Wanderlust Beastkin, Beauty and the Beastkin

Elara’s Perspective

Beck coughed again, trying to sit up but ended up stumbling back, hacking once more. "We’ve got to get out of here. I finally figured out where I’ve seen that beastkin before. We need to move. Tell Skye to grab a bag, and you two need to get ready to bounce right now. I’ll splash some cold water on my face while you girls pack up."

"We can’t leave," I said, feeling queasy at the look on his face. Who was this guy he recognized? What was it that had such a tough dude looking so panicked?

"What do you mean we can’t leave? We have to go right now."

"Skye, he took Skye."

Beck stopped, a frown creasing his brow, and I could tell his thoughts were racing in every direction. He then released a deep, frustrated sigh. "I’m meant to focus on you and you alone, but if we want to rescue Skye, we need to act quickly and leave immediately afterward. If things take a turn for the worse, we’ll have to go, even if we haven’t found her yet. We’ll need to seek help and return for her later, do you understand?"

"Alright, but who are you so worried about?"

"That bear beastkin serves as one of the three commanders under Boss Zilla, and crossing paths with them is something we definitely want to avoid unless absolutely necessary."

"Whoa, is Boss Zilla actually a thing? I’ve been hearing whispers about this big boss over in the east, ruling over this massive gated city that’s like Endless Gem—good luck getting in or out without his say-so! Apparently, this beastkin dude, Boss Zilla, is the one behind it all, and he’s got three commanders doing his dirty work. How wild is that?"

"One of the three commanders is a hefty bear beastkin known as Brutus. The bear beastkin from house ten who incapacitated me is indeed that beastkin."

"He took Skye! He drugged her, and now she’s just sitting there in his chair, totally out of it, playing with a string of all things, drooling everywhere. No way am I leaving her like that!"

He stared at me, eyes wide open in concern, and his brain was racing with a million thoughts."We’re going to need a diversion; otherwise, we’ll get caught while rescuing Skye. Watching the snatching ground’s woods wasn’t going to be enough to get his eyes off Skye."

"I can set the houses ablaze. That should buy us some time by stopping their snatching ritual for a while, while they deal with the repairs, cover the losses, and try to salvage their reputation. You grab Skye while I’m occupied, and we’ll rendezvous at the hollowed-out tree."

Beck hesitated, gripping my arm gently. "I really don’t think it’s wise for us to separate."

I got lost in his stunning blue eyes, and before I even realized what was happening, I leaned in and pressed my lips against his. He stiffened for a heartbeat, then melted into the kiss. Our lips fit together perfectly, like they were made for this very moment. It was a mix of fire and electricity, a whirlwind of passion that felt like it could last forever—more intense than I ever imagined. It seemed like we were locked in that kiss for ages, yet it still felt too short when we finally pulled apart, gasping for air.

We just stared at each other, both of us caught off guard by the fierce connection sparking between us. So this was the missing piece I hadn’t even known I was searching for.

He pulled me in close, his arms wrapping around me with a tenderness that made me feel both cherished and fragile. As he inhaled deeply, his cheek brushed against the top of my head, and I could sense the weight of his concern. "We’ll talk about this later," he murmured, his voice steady yet laced with urgency. "I won’t stop you from doing what you love—your adventurous spirit and your heart for others are what drew me to you in the first place. Just promise me you’ll be cautious. If anything feels off or you think you might be seen, get out of there. We can always come up with another plan."

He pulled back, his gaze locking onto mine, and the warmth in his eyes took my breath away. "Promise me, okay?" he urged.

"I promise," the words tumbled out before I could think twice, compelled by the intensity of his plea. It felt right, like a vow I was meant to make.

He enveloped me in another soft embrace before letting go, placing three healing potions into my palm. With a quick glance back, worry etched on his features, he dashed off, respecting my wishes while still supporting my free spirit. That meant more to me than I could express.

Even with the challenge ahead, I felt a surge of joy. The incredible guy I had feelings for actually felt the same! A grin spread across my face, and I couldn’t help but dash out of house number seven, heading straight for house number ten, excitement bubbling inside me.

Perla’s Perspective

I peeled back the edge of the bandage, revealing the wound, and her reaction was immediate—a sharp gasp of disbelief. The thought of that spider beastkin sinking its teeth into me made my stomach churn, so I quickly covered the injury again.

"Is it really that serious?"

Her complexion turned a ghostly shade with a hint of green, and before I knew it, she doubled over and lost her lunch.

"Is it really that serious?! What on earth did you see? Is it gruesome or something?"

"No, it’s just that you’ve been marked. The spider beastkin has left his mark on you."

I heard a rushing sound in my ears and then little black dots appeared in my vision. "He marked me, he was actually able to mark me. Does that make him a legendary beastkin type or are spider beastkin different?"

"I only know a little about spider beastkin since I prefer to avoid them altogether. I do know that a mark of any kind will allow a person to sense the general direction of whoever has the mark on them. So you should be able to tell which direction your males are in, but that also means that the spider beastkin will be able to tell which direction you are in and he will be a lot faster than we are."

"So I essentially have a honing beacon on me and I can’t get rid of it without his permission or unless he’s dead since he’s obviously a lot stronger than I am and I wasn’t able to fight off his mark because I was unconscious at the time," I said this more to myself than to her since I was pretty freaked out by this time.

"What’s a honing beacon?"

I let out a frustrated high and roughly ran my fingers through my hair, tugging slightly and then I stomped my foot. Obviously, I knew that wasn’t going to do me much good, but it did make me feel slightly better while I imagined strangling that stupid spider for pushing his selfish desires on me. Creep!

Then, as my mind cleared, I came to a conclusion that I didn’t really want to face, but there it was anyway; there wasn’t anything else for it. "You’re going to have to go on without me. I’ll convince that chasing after you is pointless and I’ll stay. You need to go find the camp of my males and bring them back to rescue me. I can sense them in the North-East from here, follow along the stream in that direction," I said while pointing, "and you should come to their camp." I pulled out a couple of strands of my hair and gave it to her. "Show them this, there will be a golden lion in the group and a male with a magical horn and pink and seafoam green hair so they’re very distinctive."

Her eyes were wide as she reached out and took the hair, wrapping it around her wrist like a bracelet. "I’ll be as fast as possible and bring help. In the meantime, don’t get yourself pregnant, those spider babies sometimes eat their mothers while still inside the womb."

"I know, he told me," I felt a shiver go up my back. The whole lot of them needed to be exterminated.

"Alright, I’ll be off and be careful," Tanya said with an encouraging smile that was also kind of a grimace. I get it, my expression would probably be similar to hers if our situations were reversed. She climbed out through the tunnel and it took everything within me to not run away with her but I knew that it wouldn’t do me any good and he would immediately hunt us down and capture me while deciding to kill her. The only way to get help was for me to stay put so that I could talk him out of pursuing her while she ran to get help. As soon as I left his nest, he would know and chase after me. Hopefully, he didn’t come back for a while so she would have a good head start.

Coming Next Time: Perla and the Spider