The Lion castle was to the West of the gate and backed up into a mountain. The castle was built into the mountain from the same dark grey stones as the gate.
The Lion guard roared to alert the Lion king and soon the Lion king appeared in front of them. The queen followed soon after him curious to see who was brave enough to summon her mate.
They were surprised to see the Cheetah beast man from last year was now a 4 striped Beast king! He had his mate and 2 other beast men with him. Nick placed his fist on his chest as a greeting and show of respect from one Beast king to another.
The Lion King returned his greeting and asked, "Have you returned with your mate to stay in the Beast City?"
Nick responded, "If my mate wants to stay, we will stay. I can build her a Cheetah castle of her own. She is pregnant and we were hoping to stay here for the cold season at least until the cub is born."
The queen was excited to meet this new queen and her unborn cub. She went up to Amber and hugged her. She told her, "I'm so glad they found you! After a year we had all given up hope, but your mate was persistent. Congratulations on the cub as well. You can stay with us until your castle is completed. I will send more beast men for you to choose from."
Nick and the other mates were unhappy with the queen's suggestion of adding more mates, but they kept quiet. They understood that Amber needed extra protection and they were not enough. The Lion Queen had 10 mates! Amber currently only had 2 and 1, suitor.
They hoped she would not take on too many additional mates, but at the same time wanted to make sure she was well provided for and protected.
Amber was nervous about this new female hugging her. She had never met a female in the beast world yet. The Lion queen had auburn hair and honey-brown eyes. She was wearing a fox fur halter top and a leather skirt.
Amber nervously replied, "Umm, thank you, my queen." The Lion Queen laughed and responded, "Dear child, you can call me Clara. We are both queens now. We should become good neighbors."
Amber just nodded and followed Queen Clara inside the Lion Castle. The two kings just looked at each other in understanding and the rest of them followed the queens.
Clara led Amber to an empty room. It was large and had a few furs inside. She told Amber, "You can stay here until your castle is ready. I will send beast men for you to choose, and you can ask them for anything you like."
Amber blushed and looked towards Nick and Oliver she told Clara, "I already have 2 mates and one beast guardian. I don't think I need any more."
Clara could tell how naïve Amber was. She shook her head and explained, "Dear child, we females need many mates to ensure our protection and that we are well provided for. I have 10 mates including the Lion King."
Amber's eyes widened upon hearing that Clara had 10 mates. She couldn't imagine how that would work. She was barely wrapping her mind around having 2 mates with possibly a third mate later!
She looked toward Nick, and he nodded solemnly in agreement. He didn't like it, but it was necessary for survival in the beast world. He would rather share his mate than lose her for good. He couldn't survive if she died!
Oliver and Tom kept quiet. Nick was the head male and if he did not object then they had no say either. They were sad, but this is the way it must be in the beast world.
Amber took a deep breath and sat down on the fur rug. She was still trying to think about having 10 husbands when Nick came up behind her and hugged her. He placed his head on her shoulder and whispered to her, "Relax. It will be ok. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. No one will force you to take more mates, but it would be better for your chance of survival."
Amber calmed down with his soothing tone and scent. She loved the way he knew how to comfort her. Clara left to let Amber settle down. Tom went to find his brothers and other bird beast men he knew. Oliver stayed quiet in the corner.
He was observing Amber's behavior and understood that she was not from this world. This was all new to her. He would help her adjust to this beast world as much as possible. For now, it was important for her to be calm and happy.
Amber took another deep breath and calmed down. She asked Nick, "Is it normal for females to have so many mates?" Nick nodded, he replied, "My mother had 5 mates and was still killed by a rootless male. My father and her other mates died soon after she was killed.
Amber almost cried hearing about the death of his parents. She told him, "I'm so sorry to hear about your mom and father and her mates. What is a rootless male?"
Nick told her seriously, "Once a female abandons a male, he becomes a rootless male if he doesn't die first from the heartache. The mate bond takes a piece of the male's soul and ties it to the female. If she breaks the bond, he will lose that part of his soul."
Amber looked scared. She almost abandoned Oliver and had no idea what would happen to him. She looked over to him and her eyes started to water. She told him, "I'm sorry I almost abandoned you when we first mated. I didn't know what would happen."
Oliver came over and hugged her from the front. She was now sandwiched between the two mates. He told her, "It's ok. I'm glad you didn't abandon me. The mate bond is special, but females always have the choice to break the bond. Otherwise, a male could rape a female and she would be stuck with him no matter what."
Amber sobered up and thought about it. She didn't want to abandon her males, but she wouldn't want to be raped either. She would keep that as an option if it ever happened.
She asked, "Why not just kill the males instead of turning them into rootless beasts?" Nick responded, "Some stronger mates can kill a weaker mate, but if there are no mates strong enough abandoning them is the only option."
Amber told him, "In my world if a male rapes a female or does anything bad he either goes to jail or is killed." Oliver asked, "What is jail?"
Amber thought about how to explain it and replied, "Jail is a place with bars that a male cannot escape. They just wait to be released after some time or die."
Nick thought about it and replied, "It is not a bad idea, but what about feeding the male while he is in jail? It is already hard enough for most males to hunt for themselves and mate. It would waste resources if they had to feed another male who was waiting to die."
Amber agreed and told them, "Maybe it is just better to let them die instead of letting them kill other females." They all agreed with her.
Nick told her, "When I build our castle, I will invite the other Cheetah beast men to move to the Beast City. I will inform them of the new law. If any male rapes a female, he will be killed or sent to jail to wait to die."
Amber replied, "That way hopefully there will be fewer rootless males. Where are you planning on building the new castle?"
She was excited. The Lion Castle was nice, but she felt a little weird staying in someone else's home that she barely knew. She felt like she was freeloading off a stranger. She also didn't want the Lion King or queen to find out about her secrets.
Tom returned while they were talking and inputted his advice, "I saw a good place to build a castle. It is to the North of the Beast City. There is a mountain with a small hot spring and a waterfall that leads to a river."
Nick nodded and asked Tom, "Can you show me the area?" Amber got excited to see it and asked, "Can I come too?" Oliver checked her pulse and told her, "You are pregnant now. You should relax here. I can take care of you."
Nick nodded and told her, "You should take a break and I will return soon and bring some food for you. I will take you to see the land tomorrow or sometime soon."