Unbelievable

The twilight was unfolding its spell when a sharp feeling in the flank caused the beast to open its eyes.

The young woman next to the beast couldn't help but move away a little as she saw the gigantic pupil contract and then dilate.

For his part, Zhutak was very disconcerted to see the human looking at him with huge eyes and that full o-shaped mouth. She had a cloth smeared with dark blood on her hands. ¿Had she been tending to his injuries? In effect, the human had plugged his cut with remnants of her dress that she now wore cropped to a dangerous height above her thighs.

"¡Oh Lynn, it woke up. ¡Let's run away! ¡Let's run, Lynn!" - The desperate voice belonged to the nanny. Zhutak did not even look at her but kept his attention on the lady's attractive figure. For her part, the human named Lynn seemed absorbed in watching him, and Zhutak wondered if she had lost her mind.

"¡¡Lynn!!"- Her companion shrieked.

However, with a movement of her head, the lady seemed to dismiss the urgent call.

"It's okay, Nana." - Said the young lady. It was the first time Zhutak had heard her voice so close, and he couldn't help but appreciate the sweet timbre- "He's badly hurt."

Yes, he was wounded. Zhutak thought in turn, but not for much longer. Grimacing in pain, the beast stretched its numb limbs a little. As he had thought, the effect of the poison had already worn off. So, in a matter of minutes, he would heal. With some satisfaction, Zhutak was thinking that way when he saw that the girl advanced a hand, if not with a resolution, free of fear. Very slowly and cautiously, she approached.

The human's small hand reached for the soft fur between his eyes and moved higher. A gentle current of electricity ran from that point to his tail. Zhutak had never received such a touch. He almost sighed until anger overcame any other reaction. He turned his head away from the human woman and warily watched as she froze.

"¿What do you think I am, a pet?" He snapped at her angrily. Then Zhutak heard a muffled scream behind him, along with a dry sound, and he knew that the legs had failed the nanny. Although surprisingly, the girl in front of him seemed to be trying not to laugh.

¡Hu! For the umpteenth time since he met her, Zhutak wondered who on earth that woman was. Although now with more interest.

"Lynn..." - The nanny's lament came again.

"You are going nowhere." - Zhutak snapped at last with a sufficient and authoritative tone - "You two will return with me."

"A thank you would be very timely." The human girl said with a frown.

Zhutak's jaw almost dropped, and he couldn't remember this happening ever. Indeed, that was the last answer he had expected. Or, to be more exact: he would never have expected it. But the human lady did not stop there: - "Well, someone seems to have quite a bad temper."

¡What...! It was unbelievable. With a little delay, Zhutak faced her. "¿Do you want me to say thank you? ¿Really? ¡I almost died because of you!"

"¡Bah! You weren't seriously fighting with the green girl." -She answered while looking at him with those eyes that shone like precious stones. - "Either you underestimated her, or you didn't want to hurt her badly. That's what I think."

¿Green girl? Zhutak almost laughed but out of sheer pride, he controlled himself.

"¿Whom do you think you're talking to?" -She was perceptive. He couldn't deny that. The human was right. Indeed, he had not wanted to leave Dhajla badly injured.

"That's a good question'' - The young woman took him out of his thoughts. She had lost her temper or didn't value her physical integrity. Such was Zhutak's thought. ¡It was incredible! The woman had to be in shock - "¿What am I to you? ¿Why are you after me?"

She was bold. Reluctantly Zhutak replied:

"I don't know, human. I'm just following orders." He said honestly.

"¿From who?" - She insisted.

"From my lord, Rigel." Zhutak was surprised when the name of his lord came out of his lips. ¿What the hell? Confused, he consoled himself by thinking the human lady would hear from Rigel soon, one way or another. - "And here ends the interrogation. Hereinafter..."

"Can I call you Zhutak?" Lynn interrupted his speech.

¡By the fifth hell! The girl changed the subject and the mood with a speed that was difficult to follow. Her abandon and spontaneity immediately reminded him of April. ¿Was the young lady up to something? So, Zhutak prepared to intimidate her. Dismissing the idea of standing on his hindquarters, he stood on his four legs. After all, Zhutak didn't want to scare the humans to death. Zhutak's beastly body had already felt the comforting warmth that indicated he was completely healed, so it was time to show who was in charge. Then he saw the human looking at him with disbelief and something else. ¡Damn, she looked admired!

"May I?" - Lynn insisted.

Zhutak would have wanted her to forget about that request.

"Do what you want." He replied sullenly.

"¿What are you, Zhutak? ¿What happened to your cuts? They were pretty serious." She assaulted him with questions while looking at the rags that had fallen to the ground.

How annoying she was. The woman was talking nonstop. Zhutak thought.

"I was thinking of running away, and you heal in a heartbeat." She blurted out frankly as if she were talking to herself, and this almost made Zhutak laugh.

As if you had any chance... Zhutak thought with mischief. Even if he was injured, they had no escape. Then a low whine snapped Zhutak out of his musings. The young woman managed to get a few steps away from him. Then his beastly eyes saw the lady was having a hard time walking.

Taking a good look at her now, Zhutak noticed that her skin was covered in red marks. Oh shit. Rigel was going to be furious. After all, the lord had precisely instructed the humans should take no harm. Again Zhutak's gaze swept over the young woman's long legs, noting a few cuts as well. Well, things were going to get ugly.

"Something like this is not going to happen again." - He spoke with his most intimidating tone. - "The lord is going to be furious."

Zhutak glanced sideways to study her expression and found her appreciating his long tail. The young lady had to be dumb.

"¡You both come up now!" Zhutak sank to the ground as he said those words.

In response, Lynn's face lit up with understanding and frank emotion. Zhutak rolled his eyes.

"¿What are you waiting for? Or would you prefer I carry you both in my mouth." - He added maliciously.

However, that did not intimidate the human because she came to him slowly walking. Once close, Lynn climbed onto Zhutak's back and settled there. Next, she bent her torso and inhaled.

"¿Huh? You smell nice." Saying this, she collapsed on top of him. "This is a truce, Zhutak. I have no strength left. If I ask you about your lord: you won't answer me. ¿I'm I wrong?"

Zhutak wavered between bewilderment and laughter. In the end, he ignored her comments as he tried to avoid being aware of her light body on top of him. The young lady was no fool. Instead, she was both: keen and understanding.

Everything was fine when the trembling nanny joined the young human, and Zhutak started a gentle gallop.

In this way, very soon, he reached Rigel's territory. Then Zhutak dared to speed up his pace a little more, eager to arrive at the castle and finish such a crazy adventure.

The moment they were crossing Medusa's black lake bridge, that's when Zhutak felt it. He had been wrong in predicting Rigel's fury because the reality was that he had never felt his lord in such a state. Zhutak was no coward, but he was intimidated now. So he stopped in his tracks to wait for him to show up because Rigel was coming to meet him: that was a given.

In a fraction of a second, the atmosphere grew heavier. The sky lit up then a reddish mist, which became denser at times, appeared. Then Rigel was in front of him in the blink of an eye.

As usual, his lord was elegantly dressed in all black except for a long gray cloak that matched his sinister eyes.

Thousands of hells... Zhutak was forced to lower his head a little. Rigel's power threatened to sink the bridge into the lake. Zhutak could feel the potent wood already crackling. On the other hand: it was getting harder and harder to get a breath. Zhutak also felt the two women gasping. The young lady, in particular, was clinging closer to him.

It had only been seconds since Rigel had arrived, but to Zhutak: it seemed like years. His beastly eyes looked up at his lord and found him staring something over his bestial body. No doubt Rigel was focused on the humans. However, Zhutak did not have time to continue thinking because his lord began to approach.