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

51. Kings Fall

The wait was giving me crippling anxiety, but it couldn't compare to the pain that shot through my chest at Winston's mark. The suddenness of it and the following sensation of burning had me ripping off my top.

I stared at Winston's mark. It was still there, but so was the pain. It had me gasping for breath. Minutes later, Muir's mark pinched painfully.

I did my best not to cry. Crying wouldn't solve a damn thing, and I knew that. Crying in grief should be reserved for the dead. They were not dead, and they would not die.

Harvey and Shuu frantically inspected Grace for signs of injury but found none. They exchanged harried looks, understanding in their eyes. They focused on the marks that weren't theirs, wondering if one of their family members would not live past the day.

Curtis watched this all with grief in his eyes. It was not for the males, of course, but Grace's pain and his inability to make it go away.

I covered my chest and spoke hoarsely. "Curtis, please go. Go and bring them back."

"Grace," Harvey cautioned gently.

"No, Harvey. Something is wrong. They need to come back now."

Curtis disagreed. "You need protection."

"I am protected," I hissed. "The flyers will alert us, and Shuu will take me away if he chooses to come this way. Please, Curtis. Please."

Grace begging like that broke all of their hearts.

"...Alright." Curtis could not say no to Grace's tear-stained eyes and distressed pleas. He left quickly so that he could return quickly.

Curtis cleared the distance almost as fast as the fliers. Unfortunately, the smell of blood and mud was too strong for him to pick out the scent of Graces' mates. The males left standing saw Curtis as a threat and attacked him.

Curtis hissed and swerved. He didn't have time or patience for this. Finding little other choice, Curtis grabbed a male and shifted. "I'm not your enemy today, wolf. Where is the tiger named Winston and an eagle named Muir? Their mate calls for them."

The wolf did not have any idea. Curtis tossed the wolf aside and hunted down a flyer with haste. Once he caught one, he was forced to justify his presence once again.

The flyer did not know of Muir, but he did know where Winston had battled the terrifying scorpion. The eagle hesitated to bring a feral near their wounded and intended to divert the snake by leading him away.

Curtis's eyes glinted dangerously when he noticed the deception. He sent the full brunt of his pressure upon the eagle causing it to fall out of the sky. When it landed, Curtis broke one of its wings.

"Where?" Curtis's expression was dark.

The eagle did not answer, so Curtis made short work of the other wing. He threw the broken male aside and searched on his own.

He had no luck locating the eagle, Muir. Finding Winston, however, was not as difficult. Many beasts attacked him on his way there. He had no ability to tell if they were city beasts or rootless ones, so he swatted every one of them without discriminating.

He found the male in question, but he also found the rabid tiger king. The king's fur was no longer white, but brown and matted with blood and mud. There were beasts surrounding him, desperately trying to stop him. Curtis had seen beasts that fell to scorpion venom before, so this sight was nothing new.

Curtis went to collect Winston, whom he could only recognize by scent, but the tiger king struck at him in his hallucinogenic state. Curtis easily avoided the blow. He considered putting down the half-dead tiger, but the choice was taken away from him.