Travis couldn't stomach the violence. He covered his eyes as severe snarls and groans filled the air, followed by the sickening rip of flesh. The sound only made the crowd cheer louder, and among the names roaring through the chaos, one was repeated with a ferocious intensity: Derek. The lion who had forcefully taken him.
Driven by the wild chanting, Travis cracked his eyes open—eyes he'd kept tightly shut until now. The sight that greeted him was brutal. Derek had nearly torn the other beast apart. Representatives from other clans lay strewn across the floor, either dead or bleeding so profusely that they had no choice but to bow in submission and respect.
At that moment, Travis's knees buckled. The brutality was so profoundly disturbing, and the dawning realization that this was to be his life from now on turned his stomach to ice.
From the other side of the crowd, ladies from the leopard clan emerged, their faces set in frowns. They cast disdainful looks his way.
"What's so special about him that I don't have?" Genevieve, the female in the middle, questioned her companion, who was all too ready to indulge her ego.
"You don't need to worry about that mutated one. He is not one of us, and the elders will never accept him," another female leopard chimed in.
"Gwen, you're the most eligible soon-to-be mate here. Anyone would be blind not to see it," a third added.
Gwen smiled, preening. Of course, the trespasser couldn't compete with her beauty. Just as she was basking in the thought, a group of male foxes rushed toward her, lining up to present mushrooms and other trinkets.
Travis grimaced. Ewww. So that's the standard here? The female with the potbelly was considered the beauty? He wasn't one to body-shame, but after the looks she'd thrown him, she deserved it. What was even happening?
The fight ended with Derek declared the winner. He approached the bear who had started it all, snarling right in his face. "Do this again, and our ties with your clan are over," Derek declared, his voice a low thunder.
It was then, watching the confrontation, that Travis realized something he'd been too panicked to notice before.
They were all naked.
Even Derek and the other clan leaders stood there stark naked. The few who wore loincloths might as well have worn nothing at all; the coverings were useless. God bless his eyes, because this was all too much.
Derek walked toward him majestically, smiling like he'd done something to be proud of. He was beautiful, no doubt—his golden mane and hair flowing in the air, making him look less wild. A complete and utter lie.
Others near Travis quickly cleared a path, allowing Derek to claim his soon-to-be mate. He hadn't marked Travis yet; that was for a separate ceremony. Winning the festival only gave him the right to take him home and draw his boundaries.
Travis was clueless to all this. His so-called fairy godmother had left him stranded with only a spell—which he appreciated, as it let him understand their gibberish—but he desperately needed a full understanding of this world to see if he could survive, let alone escape with his body intact.
Derek held out a fish, laying it publicly at Travis's feet. A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Travis was utterly confused. Damn you, godmother, now is the time to make me understand what's going on.
"I never asked you," Derek said casually. "Which clan are you from?"
Travis took the initiative to pick up the fish, which stank horribly, but he forced himself to keep a straight face. Accepting the gift felt like a silent mate acceptance, and after the violence Derek had shown, he was terrified of what rejecting it might cause.
"Hmm, guess?" Travis stalled, hoping to buy time to think. He couldn't afford to be branded a strange outsider. Who knew what they did with those?
Derek leaned in, sniffing him as he spoke. "Leopard, snake, fox, ape, bear, Wolves..."
Before he could continue, Travis came to a conclusion. Humans were descendants of apes. "Okay, I am from the ape clan, but I lost my way and ended up in your lions' hunting ground," he narrated, as the annoying man kept nuzzling and resting his head all over his chest.
Oh, goodness, what kind of stress is this?
Derek's eyes snapped to his, and he took him by the hands. "You're one beautiful male. The fairest among the females we have here. I want to mark you so badly." Derek's voice was a possessive hover.
Travis had had enough. He was tired, his body swaying with exhaustion. Derek noticed immediately.
"Let's head back to my clan house, to my territory," he said, morphing back into his animal form—a gigantic lion that shocked Travis all over again.
Oh, Almighty, help me, he thought. He couldn't imagine getting used to this, waking up to a walking lion every day. It was terrifying.
Travis climbed onto Derek's back, and the lion took off. The wary gazes of the other clan members faded as they departed. The mess from the pre-mating ceremony was profound; corpses were being moved as females who had lost their betrothed began to weep. It was the harsh law of their world. The bear, seeing the collective anger turning toward him, slowly sneaked away.
The journey through the forest was calm, and Travis took the chance to sightsee. From what he could gather, they were nearing the lion clan's territory. He didn't know which clan had the largest population, but he noticed there were many females, fewer males, and children were scarce. He'd only spotted three cubs the entire way. The sight made him feel a pang of sadness.
Finally, they arrived at the clan's village square. A large bamboo hut, bigger than any other dwelling he'd seen, dominated the space. It confirmed Travis's suspicion: Derek was no ordinary beastman. He was powerful and respected.
Lionesses gathered with some males. Those in human form were deep in discussion, while others carried on with household duties. Travis still saw no cubs, and his curiosity got the better of him.
"Mr. Lion, why are there no cubs here? I thought you people mated a lot, so there should be more."
Derek transformed back into his human self and, without a hint of shame, caught the clothes flung his way and put them on, ignoring the gazes of others.
"There's a scarcity of omegas recently. As you can see, you are among the few we have."
Travis's blood ran cold. That was not good for him. He wouldn't be used as a breeding tool for cubs, would he? Why did he have to ask such a question?
"The omegas in every clan have reduced drastically, but we lions have it the worst. Adding you, there are only three omegas remaining. It's a result of the incident that killed many of our people, specifically the omegas." Derek's face turned sad, the memory clearly affecting him.
So that was why the heinous female leopard at the festival was being so adored. She must be one of the last of her kind. But what about all the other females around? Weren't they omegas?
As if reading his mind, Derek shook his head. "Those are powerful alpha females, in charge of hunting. They work with the betas to find food for the clan and protect the barrier from external attacks."
As they approached the large hut, Derek whistled. Two cubs came running, giggling. Wow, are those his? Travis watched as they morphed into a little boy and girl, too cute and beautiful to deny.
"Awnn, so adorable..." Travis, a softie for babies, couldn't help himself. He took them into his arms, and they immediately began to play with his hair, curiously assessing him.
Travis grew curious again. If these were his kids, where was their mom? "You got mated already?" he ventured, scared of the answer.
"Not exactly. You're one of my first male trials. But these two cubs are from my love, the Queen of the clan, who was killed in the disaster that befell us all..." Derek explained, his voice laced with a genuine, endearing emotion. So, he was the king.
Travis looked at the babies, who were now refusing to let their father take them from his arms. "Seems like they like you?" Derek purred, clearly pleased.
But Travis's attention was snagged by something else entirely. On the journey here, he'd seen severe cracks in the forest floor near the barrier protecting the lion clan—the unmistakable signs of an earthquake. Those fissures were terrible, capable of destroying everything. It was exactly what had happened to his world. What if it was coming again? What if the lion clan was attacked and everything, even these cuties, was eliminated?
Not again. Why can't these disasters let me be?
Just as the thought crossed his mind, one of the cubs, the little girl, slithered out of his arms and wandered toward the woods.
"So this is it? Everything here is just easy to get acquainted with," Derek was saying, explaining their world of Alphas, Betas, and Omegas.
"Okay, where is the second cub, Derek?" Travis asked casually.
Derek looked down, his eyes scanning. "Tilda!! Tilda, dear, where are you?" No answer. Panic flashed across Derek's face. He immediately morphed back into his lion form, sniffing the air to track her scent. Travis followed, his own heart beginning to pound.
Just as he stepped into the edge of the woods, he heard a tiny voice. And behind him, the ground began to crack, slowly and insidiously.