They headed to the Tiger king's castle next and were once again questioned by the guards. Winston growled at the guards and they let them pass. Shelly was reminded of Geralt from 'the Witcher' by how he says very few words but gets his point across with grunts. Since the Tiger king and Winston were brothers and both 4 striped beasts they were almost on the same level. If Winston wanted to fight his brother for the title of king he could and would probably win. Everyone knew this so they let him in without contest. A messenger tiger went ahead of them to announce their arrival to the king.
They followed the messenger tiger and found the Tiger king speaking with Rosa about what happened last night. Shelly heard Rosa's one sided story and thought it was a good thing they came at this time to defend herself. She didn't want the Tiger king to try and kick them out of the city before they planned to leave. Rosa saw them and put on her most aggrieved act. She wailed, "She pushed me and lured my cubs into a trap. Father, you should make her leave the city." Winston growled a warning, but Shelly stopped him. She placed a hand on his arm and said, "Tiger king, I am glad we came when we did. I would like to defend myself." He looked at Shelly with hatred for harming his female cub and her cubs. He eyed Winston and decided to hear her side of the story before banishing them.
Shelly noticed the stares, but didn't care. She knew Winston was stronger and she was in the right. She said, "Last night was only part of the story. Rosa sent her cubs to kill our short birds the night before and when Shuu went to hunt more, Bart and the other males attacked him. I had Winston dig a trench to keep away predators for the new birds. The cubs came and fell into the trench. I did not lure them. If Rosa had not sent them all the way from the castle I would never have even known about them. Then Rosa came with her mates and tried to get the crowd to kick us out of the city in the middle of the cold season. She wants me to freeze to death. She is jealous that I mated with Winston. I have never done anything to provoke her, but she keeps harassing me. I let the minor pettiness go, but drew the line at her physically abusing my mates and crossing into our territory."
The Tiger king took in the new information and looked embarrassed that his female cub had caused so much trouble for his brother. He knew that he spoiled her, but could not stop himself. He said, "From the new information I say that it is best if both females stay away from each other and their mates." Shelly nodded at the fair verdict but Rosa huffed and crossed her arms. She whined, "Father, What about my cubs?" He said, "Why were they on her property in the middle of the night two nights in a row?" She looked flabbergasted and looked away. She would not admit she was the one who sent the cubs to Shelly's den to cause trouble. He said, "Keep them away from her den." She left in a huff and gave an evil eye to Shelly on her way out. The king was not pleased either, but didn't say so in front of Winston.
Shelly said, "Thank you for seeing us, I have also come to share a prophecy with you that I heard." The king huffed in annoyance but listened anyway. Shelly shared the same prophecy she had told the other 2 kings. "Next year the City of Beasts will experience a flood followed by a drought and finally an earthquake and volcano will destroy the city. Many will die if they do not evacuate in time." The tiger king obviously did not believe her words, but Shelly thought she had done her part. Winston could warn some if he chose to and it would be up to the beastmen who they would believe.
Shelly left under the watchful eye of the Tiger king. She knew that he would not believe her, but she wanted to warn him to ease her conscience. She would feel bad if a lot of tiger beastmen died because of their personal grudge. Her mates brought her back to the den. She said, "Well, today went better than I thought it would. At least the Wolf king and queen seemed to believe me. Once the first and second part come true I hope others will believe my words and leave the city as well." The males all nodded in agreement. Winston said, "Rosa will be more cautious now that her father has told her not to come near us, but will still try other ways to vent her frustration. Her father has spoiled her." Shelly knew that and was not too worried. Hopefully they would be long gone before Rosa had a chance to retaliate. Today was a victory and she would celebrate!
Shelly wished she could bake a cake or cookies or something, but knew she didn't have the ingredients. She had no idea how to make baking soda or baking powder. She regretted not becoming a chemist in her old life. She knew a lot of ingredients in cooking and in skin care, but not how to make them from nature. She missed being able to go to the grocery store or better yet, a restaurant. She would love to go to a Texas Roadhouse and order a steak with a baked potato and a salad. Not to mention the fresh baked honey butter rolls!!!! She was starting to salivate just thinking about it. She remembered they had honey here and asked the guys. "Do you know how to get honey?" Harvey nodded and said, "I use honey for wounds. It helps them heal faster. It can also help to relieve pain if you drink it with tea." Shelly nodded and said, "In my world we also use it to flavor food. It is delicious with meat and fruits." They looked hopeful to try the new recipes.
Lunch was delicious and they hoped to try more new things. Harvey was willing to brave the bee stings to get more honey for Shelly. He said, I will go get some for you. Shelly said, "Wait, I have heard if you use smoke on the bees they will not sting you. Maybe start a fire down wind from the beehive and add damp wood to get the smoke. Also, you should not go alone." Shuu volunteered to go with him. She nodded and they left. Shelly wanted to talk to Winston alone and see how he was feeling after today. He basically chose her over his entire family. She wanted to see if he regretted his decisions. She asked him "Winston, how are you feeling?" He was confused why she was asking him this. He said, "I am good, it is warm enough inside. How are you feeling?"
Shelly shook her head and laughed, she said, "I am warm enough, but I was asking how are you feeling about the events of today. I know I am forcing you to choose between me and your family and I wanted to see how you are doing? Do you regret choosing me?" Winston looked shocked that she would even think something like that. He said, "I will never regret choosing you. You are my family now. I will always be on your side." She hugged him and he purred.
*Mature content ahead.
He remembered that night they mated and wanted to have her under him again. He nuzzled into her neck and licked behind her ear. She shivered and said, "they will be back soon with the honey." Winston said, "They can wait or eat without us." Shelly looked up at him with her eyes glazed over with lust and nodded her head. Winston let out a growl so low she felt it in her chest. He carried her to the fur in the room and laid her down. He would show her how he felt with actions since he was not good with words.
Harvey and Shuu returned a while later with the honey and were happy the smoke worked. Neither of them were stung. They could handle a bee sting better than females, but it was still annoying to have the stingers in their skin. They entered the den and froze. They looked at each other and knew it was going to be a long night. Harvey went to find a bowl for the honey while Shuu went outside to guard the den. Shuu was dreaming of the different recipes Shelly would make with the honey and didn't notice a pair of brown eyes on them from afar.