The other males had heard Shelly speak about her husband David from her old life. They even saw the picture on her phone. They agreed that this bear beastman did resemble her husband a lot except for his fuzzy ears and bushy tail. Harvey spoke, "He is a bear beastman." He wanted to say her husband in her old world was a human, but didn't want to give away her secrets without her permission. Shelly understood what he meant and said, "He is reincarnated in this beastman form, but I recognize his soul from his eyes." David was clueless about what they were talking about but felt happy she was talking about him. Winston looked weary and Shuu was skeptical. They would accept him in the family because Shelly had already mated with him, but they were a little jealous that his mark was on her heart. She just met him and loved him just because he reminded her of her husband.
Harvey broke the awkward atmosphere and said, "We caught more fish. How would you like us to cook it?" It was good raw, but he didn't think Shelly would like it like that. Females usually did not eat raw meat. That was only something males did in secret. It was an unspoken rule that they did not do it in front of females unless the females felt disgusted by their savage tendencies.
Shelly got dressed and brought David to the kitchen. She explained the seasonings and instructed Harvey how to make fish soup and grilled fish. Harvey made a rack for the grilled fish out of tree branches and Shelly squirted some lemon juice on top and sprinkled the fish with salt. She thought she could add more ingredients when they got to the sea. River fish was supposed to taste more mild than salt water fish, so the lemon and salt should be enough. She added some vegetables to the fish soup and topped it with dried herbs. David watched her in amazement. He had never seen anyone cook that way and he secretly loved fish. He was excited to try the new recipes.
Shuu asked, "I thought bears hibernate during the cold season." David scratched his head and said, "We do, but my friend and I just woke up. It is starting to warm up. We had just returned from our first hunt when we saw you all out by the river."
Shelly thought it was lucky she found David before she was forced to leave the city. She missed him so much, but now that he was here she felt like she was home. Even if he didn't remember their past life, she could tell it was him. She would make sure to treasure their time together. It was a little awkward in this reverse harem situation, but this world required it for survival. She couldn't change the world that much. She did have plans to help with some of the problems of this world, but unless the birth ratio drastically changed she didn't think the harem system would go away any time soon.
She was awoken from her thoughts with a knock at the door. She let Winston open the door. She thought, I can't take anymore surprises today. The Ape king was on the other side of the door with his guards. He asked to speak with Shelly. She came to the door with her mates, but did not allow the Ape king inside. She was extremely cautious around him. He said, "Good evening, I heard a prophecy that you told the other kings. Why did you not tell me as well?" He looked hurt and offended. Shelly said, I was going to tell you as well but got distracted. The Ape king noticed David the 3 striped bear beastman behind Shelly and nodded. He said, "I understand. Where did you learn of this prophecy?" She said, "I heard it from a reliable source. All the other prophecies have come true so far, so I believe this one as well." The Ape king nodded and did not look like he believed her, but had nothing else to say. She asked, "Is there anything else? We were about to eat." The Ape king looked behind them and saw the bowls of food. The wolf guards smelled the food and started to salivate. The Ape king brought his attention back to Shelly and his gaze lingered on her for a second before he said, "That is all for today. Enjoy your food." Shelly nodded and closed the door.
They went back to their food and waited for the Ape king to leave far enough so he could not hear them. David asked, "What prophecy was he talking about?" Shelly told him about the upcoming disasters and their plans to leave the city when the weather is better. She asked him, "Is that ok with you? Do you have family here?" David shook his head, "I came to the City of Beasts after my family died. I was the only cub. I met Tony here. He is the only other bear beastman I have met in the city. I will follow you wherever you want to go." Shelly nodded and said, "We are planning to go to a Tiger village near the sea. You can tell Tony, but I will not accept him as a mate. I already have enough." The other males looked relieved at her decision. They were all strong with the exception of Harvey, but he was a doctor. They could protect Shelly.
Shelly thought the Ape king was suspicious and they should leave as soon as possible. There was nothing holding her to this city except wheat seeds. She would get them and take them to the new village along with the rice seeds. She could teach Winston how to farm easier and all the techniques that were mentioned in the book. She hadn't heard anything about Bai arriving in the city, but thought she might still be in the village with Parker. She could also be with Curtis living the feral lifestyle. Shelly was glad she was warm inside instead of cold in a cave with a cold blooded snek man. She loved her mates and wouldn't trade them for the world. She was glad they all got along and respected her and each other.
She thought of all the things she could teach them. She could open a school in the new village. Also, she would adopt any children she found abandoned or orphaned. David would get the family he always wanted plus a few extra mates. Lol! She was kind of glad he didn't remember his past life. He would be extremely jealous. This way they had a new start. She would treat all of her mates well. Shelly hopes to start a new trend in the beast world. One where females respect their males and males are allowed to express their feelings. She would lead by example.
The males all enjoyed the meal. Shuu was happy to have a new food source while Winston, Harvey and David were in love! She thought cats love fish. She remembered her cats at home would love to eat tuna everyday.
The rest of the evening was uneventful. Shelly remembered David's love of games and thought she should introduce the guys so they could game together. She had David carve some dice count of rock and she took a piece of charcoal to mark the sides. She taught them hatch mark numbers because she thought it might be easier for them to understand. She drew out a board game on flat rock and explained to them about counting squares. She rolled the dice and counted the spaces . She had different pieces of things to represent each player. A tooth for Harvey, a claw for Winston, a bone for Shuu, a fish bone for David and a flower for Shelly. They played all night and the guys really enjoyed the game. They learned really quickly. She thought she should teach them more games. It would help pass the time faster.
Across the city in a castle, the Ape king was talking to his beautiful mate. He said, "It doesn't make any sense. How can she make predictions when she doesn't have any beast marks? I will be able to tell if she is really an Ape female when I level up." The beautiful mermaid said, "You have been saying you will level up for the last 10 years. I need an emerald or I will go back to the sea." The Ape king got on his knees and begged his mate. "I will be able to hunt for emeralds once I level up. Please don't leave me." She humphed and turned around to look out of the window towards Shelly's den. She was thinking, how did she get Winston to be her mate? The ape king was jealous of Winston and thought he needed to get rid of him. The Wolf king and the Leopard king were both cautious of him thanks to Shelly, but the Tiger king did not like her. He would use the Tiger king's hate towards Shelly for his benefit. Rosa would also be easy to manipulate. He smiled to himself as he made plans to take over the city.