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