My S Rank Beast Mate follows a young woman whose ordinary life ends when she enters a dangerous beast world and discovers her fated S-Rank Beast Mate. As powerful enemies, ancient secrets, and forbidden romance threaten everything she loves, she must unlock her true strength to survive. Watch the full episode with English subtitles and enjoy this fantasy romance short drama filled with action, adventure, and unforgettable twists.
#MySRankBeastMate #BeastWorld #AlphaRomance #FantasyDrama #ShortDrama #DramaSeries #MicroDrama #ENGSUB #FullEpisode
#MySRankBeastMate #BeastWorld #AlphaRomance #FantasyDrama #ShortDrama #DramaSeries #MicroDrama #ENGSUB #FullEpisode
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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 the 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 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
02:11the higher the rank of your cubs the higher you climbed in our last life lyra had wanted to be
02:17the
02:17top female in the clan she'd gone straight for the only a rake wolf shifter without blinking
02:22she told me to choose boss 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
02:42every single one a rank this clan had existed for over a century among clans they'd never had more
02:50than five a rank shifters 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
03:05then another five pregnancies total nothing above b nothing below c she decided the problem was the
03:14wolf's bloodline one night she crept into voss's den voss threw her out of bed and called the entire
03:21clan to witness his innocence before dawn the wolf shifter found out his rage was immediate and absolute
03:28he dissolved their bond and drove her out along with her children within a month lyla's cubs had
03:35all starved she tried to seduce some of the c-rank males during that time but this world had no
03:43tolerance
03:43for betrayal the males would take what she offered they wouldn't bond with her when lyra was close to
03:52starving i'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 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 fury
04:33she demanding to know how i dared steal her mail i stared at her i have nothing going on with
04:39drac
04:39still denying it she reached into a pouch at her hip and flung something at my feet
04:45a tuft of fur i found this on my bed that's your fur isn't it my shifted form was a
04:52white rabbit
04:52the fur on the ground was rabbit fur but that proved nothing i wasn't the only rabbit in this clan
04:59i opened my mouth to say exactly that lyra 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
05:20the males who'd been eyeing me with interest took a collective step back
05:24the wolf shifter in particular his expression shutted he frowned i turned to look at lyra
05:31in her eyes i saw it clearly calculation satisfaction then i remembered in my last life she and drac
05:39had history a brief affair it was a trap by her i didn't do anything with drac and that's not
05:48my fur
05:49if no one believes me i'll shift right now so you can all see for yourselves
05:55i shifted i turned in a slow circle showing every angle no bald patches no missing fur anywhere on my
06:03body except there on my inner thigh a small bear patch i hadn't noticed before the crowd erupted
06:13what kind of female goes after someone else's male that kind should be thrown out of the clan
06:19the noise belt and built this clan male and female alike had no room for a female who might lure
06:25away
06:25bonded males the chieflin raised his hand i was cast out lyra came to see me off at the border
06:31she was curled against vos's chest when she said goodbye her voice all silk and sympathy sister being
06:38cast out isn't necessarily a bad thing there are plenty of strong males out there in the wild
06:43maybe you'll find your true mate the wild was full of powerful shifters yes they were also the ones
06:49every 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 at
07:04all 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
07:48it 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 what exactly are you
08:25smiling about this life i'm gonna make you watch me watch me become the sacred daughter of this clan
08:32she and vos disappeared back into their den their laughter trailing behind them i stepped outside the
08:38clan's boundary and immediately had company a leopard shifter eyes full of hunger and violence i knew what
08:45solitary males like him did to lone females they played they broke every survival instinct i had
08:51fired at once i ran i ran until a cave mouth appeared in the rock face ahead of me with
08:57nowhere else to go
08:58i dived inside the leopard stopped at the entrance he paced he snarled in my direction then when i didn't
09:05come out he cursed twice and left from the darkness deeper in the cave came a roar that pinned me
09:12to the spot
09:13i looked up a white lion stood before me beautiful enormous his jaws were wide enough to swallow my head
09:19whole i ran again two steps then i stopped the lion had roared but he hadn't moved it was almost
09:33like
09:34he was trying to frighten me off rather than attack then i smelled it rot the hot sickening smell of
09:40infected
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 beast lands 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 and pressed his face against
10:57my 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 and that was how i came to live in his den
12:10days settled into rhythm mornings i changed his dressings then went out for water and food
12:18nights he curled around me like a living blanket his warmth soaking into me while we slept
12:25half a month passed then one afternoon i returned to the cave
12:31and stopped in the entrance a man lay where the lion had been
12:38white hair long and loose eyes the color of gold he saw me two pale ears rose slowly from the
12:46top of his head
12:48you're back his voice was startling low and clear and unexpectedly lovely
12:54you're the white lion
13:01he nodded
13:02he nodded
13:05my name is caius
13:07i smiled
13:09hello i'm sarah under my care caius had healed enough to walk
13:20on our first hunt together he showed me what he was capable of a wild boar
13:25under a minute he bit through its neck like it was nothing
13:36that night i finally had meat again pork fat crackling over the fire filling the cave with
13:41the kind of smell that made your stomach hollow with want i ate until my face was shiny with grease
13:46and asked him around a mouthful
13:50a rank
13:51are you a rank you have to be at least
13:54caius's expression shadowed
13:57no
13:58i don't have a rank i paused
14:03what
14:06every male shifter in the beastlands was ranked
14:10that was just the world
14:13caius just shook his head he'd never had a rank
14:18and because of that his clan had called him a monster from birth
14:23cast him out young
14:26the memory sat visibly on him as he spoke
14:30his eyes went somewhere far away
14:33cast out as a cub
14:35no family
14:37no kin
14:38no one
14:42i reached over and touched his head
14:44just slightly
14:47it's all right
14:49you have me now
14:50we're friends
14:53caius went red
14:55it 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
15:19his 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
15:47he was already past his limit
15:50he 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
16:03were low and inimpolentary
16:05and painful to hear
16:06i looked at him
16:08something in my chest
16:10did something quiet and final
16:12i crossed the distance between us
16:14and crouched down in front of him
16:17caius
16:19i said do you not want me
16:22no
16:24how how 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
16:39i braced
16:41i thought sex was simply about being hurt
16:43he was so strong it must be hurting a lot
16:47i'd prepared myself
16:50but surprisingly i felt no pain
16:53caius was gentle
16:55he 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
17:11since 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
17:22unlike my last life
17:24i was happy and no longer felt pain
17:28he was
17:29as it turned out
17:31extraordinarily good at this
17:33and i was pregnant
17:35i was not surprised
17:39really
17:40for three full seconds he didn't move
17:43then his ears began to tremble
17:45his tail followed
17:47his whole face changed
17:49he pressed one broad rough harm to my stomach
17:53so 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 and he'd already have it
18:09i'd think about standing up and he'd be there
18:12lying 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
18:21no warmth to give
18:23i'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 Abrank
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
18:44caius'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
18:54i wiped the corner of my eye
18:57just missing home
19:00is it not good here
19:02with 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 please don't kill me
19:31i looked at her
19:32something that wasn't quite amusement moved through me
19:34sarah
19:36what are you doing here
19:38do you know her
19:40no
19:41caius's killing in tate rose immediately
19:44lyra screamed
19:45no
19:46sister don't let him kill me
19:48i came to save you
19:49that single word stopped everything
19:51sister
19:52caius held back
19:53he asked me if there might be some misunderstanding
19:55i exhaled slowly and 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
20:13sister
20:14we have conflict with another clan
20:16there's going to be war
20:18neither of you belong to either side
20:21you'll be collateral
20:24lyra's words landed
20:26and 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 my 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 ultra earth 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
20:50but none of that was a reason to go back
20:53caius and i were living well
20:55i would never return that clan again
20:57lyra's eyes moved to my stomach
21:00her voice shifted
21:01softer more deliberate
21:02sister
21:04you're pregnant
21:05even if you don't care about yourself
21:08you have to think about the child
21:10you can't wander forever
21:12and when your cub is grown
21:14what then
21:16do you want to raise them out here alone
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
21:46let's go back
21:47after i told lyra yes
21:49she sagged with relief
21:50then almost immediately
21:52do you have any food
21:54she ate like she hadn't seen a proper meal in weeks
21:58given vos's hibernation schedule she probably hadn't
22:02she was enormous with pregnancy
22:05but 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
22:13caius 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 lyra's back was to me
22:29she thought i was still asleep
22:32gods how 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 she pressed a hand to her own swollen stomach
22:43come on little ones come 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
22:58all my life to give her room
23:01warn her leaving
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 vurek clan three days later
23:18by the third day back
23:20i knew exactly why lyra had worked so hard to retrieve me
23:25her due date was close
23:27she was terrified of dying on the birthing floor
23:29in our previous life
23:31all her five pregnancies had been dangerous
23:34and i'd been the one who'd seen her through them
23:37there was also a second reason
23:39she wanted me to watch
23:41she wanted me present when she gave birth to 20 a rank cubs
23:44and rose to become the highest ranked female in the clan
23:47she wanted my face in the crowd
23:49life inside the varek clan was not easy
23:52even with caius beside me
23:54many of the females looked at me with hostility
23:57i'd been labeled a female who went after bonded males
24:00they didn't want me near their maiters
24:02so i kept to the den isolated
24:04lyra meanwhile told everyone she was the sacred daughter
24:07sent by the beast gods
24:09and that all 20 of her eggs contained a rank shifters
24:13the clan believed her
24:14her status climbed
24:18then the war began
24:20caius went to the front
24:22after the first skirmish
24:23the rest of the clan realized what he was capable of
24:26his bite force surpassed the a rank wolf shifters by a margin
24:29his speed and strength were in a different category entirely
24:32by any logic that made him valuable
24:35worth protecting
24:36worth standing behind instead the wolf shifter grew jealous
24:39he organized the other males quietly
24:42no rank they said doesn't belong
24:44and 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
24:54i was already moving toward the chieftain's den when caius caught my arm
24:58sarah it's fine
25:00he sounded almost amused
25:01they still couldn't take me down
25:03i made it back didn't i i looked at his wounds
25:06my eyes stung
25:07i'm sorry i shouldn't have brought you here
25:11this place isn't right for you
25:14we're leaving
25:15back to our own den
25:17no
25:18he caught my hands
25:19something almost panicked moved across his face
25:22sarah if we go back to the den you'll miss home again
25:25i don't want that stay here
25:28as long as you and the cub are safe
25:29it doesn't matter what they do to me
25:31something cracked open in my chest
25:34i remembered saying once in passing that i missed home
25:38i'd meant something abstract
25:40grief a vague ache
25:42he'd taken it as a specific thing
25:45he thought i meant the clan
25:46he'd been humiliating himself to keep me close to something he thought i needed
25:51you are my home
25:53you're the only family i have now
25:56let's go back to the den just the two of us
25:58and live the way we want to live
26:01i just convinced him
26:03we hadn't even started packing when a female came running
26:08sarah come quickly
26:10your sister she's in labor
26:15i heard the screaming from outside the den
26:18inside blood
26:19more than there should have been
26:21the scene was identical to the worst of lylara's previous life labors
26:25that same desperate quality to the air
26:27that same sense of something gone wrong at the start
26:30it didn't make sense
26:31snake eggs were small
26:33this should have been easy
26:34i understood quickly enough once i started working
26:37i helped her pass 10 eggs
26:39then i reached back in and felt more
26:43i was mid-reach when lyra's body seized
26:46no one in the den knew the word
26:48i snapped them to find a smooth cloth
26:50get it between her teeth before she bit through her tongue
26:53they scrambled
26:55while they held her i worked
26:58i cleared the rest of the eggs as fast as i could
27:0220 in total
27:05when it was over
27:06lyla went limp and unconscious
27:08i brewed a draft and got it down her throat
27:11waiting outside the den
27:13he grabbed my wrist before i could leave
27:15she's your sister
27:17you should stay and care for her
27:19i looked at his hand on my arm
27:22he'd watched a woman nearly die in that den
27:25his mate
27:25and he was already trying to pass the burden to someone else
27:29i pulled my wrist free
27:32she's your female
27:33not mine
27:34i've done what i can
27:35the rest is yours
27:37i stepped out of the den into the night air
27:39exhausted to my marrow
27:41caius was standing there waiting
27:44i started to say something about his wounds
27:47about how he should be resting
27:49he pulled me into him before i could finish
27:51his voice was rough when he spoke
27:54sarah
27:55we're not leaving
27:56i want to stay
27:57i started to ask why
27:59my shoulder went wet
28:01i brought him back to the den and sat with him
28:05when i pressed him
28:07the tears came harder
28:09he'd been outside lyra's den the whole time
28:13he'd heard everything
28:14he hadn't known that was what bearing young looked like for a female
28:19the sounds she'd made
28:20the blood
28:22the way the others had moved
28:24he was terrified
28:27if we left
28:28if we went back to the den alone
28:30and i went into labor
28:31and something went wrong
28:32there would be no one to help me
28:34no one to do what i had just done for lyla
28:36i felt the tears come before i could stop them
28:39caius
28:40i said softly
28:41that was difficult for specific reasons
28:43mine might be nothing like it
28:45i don't care
28:46he held tighter
28:48even one chance in a hundred
28:50i won't let you suffer without help
28:54not for anything
28:55he'd made himself small in this clan
28:58he hunted and shared the meat with everyone
29:00even the ones who'd abandoned him at the front
29:02he smiled at the ones who'd left him to die
29:06swallowed every indignity without complaint
29:09all of it
29:10for me
29:12what had i ever done to deserve a male like this
29:15lyra woke the following day
29:18snake eggs take time to hatch
29:20while they incubated
29:22lyra stationed herself beside them
29:24and invited most of the clam to come and watch
29:27she told anyone who would listen that all 20 would be a rark
29:31the clan was skeptical but intrigued
29:35she'd been right before
29:37they came
29:39around the same time the war finished
29:42largely because of caius
29:43the ultra clan sent delegates to negotiate
29:45their chieftain and their priest came together to discuss terms
29:49the meeting was still in progress when someone burst in from outside
29:53chieftain
29:53come quick
29:54the exit boss's den are hatching
29:57the room emptied
29:58even the ultroth delegates went
30:01word had traveled even to their clan
30:03the sacred daughter of the varre clan had birthed 20 eiklar snakeshifters
30:08they wanted to see
30:09the den was so crowded the walls seemed to breathe
30:13the chieftain had to push his way in
30:16he arrived just as the first egg cracked open
30:20a small dark snake emerged
30:22lyra picked it up with trembling hands and held it out
30:29chieftain tell me a rank isn't it
30:32the chieftain looked
30:34he considered for a moment then he said what he saw
30:38c rank
30:42the smile frozen on lyra's face
30:46her eyes went sharp
30:48that can't be right look again please look properly
30:53the chieftain had been judging blood rank for 60 years
30:56he could do it blindfolded
30:58but he looked again because she'd asked
31:02c rank
31:03i'm certain
31:06lyra went still
31:09what's happening
31:10i thought they were all a rank
31:1220 is an enormous number
31:16we've only ever had one a rank in the whole clan
31:20maybe there's a mix maybe the rest will be higher
31:23that last voice gave lyra something to grab onto
31:27she straightened hands on her hips
31:29exactly
31:31that was only the first
31:32i expect at least 10 a rake out of these 20
31:37three more eggs cracked
31:39everyone looked
31:42all sea rained
31:47the strong ones hatched last
31:49lyra said firmly
31:52crack crack
31:54crack
31:55five more
31:56one b rank among them
31:58there
31:58lyra said
32:00her voice climbing
32:02see the better ones come at the end
32:04i told you
32:06but the crowd had stopped believing her
32:08the expressions had shifted
32:10the last eggs opened
32:12final count
32:13one b rank
32:14ten c rank
32:15and several with no rank at all
32:17the chieftain studied the unranked ones briefly
32:20his face said everything his mouth didn't need to
32:23lyra's composure shattered
32:25this isn't possible
32:26where are my a rank cubs
32:28someone tampered with them
32:30someone swips them
32:33her voice rose
32:34cracking
32:35there's no other explanation
32:37a female in the back had had enough
32:40tampered how
32:40vos is a b rank snake shifter
32:42what exactly were you expecting him to give you
32:44a couple of good weather predictions
32:45and suddenly you're the sacred daughter
32:47the resentment had been building for weeks
32:48it broke open now all at once
32:50voice after voice peeling back the patience they'd kept
32:53then lyra's eyes found me
32:54she'd been scanning the crowd
32:56now she stopped
32:57she came straight for me and grabbed my arm
32:59you
33:00it was you
33:02you can't stand to see me do well
33:03you switched my eggs
33:05give them back
33:06give them back right now
33:10i pulled my arm from her grip
33:13lyra my voice came out flat and cold
33:16stop
33:17you accused me of going after a bonded male
33:19now you're accusing me of stealing your cubs
33:22half the clan was in that den with me
33:25ask any of them
33:26they watched everything i did
33:28the females who'd attended the birth
33:30stepped forward one by one
33:32she's right we were all there
33:34sarah didn't take anything
33:36what would she even want with snake eggs
33:38she's carrying her own
33:39the voices layered over each other
33:41lyra broke entirely
33:43why is everyone suddenly on her side
33:45just die
33:46sarah you should just die
33:49she threw herself at me
33:51i didn't move fast enough
33:53she hit me square and we both went down
33:55kaya shifted
33:56the white lion came down on top of her in one motion
33:59all that weight and fury and he opened his jaws over her
34:02he didn't close them
34:03because from somewhere behind us a voice rang out over the chaos
34:06no stop
34:07kaius get your mate back to the den she's in labor
34:10the next second i was airborne
34:12lifted clean off the ground
34:13held against a chest that was warm and solid and moving very fast
34:18kaius ran
34:20in the den he held my hand through all of it
34:24his brow didn't unfurl once
34:26he kept talking
34:28low steady
34:30you're all right
34:31you're doing so well
34:32i'm right here
34:33while his own hand shook harder than mine
34:36everything went smoothly
34:39less than two hours later
34:40i delivered two white lion cubs
34:43twins
34:46oh they're beautiful
34:49the attending female breathed
34:51lifting one and cleaning it briskly
34:53strong too
34:55look at them
34:56i'd wager these are a rank at least
34:58let the chieftain have a look
35:01it's fine
35:04i started
35:05we don't need
35:08the chieftain and the ultrath priest had followed us in
35:12the chieftain reached for the nearest cub
35:15turned it over
35:16and frowned
35:17spirited little thing
35:19but no rank to speak of
35:21i glanced at kaius
35:23his face was careful
35:24he was nervous
35:26i took his hand
35:28it doesn't matter
35:29before i'd finished the sentence
35:31the altar priest leaned in
35:33his voice went sharp with something that sounded almost like outrage
35:38you can't see rank
35:41these cubs are s rank
35:48s rank
35:48s rank
35:49did you just say s rank
35:51i helped birth them and i thought they looked different from other cubs but i didn't dare
35:54s rank here from this den
35:57two of them we have two s rank shifters in this clan
36:00the den erupted
36:03kaius and i looked at each other
36:05the news moved through the clan like fire
36:08lyra had pushed her way back through the crowd and into the den entrance
36:12she saw the cubs she looked at me
36:15this isn't real
36:16her voice had gone strange
36:17too high too tight
36:19sarah how could you possibly produce s rank cubs
36:23who's with him he doesn't even have a rank
36:26the joy in the den quiet it was the thing people had wondered
36:30and hadn't said before any of it could take hold
36:34the altar priest stepped forward
36:36no rank
36:38who told you
36:39his voice rang off the stone walls
36:42caius is s rank
36:44he's been s rank this entire time
36:46that's precisely why we yielded
36:48silence
36:51the priest told them what the ultrac clan had seen on the battlefield
36:54abilities that couldn't be explained by any ordinary blood rank
36:58when they'd realized what they were facing they'd stopped fighting
37:00no one here had ever encountered an s rank shifter before
37:04not even the chieftain
37:05he hadn't known what he was looking at
37:07caius sat with that for a moment
37:09he'd spent his whole life believing he was broken
37:12cast out
37:14proof of something shameful
37:16and the answer had simply been that everyone around him had lacked the eyes to see him clearly
37:21the priest turned to me next he studied me with the focused attention
37:28this female's fate line
37:31he said slowly
37:32is unlike anything ordinary
37:35unless i'm mistaken
37:37he looked out at the gathered clan
37:39she is the sacred daughter reborn
37:41if the s-grade announcement had been a shock
37:43this was the stone that broke the surface of still water
37:46everyone went quiet then they went to their knees
37:53in our previous life it had happened too
37:56but then people had been uncertain
37:59willing to believe but not quite sold
38:01this time with three s reek shifters in the same den
38:06no one hesitated
38:09you're all forgetting she was cast this clan for going after a bebonded male
38:18what sacred daughter has a history like that
38:21she's been playing all of you
38:23the room had heard enough from her today
38:27but she'd reminded them
38:29the old accusation resurfacing in a few sets of eyes
38:34i stood up straight and looked across the den at drac
38:37the black tiger shifter
38:38who had been standing very still and very quiet in the corner since this all began
38:44drac
38:46are you going to tell the truth now or not
38:50under the judgment of the whole clan
38:53drac admitted all of it
38:54lila had planned it from the beginning
38:56she'd bribed him with herself
38:58he'd stolen a tuff of my fur and they'd staged the confrontation together
39:02the one who'd gone after a bonded male had never been me
39:06boss's face went white
39:08he was a snake and snakes were possessive creatures
39:12lyra
39:14his voice was very quiet
39:17you betrayed me
39:19her legs buckled
39:20no
39:22boss please listen to me they're lying all of them don't
39:25he'd already shifted the great dark snake moved faster than eyes could follow
39:29he caught her by the back of the neck and then he was gone
39:32a trail in the snow and nothing else
39:34a few days later someone found what remained of lyra outside the clan boundary
39:40she was identifiable only by her clothes
39:43word spread fast
39:45the chieftain had no choice
39:47boss was driven out
39:50the cubs lyra had carried were not held accountable for any of it
39:53the females of the clan gathered them all up and raised them together
39:58the males under caius's lead turned outward
40:02new territory broader boundaries room to grow
40:08season by season the work accumulated
40:10in the new spring the clan raised caius to chieftain
40:13i stood beside him the same position i had held in another life
40:18through a different path with different scars
40:20but here now with someone who had wept outside a den because he was afraid of losing me
40:25our two white lion cubs rolled in the grass nearby
40:28already stocky and ridiculous and impossibly strong
40:31i watched caius tilt his face toward the sun
40:34eyes half closed ears twitting
40:36i had lived two lives in this world
40:38i didn't need a third
40:39i didn't need a third
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