- 5 hours ago
My S Rank Beast Mate
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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 threw 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 i absolutely won't let her control everything
01:47male shifters are born ranked s a b or c the higher the rank the more valuable the male
01:54c rank males were everywhere b rank was considered a prize a rank was rare enough to cause a stir
02:00as for s rank even the elderly chieftain had never seen one females in the beastlands were fewer than
02:06males their social standing was higher which standing on the children they bore
02:11the higher the rank of your cubs the higher you climbed in our last life lyra had wanted to be
02:16the top female in the clan she'd gone straight for the only a rake wolf shifter without blinking
02:22she'd told me to choose voss 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 voss 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
03:14one night she crept into voss's den voss 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 their
03:29bond 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
04:01even now i could still feel the drop that weightless stomach larching fall the chieftain nodded at me now
04:11signaling it was my turn to choose i scanned the remaining males then i pointed at the wolf shifter
04:18i'd like to 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 males
04:32who'd
04:33been eyeing me with interest took a collective step back the wolf shifter in particular his expression
04:39shutted he frowned i turned to look at lyra in her eyes i saw it clearly calculation satisfaction
04:47then i remembered in my last life she and drac had history a brief affair it was a trap by
04:55her
04:56i didn't do anything with drac and that's not my fur if no one believes me i'll shift right now
05:04so
05:04you can all see for yourselves i shifted i turned in a slow circle showing every angle no bald patches
05:12no missing fur anywhere on my body except there on my inner thigh a small bear patch i hadn't noticed
05:21before the crowd erupted what kind of female goes after someone else's male that kind should be thrown
05:29out of the clan the noise belt and built this clan male and female alike had no room for a
05:35female who
05:35might lure away bonded males the chieflin raised his hand i was cast out lyra came to see me off
05:42at the
05:42border she was curled against voss's chest when she said goodbye her voice all silk and sympathy sister
05:48being cast out isn't necessarily a bad thing there are plenty of strong males out there in the wild
05:53maybe you'll find your true mate the wild was full of powerful shifters yes they were also the ones
06:00every clan had already thrown away half feral dangerous the kind who would take a lone female
06:07and break her i'd saved lyra from them three times in our last life however she hadn't remembered that
06:15at all when she killed me last life i smiled at her slow and pleasant
06:24i think you can save concern for yourself voss 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
06:41he had no interest in hunting 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 gonna make you watch me watch me become the
07:41sacred daughter of this clan she and voss disappeared back into their den
07:46their laughter trailing behind them i stepped outside the clan's boundary and immediately had
07:51company a leopard shifter eyes full of hunger and violence i knew what solitary males like him did
07:57to lone females they played they broke every survival instinct i had fired at once i ran
08:03i ran until a cave mouth appeared in the rock face ahead of me with nowhere else to go i
08:09dived
08:09inside the leopard stopped at the entrance he paced he snarled in my direction then when i didn't come
08:16out he cursed twice and left from the darkness deeper in the cave came a roar that pinned me to
08:23the spot
08:23i looked up a white lion stood before me beautiful enormous his jaws were wide enough to swallow my head
08:30whole i ran again two steps then i stopped the lion had roared but he hadn't moved it was almost
08:44like he was
08:45trying to frighten me off rather than attack then i smelled it rot the hot sickening smell
08:51of infected flesh i looked at his back legs the meat there was going necrotic white with larvae i steadied
09:01myself hello you're injured i 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
09:52after 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
10:56i didn't go far
10:58i gathered wild fruit
11:00some edible roots
11:01and came back to the cave as the sky went dark
11:06i made a fire
11:10the lion's eyes the lid up
11:14he inched closer to the flames
11:16and that was how i came to live in his den
11:21days settled into rhythm
11:22mornings i changed his dressings
11:25then went out for water and food
11:28nights he curled around me like a living blanket
11:31his warmth soaking into me while we slept
11:34half a month passed
11:37then one afternoon i returned to the cave
11:42and stopped in the entrance
11:43a man lay where the lion had been
11:49white hair
11:50long and loose
11:51eyes the color of gold
11:53he saw me
11:54two pale ears rose slowly from the top of his head
11:58you're back
11:59his voice was startling
12:00low and clear and unexpectedly lovely
12:05you're the white lion
12:11he nodded
12:15my name is caius
12:17i smiled
12:19hello
12:20i'm sarah
12:21under my care
12:23caius had healed enough to walk
12:30on our first hunt together
12:32he showed me what he was capable of
12:34a wild boar
12:35under a minute
12:38he bit through its neck like it was nothing
12:46that night i finally had meat again
12:48pork fat crackling over the fire
12:50filling the cave with the kind of smell
12:52that made your stomach hollow with want
12:54i ate until my face was shiny with grease
12:56and asked him
12:57around a mouthful
13:00are you a rank
13:02you have to be at least
13:04caius's expression shadowed
13:07no
13:09i don't have a rank
13:10i paused
13:13what
13:16every male shifter in the beastlands was ranked
13:20that was just the world
13:23caius just shook his head
13:25he'd never had a rank
13:28and because of that
13:29his 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
13:42cast out as a cub
13:44no family
13:46no kin
13:48no one
13:52i reached over and touched his head
13:55just lightly
13:56it's all right
13:58you have me now
14:00we're friends
14:03caius went red
14:04it 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
14:26to heat radiating from his side of the den
14:28his eyes were red rimmed
14:30his breathing rough
14:38he told me to stay inside
14:40that he needed to step out for a while
14:42that i shouldn't worry
14:43he made it two steps
14:45before his legs gave out
14:47when he hit the ground
14:48i understood
14:49every shifter had a fixed heat cycle
14:52during the surge
14:53the animal instinct overwhelmed everything else
14:56he was already past his limit
14:59he was painful
15:01don't be scared
15:02he managed
15:03i won't touch you
15:04i'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
15:14and inimpolentary and painful to hear
15:16i looked at him
15:18something in my chest
15:20did something quiet and final
15:22i crossed the distance between us
15:24and crouched down in front of him
15:27caius
15:29i said
15:30do you not want me
15:32no
15:34how
15:34how 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
15:48i braced
15:50i thought sex was simply about being hurt
15:53he was so strong
15:54it must be hurting a lot
15:57i'd prepared myself
16:00but surprisingly
16:01i felt no pain
16:03caius was gentle
16:04he 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
16:17when it finally finished
16:18snow had fallen
16:21since then
16:22we have been making love all the day
16:25one sustained glance across the den
16:27and i'd find myself pinned to the sleeping furs a moment later
16:31unlike my last life
16:34i was happy
16:35and no longer felt pain
16:37he was
16:39as it turned out
16:40extraordinarily good at this
16:43and i was pregnant
16:44i was not surprised
16:48really
16:49for three full seconds he didn't move
16:52then his ears began to tremble
16:54his tail followed
16:56his 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
17:09and 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
17:16and he'd already have it
17:18i'd think about standing up
17:20and he'd be there
17:21lying in the warmth of his arms one evening
17:23i found myself thinking about the previous life
17:26vos was cold-blooded
17:28he hibernated in winter
17:30no warmth to give
17:32i'd been on my own
17:34wading 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
17:42even 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
17:59you're not happy
18:01what is it
18:02i'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
18:20being 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
18:36hugely pregnant
18:37shaking
18:38white lion sir
18:39please don't kill me
18:40i looked at her
18:41something that wasn't quite amusement
18:43moved through me
18:44sarah
18:45what are you doing here
18:47do you know her
18:49no
18:51caius's killing in tate
18:52rose immediately
18:53lyra screamed
18:55no
18:55sister
18:56don't let him kill me
18:57i came to save you
18:58that single word
19:00stopped everything
19:01sister
19:02caius held back
19:03he asked me if there might be
19:04some misunderstanding
19:05i exhaled slowly and walked toward her
19:09why did you come
19:10the sweet
19:11plastating smile again
19:13hypocritical
19:14i spoke to the chiefling for you
19:17he'll let you come back
19:18i didn't move
19:19i mean it
19:21sister
19:23we have conflict with another clan
19:26there's going to be war
19:27neither of you belong to either side
19:30you'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
19:42my ten snake cubs hatched
19:44the simultaneous appearance of ten a-read shifters
19:46is powerful enough
19:47they'd surrendered without a fight
19:49the two clans had merged
19:51the ultraeth clan had a priest
19:53he'd looked at me afterward
19:54and 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
20:04i would never return that clan again
20:07lyra's eyes moved to my stomach
20:09her voice shifted
20:10softer
20:11more deliberate
20:12sister
20:13you're pregnant
20:15even if you don't care about yourself
20:17you have to think about the child
20:19you can't wander forever
20:21and when your cub is grown
20:23what then
20:24do 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
20:36and he'd nearly died alone in a cave with rotting legs
20:38our cub would arrive small and vulnerable
20:40no matter what rank they carried
20:42a clan meant numbers
20:44numbers 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
21:00almost immediately
21:02do you have any food
21:03she ate like she hadn't seen a proper meal in weeks
21:06given vos's hibernation schedule
21:09she probably hadn't
21:11she was enormous with pregnancy
21:13but 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
21:40gods
21:41how 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
21:48she 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
22:08to give her room
22:09warn her leavings
22:11let her choose first
22:12done what our parents had asked me to do
22:15you're the older one
22:17look out for your sister
22:18what i'd meant as love
22:19she'd received as tribute
22:23we returned to the verat 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
22:49she 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 verat clan was not easy
23:01even with caius beside me
23:03many of the females looked at me with hostility
23:05i'd been labeled a female who went after bonded males
23:08they didn't want me near their maters so i kept to the den isolated
23:13lyra meanwhile told everyone she was the sacred daughter sent by the beast gods and that all 20 of her
23:20eggs contained a rank shifters
23:22the clan believed her
23:23her status climbed
23:27then the war began
23:29caius went to the front
23:30after the first skirmish
23:32the 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
23:45worth standing behind
23:46instead the wolf shifter grew jealous
23:48he organized the other males quietly
23:51no rank they said
23:52doesn'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
24:00i found out after caius came home bleeding
24:03i was already moving toward the chieftain's den when caius caught my arm
24:06sarah
24:07it's fine
24:09he sounded almost amused
24:10they still couldn't take me down
24:12i made it back didn't i
24:13i looked at his wounds
24:15my eyes stung
24:16i'm sorry
24:17i shouldn't have brought you here
24:20this place isn't right for you
24:23we're leaving
24:24back to our own den
24:26no
24:27he 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
24:35stay 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
24:44in passing that i missed home
24:47i'd meant something abstract
24:48grief
24:49a 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
25:06just 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
25:17come quickly
25:18your sister
25:19she's in labor
25:23i heard the screaming from outside the den
25:26inside
25:27blood
25:27more 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
25:40snake eggs were small
25:41this should have been easy
25:43i understood quickly enough once i started working
25:45i helped her pass ten 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
26:02they 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
26:19waiting outside the den
26:22he grabbed my wrist before i could leave
26:24she's your sister
26:25you 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
26:34and he was already trying to pass the burden to someone else
26:37i pulled my wrist free
26:40she's your female
26:41not mine
26:42i'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
27:04i 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
27:40and something went wrong
27:41there would be no one to help me
27:42no one to do what i had just done for lyra
27:44i felt the tears come before i could stop them
27:47caius
27:48i said softly
27:49that was difficult for specific reasons
27:51mine 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
28:18for me
28:20what had i ever done to deserve a male like this
28:23lyra woke the following day
28:26snake eggs take time to hatch
28:28while 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
28:37that all twenty would be a rark
28:39the clan was skeptical
28:41but intrigued
28:43she'd been right before
28:44they came
28:47around the same time
28:48the war finished
28:49largely because of caius
28:51the ultra clan sent delegates to negotiate
28:54their chieftain and their priest
28:55came together to discuss terms
28:57the meeting was still in progress
28:59when someone burst in from outside
29:01chieftain
29:01come quick
29:02the exit boss's den are hatching
29:04the room emptied
29:06even the ultroth delegates went
29:08word had traveled even to their clan
29:11the sacred daughter of the varay clan
29:13had birthed twenty aclar snake shifters
29:16they wanted to see
29:17the den was so crowded
29:19the walls seemed to breathe
29:21the chieftain had to push his way in
29:24he arrived just as the first egg cracked open
29:27a small dark snake emerged
29:30lyra picked it up with trembling hands
29:33and held it out
29:37chieftain tell me
29:39a rank isn't it
29:40the chieftain looked
29:42he considered for a moment
29:43then he said what he saw
29:46c rank
29:50the smile frozen on lyra's face
29:53her eyes went sharp
29:55that can't be right
29:57look again
29:58please
29:59look properly
30:01the chieftain had been judging blood rank
30:03for sixty years
30:04he could do it blindfolded
30:06but he looked again
30:07because she'd asked
30:09c rank
30:11i'm certain
30:14lyra went still
30:17what's happening
30:18i thought they were all a rank
30:20twenty is an enormous number
30:24we've only ever had one a rank in the whole clan
30:28maybe there's a mix
30:29maybe the rest will be higher
30:31that last voice gave lyra something to grab onto
30:34she straightened
30:36hands on her hips
30:37exactly
30:38that was only the first
30:40i expect at least ten a rank out of these twenty
30:45three more eggs cracked
30:47everyone looked
30:50all sea rained
30:54the strong ones hatch last
30:57lyra said firmly
30:59crack
31:00crack
31:01crack
31:02five more
31:04one b rank among them
31:06there
31:06lyra said
31:08her voice climbing
31:10see
31:10the better ones come at the end
31:12i told you
31:13but the crowd had stopped believing her
31:16the expressions had shifted
31:18the last eggs opened
31:19final count
31:21one b rank
31:22ten c rank
31:23and several with no rank at all
31:25the chieftain studied the unranked ones briefly
31:27his face said everything his mouth didn't need to
31:31lyra's composure shattered
31:33this is impossible
31:34where are my a rank cubs
31:36someone tampered with them
31:37someone swips them
31:39her voice rose
31:42cracking
31:43there's no other explanation
31:45a female in the back
31:47had had enough
31:47tampered how
31:48vos is a b rank snake shifter
31:50what exactly were you expecting him to give you
31:52a couple of good weather predictions
31:53and 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
31:59peeling back the patience they'd kept
32:00then lyra's eyes found me
32:02she'd been scanning the crowd
32:03now she stopped
32:04she came straight for me
32:06and grabbed my arm
32:07you
32:08it was you
32:09you can't stand to see me do well
32:11you switched my eggs
32:13give them back
32:14give them back right now
32:18i pulled my arm from her grip
32:20lyra
32:21my voice came out flat and cold
32:23stop
32:24you 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
32:33they watched everything i did
32:36the females who'd attended the birth
32:38stepped forward one by one
32:40she's right
32:40we were all there
32:41sarah didn't take anything
32:43what would she even want with snake eggs
32:45she's carrying her own
32:47the voices layered over each other
32:49lyra broke entirely
32:50why is everyone suddenly on her side
32:52just die
32:54sarah you should just die
32:56she threw herself at me
32:58i didn't move fast enough
33:00she hit me square and we both went down
33:03kaius shifted
33:04the 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
33:11because 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
33:21held against a chest that was warm and solid and moving very fast
33:25kaius ran
33:28in the den he held my hand through all of it
33:31his brow didn't unfurl once
33:34he kept talking
33:36low
33:37steady
33:37you're all right
33:39you're doing so well
33:40i'm right here
33:41while his own hand shook harder than mine
33:44everything went smoothly
33:45less than two hours later
33:48i delivered two white lion cubs
33:50twins
33:54oh they're beautiful
33:56the attending female breathed
33:59lifting one and cleaning it briskly
34:01strong too
34:02look at them
34:03i'd wager these are a rank at least
34:06let the chieftain have a look
34:08it's fine
34:11i started
34:12we don't need
34:16the chieftain and the ultrath priest had followed us in
34:19the chieftain reached for the nearest cub
34:22turned it over
34:23and frowned
34:25spirited little thing
34:26but no rank to speak of
34:28i glanced at kaius
34:30his face was careful
34:32he was nervous
34:33i took his hand
34:35it doesn't matter
34:37before i'd finished the sentence
34:39the ultrath priest leaned in
34:40his voice went sharp with something that sounded almost like outrage
34:45you can't see rank
34:48these cubs
34:49are s rank
34:55s rank
34:56did you just say s rank
34:58i helped birth them and i thought they looked different from other cubs
35:01but i didn't dare
35:02s rank
35:03here from this den
35:04two of them
35:05we have two s rank shifters in this clan
35:08the den erupted
35:10caius and i looked at each other
35:12the news moved through the clan like fire
35:15lyra had pushed her way back through the crowd and into the den entrance
35:19she saw the cubs
35:21she looked at me
35:22this isn't real
35:23her voice had gone strange
35:25too high
35:26too tight
35:27sarah
35:27how could you possibly produce s rank cubs
35:30who's with him
35:31he doesn't even have a rank
35:34the joy in the den
35:35quiet
35:35it was the thing people had wondered
35:37and hadn't said
35:39before any of it could take hold
35:41the altar priest stepped forward
35:43no rank
35:45who told you
35:46his voice rang off the stone walls
35:49caius is s rank
35:51he's been s rank this entire time
35:54that's precisely why we yielded
35:56silence
35:59the priest told them what the ultrac clan had seen on the battlefield
36:02abilities that couldn't be explained by any ordinary blood rank
36:05when they'd realized what they were facing
36:07they'd stopped fighting
36:08no one here had ever encountered an s rank shifter before
36:11not even the chieftain
36:12he hadn't known what he was looking at
36:14caius sat with that for a moment
36:16he'd spent his whole life believing he was broken
36:20cast out
36:21proof 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
36:31he studied me with the focused attention
36:35this female's fate line
36:38he said slowly
36:39is unlike anything ordinary
36:42unless i'm mistaken
36:44he looked out at the gathered clan
36:46she is the sacred daughter reborn
36:48if the s-rate announcement had been a shock
36:50this was the stone that broke the surface of still water
36:53everyone went quiet
36:55then they went to their knees
36:57sacred daughter
36:58sacred daughter
37:00in our previous life
37:02it had happened too
37:03but then
37:04people had been uncertain
37:05willing to believe
37:07but not quite sold
37:09this time
37:10with three s-reek shifters in the same den
37:13no one hesitated
37:16you're all forgetting
37:17she was cast this clan
37:19for going after a babonded male
37:25what sacred daughter has a history like that
37:28she's been playing all of you
37:30the room had heard enough from her today
37:34but she'd reminded them
37:36the old accusation resurfacing in a few sets of eyes
37:41i stood up straight
37:42and looked across the den at drack
37:44the black tiger shifter
37:45who had been standing very still
37:47and very quiet in the corner
37:48since this all began
37:51drack
37:53are you going to tell the truth now
37:55or not
37:57under the judgment of the whole clan
38:00drack admitted all of it
38:01lila had planned it from the beginning
38:03she'd bribed him with herself
38:05he'd stolen a tuff of my fur
38:07and they'd staged the confrontation together
38:09the one who'd gone after a bonded male
38:11had never been me
38:13boss's face went white
38:15he was a snake
38:16and snakes were possessive creatures
38:19lyra
38:21his voice was very quiet
38:24you betrayed me
38:26her legs buckled
38:27no
38:28boss please
38:29listen to me
38:30they're lying
38:31all of them
38:31don't
38:32he'd already shifted
38:33the great dark snake moved faster than eyes could follow
38:36he caught her by the back of the neck
38:38and then he was gone
38:39a trail in the snow
38:40and nothing else
38:41a few days later
38:42someone found what remained of lyra
38:45outside the clan boundary
38:46she was identifiable only by her clothes
38:50words spread fast
38:51the chieftain had no choice
38:54boss was driven out
38:57the cubs lyra had carried
38:58were not held accountable for any of it
39:00the females of the clan gathered them all up
39:03and raised them together
39:04the males under caius's lead turned outward
39:09new territory
39:11broader boundaries
39:12room to grow
39:14season by season the work accumulated
39:16in the new spring
39:18the clan raised caius to chieftain
39:20i stood beside him
39:22the same position i had held in another life
39:25through a different path
39:26with different scars
39:27but here
39:28now
39:28with someone who had wept outside a den
39:31because he was afraid of losing me
39:32our two white lion cubs rolled in the grass nearby
39:35already stocky and ridiculous
39:37and impossibly strong
39:38i watched caius tilt his face toward the sun
39:41eyes half closed
39:42ears twitting
39:43i had lived two lives in this world
39:45i didn't need a third
39:46i didn't need a third
39:46i didn't need a third
39:47i didn't need a third
39:47i didn't need a third
39:47i didn't need a third
39:47i didn't need a third
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