Chapter 7: Cheetah Queen
He put on a fur loincloth and handed her the best dress he had ever made. It was a cheetah print with one shoulder strap. It had an uneven bottom of the dress. Amber liked it very much. She thanked him and put it on. Normally she never wore dresses except for church or special occasions. She was a tomboy who liked to wear jeans and a T-shirt.
This dress was not too frilly or girly, so she liked it. Nick was happy that she liked the dress. He had caught a wild cheetah and carefully skinned it hoping that Amber would like it. He would provide his mate with anything she desired.
He was now a Cheetah king since he had reached four stripes, but he hadn't done anything with the Cheetah village. He had been so focused on leveling up to protect his mate when she returned.
He left Tony in charge of the village. Tony had leveled up to a two-striped beast man. He didn't have as much opportunity to level up and wasn't strong enough to hunt behemoths by himself.
Plus, the village needed him! He was the only doctor in the Cheetah village and the females needed him when they were sick or pregnant. He couldn't leave them all to die! Nick hadn't thought about anything other than leveling up to get Amber back for an entire year. He was still in disbelief that she showed up out of thin air.
He asked, "How did you come back?" Amber thought about it and replied, "I fell asleep in my bed next to my sister and woke up here." She didn't want to explain that this was all a dream in case she woke up. It was all too real and beautiful. She wanted to spend as much time with Nick as she could. She told him, "I thought of you before I went to sleep. Maybe that helped."
Nick asked, "What about the rest of the year?" Did she not think of him for an entire year? He was a little disheartened to think that after he had obsessed over her the whole time she was gone. Amber replied, "It was only a day for me." He was surprised and asked, "Where did you go?"
Amber thought about how to answer him but decided to trust him. She responded truthfully, "I am not from this beast world. I am a human. In my world, beast men do not exist." Nick was stunned into silence for a minute and absorbed what she told him. He worriedly asked, "Will you leave me again? Can I come with you?"
Amber thought that she could tell Nick about her world, but worried he might think she was crazy and leave her. She asked, "If I tell you about my world, will you leave me?"
Nick was shocked at her question and responded, "Beast men will never leave their mates until they die! I will love you the same as I do now for the rest of my life! Please don't leave again. I will go crazy with loneliness. Once a beast man mates it is for life!"
Amber was amazed at his commitment! Men on Earth were not the same. Her father left her mother when she was a child and he had cheated on her with multiple women.
Amber thought this must be the dream's way of making up for my childhood. She asked, "So, you won't leave me for another female?" Nick shook his head and responded wholeheartedly, "I will never even look at another female if you ask me not to. Once a beast man mates, he is loyal to his mate for the rest of his life. I never liked those females with bad personalities and poor hygiene. You are so beautiful and nice and smell good. Why would I ever want any other female than you?" Amber smiled at his words.
She believed him and thought she could share her secrets with him. She explained, "Where I come from males are not connected to females with a mark. They are not always loyal. My father left my mother when I was very young and had other females."
Nick was shocked to learn about this new information. He got angry and stated, "I will never leave you! If you do have my cubs, I will happily raise them for you. Females are meant to be treasured and pampered. You will never feel abandoned or unloved by me."
Nick hugged Amber tightly to reassure her of his love and loyalty. Her stomach growled and he broke away from the hug. He announced, "I will bring you to see Dr. Tony. You can wait with him while I hunt for our breakfast. He will be happy to see you."
Amber remembered Tony and was happy to see him again. He was nice. She was also happy that Nick would be cooking and not Tony. That dry unflavored barbecue was not great! She would rather have the seasoned barbecue she taught Nick to make.
She asked him as they walked to Dr. Tony's hut, "Do you remember how I taught you to prepare the meat?" He nodded excitedly and showed her some herbs. He replied, "I have collected the plants you used last time and have also tried other plants to see if they improve the taste of the meat. I think you will like the new flavor, but I can make it the way you made it last time if you want me to."
Amber was excited to try the new flavor. It had only been a day for her, and she wasn't used to eating the same thing every day. She stated, "I would like to try the new flavor you created."
Nick was happy and his tail wagged behind him. He wrapped his tail around Amber and pulled her closer to him. He couldn't stop touching her. He was so worried she would leave again.
He couldn't imagine the world she grew up in without a father. It must have been hard for her and her mother. He wishes he could return with her or keep her here with him. He never wanted to be apart again.
They arrived at Dr. Tony's hut and Nick knocked on the wooden door. The door was moved out of the way. Tony had just used wood after Nick destroyed his last door. It was the bark of a large tree held together by vines.
At first, Tony only saw Nick and thought he was just informing him that Nick was about to leave the village again. He nodded at Nick but then froze when he saw Amber.
She was beautiful and glowing in her cheetah skin-shift dress. She looked like a Cheetah queen! Then he looked at her beast mark that was peeking out of the top of the dress.
He looked between Nick and Amber and exclaimed, "Congratulations my King! Your Queen has returned!" Amber was happy to hear him call her a queen. She didn't know that Nick was a Beast king now and that made her the Cheetah queen.
Nick appreciated Tony's remark and responded, "I have to hunt, can you keep her safe until I return?" Tony nodded, "Of course! It is my honor!" Nick looked hesitant to leave, but Amber's stomach growled again. He kissed her and whispered against her lips, "I will return as soon as I can. Please don't leave!"
Amber felt bad about leaving last time. It had given him anxiety and abandonment issues. She replied, "I will wait for you here." She added in her mind, I'll try! Nick was satisfied with her response and left in his cheetah form to hunt faster.
Amber noticed the 4 stripes on Nick's face differed from the 2 stripes on Tony's. She asked, "Did you have those stripes the last time I saw you?" Tony looked thrilled that she noticed his extra stripe. He didn't get noticed by other females.
He responded, "No my Queen, I only had one stripe last time I met you. I leveled up over the year. I have been the one to keep the village safe while Nick went to hunt behemoths." Amber responded shyly, "You don't have to call me queen, you can just call me Amber."
Tony responded, "Since Nick has 4 stripes now, he is our Cheetah King, and now you are our Cheetah queen!" Amber looked surprised! She never thought she would become a queen in a beast world in her dreams.
Amber noticed the herbs in Dr. Tony's hut and asked, "Can I keep some of those?" She pointed towards the herbs she recognized like garlic and ginger. She saw other herbs that she recognized. She wasn't sure about the names of them, but they looked familiar to her.
Tony nodded and replied, "Of course, my queen, Amber. You can have anything you want." She nodded happily and went towards the herbs. She saw some of the berries she had collected last time and asked with her eyes if she could eat them.
Tony nodded enthusiastically and she ate some. The berries were sweet and juicy just like last time. They should hold off her hunger until Nick returns.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone