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

86. Golden Thigh

 Parker came back about four weeks after he left, donning a third stripe on his face. After confidently proclaiming his victory over the colossal he hunted, he awaited Qingqing's answer.

Qingqing did not approve of Parker right away. She told Grace as much. She was worried he'd demand to mate with her like he used to. It took him another week to finally convince her that he wasn't going to insist like before.

"I won't say it. I'm sure you'll choose me when you come of age," he said. His confidence was clearly still inflated.

Qingqing made sure Parker really was going to behave. She didn't think he would try to pull anything while in the castle so she found herself denying him less and less.

It was inevitable. That's what I thought when watching the girl cave. I hoped that all the knowledge and space I gave her let her make a comfortable choice. Unless Parker wants his hide to decorate the castle wall, he will behave. Both me and Winston made sure he understood that.

I left them alone after giving the guards new permissions to allow Parker to come and go as a guard to Qingqing. Mitchell said he had some reports from his followers to deliver and I wanted to hear them. Even though Muir had already found a suitable place, knowing about the surrounding villages would not be a bad thing.

About halfway through the season, the rain let up and Curtis returned. His neck was bare of any marks, but I couldn't say that was surprising. It seemed like we were all growing in strength.

Curtis approached Grace, looking for any change in her emotions. He saw her looking at his neck and smiled proudly. He was stronger now. Surely that would be at least somewhat appealing to Grace.

Curtis's gaze traveled to Grace's exposed neck as he stopped before her. "You got another mark."

"So did you," I said calmly with a light smile. "Congratulations." I meant it. Now that Winston was on par with Curtis—enough to contend with him anyway—I felt more at ease. And Curtis looked genuinely pleased with himself. It was quite a feat.

Curtis enjoyed the praise that appeared genuine. But Winston's appearance dampened his mood slightly. He flicked out his tongue and focused on Winston's markless state, but his tongue picked up something else.

His gaze fell back on Grace, then to her stomach. "You are with cubs?"

I nodded. "Two females apparently."

Curtis's eyes opened wide. "Two?"

"Yes."

Curtis put aside his curiosities and handed over the bag he carried. He waited for Grace to open it. Instead of looking thrilled with its contents, she appeared guilty and contemplative. This confused him. Did Grace no longer like crystals? Would she reject his gift?

Despite the initial guilt I felt, I was more relieved than anything. There would never be too much when it came to crystals. "Thank you, Curtis. Are you certain you want to give me these?"

I had made up my mind a long time ago when it came to Curtis. Regardless of where our relationship went, I intended to use him to protect me and my family for as long as I could safely do so.

...But that didn't mean it hadn't weighed on me.

"Yes." Why would Curtis give them to her if he didn't want her to have them?

I plastered on a smile. "I will put these to good use." I tied the bag tightly to make sure no one else could see the obscene amount of wealth it held. I'd have to go through and separate the emeralds from the transparent crystals in the privacy of my room. Or the coffers.