My Wild Beast-Chapter 99: Her First Step (2)

Yoa broke the surface with a gasp, unintentionally shifted back into his human form, his hair plastered against his face, water streaming down his chest. There was nothing but calm waves, the turquoise waters as far as his eyes could see.

His breath heaved in his lungs, and he scanned the horizon again. But there was nothing. The Akhlut was gone.

He remained in the water, searching. Waiting. But the feeling had slipped away like a whisper stolen by wind.

One thing he hadn’t anticipated was the Akhlut’s cowardice. He cringed at the term. It wasn’t right. He was sure from the legends passed down through the guardians’ that this was the most lethal of all the Ancients.

Coward it was not. Lazy or bored? Perhaps. The Akhlut tried to get an easy meal by claiming one of the children and when that didn’t happen it only lingered a moment more, surveying the threat following it and vanishing after deeming him not worthy.

Yoa glared at the water and turned to the shore. By the time he reached land, he shifted back into his jaguar form in one clean motion. He didn’t bother drying off or question why he’d shifted in the water. There was no time.

He shot into the trees like a shadow reborn, weaving between trunks, leaping over gnarled roots and gliding beneath fronds that sliced the sunlight into pieces. It was only by luck that those children weren’t the creature’s next meal. Yoa couldn’t patrol the coast all the time, and that was the only instruction passed down to him in handling it.

That didn’t mean he couldn’t do more to help the tribes of Tayun. He had to inform the chiefs about the dangers. All of the chiefs.

Even him.

Yoa’s lip curled in his feline form as the thought of Vulcan flashed across his mind like bile. The Nokari mark on Nova’s collarbone burned into memory. That coward hadn’t earned the right to breathe the same air as her, let alone mark her. But this wasn’t about blood or pride. It was about the island.

He was responsible for everyone, including beak brain. The Akhlut had already proven it would go further inland, and that might possibly stretch to the Silver Feather tribe.

Yoa shot across the island to the tribes, shifting into his human form and sending signals to their chiefs so they knew Yiska wasn’t there to hunt or cause trouble. Their tribes were ready with sharpened weapons or warriors stationed near them but a single hand signal from Yoa forced their leader’s hand into sending them away so he could speak to them in private. He would have preferred sneaking into their lands and popping out of nowhere, but this was urgent.

He managed to inform all of them, including the Oncari, who surprisingly let him pass without any sign of hostility. Besides the Silver Feather flock, he thought the jaguars would cause him just as much trouble because they believed he’d killed Kanti. When Aiyana’s father greeted him like usual, he’d sat before the fire and spoke his truth.

There was barely enough time to show them respect, let alone glance in his father’s direction across from him before he shot off again, his chest tightening at where he was going last. The flock might still have some manhunt after them but they were puny little chicks to him, easy to barge past if he needed to. Or he made a smart choice and signalled Vulcan like he would have if his mother was still alive—

A jolt of pain tore through him.

Yoa staggered.

His paw hit the earth wrong, and he tumbled with a snarl, skidding to a stop beneath a curtain of vines. His whole body went rigid. The pain. It wasn’t his.

It was Nova’s. Ice seeped beneath his fur and along his veins as memories of leaving her last time flashed across his mind. Fear sliced through him as that pain ached across his shoulders and arms.

He’d left her to rest. Nothing should cause her pain. Nothing. Not unless something had happened to her.

All thoughts about the Akhlut disintegrated like dust in the wind. Yoa didn’t even hesitate before he pivoted, whipping around and springing back the way he came. He tore through the underbrush like lightning, claws raking earth, snarls tearing from his throat as if by speed alone he could erase the distance between them.

The trees blurred around him. The wind spearing tears from his eyes. He ignored the pain in his legs, the frantic pounding in his chest. Only one thought remained:

Nova. Nova. Nova.

He launched over a ridge, claws carving into the bark as he landed, and sprinted harder.

Her heartbeat pulsed in his mind, out of rhythm.

"Hold on," he thought, his breath ragged in the wind. "I’m coming."

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Yoa leapt into the upper platforms of the treehouse, his jaguar form fading into man before his feet even touched the wood. Nova’s pain and his disturbed fears drove him to sprint the entire time, pushing his body to the limit until the bond directed him here.

She was here at the treehouse. The bond hummed with her presence, calming his frantic heart as he sensed she was close by. Her pain had lessened, replaced by an aching sensation. Again it wasn’t his.

His eyes scanned the space with sharp precision until he caught the sight of movement, two bodies on the top of Atia’s treehouse where he liked to practice his archery. Yoa’s shoulders relaxed at the sound of Atia’s laughter. He wouldn’t laugh if Nova was in pain.

But it had felt so raw, and after last time, and facing the Akhlut today, Yoa felt on edge. He couldn’t lose Nova. But as he rounded the curve of the treehouse silently, leaping in one graceful, fluid movement, he watched as Nova loosed another arrow.

It thudded into the edge of a target, off-centre. She lowered the bow with a frustrated breath and shook her arms out, shoulders straining.

"Too stiff," Atia murmured behind her. "Relax your stance."

Then his friend stepped closer. Too close.

Yoa’s jaw locked as he watched Atia position himself directly behind Nova, his hand sliding down her arm to adjust her elbow. Their hips nearly touched. Nova’s brows were drawn in concentration, oblivious to the exact proximity.

Atia moved to brush her fingers into position on the string—

"Enough," Yoa said, voice low and steady as he stepped forward, not at all sounding like a man who’d been crazed, picturing Nova bloodied and in pain moments before. The relief he’d felt from discovering Nova was healthy vanished and was replaced by a possessiveness he hadn’t foreseen—especially not because of Atia being too close to his Serakai.

Atia blinked and quickly stepped back, both palms raised. "Just a lesson," he said casually, but his eyes were wide, watching Yoa carefully, aware that newly bonded mates, Nokari or Serakai could act aggressive towards anyone near their mate.

Yoa’s eyes flicked to Nova, who turned toward him, flushed from heat and effort, her expression entirely innocent, unaware of how his behaviour would be affected for the first month of their mateship. He took in the state of her, ignoring the feral need to make his claim known to the other male near them, even though said male was his best friend.

Nova looked exhausted and he felt the deep, muscle-aching fatigue trembling through the bond. Her arms were speckled with sweat and faint red welts from the bowstring. He scanned her quickly. No wounds. No blood. But the pain he’d felt...

It had come from her overexerting herself — alone, determined, and far too stubborn for her own good.

Nova smiled at him and he felt the happiness smooth over the sharp edges of his possessiveness and fear for her safety in the bond. His shoulders visibly relaxed and Atia released a breath like he’d been holding it stiffly, and trying to hide from Yoa’s ire.

He stepped closer to his Serakai, glancing at the heavy bow still dangling from her grip.

"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, eyes narrowing at the size of the weapon in her hands. Atia should know better than to give Nova that bow. Did he do it on purpose?

"Shooting arrows. Obviously," Nova panted.

"This bow is too much for you." The words left his mouth before he could temper them.

Nova stiffened like he’d slapped her. Her lips parted, eyes flashing sharply. "Excuse me?"

Yoa felt her irritation through the bond immediately, it was bright and bristling like fire licking his skin. He closed his eyes for a beat and sighed through his nose. One moment he’d been bathing in her warmth, her happiness like the sun and now it was sharp like a blade being forged in flames.

There was less known about the Serakai bond than a Nokari, but from what little Yoa had gathered, he’d known it would involve feeling his other half’s emotions and sensing when she was in distress. But it was one thing to know of it, than to actually experience it. They would have to get used to it.

"That’s not what I meant," he said, softer now. "It’s too big. The draw weight is too strong for your arms. It’s not made for your body."

Her expression didn’t soften.

"I’ll make you one," he said quickly.

That earned him the faintest twitch of a smile. She’d been brought flowers and gifts before but they’d never been thoughtful. It was almost to the point where Chad had brought her perfume and it was a smell she’d told him more than once she couldn’t stand the smell of.

Yet here Yoa was, stating he would make her a bow. Something she’d never needed before until now.

He stepped closer, gently taking the bow from her. His fingers brushed hers, and he felt how tight her muscles had gone — how sore she already was. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"You shouldn’t be pushing yourself this hard."

Nova snorted. "I’m not fragile. To humans that is..." She made a face, realising how silly she must have sounded.

"I know," he said with a smirk, tucking the bow aside. "Then let me teach you something that doesn’t require brute force."

"Like what?"

"Self-defence."