Chapter 15: brought to you by a beefcake

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In which the thrilling aftermath of the barbeque is revealed. Nera gains another admirer and is friendzoned by another. Winston fights for her honor, or house, and begins making pheromones. Unfortunately for her, there is only one Winston, and he can't do everything at once.

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The pair walked back to the fires in silence. Neara absorbed the sights like a sponge and Winston maintained a peaceable silence. They got back to the fire. Their presence created a bubble of gossip.

"What is he doing here?"

"He's sitting at her fire?"

"What happened to her face markings? She's beautiful!"

Winston carefully sat away from Neara and kept his eyes on the fire.

"I'm Neara, by the way." She poked at the flames with a long stick.

"I'm Winston." He didn't look at her.

"Aren't you going to eat?" She looked at the meat and gritted her teeth, ready to swipe at the burning flesh.

Winston nodded, a slight pink on his cheeks, and grabbed a handful of meat. He made it look so easy! He bit into the food, juice oozed down the side of his face. His tongue lapped it up and he continued eating.

Neara reached out and confidently grabbed her own handful. She then screamed and much less confidently pulled her hand back. "Ow!"

"What's wrong?" Winston's ears angled forward and he leaned towards her.

"It's so hot!" She blew on her hand then pushed it into the cool grass behind her. "I think I burned my hand. Ugh!"

"If you needed assistance, I am right here." Winston sat back, his face locked in position.

"Ok, can you get me some meat?" Neara asked reluctantly.

Winston pulled off another chunk of meat and whipped it around, juice flying in all directions and mostly on her face. "Here." He held out the cooled food.

"Thanks." She wiped her face with her good hand and accepted it. They ate in continued silence, Winston replacing her meat whenever she ran out. She cleaned her hand in the dew from the grass and coughed. "Um... so what's the deal with that fox girl? Didn't you have a claim to her or something?"

He stopped chewing and looked at her. "It was my right to present myself first. It was her right to refuse me."

"I'm sorry that happened... are you going to find another mate?"

"I don't plan on mating for the rest of my life." He sounded worn out, as if he'd said this to himself many times.

"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings... I'm sorry I said anything." Neara covered herself in the cloak and pulled her knees to her chin.

Winston's face colored and a small smile turned up the corner of his lips. He looked over her shoulder and Neara turned around. The tall beastman from the river stood there, a large cut of meat balanced on a leaf in his hands.

"This is for you." He shoved the parcel into her hands and quickly walked away.

"What just happened?" Neara moved into a kneeling position, looked at the meat and sniffed. It smelled like pork. Did they have pigs in this world?

"That is the son of the Wolf King. He brought you food as a symbol of his interest in becoming your mate." Winston's lips barely moved and his eyes studied the coals. "That is pork, and it is only eaten by royal females."

"I shouldn't accept this..." She pushed the food away. "I'm not really looking for mates right now."

"Then I will be your guardian." Winston declared, his eyes burning into hers.

"What?" Neara fell backwards. "What's a guardian?"

"Attention beastmen, the bonfire night is coming to an end. We are grateful for the addition of 5 females to our City and look forward to the wealth they will bring." The Ape King stood in front of the largest bonfire, surrounded by beastmen holding buckets of water. They poured it into the flames and the night ended with a hiss.

Winston stood and held out his hand. "Follow me."

Neara stood by herself and watched him pick up the pork. "Where are we going?"

"There are many empty homes in the City of Beasts."

"Why do you want to be my guardian?" Neara followed him out the gates and down the cobbled path. She found it surprisingly easy to lift her feet since she could see the stones now. "I mean, we don't know each other at all."

Winston's grey eyes burned into hers as he turned. "You are kind. I've seen the way you treat the other beastmen. You are unassuming. If you do not desire mates, I will protect you from unwanted attention. Do you understand?" An undercurrent of warmth made his voice feel comforting.

"I understand." They walked down streets until Neara felt lost. The moons above lit their path fairly well and she felt herself falling asleep. "Hey, Winston? I don't know where we're going, but I'm getting really tired."

Warm arms wrapped around her waist and thighs and lifted her into a warm chest. "I will carry you."

Wonderful as it might have been to slip into unconsciousness, her anxiety kept her awake until they stopped in front of a stone hut. The windows were dark and the inside smelled musty when he pushed open the door. The moonlight through the windows barely lit the floor and Neara could distinguish one large room with two smaller rooms to another side. A darker circle on the floor seemed to indicate a fire pit area, which meant the smaller rooms had to be bedrooms.

He carried her into one of the bedrooms and stopped. Neara could feel his chest tighten. A low growl reverberated softly in his chest. He carried her to a corner of the room, sat down against the wall, and clutched Neara to him. The terror of sleeping with a beastman couldn't quite overpower the exhaustion of the day and Neara fell asleep in an instant.

The next morning burned into her eyelids. She squinted into the new day. Her mouth tasted foul. "Oh man, I hate this." She grumbled, then paused. Soft skin touched hers intimately and she realized the recliner was actually made of hunky beastman. "Winston!"

He looked down at her. "Yes?"

"Have you been holding me all night?"

"Yes."

"Why?" She squirmed from his grasp and teetered on the floor. Morning Neara was not a graceful one.

"The grass in here is musty and unfit for a bed. I will gather some today and make you a new one."

"I would have been fine, holy cow!" She blinked at the interior of the bedroom and saw wisps of grass clinging to the dirt. "Did you not sleep at all?"

"I couldn't. The scent of your blood attracted many."

"The scent of my..." The stickiness of her legs presented itself to her slowly rebooting brain.

Her hand clamped against herself and she clenched her legs together. "Shitshitshitshithsitshitshitshit!"

Winston stood and had the audacity not to stretch. "I will bring cotton blossoms. I have seen them before, when females have their estrous cycles." He reached towards Neara. "Come with me."

Neara, edged against the wall, curled against it and away from his fingers. "No! I'm not going anywhere! I just started my period and I'm not moving!"

"I can't leave you alone; your estrous cycle means you will receive more attention. Unless you desire a mate at this time." His voice fell though his hand remained steady.

Neara shook her head and followed Winston to a cotton field where he gathered several armfuls of cotton. She pulled the scratchy seeds out and stretched it to form a temporary pad. Winston agreed to turn around while she inserted it. Still messy from the blood, he escorted her to a nearby river and watched for other males as she bathed. She decided to wear her clothes and wash them at the same time so the blood wouldn't smell too bad.

"Winston, you should try the water. It actually feels really good!" She splashed a little in his direction; not with enough force to touch him.

His tail twitched and he softly smiled. "All right." He shed his clothes and before Neara could object, he dove in. The water spilled over his chest and stomach muscles as he stood and walked towards her.

"Do tigers like the water here?" She kept her eyes focused on his face; not a difficult task.

"Tigers love the water." Water droplets clung to his hair like diamonds on a silver string. "After your bath, I will replace the bedding and pay for the house."

"Winston..." Neara twirled her finger around her hair in the water.

"Yes?"

"How am I going to pay you back for helping me so much?" Her skin shivered with what he might expect in return, but he said earlier he wasn't looking to be her mate... "I just want to know what your expectations are."

He stood for a moment, his face serious. "I choose to do this. It is my honor to be of any service to you. Payment is not necessary."

"So you're like my friend?"

A touch of pink colored his cheeks. "If you want me to be."

She smiled, happy to understand the circumstances of their relationship. "Of course! You're a nice guy! We can be friends."

His blush deepened as he looked at her smile. He melted into a white tiger and dove beneath the water. His tail slipped beneath the surface and he disappeared.

"Winston?" Neara looked around and swam towards the shore. Her cloak, drying on the bank, slipped into the current. "Dammit!" She flailed towards the furs and caught the edge of it with her hand. "Gotcha!" The waterlogged furs pulled her downstream. "No!" She pushed against the current as it propelled her further away from her starting point. "Winston!"

A soft hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to the shore. She coughed and sputtered the water from her lungs, then looked to see who her rescuer was; the hand couldn't possibly belong to Winston.

The tall beastman from the other night knelt before her, a soft smile on his face. She counted three marks around his eyes. "Neara!"

"Hi?"

"What are you doing alone? Weren't you under the protection of the Leopard King?"

"I was with Winston and he..."

"I'm glad I was here to save you!" His smile closed his eyes and pressed his cheeks directly beneath them. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine now... aren't you the Wolf King's son?"

His ears stiffened and he leaned back, one hand tangled in his thick black hair. "Yes. I guess I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Shuu."

"Shuu... thanks for saving me." Neara covered her chest with her arms. "I guess my cloak's gone for good now."

"Cloak? I will retrieve it for you!" Shuu removed his clothing quickly (how did he do that with so many strings?) and burst into the water, howling as he transformed into a wolf.

Neara held her shriek inside as she watched the massive animal catapult itself downstream. "I can't believe this world... too many big animals. I can't get over it. I'm sitting here, basically naked, and on my period and everyone wants me." She stood and grumbled to herself as she bent to brush the damp grass from her legs. "Shay gets kidnapped by a big-ass snake and I'm stuck by myself." She pressed the blades between her fingers and smiled. "I can see though..."

"Neara." Winston rumbled behind her.

She spun around too fast and almost fell into the river. Winston's arms wrapped around her and he held her to his chest. Locked in a glance, she didn't notice Shuu returning until he coughed.

"Winston."

"Shuu." She didn't know his voice could sound that cold. "You have her cloak."

"It's okay; he was just getting it for me. It fell into the river. He wasn't trying to mate with me or anything." She turned in Winston's arms and took the cloak from Shuu, his face glowing red. "Thanks, Shuu!"

He stared at her in Winston's arms for another minute, then ran away. Neara watched him run and felt relieved.

"Are you done with your bath?" Winston said.

"Yeah. I'm done. We can go back now." Winston picked her up in his arms and walked to their pile of cotton blossoms. Neara stretched out her cloak and Winston carefully loaded the blooms inside, taking care not to crush them. He packed the bundle onto his back and carried Neara with one arm.

They almost broke through the trees when Winston stopped and his ears moved forward.

"Winston?"

"I think there are others in your home." He growled.

Neara squinted towards the hut that bordered the forest. She couldn't see anything, but she didn't have Winston's supersonic hearing either.

He stalked forward and controlled his breathing. Neara felt the tightness of his chest through her legs. With every breath, he moved a step. He set the bag of cotton by the door and kicked it open. Three wolves faced him, ears bent against their skulls and snarls that cracked their lips over their sharp teeth.

Winston stood still and lashed his tail. The three wolves growled and tried to cut behind him. He stood with his back to the open door and waited.

One of the beastmen walked forward and flashed into a beastman. Three marks splayed across his cheeks and he frowned. "You are the mate of the female who insulted Rosa?"

"I am her guardian." Winston's muscles stiffened and bulged against his skin. Neara held in her discomfort as her leg pinched between his bicep and forearm.

"Rosa isn't pleased with her."

"I'm not interested in Rosa's pleasures." Winston said.

"You are a member of the Tiger Clan! You forget your place!" The beastman barked, although he didn't get closer.

"And what does a wolf pup know about the affairs of the Tiger Clan?" Winston frowned and pointed at the wolves. "I have claimed this home for her. Get out or I'll kill you." He stepped to the side and gestured out the door. "You have been warned. If I smell you around here, it'll be the last scent you leave."

The two wolves barrelled out the door, tails between their legs. The beastman walked outside quickly and turned to face Winston. "Rosa will have her revenge. You know how vindictive she can be, Winston."

"I know the shortcomings of my brother's child." He shut the door in the beastman's face and looked up at Neara. "I'll go get the blossoms." He set her down and pulled the sack in from beside the door. After he set the bag down near the fire pit, he started sorting them and pulling the seeds from the wispy fibers.

Neara clutched herself and sat in a corner. "Who the hell is Rosa?" She thought back to Camel Hump Valley, but the only females she knew there were Eudora and Eve, and they didn't have any wolf mates that she knew of... although she didn't exactly know them well enough to rule it out completely. She remembered the soaked cotton and pinched her legs. "It would have to happen now. It would happen today." She dug her nails into her skin and small red crescents appeared beneath her fingers.

Winston's back strained in front of her, focused on his task. She couldn't let him do it alone. She sat next to him and started pulling. This was a lot harder than it looked. "Winston..." she looked away from his face and pretended to study the cotton. "...thanks for saving me today. Thanks for the blossoms and, well, thanks for everything."

"You're welcome." he choked out.

Neara's stomach rumbled. She put a hand over her stomach and smiled. "I guess I forgot to eat today."

He stood so quickly the blossoms blew onto the floor. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize how much time had passed. Come with me to hunt." Without waiting for a reply, he pulled her onto his back and dashed out the door.

The trees flew past as Winston padded through the forest and stopped just before a small clearing. Neara noticed a herd of deer grazing, their delicate limbs shrouded in knee-length grass. He set her down slowly and stripped his clothes off. Neara barely had time to acknowledge the fact he was naked when his skin turned to fur and he crept forward. She watched his tail slowly make progress, the tip of it barely visible through the dense vegetation. If he'd been tan, or even brown, she probably wouldn't have seen him at all. His tail vanished and she scanned the herd ahead to pick out which one she thought he would attack.

The foliage rustled in the light breeze and brought a scent of deep forest, studded with pine and decay. She breathed it in and remembered camping trips with her family, the thick smell of smoke and DEET stuck to clothing and hair, stuck in the sleeping bags and under your nails for weeks. A tear traced a cold path down her cheek. She wondered if she'd ever see them again.

Blades of grass parted in front of her and a bloody deer carcass emerged. Neara fell backwards, the cry for help stuck in her throat. Winston's white tiger form followed, the deer's neck wedged in his mouth. He dropped it, flashed into his skin, and pulled his clothes on. "We can go now."

Neara stared at the docile herd, her mouth open in shock. "But they didn't move!"

"I am an excellent hunter. I will bring you more meat tomorrow, if we finish this." He held the dead deer in one arm and held her carefully in the other.

"That's amazing! You're such a good hunter! They didn't even flinch!" She arched over his shoulder to stare again, amazed at their tranquility, although a handful looked up in fright as she showered praise on Winston.

Winston's tail curled in on itself and his ears flattened against his hair. "Thank you, Neara. As a tetra-marked beast, hunting is easy for me. I don't deserve your compliments."

"I've never seen anything like it! Even hunters in our wo...clan aren't that good!" Neaera spotted the hut through the trees and smiled.

"All tetra-marked beastmen are good at catching prey. Except for one clan; ape beastmen are not known for their skills in hunting. They have power in their minds." He gestured towards his head. "They are crafty, and I don't trust them."

"You don't trust the Ape King? The leopard queen said he was the most intelligent beastman in the city." Neara wondered if the Ape Clan were more like regular humans and resolved to stay away. If they figured out where she came from, she'd probably be branded a witch and burned, although they hadn't quite hit Salem status yet.

The home still smelled musty. She wrinkled her nose against it. "Winston? Where could I find some flowers? Something that smells pretty?"

He laid the deer by the fire pit and looked up at her earnest face. "You and I can go tomorrow to find some. I know a meadow nearby with plenty of beautiful flowers that smell wonderful."

"Thank you! I'm excited to go! I have something to look forward to." She beamed down at his blushing face. He set her down by the cotton and began dressing the hide.

He showed her how to cut along the feet and how the hide would peel from the muscles when the correct pressure was applied. He took her outside and demonstrated, with a blush, the different plants one could use to tan the hide into leather, although he made her sit far away since the sap was corrosive to female skin. Neara, for her part, ignored the sexism of assuming she was weak because of her gender and absorbed everything. They did things differently here, and some of the plants were suspiciously convenient, even for an anime world.

When night fell, they enjoyed a meal of roasted deer and Winston's eyes lit up when he tasted it.

"This is delicious." He reached for another piece, then stopped and withdrew his hand.

Neara frowned. "What's the matter? You can have as much as you want. It's your meat after all. You don't have to wait for me to finish my piece."

Winston shook his head. "As

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