Felicity's Beast World Apocalypse-Chapter 152: Smack That

The tension sliced through the room like a blade, immediate and lethal every muscle locking, every breath suspended as the predators waited to see who would bleed first.

Exile reacted first because of course he did. A low, instinctive hiss slipped out of him before he could stop it, shoulders tightening, posture shifting forward like he was about to step in on something that wasn’t his.

"...yours? she’s mi-"

smack

Richard didn’t even look at him as he hit him across the back of the head "not now."

Exile snapped his mouth shut, jaw tight, eyes still burning into Victor like he wanted to argue it anyway.

"...we’re not going to insult you by pretending we don’t see it," Dimitri said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried. It settled into the room like weight, "there’s something there something none of us are choosing," Silence stretched backs straightened. Dimitri’s gaze didn’t waver "It’s in the blood now," he continued. "Whatever this is evolution or a Infection, call it what you want." he slightly shifted his shoulders, "but we feel it."

"We smell it, we recognize it" his jaw tightened just slightly.

"Pack, bond, mate and of course claim." Dimitri exhaled once through his nose.

Victor didn’t move, but his hand did slowly, almost unconsciously, his fingers curled in on themselves at his side, tendons tightening, knuckles whitening as his grip closed into something solid and controlled.

"Snow Team..." he said slowly, "they’re already part of it."

"And she is too."

That pulled the tension tighter instead of breaking it.

Victor didn’t interrupt he didn’t agree, he just watched him.

Dimitri’s gaze flicked briefly just once to the scent clinging to them, then back "I don’t want anything romantic with her," he said plainly.

That surprised no one and somehow didn’t ease anything either, "at least not now." A small if not a whisper of a humorless breath left him. "We’ll see how that goes."

That felt dangerous in a different way. His attention shifted slightly, not away from Victor, but outward, "the rest of them?" he added, gesturing faintly behind him tilting his head. No one missed the implication. "Some of them do."

Exile didn’t even bother hiding it this time.

Dawn didn’t react.

Richard stayed still.

Thane looked ahead.

Dimitri went on "That’s not my decision." His gaze returned fully to Victor "and it’s not yours either, it’s hers."

That hung in the air, "We don’t take," Dimitri said. "We don’t steal." His voice dropped slightly "and if anyone here tries.."

For the first time, something sharp slipped through a controlled violence "I’ll cut them down myself."

Exile went still.

Richard didn’t move.

Dawn’s eyes sharpened, just slightly.

Thane’s eyes hardened.

Ivan shifted, just a fraction.

Damien went quiet.

Even Victor, even Victor felt it not fear no, but recognition.

Dimitri wasn’t posturing he didn’t need to. The room knew exactly how far that statement went. The silence stretched again, heavier now.

Then Dimitri exhaled, letting just a little of that pressure ease, "but that doesn’t change the rest of it," he said. His voice steadied again, back under control, "we’re stronger together."

"I know that."

"This isn’t about taking anything from you, it’s about not ignoring what’s already happening."

Silence pressed in again.

Victor didn’t answer immediately, nor did he move but his gaze had changed, felt sharper, or colder, interested.

And behind him Ivan didn’t relax.

Damien didn’t smile.

Victor took in a deep breath his hand loosened at his side, fingers uncurling just slightly, the tension still there but leashed again. "East gate," he said.

The words cut clean through the room "tomorrow morning. Sunrise."

Every head shifted back to him.

"That’s when we move."

Dimitri nodded once, already there. "Understood."

Victor stepped toward the nearest table, already pulling a folded map from his jacket, flattening it out with one hand. "We don’t take the main stretch," he said, tapping a section with two fingers. "Too exposed, too many choke points."

Dimitri moved in beside him without being asked.

"We cut through here instead," Victor continued, dragging his finger along a tighter path. "Slower terrain, but it gives us cover. Fewer sight lines."

Dimitri leaned slightly over the table, eyes scanning it quickly, absorbing it faster than most would.

"They’ll expect the direct route," he said.

"Good," Victor replied. "Let them."

Dimitri nodded again. "We can split pressure here," he added, pointing to a narrow intersection. "If something hits, we collapse inward instead of scattering."

Victor’s gaze flicked to him, then back to the map.

"Fine."

No argument, just adjustment.

They kept talking, quieter now, the kind of conversation that didn’t need to be heard by the whole room to be understood.

Damien huffed under his breath, rolling his shoulders like he was done with the entire room. "Right," he muttered, already turning away. "I’m going back to my little fox."

The emphasis was deliberate, petty.

"She’ll be worried."

Exile hissed immediately, sharp and irritated, his posture shifting like he was about to say something he shouldn’t.

Ivan moved.

smack at the back of Damien’s head.

Damien froze mid step. "...really?"

Ivan didn’t even look at him "don’t be stupid," he said flatly.

Damien rubbed the back of his head, shooting him a look. "I wasn’t.."

"You were."

Damien huffed, but didn’t argue further. "You’re all very sensitive today."

"Go," Ivan said flatly. "Go get her some supplies she can’t get elsewhere. The chocolates she likes, blankets for the cubs."

There was a pause.

"...she already has cubs?" It came from somewhere behind Dimitri, sharp with confusion.

Dawn whispering lower, more suspicious, "whose cubs?"

"His cubs?"

The room shifted all over again, but this time it wasn’t tension it was confusion spiraling outward.

Exile’s head snapped toward Damien, eyes narrowing. "You didn’t say she had cubs, i didn’t know she had cubs, i mean its fine but.."

Damien dragged a hand down his face, already regretting everything. "Oh my god."

He turned back slightly, glaring at all of them like they were the problem. "Okay new Snow Team, I guess, whatever no, they’re not hers."

"She just treats them like they are."

The room’s energy shifted, the confusion evaporating into something heavier, more primal.

Exile blinked "...oh."

Dimitri lifted a hand and pressed it briefly to his face, exhaling through his fingers like he was reconsidering every decision that led him here. "You can smell her," he said flatly. "She obviously doesn’t have any, yet.."

That last word sat there.

Damien pointed at him immediately "thank you."

Victor didn’t comment, he just raised an eyebrow slightly, gaze flicking once between them like he was already done with the entire tangent.

"East gate," he said again, cutting clean through it. "Tomorrow, sunrise."

That was it, conversation over, he turned without waiting for a response.

Ivan followed immediately.

They were already moving before the rest of the room caught up.

Silence hung for a second after they left.

"...cubs," Thane said, slow, like he was still turning the word over.

Dawn didn’t look at him, but his gaze shifted slightly toward the doorway Victor had just walked through, "...cubs," he echoed.

Exile was still staring at the space Damien had been standing in, something softer creeping into his expression before he caught it. "She treats them like her own..." he muttered, "...that’s that’s... cute." The word came out like it surprised even him.

Richard turned his head slowly to look at him, really look at him. "What," he said, completely flat, "in the animal planet is this shit?"

Exile bristled slightly. "What? It is."

Richard held Exile’s gaze for a beat longer, then exhaled heavily, scrubbing his palm down his face as if trying to wipe away what he’d just heard "...we’re all losing it." But his gaze drifted for a moment, just slightly unfocused, and despite himself he pictured it.

Dimitri didn’t say anything, didn’t react. He just turned and walked off.

Exile let out a quieter breath this time, the edge still there but dulled, his attention shifting back toward the table instead of Damien.

"...we’re all losing it," Richard muttered again, still shaking his head.

Thane leaned back slightly against the beam, arms folding as he glanced toward the exit where Victor had disappeared. "...cubs," he repeated, quieter this time, like the idea hadn’t quite settled yet. "Maybe I’ll grab a ball or something, they’d like that."

Dawn’s gaze flicked to him, "...a ball," he echoed.

Thane shrugged one shoulder. "What? Kids like balls."

"They’re not.." Richard started, then stopped, rubbing his face again. "You know what, no. I’m not even correcting that."

Dawn shifted slightly, thoughtful now. "Soft things," he said. "Warm something they can carry."

Exile was already nodding before he realized he was doing it. "Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense."

Thane glanced down at his hands, flexing his fingers once. "...I can sew," he added.

Richard turned slowly "of course you can."

Thane didn’t even look at him. "It’s useful."

"Right," Richard said. "Yeah sure why not. World’s ended leaf team one of the strongest teams in the world and Thane’s making baby blankets, Exile’s buying gifts... this is normal."

Exile frowned slightly. "I didn’t say gifts ...i said presents."

Richard stared at him "that’s worse."

Exile ignored him, already thinking. "What do cubs even like?"

Dawn’s gaze shifted again, quieter now, more focused "...depends what they are."

That landed.

Thane’s head tilted slightly. "You’re thinking ahead."

Dawn didn’t answer.

Exile’s expression changed, just a fraction, something sharper slipping back in. "We should know," he said. "If we’re moving with them."