Wanderlust Beastkin, Beauty and the Beastkin-Chapter 27: Improvising a Plan

"Sam, darling, why don’t you walk over here? I might just let you go, but only if Perla agrees to give you a little mate mark beforehand. How cute would that be?"

I paused, surprised. "How does that even work?"

"If his current mate is cool with it, she can totally just pass him off to another female. Seriously, you didn’t know that? Back in my city, it’s not uncommon for females to have their males fight it out and then just switch ownership right after. No waiting around, no messy consequences for the males. All it takes is a drop of my blood and a drop of yours on his mark at the same time, and then you just bite him, and boom, he’s yours. But let me be clear: I’m not giving him to you unless you’re planning to make him your mate. Otherwise, what’s in it for me?"

My heart raced as I recalled Elara’s words about mate markings. She mentioned that if they weren’t reinforced with another bite or if intimacy didn’t happen, those markings would eventually fade. So, if he and I aren’t a match, we could just let it run its course, and he could move on. But wow, is Kai in for a shock when I return with a few new suitors after just a short absence! If I were in his shoes, I’d be livid, but this society has its quirks. He assured me he wouldn’t mind as long as I didn’t completely ignore him. He did express a desire to have a say in my choices, but I never really agreed to that. Still, if he wants to pick a strong servant for me, I wouldn’t be against it—as long as he doesn’t expect me to share a bed with him. And if he thinks he can make me give up someone I truly care about, he’s got another thing coming. Some women might let their dominant partners dictate their love lives, even sacrificing their feelings for a command, but that’s not me. I can’t stand being controlled, yet here I am, paired with a General without even realizing it. He’s a complex character, but there’s definitely some spark between us. If he wants me to acknowledge his presence, he better stop undermining me behind the scenes.

As I pondered the situation, I found myself biting my lower lip when Sam suddenly interjected. "I’m willing."

"What?" I exclaimed, taken aback by his declaration.

"I’m ready to be your mate and dedicate my life to serving you, as long as you can fulfill a few requests of mine."

"If they’re within my capabilities, I can manage that," I replied.

He gazed intently into my eyes, as if searching for a hidden treasure that I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. After a moment, he gave a subtle nod, as if he had finally found what he was seeking. "They are."

I hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement. Clearly, whatever he needed from me was something he preferred to keep from Pamela, so I decided not to pry further. A loyal companion sounded appealing, and as for the mating part, well, that would unfold in its own time or not. He was strong and eager to take orders from me, which was a step up from my current situation. Kai had strength, but he’d already shown that I couldn’t rely on him to follow my lead, and in this perilous world, I needed a few allies I could trust. Milo seemed willing to comply, but he would always defer to Kai, and he lacked the strength to stand up to him.

"Alright," I finally said after weighing my options. With a flutter of nerves, I pricked the edge of my finger and offered a drop of blood, and Pamela mirrored my action. Then, she stepped forward and yanked open the ties of Sam’s tunic, revealing a portion of his chest with the marking of a weasel face. "This is where I first bit him, so this is where we need to place the blood."

"Listen up, we need to position it right in the marking so it can soak up our blood together. Then, you have to bite him while it’s doing its thing, and that’s how we finish this," Pamela declared with a haughty flair and flicked her hair behind her shoulder.

"Okay," I said, my voice smooth and steady, masking the wild thumping of my heart. I extended my finger, waiting for her to mirror my action. In perfect synchrony, we lowered our fingers to the mark and pressed down. A delightful tingling sensation shot through the spot where my finger made contact, radiating up my arm and igniting a fierce, primal urge to claim him as mine. I surrendered to that instinct, grateful it made the moment feel less awkward. To everyone’s astonishment, Sam dropped to his knees, his face flushed and a dreamy glaze settling over his eyes. He tilted his head, while Pamela erupted in a flurry of indignation.

"You! You never submitted to me! Why would you suddenly submit to her? I’ve changed my mind! I will no longer give him to you, I will find someone else for you!" yelled out Pamela.

I had no choice but to accept Sam’s offer, leaving Pamela with no leverage since I was much closer to him. She dashed forward, desperate to intervene, but I seized the opportunity and lunged for his neck, sinking my teeth into the flesh he presented. Just then, she clamped down on my arm, her nails digging in as she tried to yank me back. But the moment my teeth pierced Sam’s skin, he was no longer tethered to Pamela. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer, while effortlessly pushing Pamela away with his other hand. She stumbled back, landing on the ground with a dramatic thud, her outraged screech echoing in the air.

"Stop them! I don’t believe that you can’t stop them if you all work together. Don’t allow her marking to dissolve mine, I’ve changed my mind and will keep him now. I will not allow him to submit to her when he refused to do so for me!"

She was definitely not having the best of days. Sam, with one hand, effortlessly fended off the crowd that lunged at us, and just when things seemed to be getting out of hand, Titus swooped in to lend a hand. With their combined strength, the other guys might as well have been made of tissue paper.

Pamela was in a frenzy, yelling and screaming in disbelief, but there was nothing she could do to stop her marking from fading away, nor could she prevent my adorable little paw print from appearing on the side of his neck. The moment it showed up, I felt that peculiar bond between us, and he quickly scooped me up, rising to his feet. He wrapped me in his embrace, gentle yet firm, and my heart raced in surprise at the unexpected tenderness he showed.

Meanwhile, Pamela was left coughing and gasping, her voice cracking from all the shouting and fury, while the other guys writhed on the ground, groaning in defeat. Tables were overturned, and food was scattered everywhere—it was a scene straight out of a disaster movie. As I finished the marking and Sam prepared to whisk me away, Pamela finally got to her feet, dusted herself off, and attempted to tame her wild hair. After she seemed satisfied she stuck her nose up proudly and glared at me.

She jabbed her finger towards me, her eyes blazing with fury. "You better hand over my property right now! I already told you I changed my mind before you marked him, so you had no right to take him! If you don’t give him back, I swear I’ll report you to the united beastkin council, and they’ll make you return him! No one dares to steal what’s mine!"

"On what basis do you think I forced you to give him up? You marked him with your own blood without my help, and it was your idea to do it this way in the first place. Honestly, I should be the one reminding you that you can’t just take what belongs to me, especially since he’s no longer under your control. That marking on his neck signifies that he’s completely out of your reach, so don’t even entertain the thought of trying to reclaim him."

"You! You have such thick skin!" Pamela exclaimed.

"All the better for delivering a good slap," I replied with a smirk.

"How dare you?! If you leave this yard without returning Sam to me, we will no longer be sisters!"

I laughed and shrugged, "We were never really sisters to begin with. I don’t have a sister like you."

"Good! So you were planning to deceive me from the start."

"Planning? Please, you make it sound like I had a whole strategy laid out. I just had to improvise a little to handle someone like you; it was a piece of cake."

Coming Next Time: Rushing to Leave Town