Chapter 196: The New Chief And The Departure!

Gideon turned his head to look at Varek carefully.

His eyes dropped from Varek’s head to his long snake tail and back to his face. He was trying to take in every detail of this beastman who had claimed Popi as his mate to be.

"Why do you ask? Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to introduce yourself since you’re a guest?" Gideon asked, clenching his fist hard enough that his knuckles turned white.

He did not want to say that. He did not have anything against this beastman, but the fact that Popi had introduced him as her mate to be kept pissing him off. It kept making his blood boil.

He had wanted to be the only one for her. He had wanted to get closer to her. He had spent time thinking about her. Even after hearing that she was abducted, he had wanted to be the one to save her himself.

But now she was back after falling in love with someone from the outcast territory. Someone she had just met. Someone who was not even from the leopard tribe.

"Speaking of that, why are you out of the outcast territory?" Gideon furrowed his brows, his jealousy barely hidden. "Shouldn’t you be locked away from the rest of us? Shouldn’t you still be serving your punishment?"

Varek shrugged like it was not a big deal.

"Why do not you ask Neve over there?" he asked, pointing toward where Neve was standing with Cael. "Tell tell you why I’m out."

Gideon furrowed his brow, staring at Neve who was wiping blood off Cael’s face with a cloth. Neve’s hands were covered in blood from the execution but he was still taking care of everyone around him.

"I will," Gideon said and turned to Popi as his face softened immediately. His anger faded when he looked at her kind expression.

"Let’s treat them," he said gently. "It seems like everyone needs medical attention. The kids need water and food. We need to make sure no one is seriously hurt."

Popi nodded her head, dragging her eyes between Varek and Gideon. She could feel the tension between them. She could see that Gideon was jealous. She could tell that Gideon had feelings for her.

"I thought you’d never say that," she said and walked toward where the sick people were. She was going to help treat the wounded.

Gideon started treating the kids first. He cleaned their wounds and gave them water to drink.

Popi checked on the soup she was making over the fire. The broth was simmering nicely. She wasn’t as perfect as Neve, but she made sure it would be good for the injured beastmen to eat since they needed something that’s warm and nourishing.

.

.

Meanwhile, Soren felt so weak that he could see death right in front of him.

He had been stabbed in every part of his body that there was barely a single spot left without a wound. His whole body was completely red with blood now. His breathing was shallow and labored.

Blood pooled around his legs as his head dropped down slowly. He did not have the strength to hold it up anymore.

After the last person had stabbed him, he could not move his head. His neck felt broken. His entire body was in agony.

Blood spilled from his mouth as his eyes closed slowly. He fought hard to stay alive. Some instinct inside him was telling him to keep breathing. To keep fighting.

But he was dying. He knew it. Everyone knew it.

Skarr walked over and looked at the dying wolf chief.

"Should I just kill him already?" Skarr asked, not bothering to hide his disdain for Soren. "I could use dark magic to speed this up. Make it faster."

"No need," Neve said, watching Soren’s chest rise and fall weakly. "He will die himself. Let him suffer a bit longer. He deserves it after everything he has done."

Neve paused and looked at the crowd of people still gathered in the square.

"I have another announcement to make, but I guess we can do that tomorrow after Cael becomes the chief," Neve said. "Everyone needs rest. Everyone needs food and water. We will deal with the rest tomorrow."

Maren walked over and took Neve’s hand gently.

"Why do not you become chief?" Maren asked, his shark eyes studying Neve’s face. "You are powerful. Everyone respects you. You could lead this tribe better than anyone else."

"I’m not interested in politics," Neve said, shaking his head. "Besides, I have better things to worry about."

He rubbed his stomach gently, feeling the cubs moving inside him. His pregnancy was getting closer to the end. He needed to focus on that. He needed to prepare for the birth even though he still didn’t know how possible it was.

Maren smiled and walked closer to Neve, his cold hands wrapping around Neve’s smaller frame. Neve flinched as his eyes dropped to Maren’s hand and slowly back to Maren’s face.

"What are you...?"

"I hope you will be safe," Maren said softly. "I want to thank you for looking after my mother. Thank you for saving her life. I will come to visit you after I have gone around to find the others. And then..."

"And then?" Neve asked, lifting his brows.

Maren paused as he looked around. Slowly, he leaned forward so no one else would hear them. His voice dropped to a whisper.

"We can go back to Earth. We can return home together. You, me, and anyone else who is trapped here like us."

"Ah. Right," Neve smiled, his mind already thinking about returning to his original world. About waking up from this long dream.

Sometimes Neve wondered how his original body was doing in the original world. Had the doctors given up on him and abandoned his body? If his body gets better over there, would he wake up? Or....maybe someone else had taken over his body?

What if those voices from that control room were the cause of the accident or this is something more advanced than AI? He had no many questions and many theories.

His eyes were fixed on Maren.

’Should I tell him about that? What if he thinks I’m crazy? How do I even explain to him what I saw? Maybe our circumstances are different just as we have different systems and missions. I’ll have fo find things out myself then,’ He thought to himself and agreed.

Suddenly, Maren planted a kiss on Neve’s cheek gently.

The touch was soft and quick but it sent electricity through Neve’s entire body, snapping him back to reality.

Neve’s face flushed red as he felt Maren’s cold lips on his face. The shark’s skin was cool compared to his warm skin.

"Stay safe," Neve said, reaching up to touch the spot where Maren had kissed him.

"You too," Maren nodded and stepped back. He turned to Cael who was standing right close to Maren.

"Take care of him," he said.

"You don’t need to tell me my task. He’s my mate, after all," Cael said, throwing a hand over Neve’s shoulder.

"Of course, he is," Maren replied with a scoff.

Skarr groaned from the side, where he had been leaning off the tree and watching everything that was happening.

He pushed himself off the tree and walked over to Neve.

"Since you do not need my help with killing that beastman, I will leave now," Skarr said. "I will pay visits from time to time, especially since I would like to taste that soup in person. I’ve only seen it while in your head. I’d also love to have a taste,"

He pointed at the pot where Popi was still cooking.

"I would have waited for that, but I’d like to eat yours,"

Neve smiled at him.

"You are welcome anytime," Neve said warmly. "You are family to me. Even though I stole your body, even though your consciousness is in Zyreth’s form, you are still family. You chose to help me. You chose to be part of this."

"Hmm," Skarr replied, the smallest hint of a smile on his face.

Skarr turned and started walking with Maren toward a clear area away from the crowd.

They both waved at Neve.

Neve waved back at them, his hand moving side to side.

The smile on Neve’s face was genuine and warm. He was grateful for both of them. For Maren who had helped him save his mother. For Skarr who had helped him get everyone out of the outcast territory and who had just helped him deal with Soren.

Suddenly, they teleported.

One moment they were standing there waving. The next moment, they were gone. The air where they had been standing shimmered and then returned to normal. Even some beastmen from the crowd started mumbling about what had just happened.

Neve stood there for a moment, watching the empty space where they had been. Then he turned back to help Popi with the soup.

’Don’t brood now, Neve. There are so much work to be done,’