Taming the Beast World with a Frying Pan-Chapter 247: My Mittens Forever!
Kael was completely taken aback.
His massive body instantly went rigid. Genuine, unfiltered panic surged through his golden eyes as he stared at her, his mind racing at a million miles an hour.
’How did she find out?’
He had been so incredibly careful! He had planned to deal with this entirely on his own. In fact, his secret agenda was to wait until Ren left for the swamp, and then he was going to visit the ancient healers he knew lived at the far east edge of the forest.
Seeing the sheer panic freezing his features, Ren let out a soft sigh. She reached out and gently took his hand in both of hers.
"I’m not upset with you," Ren reassured him, her thumb lightly rubbing his knuckles. "I just want to know why you never said anything to me. Was it... was it because you refuted the Rite of the Severed Fang?"
A heavy, suffocating wave of guilt was already gnawing at her insides. If her selfishness had caused him to lose his beast form on top of his King status, she didn’t know how she would ever forgive herself. She had caused him to lose so much.
"No," Kael answered quickly, shaking his head. His broad shoulders slumped, the fight draining out of him. "It wasn’t the Rite."
He looked down at their joined hands, a profound sadness shadowing his handsome face.
"It happened after you cured me from the Feral Madness," Kael confessed, his deep voice barely above a whisper. "When I tried to take my beast form... nothing happened. The connection to my beast is completely severed. I think... I think it might be a side effect of the cure."
Ren felt her heart absolutely shatter into a million pieces. She knew exactly how much these beastmen valued their animal forms. Just like Altair, who practically lived in his golden feathers, Kael had always preferred his magnificent, towering White Tiger form. It was his pride. It was his absolute strength.
"Why didn’t you tell me?" Ren asked softly, her green eyes shining with unshed tears.
Kael let out a ragged breath, finally confessing the deep, dark insecurities that had been eating him alive.
"Because a beastman who cannot shift is considered broken. Less than a male. Less than a warrior. I was a King, Ren. I am supposed to be the strongest predator in the forest. I was terrified that if you knew I was permanently crippled, you wouldn’t want me anymore. You have a powerful Snake King and a strong Golden Eagle. Why would you want a broken tiger?"
"Oh, Kael..." Ren breathed out.
She let go of his hand, shifting her weight until she was kneeling directly in front of him in the grass. She reached up and took his handsome, distressed face firmly in both of her hands, forcing his golden eyes to meet hers.
"Listen to me," Ren said fiercely. "You being unable to turn into a giant, fluffy big cat isn’t a big deal to me at all! You are still the strongest and bravest man I have ever met. You are still my Mittens!"
Kael blinked, a small, tentative smile breaking through his melancholy.
"And we will figure out how to get you to shift again," Ren promised, flashing him a bright, encouraging smile. "I swear it."
Even as she made the heroic promise, Ren could already feel a cold, heavy pool of absolute dread forming in the pit of her stomach. Because she knew exactly who she was going to have to ask for advice.
Vex.
She was going to have to make another deal with the devil.
Ren finally stood up. Because she was so short, she could actually stand perfectly upright under the low-hanging canopy of the mushroom tree without bumping her head, while Kael had to remain seated.
"Alright," Ren announced, dusting the dirt off her knees. "We have a massive amount of work to do today to build this new village, so I am going to do a quick wash off in the waterhole."
She looked down at herself. Her body was an absolute, glorious disaster. She was completely naked, sticky with Kael’s heavy release, smeared with dirt, covered in crushed green grass, and incredibly sweaty.
Kael’s eyes immediately darkened with renewed interest. He began to rise to his feet, his muscles flexing. "I will join you."
"Absolutely not!" Ren shot him down instantly, putting a stern hand up like a crossing guard. "You need to find somewhere else to wash off! If we bathe together again, it will always only lead to one thing! We need to be responsible village leaders now! No more distractions!"
Kael immediately pouted, but he didn’t argue. He let out a dramatic, long-suffering sigh and conceded.
"Fine," Kael grumbled crossing his massive arms. "I will bathe in the river."
Ren gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up before ducking under the pink flower vines and scurrying away from the mushroom tree, heading straight back to the waterhole.
She navigated through the trees cautiously, peering through the bushes before stepping out. Fortunately, the secluded little clearing was completely empty.
Ren hurried to the edge and slipped gratefully into the cool, clear water. She let out a long, blissful sigh as the chill washed over her exhausted muscles.
’Damn it,’ Ren thought. ’Kael must have dropped the soap into the pond.’
Not desperate enough to dive to the bottom to retrieve it, Ren opened her System shop interface. She quickly went through the hygiene list. She didn’t want lavender again.
She found a zesty, citrus-scented orange soap for 5 XP.
SPLASH.
The water directly in front of her violently broke the surface.
Ren shrieked, stumbling backward in the pond. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
A head of long white hair and a pair of fluffy, completely damp tiger ears suddenly popped up from beneath the water, stopping mere inches from her face.
----
A/N: Use this code to redeem 10 FPs: ABDHYYQ7QU33QS5CB
This code can be redeemed by 10 different users with 10 FPs/user. You can find the redeem center at Profile-Redeem. Thank you guys so much for loving and supporting this novel ~xoxo
