75 - Freeing Betrayal (3.1k words)

YaYa's POVI saw Mandy's world crumble before her eyes as she burst into tears, covering her face. She no longer asked for Gold's attention, and stayed docile.Curtis handed me a new burka, and I put it on as Gold stared at me with a complex expression."Don't tell anyone I'm the most beautiful creature in the world. Don't think about it; don't even mention it," I said.Gold looked away, flustered and embarrassed. "I will do as you wish," he mumbled, "except the think part. I can't guarantee it.""You just betrayed Jean, a female you've been mated to, with your actions and feelings," I said. "What makes you think I will trust you with such an attitude without fearing that you'll also betray me one day?"He looked away, his chest heaving, his hands clenched. "The day I betrayed Jean was the day my tribe's future and prosperity was assured. I will no longer let her think that she can just demand something from me and my tribe as if she was still our queen...that she could have her way and then throw us away when we no longer serve her purpose."It seemed like there was more to the meeting between him and Jean than met the eyes.Gold looked up at the skies, "I never thought that betrayal could feel so freeing," his rare smile was both beautiful and tragic, "Did Jean feel the same when she betrayed us?"Curtis seated me next to Gold again, and I began to think they had begun to use the merman as my pacifier (an opposite of punching bag).Gold was a deep thinker, which made me want to not only listen to him but also respond to him, "Sometimes, loyalty is the most destructive thing in the world. It can drive one crazy and make one blind and deaf to everything. A loyal person could easily turn into a slave, so your actions could have been the best choice you could have made.""Is that why you refused to accept my loyalty and guardianship?" He didn't try to get close to me, remaining still, "You think I'm a liar, a cheater, and a promise-breaker, but you also lied and even made me lie to my tribe to protect your identity, so are you any different from me?"A grin formed on my lips, "You got me. I'm guilty as charged."I already absorbed the emerald Gold gave me to prove that it had no effect on my beauty. Yep, he saw my froggy face twice. I also accepted his pearls after he told me that they weren't courting gift, but just gifts. I'd be foolish to think he didn't want something in return. The question was, what did he want?"Are you ready to depart?" Vick asked as he created his own bubbles and put our equipment and luggage inside them. I waited for him to put me inside one, but he didn't. "You'll be in Gold's bubble," he said, "I'm not letting you have my bubbles until you say you love me."I cracked my neck and fingers, ready to start a fight.Curtis sighed and picked me up, placing me inside Gold's bubble before sticking it onto one of Vick's tentacles.Gold sent Mandy back to the tribe before joining us at the beach.· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·On the way to the peacock's tribe...I was sitting on the chair platform, looking like Vick's backpack, when Gold approached me and handed me a large pouch, "For bubbles.""Thank you," I reached out, but he pulled it back, "...""I'm now mated to Yaya. Not Mandy. Not Jean. It's a lie, but I will pretend it's not. Mandy will be the Merfolk Queen, and you'll be the Merfolk tribe leader's mate," Gold said, no longer asking for my approval, "If Mandy only favored me and only wanted to mate with me, I would have been overthrown by my tribe's people. It doesn't matter how much I contribute to the tribe. My position is never secure. She knows it. I know it. But you don't know it."Catching my attention, he continued, "Mermaids hate cold things. They wouldn't go for the coldest male when they can go for a warm one. The only time they go for someone like that is when they want to kill them. If I die, she can demand more from the mermen, who want to gain her approval and affection. Jean used to be very dangerous. She could charm others to do everything and anything she wanted."He sighed, "We are strong enough to protect our mermaid from outside enemies, but she's a threat from within. Mandy is no different. She already asked Bluepool and a few others to kill you. Mermen are very easy to deceive, and the more I deny them access to Mandy to prevent them from getting tricked, the more upset they become."Gold explained how he had tried to warn his mermen, but the mermaid's ability to send ultrasounds over great distances always made them trust her over him. "They think I'm trying to monopolize Mandy again. I thought she would give up on me if I kissed you before her and showed others how much you mean to me so they wouldn't think of harming you.""Then why did you agree with my plan to let Mandy take in peacock beastmen and let her see the world?" I asked. Did the Ape King keep Jean locked up because he knew she was dangerous or because of his possessiveness? Was he trying to keep her for himself or because she would have brought calamity upon others if he let her go free? I wondered, "Wouldn't that give Mandy more power over others and be greedy for more?"He leaned over, whispering, "Not when there are more beautiful women on land. I've seen a few in the Beast City that can outshine Mandy, and I'm sure she won't be as confident as before if she meets them." His eyes softened as he handed me the pouch, "After she saw you, she suddenly became self-conscious and insecure about her position in the tribe."Curtis has mentioned that Jean has tried to stab him in the back after he treated her coldly. She apologized and cuddled up to him when she tried to do it. (She couldn't even pop a bubble with a sharp seashell, so what made her think she could do to a four-stripped feral with it?)The cave she lived in no longer sounded like a prison but more like a psychiatric ward. (In the novel, she even said she would return to the merfolk once she had fun on the land.) Well, whatever. I will build my own image of her once the opportunity to meet her comes.Apparently, Mandy showed similar behavior to Jean. There was no sign of cunningness in her. Her inability to think long-term or even think at all showed that she could have improved her situation if she had been smarter.Mandy was dangerous to the mermen tribe because most of them were as dumb as her. If she had been sent to live in the Beast City, she would have been sent to the most abandoned villages in no time.I took the pouch with a nod, "So you want me to become your female in name only to keep everyone grounded?""I never had hope of becoming your official male, so my only option is to lie again," Gold said, his gaze hard and cold, "We won't have to fear betrayal from the other, and don't have to have any expectations either."I reached toward him, dropping from the chair platform. Gold was taken aback as he cupped his hands under my butt, holding me in his arms."I like you more when you are not forcing yourself to please me," I whispered, holding onto his shoulder with one arm and lifting my veil with the other, showing my impish grin. "Especially your honesty when you're pissed off─"I felt his lips on mine, his tongue slipping into my mouth as he squeezed my butt. His kiss was rough, aggressive, but not hungry. It wasn't possessive and domineering, nor was it passionate and sweet. It was filled with pain, suffering, and bitterness.Such a sad kiss, I thought as I sucked on his lips, trying to savor its unique flavor, "Alright," I said in between, "Let's play along with your lies then. However..." He tensed, "The forest has eyes and ears everywhere, and the truth will come out if you are not careful. Just become my official male. It's not like I'm treating my males better than you anyway.""..." Gold pulled away, causing my veil to fall back. He looked away, unable to face me head-on but also unable to let go of me. He continued to carry me in this position. His lips were wet and glistening with my saliva, which made him look like a naughty kid who had just stolen a cookie but refused to admit it.Vick slowed down to walk alongside us, "Gold, we will need some free manpower to help us build our new nest near the hot springs," he said, prompting me to elbow his shoulder, eliciting a yelp of pain, "What? I'm being honest too. Our finances are below the minimum threshold, we can't afford to pay for the workers. I'm sure Gold can spare a few hands. He has lots.""Nivi's males build their castle on their own and keep other males away from her. Why cannot you?" I asked, sounding annoyed."Because I want more brothers, whom I can trust," said Vick, "It's great to have buddies with whom you can share your highs and lows. It's not about carnal desires either, so don't even think of getting in another female. We know you won't really open up to her, and she would only bring conflict to our family.""Whatever. Just stop serving me up to other males on a silver platter after I already turned them down." I hugged Gold's shoulder for better stability and remained silent for the rest of the journey, analyzing the exoskeleton.Vick snorted without responding to me and continued to chat with his new family member, "I want to open a fancy hot springs resort that'll bring us some sweet passive income. It will be close to the main trading route, so I expect the traffic to be high. And don't worry, you will get your share, too," he said, and I could imagine dollar signs in his eyes without seeing them.After Gold agreed to help him, Vick asked if he had any preferences and likes. "Muir and I want a wine cellar. Curtis wants a stone cave with his own hot spring to soak and live in during winter. Skaris wants a snow room to play in, which will be our biggest building challenge, but our little family deserves the best, the very best, so we will find a way."Curtis followed behind, a blissful smile on his lips at the thought of his little stone cave with a private jacuzzi."What do I want?" Gold asked with a frown. After a little persuading, he thought for a moment before answering, "A place to rest and think in peace. A place where I won't be bothered or disturbed.""Got it," Vick nodded, "How about an underwater garden that will only be accessible from a secret entrance, a place that's hidden from everyone and impossible to find?"Gold paused, momentarily taken aback as if a new world had been unveiled to him. Then, with a humble yet distant tone, he replied, "Alright."· · ─────── · ⊱❈⊰· ─────── · ·We visited the peacock tribe and offered twelve clear crystals for four peacocks to fly us and our luggage to the desert. They were happy, senseless, and got ready to depart instantly.Gold chose three suitable candidates to try their luck with courting Mandy. He then approached me for the last time and just kissed me without words. He was careful not to reveal my face to anyone, but it didn't stop the peacock present from blushing.I barely reacted to the kiss this time since I had a million other things to think about. It was good he didn't try to force me into responding ─ otherwise, he'd be sporting a black eye right now. (Gold observed it from Curtis and Vick, whereas they observed it from Muir).The peacocks weren't as fast as Muir, but the trip was short and smooth. Skaris came to pick me up at the borders, while Vick and Curtis stayed in the water hole near the tiger tribe, telling me to teleport them to my side once we reached the oasis. From the peacock tribe to the oasis, it took us eight days and seven nights."Awoo, awoo!" Bart's little cubs howled, and two tiger cubs tried to howl like their big brothers but only succeeded in making a strange noise, "Mee-ah-woo!"They jumped and scratched at the high fences, trying to climb it up and jump over, but their legs were too short.I was carried in Skaris's arms as he leaped over the fence, and the little cubs were running around his feet. He placed me on the sand and let the cubs crawl over me."My cuties," I outstretched my arms in their direction and called, "Come here.""Awoo, awoo.""Mee-ah-ooo. Rrrr."They climbed over each other and fell as they rolled their way towards me. I picked them up individually and petted their soft and fluffy heads. "Are you growing fast and healthy, yes?""Awoo, awoo."I looked around their enclosure, which looked like a zoo architect designed it. It was spacious, like our courtyard, and the cubs were given toys, a big tree stump, and a few boulders to climb. There were small tunnels, large holes, and a few caves inside the sand to keep the cubs entertained. There was even a small pool and a slide next to a tree stump."You have so much space. Do you want to show me around?" I asked as they tried to drag me into their small tunnels.I asked Skaris to hand me his thick ropes, which he used for fast travel with the cubs. I tied them into a wooden board to make a makeshift sledge, and let the cubs drag me around with their combined strength."Alright, you can pull me around," I said as I used the strength in my arms to climb on top while Bart and Skaris went to prepare a barbeque, checking on us occasionally.The cubs used their strong jaws to pull at the ropes and showed me all their favorite toys and playgrounds. They pointed to a corner where the sand was disturbed, "Rawr.""Did you bury something there?" I asked, and the wolf cubs began digging. The tiger cubs became curious and climbed over me, sniffing me all over.I let them and petted their fluffy little heads. Their claws were sharp, but I stopped their little paws with my finger, preventing them from harming me with tiny high "fives".The wolf cubs howled at them and the tiger cubs quickly ran to join their brothers, communicating with each other in their own language only their papas could understand. But their body language was enough for me to tell what they were saying.Soon, the wolf cubs came back with a small rabbit skull. They placed it on the ground and circled around it."Is this your prey?" I asked, and they wagged their tails. The wolf cubs brought me more animal bones buried in the sand. "I see, I see. You were hunting like your papas, weren't you?""Awoo, awoo."One tiger cub found a lizard's tail, and the other tiger cub found a small horn. They showed me their treasures, too."Where's your scorpion brother?" I asked, and the cubs ran around, howling at the sand as if summoning a ghost, "Awoo, awoo. Awoo, awoo."A little black dot soon emerged from the sand. It was a baby scorpion, which was as big as my feet. I watched the little fellow with a purplish black exoskeleton slowly crawl his way out. He raised his pincers and shook them, making a strange noise, "Chik-chik-chik.""Awoo, awoo, chik-chik-chik, Rrrr."I smiled at the scene. "You guys are getting along well, aren't you?"They seemed very comfortable with each other, as if their difference in sizes and appearance didn't matter. And it was all thanks to their papas.They howled, causing the baby scorpion to enter the sand again. After a short while, it brought back a gigantic beetle and carried it before me."That's a big catch," I complimented it, and the baby scorpion raised its pincers again, shaking it."Chik-chik-chik."After the cubs showed me their prey, they wanted me to play with them. They jumped around, trying to catch my hand. They soon forgot all about me when Bart's cooking wafted through the air.Skaris opened the doors to the enclosure, and the cubs ran outside.The scorpion didn't seem as hungry as the other cubs, so it stayed by my side. I outstretched my arm and let it climb onto my palm. I placed it on my head and asked Skaris to bring me the crutches.I used the crutches to explore the area with the scorpion baby on my head. Next to the large enclosure, there were a few smaller ones. Most were empty, but one had an even smaller scorpion baby and a rootless lion cub."What are you doing here?" I heard Mitchell's chilling voice, "This is my territory. Leave. You are not welcome here."Turning around, I saw Mitchell enter the oasis together with Muir.Muir's eyes widened in surprise the moment he saw me. His eyes then landed on my crutches, and then my legs, and he rushed toward me, almost slipping on the sand.Mitchell grabbed Muir by his cloak, pulling him back. "Did you forget what she did to you? She left you to rot all alone, and yet, you are still rushing back to her like an idiot?"╔═══ Author's note ════╗Finally, YY's harem has a new addition. 🥳It looks like Mandy ended up being intimidated by YY's beauty? 🤨Good job boys! They adopted another scorpion and found the tiger cub's sibling along the way.⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡I'm so bad with cliffhangers. Whenever I try to add one, I have a need to conclude a chapter with an ending instead. 😭╚════════════════╝