The Beauty's Hidden Beast

19 - Mission Accomplished (1.76k words)

The female in Parker's arms gently intervened, her voice soft, "Parker, please, stop," she implored, her eyes teary, "Let's not blame anyone. I didn't watch where I was stepping...ugh!" Her voice trembled in pain. In that moment, she seemed smaller, her shoulders slumped as if carrying a weight far too heavy for her.

Parker continued to hold her gently, "I'm so sorry, QingQing. Does it hurt a lot?" Concern knitting his brows, he then turned to look for me, "Leave now! And take that wild feral with you! You've both caused enough pain and damage the last time you were here! Don't make me summon my father's army to chase you out with force!"

Glancing around, my eyes caught sight of an axe used for chopping wood by my right. Seizing it, I flipped it around with a bit of flair, "Keep the complaints coming. If I'm going to be blamed for someone's pain, I'd much rather it be yours," I said before I flung the axe in Parker's direction.

Parker reacted instantly, his reflexes as sharp as the snarl that followed. He dodged the axe just in time, leaping back with a growl. However, his abrupt movement caused the female in his arms to let out a sharp yelp of pain.

I couldn't resist the opportunity for a cutting retort, "Wow, look at that ─ your quick dodge just made things worse for your female. Guess if you hadn't been so keen on saving your skin...or kept quiet...she might have been spared some pain."

"You─" Parker was too stunned to retort, "You ugly─" Again, too shocked to argue back, "Roar!"

Vick gave Curtis a sidelong glance as he restrained me once more. "What happened 'the last time'?" he inquired, his tone calm as though he hadn't just seen me throw that axe towards Parker, hinting he would have done the same had I not.

"A few villagers wouldn't stop harassing Harvey and Nivi," Curtis said, nodding toward Parker with a wild smirk, "Yaya delivered them to me for dinner, and that's exactly how I treated them before we left the village. He must have witnessed it."

"That explains a lot of things," said Vick as he glanced down at me, "You've never taken me out for dinner, yet this snake waltzes in and gets treated to a feast? What does one have to do to gain such a privilege?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I guess you should start with practicing your slither, Vick."

I caught a slight twitch of his mouth, a hint of a helpless smile fighting to break through his feigned annoyance.

Meanwhile, among the leopards who had been following me with an intent to become my mate, confusion reigned. "Did I just see a female fling an axe at Parker?" one of them asked, disbelief coloring his tone.

The scene had unfolded so quickly, and the act was so unexpected it left them questioning what they had witnessed.

"I doubt it; must have been one of her males," another suggested, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Definitely," another quickly agreed, his eyes darting around nervously, "Those two are no joke. Did you catch how fast they moved to guard her? They're protecting her like she's the crown jewel of the jungle."

A third leopard chimed in, his voice tinged with fear and resignation, "I thought I could handle living with a feral after witnessing another mate by her side, but this is way out of my league. I'm out."

One by one, they began to back away, their steps quickening as they retreated.

A smile crept across my face, seeing the leopards dash away in disarray. Mission "Scare off the overly ambitious leopard suitors and thwart Vick's and Curtis's attempts to find me a new mate" was officially accomplished and with flying colors at that.