My Wild Beast
Chapter 63: Failure (2)

Chapter 63: Failure (2)

Without waiting for Atia’s response, Aiyana strode along the riverbank like a woman on a mission. It involved throat-punching a certain eagle and then locking Nova up until she knew how to wield a blade. She’d gifted her Firstmark, and then she forgot it at the treehouse!

If she’d strapped it to her thigh like Aiyana had instructed her, tonight might have turned out a little differently. Nova didn’t know how to use it, but it was better than being completely defenceless. She didn’t even have claws or sharp teeth!

Aiyana huffed her frustration, hands balled into fists, taking a moment longer than usual to register the animal slithering agonisingly slowly in front of her.

Aiyana paused mid-step, her sharp eyes catching the subtle ripple of motion up ahead. Draped like a shadow across the limb of a fallen tree, part of an anaconda’s thick, scaled body dangled lazily in the air — a heavy, silent coil glinting in the moonlight. Its patterned skin shimmered with water and moss, blending perfectly into the humid tangle of the jungle.

With only the ease and grace of something pernicious, the rest of its massive length uncoiled from the bark, sliding down the trunk and slipping into the Soluma River, the water parting around its girth without resistance.

Atia caught up to Aiyana and watched it disappear, the final coil vanishing beneath the surface with barely a ripple. He shivered in disgust, scowling at the slippery beast.

The Oncari were the ultimate apex hunters and had feasted on the anacondas before, ambushing them when no easier prey presented itself. They were a hassle to hunt, and the Oncari never wasted strength when they didn’t have to. Unless you were Yohuali, in which case he’d once hunted them for sport, chasing the thrill of hunting them in their own domain.

Atia couldn’t think of anything worse. When he was just a cub, he’d learned the hard way not to mess with the ’overgrown worms’. If it hadn’t been for Yoa and Aiyana, he might’ve been crushed by the snake’s strength and drowned.

Neither spoke as Atia quietly conquered his childhood fear by gripping Aiyana’s shoulders and placing her in front of him as a makeshift shield.

"Aren’t you a charmer," Aiyana deadpanned, rolling her eyes at the grown warrior behind her. Warrior? More like a man-child.

"Shouldn’t you feel flattered I think my Queen is a better warrior to deal with such vipers?" Atia murmured into her ear, the fear gone, replaced with his smooth accent.

Aiyana gave him a look and then knocked his hands off her shoulders. "How would you ever cope without me?" Aiyana replied sarcastically.

"Let’s hope we never find out!" Atia bounced up to her again, rested his arm over her shoulders, and nuzzled her head with the side of his face, rubbing his scent over her. "Who would protect me then?!"

"Get off!" Aiyana moaned, trying to knock him off her again, but he wouldn’t budge, so they continued walking like that for a while. They both knew if Aiyana wanted to, she could wipe him out, and he’d be on his ass right now.

Atia grinned, keeping his arm slung around her a moment longer before the playfulness slipped from his face. His focus shifted to what really mattered—getting Nova back.

They shouldn’t have been wasting time like this, but the anaconda’s appearance had rattled him more than he cared to admit, even if he played it off. That was probably why Aiyana wasn’t scolding him for joking around. But he usually didn’t come across the slimy things.

Nova. We need to get Nova back.

Without another word, the pair shared a look, then ran and hopped along the rocks in the river, crossing it until they were on the other side again, heading in the direction Nova was last with them during their hunt.

Before Aiyana could shift or take off through the jungle again, Atia reached out to slow her, noting the restlessness bouncing inside her at the sudden change of pace, her brows arching in question.

"He could have taken Nova anywhere. The sky is the limit," Atia growled more than he meant to and composed himself again.

"Maybe we can pick up his scent further along, near where we’d left her, and try to track it from there," Aiyana offered, though her voice held a rare edge of desperation. It was unlike her. This was the first time she’d ever failed at anything, and she didn’t like it one bit.

Atia fell into step beside her, their pace quickening into a steady jog. "Maybe we can get her back before Yoa returns," he said, a note of hope in his voice.

"If they’re truly Serakai-bound," Aiyana muttered, her eyes narrowing like the storm clouds rolling above them, "then he already knows she’s in distress."

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Yoa leapt from a branch, landing on the jungle floor, eyes scanning ahead, his beast trying to wage war with him at the growing distance between him and Nova. The ground rumbled around him, the creatures of the night sensing the rising storm of Yoa’s wrath.

Each pawprint was charged with wild, crackling tension, sending shockwaves along the nearby trees and trembling bushes. Tonight, the island would know just how tame Yohuali had been all of these years—and how wild, unforgiving and utterly savage he could become for the one person who had become his light, his fire, the very breath in his lungs.

Right now, it was as though the light had zapped out; his body was chilled to the bone, and a weight rested heavily on his lungs, making it almost impossible to breathe properly. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he had his little ray of sunshine in his arms. If there was so much as a scratch on her head-

Yoa’s focus sharpened on Nova’s scent of blooming honeysuckle, cutting off his increasingly violent thoughts. Her scent had grown stronger as he tracked the footsteps sunken into the earth. It was almost unnoticeable; her feet were tiny, and her steps seemed lighter now than days prior.

Now, as he searched the area, the scent weakened, revealing how old it was. Yoa’s nose twitched as he caught hold of another smell. Blood.

His heart lurched, panic crippling his chest as his immediate thought shot to Nova and discovering the worst possible outcome. But that wasn’t right. He knew with every ounce of his being that Nova was still alive. He didn’t question how he knew nor pondered on it long enough to accept the obvious truth. Not when his little mouse wasn’t safely by his side.

Yoa sniffed again, following his nose. The scent from a recent hunt lingered—fresh blood from a kill that hadn’t yet been touched. Uneaten? That was strange, and his instincts stirred, the fur along the back of his neck rising as he drew nearer.

There were telltale signs of claws and ripped flesh at the jugular.

Jaguars.

Yoa’s eyes slitted slightly as his gaze wandered along his surroundings, piecing together what happened. The hunt must have been interrupted because no predator left their hard-earned kill behind for others to claim. He inhaled deeply. There, through the metallic smell of blood, was Atia’s scent.

A low rumble shattered along the earth from Yoa’s barely contained rage, his eyes glowing vividly in the darkness. The trees inhaled sharply, holding their breath as Yiska began to pace back and forth, burning off the restless energy filling his colossal form, from the rounded tips of his ears to the padded cushions of his toe beans.

He struggled with his racing thoughts, something that was entirely new to him. He never succumbed to his emotions before, no matter the horrors he had faced. He was Yiska. He had to stay sharp and remain calm.

But Nova’s scent was teasing him. The threat of another in the area-- the only possible reason this carcass was left behind-- chilled him. While his blood boiled with barely contained fury, he was still trying to figure out where Nova was and how he could save her.

That calmness cracked like stepping on thin ice as the same question screamed in his mind again:

WHY HAD NOVA BEEN HERE AND NOT AT THE TREEHOUSE AFTER NIGHTFALL?!