The Beauty's Hidden Beast

Muir's overprotective nature started wearing thin on my patience when he asked me to put on a veil. Annoyed, I tricked him into leaving us, to inform Nivi of our arrival. I hoped that the task would keep him busy long enough to see he'd be better off staying with Nivi. He was another of her book husband, so I couldn't bring myself to wreck him as much as I would like to.
Vick practiced his most disarming smile in the reflection of the river's water, only to find it looked more like a grimace. "I think I might be less intimidating if I try not to smile at all," he muttered, deciding that looking perpetually emotionless might be less alarming, "What do you think, Precious?"
"Your smile could scare off the dead," I said. Honestly, Vick's intimidating presence was a good bug repellent when it came to keeping people at arm's length, "Why bother with pleasantries when your scowl can clear a room? There is no point in fixing what isn't broken, Vick."
Caught off guard, Vick instinctively covered his mouth and tilted his head away awkwardly.
Curtis, on the other hand, had a natural scowl that could freeze a raging river. He attempted to soften his expression, aiming for a look of gentle indifference.
The tactic where they tried to paint me as a nice girl had utterly failed, so their upcoming day's agenda was clear: keep a low profile to ensure smoother interaction between me and my potential suitors inside the leopard village.
"We should have been more aggressive," said Curtis, "forced that winged rat bond with Yaya before he had the chance to meet Nivi."
With a wicked gleam in his eye, Vick's voice turned sinister, "Does he really think we'd let him see our Yaya's mouthwatering figure without a cost? Let's just get rid of him. It's time to cut our losses and his ties."
Curtis nodded, his expression hardening in agreement, "He should face a painful death."
I also nodded at their decision to get rid of Muir, "Took you both long enough to come to your senses."
"..." Both men turned to me, their expressions darkening with intentions that were anything but saintly. I quickly dodged the hand that tried to lift me by the waist and a tail that wanted to swoop me off my feet. But with their combined wits, they successfully captured me.
"Curtis. I hope you're not thinking of flipping to Team Nivi now that were are here, are you?" Vick raised a question, squeezing me tightly in his arms, "Something about Nivi must be convincing you that Muir might have a change of heart."
Curtis recounted a memory. He talked about saving a woman from mermen once. He wanted to get to know her before marking her, but she ended up trying to kill him, just like I did. Ferals branded females with their marks, not out of love but for practicality, should they attempt to flee. What set me apart was how fiercely I protected Nivi, even ready to die for her.
"Despite Nivi's insistence that she doesn't fear me, I know she would never embrace my primal nature," Curtis admitted. "Violence is ingrained in me, and she was trying to reshape me into someone gentler, someone who would show mercy to my offspring and tolerance for her future mates."
Vick never liked Nivi, especially after I requested him to never ever show himself before her, "You had the chance to know love, to be loved, Curtis. Nivi's strength and guidance could have transformed you into someone beyond your wildest dreams." He couldn't help but inject a note of sarcasm.
A dark smile escaped Curtis as he closed the distance, his tongue briefly tracing my cheek in a twisted gesture of intimacy, "Nivi could never inspire the kind of desires that haunt my nights. You, Yaya, can withhold rougher treatment without breaking. With you, there's no need for restraint, so tell me why I should choose Nivi over you? Because she is more kind, and can give me love? What love?"
"When others dismissed my request as foolish, you stood apart by agreeing to it. You saw beyond the surface, recognizing the value in what I asked, when everyone else simply looked down on it. Though you're using it as an excuse to tease me now, I came to like that about you too," Curtis chuckled softly, his words directed not at convincing Vick of his sincerity, but at reassuring me, "What you and I have... it's carved a place so deep within me, making the idea of anyone else, especially Nivi, pale in comparison."
I raised my eyebrow at his expectant gaze, "It's a wonder you're still bold enough to request a kiss from me after all the things I've done to you," I said, my lips parting ever so slightly, inviting yet provoking.
But instead of the deep, invasive kiss anticipated, his lips pressed against mine, not with gentleness, but with a fervor that was anything but soft. He lavished attention on my lips, caressing, pressing, and drawing them in, deliberately without using his tongue. He was not trying to dominate the kiss. He was just...enjoying me.
My response to Curtis's fervor was equally intense, drawing a visceral reaction from Vick, who yanked Curtis away from me.
Curtis licked his lips, appearing quite pleased with the reaction he got out of Vick, probably no longer feeling like an underdog.
While tasting the aftermath of the kiss on my lips, I couldn't help but grin at the sight of Vick gritting his teeth as he carried me in his arms into the village, "How does it feel," I taunted, "to see the kissing techniques we've practiced on eachother being used on another? I have to admit, I'm not fond of this alliance you two have formed against me. It's making me want to pit you against each other until you're at each other's throats."
Feeling Vick's fingers digging into my skin in eerie silence, was all the answer I needed to better keep my rare moment of quiet docility. He knew my weakness for Nivi and never sought to exploit it, which helped to maintain the little respect I still held for him.
· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·
Curtis and my scent should have been well-known within Camel Hump Valley, so we didn't expect a group of leopards to come sprinting out to welcome us, shouting from a distance.
"An ugly female's better than none!" Their attempts to outpace one another turned comical before they even reached us. The same leopards who had called me ugly now seemed to think that having an ugly female was better than having no female at all.
"She is a bit violent, but at least she smells good," one remarked, probably the one I punched the last time.
"I will be her mate!"
"No, I will! She will choose me!"
The chaos reached its peak until the tribe leader stepped in. "Enough!" he commanded, seeking to restore order. "Her appearance matters not. Our village is in dire need of females. You cannot afford to be selective!"
"Female! Your beauty may be lacking, but I will consider...," a leopard trailed off, unable to finish his bold words before a sea of other mateless leopards toppled over him.
The moment the leopards laid eyes on me again, it was like someone had flipped a switch. Their faces went from arguing brutes to wide-eyed schoolboys caught in a scandalous act. The heat was palpable, almost electric, as they visibly tried (and failed) to compose themselves.
Suddenly, it was a comedy of errors, with each leopard tripping over the other, all semblance of grace lost in their haste.
The ruckus was impossible to ignore, and soon enough, the entire village seemed to spill out of their homes.
Amidst the chaos, the females stepped up, their eyes shooting daggers.
"Stop gawking at her like a lovesick cub! Have you no shame?"
Another slapped a hand over her partner's face, snarling, "You'd better be looking at me like that, not her!"
The males, caught between a rock and a hard place, could only stammer their protests. "But I- I didn't mean─"
"Shut it and look away!" commanded another female, her eyes flicking in irritation.
"Are you sure they are leopards and not kittens?" asked Vick, positioning himself behind me.
Curtis stood firm before me, both ensuring I was restrained from reacting impulsively, "Except for the Leopard King's son, the one Nivi refused to take in as her male, they are all still cubs, who will be easy to discipline."
"You both sound so pathetic," I murmured while walking towards Harvey's house.
Just then, I spotted a leopard, urgency etched on his face, cradling a female in his arms as he hammered on Harvey's door.
"Harvey! Harvey! Are you there?!" he bellowed, panic lacing his voice, "My female sprained her ankle during the earlier commotion. I need you to help her relieve the pain!"
As the leopard's shouts for Harvey grew more desperate, he finally caught the scent of me, his expression morphing into one of fierce accusations. "Look what you've done!" he spat out, his voice harsh and blaming, "It's all because of you! My female sprained her ankle because everyone ran out to gawk at your spectacle. And in that madness, one of your mateless followers shoved past her, causing her fall. You're responsible for this mess and her pain!"
Parker's words, sharp and laden with anger, sought to place the entire burden of the incident squarely on my shoulders, as if I had orchestrated the entire scene with malicious intent.
Well, I admit that I wanted to summon every mateless male- to make Curtis and Vick abandon their futile efforts ─ and let get this over with as soon as possible.
╔═══ Author's note ════╗
Look who we've got here. It seemed like someone had showed up in the village during Yaya's absence. 👀
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