A mate bond required a beastman to share their beast spirit to their partner. The connection could happen only during a blood ritual.
It was the most intimate thing a beastman could offer to their mate, and I couldn't get it done because I was too weak to even break through the skin.
"Her skin is even tougher than mine," Moyu sighed, disappointed in me, "She will never mate you at this rate."
He pointed at the bruises on Michael's body that he got from Madam, "She's still holding back when she's with us, yet look at the state he's in."
Michael flexed proudly, showing off the marks he gained, "She holds less back with me, because she knows I can take it."
"..."
Skaris had disappeared to the forest in order to get stronger. He was the weakest in the group and felt left behind.
"Let's scout the other sheep for now. Maybe we will find a way to help you grow faster," Moyu said, not wasting more time, he shifted into a majestic eagle. Its mouth was half my size.
"Come back soon," Baron waved as Michael threw me over his shoulders, jumping on Moyu's back, and we took flight.
I waved in Baron's direction too and watched as he disappeared into the distance. Michael held onto me with one hand and to Moyu with the other.
We passed the mountains and forests, and then I saw the sight of Kushan city. The city was built around a tall building that reminded me of a spiky mushroom, and was divided into three rings: the outer ring was the poorest, the middle ring was the richest, and the inner ring belonged to the royal family.
I never cared to know what was inside it. I never thought I would have the chance to go inside it. It was always off-limits to me.
I didn't know what was happening until Moyu dove down and landed in the middle of the city square. I was still trying to process what was going on when Michael jumped off and pulled me down with him.
"Strongest sheep," Moyu started, "We are looking for the strongest sheep."
"Isn't that a female?" someone from the crowd whispered, "Why did they bring a female into a male territory?"
A scorpion tale immediately pierced his skull, and he immediately died.
My eyes widened in horror as I watched Michael's tail pull back and curl around his body, as if nothing had happened.
"Who else has an opinion about me bringing a female here?" Michael carried me under his arms and I was able to see the pool of blood growing bigger under the corpse.
He caught the drop of blood dripping down his tail and licked his finger when everyone responded with silence.
"So sweet. Was that one a herbivore?" He asked the crowd. "It's my first time eating one. They taste good."
Moyu rubbed the bridge of his nose, "They don't eat beastmen here, Michael. Remember what our spouses said: follow the local laws and rules, unless there is no other way around it."
"Right, forgot about that," Michael flicked his tail, the drops of blood flying into the air, landing on the ground in front of him.
I barely registered his shifting into his scorpion form, and how fast he devoured the dead male beastman in one swipe, bones and all. Only a numbing mist was left of him when Michael shifted back to his human form.
It paralyzed me and I could only watch, not being able to move, which he probably forgot about, because he continued to carry me under his arms like that.
I looked no different from a corpse, which made both of us look even more terrifying to the beastmen.
"I wanted to take him back for a snack later," Michael said with a shrug, "Next time."
I could smell the fear and hear the whispers from the gathering crowd, the sound of their hushed voices like a swarm of insects buzzing in my ears.
Not a single one present tried to go against Michael. They just...watched, not daring to move.
Moyu asked again, "Where can I find the strongest sheep in the city?"
The beastmen exchanged nervous looks and pointed at the outside of the town, "He went to check on his wool herd in the pasture, the one on the outskirts of the town, in the east. And he is not a sheep, he is a ram, so don't confuse him for a sheep, they don't like being confused."
"Give me names for all the rams you have here, then," Moyu said, dealing with the locals with a surprising amount of patience, sending Michael away.
Michael didn't protest and took a walk around, leaving all the work for Moyu to deal with.
I didn't see any females, who were probably working in the fields or at home, taking care of their offspring.
The middle ring looked like a big playground for the males, from climbing poles to jumping pits, from racing to resting. They were all competitive and loved to challenge each other.
Michael passed by one of the obstacle courses, mumbling something about how many wasted working labour forces he saw here.
He still couldn't wrap his head around the idea of having so much manpower and not using it to the best of its abilities.
"Did males work in your homeland?" I asked from my spot in his arms as we took a trip around the city, everyone spreading a path for us.
"If only worked, Little Miss," Michael replied, "In my kingdom, only the strongest and most powerful beastmen were allowed to live, the rest were turned into food reserves. If a beastman couldn't work, then he would end up on the plate. If a beastman was weak, then he was not worthy of living."
He paused for a moment, "No females wanted to breed with the scorpion kind, so the only way to prevent extinction was to forcefully take a female from other tribes. If they didn't die shortly after giving birth, we would have had it much easier. Unfortunately, it was a very rare occasion for a female to survive. And even if she did, her mind would always end up broken."
"I bet many of the females here wouldn't mind breeding with your kind, even if it meant death," I said and he laughed.
"It's no longer an issue. We are no longer a dying breed. Darling's existence solved everything. I began training the females I kidnapped instead of handing them out, so they become strong enough to survive childbirth and the mating process," Michael explained.
"Did madam suggest this to you?"
"No," Michael replied, "I tried to create myself a better female in spite of her, and all the beastmen who looked down on us. Just to realize it was her plan all along. You don't know it's her influence until someone slaps the truth in your face. She is sneaky and manipulative like that, and no, I am not saying it as a praise, it's a curse, a curse, I tell you."
He paused for a moment, as if contemplating if he should tell me the rest or not, and then added, "She treats all females nicely and gives them special treatment. We are trying to delay her contact with them for as long as possible, so you better find a way to mate with her soon."
He then mumbled how he was sick of having to watch her be nice to every female they met, as if anyone would do, which lowered the owners' worth and importance.
I think madam was just teasing them and was, in truth, content without a female. She probably just wanted to give them one, so they wouldn't feel like they were missing out.
I grew up surrounded by females and could feel when there was a wall between me and them. No matter how nice they acted towards me, how well they treated me, I was not a part of their circle, and they would never accept me as such.
My instincts were nonexistent compared to the owners, and maybe I was wrong in my assumptions, but I didn't survive this long by being naive.
I had a lot of experience in being a prey, and I was good at reading the intentions of predators. I had to, or else I would have been dead by now.
Madam was a predator, no doubt.
I knew it the moment I laid eyes on her.