Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen

I was pleasantly sore and didn't want to wake up. I snuggled closer into Tristan's embrace and he laid his fluffy tail over my hip like a blanket.

"Did I wake you?" he asked as he rose up on one elbow.

"Nuh uh." I replied without opening my eyes.

He brushed the hair away from my face and asked, "Does anything hurt? I did try my best to be gentle."

"Don't worry Tristan. I have no complaints." I reassured him with a pat to his arm that was wrapped beneath my breasts. "And you? Was it everything you imagined?"

He chuckled, "That and more. Who knew the cub that followed my sister everywhere would turn out to be such a desirable vixen."

I paused for a moment to dig up old memories of my childhood, "Your sister, was her name Tiffany?"

"She'd be happy to know you remember her." He said a little surprised and with a smile in his voice.

I opened my eyes but I wasn't seeing my room. The image of a curvy woman with long silver hair, dark seductive eyes and a dimpled smile that could melt snow shimmered in front of me. With reverence for the dead, I quietly replied, "Of course I do. She was the most beautiful female of our village. All the females wanted to be her and all the males wanted to be hers. She didn't deserve what happened to her. I'm glad you were able to avenge her."

His arms tensed around me at the mention of her death. But then he kissed my hair and quietly said, "Thank you."

We held each other in silence for a time. Both of us too deep in our memories to speak. I wanted to do something to lighten the mood but then our date night abruptly came to an end.

The door to the bedroom was opened and my white tiger with Baek in his mouth and Tora on his back strode in. Winston gave one warning growl and Tristan was kissing my cheek before jumping out of bed and hastily leaving the room. Despite being a four marked beast himself, he had acted subservient to Winston. That was fine when Tristan had considered himself a pet beast but now that he was my mate, he would need to redefine his place in the hierarchy. Besides, it wasn't Winston who got to decide how long someone stayed in my bed. That was my choice. My mates usually didn't complain because I worked hard to keep things as fair as possible, but it would seem Winston was a bit too used to Tristan following his every order.

Winston jumped onto the bed and plopped the cubs in my arms. Then he laid on his back and rubbed the spot Tristan had been, covering the fox's scent with his own. My tiger might have agreed to adding Tristan to the family tree but that didn't mean there was no rivalry. I gave him a look but the cubs drew my attention from their silly father. I brought them to my breast for their breakfast but they struggled to latch from the shaking of the bed. Annoyed I looked over to give Winston a piece of my sleep deprived mind when I noticed he wasn't the one moving. The bed, the floor, the entire house was. The shaking became more intense and the rumbling sound of mountains grating against each other deafened me. Baek and Tora clung to me in fear and Winston covered us with his hulking mass as the earthquake put my architectural designs to the test. Before it was over, Kit ran in to join his siblings at my side and Shuu, Harvey, Lance and Tristan created a defensive circle around us.

Though earthquakes weren't uncommon in the valley according to the peacocks, I counted back the days. The timing was close to when the volcano erupted and destroyed the City of Beasts in the novel, give or take a couple weeks. If this was the same earthquake, then we would need to prepare for those fleeing from the destruction.

When the shaking stopped and we were all confirmed uninjured, my mates went to work. Winston and Tristan needed to check on the villagers and calm any panicked beasts. Harvey needed to check for injuries. Shuu needed to gather the soldiers and assist with repairs. That left Lance to watch over the cubs and I until it was deemed safe enough to leave our home. Before they left, I told my mates my guess on the cause of the quake and warned them to watch for ash clouds in case the winds brought the polluted air this way. It might take days to reach us and I wasn't sure if the volcano would erupt with a pyroclastic flow or if it would simply ooze lava. Better to err on the side of caution, I decided.

Lance went around the house checking for damages and righting any furniture that had fallen while I finished feeding the tiger cubs. Kit stayed with me, still a little too scared to wander elsewhere. When Lance returned with pride in his voice as he bragged about the durability of our home, I decided to head down and make some breakfast. While Lance had no problem making simple dishes, I was craving pancakes. Now that I had an abundance of milk and acorn flour, I could whip them up in a jiffy.

The idea of consuming my own breastmilk might have never occurred to me as a human, but as a beast, it wasn't uncommon. It also had many health benefits and since I knew the source was clean, we didn't have to worry about pasteurizing it. When I'd been trying to get pregnant in my last life, I learned that mother's milk made into soaps and lotions could help with rashes, wounds and even infections. I didn't want any to go to waste and I had plenty, but we had to use it quickly or it would go bad. So I didn't think twice and made a huge stack of pancakes. Paired with eggs and bacon, I almost felt human again.

Unfortunately, while I was making the eggs, I realized we were running low on salt. If our home was lacking then many of the other villagers might not have any at all. We would need to either make it ourselves or trade for it soon, but both options required a trip to the beach. The thought of running into Bluepool or King made me hesitate but salt was something we couldn't live without. My thoughts wandered as I ate and I wondered if Bai had gone that direction like she had in the novel and what the outcome would be.  Curtis had already broken from his amber. If the mer tribe was already decimated, then making salt would be our only option. At least we wouldn't have to worry about shifty fish. If the tribe was alive and well, then maybe we could establish trade agreements.

"Oi." Lance snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Think or eat. You aren't coordinated enough to do both." He said as he used his finger to wipe a drop of syrup from my chin and lick it.

I blushed deeply in embarrassment and threw a piece of bacon at him. He deftly caught it, ate it and laughed.