In the Mermaid cave in the sea, Gennita screamed as she felt her mate mark above her heart fade away. She knew her beloved Gold was dead. How could this happen? He was the strongest of the Mermen tribe.
She couldn't understand how a stripe-less Merman vanished the second before they beheaded him and he was able to defeat the Merman King. Where did he go? Did he have powerful allies helping him?
These questions ran through her mind as the Mermen who were guarding her cave came forward. "My Queen, what's wrong? We heard you scream." They were shocked by her sudden outburst.
She was pacing and covering her head trying to understand what went wrong. When she lowered her hands and looked up at the guards, they noticed her mate mark was gone. They both knew what it meant. Their Merman King was dead.
Chaos erupted as the guards started to fight over who would be the next Merman King. These things were usually decided in combat. The strongest one would rule until someone challenged him and won.
Gennita was not concerned with the battles and shooed them away. She didn't want them to mess up her cave. Mermen could breathe underwater, but she could not. She didn't want them to waste her oxygen or make the cave smell like blood.
Half of the strongest Mermen tribe had gone to the City of Beasts with Gold to kill Blue Tang. Only about 500 Mermen were left, and most were low-level beast men. Gennita was not happy about the idea of a low-level mate.
She wanted to go find Blue Tang and see what happened! She decided that whoever won the right to lead the Merman tribe, she would demand that he take her to the City of Beasts to find Blue Tang.
The Mermen battled for hours and finally, a victor was declared the new Merman King. Unfortunately, he was only a three-striped Merman. He wasn't officially a Beast Man King until he leveled up to four stripes.
The battle caused a lot of bloodshed and attracted sharks and other dangerous animals. Many of the low-level Mermen died due to blood loss and were eaten. This reduced their tribe to around 200 Mermen.
Gennita looked at the pitiful amount of Mermen who remained as her loyal subjects. She was even more determined to visit the City of Beasts and see who Blue Tang chose over her and their tribe.
The new leader of the Mermen tribe came to greet the Mermaid Queen, "My Queen, I have won the right to lead the Mermen tribe. Will you accept me as your new mate?"
Gennita pursed her lips as she contemplated it. This Merman had yellow hair and blue eyes. He was not bad-looking, but she was used to Gold and Blue Tang. He was a little lacking compared to them.
She decided, "I will accept you as my new mate with one condition. I want to go to the City of Beasts and see the b*tch that Blue Tang chose over his tribe and Queen."
Blue Cheek nodded and bowed to the Queen. "Your wish is my command, my Queen." Gennita asked in a lazy drawl, "What is your name again?"
He answered excited to please her, "Blue Cheek, my Queen. Can we mate now?" Gennita agreed reluctantly. She knew this level 3 Merman would not be as good as her level 4 previous mate, but he was the best option for now.
Blue Cheek excitedly entered the cave and transformed into his two-legged form. Gennita lay down on the soft seaweed bed. She was not new to this, she reminded him, "Don't be too excited and too rough."
Blue Cheek's cheeks blushed when the Mermaid Queen positioned herself on the bed. He was too excited since it was his first time, but thanks to her reminder he calmed himself a little.
He didn't want his mate to despise him because he was not as skilled as her previous mate. It was a long night for the Mermaid Queen.
The next morning, Gennita woke with a new mate mark on her stomach. No one could take the place above her heart like Gold had. Blue Cheek was just happy that the mate mark was not lower.
They planned out their trip to the City of Beasts. The trip was dangerous due to the Colossal Beasts. The Mermen made a palanquin to carry the Mermaid Queen so she would not hurt her feet. They tied palm branches together with vines to make the canopy so she would not get sunburned.
Gennita had been extremely pampered since her birth. She complained, "What is taking so long?" Blue Cheek responded, "We are just making sure your trip will be more bearable. It is almost ready."
They set off with the traveling caravan. The Queen was comfortable in her makeshift hammock. It's good to be Queen!
The rest of the Mermen were surrounding the Queen to protect and serve her. As they made their way into the jungle, they noticed a Wolf beast man fighting a Colossal beast. As they debated whether to change their route or help the beast man, he almost killed the Colossal himself.
Gennita was impressed by this beast man. She ordered Blue Cheek, "Help him and bring me the crystal from that Colossal." Blue Cheek obliged, "Yes, my Queen!"
With the help of the Merman leader, the Colossal was killed quickly. The Wolf beast man transformed into his 2 legged form to communicate with the Merman. "I could have killed the Colossal by myself, but thanks for the assist."
Blue Cheek responded, "My Queen wants the crystal inside the Colossal and ordered me to help you kill it." Ray noticed the Mermaid Queen in her covered hammock sipping a coconut leisurely as she watched the sport.
His eyes glowed. He had not seen a female as beautiful as her since he was rejected by Amber. His mother had introduced him to many females in the City of Beasts, but his standards were too high.
How could he accept any female that was not as beautiful as Amber? He wondered if she would be jealous if he mated with the Mermaid Queen. He retrieved the crystal from the Colossal and approached the Mermaid Queen.
The other Mermen guarded against him, but Gennita was intrigued. This was the first beast-man she saw on the land. He was roguishly handsome. His light blue eyes twinkled as he noticed the Mermaid Queen was interested in him.
He kneeled and presented the crystal to her, "My Queen, I am offering this crystal to help keep you young and beautiful. Will you accept my offer to be my mate?"
Gennita was interested. She debated it and noticed this beast man had 3 stripes, but could tell he was close to leveling up. She needed stronger mates than the Mermen she had around her. He was also good-looking in a different way than she was used to.
The Mermen were all beautiful and colorful, this Wolf beast-man was warm-blooded and had a different charm. She agreed, "I accept your offer to mate and this crystal on the condition you help us travel to the City of Beasts and defeat our previous leader, Blue Tang. He abandoned his tribe for a female."
Ray knew about the battle in the City of Beasts. He stayed out of the fight since he was not on Amber's side and had nothing to gain by helping her or going against her. He went to kill Colossal beasts to level up to become a Beast King.
He wanted her to regret turning him down. Now that he had this tempting offer in front of him, how could he turn it down?
"It would be my honor to guide you to the City of Beasts and defeat Blue Tang. I know the female you mentioned and her mates are strong. You will need stronger mates to defeat them."
Gennita looked interested when Ray said he knew the female. "What is your name?" He answered, "My name is Ray. I am the Wolf Prince in the City of Beasts. Soon, I will be the Wolf King."
Gennita nodded in approval. She motioned for the Mermen to lower the hammock. She reached her arms towards Ray. He understood her meaning and stalked towards her as his prey. She was excited by his different approach.
The rest of the Mermen formed a wall surrounding the Queen and her new mate. Some Mermen started to cut and cook the Colossal meat. They decided to camp for the night.
The next morning, Ray led the Mermen tribe to the City of Beasts. Gennita lay in her hammock that gently swayed as the Mermen carried the attached bamboo poles.
Blue Cheek was a little jealous that the Queen accepted a new mate the next day, but he understood she needed stronger mates. If Blue Tang was able to kill Gold, they would need at least a level 4 Beast King.
He looked at Ray and vowed to level up so he would not be overshadowed in the Queen's heart. He noticed the new mate mark on the Queen's arm. The silent competition started between the two leaders.
It was going to be an interesting journey to the City of Beasts. They were going to have plenty of chances to level up along the way.