Chapitre 53: Amber is Pregnant Again
The next day Nick went to the Cheetah Village to make an announcement and to bring back Dr. Tony. He left Amber with the other beast men in the castle.
She was well protected and he felt safe knowing she could summon him if she needed to. He let her catch up with her cub and other beast men's family members.
Nick arrived at the Cheetah Village in a few hours. He was much faster now that he was a level-five beast man. When he arrived, he let out a roar to announce his presence.
Dr. Tony recognized his friend's roar and came out to greet him. He hoped to see Amber as well. Unfortunately for him, Nick was alone.
The rest of the Cheetah beast men came out to greet Nick. Nick shifted into his human form and stood on top of the large boulder in the middle of the village.
He wanted to announce so that none of the Cheetah beast men would try to steal his castle when he was not home. He knew Amber would disappear for a year at a time. If she called him to her world, he would be gone as well.
He didn't want other beast men squatting in his castle and using up his supplies. "I heard that someone challenged me while I was away from my castle. I have returned to take any challenges."
He gazed through the crowd of beast men making eye contact with each of them. Most of them submitted and looked away as a sign of submission. One level two beast man met his gaze.
Nick smirked and asked, "Were you the one who tried to take over my castle in my absence?" This was the same beast man. His mate wanted the castle and didn't think a monkey cub should live there.
He knew he could not win a fight against Nick, but he noticed Nick's stripes had disappeared. What happened? Did he lose his stripes and go back to level 0?
This thought gave him confidence and his mate had been ignoring him since he was not able to defeat the Bear beast man for the castle. "I am the one who challenged the Monkeys and Bear beast men. The Cheetah castle should belong to a Cheetah beast man."
A few of the beast men cheered in agreement. Nick scanned the beast men to quiet them.
"I have returned, so the Cheetah castle belongs to me and my mate. She let her cub stay there with her other mate and beast guardian while we were away. If anyone wants to challenge me for the castle let him try."
The two-striped Cheetah beast man named Frank came up to Nick and accepted the challenge. "I will accept your challenge, you stripe-less beast man."
Nick smiled in anticipation to teach this young beast man a lesson. He would use him as an example so no one else would try to cause trouble in his absence.
He jumped down and transformed into his beast form. Frank transformed as well. He had a large stripe on either side of his body. They stood out among the spots.
Nick looked like an ordinary cheetah, only bigger. He let Frank attack first and easily dodged the attack. Nick swiped his claw and cut a large gash on Frank's back leg. He wasn't trying to kill him, only teach him a lesson.
If Frank had hurt Eli, Nick would have killed him. He knew Amber would be sad if anything happened to her cub.
Frank limped away and submitted in defeat. Nick was too fast and too strong. He could tell that Nick was not trying to kill him.
He went off to lick his wounds. Nick roared loudly to see if there were any more challengers. The other beast men transformed into their Cheetah forms and bowed their heads in submission to their Cheetah King.
Even without his stripes, he was far superior to any of them. Dr. Tony was amazed at Nick's transformation. He came up to Nick hesitantly and transformed back into his human form.
"How did you lose your stripes and become more powerful than the last time I saw you?" Nick responded, "I am now a level-five beast man. After level four, the stripes disappeared."
All the beast men were in awe! They didn't know there was a level higher than four stripes. They were all motivated to level up faster.
Nick addressed Dr. Tony, "I need you to come to the Beast City and check on my mate. She may be pregnant again." Tony congratulated him and went to get his things from his hut.
Nick made another announcement, "If any Cheetah beast man wants to move to the Beast City, you join my guards or help in the fields. I will pay you with salt."
A few of the Cheetah beast men were tempted and agreed to go with Nick to the Beast City. Most of the beast men with mates did not want to move so close to the cold season. They wanted their mates to be comfortable.
Preparations had already begun for the cold season. It would take more energy to move and start over. They decided to try again in the spring of next year.
Dr. Tony came with his things and the few bachelor beast men followed Nick to the Beast City. When they arrived he divided them into their tasks based on their level.
Lower-level beast men would help in the fields while higher-level beast men would join the guards. Dr. Tony and the new guards followed him to the Cheetah castle. The others went to the fields.
When they arrived at the castle, Nick sent the guards with his other guards to learn the area. Bachelor beast men were not particular with their housing until they found a mate, but Cheetah beast men were very territorial.
The other guards showed the new guards where the borders of their territory were. They marked the borders with their claws and scent.
Tony followed Nick into the castle to where Amber was resting. Nick quietly approached his sleeping mate and allowed Dr. Tony to take her pulse.
Dr. Tony felt the slippery pulse that was the telltale of a pregnant female. He nodded at Nick in confirmation. Nick's eyes glowed in happiness.
He remembered that Amber mated with Blue Tang the day before she mated with him, so she might have been pregnant with mermen instead of cubs.
His eyes dimmed a little at the thought this might not be his child, but he was still happy. If Amber was pregnant with a female mermaid, then he would try again after she gave birth.
He had plenty of crystals, so they had all the time they needed for him to finally have his offspring. Even if she never bore his cubs, he would be happy to have his mate.
Nick and Tony quietly left the room and let Amber continue to sleep. She was lying next to Barry holding his arm as if he were a giant pillow.
Nick went out to the river behind the castle to find Blue Tang. Blue Tang was eating a river trout that he caught when Nick told him the good news.
"Amber is pregnant, but it is too early to tell what she will have." Blue Tang almost choked on a fish bone in surprise. He spit out the bone to the side and caught his breath.
"How can you tell so soon? It has only been a few days." Dr. Tony replied, "I have a special talent to find out when a female is pregnant. I was the one to confirm her first pregnancy."
Blue Tang nodded, "When will we know if she is pregnant with my child or his? We will need to return to see if she has mermen eggs."
Dr. Tony replied, "Nick should be able to hear heartbeats in a few weeks if it is Cheetah cubs. In two or three months you will know if it is a male or female."
They both nodded. If she were pregnant with males, her stomach will grow much faster since the gestation rate is shorter for males than for females.
Pregnant females with female cubs will not show for at least three months since the pregnancy lasts up to ten months.
They both knew this as it was common knowledge in the beast world. They just didn't know the specifics of different species.
Amber woke up from her nap and they all went inside to tell her the good news. Amber noticed Dr. Tony, "Hey Tony, when did you get here?"
He responded shyly, "I arrived not too long ago while you were sleeping. I hope you don't mind, but I checked your pulse and you are pregnant again."
Amber was speechless for a minute, but the rest of the beast men were excited. The population in the beast world was low and females were rare. Any time a female was pregnant was cause for celebration.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone