B+Bs: To Stand In A Beast's World

4. Choose

I gave the males in the room a once over and they did the same to me. I found a few faces that I felt like I recognized. Winston was an easy one. There weren't many scarred, tetra-marked tiger males that I could mistake him for.

Muir was the next one thanks to his single braid that was a different length than the rest of his hair coupled with his triple striped status.

I felt the eyes on me, but none were hostile. I'd swear that even the coldest of the males were looking at me with pity. It didn't make for the best first impression, but I couldn't wait until I put on another 15 or 20 pounds to start looking for mates.

I didn't try to identify the rest and let the ape king handle everything for me. "Grace, you are looking healthier by the day." The ape king was trying to play it up as a compliment but also strum the emotions of the males present. There was no decent male who wouldn't feel something looking at the female in front of them.

"Grace, these are some of the best males the city has to offers. Males, this is Grace. A female that has survived the City of Flame and a guest of mine."

I nodded. "Thank you for sparing your time to meet with me today." I felt tired after hearing my own words. They were stiff and formal, and gave off an aloof impression.

Grace was the only one who felt that way. The males took the shallow consideration to heart. It was the ape king, though, who spoke up first.

"It is only natural, Grace." The ape king turned towards the males. "As you can see, she is a polite one. She needs protection and comfort." The ape king paused. "We would normally hold a competition for her to choose mates from, but she has seen too much violence." The ape king wore a look of sadness that no one questioned. "So she will choose differently."

I waited for the ape king to finish. He embellished a few more things that I did not ask for and it worked up the males here. I refrained from sighing and really looked at my potential spouses.

There wasn't a single one among them that wasn't top-tier eye-candy. I reached into the depths of my brain and yanked out my positivity. If pity is what it took to get their attention on me, I could use that.

As long as they gave me the chance, I could prove to them that I'd be a good mate. It might have been more hope than I could handle right now, but I saw a flickering future where I was happy and they were happy. If only it didn't disappear so fast.

I just had to keep my spirits up aim for a good life here. After all, I've long since come to terms with the fact that I might not be able to go home.

"Now, Grace. What do you think? Do any of these males catch your eye?"

I didn't have 20/20 vision and my glasses were killed the day I came to this world. So I walked up to the guys until I was close enough to reach out and touch the closest one.

My heartbeat raced despite myself. I knew what I was getting into, but actually going forward with a plan hits a lot differently.

I looked up into blue-green eyes that seemed to be debating something. I could not figure out if Shuu was interested, but I was. He had promise and didn't need to die like he did.

"You are?" I asked.

Shuu blinked as he stared down at the small female. His eyes met hers and he was surprised to find that they were a similar color to his own. "Shuu." He felt somewhat shy with the direct gaze on him, but he was not completely swayed. As one of the wolf princes, he had been approached by females in the past. But none he could say were anything less than rude and demanding.