Reborn as a Side Character in the Beastworld

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-six

Lance retrieved Mitchell from the scorpion's watery hell and deposited him at my feet on the shore. Scorpions have a natural fear of water as they can't swim, and Lance always took full advantage of that fact to make sure Mitchell was fully entertained. With Mitchell, I was now surrounded by all of my mates and cubs as Bluepool watched from the water. The dark haired almond skinned male stayed on his hands and knees for a moment, catching his breath. Mitchell lifted his upper body, flipping his long, wet hair behind him and sitting back on his heels. His sharply carved chest was bare but for a leather strap around his neck carrying a small leather bag that likely had Ryan's soul stone in it. His lower body was entirely bare, and I had to put some effort into maintaining my gaze on his face.

His eyes found mine and a crooked smile revealed one canine. "You're as merciful as ever, sweetness," he said dripping sarcasm. "And to think, I wouldn't have been able to see your beautiful face if your slithering cataclysm wasn't so well trained."

I didn't have to look behind me to know Lance's temple was throbbing with irritation. "Why did you come here Mitchell?" I asked before my snake could send him back into the deep end of the lake to drown.

"Well, I figured if I'm going to be torn limb from limb, I'd rather do it in your presence instead of that cursed desert. So here I am." He spread his arms wide as though surrendering himself to my whims.

"What do you mean? What happened with the tasks I assigned you?"

"Oh those. Yes. Well. I was doing as decent a job as I could with the tools I had. Being king of scorpions does have its benefits. But, as you know, it isn't just scorpions that like to hide in the shadows of Flame City. Rootless and ferals of all kinds consider the city to be the only all-inclusive den where they can live out the rest of their measly lives."

"So, you're saying that while the scorpions listened to you, the others did not." I had gathered that much from the information we'd been given by the rootless herbivores.

"Ah. There's the smartest mate a male could have," he teased. "While I could use scorpions to open their ears and make them listen, when I refused to provide them with any —shall we say —benefits for their loyalty, they became quite unhappy. And then some primate prick chose that moment to rile them up even more."

My eyes widened in surprise, "Primate? An ape beast?"

"Right again." He snapped his fingers. "I never met the ape king's mate but she sure made one hell of a mistake turning that psychopath into a rootless beast. Baldy sent a hoard of flesh eating insects into the city and during the chaos rallied the unsatisfied to his cause."

"And you abandoned the city like a coward, running here with your stinger up your ass." Winston growled. Just as Lance was picking up cub-like traits, my tiger was picking up my sailor's mouth.

Mitchell glared at him. "You underestimate me friend—"

"We aren't friends."

"—I did what any rational king of a city would do. I chose to destroy it instead of letting another beast have it."

"What do you mean? Speak plainly." Shuu demanded.

Mitchell raised an eyebrow at my wolf. "Not as bright as the rest of them, are you?"

Shuu took a step forward as though he would remove Mitchell's teeth before he had a chance to say another word. I held out a hand, urging him to calm himself.

With foreboding in my hearth, I asked, "What did you do?"

Mitchell turned his dark eyes back to me. "While not a pleasant memory, I'm sure. You remember that little blue bead my father used to keep mother in her best condition?"

I nodded. "I remember."

"I shattered that bead and unleashed its power on the city. You should have seen it. Every insect and beast alike were frozen in place, turning the warm desert into city of icy prisons" He shivered as he recounted the event.

Lance stepped up from behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder, "If you're the one who shattered it, you should be just as frozen as the rest. So how is it that you're here."

"Tsk. So distrustful. Of course, I was frozen right along with it," he sneered before returning his attention to me. "Not sure how long I was frozen for, but at one point, strength and warmth seeped into me from our bond, giving me just enough energy to break free."

It hit me then. I remembered the morning I had woken up feeling as though the circulation was cut from my hand, making it feel cold. The hand that had his mark. The morning I'd spent in bed with all of my mates doing everything but sleeping. My face burned at the memory, and I had to look away from Mitchell's questioning gaze.

He lifted an eyebrow at my avoidance but continued, "Scorpions such as myself are incredibly hardy. When the ice melts in twenty —thirty? — years, they'll wake up," He grinned in self-pride. "But the others won't." He shrugged as though the death of hundreds meant nothing to him, "But since I didn't die and I couldn't complete the tasks you gave me, I came here to see you one last time before you have your snake destroy me like he did my father." His expression turned pitiful.

I couldn't react right away. None of us could. If what he was saying was true, Flame City, all its inhabitants, along with the Ape King were frozen popsicles. He had wiped it off the map.

"Confirm it." Tristan's voice broke the silence as he ordered Muir to take on the journey to verify Mitchell's story.

Muir quickly moved to obey as the savvy scorpion had just guaranteed his survival for another two weeks at least. It was going to be a very long two weeks.