Imara Diversifies The Beastmen World (Dropped)

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty Eight: Steady Again

I gasped, my umbrella slipping from my hand and hitting the ground.

It was them.

Harvey... and Horace.

The world slowed, stretching thin like sap pulled too far. The rain kept falling, but I barely felt it. My hearing dulled until all that remained was a faint ringing, my heartbeat pounding so hard it swallowed everything else.

My body moved before my mind could catch up.

I ran to them.

My sneakers splashed through the mud, my breath coming fast and uneven, like my lungs couldn't decide whether to breathe or stop altogether. Tears burned behind my eyes, blurring my vision. I wiped them away quickly, refusing to let anything cloud my sight. Not now.

I didn't slow down. I wouldn't.

All I saw was them... solid, real, alive.

I prayed my mind wasn't playing tricks on me.

"Harvey!"
"Horace!"

My voice cracked, ragged and desperate, and they were already moving toward me, closing the distance with long, urgent strides.

I didn't stop.

I leapt.

Harvey barely had time to brace before I crashed into him. He caught me with a startled grunt that turned into a breathless laugh as his arms locked around me, crushing me to his chest while my legs wrapped around his waist and my arms locked around his neck like I would never let him go again.

His hands came up instantly, one closing around my waist, the other sliding to the back of my neck, fingers buried in my hair as he pulled me in tight, like he was afraid I'd vanish if he loosened his hold.

I pressed my face into his neck, trying to inhale his scent rain, earth, him. I kissed his skin again and again, desperate, grounding myself in the feel of him as my fingers gripped his top and slid up into his hair.

"Oh—thank you, Beast God," I sobbed. "Thank you, thank you—!"

Horace was there in the same heartbeat, behind me, sliding an arm around my waist from the back as his larger frame closed in around us. His grip was firm and anchoring, his chest pressed to my back as he bowed his head over us, breathing me in just as deeply. His other hand braced against the tree beside us, steadying our balance so we wouldn't stumble, keeping us connected, all three of us locked together.

For a moment, we didn't move.

We just held.

Rain slid down our hair and clothes. My heart thundered so hard it hurt. My body shook with everything I'd been trying — trying — to hold together for days... fear, relief, longing, all spilling out at once.

Harvey's hand tightened at the nape of my neck, rocking us gently. his forehead resting against mine now as he drew me into his lungs.

For a breath, neither of us spoke.

"My love," he said hoarsely. "I'm back."

Horace's voice followed, low and thick with emotion, close to my ear. "My Imara... how I missed you."

The ringing faded. Sound rushed back in all at once — rain, breath, the hitch in my own chest.

"W-welcome back," I managed, and then I broke.

I cried openly, helplessly, clutching at them like my life depended on it. Harvey kissed my temple, my cheek, my hair, quick and reverent kisses, present with me.