Gold's POV - part 1/2

Muir asked Karak to lend him a few birds so he could check on Bai without having to visit her personally. Despite being a penta, he couldn't control other eagles like Curtis, Mitchell and Bart did with their respective animals. The birds were all under Karrak's control.

Karrak agreed and sent him a couple of eagles. They followed Muir's command and flew south, heading toward the Tiger Queen's territory, to fulfill his past life's duty.

Most males would have abandoned Bai with the arrival of a new female, going for the better option, but not Muir. He took his responsibilities seriously. He didn't love Bai like his past life did, but he still cared about her well-being, which made him more loyal than most males, who were more driven by feelings than values.

This side of him shined brighter with Yali's influence. The tolerance she had for him, and the power that came with it allowed him to cross boundaries of what was considered right or wrong.

I was helplessly in love with her, but after comparing it to the kind of love the rest had for her, it seemed dull. Did mine lack passion, or was it simply not as powerful as theirs? How do I make it grow stronger and deeper? How do I show her that I love her more than the rest?

Would she feel the difference in the way I touch her, the way I kiss her, the way I look at her? How do I make her realize that the feelings inside my heart were not ordinary? That they were special, and that she was the reason why they were special?

"What hot mess are you brewing inside your head?" she asked.

"..." I blinked, wondering when and how did I manage to stuff my mouth with her fingers before quickly pulling away, "..."

She licked them clean, "Are you sulking?" she asked, poking my cheek. When I didn't respond, she stuffed her fingers back inside my mouth, "Fine, be a sour puss. Just sit there, look pretty, and chew on my fingers like a starved fish."

I glared at her and she glared back. Whose fault did she think this was? Making me want to be one with her sweet, wet, delicious body, and then leaving me hungry and unsatisfied.

I bit down, and she smiled, "Feisty," she said, her thumb rubbing against my tongue. She removed her fingers again, licking them clean.

"..." I touched her wrist, pulling her closer, kissing her fingers, and then her hand, "I want you," I confessed.

"You have me."

"No," I shook my head, "I want you. All of you. Not just a hug or a kiss. All of you."

She laughed and patted my head, "Your body can't handle all of me yet, but we will get to that part eventually."

"..." I covered my bottom with my hands when I realized what she meant, "Can we start slow and small?"

She laughed and my whole body relaxed. The tension left my shoulders, and my heart calmed down. I made her laugh and it felt better than anything in the world, even if it was at my expense.

I smiled, not able to hide the satisfaction I felt. She supported her chin, appreciating the view, making me puff my chest, the glow around me intensifying. She liked me, and it made her smile, just like the sound of her laughter made my heart flutter.

Muir draped his cloak over her shoulders, "It's getting cold," he whispered.

"And?"

"You might catch a cold."

"Me? Cold?"

"You can use me to warm yourself up." Muir offered and she raised an eyebrow, making his face turn red, "Why do you always take my words the wrong way?" She pretended death again, and his hand shot toward her, catching her fall, "..."

"Are you eavesdropping again?" Yali asked out of nowhere, and then answered the question herself, "Of course you are. You've been listening since the beginning. Do you have nothing else to do, or is this a hobby of yours?"

"It's a hobby," Karrak replied.

"A very disturbing one," Yali pointed out.

"But very entertaining," he added.

"I'm still waiting for your nudes," Yali reminded him, "Is my memory failing me or did you not send me anything ever? Not a single pic. Not a video. Not even a sticker."

"The first impression is everything, and I prefer to make a memorable entrance," Karrak replied.

"You mean exit," Yali retorted, "Do I hear you jerking off on the other side, or am I imagining it?"

"I thought you were a woman of action, not imagination," he chuckled.

"So you are jerking off," she concluded.

"..." Me and Muir remained silent.

It would have frustrated us to no end, but Karrak seemed to be used to her ways and took it in stride, teasing her back, "The only pair of hands that ever jerked me off were yours, and will always be yours."

"..."

"..."

"..." She stared at the phone in silence, taken aback.

"Did I break Cloud Nine's madam?" Karrak asked.

"..."

"You really broke her," I whispered, leaning closer to look at her face. She looked like a cub who didn't know what to do with herself.

"She's adorable, isn't she?" Karrak asked, sounding doting and affectionate, "My Yaya is the cutest."

"I'll make you pay for this," Yali finally spoke.

"I'll make sure I enjoy every minute of it. Until then, enjoy your morning," Karrak replied, sounding amused, his words resounding from Muir's bracelet next, "Do not taint the memory of Yaya with your regrets, Muir. She deserves someone who will be happy by her side, and not someone who will feel sad and guilty for the rest of his life."

Yali groaned and dipped her feet in the water, and started kicking, splashing water around.

"What happened?" I asked, "Why do you never leave her side?"

"Her father would erase her memories whenever he messed up and wanted a fresh start," Karrak replied unexpectedly, his voice lacking its usual teasing tone, "I promised to keep her memories safe in her stead, and I never went back on my word. The cost of her privacy was a small price to pay compared to the risk of losing a chance to win against her father. Now? It became a habit."

"..." We glanced at her again, our rage filling the air at the mention of her father. So what she meant by an empty vessel for others to manipulate...

"Did you make her remember something?" Muir asked.

"She wanted a nude, didn't she? Well, now she has an entire collection of her hands milking me off," Karrak teased, "Enjoy."

"You sick pigeon," she scoffed, splashing water in our direction, "I wanted a nude, not a whole damn gallery of me being your personal water pump."

"You see," Karrak said, barely holding back laughter, "that cactus was my only water source, and it would have remained mine if you didn't come along and steal all its juices. My poor cactus. You didn't even spare a drop, leaving me thirsty. Very, very thirsty."

"What kind of a pervert are you?" she asked.

"The kind who's into your kind," he replied, his laughter no longer holding back.

She listened to his laughter and a small smile bloomed on her lips, making my heart prickle painfully.

Vick ruffled his hair, yawning while looking at my wrist, "Why are you so loud in the morning? Some of us are trying to sleep."

"I can help you sleep," Karrak offered, "In many different ways."

Vick snorted, unimpressed, "Go back to your cactus. Your thirst is showing."

Karrak's laughter died down and a moment of silence passed before he replied, "The cactus is in good hands. I trust Yaya."

Yali's attention switched toward Vick, "Go snooze for another century, Kraken. It's way too early for whatever lewd nonsense you are brewing."

Vick walked toward the shore, and dragged her inside the water, "It's never too early for some morning fun."

Splash! And just like that, they disappeared under the water.

Karrak had disconnected from the call right after, and we all scattered to do our duties.

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Part 2/2

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I mounted Bart's beast form, heading out of the manor.

Jean showed up with the Ape King, near the canal that separated our territories from theirs.

The Ape King was forbidden to enter our territory but Jean could visit the resort as long as she could afford it. It seemed she had managed to extend her stay, though she should have departed yesterday. If she had, I would have been spared the irritation of seeing her face today.

"Gold!" Jean's voice rang in the air, calling out my name.

"Qin," the Ape King called, trying to stop her.

"Not now," she told him, her eyes fixed on me, "Don't interrupt." She ran and waved at me, smiling brightly, "Hurry up, Gold. Come get me. Let's go home."

I ignored her, turning my head the other way.

"Don't look away. Look at me, Gold. I'm back. I'm here," she said when a group of mermen stopped her from getting too close, "Don't you miss me? Answer me, Gold," she urged, sounding impatient, "Look at me, or else I'll tell the whole world how you took away my freedom and treated me as your breeding tool! You made me bear your spawn. Do you have any idea how much I suffered and lost? You owe me, Gold, and I'm here to collect what is rightfully mine!"

Bart shifted into a human, and stuffed his ears with his fingers, grunting.

I smiled bitterly, trying to block out her words, her presence, her existence. What I did to her wasn't right. Her pain was justified. Her anger was justified. But why should I shoulder all the blame?

I didn't force her to bear my offspring. She was the one who approached me, claiming that she was bored.

Was I not allowed to have feelings? Was I not allowed to feel angry when she shouted  and threw things at me for not bringing back enough gifts? Was I not allowed to feel upset when she decided to take revenge on me for taking too long to fulfill her demands? Risking the whole tribe's safety?

Now that I recollected her face. Did her eyes belong to a female who suffered and lost? Or a spoiled cub who wasn't allowed to get her way?

"Shut up and leave Gold alone!" A few female voices rang in the air, making me look up.

A dozen mermaids flew on top of the peacocks, circling around us.

Mandy landed next to me, pointing at Jean, "You're annoying! Get lost already! Can't you see that you're not wanted? Gold is our King. He's the best there is. No other male compares, so stop clinging on to him."

"Who are you?" Jean asked, her eyes scanning Mandy from head to toe, "Are you the Cloud Nine's madam? The one who can't get her own males and has to steal other people's?!"

Mandy's face flushed red and she shouted, "It doesn't matter who I'm! Just stay away from our King! Don't you understand plain language? You're so dumb. No wonder Gold had to look for your replacement. He got tired of dealing with a useless, ungrateful piece of old seaweed like you!"

"Yeah! Go to you Ape King or something," Alice chimed in, "Don't bother our King, who is sooo handsome, and soo dreamy, and the best there is. I want him too, but he only has eyes for Madam, so I can only settle for looking, and looking, and looking, and daydreaming, and─"

"Enough, enough," Mandy stopped Alice, "Don't ruin our image."

"It's already ruined," Zoe pointed out, "Her drool is dripping down her chin, and she can't hear anything you are saying. It's hopeless. There's no cure for the Gold's disease."

"You have Gold's disease too!" Alice retorted, and a heated argument broke out.

Jean's face twisted in anger, "Gold, tell them to shut up and mind their own business. How dare they speak to your mate like that? Are you going to let them get away with this, or are you going to show them their place?"

I looked away, causing the rest of the females to laugh at her.

"See? He no longer views you as his female," Alice taunted, "If I had a male like Gold, I would never let him go. How dumb do you have to be? How blind are you, not to realize how good of a male he is, and how lucky you were to have him? Gold, if you ever get tired of madam, I'm available, and I'm more than willing to learn how to please you, and─"

"Don't listen to her," Sophia interrupted her, "I'm more than willing to please and satisfy you too, and─"

"Don't interrupt me!" Alice yelled, and another heated argument broke out.

They started a shoving match and then turned into a clawing match.

"Enough!" Chris cut them off, and they all froze. Their males quickly separated them and checked if they were hurt. Now they were competing who could cry louder, and accuse the other of attacking first, "Where are your manners? How can you fight each other and your nemesis at the same time? If you want to fight, do it after you deal with Jean!"

"Right!" The group stopped crying and immediately took out their anger on Jean.

Jean turned toward the Ape King, slapping his head, "Aren't you going to say anything?! Why are you just standing there?! Help me!"

"Qin, but they are all females," the Ape King said, "What am I supposed to do?" he asked when Mandy and the rest stood before me and their males in defense.

If the resort fell apart, they would fall apart along with it. If their tribe suffered, so would they. It was as simple as that.

They had no physical strength or special abilities. Their gender was their biggest weapon, and Chris drilled this fact into their heads.They had the power to protect their tribe, their home, and their family in a way no male ever could.

I turned around and left with Bart, Chris noticed and followed behind us. She was quiet and the moment we were far enough, I handed her a vial with Yali's blood.

She immediately drank its content and licked her lips, "Master's blood? What an honor... I don't deserve it."

Yali entrusted both Chris and Zachary to my care, and in return, Chris had been assisting me with keeping our females' behavior in check.

Yali didn't trust my mermen with our mermaids, especially after we went to such lengths to obtain them, and I didn't trust them either ─ not after what Bluepool did.

That's why Yali set up Mitchell's father as their guard, protecting the palace deep in the ocean against intruders ─ she figured we might as well put our hostage to work instead of letting him rot. If she hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to leave our mermaids alone in the ocean without constantly worrying about them.

"How's Mitchell's father?" Bart asked.

"Same as always," Chris replied, "Obsessed and crazy in love. It's getting worse by the day, and he's starting to lose it when I leave for more than an hour. I have to put him to sleep whenever I need to run Master's errands."

╔═══ Author's note ════╗

When you realize Yaya built a fan club in Gold's name just to troll the heck out of him. 😂 No wonder he wants to devour her like he did Jean and become one with her. 😂

The way Gold let his fanclub defend him before his ex is more of a faceslap than he could have done on his own, don't you think so? 🤭

Do you think it's better that Yaya never shows up, no matter how many beauties throw themselves at Gold, or that she should appear every once in a while, and remind everyone that her boys are taken and no one can have them but her? 🤔

I bet they are dying to see her being all possessive and jealous, but are they brave enough to make her that way? 😂

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