Why were all the beast men so handsome in this beast world? Is it because this is a dream? She admired his handsome face and he spoke, "I'm glad you approve. I will try my best to make you happy for the rest of my life." Amber just blushed and felt awkward. She thought that bird beast men were too dramatic in the way they spoke.
Amber replied, "Umm, Thank you." Tom beamed at her thanks. It was nice to be appreciated by the female he had fallen for. He asked, "Can I be your mate now?" Amber looked surprised at his forwardness. She was sitting in a hot spring with her boyfriend and another guy was hitting on her right in front of him!
She responded, "I have a mate already. She pointed towards her mate mark on her chest." She had never had to turn down a suitor before. The boys she knew were all too shy to ask girls out so bluntly. Tom replied, "I know Nick is your favorite, but I would be willing to even be your beast guardian if you are not ready to accept any extra mates." He added, right now in his head.
It was unheard of for a female to only have one mate in the beast world. Amber turned around to Nick and asked, "What is a beast guardian?" He responded, "A beast guardian helps to protect the female he chooses. Tom is a 3-striped flying beast-man; he would make an excellent beast guardian."
Amber could tell that Nick wanted her to accept Tom as a guardian. She replied, "ok" and Tom was ecstatic that she agreed for him to be her beast guardian. He was so happy that he came up and hugged her. She was uncomfortable and her arms were pinned down. Nick let out a warning growl and Tom let go.
He backed away from Amber and told her, "I'm sorry. I was just so excited! I will be the best beast guardian you could ever ask for! I will protect you with my life!"
Amber just responded, "Thank you." She didn't know what to say. This was all new to her. After they had soaked for a while Amber started to get hungry.
They got out of the hot spring and Nick helped to dry her off with a piece of fur. Then he helped her get dressed. She was embarrassed again but decided to just let him help her. He seemed to act like this was normal.
Nick told her, "Stay with Tom. I will go hunt for food." He kissed her and transformed into a cheetah. He left down the mountainside in a blur.
She turned around to see Tom and decided she should get to know him. She asked, "Do you have any family around here?" Tom shook his head and replied, "My father left after I learned to fly to return to my mother. My brothers all found mates and moved away."
She felt bad that he was abandoned as a child just like she was. At least she had her mom to help raise her. He was alone with his brothers.
He saw her sad look and comforted her with a smile. He responded, "This is the way flying beast men raise children. They teach the baby bird to hunt and take care of themselves. Once a bird can fly and hunt, he is left to take care of himself. It makes us stronger."
Amber noticed his 3 stripes and thought he was strong. As far as she could tell, the more stripes a beast man had the stronger he was. Nick had 2 stripes when she first met him. Now he had 4 and was a king!
She wondered how long it would take for Tom to get another stripe. She would be the queen of kings!
Amber started to feel thirsty from the hot spring. She asked, "Is there any cool water to drink?" Tom nodded his head and transformed into a bird. He lowered his wing, and she climbed up on her own this time.
Tom flew them a little bit away from the hot spring towards the lake. The water would be cooler away from the hot springs.
He came to a stop near the shaded part of the river. He didn't notice a few pairs of eyes that were partially submerged in the shaded parts of the river. He noticed the floating logs, but when Amber approached the water, the logs started to move toward her.
Tom instantly attacked the crocodile creatures that were heading toward Amber. He yelled towards her, "Don't go in the water yet. I'll take care of these beasts first." He tried to lure them away from Amber. He knew females didn't like violence and gore.
He was a 3 striped beast man, but there were a lot of crocodiles and flying beast men were not the best at fighting in water. He was soon swept away down the river with the crocodiles. He fought them off, but more kept coming. He was the only one against 20-30.
Amber panicked when she saw the crocodile attack Tom. She leaned closer to the river to see him and respond to him and accidentally fell into the river.
She was unaware of the brown eyes watching her from the nearby tree. He had heard about this beautiful female a year ago when Nick came to their village.
The rumors did not do her justice. Her blonde hair shined in the sun and her cheetah print dress made her look royal. He was mesmerized for a minute as he saw her go into the river.
He didn't know what to do at first, but she was all alone, and her guardian had been swept down the river. She didn't come up for a minute and he started to panic.
He rushed towards the river and dove in towards her unconscious body. He pulled her out of the river and began patting her back as he sat her up against his chest. She coughed up water and then passed out.
He didn't know what to do. Most beast men in the beast world didn't know about CPR. He picked her up and started to swing through the vines back to the Ape kingdom.
He would take her to his healer and see if they could help. He rescued her, so by the law of the jungle she was now his mate. He wouldn't let his mate die!
Oliver took her to a tree house and rushed inside. The healer was mixing herbs and looked up at him in surprise. When he noticed the wet female limp in his arms, he knew what happened.
He told Oliver, "Lay her down and breathe gently into her mouth." Oliver was a little hesitant to kiss her while she was unconscious, but he was worried about her life.
He gently placed her on a fur rug and brought his lips towards hers. He gently breathed into her mouth. Amber woke up groggily and her vision was blurry. She thought it was Nick waking her up with a kiss like last night. She kissed him back.
Oliver got so excited! His mate was awake and kissing him back! He had never felt this way. His body was on fire, and he couldn't control his hormones. She was all wet, so he stripped her out of her dress.
The healer left them in the room and went back to mixing herbs in the other room. He was relieved that the female was well and happy for Oliver to get a mate.
The next morning Amber woke up sore again and groaned. She tried to sit up but noticed she was naked under a fur blanket. There was a manly arm around her waist.
She thought this was familiar! She tried to talk, but her throat was dry. Oliver noticed and brought a coconut to her lips. He had cut a hole in the top of the green coconut to get the water out from it.
Amber was thankful for the coconut water. She drank it and it instantly helped to relieve her throat. She was about to thank Nick when she noticed this was a different room than Nick's cave. She looked around and saw the bamboo floor and walls that were held together by vines.
She saw banana leaves being used in a variety of ways from curtains to plates. Finally, she locked eyes with a beast man who had dark brown eyes. He had light brown hair and tan skin. His tail and ears were medium brown. His monkey tail wrapped around Amber.
He smiled and asked, "Are you feeling better, mate?" Amber looked at him in shock. The last thing she remembered was falling into the river. How did this happen? Where was Tom? How would Nick feel about this?
So many questions were going through her mind. She asked, "Who are you and where am I?" Oliver responded, "I rescued you yesterday at the river and brought you back to my village. My name is Oliver."