i were floating in the sky
16:16when it finally finished
16:19snow had fallen
16:21since then
16:22we have been making love all the day
16:24one sustained glance across the den
16:28and i'd find myself pinned to the sleeping furs a moment later
16:32unlike my last life
16:34i was happy and no longer felt pain
16:38he was
16:39as it turned out
16:40extraordinarily good at this
16:43and i was pregnant
16:45i was not surprised
16:48really
16:50for three full seconds he didn't move
16:52then his ears began to tremble
16:54his tail followed
16:57his whole face changed
16:58he pressed one broad rough harm to my stomach
17:02so carefully
17:03you're really carrying my cub
17:05my little lion
17:06he lifted me straight off the ground
17:08i laughed and he laughed with me
17:10and the sound of it filled the cave
17:11after pregnant he was at my side constantly
17:15i'd reach for something and he'd already have it
17:18i'd think about standing up and he'd be there
17:21lying in the warmth of his arms one evening
17:23i found myself thinking about the previous life
17:27vos was cold-blooded
17:28he hibernated in winter
17:31no warmth to give
17:33i'd been on my own wading through snow to find anything edible
17:36then the ten snake cubs had hatched
17:38i was so tired
17:39vos slept through all of it
17:41the cubs had been good
17:43even abrank
17:44they'd never started fights
17:45never made trouble
17:46they'd helped with the den chores
17:48so adorable
17:49my eyes started to sting
17:51i hadn't protected them
17:53caius's chest was warm against my back
17:56he turned me gently
17:59sarah
18:00you're not happy
18:01what is it
18:01i'm fine
18:03i wiped the corner of my eye
18:07just missing home
18:09is it not good here
18:11with me
18:12no
18:14that's not it
18:15i touched his hair
18:19being with you is the best thing i've had
18:23next day
18:26i'd assumed i'd never see lyra again
18:30she appeared at the entrance to our den
18:34lyra was on her knees in the snow hugely pregnant shaking
18:38white lion sir please don't kill me
18:40i looked at her
18:41something that wasn't quite amusement moved through me
18:44sarah
18:45what are you doing here
18:48do you know her
18:49no
18:51caius's killing in tate rose immediately
18:53lyra screamed
18:54no
18:55sister don't let him kill me
18:57i came to save you
18:58that single word stopped everything
19:01sister
19:02caius held back
19:03he asked me if there might be some misunderstanding
19:05i exhaled slowly and walked toward her
19:09why did you come
19:11the sweet
19:11plastating smile again
19:13hypocritical
19:15i spoke to the chieftain for you
19:16he'll let you come back
19:18i didn't move
19:20i mean it
19:22sister
19:23we have conflict with another clan
19:25there's going to be war
19:28neither of you belong to either side
19:31you'll be collateral
19:33lyra's words landed
19:35and i remembered
19:36in our previous life
19:37there had been a war
19:38exactly like this
19:40but that war had ended the moment my ten snake cubs hatched
19:44the simultaneous appearance of ten a-weed shifters is powerful enough
19:47they'd surrendered without a fight
19:49the two clans had merged
19:51the ultra earth clan had a priest
19:53he'd looked at me afterward and declared that i was the sacred daughter
19:57given to the clan by the beast gods
19:59but none of that was a reason to go back
20:02caius and i were living well
20:03i would never return that clan again
20:07lyra's eyes moved to my stomach
20:09her voice shifted
20:10softer more deliberate
20:12sister
20:13you're pregnant
20:15even if you don't care about yourself
20:16you have to think about the child
20:19you can't wander forever
20:21and when your cub is grown
20:23what then
20:25do you want to raise them out here
20:26alone
20:27with no clan behind them
20:30she wasn't wrong
20:31this world was ruthless
20:33caius was the strongest male i'd ever encountered
20:35and he'd nearly died alone in a cave with rotting legs
20:38our cub would arrive small and vulnerable no matter what rank they carried
20:42a clan meant numbers
20:43numbers meant survival
20:45but caius had been driven out of a clan before
20:48i turned to look at him
20:50he read it immediately
20:51he reached over and took my hand
20:53he said quietly
20:54sarah
20:55let's go back
20:56after i told lyra yes
20:58she sagged with relief
21:00then almost immediately
21:02do you have any food
21:04she ate like she hadn't seen a proper meal in weeks
21:07given vos's hibernation schedule
21:09she probably hadn't
21:11she was enormous with pregnancy
21:14but her arms and legs were too thin
21:16she'd had a hard stretch of it
21:18when she finished
21:19she settled into the outer part of the cave to rest
21:23caius tucked me into his arms as usual
21:26lyra looked over at us from across the den
21:29the expression on her face was pure naked envy
21:34in the middle of the night i got up
21:36lyra's back was to me
21:38she thought i was still asleep
21:41gods how is she still getting everything in this life too
21:44what's so great about bonding with something that doesn't even have a rank
21:47mongrel she pressed a hand to her own swollen stomach
21:52come on little ones
21:55come out soon
21:57then mother won't have to keep swallowing this
22:00i stood in the dark and looked at her
22:02we'd lost our parents in the same accident
22:05grown up in the same grief
22:07all my life to give her room
22:09warn her leaving
22:11let her choose first
22:12done what our parents had asked me to do
22:15you're the older one
22:16look out for your sister
22:18what i'd meant as love she'd received as tribute
22:23we returned to the vuret clan three days later
22:27by the third day back
22:29i knew exactly why lyra had worked so hard to retrieve me
22:34her due date was close
22:36she was terrified of dying on the birthing floor
22:38in our previous life
22:40all her five pregnancies had been dangerous
22:43and i'd been the one who'd seen her through them
22:46there was also a second reason
22:48she wanted me to watch
22:50she wanted me present when she gave birth to 20 a rank cubs
22:53and rose to become the highest ranked female in the clan
22:56she wanted my face in the crowd
22:58life inside the varek clan was not easy
23:01even with caius beside me
23:03many of the females looked at me with hostility
23:06i'd been labeled a female who went after bonded males
23:09they didn't want me near their maiters so i kept to the den
23:12isolated lyra meanwhile told everyone she was the sacred daughter sent by the beast gods
23:18and that all 20 of her eggs contained a rank shifters
23:22the clan believed her her status climbed
23:27then the war began caius went to the front
23:30after the first skirmish the rest of the clan realized what he was capable of
23:34his bite force surpassed the a rank wolf shifters by a margin
23:38his speed and strength were in a different category entirely
23:41by any logic that made him valuable
23:43worth protecting worth standing behind
23:46instead the wolf shifter grew jealous
23:48he organized the other males quietly
23:50no rank they said doesn't belong
23:53and on a day when caius was pushing deep into ultroth clan territory alone
23:57the wolf shifter led the others away and left him surrounded
23:59i found out after caius came home bleeding
24:03i was already moving toward the chieftain's den when caius caught my arm
24:08it's fine he sounded almost amused
24:10they still couldn't take me down
24:12i made it back didn't i i looked at his wounds
24:15my eyes stung i'm sorry i shouldn't have brought you here
24:20this place isn't right for you we're leaving
24:24back to our own den no he caught my hands
24:28something almost panicked moved across his face
24:31sarah if we go back to the den you'll miss home again
24:34i don't want that stay here
24:36as long as you and the cub are safe
24:38it doesn't matter what they do to me
24:40something cracked open in my chest
24:43i remembered saying once in passing that i missed home
24:47i'd meant something abstract
24:48grief a vague ache
24:51he'd taken it as a specific thing
24:53he thought i meant the clan
24:55he'd been humiliating himself to keep me close to something he thought i needed
25:00you are my home
25:02you're the only family i have now
25:04let's go back to the den just the two of us
25:07and live the way we want to live
25:09i just convinced him
25:12we hadn't even started packing when a female came running
25:16sarah come quickly your sister she's in labor
25:23i heard the screaming from outside the den
25:26inside blood more than there should have been
25:29the scene was identical to the worst of lylara's previous life labors
25:33that same desperate quality to the air
25:35that same sense of something gone wrong at the start
25:38it didn't make sense snake eggs were small
25:41this should have been easy
25:43i understood quickly enough once i started working
25:46i helped her pass 10 eggs
25:48then i reached back in and felt more
25:51i was mid-reach when lyra's body seized
25:54seizure
25:55no one in the den knew the word
25:57i snapped them to find a smooth cloth
25:59get it between her teeth before she bit through her tongue
26:01they scrambled
26:03while they held her i worked
26:06i cleared the rest of the eggs as fast as i could
26:10twenty in total
26:13when it was over lyla went limp and unconscious
26:16i brewed a draft and got it down her throat
26:20waiting outside the den
26:22he grabbed my wrist before i could leave
26:24she's your sister you should stay and care for her
26:27i looked at his hand on my arm
26:30he'd watched a woman nearly die in that den
26:33his mate and he was already trying to pass the burden to someone else
26:37i pulled my wrist free
26:40she's your female
26:42not mine
26:43i've done what i can
26:44the rest is yours
26:45i stepped out of the den into the night air
26:48exhausted to my marrow
26:50caius was standing there waiting
26:52i started to say something about his wounds
26:55about how he should be resting
26:57he pulled me into him before i could finish
26:59his voice was rough when he spoke
27:02sarah
27:03we're not leaving
27:05i want to stay
27:06i started to ask why
27:07my shoulder went wet
27:09i brought him back to the den and sat with him
27:14when i pressed him
27:15the tears came harder
27:18he'd been outside lyra's den the whole time
27:22he'd heard everything
27:23he hadn't known that was what bearing young looked like for a female
27:27the sounds she'd made
27:28the blood
27:30the way the others had moved
27:32he was terrified
27:35if we left
27:36if we went back to the den alone
27:38and i went into labor
27:39and something went wrong
27:41there would be no one to help me
27:42no one to do what i had just done for lyla
27:44i felt the tears come before i could stop them
27:48caius i said softly
27:49that was difficult for specific reasons
27:52mine might be nothing like it
27:53i don't care
27:55he held tighter
27:57even one chance in a hundred
27:59i won't let you suffer without help
28:02not for anything
28:03he'd made himself small in this clan
28:06he hunted and shared the meat with everyone
28:08even the ones who'd abandoned him at the front
28:11he smiled at the ones who'd left him to die
28:14swallowed every indignity without complaint
28:17all of it
28:19for me
28:20what had i ever done to deserve a male like this
28:24lyra woke the following day
28:26snake eggs take time to hatch
28:29while they incubated
28:30lyra stationed herself beside them
28:32and invited most of the clam to come and watch
28:35she told anyone who would listen that all 20 would be a rark
28:39the clan was skeptical but intrigued
28:43she'd been right before
28:45they came
28:47around the same time the war finished
28:50largely because of caius
28:51the ultra clan sent delegates to negotiate
28:54their chieftain and their priest came together to discuss terms
28:58the meeting was still in progress when someone burst in from outside
29:01chieftain come quick the exit boss's den are hatching
29:05the room emptied even the ultroth delegates went
29:09word had traveled even to their clan
29:11the sacred daughter of the varre clan had birthed 20 eiklar snake shifters
29:16they wanted to see
29:17the den was so crowded the walls seemed to breathe
29:20the chieftain had to push his way in
29:24he arrived just as the first egg cracked open
29:28a small dark snake emerged lyra picked it up with trembling hands and held it out
29:37chieftain tell me a rank isn't it
29:40the chieftain looked he considered for a moment then he said what he saw
29:46c rank
29:50the smile frozen on lyra's face
29:54her eyes went sharp
29:55that can't be right look again please look properly
30:01the chieftain had been judging blood rank for 60 years
30:04he could do it blindfolded but he looked again because she'd asked
30:09c rank i'm certain
30:14lyra went still
30:17what's happening i thought they were all a rank 20 is an enormous number
30:24we've only ever had one a rank in the whole clan
30:28maybe there's a mix maybe the rest will be higher
30:31that last voice gave lyra something to grab onto she straightened hands on her hips
30:37exactly that was only the first i expect at least 10 a rake out of these 20
30:45three more eggs cracked everyone looked
30:48the strong ones hatched last
30:57lyra said firmly
31:00crack crack
31:01cracks five more one b rank among them
31:06there lyra said her voice climbing
31:10see the better ones come at the end i told you
31:13but the crowd had stopped believing her
31:16the expressions had shifted the last eggs opened
31:20final count one b rank 10 c rank and several with no rank at all
31:25the chieftain studied the unranked ones briefly
31:28his face said everything his mouth didn't need to
31:31lyra's composure shattered
31:33this is impossible where are my a rank cubs
31:36someone tampered with them
31:37someone swips them
31:40her voice rose cracking
31:43there's no other explanation
31:45a female in the back had had enough
31:47tampered how
31:48boss is a b rank snake shifter what exactly were you expecting him to give you
31:52a couple of good weather predictions and suddenly you're the sacred daughter
31:54the resentment had been building for weeks
31:56it broke open now all at once
31:58voice after voice peeling back the patience they'd kept
32:00then lyra's eyes found me she'd been scanning the crowd
32:03now she stopped she came straight for me and grabbed my arm
32:06you it was you you can't stand to see me do well
32:11you switched my eggs give them back give them back right now
32:18i pulled my arm from her grip lyra my voice came out flat and cold
32:23stop you accused me of going after a bonded male
32:27now you're accusing me of stealing your cubs
32:30half the clan was in that den with me
32:32ask any of them they watched everything i did
32:36the females who'd attended the birth stepped forward one by one
32:39she's right we were all there sarah didn't take anything
32:43what would she even want with snake eggs she's carrying her own
32:47the voices layered over each other lyra broke entirely
32:50why is everyone suddenly on her side just die sarah you should just die
32:56she threw herself at me i didn't move fast enough
33:00she hit me square and we both went down
33:03kaius shifted the white lion came down on top of her in one motion
33:07all that weight and fury and he opened his jaws over her
33:10he didn't close them because from somewhere behind us a voice rang out over the chaos
33:14no stop kaius get your mate back to the den she's in labor
33:17the next second i was airborne lifted clean off the ground held against a chest that was warm and
33:23solid and moving very fast kaius ran
33:28in the den he held my hand through all of it
33:31his brow didn't unfurl once
33:35he kept talking low steady
33:37you're all right you're doing so well i'm right here
33:41while his own hand shook harder than mine everything went smoothly
33:46less than two hours later i delivered two white lion cubs twins
33:54oh they're beautiful the attending female breathed lifting one and cleaning it briskly
34:01strong too look at them i'd wager these are a rank at least let the chieftain have a look
34:08it's fine i started we don't need
34:16the chieftain and the ultrath priest had followed us in the chieftain reached for the nearest cub
34:23turned it over and frowned spirited little thing but no rank to speak of
34:28i glanced at kaius his face was careful he was nervous i took his hand
34:35it doesn't matter before i'd finish the sentence the altar priest leaned in
34:41his voice went sharp with something that sounded almost like outrage
34:46you can't see rank these cubs are s rank
34:55s rank did you just say s rank i helped birth them and i thought they looked different from other
35:01cubs but
35:01i didn't dare s rank here from this den two of them we have two s rank shifters in this
35:07clan
35:08the den erupted
35:10kaius and i looked at each other the news moved through the clan like fire
35:15lyra had pushed her way back through the crowd and into the den entrance she saw the cubs she looked
35:22at
35:22me this isn't real her voice had gone strange too high too tight sarah how could you possibly produce
35:29s rank cubs who's with him he doesn't even have a rank the joy in the den quiet it was
35:36the thing
35:36people had wondered and hadn't said before any of it could take hold the altar priest stepped forward
35:44no rank who told you his voice rang off the stone walls caius is s rank he's been s rank
35:52this entire
35:53time that's precisely why we yielded silence the priest told them what the ultrac clan had seen on
36:01the battlefield abilities that couldn't be explained by any ordinary blood rank when they'd realized what
36:06they were facing they'd stopped fighting no one here had ever encountered an s rank shifter before
36:11not even the chieftain he hadn't known what he was looking at caius sat with that for a moment
36:16he'd spent his whole life believing he was broken cast out proof of something shameful
36:24and the answer had simply been that everyone around him had lacked the eyes to see him clearly
36:29the priest turned to me next he studied me with the focused attention
36:35this female's fate line he said slowly is unlike anything ordinary unless i'm mistaken he looked
36:45out at the gathered clan she is the sacred daughter reborn if the s-rate announcement had been a shock
36:50this was the stone that broke the surface of still water everyone went quiet then they went to their
36:56eyes in our previous life it had happened too but then people had been uncertain willing to believe
37:07but not quite sold this time with three s-reek shifters in the same den no one hesitated
37:16you're all forgetting she was cast this clan for going after a bebonded male
37:25what sacred daughter has a history like that she's been playing all of you the room had heard enough
37:32from her today but she'd reminded them the old accusation resurfacing in a few sets of eyes i stood up
37:42straight and looked across the den at drac the black tiger shifter who had been standing very still and
37:47very quiet in the corner since this all began drac are you going to tell the truth now or not
37:57under the judgment of the whole clan drac admitted all of it lila had planned it from the beginning
38:03she'd bribed him with herself he'd stolen a tough of my fur and they'd staged the confrontation together
38:09the one who'd gone after a bonded male had never been me boss's face went white he was a snake
38:16and snakes were possessive creatures lyra his voice was very quiet
38:24you betrayed me her legs buckled no boss please listen to me they're lying all of them don't
38:32he'd already shifted the great dark snake moved faster than eyes could follow he caught her by the
38:37back of the neck and then he was gone a trail in the snow and nothing else a few days
38:42later someone
38:43found what remained of lyra outside the clan boundary she was identifiable only by her clothes
38:50word spread fast the chieftain had no choice vos was driven out the cubs lyra had carried were not
38:59held accountable for any of it the females of the clan gathered them all up and raised them together
39:05the males under caius's lead turned outward new territory broader boundaries room to grow
39:14season by season the work accumulated in the new spring the clan raised caius to chieftain i stood
39:21beside him the same position i had held in another life through a different path with different scars
39:27but here now with someone who had wept outside a den because he was afraid of losing me our two
39:33white
39:33lion cubs rolled in the grass nearby already stocky and ridiculous and impossibly strong i watched caius
39:39tilt his face toward the sun eyes half closed ears twitting i had lived two lives in this world
39:45i didn't need a third
Comments