CHAPTER TWELVE: FAUNA AND THE TIGER'S WRATH

Fauna didn’t know how long she spent training. All she knew was that Doka meant every word he said. She had never been pushed they way she was that day and they only stopped once it was late at night.

It was unbelievable how Saber, Zara and some of the other bears kept chatting while they trained, not breaking sweat. On the other hand, she had been beaten, she had broken bones and she had completely embarrassed herself in front of her mate who was literally an expert.

She screamed for joy when a loud whistling sound was heard and the Zara-sized boulder stopped tossing her around and crumbled to sand. Everything faded away and the clearing became that. An empty clearing.

“You all can go have your baths and rest for a minute. Dinner will be served shortly.” Came Doka’s announcement.

Fauna tried to stand, but she couldn’t move. She couldn’t move her legs, so she just lay on her back and stared above at all the floating lights.

People shuffled around her until a head suddenly appeared above her and she grinned as he looked down at her with concern in his beautiful golden eyes.

“Why are you lying on the ground at a rather awkward angle?” His voice was smooth and he didn’t even have a spec of blood on him. Fauna was sure he didn’t even sustain any injury.

“I think my legs healed in a rather unfortunate angle, so I’m gonna need you to break it and straighten it.”

Lyle grimaced at the request and he looked around, but almost everyone was gone from the clearing. He really didn’t want to have to inflict pain on his mate. He however took another look at her and he sighed. It didn’t look like he had much of a choice.

“You don’t seem worried?”

“Oh, I’m used to it.” She waved off his concern. “I actually have somewhat of a tolerance for pain. Just a smidge, you know, from years of torture and all.”

His face contoured to one of pain, but she smiled to show him that she was okay. She was brave, but he wished she didn’t have to be.

He crouched and cradled her leg while Fauna tried to think of something more pleasant than what was about to happen.

“You were great out there,” he complimented and she scoffed.

“Coming from you! You were like a god!”

“I guess, but I don’t think I have your perseverance. You kept getting back up. I admire that.”

She couldn’t see his face, but she could tell he was smiling at her. It was rather easy to keep standing. All she had to think about were her friends back at home. She needed to be strong enough to protect Alegra and the kids. She needed to get rid of Ari.

“I guess when you have people to protect, you have no choice than to – oh my dragons and green lands!” Fauna screamed the last part as a crack was heard. She felt a wave of pain wash over her momentarily and she tried to focus on her breathing.

“So much for tolerance,” Lyle teased and let out an uneasy laugh. “Okay, I think it’s in place now and it seems to be healing slowly. Can you stand?”

“I don’t want to.” Her voice was strained and Lyle’s head popped up again, not too far form hers this time. Her eyes diverted to his lips. His sweet, seductive, distracting - 

“That’s fine,” he interrupted her thought process. Before she could ask what he was up to, she felt the earth move beneath her and she was levitating.

Of course! How could she forget that they could do that here?

***

“Your clothing looks uncomfortable.” Zara eyed the jumpsuit Fauna wore with scepticism and Fauna just smiled in response.

“You’d think so. It’s actually really cosy. It’s like a hug.”

They were having dinner. Lyle joined his family, but Fauna chose to stay at the table with her friends – the tigers, Penny, Doka and Honey.

She grabbed a piece of Zebra and Penny frowned in confusion.

“I thought you only ate fruits,” she confessed and Fauna shrugged. She wouldn’t be the first person to think so.

It wasn’t that Fauna didn’t enjoy meat, she just thought it lacked flavour. Unlike the fruits which were bursting with various taste. She needed meat though. They all did. Werefolks were mostly carnivores so she couldn’t survive long without it.

“Why didn’t Lyle join us?” Zara decided to make small talk. She looked behind her to where the merfolks were and she pouted. “He spends so much time with Fauna, but we’ve not really been introduced.”

“I don’t trust him.” Saber’s voice was cold and it surprised Fauna. Zara however scoffed as she turned her attention to him. She leaned closer to the table and stared right at the tiger.

“That’s because he kicked your tail at practice,” she whispered as though she was telling a huge secret. “I mean, I always thought he was a weakling, but he’s like a god. Fast, agile and he’s so modest about it.” She leaned back, taking a large chunk of meat with her. “If he were a tiger, I’d mate him.”

Fauna didn’t doubt her. She wasn’t upset that Zara was eying up her mate. If anything, she was glad that she liked him. Now, all she had to worry about was Saber.

She didn’t get it though. Saber was the nicest and most hospitable person ever. Why would he hate the merman?

“I still don’t trust him. And it has nothing to do with training. He had an unfair advantage. Magic.” Saber maintained and Zara rolled her eyes as she stuffed all the meat into her mouth.

She was a beast when it came to food.

“Why not?” Penny sounded genuinely intrigued. She had already finished her portion and was holding a cup of water.

“I don’t know.” Saber shrugged. “He just met Fauna and he’s all over her. It’s sickening.”

“They’re mates,” Doka defended before Fauna had the chance to. She was grateful he got a word in first though because she probably wouldn’t have been so nice.

She cared about Lyle and had this sudden urge to defend him. Saber wasn’t even trying to get to know him, yet he thought it was okay to make comments like that? That was being unfair. And so what if he was all over her? He wasn’t trying to hurt her.

“You should have seen them when they were young.” Honey laughed fondly. “They were practically joint at the fur. Fauna would follow Lyle’s trail everywhere and would throw tantrums whenever he left to spend time with his people.”

“Remember the time she almost drowned?” Doka added with a huge smile on his face, and the bears shared a loud, heavy laugh.

Fauna stared at them as they spoke. She felt slightly embarrassed. She couldn’t recall any of that, but she knew it was true. Lyle was just so easy to be with, it made sense she would always want to be around him.

She dropped the bone on the table and licked her hands before leaning in so she could catch every word of the story. Zara was equally enthusiastic. She leaned over, her red hair flowing around her face and onto the table. She had a huge grin on her face as she eagerly waited for the rest of the story.

“Anton took Lyle to the sea. Fauna here had waited for her mate for all of two minutes, then she dashed into the water in search of him. She refused to come up for air. She was under until one of the mermaids saw her,” Honey narrated as she reached over and nudged the girl gently.

“No!” Fauna buried her face behind her palms. She was so embarrassed.

“It was insane. I was looking for her everywhere!” Penny made outrageous gestures. “You wanted to bite my head off.” She pointed to Doka who let out a sheepish smile.

“That’s sweet,” Zara cooed and Fauna peeked at her through her fingers before she decided it was safe enough to put her hands down.

Saber was not impressed though. He had his arms crossed and he stared at Lyle from across the room, paying no attention to his untouched dinner.

“Where I’m from, the males fight each other and the winner gets laid,” Zara explained. Now, it was the bears turn to be intrigued. They leaned forward while Zara relaxed into her chair looking smug.

“Wow!” Honey covered her mouth with her large palm.

“True talk. In my case though, it was different.”

“Yes!” Fauna jumped in excitedly. “The three of us were with our friend Hailey when Kali came along. He challenged Saber to a fight for us… Except Hailey. He said he didn’t want to mate with an albino. Anyway, Zara stepped forward and told him he had to fight her instead.”

Zara nodded with pride and Honey’s eyes went wide. She was really enjoying the story. “What happened next?” She eagerly asked.

“Do you have to ask? I beat his furry tail before he could say mother nature. Then, I told him I wouldn’t be caught dead breeding with a weakling,” Zara completed and they all let out a laugh. Even Saber.

“I think you just did it because of the comment he made regarding Hailey,” he raised a brow at her and she nodded.

“True. I mean, he wouldn’t mate with Hailey because she’s an albino? Hailey is the second strongest lady in our clan – with me being the first.” She pointed her thumbs towards herself and they shared a laugh. “However, I discovered I’m stronger than all those testosterone-filled lunatics. Hence, if anyone wants to mate with me, they have to fight me.”

“Anyone beat you?” Penny inquired and the short tigress nodded.

“I have a cub. He’s strong and he’s already training to be a Soldier. Of course! His parents are only the two strongest people in the clan,” she bragged and Saber rolled his eyes.

“I’m stronger than you and Bone. My father is too.”

“Saber, I love you, but you’re a weakling.” She reached over and patted his arm. “Bone would crush you. Literally! True. Bruce is strong. I challenged him, but he called me a child. The audacity!” She scoffed and Fauna laughed.

Lord Bruce had showed no interest in having another child. Perhaps he was okay with his son. Who knew?

“So, what’s your son like?” Doka asked and Zara hummed before she turned to Fauna.

“Remind me what he’s like.”

“His name is Tala. He’s three. Almost four. He should have shifted by now. He’s tall and has brown hair. He likes to jump around a lot. It’s like he can’t sit still. I mean, no surprise there.” She gestured to Zara who chuckled fondly. “He’s protective though, like his father. He takes care of the smaller cubs with the Helpers and refuses to eat until he knows everyone has been taken care of.”

Talking about him made Fauna think of all the other cubs. She missed them so much. She missed how the twins Ginger and Shadow were always bickering, but always looking out for each other. She missed the shy and soft-spoken Kato who got picked on by some of the bigger cubs for wanting to be a Helper. She missed them all so much that it physically hurt.

Rather than let it show though, she put a smile on her face and looked at the bears who were staring at Zara with confusion etched on their faces.

“You don’t know what your son is like?” Penny finally asked after awkward seconds of silence and Zara waved it off.

“I’m a Soldier. I’m too busy training and protecting our territory. Fauna and the other Helpers take care of all the cubs. It’s more efficient that way. Also, it allows many to birth at once without having it ruin the number of available workers.”

“We’re not the most family oriented werefolks. The number of neglected cubs… This way, cubs get all the care they need. She didn’t even know who he was until the other day when Fauna told her. He doesn’t know who his parents are. None of the cubs do,” Saber added. He stared at the food before him, then pushed it towards Zara who greedily snatched it and stuffed chunks into her mouth.

“But you know who your father is.” Doka pointed to Saber who nodded.

“He took care of me on his own. My mom died birthing me. I don’t even know why dad was around. Most tigers would abandon the tigresses after mating.” Saber hummed in thought, then let it go. “He taught me to hunt and survive. We’re not exactly close, but we respect each other. I care about him. Deeply. And he respects the man I’ve become.”

“I don’t think you tigers lack feelings. I think you were taught to. I mean, you believed you were solitary all your lives, but now you have a clan. And I think the new generation won’t believe you were once so distant,” Penny murmured and Zara hummed though she most probably didn’t hear. She was too busy swallowing Saber’s meal.

“Do you have a child, Saber?” Doka inquired and Saber turned red and looked away.

~~~

Please don't hate me. I know it's been forever but I promise I have a valid excuse.

I just started my 3rd year in university and it's STRESSFUL!

I love you all though and thanks for being patient with me.

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