Mother Of Ferals | Beauty and the Beasts

[Chapter 4] I really hate bugs

Harvey took Muir away from the battlefield. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking at Muir's bloodied cloak. "Were you stung by that scorpion?"

Muir coughed and spat out black blood.

"Curtis! He's poisoned! Kill that thing quick! Don't let it get away!" The only way to find an antidote was to use the animal's scales.

"Easy for you to say!" Curtis grumbled, battling the scorpion with renewed ferocity.

Suddenly, Curtis caught a familiar scent in the wind. His heart sank. "Rhea! Run away!" he yelled, panic rising in his chest. Harvey's eyes widened as he saw Rhea approaching.

The scorpion beastman noticed her and sneered. "A female? Today is my lucky day..."

Before Curtis or Harvey could react, the scorpion launched itself towards Rhea, its tail poised to strike. Curtis and Harvey both shouted, "Rhea, get out of here!"

Curtis felt his blood run cold as the scorpion closed in on her. He watched, helpless, as the scene unfolded.

To their utter astonishment, Rhea sidestepped the scorpion's attack with a fluid motion, grabbing its tail and yanking it hard, throwing the beastman against a tree so hard the tree snapped in half.

Curtis's and Harvey's jaws dropped as they witnessed her strength.

What the fuck was that??

Did she just throw a giant scorpion like it was a rabbit?

"So this is who you guys are fighting, the audacity to attack at dinner time," Rhea muttered, grabbing the scorpion's arm and twisting it until a satisfying crack echoed through the trees. The scorpion howled in pain.

Curtis and Harvey were speechless, a chill running down their spines as they watched her break its arms. Within moments, the once-mighty scorpion lay on the ground, groaning in defeat.

Rhea stood over it, smiling beautifully. "Stay down, or I will actually kill you," she warned.

She noticed the odd silence of the forest and turned to the men staring at her. "You guys didn't come back for dinner," she said with a casual shrug.

Is that all she had to say!?

"What-" The darn scorpion stung her while her back was turned.

"Rhea!"

Shit.

.

"Rhea... Wake up."

Harvey's voice finally broke through, and she opened her eyes feeling weak all over. She was hot and cold, her breathing was irregular, and she couldn't even speak.

He brought a drink to her mouth with a leaf, which she drank.

She saw Curtis standing over Harvey with a worried expression on his face.

"Sorry, I got careless," was the first thing she said when she could speak. Her voice was hoarse.

She looked at Curtis, and she knew immediately he was going to scold her.

As she prepared herself for a scolding, she felt his skin against hers. He hugged her tightly like she would disappear from his sight. 

"You were too brash! What were you thinking!"

He said, his voice revealing his fears. 

"You got yourself poisoned! If Harvey wasn't here, you would have just died! Never do that again!" His voice was actually trembling. He had seen her lose consciousness, and his heart almost stopped working. Was this the kind of emotional labour that came with having a female? He didn't like it. She stroked his long red hair.