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My S Rank Beast Mate englishsub watchfull ⚡️🍿⚡️
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00:02the chieftain gathered every unmated male and told me and sister to choose male shifters are
00:07ranked s a b or c my sister lyra seized the a rank wolf shifter that should be mine
00:16and threw the low level b rank snake shifter that should be hers to me
00:19as a result her fate was tragic while i won everything she bore him five litters every
00:27single one lowly b rank the wolf shifter raged he kicked her hard in the stomach and cursed her for
00:33being useless tore the bond like it was nothing the other males wanted nothing to do with her either
00:39and me i chose a b rank snake shifter one litter ten cubs every single one high quality a rank
00:47the whole clan named me the sacred daughter my mate inherited the chieftain's seat
00:55lyra couldn't stand it she killed all my children and pushed me off the cliff
01:08when i opened my eyes again we were back back to the day of choosing i came back to myself
01:14just as
01:15lyra pressed her body against the snake shifter's side chieftain she said sweetly
01:21i choose boss she said it and then she looked at me one long deliberate look the kind that said
01:30i've already won i understood she'd been reborn too actually my sister and i weren't from this world
01:36but we couldn't find a way back in the end we would just have to adapt to the rules here
01:42but this time i absolutely won't let her control everything
01:47male shifters are born ranked s a b or c the higher the rank the more valuable the male c
01:54rank
01:55males were everywhere b rank was considered a prize a rank was rare enough to cause a stir
02:00as for s rank even the elderly chieftain had never seen one females in the beastlands were fewer than
02:07males their social standing was higher which standing on the children they bore
02:11the higher the rank of your cubs the higher you climbed in our last life lyra had wanted to be
02:17the
02:17top female in the clan she'd gone straight for the only a rake wolf shifter without blinking
02:22she told me to choose boss the snake shifter snakes have two you know she'd said with that
02:28conspiratorial smile of hers but they lay eggs hatching eggs is so much easier than live birth
02:34i'd listened i'd chosen vox we bonded and i fell pregnant quickly one clutch ten cubs
02:42every single one a rank this clan had existed for over a century among clans they'd never had more
02:50than five a rank shifters total the chieftain declared voss his successor on the spot
02:59lyra had conceived around the same time i had she gave birth to a b rank cub
03:05then another five pregnancies total nothing above b nothing below c she decided the problem was the
03:14wolf's bloodline one night she crept into voss's den voss threw her out of bed and called the entire
03:21clan to witness his innocence before dawn the wolf shifter found out his rage was immediate and absolute
03:28he dissolved their bond and drove her out along with her children within a month lyla's cubs had
03:35all starved she tried to seduce some of the c-rank males during that time but this world had no
03:43tolerance
03:43for betrayal the males would take what she offered they wouldn't bond with her when lyra was close to
03:52starving i'd brought her back to mine given her meat from my own stores she repaid me by destroying me
04:02even now i could still feel the drop that weightless stomach larching fall the chieftain nodded at me now
04:11signaling it was my turn to choose i scanned the remaining males then i pointed at the wolf shifter
04:18i'd like to choose i didn't finish the sentence a crack split the air a hand connected with my face
04:27the female who hit me belonged to drac the black tiger shifter she came at me with all the fury
04:33she demanding to know how i dared steal her mail i stared at her i have nothing going on with
04:39drac
04:39still denying it she reached into a pouch at her hip and flung something at my feet
04:45a tuft of fur i found this on my bed that's your fur isn't it my shifted form was a
04:52white rabbit
04:52the fur on the ground was rabbit fur but that proved nothing i wasn't the only rabbit in this clan
04:59i opened my mouth to say exactly that lyra stepped forward her eyes went wide and shocked
05:07oh sister she gasped
05:11that night i saw you walking with drac i had no idea that's what you were doing
05:16how could you go after a bonded male
05:20the males who'd been eyeing me with interest took a collective step back
05:24the wolf shifter in particular his expression shutted he frowned i turned to look at lyra
05:31in her eyes i saw it clearly calculation satisfaction then i remembered in my last life she and drac
05:39had history a brief affair it was a trap by her i didn't do anything with drac and that's not
05:48my fur
05:49if no one believes me i'll shift right now so you can all see for yourselves
05:55i shifted i turned in a slow circle showing every angle no bald patches no missing fur anywhere on my
06:03body except there on my inner thigh a small bear patch i hadn't noticed before the crowd erupted
06:13what kind of female goes after someone else's male that kind should be thrown out of the clan
06:19the noise belt and built this clan male and female alike had no room for a female who might lure
06:25away
06:25bonded males the chieflin raised his hand i was cast out lyra came to see me off at the border
06:31she was curled against vos's chest when she said goodbye her voice all silk and sympathy sister being
06:38cast out isn't necessarily a bad thing there are plenty of strong males out there in the wild
06:43maybe you'll find your true mate the wild was full of powerful shifters yes they were also the ones
06:49every clan had already thrown away half feral dangerous the kind who would take a lone female
06:56and break her i'd saved lyra from them three times in our last life however she hadn't remembered that at
07:04all when she killed me last life i smiled at her slow and pleasant
07:13i think you can save concern for yourself vos is vigorous you'll have your fill of trouble then
07:22vox was a snake shifter as lyra had once told me herself snakes had appetites
07:30he had no interest in hunting he had every interest in making love once or twice a day was sport
07:41once or twice without stopping for days that was suffering
07:48it hurt terribly every time if i hadn't satisfied him he'd gone looking outside the clan
07:55he screwed many female at the same time without a clan's backing he was useless
08:03the memory of all of it made my skin crawl lyra thought she'd won a prize
08:13what she'd actually won was a rotting thing wearing a decent face
08:19you must be jealous of me lyra snapped her sweetness curdling in an instant what exactly are you
08:25smiling about this life i'm gonna make you watch me watch me become the sacred daughter of this clan
08:32she and vos disappeared back into their den their laughter trailing behind them i stepped outside the
08:38clan's boundary and immediately had company a leopard shifter eyes full of hunger and violence i knew what
08:45solitary males like him did to lone females they played they broke every survival instinct i had
08:51fired at once i ran i ran until a cave mouth appeared in the rock face ahead of me with
08:57nowhere else to go
08:58i dived inside the leopard stopped at the entrance he paced he snarled in my direction then when i didn't
09:05come out he cursed twice and left from the darkness deeper in the cave came a roar that pinned me
09:12to the spot
09:13i looked up a white lion stood before me beautiful enormous his jaws were wide enough to swallow my head
09:19whole i ran again two steps then i stopped the lion had roared but he hadn't moved it was almost
09:33like
09:34he was trying to frighten me off rather than attack then i smelled it rot the hot sickening smell of
09:40infected
09:41flesh i looked at his back legs the meat there was going necrotic white with larvae i steadied myself
09:52hello you're injured i know how to heal will you let me stay
09:58he understood me he looked at me for a long moment then he stretched both back legs forward
10:08his wounds were severe the larvae had spread deep
10:14i forced down the nausea and cleaned them out thorough methodical
10:23then i opened my pack and found my medicinal powders
10:35before i'd came this world i'd been trained in herbalism
10:41after arriving in the beast lands that knowledge had made me a healer for the varmeric clan
10:48when i finished dressing the lion's wounds he leaned his great head forward and pressed his face against
10:57my sleeve gratitude for me
11:03then his stomach ground injured immobile unfed
11:10i'll find food wait here i moved to leave he hooked one paw around my ankle and drew me back
11:17then he dragged his enormous tongue over my shoulder and down my arm
11:22i understood he was marking me with his scent most predators wouldn't come near me now
11:30i thought of the leopard at the cave entrance whatever rank this lion was
11:38it was enough to send others running
11:45i didn't go far i gathered wild fruit some edible roots and came back to the cave as the sky
11:54went dark
11:55i made a fire
12:00the lion's eyes the lid up
12:04he inched closer to the flames and that was how i came to live in his den
12:10days settled into rhythm mornings i changed his dressings then went out for water and food
12:18nights he curled around me like a living blanket his warmth soaking into me while we slept
12:25half a month passed then one afternoon i returned to the cave
12:31and stopped in the entrance a man lay where the lion had been
12:38white hair long and loose eyes the color of gold he saw me two pale ears rose slowly from the
12:46top of his head
12:48you're back his voice was startling low and clear and unexpectedly lovely
12:54you're the white lion
13:01he nodded
13:02he nodded
13:05my name is caius
13:07i smiled
13:09hello i'm sarah under my care caius had healed enough to walk
13:20on our first hunt together he showed me what he was capable of a wild boar
13:25under a minute he bit through its neck like it was nothing
13:36that night i finally had meat again pork fat crackling over the fire filling the cave with
13:41the kind of smell that made your stomach hollow with want i ate until my face was shiny with grease
13:46and asked him around a mouthful
13:50a rank
13:51are you a rank you have to be at least
13:54caius's expression shadowed
13:57no
13:58i don't have a rank i paused
14:03what
14:06every male shifter in the beastlands was ranked
14:10that was just the world
14:13caius just shook his head he'd never had a rank
14:18and because of that his clan had called him a monster from birth
14:23cast him out young
14:26the memory sat visibly on him as he spoke
14:30his eyes went somewhere far away
14:33cast out as a cub
14:35no family
14:37no kin
14:38no one
14:42i reached over and touched his head
14:44just slightly
14:47it's all right
14:49you have me now
14:50we're friends
14:53caius went red
14:55it was sudden and total
14:57and genuinely charming
15:01another month passed
15:04healed completely
15:08winter was coming
15:14i woke late one morning
15:16to heat radiating from his side of the den
15:19his eyes were red-rimmed
15:20his breathing rough
15:28he told me to stay inside
15:30that he needed to step out for a while that i shouldn't worry
15:33he made it two steps
15:35before his legs gave out
15:37when he hit the ground
15:38i understood
15:39every shifter had a fixed heat cycle
15:42during the surge
15:43the animal instinct overwhelmed everything else
15:47he was already past his limit
15:50he was painful
15:51don't be scared
15:52he managed
15:53i won't touch you
15:54i'll handle it myself
15:56he was fighting his own body
15:58every muscle in his neck was stinic
16:00veins visible under his white hair
16:02the sounds coming from his throat
16:03were low and inimpolentary
16:05and painful to hear
16:06i looked at him
16:08something in my chest
16:10did something quiet and final
16:12i crossed the distance between us
16:14and crouched down in front of him
16:17caius
16:19i said do you not want me
16:22no
16:24how how could you think that
16:26i cupped his face in my hands
16:33and i kissed him
16:36when his hands came up to touch me
16:39i braced
16:41i thought sex was simply about being hurt
16:43he was so strong it must be hurting a lot
16:47i'd prepared myself
16:50but surprisingly i felt no pain
16:53caius was gentle
16:55he moved like he was afraid to break something
16:59i felt weightless
17:01i was as comfortable as if i were floating in the sky
17:07when it finally finished
17:08snow had fallen
17:11since then
17:12we have been making love all the day
17:15one sustained glance across the den
17:18and i'd find myself pinned to the sleeping furs a moment later
17:22unlike my last life
17:24i was happy and no longer felt pain
17:28he was
17:29as it turned out
17:31extraordinarily good at this
17:33and i was pregnant
17:35i was not surprised
17:39really
17:40for three full seconds he didn't move
17:43then his ears began to tremble
17:45his tail followed
17:47his whole face changed
17:49he pressed one broad rough harm to my stomach
17:53so carefully
17:53you're really carrying my cub
17:55my little lion
17:56he lifted me straight off the ground
17:58i laughed and he laughed with me
18:00and the sound of it filled the cave
18:02after pregnant he was at my side constantly
18:05i'd reach for something and he'd already have it
18:09i'd think about standing up and he'd be there
18:12lying in the warmth of his arms one evening
18:14i found myself thinking about the previous life
18:17vos was cold blooded
18:19he hibernated in winter
18:21no warmth to give
18:23i'd been on my own
18:24wading through snow to find anything edible
18:26then the ten snake cubs had hatched
18:28i was so tired
18:30vos slept through all of it
18:31the cubs had been good
18:33even Abrank
18:34they'd never started fights
18:35never made trouble
18:36they'd helped with the den chores
18:38so adorable
18:40my eyes started to sting
18:41i hadn't protected them
18:44caius's chest was warm against my back
18:46he turned me gently
18:49sarah
18:50you're not happy
18:51what is it
18:52i'm fine
18:54i wiped the corner of my eye
18:57just missing home
19:00is it not good here
19:02with me
19:03no
19:04that's not it
19:05i touched his hair
19:10being with you is the best thing i've had
19:13next day
19:17i'd assumed i'd never see lyra again
19:20she appeared at the entrance to our den
19:25lyra was on her knees in the snow
19:27hugely pregnant
19:28shaking
19:29white lion sir please don't kill me
19:31i looked at her
19:32something that wasn't quite amusement moved through me
19:34sarah
19:36what are you doing here
19:38do you know her
19:40no
19:41caius's killing in tate rose immediately
19:44lyra screamed
19:45no
19:46sister don't let him kill me
19:48i came to save you
19:49that single word stopped everything
19:51sister
19:52caius held back
19:53he asked me if there might be some misunderstanding
19:55i exhaled slowly and walked toward her
19:59why did you come
20:01the sweet
20:02plastating smile again
20:04hypocritical
20:05i spoke to the chieflin for you
20:07he'll let you come back
20:09i didn't move
20:11i mean it
20:13sister
20:14we have conflict with another clan
20:16there's going to be war
20:18neither of you belong to either side
20:21you'll be collateral
20:24lyra's words landed
20:26and i remembered
20:27in our previous life
20:28there had been a war
20:29exactly like this
20:31but that war had ended the moment my ten snake cubs hatched
20:34the simultaneous appearance of ten a-weed shifters is powerful enough
20:38they'd surrendered without a fight
20:40the two clans had merged
20:42the ultra earth clan had a priest
20:44he'd looked at me afterward and declared that i was the sacred daughter
20:47given to the clan by the beast gods
20:50but none of that was a reason to go back
20:53caius and i were living well
20:55i would never return that clan again
20:57lyra's eyes moved to my stomach
21:00her voice shifted
21:01softer more deliberate
21:02sister
21:04you're pregnant
21:05even if you don't care about yourself
21:08you have to think about the child
21:10you can't wander forever
21:12and when your cub is grown
21:14what then
21:16do you want to raise them out here alone
21:18with no clan behind them
21:21she wasn't wrong
21:22this world was ruthless
21:24caius was the strongest male i'd ever encountered
21:26and he'd nearly died alone in a cave with rotting legs
21:29our cub would arrive small and vulnerable no matter what rank they carried
21:33a clan meant numbers
21:34numbers meant survival
21:36but caius had been driven out of a clan before
21:39i turned to look at him
21:40he read it immediately
21:42he reached over and took my hand
21:44he said quietly
21:45sarah
21:46let's go back
21:47after i told lyra yes
21:49she sagged with relief
21:50then almost immediately
21:52do you have any food
21:54she ate like she hadn't seen a proper meal in weeks
21:58given vos's hibernation schedule she probably hadn't
22:02she was enormous with pregnancy
22:05but her arms and legs were too thin
22:07she'd had a hard stretch of it
22:09when she finished
22:10she settled into the outer part of the cave to rest
22:13caius tucked me into his arms as usual
22:17lyra looked over at us from across the den
22:20the expression on her face was pure naked envy
22:25in the middle of the night i got up lyra's back was to me
22:29she thought i was still asleep
22:32gods how is she still getting everything in this life too
22:35what's so great about bonding with something that doesn't even have a rank
22:38mongrel she pressed a hand to her own swollen stomach
22:43come on little ones come out soon
22:48then mother won't have to keep swallowing this
22:51i stood in the dark and looked at her
22:53we'd lost our parents in the same accident
22:56grown up in the same grief
22:58all my life to give her room
23:01warn her leaving
23:02let her choose first
23:03done what our parents had asked me to do
23:06you're the older one
23:07look out for your sister
23:09what i'd meant as love
23:10she'd received as tribute
23:14we returned to the vurek clan three days later
23:18by the third day back
23:20i knew exactly why lyra had worked so hard to retrieve me
23:25her due date was close
23:27she was terrified of dying on the birthing floor
23:29in our previous life
23:31all her five pregnancies had been dangerous
23:34and i'd been the one who'd seen her through them
23:37there was also a second reason
23:39she wanted me to watch
23:41she wanted me present when she gave birth to 20 a rank cubs
23:44and rose to become the highest ranked female in the clan
23:47she wanted my face in the crowd
23:49life inside the varek clan was not easy
23:52even with caius beside me
23:54many of the females looked at me with hostility
23:57i'd been labeled a female who went after bonded males
24:00they didn't want me near their maiters
24:02so i kept to the den isolated
24:04lyra meanwhile told everyone she was the sacred daughter
24:07sent by the beast gods
24:09and that all 20 of her eggs contained a rank shifters
24:13the clan believed her
24:14her status climbed
24:18then the war began
24:20caius went to the front
24:22after the first skirmish
24:23the rest of the clan realized what he was capable of
24:26his bite force surpassed the a rank wolf shifters by a margin
24:29his speed and strength were in a different category entirely
24:32by any logic that made him valuable
24:35worth protecting
24:36worth standing behind instead the wolf shifter grew jealous
24:39he organized the other males quietly
24:42no rank they said doesn't belong
24:44and on a day when caius was pushing deep into ultroth clan territory alone
24:48the wolf shifter led the others away and left him surrounded
24:51i found out after caius came home bleeding
24:54i was already moving toward the chieftain's den when caius caught my arm
24:58sarah it's fine
25:00he sounded almost amused
25:01they still couldn't take me down
25:03i made it back didn't i i looked at his wounds
25:06my eyes stung
25:07i'm sorry i shouldn't have brought you here
25:11this place isn't right for you
25:14we're leaving
25:15back to our own den
25:17no
25:18he caught my hands
25:19something almost panicked moved across his face
25:22sarah if we go back to the den you'll miss home again
25:25i don't want that stay here
25:28as long as you and the cub are safe
25:29it doesn't matter what they do to me
25:31something cracked open in my chest
25:34i remembered saying once in passing that i missed home
25:38i'd meant something abstract
25:40grief a vague ache
25:42he'd taken it as a specific thing
25:45he thought i meant the clan
25:46he'd been humiliating himself to keep me close to something he thought i needed
25:51you are my home
25:53you're the only family i have now
25:56let's go back to the den just the two of us
25:58and live the way we want to live
26:01i just convinced him
26:03we hadn't even started packing when a female came running
26:08sarah come quickly
26:10your sister she's in labor
26:15i heard the screaming from outside the den
26:18inside blood
26:19more than there should have been
26:21the scene was identical to the worst of lylara's previous life labors
26:25that same desperate quality to the air
26:27that same sense of something gone wrong at the start
26:30it didn't make sense
26:31snake eggs were small
26:33this should have been easy
26:34i understood quickly enough once i started working
26:37i helped her pass 10 eggs
26:39then i reached back in and felt more
26:43i was mid-reach when lyra's body seized
26:46no one in the den knew the word
26:48i snapped them to find a smooth cloth
26:50get it between her teeth before she bit through her tongue
26:53they scrambled
26:55while they held her i worked
26:58i cleared the rest of the eggs as fast as i could
27:0220 in total
27:05when it was over
27:06lyla went limp and unconscious
27:08i brewed a draft and got it down her throat
27:11waiting outside the den
27:13he grabbed my wrist before i could leave
27:15she's your sister
27:17you should stay and care for her
27:19i looked at his hand on my arm
27:22he'd watched a woman nearly die in that den
27:25his mate
27:25and he was already trying to pass the burden to someone else
27:29i pulled my wrist free
27:32she's your female
27:33not mine
27:34i've done what i can
27:35the rest is yours
27:37i stepped out of the den into the night air
27:39exhausted to my marrow
27:41caius was standing there waiting
27:44i started to say something about his wounds
27:47about how he should be resting
27:49he pulled me into him before i could finish
27:51his voice was rough when he spoke
27:54sarah
27:55we're not leaving
27:56i want to stay
27:57i started to ask why
27:59my shoulder went wet
28:01i brought him back to the den and sat with him
28:05when i pressed him
28:07the tears came harder
28:09he'd been outside lyra's den the whole time
28:13he'd heard everything
28:14he hadn't known that was what bearing young looked like for a female
28:19the sounds she'd made
28:20the blood
28:22the way the others had moved
28:24he was terrified
28:27if we left
28:28if we went back to the den alone
28:30and i went into labor
28:31and something went wrong
28:32there would be no one to help me
28:34no one to do what i had just done for lyla
28:36i felt the tears come before i could stop them
28:39caius
28:40i said softly
28:41that was difficult for specific reasons
28:43mine might be nothing like it
28:45i don't care
28:46he held tighter
28:48even one chance in a hundred
28:50i won't let you suffer without help
28:54not for anything
28:55he'd made himself small in this clan
28:58he hunted and shared the meat with everyone
29:00even the ones who'd abandoned him at the front
29:02he smiled at the ones who'd left him to die
29:06swallowed every indignity without complaint
29:09all of it
29:10for me
29:12what had i ever done to deserve a male like this
29:15lyra woke the following day
29:18snake eggs take time to hatch
29:20while they incubated
29:22lyra stationed herself beside them
29:24and invited most of the clam to come and watch
29:27she told anyone who would listen that all 20 would be a rark
29:31the clan was skeptical but intrigued
29:35she'd been right before
29:37they came
29:39around the same time the war finished
29:42largely because of caius
29:43the ultra clan sent delegates to negotiate
29:45their chieftain and their priest came together to discuss terms
29:49the meeting was still in progress when someone burst in from outside
29:53chieftain
29:53come quick
29:54the exit boss's den are hatching
29:57the room emptied
29:58even the ultroth delegates went
30:01word had traveled even to their clan
30:03the sacred daughter of the varre clan had birthed 20 eiklar snakeshifters
30:08they wanted to see
30:09the den was so crowded the walls seemed to breathe
30:13the chieftain had to push his way in
30:16he arrived just as the first egg cracked open
30:20a small dark snake emerged
30:22lyra picked it up with trembling hands and held it out
30:29chieftain tell me a rank isn't it
30:32the chieftain looked
30:34he considered for a moment then he said what he saw
30:38c rank
30:42the smile frozen on lyra's face
30:46her eyes went sharp
30:48that can't be right look again please look properly
30:53the chieftain had been judging blood rank for 60 years
30:56he could do it blindfolded
30:58but he looked again because she'd asked
31:02c rank
31:03i'm certain
31:06lyra went still
31:09what's happening
31:10i thought they were all a rank
31:1220 is an enormous number
31:16we've only ever had one a rank in the whole clan
31:20maybe there's a mix maybe the rest will be higher
31:23that last voice gave lyra something to grab onto
31:27she straightened hands on her hips
31:29exactly
31:31that was only the first
31:32i expect at least 10 a rake out of these 20
31:37three more eggs cracked
31:39everyone looked
31:42all sea rained
31:47the strong ones hatched last
31:49lyra said firmly
31:52crack crack
31:54crack
31:55five more
31:56one b rank among them
31:58there
31:58lyra said
32:00her voice climbing
32:02see the better ones come at the end
32:04i told you
32:06but the crowd had stopped believing her
32:08the expressions had shifted
32:10the last eggs opened
32:12final count
32:13one b rank
32:14ten c rank
32:15and several with no rank at all
32:17the chieftain studied the unranked ones briefly
32:20his face said everything his mouth didn't need to
32:23lyra's composure shattered
32:25this isn't possible
32:26where are my a rank cubs
32:28someone tampered with them
32:30someone swips them
32:33her voice rose
32:34cracking
32:35there's no other explanation
32:37a female in the back had had enough
32:40tampered how
32:40vos is a b rank snake shifter
32:42what exactly were you expecting him to give you
32:44a couple of good weather predictions
32:45and suddenly you're the sacred daughter
32:47the resentment had been building for weeks
32:48it broke open now all at once
32:50voice after voice peeling back the patience they'd kept
32:53then lyra's eyes found me
32:54she'd been scanning the crowd
32:56now she stopped
32:57she came straight for me and grabbed my arm
32:59you
33:00it was you
33:02you can't stand to see me do well
33:03you switched my eggs
33:05give them back
33:06give them back right now
33:10i pulled my arm from her grip
33:13lyra my voice came out flat and cold
33:16stop
33:17you accused me of going after a bonded male
33:19now you're accusing me of stealing your cubs
33:22half the clan was in that den with me
33:25ask any of them
33:26they watched everything i did
33:28the females who'd attended the birth
33:30stepped forward one by one
33:32she's right we were all there
33:34sarah didn't take anything
33:36what would she even want with snake eggs
33:38she's carrying her own
33:39the voices layered over each other
33:41lyra broke entirely
33:43why is everyone suddenly on her side
33:45just die
33:46sarah you should just die
33:49she threw herself at me
33:51i didn't move fast enough
33:53she hit me square and we both went down
33:55kaya shifted
33:56the white lion came down on top of her in one motion
33:59all that weight and fury and he opened his jaws over her
34:02he didn't close them
34:03because from somewhere behind us a voice rang out over the chaos
34:06no stop
34:07kaius get your mate back to the den she's in labor
34:10the next second i was airborne
34:12lifted clean off the ground
34:13held against a chest that was warm and solid and moving very fast
34:18kaius ran
34:20in the den he held my hand through all of it
34:24his brow didn't unfurl once
34:26he kept talking
34:28low steady
34:30you're all right
34:31you're doing so well
34:32i'm right here
34:33while his own hand shook harder than mine
34:36everything went smoothly
34:39less than two hours later
34:40i delivered two white lion cubs
34:43twins
34:46oh they're beautiful
34:49the attending female breathed
34:51lifting one and cleaning it briskly
34:53strong too
34:55look at them
34:56i'd wager these are a rank at least
34:58let the chieftain have a look
35:01it's fine
35:04i started
35:05we don't need
35:08the chieftain and the ultrath priest had followed us in
35:12the chieftain reached for the nearest cub
35:15turned it over
35:16and frowned
35:17spirited little thing
35:19but no rank to speak of
35:21i glanced at kaius
35:23his face was careful
35:24he was nervous
35:26i took his hand
35:28it doesn't matter
35:29before i'd finished the sentence
35:31the altar priest leaned in
35:33his voice went sharp with something that sounded almost like outrage
35:38you can't see rank
35:41these cubs are s rank
35:48s rank
35:48s rank
35:49did you just say s rank
35:51i helped birth them and i thought they looked different from other cubs but i didn't dare
35:54s rank here from this den
35:57two of them we have two s rank shifters in this clan
36:00the den erupted
36:03kaius and i looked at each other
36:05the news moved through the clan like fire
36:08lyra had pushed her way back through the crowd and into the den entrance
36:12she saw the cubs she looked at me
36:15this isn't real
36:16her voice had gone strange
36:17too high too tight
36:19sarah how could you possibly produce s rank cubs
36:23who's with him he doesn't even have a rank
36:26the joy in the den quiet it was the thing people had wondered
36:30and hadn't said before any of it could take hold
36:34the altar priest stepped forward
36:36no rank
36:38who told you
36:39his voice rang off the stone walls
36:42caius is s rank
36:44he's been s rank this entire time
36:46that's precisely why we yielded
36:48silence
36:51the priest told them what the ultrac clan had seen on the battlefield
36:54abilities that couldn't be explained by any ordinary blood rank
36:58when they'd realized what they were facing they'd stopped fighting
37:00no one here had ever encountered an s rank shifter before
37:04not even the chieftain
37:05he hadn't known what he was looking at
37:07caius sat with that for a moment
37:09he'd spent his whole life believing he was broken
37:12cast out
37:14proof of something shameful
37:16and the answer had simply been that everyone around him had lacked the eyes to see him clearly
37:21the priest turned to me next he studied me with the focused attention
37:28this female's fate line
37:31he said slowly
37:32is unlike anything ordinary
37:35unless i'm mistaken
37:37he looked out at the gathered clan
37:39she is the sacred daughter reborn
37:41if the s-grade announcement had been a shock
37:43this was the stone that broke the surface of still water
37:46everyone went quiet then they went to their knees
37:53in our previous life it had happened too
37:56but then people had been uncertain
37:59willing to believe but not quite sold
38:01this time with three s reek shifters in the same den
38:06no one hesitated
38:09you're all forgetting she was cast this clan for going after a bebonded male
38:18what sacred daughter has a history like that
38:21she's been playing all of you
38:23the room had heard enough from her today
38:27but she'd reminded them
38:29the old accusation resurfacing in a few sets of eyes
38:34i stood up straight and looked across the den at drac
38:37the black tiger shifter
38:38who had been standing very still and very quiet in the corner since this all began
38:44drac
38:46are you going to tell the truth now or not
38:50under the judgment of the whole clan
38:53drac admitted all of it
38:54lila had planned it from the beginning
38:56she'd bribed him with herself
38:58he'd stolen a tuff of my fur and they'd staged the confrontation together
39:02the one who'd gone after a bonded male had never been me
39:06boss's face went white
39:08he was a snake and snakes were possessive creatures
39:12lyra
39:14his voice was very quiet
39:17you betrayed me
39:19her legs buckled
39:20no
39:22boss please listen to me they're lying all of them don't
39:25he'd already shifted the great dark snake moved faster than eyes could follow
39:29he caught her by the back of the neck and then he was gone
39:32a trail in the snow and nothing else
39:34a few days later someone found what remained of lyra outside the clan boundary
39:40she was identifiable only by her clothes
39:43word spread fast
39:45the chieftain had no choice
39:47boss was driven out
39:50the cubs lyra had carried were not held accountable for any of it
39:53the females of the clan gathered them all up and raised them together
39:58the males under caius's lead turned outward
40:02new territory broader boundaries room to grow
40:08season by season the work accumulated
40:10in the new spring the clan raised caius to chieftain
40:13i stood beside him the same position i had held in another life
40:18through a different path with different scars
40:20but here now with someone who had wept outside a den because he was afraid of losing me
40:25our two white lion cubs rolled in the grass nearby
40:28already stocky and ridiculous and impossibly strong
40:31i watched caius tilt his face toward the sun
40:34eyes half closed ears twitting
40:36i had lived two lives in this world
40:38i didn't need a third
40:39i didn't need a third
40:40Thank you for listening.
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