Chapter 30: Cheetah Castle
After they had dinner, Nick told Amber about his plans to build the castle. Amber told him she wanted a bathroom and a fireplace.
Nick asked, "What is a fireplace? I remember the bathroom from the Cheetah Village. I already planned to make one for you."
Amber explained, "A fireplace is a small stone room with a tube that goes out of the roof to let the smoke out from the fire."
The males were all impressed with the invention. They were used to smoke from the fire, but it would be good to vent it out of the room.
Nick replied, "I will build one into the wall in every room!" Amber told him, "It doesn't have to be in every room, just the big room. The kitchen will have a stove, so it doesn't need one. You can add small ones in the other rooms."
Nick was excited to add the stove and fireplace to the new castle. His mate would have everything she wanted!
Amber continued, "A bathroom in my world is a private room to bathe and use the toilet." Nick and the others looked enlightened by this new concept. This is why she didn't like to bathe in front of them.
It was normal in the beast world to see beast men bathing in the open river or lake. Females needed more privacy. They didn't want other males to see Amber and add to their competition. They only needed strong males to protect her.
Nick decided to start building the castle right away. He would start in the morning and hopefully, it would be finished in a month.
They got ready for bed and Nick held Amber close the entire night. He missed her while he was away.
The next morning Nick rose first and gave Amber a quick kiss on her forehead. She stirred a little in her sleep, but he gushed her and told her to get some more sleep.
She was already in her 2nd month of pregnancy and needed a lot of sleep. He left to go get the castle and started leaving Amber in the care of her other mates and guardians.
Nick went to the Cheetah Village and recruited about 20 beast men to help build the castle. They would all become his guards and would move to the Beast City.
The beast men with mates stayed with their mates because the females did not want to move. Nick agreed. It was almost the cold season and they needed to store food and get ready. He brought them some salt for the females during the winter.
Nick left the salt with Dr. Tony to distribute to the females. He told him to ask for more if they needed it. Nick had so much salt now and had a way to get as much as they wanted!
His female was truly a genius! She had taught him so many things to help enrich everyone's lives. Next year he would share the secrets of building houses with bathrooms and fireplaces.
Nick wanted to make sure that his people survived and grew more prosperous. He left Dr. Tony in charge and headed back to the Beast City with his Cheetah beast men guards.
When Nick and the Cheetah beast men arrived at the gates, Nick told the guards they were there to help him build his castle. The Lion King had already told them to allow Nick to bring his people.
Nick was the Cheetah king and should be allowed to have his people and his castle. He had also provided the Beast City with enough salt for an entire year!
Nick was the richest king in the Beast City. The guards all respected him! The Cheetah beast men took note of how their king was respected and felt proud to have such a strong leader.
They were confident about their decision to help him and move to the Beast City. With the Cheetah king's good reputation, they would have a better chance of finding a mate. They were excited to get to work!
Nick had talked to the Lion King before he left and asked if his men could stay in an extra room while they were building the castle. The Lion King agreed. Nick brought them to the room.
Since they were all unmated males, they could all stay together in a bachelor's room. Nick divided the beast men into two groups. He assigned one group to hunt while the other group would help him start the construction of the castle.
The next day, the groups would rotate. He thought the work would go faster in shifts.
Nick stopped by his room to see Amber before they started construction of the castle. He told the Cheetah beast men to go ahead and meet him at the mountain. They could start to gather rocks for the construction.
…
Amber woke up and noticed the big warm kitty that she fell asleep hugging was not there. She was hugged around her waist and spooned by a familiar arm instead.
Amber recognized Oliver's long tan arm almost immediately. He seemed to get more affectionate as she got farther along in her pregnancy. She was pretty sure he was the father of her baby.
Oliver was also a doctor, so he was the most concerned about her health. He wanted to make sure she was warm and comfortable in her sleep.
Oliver felt Amber stir awake and gently caressed her stomach. He asked, "Are you hungry? What would you like to eat for breakfast?"
Amber had a craving for pancakes with syrup and bananas. She replied, "Banana with pancakes and sweet water." Barry had taken the responsibility to collect the sweet water and had boiled it as Amber taught him until most of the water evaporated and the syrup was a darker yellow.
It was similar to honey but tasted different. Amber loved maple syrup with pancakes! She told them of other recipes they could try when they got more flour and oats.
Fred had gathered nuts and berries for Amber. Tom and Tyler gathered eggs. Ray had killed a boar and skinned it to make bacon.
Oliver had collected fruits yesterday and had some bananas for Amber. He started to cook as Amber mixed the pancake batter. The rest helped out however they could.
Nick came back to the scene of his mate and her mates and beast guardians making breakfast. They all worked together well. He was content to know they all worked together to help his mate.
The smell of the bacon caught Nick's attention and he looked at Ray who was cooking the strips of salted boar meat. Ray noticed his glance and explained it was called bacon and Amber had taught them how to make it.
Next Nick noticed Oliver cooking the pancakes. Nick was told about Amber's recipe and he was amazed at his mate. She had turned the wheat into flour and mixed in other ingredients to make these round cakes.
Most beast men didn't like wheat and it grew like weeds, so there was a lot of it that he was able to buy for Amber.
He was glad she was able to use it. It would add to the food storage for the cold season. It would last a long time as long as it was kept dry.
Amber noticed Nick and waved him over to try the pancakes. Nick's eyes widened in surprise and was curious about the strange honey that she dipped it in.
Amber explained the process to make Maple syrup. Barry was proud that the pretty female valued his contribution and hard work. They ate their breakfast quickly and Nick left to go build his castle.
He knew he would need to build a kitchen and a large storeroom for his female. She had so many recipes and inventions to create. He wanted to make sure she had enough room for everything.
Nick drew on the ground in front of the mountain and explained what he wanted. The Cheetah beast men got to work and started to build the castle into the side of the mountain. They worked quickly and in shifts.
About a month later the castle was built and ready for Amber to move in! Nick had been working all day and supervising the Cheetah beast men. A few of them had found mates inside the Beast City and were living with their mates. The rest moved into the extra room made for them as guards.
Nick surprised Amber by taking her to see the castle. It was almost the cold season and the fall air was crisp. The leaves were starting to turn different colors. Red, Yellow, and golden leaves could be seen in the trees. More citrus fruits were ripening than the other fruits.
Amber loved orange juice, so Oliver collected as many oranges as she liked and squeezed them into juice. She could have freshly squeezed juice every morning!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone