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

17. Showtime

I ran phantom scenarios in my head as I planned how to deal with the wolves. Shuu was uneasy—I could tell by his darting gaze and stiff posture—but I convinced him to support my act.

He will lure the three offenders to the front of the castle where I will threaten them publicly. And with how females love to gossip, I'm sure news will spread.

Harvey woke up before I set the plan in motion, but he did not shift. Making the wounds worse was the only outcome of that. Instead, I told him of what was going to happen, in less details than he probably would've liked. But he was not in his sharpest state of mind and let things go.

I didn't forget to congratulate him on his mark. No matter how I felt about the circumstances surrounding how he gained it, that was an accomplishment worth praising.

Considering he was still a leopard, I couldn't communicate with him well or read his body language. How he felt about everything; well, I could only guess from the time we spent together. That was assuming he really registered what I was saying.

My heart hurt changing his bandages, but I did not cry. I used that pain for fuel to spur me on.

Up until the moment Muir gave me the signal, I stayed with Harvey. When it was time, I ran myself through the points I needed to present today and had to trust in my ability to adapt my words to fit the scenario. I wore my scorpion headband as I needed the extra push of confidence it gave me. It would also lend to character I was making myself out to be.

I steeled myself, closing off my emotions—like I was so used to doing—and put on the face I needed to handle this.

...

The space around the front of the wolf castle was open, but the congestion of beastmen was heavier than usual. The wolf prince had summoned three wolves for punishment hours earlier and they were still waiting. The delay had been long enough for word to spread, and curious and bored beasts alike gathered.

The three wolves twitched nervously as they nursed their own wounds. One of the brothers was in an especially poor state. With his one eye missing and the gashes around it, he would forever be seen as damaged. There were many who pitied him.

The wolf king pinched the bridge of his nose, unsure of whether he should sigh or growl. His son rarely abused his authority and he wasn't sure what to make of it. While he felt that way, he had no intention of stopping Shuu.

Shuu was a grown cub with his own family now and the wolf king expected a successor one day. Whether it was Bart or Shuu, either would be fine. So long as Shuu did not step out of line, the wolf king would not interfere.

The wolves grew more anxious the longer they were made to wait. They wanted to leave, but Shuu's stony stare pinned them in place. It wasn't until an eagle male arrived, carrying a female, that something changed.

Shuu wanted nothing more then to bound up to Grace, but he did not. He needed to remain calm and cold like she wanted him to be. He cowed the excited males with his beast pressure as he continued to send them chilling stares.

Muir let Grace down and trailed several steps behind her. He watched in awe as Grace walked proudly with no sense of haste towards the wolves. His eagerness to see what she would do was hidden well behind his blank expression.

"Don't be surprised when I act differently. I need you to be as intimidating as possible and only speak up to agree with me when you think the point needs to be driven home," Grace had said to both him and Shuu. Shuu had asked for clarification, as some of Grace's phrasing was lost on them, and she did.