Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter Seventy-eight

When Kit saw me enter the cavern, he bounded over to me. I picked him up and held him close. "You made all of this?" I asked him with pride in my voice.

He yipped in affirmation. "Well done cub!" I praised him before looking over at Tristan and letting my gratitude for his instruction show in my expression. Foxes were naturally great tunnelers but I hadn't dreamed he would be so talented as to help my son make such an elaborate labyrinth. It was all very impressive.

Tristan gave me a slight bow, his thick, straight, vibrant ponytail sliding forward across his dark shoulders. He had taken up residence on the farthest wall from me as a courtesy for my still deliciously odorous self. In the small space, it was inevitable that he would be affected by my estrus and though his leopard print skirt was slightly tented, he kept the rest of his defined muscles under tight control.

Tearing my eyes away from his ethereal figure, which would have melded into the darkness had it not been for the fox red in his hair and his uniquely colored eyes, I looked around the small room. Besides us, there were a couple of small crates of supplies. Apples, cherries, wild grapes, stone jugs of water, and a bit of smoked rabbit. It was all the supplies the two architects needed for lunch breaks and would be enough for a day of hiding out. I felt like I had entered their equivalent of a boy's club treehouse.

Carl also seemed to feel a bit out of place and anxious. He restlessly inspected one branching tunnel and then another until he had surveyed all of them and started the inspection over again. It reminded me of tigers in a zoo, always pacing the limits of their enclosures. Though I'm sure he was doing it as part of his guard duties and partly to keep himself distracted from my presence, another part of me thought he just didn't like being underground.

Watching him pace was making me nervous. So, with Kit still in my arms, I sat down and leaned my back against one wall, closing my eyes. With the novelty wearing off, my fear of small places was starting to make my stomach twist. If I closed my eyes and pretended we were inside the castle's basement, it felt slightly better. I reminded myself that we were safe.

Though scorpions were also good tunnelers, a tiger queen hiding in one would not be something they would expect. Tunnels also prevented my scent from traveling far. Even if the eagle and scorpion that intercepted us on our way here told others, they would still have a hard time finding us. If any did, I wasn't worried. Carl was a tri-marked tiger and could handle most opponents that came our way. Plus, Shuu and Patrick were still top side, likely defending the maze's entrances.

The thought of my mates fighting to the death where I couldn't see them had me looking at their marks on my skin just to make sure they were ok. Each one stood out brilliantly. It was only Winston's I couldn't see, but I had faith in his strength, and I would know if something had happened. I remembered when Ryan's mark disappeared. It had not only hurt me emotionally, but physically as well. It had burned like the tattoo was being covered by a brand, but instead of a scar, an empty space as empty as my heart felt without him, was left.

Kit's ears perked up and all three males in the space started growling. Though I wished it was someone to tell us the fight was over and we could come out, I logically understood there was an enemy coming. I held Kit tight to my breast and took cover behind the crates while Tristan stood in front of us and Carl went to the tunnel where he sensed the intruder.

In the dim light I could see very little, but I watched the tunnel entrance intently all the same. Then deep within the dark, I thought I could make out two golden orbs coming closer. Carl didn't wait for them to walk into the light of our lantern and instead launched his attacked, bounding into the darkness. Carl's roars and growls echoed off the cavern walls, making them seem louder than they actually were. And then it grew quiet.

I wasn't alarmed right away because contrary to what Hollywood would have you believe on earth, tigers are silent hunters. But my confidence was dashed to pieces as the two golden orbs came back into view and got steadily closer. Tristan and Kit were still growling in warning but if our tiger protector had been bested, we were in very deep shit. As a kidnappable female,  I wasn't worried for my life, yet. But my cub and the fox's...

The intruder finally placed his first step into the pool of light. He was man of average height with light brown skin and long, loose black hair. He had four bright red stripes thinly streaked on each cheek, gold eyes with black sclera, and in his right hand, he was dragging the unconscious or dead Carl by the scruff of his neck. I cursed internally.

Tristan Shifted into his large black and orange fox form but did not immediately attack. He didn't want to leave us undefended in case the scorpion wasn't alone.

The golden eyed man looked at the fox amusedly and then tossed Carl's body into the center of the cavern. He scanned the space and when he found me, an elated smile nearly split his face in two.

"Baldy's information wasn't a pile of vomit after all. I've been looking for you. Smart of you to hide underground, too bad you had a mole in your midst." The scorpion gave the fox a pointed look.

Tristan's head went back and his chin down in confusion and his tail and ears dropped as he thought over the feral's words.

The tetra-marked male addressed Tristan directly, "Don't tell me you didn't know? I thought foxes were supposed to be cunning, but it looks the Ape has you beat in that aspect." He laughed mockingly.

Tristan, possibly upset over the insinuation of having been used, launched an attack. He flew and swiftly grasped the other male's forearm in his maw, clamping down. Blood dripped down the arm but other than having moved it in front of him defensively, the scorpion didn't flinch. He shoved Tristan off him, and the fox turned in midair, placing his paws against the wall he nearly crashed into and pushing off of it. Far too nimble for a mono-marked beast, he launched a second attack.

The scorpion dodged this time and grasped Tristan's hind leg as he flew past him, spinning and slamming him bodily into the wall next to him as though to make up for the failed first attempt. Tristan hit his head hard and when the scorpion released him, he slumped to the ground, unable to regain his feet.

Since the beginning of the fight, I had been inching towards the closest branching tunnel. When Tristan was bested, I put Kit down and told him to run and get his papas, then I stood defensively in front of the path. With whatever strange beast pressure I had, I hoped to buy some time.

But then the gem around the rootless beast's neck shimmered and his mocking face took on a compassionate expression. His next words, spoken with a soft voice, froze me stiffer than medusa's victims, "Don't worry BB. I'd never let him hurt you, or our cub."